LASER μ-RAMAN INVESTIGATION OF GREEK BAUXITES FROM THE PARNASSOS-GHIONA ACTIVE MINING AREA

Δείγματα βωξίτη τα οποία αποκτήθηκαν από εταιρείες που εμφανίζουν ενεργή μεταλλευτική δραστηριότητα στην περιοχή Παρνασσού-Γκιώνας χαρακτηρίσθηκαν αρχικά με τη χρήση συμβατικών μεθόδων (οπτικό μικροσκόπιο, περίθλαση ακτινών Χ) και στη συνέχεια μελετήθηκαν χρησιμοποιώντας, για πρώτη φορά στη διεθνή βιβλιογραφία, προηγμένες μή-καταστροφικές φασματοσκοπικές τεχνικές σε μικροκλίμακα (Laser μ-Raman). Τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσας μελέτης έδειξαν πως ο τύπος του βωξίτη (διασπορικός ή μπαιμιτικός) μπορεί εύκολα να προσδιοριστεί, ανεξάρτητα από το είδος του δείγματος (πορώδες ^κό-τεφρό ή και συμπαγές ερυθρό-φαιό), μέσω της καταγραφής του φάσματος του στην περιοχή χαμηλών ενεργειών (250 cm' - 600 cm'1) όπου και είναι ευδιάκριτες συγκεκριμένες Raman ταινίες των πολύμορφων του ΑΙΟΟΗ (448 cm' για το διάσπορο και 362 cm'1 για τον μπαιμίτη). Η παραπάνω μικρο-μέθοδος θα μπορούσε να εφαρμοσθεί για τον άμεσο προσδιορισμό των ορυκτολογικών φάσεων τόσο στο εργαστήριο όσο και επιτόπου στα μεταλλεία, έτσι ώστε να αποφευχθούν έμμεσες και χρονοβόρες ολικές τεχνικές οι οποίες χρησιμοποιούνται έως και σήμερα (όπως π.χ. η περίθλαση ακτινών Χ).Bauxite samples collected with permission from currently active mining areas in the Parnassos-Ghiona Mts district were studied using both conventional (optical microscopy and powder XRD) and, for the first time in the literature, micro-scale advanced non-destructive spectroscopic techniques, in particular Laser μ-Raman. The results showed that the different bauxite types (diasporic or boehmitic) can easily be identified regardless of sample type (porous white-grey or massive redbrown) by recording spectra in the low-wavenumber region (250 cm' - 600 cm' ) where distinct bands of the natural AlOOHpolymorphs are easily discernible (448 cm' for diaspore and 362 cm' for boehmite). The method described herein could equally be applied in the laboratory as well as in-situ at the mines for quick and accurate phase determination, in order to bypass the laborious and time-consuming indirect bulk techniques (such as XRD) routinely used to this date

Experimental study of the turbulent structure of the surface marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Aegean Pelagos under etesian winds

In order to study the physical processes of the turbulent transportation of mass and energy within the surface Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Aegean Pelagos, field measurements were conducted on the island of Skyros, mainly under the etesian winds, during summer 2011. Α meteorological mast was installed close to the shoreline, instrumented with fast anemometer (sonic) and hydrometer measuring the three components of the wind, the virtual temperature and water vapor at 10m height with a sampling frequency of 20Hz. At the same mast slow response sensors were measuring wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity at three levels (2, 6 and 10 m). Weak stable to near neutral flows were recorded during the experimental period. The eddy correlation analysis re-vealed the momentum and heat fluxes values which are presented and discussed. The estimated values are related both with stability and wind speed variations

Arachnoid cysts: the role of the BLADE technique

Background: This study aims at demonstrating the ability of BLADE sequences to reduce or even eliminate all the image artifacts as well as verifying the significance of using this technique in certain pathological conditions

PETROLOGY, GEOCHEMISTRY AND GEOTECTONIC SETTING OF THE TITAROS OPHIOLITE AND ASSOCIATED PELAGONIAN BASEMENT ROCKS IN THE AREA NW OF MT. OLYMPOS, GREECE

To οφιολιθικό σύμπλεγμα του όρους Τίταρος στην περιοχή ΒΔ του Ολύμπου βρίσκεται επωθημένο σε Περμο-Αιθανθρακοφόρους γρανιτικούς ορθογνεύσιους και άγνωστης ηλικίας αμφιβολίτες στο ανατολικό περιθώριο της Πελαγονικής μάζας. Αποτελείται από μανδυακό περιδοτίτη χαρτσβουργιτικής σύστασης με κατά τόπους εμφανίσεις χρωμίτη και ένα καλά ανεπτυγμένο μαγματικό θάλαμο με κυκλικές ενότητες σωρειτικών πετρωμάτων δουνίτη-λερζόλιθου-βερλίτη-πυροξενίτη που μεταβαίνουν σε συμπαγείς γάββρους με φωλιές πλαγιογρανιτών και διαβασικές φλέβες στα ανώτερα τμήματα τους. Χημικές αναλύσεις ορυκτών και ολικού πετρώματος φανερώνουν συνθήκες γένεσης του οφιόλιθου σε ένα καθαρά ωκεάνειο περιβάλλον επάνω από μία ζώνη κατάδυσης πλάκας και την περιστασιακή συμμετοχή τηγμάτων προερχόμενων από καταδυθέντα ιζήματα. Οι αμφιβολίτες του κρυσταλλικού υπόβαθρου δείχνουν σαφή χημική συγγένεια προς θολεϊίτες εσωτερικού πλάκας με μια ελαφρά επίδραση από ρευστά καταδυόμενης πλάκας. Εφελκυστικές γραμμώσεις ορυκτών και κινηματικοί δείκτες στους ορθογνεύσιους και αμφιβολίτες υποδηλώνουν φορά μετακίνησης του οφιόλιθου προς τα ΑΝΑ. Προτείνεται ότι οι βασαλτικοί πρωτόλιθοι των αμφιβολιτών τοποθετήθηκαν κατά τη διαμπερή ρήξη του Α. περιθωρίου της Πελαγονικής στο Περμο-Τριαδικό η οποία και κατέληξε στη μετέπειτα δημιουργία του ωκεανού του Βαρδάρη. Ο οφιόλιθος του Τίταρου σχηματίσθηκε όταν ο ωκεανός του Βαρδάρη άρχισε να κλείνει μέσω μιας διαδικασίας ενδο-ωκεάνειας κατάδυσης πλάκας με φορά προς τα ΒΑ και επακόλουθη τοποθέτηση του προς τα ΝΑ επάνω στο Α. περιθώριο της Πελαγονικής, πιθανόν κατά το Κατώτερο Κρητιδικό.The Titaros ophiolite in Greece is a coherent thrust sheet of oceanic rocL· that lies atop Permo-Carboniferous granitic orthogneisses and amphibolites of unknown age of the eastern Pelagonian margin in the area NW of Mt. Olympos. It comprises a harzburgite tectonite mantle sequence with chromite mineralisation and a welldeveloped magma chamber with cyclic units ofdunite-lherzolite-wehrlite-pyroxenite that pass upwards into massive gabbros cut by diabase dykes and locally containing plagiogranite ponds. Ophiolite mineral and whole-rock chemistry are strongly in favour of a supra-subduction zone origin in a purely oceanic setting with the occasional brawny signature of melts from subducted sediments. By contrast, the basement amphibolites display a clear within-plate tholeiitic affinity with a slight imprint of subduction-zone fluids. Mineral stretching lineations and kinematics indicators of the orthogneisses and amphibolites suggest a consistent transport direction to the WSW. It is proposed that the basaltic protoliths of the amphibolites were emplaced during Permo-Triassic rifting of the eastern Pelagonian margin that led to the subsequent formation of the Vardar Ocean. The Titaros ophiolite was formed during closure of the Vardar Ocean via northeast-directed intra-oceanic subduction and subsequent obduction towards the southwest onto the eastern Pelagonian margin, probably in the Lower Cretaceous

Boosting mobility performance with multi-path TCP

Proceeding of: Future Network & Mobile Summit 2010, 16 - 18 June 2010, Florence, ItalyFourth Generation mobile devices incorporate multiple interfaces with diverse access technologies. The current Mobile IP protocol fails to support the enhanced fault tolerance capabilities that are enabled by the availability of multiple interfaces. In particular, established Mobile IP communications cannot be preserved through outages affecting the Home Address. In this paper we describe an architecture for mobile host multihoming that enables transport layer survivability through multiple failure modes. The proposed approach relies on the cooperation between Mobile IP and Multi-Path TCP and aims to fully support multihoming and extend roaming capabilities of mobile devices.This research was supported by Trilogy (http://www.trilogy-project.org), a research project (ICT-216372) partially funded by the European Community under its Seventh Framework Programme.European Community's Seventh Framework ProgramNo publicad

Application of Electrical Resistivity Tomography to the detection of the Ermakia (Northern Greece) cavity system

Η μέθοδος της Ηλεκτρικής Τομογραφίας εφαρμόστηκε για την εξερεύνηση ενός καρστικού σπηλαίου στην περιοχή της Ερμακίας (Μ. Πτολεμαίδας). Οι γεωλογικές έρευνες έδειξαν ότι η γνωστή κεντρική αίθουσα του σπηλαίου της Ερμακιάς "επικοινωνεί" με τουλάχιστον έναν υπόγειο καρστικό έγκοιλο. Αυτά τα στοιχεία μας οδήγησαν στη διερεύνηση της περιβάλλουσας περιοχής με την εφαρμογή δισδιάστατης ηλεκτρικών τομογραφιών σε ένα πυκνό πλέγμα μετρήσεων σε δυο κάθετες διευθύνσεις. Κάποιες από τις γραμμές έρευνας τοποθετήθηκαν πάνω από το χαρτογραφημένο τμήμα του σπηλαίου ώστε να βεβαιωθεί η καταλληλότητα της μεθόδου και να επιτευχθεί βαθμονόμηση των τιμών της ειδικής ηλεκτρικής αντίστασης. Τα αποτελέσματα της αντιστροφής των γεωηλεκτρικών δεδομένων συνδυάστηκαν ώστε να παραχθούν ψευδοτρισδιάστατες εικόνες της αντίστασης. Η ερμηνεία των αποτελεσμάτων είχε ως αποτέλεσμα να εντοπιστούν νέοι θάλαμοι του σπηλαίου όπως επιβεβαιώνεται και από γεωλογικές παρατηρήσεις στο σπήλαιο.Electrical resistivity tomography has been applied for the exploration of a karstic cave system at the region of Ermakia, next to the city of Ptolemais (NWt Greece). Geological investigations indicated that the main known Ermakia cave chamber "communicates " with at least one underground karstic ovoid. This evidence lead us to prospect the surrounding area by applying 2-D Electrical tomography survey on a regular grid in both x,y directions. Survey lines crossed the known cave in order to verify k the suitability of the method at the specific area and calibrate the resistivity values. Resistivity data were inverted and results were compiled in qusi3-D resistivity images. The interpreted results indicated the existence of two more chambers next to the known one which is in agreement with in-situ observations

Circulating Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinase-4 (TIMP-4) in Systemic Sclerosis Patients with Elevated Pulmonary Arterial Pressure

Decreased levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) or excess levels of their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) may contribute to dysregulation of extracellular matrix turnover in systemic sclerosis (SSc). In a cross-sectional study of 106 SSc patients, we measured serum levels of TIMP-4 which is preferentially expressed in cardiovascular structures and searched for correlations with simultaneously performed echocardiography measurements of pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), myocardial performance, and pulmonary function tests. TIMP-4, but not MMP-9, levels were significantly raised in patients with SSc than controls. However, in the subgroup of patients with PASP measurements lower to 40 mmHg (n = 69), TIMP-4 levels were comparable to controls irrespective of the presence of diffuse or limited skin involvement, or lung fibrosis. Individual PASP measurements suggestive of pulmonary hypertension were associated with increased TIMP-4 serum levels (P = .03), independently of age, extent of skin sclerosis, or lung fibrosis, suggesting a cardiopulmonary vasculature-specific role of TIMP-4 activation in SSc

Simulating Ising Spin Glasses on a Quantum Computer

A linear-time algorithm is presented for the construction of the Gibbs distribution of configurations in the Ising model, on a quantum computer. The algorithm is designed so that each run provides one configuration with a quantum probability equal to the corresponding thermodynamic weight. The partition function is thus approximated efficiently. The algorithm neither suffers from critical slowing down, nor gets stuck in local minima. The algorithm can be A linear-time algorithm is presented for the construction of the Gibbs distribution of configurations in the Ising model, on a quantum computer. The algorithm is designed so that each run provides one configuration with a quantum probability equal to the corresponding thermodynamic weight. The partition function is thus approximated efficiently. The algorithm neither suffers from critical slowing down, nor gets stuck in local minima. The algorithm can be applied in any dimension, to a class of spin-glass Ising models with a finite portion of frustrated plaquettes, diluted Ising models, and models with a magnetic field. applied in any dimension, to a class of spin-glass Ising models with a finite portion of frustrated plaquettes, diluted Ising models, and models with a magnetic field.Comment: 24 pages, 3 epsf figures, replaced with published and significantly revised version. More info available at http://www.fh.huji.ac.il/~dani/ and http://www.fiz.huji.ac.il/staff/acc/faculty/biha

Systems medicine dissection of chr1q-amp reveals a novel PBX1-FOXM1 axis for targeted therapy in multiple myeloma

Understanding the biological and clinical impact ofcopy number aberrations (CNA)for the development of precision therapies in cancer remains anunmet challenge. Genetic amplification of chromosome 1q (chr1q-amp) is a major CNAconferring adverse prognosis in several types of cancer, including in the blood cancer multiple myeloma (MM). Although severalgenes across chr1q portend high-risk MM disease, the underpinning molecular aetiology remains elusive. Here, with reference to the 3D chromatin structure, we integrate MMpatient multi-omics datasets with genetic variables to obtain an associated clinical risk map across chr1q and to identify 103 adverse prognosis genes in chr1q-amp MM. Prominent amongst these genes, the transcription factor PBX1 is ectopically expressed by genetic amplification and epigenetic activation of its own preserved 3D regulatory domain. By binding to reprogrammed super-enhancers, PBX1 directly regulates critical oncogenic pathways and a FOXM1-dependent transcriptional programme. Together, PBX1 and FOXM1 activate a proliferative gene signature which predicts adverse prognosis across multiple types of cancer. Notably, pharmacological disruption of the PBX1-FOXM1 axis with existing agents (thiostrepton) and a novel PBX1 small-molecule inhibitor (T417) is selectively toxic against chr1q-amplified myeloma and solid tumour cells. Overall, our systems medicine approach successfully identifies CNA-driven oncogenic circuitries, links them to clinical phenotypes and proposes novel CNA-targeted therapystrategies in multiple myeloma and other types of cancer