326 research outputs found
Karst Landforms in Friuli Venezia Giula: From Alpine to Coastal karst.
No full textAround 20-25% of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region consists of karstified rocks. The geological, geographical and climatic conditions have given rise to a whole series of karst landscapes which have developed in different ways from each other on limestone of different ages, located at different altitudes. One encounters splendid examples of alpine karst (Mt. Canin and Cansiglio-Cavallo Massif), mountain-hill karst (Mt. Ciaurlec, Julian Prealps) and marine coastal karst. In the Classical Karst near Trieste, the worldwide symbol of karst phenomena, over 3,000 caves are known while half a dozen are over 1,000 m in length. There are about eighty solution and collapse dolines with a diameter greater than 100 m
Optimization and validation of a new approach based on CE‐HRMS for the screening analysis of novel psychoactive substances (cathinones, phenethylamines, and tryptamines) in urine
No full textThe continuous introduction in the market of new psychoactive drugs (NPS) represents a well-known international emergency. Indeed, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime are paying great attention to the spread of NPS. In addition to the traditional analytical approaches based on GC-MS and HPLC-MS, also CE coupled with MS has proved to be a precious tool for the toxicological screening of biosamples. On these grounds, the aim of the present work was to test the application of CE-HRMS as a new screening tool for the rapid detection of these novel drugs in urine. Separations were performed in an uncoated fused-silica capillary with id of 75 mu m with a total length of 100 cm, by applying a constant voltage of 15 kV. The QTOF-MS was implemented with an electrospray ion source operating in positive ionization full scan mode in the range of 100-1000 m/z. Under these conditions, different NPS has been tested, including eight cathinones, five phenethylamine, and seven tryptamines. The method was validated after optimization of the following analytical parameters: BGE composition and pH, separation voltage, sheath liquid composition, and flow rate and ESI source settings. The applicability of the method was successfully tested by analyzing a series of real urine samples obtained from drug users
Correction to: Safety and Psychological Outcomes of Tandem t:Slim X2 Insulin Pump with Control-IQ Technology in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: A Systematic Review
No full textThe second author name was incorrectly published as Giula Maria Smylie. The correct name is Giulia Marie Smylie. The original article has been corrected
BDC-Decomposition for global influence analysis
No full textIn biochemical networks, the steady-state input-output influence is the sign of the output steady-state variation due to a persistent positive input perturbation; if the sign does not depend on the value of the strictly positive system parameters, the influence is structural. As recently shown for small perturbations, when the linearized system approximation is valid, steady-state input-output influences can be structurally assessed, for biochemical networks with m unknown parameters, by means of a vertex algorithm with complexity 2m. This letter shows that the structural input-output influence of a biochemical network is a global property, which does not require any small-perturbation assumption. It also shows that, using a new algorithm, the complexity can be reduced down to 2m-n , where n is the system order, thus drastically reducing the computation time. Finally, when the uncertain parameters belong to known intervals, non-conservative bounds are given for the steady-state ratio between output and input, allowing for sensitivity analysis.Accepted Author ManuscriptTeam Tamas Keviczk
Coupling long-term GNSS monitoring and numerical modelling of lateral spreading for hazard assessment purposes
No full textLateral spreading is a complex geomorphological process occurring through the interplay of different factors. Due to their low rates of displacement, lateral spreads in rock are much less investigated than other landslide types even though sometimes they can evolve into faster and more hazardous movements such as topples. The lack of long-term monitoring data means that the deformation mechanisms of these landslides remain uncertain. Along the northwestern coast of the island of Malta (central Mediterranean Sea), the presence of a thick layer of clay underlying a brittle cap rock made of limestone has led to extensive rock spreading and associated block sliding. Two sites affected by such processes were monitored by GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) from 2005 to 2019. A network consisting of 17 benchmarks were surveyed twice per year, providing a 14-year displacement history. Coupling this exceptionally long monitoring dataset with Limit Equilibrium and Finite Difference slope stability modelling, the failure mechanisms of the landslides have been investigated to identify predisposing and driving instability factors. This research provides new knowledge on the kinematic behavior of extremely slow landslides and insights into landslide hazard assessments in areas extensively affected by lateral (rock) spreading
Multi-disciplinary surveys for the new geologicla maps of the low Friuli plain (Italy)
No full textThe study site is located in the central area of the Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) and is covered by geological map sheets 087 Palmanova and 108 Lignano Sabbiadoro. The area under consideration extends between the spring horizon to the north and Marano lagoon to the south. It covers a total area of 760 km2. The zone under consideration is characterised above all by the presence of alluvial deposits dating back to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 30,000-17,000 b.C.) and by the presence of deposits originated by the activity of resurgent rivers including Stella, Zellina, Corno and Aussa. The western sector of the Lignano sheet also includes deposits that can be ascribed to the post-LGM activity of river Tagliamento (last 17,000 years). Along the coastline post-LGM deposits reach a thickness of 10 m. Along the lagoon fringe there are territories that were reclaimed in the Twentieth century where lagoon deposits outcrop.
The project was conducted within the framework of the GEO-CGT by the Regional Geological Survey – DG Environment and Public Works of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the University of Trieste and Udine. It involved the preparation of 1:10,000 geological maps of Friuli Venezia Giulia which integrated new geological data (surveyed and processed to this very aim) into already existing information. Reference criteria for the cartographic representation and digitalisation are those set by the Italian Government for the preparation of the new national geological cartography at a scale of 1:50,000 (CARG project).
The Technical Geological Map (CGT) has been the primary source of grain-size and geotechnical information as far as the soil and the immediate subsoil of the areas taken into consideration. The bibliography collected has been integrated with the most recent studies and data on the geology and pedology of the areas involved. Also archaeological aspects have been taken into consideration to better define the history ad evolution of more recent deposits.
The map representing microrelief, together with the observation of aerial photographs taken in different years and satellite images, has proven a useful tool to analyse and define the area of the most frequent morphologies connected with river erosion and deposition phenomena.
This information has been subsequently cross-checked during surveying campaigns. More in detail, historic maps helped identify natural and/or man-made modifications of the hydrographic network ad of the use of soil in recent past. Some information on the age of the deposits were also taken from the numerous Roman archaeological sites present in the study areas.
Field surveys were aimed at identifying geomorphological landforms and sedimentologic characteristics and at defining the age of deposits. As the areas observed are plain ones and no deep natural outcrops are present, particular attention was given to the stratigraphy of the deposits that outcrop along the walls of artificial excavations. In the areas with no significant outcrops and in the most interesting ones, borehole logging was performed by means of a manual Edelmann probe. These boreholes reached a depth of 2-3 m and sometimes 6 m. The sediment samples collected were tested for grain-size distribution and carbon-14 dating.
Simultaneously, mechanical surveys were performed on the whole area reaching a depth of 10 m plus approximately a hundred static penetrometer probes reaching a 30 m depth.
The comprehensive geomorphological, sedimentological and geotechnical data collected permitted to define stratigraphic units, sedimentation environments, texture of surface deposits and the main landforms that characterise the western low Friuli plain.
The last surveying phase consisted in organising and processing the data collected thanks to the special functions of GIS. The entire project was conducted using a comprehensive set of hardware and software tools which permitted to maintain a close relation between the data collected on the field (database) and their digital geo-referenced map representation (geo-database). Data could therefore be viewed and interpreted according the standards set within the framework of the CARG project
I Write therefore I Am (Not). Reclaiming Negative Identities in Multilingual Literature
No full textThe Romantic notion of correspondence among linguistic, cultural and national identity haunts contemporary awareness of the multilingual character of individuals and nations. Therefore, post-Romantic authors writing in/with more than one language are confronted with the dilemma of self-definition: which culture can a multilingual author claim as theirs, if cultures are deemed to be monolingual entities? Similarly, nations are confronted with the dilemma of literary appropriation: which multilingual works can they ascribe to the national canon, if the canon only allows for one language? These issues present authors and nations with the threat of an identity crisis.
Although it is by no means the only possible response, denying any ultimate linguistic or national literary affiliation seems to be a common choice among multilingual writers who could, in fact, claim many. Which sociolinguistic factors prompt such a paradoxical answer? How does refusing linguistic and/or national belonging serve the assertion of authorial identity in the face of linguistic dispersion? Is there a relation between authors’ approaches to the issue and those of national literary systems?
This paper presents an overview of multilingual writers from different backgrounds whose metalanguage constructs the authorial persona by describing what it is not, with a focus on Jhumpa Lahiri and Yousif M. Qasmiyeh. The two authors share a threefold engagement with language as writers, translators and scholars, which is reflected in the metalinguistic dimension of their work, while their otherwise varied backgrounds illuminate different aspects of the relationship between polyglotism and literary self-definition by negation
New β‑Lactam Derivatives Modulate Cell Adhesion and Signaling Mediated by RGD-Binding and Leukocyte Integrins
No full textA novel series of
β-lactam derivatives that was designed
and synthesized to target RGD-binding and leukocyte integrins is reported.
The compound library was evaluated by investigating the effects on
integrin-mediated cell adhesion and cell signaling in cell lines expressing
αvβ3, αvβ5, αvβ6, α5β1, αIIbβ3, α4β1, and αLβ2 integrins. SAR analysis of the new series of azetidinones enabled
the recognition of structural elements associated with integrin selectivity.
We obtained selective and potent agonists that could induce cell adhesion
and promote cell signaling mediated by αvβ3, αvβ5, α5β1, or α4β1 integrin,
and antagonists for the integrins αvβ3 and α5β1, as well as α4β1 and αLβ2, preventing the effects elicited by the respective endogenous agonists
A Treebank-based Approach to the Supprema Constructio in Dante’s Latin Works
No full textThis paper aims to apply a corpus-driven approach to Dante Alighieri’s Latin works using UDante, a treebank based on Dante Search and part of the Universal Dependencies project. We present a method based on the notion of barycentre applied to a dependency tree as a way to calculate the “syntactic balance” of a sentence. Its application to Dante’s Latin works shows its potential in analysing the style of an author, and contributes to the interpretation of the supprema constructio mentioned in DVE II vi 7 as a well balanced syntactic pattern modeled on Latin literary writin
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