Paola Esposito

A high resolution record of the last deglaciation in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea: environmental and climatic evolution

A multidisciplinary study was carried out on core C106 collected in the Salerno Gulf (southern Tyrrhenian Sea). Two tephra layers recovered in the core, N 18 O record of Globigerinoides ruber and Globigerina bulloides and seven 14 C calibrated ages provided the stratigraphic framework. The core sediments cover the last 28 kyr BP. Seismostratigraphic analysis of a high resolution acoustic profile, integrated by the dated core samples, allowed us to reconstruct the architecture and age of sedimentary bodies on the continental shelf. An integrated study based on different taxonomic groups (nannofossils, pteropods, foraminifera, and palynomorphs) provided palaeoclimatic trends, in agreement with changes in the isotopic composition of oxygen. The upper part of the Last Glacial period, the deglaciation phase and the Holocene were identified. Correlation between marine and continental records of palaeoenvironmental changes confirms a similar reconstruction of the last deglaciation as in the central and southern Mediterranean Sea. The Late Pleistocene^Holocene boundary was recognised at about 11.7 kyr BP. Between about 9.5 and 6 kyr BPand at 3.3 kyr BPsome warmer episodes were recorded. The measured lower isotopic values, together with some features of the fossil assemblages recorded from 9.5 to 6 kyr BP, may be related to the oceanographic setting that led to the deposition of Sapropel S1 in the Mediterranean basin. ; 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Late Quaternary buried lagoons in the northern Campania plain(southern Italy): evolution of a coastal system under the influence of volcano-tectonics and eustatism

The Campania Plain is a wide coastal plain characterized by a huge quaternary sedimentary record more than two thousand meters thick. In order to analyze the most superficial portion of the infilling succession an 80 m-long core was drilled in the northern sector of the plain. The upper part of the core is entirely made up of an ignimbrite formation (Campania Ignimbrite, 39 ka), lying unconformably above marine sediments alternating with volcanic products. Macro- and micro-paleontological analysis together with tephrostratigraphy and 39Ar/40Ar dating allowed the paleoenvironmental evolution of the studied area to be reconstructed. The paleogeography during OIS 7 and 5 was characterized by the presence of lagoon systems. These are now located 28 km inland from the present coastline and buried at –40 and –18 m with respect to the present sea level, as a consequence of tectonic subsidence. Two major periods of volcanic activity were recorded in the core prior to Campania Ignimbrite emplacement, confirming the existence of important phases of volcanic activity in the plain during the end of the Middle Pleistocene. The SME multiproxy record represents the first continuous record of volcanic products emplaced in the last 200 ka north of the Campania volcanic sources

An integrated micropalaeontological approach applied to Late Pleistocene-Holocene palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes (Gaeta Bay, Tyrrhenian Sea)

Abstract An integrated micropalaeontological approach has been used to characterize the last climatic cycle in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Three gravity cores, drilled in the Gaeta Bay continental shelf, have been analysed by means of quantitative methods applied to different taxonomic groups. In particular, calcareous nannofossils, planktonic Foraminifera, ostracods and palynomorphs have been studied to detect palaeoclimatic trends. The Last Glacial period has been identified in the lower part of two cores (C8 and C9), and an older cold period is represented in the lower part of the more proximal core (C5). The upper part of all the cores clearly records the Holocene period, whereas the Late Glacial period is not always easily detectable. Pollen seems to precede the Holocene climatic optimum. Climatic curves have been reconstructed for all the taxonomic groups and high-resolution palaeobathymetric reconstruction has been inferred on the basis of the ostracod assemblages.

Evaluation histochimique de ľantigène carcino-embryonnaire dans les adénomes colorectaux reséqués par polypectomie endoscopique. Résultats préliminaires

RésuméLe but de ce travail est ďévaluer la relation entre ďune part la présence de ľantigène CEA au niveau ďadénomes côliques classés selon différents types histologiques et degrés de dysplasie et ďautre part, la transformation maligne des mêmes lésions.D’après ľexpérience des auteurs, ľaccroissement du taux de CEA au niveau du tissu adénomateux semble un indicateur valable des modifications néoplasiques de la muqueuse côlique et constitue un argument en faveur de la sequence adénomecarcinome.SummuryThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between presence of CEA in adenomas of large bowel, with different histotype and dysplasia grading, and risk of possible malignant transformation of these lesions.According to our finding we believe that the demonstration of CEA increase in adenomatous tissue can be a reliable indicator of malignant change in colonic mucosa and a support for the concept of adenoma-carcinoma sequence.

Un cas d’actinomycose primitive du côlon

RésuméLes auteurs rapportent une observation d’actinomycose, localisée à la portion distale du côlon transverse. Ils discutent les méthodes de diagnostic et présentent une revue de la littérature.SummaryA case of Actinomycosis of the large bowel, involving the distal portion of the transverse colon, is presented, along with a review of the subject.