ηµοσιεύσεις σε διεθνή περιοδικά Ε Π Ι Σ Τ Η Μ Ο Ν Ι Κ Η ΡΑΣΤΗΡΙΟΤΗΤΑ

Transcription

1 Τ Ε Χ Ν Ο Λ Ο Γ Ι Κ Ο Ε Κ Π Α Ι Ε Υ Τ Ι Κ Ο Ι Ρ Υ Μ Α ( Τ. Ε. Ι. ) Π Α Τ ΡΑ Σ Ε Π Ι Σ Τ Η Μ Ο Ν Ι Κ Η ΡΑΣΤΗΡΙΟΤΗΤΑ τ ό µ ο ς A ηµοσιεύσεις σε διεθνή περιοδικά Φ ε β ρ ο υ ά ρ ι ο ς

2 Τ Τ Ε Ε Χ Χ Ν Ν Ο Ο Λ Λ Ο Ο Γ Γ Ι Κ Ι Κ Ο Ο Ε Ε Κ Κ Π Π Α Α Ι Ι Ε Ε Υ Υ Τ Τ Ι Κ Ι Κ Ο Ο Ι Ι Ρ Ρ Υ Υ Μ Α Α ( ( Τ Τ. Ε. Ε. Ι.. Ι ). ) Π Π Α Α Τ Τ ΡΑ ΡΑ Σ Σ Ε Π Ι Σ Τ Η Μ Ο Ν Ι Κ Η ΡΑΣΤΗΡΙΟΤΗΤΑ Ε Π Ι Σ Τ Η Μ Ο Ν Ι Κ Η ΡΑΣΤΗΡΙΟΤΗΤΑ τ ό µ ο ς B τ ό µ ο ς A Συνέδρια ηµοσιεύσεις τ στην ό µ οελλάδα, ς B σε διεθνή περιοδικά A Συνέδρια ηµοσιεύσεις στην Ελλάδα, σε διεθνή περιοδικά ιεθνή Επιστηµονικά συνέδρια, ιεθνή Ελληνικά Επιστηµονικά περιοδικά, συνέδρια, Βιβλία, Κεφάλαια βιβλίων, Workshops Ελληνικά περιοδικά, Βιβλία, Κεφάλαια Φ εβιβλίων, β ρ ο υ ά ρworkshops ι ο ς Φ ε β ρ ο υ ά ρ ι ο ς

3 ΠΡΟΛΟΓΟΣ Το ΤΕΙ Πάτρας, ως Ανώτατο Εκπαιδευτικό Ίδρυμα με Τεχνολογική Κατεύθυνση, είναι αυτονόητο, ότι πέραν των προσπαθειών των μελών του για παροχή εκπαίδευσης υψηλής ποιότητας, προωθεί και πρωτοστατεί σε πρόγραμμα Έρευνας, Ανάπτυξης και Καινοτομιών. Η ανανέωση του προσωπικού του ΤΕΙ Πάτρας, με επιστήμονες υψηλών προσόντων και οι συνεργασίες με άλλα Ανώτατα Εκπαιδευτικά Ιδρύματα της χώρας και την λοιπής Ευρώπης, αποτελούν τον βασικό παράγοντα μιας ηυξημένης ερευνητικής επίδοσης με ανακοινώσεις σε έγκριτα διεθνή επιστημονικά περιοδικά, σε Συνέδρια και άλλες δραστηριότητες ευρείας απήχησης. Η παρούσα έκδοση παρουσιάζει περιλήψεις των επιστημονικών εργασιών μελών της Ακαδημαϊκής Κοινότητας του ΤΕΙ, οι οποίες δημοσιεύθηκαν σε έγκριτα επιστημονικά περιοδικά και διεθνή συνέδρια κατά την περίοδο Αποτελεί το πρώτο βήμα μιας προσπάθειας συγκέντρωσης και παρουσίασης των επιστημονικών προσπαθειών του ΤΕΙ, οι οποίες το καταξιώνουν στην κοινή γνώμη και στην ευρύτερη επιστημονική κοινότητα. Η προσπάθεια συνεχίζεται και διευρύνεται με συνεργασίες με μεγάλα Επιστημονικά και Τεχνολογικά Ιδρύματα και φορείς της Ελλάδος και των άλλων χωρών. Στόχος, η συμβολή του ΤΕΙ Πάτρας στην παραγωγή γνώσης, την ανάπτυξη και την προσφορά στην κοινωνία, γενικότερα. 1

4 ΠΕΡΙΕΧΟΜΕΝΑ A randomised comparison of AMBI, TGN and PFN for treatment of unstable trochanteric fractures... 9 Cefuroxime-induced coronary artery spasm manifesting as Kounis syndrome Myocardial infarction after aspirin treatment, and Kounis syndrome I Fuzzy-evolutionary synergism in an intelligent medical diagnosis system A GA driven intelligent system for medical diagnosis Auditory Brainstem responses in dyslexia: Comparison between acoustic click and verbal stimulus events Use of technological equipment in critical care units: nurses perceptions in Greece Snake venom poisoning in Greece: Experiences with 147 cases Hypersersensitivity and Kounis syndrome due to a viper bite A patient model-based intelligent system for continuing hypertension management Evaluation of usability and assessment capabilities of an e-learning System for Nursing Radiation Protection Using a hybrid Al approach for exercise difficulty level adaptation The effects of the Mulligan Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glide (SNAG) mobilization in the lumbar flexion range of asymptomatic subjects as measured by the Zebris CMS20 3-D motion analysis system Effect of cross exercise on quadriceps acceleration reaction time and subjective scores (Lysholm questionnaire) following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction Respiratory dysfunction in chronic neck patients: A pilot study The effect of taping on the proprioception of the ankle in a non-weight bearing position, amongst injured athletes Subclassification of low back pain: a cross-country comparison The clinical and cultural factors in classifying low back pain patients within Greece: a qualitative exploration of Greek health professionals Complementary case-based reasoning and competitive fuzzy cognitive maps for advanced medical decisions Fuzzy cognitive map architectures for medical decision support systems Nurses decision-making in clinical practice Xαρακτηριστικά σχεδιασμού ενός οργανισμού: εφαρμογή σε νοσηλευτικό ίδρυμα 24 2

5 Clinical decision-making in cardiac nursing: a review of the literature A European Perspective of clinical decision making Use of technological equipment in critical care units: nurse s perceptions in Greece Negation in Greek Agrammatism: Evidence from Greek Differential effect of linguistic and non-linguistic pen-holding tasks on motor cortex excitability The psysical progression of the osteoportotic spinal fracture Greek and Hebrew locative prepositional phrases: A unified Case-driven account Past Tense Formation and Comprehension of Passive Sentences in Parkinson s Disease: Evidence from Greek Archimedean ordered semigroups as ideal extensions Embedding of Some Ordered Integral Domains Into Ordered Fields Fuzzy Right, Left, Quasi-Ideals, Bi-Ideals in Ordered Semigroups A dynamic context-aware access control architecture for e-services Entanglement of two interacting electrons in a driven double quantum dot structure Control of a double quantum dot structure by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage35 Solvothermal Preparation of TiO 2 / Saponite Nanocomposites and Photocatalytic Activity The Use of Mathematical Modelling as a Tool for Learning Mathematics The Importance of Mathematics for the Design Sciences A Stochastic Model for the Modelling Process Formalism and Intuition in Mathematics: The Role of the Problem Problem Solving in Mathematics Education: Recent Trends and Development Case-Based Reasoning: A Recent Theory for Problem-Solving and Learning in Computers and People Fuzziness or Probability in the Process of Learning: A General Question Illustrated by Examples from Teaching Mathematics The Mathematics Teacher in the Modern Society A Stochastic Molel for the Process of Learning Mathematizing the Process of Learning a Subject Matter in the Classroom, HMS Measuring the Efficiency of a CBR System Transition across Levels in the Process of Learning: A Fuzzy Model A Fuzzy Model for the Learning Process Derivations on Commutative Rings

6 CBR; History, Methodology and Development Trends Mathematizing the CBR Process Microstructure characterization and photocatalytic activity of mesoporous TiO 2 films with ultrafine anatase nanocrystallites Gas-phase photocatalytic degradation of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in the presence of a nanocrystalline Titania film. Applications to the treatment of cork stoppers Quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells employing nanocrystalline TiO 2 films made at low temperature High-mobility pentacene phototransistor with nanostructured SiO 2 gate insulator synthesized by sol-gel method Study of hybrid solar cells made of multilayer nanocrystalline titania and poly(3- octylthiophene) or poly-(3-(2-methylhex-2-yl)-oxy-carbonyldithiophene) Visible light-activated N-F-codoped TiO 2 nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of microcystin-lr in water Sol gel modified TiO 2 powder films for high performance dye-sensitized solar cells 50 Photoluminescence and electroluminescence by gallium(iii) complexes of N- salicylidene-o-aminophenol and its derivatives Photodegradation of the herbicide azimsulfuron using nanocrystalline titania films as photocatalyst and low intensity Black Light radiation or simulated solar radiation as excitation source Photocatalytic degradation of a water soluble herbicide by pure and noble metal deposited TiO 2 nanocrystalline films Increase of the efficiency of quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cells by a synergy between Titania nanocrystallites of two distinct nanoparticle sizes Effect of aggregation of dyes adsorbed on nanocrystalline titania films on the efficiency of photodegradation Effect of Surfactant in a Modified Sol on the Physicochemical Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of Crystalline TiO 2 Nanoparticles Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Made by Using a Polysilsesquioxane Polymeric Ionic Fluid as Redox Electrolyte Pure versus metal-ion-doped nanocrystalline titania for photocatalysis Enhanced photoluminescence from films made by titaniun isopropoxide, Eu3+ ions and thenoyltrifluoroacetone blends Photocatalytic TiO 2 films and membranes for the development of efficient wastewater treatment and reuse systems A simple procedure of making room temperature high purity mesoporous titania films with high photocatalytic activity Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Nanocrystalline Titania Electrodes Made at Various Sintering Temperatures

7 Dye-sensitized solar cells with electrolyte based on trimethoxysilane derivatized ionic liquid Synthesis of nanocrystalline photocatalytic TiO2 particles and thin films using sol-gel methods modified with nonionic surfactants Electroluminescence from a volatile europium complex Positively charged polysilsesquioxane/iodide ionic liquid as a quasi solid-state redox electrolyte for dye-sensitized photo electrochemical cells: Infrared, 29 Si NMR and electrical studies Sol-Gel Preparation of Mesoporous Photocatalytic TiO 2 Films and TiO2/Al2O3 Composite Membranes Nanostructured Titania films as a host material for a highly emitted Europium complex Organic-Inorganic Nanocomposite Materials Prepared by the Sol-Gel Route as New Ionic Conductors in Quasi Solid State Electrolytes Enhanced photoluminescence from films made by titaniun isopropoxide, Eu 3+ ions and thenoyltrifluoroacetone blends Heterogeneous activation of Oxone using Co 3 O Numerical investigation of the stress field of particulate reinforced polymeric composites subjected to tension A PKI Approach for Deploying Modern Secure Distributed e-learning and m-learning Environments Development of an electromechanical admittance approach for application in the vibration control of intelligent structures Comparisons of Smart Damping Treatments Based on FEM Modeling of Electromechanical Impedance Design and Analysis of a Solar Reactor for Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment The effect of added liposomes on the rheological properties of a hydrogel: A systematic study Soil column experiments used as a means to assess transport, sorption, and biodegradation of pesticides in groundwater Dispersion of Dissolved Contaminants in Groundwater: from Visualization Experiments to Macroscopic Simulation Soil column experiments used as a means to assess the fate of pesticides in groundwater A model to predict expected mean and stochastic hourly global solar radiation I(h;n j ) values New methodologies to estimate the hourly global solar radiation; Comparisons with existing models

8 The study and performance of a modified conventional refrigerator to serve as a PV powered one Estimation of human red blood cells size using light scattering images Textile-Reinforced Mortar (TRM) Versus FRP Jacketing in Seismic Retrofitting of RC Columns with Continuous or Lap-Spliced Deformed Bars Prediction of the Twisting Moment and the Axial Force in a Circular Rubber Cylinder for Combined Extension and Torsion based on the Logarithmic Strain Approach Quality assessment of continuing education short courses Control of a double quantum dot structure by stimulated Raman adiabati Coherent Phenomena in a Semiconductor Quantum Well System: Effects of Double Dark States Entanglement of two interacting electrons in a driven double quantum dot structure Transient properties of voltage-controlled transparency in an asymmetric double quantum dot Soil column experiments used as a means to assess transport, sorption, and biodegradation of pesticides in groundwater New Experimental Data Reveal Possible Relation of Chaotic Behavior of the Long- Term Geoelectric Potential Difference to Seismic Activity in Western Greece An application of Pattern Recognition principles for the Investigation of Patterns in Geoelectrical Signals related to Earthquakes in Western Greece, WSEAS Charting of geoelectric potential signal dynamics via geometrical techniques and its possible relation to significant earthquakes in Western Greece Implementation strategy and results of an energy-aware system-on-chip for 5GHz WLAN applications Instruction-level energy modeling for pipelined processors Energy-aware system-on-chip for 5 GHz wireless LANs Roof Integrated mini-parabolic Solar Collectors. Comparison between Simulation and Experimental Results Steady flow in a curved pipe with circular cross-section. Comparison of numerical and experimental results Exploring the variability of Single Trials in Somatosensory Evoked Responses Using Constrained Source Extraction and Random Matrix Theory Computer Aided Classification of Mammographic Tissue Using Independent Component Analysis and Support Vector Machines A Seasonal Forecasting Model of the Tourism Sector: The case of Central Macedonia Exploiting tourism destinations knowledge in an RDF-based P2P network

9 Times Series Method for Occupancy Forecasting A case study of West Greece A comprehensive evaluation framework for hotel websites: the case of chain hotel websites operating in Greece Low cost inferential forecasting and tourism demand in accommodation industry.. 89 Exact and heuristic approaches for the locational planning of an integrated solid waste management system Strategic planning Images in cardiovascular medicine. Detection of luminal-intimal border and coronary wall enhancement in intravascular ultrasound imaging after injection of microbubbles and simultaneous sonication with transthoracic echocardiography Patients with type two diabetes mellitus: Increased local inflammatory activation in culprit atheromatous plaques Increased heat generation from atherosclerotic plaques in patients with type 2 diabetes: An increased local inflammatory activation Properties of the GAR(1) Model for Time Series of Counts

10 ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΕΙΣ ΟΝΟΜΑΤΕΠΩΝΥΜΟ ΣΕΛΙΔΑ 1. Βόσκογλου Μιχάλης Βουρνάς Δ Βουτσινάς Ευάγγελος 34-35, Γεωργοπούλου Σταυρούλα (Βούλα) Γιαννόπουλος Ανδρέας Θεοδωροπούλου Παγώνα Μαρία 67-70, Κακαβάς Παναγιώτης 64, Καμπουρίδης Γεώργιος Καπλάνη Ελένη Καπλάνης Σωκράτης 70-72, Καρέλης Δημήτριος Καρυώτη Βασιλική Κοντονή Πηνελόπη Διονυσία Κούτρας Αθανάσιος Κουτσογιάννης Κωνσταντίνος Μητρόπουλος Ιωάννης Μπακάλης Νικόλαος Μπαράκος Γεώργιος Μπατσολάκη Μαρία Μπίλλη Ευδοκία Μπισδούνης Λ Μποβιάτσης Ιωάννης 34-35, Παναγιωτάρας Διονύσιος Παναγόπουλος Αναστάσιος Παναγόπουλος Αλκιβιάδης Παπαδημητρίου Μαρία Παπαθανασίου Ηλίας Πετράκης Εμμανουήλ Πίκιος Κωνσταντίνος 68,70, Σταθάτος Ηλίας Σταυρόπουλος Φώτης Τερζή Αρχόντω Τσινόπουλος Στέφανος Τσιγγέλης Μιχάλης Υφαντής Απόστολος Χαδέλλης Λουκάς 33 8

11 Σχολή Επαγγελμάτων Υγείας και Πρόνοιας A randomised comparison of AMBI, TGN and PFN for treatment of unstable trochanteric fractures Papasimos S, Koutsojannis CM, Panagopoulos A, et al. Arch Orthop Traum su 125 vol. (7): Sep (2005). In this study, we initiated a prospective, randomised, clinical trial comparing the AMBI, TGN and PFN operations used for treatment of unstable fractures, for differences in intraoperative use, consolidation, complications and functional outcome. Materials and methods: We have compared the pre-, intra- and post-operating variables of AMBI, TGN and PFN operations that were used for treatment of unstable trochanteric fractures, of 120 patients all above 60 years old diagnosed with extracapsular hip fractures classified as AO Type 31-A2 or Type 31-A3. Results: According to our results the three methods are comparable in the treatment of unstable trochanteric fractures of patients above 60 years old. Conclusion: The AMBI remains the gold standard for the fractures of trochanteric region. TGN has an easier and faster procedure, facilitates early weight bearing and had minor late complications. An improper use of the PFN system was the reason for the most complications and the longer operation time of the device. PFN is also an accepted minimally invasive implant for unstable proximal femoral fractures but future modification of the implant to avoid Z-effect phenomenon, careful surgical technique and selection of the patients should reduce its high complication rate. Λέξεις Κλειδιά: DHS - AMBI - TGN - PFN - Fractures - Trochanteric region 9

12 Cefuroxime-induced coronary artery spasm manifesting as Kounis syndrome Mazarakis A, Koutsojannis CM, Kounis NG, et al. Acta Cardiol vol. 60 (3): JUN (2005). Allergic angina and allergic myocardial infarction (Kounis syndrome) occurring during the course of a drug-induced allergic reaction in the absence of angiographically stenosed coronary arteries, is rare in clinical practice.this paper reports the case of a 70-year-old woman with no significant risk factors for coronary artery disease who developed coronary artery spasm after intravenous injection of cefuroxime.a subsequent coronary angiogram revealed normal coronary arteries (type I variant of the syndrome). The allergic reaction following cefuroxime administration seems to have triggered the development of coronary artery spasm. Susceptible individuals expressing an amplified mast cell degranulation effect may be more vulnerable to coronary artery spasm. The clinical implications of this syndrome are also discussed. Myocardial infarction after aspirin treatment, and Kounis syndrome Kounis NG, Kouni SN, Koutsojannis CM J Roy Soc Med 98 vol. (6): Jun. (2005). Περίληψη Dr Fox and his colleagues (January 2005 JRSM1) describe the case of a patient who developed coronary vasospasm after a dose of aspirin, to which she had a history of allergy. The concurrence of allergic reactions with acute coronary syndromes has been well described previously. Sometimes the allergic angina syndrome (Kounis syndrome) progresses to myocardial infarction. Various foods and drugs have been incriminated. This syndrome is caused by release of inflammatory mediators during mast cell degranulation. These compounds include preformed mediators such as histamine, neutral proteases (tryptase, chymase) and platelet activating factor and also newly synthesized mediators such as leucotrienes and thromboxane which have been incriminated clinically and 10

13 experimentally in production of coronary spasm and/or acute myocardial infarction. However, inflammatory mediators have also been reported increased in the blood or urine of patients with acute coronary syndromes of non-allergic aetiology;3-5 moreover, degranulated mast cells have been found abundant in the coronary plaque rupture areas of such patients with recent myocardial infarction.6 For these reasons, we have suggested the existence of a final common pathway for allergic and non-allergic coronary syndromes. If mast cells do contribute to non-allergic coronary events, there is scope for therapy with stabilizing drugs such as sodium cromoglicate or ketotifen and with monoclonal antibody to IgE. Experimentally, Nemmar et al. have succeeded in abrogating late thrombotic events by stabilizing mast cell membrane with sodium cromoglicate and reducing inflammation with dexamethasone. We urge the research community to explore this possible final common pathway in allergic and non-allergic coronary syndromes. I Fuzzy-evolutionary synergism in an intelligent medical diagnosis system Koutsojannis C, Hatzilygeroudis Lect Notes Artif Int 4252: , (2006). In this paper, we present the design, implementation and evaluation of HIGAS, a hybrid intelligent system that deals with diagnosis and treatment consultation of acid-base disturbances based on blood gas analysis data. The system mainly consists of a fuzzy expert system that incorporates an evolutionary algorithm in an off-line mode. The diagnosis process, the input variables and their values were modeled based on expert s knowledge and existing literature. The fuzzy rules are organized in groups to be able to simulate the diagnosis process. Differential evolution algorithm is used to fine-tune the membership functions of the fuzzy variables. Medium scale experimental results show that HIGAS does better than its non-hybrid version, non-experts and other previous computer-based approaches. Λέξεις Κλειδιά: Acid-base disturbances, hybrid expert systems, fuzzy-evolutionary synergism, computer diagnosis. 11

14 A GA driven intelligent system for medical diagnosis Beligiannis G, Hatzilygeroudis I, Koutsojannis C. Lect Notes Artif Int 4251: , (2006). Manipulation of Male sexual dysfunction (or Impotence) that concerns 10% of the male population requires expertise and great experience. Different diagnostic approaches according to medical as well as to psychosocial and cultural characteristics of patients are usually followed. In this paper, a GA (genetic algorithm) driven intelligent system (GADIS) for diagnosis of male impotence is presented. The rule-base of GADIS has been constructed by using a genetic algorithm for rule extraction from a patients database. Experimental results show a very good diagnostic performance in terms of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the intelligent system. The rule-base can be refined each time the patient database is updated over a limit. Λέξεις Κλειδιά: GA driven intelligent system, intelligent medical diagnosis system, Auditory Brainstem responses in dyslexia: Comparison between acoustic click and verbal stimulus events Kouni SN, Papadeas ES, Varakis IN, Koutsojannis C. J Otolaryngol vol. 35 (5): Oct. (2006). This study examined the use of auditory brainstem response (ABR) by classic clicks and verbal stimuli in young dyslexic adults to identify latency abnormalities. METHODS: Subjects included 10 dyslexic adults and 10 age-, sex-, IQ-, education-, and hearing sensitivitymatched normal subjects. Both groups had normal auditory status. Measurements included the absolute latencies of waves I through V; the interpeak latencies I-III, III-V, and I-V elicited by acoustic click; and the negative peak latencies of A and B waves, as well as the interpeak latencies of A-B elicited by the verbal stimulus "ma," created on a digital speech synthesizer. RESULTS: The measured latencies and interpeak latencies in response to both clicks and verbal stimuli were found delayed in eight dyslexic subjects, although they did not reach the 12

15 level of significant difference. However, two dyslexic subjects had significantly delayed peak and interpeak latencies elicited by verbal stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: There are dyslexic subjects who may have abnormalities in acoustic representation of a speech sound as low as the auditory brainstem, as elicited by the verbal stimulus "ma." Λέξεις Κλειδιά: Acoustic Stimulation/methods, Adolescent, Adult, Audiometry, Dyslexia/physiopathology, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem/physiology, Female, humans, Male, Time Factors Use of technological equipment in critical care units: nurses perceptions in Greece Kiekkas P, Karga M, Poulopoulou M, Koutsojannis C. J. Clin Nurs.15 vol. (2): Feb. (2006). The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of nurses who work in critical care units about positive and negative effects related to the use of technological equipment and identify relationships between these perceptions and demographic characteristics of participants. BACKGROUND. Previous researchers have investigated the perceptions of nursing personnel about the effects of technology on clinical practice. However, most of them focus on specific negative effects. Positive and negative effects have never been studied as a whole. DESIGN. Critical care nurses were surveyed to elicit their perceptions regarding the use of technological equipment. The instrument comprised a 14-item questionnaire and a series of demographic characteristics. A five-point Likert scale was used for each of these 14 questions. Λέξεις Κλειδιά: Attitude of Health Personnel, Clinical Competence/standards, Critical Care/organization & administration, Critical Care/psychology, Education, Nursing, Continuing, Efficiency, Organizational, Equipment Failure, Female, Greece Health Services Needs and Demand, Hospitals, University, Humans, Inservice Training, Intensive Care Units, Male, Medical Errors, Negativism, Nursing Methodology Research, Nursing Staff, Hospital/education, Nursing Staff, Hospital/organization & administration, Nursing Staff, Hospital/psychology, Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Self Efficacy, Technology, High-Cost/utilization, Time Management 13

16 Snake venom poisoning in Greece: Experiences with 147 cases Frangides CY, Koulouras V, Kouni SN, Koutsojannis C. Eur J Intern Med. vol. 17 (1): Jan. (2006). Snake venom poisoning is a medical emergency requiring immediate attention. Bites from poisonous European snakes can lead to local tissue damage and systemic symptoms. Vipera ammodytes accounts for the most envenomation in Greece. Hypersersensitivity and Kounis syndrome due to a viper bite Frangides C, Kouni S, Niarchos C, Koutsojannis C. Eur J. Intern. Med. 17 vol. (3): May (2006). A 60-year-old male was bitten by a venomous snake (Vipera ammodytes) and gradually developed signs of an allergic reaction including generalized itching, generalized rash, and chest discomfort. This was followed by severe retrosternal pain with electrocardiographic evidence of an inferior myocardial ischemia progressing to acute myocardial infarction. Cardiac enzymes and troponin, serum tryptase, and histamine were elevated. Coronary arteriography showed normal coronary arteries. This is a characteristic type I variant of Kounis syndrome, which is the concurrence of acute coronary syndromes with conditions associated with mast cell activation including allergic or hypersensitivity reactions as well as anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reactions. This is the first report to show that viper bites can induce allergic angina and/or allergic myocardial infarction. 14

17 A patient model-based intelligent system for continuing hypertension management Koutsojannis, C., Hatzilygeroudis, I. Lecture Notes In Computer Science 4924 Lnai, pp , (2008). Hypertension is estimated to be the third leading cause of death worldwide and its management is based on guidelines regarding diagnosis, evaluation, risk assessment, treatment and continuing care. This paper presents an intelligent decision support system, which operationalises algorithms for hypertension management using intelligent technologies. PIESYS encourages blood pressure control and recommends guidelineconcordant choice of drug therapy in relation to co morbid diseases. Because evidence for best management of hypertension is mostly individualized, PIESYS is designed to help clinical experts to customize their therapeutic strategy with the use of the Patient Response Database (PRDB) incorporating initial or current data with patient responses or side effects, providing response-adaptive continual care. Together with PRDB, PIESYS uses an independent module, called Computerized Patient Model (CPM), reflecting patient s current state, which affects therapy or care modifications for hypertension management. PIESYS introduces personalised (patient-centric) approach in health care systems in contrast to guideline-dependent classical ones. Λέξεις Κλειδιά: Hypertension management - decision support - patient model Evaluation of usability and assessment capabilities of an e-learning System for Nursing Radiation Protection Hatzilygeroudis, I., Koutsojannis, C., Papachristou, N. Proceedings - IEEE on Computer-Based Medical Systems, Art. No , pp , (2007). 15

18 In this paper, we present the initial evaluation of EX-COFALE, an extension to an existing open-source, web-based adaptive e-learning system, namely COFALE developed and used for web-based education on Radiation Protection in our Nursing Department. COFALE, although offers facilities for adaptive content presentation, adaptive use of pedagogical devices and adaptive communication, it lacks facilities for adaptive student assessment. EX- COFALE remedies this deficiency of COFALE by allowing for automated test creation and assessment based on the students knowledge information. To technically achieve the above, expert systems technology is used. The system is currently used by the students of our Nursing Department and has been initially evaluated for usability of the e-learning environment and effectiveness the educational content management including assessment capabilities. Using a hybrid Al approach for exercise difficulty level adaptation Koutsojannis, C., Beligiannis, G., Hatzilygeroudis, I., Papavlasopoulos, C., Prentzas, J. International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning 17 (4-5), pp , (2007). In this paper, we present an intelligent and adaptive web-based education system that uses a hybrid AI approach for determination of the difficulty levels of the provided exercises. More specifically, a combination of the expert systems approach and a genetic algorithm approach is used. A genetic algorithm is used to extract some kind of rules from the data acquired from the interactions of the students with the system when answering to questions/exercises. Those rules are used to modify expert rules provided by the Tutor. In this way, feedback from the students is taken into account for determination of the difficulty levels of the questions/exercises. This is important because the difficulty levels of the exercises are taken into account for the evaluation of the knowledge levels of the students with regards to various concepts. Experimental results show that a significant part of questions/exercises may need to change their level of difficulty. Furthermore, the validity of the method is experimentally showed. 16

19 Λέξεις Κλειδιά: Intelligent Web-Based Education, Intelligent E-Learning, Exercise adaptation, Expert systems, Genetic Algorithms, Hybrid Intelligent Systems The effects of the Mulligan Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glide (SNAG) mobilization in the lumbar flexion range of asymptomatic subjects as measured by the Zebris CMS20 3-D motion analysis system. Moutzouri M, Billis EV, Kotika P, Strimpakos N, Oldham JA. Bmc Musculoskeletal Disorders, vol. 9: 131.( 2008). Mulligan s mobilisation techniques are thought to increase the range of movement (ROM) in patients with low back pain. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the application of the Mulligan s Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glide (SNAG) technique on lumbar flexion ROM. The secondary aim was to measure the intra- and inter-day reliability of lumbar ROM employing the same procedure. Methods: 49 asymptomatic volunteers participated in this double-blinded study. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either SNAG mobilisation (n = 25), or a sham mobilisation (n = 24). The SNAG technique was applied at the L3and L4 spinal levels with active flexion in sitting by an experienced manual therapist. Three sets of 10 repetitions at each of the two spinal levels were performed. The sham mobilisation was similar to the SNAG but did not apply the appropriate direction or force. Lumbar ROM was measured by a three dimensional electronic goniometer (Zebris CMS20), before and after each technique. For the reliability, five measurements in two different days (one week apart) were performed in 20 healthy subjects. Results: When both interventions were compared, independent t tests yielded no statistically significant results in ROM between groups (p = 0.673). Furthermore no significant within group differences were observed: SNAG (p = 0.842), sham (p = 0.169). Intra- and inter-day reliability of flexion measurements was high (ICC1,1 > 0.82, SEM < 4.0, SDD<16.3%) indicating acceptable clinical applicability. Λέξεις Κλειδιά: Mulligan, SNAG, manual therapy, lumbar flexion ROM 17

20 Effect of cross exercise on quadriceps acceleration reaction time and subjective scores (Lysholm questionnaire) following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Papandreou MG, Billis E, Antongiannakis EM, Papaioannou NA. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, vol. 4(1): 2. (2009). Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury or reconstruction can cause knee impairments and disability. Knee impairments are related to quadriceps performance accelerated reaction time (ART) and disability to performance of daily living activities which is assessed by questionnaires such as the Lysholm knee score. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effect of cross exercise, as supplementary rehabilitation to the early phase of ACL reconstruction: a) on quadriceps ART at the angles 45, 60 and 90 of knee flexion and, b) on the subjective scores of disability in ACL reconstructed patients. Methods: 42 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction were randomly divided into 3 groups, two experimental and one control. All groups followed the same rehabilitation program. The experimental groups followed 8 weeks of cross eccentric exercise (CEE) on the uninjured knee; 3 d/w, and 5 d/w respectively. Quadriceps ART was measured at 45, 60 and 90 of knee flexion pre and nine weeks post-operatively using an isokinetic dynamometer. Patients also completed pre and post operatively the Lysholm questionnaire whereby subjective scores were recorded. Results: Two factor ANOVA showed significant differences in ART at 90 among the groups (F = 4.29, p = 0.02, p < 0.05). Post hoc Tukey HSD analysis determined that the significant results arose from the first experimental group in comparison to the control (D = , p = 0.01). No significant differences were revealed at 45 and 60. Significant differences were also found in the Lysholm score among the groups (F = 4.75, p = 0.01, p < 0.05). Post hoc analysis determined that the above significant results arose from the first experimental group in comparison with the control (D = 7.5, p < 0.01) and from the second experimental in comparison with the control (D = 3.78, p = 0.03). Conclusion: CEE showed improvements on quadriceps ART at 90 at a sequence of 3 d/w and in the Lysholm score at a sequence of 3 d/w and 5 d/w respectively on ACL reconstructed patients. Λέξεις Κλειδιά: ACL, cross-exercise, quadriceps 18