University of Crete

Enhancement of Endocannabinoid Signaling by Dual MAGL/ABHD6 Inhibition Reduces Neurodegeneration and Neuro-Inflammation Following AMPA-Mediated Excitotoxicity

Excitotoxicity mediated by the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4 isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) is a major contributor to neuronal degeneration and inflammation in various neurological disorders. The endocannabinoid system (ECS), specifically through the endocannabinoid 2-ar...

Stability of the expanding region of Kerr de Sitter spacetimes

We prove the nonlinear stability of the cosmological region of Kerr de Sitter spacetimes. More precisely, we show that solutions to the Einstein vacuum equations with positive cosmological constant arising from data on a cylinder that is uniformly close to the Kerr de Sitter geom...

Differential Pathways to Depressive Symptoms in Students With and Without Special Educational Needs: The Role of Emotional Reactivity and Parent–Teacher Relationships

Social and emotional competence (SEC) is a core target of school-based social and emotional learning (SEL), yet learner variability may alter how relational experiences and emotion-regulation difficulties are associated with mental-health outcomes. Depressive symptoms were treate...

Digital solutions for tackling mental health in cancer patients and their families: The ALTHEA project

Despite advances in cancer treatment, the growing global cancer burden underscores the need for comprehensive and supportive care to address the needs of patients and their families. However, access to psycho-oncological support remains often limited across healthcare systems. Th...

Complement Signaling and Regulated Cell Death in Immune-Mediated Glomerular Injury

The complement system is a central component of innate immunity, with essential roles in host defense, immune complex clearance, apoptotic cell removal, and tissue homeostasis. In the kidney, glomerular and tubular structures are continuously exposed to circulating and locally pr...

Longitudinal Trajectories of Physical and Mental Health-Related Quality of Life Following Psychobiotic Supplementation in Gastrointestinal Oncology Patients: A Post Hoc Analysis of the ProDeCa Study

Background/Objectives: Patients undergoing surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer frequently experience impaired health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). This post hoc analysis of the ProDeCa randomized trial investigated whether psychobiotic treatm...

Backbone Chemistry Determines Ion Dissociation and Nanostructure Morphology in Charged-Neutral Blends with Low-Molecular-Weight PEO

Abstract Charged-neutral polymer blends provide a versatile platform for controlling ion dissociation, nanoscale organization, and thermodynamic behavior through polymer chemistry, making them attractive materials for applications ranging from ion-containing soft matter to single...

Machine Learning-Guided Discovery of Robust Conditions for Photochemical Nickel-Catalyzed Cysteine Arylation

Abstract Late-stage functionalization (LSF) of peptides offers direct access to structurally diverse analogues, but developing general, chemoselective protocols remains challenging due to the complexity of peptide substrates and the vast number of reaction variables. Traditional...

Highly Efficient Exciton Modulation in MoSe2/PdSe2 Heterostructures

Abstract We report a pronounced ∼6-fold enhancement of room-temperature A-exciton emission in a type-I MoSe2/PdSe2 van der Waals heterostructure, yielding a photoluminescence quantum yield of 6%, as compared to ∼1% for as-exfoliated monolayer MoSe2. This unusual enhancement is ac...

Entropic Phase Separation in Polymer–Vitrimer Melts

Abstract Traditional plastics demand a choice between durability (thermosets) and reprocessability (thermoplastics). Vitrimers are a recent class of polymer network combining both of these qualities. Their increased cost of production can be offset by mixing them with a tradition...

Position-Dependent Hemodynamics of Popliteal Artery Stent Grafts: The POPFLEX Study

Background: Endovascular exclusion of popliteal artery aneurysms (PAAs) with long covered stent-grafts is valuable for patients unfit for open surgery but is undermined by late stent thrombosis, even in fully scaffolded segments without kinking, a failure best clarified by comput...

Motivational imbalance and sensitivity bias in violent extremist attitudes: the role of ideological passion

This study explores how motivational imbalance, conceptualized in alignment with the Dualistic Model of Passion, is associated with sensitivity bias in the expression of violent extremist attitudes. We hypothesized that individuals high in motivational imbalance would show positi...

Whole-blood transcriptomics identifies a distinct metabolic and inflammatory signature in lupus arthritis compared with rheumatoid arthritis

BACKGROUND: Lupus arthritis (LA) is a major determinant of clinical outcomes and treat-to-target strategies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), yet its molecular basis remains elusive. METHODS: Whole-blood RNA sequencing from 170 SLE [67 with active arthritis but quiescent dis...

Quantifying the direct and indirect costs of reproduction

The energetic costs of reproduction remain incompletely resolved, despite being fundamental to life history theory. Recent work has drawn attention to indirect costs of reproduction and suggested that they may be underestimated in energy budget models. However, a challenge in the...

Collaboratively Designing Curriculum-Aligned Bee-Bot Learning Resources: Insights from a Qualitative Case Study of a Professional Development Workshop for Primary Teachers

Although educational robotics is widely recognised as an effective approach to supporting curriculum-aligned learning in primary education, comparatively little attention has been paid to how teachers develop the learning resources needed for meaningful classroom activities. This...

Classroom Implementation of AI ‐Assisted Fraction Instruction for Students With Mild Autism

ABSTRACT Background Fractions challenge students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) because they require coordinating part‐whole reasoning, symbol‐magnitude mapping, and proportional thinking. Objective To examine pre‐post change and classroom feasibility during participation in...

Illness Coherence, Exercise Adherence, and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Chronic Spinal Pain: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Background/Objectives: Illness coherence has been associated with treatment engagement and adherence, but its relationship with exercise adherence and patient-reported outcomes in chronic spinal pain remains unclear. This study examined whether unsupervised exercise adherence med...

Building a Physics-Aware AI Ecosystem for Solid-State Hydrogen Storage Materials

Abstract Hydrogen storage remains a central bottleneck for scalable hydrogen energy systems due to the multiscale and coupled nature of the thermodynamics, kinetics, and microstructural evolution of hydrogen storage materials (HSMs). Although artificial intelligence (AI) has acce...

Widespread thermophilization but weak link to climate warming in Europe’s summit plant communities

Abstract Recent changes in alpine vegetation are often attributed to climate warming, particularly community composition shifts towards more warmth-associated species, or thermophilization. Here we assess the link between thermophilization and warming across 53 European mountain...

One algebra for all: geometric algebra methods for neurosymbolic XR scene authoring, animation and neural rendering

Abstract This position paper delves into the transformative role of geometric algebra (GA) in advancing specific areas of computer graphics (CG) and extended reality (XR), particularly in character animation, rendering, rigging, neural rendering and generative artificial intellig...