Glazed sgraffito ware from Torre Alemanna (Foggia, fifteenth to sixteenth century A.D.): technological aspects of a local production

The archaeometric investigation of 46 potsherds of “Torre Alemanna type” pottery aimed to define a compositional refer- ence group and to understand the technological characteristics of its production. Principal component analysis applied to bulk chemical data (XRF) of the ceramic body showed a strong compositional homogeneity. Their comparison with local clays and 6 fragments of bricks sampled from the ceramic kiln, on the one hand, revealed the use of alluvial clays as raw material and, on the other hand, proved their fractionation for the production of pottery. The mineralogical assemblages detected by X-ray powder diffraction analysis inferred maximum firing temperatures between 750 and 1000 °C for the ceramic body. Polarising optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) investigations on coating revealed the presence of quartz-rich white engobe covered with a high lead transparent glaze. The polychromatic decoration was analysed by colorimetry and EDS to compare the colour characteristics through all the pot- sherds. A temperature range between 780 and 950 °C of liquidus temperatures was inferred from the ternary phase diagram of PbO-Al2O3-SiO2 system. Overlap of temperature ranges for sintering of the ceramic body and maturing glaze points to a single firing of the Torre Alemanna type ware. The results obtained define the reference compositional group and technol- ogy of the Torre Alemanna type ware, already attested in several archaeological contexts of southern Italy, and showed a technological continuity with the past about the use of local carbonate-rich clays to produce fine pottery

SiLiBA: Building the geological chert lithotheque

Lithotheques collect and exhibit raw material used by human communities for the manufacturing of objects during the Prehistory and represents an important tool of their knowledge. These collections are essential in the procuring and provenance study of archaeological lithic industries. This paper aims, firstly, to introduce SiLiBA, the lithotheque of the Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences Department of the University of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy), as reference collection in the archaeological field studies, and secondly to propose guidelines and rules to build a lithotheque. The collection consists of about 900 pieces of geological cherts, which are the result of an expanded collecting action of primary and secondary cherts across Italy (Apulia, Basilicata, Sicily), Croatia, and Switzerland, belonging to formations from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary Period. All the chert samples were described according to the non-destructive multiparametric protocol for chert investigation (NM-PCI), providing a modular dataset of binary, ordinal and continuous variables which integrates petrographycal, micropaleontological, chemical and physical data. Such results were summarized in suitable reports, with also geographic coordinates, geological description and photographic documentation, in a digital database, which will be soon online. Cherts are grouped in 37 suitable boxes, following geographic hierarchical organisation and reporting informative labels. Some representative samples are exposed in the Earth Sciences Museum of the same University. Furthermore, the lithotheque is equipped by a dedicated laboratory which includes optical microscopes, a glossmeter and a spectrophotocolorimeter. The promotion in the last years was guaranteed by dissemination activities for educational and academic communities, including an interactive laboratory of experimental archaeology

Evaluation of the prognostic value of impaired renal function on clinical progression in a large cohort of HIV-infected people seen for care in Italy

Whilst renal dysfunction, especially mild impairment (60 die;ve (Icona) Foundation Study collected between January 2000 and February 2014 with at least two creatinine values available. eGFR (CKD-epi) and renal dysfunction defined using a priori cut-offs of 60 (severely impaired) and 90 ml/min/1.73m2 (mildly impaired). Characteristics of patients were described after stratification in these groups and compared using chi-square test (categorical variables) or Kruskal Wallis test comparing median values. Follow-up accrued from baseline up to the date of the CCVD or AIDS related events or death or last available visit. Kaplan Meier curves were used to estimate the cumulative probability of occurrence of the events over time. Adjusted analysis was performed using a proportional hazards Cox regression model. We included 7,385 patients, observed for a median follow-up of 43 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 21-93 months). Over this time, 130 cerebro-cardiovascular events (including 11 deaths due to CCVD) and 311 AIDS-related events (including 45 deaths) were observed. The rate of CCVD events among patients with eGFR >90, 60-89, <60 ml/min, was 2.91 (95% CI 2.30-3.67), 4.63 (95% CI 3.51-6.11) and 11.9 (95% CI 6.19-22.85) per 1,000 PYFU respectively, with an unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 4.14 (95%CI 2.07-8.29) for patients with eGFR <60 ml/min and 1.58 (95%CI 1.10-2.27) for eGFR 60-89 compared to those with eGFR ≥90. Of note, these estimates are adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. smoking, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia). Incidence of AIDS-related events was 9.51 (95%CI 8.35-10.83), 6.04 (95%CI 4.74-7.71) and 25.0 (95% CI 15.96-39.22) per 1,000 PYFU, among patients with eGFR >90, 60-89, <60 ml/min, respectively, with an unadjusted HR of 2.49 (95%CI 1.56-3.97) for patients with eGFR <60 ml/min and 0.68 (95%CI 0.52-0.90) for eGFR 60-89. The risk of AIDS events was significantly lower in mild renal dysfunction group even after adjustment for HIV-related characteristics. Our data confirm that impaired renal function is an important risk marker for CCVD events in the HIV-population; importantly, even those with mild renal impairment (90<60)&gt

Key signalling nodes in mammary gland development and cancer. Mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling in experimental models of breast cancer progression and in mammary gland development

Seven classes of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) intracellular signalling cascades exist, four of which are implicated in breast disease and function in mammary epithelial cells. These are the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 pathway, the ERK5 pathway, the p38 pathway and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. In some forms of human breast cancer and in many experimental models of breast cancer progression, signalling through the ERK1/2 pathway, in particular, has been implicated as being important. We review the influence of ERK1/2 activity on the organised three-dimensional association of mammary epithelial cells, and in models of breast cancer cell invasion. We assess the importance of epidermal growth factor receptor family signalling through ERK1/2 in models of breast cancer progression and the influence of ERK1/2 on its substrate, the oestrogen receptor, in this context. In parallel, we consider the importance of these MAPK-centred signalling cascades during the cycle of mammary gland development. Although less extensively studied, we highlight the instances of signalling through the p38, JNK and ERK5 pathways involved in breast cancer progression and mammary gland development

Analisi scientifiche dello scaraboide

Il 28° Convegno Nazionale sulla Preistoria, Protostoria e Storia della Daunia è stato realizzato con il contributo del Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali Direzione Generale per i Beni Librari e gli Istituti Culturali. Serv, III e dell'Amministrazione Comunale di San Severo