Search results for "Quaternary"
showing 10 items of 411 documents
The Calabrian Stage redefined
2008
The name Calabrian was introduced in the geological literature by the French stratigrapher Maurice Gignoux in 1910, and later described in his important monograph (633 pages) "Les formations marines pliocènes et quaternaires de l'Italie du sud et de la Sicile" published in 1913. Detailed data were provided on several sections (Santa Maria di Catanzaro, Caraffa, Monasterace, Palermo) and on their fossil content. The Calabrian Stage has commonly been used for over fifty years as the oldest subdivision of the Quaternary, notably in the time scales of Berggren & van Couvering (1974) and Haq & Eysinga (1987). However, after the GSSP for the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary (P/P) was approved by INQ…
Geochemical provenance analyses of Roman lava millstones north of the Alps: a study of their distribution and implications for the beginning of Roman…
2011
Abstract In Roman times, rotary querns and different types of millstones, driven either by horse-capstan or water power, were produced in the lava quarries of the quaternary volcanic Eifel region and exported to many parts of the Empire. The geographic distribution of Roman lava millstones from the Eifel region provides important information about trade patterns and, in cases of well dated millstones, also allows an estimate as to when the Roman lava quarrying in the Eifel region began. Sixty-two millstones from Germany, France and Austria were sampled and analyzed for major and trace elements by X-ray fluorescence. To determine their provenance, the millstone data was evaluated by a combin…
Source area determination of aeolian sediments at Jandia Isthmus (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands)
2010
Abstract The Jandia Isthmus (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands) is a complex aeolian system composed of Pliocene and Pleistocene marine deposits, which are partially covered of carbonate crusts, palaeosols and sand sheets. The area has been greatly influenced by climate changes during the Quaternary. Nowadays this area presents an arid landscape dominated by the aeolian processes. Grain size, mineralogical and micropalaeontological analyses have been carried out to identify the source area of these wind-blown materials, considering five possible sources: windward beaches, Pliocene dune cliffs, Upper Pleistocene aeolian deposits, carbonate crusts and basaltic outcrops. Each one of these analyses…
D-Galactose binding lectins from the tunicate Ascidiamalaca: Subunit characterization and hemocyte surface distribution
1988
Abstract D-galactose specific lectins purified from Ascidia malaca serum contain a major protein component with an apparent molecular weight of about 58,000 daltons, which moves more rapidly under non-reducing conditions. Intramolecular disulfide linkages can explain this behaviour, suggesting a compact protein structure. Membrane lectins have been demonstrated on the surface of about 34% hemocytes by immunofluorescent methods using a rabbit antiserum against the isolated serum lectins. Small, medium and large hemocytes can be positive, as also shown by binding on Sepharose spherules or by rosette formation with sheep and rabbit erythrocytes. Binding is inhibited by the same sugars specific…
Nested allosteric interactions in extracellular hemoglobin of the leech Macrobdella decora
2003
Hemoglobin from the leech Macrobdella decora belongs to the class of giant extracellular hexagonal bilayer globin structures found in annelid and vestimentiferan worms. These complexes consist of 144 heme-bearing subunits, exhibit a characteristic quaternary structure (2 × (6 × (3 × 4))), and contain tetramers as basic substructures that express cooperative oxygen binding and thus provide a structural basis for a hierarchy in allosteric interactions. A thorough analysis of the isolated tetramer indicates that it functions as a trimer of cooperatively interacting subunits and a non-cooperative monomer rather than as four interacting subunits. A thermodynamic analysis of the whole molecule fa…
Considerations on an integrated biochronological scale of Italian Quaternary Mammals
2011
Viene analizzato il lavoro di MASINI e SALA (2007) sull’approccio integrato della distribuzione dei grandi e piccoli mammiferi dell’Italia continentale del tardo Pliocene e del Pleistocene, tenendo conto della nuova definizione del Quaternario, mettendo in risalto i punti di forza e quelli deboli della scala proposta. Vengono inoltre aggiunti nuovi dati sulla biocronologia a mammiferi del Pleistocene Superiore. The paper of MASINI and SALA (2007) regarding an integrated approach on the stratigraphic distribution patterns of large and small mammals in the late Pliocene and Pleistocene of the Italian peninsula is analysed, showing the weak and strong points. New data are presented on the mamm…
Climate variation during the Holocene influenced the skeletal properties of Chamelea gallina shells in the North Adriatic Sea (Italy)
2021
Understanding how marine taxa will respond to near-future climate changes is one of the main challenges for management of coastal ecosystem services. Ecological studies that investigate relationships between the environment and shell properties of commercially important marine species are commonly restricted to latitudinal gradients or small-scale laboratory experiments. This paper aimed to explore the variations in shell features and growth of the edible bivalve Chamelea gallina from the Holocene sedimentary succession to present-day thanatocoenosis of the Po Plain-Adriatic Sea system (Italy). Comparing the Holocene sub-fossil record to modern thanatocoenoses allowed obtaining an insight o…
Trehalose effects on α-crystallin aggregates
2007
alpha-Crystallin in its native state is a large, heterogeneous, low-molecular weight (LMW) aggregate that under certain conditions may progressively became part of insoluble high-molecular weight (HMW) systems. These systems are supposed to play a relevant role in eye lens opacification and vision impairment. In this paper, we report the effects of trehalose on alpha-crystallin aggregates. The role of trehalose in alpha-crystallin stress tolerance, chaperone activity and thermal stability is studied. The results show that trehalose stabilizes the alpha-crystallin native structure, inhibits alpha-crystallin aggregation, and disaggregates preformed LMW systems not affecting its chaperone acti…
Mutation of the important Tyr-33 residue of chicken avidin: functional and structural consequences
2002
The strong interaction between avidin and biotin is so tight (dissociation constant 10-15M) that conditions usually sufficient for protein denaturing fail to dislodge biotin from the avidin—biotin complex. This kind of irreversible binding hinders the use of avidin in applications such as affinity purification or protein immobilization. To address this concern, we have constructed a series of mutants of the strategically positioned Tyr-33 in order to study the role of this residue in biotin binding, and to create avidin variants with more reversible ligand-binding properties. Unexpectedly, an avidin mutant in which Tyr-33 was replaced with phenylalanine (Avm-Y33F) displayed similar biotin-b…
A biostable, anti-fouling zwitterionic polyurethane-urea based on PDMS for use in blood-contacting medical devices.
2020
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is commonly used in medical devices because it is non-toxic and stable against oxidative stress. Relatively high blood platelet adhesion and the need for chemical crosslinking through curing, however, limit its utility. In this research, a biostable PDMS-based polyurethane-urea bearing zwitterion sulfobetaine (PDMS-SB-UU) was synthesized for potential use in the fabrication or coating of blood-contacting devices, such as a conduits, artificial lungs, and microfluidic devices. The chemical structure and physical properties of synthesized PDMS-SB-UU were confirmed by (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H-NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and uniaxial stress-strain cur…