Storia del paesaggio vegetale e dell’impatto antropico nell’area del Gran Sasso d’Italia (Abruzzo) in base a polline, palinomorfi non pollinici e microcarboni (sondaggi di Piano Locce 1225 m slm)

The study presents a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on pollen, no-pollen palynomorphs (= NPPs) and microcharcoals analyses on samples of two cores (PL1 e PL2) taken at Piano Locce ( 1225 m a.s.l., Barisciano, L'Aquila - Italy), within a multidisciplinary programme. Piano Locce is a tectono-karstic depression on the southern side of the “Massiccio del Gran Sasso d’Italia” mountain and it is a hollow that trapped the sediments eroded from the soils of the sorrounding mountains and the wind carried pyroclastic ashes. Methods – Core PL1, drilled in 2003, 80 m long without reaching the limestone at the base, was sampled for pollen analysis following the stratigraphy to obtain an ample vegetational/climatic reconstruction. Core PL2, drilled in 2008, 10 m long, was sampled approximately every 5-10 cm to obtain a detailed reconstruction of the floristic-vegetational/climatic events and of human impact during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. For this study 91 of the 260 samples taken from the two cores were studied: 10 from PL1 core (from 0 to 5.14 m) and 81 from PL2 core. The finds analysis, the data exposition and the results interpretation principles followed the current standards. For microcharcoals a particle-count method that divides them in 5 classes was carried out. Chronology – Two datings based on chemical analysis of volcanic minerals are available: core PL1 is dated 170.000-200.000 years BP at the bottom and core PL2 is dated 36.000 years BP at 5 m depth. Results, Discussion, Conclusions – Pollen analysis of Piano Locce series (46.150 pollen finds in the two cores) provides the history of vegetal landscape from 36.000 years BP, plus former data. The finding of high percentage of Artemisia pollen, with Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae and low percentage of arboreal plants suggests, for the lower part of the sequence, a steppe vegetation environment referable to the Last Glacial. In this part some zones may be included in the Last Glacial Maximum (minimum of woody plants pollen), in the interstadial Bolling-Allerod (low Artemisia, relative increase and differentiation of trees/shrubs) and in the Younger Dryas (arboreal plants decrease and Artemisia rise). The transit from the Last Glacial to the Holocene is testified by an arboreal plants increase and the affirmation of mixed Oak-wood (at about 1.50 m depth in PL2). Data suggests that in the area a grass-land grazed quite precociously persisted during the time. Wood always remained far from Piano Locce depression and it was formed alternatively by conifers and broadleaves and subsequently by the predominance of Oak-wood broadleaves. Beech-wood is little represented, probably due to local climatic factors. The combination of Cultivated/cultivable plants begins to be significant in the Medium Holocene and it is obvious in the Upper Holocene. This is testified by Castanea, Juglans, Olea, Vitis e cereals. Prunus dulcis was found in the most superficial samples. NPPs (1.797 finds identified in PL2 core) in the Upper Pleistocene show mainly algal microremains (Pediastrum and Botryococcus colonies and Spirogyra spores) attesting a lacustrine sedimentation, while coprophilus fungi spores appears in good percentage during the Holocene, in a terrestrial environment with periodical water puddles. This fungi presence, like Sporormiella-type, Sordiaria-type, Apiosordiaria and Valsaria-type, in levels caracherized by Cichoriodeae, Asteroideae, Cirsium-type, Galium-type, Ranunculaceae, Stellaria-type pollen suggests the hypothesis that Piano Locce depression was exploited as a grazing area, first by wild animals, then by domestic ones. Microcharcoals (analyzed in PL2 core) are less represented in the lower part of the sequence, maybe due to the presence of humans living in caves and shelters settled in areas at lower quotes than Piano Locce. The presence of bigger sized particles testifies nearer fires, natural or caused by the hunter-gatherers that hunted in the area. During the Holocene the sum of microcharcoals increases, according to the evidence of anthropization provided by pollen and no-pollen palynomorphs

CAN PALYNOLOGY CONTRIBUTE TO PLANT DIVERSITY CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES? THE WETLAND PLANTS IN SOUTHERN PO PLAIN AS A CASE STUDY

The vegetation of the Po Plain has long been modified by natural and human factors. The present plant landscape is almost entirely anthropogenic. Many hydro-hygrophilous species, quite common until a few decades ago, are now very rare and in danger of extinction, so conservation programmes are necessary for their protection and maintenance. It is known that the former vegetation can be reconstructed thanks to palynological data, but assessing the real presence of a given species is not always possible. This work aims to understand whether palynology can give information about the presence and identification of hydro-hygrophilous species, supporting the classical flora analyses commonly conducted on herbarium data. In some cases, these species are well characterized from a morphopalynological and phytogeographical viewpoint: the plant occurrence may be suggested even by pollen findings in surface-samples. discovering the presence of some of these species by pollen morphotypes offers a real opportunity to gear the reintroduction/reinforcing programmes, but ecological analysis will obviously be essential to ascertain the real suitability of the chosen sites, according to the ecological requirements of the species. Our analysis refers to wetlands of the southern Po plain within the Modena Province, where detailed palynological data about present and historical local flora were available

Plant Responses to Climate Change: The Case Study of Betulaceae and Poaceae Pollen Seasons (Northern Italy, Vignola, Emilia-Romagna)

Aerobiological data have especially demonstrated that there is correlation between climate warming and the pollination season of plants. This paper focuses on airborne pollen monitoring of Betulaceae and Poaceae, two of the main plant groups with anemophilous pollen and allergenic proprieties in Northern Italy. The aim is to investigate plant responses to temperature variations by considering long-term pollen series. The 15-year aerobiological analysis is reported from the monitoring station of Vignola (located near Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region) that had operated in the years 1990-2004 with a Hirst spore trap. The Yearly Pollen Index calculated for these two botanical families has shown contrasting trends in pollen production and release. These trends were well identifiable but fairly variable, depending on both meteorological variables and anthropogenic causes. Based on recent reference literature, we considered that some oscillations in pollen concentration could have been a main effect of temperature variability reflecting global warming. The duration of pollen seasons of Betulaceae and Poaceae, depending on the different species included in each family, has not unequivocally been determined. Phenological responses were particularly evident in Alnus and especially in Corylus as a general moving up of the end of pollination. The study shows that these trees can be affected by global warming more than other, more tolerant, plants. The research can be a contribution to the understanding of phenological plant responses to climate change and suggests that alder and hazelnut trees have to be taken into high consideration as sensible markers of plant responses to climate change

Tanella cave (Monte Baldo-Verona, Italy): a record of environmental data on the last glacial period

Since 2003, an extensive hydrogeological investigation has been carried out on Monte Baldo, in order to make a census of springs occurring along the west side of the mountain and to evaluate the quality of their water. The investigation included morphological and hydrogeological observations concerning the Tanella cave and interdisciplinary investigations performed on the deposits found in the cave. This paper shows the first data concerning the hydrogeology of the cave, as well as data on stratigraphy, pollen and micro-charcoals obtained from the analyses of a well preserved sequence located at ca. 80 m from the entrance (sequence A). The aim of the study was to reconstruct the environment of the area around the cave along the time span testified by the sequence. The sequence is 60 cm thick and was built up by fluvioglacial sediments followed by lacustrine sediments. Five samples taken along the sequence plus three recent control samples (mosses), collected in places assumed as origins of the pollen input, were studied for pollen and micro-charcoals. Pollen preservation was good and concentration varied from 101 to 103 p/g. Pollen spectra from the cave showed the evolution from a landscape of alpine grassland above the timberline, likely of glacial age, to a more forested Holocene landscape similar in flora to the current one testified by the control samples. Pollen probably arrived in the cave by air, water and animals and from plants growing near the cave. It appears to have been continuously underwater after its deposition due to its very good state of preservation. Micro-charcoals suggested that fires were sometimes lit near the cave

Thirsty for Justice: A People's Blueprint for California Water

The report's first chapter analyzes the origins of environmental discrimination in California water policy. After an overview of how low income communities and communities of color have been historically left out of California water management, we analyze political, economic and social trends that produce the current exclusionary system and emerging policies and technologies that could further harm low-income communities and communities of color.In the second chapter, we provide an overview of what we term "water governance": who controls water supply and quality and what agencies are responsible for ensuring that people have enough clean water. We explain the current system of water governance, examine changing patterns in control over water, and provide examples of communities that face profound barriers to participating in water decisions. We conclude by discussing barriers within water regulatory entities that prevent community voices from entering into water decision-making.In the third chapter, we provide a picture of water-related environmental injustices that low-income communities and communities of color face on a daily basis. These communities' lack of access to safe, affordable drinking water and healthy watersheds exemplifies the health burdens many communities bear as a result of California's water policies.Our report concludes with policy recommendations for how to remedy some of the most pressing water concerns low-income communities and communities of color face, in order to guarantee the basic right to safe and affordable water

Gene Expression Profiles Identify Inflammatory Signatures in Dendritic Cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) constitute a heterogeneous group of antigen-presenting leukocytes important in activation of both innate and adaptive immunity. We studied the gene expression patterns of DCs incubated with reagents inducing their activation or inhibition. Total RNA was isolated from DCs and gene expression profiling was performed with oligonucleotide microarrays. Using a supervised learning algorithm based on Random Forest, we generated a molecular signature of inflammation from a training set of 77 samples. We then validated this molecular signature in a testing set of 38 samples. Supervised analysis identified a set of 44 genes that distinguished very accurately between inflammatory and non inflammatory samples. The diagnostic performance of the signature genes was assessed against an independent set of samples, by qRT-PCR. Our findings suggest that the gene expression signature of DCs can provide a molecular classification for use in the selection of anti-inflammatory or adjuvant molecules with specific effects on DC activity

Inflammatory Cytokines During Cardiac Rehabilitation After Heart Surgery and Their Association to Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation

Inflammation is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), but little is known about the association of AF with the inflammatory serum cytokines after the acute postoperative phase. Thus, we aimed to explore how plasma cytokines concentrations modify during a 3-week cardiac rehabilitation after heart surgery, comparing patients who developed postoperative AF (POAF) and those with permanent AF with patients free from AF (NoAF group). We enrolled 100 consecutive patients and 40 healthy volunteers as a control group. At the beginning of cardiac rehabilitation, 11 days after surgery, serum levels of MPO, PTX3, ADAM17, sST2, IL-25, and IL-33 were dramatically higher, whereas TNFa and IL-37 levels were much lower in NoAF, POAF, and permanent AF patients than in the healthy volunteers. After rehabilitation, most of the cytokines changed tending towards normalization. POAF patients (35% of the total) had higher body mass index and abdominal adiposity than NoAF patients, but similar general characteristics and risk factors for POAF. However, ADAM-17 and IL-25 were always lower in POAF than in NoAF patients, suggesting a protective role of IL-25 and ADAM 17 against POAF occurrence. This finding could impact on therapeutic strategies focusing on the postoperative prophylactic antiarrhythmic interventions

[18F]-Fludeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography with Radiomics Analysis in Patients Undergoing Aortic In-Situ Reconstruction with Cryopreserved Allografts

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of positron emission tomography/computed tomography with [18F]-fludeoxyglucose (FDG-PET/CT) and radiomics analysis in detecting differences between the native aorta and the abdominal aortic allograft after the total eradication of infection in patients undergoing infected graft removal and in situ reconstruction with cryopreserved allografts

The SUCCESSO-TERRA Project: a Lesson of Sustainability from the Terramare Culture, Middle Bronze Age of the Po Plain (Northern Italy)

This backstory article deals with the SUCCESSO-TERRA Project (2017–2020), an interdisciplinary research program aiming at reconstructing the land-use transformations that occurred during the development of the Terramare culture in the southern-central Po Plain of Northern Italy. Topics include climate-environment changes, human impact and exploitation of natural resources that are interconnected topics in human ecology and environmental sciences. These topics can only be understood in a long-term perspective integrating archaeology, geology, botany and other sciences. The text includes the theoretical basis, the research strategy and the main methodological approaches given by geoarchaeology and palynology, the two research sides constituting the partnership of the project