Long‐term changes in hydroid (Cnidaria,Hydrozoa) assemblages: effect of Mediterranean warming?

Marine hydroids are markedly seasonal in temperate seas, being extremely sensitive to climatic changes disrupting seasonal patterns. Modifications in the composition, seasonality, bathymetric distribution and reproductive period of hydroid assemblages are useful to evaluate the influence of global warming on the marine ecosystem. The hydroids on the rocky cliff of the Portofino Promontory (Ligurian Sea, Italy) were carefully studied between 1976 and 1983; in particular, in 1980 the study was carried out along a vertical transect. The hydroids were sampled again throughout 2004, with the same techniques and along the same transect. Species diversity decreased slightly in the 2004 survey. Some species present in 1980 had disappeared in 2004, but other species with southern affinity, never recorded from the area, became abundant in 2004. Species that were present in summer in the first period were also present in winter in the second one. Furthermore, shallow summer species widened their bathymetric distribution, reaching deeper levels. These data strongly suggest that the Portofino hydroid assemblage reacted to the water temperature increase found in the Mediterranean Sea.     

Antioxidant efficiency and detoxification enzymes in spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula

Although elasmobranchs are widely distributed species, commonly found on sandy, gravely or muddy bottoms, several biological aspects of their metabolism still remain poorly investigated. In this work the efficiency of antioxidant system and detoxification enzymes were investigated in the coastal spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula and in the red mullet Mullus barbatus for comparison with a teleost species.Organisms were sampled during a bottom trawl survey and analyzed for the biotransformation activity (EROD), levels of metallothioneins, catalase, glutathione S-transferases and total oxyradical scavenging capacity (TOSC) toward peroxyl radicals and hydroxyl radicals.EROD activity in the elasmobranchs was more than one order of magnitude lower than in the red mullets, while similar levels of metallothioneins were measured in these species. S. canicula showed significantly lower antioxidant enzymes and a more reduced efficiency in neutralizing ^√OH; on the other hand the scavenging capability toward ROO^√ was comparable in S. canicula and M. barbatus.     

Dioxin Like Compounds Bulk Deposition on Corn (Zea mais) and Alfa Alfa (Medicago sativa): Modelled Levels on Derived Silage and Hay and Their Relevance for Dairy Production

Dioxin‐like compounds from regular, occasional or fugitive airborne sources of emission may fall out on fodders close to be harvested for silage and hay production. In this way, a prolonged long‐term intake of contaminated forages in dairy animals may be envisaged, able to determine a rise of the background contamination in milk. We simulated different risk scenarios taking into account the inventoried bulk dry depositions in rural areas of the aforesaid contaminants, silage and hay biomass production per hectare, forages regimen in dairy animals, and the congeners carry‐over rate (COR) from forages to milk. Considering atmospheric depositions >10 pg I‐TE m^?2 day^?1 and accounting for a 30% COR, dairy milk could rise up to the PCDD/F level of 3 pg WHO₁₉₉₈‐TE g^?1 fat. The modelling indicates that in rural areas bulk emissions should be selectively minimised, accounting for the calendar of the different agricultural practices, because of their potential impact on the fodders. Since environmental factors play a non‐negligible role in food production, a stronger harmonisation between I‐TE and WHO_1998–2005‐TE scales with respect to dioxin‐like polychlorobiphenyl congeners inclusion is envisaged. This will allow the prevention of the human indirect exposure to such contaminants when released in the air.     

Measurements and Parametrizations of the Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Height at Dome C,Antarctica

An experimental campaign, Study of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Environmental at Dome C, was held during 2005 at the French-Italian station of Concordia at Dome C. Ground-based remote sensors, as well as in situ instrumentation, were used during the experimental campaign. The measurements allowed the direct estimation of the polar atmospheric boundary-layer height and the test of several parametrizations for the unstable and stable boundary layers. During the months of January and February, weak convection was observed while, during the polar night, a long-lived stable boundary layer occurred continuously. Under unstable stratification the mixing-layer height was determined using the sodar backscattered echoes and potential temperature profiles. The two estimations are highly correlated, with the mixing height ranging between 30 and 350 m. A simple prognostic one-dimensional model was used to estimate the convective mixing-layer height, with the correlation coefficient between observations and model results being 0.66. The boundary-layer height under stable conditions was estimated from radiosounding profiles as the height where the critical Richardson number is reached; values between 10 and 150 m were found. A visual inspection of potential temperature profiles was also used as further confirmation of the experimental height; the results of the two methods are in good agreement. Six parametrizations from the literature for the stable boundary-layer height were tested. Only the parametrization that considers the long-lived stable boundary layer and takes into account the interaction of the stable layer with the free atmosphere is in agreement with the observations.     

Distinctive Volcanic Material for the Production of Campana A Ware: The Workshop Area of Neapolis at the Duomo Metro Station in Naples,Italy

Recent transportation infrastructure works in Naples, Italy, provided important discoveries related to the production of pottery in the Hellenistic workshop area of Piazza Nicola Amore. A minero‐petrographic investigation was conducted on 35 samples belonging to the widespread Campana A ware and production indicators (clayey raw materials, unfired Graeco‐Italic amphorae, kiln wastes, workshop tools). Additional analysis was conducted on black‐glaze and common ware samples for comparison. The analyses reveal compositional and technological homogeneity of Campana A ware. Samples are characterized by low CaO content with evidence of both volcanic and sedimentary components, suggesting that different clay sources were properly mixed to prepare a standard recipe. Production indicators, black‐glaze and common wares, have a composition well consistent with the calcareous clays from the island of Ischia. Leucite‐ and garnet‐bearing temper from the Somma Volcano were used for the preparation of coarse‐grained pastes, unfired Graeco‐Italic amphorae, and clayey raw materials, thus suggesting that they represented the clay sources for amphorae production. Our results reveal new technological and socioeconomic aspects of Hellenistic pottery production in the Bay of Naples, in particular for the Campana A ware, now representing a new reference group: Neapolis.     

Relative contribution of foliar and fine root pine litter to the molecular composition of soil organic matter after in situ degradation

The influence of litter quality on soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization rate and pathways remains unclear. We used ¹³C/¹⁵N labeled litter addition and Curie-point pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (Py–GC–MS–C–IRMS) to explore the transformation of litter with different composition and decay rate (ponderosa pine needle vs. fine root) to SOM during 18 months in a temperate conifer forest mineral (A horizon) soil. Based on ¹³C Py–GC–MS–C–IRMS the initial litter and bulk soil had ∼1/3 of the total pyrolysis products identified in common. The majority was related either to carbohydrates or was non-specific in origin. In bulk soil, carbohydrates had similar levels of enrichment after needle input and fine root input, while the non-specific products were more enriched after needle input. In the humin SOM fraction (260 yr C turnover time) we found only carbohydrate and alkyl C-derived compounds and greater ¹³C enrichment in the “carbohydrate” pool after fine root decomposition. ¹⁵N Py–GC–MS–C–IRMS of humic substances showed that root litter contributed more than needle litter to the enrichment of specific protein markers during initial decomposition.We found little evidence for the selective preservation of plant compounds considered to be recalcitrant. Our findings suggest an indirect role for decomposing plant material composition, where microbial alteration of fine root litter seems to favor greater initial stabilization of microbially derived C and N in SOM fractions with long mean turnover times, such as humin, compared to needles with a faster decay rate.     

On the reliability of the equivalent frame models: the case study of the permanently monitored Pizzoli’s town hall

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - This paper presents the comparison of the results of modal and nonlinear analyses carried out on a 2-story masonry building with rigid diaphragms, inspired by...     

HTLP metamorphism and fluid-fluxed melting during multistage anatexis of continental crust (N Sardinia,Italy)

The Variscan high-grade metamorphic basement of northern Sardinia and southern Corsica record lower Carboniferous anatexis related to post-collisional decompression of the orogen. Migmatites exposed in the Punta Bianca locality (Italy) consist of quartz + biotite + plagioclase + K-feldspar orthogneisses, garnet and cordierite-bearing diatexite and metatexites, derived from metasediments. Field evidence, petrographic observations, ELA-ICP-MS zircon and monazite dating and pseudosection modelling suggest that anatexis was apparently episodic involving two main stages of partial melting. Using pseudosection modelling, we infer that the first stage of partial melting is in the upper amphibolite facies (~0.45 GPa at ~740°C). Cordierite overgrowths replacing sillimanite, combined with the composition of plagioclase and K-feldspar, suggest decompression followed cooling below the solidus at low pressures of ~0.3 GPa. The age of the first anatectic event is not precisely constrained because of extensive resetting of the isotopic systems during the second melting stage, yet few zircons preserve a lower Carboniferous age which is consistent with the regional dataset. This lower Carboniferous migmatitic fabric is offset by a network of pseudotachylyte-bearing faults suggestive of cooling to greenschist facies conditions. Garnet/cordierite-bearing diatexites incorporate fragments of pseudotachylite-bearing orthogneiss and metatexites. Pseudosection modelling indicates nearly isobaric re-heating up to ~750°C, followed by further cooling below the solidus. The inferred P–T path is consistent with decompression and cooling of the Variscan crust through post-collisional extension and collapse of the thickened orogenic crust, followed by nearly isobaric re-heating at low pressures (~0.3 GPa) yielding to a second melting stage under LP-HT conditions. U/Th-Pb monazite ages for diatexite migmatites indicate an upper bound of 310–316 Ma for the second melting stage, suggesting that the second melting stage is coincident with the regional phase of crustal shearing. The cause of the high geothermal gradient required for re-heating during the second melting stage is unknown but likely requires some heat source that was probably related to dissipation of mechanical work within crustal-scale shear zones. According to this interpretation, some upper Carboniferous peraluminous granite precursors of the Corsica–Sardinia Batholith could be the outcome rather than the cause of the late-Variscan high-T metamorphism.