Glacier surface-area changes in Sagarmatha national park, Nepal, in the second half of the 20th century, by comparison of historical maps

AbstractWe investigate variations in the surface area of glaciers in Sagarmatha national park, Nepal, during the second half of the 20th century through comparison of a map applicable to the late 1950s with the official map of Nepal in the early 1990s. The comparison reveals a slight overall decrease in glacier area (by 4.9%, from 403.9 to 384.6 km2), a result which, though potentially subject to errors arising from cartographic interpretation, is in line with the area reductions found by other studies of Asian glaciers. We find that the areas of some individual glaciers, the largest situated at higher altitudes, increased during the study period. This was most apparent for the glaciers oriented to the south, with the increase occurring mainly in the glacier accumulation zones while the fronts tended to recede. Meanwhile, the smaller glaciers, situated lower and on steep basins, experienced a reduction. For the smaller glaciers, the sections most affected by change were the accumulation zones, and these glaciers showed a tendency for the front to advance. In this region there is a lack of climate data for high altitudes. Nevertheless, observations from stations situated around the park suggest that, alongside temperature variations which are often considered the primary factor eliciting glacier response, changes in precipitation play a significant role

Protocollo per il campionamento di fitoplancton in ambiente lacustre

No abstract availabl

Complexity of Progranulin Mechanisms of Action in Mesothelioma

Background: Mesothelioma is an aggressive disease with limited therapeutic options. The growth factor progranulin plays a critical role in several cancer models, where it regulates tumor initiation and progression. Recent data from our laboratories have demonstrated that progranulin and its receptor, EphA2, constitute an oncogenic pathway in bladder cancer by promoting motility, invasion and in vivo tumor formation. Progranulin and EphA2 are expressed in mesothelioma cells but their mechanisms of action are not well defined. In addition, there are no data establishing whether the progranulin/EphA2 axis is tumorigenic for mesothelioma cells. Methods: The expression of progranulin in various mesothelioma cell lines derived from all major mesothelioma subtypes was examined by western blots on cell lysates, conditioned media and ELISA assays. The biological roles of progranulin, EphA2, EGFR, RYK and FAK were assessed in vitro by immunoblots, human phospho-RTK antibody arrays, pharmacological (specific inhibitors) and genetic (siRNAs, shRNAs, CRISPR/Cas9) approaches, motility, invasion and adhesion assays. In vivo tumorigenesis was determined by xenograft models. Focal adhesion turnover was evaluated biochemically using focal adhesion assembly/disassembly assays and immunofluorescence analysis with focal adhesion-specific markers. Results: In the present study we show that progranulin is upregulated in various mesothelioma cell lines covering all mesothelioma subtypes and is an important regulator of motility, invasion, adhesion and in vivo tumor formation. However, our results indicate that EphA2 is not the major functional receptor for progranulin in mesothelioma cells, where progranulin activates a complex signaling network including EGFR and RYK. We further characterized progranulin mechanisms of action and demonstrated that progranulin, by modulating FAK activity, regulates the kinetic of focal adhesion disassembly, a critical step for cell motility. Conclusion: Collectively, our results highlight the complexity of progranulin oncogenic signaling in mesothelioma, where progranulin modulate functional cross-talks between multiple RTKs, thereby suggesting the need for combinatorial therapeutic approaches to improve treatments of this aggressive disease

Protocollo di campionamento di macrofite acquatiche in ambiente lacustre

No abstract availableIl presente rapporto descrive la procedura per effettuare il corretto campionamento delle macrofite in ambiente lacustre, allo scopo di impiegare i dati ottenuti per una valutazione di qualit? ecologica dei laghi, secondo quanto previsto dalla Direttiva Comunitaria 2000/60

Protocollo per il campionamento dei parametri chimico-fisici a sostegno degli elementi biologici in ambiente lacustre

Abstract not availableIl protocollo sul campionamento delle acque lacustri integra completandole le metodologie di campionamento ed analisi del fitoplancton, delle macrofite acquatiche e della fauna a macroinvertebrati in ambiente lacustre riportati nei capitoli successivi di questo Manuale. Anche questo protocollo come i precedenti segue le indicazioni della Direttiva 60/2000/CE (Water Framework Directive, WFD) e del Regolamento per la progettazione del programma di monitoraggio emanato dal Ministero dell?Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare

Indici e metriche per la valutazione della qualità delle acque lacustri italiane attraverso la comunità macrofitica.

missin

Indici e metriche per la valutazione della qualità delle acque lacustri italiane attraverso la comunità macrofitica.

missin

Lake surface area variations in the North-Eastern sector of Sagarmatha National Park (Nepal) at the end of the 20th Century by comparison of historical maps

The purpose of the present work was to investigate variations in the surface areas of lakes in the north-east sector of Sagarmatha National Park (Nepal) at the end of the 20th century, through comparison of the Mount Everest maps based on a survey done in the early 1980s, and the official Map of Nepal based on a survey done at the beginning of the 1990s. The analysis of the changes occurring between the 1980s and the 1990s in the surface areas and distribution of lakes in the north-east sector of SNP reveals that lake areas substantially increased, by 15.4 (-5.5; +5.7)% (median 12.5%), within hydrographic basins that included a certain amount of glacial cover. In fact, 96% of the lakes whose surface area increased are located in glacial basins. Conversely, the majority of the lakes without glacial cover in their catchment showed a reduction in surface area, and in many cases disappeared (83% of the lakes that disappeared were situated in basins without glaciers). This different behaviour of these two types of lakes, though observed over a short time span, would appear to be consistent with the consequences of temperature increases recorded from the beginning of 1980s on a global and local scale. The digital tool produced (Limnological Information System, LIS) as part of this work is intended to provide a useful platform for extending the analysis to entire area of SNP, as well as for subsequent comparisons based on earlier maps or more recent satellite images