31 research outputs found
An introduction to the early Holocene eolian deposits of Grotta Romanelli, Apulia, Southern Italy
Due to its geographic position and geomorphological configuration, Grotta Romanelli acted as a sediment trap since at least MIS 5. The so-called 'terre brune' sequence is a deposit mainly of eolian origin bearing upper Palaeolithic artefacts and fossil re-mains of vertebrate fauna; it was deposited during the Glacial-Interglacial transition and the Holocene. Sedimentology and mineralogy of this deposit are investigated. The stratigraphic sequence provides a promising archive within which both human and climatic impacts can be studied
Rediscovering Lutra lutra from Grotta Romanelli (southern Italy) in the framework of the puzzling evolutionary history of Eurasian otter
A river otter hemimandible has been rediscovered during the revision of the historical collections of G.A. Blanc from Grotta
Romanelli, complementing the ongoing multidisciplinary research fieldwork on the site. The specimen, recovered from the
level G (âterre rosseâ; early Late Pleistocene or late Middle Pleistocene), is here assigned to Lutra lutra. Indeed, morphological
and morphometric comparisons with other Quaternary Lutrinae fossils from Europe allow to exclude an attribution
to the relatively widespread and older Lutra simplicidens, characterized by distinctive carnassial proportions. Differences
with Cyrnaonyx antiqua, which possessed a more robust, shellfish-feeding dentition, support the view of a successful niche
repartition between the two species during the late Middle to Late Pleistocene of Europe. The occurrence of Lutra lutra from
the âterre rosseâ of Grotta Romanelli suggests deep modifications of the landscapes due to the ecological adaptation of the
taxon, and indicates that the Eurasian otter spread into Europe at the MiddleâLate Pleistocene transition
Alfaxalone and Dexmedetomidine as an alternative to gas anesthesia for micro-CT lung imaging in a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis murine model
Micro-CT imaging could be considered a powerful non-invasive tool for accessing pulmonary fibrosis in mice. However, the choice of the anesthesia protocol plays a fundamental role to obtain robust and reproducible data, avoiding misinterpretations of the results. Inhaled anesthesia is commonly used for micro-CT lung imaging, but sometimes the standardization of the protocol may be challenging for routine activities in drug discovery. In this study we used micro-CT to evaluate the effects of two anesthetic protocols, consisting in Alfaxalone and Dexmedetomidine mixture, as injectable agents, and gaseous isoflurane, on vehicle and bleomycin-treated mice. No significant differences were highlighted between the protocols either for lung aeration degrees by micro-CT or histologic analyses in both the controls and bleomycin-treated groups. Our results support Alfaxalone and Dexmedetomidine mixture as a suitable and safe alternative compared to isoflurane for lung imaging. We also concluded that this injectable mixture may be applied for several imaging technologies and on different mice models
An introduction to the early Holocene eolian deposits of Grotta Romanelli, Apulia, Southern Italy
Due to its geographic position and geomorphological configuration, Grotta Romanelli acted as a sediment trap since at least MIS 5. The so-called âterre bruneâ sequence is a deposit mainly of eolian origin bearing upper Palaeolithic artefacts and fossil remains of vertebrate fauna; it was deposited during the Glacial-Interglacial transition and the Holocene. Sedimentology and mineralogy of this deposit are investigated. The stratigraphic sequence provides a promising archive within which both human and climatic impacts can be studied
Stratigraphic reassessment of Grotta Romanelli sheds light on Middle-Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironments and human settling in the Mediterranean
During the last century, Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy) has been a reference site for the European Late Pleistocene stratigraphy, due to its geomorphological setting and archaeological and palaeontological content. The beginning of the sedimentation inside the cave was attributed to the Last Interglacial (MISs 5e) and the oldest unearthed evidence of human occupation, including remains of hearths, was therefore referred to the Middle Palaeolithic. Recent surveys and excavations produced new U/Th dates, palaeoenvironmental interpretation and a litho-, morpho- and chrono-stratigraphical reassessment, placing the oldest human frequentation of the cave between MIS 9 and MIS 7, therefore embracing Glacial and Interglacial cycles. These new data provide evidence that the sea reached the cave during the Middle Pleistocene and human occupation occurred long before MISs 5e and persisted beyond the Pleistocene- Holocene boundary
Stratigraphic reassessment of Grotta Romanelli sheds light on Middle-Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironments and human settling in the Mediterranean
During the last century, Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy) has been a reference site for the
European Late Pleistocene stratigraphy, due to its geomorphological setting and archaeological
and palaeontological content. The beginning of the sedimentation inside the cave was attributed
to the Last Interglacial (MISs 5e) and the oldest unearthed evidence of human occupation, including
remains of hearths, was therefore referred to the Middle Palaeolithic. Recent surveys and excavations
produced new U/Th dates, palaeoenvironmental interpretation and a litho-, morpho- and chronostratigraphical
reassessment, placing the oldest human frequentation of the cave between MIS 9 and
MIS 7, therefore embracing Glacial and Interglacial cycles. These new data provide evidence that the
sea reached the cave during the Middle Pleistocene and human occupation occurred long before MISs
5e and persisted beyond the Pleistocene- Holocene boundary
Quantification of Lung Fibrosis in IPF-Like Mouse Model and Pharmacological Response to Treatment by Micro-Computed Tomography
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive degenerative lung disease leading to respiratory failure and death. Although anti-fibrotic drugs are now available for treating IPF, their clinical efficacy is limited and lung transplantation remains the only modality to prolong survival of IPF patients. Despite its limitations, the bleomycin (BLM) animal model remains the best characterized experimental tool for studying disease pathogenesis and assessing efficacy of novel potential drugs. In the present study, the effects of oropharyngeal (OA) and intratracheal (IT) administration of BLM were compared in C57BL/6 mice. The development of lung fibrosis was followed in vivo for 28 days after BLM administration by micro-computed tomography and ex vivo by histological analyses (bronchoalveolar lavage, histology in the left lung to stage fibrosis severity and hydroxyproline determination in the right lung). In a separate study, the antifibrotic effect of Nintedanib was investigated after oral administration (60 mg/kg for two weeks) in the OA BLM model. Lung fibrosis severity and duration after BLM OA and IT administration was comparable. However, a more homogeneous distribution of fibrotic lesions among lung lobes was apparent after OA administration. Quantification of fibrosis by micro-CT based on % of poorly aerated tissue revealed that this readout correlated significantly with the standard histological methods in the OA model. These findings were further confirmed in a second study in the OA model, evaluating Nintedanib anti-fibrotic effects. Indeed, compared to the BLM group, Nintedanib inhibited significantly the increase in % of poorly aerated areas (26%) and reduced ex vivo histological lesions and hydroxyproline levels by 49 and 41%, respectively. This study indicated that micro-computed tomography is a valuable in vivo technology for lung fibrosis quantification, which will be very helpful in the future to better evaluate new anti-fibrotic drug candidates
Indocyanine-enhanced mouse model of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis with hallmarks of progressive emphysema
The development of new drugs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis strongly relies on preclinical experimentation, which requires the continuous improvement of animal models and integration with in vivo imaging data. Here, we investigated the lung distribution of bleomycin (BLM) associated with the indocyanine green (ICG) dye by fluorescence imaging. A long-lasting lung retention (up to 21 days) was observed upon oropharyngeal aspiration (OA) of either ICG or BLM ĂŸ ICG, with significantly more severe pulmonary fibrosis, accompanied by the progressive appearance of emphysema-like features, uniquely associated with the latter combination. More severe and persistent lung fibrosis, together with a progressive air space enlargement uniquely associated with the BLM ĂŸ ICG group, was confirmed by longitudinal micro-computed tomography (CT) and histological analyses. Multiple inflammation and fibrosis biomarkers were found to be increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of BLM- and BLM ĂŸ ICG-treated animals, but with a clear trend toward a much stronger increase in the latter group. Similarly, in vitro assays performed on macrophage and epithelial cell lines revealed a significantly more marked cytotoxicity in the case of BLM ĂŸ ICG-treated mice. Also unique to this group was the synergistic upregulation of apoptotic markers both in lung sections and cell lines. Although the exact mechanism underlying the more intense lung fibrosis phenotype with emphysema-like features induced by BLM ĂŸ ICG remains to be elucidated, we believe that this combination treatment, whose overall effects more closely resemble the human disease, represents a valuable alternative model for studying fibrosis development and for the identification of new antifibrotic compounds.</p
Multiphoton Quantum Optics and Quantum State Engineering
We present a review of theoretical and experimental aspects of multiphoton
quantum optics. Multiphoton processes occur and are important for many aspects
of matter-radiation interactions that include the efficient ionization of atoms
and molecules, and, more generally, atomic transition mechanisms;
system-environment couplings and dissipative quantum dynamics; laser physics,
optical parametric processes, and interferometry. A single review cannot
account for all aspects of such an enormously vast subject. Here we choose to
concentrate our attention on parametric processes in nonlinear media, with
special emphasis on the engineering of nonclassical states of photons and
atoms. We present a detailed analysis of the methods and techniques for the
production of genuinely quantum multiphoton processes in nonlinear media, and
the corresponding models of multiphoton effective interactions. We review
existing proposals for the classification, engineering, and manipulation of
nonclassical states, including Fock states, macroscopic superposition states,
and multiphoton generalized coherent states. We introduce and discuss the
structure of canonical multiphoton quantum optics and the associated one- and
two-mode canonical multiphoton squeezed states. This framework provides a
consistent multiphoton generalization of two-photon quantum optics and a
consistent Hamiltonian description of multiphoton processes associated to
higher-order nonlinearities. Finally, we discuss very recent advances that by
combining linear and nonlinear optical devices allow to realize multiphoton
entangled states of the electromnagnetic field, that are relevant for
applications to efficient quantum computation, quantum teleportation, and
related problems in quantum communication and information.Comment: 198 pages, 36 eps figure