BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA AS INDICATORS OF PALEOECOLOGICAL BOTTOM CONDITIONS IN THE SERRAVALLIAN TREMITI SECTIONS (EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, ITALY)

Quantitative analysis of  benthic foraminifera from the Serravallian S. Nicola composite section (Tremiti Islands, Adriatic Sea) and about 37 m thick, pointed out changes of bottom paleoecological conditions in this eastern Mediterranean area during the analyzed time interval. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are typical of bathyal environment and indicate a constant paleobathymetry of about 1,000 m. Changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblages allowed us to identify five intervals,  which were calibrated on the astrochronological scale to reconstruct paleoecological evolution of bottom conditions. In particular starting from the base of the section the following different bottom conditions have been identified: 1) between about 12.62  to about 12.29 Ma high surface productivity, active bottom water circulation and, consequently, moderate bottom food supply; this paleoenvironment slightly changed  between about 12.49 and 12.29 Ma, where benthic assemblages testify unstable bottom conditions with periods of active circulation (relative abundance of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi), alternated with periods of sluggish circulation  (peaks of Bulimina subulata group); 2) relatively oxygenated paleoenvironment together with low food supply between about  12.29 - 12.08 Ma; 3) increase of organic matter content (abundance of  U. peregrina-pygmaea), due to higher surface productivity and/or greater preservation of organic matter at bottom from 12.08 to 11.81 Ma; 4) relatively oxygenated conditions with low food supply from 11.81 to about 11.45 Ma; 5) similar conditions to those of the basal part (about 12.62  - 12.29 Ma) of the section from about 11.45 to 11.10 Ma, but with an increase of organic matter content. Finally, the comparison between the paleoecological reconstruction of the S. Nicola composite section and Ras il-Pellegrin (Malta) composite section (reported in this volume) in  the interval between about 12.6 and 12.2 Ma, pointed out very different extimated paleobatimetries, but similar paleoecological bottom conditions with evidence of relative high productivity.

BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA AS INDICATORS OF PALEOECOLOGICAL BOTTOM CONDITIONS IN THE SERRAVALLIAN TREMITI SECTIONS (EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, ITALY)

Quantitative analysis of  benthic foraminifera from the Serravallian S. Nicola composite section (Tremiti Islands, Adriatic Sea) and about 37 m thick, pointed out changes of bottom paleoecological conditions in this eastern Mediterranean area during the analyzed time interval. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are typical of bathyal environment and indicate a constant paleobathymetry of about 1,000 m. Changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblages allowed us to identify five intervals,  which were calibrated on the astrochronological scale to reconstruct paleoecological evolution of bottom conditions. In particular starting from the base of the section the following different bottom conditions have been identified: 1) between about 12.62  to about 12.29 Ma high surface productivity, active bottom water circulation and, consequently, moderate bottom food supply; this paleoenvironment slightly changed  between about 12.49 and 12.29 Ma, where benthic assemblages testify unstable bottom conditions with periods of active circulation (relative abundance of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi), alternated with periods of sluggish circulation  (peaks of Bulimina subulata group); 2) relatively oxygenated paleoenvironment together with low food supply between about  12.29 - 12.08 Ma; 3) increase of organic matter content (abundance of  U. peregrina-pygmaea), due to higher surface productivity and/or greater preservation of organic matter at bottom from 12.08 to 11.81 Ma; 4) relatively oxygenated conditions with low food supply from 11.81 to about 11.45 Ma; 5) similar conditions to those of the basal part (about 12.62  - 12.29 Ma) of the section from about 11.45 to 11.10 Ma, but with an increase of organic matter content. Finally, the comparison between the paleoecological reconstruction of the S. Nicola composite section and Ras il-Pellegrin (Malta) composite section (reported in this volume) in  the interval between about 12.6 and 12.2 Ma, pointed out very different extimated paleobatimetries, but similar paleoecological bottom conditions with evidence of relative high productivity.

PALEOCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS AT THE BASE OF THE PLIOCENE IN THE SOUTHERN MEDITERRANEAN BASIN

Detailed quantitative analyses of the benthic foraminiferal assemblage from the base of the Pliocene sections (M Pl 1 biozone) at Eraclea Minoa and the Capo Rossello area (southern Sicily) documented fluctuating paleoecological conditions indicative of a dysaerobic bottom water environment. In particular, we identify the Uvigerina pygmaea-peregrina Event, which in the area studied covers the upper part of the M Pl 1 biozone. According to the integrated calcareous plankton biostratigraphy and to cyclostratigraphy based on fluctuations in the relative abundance of fauna in the planktonic foraminiferal assemblage, the base of the Uvigerina pygmaea-peregrina Event coincides with cycle 6a and its top coincides with cycle 10 in the Sicilian sections.A similar temporal correlation is seen in the Tyrrhenian basin (ODP Site 652). On the contrary, the Uvigerina pygmaea-peregrina Event covers a longer time interval in the Jonian basin, where it is recognizable from cycle 4 to cycle 12. The Uvigerina pygmaea-peregrina Event is time equivalent with an interval characterized by cyclically repeated sapropels in the eastern Mediterranean basin. As a matter of fact, 10 sapropels are present in the deep-sea sediments (ODP Site 969) and 10 Uvigerina pygmaea-peregrina peaks are present in the Roccella Ionica - Capo Spartivento composite section in the M Pl 1- lowest M Pl 2 biozones. The diachronous termination of the Uvigerina pygmaea-peregrina Event may indicate that well-oxygenated bottom conditions were established earlier in the western than in the eastern Mediterranean basin. Both the sapropels interval in the eastern Mediterranean and low-oxygen bottom conditions in the Jonian basin occurred during a time interval which straddles a minimum of eccentricity in the astronomical record.  &nbsp

Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes as ultrasound contrast agents

Ultrasonography is a fundamental diagnostic imaging tool in everyday clinical practice. Here, we are unique in describing the use of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as hyperechogenic material, suggesting their potential application as ultrasound contrast agents. Initially, we carried out a thorough investigation to assess the echogenic property of the nanotubes in vitro. We demonstrated their long-lasting ultrasound contrast properties. We also showed that ultrasound signal of functionalized MWCNTs is higher than graphene oxide, pristine MWCNTs, and functionalized single-walled CNTs. Qualitatively, the ultrasound signal of CNTs was equal to that of sulfur hexafluoride (SonoVue), a commercially available contrast agent. Then, we found that MWCNTs were highly echogenic in liver and heart through ex vivo experiments using pig as an animal model. In contrast to the majority of ultrasound contrast agents, we observed in a phantom bladder that the tubes can be visualized within a wide variety of frequencies (i.e., 5.5–10 MHz) and 12.5 MHz using tissue harmonic imaging modality. Finally, we demonstrated in vivo in the pig bladder that MWCNTs can be observed at low frequencies, which are appropriate for abdominal organs. Importantly, we did not report any toxicity of CNTs after 7 d from the injection by animal autopsy, organ histology and immunostaining, blood count, and chemical profile. Our results reveal the enormous potential of CNTs as ultrasound contrast agents, giving support for their future applications as theranostic nanoparticles, combining diagnostic and therapeutic modalities

THE CAPO ROSSELLO BORE-HOLE (AGRIGENTO, SICILY) CYCLOSTRATIGRAPHIC AND PALEOCEANOGRAPHIC RECONSTRUCTIONS FROM QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF THE ZANCLEAN FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES

Cyclostratigraphy based on the quantitative analyses of planktonic foraminifera in the Zanclean segment (M Pl 1 base of M Pl 3 biozones) of the bore-hole drilled in the Capo Rossello area (Sicily, Southern Italy) allows us to recognize that the calcareous plankton biostratigraphic events occur in the same cycles as identified by previous authors. Exceptional thick cycles which are thought to represent two precession cycles show two fluctuations is greater than the number of lithologic cycles. Between the base of the Pliocene and the first occurrence of Globorotalia puncticulata thirty-five lithologic cycles and thirty eight planktonic foraminifera fluctuations are present. By comparison with relative abundance fluctuations in the benthic foraminifera and the astronomical record is recognized. In particular, the BN>125 µm and the Planulina ariminensis quantitative distributions are related to the long eccentricity. Conversely, the relative abundance fluctuations of Siphonina reticulata, Cibicidoides bradyi, Pullenia bulloides and Uvigerina pygmaea appear to be generally forced by the precession periodicity, but in the intervals coincident with the eccentricity minima such a relationship is less clear. The very abundant and widespread distribution in several Mediterranean sites of S. reticulata, which we consider a quasi-endemic species of this basin during the Early and Middle Pliocene is anticovariant with the quantitative distribution of Cibicidoides brady-robertsonianus, which is considered a characteristic species of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). This relationship suggest that a peculiar, intermediate water mass was present in the Mediterranean during this time interval. We propose for this water mass the name of Early Pliocene Mediterranenan Intermediate Water (EPMIW). According to bibliographic data that report the sharp decrease in abundance of S. reticulata during the M Pl 5 biozone, EPMIW was present in the Mediterranean basin until about 2.5 Ma.&nbsp

THE CAPO ROSSELLO BORE-HOLE (AGRIGENTO, SICILY) CYCLOSTRATIGRAPHIC AND PALEOCEANOGRAPHIC RECONSTRUCTIONS FROM QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF THE ZANCLEAN FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES

Cyclostratigraphy based on the quantitative analyses of planktonic foraminifera in the Zanclean segment (M Pl 1 base of M Pl 3 biozones) of the bore-hole drilled in the Capo Rossello area (Sicily, Southern Italy) allows us to recognize that the calcareous plankton biostratigraphic events occur in the same cycles as identified by previous authors. Exceptional thick cycles which are thought to represent two precession cycles show two fluctuations is greater than the number of lithologic cycles. Between the base of the Pliocene and the first occurrence of Globorotalia puncticulata thirty-five lithologic cycles and thirty eight planktonic foraminifera fluctuations are present. By comparison with relative abundance fluctuations in the benthic foraminifera and the astronomical record is recognized. In particular, the BN>125 µm and the Planulina ariminensis quantitative distributions are related to the long eccentricity. Conversely, the relative abundance fluctuations of Siphonina reticulata, Cibicidoides bradyi, Pullenia bulloides and Uvigerina pygmaea appear to be generally forced by the precession periodicity, but in the intervals coincident with the eccentricity minima such a relationship is less clear. The very abundant and widespread distribution in several Mediterranean sites of S. reticulata, which we consider a quasi-endemic species of this basin during the Early and Middle Pliocene is anticovariant with the quantitative distribution of Cibicidoides brady-robertsonianus, which is considered a characteristic species of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). This relationship suggest that a peculiar, intermediate water mass was present in the Mediterranean during this time interval. We propose for this water mass the name of Early Pliocene Mediterranenan Intermediate Water (EPMIW). According to bibliographic data that report the sharp decrease in abundance of S. reticulata during the M Pl 5 biozone, EPMIW was present in the Mediterranean basin until about 2.5 Ma.&nbsp

cytokines in the nasal washes of children with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis

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Inhaled tobramycin in children with acute bacterial rhinopharyngitis.

Antibiotic abuse for treating rhinopharyngitis induces the occurrence of resistant bacteria. As topical drugs might reduce this phenomenon, the aims of our study were to evaluate inhaled tobramycin in children with acute bacterial rhinopharyngitis and to compare it with oral amoxicillin/clavulanate. The trial was conducted as randomized, parallel group and double blind. Children, aged 3–6 years, with acute bacterial rhinopharyngitis were treated with 15 mg of aerosolized tobramycin (Group A) or 50 mg/Kg of amoxicillin/clavulanate (Group B) twice daily for 10 days. The following parameters were assessed: nasal obstruction, mucopurulent rhinorrhea, post-nasal drip, adenoidal hypertrophy, tympanic inflammation, tympanogramm, rhinomanometry and cultures. Of 416 patients screened, 311 children (178 females and 133 males), median age 4.5 years, completed the study: 156 in Group A and 155 in Group B. Both treatments improved all parameters (p<0.01 for all). Intergroup analysis showed that inhaled tobramycin indu..

Functionalized carbon nanotubes as immunomodulator systems

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