Dynamics of the exchanges between the Sermilik fjord and the North Atlantic

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melting is responsible for one-quarter of the present rate of sea level rise. This is partly due to surface melt, but also to the retreat of the marine-terminating outlet glaciers, a highly nonlinear process, resulting from ice-ocean interactions, that's still absent from climate models. The Greenland's marine-terminating glaciers margins are usually located at the head of Greenland's fjords, glacial-origin coastal inlets between the GrIS and the shelf, through which freshwater reaches the ocean. Therefore, the knowledge of fjord dynamics is essential to understand the processes that have led to glaciers retreat and to estimate glaciers melt rate. Sermilik fjord, south-east Greenland, connects the shelf with Helheim glacier, the fifth-largest outlet of the GrIS in terms of total ice discharge. This fjord is characterised by complex dynamics, combining glacier-driven component with shelf-driven one. This thesis aims at describing Sermilik fjord dynamics interactions with shelf dynamics by means of a high resolution nested model, SURF. In the first part the seasonal fjord circulation is analysed. A seasonally reversing two-layer estuarine and anti-estuarine circulation mode is identified for the first time: it is due to seasonal changes in the strength of the East Greenland Coastal Current. The daily fjord circulation is then investigated, confirming the presence of intense two-layer flows reversing every few days (intermediary circulation). This circulation mode is demonstrated to be forced by the shelf circulation synoptic temporal variability and at least mesoscale spatial variability. Moreover, winter intermediary circulation is proven to cause non-negligible fluctuations of temperature and salinity in the waters adjacent to Helheim glacier, thus probably playing a relevant part in determining glaciers submarine melt rate. At the end, summer intermediary circulation is compared to winter one and cross-fjord variability is examined

Demonstrative systems are not affected by contact: Evidence from heritage southern Italo-Romance

Deictic information is present in every language; yet, there are significant differences as to how exactly such information is encoded, yielding different indexical systems across languages. The availability of cross-linguistic variation in indexical systems provides a window into the role of contact in shaping grammars: this work contributes to the discussion by investigating whether contact plays any role in determining the grammar of indexicality in heritage varieties. This study has a two-fold aim. Empirically, it investigates ternary demonstrative systems in heritage southern Italo-Romance varieties: on the basis of comprehension and production data, these systems are shown to be in the process of undergoing change. Theoretically, it underscores the insights that the combined microcontact and diachronic perspective provides for the understanding of variation and change in heritage languages: while, at face value, the elicited heritage data seem to indicate that demonstratives are affected by contact, pairwise comparisons across heritage varieties and diachronic observations lead to rejecting a plain contact-induced explanation and to conclude, instead, that deictic elements are largely unaffected by contact and that their change in heritage varieties is, rather, endogenous

Immunoassay and Mass Spectrometry Analytical Methods for Targeted Proteomic Analysis

Mass spectrometry based methods for analysis of multiple and simultaneous target proteins and their quantification are presented. The coupling of immunoassay in different formats for the final detection of the target proteins, especially by the use of elemental mass spectrometry is the innovative core of the research

Integrating deictic co-speech gestures in demonstrative forms

Deictic co-speech gestures (DCSGs) are commonly regarded as intimately related to exophoric demonstrative forms; yet, no account is available that formalises this relation. This paper proposes that DCSGs spell-out part of the internal structure of exophoric demonstratives: concretely, they contribute the spatial coordinates (direction and distance, syntactically encoded by the Demonstrative ‘Dem’ head and by a Measure Phrase ‘MeasP’ that modifies it, respectively) that identify the location of the demonstrative’s referent and the deictic centre. This naturally captures the intuition that exophoric demonstratives and DCSGs are related, under a multi-modal spell-out approach to demonstrative forms. Further, this proposal is compatible with independent facts regarding both the grammaticalisation of demonstrative forms and their acquisition

Documenting Italo-Romance minority languages in the Americas: Problems and tentative solutions

This article describes the process of preparation and implementation of a data collection enterprise targeting Italo-Romance emigrant languages in North and South America. This data collection is part of the ERC Microcontact project, which aims to understand language change in contact by examining the language of Italian communities in the Americas

Comparing treatment options for chronic inflammatory neuropathies and choosing the right treatment plan

Introduction: Chronic inflammatory neuropathies are disorders caused by an immune response to peripheral nerve. They include chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) and neuropathy associated with anti-MAG IgM monoclonal gammopathy and other less frequent neuropathies. Several immune therapies have been proven to be effective in these neuropathies even if the best therapeutic option is still unsettled. Areas covered: The authors reviewed the literature to compare the efficacy and safety of currently used immune therapies in these neuropathies. The authors also analyzed the effect of other immune suppressive agents and of biological agents including rituximab, eculizumab, natalizumab, alemtuzumab and fingolimod that were found effective in other autoimmune diseases. Expert commentary: Despite the reported efficacy of a number of new immune therapies in some patients with immune mediated neuropathies, their efficacy has not been so far confirmed in randomized controlled studies. High-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) (and subcutaneous immunoglobulin [SCIg] for maintenance treatment), steroids and plasma exchange remain the only therapy of proven efficacy in CIDP, IVIg in MMN and, with certain limits, rituximab and, occasionally plasma exchange in neuropathy associated with anti-MAG antibodies. New biological agents are also on the horizon but their efficacy needs to be proved in controlled studies