Commercial sponge fishing in Libya: Historical records, present status and perspectives

Natural bath sponges (genera Spongia and Hippospongia, Porifera, Demospongiae) have been harvested for millennia to be used as aids to beauty and body tools, in traditional and modem medicine as well as in painting. Recently, a series of severe epidemics have affected Mediterranean commercial sponges fostering the overexploitation of remaining fishing grounds. Furthermore, Mediterranean bath sponges attain the highest prices compared to Caribbean or Indo-Pacific ones but little or no correct information on origin is transferred to the final buyer. A complex network of re-selling activities and the lack of labelling make it almost impossible to track the pathway of sponge trade. Some of the finest Mediterranean natural bath sponges come from Libya. Nevertheless, little information on Libyan sponge banks and trade have been available mostly given the former international ban. Under an Italian-Libyan joint-project it was possible to assess the past and present situation of sponge fishing in Libya, roughly covering a period of 150 years. After rather low production in years 1860-1879, average crop exceeded 40 t/year between 1880 and 1929. The peak was recorded in years 1920-1929 (almost 70 t/year on average). Today Libyan sponge fishery and trade are mostly confined to the eastern area of the country. Less than 10 t/year are currently harvested. According to a preliminary SCUBA diving survey along the Libyan coasts, sponges belonging to the order Dictyoceratida appear to be the most conspicuous sessile invertebrates in the investigated areas. Here, sponges belonging to the genera Ircinia and Sarcotragus (commonly defined "wild sponges" with no commercial value) appear to be more abundant than those belonging to the genera Spongia and Hippospongia. Sustainable approaches to the exploitation of this valuable natural resource such as sponge farming are proposed and discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Small Plasma Focus as Neutron Pulsed Source For Nucleids Identification

In this paper, we present preliminary results on the feasibility of employing a low energy (2 kJ, 31 kV) plasma focus device as a portable source of pulsed neutron beams (2.45 MeV) generated by nuclear fusion reactions D-D, for the “in situ” analysis of substances by nuclear activation. This source has the relevant advantage of being pulsed at requirement, transportable, not permanently radioactive, without radioactive waste, cheap, among others. We prove the feasibility of using this source showing several spectra of the characteristic emission line for manganese, gold, lead, and silverFil: Milanese, Maria Magdalena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina;Fil: Niedbalski, Jorge Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones En Física E Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina;Fil: Moroso, Roberto Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones En Física E Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aire;Fil: Barbaglia, Mario Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones En Física E Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aire;Fil: Mayer, Roberto Edmundo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina;Fil: Castillo, Fernando Anibal. Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México;Fil: Guichón, S.. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Bs.as.. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina

Effects of in-season enhanced negative work-based vs traditional weight training on change of direction and hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio in soccer players

The present study investigated the effects of in-season enhanced negative work-based training (ENT) vs weight training in the change of direction (COD), sprinting and jumping ability, muscle mass and strength in semi-professional soccer players. Forty male soccer players participated in the eight-week, 1 d/w intervention consisting of 48 squat repetitions for ENT using a flywheel device (inertia=0.11 kg\ub7m-2) or weight training (80%1 RM) as a control group (CON). Agility T-test, 20+20 m shuttle, 10 m and 30 m sprint, squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ), lean mass, quadriceps and hamstrings strength and the hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio were measured. Time on agility T-test and 20+20 m shuttle decreased in ENT (effect-size =-1.44, 95% CI -2.24/-0.68 and -0.75, -1.09/-0.42 respectively) but not in CON (-0.33, -0.87/0.19 and -0.13, -0.58/0.32). SJ and CMJ height increased in both ENT (0.71, 0.45/0.97 and 0.65, 0.38/0.93) and CON (0.41, 0.23/0.60 and 0.36, 0.12/0.70). Overall, quadriceps and hamstrings strength increased in both ENT and CON (0.38/0.79), but the hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio increased in ENT (0.31, 0.22/0.40) but not in CON (0.03, -0.18/0.24). Lean mass increased in both ENT (0.41, 0.26/0.57) and CON (0.29, 0.14/0.44). The repeated negative actions performed in ENT may have led to improvements in braking ability, a key point in COD performance. Semiprofessional soccer players may benefit from in-season ENT to enhance COD and the negative-specific adaptations in muscle strength and hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio

Tailoring the thermal conductivity of rubber nanocomposites by inorganic systems: Opportunities and challenges for their application in tires formulation

The development of effective thermally conductive rubber nanocomposites for heat management represents a tricky point for several modern technologies, ranging from electronic devices to the tire industry. Since rubber materials generally exhibit poor thermal transfer, the addition of high loadings of different carbon‐based or inorganic thermally conductive fillers is mandatory to achieve satisfactory heat dissipation performance. However, this dramatically alters the mechanical behavior of the final materials, representing a real limitation to their application. Moreover, upon fillers’ incorporation into the polymer matrix, interfacial thermal resistance arises due to differences between the phonon spectra and scattering at the hybrid interface between the phases. Thus, a suitable filler functionalization is required to avoid discontinuities in the thermal transfer. In this challenging scenario, the present review aims at summarizing the most recent efforts to improve the thermal conductivity of rubber nanocomposites by exploiting, in particular, inorganic and hybrid filler systems, focusing on those that may guarantee a viable transfer of lab-scale formulations to technological applicable solutions. The intrinsic relationship among the filler’s loading, structure, morphology, and interfacial features and the heat transfer in the rubber matrix will be explored in depth, with the ambition of providing some methodological tools for a more profitable design of thermally conductive rubber nanocomposites, especially those for the formulation of tires

A Case of Brachymetatarsia From Medieval Sardinia (Italy)

Archaeological excavations carried out in the Medieval village of Geridu (Sardinia) uncovered several burials dating to the late 13th or the first half of 14th century. Among these individuals, the skeleton of an adult female showing a bilateral abnormal shortness of the fourth metatarsal bone was identified. Bilaterality and absence of other skeletal anomalies allow to rule out an acquired aetiology of the disease and to support a diagnosis of congenital brachymetatarsia. Such a rare deformity has a clinical incidence of 0.02% to 0.05%, with strong predominance of the female gender. To our knowledge, no other cases of brachymetatarsia have been reported in paleopathology so far

Sclerosing bone dysplasia from 16th century Sardinia (Italy): a possible case of Camurati-Engelmann disease

The skeletal remains of a male aged 45–55 years displaying several bone anomalies were unearthed from the Alghero (Sardinia) plague cemetery ‘lo Quarter’, a burial site dating back to the 1582–1583 AD outbreak. The skeleton, whose stature is about 165 cm, presents a bilateral hyperostosis with increased diameter of the diaphyses of all the long bones of the upper and lower limbs; the metaphyses appear to be involved, while the epiphyses are spared. Marked thickening of the cranial vault is also evident. Radiological study showed irregular cortical thickening and massive endoperiosteal bone apposition; sclerotic changes are observed in the diaphysis of some metacarpals. Computed tomography (CT) cross sections of the long bones displayed a thickening of the cortical portion and endoperiosteal bone apposition. The individual was affected by a sclerosing bone dysplasia, a genetic disease characterized by increased bone density. In differential diagnosis, several sclerosing bone dysplasia, such as hyperostosis corticalis generalisata, craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, craniometadiaphyseal dysplasia, pachydermoperiostosis and Camurati–Engelmann disease, as well as other disorders characterized by sclerosing manifestations, such as Erdheim–Chester disease, mehloreostosis and skeletal fluorosis, need to be considered. The anomalies observed in skeleton 2179 fit with the features of Camurati–Engelmann disease, which is the most likely candidate for final diagnosis. It is highly challenging to evaluate how such a condition may have influenced the individual’s lifestyle in terms of development, mobility and quality of life. This individual was probably symptomatic and must have experienced common clinical symptoms, such as pain in the limbs and fatigability. However, the strong development of the muscular insertions and the degenerative changes in the upper limbs suggest that the mobility problems should not have prevented him from reaching a mature age and from performing essential daily activities. The presented case is the unique paleopathological evidence of Camurati–Engelmann disease so far diagnosed

Recovery of a Medieval Brucella melitensis genome using shotgun metagenomics

ABSTRACT Shotgun metagenomics provides a powerful assumption-free approach to the recovery of pathogen genomes from contemporary and historical material. We sequenced the metagenome of a calcified nodule from the skeleton of a 14th-century middle-aged male excavated from the medieval Sardinian settlement of Geridu. We obtained 6.5-fold coverage of a Brucella melitensis genome. Sequence reads from this genome showed signatures typical of ancient or aged DNA. Despite the relatively low coverage, we were able to use information from single-nucleotide polymorphisms to place the medieval pathogen genome within a clade of B. melitensis strains that included the well-studied Ether strain and two other recent Italian isolates. We confirmed this placement using information from deletions and IS711 insertions. We conclude that metagenomics stands ready to document past and present infections, shedding light on the emergence, evolution, and spread of microbial pathogens

Prognostic role of tumor necrosis, microvessel density, vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha in patients with clear cell renal carcinoma after radical nephrectomy in a long term follow-up.

Angiogenesis is a critical step in the growth, invasive progression and metastatic spread of solid tumors. We investigated the importance of tumor necrosis, and microvessel density (MVD), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) immunohistochemical expression in a large series of clear cell renal carcinomas treated with radical nephrectomy and assessed the prognostic value of their expression in terms of patient survival at long-term follow up. Fifty patients with clear cell RCC were examined. The features considered when evaluating the patients were age, tumor size and grade, intratumoral vascular and renal capsula invasion, histological necrosis, and MVD, vascular and tumoral cell VEGF, and vascular, tumoral cytoplasmic and nuclear HIF-1α expression on the histologic specimens. All considered parameters were correlated with patient specific survival. Mean age was 62.06 ± 6.8 years. Median follow-up was 191.66 months; median survival was 120.86 months. Twenty-one patients developed metastases in the follow-up. Tumor necrosis, microvascular invasion and renal capsula infiltration are more likely to occur in high stage and grade RCC; cytoplasmic HIF-1α is highly expressed in high grade RCC. Survival is dependent upon tumor stage and grade, the presence of intratumoral vascular invasion and capsular infiltration, and tumor necrosis; MVD also resulted as being an important prognostic factor. VEGF and HIF-1α correlate with prognosis in high stage tumors where VEGF is the most important independent prognostic factor for cancer specific death. The histological and immunohistochemical parameters considered in our study can influence disease recurrence and survival in RCC

Design of a Nanometric AlTi Additive for MgB2-Based Reactive Hydride Composites with Superior Kinetic Properties

Solid-state hydride compounds are a promising option for efficient and safe hydrogen-storage systems. Lithium reactive hydride composite system 2LiBH4 + MgH2/2LiH + MgB2 (Li-RHC) has been widely investigated owing to its high theoretical hydrogen-storage capacity and low calculated reaction enthalpy (11.5 wt % H2 and 45.9 kJ/mol H2). In this paper, a thorough investigation into the effect of the formation of nano-TiAl alloys on the hydrogen-storage properties of Li-RHC is presented. The additive 3TiCl3·AlCl3 is used as the nanoparticle precursor. For the investigated temperatures and hydrogen pressures, the addition of ∼5 wt % 3TiCl3·AlCl3 leads to hydrogenation/dehydrogenation times of only 30 min and a reversible hydrogen-storage capacity of 9.5 wt %. The material containing 3TiCl3·AlCl3 possesses superior hydrogen-storage properties in terms of rates and a stable hydrogen capacity during several hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycles. These enhancements are attributed to an in situ nanostructure and a hexagonal AlTi3 phase observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. This phase acts in a 2-fold manner, first promoting the nucleation of MgB2 upon dehydrogenation and second suppressing the formation of Li2B12H12 upon hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycling.Fil: Le, Thi-Thu. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Pistidda, Claudio. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Puszkiel, Julián Atilio. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemania. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Castro Riglos, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemania. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Karimi, Fahim. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Skibsted, Jørgen. University Aarhus; DinamarcaFil: Gharibdoust, Seyedhosein Payandeh. University Aarhus; DinamarcaFil: Richter, Bo. University Aarhus; DinamarcaFil: Emmler, Thomas. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Milanese, Chiara. Università di Pavia; ItaliaFil: Santoru, Antonio. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Hoell, Armin. Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie; AlemaniaFil: Krumrey, Michael. Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt; AlemaniaFil: Gericke, Eike. Universität zu Berlin; AlemaniaFil: Akiba, Etsuo. Kyushu University; JapónFil: Jensen, Torben R.. University Aarhus; DinamarcaFil: Klassen, Thomas. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemania. Helmut Schmidt University; AlemaniaFil: Dornheim, Martin. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemani