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Background: Unstable “extralateral” fractures of the distal clavicle (lateral to the coracoclavicular ligaments) are not distinguished in the Neer classification system and are commonly included with Neer IIb fractures. In the literature, there is no optimal surgical technique for managing unstable fractures of the distal clavicle, nonetheless for unique “extra-lateral” patterns. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of existing coracoclavicular fixation techniques for managing unstable Neer IIb and extralateral (IIc) fractures of the distal clavicle. Methods: We performed a systematic search of the literature to capture all studies evaluating the safety and effectiveness of existing coracoclavicular loop techniques for unstable Neer IIb and extralateral (IIc) fractures of the distal clavicle. We searched the PubMed (MEDLINE and PubMed Central), Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials electronic databases to retrieve studies published between January 2000 and November 2020. Our study was guided by a prospectively developed protocol and reported in accordance with the latest Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Results: Our database search yielded a total of 564 records; of which, 21 were deemed appropriate for inclusion in our qualitative synthesis. The total number of reported IIb/c fractures managed with a coracoclavicular stabilization technique in all studies was 421. In total, 139 (33%) patients received arthroscopic-assisted treatment, and 282 (67%) patients were managed with open coracoclavicular stabilization. The reported clinical results were very good to excellent in most studies, whereas the overall major and minor complication rate was 2.6% and 12.8%, respectively. Major complications were more frequent in arthroscopic-assisted techniques (4.3%) compared with open (1.8%). Conclusion: The present systematic review of coracoclavicular stabilization techniques for unstable Neer IIb and extralateral fractures of the distal clavicle demonstrates promising clinical outcomes, including effectiveness and safety. We support the previously proposed modification of the Neer classification to include this unique type of unstable extralateral fracture (type IIc) to allow for targeted surgical management.

The technical specifications and advances/ upgrades of the stationary (EOLE) and mobile (AIAS) lidars located at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) are presented in this paper. EOLE is a multi-wavelength combined backscatter/Raman lidar system, which is part of the EARLINET lidar network since May 2000. AIAS is a mobile 532 nm elastic depolarization lidar system. Both instruments have been upgraded during 2019, in the frame of PANACEA to be part of the Greek National Research Infrastructure for aerosol research, under the umbrella of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI).

Four years (2014-2017) of observations of depolarization Raman Lidar systems of four EARLINET (European Aerosol research Lidar Network) stations [from West to East: Granada (Spain), Potenza (Italy), Athens (Greece) and Limassol (Cyprus)] were collected and used to a statistical analysis of Saharan dust events over Mediterranean basin. In this study, emphasis is given to the consistency of the particle linear depolarization ratio (δp532), the extinction-to-backscatter ratio mentioned as Lidar Ratio (LR532) and the Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT532) within the observed Saharan dust layers, corresponding to the visible range (532 nm). Geometrical properties and clusters of aerosol mixtures are also presented. Our clustering was based on previous classification by airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) observations and was further supported by backward trajectory analysis. We found mean δp532 values of 0.24±0.05, 0.26±0.06, 0.28±0.05 and 0.28±0.04, mean LR532 values of 52±8 sr, 51±9 sr, 52±9 sr and 49±6 sr, mean AOT532 values of 0.40±0.31, 0.11±0.07, 0.12±0.10 and 0.32±0.17 and mean layer thicknesses of 3392±1458 m, 2150±1082 m, 1872±816 m and 1716±567 m for Granada, Potenza, Athens and Limassol respectively. This work could assist in bridging the existing gaps related to the extensive and intensive dust aerosol properties over the Mediterranean and enriching the bibliography about mixed aerosol layers from different sources (e.g. dust and biomass burning (BB) aerosols, dust and urban/ industrial aerosols).

The results of the ATHLI16 (ATHens Lidar Intercomparison) campaign, held in Athens from 26/09 to 07/10 2016 are presented. The campaign was performed within the Lidar Calibration Centre activities (EU H2020 ACTRIS-2 project) to assess the performance of the EOLE lidar system (NTUA, Athens, Greece), operating within EARLINET, by comparing against the EARLINET reference lidar system MUSA (CNR-IMAA, Potenza, Italy). For both lidars only products retrieved by the EARLINET Single Calculus Chain have been compared.

A comprehensive analysis of the seasonal variability of the optical properties of Saharan dust aerosols over Athens, Greece, is presented for a 17-year time period (2000-2016), as derived from multi-wavelength Raman lidar measurements (57 dust events with more than 80 hours of measurements). The profiles of the derived aerosol optical properties (aerosol backscatter and extinction coefficients, lidar ratio and aerosol Ångström exponent) at 355 nm are presented. For these dust events we found a mean value of the lidar ratio of ~52±13 sr at 355 nm and of ~58±8 sr (not shown) at 532 nm (2-4 km a.s.l. height). For our statistical analysis, presented here, we used monthly-mean values and time periods under cloud-free conditions. The number of dust events was greatest in late spring, summer, and early autumn periods. In this paper we also present a selected case study (04 April 2016) of desert dust long-range transport from the Saharan desert.

Aerosol typing is essential for understanding the impact of the different aerosol sources on climate, weather system and air quality. An aerosol classification method for EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) measurements is introduced which makes use the Mahalanobis distance classifier. The performance of the automatic classification is tested against manually classified EARLINET data. Results of the application of the method to an extensive aerosol dataset will be presented.

Aerosol absorption profiling is crucial for radiative transfer calculations and climate modelling. Here, we utilize the synergy of lidar with sun-photometer measurements to derive the absorption coefficient and single scattering albedo profiles during the ACTRIS-2 campaigns held in Germany, Greece and Cyprus. The remote sensing techniques are compared with in situ measurements in order to harmonize and validate the different methodologies and reduce the absorption profiling uncertainties.

By means of available ice nucleating particle (INP) parameterization schemes we compute profiles of dust INP number concentration utilizing Polly-XT and CALIPSO lidar observations during the INUIT-BACCHUS-ACTRIS 2016 campaign. The polarization-lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) method is used to separate dust and non-dust aerosol backscatter, extinction, mass concentration, particle number concentration (for particles with radius > 250 nm) and surface area concentration. The INP final products are compared with aerosol samples collected from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and analyzed using the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE.

In this paper we studied the temporal evolution of the Planetary Boundary Layer height (PBLH) over the basin of Athens, Greece during a 5-year period (2011-2016) using data from the EOLE Raman lidar system. The lidar data (range-corrected lidar signals-RCS) were selected around 12:00 UTC and 00:00 UTC for a total of 332 cases: 165 days and 167 nights. Extended Kalman filtering techniques were used for the determination of the PBLH. Moreover, several well established techniques for the PBLH estimation based on lidar data were also tested for a total of 35 cases. Comparisons with the PBLH values derived from radiosonde data were also performed. The mean PBLH over Athens was found to be of the order of 1617±324 m at 12:00 UTC and of 892±130 m at 00:00 UTC, for the period examined. The mean PBLH growth rate was found to be about 170±64 m h-1 and 90±17 m h-1, during daytime and nighttime, respectively.

The Single Calculus Chain (SCC) is an automatic and flexible tool to analyze raw lidar data using EARLINET quality assured retrieval algorithms. It has been already demonstrated the SCC can retrieve reliable aerosol backscatter and extinction coefficient profiles for different lidar systems. In this paper we provide an overview of new SCC products like particle linear depolarization ratio, cloud masking, aerosol layering allowing relevant improvements in the atmospheric aerosol characterization.

The EOLE multi-wavelength aerosol Ramandepolarization lidar, and the AIAS depolarization lidar, in synergy with a sun photometer (CIMEL), were used, in the period 2007-2016, to provide the vertical profiles of the aerosol optical properties over Athens, Greece. More than 30 biomass burning events (fresh and aged smoke particles) were observed, with smoke layers between 1.5 up to 4-5 km height, while their duration ranged from 1-3 days. Lidar ratio (LR) values ranged from 40-105 sr (at 355 nm) and from 40-100 sr (at 532 nm), while the linear particle depolarization ratio (LPDR) at both 355 and 532 nm, remained

Transforming intersections into roundabouts has shown that a sufficient degree of road safety and traffic capacity can be achieved. Because of the lower speeds at the area of a roundabout, drivers tend to become more easily adaptive to any kind of conflict with the surrounding environment. Despite the contribution to safety, the design elements of roundabouts are not uniformly fixed on a worldwide scale because of different traffic volumes, vehicle dimensions, drivers’ attitude, etc. The present study provides a brief overview of the contribution of roundabouts to road safety and the interactions between safety and the design elements of roundabouts. In addition, discussion points about current challenges and prospects are elaborated, including findings from the environmental assessment of roundabouts; their use and performance on the era of autonomous vehicles that will dominate in the near future; as well as the role and importance of simulation studies towards the improvement of the design and operation of roundabouts in favor of safer vehicle movement. The criticality of roundabouts, in terms of their geometric design as well as the provided road safety, lies upon the fact that roundabouts are currently used for the conventional vehicle fleet, which will be gradually replaced by new vehicle technologies. Such an action will directly impact the criteria for road network design and/or redesign, thereby continuously fostering new research initiatives.

We present a 3D multi-year monthly mean climatology of Saharan dust advection over Europe using an area-optimized pure dust CALIPSO product. The product has been developed by applying EARLINET-measured dust lidar ratios and depolarization-based dust discrimination methods and it is shown to have a very good agreement in terms of AOD when compared to AERONET over Europe/North Africa and MODIS over Mediterranean. The processing of such purely observational data reveals the certain seasonal patterns of dust transportation towards Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. The physical and optical properties of the dust layer are identified for several areas near the Saharan sources, over the Mediterranean and over continental Europe.

The importance of studying the vertical distribution of aerosol plumes is prominent in regional and climate studies. The new Generalized Aerosol Retrieval from Radiometer and Lidar Combined data algorithm (GARRLiC) provides this opportunity combining active and passive ground-based remote sensing from lidar and sunphotometer measurements. Here, we utilize GARRLiC capabilities for the characterization of Saharan dust and marine particles at the Eastern Mediterranean region during the Characterization of Aerosol mixtures of Dust And Marine origin Experiment (CHARADMExp). Two different case studies are presented, a dust-dominated case which we managed to characterize successfully in terms of the particle microphysical properties and their vertical distribution and a case of two separate layers of marine and dust particles for which the characterization proved to be more challenging.

Multi-wavelength aerosol Raman lidar measurements with elastic depolarization at 532 nm were combined with sun photometry during the HYGRA-CD campaign over Athens, Greece, on May-June 2014. We retrieved the aerosol optical [3 aerosol backscatter profiles (baer) at 355-532-1064 nm, 2 aerosol extinction (aaer) profiles at 355-532 nm and the aerosol linear depolarization ratio (δ) at 532 nm] and microphysical properties [effective radius (reff), complex refractive index (m), single scattering albedo (ω)]. We present a case study of a long distance transport (~3.500-4.000 km) of biomass burning particles mixed with dust from the Russian Federation-Kazakhstan regions arriving over Athens on 21-23 May 2014 (1.7-3.5 km height). On 23 May, between 2-2.75 km we measured mean lidar ratios (LR) of 35 sr (355 nm) and 42 sr (532 nm), while the mean Ångström exponent (AE) aerosol backscatter-related values (355nm/532nm and 532nm/1064nm) were 2.05 and 1.22, respectively; the mean value of δ at 532 nm was measured to be 9%. For that day the retrieved mean aerosol microphysical properties at 2-2.75 km height were: reff=0.26 μm (fine mode), reff=2.15 μm (coarse mode), m=1.36+0.00024i, ω=0.999 (355 nm, fine mode), ω=0.992(355 nm, coarse mode), ω=0.997 (532 nm, fine mode), and ω=0.980 (532 nm, coarse mode).

Combined multi-wavelength aerosol Raman lidar and sun photometry measurements were performed during the HYGRA-CD campaign over Athens, Greece during May-June 2014. The retrieved aerosol optical properties (3 aerosol backscatter at 355-532-1064 nm and 2 aerosol extinction profiles at 355-532 nm) were used as input to an inversion code to retrieve the aerosol microphysical properties (effective radius reff and number concentration N) using regularization techniques. Additionally, the volume concentration profile was derived for fine particles using the LIRIC code. In this paper we selected a complex case study of long-range transport of mixed aerosols (biomass burning particles mixed with dust) arriving over Athens between 10-12 June 2014 in the 1.5-4 km height. Between 2-3 km height we measured mean lidar ratios (LR) ranging from 45 to 58 sr (at 355 and 532 nm), while the Ångström exponent (AE) aerosol extinction-related values (355nm/532nm) ranged between 0.8-1.3. The retrieved values of reff and N ranged from 0.19±0.07 to 0.22±0.07 μm and 460±230 to 2200±2800 cm-3, respectively. The aerosol linear depolarization ratio (δ) at 532 nm was lower than 5-7% (except for the Saharan dust cases, where δ~10-15%).

We studied the influence of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) on the air masses sampled at the mountaintop Hellenic Atmospheric Aerosol and Climate Change station ((HAC)2) at Mount Helmos (Greece) during the Cloud-AerosoL InteractionS in the Helmos background TropOsphere (CALISTHO) Campaign from September 2021 to March 2022. The PBL Height (PBLH) was determined from the standard deviation of the vertical wind velocity (σw) measured by a wind Doppler lidar (over a 30-min time window with 30 m spatial resolution); the height for which σw drops below a characteristic threshold of 0.1 m s–1 corresponds to the PBLH. The air mass characterization is independently carried out using in situ measurements sampled at (HAC)2 (equivalent black carbon, eBC; fluorescent particle number, aerosol size distributions, absolute humidity). We found that a distinct diurnal cycle of aerosol properties is seen when the station is inside the PBL (i.e., PBLH exceeds the (HAC)2 altitude); and a complete lack thereof when it is in the Free Tropospheric Layer (FTL). Additionally, we identified transition periods where the (HAC)2 site location alternates between the FTL (usually during the early morning hours) and the PBL (usually during the midday and late afternoon hours), during which the concentration and characteristics of the aerosols vary the most. Transition periods are also when orographic clouds are formed. The highest PBLH values occur in September [400 m above (HAC)2] followed by a transition period in November, while the lowest ones occur in January [200 m below (HAC)2]. We found also that the PBLH increases by 16 m per 1°C increase of the ground temperature.

Abstract Background Hip fractures are an increasingly common consequence of falls in older people that are associated with a high risk of death and reduced function. The vast majority of intertrochanteric fractures require surgical treatment to withstand early mobilization and weight bearing, which prevents complications due to prolonged bed rest and aids in fracture healing. Methods This study is compromised by two parts, the experimental study and the clinical part. In the first part, a standard 130° nail will be used with the appropriate lag screw(s) and dynamic distal locking in synthetic osteoporotic femurs and the transmission of forces in the proximal femur, measured by a cortical surface-strain distribution, will be evaluated using digital image correlation. Finite element parametric models of the bone, the nails and their interface will be also developed. Finite element computations of surface strains in implanted femurs, after being validated against biomechanical testing measurements, will be used to assist the comparison of the nails by deriving important data on the developed stress and strain fields, which cannot be measured through biomechanical testing. In the other part, will set up a prospective, randomized, comparative clinical study among the Gamma3 and IT cephalomedullary nailing, in order to investigate if there are any statistical important differences in the main radiological measurements and functional status in closed unstable intertrochanteric fractures (A21-3) in patients aged over 70 years old at the 24-week follow-up evaluation using patient reported disease-specific outcomes. Discussion This study will be the first to compare clinical, radiological and biomechanical measurements of the two different cephalomedullary nails. Our main hypothesis is that the IT nail would provide better radiological outcome and probably better clinical results than the Gama3 nail. Clinical trial registration International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15588442 , registered on 19/4/2022.

Mesopelagic fish are considered a possible future fisheries resource, but the biological sustainability of their potential exploitation has not yet been assessed. Sustainability should be evaluated at the population level, for which accurate stock-specific life-history parameters are required. Here, we use a length-based model to estimate life-history parameters related to growth and natural mortality, and their uncertainty, for the assessment of Northeast Atlantic populations of Maurolicus muelleri (Gmelin, 1789, Mueller’s Pearlside) and Benthosema glaciale (Reinhardt, 1837, glacier lantern fish). We compare three different approaches to estimate natural mortality rates and provide recommendations for future data collection and monitoring programs. For M. muelleri, we estimated an asymptotic length of 57.98 mm and a von Bertalanffy growth constant of 1.28 year−1, while for B. glaciale, we estimated an asymptotic length of 78.93 mm and a von Bertalanffy growth constant of 0.41 year−1. Estimates of natural mortality rates for M. muelleri were around 1.29 year−1 and 1.80 year−1 based on empirical formulae with the estimated growth parameters and maximum age, respectively, and around 1.51 year−1 with the length-converted catch curve method for B. glaciale estimates ranged between 0.5, 0.68, and 0.75 year−1, with the three respective methods. Due to limited data availability, the estimated uncertainty of the provided life-history parameters is large and should be considered in the evaluation of the sustainability of potential mesopelagic exploitation following the precautionary approach.

Introduction Monteggia-like lesions are rare injuries in adults that include a wide spectrum of complex fracture-dislocations of the proximal ulna and radius. In this retrospective study, we performed a modified Boyd approach and a standard surgical protocol for the treatment of these lesions. Our aim was to evaluate the results of the operative treatment for patients with Monteggia-like lesions, using a modified Boyd approach. Materials and Methods We present a retrospective study of 14 patients who underwent surgical treatment for Monteggia-like lesions. Preoperative clinical and radiological evaluation was performed. In 5 cases radial head prosthesis was placed, and in 3 cases the radial fracture was stabilized with the use of interfragmental screws. Regarding the proximal ulnar fracture, ORIF-anatomical plate and ORIF-straight plate was used in 12 and 2 cases, respectively. Results Average clinical follow up was 16.9 months. Postoperatively, the mean Mayo Elbow Performance score was 83.4 points (range 70-100) and the mean visual analog scale was 1.7 (range 0-14). Mean flexion and loss of extension were 122.1° (range 80°-140°) and 21.4° (range 5°-40°), respectively. Mean supination of the forearm was 66.8° (range 50°-80°) and the mean pronation was 67.5° (range 60°-75°). Heterotopic ossification was observed in 3 patients (21.4%) and 1 patient developed stiffness (7.1%). The patient who developed stiffness underwent reoperation for plate removal and arthrolysis, with satisfactory results. Conclusions The surgical treatment of Monteggia-like lesions in adults remains a challenge. In the present study, the use of a standard surgical protocol, with a modified Boyd approach, successfully restores the movement and stability of the elbow, with a low complication rate.

A rare event of mixed biomass-burning and polluted dust aerosols was observed over Athens, Greece (37.9° N, 23.6° E), during 21–26 May 2014. This event was studied using a synergy of a 6-wavelength elastic-Raman-depolarization lidar measurements, a CIMEL sun photometer, and in situ instrumentation. The FLEXPART dispersion model was used to identify the aerosol sources and quantify the contribution of dust and black carbon particles to the mass concentration. The identified air masses were found to originate from Kazakhstan and Saharan deserts, under a rare atmospheric pressure system. The lidar ratio (LR) values retrieved from the Raman lidar ranged within 25–89 sr (355 nm) and 35–70 sr (532 nm). The particle linear depolarization ratio (δaer) ranged from 7 to 28% (532 nm), indicating mixing of dust with biomass-burning particles. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) values derived from the lidar ranged from 0.09–0.43 (355 nm) to 0.07–0.25 (532 nm). An inversion algorithm was used to derive the mean aerosol microphysical properties (mean effective radius (reff), single scattering albedo (SSA), and mean complex refractive index (m)) inside selected atmospheric layers. We found that reff was 0.12–0.51 (±0.04) µm, SSA was 0.94–0.98 (±0.19) (at 532 nm), while m ranged between 1.39 (±0.05) + 0.002 (±0.001)i and 1.63 (±0.05) + 0.008 (±0.004)i. The polarization lidar photometer networking (POLIPHON) algorithm was used to estimate the vertical profile of the mass concentration for the dust and non-dust components. A mean mass concentration of 15 ± 5 μg m−3 and 80 ± 29 μg m−3 for smoke and dust was estimated for selected days, respectively. Finally, the retrieved aerosol microphysical properties were compared with column-integrated sun photometer CIMEL data with good agreement.

SCLC is an aggressive cancer type with high metastatic potential and bad prognosis. CTCs are a valuable source of tumor cells in blood circulation and are among the major contributors to metastasis. In this study we evaluated the number of CTCs that express PD-L1 in treatment-naïve ES-SCLC patients receiving ICI in a front-line setting. Moreover, we explored the percentages of different immune T-cell subsets in circulation to assess their potential role in predicting responses. A total of 43 patients were enrolled—6 of them with LS-SCLC, and 37 with ES-SCLC disease. In addition, PBMCs from 10 healthy donors were used as a control group. Different T-cell subtypes were examined through multicolor FACS analysis and patients’ CTCs were detected using immunofluorescence staining. SCLC patients had higher percentages of PD-1-expressing CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T-cells, as well as elevated PD-1 protein expression compared to healthy individuals. Additionally, in ES-SCLC patients, a positive correlation between CD3+CD8+PD-1+ T-cells and PD-L1+ CTCs was detected. Importantly, patients harboring higher numbers of CD3+CD8+PD-1+ T-cells together with PD-L1+CTCs had a survival advantage when receiving front-line immunotherapy. Thus, this study proposes, for first time possible, immune cell–CTCs interaction, as well as a potential novel clinical biomarker for ICI responses in ES-SCLC patients.

Abstract Background The purpose of the present study was to systematically review the current treatment strategies for the treatment of Neer type IIB distal clavicle fractures in terms of functional outcome and complication rates and to examine the most appropriate surgical method by comparing all the available surgical techniques and implants. Methods We performed a systematic review of the existing literature (2000–2021) in accordance with the PRISMA statement. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Research Gate and Google Scholar using the general terms ‘distal AND clavicle AND fracture’ to capture as many reports as possible. The MINORS tool was used to assess the risk of bias of the nonrandomized studies. We categorized the reported surgical techniques into four main types: open or arthroscopic coracoclavicular (CC) stabilization, locking plate fixation with or without CC augmentation, hook plate fixation and acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) transfixation. We reported findings for two main outcomes: clinical results and complication rates categorized into major and minor. Results Our database search yielded a total of 630 records; 34 studies were appropriate for qualitative analysis. There were 790 patients, with a mean age of 40.1 years, a female percentage of 37% and a mean follow-up period of 29.3 months. In total, 132 patients received a hook plate, 252 received a locking plate, 368 received CC stabilization and 41 received transacromial transfixation. All studies were retrospective and had fair MINORS scores. Locking plate, CC stabilization and ACJ transfixation showed similar clinical results but were much better than hook plate fixation; CC augmentation did not significantly improve the outcome of locking plate fixation. The rate of major complications was similar among groups; hook plate and AC joint transfixation had the worst rates of minor complications. Open CC techniques were slightly better than arthroscopic techniques. Conclusions The present systematic review for the optimal fixation method for Neer type IIB fractures of the distal clavicle showed similar major complication rates among techniques; the hook plate technique demonstrated inferior clinical results to other techniques. Open CC stabilization and locking plate fixation without CC augmentation seem to be the best available treatment options.

The assessment of the status of fisheries resources is pivotal due to the importance of marine resources in global food security and to halt the ongoing decline in marine biodiversity. Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) is one of the most valuable resources in the Northeast Atlantic. However, overfishing has caused the decline of several Nephrops stocks over the last decades, particularly in the Nephrops Functional Units (FUs) 25 (NW Spain), 26-27 (NW Spain and North Portugal) and 31 (Cantabrian Sea, North Spain). Since 2003, the information provided by the very low level of landings and fishing effort of these three stocks was insufficient to carry out an adequate analytical assessment, so the base of the assessment has been the trends from commercial catch per unit effort (CPUE). The objective of this study was to carry out the first assessment of these three stocks with an analytical MSY-based model. A review of the available data was made and the stochastic Surplus Production Model in Continuous Time (SPiCT) was fitted for each FU. The results indicate an extremely low biomass for FUs 25 and 26-27 since the mid-nineties well below the reference points. For FU 31, on the other hand, estimated biomass is larger. Our findings also identified long-term temporal and spatial changes in the population dynamic of Nephrops in the Northwest Iberian coast. The results were compare with those obtained in the same stocks with other data-limited methods. Also the role of abiotic factors on the observed dynamic of the stocks was explored. The results of this study are not only relevant for the sustainable exploitation of Norway lobster stocks off the Northwest Iberian coast but provide valuable insights into the suitability and limitations of production models for the assessment of crustacean stocks in general.

Introduction: Real-world evidence regarding molecular epidemiology and management patterns of patients with EGFR exon-20 mutated, advanced NSCLC outside the context of clinical trials is lacking. Methods: We created a European registry for patients with advanced EGFR exon 20-mutant NSCLC diagnosed from January 2019 to December 2021. Patients enrolled in clinical trials were excluded. Clinicopathologic and molecular epidemiology data were collected, and treatment patterns were recorded. Clinical end points according to treatment assignment were assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models. Results: Data on 175 patients from 33 centers across nine countries were included in the final analysis. Median age was 64.0 (range: 29.7–87.8) years. Main features included female sex (56.3%), never or past smokers (76.0%), adenocarcinoma (95.4%), and tropism for bone (47.4%) and brain (32.0%) metastases. Mean programmed death-ligand 1 tumor proportional score was 15.8% (range: 0%–95%) and mean tumor mutational burden was 7.06 (range: 0–18.8) mutations per megabase. Exon 20 was detected in the tissue (90.7%), plasma (8.7%), or both (0.6%), using mostly targeted next-generation sequencing (64.0%) or polymerase chain reaction (26.0%). Mutations were mainly insertions (59.3%), followed by duplications (28.1%), deletions-insertions (7.7%), and the T790M (4.5%). Insertions and duplications were located mainly in the near loop (codons 767–771, 83.1%) and the far loop (codons 771–775, 13%) and only in 3.9% within the C helix (codons 761–766). Main co-alterations included mutations in TP53 (61.8%) and MET amplifications (9.4%). Treatment on mutation identification included chemotherapy (CT) (33.8%), CT-immunotherapy (IO) (18.2%), osimertinib (22.1%), poziotinib (9.1%), mobocertinib (6.5%), mono-IO (3.9%), and amivantamab (1.3%). Disease control rates were 66.2% with CT plus or minus IO, 55.8% with osimertinib, 64.8% with poziotinib, and 76.9% with mobocertinib. Corresponding median overall survival was 19.7, 15.9, 9.2, and 22.4 months, respectively. In multivariate analysis, type of treatment (new targeted agents versus CT ± IO) affected progression-free survival (p = 0.051) and overall survival (p = 0.03). Conclusions: EXOTIC represents the largest academic real-world evidence data set on EGFR exon 20-mutant NSCLC in Europe. Indirectly compared, treatment with new exon 20-targeting agents is likely to confer survival benefit than CT plus or minus IO.

We empirically examine the role of board gender diversity in influencing stock price crash risk at the firm-level in twelve (12) Asia-Pacific Markets. Using a dataset comprising data from 1021 listed firms over the period 2006–2016, we employ a random effect model in a regression setting. Controlling for the firm and market-level variables, we find that board gender diversity results in lowering the stock price crash risk of the firm. Bifurcating women directors on corporate board into numerical representation (token and critical mass representation), the results support our main conjectures and suggest that the economic significance of this relationship is higher for firms that have three or more women directors on the board as compared to the firms that have less than three women directors on the corporate board. Our results are robust to alternative measures of stock price crash risk, potential endogeneity and selection biases.

Black spot identification, a spatiotemporal phenomenon, involves analysing the geographical location and time-based occurrence of road accidents. Typically, this analysis examines specific locations on road networks during set time periods to pinpoint areas with a higher concentration of accidents, known as black spots. By evaluating these problem areas, researchers can uncover the underlying causes and reasons for increased collision rates, such as road design, traffic volume, driver behaviour, weather, and infrastructure. However, challenges in identifying black spots include limited data availability, data quality, and assessing contributing factors. Additionally, evolving road design, infrastructure, and vehicle safety technology can affect black spot analysis and determination. This study focused on traffic accidents in Greek road networks to recognize black spots, utilizing data from police and government-issued car crash reports. The study produced a publicly available dataset called Black Spots of North Greece (BSNG) and a highly accurate identification method.