The Bay of Savudrija: Harbour and the Coastal Landscape in the Roman Age

U uvali Savudrija, u svibnju 2011. g., započela su istraživanja antičke lučke arhitekture čiji je cilj rekonstrukcija antičkog krajolika i pokušaj evaluacije obalne linije u rimsko vrijeme na području Savudrije. istraživanja su pokrenuta u sklopu istraživačkog projekta Storie del mare, u suradnji triju supotpisnika – nositelja projekta Dipartimento di Storia e Culture dall’Antichità al Mondo Contemporaneo (DiSCAM), pri Sveučilištu u Trstu (Italija), Arheološkog muzeja Istre iz Pule i Muzeja grada Umaga – Museo civico di Umago (Hrvatska).As a part of the main Project Storie dal mare which has been carried by Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Trieste and in collaboration between Archeological Museum of Istria in Pula and Umag Municipal Museum in Croatia the research has been conducted in the Bay of Savudrija. The main aim of this project was the reconstruction of the ancient landscape and the evaluation of the shoreline during Roman Age. The goal of archaeological campaign in 2011 was to make a complete documentation of southern breakwater and pier (using the multibeam technique and total station) and to try to make topography of all roman architectural structures, visible along the coast. The ancient port basin in the bay of Savudrija includes a complex consisting of different structures, some of which are visible along the bay. The basin was triangular in shape, and was closed by two symmetrically placed breakwaters. The other archaeological structures as pier and walls on the coast extend themselves along the southern line of the bay. The area containing the Roman structures belonged to a section of the first lowest terrace of a Roman structure which during Roman Age should be extended towards the sea. A preliminary analysis of the archaeological materials excavated in the bay indicates that the area was used since the beginnings of the Empire until the Late Roman period, that is from the 1st to the 6th century

The Bay of Savudrija: Harbour and the Coastal Landscape in the Roman Age

U uvali Savudrija, u svibnju 2011. g., započela su istraživanja antičke lučke arhitekture čiji je cilj rekonstrukcija antičkog krajolika i pokušaj evaluacije obalne linije u rimsko vrijeme na području Savudrije. istraživanja su pokrenuta u sklopu istraživačkog projekta Storie del mare, u suradnji triju supotpisnika – nositelja projekta Dipartimento di Storia e Culture dall’Antichità al Mondo Contemporaneo (DiSCAM), pri Sveučilištu u Trstu (Italija), Arheološkog muzeja Istre iz Pule i Muzeja grada Umaga – Museo civico di Umago (Hrvatska).As a part of the main Project Storie dal mare which has been carried by Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Trieste and in collaboration between Archeological Museum of Istria in Pula and Umag Municipal Museum in Croatia the research has been conducted in the Bay of Savudrija. The main aim of this project was the reconstruction of the ancient landscape and the evaluation of the shoreline during Roman Age. The goal of archaeological campaign in 2011 was to make a complete documentation of southern breakwater and pier (using the multibeam technique and total station) and to try to make topography of all roman architectural structures, visible along the coast. The ancient port basin in the bay of Savudrija includes a complex consisting of different structures, some of which are visible along the bay. The basin was triangular in shape, and was closed by two symmetrically placed breakwaters. The other archaeological structures as pier and walls on the coast extend themselves along the southern line of the bay. The area containing the Roman structures belonged to a section of the first lowest terrace of a Roman structure which during Roman Age should be extended towards the sea. A preliminary analysis of the archaeological materials excavated in the bay indicates that the area was used since the beginnings of the Empire until the Late Roman period, that is from the 1st to the 6th century

The insect nephrocyte is a podocyte-like cell with a filtration slit diaphragm.

The nephron is the basic structural and functional unit of the vertebrate kidney. It is composed of a glomerulus, the site of ultrafiltration, and a renal tubule, along which the filtrate is modified. Although widely regarded as a vertebrate adaptation, 'nephron-like' features can be found in the excretory systems of many invertebrates, raising the possibility that components of the vertebrate excretory system were inherited from their invertebrate ancestors. Here we show that the insect nephrocyte has remarkable anatomical, molecular and functional similarity to the glomerular podocyte, a cell in the vertebrate kidney that forms the main size-selective barrier as blood is ultrafiltered to make urine. In particular, both cell types possess a specialized filtration diaphragm, known as the slit diaphragm in podocytes or the nephrocyte diaphragm in nephrocytes. We find that fly (Drosophila melanogaster) orthologues of the major constituents of the slit diaphragm, including nephrin, NEPH1 (also known as KIRREL), CD2AP, ZO-1 (TJP1) and podocin, are expressed in the nephrocyte and form a complex of interacting proteins that closely mirrors the vertebrate slit diaphragm complex. Furthermore, we find that the nephrocyte diaphragm is completely lost in flies lacking the orthologues of nephrin or NEPH1-a phenotype resembling loss of the slit diaphragm in the absence of either nephrin (as in human congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type, NPHS1) or NEPH1. These changes markedly impair filtration function in the nephrocyte. The similarities we describe between invertebrate nephrocytes and vertebrate podocytes provide evidence suggesting that the two cell types are evolutionarily related, and establish the nephrocyte as a simple model in which to study podocyte biology and podocyte-associated diseases.This work was supported by Wellcome Trust grants awarded to H.S. (072441 and 079221, H.W., B.D., H.S.); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 590) awarded to Elisabeth Knust (F.G.), ARC 1242 (H.W., B.D., H.S., F.G.); MEC grant awarded to M.R-G. (BFU2007-62201, S.P-S., M.R-G.); Fundación Ramón Areces grant to the CBMSO (M.R-G.); EC grant LSHG-CT-2004-511978 to MYORES (M.R-G.); an FPU fellowship from the MEC awarded to A.G-L.Peer reviewe

Cell Origin of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Determines a Different Healing Performance in Cardiac Regeneration

The possible different therapeutic efficacy of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) derived from umbilical cord blood (CB), adipose tissue (AT) or bone marrow (BM) for the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) remains unexplored. This study was to assess the regenerative potential of hMSC from different origins and to evaluate the role of CD105 in cardiac regeneration. Male SCID mice underwent LAD-ligation and received the respective cell type (400.000/per animal) intramyocardially. Six weeks post infarction, cardiac catheterization showed significant preservation of left ventricular functions in BM and CD105+-CB treated groups compared to CB and nontreated MI group (MI-C). Cell survival analyzed by quantitative real time PCR for human GAPDH and capillary density measured by immunostaining showed consistent results. Furthermore, cardiac remodeling can be significantly attenuated by BM-hMSC compared to MI-C. Under hypoxic conditions in vitro, remarkably increased extracellular acidification and apoptosis has been detected from CB-hMSC compared to BM and CD105 purified CB-derived hMSC. Our findings suggests that hMSC originating from different sources showed a different healing performance in cardiac regeneration and CD105+ hMSC exhibited a favorable survival pattern in infarcted hearts, which translates into a more robust preservation of cardiac function

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015

Stem Cells therapy after myocardial infarction: direct application or drug-mediated recruitment?

Heart failure after myocardial infarction is the first cause of death in west countries. Stem cells could ameliorate this process by inducing neoangiogenesis and/or cardiac myocytes regeneration. This thesis focused on two crucial topics: drug mediated stem cell recruitment and safety issues related to stem cell transplantation. The effects of stem cells mobilization and cardiac recruitment induced by Erythropoietin through the activation of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis were examined. The safety of mesenchymal stem cells intraarterial transplantation and ex-vivo expansion were investigated.Kongestive Herzinsuffizienz ist eine der häufigsten Todesursachen in den Industrieländern. Stammzellen beschleunigen Heilungsprozesse im geschädigten Herzen. Gegenstand dieser Arbeit sind zwei wesentliche Bereiche: Zum einen wurde die wirkstoffvermittelte Stammzellrekrutierung und Standardisierung der Stammzelltransplantation untersucht, wobei die Effekte von EPO auf Stammzellmobilisierung und kardiale Rekrutierung durch die Aktivierung der SDF-1/CXCR4-Achse im Vordergrund standen. In einem zweiten Teil wurde die Sicherheit der Transplantation mesenchymaler Stammzellen und deren ex vivo Expansion evaluiert

SAVUDRIJSKI ZALJEV: LUKA I PRIOBALJE U RIMSKO DOBA

As a part of the main Project Storie dal mare which has been carried by Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Trieste and in collaboration between Archeological Museum of Istria in Pula and Umag Municipal Museum in Croatia the research has been conducted in the Bay of Savudrija. The main aim of this project was the reconstruction of the ancient landscape and the evaluation of the shoreline during Roman Age. The goal of archaeological campaign in 2011 was to make a complete documentation of southern breakwater and pier (using the multibeam technique and total station) and to try to make topography of all roman architectural structures, visible along the coast. The ancient port basin in the bay of Savudrija includes a complex consisting of different structures, some of which are visible along the bay. The basin was triangular in shape, and was closed by two symmetrically placed breakwaters. The other archaeological structures as pier and walls on the coast extend themselves along the southern line of the bay. The area containing the Roman structures belonged to a section of the first lowest terrace of a Roman structure which during Roman Age should be extended towards the sea. A preliminary analysis of the archaeological materials excavated in the bay indicates that the area was used since the beginnings of the Empire until the Late Roman period, that is from the 1st to the 6th century

Sea-level change during the Holocene in Sardinia and in the northeastern Adriatic (central Mediterranean Sea) from archaeological and geomorphological data

We provide new data on relative sea-level change from the late Holocene for two locations in the central Mediterranean: Sardinia and NE Adriatico. They are based on precise measures of submerged archaeological and tide notch markers that are good indicators of past sea-level elevation. Twelve submerged archaeological sites were studied: six, aged between 2.5 and 1.6 ka BP, located along the Sardinia coast, and a further six, dated ∼2.0 ka BP, located along the NE Adriatic coast (Italy, Slovenia and Croatia). For Sardinia, we also use beach rock and core data that can be related to Holocene sea level. The elevations of selected significant archaeological markers were measured with respect to the present sea level, applying corrections for tide and atmospheric pressure values at the time of surveys. The interpretation of the functional heights related to sea level at the time of their construction provides data on the relative changes between land and sea; these data are compared with predictions derived from a new glacio-hydro-isostatic model associated with the Last Glacial cycle. Sardinia is tectonically relatively stable and we use the sea-level data from this island to calibrate our models for eustatic and glacio-hydro-isostatic change. The results are consistent with those from another tectonically stable site, the Versilia Plain of Italy. The northeast Adriatic (Italy, Slovenia and Croatia) is an area of subsidence and we use the calibrated model results to separate out the isostatic from the tectonic contributions. This indicates that the Adriatic coast from the Gulf of Trieste to the southern end of Istria has tectonically subsided by ∼1.5 m since Roman times