1,721,036 research outputs found
Chronic kidney disease in a population-based cohort: an analytical study of prevalence, dietary patterns, and gene-diet interactions affecting kidney function
No full textLa malattia renale cronica (CKD) rappresenta una significativa sfida per la salute pubblica, in cui dieta e predisposizione genetica svolgono un ruolo cruciale nello sviluppo e nella progressione. Tuttavia, le relazioni tra questi fattori e la funzionalità renale sono solo parzialmente comprese, specialmente nel contesto della prevenzione. Questa tesi si propone di affrontare tre obiettivi: (Obiettivo 1) valutare la prevalenza e la consapevolezza della CKD nel distretto della Val Venosta/Vinschgau (Alto Adige, Italia); (Obiettivo 2) identificare i dietary patterns (DPs) associati alla funzionalità renale e al rischio di CKD; e (Obiettivo 3) esplorare l'interazione tra i DPs e la predisposizione genetica in relazione alla disfunzione renale.
Obiettivo 1: Abbiamo valutato la prevalenza e la consapevolezza della CKD nel distretto della Val Venosta/Vinschgau utilizzando i dati dello studio Cooperative Health Research in South Tyrol (CHRIS). Sono stati combinati biomarcatori standard, come il tasso di filtrazione glomerulare stimato (eGFR) e il rapporto albumina-creatinina urinaria (UACR), con le risposte ad un questionario specifico sulla salute renale. I risultati hanno evidenziato un divario tra la prevalenza auto-riportata di CKD e quella definita secondo gli standard clinici utilizzando i marcatori misurati, suggerendo una scarsa consapevolezza o sottodiagnosi della malattia.
Obiettivo 2: L’indagine è stata condotta da tre prospettive distinte, ciascuna trattata in un progetto dedicato. In tutti i progetti, è stata utilizzata la Reduced Rank Regression (RRR) per derivare i dietary patterns (DPs) legati alla CKD.
In primo luogo, abbiamo derivato tre DPs basati sulla RRR utilizzando quattro nutrienti (proteine, fosforo, potassio e sodio) come mediatori. I DPs hanno mostrato effetti eterogenei sugli esiti renali, riflettendo probabilmente una specificità legata alla funzionalità o al danno renale. In particolare, un DP (DP1), caratterizzato da alti livelli di tutti e quattro i nutrienti, è stato associato a livelli inferiori di eGFR negli uomini, indicando una funzionalità renale ridotta.
In secondo luogo, la RRR è stata utilizzata per derivare DPs specifici per sesso utilizzando nove marcatori cardio-renali-metabolici come mediatori. Inoltre, è stato derivato un indice dietetico orientato all’ipertensione, il DASH score. Negli uomini, i risultati hanno generalmente confermato le evidenze precedenti sugli effetti della dieta DASH. Nelle donne, l’associazione tra i DPs e l’eGFR risultava influenzata dallo stato mestruale.
Infine, sfruttando i dati prospettici della Swedish National March Cohort (SNMC), abbiamo replicato i DPs basati sui nutrienti ottenuti nello studio trasversale CHRIS utilizzando la RRR e derivato il DASH score e il Nordic Nutrition Recommendation (NNR) score. Successivamente, abbiamo studiato gli effetti di tutti i DPs sul rischio di incidenza di CKD in un follow-up di 19 anni. Sono stati identificati tre DPs basati sulla RRR, le cui associazioni con l’incidenza di CKD sono risultate eterogenee tra i sessi. Lo score NNR ha mostrato un effetto protettivo sul rischio di CKD, stabilizzandosi però a livelli di aderenza elevati. Il DASH score risultava protettivo, ma solo nelle femmine.
Obiettivo 3: È stato calcolato uno score poligenico (PGS) basato su varianti genetiche associate all’eGFR in individui di ascendenza europea per investigare l’interazione tra predisposizione genetica e DPs nella determinazione della funzionalità renale. Sono state rilevate interazioni non lineari tra il PGS e l’assunzione di proteine e fosforo. Questi risultati suggeriscono che l’impatto dell’assunzione di proteine e fosforo sull’eGFR potrebbe essere modificato dalla predisposizione genetica.
In sintesi, questa ricerca ha fornito nuove conoscenze sull’epidemiologia delle malattie renali nella popolazione generale, sulla prevalenza e consapevolezza della CKD, sugli effetti della dieta sulla funzionalità renale e sul ruolo della predisposizione genetica nelle associazioni tra dieta e salute renale. Sebbene gli effetti benefici della dieta DASH siano stati confermati, i risultati suggeriscono che l’approccio dietetico ottimale può variare tra diversi sottogruppi di popolazione e in base al sesso. Pertanto, l’uso di un approccio flessibile come la RRR per derivare i DPs può essere particolarmente efficace. Infine, i risultati indicano che la predisposizione genetica può influenzare la relazione tra dieta e funzionalità renale.Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant public health challenge, with diet and genetic predisposition playing crucial roles in its development and progression. However, the relationships between these factors and kidney function are only partially understood, especially in the context of prevention. This thesis aimed to address three objectives: (Objective 1) assess CKD prevalence and public awareness in the Val Venosta/Vinschgau district (South Tyrol, Italy); (Objective 2) identify dietary patterns (DPs) associated with kidney function and CKD risk, and (Objective 3) explore the interplay between DPs and genetic predisposition in relation to kidney dysfunction.
Objective 1: We assessed CKD prevalence and awareness in the Val Venosta/Vinschgau district using data from the Cooperative Health Research in South Tyrol (CHRIS) study. We combined standard biomarkers, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), with data from a custom-developed kidney health questionnaire. Findings revealed a gap between self-reported CKD prevalence and the prevalence of CKD defined according to clinical standards using measured markers, indicating a major lack of awareness or diagnosis in participants.
Objective 2: The investigation was conducted from three distinct perspectives, each one covered by a dedicated project. In all projects, Reduced Rank Regression (RRR) was employed to derive CKD-related dietary patterns (DPs).
First, we derived three RRR-based DPs using four nutrients (protein, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium) as mediators. DPs showed heterogeneous effects across kidney out-comes, possibly reflecting specificity to kidney function or damage. Notably, one DP (DP1), characterized by high levels of all four nutrients, was associated with lower eGFR levels in males, indicating poorer kidney function.
Second, RRR was used to derive sex-specific DPs using nine cardio-renal-metabolic markers as mediators. In addition, an hypertension-oriented dietary index, the DASH score, was derived. In males, results generally corroborated previous evidence on the effects of the DASH-style diet. In females, the association between DPs and eGFR was influenced by menstrual status.
Third, by leveraging prospective data from the Swedish National March Cohort (SNMC), we used RRR to replicate the nutrient-based DPs obtained in the cross-sectional CHRIS study and derived the DASH score and the Nordic Nutrition Recommendation (NNR) score. We then investigated the effects of all DPs on CKD incidence risk over a 19-year follow-up. Three RRR-DPs were identified and associations with CKD incidence were heterogenous across sexes. The NNR-score showed a protective effect on CKD risk, but the benefit plateaued at higher levels of adherence. The DASH-score was protective for CKD, but only in females.
Objective 3: A polygenic score (PGS) was calculated based on genetic variants associated with eGFR in European ancestry individuals to investigate the interplay between genetic predisposition and the DPs in determining kidney function. Non-linear interactions be-tween PGS and dietary protein and phosphorus were detected. These results suggested that the impact of protein and phosphorus intake on eGFR may be modified by genetic predisposition.
To summarise, this research provided new insights into the epidemiology of kidney diseases in the general population, CKD prevalence and awareness, as well as the effects of diet on kidney function, and the role of genetic predisposition in diet-renal health associations. While the beneficial effects of the DASH diet were confirmed, results also suggested that the optimal dietary approach may vary across different population subgroups and by sex. Therefore, using a flexible approach like the RRR to derive DPs can be particularly effective. Finally, findings indicated that genetic predisposition may influence the relationship be-tween diet and kidney function
STUDIO SUL FORMALISMO NEGOZIALE L’EMERSIONE DELLA FORMA INFORMATIVA CON SPECIFICO RIGUARDO AI CONTRATTI D’INTERMEDIAZIONE FINANZIARIA
No full textLa tesi di dottorato, che si compone di tre capitoli, si propone d'indagare il formalismo negoziale, con particolare riferimento all'emersione della forma informativa.
Il primo capitolo, intitolato "Forma dei negozi e formalismo classico", è interamente dedicato all'approfondimento del sistema della forma negoziale, così come delineata nel codice civile. La prospettiva è certamente storica ma pone già le basi per interessanti riflessioni in ordine alle applicazioni nel campo negoziale delle nuove tecnologie informatiche.
Il secondo capitolo, intitolato "Dal formalismo classico al neoformalismo comunitario: l'emersione della forma informativa", è invece dedicato all'analisi dell'attuale e complessivo quadro normativo, in cui le prescrizioni formali assumono conformazioni e funzioni diverse ed ulteriori rispetto a quelle originariamente conosciute. Il riferimento va senz'altro a fenomeni del tutto nuovi come l'inserimento nel documento contrattuale di una serie di elementi predeterminati ex lege (c.d. forma-contenuto); la previsione di sempre più numerosi obblighi informativi che richiedono la forma scritta e l'imposizione di verba solemnia, ovverosia specifici vincoli della menzione che il legislatore assume a presupposto per la produzione di determinati effetti giuridici.
Tra queste spicca certamente per attualità e rilevanza la c.d. forma informativa. Il modello minimo composto dal binomio forma-nullità si è infatti rivelato insufficiente ad esaurire la fisionomia delle prescrizioni di forma e la riconduzione entro un'unica categoria appare questione di non poco conto ma senza dubbio gravosa.
Certamente, però, un filo conduttore può essere ravvisato, attraverso la valorizzazione delle nuove funzioni attribuite alla forma, nell'idea che il vincolo formale, variamente inteso, sia sempre più orientato alla trasmissione da un contraente all'altro di una serie di informazioni essenziali. La forma diviene quindi strumento per colmare la sostanziale e connaturata asimmetria nel rapporto tra il contraente predisponente forte e quello aderente debole, favorendo una maggiore responsabilitzzazione del consenso di quest'ultimo.
Ciò, però, è possibile a patto di rafforzare il flusso informativo in tutte le fasi di formazione del contratto.
E' dunque in questo contesto che emerge il nuovo paradigma della c.d. forma informativa di protezione, cui è dedicato il terzo capitolo, con particolare riferimento al settore dei servizi di investimento finanziario, ove la forma diviene strumento elettivo di conformazione contrattuale a tutto tondo, ed in ordine alla quale si è a lungo soffermata la più recente giurisprudenza.
Il terzo capitolo, intitolato "La forma informativa nei contratti d'intermediazione finanziaria", dopo una breve ricostruzione del complesso quadro normativo, affronta quindi le questioni operative discendenti dalla necessità di tenere distinti i problemi riguardanti da, un lato, il contratto quadro e, dall'altro, i singoli ordini di investimento, e altresì la necessità di orientarsi tra regole di validità e regole di responsabilità.This doctoral thesis, which consists of three chapters, aims to investigate negotiation formalism, with particular reference to the emergence of the informational form.
The first chapter, entitled 'Form of Negotiations and Classical Formalism', is entirely dedicated to an in-depth study of the system of the negotiation form as outlined in the Civil Code. The perspective is certainly historical but it already lays the foundations for interesting reflections on the applications in the field of negotiation of the new information technologies.
The second chapter, entitled "From Classical Formalism to Community Neo-Formalism: The Emergence of the Informative Form", is instead devoted to the analysis of the current and overall regulatory framework, in which formal prescriptions take on conformations and functions that are different and additional to those originally known. Reference is undoubtedly made to entirely new phenomena such as the inclusion in the contractual document of a series of elements predetermined ex lege (so-called form-content); the provision of an increasing number of information obligations that require the written form and the imposition of verba solemnia, i.e. specific constraints of mention that the legislator assumes as a prerequisite for the production of certain legal effects.
Among these, the so-called informative form certainly stands out in terms of topicality and relevance. The minimum model consisting of the form-nullity binomial has in fact proved insufficient to exhaust the physiognomy of the prescriptions of form, and bringing them back within a single category appears to be a matter of no small but undoubtedly burdensome importance.
Certainly, however, a common thread can be discerned, through the valorisation of the new functions attributed to the form, in the idea that the formal bond, variously understood, is increasingly oriented towards the transmission from one contracting party to another of a series of essential information. The form thus becomes an instrument for bridging the substantial and inherent asymmetry in the relationship between the strong predisposing contracting party and the weak adhering party, fostering greater accountability of the latter's consent.
This, however, is possible provided that the flow of information is strengthened at all stages of contract formation.
It is thus in this context that the new paradigm of the so-called informative form of protection emerges, to which the third chapter is devoted, with particular reference to the financial investment services sector, where the form becomes an elective instrument of contractual conformation in the round, and on which the most recent case law has dwelt at length.
The third chapter, entitled "The Informative Form in Financial Intermediation Contracts", after a brief reconstruction of the complex regulatory framework, then addresses the operational issues arising from the need to keep separate the problems concerning, on the one hand, the framework contract and, on the other, the individual investment orders, and also the need to navigate between rules of validity and rules of liability
Impact of sea-level variations on transitional settings: micropaleontological evidences from the Holocene succession of core 240 S6 (Po coastal plain)
No full textTransitional environments are extremely sensitive to environmental changes, both of natural and
anthropogenic origin. Nevertheless, abundant human activities and natural resources are hosted in
back barrier to coastal settings. Among the major threatening factors that pose at risk the existence of
such environments (exploitation of natural resources, heavy metal and organic pollution, etc.), the
recent sea-level rise is one of the most pressing and already acting from low to high latitudes (Horton
et al., 2018). Sediment successions represent a great archive where to study the response of
transitional environments to the Holocene sea-level rise. The role of microfossils as proxies for
paleoenvironmental reconstructions is widely recognize, also within back barrier to coastal settings,
where benthic foraminifers and ostracod can provide abundant insights on many (paleo-
)environmental parameters, such as salinity, organic matter and sediment inputs, oxygen conditions,
and degree of confinement (e.g., Athersuch et al., 1989; Murray, 2006). Even though benthic
foraminifers are abundant in brackish to marine conditions, ostracods are also present within
freshwater environments; moreover, the two groups seem to be driven by distinct (paleo-
)environmental drivers, which make them excellent proxies in transitional settings (Barbieri et al.,
2018). Well-developed transitional sediment successions of Holocene age are recorded locally
beneath the modern Po coastal plain and their microfossil content allowed to obtain detailed
paleoenvironmental reconstructions, also in relationship with drainage network changes (Dinelli et
al., 2013). The micropaleontological record (benthic foraminifers, ostracods) of the back barrier to
coastal sediment succession of core 240 S6 is presented here. The main aim is getting insights on the
evolution of transitional settings under the influence of the increasing sea level during the Holocene
transgression, in relationship with local (autogenic) factors, such as subsidence or river inputs.
Core 240 S6 was drilled in the Po coastal plain, ca. 5 km afar from the modern coastline (Figure 1),
through a wire-line perforation system that guarantees a high percentage of recovery (>90%).
Sedimentology and stratigraphy of the core are reported in Cibin et al. (2005). Here, we summarize
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the qualitative benthic foraminifer and ostracod content of 44 samples analyzed from 24.50 to 10.10
m core depth, where back-barrier to coastal sediments are recorded. Sediments devoid of benthic
foraminifers and ostracods or including scattered, reworked individuals are present in the remaining
intervals. Samples were treated using the standard procedure for micropaleontological samples
previously adopted in other reference work of the Po Plain area (e.g., Rossi and Vaiani, 2008).
Residues were observed under a binocular microscope to determine the microfossil content, following
the original taxonomic descriptions and reference works focused on the Mediterranean area. Within
the lower portion of the analyzed succession, from 24.50 to 17.20 m core depth, benthic foraminifers
and ostracod indicate the presence of thin, alternated swamp and lagoon sediment intervals.
Specifically, rare transported benthic foraminifers associated to abundant valves of the limneticoligohaline
Ilyocypris decipiens, indicative of a swamp paleoenvironment, are followed up to 22.60
m core depth by a brackish water microfauna dominated by the euryhaline ostracod Cyprideis torosa
and the oligo-mesohaline Candona neglecta, along with rare brackish water benthic foraminifers,
mostly Ammonia tepida, Aubignyna perlucida and Haynesina germanica. Such a microfossil
assemblage, indicative of inner lagoon, is overlaid up to 21.80 m by ostracod assemblages with
dominant C. torosa and P. albicans associated to oligo-mesohaline taxa such as Candona candida,
Candona neglecta and Loxoconcha elliptica that are indicative of a swamp paleoenvironment. The
ostracod assemblage from 21.80 to 21.40 m core depth indicates the development of inner to central
lagoon conditions, as also supported by the abundance of the brackish water benthic foraminifers A.
tepida, A. parkinsoniana and H. germanica in the upper portion of the interval. Swamp and lagoon
microfossil assemblages are developed, again, in the 21.40-18.90 and 18.90-17.20 m core depth.
Overall, three swamp-lagoon intervals are recorded and connected with the Holocene sea-level rise
and the subsequent progradation during short phases of sea-level stillstand, in accordance with the
step-like retrogradation of coastal systems recorded throughout the Po Plain sediment succession
(Amorosi et al., 2017). Nevertheless, local factors such as elevation with respect to the sea level and
morphology of the paleo-lagoonal basin could have influenced the development of swamp-lagoon
alternations. A few km inland, alternations of coastal plain, swamp and lagoon deposits (Dinelli et al.,
2013) represent the inland portion of the transitional system, but it seems difficult to establish a
precise correlation between each interval due to the high facies variability of transitional settings.
Upcore, between 17.20-13.00 m core depth, ostracod assemblages with abundant brackish-water
species (C. torosa, Loxoconcha elliptica, and Leptocythere ex gr. castanea) mostly associated to the
brackish to marine benthic foraminifers A. tepida, A. parkinsoniana, H. germanica and
Cribroelphidium oceanense and other inner shelf species indicate the development of an outer lagoon
paleoenvironment. The maximum transgression is recorded with the onset of a shoreface
paleoenvironment, where both microfossil groups are characterized by diversified communities with
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marine taxa (e.g., Ammonia beccarii, Cribroelphidium spp., Elphidium spp., Pontocythere turbida,
Semicytherura spp.). During this last phase, the sea level acceleration drove the passage towards outer
lagoon and shoreface conditions, whereas a few km inland a thick lagoon succession suggests that
widespread flooding occurred (Dinelli et al., 2013). Upcore, beach ridge sands and coastal plain
sediments with rare, transported marine microfossils mark the onset of regressive conditions. Our
study case highlights the complex response of coastal systems to sea-level changes. Under natural
conditions, the balance between eustatic conditions and river input points determined a fragile
equilibrium of transitional (paleo-)environments. Nevertheless, under reduced sediment input or rapid
increase of the sea-level, retreat of paralic and coastal settings induce strong (paleo-)environmental
changes
Benthic foraminifera and short term Po delta evolution recorded in an expanded prodelta succession of the last millennium
Full text linkMinor polyphenols from Quercus rubra L. Part 21: Constituents of Fagaceae (Cupuliferae)
No full textPhytochemical studies 0f Fabaceae constituents afforded polyphenols, whose structural characterization was obtained using spectroscopic data.
Benthic foraminifera or Ostracoda? Comparing the accuracy of palaeoenvironmental indicators from a Pleistocene lagoon of the Romagna coastal plain (Italy)
No full textIntegrated analyses of multiple groups of microfossils are frequently performed to unravel the palaeoenvironmental evolution of subsurface coastal successions, where the complex interaction among several palaeoecological factors can be detected with benthic assemblages. This work investigates the palaeoenvironmental resolution potential provided by benthic foraminifera and ostracoda within a Pleistocene lagoonal succession of the Romagna coastal plain (northern Italy). Quantitative approaches and statistical techniques have been applied to both groups in order to understand the main factors that controlled the composition of assemblages and compare the palaeoecological record provided by single fossil groups. The two faunal groups are characterized by the high dominance of opportunistic species (Ammonia tepida-Ammonia parkinsoniana and Cyprideis torosa); however, detailed palaeoecological information is inferred from less common taxa. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are mainly determined by the frequencies of abnormal individuals and species related to high concentrations of organic matter, showing two assemblages: a stressed assemblage, consistent with a brackish-water environment subject to salinity and oxygen fluctuations, and an unstressed assemblage, which indicates more stable conditions. Despite the lower number of species, ostracoda show more significant differences in terms of species composition and ecological structure between their three assemblages, formed in response to a salinity gradient and indicative of inner, central, and outer lagoon conditions. The stratigraphic distribution of ostracod assemblages shows a general transgressive-regressive trend with minor fluctuations, whereas benthic foraminifera highlight the presence of a significant palaeoenvironmental stress. In this case, the higher abundance along the stratigraphic succession, the higher differentiation of the assemblages, and the well-defined relationship between taxa and ecological parameters determine Ostracoda as the most reliable fossil group for precise palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Nevertheless, benthic foraminifera indicate palaeoenvironmental stress and can be used to refine the environmental interpretation in the presence of monospecific ostracod assemblages
Applying faunal indices for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions with benthic foraminifera: a case from a Holocene succession of the Po Delta, Italy.
No full textIn the last decades, the depositional history of the Po River coastal plain has been studied using different environmental proxies. In this work we first ever attempt to interpret the palaeoenvironmental evolution of a shallow marine succession from this area (core 205-S9, collected about 10 km south of the modern Po Delta) using several diversity indices, bivariate analysis and Murray’s Ternary Plot. We also tried to find out the potentials and limits of these tools in reconstructing palaeoenvironments. The analysed shallow marine succession was formed in response to the last phases of sea-level rise (ca. 8 kyr BP) and the Holocene regression resulted from the high-stand coastal progradation. In this part of the core, Murray ternary plot and Bivariate plot of Fisher’s alpha index and Shannon-Wiener index show two distinct clusters highlighting high percentage of calcareous porcelaneous forms in the lower part and high percentage of calcareous hyaline taxa in the middle and upper portions. Fischer’s α index and species richness values provide evidence for three intervals: the lower is highly diversified while in the middle the value gets decreases and in the upper the value increases but not as high as lower part. Evenness (E) and Dominance (D) indices show that the lower part is characterised by a homogeneous, highly diversified and evenly distributed fauna. In contrast, the middle part shows a strong dominance of few species with low faunal diversity with some variations in the upper part. The ratio of epifaunal and infaunal species defined oxygenated bottom water condition with low organic matter in the lower part, and high organic matter with relatively low oxygen concentration in the upper part. All these indices clearly discriminate between a lower and a middle-upper portion of the sediment succession. The integration with the distribution of selected species allows to attribute the lower interval to a shallow marine environment with low fluvial influence (transgressive barrier and offshore transition), whereas middle and upper parts record an increase of fluvial influence (prodelta). Therefore, the applied indices can be considered as good proxies for recognition of deltaic conditions and identification of changes in riverine influence within shallow marine deposits. Furthermore, most indices highlight variations in foraminiferal distribution within the prodelta. Combining foraminiferal distribution and indices values, these variations can be attributed to unsteady freshwater influx
Heterologous expression of the Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase in Bacillus subtilis.
No full textIntegrating benthic foraminifers and ostracods as tracers of deltaic dynamics: the case of the Po Delta
No full textThe sedimentary record of the Po Plain succession has great potential for high-resolution stratigraphic studies, due to high subsidence rates affecting the area, high sediment supply and the absence of significant tectonic deformation. Sedimentological, geochemical and micropaleontological data were used in the last years to reconstruct the Holocene stratigraphic architecture and its relation to sea-level oscillations and coastal evolution (Amorosi et al., 2008, 2019). Additionally, abundant geomorphological and historical data represent useful constraints to enhance Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstructions. A thick (up to 20 m) fine-grained, shallow-marine succession is present in the subsurface of the modern Po delta and coastal plain. This succession was formed in response to the early Holocene transgressive phase and the following mid-late Holocene normal regression, associated with widespread shoreline progradation. However, owing to lithological homogeneity, deltaic evolution is difficult to unravel on the basis of physical sedimentological characteristics alone. Benthic foraminifers and ostracods have been successfully adopted as paleoenvironmental proxies within the subsurface succession of the Po coastal plain during the last years (Campo et al., 2017), but a quantitative integrated analysis of both faunal groups is still lacking. The aim of this work was to test and compare the efficiency of benthic foraminifers and ostracods as proxies in marine, river-influenced sediment successions from three cores of the modern Po delta plain. The availability of a North Adriatic modern analogue database (Barbieri et al., 2019) and the application of statistical analyses helped find the most similar modern sites to each fossil assemblage in terms of faunal composition and therefore to quantitatively determine specific paleoenvironmental conditions. The abundant chronological constraints on the cored successions were used to link the micropaleontological record to distinct phases of deltaic evolution and to assess the extent to which benthic foraminifers and ostracods may successfully track sediment dynamics in deltaic settings. Here, we present the first results from microfossils of all cores, with the exception of ostracods from the northernmost core (187-S4), along with preliminary statistical analysis and interpretation. The three analyzed cores were collected in the southern part of the modern Po delta plain, following approximately a north-south transect, from Po di Pila to Po di Volano distributary channels. All cores include thick, fine-grained (silt-clay) sediment successions with abundant marine microfossils. In the lowermost portion of the marine study successions, benthic foraminifers are highly diversified, with relatively common Aubignyna perlucida, Porosononion granosum, Miliolids, Textularia spp., Buccella granulata, Rosalina bradyi and a variety of Cribroelphidium and Elphidium species. Statistical elaborations based on similarity measures were applied to one of the three cores, revealing that fossil assemblages from the lower interval are significantly similar to modern, North Adriatic inner-shelf assemblages. Conversely, the overlying assemblages are similar to those nowadays distributed at shallower depths updrift of the Po River mouth, where organic matter inputs from the Eastern Alpine rivers are negligible. Upwards, all cored intervals show a gradual increase in Ammonia tepida and Ammonia parkinsoniana, associated with taxa tolerant to organic matter, such as A. perlucida, P. granosum and C. poeyanum. Similar modern assemblages are characteristic of prodelta environments downdrift of the Po Delta, where sediment and organic matter inputs are moderate. Benthic foraminifers record the shift from an inner-shelf environment (23-40 m water depth) towards shallower (8-22 m water depth) prodelta conditions with increasing organic matter supply that can be linked to deltaic progradation. Unlike benthic foraminifers, ostracods from the lowermost portion of the study successions do not show significant changes. Assemblages include a high number of taxa, mostly represented by Semicytherura spp., Sagmatocythere napoliana, Sagmatocythere versicolor, Loxoconcha gr. rhomboidea and Callistocythere spp. Statistical analyses indicate that similar assemblages are nowadays distributed along the North Adriatic inner shelf. The upper portion of the study successions is invariably characterized by the sharp increase in the benthic foraminiferal species A. tepida and A. parkinsoniana, which dominate the assemblages (frequencies >60%), showing strong similarities with proximal prodelta assemblages subject to moderate or strong organic matter inputs. Within the same interval, statistical elaborations reveal that scattered samples with more abundant A. perlucida and P. granosum are related to a decrease in riverine organic matter inputs, likely resulting from autogenic shifts of river mouths. Ostracod assemblages show marked lateral changes between cores: Palmoconcha turbida and Pontocythere turbida are very abundant in the central (EM13) and southernmost (205-S9) cores, forming assemblages similar to those nowadays found in shallow prodelta areas subject to relatively low river inputs and predominant longshore transport. Conversely, ostracod assemblages are markedly distinct in the overlying strata: a near-shore, sandy-related assemblage characterized by Loxoconcha rubritincta, Cistacythereis emaciata, Xestoleberis spp. and Cytheretta spp. was recovered from core 205-S9; in core EM13, the dominance of the opportunistic Leptocythere ramosa indicates proximal prodelta conditions under high riverine inputs. At both sites, ostracods record the initial development of Middle Ages wave-influenced deltas. Later, different assemblages suggest distinct delta dynamics under proximal prodelta conditions: the southern assemblage is related to the progradation of the wave-influenced Po di Volano delta, whereas ostracods from the northern site record the fast progradation of the river-dominated Po di Goro mouth. Preliminary results from the study cores and their quantitative (statistical) comparison with the modern North Adriatic database suggest that benthic foraminifers and ostracods can be used effectively to reconstruct delta dynamics within a chronologically constrained framework. Benthic foraminifera proved to be extremely sensitive to organic matter inputs, tracking clear progradational and retrogradational trends in deltaic deposits. On the other hand, within proximal prodelta clays, where benthic foraminifers are monotonous, ostracods were decisive in highlighting predominant sediment dynamics that governed delta outbuilding
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