Giuseppe Avellone - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Giuseppe Avellone
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology, 2014
Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) is one of the most widely employed sulfonamides. Because of the widespread... more Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) is one of the most widely employed sulfonamides. Because of the widespread use of SMZ, a considerable amount is indeed expected to be introduced into the environment. The cytotoxicity of SMZ relies mainly on arylhydroxylamine metabolites (S-NOH) of SMZ and it is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). There is limited information about the toxic potential of SMZ at the cellular and molecular levels, especially in aquatic and/or non-target organisms. In the present study, the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), being tolerant to extreme environmental conditions and resistant to disease, was used as a model organism to profile the molecular and physiological response to SMZ. Haemolymphaticimmunological parameters such as glucose serum levels and total haemocyte counts were altered; moreover, a significant increase in Hsp70 plasma levels was detected for the first time. Variations at the transcriptional level of proinflammatory genes (cyclooxygenase-1, COX 1, and cyclooxygenase-2, COX 2), antioxidant enzymes (glutathione-S-transferase, GST and manganese superoxide dismutase MnSOD), stress response and Fenton reaction inhibitor genes (heat-shock protein 70 HSP70, metallothionein, MT and ferritin, FT) were evaluated, and alterations in the canonical gene expression patterns emerged. Considering these results, specific mechanisms involved in maintaining physiological homeostasis and adaptation in response to perturbations are suggested.
Journal of Agricultural Science, 2013
Annali Di Chimica, 2007
A study to obtain more knowledge on funeral set in Greek age, (5 th Century, b.C.) was carried ou... more A study to obtain more knowledge on funeral set in Greek age, (5 th Century, b.C.) was carried out on thirteen ancient unguentaria, small vessels used as containers of balms or ointments, founded in two different Sicilian necropolis: Adranon and Hymera. Every find was subjected to three extractions by increasing polarity solvents. All crude extracts, unsaponifiables and methyl esters of saponifiable fraction were analysed by GC-MS. Analysis showed difference between two groups of finds: the unguentaria from Adranon show abundant traces of lipids used in balm making, while those from Hymera resulted empty and buried for ritual purpose. Even if in the two towns, flourished in the same period, adopted probably different funerary uses.
Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 1999
Abstract The main fragmentation routes of eighteen title compounds and of three 5-chloro derivati... more Abstract The main fragmentation routes of eighteen title compounds and of three 5-chloro derivatives have been investigated with the aid of linked scan (B/E= constant) spectrometry, accurate mass measurements and deuterium labelling. Copyright© 1999 John Wiley & ...
Journal of Chromatography A, 2005
In this study the effective discrimination of extra virgin olive oils is described using HPLC–MS,... more In this study the effective discrimination of extra virgin olive oils is described using HPLC–MS, combined with chemometric evaluation. The presented method is simple since the diluted oil sample is directly injected into the system, without any preliminary chemical derivatization or purification step. Separation of diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols and sterols occurs within 20 min and is achieved using an octadecyl-silica column. Detection is performed by positive APCI mass spectrometry which provided sensitivity to detect over 50 compounds in the sample. After extraction of data, stepwise discriminant function analysis is used to select the variables with the highest discriminative power. These variables are used to perform linear discriminant analysis and classify/predict the samples. One-hundred per cent classification and 99% prediction rate was achieved for olive oils obtained from Nocellara, Biancolilla and Cerausola cultivars. Reliability of prediction was tested by cross validation.
Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 1999
Agozzino, P., Avellone, G., Boscaino, G.-R. and Miceli, S.(1999), Determination by solid-phase mi... more Agozzino, P., Avellone, G., Boscaino, G.-R. and Miceli, S.(1999), Determination by solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bitumen fumes during road paving. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 34: ...
Journal of Hazardous …, 2011
The aim of this work was to study the biological effects of four monoterpenes, i.e. α-pinene, β-p... more The aim of this work was to study the biological effects of four monoterpenes, i.e. α-pinene, β-pinene, 3-carene and D-limonene present in the wastewater of a citrus transformation factory. The study was carried out by exposing V79 Chinese hamster cells to single terpene or to the mixture of four terpenes at concentrations corresponding to those in the wastewater evaluated by head space solid phase micro extraction and gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC) analyses. Treatments with single or combined terpenes similarly affected cell vitality, but only the combined treatments induced the 6-thioguanine resistant mutants. Moreover the photocatalytic degradation of the four terpenes was successfully achieved with the photocatalyst TiO(2) Degussa P25 in both the actual effluent and in synthetic solutions.
Food Additives and …, 2009
A simple, sensitive and accurate method for the analysis of furan in roasted coffee has been used... more A simple, sensitive and accurate method for the analysis of furan in roasted coffee has been used 16 based on headspace-solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass 17 spectrometry (GC-MS). The extraction was performed using 75 µm carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane 18 fiber. Ionic strength, extraction time and temperature, desorption time were valued as the most 19 important parameters affecting the HS-SPME procedure and d 4 -furan was used as the internal 20 standard. The linearity range was in the range 0.0075-0.486 ng g -1 , the LOD and LOQ calculated 21 using the signal-to-noise ratio approach were 0.002 and 0.006 ng g -1 , respectively. The inter-and 22 intra-day precision were 8 and 10%, respectively. The concentration of furan found in lots of 23 roasted coffee powder coming from different producing countries ranged from 57.3 to 587.3 ng g -1 . 24 The mean reduction of furan levels observed brewing coffee by either infusion, using a moka pot or 25 an expresso machine were of 57%, 67.5 % and 63.3%, respectively. 26 27 28 42 attention was addressed to baby food followed by canned vegetables, fruit, meat and fish, pasta 43 sauces, nutrition drinks, fruit preserves, beers, and coffees. 44 45 In 2004 also the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA 2004 a, b) began to collect information on 46 the methods of analysis, occurrence and formation in food, exposure through consumption, and the 47 toxicity of furan. This survey gave evidence that the highest levels of furan were found in coffee: 38 48 out of 42 samples of brewed coffee were contaminated, with concentration ranging from 3 to 125 49 ng g -1 , whereas the 100% of 19 samples of coffee powder were contaminated with concentration 50 ranging from 239 to 5050 ng g -1 . It is well known that furans are normal components of coffee 51 flavour volatiles; high levels of furan were found in roasted coffee beans, probably on account of 52 the roasting process where the high temperatures exceed most other food processing procedures. 53 Few data are actually available in literature about the presence of furan in coffee from different 54 provenience and on the effect of brewing procedure on furan levels in coffee (EFSA 2004 a).
Journal of proteome …, 2006
This study presents a rapid, specific and sensitive LC–MS/MS assay for the determination of ramip... more This study presents a rapid, specific and sensitive LC–MS/MS assay for the determination of ramipril and ramiprilat in human serum using enalapril as an internal standard (IS). A Waters Atlantis C18 column (2.1mm×100mm, 3μm) and a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid–methanol (25:75, v/v) were used for separation. The analysis was performed by the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) method, and the peak areas of the m/z 417.3→234.3 and m/z 389.3→206.2 transition for ramipril and ramiprilat, respectively, were measured versus that of the m/z 377.3→234.2 for IS to generate the standard curves. The assay linearities of ramipril and ramiprilat were confirmed over the range 0.10–100ngml−1 and 0.25–100ngml−1, respectively, and limits of quantitation for them were 0.10 and 0.25ngml−1, respectively. The linear ranges correspond well with the serum concentrations of the analytes obtained in clinical pharmacokinetic studies. Intraday and interday relative standard deviations of ramipril and ramiprilat were 2.8–6.4% and 4.3–4.6%, 4.4–6.7% and 3.5–4.7%, respectively. The recoveries of ramipril and ramiprilat from serum were in the range of 81.0–98.2%. The developed LC–MS procedures were applied for the determination of the pharmacokinetic parameters of ramipril and ramiprilat following a single oral administration of 10mg ramipril tablets in 18 Chinese healthy male volunteers.
Nutrition Research, 2003
Two randomly selected population samples in Western Sicily, one rural (n ϭ 40) and one urban (n ϭ... more Two randomly selected population samples in Western Sicily, one rural (n ϭ 40) and one urban (n ϭ 40), were studied to evaluate the impact of dietary intervention on lipid, coagulative and fibrinolytic parameters. The two groups received the diets in a cross-over design with the following sequences: (a) baseline period; (b) 8-week dietary intervention period; (c) 8-week return to the original diet. During (a) and (c) all subjects consumed their usual diet. During the dietary intervention period (b), the rural sample consumed the urban sample's diet, while the urban sample consumed the rural sample's diet (the so-called "Mediterranean diet"). At baseline, after 8 weeks' dietary intervention period and after 8 weeks' return to the original diet, the following parameters were measured: blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoproteins A1 and B100, fibrinogen, factors VII and VIII, tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor Our results show a positive effect of the Mediterranean diet on lipid, coagulative and fibrinolytic parameters which play a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and indicate that this dietary pattern may help in the primary prevention of CHD.
Natural Product Research, 2012
Muscat is a grape family used to obtain several sweet, aromatic white dessert wines common in the... more Muscat is a grape family used to obtain several sweet, aromatic white dessert wines common in the Mediterranean area. Currently, three Sicilian cultivars (all classified DOC) are known: 'Moscato di Siracusa' the oldest and very rare today; 'Moscato di Noto', a modern derivative of the first and finally 'Moscato di Pantelleria', now the most common. This study concerns the volatile profile of 15 different Sicilian Muscat wines produced in different years using HS-SPME-GC-MS. In particular, four fundamental terpene alcohols (linalool, geraniol, nerol and citronellol) were considered. The principal aim was to study the evolution of aromatic compounds in wine during aging, and the information obtained is useful for production and marketing. It was found that the amount of terpenes decreased with aging, thereby reducing the quality characteristic of these wines. An accurate analysis of chromatograms could characterise Muscat wines on the basis of geographic origin.
The crust under central Sicily, from the Tyrrhenian margin to the coastline of the Sicily Channel... more The crust under central Sicily, from the Tyrrhenian margin to the coastline of the Sicily Channel, has been investigated by the multidisciplinary (SI.RI.PRO.) research project. The SI.RI.PRO. transect confirmed that the NNW-dipping, autochthonous Iblean platform of SE Sicily and its basement extends all the way into central Sicily. Further NW, towards the NNW end of the transect, a large uplift involves the Iblean platform and its underlying basement. The associated gravity anomaly is interpreted as the southern wedge edge of the Tyrrhenian mantle that splits the subducting Iblean-Pelagian (African) continental slab from an overlying synformal stack of allochthonous thrust sheets. Among the several considerations: a) SIRIPRO confirms, following earlier paleomagnetic studies on the contrasting thrust sheets rotations, that overall the higher, more northern allochthonous thrust sheets of Sicily were emplaced prior to the lower units; b) the palinspastic restorations remain approximate, because the allochthonous units that underwent varying clockwise rotations in Sicily need a semi-quantitative balanced 3D reconstruction. Integrating them with analogous reconstruction required for all major counter-clockwise rotated units of southern Apennines will probably lead to the understanding of the paleogeographical reconstruction problems.
Vengono presentati i risultati di uno studio multidisciplinare condotto nell'area de La Montagnol... more Vengono presentati i risultati di uno studio multidisciplinare condotto nell'area de La Montagnola (Sicilia centrale). L'area indagata presenta peculiari aspetti scientifici e culturali. Essa costituisce un settore rappresentativo della geologia e della geomorfologia dei Monti Sicani. In questo settore si riconoscono: successioni di carbonati di mare profondo, del Giurassico-Eocene (successione Imerese) e le coperture clastico-torbiditiche dell'Oligo-Miocene (flysch Numidico); successioni di depositi clastico-evaporitici di bacino di wedge-top, del Miocene Pliocene; culminazioni anticlinaliche e fronte SO delle unità Imeresi sovrascorse sulle unità Sicane; forme fluviali di approfondimento, forme strutturali derivate, forme gravitative e forme di ruscellamento diffuso o concentrato, quali tipiche morfologie dei rilievi collinari della Sicilia centrale. Dal punto di vista speleologico e carsologico, l'elemento più significativo presente nell'area indagata, che costituisce anche l'emergenza di maggiore interesse, è la Grotta dell'Acqua Fitusa. Questa grotta è costituita da un sistema di cavità sotterranee la cui genesi è dovuta alla risalita di acque termali profonde di natura sulfurea. Al suo interno sono stati inoltre ritrovati resti scheletrici ed industriali di Homo sapiens, che conferiscono a questa cavità un importante valore antropologico; così come di sicuro interesse antropologico è la Rocca del Vruaro, con i suoi reperti industriali. La totalità dei dati acquisiti mostra quindi un'area con elementi geologici e antropologici significativi, di una certa importanza scientifica e culturale, tali da giustificare la proposizione di un Geosito.
Geological Field Trips, 2013
Journal of the Geological Society, 2014
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology, 2014
Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) is one of the most widely employed sulfonamides. Because of the widespread... more Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) is one of the most widely employed sulfonamides. Because of the widespread use of SMZ, a considerable amount is indeed expected to be introduced into the environment. The cytotoxicity of SMZ relies mainly on arylhydroxylamine metabolites (S-NOH) of SMZ and it is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). There is limited information about the toxic potential of SMZ at the cellular and molecular levels, especially in aquatic and/or non-target organisms. In the present study, the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), being tolerant to extreme environmental conditions and resistant to disease, was used as a model organism to profile the molecular and physiological response to SMZ. Haemolymphaticimmunological parameters such as glucose serum levels and total haemocyte counts were altered; moreover, a significant increase in Hsp70 plasma levels was detected for the first time. Variations at the transcriptional level of proinflammatory genes (cyclooxygenase-1, COX 1, and cyclooxygenase-2, COX 2), antioxidant enzymes (glutathione-S-transferase, GST and manganese superoxide dismutase MnSOD), stress response and Fenton reaction inhibitor genes (heat-shock protein 70 HSP70, metallothionein, MT and ferritin, FT) were evaluated, and alterations in the canonical gene expression patterns emerged. Considering these results, specific mechanisms involved in maintaining physiological homeostasis and adaptation in response to perturbations are suggested.
Journal of Agricultural Science, 2013
Annali Di Chimica, 2007
A study to obtain more knowledge on funeral set in Greek age, (5 th Century, b.C.) was carried ou... more A study to obtain more knowledge on funeral set in Greek age, (5 th Century, b.C.) was carried out on thirteen ancient unguentaria, small vessels used as containers of balms or ointments, founded in two different Sicilian necropolis: Adranon and Hymera. Every find was subjected to three extractions by increasing polarity solvents. All crude extracts, unsaponifiables and methyl esters of saponifiable fraction were analysed by GC-MS. Analysis showed difference between two groups of finds: the unguentaria from Adranon show abundant traces of lipids used in balm making, while those from Hymera resulted empty and buried for ritual purpose. Even if in the two towns, flourished in the same period, adopted probably different funerary uses.
Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 1999
Abstract The main fragmentation routes of eighteen title compounds and of three 5-chloro derivati... more Abstract The main fragmentation routes of eighteen title compounds and of three 5-chloro derivatives have been investigated with the aid of linked scan (B/E= constant) spectrometry, accurate mass measurements and deuterium labelling. Copyright© 1999 John Wiley & ...
Journal of Chromatography A, 2005
In this study the effective discrimination of extra virgin olive oils is described using HPLC–MS,... more In this study the effective discrimination of extra virgin olive oils is described using HPLC–MS, combined with chemometric evaluation. The presented method is simple since the diluted oil sample is directly injected into the system, without any preliminary chemical derivatization or purification step. Separation of diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols and sterols occurs within 20 min and is achieved using an octadecyl-silica column. Detection is performed by positive APCI mass spectrometry which provided sensitivity to detect over 50 compounds in the sample. After extraction of data, stepwise discriminant function analysis is used to select the variables with the highest discriminative power. These variables are used to perform linear discriminant analysis and classify/predict the samples. One-hundred per cent classification and 99% prediction rate was achieved for olive oils obtained from Nocellara, Biancolilla and Cerausola cultivars. Reliability of prediction was tested by cross validation.
Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 1999
Agozzino, P., Avellone, G., Boscaino, G.-R. and Miceli, S.(1999), Determination by solid-phase mi... more Agozzino, P., Avellone, G., Boscaino, G.-R. and Miceli, S.(1999), Determination by solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bitumen fumes during road paving. Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 34: ...
Journal of Hazardous …, 2011
The aim of this work was to study the biological effects of four monoterpenes, i.e. α-pinene, β-p... more The aim of this work was to study the biological effects of four monoterpenes, i.e. α-pinene, β-pinene, 3-carene and D-limonene present in the wastewater of a citrus transformation factory. The study was carried out by exposing V79 Chinese hamster cells to single terpene or to the mixture of four terpenes at concentrations corresponding to those in the wastewater evaluated by head space solid phase micro extraction and gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC) analyses. Treatments with single or combined terpenes similarly affected cell vitality, but only the combined treatments induced the 6-thioguanine resistant mutants. Moreover the photocatalytic degradation of the four terpenes was successfully achieved with the photocatalyst TiO(2) Degussa P25 in both the actual effluent and in synthetic solutions.
Food Additives and …, 2009
A simple, sensitive and accurate method for the analysis of furan in roasted coffee has been used... more A simple, sensitive and accurate method for the analysis of furan in roasted coffee has been used 16 based on headspace-solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass 17 spectrometry (GC-MS). The extraction was performed using 75 µm carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane 18 fiber. Ionic strength, extraction time and temperature, desorption time were valued as the most 19 important parameters affecting the HS-SPME procedure and d 4 -furan was used as the internal 20 standard. The linearity range was in the range 0.0075-0.486 ng g -1 , the LOD and LOQ calculated 21 using the signal-to-noise ratio approach were 0.002 and 0.006 ng g -1 , respectively. The inter-and 22 intra-day precision were 8 and 10%, respectively. The concentration of furan found in lots of 23 roasted coffee powder coming from different producing countries ranged from 57.3 to 587.3 ng g -1 . 24 The mean reduction of furan levels observed brewing coffee by either infusion, using a moka pot or 25 an expresso machine were of 57%, 67.5 % and 63.3%, respectively. 26 27 28 42 attention was addressed to baby food followed by canned vegetables, fruit, meat and fish, pasta 43 sauces, nutrition drinks, fruit preserves, beers, and coffees. 44 45 In 2004 also the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA 2004 a, b) began to collect information on 46 the methods of analysis, occurrence and formation in food, exposure through consumption, and the 47 toxicity of furan. This survey gave evidence that the highest levels of furan were found in coffee: 38 48 out of 42 samples of brewed coffee were contaminated, with concentration ranging from 3 to 125 49 ng g -1 , whereas the 100% of 19 samples of coffee powder were contaminated with concentration 50 ranging from 239 to 5050 ng g -1 . It is well known that furans are normal components of coffee 51 flavour volatiles; high levels of furan were found in roasted coffee beans, probably on account of 52 the roasting process where the high temperatures exceed most other food processing procedures. 53 Few data are actually available in literature about the presence of furan in coffee from different 54 provenience and on the effect of brewing procedure on furan levels in coffee (EFSA 2004 a).
Journal of proteome …, 2006
This study presents a rapid, specific and sensitive LC–MS/MS assay for the determination of ramip... more This study presents a rapid, specific and sensitive LC–MS/MS assay for the determination of ramipril and ramiprilat in human serum using enalapril as an internal standard (IS). A Waters Atlantis C18 column (2.1mm×100mm, 3μm) and a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid–methanol (25:75, v/v) were used for separation. The analysis was performed by the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) method, and the peak areas of the m/z 417.3→234.3 and m/z 389.3→206.2 transition for ramipril and ramiprilat, respectively, were measured versus that of the m/z 377.3→234.2 for IS to generate the standard curves. The assay linearities of ramipril and ramiprilat were confirmed over the range 0.10–100ngml−1 and 0.25–100ngml−1, respectively, and limits of quantitation for them were 0.10 and 0.25ngml−1, respectively. The linear ranges correspond well with the serum concentrations of the analytes obtained in clinical pharmacokinetic studies. Intraday and interday relative standard deviations of ramipril and ramiprilat were 2.8–6.4% and 4.3–4.6%, 4.4–6.7% and 3.5–4.7%, respectively. The recoveries of ramipril and ramiprilat from serum were in the range of 81.0–98.2%. The developed LC–MS procedures were applied for the determination of the pharmacokinetic parameters of ramipril and ramiprilat following a single oral administration of 10mg ramipril tablets in 18 Chinese healthy male volunteers.
Nutrition Research, 2003
Two randomly selected population samples in Western Sicily, one rural (n ϭ 40) and one urban (n ϭ... more Two randomly selected population samples in Western Sicily, one rural (n ϭ 40) and one urban (n ϭ 40), were studied to evaluate the impact of dietary intervention on lipid, coagulative and fibrinolytic parameters. The two groups received the diets in a cross-over design with the following sequences: (a) baseline period; (b) 8-week dietary intervention period; (c) 8-week return to the original diet. During (a) and (c) all subjects consumed their usual diet. During the dietary intervention period (b), the rural sample consumed the urban sample's diet, while the urban sample consumed the rural sample's diet (the so-called "Mediterranean diet"). At baseline, after 8 weeks' dietary intervention period and after 8 weeks' return to the original diet, the following parameters were measured: blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoproteins A1 and B100, fibrinogen, factors VII and VIII, tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor Our results show a positive effect of the Mediterranean diet on lipid, coagulative and fibrinolytic parameters which play a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and indicate that this dietary pattern may help in the primary prevention of CHD.
Natural Product Research, 2012
Muscat is a grape family used to obtain several sweet, aromatic white dessert wines common in the... more Muscat is a grape family used to obtain several sweet, aromatic white dessert wines common in the Mediterranean area. Currently, three Sicilian cultivars (all classified DOC) are known: 'Moscato di Siracusa' the oldest and very rare today; 'Moscato di Noto', a modern derivative of the first and finally 'Moscato di Pantelleria', now the most common. This study concerns the volatile profile of 15 different Sicilian Muscat wines produced in different years using HS-SPME-GC-MS. In particular, four fundamental terpene alcohols (linalool, geraniol, nerol and citronellol) were considered. The principal aim was to study the evolution of aromatic compounds in wine during aging, and the information obtained is useful for production and marketing. It was found that the amount of terpenes decreased with aging, thereby reducing the quality characteristic of these wines. An accurate analysis of chromatograms could characterise Muscat wines on the basis of geographic origin.
The crust under central Sicily, from the Tyrrhenian margin to the coastline of the Sicily Channel... more The crust under central Sicily, from the Tyrrhenian margin to the coastline of the Sicily Channel, has been investigated by the multidisciplinary (SI.RI.PRO.) research project. The SI.RI.PRO. transect confirmed that the NNW-dipping, autochthonous Iblean platform of SE Sicily and its basement extends all the way into central Sicily. Further NW, towards the NNW end of the transect, a large uplift involves the Iblean platform and its underlying basement. The associated gravity anomaly is interpreted as the southern wedge edge of the Tyrrhenian mantle that splits the subducting Iblean-Pelagian (African) continental slab from an overlying synformal stack of allochthonous thrust sheets. Among the several considerations: a) SIRIPRO confirms, following earlier paleomagnetic studies on the contrasting thrust sheets rotations, that overall the higher, more northern allochthonous thrust sheets of Sicily were emplaced prior to the lower units; b) the palinspastic restorations remain approximate, because the allochthonous units that underwent varying clockwise rotations in Sicily need a semi-quantitative balanced 3D reconstruction. Integrating them with analogous reconstruction required for all major counter-clockwise rotated units of southern Apennines will probably lead to the understanding of the paleogeographical reconstruction problems.
Vengono presentati i risultati di uno studio multidisciplinare condotto nell'area de La Montagnol... more Vengono presentati i risultati di uno studio multidisciplinare condotto nell'area de La Montagnola (Sicilia centrale). L'area indagata presenta peculiari aspetti scientifici e culturali. Essa costituisce un settore rappresentativo della geologia e della geomorfologia dei Monti Sicani. In questo settore si riconoscono: successioni di carbonati di mare profondo, del Giurassico-Eocene (successione Imerese) e le coperture clastico-torbiditiche dell'Oligo-Miocene (flysch Numidico); successioni di depositi clastico-evaporitici di bacino di wedge-top, del Miocene Pliocene; culminazioni anticlinaliche e fronte SO delle unità Imeresi sovrascorse sulle unità Sicane; forme fluviali di approfondimento, forme strutturali derivate, forme gravitative e forme di ruscellamento diffuso o concentrato, quali tipiche morfologie dei rilievi collinari della Sicilia centrale. Dal punto di vista speleologico e carsologico, l'elemento più significativo presente nell'area indagata, che costituisce anche l'emergenza di maggiore interesse, è la Grotta dell'Acqua Fitusa. Questa grotta è costituita da un sistema di cavità sotterranee la cui genesi è dovuta alla risalita di acque termali profonde di natura sulfurea. Al suo interno sono stati inoltre ritrovati resti scheletrici ed industriali di Homo sapiens, che conferiscono a questa cavità un importante valore antropologico; così come di sicuro interesse antropologico è la Rocca del Vruaro, con i suoi reperti industriali. La totalità dei dati acquisiti mostra quindi un'area con elementi geologici e antropologici significativi, di una certa importanza scientifica e culturale, tali da giustificare la proposizione di un Geosito.
Geological Field Trips, 2013
Journal of the Geological Society, 2014