THE CLASSICAL KARST GEOPARK

This special book, entitled „The Classical Karst geopark“, bears witness to a successful cross-border cooperation that will lead to the creation of a cross-border geopark in the Karst region. The publication is one of the results of the GeoKarst project, co-funded within the framework of the Interreg V-A Italy-Slovenia Cooperation Programme 2014-2020, while the contents produced by the Italian partners were financed by the Geological Survey of the Central Directorate for Environmental Protection, Energy and Sustainable Development of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia (RAFVG). The idea of a cross-border geopark originated during the definition of the proposal of the strategic project KRAS-CARSO (Cross-border Cooperation Programme Slovenia-Italy 2007-2013) and proved to be most appropriate during its implementation. In fact, the feasibility Study on the creation of the geopark showed in technical, economic-managerial and participatory terms that the integration of the Karst area could be achieved through the creation of a cross-border geopark as a development tool for the sustainable use of resources and the well-being of the people living on the Karst Plateau. In 2015 and 2017, the 5 Slovenian and 12 Italian municipalities, which comprise the area concerned, decided to create a crossborder geopark, so that, since 2018, the Geological Survey of RAFVG (coordinator for the Italian part of the geopark) and the Municipality of Sežana (coordinator for the Slovenian part) have been intensively collaborating on the creation and management of the cross-border Karst geopark. The book describes all the main features of the Karst, which, as the “cradle” of karst studies, is of global significance from a culturalhistorical and scientific point of view. In the book you will note the frequent use of bilingual place-names and toponyms, this reflects the rich history of the area, which stands at the intersection of various cultures. Nowadays, the inhabitants of the Karst are mainly Slovenians and Italians. Slovenian language and culture in the Italian part of the Karst is covered by a law protecting the linguistic minority. Our sincere thanks go to all the contributors who have made this book possible

Alpine ethnobotany in Italy: traditional knowledge of gastronomic and medicinal plants among the Occitans of the upper Varaita valley, Piedmont

A gastronomic and medical ethnobotanical study was conducted among the Occitan communities living in Blins/Bellino and Chianale, in the upper Val Varaita, in the Piedmontese Alps, North-Western Italy, and the traditional uses of 88 botanical taxa were recorded. Comparisons with and analysis of other ethnobotanical studies previously carried out in other Piemontese and surrounding areas, show that approximately one fourth of the botanical taxa quoted in this survey are also known in other surrounding Occitan valleys. It is also evident that traditional knowledge in the Varaita valley has been heavily eroded. This study also examined the local legal framework for the gathering of botanical taxa, and the potential utilization of the most quoted medicinal and food wild herbs in the local market, and suggests that the continuing widespread local collection from the wild of the aerial parts of Alpine wormwood for preparing liqueurs (Artemisia genipi, A. glacialis, and A. umbelliformis) should be seriously reconsidered in terms of sustainability, given the limited availability of these species, even though their collection is culturally salient in the entire study area

High levels of osteopontin associated with polymorphisms in its gene are a risk factor for development of autoimmunity/lymphoproliferation

The autoimmune/lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) displays defective function of Fas, autoimmunities, lymphadenopathy/splenomegaly, and expansion of CD4/CD8 double-negative (DN) T cells. Dianzani autoimmune/lymphoproliferative disease (DALD) is an ALPS variant lacking DN cells. Both forms have been ascribed to inherited mutations hitting the Fas system but other factors may be involved. A pilot cDNA array analysis on a DALD patient detected overexpression of the cytokine osteopontin (OPN). This observation was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detection of higher OPN serum levels in DALD patients (n = 25) than in controls (n = 50). Analysis of the OPN cDNA identified 4 polymorphisms forming 3 haplotypes (A, B, and C). Their overall distribution and genotypic combinations were different in patients (N = 26) and controls (N = 158) (P <.01). Subjects carrying haplotype B and/or C had an 8-fold higher risk of developing DALD than haplotype A homozygotes. Several data suggest that these haplotypes influence OPN levels: (1) in DALD families, high levels cosegregated with haplotype B or C; (2) in healthy controls, haplotype B or C carriers displayed higher levels than haplotype A homozygotes; and (3) in AB and AC heterozygotes, mRNA for haplotype B or C was more abundant than that for haplotype A. In vitro, exogenous OPN decreased activation-induced T-cell death, which suggests that high OPN levels are involved in the apoptosis defect

GEOPARK KRAS

Knjiga z naslovom »Geopark Kras« je poseben izdelek, saj priča o uspešnem čezmejnem sodelovanju, katerega skupni rezultat bo rojstvo čezmejnega geoparka na matičnem Krasu. Knjigo smo pripravili v projektu GeoKarst, ki je sofinanciran v okviru Programa sodelovanja Interreg V-A Italija - Slovenija 2014–2020. Knjigo je sofinancirala tudi Geološka služba Centralne direkcije za varstvo okolja, energijo in trajnostni razvoj Avtonomne Dežele Furlanije - Julijske krajine (ADFJK). Ideja o čezmejnem geoparku se je porodila ob pripravi strateškega projekta KRAS-CARSO (Program čezmejnega sodelovanja Slovenija - Italija 2007–2013). V teku projekta se je izkazala za ustrezno, saj je bilo v Študiji izvedljivosti vzpostavitve geoparka na Krasu s strokovnega, ekonomsko-upravljavskega in participativnega vidika ugotovljeno, da bo povezovanje homogenega območja Krasa doseženo z vzpostavitvijo čezmejnega geoparka - kot razvojnega orodja za trajnostno rabo virov v dobrobit ljudi, ki živijo na čezmejni planoti Krasa

Impact of dense-water flow over a sloping bottom on open-sea circulation: Laboratory experiments and an Ionian Sea (Mediterranean) example

The North Ionian Gyre (NIG) displays prominent inversions on decadal scales. We investigate the role of internal forcing induced by changes in the horizontal pressure gradient due to the varying density of Adriatic Deep Water (AdDW), which spreads into the deep layers of the northern Ionian Sea. In turn, the AdDW density fluctuates according to the circulation of the NIG through a feedback mechanism known as the bimodal oscillating system. We set up laboratory experiments with a two-layer ambient fluid in a circular rotating tank, where densities of 1000 and 1015ĝ€¯kgĝ€¯m-3 characterize the upper and lower layers, respectively. From the potential vorticity evolution during the dense-water outflow from a marginal sea, we analyze the response of the open-sea circulation to the along-slope dense-water flow. In addition, we show some features of the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies that form in the upper layer over the slope area. We illustrate the outcome of the experiments of varying density and varying discharge rates associated with dense-water injection. When the density is high (1020ĝ€¯kgĝ€¯m-3) and the discharge is large, the kinetic energy of the mean flow is stronger than the eddy kinetic energy. Conversely, when the density is lower (1010ĝ€¯kgĝ€¯m-3) and the discharge is reduced, vortices are more energetic than the mean flow - that is, the eddy kinetic energy is larger than the kinetic energy of the mean flow. In general, over the slope, following the onset of dense-water injection, the cyclonic vorticity associated with current shear develops in the upper layer. The vorticity behaves in a two-layer fashion, thereby becoming anticyclonic in the lower layer of the slope area. Concurrently, over the deep flat-bottom portion of the basin, a large-scale anticyclonic gyre forms in the upper layer extending partly toward a sloping rim. The density record shows the rise of the pycnocline due to the dense-water sinking toward the flat-bottom portion of the tank. We show that the rate of increase in the anticyclonic potential vorticity is proportional to the rate of the rise of the interface, namely to the rate of decrease in the upper-layer thickness (i.e., the upper-layer squeezing). The comparison of laboratory experiments with the Ionian Sea is made for a situation when the sudden switch from cyclonic to anticyclonic basin-wide circulation took place following extremely dense Adriatic water overflow after the harsh winter in 2012. We show how similar the temporal evolution and the vertical structure are in both laboratory and oceanic conditions. The demonstrated similarity further supports the assertion that the wind-stress curl over the Ionian Sea is not of paramount importance in generating basin-wide circulation inversions compared with the internal forcing

Il Geoparco del Carso Classico

Questo speciale libro, intitolato „Il geoparco del Carso Classico“ testimonia il successo della cooperazione transfrontaliera che porterà all‘istituzione di un geoparco transfrontaliero sul Carso. La pubblicazione è uno dei risultati del progetto GeoKarst, cofinanziato nell‘ambito del Programma di Cooperazione Interreg V-A Italia- Slovenia 2014-2020, ed è inoltre frutto dell‘impegno, anche finanziario, del Servizio geologico della Direzione centrale difesa dell‘ambiente, energia e sviluppo sostenibile della Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia (RAFVG). L‘idea di creare un geoparco transfrontaliero è nata in fase di definizione della proposta per il progetto strategico KRAS-CARSO (Programma di cooperazione transfrontaliera Slovenia-Italia 2007- 2013) rivelandosi, nel corso di attuazione dello stesso, quanto più appropriata. Lo studio di fattibilità sull‘istituzione del geoparco ha infatti evidenziato in termini tecnici, economico-gestionali e partecipativi che l‘integrazione dell‘area carsica potrà essere raggiunta con questo strumento di sviluppo per un uso sostenibile delle risorse e il benessere delle persone che vivono sull‘altopiano del Carso. Nel 2015 e nel 2017 i 5 Comuni sloveni e i 12 italiani, che comprendono l‘area di interesse, hanno formalmente deciso di istituire un geoparco transfrontaliero, tanto che dal 2018 il Servizio geologico RAFVG (coordinatore per la parte italiana) e il Comune di Sežana (coordinatore per la parte slovena) stanno collaborando intensamente per l‘istituzione e la sua gestione. Nel libro sono descritte tutte le principali caratteristiche del Carso che, quale „culla“ dello studio del carsismo, riveste rilevanza mondiale da un punto di vista storico-culturale e scientifico. Come vi capiterà di leggere nel libro, i toponimi nel Carso hanno dicitura bilingue nata dalla lunga storia dell‘Altipiano, area di incontro tra diverse culture. Al giorno d‘oggi, gli abitanti del Carso sono principalmente sloveni e italiani. La lingua e la cultura slovena, nella parte italiana del Carso, è sostenuta dalla legge di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche. Un sentito ringraziamento va a tutti coloro che hanno reso possibile la realizzazione di questo testo

Biogeochemical, isotopic and bacterial distributions trace oceanic abyssal circulation

We explore the possibility of tracing routes of dense waters toward and within the ocean abyss by the use of an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters. To this purpose, we employ mercury, isotopic oxygen, biopolymeric carbon and its constituents, together with indicators of microbial activity and bacterial diversity found in bottom waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. In this basin, which has been considered as a miniature global ocean, two competing sources of bottom water (one in the Adriatic and one in the Aegean seas) contribute to the ventilation of the local abyss. However, due to a recent substantial reduction of the differences in the physical characteristics of these two water masses it has become increasingly complex a water classification using the traditional approach with temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen alone. Here, we show that an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters allows recognizing the existence of two different abyssal routes from the Adriatic source and one abyssal route from the Aegean source despite temperature and salinity of such two competing sources of abyssal water being virtually indistinguishable. Moreover, as the near-bottom development of exogenous bacterial communities transported by convectively-generated water masses in the abyss can provide a persistent trace of episodic events, intermittent flows like those generating abyssal waters in the Eastern Mediterranean basin may become detectable beyond the availability of concomitant measurements.We explore the possibility of tracing routes of dense waters toward and within the ocean abyss by the use of an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters. To this purpose, we employ mercury, isotopic oxygen, biopolymeric carbon and its constituents, together with indicators of microbial activity and bacterial diversity found in bottom waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. In this basin, which has been considered as a miniature global ocean, two competing sources of bottom water (one in the Adriatic and one in the Aegean seas) contribute to the ventilation of the local abyss. However, due to a recent substantial reduction of the differences in the physical characteristics of these two water masses it has become increasingly complex a water classification using the traditional approach with temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen alone. Here, we show that an extended set of observed physical and biochemical parameters allows recognizing the existence of two different abyssal routes from the Adriatic source and one abyssal route from the Aegean source despite temperature and salinity of such two competing sources of abyssal water being virtually indistinguishable. Moreover, as the near-bottom development of exogenous bacterial communities transported by convectively-generated water masses in the abyss can provide a persistent trace of episodic events, intermittent flows like those generating abyssal waters in the Eastern Mediterranean basin may become detectable beyond the availability of concomitant measurements. © 2016 Rubino et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Identification of a novel zinc metalloprotease through a global analysis of clostridium difficile extracellular proteins

Clostridium difficile is a major cause of infectious diarrhea worldwide. Although the cell surface proteins are recognized to be important in clostridial pathogenesis, biological functions of only a few are known. Also, apart from the toxins, proteins exported by C. difficile into the extracellular milieu have been poorly studied. In order to identify novel extracellular factors of C. difficile, we analyzed bacterial culture supernatants prepared from clinical isolates, 630 and R20291, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The majority of the proteins identified were non-canonical extracellular proteins. These could be largely classified into proteins associated to the cell wall (including CWPs and extracellular hydrolases), transporters and flagellar proteins. Seven unknown hypothetical proteins were also identified. One of these proteins, CD630_28300, shared sequence similarity with the anthrax lethal factor, a known zinc metallopeptidase. We demonstrated that CD630_28300 (named Zmp1) binds zinc and is able to cleave fibronectin and fibrinogen in vitro in a zinc-dependent manner. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identified residues important in zinc binding and enzymatic activity. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Zmp1 destabilizes the fibronectin network produced by human fibroblasts. Thus, by analyzing the exoproteome of C. difficile, we identified a novel extracellular metalloprotease that may be important in key steps of clostridial pathogenesis