Paleoambienti di provenienza delle associazioni a foraminiferi in una successione torbiditica del Mar Ionio

Il Mar Ionio è una delle zone tettonicamente più attive del Mediterraneo e per questo rappresenta un’area ottimale per studiare i rapporti tra sedimentazione e tettonica. Più del 90% dei sedimenti quaternari del Mar Ionio sono costituiti da unità torbiditiche messe in posto da sismi, in particolare, uno di questi depositi è definito “Homogenite” oppure “HAT” (Homogenite/Augias Turbidite), riferibile al terremoto/tsunami di Creta del 365 d.C.. In questo contesto, l’analisi delle associazioni a foraminiferi bentonici all’interno delle unità torbiditiche può fornire utili indicazioni riguardo ai paleoambienti di provenienza del sedimento. Lo scopo della tesi è studiare le associazioni a foraminiferi presenti all’interno del sondaggio CQ14_01, prelevato nel Mar Ionio a 3793 m di profondità, nel prisma di accrezione calabro e che presenta una successione riferibile alla HAT dello spessore di circa 7 m. All’interno della HAT, le analisi micropaleontologiche hanno evidenziato la presenza di una cospicua quantità di foraminiferi bentonici di dimensioni comprese tra 63 e 125 µm, costituite principalmente da specie presenti in un ampio intervallo batimetrico e subordinatamente da taxa tipici di piattaforma interna (principalmente Patellina corrugata, Spirillina vivipara e Rosalina spp.). La presenza di una quantità relativamente abbondante di taxa di piattaforma interna suggerisce che sia stata l'onda di ritorno dello tsunami a innescare la torbidite, mentre l'onda di andata avrebbe prodotto la rimobilizzazione del sedimento di piattaforma. Un simile modello di innesco delle torbiditi legate a tsunami è stato elaborato per spiegare alcune torbiditi messe in posto a seguito dell'evento sismico di Tohoku-Oki del 2011 (Arai et al., 2013). Lo studio eseguito in questa Tesi suggerisce che l’analisi delle associazioni a foraminiferi in depositi torbiditici può costituire uno strumento utile per determinare i paleoambenti di provenienza dei fossili e probabilmente anche per ricostruire le modalità di innesco e di messa in posto dei flussi torbiditici

I rappresentanti del Regno di Sardegna in Brasile (1834-1859) : la costruzione della rete consolare, l'immigrazione, il commercio e l'immagine dell'Impero.

La tesi è uno studio dell'istituzione e del consolidamento della rete consolare e della rappresentanza diplomatica del Regno di Sardegna in Brasile tra il 1834 e il 1859. Particolare attenzione è rivolta all'attività dei consoli e dei diplomatici per la tutela dei connazionali e del commercio. Viene evidenziata infine l'immagine del Brasile secondo quanto emerge dai dispacci inviati al Ministero degli Esteri di Torino. Le fonti consultate sono conservate presso l'Archivio di Stato di Torino.open33.030La tesi è conservata presso il Nuovo Archivio di Legnaro. Per la consultazione presso la Biblioteca di Storia inviare una e-mail di richiesta con i dati del documento a [email protected]

Effects of LED Lights and New Long-Term-Release Fertilizers on Lettuce Growth: A Contribution for Sustainable Horticulture

The horticulture sector has been directed by European guidelines to improve its practices related to environmental sustainability. Moreover, the practice of horticulture in urban areas is increasing since it provides fresh products that are locally produced. At the same time, horticulture needs to implement circular economy approaches and energy-efficient models. Therefore, to address these issues, this study investigated the effects of an integrated fertilizer-box-based cultivation system equipped with LED lights and coated porous inorganic materials (C-PIMs), which was applied as fertilizer, on Lactuca sativa L. growth. Two different types of lightweight aggregates were formulated considering agri-food and post-consumer waste, and they were enriched with potassium and phosphorus. Involving waste in the process was part of their valorization in the circular economy. Using PIMs as fertilizers enabled the controlled release of nutrients over time. The tests were carried out in controlled conditions using two LED lighting systems capable of changing their light spectrum according to the growth phases of the plants. The effects of two different lighting schemes on the growth of lettuce plants, in combination with different amounts of aggregates, were studied. The results showed that increasing the amount of C-PIMs statistically improved the lettuce growth in terms of dry biomass production (+60% and +34% for two different types of PIM application) when the plants were exposed to the first LED scheme (LED-1). Plant height and leaf areas significantly increased when exposed to the second LED scheme (LED-2), in combination with the presence of C-PIMs in the soil. The analysis of the heavy metal contents in the lettuce leaves and the soil at the end of the test revealed that these elements remained significantly below the legislated thresholds. The experimental achievements of this study identified a new approach to improve the environmental sustainability of horticulture, especially in an urban/domestic context

Does poor stunning affect the assessment of animal-based measures consciousness in lambs at slaughter?

Oral session 2[EN] According to EU legislation on the killing of animals (EC n. 1099/2009), to ensure that animals do not regain consciousness before slaughter, the efficiency of stunning method must be evaluated through animal-based measures (ABMs)

Listeria monocytogenes sensitivity to antimicrobial treatments depends on cell origin

In this study we investigated how cell origin could affect the efficacy of an antimicrobial treatment (mild heating combined with terpenoids) in Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, considering cells from: 1. single colony, 2. glycerol stock, 3. cold adapted culture, and 4. fresh culture in stationary phase. After treatment, culturability on BHI medium and viability assessed by flow cytometry were evaluated. Our results showed that the cell origin significantly impacted viability and culturability of L. monocytogenes towards antimicrobial treatment. The mild heat treatment combined or not with terpenoids mainly affected culturability rather than viability, although the culturability of cells from single colony was less impacted. Therefore, to mimic the worst scenario, these latter were selected to contaminate Gorgonzola rind and roast beef slices and we evaluated the ability of L. monocytogenes cells to recover their culturability (on ALOA agar medium) and to growth on the food matrix stored at 4 °C for 7 days. Our results suggest that only Gorgonzola rind allowed a partial recovery of the culturability of cells previously heated in presence or not of terpens. In conclusion, we found a connection between the cell history and sensitivity toward an antimicrobial treatment, underlying the importance to standardize the experimental procedures (starting from the cells to be used in the assay) in the assessment of cell sensitivity to a specific treatment. Finally, our study clearly indicated that VBNC cells can resuscitate under favorable conditions on a food matrix, becoming a threat for consumer’s health

Effects of Starter Cultures and Type of Casings on the Microbial Features and Volatile Profile of Fermented Sausages

In the literature, the effect of the type of casing on fermented sausages is quite unexplored, while several studies are focused on the impact of starter cultures. Therefore, this paper studied the effect of three commercial starter cultures and two casings (natural or collagen) on Italian fermented sausages. Physico-chemical parameters (aw, pH, weight loss), microbiota, aroma profile and sensory analysis were evaluated. Results showed that collagen casings promoted a higher reduction of pH and weight loss. Concerning the microbiota, samples with natural casing had higher counts of lactic acid bacteria, while yeast proliferation was promoted in those with collagen. Regardless of the starters and casings applied, levels of enterococci and Enterobacteriaceae were low (≤2 log CFU/g). The aroma profile was significantly affected by casing: despite the starter applied, the presence of collagen casing favoured acid accumulation (mainly acetate and butanoate) and reduction of ketones. Sensory analysis highlighted significant differences only for odour, colour intensity and sourness. The differences observed suggest that collagen casings may provide a greater availability of oxygen. Overall, casings rather than starter cultures impact the microbial and sensorial features of fermented sausages

von Willebrand factor-binding protein (vWbp)-activated factor XIII and transglutaminase 2 (TG2) promote cross-linking between FnBPA from Staphylococcus aureus and fibrinogen

The secreted von Willebrand factor-binding protein (vWbp) from Staphylococcus aureus interacts with the coagulation factors prothrombin and fibrinogen (Fbg), leading to the non-proteolytic transglutaminase activation of Factor XIII (FXIII). In this study we found that vWbp-activated FXIII catalyses the incorporation of amino-donor dansylcadaverine into region A of fibronectin-binding protein A (FnBPA). Incubation of Fbg with recombinant region A of S. aureus Fbg-binding proteins FnBPA, FnBPB, ClfA or ClfB in presence of vWbp-activated FXIII resulted in the formation of high molecular heteropolymers with FnBPA only, suggesting a specificity of the cross-linking reaction between fibrin(ogen) and the staphylococcal surface. As previously observed, cross-linking sites were mapped to the α-chain and the N1 subdomain of fibrin(ogen) and region A of FnBPA, respectively. Comparable results were obtained when tissue tranglutaminase-2 (TG2) was tested for cross-linking of FnBPA and Fbg. Of note, FnBPA-mediated covalent cross-linking promoted by vWbp-activated FXIII was also observed when bacteria were allowed to attach to fibrin(ogen). Together these findings suggest a novel pathogenetic mechanism by which the transglutaminase action of FXIII and/or TG2 contributes to entrapment and persistence of S. aureus in blood and host tissues

Insights into the Metabolomic Diversity of Latilactobacillus sakei

: Latilactobacillus sakei (L. sakei), widely used as a starter culture in fermented sausages, is a species adapted to meat environments. Its ability to survive for a long time in such products is due to the exploitation of different metabolic pathways to gain energy (hexose and pentose sugar fermentation, amino acids catabolism, etc.). Since L. sakei demonstrates high phenotypic and metabolic strain biodiversity, in this work, a metabolomic approach was used to compare five strains of different origins. They were cultivated in a defined medium with glucose or ribose at two concentrations, and analyzed through nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy to monitor amino acid consumptions and accumulation of organic acids and aroma compounds. The results showed that all the strains were able to use arginine, especially when cultivated with ribose, while serine was consumed mainly in the presence of glucose. Aroma compounds (i.e., diacetyl and acetoin) were mainly accumulated in samples with ribose. These aspects are relevant for starter cultures selection, to confer specific features to fermented sausages, and to optimize the fermentations. Moreover, the use of 1H-NMR allowed the fast identification of different classes of compounds (without derivatization or extraction procedures), providing a powerful tool to increase the knowledge of the metabolic diversity of L. sakei

Survival, growth, and biogenic amine production of Enterococcus faecium FC12 in response to extracts and essential oils of Rubus fruticosus and Juniperus oxycedrus

Enterococci are lactic acid bacteria (LAB) usually found as food contaminants in fermented products such as cheeses and fermented sausages. Due to their antibiotic resistance, the presence of virulence factors, and the ability to produce biogenic amines (BAs), the determination of these bacteria is crucial to assure food quality and safety. BAs production and consequent accumulation in foods can cause toxicological eects on human health. Plant phenolic compounds are promising alternatives to chemical preservatives and reflect consumers’ demand for “green” solutions. In this study, the antimicrobial eect of blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) leaves and prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus) needles, both as phenolic extracts (PE) and essential oils (EO), were evaluated against Enterococcus faecium FC12, a known tyramine-producing strai

Gene Expression Analysis of an EGFR Indirectly Related Pathway Identified PTEN and MMP9 as Reliable Diagnostic Markers for Human Glial Tumor Specimens

In this study the mRNA levels of five EGFR indirectly related genes, EGFR, HB-EGF, ADAM17, PTEN, and MMP9, have been assessed by Real-time PCR in a panel of 37 glioblastoma multiforme specimens and in 5 normal brain samples; as a result, in glioblastoma, ADAM17 and PTEN expression was significantly lower than in normal brain samples, and, in particular, a statistically significant inverse correlation was found between PTEN and MMP9 mRNA levels. To verify if this correlation was conserved in gliomas, PTEN and MMP9 expression was further investigated in an additional panel of 16 anaplastic astrocytoma specimens and, in parallel, in different human normal and astrocytic tumor cell lines. In anaplastic astrocytomas PTEN expression was significantly higher than in glioblastoma multiforme, but no significant correlation was found between PTEN and MMP9 expression. PTEN and MMP9 mRNA levels were also employed to identify subgroups of specimens within the different glioma malignancy grades and to define a gene expression-based diagnostic classification scheme. In conclusion, this gene expression survey highlighted that the combined measurement of PTEN and MMP9 transcripts might represent a novel reliable tool for the differential diagnosis of high-grade gliomas, and it also suggested a functional link involving these genes in glial tumors