Large-scale geomorphology of the Entella River floodplain (Italy) for coastal urban areas management

This research presents a geomorphological map of the Entella River floodplain (scale 1:10,000), one of the largest and urbanized Ligurian Tyrrhenian flat area. The coastal floodplain suffered substantial modifications due to human activities since the latter half of the nineteenth century, which transformed the natural landscape into an anthropogenic environment. Fluvial, marine and anthropogenic geomorphological features have been investigated through a multi-temporal analysis and the reviewing, re-elaboration and summarization of previous geographical and geomorphological materials. An historical analysis has been performed to reconstruct morphological modifications and their correlation with anthropogenic interventions. The main geomorphological map includes a multi-temporal analysis of shoreline and major anthropogenic landforms. Small sketch maps on the geographical, geological and land use settings are also provided. The detailed geomorphological map can be used for urban and land planning, including the mitigation of the meteo- and geo-hydrological risk, which historically has dramatically influenced the Entella coastal floodplain

Toxicity of Actinia equina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) crude venom on cultured cells

The toxicity of Cnidaria is a subject of high concern owing to its influence on human activities and public health and to the implications in ecological relationships between organisms. In order to simulate as much as possible the natural conditions and the consequences of stinging against injured cells, as well considering that Cnidarian venoms are located not only in nematocysts but also in tissues, the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of crude extracts from nematocyst and surrounding tissues of the sea-anemone Actinia equina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) were assessed on cultured fibroblasts (V79). The cytotoxicity was remarkable and cell survival was highly reduced at highest tested concentration (150,000 nematocysts/ml); using the Trypan blue dye exclusion test, only 40% of treated cells survived after the first hour of treatment; viable cells were not counted after the second hour. Also the results obtained using the Neutral Red assay showed serious effects (only 31.5% and 12.6% cell survival after one and three hours respectively). Genotoxic effects were not observed at tested doses

The questionable use of antihypertensive drugs in the Italian Liguria Region in the year 2003

In the last 30 years, countless studies have shown that antihypertensive drug therapy substantially reduces the risk of hypertension-related morbidity and mortality. However, the optimal choice for initial pharmacotherapy of hypertension is still controversial. The guidelines for hypertension management agree on many items but differ on a very important point: the drug of first choice. The Seventh Report of the US Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure and the World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension Statement on Management of Hypertension recommend, for uncomplicated hypertension, a thiazide diuretic, either alone or combined with drugs from other classes, and delineate specific conditions that are compelling indications for the use of other antihypertensive drug classes. The European guidelines state that all available drug classes are suitable for the initiation and maintenance of treatment and underline that the benefits of the antihypertensive therapy are, for the most part, due to lowering of blood pressure per se and depend scarcely on the type of drug used

Discrepancies between use of antihypertensive drugs and guidelines indications: pharmacoeconomic implications

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