Search results for "Elements"

Losing DNA methylation at repetitive elements and breaking bad

2021

Abstract Background DNA methylation is an epigenetic chromatin mark that allows heterochromatin formation and gene silencing. It has a fundamental role in preserving genome stability (including chromosome stability) by controlling both gene expression and chromatin structure. Therefore, the onset of an incorrect pattern of DNA methylation is potentially dangerous for the cells. This is particularly important with respect to repetitive elements, which constitute the third of the human genome. Main body Repetitive sequences are involved in several cell processes, however, due to their intrinsic nature, they can be a source of genome instability. Thus, most repetitive elements are usually meth…

Passive degassing at Nyiragongo (D.R. Congo) and Etna (Italy) volcanoes: the chemical characterization of the emissions and assessment of their uptak…

2014

SEW – Save the Etna World

2017

At more than 3,330 m high and ~40 km wide, Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy, is the highestvolcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. Etna stands majesticwherever you look at it, showing a distinctive skyline from each side. More than 200,000people live around its mid-slopes, while another 300,000 are in the biggest city, Catania,located at its southern lower slope. The volcano is so imposing that there are manydifferent landscapes and habitats, often highly dissimilar. Ente Parco dell’Etna (EtnaPark) is the institution, started in 1987, covering the core of the volcano, protecting itsbiodiversity, ecosystems and landscapes, and lastly promoting the sustainabledevelopment of loca…

Dissolved major and trace elements in meteoric depositions on the flanks of Mt. Etna (Italy): the impact of volcanic activity on the environment

2019

In the framework of the “Save the Etna World” research project, which investigates the impact of the volcanic activity on the surrounding environment, three bulk collectors were deployed on the flank of the Mt. Etna volcano to collect the meteoric depositions. The sampling sites were at distances between 5.5 and 13 km from the summit vents of the volcano on its eastern flank, that is the most exposed to the volcanic plume due to the high-altitude prevailing winds direction. The sites were selected in order to have a gradient of exposition with respect to the volcanic emissions, the most exposed being CIT, the intermediate ILI and the least NIC. Samples were collected monthly from July 2017 …

New data on the exploitation of obsidian in the mediterranean basin: The harbour of pyrgi and the trade in neolithic age

2020

The contribution shows the first results of ongoing research on the origins and prehistoric assumptions of the well-known Etruscan and Roman harbour of Pyrgi, an ancient Ceretan harbour in southern Etruria. In the light of recent land and submarine investigations, traces of ancient frequentations and contacts dating back to the Neolithic era are emerging when the coastal morphology and environmental characteristics of the site were very different from the current ones. The Etruscan port of Pyrgi, which continues its historical history in Roman and Medieval times, appears as the heir of one or more landing points frequented perhaps already in the Middle Neolithic. As part of this contributio…

Young, active radio stars in the AB Doradus moving group

2017

Context. Precise determination of stellar masses is necessary to test the validity of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stellar evolutionary models, whose predictions are in disagreement with measurements for masses below 1.2 M. To improve such a test, and based on our previous studies, we selected the AB Doradus moving group (AB Dor-MG) as the best-suited association on which to apply radio-based high-precision astrometric techniques to study binary systems. Aims. We seek to determine precise estimates of the masses of a set of stars belonging to the AB Dor-MG using radio and infrared observations. Methods. We observed in phase-reference mode with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 5 GHz and with the Eur…

Weathering of evaporites: natural versus anthropogenic signature on the composition of river waters

2015

Weathering of evaporites strongly influences the chemistry of continental runoff, making surface waters poorly exploitable for civil uses. In south-central Sicily, this phenomenon is worsened by the occurrence of abandoned landfills of old sulphur and salt mines. The industrial evolution of the Bosco-S. Cataldo mining site leaved two landfills from the early exploitation of a sulphur mine followed by that of a kainite deposit. In particular, the weathering of these landfills leads the dissolved salt (TDS) values up to about 200 g l−1 in the Stincone–Salito Stream waters. This process induces the V, Cr and Fe desorption from sediments and particulates in the aqueous phase under reducing cond…

Generation of Design Principles as Knowledge Conversion - Elucidating Dynamics

2021

In this paper we apply the perspective of knowledge conversion with recent identified core elements for developing design principles to elucidate the dynamics of design principles. In the paper, the elements of influence, actors, and formulation are integrated in a knowledge conversion process of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization – through which tacit knowledge is made explicit, shared, and turned into action. We exemplify this process with three empirical cases using action design research (ADR) to develop IT artifacts and generate design principles. Our paper shows the dynamics across a process of generating design principles. Viewing the generation of desig…

A Mutation With Major Effects on Drosophila melanogaster Sex Pheromones

2005

0016-6731 (Print) Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Sex pheromones are intraspecific chemical signals that are crucial for mate attraction and discrimination. In Drosophila melanogaster, the predominant hydrocarbons on the cuticle of mature female and male flies are radically different and tend to stimulate or inhibit male courtship, respectively. This sexual difference depends largely upon the number of double bonds (one in males and two in females) added by desaturase enzymes. A mutation was caused by a PGal4 transposon inserted in the desat1 gene that codes for the desaturase crucial for setting these double bonds. Homozygous mutant flies produced 70-90%…

Peptides as Versatile Platforms for Quantum Computing

2018

The pursuit of novel functional building blocks for the emerging field of quantum computing is one of the most appealing topics in the context of quantum technologies. Herein we showcase the urgency of introducing peptides as versatile platforms for quantum computing. In particular, we focus on lanthanide-binding tags, originally developed for the study of protein structure. We use pulsed electronic paramagnetic resonance to demonstrate quantum coherent oscillations in both neodymium and gadolinium peptidic qubits. Calculations based on density functional theory followed by a ligand field analysis indicate the possibility of influencing the nature of the spin qubit states by means of contro…