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Abstract:The present study examines the factors that define groundwater quality of a site subjected to the wildfire of 2007 in Ilia Prefecture, Peloponnese. This wildfire was the most severe in Greece in the last decade. An extensive sampling was carried out three months after the fire. Ninety-nine samples were analyzed in the Hydrogeology Laboratory of University of Patras for major and trace elements. The groundwater samples were classified into three hydrochemical types: Ca-HCO 3 , Ca-HCO 3 -SO 4 and Ca-Na-HCO 3 . The hydrochemical results, processed using R-type factor analysis, resulted in a three-factor model that did not indicate any wildfire impact. The values of pH and electrical conductivity ranged between the expected levels for the area. The most abundant cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K) and trace elements (Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, V) in the ash, occurred in the majority of the groundwater samples at concentrations below the potable limits set by the European Council. The concentrations of NO 3 − , NO 2 − , NH 4 + , phosphates, and sulphates, where present, were attributed to agricultural land uses of the area. No hydrochemical disturbances were found that could indicate a fire-retardant effect. It is likely that the prominent thickness of the unsaturated zone, of the granular aquifers that prevail in the area, limited the infiltration of the elements and trace elements usually found in abundance in fire ash.

The Hellenic Heart Failure Association has undertaken the initiative to develop a national network of heart failure clinics (HFCs) and cardio‐oncology clinics (COCs). We conducted two questionnaire surveys among these clinics within 17 months and another during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak to assess adjustments of the developing network to the pandemic. Out of 68 HFCs comprising the network, 52 participated in the first survey and 55 in the second survey. The median number of patients assessed per week is 10. Changes in engaged personnel were encountered between the two surveys, along with increasing use of advanced echocardiographic techniques (23.1% in 2018 vs. 34.5% in 2020). Drawbacks were encountered, concerning magnetic resonance imaging and ergospirometry use (being available in 14.6% and 29% of HFCs, respectively), exercise rehabilitation programmes (applied only in 5.5%), and telemedicine applications (used in 16.4%). There are 13 COCs in the country with nine of them in the capital region; the median number of patients being assessed per week is 10. Platforms for virtual consultations and video calls are used in 38.5%. Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak affected provision of HFC services dramatically as only 18.5% continued to function regularly, imposing hurdles that need to be addressed, at least temporarily, possibly by alternative methods of follow‐up such as remote consultation. The function of COCs, in contrast, seemed to be much less affected during the pandemic (77% of them continued to follow up their patients). This staged, survey‐based procedure may serve as a blueprint to help building national HFC/COC networks and provides the means to address changes during healthcare crises.

Sr isotope ratios and Sr indicate that salt waters are very ancient and, given the structural features of this aquifer and the paleogeography of the region, they probably date back to the Flandrian transgression. New findings in a thermal area overlooking the Adriatic Sea suggest new scenarios for the role of Ca-Cl 2 brines, until now unknown.