El equus stenonis cocchi como indicador biostatigráfico del plio-pleistoceno en Italia y España

[Resumen] Se esquematiza la cronoestratigrafía de los principales yacimientos de Vertebrados italianos del Plio-pleistoceno, de el Villafranquiense medio al Galerino. Se estudia, desde un punto de vista evolutivo, la presencia de las distintas formas de Equus stenonis Cocchi hasta la llegada de Equus caballus Linn. La comparación de los distintos estadios evolutivos de E. stenonis y su fauna acompañante permiten la elaboración de un Cuadro sinóptico en el cual los yacimientos españoles con Equus se correlacionan con sus sincrónicos italianos sobre una base estratigráfica comparada (BONADONNA, 1982; ARIAS et all., 1982) con los principales eventos geológicos en Europa[Abstract] The chronostratigraphy of the Plio-pleistocene marnmals italian deposits from middle Villafranchian to Galerian is surnmarized. The presence of different forms of Equus stenonis Cocchi until the appearance of the first kinds of Equus caballus Linn. is studied by an evolutive point of view. The comparison among the different evolutive levels of Equus stenonis and the associated fauna allow us to build a synoptic Table in which the spanish deposits with Equus are correlate to analogous italian ones ln a stratigraphic scale yet compared (BONADONNA, 1982; ARIAS et all., 1982) to the most important geological event ln Europ

Ash generation and distribution from the April-May 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

The 39-day long eruption at the summit of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April–May 2010 was of modest size but ash was widely dispersed. By combining data from ground surveys and remote sensing we show that the erupted material was 4.8±1.2·1011 kg (benmoreite and trachyte, dense rock equivalent volume 0.18±0.05 km3). About 20% was lava and water-transported tephra, 80% was airborne tephra (bulk volume 0.27 km3) transported by 3–10 km high plumes. The airborne tephra was mostly fine ash (diameter <1000 µm). At least 7·1010 kg (70 Tg) was very fine ash (<28 µm), several times more than previously estimated via satellite retrievals. About 50% of the tephra fell in Iceland with the remainder carried towards south and east, detected over ~7 million km2 in Europe and the North Atlantic. Of order 1010 kg (2%) are considered to have been transported longer than 600–700 km with <108 kg (<0.02%) reaching mainland Europe

Paleoclimatic and paleobiological correlations by mammal faunas from Southern America and SW Europe

Proceedings of the 1" R.C.A.N.S. Congress, Lisboa, October 1992The preliminary results of a research dealing with the study of global changes in the last 5 Ma by correlations of continental records between the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres (SW Europe and Argentina, respectively) are reported. The first analyses of the evolutionary patterns point out, in Argentina, two different turnover times: the first one is characterized by a high percentage of mammalautochthonous extinctions placed in the span of time between the last Chapadmalalan and the first Ensenadan faunas, around 2.5-2.3 Ma. It is possible to identify a high percentage of new immigrant genera from North America in the first turnover, while the second one, associated to the "last Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions", probably occurred at the beginning of the "Glacial Pleistocene", around 1.0-0.8 Ma. The oxygen isotope composition of phosphate from fossil mammal bones was measured to have a better climatic resolution from faunal elements of two hemispheres and to compare them by results as quantitative as possible. The preliminary efforts are brought out on fourteen deposits from SE Spain. Isotopic and chemical results strongly suggest the existence of a relation between the oxygen isotope composition in various skeletal components and the taphonomic processes of a single deposit. The variations of 0180 in the mammal teeth of Equidae from SE Spain suggest a shift towards a colder environment from the older one, Huelago, to more recent deposits, as well as from Venta Micena to Fuensanta in agreement with the transition from the Middle to the Upper Villafranchian, around 2.5 Ma, and the transition between the "Preglacial" to the "Glacial" Pleistocene, around 1.9-0.8 Ma

Pepper mild mottle virus in different water matrices

Abstract Background Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a plant virus belonging to Virgoviridae, has recently been suggested as a potential viral indicator for faecal pollution in aquatic environments, since it has been found to be abundantly excreted from healthy human subjects. Methods The occurrence, amount and diversity of PMMoV was investigated in water environments by nested RT-PCR and TaqMan based quantitative PCR. During 2017-2019, 251 water samples (92 urban wastewaters, 32 treated effluents, 16 surface water samples, 9 estuarine samples, 20 seawater samples, 67 groundwater samples, and 15 drinking waters) were analysed. Results PMMoV was detected in 73/92 (79%) wastewater samples, 22/32 (69%) treated sewages, 11/16 (69%) river samples, 6/9 (67%) estuarine samples, 5/20 (25%) bathing waters, and 9/67 (13%) groundwaters, whilst drinking water samples tested always negative. Mean viral concentrations (genome copies/L) were: raw sewage 4.2 × 106, treated sewage 7.4 × 105, river 3.2 × 103, estuarine waters 9.6 × 102, seawaters 3.0 × 102, groundwaters 7.7 × 101. Conclusions This study highlights the significant occurrence of PMMoV in aquatic environment in Italy, and a clear gradient of viral prevalence and concentrations from polluted to clean waters (wastewaters to drinking waters). Key messages PMMoV is ubiquitous throughout the water cycle in Italy with different concentrations. Studies are needed to evaluate the suitability of PMMoV as a viral indicator for human fecal pollution in waters

Prevalence and occurrence of zoonotic bacterial pathogens in surface waters determined by quantitative PCR

The prevalence and concentrations of Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp. and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) were investigated in surface waters in Brisbane, Australia using quantitative PCR (qPCR) based methodologies. Water samples were collected from Brisbane City Botanic Gardens (CBG) Pond, and two urban tidal creeks (i.e., Oxley Creek and Blunder Creek). Of the 32 water samples collected, 8 (25%), 1 (3%), 9 (28%), 14 (44%), and 15 (47%) were positive for C. jejuni mapA, Salmonella invA, EHEC O157 LPS, EHEC VT1, and EHEC VT2 genes, respectively. The presence/absence of the potential pathogens did not correlate with either E. coli or enterococci concentrations as determined by binary logistic regression. In conclusion, the high prevalence, and concentrations of potential zoonotic pathogens along with the concentrations of one or more fecal indicators in surface water samples indicate a poor level of microbial quality of surface water, and could represent a significant health risk to users. The results from the current study would provide valuable information to the water quality managers in terms of minimizing the risk from pathogens in surface waters

New physical characterization of the Fontana Lapilli basaltic Plinian eruption, Nicaragua

The Fontana Lapilli deposit was erupted in the late Pleistocene from a vent, or multiple vents, located near Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) and is the product of one of the largest basaltic Plinian eruptions studied so far. This eruption evolved from an initial sequence of fluctuating fountain-like events and moderately explosive pulses to a sustained Plinian episode depositing fall beds of highly vesicular basaltic-andesite scoria (SiO2 > 53 wt%). Samples show unimodal grain size distribution and a moderate sorting that are uniform in time. The juvenile component predominates (> 96 wt%) and consists of vesicular clasts with both sub-angular and fluidal, elongated shapes. We obtain a maximum plume height of 32 km and an associated mass eruption rate of 1.4 × 108 kg s−1 for the Plinian phase. Estimates of erupted volume are strongly sensitive to the technique used for the calculation and to the distribution of field data. Our best estimate for the erupted volume of the majority of the climactic Plinian phase is between 2.9 and 3.8 km3 and was obtained by applying a power-law fitting technique with different integration limits. The estimated eruption duration varies between 4 and 6 h. Marine-core data confirm that the tephra thinning is better fitted by a power-law than by an exponential trend

Meteorological Controls on Local and Regional Volcanic Ash Dispersal

Volcanic ash has the capacity to impact human health, livestock, crops and infrastructure, including international air traffic. For recent major eruptions, information on the volcanic ash plume has been combined with relatively coarse-resolution meteorological model output to provide simulations of regional ash dispersal, with reasonable success on the scale of hundreds of kilometres. However, to predict and mitigate these impacts locally, significant improvements in modelling capability are required. Here, we present results from a dynamic meteorological-ash-dispersion model configured with sufficient resolution to represent local topographic and convectively-forced flows. We focus on an archetypal volcanic setting, Soufrière, St Vincent, and use the exceptional historical records of the 1902 and 1979 eruptions to challenge our simulations. We find that the evolution and characteristics of ash deposition on St Vincent and nearby islands can be accurately simulated when the wind shear associated with the trade wind inversion and topographically-forced flows are represented. The wind shear plays a primary role and topographic flows a secondary role on ash distribution on local to regional scales. We propose a new explanation for the downwind ash deposition maxima, commonly observed in volcanic eruptions, as resulting from the detailed forcing of mesoscale meteorology on the ash plume

Block sequential adriamycin CMF – optimal non-myeloablative chemotherapy for high risk adjuvant breast cancer?

After the publication of the 10-year survival data from Milan on the adjuvant use of the block sequential regimen consisting of four cycles of adriamycin followed by eight cycles of intravenous CMF, many centres adopted this as standard of care for high risk, multiple node-positive breast cancer. For this reason it was identified as the standard arm for the Anglo-Celtic adjuvant high-dose chemotherapy trial. This study reports on the experience of this regimen in 329 women with early breast cancer involving at least four axillary nodes, who were treated outside any adjuvant chemotherapy trial. At a median follow-up of 3 years, the overall 5-year disease-free survival is 61%, and the overall survival is 70%. These data confirm the efficacy of this regimen in non-trial patients, and, for the same high risk subgroup, indicate that this approach offers an outcome at least as good as that seen in the CALGB 9344 AC-Taxol arm, and the NCIC days 1 and 8 CEF