Serum levels of total IgE and soluble CD23 in bronchial asthma

The aim of the present study was to compare, during the pollen season, serum levels of total IgE and soluble CD23 (sCD23) from patients with allergic bronchial asthma, with those from healthy subjects. Significantly higher levels of total IgE and sCD23 were found in patients with asthma compared to the control group. Both in normal controls and in asthmatic patients, a significant correlation was shown between the levels of these two molecules. In asthmatic patients, significant correlations were found for both total IgE and sCD23, with lung function measured as bronchial responsiveness to inhaled methacholine. These results suggest that in asthmatic patients, in addition to the study of total serum IgE levels, the assessment of sCD23 serum levels may be helpful in the evaluation of disease activity

Serum levels of soluble IL-2R, CD4 and CD8 in bronChial asthma

The aim of the present study was to compare serum levels of soluble forms of interleukin-2 receptor, CD4 and CD8, released by lymphocytes during activation of the immune system, in patients with allergic bronchial asthma, with those in healthy subjects. Significantly higher levels of soluble IL-2R and soluble CD4 were found in patients with asthma compared with the control group. In contrast, lower levels of soluble CD8 values were found in patients with asthma compared to the control group. Significant correlations were found for both sIL-2R and sCD4 and these two molecules, with lung function measured as bronchial responsiveness to inhaled methacholine. These results strengthen previous suggestions that in allergic bronchial asthma, activation of T cells plays a significant role in the disease pathogenesis

Constraints on the mantle sources of the Deccan traps from the petrology and geochemistry of the basalts of Gujarat state (Western India)

The late Cretaceous-early Tertiary flood basalts in the Gujarat area of the northwestern Deccan Traps (Kathiawar peninsula, Pavagadh hills and Rajpipla) exhibit a wide range of compositions, from picrite basalts to rhyolites; moreover, the basaltic rocks have clearly distinct TiO2 contents at any given degree of differentiation and strongly resemble the low-titanium and hightitanium basalts found in most of the Gondwana continental flood basalt (CFB) suites. Four magma groups are petrologically and geochemically distinguished: (1) A low-Ti group, characterized by rocks with varying SiO2 saturation, and with TiO2 <1.8 wt%, extremely low incompatible trace element abundances, low Zr/γ (av- 3.8), Ti/ V (av. 27), and a very slight large ion lithophile element (LJLE) enrichment over high field strength elements (HFSE). These rocks share some features with the Bushe Formation of the Western Ghats farther south, but have distinct geochemical characters, in particular the strong depletion in most incompatible trace elements. (2) A high-Ti group, characterized by a more K-rich character than the low-Ti rocks, and with a strong enrichment in incompatible elements, similar to average ocean island basalt (OIB), e.g. high TiO2 (>1.8 wt% in picrites), Nb (>19 p.p.m.) Zr/γ (av. 6.5) and Tt/V (av. 47). (3) An intermediate-Ti group, with TiO2 contents slightly lower than the high-Ti rocks at the same degree of evolution, and with correspondingly lower incompatible trace element contents and ratios, in particular K2O, Nb, Ba and Zr/Y (av. 5.2). (4) A potassium-rich group (KT), broadly similar in geochemical character to the high-Ti group but showing more extreme K, Rb and Ba enrichment (av. K20/Na20~l; Ba/Y~20). The most primitive low-Ti and high-Ti picrites, when corrected for low-pressure olivine fractionation, show distinct major (and trace) element geochemistry, in particular for CaO/AI2O3, CaO/TiO2 and Al2O3/TiO2, and moderate but significant variations in their SiO2 and Fe2Ost contents; these characteristics strongly suggest the involvement of different mantle sources, more depleted for the low-Ti picrites, and richer in cpxfor the high-Ti picrites, but with broadly the same pressures of equilibration (27-14 kbar). This, in turn, suggests a strong lateral heterogeneity in the Gujarat Trap mantle. Low-Ti picrites and related differentiates in Kathiawar are reported systematically for the first time here, and suggest the existence of HFSE-depleted mantle in the northwestern Deccan Traps, with extension at least to the Seychelles Islands and to the area of the Bushe Formation near Bombay in the pre-drift position, before the development of the Carlsberg Ridge. The absence of correlations between LILE/HFSE ratios and SiO2 argues against crustal contamination processes acting on the low-Ti picrites, possibly owing to their probably rapid uprise to the surface. Consequently, the mantle region of this rock group was probably re-enriched by small amounts of ULE-rich materials. The substantially higher, trace element enrichment of the least differentiated high-Ti picrites, relative to the basalts of the Ambe-noli and Mahableshwar Formations of the Western Ghats, testifies also to the presence of more incompatible element rich, OIB4ike mantle sources in northern and northwestern Gujarat. These sources were geochemicaily similar to the present-day Reunion mantle sources

Blood eosinophils and serum eosinophil cationic protein in patients with acute and chronic urticaria

We have analysed the relationship of blood eosinophil count and serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels in patients with acute and chronic idiopathic urticaria. The ECP levels and eosinophil counts were measured in the peripheral blood of 15 patients with acute urticaria, 25 with chronic idiopathic urticaria and 10 normal healthy subjects. Blood eosinophil counts and serum ECP levels increased in all patients with acute urticaria. Concerning patients affected by chronic urticaria, taking into account the recrudescence of the disease at the moment of taking the blood sample, only symptomatic patients showed increased eosinophil blood values whereas serum ECP levels were increased both in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Furthermore, serum ECP levels in chronic urticaria did not correlate with the peripheral eosinophil counts, as they did in acute urticaria. The results of the present study indicate that eosinophils may play a role in the inflammatory mechanisms in patients with acute and chronic urticaria showing a positive correlation between serum ECP levels and disease activity

Biotic, mineralogical, petrographic, and geomorphological characterization of the Falerno-Domitio shoreline (Campania region, southern Italy), with implication for environmental health studies: preliminary results

We report the first results of an ongoing study related to the project FARO (i.e. the Italian “Fund for original research projects”, granted by the Università di Napoli Federico II and IMI bank partner). This research project aims to the enhancement of the physical and biotic features of the coastal landscape related to the Falerno-Domitio shoreline, located in the mid-north coast of the Campania region (southern Italy), from the Garigliano river and Torregaveta. In the national scenario, this area can be considered as a valuable “natural laboratory”, for its wildlife (i.e. the Natural Reserve Foce Volturno, the Regional Park of Campi Flegrei, etc.), famous archaeological sites (i.e. Cuma excavations), and peculiar geological and volcanological characteristics (i.e. Phlegraean Fields). Unfortunately, it also suffers for a strong pollution and environmental degradation due to human activities. The research consists of a multidisciplinary analysis, mainly based on a bathymetric sensing, sampling of both the sea bottom sediments and the beach sands; it comprises: 1) integrated monitoring of the quality of environmental health through a biological study, 2) geomorphological and sedimentological analyses of the area and of the whole sample sets, with GIS data processing, 3) taxonomic and ecological analyses of selected benthic meiofauna assemblages, 4) mineralogy, petrography and geochemistry of beach sands along the shoreline, as well as of sea bottom samples. A complete sampling work of the beach sands, from the Garigliano estuary to the Cuma site, has been done, and the results of mineralogical, petrographic and chemical features, mainly in relation to major and trace elements data, as well as the granulometric curves, are presented. The ecologic and eco-toxicological studies are also carried out on selected samples, revealing the structure of meiofauna (benthic foraminifers and ostracods) assemblages. Tests on the occurrence of the bio-indicator organism Artemia salina have also performed, showing a relatively low toxicity of the samples analysed up to now. Preliminary bathymetric data are also presented

magma mixing history and dynamics of an eruption trigger

The most violent and catastrophic volcanic eruptions on Earth have been triggered by the refilling of a felsic volcanic magma chamber by a hotter more mafic magma. Examples include Vesuvius 79 AD, Krakatau 1883, Pinatubo 1991, and Eyjafjallajokull 2010. Since the first hypothesis, plenty of evidence of magma mixing processes, in all tectonic environments, has accumulated in the literature allowing this natural process to be defined as fundamental petrological processes playing a role in triggering volcanic eruptions, and in the generation of the compositional variability of igneous rocks. Combined with petrographic, mineral chemistry and geochemical investigations, isotopic analyses on volcanic rocks have revealed compositional variations at different length scales pointing to a complex interplay of fractional crystallization, mixing/mingling and crustal contamination during the evolution of several magmatic feeding systems. But to fully understand the dynamics of mixing and mingling processes, that are impossible to observe directly, at a realistically large scale, it is necessary to resort to numerical simulations of the complex interaction dynamics between chemically different magmas

Architetture per la mobilit\ue0

Le infrastrutture legate alla mobilit\ue0 di persone e merci hanno sempre avuto un forte ruolo nella trasformazione del territorio e delle citt\ue0, determinandone sviluppo ed offrendosi spesso come occasioni per significative trasformazioni dello spazio abitato. L\u2019opera infrastrutturale si pone come strategica opportunit\ue0 per una crescita virtuosa del territorio antropizzato, capace di determinare migliori condizioni non solo nelle relazioni, ma anche rispetto alle nuove necessit\ue0 dell\u2019abitare. L\u2019interesse quindi ad indagare, attraverso il progetto di architettura, le implicazioni che i tracciati infrastrutturali determinano sul territorio si fa sempre pi\uf9 decisiva per verificare e controllare le dinamiche di trasformazione. \uc8 necessario quindi rilanciare, attraverso varie occasioni, il confronto tra le varie discipline e competenze che hanno ruolo all\u2019interno di queste tematiche e fare in modo che vengano individuate modalit\ue0 e azioni capaci di virtuose metamorfosi

Mazzoni a Messina tra Modernismo e Futurismo

Il panorama dell\u2019architettura europea del Novecento \ue8 stato particolarmente segnato dalle istanze innovatrici dettate dal Movimento Moderno. In Italia, a partire da questo nuovo scenario, si \ue8 costituita una componente specifica, meglio nota come Razionalismo Italiano che ha trovato ulteriori implicazioni di riflessione compositiva e figurativa dell\u2019architettura attraverso i temi propri della ricerca Futurista. Una esperienza quest\u2019ultima che nei principali testi di storia dell\u2019architettura contemporanea, ruota principalmente attorno alla figura di Antonio Sant\u2019Elia, interprete di rilievo di questa corrente che ha rappresentato riferimento fondamentale all\u2019opera di Angiolo Mazzoni. Il Futurismo, in estrema sintesi, mir\uf2 alla semplificazione delle forme architettoniche, orientando la ricerca a soluzioni che avessero ben presente i nuovi elementi della citt\ue0 sempre pi\uf9 legati ai caratteri dell\u2019infrastrutturazione e in particolare quelli propri della mobilit\ue0. Queste opere dovevano sempre pi\uf9 caratterizzare il disegno della citt\ue0 e offrirsi come elementi riconoscibili attraverso visioni che assurgevano a una dimensione a scala geografica.The panorama of European architecture in the 20th Century was particularly marked by the innovation brought by Modernism. In Italy, this new scenario brought with it a specific approach, better known as Italian rationalism, which led to additional compositional and figurative implications in architecture, influenced by Futurism. This movement, as seen in the major works on the history of contemporary architecture, essentially revolved around the figure of Antonio Sant\u2019Elia, one of its leading interpreters and a fundamental point of reference for the work of Angiolo Mazzoni. Futurism, in a nutshell, aimed to simplify architectural forms, searching for solutions which clearly took into account the new elements of the city, increasingly linked to the nature of its infrastructures and in particular those regarding transport. These works had to increasingly characterize the design of the city and serve as recognizable elements, in visions that assumed a geographic dimension

Laboratorio di Architettura degli Interni

Il breve saggio delinea le linee guida della didattica del progetto di Architettura di interni del corso di laurea in Architettura, descrivendone gli obbiettivi, i contenuti e le finalit\ue0