We report results on the measured high 3He/4He
isotope ratio in western Sicily, interpreted together with the heat data. The study of this sector of the Europe-Africa interaction is crucial to a better understanding of the
tectonics and the geodynamical evolution of the central Mediterranean area. The estimated mantle-derived helium fluxes in the investigated areas are up to 2–3 orders of magnitude greater than those of a stable continental area.
The highest flux, found in the southernmost area near the Sicily Channel, where recent eruptions of the Ferdinandea Island occurred 20 miles out to sea off Sciacca, has been associated with a clear excess of heat flow. Our results indicate that there is an accumulation of magma below the
continental crust of western Sicily that is possibly intruding and out-gassing through roughly N-S trending deep fault systems linked to the mantle, that have an extensional component. Although the identification of these faults is not
sufficiently constrained by our data, they could possibly be linked to the pre-existing faults that originated during the Mesozoic extensional-transtensional tectonic phases

Bokil, Nilesh

Chan, Angeline Lai

Cheneval, Olivier

Craik, David

D'Souza, Charlotte

Sweet, Matthew

Troeira Henriques, Sonia

Wang, Conan

The SET protein is a promising drug target in cancer therapy, because of its ability to inhibit the function of the tumor suppressor gene protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). COG peptides, derived from apolipoprotein E (apoE), are potent antagonists of SET; they induce cytotoxicity in cancer cells upon binding to intracellular SET and modulate the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. However, the therapeutic potential of COG peptides is limited, because of their poor proteolytic stability and low bioavailability. In this study, the COG peptide, COG1410, was stabilized by grafting it onto the ultrastable cyclic peptide scaffold, Momordica cochinchinensis trypsin inhibitor-II (MCoTI-II). The grafted MCoTI-II peptides were cytotoxic to a cancer cell line and showed high stability in human serum. The most potent grafted MCoTI-II peptide inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated activation of NF-κB in murine macrophages. Overall, this study demonstrates the application of the MCoTI-II scaffold for the development of stable peptide drugs for cancer therapy

Queensland University of Technology ePrints Archive

Using the MCoTI-II cyclotide scaffold to design a stable cyclic peptide antagonist of SET, a protein overexpressed in human cancer

Charlotte D’Souza

Sónia Troeira Henriques

Conan K. Wang

Olivier Cheneval

Lai Yue Chan

Nilesh J. Bokil

Matthew J. Sweet

David J. Craik

Crossref

Biochemistry

Using the MCoTI-II Cyclotide Scaffold To Design a Stable Cyclic Peptide Antagonist of SET, a Protein Overexpressed in Human Cancer

Caracausi, A.

Favara, R.

Italiano, F.

Nuccio, P. M.

Paonita, A.

Rizzo, A.

Earth-prints Repository

Active geodynamics of the central Mediterranean Sea: Tensional tectonic evidences in western Sicily from mantle-derived helium

The deep seismicity in the Mediterranean region does not have the pattern that the alleged convergence of Africa and Eurasia should produce. Often, where subduction slabs and Wadati-Benioff zones should be present – showing intermediate and deep hypocenters – only shallow intracrustal seismicity is detected. Most geoscientists admit, without a valid explanation, that in this region subduction occurs largely aseismically.
Inspection of South Tyrrhenian, Aegean and South Carpathian deep foci zones makes clear that these isolated narrow plumes (or clusters, filaments) of hypocentres cannot be sites of active subduction but that they are related to uplift of deep mantle material. Their presence under actively rising part of orogens – besides many additional clues coming from a number of different fields –leads to a unified interpretation of the involved phenomena, and to a new interpretation of the orogenic processes and fold belt building. The evidence points to vertical displacements of materials as the main process responsible for deep earthquakes, volcanic phenomena and orogenesis.
Several tens of km of overthrusts and underthrusts should not be mistaken for large-scale subduction, and the limit of 50-70 km (the roots of an orogen) should be considered the maximum depth of occurrence of metamorphism. Into these limits of depth, the nonlithostatic overpressures due to the surfaceward mantle flow, the association of fluids, extreme magnitude earthquakes and deviatoric stress can be the causes both of those metamorphosed facies (until now presumed to come from depth up to 200 km) and of a shallower than supposed synthesis of biogenic and abiogenic hydrocarbons

Scalera, G.

Is large scale subduction made unlikely by the mediterranean deep seismicity?

The spatial distribution of 414 earthquakes (1.0 ≤ ML ≤ 4.6), recorded from 1994 to 2002 in Southeastern Sicily (Italy), has been analyzed; it generally coincides with mapped Plio-Quaternary faults, including the NNW-SSE offshore fault system which is the most important tectonic structure of the area. For the best located events, we computed 70 focal mechanisms by combining P-wave polarities with S-wave polarizations. A predominance of strike-slip and normal faults was observed. Focal mechanisms were then inverted for stress tensor parameters using the algorithm of Gephart and Forsyth. The results highlighted a region governed mainly by a compressional stress regime. Moreover, anisotropy analysis of shear-waves showed a polarization of fast S-waves prevalently aligned in the NNW-SSE to NW-SE direction over the whole area.
A finer analysis of stress tensor evidenced three regions characterized by slightly differing orientation of the greatest principal stress axis, 1. The eastern sector displays a nearly horizontal 1 trending NW-SE; the central sector is affected by a low dip NNW-SSE 1; whereas in the western sector a 1 NNW-SSE oriented, with a higher dip angle, was detected. Finally, the comparison of the spatial distribution of seismicity occurring during 1994-2002, with locations of previous instrumental earthquakes and larger (M ≥ 5.0) historical events showed that the seismic patterns are persistent

Musumeci, C.

Patanè, D.

Scarfì, L.

Gresta, S.

Stress Directions and Shear-Wave Anisotropy: Observations from Local

The SET protein is a promising drug target in cancer therapy, because of its ability to inhibit the function of the tumor suppressor gene protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). COG peptides, derived from apolipoprotein E (apoE), are potent antagonists of SET; they induce cytotoxicity in cancer cells upon binding to intracellular SET and modulate the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) signaling pathway. However, the therapeutic potential of COG peptides is limited, because of their poor proteolytic stability and low bioavailability. In this study, the COG peptide, COG1410, was stabilized by grafting it onto the ultrastable cyclic peptide scaffold, Momordica cochinchinensis trypsin inhibitor-II (MCoTI-II). The grafted MCoTI-II peptides were cytotoxic to a cancer cell line and showed high stability in human serum. The most potent grafted MCoTI-II peptide inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated activation of NF-kappa B in murine macrophages. Overall, this study demonstrates the application of the MCoTI-II scaffold for the development of stable peptide drugs for cancer therapy

Henriques, Sonia Troeira

Wang, Conana K.

Chan, Lai Yue

Bokil, Nilesh J.

Sweet, Matthew J.

Craik, David J.

University of Queensland eSpace

http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/3928/1/Unlikely%20Mediterr%20Subduction%20NCGT%20%2047%20June%202008%20.pdf

Active geodynamics of the central Mediterranean Sea: Tensional tectonic evidences in western Sicily from mantle-derived helium

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Queensland University of Technology ePrints Archive

Crossref

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Earth-prints Repository

Earth-prints Repository

University of Queensland eSpace