Heritage Stone 2. The Dora-Maira Unit (Italian Cottian Alps): A Reservoir of Ornamental Stones Since Roman Times

The Dora-Maira Unit is a geological unit cropping out in the inner part of the Cottian Alps and belonging to the Penninic Domain of the Western Alps (northwestern Italy). It consists of a Paleozoic basement and its Mesozoic carbonate cover, metamorphosed under eclogite facies conditions in the Cenozoic. Due to the complexity of the rock associations and the textural-metamorphic transformations, the Dora-Maira Unit has been a source of ornamental stones over the centuries, and still represents a reservoir of material locally employed for historical and contemporary buildings. Several varieties of orthogneiss, quartzite and marble, derived from the Paleozoic basement and Mesozoic cover, are known by different local names (e.g. Luserna Stone, Borgone and Vaie Stone, Perosa Stone, Bargiolina Quartzite, Foresto and Chianocco Marble).These stones were largely employed during the 17th and 18th centuries for some of the most famous and important monuments in Turin (capital of Piedmont region, northwestern Italy), as well as in the countryside, since Roman times. Some of the materials exploited in the Dora-Maira Unit were also exported to foreign countries: Borgone and Vaie Stone were used for the paving of the Louvre Museum, and Perosa Stone was employed for the construction of the monument of Independence in Lagos, Nigeria. Consequently, the Dora-Maira Unit can be designated as a Global Heritage Stone Province.RÉSUMÉL’Unité Dora-Maira est une unité géologique affleurant dans la partie interne des Alpes Cottiennes; elle appartient au Domaine Penninique des Alpes occidentales (Italie du Nord-Ouest). Elle se compose d'une croûte continentale d’âge Paléozoïque supérieur et de sa couverture carbonatique Mésozoïque, métamorphosées en faciès éclogite pendant le Cénozoïque. En raison de la complexité des associations lithologiques et des transformations métamorphiques et structurelles, l’Unité Dora-Maira a été une source de pierres ornementales au cours des siècles, et encore il représente un réservoir de matériau employé localement pour des bâtiments contemporains et historiques. Plusieurs variétés de gneiss, de quartzite et de marbre, provenant du socle paléozoïque et de la couverture mésozoïque et connues sous différents noms locaux (par exemple Pierre de Luserna, Pierre de Borgone et Vaie, Pierre de Perosa, Bargiolina, marbres de Foresto et Chianocco), étaient largement utilisées pour certains monuments les plus célèbres et importants à Turin (capitale de la région Piémont), au cours des 17ème et 18ème siècles, et dans les alentours de la ville depuis l'époque romaine. Certains des matériaux exploités dans l'Unité Dora-Maira ont été également exportés aux pays étrangers: la Pierre de Borgone et Vaie a été utilisée pour le pavage du Musée du Louvre, et la Pierre de Perosa a été employé en Afrique, à Lagos, au Nigéria, pour la construction du monument de l'indépendance. Par conséquent, l'Unité Dora-Maira peut être indiquée comme une Pierre Province du patrimoine mondial

ICSBP Is Essential for the Development of Mouse Type I Interferon-producing Cells and for the Generation and Activation of CD8α+ Dendritic Cells

Interferon (IFN) consensus sequence-binding protein (ICSBP) is a transcription factor playing a critical role in the regulation of lineage commitment, especially in myeloid cell differentiation. In this study, we have characterized the phenotype and activation pattern of subsets of dendritic cells (DCs) in ICSBP−/− mice. Remarkably, the recently identified mouse IFN-producing cells (mIPCs) were absent in all lymphoid organs from ICSBP−/− mice, as revealed by lack of CD11clowB220+Ly6C+CD11b− cells. In parallel, CD11c+ cells isolated from ICSBP−/− spleens were unable to produce type I IFNs in response to viral stimulation. ICSBP−/− mice also displayed a marked reduction of the DC subset expressing the CD8α marker (CD8α+ DCs) in spleen, lymph nodes, and thymus. Moreover, ICSBP−/− CD8α+ DCs exhibited a markedly impaired phenotype when compared with WT DCs. They expressed very low levels of costimulatory molecules (intercellular adhesion molecule [ICAM]-1, CD40, CD80, CD86) and of the T cell area-homing chemokine receptor CCR7, whereas they showed higher levels of CCR2 and CCR6, as revealed by reverse transcription PCR. In addition, these cells were unable to undergo full phenotypic activation upon in vitro culture in presence of maturation stimuli such as lipopolysaccharide or poly (I:C), which paralleled with lack of Toll-like receptor (TLR)3 mRNA expression. Finally, cytokine expression pattern was also altered in ICSBP−/− DCs, as they did not express interleukin (IL)-12p40 or IL-15, but they displayed detectable IL-4 mRNA levels. On the whole, these results indicate that ICSBP is a crucial factor in the regulation of two possibly linked processes: (a) the development and activity of mIPCs, whose lack in ICSBP−/− mice may explain their high susceptibility to virus infections; (b) the generation and activation of CD8α+ DCs, whose impairment in ICSBP−/− mice can be responsible for the defective generation of a Th1 type of immune response

Venice is not sinking : il turismo a Venezia tra immagine globale e nuovo marketing territoriale

Peer reviewe

Tourisme in fragile contexts: between human development and environmental degradation

Peer reviewe

Discovery of a Potent Dual Inhibitor of Aromatase and Aldosterone Synthase.

Estrogen deficiency derived from inhibition of estrogen biosynthesis is a typical condition of postmenopausal women and breast cancer (BCs) patients undergoing antihormone therapy. The ensuing increase in aldosterone levels is considered to be the major cause for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) affecting these patients. Since estrogen biosynthesis is regulated by aromatase (CYP19A1), and aldosterone biosynthesis is modulated by aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2), a dual inhibitor would allow the treatment of BC while reducing the cardiovascular risks typical of these patients. Moreover, this strategy would help overcome some of the disadvantages often observed in single-target or combination therapies. Following an in-depth analysis of a library of synthesized benzylimidazole derivatives, compound was found to be a potent and selective dual inhibitor of aromatase and aldosterone synthase, with IC values of 2.3 and 29 nM, respectively. Remarkably, the compound showed high selectivity with respect to 11β-hydroxylase (CYP11B1), as well as CYP3A4 and CYP1A2. When tested in cells, showed potent antiproliferative activity against BC cell lines, particularly against the ER+ MCF-7 cells (IC of 0.26 ± 0.03 μM at 72 h), and a remarkable pro-apoptotic effect. In addition, the compound significantly inhibited mTOR phosphorylation at its IC concentration, thereby negatively modulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis, which represents an escape for the dependency from ER signaling in BC cells. The compound was further investigated for cytotoxicity on normal cells and potential cardiotoxicity against ERG and Nav1.5 ion channels, demonstrating a safe biological profile. Overall, these assays demonstrated that the compound is potent and safe, thus constituting an excellent candidate for further evaluation. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

High-Throughput RNA Sequencing of Pseudomonas-Infected Arabidopsis Reveals Hidden Transcriptome Complexity and Novel Splice Variants

We report the results of a genome-wide analysis of transcription in Arabidopsis thaliana after treatment with Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato. Our time course RNA-Seq experiment uses over 500 million read pairs to provide a detailed characterization of the response to infection in both susceptible and resistant hosts. The set of observed differentially expressed genes is consistent with previous studies, confirming and extending existing findings about genes likely to play an important role in the defense response to Pseudomonas syringae. The high coverage of the Arabidopsis transcriptome resulted in the discovery of a surprisingly large number of alternative splicing (AS) events – more than 44% of multi-exon genes showed evidence for novel AS in at least one of the probed conditions. This demonstrates that the Arabidopsis transcriptome annotation is still highly incomplete, and that AS events are more abundant than expected. To further refine our predictions, we identified genes with statistically significant changes in the ratios of alternative isoforms between treatments. This set includes several genes previously known to be alternatively spliced or expressed during the defense response, and it may serve as a pool of candidate genes for regulated alternative splicing with possible biological relevance for the defense response against invasive pathogens

An Ancient Egyptian Multilayered Polychrome Wooden Sculpture Belonging to the Museo Egizio of Torino: Characterization of Painting Materials and Design of Cleaning Processes by Means of Highly Retentive Hydrogels

This contribution focuses on the conservation of an Egyptian wooden sculpture (Inventory Number Cat. 745) belonging to the Museo Egizio of Torino in northwest Italy. A preliminary and interdisciplinary study of constituent painting materials and their layering is here provided. It was conducted by means of a multi-technique approach starting from non-invasive multispectral analysis on the whole object, and subsequently, on selected micro-samples. In particular, visible fluorescence induced by ultraviolet radiation (UVF), infrared reflectography (IRR) and visible--induced infrared luminescence were used on the whole object. The micro-samples were analysed by means of an optical microscope with visible and UV light sources, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (Py-GC/MS) and micro-particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The characterization of the painting materials allowed the detection of Egyptian blue and Egyptian green, and also confirmed the pertinence of the top brown layer to the original materials, which is a key point to design a suitable surface treatment. In fact, due to the water sensitiveness of the original materials, only few options were available to perform cleaning operations on this artwork. To setup the cleaning procedure, we performed several preliminary tests on mockups using dry cleaning materials, commonly used to treat reactive surfaces, and innovative highly water retentive hydrogels, which can potentially limit the mechanical action on the original surface while proving excellent cleaning results. Overall, this study has proved fundamental to increase our knowledge on ancient Egyptian artistic techniques and contribute to hypothesize the possible provenance of the artefact. It also demonstrated that polyvinyl alcohol-based retentive gels allow for the safe and efficient cleaning of extremely water sensitive painted surfaces, as those typical of ancient Egyptian artefacts