Hydrogeochemistry of a wetland area of southwestern Sicily (Italy)

The “Preola” and “Gorghi tondi” lakes are the most noticeable wetlands in the Mazara del Vallo territory (south-west Sicily). There are four karst origin lakes located in a natural depression formed by gypsum dissolution and subsequent collapse of the “Calcarenite di Marsala”, a few meters above sea level. Erosion of the depression sides and human activity has caused visible colluvial deposits, which have contributed to a natural filling process of the lakes. A hydrogeological map of the area and the reconstruction of a water circulation model supplying the lakes have been drafted from geochemical and hydrogeological data. It is apparent from 18O values that the well waters are mainly fed by local meteoric water circulating within the calcarenitic aquifer. However, the lake waters chemical composition are very likely controlled by evaporation processes and a complex mixing between seawater and groundwater, depending on seasonal variation in the hydrodynamic equilibrium

Palermo tra aspirazioni Euro-Mediterranee e processi innovativi

Lo scopo di questo lavoro \ue8 quello di fornire una panoramica dei cambiamenti culturali, sociali ed economici che si sono verificati a Palermo a partire dal 90 ', fornedo per quanto possibile un quadro di riferimento per il pensiero, il dibattito e l'azione politica nelle grandi aree metropolitane del Mezzogiorno mediterraneo che come Plaermo rappresenatano un punto di contatto culturale e un luogo per nuove opportunit\ue0, non solo commerciali, ma anche sociali e turistiche. Una reinterpretazione del sistema di innovazione in Sicilia che si configura come una rete di tipo policentrica, i cui nodi sono rappresentati dalla citt\ue0 di Palermo, Catania e Messina. In questo contesto, a Palermo, dove il settore dei servizi \ue8 ancora il pi\uf9 importante settore produttivo, si pu\uf2 notare un recente processo di "metamorfosi" che le recenti politiche di sviluppo regionale hanno tentato di favorire grazie ad ingenti investimenti in innovazione e ricerca

A synthetic derivative of antimicrobial peptide holothuroidin 2 from mediterranean sea cucumber (Holothuria tubulosa) in the control of Listeria monocytogenes

Due to the limited number of available antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered antimicrobial candidates to fight difficult-to-treat infections such as those associated with biofilms. Marine environments are precious sources of AMPs, as shown by the recent discovery of antibiofilm properties of Holothuroidin 2 (H2), an AMP produced by the Mediterranean sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa. In this study, we considered the properties of a new H2 derivative, named H2d, and we tested it against seven strains of the dangerous foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. This peptide was more active than H2 in inhibiting the growth of planktonic L. monocytogenes and was able to interfere with biofilm formation at sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Atomic-level molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed insights related to the enhanced inhibitory activity of H2d, showing that the peptide is characterized by a more defined tertiary structure with respect to its ancestor. This allows the peptide to better exhibit an amphipathic character, which is an essential requirement for the interaction with cell membranes, similarly to other AMPs. Altogether, these results support the potential use of our synthetic peptide, H2d, as a template for the development of novel AMP-based drugs able to fight foodborne that are resistant to conventional antibiotics

The artificial retina for track reconstruction at the LHC crossing rate

We present the results of an R&D study for a specialized processor capable of precisely reconstructing events with hundreds of charged-particle tracks in pixel and silicon strip detectors at $40\,\rm MHz$, thus suitable for processing LHC events at the full crossing frequency. For this purpose we design and test a massively parallel pattern-recognition algorithm, inspired to the current understanding of the mechanisms adopted by the primary visual cortex of mammals in the early stages of visual-information processing. The detailed geometry and charged-particle's activity of a large tracking detector are simulated and used to assess the performance of the artificial retina algorithm. We find that high-quality tracking in large detectors is possible with sub-microsecond latencies when the algorithm is implemented in modern, high-speed, high-bandwidth FPGA devices.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, ICHEP14. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1409.089

Simulation and performance of an artificial retina for 40 MHz track reconstruction

We present the results of a detailed simulation of the artificial retina pattern-recognition algorithm, designed to reconstruct events with hundreds of charged-particle tracks in pixel and silicon detectors at LHCb with LHC crossing frequency of $40\,\rm MHz$. Performances of the artificial retina algorithm are assessed using the official Monte Carlo samples of the LHCb experiment. We found performances for the retina pattern-recognition algorithm comparable with the full LHCb reconstruction algorithm.Comment: Final draft of WIT proceedings modified according to JINST referee's comment

Potential uses of olive oil secoiridoids for the prevention and treatment of cancer: A narrative review of preclinical studies

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is a combination of foods mainly rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients that have been shown to have many health-enhancing effects. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is an important component of the MD. The importance of EVOO can be attributed to phenolic compounds, represented by phenolic alcohols, hydroxytyrosol, and tyrosol, and to secoiridoids, which include oleocanthal, oleacein, oleuropein, and ligstroside (along with the aglycone and glycosidic derivatives of the latter two). Each secoiridoid has been studied and char-acterized, and their effects on human health have been documented by several studies. Secoiridoids have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative properties and, therefore, exhibit anti-cancer activity. This review summarizes the most recent findings regarding the pharmacological properties, molecular targets, and action mechanisms of secoiridoids, focusing attention on their preventive and anti-cancer activities. It provides a critical analysis of preclinical, in vitro and in vivo, studies of these natural bioactive compounds used as agents against various human cancers. The prospects for their possible use in human cancer prevention and treatment is also discussed

A Specialized Processor for Track Reconstruction at the LHC Crossing Rate

We present the results of an R&D study of a specialized processor capable of precisely reconstructing events with hundreds of charged-particle tracks in pixel detectors at 40 MHz, thus suitable for processing LHC events at the full crossing frequency. For this purpose we design and test a massively parallel pattern-recognition algorithm, inspired by studies of the processing of visual images by the brain as it happens in nature. We find that high-quality tracking in large detectors is possible with sub-$\mu$s latencies when this algorithm is implemented in modern, high-speed, high-bandwidth FPGA devices. This opens a possibility of making track reconstruction happen transparently as part of the detector readout.Comment: Presented by G.Punzi at the conference on "Instrumentation for Colliding Beam Physics" (INSTR14), 24 Feb to 1 Mar 2014, Novosibirsk, Russia. Submitted to JINST proceeding

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new indazole derivatives

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Phase II study of lonidamine in metastatic breast cancer.

Thirty patients with previously treated metastatic breast cancer were entered in a phase II study with oral lonidamine. Twenty-eight patients are evaluable for toxicity and 25 for response. A partial remission was obtained in four patients (16%) and disease stability in 11 (44%): 10 patients progressed (40%). Toxicity was acceptable, consisting mainly of myalgias (39% of patients) and asthenia (21.4%). No myelotoxicity was observed. The drug is active in previously treated metastatic breast cancer and, because of its peculiar pattern of action and toxicity, deserves to be evaluated in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy