1,721,494 research outputs found
Long- and short-term erosion rates from the lower valley of the Tanagro River, southern Apennines
No full textA graphic method for depicting basin evolution and changes in the dominant hydrodynamic process from paleocurrent data
No full textPaleocurrent data measured on depositional elements and sedimentary structures (e.g., channels, cross-strata) are commonly utilized in the description of sedimentary strata. Paleocurrent data provide information about the depositional setting and in some cases can be useful for immediately detecting specific depositional processes (e.g., herringbone cross-strata for bimodal tidal currents). The typical graphical representation used to report paleocurrent data is the rose diagram. However, rose diagrams are not able to disclose all information contained in paleocurrent data, limiting the potentiality of such a representation method. In particular, there is presently no method to highlight changes in the paleogeographic configuration that can ultimately have an impact on the evolution of depositional processes and paleocurrent direction through time. Here, we present a graphic method that permits instant visualization of anomalies in paleocurrent distributions of the stratigraphic record that can be linked to changes in the paleogeography due to tectonic evolution or in the dominant hydrodynamic process. It is important to highlight that the proposed method does not aspire to replace rose diagrams but to provide an additional tool to be used before and in combination with rose diagrams in order to extrapolate as much information as possible from paleocurrent data
Caratteri morfotettonici dell’area del Valico di Prestieri e dei Monti di Lauria (Appennino meridionale)
No full textProbiotics and prebiotics in animal health and food safety
No full textThis book discusses the role of probiotics and prebiotics in maintaining the health status of a broad range of animal groups used for food production. It also highlights the use of beneficial microorganisms as protective agents in animal derived foods. The book provides essential information on the characterization and definition of probiotics on the basis of recently released guidelines and reflecting the latest trends in bacterial taxonomy. Last but not least, it discusses the concept of “dead” probiotics and their benefits to animal health in detail. The book will benefit all professors, students, researchers and practitioners in academia and industry whose work involves biotechnology, veterinary sciences or food productio
Landscape response to tectonic and climatic forcing in the foredeep of the southern Apennines, Italy: insights from Quaternary stratigraphy, quantitative geomorphic analysis, and denudation rate proxies
No full textWe present new data about the morphological and stratigraphic evolution and the rates of fluvial denudation of the
Tavoliere di Puglia plain, a low-relief landscape representing the northernmost sector of the Pliocene-Pleistocene foredeep of the
southern Apennines. The study area is located between the easternmost part of the southern Apennine chain and the Gargano promontory
and it is characterized by several orders of terraced fluvial deposits, disconformably overlying lower Pleistocene marine clay and
organized in a staircase geometry, which recorded the emersion and the long-term incision history of this sector since mid-
Pleistocene times.We used the spatial and altimetric distribution of several orders of middle to late Pleistocene fluvial terraces in order
to performpaleotopographic reconstruction and GIS-aided eroded volumes estimates. Then, we estimated denudation rates on the basis
of the terraces chronostratigraphy, supported by published OSL and AAR dating. Middle to upper Pleistocene denudation rates estimated
by means of such an approach are slightly lower than 0.1mmyr-1, in good agreement with short-term data from direct and indirect evaluation
of suspended sediment yield. The analysis of longitudinal river profiles using the streampower erosionmodel provided additional
information on the incision rates of the studied area. Middle to late Quaternary uplift rates (about 0.15mmyr-1), calculated on the basis of
the elevation above sea level of marine deposits outcropping in the easternmost sector of the study area, are quite similar to the erosion
rates average value, thus suggesting a steady-state fluvial incision. The approach adopted in thiswork has demonstrated that erosion rates
traditionally obtained by quantitative geomorphic analysis and ksn estimations can be successfully integrated to quantify rates of tectonic
or geomorphological processes of a landscape approaching steady-state equilibrium
The connected Auletta, Vallo di Diano, and Sanza basins, southern Apennines, Italy: opening kinematics and morphostructural evolution
No full textEmilia Romagna and Malta: A comparative ethnobotanical study
No full textBackground: A comprehensive ethnobotanical study was conducted on two Mediterranean regions which crossed
over in the past through several cultures. Although the two regions have distinctive geographical and cultural
characteristics, the aim of this study was to determine potential ethnobotanical similarities between the two
regions.
Methods: This desk research involved the thorough examination of the floral species that thrive in these two regions
and ethnobotanical information collected from reliable sources. Once the information was collected, the data was
sorted and organized into matrices and then analyzed statistically.
Results: Following a thorough search for common plants within the two regions, 193 taxa, distributed in 72 plant
families, were identified. The three predominant families, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Apiaceae, were selected
according to the popularity of medicinal uses of the taxa within the families (10.4 %, 7.8 % and 5.2 %, respectively).
The popular therapeutic ratios for taxa within the Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Apiaceae families varied between
0.14-1.00, 0.17-0.82 and 0.27-0.60, respectively. It was observed that the most targeted therapeutic system was the
gastrointestinal system covering several ailments that included gastric disturbances, liver and biliary conditions,
and intestinal problems.
Conclusions: It can be concluded that although, these two regions are distinct from each other, the two regional
communities share the common understanding that the health status of an individual depends on the maintenance
of the health of the digestive system. Today, several studies support this relationship, with scientific evidence and
the use of natural products for their medicinal, nutraceutical and functionality in everyday life
Integrated Geomorphological and Geospatial Analysis for Mapping Fluvial Landforms in Murge Basse Karst of Apulia (Southern Italy)
No full textAn integrated geomorphological and geospatial study was performed in order to map fluvial landforms in a sector of Lama Lamasinata close to the town of Binetto in the Murge Basse karst (metropolitan area of Bari, Apulia, Southern Italy). This study describes a combined approach, based on geomorphological fieldwork and topographical position index (TPI)-based landform classification, aimed at identifying the main landforms in an anthropically-modified environment, which suffered a progressive transformation of original morphologies. The resulting geomorphological map of fluvial features was then compared with the available cartography in order to highlight the main strength of the applied methodology in mapping fluvial landforms. Moreover, semi-automatic landform classification was performed for the entire catchment of the Lama Lamasinata in order to evaluate the usefulness of the approach for the fast and objective delimitation of widespread geomorphological elements of the Murge area such as flat-bottomed valleys with steep- or gently-dipping flanks and relict incised valleys. We demonstrated that such an approach can effciently support land use planning in an area affected by hydrogeological hazards
Morphotectonic evolution of connected intermontane basins from the southern Apennines, Italy: the legacy of the pre-existing structurally-controlled landscape
No full textThe opening kinematics of several Pliocene to Quaternary tectonically controlled continental basins scattered along the axis of the southern Italian Apennines and their morphological features and evolution have been compared to define the behaviour of this particular interconnected negative morphostructure. In particular, three different but morphologically connected intermontane basins have been here investigated from a morphotectonic point of view (from the north: Auletta, Vallo di Diano, and Sanza basins). They are filled by more or less thick marine and/or continental sequences of sediments, Pliocene to Quaternary in age. Such basins are shaped by erosional land surfaces and fluvial dissection. The ages of the morphological de-activation of the terraced surfaces have been roughly defined on the basis of their morpho-stratigraphic relationships with Pliocene and Quaternary deposits, and better constrained by radiometric dating. The NNW–SSEtrending fault of the Alburni Mts, bordering the Auletta basin, indicates former left-lateral transtensional kinematics and later dip-slip kinematics, whereas the N140–150-striking master fault bounding the Vallo di Diano basin is a normal fault. The Sanza basin can be assimilated to a morphostructural trough coinciding with a long-term transfer zone of the chain, in which a severe change in stress field, uplift rate, climate conditions, and relief production occurred during Pleistocene times. Such a complicated morphostructural setting may be interpreted as a function of the original orientation of the structural depressions, only partially coeval. In this sense, the Vallo di Diano basin should represent the structural low generated by pure extension during the Pleistocene, but probably already living as a Pliocene seaway, whereas both the Auletta and Sanza basins stand for two lateral branches with oblique kinematics, inherited from a pre-existing (i.e. Pliocene in age) set
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