The results of a minero-petrographic and isotopic study carried out on the marbles of statues and architectural elements belonging to several buildings on the “Hadrian's Villa” site (the so-called ...Canopus, the Peschiera, the Sala dei Pilastri Dorici and the Serapeum) are presented here as part of an ongoing archaeometric project which considers the determination of the provenance of all the marble decorations of the Villa complex. Analytical data indicate the prevailing presence of marmor lunense and the use of Pentelic and Thasian marbles for architectural elements in a few parts of the Sala dei Pilastri Dorici, the Peschiera and the Serapeum; no significant use is made of Proconnesian marble, probably the most inexpensive of the time. Analysis of sculptures from the Canopus showed that those of the Tiber and Nile gods were made of Parian marble, the Caryatids and Telamons of Pentelic marble and the Amazons of the precious white Dokymaean marble.
► We determine the provenance of important marble artefacts from Villa Adriana. ► Sculptures of the Canopus are made of Parian, Pentelic and Dokymaean marbles. ► Lunense, Pentelic and Thasian marbles were used for architectural elements. ► Stylistic and petrochemical studies on marble sculptures from Villa Adriana were made. ► The existence of a sculpture workshop in the Villa was supposed.
Dyskinesia induced by L-DOPA administration (LID) is one of the most invalidating adverse effects of the gold standard treatment restoring dopamine transmission in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, ...LID manifestation in parkinsonian patients is variable and heterogeneous. Here, we performed a candidate genetic pathway analysis of the mTOR signaling cascade to elucidate a potential genetic contribution to LID susceptibility, since mTOR inhibition ameliorates LID in PD animal models. We screened 64 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping to 57 genes of the mTOR pathway in a retrospective cohort of 401 PD cases treated with L-DOPA (70 PD with moderate/severe LID and 331 with no/mild LID). We performed classic allelic, genotypic, and epistatic analyses to evaluate the association of individual or combinations of SNPs with LID onset and with LID severity after initiation of L-DOPA treatment. As for the time to LID onset, we found significant associations with SNP rs1043098 in the
EIF4EBP2
gene and also with an epistatic interaction involving
EIF4EBP2
rs1043098,
RICTOR
rs2043112
,
and
PRKCA
rs4790904. For LID severity, we found significant association with
HRAS
rs12628 and
PRKN
rs1801582 and also with a four-loci epistatic combination involving
RPS6KB1
rs1292034,
HRAS
rs12628,
RPS6KA2
rs6456121, and
FCHSD1
rs456998. These findings indicate that the mTOR pathway contributes genetically to LID susceptibility. Our study could help to identify the most susceptible PD patients to L-DOPA in order to prevent the appearance of early and/or severe LID in a future. This information could also be used to stratify PD patients in clinical trials in a more accurate way.
Campa, A., Alloni, D., Antonelli, F., Ballarini, F., Belli, M., Dini, V., Esposito, G., Facoetti, A., Friedland, W., Furusawa, Y., Liotta, M., Ottolenghi, A., Paretzke, H. G., Simone, G., Sorrentino, ...E. and Tabocchini, M. A. DNA Fragmentation Induced in Human Fibroblasts by 56Fe Ions: Experimental Data and Monte Carlo Simulations. Radiat. Res. 171, 438–445 (2009). We studied the DNA fragmentation induced in human fibroblasts by iron-ion beams of two different energies: 115 MeV/nucleon and 414 MeV/nucleon. Experimental data were obtained in the fragment size range 1–5700 kbp; Monte Carlo simulations were performed with the PARTRAC code; data analysis was also performed through the Generalized Broken Stick (GBS) model. The comparison between experimental and simulated data for the number of fragments produced in two different size ranges, 1–23 kbp and 23–5700 kbp, gives a satisfactory agreement for both radiation qualities. The Monte Carlo simulations also allow the counting of fragments outside the experimental range: The number of fragments smaller than 1 kbp is large for both beams, although with a strong difference between the two cases. As a consequence, we can compute different RBEs depending on the size range considered for the fragment counting. The PARTRAC evaluation takes into account fragments of all sizes, while the evaluation from the experimental data considers only the fragments in the range of 1–5700 kbp. When the PARTRAC evaluation is restricted to this range, the agreement between experimental and computed RBE values is again good. When fragments smaller than 1 kbp are also considered, the RBE increases considerably, since γ rays produce a small number of such fragments. The analysis performed with the GBS model proved to be quite sensitive to showing, with a phenomenological single parameter, variations in double-strand break (DSB) correlation.
We present the results of an experiment aimed at comparing the effects of different background radiation environments on metabolism and responses to gamma-rays and cycloheximide of cultured mammalian ...cells. Chinese hamster V79 cells were maintained in exponential growth in parallel for up to 9 months at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) and at the INFN-Gran Sasso underground Laboratory (LNGS) where exposure due to gamma-rays and to radon was reduced by factors of about 70 and 25, respectively. After 9 months the cells grown at the LNGS (cumulative gamma dose about 30 microGy, average radon concentration around 5 Bq/m(3)), compared to the cells grown at the ISS (cumulative gamma-ray dose about 2 mGy, average radon concentration around 120 Bq/m(3)), exhibited i). a significant increase of the cell density at confluence, ii). a significantly higher capacity to scavenge organic and inorganic hydroperoxides but a reduced scavenging capacity towards superoxide anions and iii). an increase in both the basal hprt mutation frequency and sensitivity to the mutagenic effect of gamma-rays. The cells grown at the LNGS also showed a greater apoptotic sensitivity starting at the third month of culture, that was no longer detected after 9 months. Overall, these data suggest a role of background ionizing radiation in determining an adaptive response, although they cannot be considered conclusive.
Asphalt is known to be a colloidal suspension in which asphaltenes are covered by a stabilizing phase of polar resins and form complex micelles that are dispersed in the oily maltenic phase. In order ...to enhance its mechanical properties (e.g., in road paving), asphalts are often loaded with polymeric materials, thereby obtaining blends that can have different physical or chemical structures, depending on the composition of the added polymer. Asphalts modified by the addition of reactive ethylene terpolymers were prepared and their dielectric and rheological properties were measured both before and after a cure at high temperature. Even if it is not possible to determine the exact nature of the chemical interactions between asphalt and polymer, master curves obtained from dynamic data clearly show that during the cure the material tends to the behavior of a cross-linked network.
Homocysteine (HC) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) plasma levels have been evaluated in groups of male and female patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in a group of female patients ...with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and compared with the corresponding plasma levels observed in a group of age-matched subjects. It has been confirmed that HC plasma levels are enhanced in both PD and AD patients. As far as the DHEAS plasma levels are concerned no changes have been observed in PD patients while a marked decrease has been observed in AD patients. These results support the view that while the pro-oxidant effects of HC and its agonist action at NMDA receptors can play a role in both neurodegenerative diseases, the role of DHEAS is more complex and may be an important factor only in certain neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, according to the present study DHEAS is likely to be involved in AD but not in PD.
This paper reports on DNA DSB induction in human fibroblasts by iron ions of different energies, namely 5, 1 GeV/u, 414 and 115 MeV/u, in absence or presence of different shields (PMMA, Al and Pb). ...Measure of DNA DSB was performed by calibrated Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis using the fragment counting method.
The RBE–LET relationships for unshielded and shielded beams were obtained both in terms of dose average LET and of track average LET. Weak dependence on these parameters was observed for DSB induction.
The shielding efficiency, evaluated by the ratio between the cross sections for unshielded and shielded beams, depends not only on the shield type and thickness, but also on the beam energy. Protection is only observed at high iron ions energy, especially at 5 GeV/u, where PMMA shield gives higher protection compared to Al or Pb shields of the same thickness expressed in g/cm
2.
Outside the magnetic field of the Earth, high energy heavy ions constitute a relevant part of the biologically significant dose to astronauts during the very long travels through space. The typical ...pattern of energy deposition in the matter by heavy ions on the microscopic scale is believed to produce spatially correlated damage in the DNA which is critical for radiobiological effects. We have investigated the influence of a lucite shielding on the initial production of very small DNA fragments in human fibroblasts irradiated with 1 GeV/u iron (Fe) ions. We also used γ-rays as reference radiation. Our results show: (1) a lower effect per incident ion when the shielding is used; (2) an higher DNA Double Strand Breaks (DSB) induction by Fe ions than by γ-rays in the size range 1–23 kbp; (3) a non-random DNA DSB induction by Fe ions.
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