AN UNUSUAL TOURMALINE COMPOSITION FROM SITHONIA PENINSULA (NORTHERN GREECE)

Η ποικιλία και το εύρος των υποκαταστάσεων που παρουσιάζονται στην ομάδα του τουρμαλίνη, κυρίως στις θέσεις Ζ, Υ και Χ, καθιστά δυνατό τον προσδιορισμό ενός σημαντικού αριθμού πραγματικών και υποθετικών ακραίων μελών. Βέβαια σε μερικές περιπτώσεις αυτό δεν είναι τόσο εύκολο. Ωστόσο, ο προσδιορισμός της % χημικής σύστασης του βοηθά στον καθορισμό παραμέτρων που σχετίζονται με το περιβάλλον γέννεσής του. Σε αυτή την εργασία παρατίθεται η μεθοδολογία που ακολουθήθηκε για τον προσδιορισμό των συστατικών μιας σύνθετης μορφής τουρμαλίνη που απαντά στη χερσόνησο της Σιθωνίας. Ο τουρμαλίνης αυτός, που έχει υπιδιόμορφο ή πιο συχνά αλλοτριόμορφο σχήμα, εντοπίστηκε να γεμίζει με πλήθος μικρών κρυστάλλων του παράλληλες μικρο-διακλάσεις στον χαλαζιακό πυρήνα πηγματιτικής φλέβας. Η σύσταση του οδηγεί στο συμπέρασμα ότι πρόκειται μάλλον για μέλος ασυνήθους στερεού διαλύματος. Χαρακτηρίζεται από σημαντικό έλλειμμα ΑΙ ( ΑΙ Fe και Να που υπερτερεί στη θέση Χ. Με βάση τη σύσταση και το χημισμό του κρυστάλλου, θεωρείται ότι το Mg και ο Fe σχετίζονται με μέλος της σειράς ουβίτη - φερουβίτη, ενώ ένα σημαντικό μέρος του ολικού σιδήρου σε τρισθενή μορφή δίνει ένα ποβονδραϊτικό συστατικό, σύμφωνα επίσης και με το Να στην θέση Χ. Αυτά τα δεδομένα, σε συνδυασμό με το θεωρητικό υπολογισμό του αθροίσματος των δεσμών σθένους που επιτρέπει τον προσδιορισμό της παρουσίας ανιόντων OH στη θέση W, μας ενισχύει την άποψη ότι ο τουρμαλίνης της Σιθωνίας ανήκει σε νέα ποικιλία με ονομασία νατρούχος ποβονδραϊτικός υδροξυλ- ουβίτης-φερουβίτης. Με βάση τη σύσταση, τη δομή και τις τάσεις ζώνωσης που παρουσιάζουν τα κύρια στοιχεία των θέσεων Υ και Χ, αυτός ο τουρμαλίνης μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ως μετα-μαγματικής γένεσης, πιθανά με τη συνδρομή υδροθερμικών ρευστών.The variety and wideness of substitutions shown by tourmaline group, mainly in the Ζ, Y and X sites, make possible a high number of real and hypothetical endmembers. However in some cases it is not so obvious to determine to what endmembers to refer to, but the wide stability field of tourmaline and its occurrence in different geological environments make useful to define the composition as percentages of end-members to trace back to its genesis. In this paper the followed procedure to identify the components of a complex tourmaline is given. During a study on the granitoid intrusions outcropping on Sithonia, Chalkidiki Peninsula (Northern Greece), a swarm of very small crystals of tourmaline, subhedral or more often allotriomorphic, has been found as stuffing of subparallel micro fractures in the quartz core of a pegmatite dike. Their composition, analysed by EMPA, turns out to be rather unusual and not satisfactorily referable to so far proposed solid solutions. It is characterized by remarkable Al deficiency (ZAl Fe and Να dominating X site. On the basis of compositional and crystal-chemical evidences, supported by previous literature, it was hypothesized that Mg and Fe have to be referred to an uvite — feruvite component, while the considerable part of total iron in its trivalent oxidation state yields a povondraitic component according also with Na in X site. These data, coupled with a theoretical evaluation of bond valence sum (B VS) that allowed inferring the presence of OFT anions in the W site, make reasonable to consider Sithonia tourmaline as the new variety sodian povondraitic hydroxil uviteferuvite. On the basis of its composition, of its fabric and of the oscillatory trends shown by the main elements of Y and X sites, this tourmaline may be considered post magmatic likely of hydrothermal genesis

Refill at home for fast-moving consumer goods: uncovering compliant and divergent consumer behaviour

Context and problem Consumers of fast-moving consumer goods have become accustomed to a culture of convenience and disposability, cultivating practices that are at odds with recycling, reusing, and reducing. Through the concept of refill, the fast-moving consumer goods industry is moving beyond the disposability and recyclability of packaging and products to consider longer term, more durable reuse solutions. If practised as intended, reuse has the capacity to lower the intensity of materials used compared to disposal or recycling. However, research on actual reuse behaviour is sparse, and new work is necessary to explore how consumers handle material resources in reuse offerings. Method In-depth interviews with 26 consumers were conducted where the behaviour chain method was used to elicit and map resource journeys for 48 refill at home cases. Results Consumers of refill at home offerings were found to display both compliant behaviour and a range of divergent resource handling behaviours, which either increased or decreased the impact of reuse. The behaviours were structured in a framework consisting of six reuse resource handling behaviour types and 17 sub-types, which operate alone or in combination. Whilst consumers displayed many instances of compliant behaviour, overall divergent behaviours were more common, like using multiple reusable products for the same purpose or using single-use products in parallel. Interestingly, consumers of refill at home offerings with a service engaged in compliant behaviour in the majority of the instances. Consumers were found to employ divergent behaviours even at the end of life, often recycling non-recyclable reusable components and occasionally disposing of recyclables in residual waste. Conclusions The resulting framework of resource handling behaviours provides a more nuanced understanding of reuse in practice than previously offered. The behaviour chain method was found to have the structural and analytical rigour to dissect difficult-to-predict and complex journeys

Question asking in design reviews: how does inquiry facilitate the learning interaction?

Design reviews are common educational practice in design disciplines, where students meet with instructors and other stakeholders to discuss the progress of a project they are engaged in. Such reviews are tightly coupled with project-based learning approaches in the design studio. A number of research studies have looked into various characteristics of instructor-student interactions during design reviews. In this study, we investigated the question-asking behavior of instructors, students and clients. We paid particular attention to high-level questions that relate to causal and generative reasoning. We analyzed 22 reviews involving six undergraduate industrial designers, who undertook design projects individually. We observed that the instructors and clients were not effective in modeling question asking behavior for the students during the reviews. We also observed that the structure of the reviews did not facilitate the desired behavior either. Consequently, we present a theoretical framework that proposes a more explicit structure for design reviews, deliberately addressing particular aspects of the design process. Ultimately, we suggest that instructors should be inquisitive about the students’ design approach, and that the students should take responsibility for reflectively articulating their design thinking and actions during design reviews

Characterisation and environmental value proposition of reuse models for fast-moving consumer goods: reusable packaging and products

Problem: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) are products that are purchased and consumed frequently to satisfy continuous consumer demand. In a linear economy, FMCGs are typically offered as single-use and disposable products. Limitations in product design, insufficient collection systems, and inefficient recovery processes prevent high recycling rates. As a result, FMCGs often end up in landfill or the environment, contributing to waste accumulation, and pollution. Whilst recycling is the most common waste prevention strategy practiced by the industry, the process is limited to addressing only the final stage of the product life cycle, omitting the overproduction and consumption of materials typical of FMCGs. Instead, reuse is a strategy that is capable of extending the value of resources by slowing material flows. Novel reuse models that require the consumer to interact with durable primary packaging and products are emerging in the FMCG industry. However, the constituent elements and operation principles of such reuse models are not fully understood. The aim of this research is to develop a comprehensive characterisation of reuse models and to evaluate their potential to deliver environmental value. Method: Ninety-two reuse offerings were selected and analysed to identify their reuse system elements. The analysis led to the identification of a framework including five reuse models, which were also evaluated to establish their capability to deliver environmental value when compared to conventional single-use and disposable FMCGs. Results: Currently in the FMCG sector, reusable products are mostly durable packaging, such as bottles and containers for beverages, foods, personal and home care goods, and are infrequently durable products, such as personal and baby care goods, including razors and nappies. Three reuse models involve exclusive reuse, a behaviour by which a reusable product is used and kept by a single user throughout the product lifetime. In exclusive reuse models, users are provided with either a reusable product (model 1), a reusable product with preparation for reuse infrastructure (model 2), or access to preparation for reuse infrastructure (model 3). Two reuse models involve sequential reuse, a behaviour by which a reusable product is used by multiple users throughout the product lifetime and returned after each use to a provider. In sequential reuse models, users are provided with either a reusable product with preparation for reuse infrastructure and provider-operated recovery services (model 4), or a reusable product and provider-operated services for recovery and preparation for reuse (model 5). Whilst the five reuse models can operate standalone, some offerings were found to embed a multi-model approach. Both exclusive and sequential reuse models are capable of delivering environmental value by reducing the use of natural resources and retaining their value in the economy. In particular, sequential reuse models were found to have a greater capability to increase the share of recyclable resources by offering access to infrastructure for the closure of material loops. Conclusions: Consumers can currently access five reuse models and choose between exclusive and sequential reuse behaviours. When adopted in conjunction with recycling, reuse models can enable a more efficient consumption of FMCGs. Providing the infrastructure necessary to enable reuse and recycling is key to the successful and sustainable deployment of the reuse models

MicroRNA-128-3p-mediated depletion of Drosha promotes lung cancer cell migration

Alteration in microRNAs (miRNAs) expression is a frequent finding in human cancers. In particular, widespread miRNAs down-regulation is a hallmark of malignant transformation. In the present report, we showed that the miR-128-3p, which is up-regulated in lung cancer tissues, has Drosha and Dicer, two key enzymes of miRNAs processing, as the main modulation targets leading to the widespread down-regulation of miRNA expression. We observed that the miRNAs downregulation induced by miR-128-3p contributed to the tumorigenic properties of lung cancer cells. In particular, miR- 128-3p-mediated miRNAs down-regulation contributed to aberrant SNAIL and ZEB1 expression thereby promoting the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. Drosha also resulted to be implicated in the control of migratory phenotype as its expression counteracted miR-128-3p functional effects. Our study provides mechanistic insights into the function of miR-128-3p as a key regulator of the malignant phenotype of lung cancer cells. This also enforces the remarkable impact of Drosha and Dicer alteration in cancer, and in particular it highlights a role for Drosha in non-smallcell lung cancer cells migration

Recombinant AAV-mediated HSVtk gene transfer with direct intratumoral injections and Tet-On regulation for implanted human breast cancer

BACKGROUND: HSVtk/ganciclovir (GCV) gene therapy has been extensively studied in tumors and relies largely on the gene expression of HSVtk. Most studies, however, have failed to demonstrate any significant benefit of a controlled gene expression strategy in cancer treatment. The Tet-On system is commonly used to regulate gene expression following Dox induction. We have evaluated the antitumor effect of HSVtk/ganciclovir gene therapy under Tet-On regulation by means of adeno-associated virus-2 (AAV-2)-mediated HSVtk gene transfer with direct intratumoral injections in mice bearing breast cancer tumors. METHODS: Recombinant adeno-associated virus-2 (rAAV) was constructed and transduced into MCF-7 cell line. GCV treatment to the rAAV infected MCF-7 cells was performed by MTT assay under the doxycycline (Dox) induction or without Dox induction at a vp (viral particle) number of ≥10(4 )/cell. The virus was administered intratumorally to nude mice that had also received GCV intraperitoneally. The antitumor effects were evaluated by measuring tumor regression and histological analysis. RESULTS: We have demonstrated that GCV treatment to the infected MCF-7 cells under the Dox induction was of more inhibited effects than those without Dox induction at ≥10(4 )vp/cell. In ex vivo experiments, tumor growth of BALB/C nude mice breast cancer was retarded after rAAV-2/HSVtk/Tet-On was injected into the tumors under the Dox induction. Infiltrating cells were also observed in tumors after Dox induction followed by GCV treatment and cells were profoundly damaged. The expression of HSVtk gene in MCF-7 cells and BALB/C nude mice tumors was up-regulated by Tet-On under Dox induction with reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) analysis. CONCLUSION: The antitumor effect of rAAV-mediated HSVtk/GCV gene therapy under the Dox induction with direct intratumoral injections may be a useful treatment for breast cancer and other solid tumors

COVID-eVax, an electroporated DNA vaccine candidate encoding the SARS-CoV-2 RBD, elicits protective responses in animal models

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has made the development of safe and effective vaccines a critical priority. To date, four vaccines have been approved by European and American authorities for preventing COVID-19, but the development of additional vaccine platforms with improved supply and logistics profiles remains a pressing need. Here we report the preclinical evaluation of a novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on the electroporation of engineered, synthetic cDNA encoding a viral antigen in the skeletal muscle. We constructed a set of prototype DNA vaccines expressing various forms of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and assessed their immunogenicity in animal models. Among them, COVID-eVax—a DNA plasmid encoding a secreted monomeric form of SARS-CoV-2 S protein receptor-binding domain (RBD)—induced the most potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody responses (including against the current most common variants of concern) and a robust T cell response. Upon challenge with SARS-CoV-2, immunized K18-hACE2 transgenic mice showed reduced weight loss, improved pulmonary function, and lower viral replication in the lungs and brain. COVID-eVax conferred significant protection to ferrets upon SARS-CoV-2 challenge. In summary, this study identifies COVID-eVax as an ideal COVID-19 vaccine candidate suitable for clinical development. Accordingly, a combined phase I-II trial has recently started

Personalized peptide-based vaccination for treatment of colorectal cancer: rational and progress

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers globally and is associated with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. A large proportion of patients with early stage CRC who undergo conventional treatments develop local recurrence or distant metastasis and in this group of advanced disease, the survival rate is low. Furthermore there is often a poor response and/or toxicity associated with chemotherapy and chemo-resistance may limit continuing conventional treatment alone. Choosing novel and targeted therapeutic approaches based on clinicopathological and molecular features of tumors in combination with conventional therapeutic approach could be used to eradicate residual micrometastasis and therefore improve patient prognosis and also be used preventively. Peptide-based vaccination therapy is one class of cancer treatment that could be used to induce tumor-specific immune responses, through the recognition of specific antigen-derived peptides in tumor cells, and this has emerged as a promising anti-cancer therapeutic strategy. The aim of this review was to summarize the main findings of recent studies in exciting field of peptide-based vaccination therapy in CRC patients as a novel therapeutic approach in treatment of CRC