Syrian refugees in Greece: experience with violence, mental health status, and access to information during the journey and while in Greece.

BACKGROUND: Since 2015, Europe has been facing an unprecedented arrival of refugees and migrants: more than one million people entered via land and sea routes. During their travels, refugees and migrants often face harsh conditions, forced detention, and violence in transit countries. However, there is a lack of epidemiological quantitative evidence on their experiences and the mental health problems they face during their displacement. We aimed to document the types of violence experienced by migrants and refugees during their journey and while settled in Greece, and to measure the prevalence of anxiety disorders and access to legal information and procedures. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional population-based quantitative survey combined with an explanatory qualitative study in eight sites (representing the range of settlements) in Greece during winter 2016/17. The survey consisted of a structured questionnaire on experience of violence and an interviewer-administered anxiety disorder screening tool (Refugee Health Screener). RESULTS: In total, 1293 refugees were included, of whom 728 were Syrians (41.3% females) of median age 18 years (interquartile range 7-30). Depending on the site, between 31% and 77.5% reported having experienced at least one violent event in Syria, 24.8-57.5% during the journey to Greece, and 5-8% in their Greek settlement. Over 75% (up to 92%) of respondents ≥15 years screened positive for anxiety disorder, which warranted referral for mental health evaluation, which was only accepted by 69-82% of participants. Access to legal information and assistance about asylum procedures were considered poor to non-existent for the majority, and the uncertainty of their status exacerbated their anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: This survey, conducted during a mass refugee crisis in a European Community country, provides important data on experiences in different refugee settings and reports the high levels of violence experienced by Syrian refugees during their journeys, the high prevalence of anxiety disorders, and the shortcomings of the international protective response.

Marsquake Locations and 1-D Seismic Models for Mars From InSight Data.

We present inversions for the structure of Mars using the first Martian seismic record collected by the InSight lander. We identified and used arrival times of direct, multiples, and depth phases of body waves, for 17 marsquakes to constrain the quake locations and the one-dimensional average interior structure of Mars. We found the marsquake hypocenters to be shallower than 40 km depth, most of them being located in the Cerberus Fossae graben system, which could be a source of marsquakes. Our results show a significant velocity jump between the upper and the lower part of the crust, interpreted as the transition between intrusive and extrusive rocks. The lower crust makes up a significant fraction of the crust, with seismic velocities compatible with those of mafic to ultramafic rocks. Additional constraints on the crustal thickness from previous seismic analyses, combined with modeling relying on gravity and topography measurements, yield constraints on the present-day thermochemical state of Mars and on its long-term history. Our most constrained inversion results indicate a present-day surface heat flux of 22 ± 1 mW/m2, a relatively hot mantle (potential temperature: 1740 ± 90 K) and a thick lithosphere (540 ± 120 km), associated with a lithospheric thermal gradient of 1.9 ± 0.3 K/km. These results are compatible with recent seismic studies using a reduced data set and different inversion approaches, confirming that Mars' potential mantle temperature was initially relatively cold (1780 ± 50 K) compared to that of its present-day state, and that its crust contains 10-12 times more heat-producing elements than the primitive mantle.

The Interaction between Lockdown-Specific Conditions and Family-Specific Variables Explains the Presence of Child Insomnia during COVID-19: A Key Response to the Current Debate.

It is still debated whether lockdown conditions in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis seriously affected children's sleep. For young children, some studies identified more insomnia, while others only transient disturbances, or even no effect. Based on the premise of mother-child synchrony, a well-known dynamic established in child development research, we hypothesized that principally, the children whose mothers perceived the lockdown as stressful and/or responded maladaptively, suffered sleep disturbances. The main objective of this study was to identify the family profiles, variables, and lockdown responses most linked to insomnia in young children. The sample consisted of 165 mothers, French vs. Swiss origin (accounting for different lockdown severities), of children 6 months to 5 years old. Validated sleep, stress, and behavior scales were used. Multiple regression, age-matched clustering, and structural equation modeling analyses provided evidence that insomnia in young children is indeed strongly linked to the mother's reaction to the pandemic and lockdown. Specifically, reactions such as COVID-19 fear/anxiety and obsessive COVID-19 information seeking coincide with heightened vigilance, cascading into reduced child social contact, outings, and increased screen viewing, ultimately culminating in child insomnia and behavioral problems. Mother education level and child day care quality (e.g., home-schooling) were also identified as strong insomnia predictors.

Seismic detection of the martian core.

Clues to a planet's geologic history are contained in its interior structure, particularly its core. We detected reflections of seismic waves from the core-mantle boundary of Mars using InSight seismic data and inverted these together with geodetic data to constrain the radius of the liquid metal core to 1830 ± 40 kilometers. The large core implies a martian mantle mineralogically similar to the terrestrial upper mantle and transition zone but differing from Earth by not having a bridgmanite-dominated lower mantle. We inferred a mean core density of 5.7 to 6.3 grams per cubic centimeter, which requires a substantial complement of light elements dissolved in the iron-nickel core. The seismic core shadow as seen from InSight's location covers half the surface of Mars, including the majority of potentially active regions-e.g., Tharsis-possibly limiting the number of detectable marsquakes.

Repeated giant earthquakes on the Wairarapa fault, New Zealand, revealed by Lidar-based paleoseismology.

The Mw 7.8 2016 Kaikoura earthquake ruptured the Kekerengu-Needle fault resulting in the loading of its eastern continuation, the Wairarapa fault. Since the most recent earthquake on Wairarapa occurred in 1855 and is one of the strongest continental earthquakes ever observed, it is critical to assess the seismic potential of the Wairarapa fault, which might be prone to break. Using Lidar data, we examine its bare-earth morphology and reveal ~650 mostly undiscovered offset geomorphic markers. Using a code we developed in earlier work, we automatically measure the lateral and vertical offsets of these markers providing more than 7000 well constrained measurements. The data document the lateral and vertical slip profiles of the 1855 earthquake for the first time and show its total slip reached ~20 m at surface. Modeling the entire offset dataset reveals 7 prior earthquakes ruptured the entire fault, each similarly producing 16.9 ± 1.4 m dextral slip and ~0.6 m vertical slip at surface in the same central bend zone of the fault. Thus, the Wairarapa fault repeatedly produced giant earthquakes and is likely able to produce a similarly strong forthcoming event. The extreme large size of the Wairarapa earthquakes questions our understanding of earthquake physics.

A life in waiting: Refugees' mental health and narratives of social suffering after European Union border closures in March 2016.

RATIONALE: In 2015, an estimated 856,723 refugees, predominantly from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq arrived in Greece as an entry point into the European Union. The border of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia closed in March 2016, blocking a popular route for refugees through Europe, and left around 60,000 people stranded in Greece. OBJECTIVE: A mixed-method study was conducted among refugees in the regions of Attica, Epirus, and Samos between November 2016 and February 2017. The epidemiological survey showed that depending on study sites between 73% and 100% of the refugees suffered from anxiety disorder. The explanatory qualitative study aimed to understand refugees' mental health and narratives of social suffering in regards to experienced violence, the effect of current border closures, and the lack of an onward journey. METHOD: The explanatory qualitative study included 47 in-depth interviews and five focus group discussions with refugees purposely recruited through the concomitant epidemiological survey, representing both genders and a range of nationalities and ages. Data were thematically analysed to identify emergent patterns and categories using NVivo 11. RESULTS: The refugees overwhelmingly reported experiencing uncertainty and lack of control over their current life and future, which caused psychosocial distress and suffering. The passivity of life in refugee camps aggravated feelings of meaninglessness and powerlessness. The disruption of key social networks and absence of interactions with the surrounding Greek society led to feelings of isolation and being unwelcome. CONCLUSIONS: Refugees in Greece experience psychosocial distress and social suffering as a consequence of their uncertain and disrupted lives and the loss of social networks. Faster and transparent asylum procedures, the development of meaningful and empowering activities, and fostered social interactions with the surrounding society would contribute to alleviating their psychosocial suffering.