In the present research communication, we report on identification and quantification of four main lactic acid bacteria (LAB) genera (Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus and Leuconostoc), most common in Greek cheeses, by a novel culture-independent method. More specifically, new primers were designed to be used in both multiplex PCR for simultaneous identification and in real-time PCR for quantification of the LAB. The method was validated by applying it in parallel to culture-dependent method in a variety of cheeses from different Greek geographical locations, of different animal milk origins and of different production methods. While the standard plate culture method showed absence of Leuconostoc sp. in all cheeses, the culture-independent methods detected all four LAB genera studied. Furthermore, the relative presence of the four genera detected by the culture-independent method showed a pattern present in almost all cheese samples tested, indicating Lactococcus genus as the dominant one.

Although postpartum depression (PPD) is a common condition, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated, with devastating consequences for the woman's ability to perform daily activities, to bond with her infant and to relate to the infant's father. Leptin, a protein synthesised in the adipose tissue and involved in regulation of food intake and energy expenditure has been related to depressive disorders, but studies report conflicting results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between serum leptin levels at the time of delivery and the subsequent development of postpartum depression in women, using data from a population-based cohort of delivering women in Uppsala, Sweden. Three hundred and sixty five women from which serum was obtained at the time of delivery filled out at least one of three pre-coded questionnaires containing the Edinbourgh Scale for Postnatal Depression (EPDS) five days, six weeks and six months after delivery. Crude mean leptin levels did not significantly differ between cases of PPD and controls. Using linear regression analysis and adjusting for maternal age, body-mass index, smoking, interleukin-6 levels, duration of gestation, gender and birth weight of the newborn, the EPDS scores at five days, six weeks and six months after delivery were negatively correlated with leptin levels at delivery (p< 0.05). Serum leptin levels at delivery were found to be negatively correlated with self reported depression during the first six months after delivery.

In this research communication we describe an innovative protocol that combines three pairs of primers, two from the literature and one designed in our laboratory, for application in triplex-PCR on somatic cell DNA to enable identification of the species origin (cow, sheep, goat) of cheeses and yogurts with a detection limit of 0.1%. Mislabeling was detected in 15 out of 40 cheeses and in 18 out of 40 yogurts tested. The suggested procedure is a quick and reliable tool for identifying the animal origin of cheeses and yogurts and it can be used to certify product reliability on the domestic and international market. Additionally, in combination with a serological test it can offer a reliable tool for detecting the presence of cow's whey.

In the 2015 review paper ‘Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide’ a comprehensive overview of the current status of high-power facilities of ${>}200~\text{TW}$ was presented. This was largely based on facility specifications, with some description of their uses, for instance in fundamental ultra-high-intensity interactions, secondary source generation, and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). With the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Professors Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou for the development of the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA), which made these lasers possible, we celebrate by providing a comprehensive update of the current status of ultra-high-power lasers and demonstrate how the technology has developed. We are now in the era of multi-petawatt facilities coming online, with 100 PW lasers being proposed and even under construction. In addition to this there is a pull towards development of industrial and multi-disciplinary applications, which demands much higher repetition rates, delivering high-average powers with higher efficiencies and the use of alternative wavelengths: mid-IR facilities. So apart from a comprehensive update of the current global status, we want to look at what technologies are to be deployed to get to these new regimes, and some of the critical issues facing their development.

The use of radio frequency (RF) waves in fusion plasmas for heating, for non-inductive current generation, for profile control and for diagnostics has been well established. The RF waves, excited by antenna structures placed near the wall of a fusion device, have to propagate through density fluctuations at the plasma edge. These fluctuations can modify the properties of the RF waves that propagate towards the core of the plasma. A full-wave electromagnetic computational code ScaRF based on the finite difference frequency domain (FDFD) method has been developed to study the effect of density turbulence on RF waves. The anisotropic plasma permittivity used in the scattering studies is that for a magnetized, cold plasma. The code is used to study the propagation of an RF plane wave through a modulated, spatially periodic density interface. Such an interface could arise in the edge region due to magnetohydrodynamic instability or drift waves. The frequency of the plane wave is taken to be in the range of the electron cyclotron frequency. The scattering analysis is applicable to ITER-like plasmas, as well as to plasmas in medium sized tokamaks such as TCV, ASDEX-U and DIII-D. The effect of different density contrasts across the interface and of different spatial modulations are discussed. While ScaRF is used to study a periodic density fluctuation, the code is general enough to include different varieties of density fluctuations in the edge region – such as blobs and filaments, and spatially random fluctuations.

A theoretically based relationship for the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor $f$ for rough-bed open-channel flows is derived and discussed. The derivation procedure is based on the double averaging (in time and space) of the Navier–Stokes equation followed by repeated integration across the flow. The obtained relationship explicitly shows that the friction factor can be split into at least five additive components, due to: (i) viscous stress; (ii) turbulent stress; (iii) dispersive stress (which in turn can be subdivided into two parts, due to bed roughness and secondary currents); (iv) flow unsteadiness and non-uniformity; and (v) spatial heterogeneity of fluid stresses in a bed-parallel plane. These constitutive components account for the roughness geometry effect and highlight the significance of the turbulent and dispersive stresses in the near-bed region where their values are largest. To explore the potential of the proposed relationship, an extensive data set has been assembled by employing specially designed large-eddy simulations and laboratory experiments for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Flows over self-affine rough boundaries, which are representative of natural and man-made surfaces, are considered. The data analysis focuses on the effects of roughness geometry (i.e. spectral slope in the bed elevation spectra), relative submergence of roughness elements and flow and roughness Reynolds numbers, all of which are found to be substantial. It is revealed that at sufficiently high Reynolds numbers the roughness-induced and secondary-currents-induced dispersive stresses may play significant roles in generating bed friction, complementing the dominant turbulent stress contribution.

Norovirus is a predominant cause of infectious gastroenteritis in countries worldwide [1–5]. It accounts for approximately 50% of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and >90% of viral gastroenteritis outbreaks [6, 7]. The incubation period ranges between 10 and 48 h and illness duration is generally 1–3 days with self-limiting symptoms; however, this duration is often longer (e.g. 4–6 days) in vulnerable populations such as hospital patients or young children [2, 8]. Symptomatic infection of norovirus presents as acute vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and nausea, with severe vomiting and diarrhoea (non-bloody) being most common [2, 5, 9].

The genus Rhagoletis (Diptera: Tephritidae) comprises more than 65 species distributed throughout Europe, Asia and America, including many species of high economic importance. Currently, there are three Rhagoletis species that infest fruits and nuts in Europe. The European cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi (may have invaded Europe a long time ago from the Caucasian area of West Asia), and two invasive species (recently introduced from North America): the eastern American cherry fruit fly, R. cingulata, and the walnut husk fly, R. completa. The presence of different Rhagoletis species may enhance population dynamics and establish an unpredictable economic risk for several fruit and nut crops in Europe. Despite their excessive economic importance, little is known on population dynamics, genetics and symbiotic associations for making sound pest control decisions in terms of species-specific, environmental friendly pest control methods. To this end, the current paper (a) summarizes recently accumulated genetic and population data for the European Rhagoletis species and their association with the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis, and (b) explores the possibility of using the current knowledge for implementing the innovative biological control methods of sterile insect technique and incompatible insect technique.

Radio frequency (RF) waves are routinely used in tokamak fusion plasmas for plasma heating, current control, as well as in diagnostics. These waves are excited by antenna structures placed near the tokamak’s wall and they have to propagate through a turbulent layer known as the scrape-off layer, before reaching the core plasma (which is their target). This layer exhibits coherent density fluctuations in the form of filaments and blobs. The scattering processes of RF plane waves by a single filament is studied with the assumption that the filament has a cylindrical shape and infinite length. Furthermore, besides the major toroidal component of the externally imposed magnetic field, there is also a small poloidal magnetic field component. Considering also that the cylindrical filament’s axis is not necessarily aligned with the toroidal direction, the total magnetic field is in general neither aligned with the axis of the cylinder nor with the toroidal direction. The investigation concerns the case of electron cyclotron (EC) waves (of frequency $f_{0}=170~\text{GHz}$) for tokamak applications. The study covers a variety of density contrasts between the filament and the ambient plasma, different magnetic field inclinations with respect to the cylinder axis (for the same magnitude of magnetic induction $B=4.5T$) and a wide range of filament radii.

Our current knowledge of star formation and accretion luminosity at high redshift (z > 3–4), as well as the possible connections between them, relies mostly on observations in the rest-frame ultraviolet, which are strongly affected by dust obscuration. Due to the lack of sensitivity of past and current infrared instrumentation, so far it has not been possible to get a glimpse into the early phases of the dust-obscured Universe. Among the next generation of infrared observatories, SPICA, observing in the 12–350 µm range, will be the only facility that can enable us to trace the evolution of the obscured star-formation rate and black-hole accretion rate densities over cosmic time, from the peak of their activity back to the reionisation epoch (i.e., 3 < z ≲ 6–7), where its predecessors had severe limitations. Here, we discuss the potential of photometric surveys performed with the SPICA mid-infrared instrument, enabled by the very low level of impact of dust obscuration in a band centred at 34 µm. These unique unbiased photometric surveys that SPICA will perform will fully characterise the evolution of AGNs and star-forming galaxies after reionisation.

Winter rapeseed was introduced into Greece a decade ago to provide oil for biodiesel. To identify agronomic traits affecting yield and quality, three hybrids and an inbred line were tested over two seasons (2005–2006 and 2006–2007) and four locations, in central and northern Greece, varying in pedo-climatic conditions. The large variations in seed yield, quality and agronomic traits were largely ascribed to location; in contrast, cultivar accounted for ⩽0·010 of the variation for many traits. Below 40°N, rapeseed is a risky crop; short season, high temperatures and low rainfall during reproductive growth diminished seed yield and oil content, increased oleic and erucic acid and minimized linolenic acid. A hybrid, Exact, with tall stature and large seeds was adaptive to such conditions. The most productive location had dense stands with tall plants bearing numerous pods on the main raceme. At the site with the coldest winter, plant density (PD) was lowest (ca. 30 plants/m2) but rapeseed compensated by producing large seeds, with high oil content and harvest index (HI). A biplot revealed that the hybrid Excalibur, outperforming the other cultivars for oil content in six out of eight trials, produced the highest and most stable oil yield. Combined data showed that seed yield and oil yield were positively correlated with PD, seed size and HI and negatively to the number of pods on branches and per plant. Large seeds had high seed oil content. Oleic acid was negatively correlated to linolenic acid concentration. High temperatures and low rainfall favoured oleic acid, which was positively associated with seed number per pod.

Laboratory-based surveillance data is essential for monitoring trends in the incidence of enteric disease. Current Canadian human enteric surveillance systems report only confirmed cases of human enteric disease and are often unable to capture the number of negative test results. Data from 9116 hospital stool specimens from the Waterloo Region in Canada, with a mixed urban and rural population of about 500 000 were analysed to investigate the use of stool submission data and its role in reporting bias when determining the incidence of enteric disease. The proportion of stool specimens positive for Campylobacter spp. was highest in the 15–29 years age group, and in the 5–14 years age group for Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7. By contrast, the age-specific incidence rates were highest for all three pathogens in the 0–4 years age group which also had the highest stool submission rate. This suggests that variations in age-specific stool submission rates are influencing current interpretation of surveillance data.

Dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a traditional crop of north-western Macedonia, Greece, where two landraces (plaki Prespas and Chrisoupoli) in particular are grown. The aim of this study was to test whether the grain carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) and ash content (ASH) are related to grain yield (GY), protein content (PC) and mean grain weight (MGW) in dry bean. As a part of a honeycomb selection programme, 21 genotypes (19 lines derived via intra-landrace honeycomb selection for single plant yield at low density plus the two original populations) were grown at two densities, 1·2 and 4·8 plants/m2 under non-limiting water conditions in a glasshouse and in the field. Genotypes differed significantly for Δ, ASH and PC under the low density. In the dense stand, genotypes differed significantly only for ASH and PC. The environment (glasshouse or field conditions) affected all the traits significantly. Neither Δ nor ASH showed strong or consistent relationships with GY and thus, they cannot serve as reliable, indirect selection criteria for GY. Strong, negative relationships between Δ and PC were found especially in the dense stand, confirming analogous results in C3 cereals. Inconsistent genotypic ranking for grain physiological traits under the different densities and environments was indicative of large genotype×environment interaction. Genotypes performed consistently for GY and MGW under both densities, showing the strong stability of these traits.

The expression of oestrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ) in the prostate and uterus tissues of Wistar rats supplied for 8 weeks with a diet rich in sesame (Sesamum indicum) pericarp (30 %) was monitored. Eight male rats, aged 6 weeks, were divided into a control group fed on a normal diet, and an experimental one, provided with the normal diet enriched with 30 % sesame pericarp. A similar experiment was performed with female rats. At the end of the experiment, the prostate and uterus tissues were surgically removed and kept at − 80°C for up to 2 months. Western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) methods were used in order to investigate the levels of receptor proteins and mRNA. Significant increase in the expression of ERβ in prostate and uterus was evident in both methods, while the magnitude of the observed alteration depended on the applied method. No statistically significant change was observed in the expression of ERα in uterus. In prostate, although the increase was more evident when investigated by means of qRT-PCR, the difference in expression of ERα was not statistically significant. In both tissues, a shift of the ratio of ERα:ERβ in favour of ERβ was evident, indicating, according to existing literature, a beneficial effect of the diet provided upon the health status of the organisms. It is suggested that this effect is attributed to the lignans present in the pericarp which exert phyto-oestrogenic activity.

The effect of different forms of sesame-based diets on the concentration of plasma lignans was assayed by estimating the levels of certain lignans (sesame lignans and enterolignans) in the plasma of experimental animals. In a series of experiments, male Wistar rats were fed either a raw sesame-enriched diet or a tahini-enriched diet. The plasma concentration of the lignans (sesame lignans and enterolignans) was determined at various time intervals over a 24 h period after a single administration. Enterodiol and enterolactone concentration in the tahini-treated group was significantly higher than in the raw sesame-treated group. In another series of experiments, male Wistar rats were fed, for 15 d, diets enriched in raw dehulled sesame, sesame perisperm, sesame oil, tahini and a polyphenolic extract derived from the seed perisperm. Enterodiol and enterolactone plasma concentration was high in the case of the sesame perisperm in spite of its low concentration in the assessed sesame lignans. Overall, the levels of the sesame lignans and enterolignans present in plasma seem to be influenced not only by the amount of lignan intake but also by other factors such as the form of the sesame-based diet.