Integrated calcareous plankton biostratigraphy of selected Miocene successions in the Northern Calabria (Italy)

An integrated calcareous plankton biostratigraphic approach on six sections cropping out in Northern Calabria allowed to define a revised chronostratigraphic framework for Tortonian-Messinian deposits. Four sections have been investigated in the Amantea Basin (Timpone Napoli, Vallone Salina, Case Vespano, and Cozzo Salice) and two in the Rossano Basin (Vallone Casino and Cozzo Sant'Isidoro). Biostratigraphic analyses have been based on quantitative counting of planktonic foraminifers and semiquantitative counting of nannofossils. The Timpone Napoli and Vallone Salina sections are Late Tortonian in age and referable to the Globorotalia suterae Zone. In terms of nannofossils zonal scheme these sections fall within the Coccolithus pelagicus - Amaurolithus primus Zones. The Case Vespano and Cozzo Salice sections can be ascribed to the Messinian. The Case Vespano section is wholly characterized by the common occurrence of Globorotalia miotumida group. The co-occurrence of Amarolithus delicatus, A. cf. amplificus,. and Reticulofenestra rotaria confirms a Messinian age. The lower part of the Cozzo Salice section is rich of Gt. conomiozea, while its middle and the upper part is barren in planktonic foraminifers. In the Vallone Casino and Cozzo Sant'Isidoro sections the Tortonian-Messinian boundary corresponds to the first occurrence (FO) of Gt. miotumida group (sensu Hilgen et al., 2000), just above the first occurrence of A. delicatus. Biostratigraphic data allowed to correlate the Messinian silty layers of Amantea Basin with the coeval diatomitic beds of Rossano Basin indicating that the two areas, during the Messinian, had different paleogeographic and palaeoecological evolution

Leaves and fruits preparations of Pistacia lentiscus L.: A review on the ethnopharmacological uses and implications in inflammation and infection

There is an increasing interest in revisiting plants for drug discovery, proving scientifically their role as remedies. The aim of this review was to give an overview of the ethnopharmacological uses of Pistacia lentiscus L. (PlL) leaves and fruits, expanding the search for the scientific discovery of their chemistry, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and antimicrobial activities. PlL is a wild-growing shrub rich in terpenoids and polyphenols, the oil and extracts of which have been widely used against inflammation and infections, and as wound healing agents. The more recurrent components in PlL essential oil (EO) are represented by α-pinene, terpinene, caryophyllene, limonene and myrcene, with high variability in concentration depending on the Mediterranean country. The anti-inflammatory activity of the oil mainly occurs due to the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the arachidonic acid cascade. Interestingly, the capacity against COX-2 and LOX indicates PlL EO as a dual inhibitory compound. The high content of polyphenols enriching the extracts provide explanations for the known biological properties of the plant. The protective effect against reactive oxygen species is of wide interest. In particular, their anthocyanins content greatly clarifies their antioxidative capacity. Further, the antimicrobial activity of PlL oil and extracts includes the inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, periodontal bacteria and Candida spp. In conclusion, the relevant scientific properties indicate PlL as a nutraceutical and also as a therapeutic agent against a wide range of diseases based on inflammation and infections

Modeling pulsed-laser melting of embedded semiconductor nanoparticles

Pulsed-laser melting (PLM) is commonly used to achieve a fast quench rate in both thin films and nanoparticles. A model for the size evolution during PLM of nanoparticles confined in a transparent matrix, such as those created by ion-beam synthesis, is presented. A self-consistent mean-field rate equations approach that has been used successfully to model ion beam synthesis of germanium nanoparticles in silica is extended to include the PLM process. The PLM model includes classical optical absorption, multiscale heat transport by both analytical and finite difference methods, and melting kinetics for confined nanoparticles. The treatment of nucleation and coarsening behavior developed for the ion beam synthesis model is modified to allow for a non-uniform temperature gradient and for interacting liquid and solid particles with different properties. The model allows prediction of the particle size distribution after PLM under various laser fluences, starting from any particle size distribution including as-implanted or annealed simulated samples. A route for narrowing the size distribution of embedded nanoparticles is suggested, with simulated distribution widths as low as 15% of the average size

Comparing angular and curved shapes in terms of implicit associations and approach/avoidance responses.

Most people prefer smoothly curved shapes over more angular shapes. We investigated the origin of this effect using abstract shapes and implicit measures of semantic association and preference. In Experiment 1 we used a multidimensional Implicit Association Test (IAT) to verify the strength of the association of curved and angular polygons with danger (safe vs. danger words), valence (positive vs. negative words) and gender (female vs. male names). Results showed that curved polygons were associated with safe and positive concepts and with female names, whereas angular polygons were associated with danger and negative concepts and with male names. Experiment 2 used a different implicit measure, which avoided any need to categorise the stimuli. Using a revised version of the Stimulus Response Compatibility (SRC) task we tested with a stick figure (i.e., the manikin) approach and avoidance reactions to curved and angular polygons. We found that RTs for approaching vs. avoiding angular polygons did not differ, even in the condition where the angles were more pronounced. By contrast participants were faster and more accurate when moving the manikin towards curved shapes. Experiment 2 suggests that preference for curvature cannot derive entirely from an association of angles with threat. We conclude that smoothly curved contours make these abstract shapes more pleasant. Further studies are needed to clarify the nature of such a preference

Visitor’s approaches, personality traits and psycho-physiological well-being in different art style museums

The aim of this contribution is to address a line of research, conducted in the last ten years, on visitor’s approaches to different art styles museums (ancient vs. modern), and the educational aspects regarding the young adult’s museum visits experience

Introduction

Introduzione alla nuova serie edita da Edizioni Ca'Foscari, dopo la prima parte edita da Hakkert (Amsterdam) fin dal 198