Search results for "ALCA"

Effectiveness of some protective and self-cleaning treatments: a challenge for the conservation of temple G stone in Selinunte

2021

Abstract The Temple G of the Archaeological Park of Selinunte (Italy), the largest in Europe, is one of the most impressive temples in the Magna Grecia. Today, it is completely destroyed due to a strong earthquake occurred in the Middle Ages. The used stone is a calcarenite coming from the ancient and renowned quarries of Cusa near the acropolis. This work comes from the today’s proposal of Temple G anastylosis. The goal of the work is to provide the results relating the protective effectiveness of three polymer formulations, appropriately selected, on stone samples taken from the “Capitello” quarry, part of “Cusa quarries”. The formulations functionality was deployed by adding TiO2 nanopar…

Elastic wave propagation in bone in vivo: methodology.

1995

The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of elastic wave propagation (EWP) in estimating the mechanical properties (elasticity) of human tibia. The test group was composed of 78-yr-old women assigned to high (n = 19) and low (n = 17) bone mineral density (BMD) groups as measured at the calcaneus by the 125I-photon absorption method. The EWP apparatus consisted of an impact-producing hammer with a force strain gauge and two accelerometers positioned on the bone. Results for nylon and acrylic were used to calibrate the apparatus. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) solid rods and tubes of various diameters were used to evaluate the relationship between the elastic wave velocity and cr…

Biocalcite, a multifunctional inorganic polymer: Building block for calcareous sponge spicules and bioseed for the synthesis of calcium phosphate-bas…

2014

Calcium carbonate is the material that builds up the spicules of the calcareous sponges. Recent results revealed that the calcium carbonate/biocalcite-based spicular skeleton of these animals is formed through an enzymatic mechanism, such as the skeleton of the siliceous sponges, evolutionarily the oldest animals that consist of biosilica. The enzyme that mediates the calcium carbonate deposition has been identified as a carbonic anhydrase (CA) and has been cloned from the calcareous sponge species Sycon raphanus. Calcium carbonate deposits are also found in vertebrate bones besides the main constituent, calcium phosphate/hydroxyapatite (HA). Evidence has been presented that during the init…

Polycaprolactone-based scaffold for oil-selective sorption and improvement of bacteria activity for bioremediation of polluted water

2017

Abstract A novel floatable and biodegradable sponge for the selective absorption of oil from water and potentially useful as cell carrier for bioremediation treatments was prepared in polycaprolactone (PCL). The eco-friendly process for fabricating the PCL sponge does not involve either synthetic routes or organic solvents, thus minimizing environmental hazard. In particular, the 3D porous materials have been prepared by mixing in the melt the polymer matrix with two water-soluble porogen agents (NaCl and PEG) and thereafter leaching the obtained PCL/NaCl/PEG composites in water. The PCL sponges here proposed are capable to remove different types of oily pollutants (up to 500 wt%), and were…

Debonding Phenomena in CFRP Strengthened Calcarenite Masonry Walls and Vaults

2009

In this paper the results of an experimental investigation on full-scale reinforced masonry elements like vaults and walls are presented. The masonry type is constituted by calcarenite ashlars and bed joint mortar and the reinforcement is constituted by Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips. Preliminary experimental results obtained in a previous research by the authors on the local behaviour at the interface CFRP-calcarenite are summarized. Tests with controlled displacement are carried out on out-of-plane loaded walls and cylindrical vaults loaded at a quarter of the span. Results of tests carried out before and after the application of the reinforcement made it possible to evalu…

Microbiological Profile and Bioactive Properties of Insect Powders Used in Food and Feed Formulations

2019

Microbiological, nutritional and bioactive properties of edible powders obtained from Acheta domesticus (house cricket) and Tenebrio molitor (mealworm) were investigated. Except for the enterobacteria, viable bacteria were at a higher concentration in mealworm flour. The diversity evaluation carried out using MiSeq Illumina that mainly identified Citrobacter and Enterobacteriaceae in mealworm powder and members of the Porphyromonadaceae family in house cricket powder. Enterococci were identified and characterized for their safety characteristics in terms of the absence of antibiotic resistance and virulence. Both powders represent a good source of proteins and lipids. The fatty acid profile…

Holocene climate variability of the Western Mediterranean: Surface water dynamics inferred from calcareous plankton assemblages

2020

A high-resolution study (centennial scale) has been performed on the calcareous plankton assemblage of the Holocene portion of the Ocean Drilling Program Site 976 (Alboran Sea) with the aim to identify the main changes in the surface water dynamic. The dataset also provided a seasonal foraminiferal sea surface water temperatures (SSTs), estimated using the modern analog technique SIMMAX 28, and it was compared with available geochemical and pollen data at the site. Three main climate shifts were identified as (1) the increase in abundance of Syracosphaera spp. and Turborotalita quinqueloba marks the early Holocene humid phase, during maximum summer insolation and enhanced river runoff. It i…

Centennial- to millennial-scale climate oscillations in the Central-Eastern Mediterranean Sea between 20,000 and 70,000 years ago: Evidence from a hi…

2012

Abstract Here we present a high-resolution faunal, floral and geochemical (stable isotopes and trace elements) record from the sediments of Ocean Drilling Program Site 963 (central Mediterranean basin), which shows centennial/millennial-scale resemblance to the high-northern latitude rapid temperature fluctuations documented in the Greenland ice cores between 20 and 70 kyr BP. Oxygen and carbon isotopes, planktic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil distributions suggest that Dansgaard–Oeschger (D/O) and Heinrich events (HE) are distinctly expressed in the Mediterranean climate record. Moreover, recurrent though subdued oscillations not previously identified in the Lateglacial Mediterran…

ASTROCHRONOLOGY OF LATE MIDDLE MIOCENE MEDITERRANEAN SECTIONS

2004

Calcareous Nannofossil and Planktonic Foraminifera Biostratigraphy of selected Piacenzian-Gelasian Laminites from Southern Italy

2011

Here we present the biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic framework of a number of selected diatomaceous laminated intervals from the Crotone Basin (Calabria, Southern Italy). These layers, which we consider correlative to the Eastern Mediterranean Sapropel Layers, range in age from the early Piacenzian to the Gelasian, and show surprising thicknesses, suggesting that they were probably laid down in a landlocked, overfed basin. Specifically, a thick laminite from the surroundings of Cropani (Catanzaro) can be ascribed to nannofossil biozone MNN 16a and planktonic foraminifera biozone MPL 4b (lower Piacenzian) according to the Mediterranean calcareous plankton biostratigraphic zonations. …