L’INTERPRETAZIONE DEL CONTRATTO ASIMMETRICO, NEL CALEIDOSCOPIO DELLA TRASPARENZA

La tesi si propone di offrire una panoramica sulle interazioni tra il principio di trasparenza e interpretazione del contratto con il consumatore, con riferimento costante allo strumentario rimediale della tutela prevalentemente di origine europea. La prima parte della tesi ripercorre il dibattito dottrinale e giurisprudenziale in tema di trasparenza, muovendo dall'art. 35 cod. cons. ed in particolare dal secondo comma dello stesso, analizzato anche in rapporto all'art. 1370 c.c. Viene affrontato, altresì, il tema dei rapporti tra l'art. 35 cod. cons. e le concretizzazioni settoriali dello stesso nel TUB, nel TUF e nel codice delle assicurazioni. La seconda parte della tesi analizza le evoluzioni del concetto di trasparenza fino alle più recenti novità normative e giurisprudenziali, nell'ottica di una trasparenza declinata alla luce del principio di effettività della tutela giurisdizionale di cui agli artt. 38 e 47 della Carta di Nizza

Atmospheric deposition of organic matter at a remote site in the central Mediterranean Sea: implications for the marine ecosystem

Abstract. Atmospheric fluxes of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were studied for the first time on the island of Lampedusa, a remote site in the central Mediterranean Sea (Med Sea), between 19 March 2015 and 1 April 2017. The main goals of this study were to quantify total atmospheric deposition of DOM in this area and to evaluate the impact of Saharan dust deposition on DOM dynamics in the surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Our data show high variability in DOM deposition rates without a clear seasonality and a dissolved organic carbon (DOC) input from the atmosphere of 120.7 mmol DOC m−2 yr−1. Over the entire time series, the average dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) contributions to the total dissolved pools were 40 % and 26 %, respectively. The data on atmospheric elemental ratios also show that each deposition event is characterized by a specific elemental ratio, suggesting a high variability in DOM composition and the presence of multiple sources. This study indicates that the organic substances transported by Saharan dust on Lampedusa mainly come from a natural sea spray and that Saharan dust can be an important carrier of organic substances even though the load of DOC associated with dust is highly variable. Our estimates suggest that atmospheric input has a larger impact on the Med Sea than on the global ocean. Further, DOC fluxes from the atmosphere to the Med Sea can be up to 6 times larger than total river input. Longer time series combined with modeling would greatly improve our understanding of the response of DOM dynamics in the Med Sea to the change in aerosol deposition pattern due to the effect of climate change

HISTOPATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS-RELATED MYOPATHY: FIBROSIS AND MICROANGIOPATHY

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify specific histopathological features of skeletal muscle involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. Methods: A total of 35 out of 112 SSc-patients (32%, including 81% female and 68% diffuse scleroderma) presenting clinical, biological and electromyographic (EMG) features of muscle weakness, were included. Patients underwent vastus lateralis biopsy, assessed for individual pathologic features including fibrosis [type I collagen (Coll-I), transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)], microangiopathy [cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), pro-angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), anti-angiogenic VEGF-A165b], immune/ inflammatory response [CD4, CD8, CD20, human leucocyte antigens ABC (HLA-ABC)], and membranolytic attack complex (MAC). SSc biopsies were compared with biopsies of (n = 35) idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) and to (n = 35) noninflammatory myopathies (NIMs). Ultrastructural abnormalities of SSc myopathy were also analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: Fibrosis in SSc myopathy (81%) is higher compared with IIM (32%, p < 0.05) and with NIM (18%, p < 0.05). Vascular involvement is dominant in SSc muscle (92%), and in IIM (78%) compared with NIM (21%, p < 0.05). In particular, CD31 shows loss of endomysial vessels in SSc myopathy compared with IIM (p < 0.05) and with NIM (p < 0.01). VEGF-A is downregulated in SSc myopathy compared with IIM (p < 0.05) and NIM (p < 0.05). Conversely, VEGF-A165b is upregulated in SSc myopathy. The SSc immune/inflammatory response suggested humoral process with majority (85%) HLA-ABC fibral neoexpression and complement deposits on endomysial capillaries MAC, compared with IIM (p < 0.05), characterized by CD4+/CD8+/B-cell infiltrate, and NIM (p < 0.05). TEM analysis showed SSc vascular alterations consisting of thickening and lamination of basement membrane and endothelial cell ‘swelling’ coupled to endomysial/perimysial fibrosis. Conclusions: Fibrosis, microangiopathy and humoral immunity are predominant in SSc myopathy, even if it is difficult to identify specific histopathological hallmarks of muscle involvement in SSc, since they could be present also in other (IIM/NIM) myopathies. © 2016, © The Author(s), 2016

Dissolved organic matter dynamics in the pristine Krka River estuary (Croatia)

The karstic Krka River is characterized by having lower dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations (~30 μM) than coastal seawater (~60 μM). This peculiarity, together with the pristine nature of this area, makes the Krka River estuary a natural laboratory where it is possible to discriminate among the different dissolved organic matter (DOM) sources (riverine, marine and produced in-situ) and to study the main processes of DOM production and removal. The hypothesis behind this work is that in winter, due to the high discharge of the river, most of the DOM has a terrestrial signature, whereas in summer autochthonous DOM compose the main fraction of the DOM pool because of the reduced discharge, the high temperature and primary production. Our data shows that DOM in the river mainly consists of terrestrial molecules, as suggested by the high chromophoric content and low spectral slope (S275–295) values, as well by the predominance of humic-like substances. DOM in the seawater features the concentration and optical properties of the “typical” marine DOM from open sea waters. In summer, low riverine discharge and high temperature promote the intense biological activity, with an increase in DOC concentrations of up to 148 μM, resulting in a non-conservative behavior of DOM in the estuary. The high stratification combined with a decoupling between production and removal processes can explain the observed DOM accumulation. In the bottom layer DOM was released and quickly removed when oxygen was available, whereas in hypoxic waters the production of DOC, chromophoric DOM (CDOM) and fluorescent DOM (FDOM) was linearly related to oxygen consumption. Our work highlights the need of further studies combining chemical and biological information in order to gain new insights into the main processes responsible for DOM dynamics in this system

DOM Biological Lability in an Estuarine System in Two Contrasting Periods

International audienceEstuarine processes play a key role in determining the amount and quality of land-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) reaching the oceans. Microbial-mediated reactions can affect the concentration, quality, and bioavailability of DOM within an estuary. In this study, we investigated biological DOM removal in a small estuary and its variability in two contrasting seasons (spring and autumn) characterized by natural differences in the concentration and quality of the riverine DOM. Two incubation experiments were carried out using natural DOM and heterotrophic prokaryotes community collected at the estuary in March and September. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, DOM fluorescence, and the heterotrophic prokaryotes abundance (HPA) showed marked differences between the two seasons. These parameters were followed through time for up to two months. Despite the marked differences in the initial conditions, the DOC removal rates were surprisingly similar in the two periods (16 µM DOC month −1 in March and 18 µM DOC month −1 in September), with the biggest removal in the first 48 h. The trend of fluorescent DOM (FDOM) during the incubation showed marked differences between the two periods. In March, the net removal of all the FDOM components was observed consistently with the decrease in DOC; whereas, in September, the net production of humic-like substances was observed

Effect of UV and Visible Radiation on Optical Properties of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter Released by Emiliania huxleyi

International audiencePhotodegradation is a natural process that strongly a↵ects the chromophoric fraction of dissolved organic matter (DOM), especially in surface water of the oceans. In the euphotic zone, the concentration and quality of DOM are mostly dependent on primary production by phytoplankton. The e↵ect of photodegradation on algal DOM has not been investigated as much as on terrestrial DOM. In this study, we explored the e↵ect of di↵erent spectral regions (i.e., full sun spectrum, visible light, 295-800 nm, 305-800 nm, and 320-800 nm) on algal exudates by Emiliania huxleyi, a ubiquitous coccolithophore. The optical properties (absorption and fluorescence) of algal DOM were investigated before and after irradiation with the di↵erent spectral regions. The absorption and fluorescence spectra were compared before and after irradiation. The results showed an increase in the e↵ect of photobleaching with increasing irradiation energy for all of the absorbance indices. Similarly, the protein-like fluorescence decreased at increasing irradiation energy. The humic-like fluorescence, which was the most a↵ected, did not show a linear trend between photobleaching and irradiation energy, which suggested that irradiation mainly determined a change in these molecules' quantum yield