Mantle Xenoliths from Huanul Volcano (Central-West Argentina): A Poorly Depleted Mantle Source under Southern Payenia

Huanul is a shield volcano with several lava flows hosting mantle xenoliths erupted during the Pleistocene (0.84 ± 0.05 Ma). It is located in the southern part of the Payenia Volcanic Province, which is among the largest Neogene-Quaternary volcanic provinces of South America. The vol-canism here has been ascribed as the northernmost expression of the back-arc volcanism of the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone. We present the first petrographic and mineral chemistry study of mantle xenoliths collected from Huanul lavas with the aim of reconstructing directly the mantle source of the Payenia Volcanic Province. Xenoliths are commonly small (<5 cm in radius) but scarcely crossed by basaltic veins. All xenoliths have a fertile lherzolitic modal composition and are equilibrated in the spinel-facies. Most of them exhibit an almost primitive-mantle geochemical affinity, characterized by slightly depleted clinopyroxene REE patterns reproducible by partial melting degrees between 0 and 4% of a PM source. Geothermobarometric P-T estimates of cli-nopyroxene-orthopyroxene couples form a linear trend between 10 and 24 kbar with constant increase of T from 814 to 1170 °C along a 50–60 mW/m2 geotherm. Evidences of interaction with the host basalts occur as spongy textures in clinopyroxene and reacted spinel, which tend to became more restitic in composition and show chromatographic or complete overprinting of the trace element compositions. The presence of plagioclase and calculated P-T values constrain this melt/rock reaction process between 6 and 14 kbar, during magma ascent, and fit the mantle ad-iabat model. Calculated melts in equilibrium with the primary clinopyroxenes do not fit the composition of the host basalt and, together with the geothermobarometric estimations, point to an asthenospheric mantle source for the magmatism in southern Payenia. The PM geochemical affinity of the xenoliths of Huanul is an extremely rare finding in the South America lithospheric mantle, which is commonly extensively refertilized by subduction-derived melts

Private equity and venture capital in Italy

This paper examines private equity and venture capital in Italy. The first part looks at the main features of the Italian market and its recent evolution; the second part considers the results of a survey of firms and intermediaries designed to gather information regarding contract features and the characteristics of investee firms and investing intermediaries. Finally, the paper discusses the main obstacles to the development of the sector using information from the survey of intermediaries.private equity, venture capital

A Distinct Pattern of Circulating Amino Acids Characterizes Older Persons with Physical Frailty and Sarcopenia: Results from the BIOSPHERE Study

Physical frailty and sarcopenia (PF&S) are hallmarks of aging that share a common pathogenic background. Perturbations in protein/amino acid metabolism may play a role in the development of PF&S. In this initial report, 68 community-dwellers aged 70 years and older, 38 with PF&S and 30 non-sarcopenic, non-frail controls (nonPF&S), were enrolled as part as the "BIOmarkers associated with Sarcopenia and Physical frailty in EldeRly pErsons" (BIOSPHERE) study. A panel of 37 serum amino acids and derivatives was assayed by UPLC-MS. Partial Least Squares\u207bDiscriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) was used to characterize the amino acid profile of PF&S. The optimal complexity of the PLS-DA model was found to be three latent variables. The proportion of correct classification was 76.6 \ub1 3.9% (75.1 \ub1 4.6% for enrollees with PF&S; 78.5 \ub1 6.0% for nonPF&S). Older adults with PF&S were characterized by higher levels of asparagine, aspartic acid, citrulline, ethanolamine, glutamic acid, sarcosine, and taurine. The profile of nonPF&S participants was defined by higher concentrations of \u3b1-aminobutyric acid and methionine. Distinct profiles of circulating amino acids and derivatives characterize older people with PF&S. The dissection of these patterns may provide novel insights into the role played by protein/amino acid perturbations in the disabling cascade and possible new targets for interventions

Metabolites

An altered amino acid metabolism has been described in frail older adults which may contribute to muscle loss and functional decline associated with frailty. In the present investigation, we compared circulating amino acid profiles of older adults with physical frailty and sarcopenia (PF&S, = 94), frail/pre-frail older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (F-T2DM, = 66), and robust non-diabetic controls ( = 40). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were built to define the amino acid signatures associated with the different frailty phenotypes. PLS-DA allowed correct classification of participants with 78.2 ± 1.9% accuracy. Older adults with F-T2DM showed an amino acid profile characterized by higher levels of 3-methylhistidine, alanine, arginine, ethanolamine, and glutamic acid. PF&S and control participants were discriminated based on serum concentrations of aminoadipic acid, aspartate, citrulline, cystine, taurine, and tryptophan. These findings suggest that different types of frailty may be characterized by distinct metabolic perturbations. Amino acid profiling may therefore serve as a valuable tool for frailty biomarker discovery

Liuc, Libero Istituto universitario Carlo Cattaneo

2. edizion

Trent'anni di finanza alternativa

Il mercato del capitale di rischio in Italia ha vissuto negli ultimi trent'anni un'importante evoluzione. AIFI, l'associazione Italiana del Private Equity, Venture Capital e Private Debt, ha contribuito a strutturare e accompagnare tale processo in tutte le sue fasi. Il Quaderno ripercorre i momenti principali di questo percorso, analizzando sia le principali direttrici dal punto di vista del mercato, sia le tappe maggiormente rilevanti per quanto concerne la crescita dell'associazione e del quadro normativo e fiscale sia a livello nazionale, sia europeo ed internazionale.Over the last thirty years, the risk capital market in Italy experienced an important evolution. AIFI, the Italian Association of Private Equity, Venture Capital and Private Debt, contributed in structuring and accompanying this process in all of its relevant stages. This paper traces the key moments of this path by analyzing the main issues from a market point of view, but also by considering the most important steps in relation to the growth of both the association and the fiscal and legal framework at the national and international level