Increasing extremes of heat and drought associated with recent severe wildfires in southern Greece

Mountains of the northern Mediterranean basin face two major threats under global change. Aridity and available fuel are both expected to increase because of climatic and land-use changes, increasing fire danger. There may already be signs of such effects in the case of the Pinus nigra and Abies cephalonica forests on Mt. Taygetos (southern Greece). We reconstructed climate (mid- to late-fire-season drought) using tree-rings for the last 150 years and compared it with the mountain’s fire history reconstructed from P. nigra fire scars. Seven, out of the ten, large fires Mt. Taygetos experienced were associated with below-normal precipitation (P) or above-normal maximum temperature (T _max). The largest fires occurred in late summer of 1879, 1944, 1998, and 2007. However, only the recent fires (1998 and 2007) had both low P and high T _max, also confirmed from long-term meteorological data. The synergy between climate and fuel availability may explain the very high intensity of 1998 and 2007 fires that burned mostly as stand-replacing crown fires. The other two large fire events (1879 and 1944) most likely occurred under reduced availability in burning fuel and were related to above-normal T _max. Our findings are among the first based on long-term and site-specific empirical data to support the prediction that Mediterranean mountainous areas will face a very large threat from wildfires in the twenty-first century, if socioeconomic changes leading to land abandonment and thus burning fuel accumulation are combined with the drought intensification projected for the region under global warming.     

Predicting species dominance shifts across elevation gradients in mountain forests in Greece under a warmer and drier climate

Regional Environmental Change - The Mediterranean Basin is expected to face warmer and drier conditions in the future, following projected increases in temperature and declines in precipitation....     

Prenatal diagnosis of two rare de novo structural aberrations of the Y chromosome: cytogenetic and molecular analysis

Two rare de novo structural aberrations of the Y chromosome were detected during routine prenatal diagnosis: a satellited non-fluorescent Y chromosome (Yqs), the first de novo Yqs to be reported in a fetus, and a terminal deletion of the Y chromosome long arm del(Y)(q11). In both cases detailed cytogenetic and molecular analyses were undertaken. In the case of the Yqs it was demonstrated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) that the satellites were derived from chromosome 15. In the case of the del(Yq), it was shown with molecular analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of sequence-tagged sites (STS-PCR) that the deleted portion of the long arm of chromosome Y included the azoospermia factor loci, AZFb and AZFc. The clinical significance of these findings is discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conservation Policies for Protected Areas (Wetlands) in Greece: A Survey of Local Residents' Attitude

This study was carried out in 32 communities neighbouring four Ramsar wetlands in Northern Greece. In particular, it concerns the study of local residents' attitude regarding the ways of management and exploitation of the wetlands and their sociological features, using the opinion poll method (1600 questionnaires were distributed). The aim of this investigation is the evaluation of findings for planning of effective management and conservation policy of wetlands, incorporating the opinions of local residents. Further protection of the wetlands, awareness of local residents of the value of wetlands, tourism or agriculture development (in some cases), as well as more governmental support, became obvious results from this research.     

Comparative Assessment of Power Absorption in Heads of Adults and Children Exposed to the Radiation of Cellular Phones at 1800 MHz

Summary The aim of this work is to examine the differences in power absorption in the brain of adults and children exposed to the radiation of mobile phone terminals at 1710 MHz. To this end, simulations using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method have been carried out to study the interaction between heterogeneous anatomically correct models of the human head and a linear or helical monopole mounted on the top of a metal box representing a realistic mobile communication terminal. The study includes computations of specific absorption rates (SARs) inside the human head and the total power absorbed by the head. Emphasis is placed on the comparative assessment of power absorption characteristics in heads of adults and children as well as on the effect of various parameters such as the age-related changes in dielectric properties and the usage distance between the user's head and the mobile terminal.