Tsunami hazard assessment in the Ionian Sea due to potential tsunamogenic sources – results from numerical simulations

In spite of the fact that the great majority of seismic tsunami is generated in ocean domains, smaller basins like the Ionian Sea sometimes experience this phenomenon. In this investigation, we study the tsunami hazard associated with the Ionian Sea fault system. <br><br> A scenario-based method is used to provide an estimation of the tsunami hazard in this region for the first time. Realistic faulting parameters related to four probable seismic sources, with tsunami potential, are used to model expected coseismic deformation, which is translated directly to the water surface and used as an initial condition for the tsunami propagation. <br><br> We calculate tsunami propagation snapshots and mareograms for the four seismic sources in order to estimate the expected values of tsunami maximum amplitudes and arrival times at eleven tourist resorts along the Ionian shorelines. <br><br> The results indicate that, from the four examined sources, only one possesses a seismic threat causing wave amplitudes up to 4 m at some tourist resorts along the Ionian shoreline

Quality Assurance Unit of Kavala Institute of Technology (MODIP)

There are three levels of institutionalized education in Greece: primary, secondary and tertiary education. Higher education is divided in accordance with the Bologna Declaration in three cycles. The three cycles are the bachelor, the MSc and PhD qualifications. In Greece, higher education is offered by the Universities and Institutes of Technology. Higher education is very essential for active participation in the knowledge societies which in turn accelerates economic growth. Quality education is a prerequisite to gain access to knowledge which guarantees economic development. This makes the condition of higher education in Greece a very critical issue. The Quality Insurance Unit of the Kavala Institute of Technology (MODIP) was created for the improvement of education. The purpose of this paper is to present MODIP and its integrated information system and services provided through it, both for students and faculty through the prism of higher education. Its innovation lies in the fact that for the first time ever in higher education in Greece, an information system that will gather all this information is implemented

Sedimentary mechanisms of a modern banded iron formation on Milos Island, Greece

An Early Quaternary shallow submarine hydrothermal iron formation (IF) in the Cape Vani sedimentary basin (CVSB) on Milos Island, Greece, displays banded rhythmicity similar to Precambrian banded iron formation (BIF). Sedimentary, stratigraphic reconstruction, biogeochemical analysis and micro-nanoscale mineralogical characterization confirms the Milos rocks as modern Precambrian BIF analogues. Spatial coverage of the BIF-type rocks in relation to the economic grade Mn ore that brought prominence to the CVSB implicates tectonic activity and changing redox in the deposition of the BIF-type rocks. Field-wide stratigraphic and biogeochemical reconstruction demonstrates two temporal and spatially isolated iron deposits in the CVSB with distinct sedimentological character. Petrographic screening suggest the previously described photoferrotrophic-like microfossil-rich IF (MFIF), accumulated on basement andesite in a ~ 150 m wide basin, in the SW margin of the basin. A strongly banded non-fossiliferous IF (NFIF) caps the Mn-rich sandstones at the transition to the renowned Mn-rich formation. Geochemical evidence relates the origin of the NFIF to periodic submarine volcanism and water column oxidation of released Fe(II) in conditions apparently predominated by anoxia, similar to the MFIF. This is manifested in the lack of shale-normalized Ce anomalies. Raman spectroscopy pairs hematite-rich grains in the NFIF with relics of a carbonaceous material carrying an average δ13Corg signature of ~ −25 ‰. However, a similar δ13Corg signature in the MFIF is not directly coupled to hematite by mineralogy. The NFIF, which post dates large-scale Mn deposition in the CVSB, is composed primarily of amorphous Si (opal-SiO2 · nH2O) while crystalline quartz (SiO2) predominates the MFIF. An intricate interaction between tectonic processes, changing redox, biological activity and abiotic Si precipitation, formed the unmetamorphosed BIF-type deposits

On 3D Reconstruction of Porous Media by Using Spatial Correlation Functions

The challenging process of 3D porous media reconstruction from a single 2D image is investigated in this paper. The reconstruction of the 3D model is based on the statistical information derived from a 2D thin image of the material, by applying a spatial correlation function. For the first time, this paper reviews the commonly used auto-correlation functions for material characterization and discusses their properties making them useful for 3D porous media reconstruction. A set of experiments is conducted in order to analyze the reconstruction capabilities of the studied correlation functions, while some useful conclusions are drawn. Finally, by taking into account the reconstruction performance of the existed correlation functions, some desirable properties that need to be satisfied by an ideal correlation function towards the improvement of the reconstruction accuracy are determined

Stereotactic or conformal radiotherapy for adrenal metastases: patient characteristics and outcomes in a multicenter analysis

To report outcome (freedom from local progression: FFLP, overall survival: OS, and toxicity) after stereotactic, palliative, or highly conformal fractionated (> 12) radiotherapy (SBRT, Pall-RT, 3DCRT/IMRT) for adrenal metastases in a retrospective multicenter cohort within the framework of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO). Adrenal metastases treated with SBRT (≤ 12 fractions, biologically effective dose, (BED10) ≥ 50 Gy), 3DCRT/IMRT (> 12 fractions, BED10 ≥ 50 Gy) or Pall-RT (BED10 < 50 Gy) were eligible for this analysis. In addition to unadjusted FFLP (Kaplan-Meier/Log-rank), we calculated the competing-risk-adjusted local recurrence rate (CRA-LRR). 326 patients with 366 metastases were included by 21 centers (median follow-up: 11.7 months). Treatment was SBRT, 3DCRT/IMRT, and Pall-RT in 260, 27, and 79 cases, respectively. Most frequent primary tumors were non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC; 52.5%), SCLC (16.3%), and melanoma (6.7%). Unadjusted FFLP was higher after SBRT v. Pall-RT (p = 0.026) while numerical differences in CRA-LRR between groups did not reach statistical significance (1-year CRA-LRR: 13.8%, 17.4%, and 27.7%). OS was longer after SBRT v. other groups (p < 0.05) and increased in patients with locally-controlled metastases in a landmark analysis (p < 0.0001). Toxicity was mostly mild; notably, 4 cases of adrenal insufficiency occurred, 2 of which were likely caused by immunotherapy or tumor progression. RT for adrenal metastases was associated with a mild toxicity profile in all groups and a favorable 1-year CRA-LRR after SBRT or 3DCRT/IMRT. 1-year FFLP was associated with longer OS. Dose-response analyses for the dataset are underway

Interobserver agreement on definition of the target volume in stereotactic radiotherapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma using different imaging modalities

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate interobserver agreement (IOA) on target volume definition for pancreatic cancer (PACA) within the Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Radiotherapy Working Group of the German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO) and to identify the influence of imaging modalities on the definition of the target volumes. METHODS Two cases of locally advanced PACA and one local recurrence were selected from a large SBRT database. Delineation was based on either a planning 4D CT with or without (w/wo) IV contrast, w/wo PET/CT, and w/wo diagnostic MRI. Novel compared to other studies, a combination of four metrics was used to integrate several aspects of target volume segmentation: the Dice coefficient (DSC), the Hausdorff distance (HD), the probabilistic distance (PBD), and the volumetric similarity (VS). RESULTS For all three GTVs, the median DSC was 0.75 (range 0.17-0.95), the median HD 15 (range 3.22-67.11) mm, the median PBD 0.33 (range 0.06-4.86), and the median VS was 0.88 (range 0.31-1). For ITVs and PTVs the results were similar. When comparing the imaging modalities for delineation, the best agreement for the GTV was achieved using PET/CT, and for the ITV and PTV using 4D PET/CT, in treatment position with abdominal compression. CONCLUSION Overall, there was good GTV agreement (DSC). Combined metrics appeared to allow a more valid detection of interobserver variation. For SBRT, either 4D PET/CT or 3D PET/CT in treatment position with abdominal compression leads to better agreement and should be considered as a very useful imaging modality for the definition of treatment volumes in pancreatic SBRT. Contouring does not appear to be the weakest link in the treatment planning chain of SBRT for PACA

The Evolving Role of Radiation Therapy in the Treatment of Biliary Tract Cancer

Biliary tract cancers (BTC) are a disease entity comprising diverse epithelial tumors, which are categorized according to their anatomical location as intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar (pCCA), distal (dCCA) cholangiocarcinomas, and gallbladder carcinomas (GBC), with distinct epidemiology, biology, and prognosis. Complete surgical resection is the mainstay in operable BTC as it is the only potentially curative treatment option. Nevertheless, even after curative (R0) resection, the 5-year survival rate ranges between 20 and 40% and the disease free survival rates (DFS) is approximately 48–65% after one year and 23–35% after three years without adjuvant treatment. Improvements in adjuvant chemotherapy have improved the DFS, but the role of adjuvant radiotherapy is unclear. On the other hand, more than 50% of the patients present with unresectable disease at the time of diagnosis, which limits the prognosis to a few months without treatment. Herein, we review the role of radiotherapy in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma in the curative and palliative setting