The geothermal occurrence of Kapistri, Ierapetra area, Crete

Η γεωθερμική εμφάνιση εντοπίζεται κοντά στο χωριό Καπίστρι, στην ευρύτερη περιοχή της πόλης της Ιεράπετρας στο νομό Λασηθίου της Κρήτης. Σε μερικές υδρογεωτρήσεις μετρήθηκαν θερμοκρασίες περί τους 25οC σε βάθος 100 – 150 μ. από την επιφάνεια. Η γεωθερμική βαθμίδα που υπολογίστηκε είναι διπλάσια της κανονικής.H Περιοχή καλύπτεται από πλακώδεις ασβεστολίθους της αυτόχθονης σειράς της Κρήτης πάνω στην οποία είναι επωθημένες μονάδες της φυλλιτικής – χαλαζιτικής σειράς και των ζωνών Πίνδου και Τριπόλεως. Εντός των ασβεστολίθων έχουν διεισδύσει μαγματικά πετρώματα (γρανιτοειδή) που έχουν προκαλέσει μεταμόρφωση επαφής και ρηγμάτωση κοντά στο Καπίστρι. Έντονη τεκτονική δραστηριότητα παρατηρείται στην ευρύτερη λεκάνη Ιεράπετρας με κύριες διευθύνσεις των ρηγμάτων Β – Ν, Α – Δ, ΒΔ – ΝΑ και ΒΑ – ΝΔ.Η αυξημένη γεωθερμική βαθμίδα, η έντονη ρηγμάτωση της περιοχής και η γεωχημική ένδειξη για την παρουσία νερού που κυκλoφορεί σε μεγάλο βάθος δείχνουν την πιθανή ανάπτυξη ενός βαθύτερου γεωθερμικού πεδίου.The geothermal occurence is located close to the Kapistri village, Ierapetra town, prefecture of Lassithi. In some water wells temperature of about 25oC in a depth of 100 - 150 m below surface, were measured. The calculated geothermal gradient is thus double in size compared to normal gradient.The geological environment is composed of platy limestones of the autochthonous series of Crete on which units of phyllite – quartzite series as well as Pindos and Tripoli zones are overthrusted. Granite intrusion occurs in the carbonates with distinct contact metamorphism, in the Kapistri area. Intense tectonic activity is observed in the wider area of the Ierapetra graben with main fault direction N – S, E –W, NW – SE, and NE – SW.The elevated geothermal gradient, the intense faulting of the area and the existence of deep circulated water indicates the development of a deeper geothermal field

Dose perturbation in the radiotherapy of breast cancer patients implanted with the Magna-Site: A Monte Carlo study

External beam radiation therapy (RT) is often offered to breast cancer patients after surgical mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction with silicone implants. In some cases, the RT is administered while the patient is still implanted with a temporary tissue expander including a high-density metallic port, which is expected to affect the planned dose distribution. This work uses Monte Carlo (MC) simulation in order to evaluate the aforementioned effect when the McGhan Style 133 Tissue Expander with the Magna-Site injection port is used. Simulations have been performed on a patient model built using the actual CT images of the patient for two irradiation schemes, involving two tangential photon beams of 6 MV and 18 MV respectively. MC results show that the presence of the Magna-Site within the two irradiation fields leads to an overall reduction of absorbed dose for points lying in the shadow of the metallic port (relative to each of the opposing beams). The relative reduction compared to dose results without the expander in place ranges from 7% to 13% for the 6 MV beam and is around 6% for the 18 MV photon beam. However, in the close vicinity of the metallic port, increased absorbed doses are observed, due to the increase of secondary electrons emerging from the metallic part of the insert

Unveiling the interaction profile of rosmarinic acid and its bioactive substructures with serum albumin

Rosmarinic acid, a phytochemical compound, bears diverse pharmaceutical profile. It is composed by two building blocks: caffeic acid and a salvianic acid unit. The interaction profile, responsible for the delivery of rosmarinic acid and its two substructure components by serum albumin remains unexplored. To unveil this, we established a novel low-cost and efficient method to produce salvianic acid from the parent compound. To probe the interaction profile of rosmarinic acid and its two substructure constituents with the different serum albumin binding sites we utilised fluorescence spectroscopy and competitive saturation transfer difference NMR experiments. These studies were complemented with transfer NOESY NMR experiments. The thermodynamics of the binding profile of rosmarinic acid and its substructures were addressed using isothermal titration calorimetry. In silico docking studies, driven by the experimental data, have been used to deliver further atomic details on the binding mode of rosmarinic acid and its structural components

Chemical Profiling, Bioactivity Evaluation and the Discovery of a Novel Biopigment Produced by <i>Penicillium purpurogenum</i> CBS 113139

Biobased pigments are environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic variants with an increased market demand. Production of pigments via fermentation is a promising process, yet optimization of the production yield and rate is crucial. Herein, we evaluated the potential of Penicillium purpurogenum to produce biobased pigments. Optimum sugar concentration was 30 g/L and optimum C:N ratio was 36:1 resulting in the production of 4.1–4.5 AU (namely Pigment Complex A). Supplementation with ammonium nitrate resulted in the production of 4.1–4.9 AU (namely Pigment Complex B). Pigments showed excellent pH stability. The major biopigments in Pigment Complex A were N-threonyl-rubropunctamin or the acid form of PP-R (red pigment), N-GABA-PP-V (violet pigment), PP-O (orange pigment) and monascorubrin. In Pigment Complex B, a novel biopigment annotated as N-GLA-PP-V was identified. Its basic structure contains a polyketide azaphilone with the same carboxyl-monascorubramine base structure as PP-V (violet pigment) and γ-carboxyglutamic acid (GLA). The pigments were not cytotoxic up to 250 μg/mL

Exploring the oxidation and iron binding profile of a cyclodextrin encapsulated quercetin complex unveiled a controlled complex dissociation through a chemical stimulus

Background: Flavonoids possess a rich polypharmacological profile and their biological role is linked to their oxidation state protecting DNA from oxidative stress damage. However, their bioavailability is hampered due to their poor aqueous solubility. This can be surpassed through encapsulation to supramolecular carriers as cyclodextrin (CD). A quercetin- 2HP-β-CD complex has been formerly reported by us. However, once the flavonoid is in its 2HP-β-CD encapsulated state its oxidation potential, its decomplexation mechanism, its potential to protect DNA damage from oxidative stress remained elusive. To unveil this, an array of biophysical techniques was used. Methods: The quercetin-2HP-β-CD complex was evaluated through solubility and dissolution experiments, electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies (Cyclic Voltammetry), UV–Vis spectroscopy, HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and HPLC-DAD, fluorescence spectroscopy, NMR Spectroscopy, theoretical calculations (density functional theory (DFT)) and biological evaluation of the protection offered against H2O2-induced DNA damage. Results: Encapsulation of quercetin inside the supramolecule's cavity enhanced its solubility and retained its oxidation profile. Although the protective ability of the quercetin-2HP-β-CD complex against H2O2was diminished, iron serves as a chemical stimulus to dissociate the complex and release quercetin. Conclusions: We found that in a quercetin-2HP-β-CD inclusion complex quercetin retains its oxidation profile similarly to its native state, while iron can operate as a chemical stimulus to release quercetin from its host cavity. General significance: The oxidation profile of a natural product once it is encapsulated in a supramolecular carrier was unveiled as also it was discovered that decomplexation can be triggered by a chemical stimilus