943 research outputs found
Welcome Dr. Greg Aloia, 5th President of the College of Coastal Georgia
No full textA video welcome and introduction from Dr. Greg Aloia, 5th President of the College of Coastal Georgia. Time: 01:3
Tuning of Modern and Late Pleistocene beach and coastal dune deposits of Palinuro (Italy)
No full textModern beach deposits and late Pleistocene marine terraces of the Palinuro area (province of Salerno) were investigated in the field and the analysis of selected sand samples. The ancient deposits, today indiscriminately attributed to the late Pleistocene, have been divided into two distinct sedimentary cycles. The first is a beach-dune cycle that was originated in MIS 5e. The second is a coastal-dune cycle of indeterminate
age (Post MIS 5e); the aeolian dunes exposed on top of the promontory of Palinuro are part of the second cycle
Origin of high radon levels in karst spring mixed waters – the casestudy of the Capodifiume spring group, National Park of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano -European Geopark (Southern Italy)
No full textBased on results of previous geological, hydrogeological and geomorphological surveys, hydrochemical and isotopic tracer techniques were applied for investigating the origin of significantly elevated radon (222Rn) activity concentrations detected at the highly NaCl / CaCO3 mineralized Capodifiume karst spring group, located near the archaeological site of Poseidon-Paestum, Southern Italy. Compared to other karst springs in the Cilento and Vallo di Diano Geopark both, radon concentration and salinity, show remarkably high values as well as a good correlation. Radon concentrations range between 367±20 and 111±8 Bq/l with an average of 230 Bq/l. The high radon levels of the spring water can neither be explained by the composition of the karst aquifer rocks or the attached travertine deposits (limestone and dolomite), which both show low radium (226Ra) concentrations, nor by the dissolved radium content of the spring water. In the study it was shown that there must be a separate radon source inside the aquifer system close to the spring complex. The results suggest that radon source to be mainly represented by the Miocene, paleo-karst “red clays” (laterites) of the Alburni-Cervati Unit, a local discontinuous aquitard that is rich in iron and manganese oxides / hydroxides. The geological unit, which is widely outcropping in the area surrounding the spring complex, has accumulated radium by adsorption, thus generating radon, which is transported to the spring with the fast flowing groundwater. The temporal and local variability of both, the radon content and the salinity of the spring water, can be explained by a variable mixing process of waters from two different aquifer sub-systems: (i) a “normal” karst aquifer with conduits by-passing the “red clay” deposits and (ii) a “red clay” aquifer that is hydrologically connected to the laterites and that is discharging waters of higher salinity and radon concentration
Thermostabilization of the neurotensin receptor NTS1
No full textAbstract not availableYoko Shibata, Jim F. White, Maria J. Serrano-Vega, Francesca Magnani, Amanda L. Aloia, Reinhard Grisshammer and Christopher G. Tat
STUDIO DEL CALCIUM SENSING RECEPTOR E POSSIBILE RUOLO NELLA CALCOLOSI RENALE DI CALCIO
No full textBackground: The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a candidate gene of calcium nephrolithiasis. Previously, studies found an association between the CaSR gene region including P1 and P2 promoters and calcium nephrolithiasis. Particularly, the rs7652589 and rs1501899 SNPs, localized up and downstream of promoters, were associated to calcium nephrolithiasis in normocitraturic patients with a p-value of 0.0009 and 0.0004 respectively.
The aims of this study were to identified some other CaSR gene promoter SNPs in CaSR promoter region associated with calcium nephrolithiasis and to test their effects on CaSR expression in tubular kidney tissue. Methods: By bioinformatic approch, SNPs were selected as located in P1 or P2 or modifing transcription factors binding sites. SNPs genotyping was performed by Taqman genotyping assays of rs7648041, rs7648044, rs6776158 and rs1048213 in 167 idiopathic calcium stone formers and 213 healthy controls, matched for age, bodi mass index and gender. In 109 normal kidney medulla tissues CaSR mRNA level was evaluated by real-time PCR and SNPs associated to calcium nephrolithiasis (rs7652589, rs1501899 and rs6776158) were genotyped. The influence of rs6776158 SNP on P1 transcription regulation was tested by luciferase assay. Results: A fine mapping of the CaSR gene promoter region has been performed to identify SNPs with a possible role in CaSR gene regulation. In stone formers and, controls, SNPs localized in CaSR regolatory were genotyped. The data showed that SNP rs6776158, localized in P1 (159 bp upstream the transcription start site), resulted associated with the disease. Particularly, rs6776158 minor allele showed a higher frequency in stone formers than in controls (37.8% vs 26.4%, p=0.00084). The homozygous people for polimorfic allele have a risk to develop the disease 3 times higher than other genotypes (O.R.=2.968). CaSR mRNA was measured in kidney medulla tissues and was related to the kidney stones associated SNPs. A decreased CaSR mRNA was found in homozygous subjects for the minor allele of rs6776158 and rs1501899 vs heterozygous and homozygous for the common allele (rs6776158: n=95, 2.753±0.22 vs n=14, 1.69±0.33, p=0.0157; rs1501899: n=95, 2.753±0.22 vs n=14, 1.69±0.33, p=0.0157). No variation was found with rs7652589. In HEK-293 and HKC-8 cells, luciferase assays confirmed that rs6776158 polimorfic allele decrease the P1 activity. Conclusions: These findings confirmed the association of calcium nephrolithiasis with CaSR promoter region. Particularly, the polimorfic allele rs6776158 was more frequent in stone formers than in controls. Moreover, omozigous subjet for the polimorfic allele have a risk 3 times higher to show the disease and a reduction of kidney CaSR mRNA expression. For this reason we hypothesize that a reduction of CaSR expression can predispose to calcium nephrolithiasis
Optimization of an analytical method for the characterization of microplastics in clams using Raman microspectroscopy
No full textThe first two activities of the PhD thesis project are described hereunder. Firstly, the sampling of clam Chamelea gallina was planned in order to obtain a representative number of samples and carried out in the coasts of the Adriatic Sea included in the Marche, Abruzzo and Molise regions. Secondly, a method for the extraction from clams and the chemical characterization of microplastics (MPs) with Raman microspectroscopy (μRaman) was developed, which took into account the type of filters and the recoveries obtained. The optimized method was applied for the analysis of the samples, for a preliminary assessment of contamination levels
Organosulfur volatile profiles in Italian red garlic (Allium Sativum L.) varieties investigated by HS-SPME/GC-MS and chemometrics
No full textSixty-eight samples of red garlic harvested in four Italian areas were analyzed by means of head-space solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas-chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to test whether the volatile composition is related with the geographical origin of the bulbs. HS-SPME/GC-MS analysis was optimized by means of a Box-Behnken design of experiment. Once GC-MS signals were collected and the volatiles identified, geographical classification was attempted by Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). To perform the external validation of the model, the investigated samples were divided into a training and a test set of 42 and 26 samples, respectively. The PLS-DA model correctly classified 21 external samples. Eventually, Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) analysis identified 13 organosulfur compounds (two sulphides, eight disulphides and three trisulphides), among the 25 detected ones, displaying a content in garlic flavour significantly dependent on the geographical origin of the bulbs
Evaluation of Exposure to Microplastics and Nanoplastics Associated with the Consumption of Clam Chamelea Gallina
No full textThis PhD thesis research project aims to develop analytical protocols for the determination of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in the clam Chamelea Gallina, through two instrumental techniques, the Raman spectroscopy and Pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), that provide morphological and chemical information. The data obtained will allow to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the human exposure to the MPs/NPs taken through the diet, deriving from the consumption of this mollusc
Field Trip Guidebook - Four itineraries through the geological and cultural heritage of Cilento and Vallo di Diano Geopark
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