New evidence of MIS 3 relative sea level changes from the Messina Strait, Calabria (Italy)

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Antonioli, F., Calcagnile, L., Ferranti, L., Mastronuzzi, G., Monaco, C., Orru, P., Quarta, G., Pepe, F., Scardino, G., Scicchitano, G., Stocchi, P., & Taviani, M. New evidence of MIS 3 relative sea level changes from the Messina Strait, Calabria (Italy). Water, 13(19), (2021): 2647, https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192647.Investigation of sea-level positions during the highly-dynamic Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3: 29–61 kyrs BP) proves difficult because: (i) in stable and subsiding areas, coeval coastal sediments are currently submerged at depths of few to several tens of meters below the present sea level; (ii) in uplifting areas, the preservation of geomorphic features and sedimentary records is limited due to the erosion occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) with sea level at a depth of −130 m, followed by marine transgression that determined the development of ravinement surfaces. This study discusses previous research in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, and describes new fossiliferous marine deposits overlaying the metamorphic bedrock at Cannitello (Calabria, Italy). Radiocarbon ages of marine shells (about 43 kyrs cal BP) indicate that these deposits, presently between 28 and 30 m above sea level, formed during MIS 3.1. Elevation correction of the Cannitello outcrops (considered in an intermediate-to-far-field position with respect to the ice sheet) with the local vertical tectonic rate and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) rate allows the proposal of a revision of the eustatic depth for this highstand. Our results are consistent with recently proposed estimates based on a novel ice sheet modelling technique.This research received no external funding

The GLUT9 Gene Is Associated with Serum Uric Acid Levels in Sardinia and Chianti Cohorts

High serum uric acid levels elevate pro-inflammatory–state gout crystal arthropathy and place individuals at high risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Genome-wide scans in the genetically isolated Sardinian population identified variants associated with serum uric acid levels as a quantitative trait. They mapped within GLUT9, a Chromosome 4 glucose transporter gene predominantly expressed in liver and kidney. SNP rs6855911 showed the strongest association (p = 1.84 × 10−16), along with eight others (p = 7.75 × 10−16 to 6.05 × 10−11). Individuals homozygous for the rare allele of rs6855911 (minor allele frequency = 0.26) had 0.6 mg/dl less uric acid than those homozygous for the common allele; the results were replicated in an unrelated cohort from Tuscany. Our results suggest that polymorphisms in GLUT9 could affect glucose metabolism and uric acid synthesis and/or renal reabsorption, influencing serum uric acid levels over a wide range of values

New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #83 to #101

New Italian data on the distribution of 17 Annex I Habitats are reported in this contribution. Specifically, 11 new occurrences in Natura 2000 sites are presented and 30 new cells are added in the EEA 10 km × 10 km reference grid. The new data refer to the Italian administrative regions of Apulia, Campania, Calabria, Lazio, Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany

A systematic investigation to obtain physical assets on the moon through self-propagating high-temperature reactions

Future space missions on the Moon, Mars and near Earth asteroids, etc., are expected to be strongly facilitated and time extended by the possibility of "In-Situ Fabrication and Repair" (ISFR) the required equipments and infrastructures. In addition, the combination of the latter approach with the "In-Situ Resources Utilization" (ISRU) paradigm contributes to overcome drawbacks related to the transportation of the needed material from the Earth. In this regard, various technologies have been recently proposed with the aim of developing suitable structures to be placed on the Moon surface for the protection against cosmic rays, solar wind, meteoroids, etc. Specifically, the possibility of exploiting combustion synthesistype reactions using Lunar resources for the fabrication of ceramic-based products was considered. Along these lines, by taking advantage of the fact that Lunar soil contains up to 20 wt.% of ilmenite (FeTiO3), the highly exothermic thermite reduction of the latter oxide with Al is systematically investigated in this work. A self-propagating (SHS) behavior is displayed only above a certain Al/FeTiO3molar ratio (0.9). In addition, as the amount of Al in the mixture is increased, the reactive process proceeds faster and the combustion temperature becomes higher, due to the increased system exothermicity. Correspondingly, the maximum amount of Lunar regolith to be possibly reacted with additional FeTiO3and Al is identified. The obtained products (a mixture of Al-, Ti-, Mg-, and Ca-oxides, and metallic phases) exhibit satisfactory compressive strength properties (≥ 25.8 MPa) that make them promising as construction materials. Parabolic flight experiments evidenced that SHS process dynamics and product characteristics are barely affected by gravity. The obtained findings allow us to conclude that the optimal conditions identified during terrestrial experiments are still valid for in-situ applications in Lunar environment. Copyright © 2013, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l