Archiviazione e annotazione del parlato nell'Atlante Linguistico della Sicilia

Il pluridecennale interesse dell\u2019Atlante Linguistico della Sicilia (ALS) nei riguardi dei dialetti dell\u2019Isola ha consentito la raccolta di ormai diverse migliaia di documenti orali in grado di testimoniare l\u2019esperienza linguistica e buona parte di ci\uf2 che rimane della cultura tradizionale nella Sicilia contemporanea. Il contributo illustra, in un primo momento, i criteri di archiviazione dei documenti sonori dell\u2019Archivio delle Parlate Siciliane (APS), suddivisi in diversi corpora in ragione degli specifici progetti o ambiti di ricerca per i quali sono state effettuate la registrazione. Ciascun corpus costituisce, in sostanza, un fondo documentario, omogeneo relativamente alla tipologia escussiva rispondente allo specifico obiettivo della ricerca. Sia pur costruito, sul piano informatico, in modo tale da funzionare autonomamente, questa Banca delle parlate costituisce soltanto il primo basilare modulo di un complesso sistema informativo. Questo contributo si concentra soltanto sulla fase del trattamento dei file sonori per l\u2019analisi delle informazioni desunte dal parlato, e precisamente sulla fase della trascrizione e del markup delle trascrizioni stesse. Sono introdotte, dunque, le condizioni teorico-metodologiche che sottostanno alle scelte procedurali: creare la possibilit\ue0 di consultare agevolmente non soltanto quelle porzioni del documento individuate come singole \u201crisposte\u201d a uno specifico quesito, ma anche di risalire ai rispettivi contesti linguistici e interlocutori; evitare la frammentazione del testo/documento, la decontestualizzazione del tratto linguistico di volta in volta sottoposto ad analisi e la destrutturazione delle dinamiche interattive che l\u2019hanno prodotto; evitare (grazie all\u2019allineamento delle trascrizione al segnale acustico) che le \uabinformazioni\ubb \u2013 una volta interpretate, incorniciate e divenute \uabdati\ubb \u2013 perdano ogni rapporto con il documento sonoro, che testimonia anche il contesto linguistico e pragmatico nel quale sono occorse e nel quale continuano, in certo qual modo, a rivivere. Viene illustrato infine, e come esempio, lo schema logico per l\u2019annotazione di testi di interesse etnodialettale

Detection of vitellogenin in a subpopulation of sea urchin coelomocytes

Sea urchin vitellogenin is a high molecular weight glycoprotein, which is the precursor of the major yolk protein present in the unfertilized egg. Vitellogenin processing into the major yolk protein and its further enzymatic cleavage during sea urchin embryonic development, has been extensively described, and the adhesive properties of the processed molecule have been studied. The function of vitellogenin in the adult, where it has been found in the coelomic fluid of both male and female individuals, is still unknown, although its role on promoting the adhesion of embryonic cells has been shown. In this report we describe the detection of vitellogenin in lysates of whole circulating coelomocytes of both male and female sea urchins of the species Paracentrotus lividus. By metrizoic acid gradients we purified total coelomocytes into six subpopulations that were tested for the occurrence of the molecule using vitellogenin-specific polyclonal antibodies. We detected vitellogenin only in the coelomocyte subpopulation called colorless spherule cells, packed in kidney-shaped granules located around the nucleus. We also showed that coelomocytes respond to stress conditions by discharging vitellogenin into the medium. This result together with previous observations on the adhesive properties of the molecule suggest a role for vitellogenin in the clotting phenomenon occurring after host invasion

Effects of exposure to gadolinium on the development of geographically and phylogenetically distant sea urchins species

Gadolinium (Gd), a metal of the lanthanide series used as contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging, is released into the aquatic environment. We investigated the effects of Gd on the development of four sea urchin species: two from Europe, Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula, and two from Australia, Heliocidaris tuberculata and Centrostephanus rodgersii. Exposure to Gd from fertilization resulted in inhibition or alteration of skeleton growth in the plutei. The similar morphological response to Gd in the four species indicates a similar mechanism underlying abnormal skeletogenesis. Sensitivity to Gd greatly varied, with the EC50 ranging from 56 nM to 132 μM across the four species. These different sensitivities highlight the importance of testing toxicity in several species for risk assessment. The strong negative effects of Gd on calcification in plutei, together with the plethora of marine species that have calcifying larvae, indicates that Gd pollution is urgent issue that needs to be addressed

Cadmium induces the expression of specific stress proteins in sea urchin embryos

Marine organisms are highly sensitive to many environmental stresses, and consequently, the analysis of their bio-molecular responses to different stress agents is very important for the understanding of putative repair mechanisms. Sea urchin embryos represent a simple though significant model system to test how specific stress can simultaneously affect development and protein expression. Here, we used Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos to study the effects of time-dependent continuous exposure to subacute/sublethal cadmium concentrations. We found that, between 15 and 24 h of exposure, the synthesis of a specific set of stress proteins (90, 72-70, 56, 28, and 25 kDa) was induced, with an increase in the rate of synthesis of 72-70 kDa (hsps), 56 kDa (hsp), and 25 kDa, which was dependent on the lengths of treatment. Recovery experiments in which cadmium was removed showed that while stress proteins continued to be synthesized, embryo development was resumed only after short lengths of exposure

Cellular and molecular bases of biomineralization in sea urchin embryos

Sea urchin embryos construct their skeleton following a precise gene-regulated time- and space-dependent programme, in concert with factors promoting cell adhesion and differentiation. The biomineral is deposited in a privileged extracellular space produced by the fused filopodia processes of the primary mesenchyme cells, the only cells producing a set of necessary matrix proteins. More than ten years ago we showed for the first time that signals from ectoderm cells promoted the expression of one of the major skeleton matrix genes by the primary mesenchyme cells. Since then, many of the crucial steps of this complex activation cascade, from ectoderm cells to embryonic spicules, have been elucidated. The experimental production of skeleton malformations, induced by the exposure to toxic metals or ionizing radiations, served as model to dissect the molecular mechanisms leading to biomineralization. With the aim of understanding the sea urchin skeleton physiology, we analysed the expression of well-known and newly-identified biomineral-related genes, including those coding for growth and transcription factors as well as for skeleton matrix proteins. This review summarizes our recent findings on sea urchin embryo skeletogenesis, with a particular attention to the role played by cellular and molecular signaling, approached by the use of experimentally induced skeleton malformations

Toxicity induced by Gadolinium ions on sea urchin embryos: comparison among phylogenetically distant species and focus on stress response and skeletogenesis.

Pharmaceuticals are a class of emerging environmental contaminants. Gadolinium (Gd) is a lanthanide metal whose chelates are employed as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, and subsequently released into the aquatic environment. We investigated the effects of exposure to sublethal Gd concentrations on the development of four phylogenetically and geographically distant sea urchin species: two Mediterranean, Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula, and two from Australia, Heliocidaris tuberculata and Centrostephanus rodgersii. Sensitivity to Gd greatly varied, with EC50 ranging from 56 nM to 132 µM across the four species. Measures of the Gd and Ca content inside embryos showed a time- and dose-dependent increase in Gd, in parallel with a reduction in Ca. In all the four species, we observed a general delay of embryo development at 24h post-fertilization, and a strong inhibition of skeleton growth at 48h. Further experiments were carried out on P. lividus embryos: RT-PCR gene expression analysis showed the misregulation of several genes implicated both in the skeletogenic and the left-right axis specification networks. WB analysis showed an increase of the LC3 autophagic marker at 24 and 48h. Confocal microscopy studies confirmed the increased number of autophagosomes and autophagolysosomes and showed no apoptotic induction. The results show the hazard of Gd in the marine environment, indicating that Gd is able to affect three different levels in sea urchin embryos: morphogenesis, stress response such as autophagy, and gene expression. Results highlight that pollution assays based on only one species can be misleading with respect to hazard risk assessment

The Coronal Structure of AB Doradus

We perform a numerical simulation of the corona of the young, rapidly rotating K0 dwarf AB Doradus using a global MHD model. The model is driven by a surface map of the radial magnetic field constructed using Zeeman-Doppler Imaging. We find that the global structure of the stellar corona is dominated by strong azimuthal tangling of the magnetic field due to the rapid rotation. The MHD solution enables us to calculate realistic Alfv\'en surfaces and we can therefore estimate the stellar mass loss rate and angular momentum loss rate without making undue theoretical simplifications. We consider three cases, parametrized by the base density of the corona, that span the range of possible solutions for the system. We find that overall, the mass and angular-momentum loss rates are higher than in the solar case; the mass loss rates are 10 to 500 times higher, and the angular momentum loss rate can be up to $3\times{10}^4$ higher than present day solar values. Our simulations show that this model can be use to constrain the wide parameter space of stellar systems. It also shows that an MHD approach can provide more information about the physical system over the commonly used potential field extrapolation.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure