Landslide hazard and land management in high-density urban areas of Campania region, Italy

Abstract. Results deriving from a research focused on the interplay between landslides and urban development are presented here, with reference to two densely populated settings located in the Campania region, Italy: the city of Naples and the island of Ischia. Both areas suffer adverse consequences from various types of landslides since at least 2000 yr. Our study evidences that, despite the long history of slope instabilities, the urban evolution, often illegal, disregarded the high landslide propensity of the hillsides; thus, unsafe lands have been occupied, even in recent years, when proper and strict rules have been enacted to downgrade the landslide risk. It is finally argued that future guidelines should not be entirely based upon physical countermeasures against mass movements. On the contrary, national and local authorities should enforce the territorial control, obliging citizens to respect the existing regulations and emphasizing the role of alternative, non-structural solutions

Soil Biocementation via Enzyme Induced Carbonate Precipitation (EICP) Method Employing Soybeans as a Source of Cheap Enzyme

In this work, the soil improvement technique via Enzyme Induced Carbonate Precipitation (EICP) was investigated by employing, as an alternative to expensive pure enzymes, enzymes extracted from agro-food wastes (tomato, apple, and soybean) such that the process is economically viable and fully embraces the concept of the circular economy. The feasibility of the process was evaluated by monitoring calcium carbonate precipitation in a sand sample. The effect of selected operative parameters was investigated during the injection into different grain size sand samples. The optimal operating conditions in terms of sand grain size, temperature, Urea/Calcium concentration were found. Results demonstrated the effectiveness of this alternative solution for EICP method in term of acquired material strength and the possibility to operate sand consolidation through an economically sustainable process

Diagnostic accuracy of a new antigen test for sars-cov-2 detection

Background and aims: Quick and reliable diagnostic tools play an important role in con-trolling the spread of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a new cyto-salivary antigen test aimed at detecting the presence of antigens for SARS-CoV-2, as compared by the gold standard RT-PCR and a lateral flow test. Methods: A total of 433 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study and the sensitivity and specificity of the new cyto-salivary antigen test were calculated, as compared to the RT-PCR nasopharyngeal swab and to the lateral flow test. Results: A total of 433 samples were collected and tested at the Mediterranean Fair in Palermo from February 2021 until April 2021. The new cyto-salivary antigen had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 94.2%. The sensitivity and the specificity of the lateral flow test were 55% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions: The new cyto-salivary antigen test detected more positive cases than the RT-PCR in a sample of asymptomatic subjects, demonstrating to be a promising tool for a more sensitive diagnosis of COVID-19. Further studies are warranted to better characterize its diagnostic accuracy

Search for spontaneous muon emission from lead nuclei

We describe a possible search for muonic radioactivity from lead nuclei using the base elements ("bricks" composed by lead and nuclear emulsion sheets) of the long-baseline OPERA neutrino experiment. We present the results of a Monte Carlo simulation concerning the expected event topologies and estimates of the background events. Using few bricks, we could reach a good sensitivity level.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Two heterologously expressed Planobispora rosea proteins cooperatively induce Streptomyces lividans thiostrepton uptake and storage from the extracellular medium

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A bacterial artificial chromosomal library of <it>Planobispora rosea</it>, a genetically intractable actinomycete strain, was constructed using <it>Escherichia coli</it>-<it>Streptomyces </it>artificial chromosome (ESAC) and screened for the presence of genes known to be involved in the biosynthesis of antibiotics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One clone with a 40 kb insert showed antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria. Insert sequence analysis and subcloning experiments revealed that the bioactivity was due to a 3.5 kb DNA fragment containing two open reading frames. These <it>orfs </it>encode two proteins with high similarity to a putative membrane protein of <it>Streptomyces coelicolor </it>and to the nogalamycin resistance protein SnorO of <it>Streptomyces nogalater</it>, respectively. The role of these two Orfs is unknown in <it>Planobispora. </it>Disruption and complementation experiments revealed that both proteins are necessary for the antibacterial activity and chemical analysis demonstrated that the antibiotic activity was due to thiostrepton, antibiotic used as recombinant clone selection marker.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Two <it>Planobispora rosea orfs </it>are responsible for increasing intracellular amounts and storage of thiostrepton in <it>Streptomyces lividans</it>.</p

Occurrence and spatial-temporal distribution of atrazine and its metabolites in the aquatic environment of the Volturno River estuary, southern Italy

The present study assesses the spatial distribution and temporal trends of the water dissolved phase (WDP), suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediment partitioning of atrazine (ATR) and its metabolites in the Volturno River estuary. The load contribution of ATR and its metabolites in this river to the Central Mediterranean Sea was estimated. Samples were collected in 10 sampling sites during the four seasons. The total concentrations of ATR and DPs detected ranged from 18.1 to 105.5 ng L−1 in WDP, from 4.5 to 63.2 ng L−1 in SPM, and from 4.6 to 18.6 ng g-1 in sediment samples, indicating high levels of these pollutants. Structural equation model and the ratio study indicated that the relationship between sediment and WDP pollutants occurred through the SPM. The pollutants load at the Volturno River in its mouth was evaluated in about 30.4 kg year-1, showing that this river is an important source of these analytes through discharge into Central Mediterranean Sea. Principal component analysis indicated that ATR and its metabolites pollution moves from Volturno River mouth southward and increased in the rainy season. The desethylatrazine-to-atrazine ratio was higher than 0.5 for all samples analyzed, indicating an historical discharge and a long residence time of ATR in sediment about two decades after its ban, and classifying ATR as a nonpoint source contaminant. This study makes up the first record of ATR and its metabolites in superficial water of Southern Italy and provides helpful data as starting point for future studies

Brain CHID1 Expression Correlates with NRGN and CALB1 in Healthy Subjects and AD Patients

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, devastating, and irreversible brain disorder that, day by day, destroys memory skills and social behavior. Despite this, the number of known genes suitable for discriminating between AD patients is insufficient. Among the genes potentially involved in the development of AD, there are the chitinase-like proteins (CLPs) CHI3L1, CHI3L2, and CHID1. The genes of the first two have been extensively investigated while, on the contrary, little information is available on CHID1. In this manuscript, we conducted transcriptome meta-analysis on an extensive sample of brains of healthy control subjects (n = 1849) (NDHC) and brains of AD patients (n = 1170) in order to demonstrate CHID1 involvement. Our analysis revealed an inverse correlation between the brain CHID1 expression levels and the age of NDHC subjects. Significant differences were highlighted comparing CHID1 expression of NDHC subjects and AD patients. Exclusive in AD patients, the CHID1 expression levels were correlated positively to calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA1) levels. Furthermore, both in NDHC and in AD patient's brains, the CHID1 expression levels were directly correlated with calbindin 1 (CALB1) and neurogranin (NRGN). According to brain regions, correlation differences were shown between the expression levels of CHID1 in prefrontal, frontal, occipital, cerebellum, temporal, and limbic system. Sex-related differences were only highlighted in NDHC. CHID1 represents a new chitinase potentially involved in the principal processes underlying Alzheimer's disease