Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a pandemic since 2020, and depending on the SARS-CoV-2 mutation, different pandemic waves have been observed. The aim of this study was to compare the baseline characteristics of patients in two phases of the pandemic and evaluate possible predictors of mortality. Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter observational study that included patients with COVID-19 in 4 different centers in Greece. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the period during which they were infected during the Delta and Omicron variant predominance. Results: A total of 979 patients (433 Delta, 546 Omicron) were included in the study (median age 67 years (54, 81); 452 [46.2%] female). Compared to the Omicron period, the patients during the Delta period were younger (median age [IQR] 65 [51, 77] vs. 70 [55, 83] years, p < 0.001) and required a longer duration of hospitalization (8 [6, 13] vs. 7 [5, 12] days, p = 0.001), had higher procalcitonin levels (ng/mL): 0.08 [0.05, 0.17] vs. 0.06 [0.02, 0.16], p = 0.005, ferritin levels (ng/mL): 301 [159, 644] vs. 239 [128, 473], p = 0.002, C- reactive protein levels (mg/L): 40.4 [16.7, 98.5] vs. 31.8 [11.9, 81.7], p = 0.003, and lactate dehydrogenase levels (U/L): 277 [221, 375] vs. 255 [205, 329], p < 0.001. The Charlson Comorbidity Index was lower (3 [0, 5] vs. 4 [1, 6], p < 0.001), and the extent of disease on computed tomography (CT) was greater during the Delta wave (p < 0.001). No evidence of a difference in risk of death or admission to the intensive care unit was found between the two groups. Age, cardiovascular events, acute kidney injury during hospitalization, extent of disease on chest CT, D-dimer, and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio values were identified as independent predictors of mortality for patients in the Delta period. Cardiovascular events and acute liver injury during hospitalization and the PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio on admission were identified as independent predictors of mortality for patients in the Omicron period. Conclusions: In the Omicron wave, patients were older with a higher number of comorbidities, but patients with the Delta variant had more severe disease and a longer duration of hospitalization.

The use of energy is one of the most important anthropogenic environmental issues of our century, as from its production, disposal and use there are many negative effects on the biotic and abiotic elements of the ecosphere. Reducing the environmental impact of the use of matter and energy is a key educational issue. Students are the future adult citizens, who will make decisions for themselves and their fellow human beings. For these key reasons, Primary Education plays an important role in raising environmental awareness and shaping the behaviours of critical children, who need to be oriented towards a sustainable future through their energy literacy, in the context of sustainability education. The purpose of this study is to capture and highlight the basic knowledge, perceptions and daily practical functions of children in the use of direct-visible or otherwise functional energy, which is perceived in children relatively easily, directly and quickly and then their correlation of the findings on the effectiveness of children's taught energy literacy in their school education. The sample of the study consisted of 132 students of 5th grade of 3 Primary Schools in the city of Rhodes. The data collection was done using a structured and anonymous questionnaire and the questions were mainly closed type. Issues of anonymity and ethics were observed. Data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS 25. The results of the study reveal lack of knowledge and misunderstandings in matters of forms and sources of energy, in the view of oil by several children wrongly as a Renewable Energy Source, in the knowledge of the unit of measurement of electricity, in the type of main energy sources in Greece and Solar energy as a form applied in Greece, a country with more than 300 days of sunshine per year. The concepts of energy efficiency and climate change also indicate the need for retraining, while carbon dioxide emissions are wrongly linked to the use of solar energy. Regarding the individual practices of energy austerity, saving and rational use of energy, they seem to be at a fairly satisfactory level compared to knowledge. In particular, children state that they reduce electricity as they turn off most electrical appliances after use, they turn off the lights in places they do not use while the use of energy-saving lamps seems to prevail. In cases where heating is needed due to cold weather, children state that they prefer to wear more clothes than to increase the heating degrees of the thermostat, while, when ventilating the premises, they turn off the heating (or cooling) sources, contributing significantly to the energy and environmental economy. Undoubtedly, there is still, albeit to a limited extent, the possibility of further improving them for a small number of students. The results briefly show significant misunderstandings in matters of knowledge and deficient energy behaviour regarding the use and reduction of energy by a small number of children. The need arises for the retraining of children in an active experiential way through well-designed Education and Sustainability Education programs, as the development of ecological awareness is an important educational goal for the formation of energetically literate students.

Introduction: Flexible bronchoscopy and its new methods have revolutionized the era of the diagnosis, staging, and restaging of lung cancer. A rare late complication is post-bronchoscopy respiratory infection, but it is critical due to treatment delays, treatment cancellation, and death. The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for respiratory tract infection after bronchoscopy in patients with lung cancer. Methods: A retrospective single-center observational study of 182 hospitalized patients was conducted at U.G.H. “ATTIKON” who underwent bronchoscopy for diagnosis/staging/restaging of lung cancer from January 2022 to April 2023. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether or not they developed post-bronchoscopy respiratory infection. Results: Analyzing the data between the groups, several potential risk factors for infection were identified, including recent hospitalization for COVID-19 within the last month (OR: 6.16; p = 0.01), history of COPD (OR: 8; p = 0.03), presence of emphysema on CT scan (OR: 8; p = 0.03), endobronchial lesions causing ≥ 50% bronchial obstruction with inability to advance the bronchoscope (OR: 9.6; p < 0.01), increased white blood cell count (≥8.5 K/μL) before bronchoscopy (OR: 8; p = 0.03), and advanced stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer (OR: 9.67; p = 0.02). Conclusions: Comparing our results with previous studies on risk factors for respiratory infections after bronchoscopy, we found that recent hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 infection was a unique finding in our study. With the increasing incidence of lung cancer worldwide and the critical role of bronchoscopy in diagnosis/staging/restaging, large multicenter studies are needed to identify these risk factors and develop strategies for early detection, treatment, and prevention.