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Italian Area (italian + area)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	40%

Selected Abstracts

Airborne gravity tests in the Italian area to improve the geoid model of Italy

GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 4 2009
R. Barzaghi
ABSTRACT Airborne gravimetry is an important method for measuring gravity over large unsurveyed areas. This technology has been widely applied in Canada, Antarctica and Greenland to map the gravity fields of these regions and in recent years, in the oil industry. In 2005, two tests in the Italian area were performed by ENI in cooperation with the Politecnico di Milano and the Danish National Space Center. To the knowledge of the authors, these were the first experiments of this kind in Italy and were performed over the Ionian coasts of Calabria and the Maiella Mountains. The Calabria test field is characterized by strong gravity variations due to the geophysical and topographic structure of the area. The ground gravity coverage is also quite dense. It was thus possible to compare airborne gravity with the ground observed values in order to check the precision of the airborne gravimetry. The second campaign was performed in an unsurveyed area centred on the Maiella Mountains, thus filling the data gap of this zone. Comparisons with existing ground data were also carried out in this area. After smoothing, the collected data have an accuracy of 2,3 mgal, as derived by cross-over analysis. Moreover, the collocation method applied to compare and merge ground-based and airborne data proved to be efficient and reliable. The standard deviation of the discrepancies between airborne data and collocation upward continued gravity is, in both cases, less than 8 mgal. In the Maiella test, the gravity field obtained by merging airborne and ground data using collocation also provides a more detailed description of the high-frequency pattern of the geopotential field in this area. [source]

Molecular markers for Ve1 and Ve2 Verticillium resistance genes from Italian tomato germplasm

PLANT BREEDING, Issue 6 2007
N. Acciarri
Abstract The so-called Rosa (= pink) tomatoes, which are typically grown in the Southern Italian area, are characterized by the pink colour of the fruit, due to the gene y, colourless fruit skin. In a preliminary survey, it was found that among these Rosa tomatoes there were some ,Rosa di Sorrento' local landraces showing resistance to Verticillium wilt (race 1). In tomato, resistance to race 1 of V. dahliae and V. albo-atrum is conferred by two strictly associated genes, Ve1 and Ve2, which independently confer resistance to the same pathogen. The development of two new markers for Ve1 and Ve2, based respectively on selective allele-specific PCR amplification and on a PCR amplification followed by enzymatic restriction, is reported. These two markers allow the identification of both allelic forms at the Ve loci and they are of potential interest for use in marker-assisted selection. Furthermore, ,Rosa di Sorrento'-resistant lines have the same resistance alleles as those found in the Ve -resistant cultivars. [source]

Evidence for Increased Clinical Severity of Familial and Sporadic Paget's Disease of Bone in Campania, Southern Italy,

JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 12 2006
Domenico Rendina
Abstract The analysis of 236 Italian patients with Paget's bone disease showed higher clinical severity and greater frequency of neoplastic degeneration among patients who live or descend from individuals living in the Campania region (southern Italy). A prevalent involvement of the spine and the skull, the sites preferentially involved in giant cell tumors complicating Paget's disease, was also shown in familial cases from this geographical region. Introduction: The Campania region in southern Italy has been recently indicated as a high prevalence area for Paget's disease of bone (PDB), and most pagetic families with multiple occurrence of neoplasms in affected members were from this geographical region. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the PDB epidemiological characteristics in 125 patients from Campania in comparison with 111 patients from other Italian regions. Twenty-three patients from Campania and 26 patients from other Italian areas had at least one first-degree relative affected by PDB (familial cases). The remaining patients made up the sporadic cases. Results: Among subjects from Campania, the patients in the familial group tended to come from larger families and showed at diagnosis higher serum total alkaline phosphatase, larger extension of disease, and earlier mean age with respect to patients with PDB of the sporadic group. The skull, spine, and humerus were the sites preferentially involved in the familial cases. In contrast, no such differences were observed between familial and sporadic PDB cases among patients from the other geographical areas, except for a lower age at diagnosis. An increased PDB clinical severity was finally observed in the PDB cohort from Campania in comparison with patients from other Italian regions. Neoplastic degeneration of pagetic bones (osteosarcoma and giant cell tumor) was exclusively observed in patients with polyostotic PDB from Campania. Conclusions: We showed a higher clinical severity of PDB with occurrence of neoplastic degeneration in the high prevalence area of Campania, with its maximum expression in cases with familial disease. This peculiar pattern might be traced to genetic predisposition and/or to the abnormal impact of a still undefined environmental trigger. [source]

Primary clarithromycin resistance in Italy assessed on Helicobacter pylori DNA sequences by TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction

ALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 3 2006
V. DE FRANCESCO
Summary Background Helicobacter pylori clarithromycin resistance is increasing worldwide and different mutations are involved in its mechanisms. Recently, molecular methods have been proposed to assess these mutations. Aim To assess prevalence of primary clarithromycin resistance in two Italian areas, and the distribution of involved mutations, by using a novel method for real-time polymerase chain reaction. Methods Two hundred and thirty-two H. pylori -positive patients undergoing oesophagogastroduodenoscopy in two Italian towns (Rome, centre Italy; Foggia, south Italy) were enrolled. Helicobacter pylori infection was detected by histology, rapid urease and urea breath tests. Clarithromycin resistance was assessed by TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction on paraffin-embedded antral biopsies. Results Primary clarithromycin resistance was detected in 62 (26.7%) patients. Its prevalence did not differ between the two areas (31.5%, centre vs. 23.3%, south; P = 0.17) and between non-ulcer dyspepsia and peptic ulcer patients (28.4% vs. 20.7%, P = 0.2). The A2143G point mutation was detected in 35 (56.4%) patients, A2142G in 14 (22.6%), A2142C in eight (12.9%), whilst a double mutation (A2143G plus A2142C or A2142G) was present in the remaining five (8.1%) cases. Conclusions Our study found that primary clarithromycin resistance is highly prevalent in both central and southern Italy, and that A2143G is the most frequent point mutation involved in these areas. [source]