Mixed function oxidase activity and cytochrome P-450 forms in black-headed gulls feeding in different areas

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the mixed function oxidase (MFO) system and the forms of supposed cytochrome P-450 in the liver of black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) feeding in a lagoon and on a garbage dump. Tissue levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were also determined. Ethoxyresorufin 10-deethylase (EROD) and aldrin epoxidase activities were higher in the dump gulls than in the lagoon gulls. A marked thickening of the proteins in the cytochrome P-450 area, particularly of P-450c and P-450d, was also found in the dump gulls. No relationship was found between MFO activity and tissue chlorinated hydrocarbon levels.     

La conducibilità termica di alcune rocce italiane

Riassunto Il lavoro riguarda una serie di misure su campioni di 5 tipi diversi di rocce italiane aventi lo scopo di determinare la rispettiva conducibilità termica. Dopo la descrizione dell'apparecchiatura usata, vengono esposti i risultati ottenuti, analizzando in dettaglio l'influenza della scistosità. In base alle misure fatte su campioni di ardesia questa influenza può esprimersi con la formola:k =k ₉₀+m cos , dove è l'angolo fra la direzione del flusso termico ed il piano di stratificazione, mentrem è una costante caratteristica della scistosità.

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Summary Experiments made for obtain the thermal conductivity of different kinds of italian rocks are described and discussed. The effect of schistosity was derived for slate rocks and it can be represented with the formula:k =k ₉₀+m cos , where is the angle between the direction of thermal flux and the plain of stratification, whereasm is a constant characterizing the schistosity.

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Lavoro eseguito con un contributo del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Comitato per la Geologia).     

On the seismic response of a propped r.c. diaphragm wall in a saturated clay

A series of nonlinear dynamic FE simulations have been performed to investigate the seismic performance of a flexible propped retaining wall in a saturated clay. The simulations have been carried out considering different acceleration time histories at the bedrock and two different inelastic soil models: the classical elastoplastic Modified Cam Clay model and the advanced hypoplastic model for clays proposed by Ma?ín (Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 29:311–336, 2005) equipped with the intergranular strains extension. The results of the simulations highlight the major role played by the choice of the constitutive model for the soil on the predicted seismic response, in terms of predicted wall displacements and structural loads. In particular, the results show that a key role is played by the model ability to correctly reproduce soil dilatancy as a function of the current stress state and loading history. This has a major impact on the inelastic volumetric deformations accumulated during the undrained seismic shearing and on the development of excess pore water pressures around the excavations.

     

Distribution of macrobenthic assemblages along a marine gradient in Mediterranean eutrophic coastal lagoons

Coastal lagoons can be characterised by strong environmental changes along the outer marine‐inner brackish gradient, which are reflected in the patterns of distribution of organisms and composition of assemblages. Close to the sea the assemblages are dominated by marine animals, while in the innermost confined areas, there would be estuarine taxa and organisms typical of organically‐enriched areas. During the last decades, human impact has been severe in these habitats and has often profoundly altered the distribution of animals and plants along the gradient. In this study we have analysed the distribution of macrofauna along the outer marine‐inner brackish gradient in five Italian lagoons, affected by severe human disturbance on the Adriatic, Tyrrhenian and Sardinian coasts. We aimed to measure changes in the composition of assemblages according to the distance from the sea, consistent among lagoons and time, after the occurrence of eutrophication, repeated distrophic crisis and other human interventions. We considered existing data from campaigns done during 1994, 1995 and 1999. We arranged different datasets according to the available data, in order to measure the spatial distribution of macrofauna genera with distance from the sea and through time. Analyses showed differences among assemblages related to the gradient. Nevertheless, the species characterizing the assemblages were all typical of organically‐enriched areas, which testified to an impoverishment of diversity and functioning of all these systems.     

Assessment of toxicological status of a SW Mediterranean segment population of striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) using skin biopsy

Various studies have revealed high concentrations of contaminants such as organochlorines (OCs) and heavy metals in Mediterranean cetaceans. A geographical trend of contamination (PCBs and DDTs) has been found for striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). In this study we used a non-lethal approach (skin biopsy) to investigate bioaccumulation of OCs, including polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), DDTs, polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), trace elements (Hg, Cd, Pb) and CYP1A activity (BPMO) in nine striped dolphins sampled in the Aeolian area (Sicily - Italy) in summer 2002. The arithmetic mean value of BPMO activity in this group was 43.46 AUF/g tissue/h. This value is approximately 3 times and 5 times lower, respectively, than the value found in the Ionian and in the Ligurian groups. Skin biopsies of striped dolphins emerged as a suitable material for assessing the toxicological status of the various Mediterranean groups.     

Mixed-function oxidase activity and conjugating enzymes in two species of antarctic fish

Enzyme activities of phase I and phase II of the hepatic detoxication system were investigated in two species of fish from the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The fish had extremely low phase I enzyme (BPMO and aldrin epoxidase). The reductase regenerating enzyme activities were comparable to those found in fish of temperate seas. Transferases of cytosol showed highest activity in the conjugation of 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) and little or no conjugation of other substrates. The GSSG reductase and the glutathione transferase with peroxidase activity (CuOOH substrate) were low; the Sedependent glutathione peroxidase activity was not detectable. Interspecific differences were found for most of the enzymes tested.     

<Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar ages of the<Emphasis Type="Italic"> AD</Emphasis> 79 eruption of Vesuvius,Italy

The Italian volcano, Vesuvius, erupted explosively in AD 79. Sanidine from pumice collected at Casti Amanti in Pompeii and Villa Poppea in Oplontis yielded a weighted-mean ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 1925±66 years in 2004 (1σ uncertainty) from incremental-heating experiments of eight aliquants of sanidine. This is the calendar age of the eruption. Our results together with the work of Renne et al. (1997) and Renne and Min (1998) demonstrate the validity of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method to reconstruct the recent eruptive history of young, active volcanoes.     

Application of the topographic datuming operator to a data setfrom the Eastern Arabian Peninsula

We apply a redatuming methodology, designed to handle rugged topography and the presence of high‐velocity layers near the acquisition surface, to a 2D land seismic data set acquired in Saudi Arabia. This methodology is based on a recently developed prestack operator, which we call the topographic datuming operator (TDO). The TDO, unlike static corrections, allows for the movement of reflections laterally with respect to their true locations, corresponding to the new datum level. Thus, it mitigates mispositioning of events and velocity bias introduced by the assumption of surface consistency and the time‐invariant time shifts brought about by static corrections. Using the shallow velocities estimated from refracted events, the TDO provides a superior continuity of reflections and better focusing than that obtained from conventional static corrections in most parts of the processed 2D line. The computational cost of applying the TDO is only slightly higher than static corrections. The marginal additional computational cost and the possibility of estimating, after TDO redatuming, stacking velocities that are not affected by a spurious positive bias, as in the case of static corrections, are further advantages of the proposed methodology. The likelihood of strong heterogeneities in the most complex part of the line limits the applicability of any approach based upon geometrical optics; however, the TDO produces results that are slightly better than those obtained from static corrections because of its ability to partially collapse diffractions generated in the near surface.     

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF GULLIES IN AN AGROPASTORAL AREA IN SARDINIA, ITALY

1 INTRODUCTION Many studies on soil erosion by water have been carried out in the Mediterranean area, since erosion is considered as one of the most important land degradation processes in these environments (UNEP, 1994). Those studies mainly focused on r…