University of Crete

About: University of Crete is a education organization based out in Rethymno, Greece. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 8681 authors who have published 21684 publications receiving 709078 citations. The organization is also known as: Panepistimio Kritis.

Image Completion Using Efficient Belief Propagation Via Priority Scheduling and Dynamic Pruning

Abstract: In this paper, a new exemplar-based framework is presented, which treats image completion, texture synthesis, and image inpainting in a unified manner. In order to be able to avoid the occurrence of visually inconsistent results, we pose all of the above image-editing tasks in the form of a discrete global optimization problem. The objective function of this problem is always well-defined, and corresponds to the energy of a discrete Markov random field (MRF). For efficiently optimizing this MRF, a novel optimization scheme, called priority belief propagation (BP), is then proposed, which carries two very important extensions over the standard BP algorithm: ldquopriority-based message schedulingrdquo and ldquodynamic label pruning.rdquo These two extensions work in cooperation to deal with the intolerable computational cost of BP, which is caused by the huge number of labels associated with our MRF. Moreover, both of our extensions are generic, since they do not rely on the use of domain-specific prior knowledge. They can, therefore, be applied to any MRF, i.e., to a very wide class of problems in image processing and computer vision, thus managing to resolve what is currently considered as one major limitation of the BP algorithm: its inefficiency in handling MRFs with very large discrete state spaces. Experimental results on a wide variety of input images are presented, which demonstrate the effectiveness of our image-completion framework for tasks such as object removal, texture synthesis, text removal, and image inpainting.

Cutaneous melanoma: From pathogenesis to therapy (Review)

Abstract: In less than 10 years, melanoma treatment has been revolutionized with the approval of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors, which have been shown to have a significant impact on the prognosis of patients with melanoma. The early steps of this transformation have taken place in research laboratories. The mitogen‑activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, phosphoinositol‑3‑kinase (PI3K) pathway promote the development of melanoma through numerous genomic alterations on different components of these pathways. Moreover, melanoma cells deeply interact with the tumor microenvironment and the immune system. This knowledge has led to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and treatment strategies. In this review, the epidemiological features of cutaneous melanoma along with the biological mechanisms involved in its development and progression are summarized. The current state‑of‑the‑art of advanced stage melanoma treatment strategies and the currently available evidence of the use of predictive and prognostic biomarkers are also discussed.

Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility as a means for insect pest population control

Abstract: Biological control is the purposeful introduction of parasites, predators, and pathogens to reduce or suppress pest populations. Wolbachia are inherited bacteria of arthropods that have recently attracted attention for their potential as new biocontrol agents. Wolbachia manipulate host reproduction by using several strategies, one of which is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) [Stouthamer, R., Breeuwer, J. A. J. & Hurst, G. D. D. (1999) Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 53, 71–102]. We established Wolbachia-infected lines of the medfly Ceratitis capitata using the infected cherry fruit fly Rhagoletis cerasi as donor. Wolbachia induced complete CI in the novel host. Laboratory cage populations were completely suppressed by single releases of infected males, suggesting that Wolbachia-induced CI could be used as a novel environmentally friendly tool for the control of medfly populations. The results also encourage the introduction of Wolbachia into pest and vector species of economic and hygenic relevance to suppress or modify natural populations.

General overview: European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) - integrating aerosol research from nano to global scales

Abstract: In this paper we describe and summarize the main achievements of the European Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions project (EUCAARI). EUCAARI started on 1 January 2007 and ended on 31 December 2010 leaving a rich legacy including: (a) a comprehensive database with a year of observations of the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles over Europe, (b) comprehensive aerosol measurements in four developing countries, (c) a database of airborne measurements of aerosols and clouds over Europe during May 2008, (d) comprehensive modeling tools to study aerosol processes fron nano to global scale and their effects on climate and air quality. In addition a new Pan-European aerosol emissions inventory was developed and evaluated, a new cluster spectrometer was built and tested in the field and several new aerosol parameterizations and computations modules for chemical transport and global climate models were developed and evaluated. These achievements and related studies have substantially improved our understanding and reduced the uncertainties of aerosol radiative forcing and air quality-climate interactions. The EUCAARI results can be utilized in European and global environmental policy to assess the aerosol impacts and the corresponding abatement strategies.