Application Studies for the Implementation of the Sustainability Charter in the Metropolitan City of Genoa

Starting from Agenda 2030 and existing tools in the field of sustainability, this research defines the guidelines for a new Sustainability Charter created for a metropolitan-level city. These guidelines are then applied to the case study of the metropolitan city of Genoa. The paper reports, therefore, application studies for the implementation of the Sustainability Charter in the metropolitan city of Genoa. Funded by the Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of Territory and Sea, the Sustainability Charter of the Metropolitan City of Genoa, which we present here, is developed as part of \u201cAgenda 2030, the Sustainable Metropolitan Agenda of the Metropolitan City of Genoa: moving towards sustainable metropolitan spaces\u201d. This research has led to the implementation of a concrete product the entire citizenship can benefit from. The new proposed tool is oriented towards the application of sustainability in urban planning and management in order to reduce environmental impacts and promote a proper and better quality of life: a driving force for sustainable urban development. Sustainability as a tool to safeguard the cultural and environmental heritage and the economic system, which can represent a new opportunity for the development of competitiveness, innovation and employment

The Red Sea, Coastal Landscapes, and Hominin Dispersals

This chapter provides a critical assessment of environment, landscape and resources in the Red Sea region over the past five million years in relation to archaeological evidence of hominin settlement, and of current hypotheses about the role of the region as a pathway or obstacle to population dispersals between Africa and Asia and the possible significance of coastal colonization. The discussion assesses the impact of factors such as topography and the distribution of resources on land and on the seacoast, taking account of geographical variation and changes in geology, sea levels and palaeoclimate. The merits of northern and southern routes of movement at either end of the Red Sea are compared. All the evidence indicates that there has been no land connection at the southern end since the beginning of the Pliocene period, but that short sea crossings would have been possible at lowest sea-level stands with little or no technical aids. More important than the possibilities of crossing the southern channel is the nature of the resources available in the adjacent coastal zones. There were many climatic episodes wetter than today, and during these periods water draining from the Arabian escarpment provided productive conditions for large mammals and human populations in coastal regions and eastwards into the desert. During drier episodes the coastal region would have provided important refugia both in upland areas and on the emerged shelves exposed by lowered sea level, especially in the southern sector and on both sides of the Red Sea. Marine resources may have offered an added advantage in coastal areas, but evidence for their exploitation is very limited, and their role has been over-exaggerated in hypotheses of coastal colonization

Early paleocene paleoceanography and export productivity in the Chicxulub crater

The Chicxulub impact caused a crash in productivity in the world''s oceans which contributed to the extinction of ~75% of marine species. In the immediate aftermath of the extinction, export productivity was locally highly variable, with some sites, including the Chicxulub crater, recording elevated export production. The long-term transition back to more stable export productivity regimes has been poorly documented. Here, we present elemental abundances, foraminifer and calcareous nannoplankton assemblage counts, total organic carbon, and bulk carbonate carbon isotope data from the Chicxulub crater to reconstruct changes in export productivity during the first 3 Myr of the Paleocene. We show that export production was elevated for the first 320 kyr of the Paleocene, declined from 320 kyr to 1.2 Myr, and then remained low thereafter. A key interval in this long decline occurred 900 kyr to 1.2 Myr post impact, as calcareous nannoplankton assemblages began to diversify. This interval is associated with fluctuations in water column stratification and terrigenous flux, but these variables are uncorrelated to export productivity. Instead, we postulate that the turnover in the phytoplankton community from a post-extinction assemblage dominated by picoplankton (which promoted nutrient recycling in the euphotic zone) to a Paleocene pelagic community dominated by relatively larger primary producers like calcareous nannoplankton (which more efficiently removed nutrients from surface waters, leading to oligotrophy) is responsible for the decline in export production in the southern Gulf of Mexico. © 2021. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

Effects of the high-density lipoprotein mimetic agent CER-001 on coronary atherosclerosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes: a randomized trial†

Aim High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) have several potentially protective vascular effects. Most clinical studies of therapies targeting HDL have failed to show benefits vs. placebo. Objective To investigate the effects of an HDL-mimetic agent on atherosclerosis by intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) and quantitative coronary angiography (QCA). Design and setting A prospective, double-blinded, randomized trial was conducted at 51 centres in the USA, the Netherlands, Canada, and France. Intravascular ultrasonography and QCA were performed to assess coronary atherosclerosis at baseline and 3 (2-5) weeks after the last study infusion. Patients Five hundred and seven patients were randomized; 417 and 461 had paired IVUS and QCA measurements, respectively. Intervention Patients were randomized to receive 6 weekly infusions of placebo, 3 mg/kg, 6 mg/kg, or 12 mg/kg CER-001. Main outcome measures The primary efficacy parameter was the nominal change in the total atheroma volume. Nominal changes in per cent atheroma volume on IVUS and coronary scores on QCA were also pre-specified endpoints. Results The nominal change in the total atheroma volume (adjusted means) was −2.71, −3.13, −1.50, and −3.05 mm3 with placebo, CER-001 3 mg/kg, 6 mg/kg, and 12 mg/kg, respectively (primary analysis of 12 mg/kg vs. placebo: P = 0.81). There was also no difference among groups for the nominal change in per cent atheroma volume (0.02, −0.02, 0.01, and 0.19%; nominal P = 0.53 for 12 mg/kg vs. placebo). Change in the coronary artery score was −0.022, −0.036, −0.022, and −0.015 mm (nominal P = 0.25, 0.99, 0.55), and change in the cumulative coronary stenosis score was −0.51, 2.65, 0.71, and −0.77% (compared with placebo, nominal P = 0.85 for 12 mg/kg and nominal P = 0.01 for 3 mg/kg). The number of patients with major cardiovascular events was 10 (8.3%), 16 (13.3%), 17 (13.7%), and 12 (9.8%) in the four groups. Conclusion CER-001 infusions did not reduce coronary atherosclerosis on IVUS and QCA when compared with placebo. Whether CER-001 administered in other regimens or to other populations could favourably affect atherosclerosis must await further study. Name of the trial registry: Clinicaltrials.gov; Registry's URL: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01201837?term=cer-001&rank=2; Trial registration number: NCT0120183

Mediterranean-Black Sea gateway exchange: Scientific drilling workshop on the BlackGate project

The MagellanPlus workshop "BlackGate"addressed fundamental questions concerning the dynamic evolution of the Mediterranean-Black Sea (MBS) gateway and its palaeoenvironmental consequences. This gateway drives the Miocene-Quaternary circulation patterns in the Black Sea and governs its present status as the world's largest example of marine anoxia. The exchange history of the MBS gateway is poorly constrained because continuous Pliocene-Quaternary deposits are not exposed on land adjacent to the Black Sea or northern Aegean. Gateway exchange is controlled by climatic (glacio-eustatic-driven sea-level fluctuations) and tectonic processes in the catchment as well as tectonic propagation of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in the gateway area itself. Changes in connectivity trigger dramatic palaeoenvironmental and biotic turnovers in both the Black Sea and Mediterranean domains. Drilling a Messinian to Holocene transect across the MBS gateway will recover high-amplitude records of continent-scale hydrological changes during glacial-interglacial cycles and allow us to reconstruct marine and freshwater fluxes, biological turnover events, deep biospheric processes, subsurface gradients in primary sedimentary properties, patterns and processes controlling anoxia, chemical perturbations and carbon cycling, growth and propagation of the NAFZ, the timing of land bridges for Africa and/or Asia-Europe mammal migration, and the presence or absence of water exchange during the Messinian salinity crisis. During thorough discussions at the workshop, three key sites were selected for potential drilling using a mission-specific platform (MSP): one on the Turkish margin of the Black Sea (Arkhangelsky Ridge, 400mb.s.f., metres below the seafloor), one on the southern margin of the Sea of Marmara (North Imrali Basin, 750mb.s.f.), and one in the Aegean (North Aegean Trough, 650mb.s.f.). All sites target Quaternary oxic-anoxic marl-sapropel cycles. Plans include recovery of Pliocene lacustrine sediments and mixed marine-brackish Miocene sediments from the Black Sea and the Aegean. MSP drilling is required because the JOIDES Resolution cannot pass under the Bosporus bridges. The wider goals are in line with the aims and scope of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) "2050 Science Framework: Exploring Earth by Scientific Ocean Drilling"and relate specifically to the strategic objectives "Earth's climate system", "Tipping points in Earth's history", and "Natural hazards impacting society"

Gene regulatory network reveals oxidative stress as the underlying molecular mechanism of type 2 diabetes and hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of diabetes is increasing worldwide. It has been long known that increased rates of inflammatory diseases, such as obesity (OBS), hypertension (HT) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are highly associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). T2D and/or OBS can develop independently, due to genetic, behavioral or lifestyle-related variables but both lead to oxidative stress generation. The underlying mechanisms by which theses complications arise and manifest together remain poorly understood. Protein-protein interactions regulate nearly every living process. Availability of high-throughput genomic data has enabled unprecedented views of gene and protein co-expression, co-regulations and interactions in cellular systems.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present work, applied a systems biology approach to develop gene interaction network models, comprised of high throughput genomic and PPI data for T2D. The genes differentially regulated through T2D were 'mined' and their 'wirings' were studied to get a more complete understanding of the overall gene network topology and their role in disease progression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By analyzing the genes related to T2D, HT and OBS, a highly regulated gene-disease integrated network model has been developed that provides useful functional linkages among groups of genes and thus addressing how different inflammatory diseases are connected and propagated at genetic level. Based on the investigations around the 'hubs' that provided more meaningful insights about the cross-talk within gene-disease networks in terms of disease phenotype association with oxidative stress and inflammation, a hypothetical co-regulation disease mechanism model been proposed. The results from this study revealed that the oxidative stress mediated regulation cascade is the common mechanistic link among the pathogenesis of T2D, HT and other inflammatory diseases such as OBS.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings provide a novel comprehensive approach for understanding the pathogenesis of various co-associated chronic inflammatory diseases by combining the power of pathway analysis with gene regulatory network evaluation.</p

Life and death in the Chicxulub impact crater: a record of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

latitudes, with sea surface temperatures at some localities exceeding the 35 ∘C at which marine organisms experience heat stress. Relatively few equivalent terrestrial sections have been identified, and the response of land plants to this extreme heat is still poorly understood. Here, we present a new record of the PETM from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater that has been identified based on nannofossil biostratigraphy, an acme of the dinoflagellate genus Apectodinium, and a negative carbon isotope excursion. Geochemical and microfossil proxies show that the PETM is marked by elevated TEXH86-based sea surface temperatures (SSTs) averaging ∼37.8 ∘C, an increase in terrestrial input and surface productivity, salinity stratification, and bottom water anoxia, with biomarkers for green and purple sulfur bacteria indicative of photic zone euxinia in the early part of the event. Pollen and plants spores in this core provide the first PETM floral assemblage described from Mexico, Central America, and the northern Caribbean. The source area was a diverse coastal shrubby tropical forest with a remarkably high abundance of fungal spores, indicating humid conditions. Thus, while seafloor anoxia devastated the benthic marine biota and dinoflagellate assemblages were heat-stressed, the terrestrial plant ecosystem thrived

Southward displacement of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre circulation system during North Atlantic cold spells

Key Points: - Rapid subsurface oceanographic change in the tropical W Atlantic reflect shifting Subtropical Gyre - Subsurface warming responds to deglacial AMOC perturbations (Heinrich Stadials 2, 1, and the Younger Dryas) - Southward propagation of Salinity Maximum Water during Northern Hemisphere cold spells shift the mixing zone of tropical and subtropical waters During times of deglacial Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) perturbations, the tropical Atlantic experienced considerable warming at subsurface levels. Coupled ocean‐atmosphere simulations corroborate the tight teleconnection between the tropical Atlantic and climate change at high northern latitudes, but still underestimate the relevance of the subsurface N Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (STG) for heat and salt storage and its sensitivity to rapid climatic change. We here reconstruct vertical and lateral temperature and salinity gradients in the tropical W Atlantic and the Caribbean over the last 30 kyrs, based on planktic deep and shallow dwelling foraminiferal Mg/Ca and δ18O‐records. The rapid and large amplitude subsurface changes illustrate a dynamic STG associated with abrupt shifts of North Atlantic hydrographic and atmospheric regimes. During full glacial conditions, the STG has been shifted southward while intensified Ekman‐downwelling associated to strengthened trade winds fostered the formation of warm and saline Salinity Maximum Water (SMW). The southward propagation of SMW was facilitated by the glacially eastward deflected North Brazil Current. During periods of significant AMOC perturbations (Heinrich Stadials 1, and the Younger Dryas), extreme subsurface warming by ~6°C led to diminished lateral subsurface temperature gradients. Coevally, a deep thermocline suggests that SMW fully occupied the subsurface tropical W Atlantic and that the STG reached its southernmost position. During the Holocene, modern‐like conditions gradually developed with the northward retreat of SMW and the development of a strong thermocline ridge between the Subtropical Gyre and the tropical W Atlantic

Red Sea palaeoclimate: stable isotope and element-ratio analysis of marine mollusc shells

The southern Red Sea coast is the location of more than 4,200 archaeological shell midden sites. These shell middens preserve archaeological and climatic archives of unprecedented resolution and scale. By using shells from these contexts, it is possible to link past environmental information with episodes of human occupation and resource processing. This chapter summarises current knowledge about the marine gastropod Conomurex fasciatus (Born 1778) and discusses its use in environmental and climatic reconstruction using stable isotope and elemental ratio analysis. It offers a review of the most recent studies of shell midden sites on the Farasan Islands, their regional importance during the mid-Holocene, theories about seasonal use of the coastal landscape, and preliminary results from new methods to acquire large climatic datasets from C. fasciatus shells