693 research outputs found

    New insights on Anthracotherium monsvialense De Zigno, 1888 (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from the lower Oligocene of Monteviale (Vicenza, northeastern Italy)

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    In Italy, anthracotheres are represented by a few fossils, most of them described during the XIX century and without a standardized scientific method. Anthracotherium monsvialense De Zigno, 1888 was originally erected from a fossil discovered in the site of Monteviale (Vicenza, northeastern Italy), whose Rupelian (MP21) lignitic beds yielded the richest lower Oligocene evidence of the genus Anthracotherium in Europe. A. monsvialense ranges from MP21 to MP23 and its small size has been interpreted as a consequence of the insular environment, at least at Monteviale. In this study, we summarize the long history of Italian findings providing new descriptions of dental and postcranial morphological features of A. monsvialense, and comparing such small anthracothere with its Asian and European relatives. Morphometric analyses are also performed on teeth, in order to verify the presence of evolutionary trends of the genus Anthracotherium

    Product and international diversification of business groups in China: antecedent or consequence of superior performance?

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    Abstract The term business group generally refers to conglomerate firms with multiple majority-owned subsidiaries and minority-owned affiliates, engaged in a diverse array of business activities. A recent stream of literature explains the predominance of these structures, typical of the emerging and transitional, from socialist to market-based economies, as a result of their ability to neutralize market failures, and to act as substitutes for imperfect economic, social and political institutions. In emerging countries, interlocking ties among firms are often created in order to make available scarce or nonexistent material and immaterial resources, as emerging economies are unlikely to be endowed with the combination of factors that promotes entrepreneurial activity. According to this traditional view, the extent of product and geographical diversification of the groups leads to better economic performance in emerging and transitional economies. A main question is whether this causal nexus, from diversification to performance, is confirmed, or actually reversed in the case of Chinese business groups, due to the historical and institutional contingencies in act during the evolution of these groups. Many of them were formed under the encouragement or active pressure of the Chinese government, which selected the better performing firms to acquire bankrupt state-owned enterprises in related industries. To better understand the nature of the causal link, the study has been integrated with further research focused on the modality and outcomes of the transition from traditional SOEs to business groups. The literature screened offered empirical evidence based on longitudinal data analyses that supported both views on the causal relationship between diversification and performance for business groups in China

    Structural characterization of a cytosine-rich potential quadruplex forming sequence in the EGFR promoter

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    I-motifs are tetra-helixes that may form in cytosine-rich strands. They are based on cytosine-cytosine(+) base pairs that require the N3 hemi-protonation of the nucleobases, and therefore, the stability of these non-canonical DNA arrangements depends on pH. These structures are promising targets for the development of new cancer therapies since they are enriched in the promoters of oncogenes where they can play a role in the regulation of transcription. The proximal promoter of the EGFR oncogene has multiple regions with a significant potential to form such a tetra-helix arrangement. Here, we present the thermodynamic characterization of a C-rich sequence located 37 nucleotides upstream of the transcription starting site of EGFR. We confirmed the ability of this sequence to fold into an I-motif. By applying a global analysis of calorimetric and spectroscopic data, we derived the dependency of the apparent standard Gibbs free energy change associated with the I-motif folding upon temperature and pH. The results showed that, in contrast to in silico prediction, only 4 CC+ base pairs formed while additional GC and TT base pairings were detected in the I-motif. Noteworthy, a single residue mutation at G14 largely shifts the equilibrium toward the formation of multimeric species

    Multispectral satellite imaging improves detection of large individual fossils

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    Palaeontological field surveys in remote regions are a challenge, because of uncertainty in finding new specimens, high transportation costs, risks for the crew and a long time commitment. The effort can be facilitated by using high-resolution satellite imagery. Here we present a new opportunity to investigate remote fossil localities in detail, mapping the optical signature of individual fossils. We explain a practical workflow for detecting fossils using remote-sensing platforms and cluster algorithms. We tested the method within the Petrified Forest National Park, where fossil logs are sparse in a large area with mixed lithologies. We ran both unsupervised and supervised classifications, obtaining the best estimations for the presence of fossil logs using the likelihood and spectral angle mapper algorithms. We recognized general constraints and described logical and physical pros and cons of each estimated map. We also explained how the outcomes should be critically evaluated with consistent accuracy tests. Instead of searching for fossiliferous outcrops, our method targets single fossil specimens (or highly condensed accumulations), obtaining a significant increase in potential efficiency and effectiveness of field surveys. When repeatedly applied to the same region over time, it could also be useful for monitoring palaeontological heritage localities. Most importantly, the method here described is feasible, easily applicable to both fossil logs and bones, and represents a step towards standard best practices for applying remote sensing in the palaeontological field

    Multispectral satellite imaging improves detection of large individual fossils

    Get PDF
    Palaeontological field surveys in remote regions are a challenge, because of uncertainty in finding new specimens, high transportation costs, risks for the crew and a long time commitment. The effort can be facilitated by using high-resolution satellite imagery. Here we present a new opportunity to investigate remote fossil localities in detail, mapping the optical signature of individual fossils. We explain a practical workflow for detecting fossils using remote-sensing platforms and cluster algorithms. We tested the method within the Petrified Forest National Park, where fossil logs are sparse in a large area with mixed lithologies. We ran both unsupervised and supervised classifications, obtaining the best estimations for the presence of fossil logs using the likelihood and spectral angle mapper algorithms. We recognized general constraints and described logical and physical pros and cons of each estimated map. We also explained how the outcomes should be critically evaluated with consistent accuracy tests. Instead of searching for fossiliferous outcrops, our method targets single fossil specimens (or highly condensed accumulations), obtaining a significant increase in potential efficiency and effectiveness of field surveys. When repeatedly applied to the same region over time, it could also be useful for monitoring palaeontological heritage localities. Most importantly, the method here described is feasible, easily applicable to both fossil logs and bones, and represents a step towards standard best practices for applying remote sensing in the palaeontological field

    Changes in Venice Lagoon dynamics due to construction of mobile barriers

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    The MoSE project (construction of mobile barrier to safeguard the Lagoon of Venice) entails changes to the structure of the lagoon\u27s inlets. This could have consequences for the areas near the inlets and for the dynamics of the lagoon ecosystem as a whole. In order to predict the effects of the proposed alterations on the hydrodynamics of the lagoon, a well-tested hydrodynamic-dispersion model was applied. Simulations were carried out considering both idealised and realistic tide and wind scenarios. The results show that with the new structures the Lido sub-basin tends to increase its extension due the southward movement of the watershed, at the expense of the Chioggia sub-basin, whereas the Malamocco sub-basin changes its relative position, but not its extension. The residence time shows variations in agreement with this trend, decreasing in the southern part of the Lido sub-basin and increasing in the inner part of the Chioggia sub-basin. The variations in residence time and return fl ow factor indicate that they are caused by changes in both instantaneous current velocities and sea-lagoon interaction. In fact the new breakwaters in front of the Malamocco and Chioggia inlets modify the length and direction of the out fl ow jet (up to 1 ms− 1 ) and the patterns of the currents around the inlets and the nearby coast. The new arti fi cial island in the Lido inlet changes the current pattern and increases the current velocity on the southern side of the channel propagating this effect up to the Venice city. The risks and benefits individuated from our conclusion are that the Lido sub-basin can improve its renewal time, but the more intense current speeds can be a risk for the conservation of habitats and infrastructures. Finally the micro-circulation between the breakwater and the coast in Chioggia and Malamocco inlets can be a trap for pollutants or suspended sediment

    I DELITTI COLPOSI DI LESIONI PERSONALI E OMICIDIO DA INSIDIA STRADALE

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    This thesis deals with the injuries, or even the death, of public places' users caused by the public place itself, concerned from a criminal point of view. The majority of jurisprudence has deeply discussed punitive damages caused by bad manteinance of the roads, whereas few judgements regarded the possible criminal consequences. This work aims to focus on the criminal liability descendant from these cases, first of all by frame them into the reati omissivi impropri system, and also by analizing judgments. Yet the criminal approach is still connected with the civil one. The civil code, artt. 2043 and 2051, is still the landmark, particulary concerning the guarantee duty by penal code art. 40, paragraph 2. Some civil concepts, like the concurrence of the damaged or the so-called “trap” or “snare”, have heavily been affecting the criminal approach until recent years, when the Court of Cassation seems to have understood that the remedy of damages is inconsistent with the infliction of a penalty. The work focus both on the road owner body corporate and the contractor company. Above all on the Municipalities, because they own and administer the large part of public palces. Finally, the thesis examines the internal subdivisions, the functions and the assignment of the Municipality, in order to single out who is potentially charged with the guarantee duty and who may be involved by complicity, giving particular attention to political and to administrative management
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