Tiber Research Articles

Mucoadhesive buccal film containing ornidazole and dexamethasone for oral ulcers: in vitro and in vivo studies

A bilayered mucoadhesive buccal film containing a combination of ornidazole (OD) and dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DEX) was prepared using solvent casting to treat oral ulcers. Films were systematically evaluated in vitro to obtain the optimum formulation. The therapeutic effects of these films were investigated in the rabbit oral ulcer model and the in vivo release of OD and DEX in the human oral cavity was also evaluated. The backing layer contained ethyl cellulose and an optimal mucoadhesive layer containing both OD and DEX was produced. Films from the optimum formulation were 0.427 ± 0.015 mm thick, weighed 55.89 ± 0.79 mg, and had a surface pH of 6.34 ± 0.01. The drug content of the optimum formulation approximated the theoretical value with good uniformity (2.959 ± 0.106 mg/cm2 for OD and 0.877 ± 0.031 mg/cm2 for DEX). The formulation showed favorable swelling characteristics and both drugs were released at >95% after 4 h. Moreover, the compound film had a statistically significant effect on mucosal repair and reduced ulcer inflammation without stimulating the human oral mucosa. Cmax of OD in saliva was 37.04 μg/ml and that of DEX was 9.737 μg/ml. Given promising therapeutic effects, the compound film developed here could become a local drug delivery device for treating oral ulcers.

Metathesis in Metal–Organic Gels (MOGs): A Facile Strategy to Construct Robust Fluorescent Ln‐MOG Sensors for Antibiotics and Explosives

It is essential to develop new effective sensor materials for the detection of antibiotics and organic explosives, due to their negative impacts on ecosystems and human health. In this work, guided by an in situ metal‐node metathesis approach, a fluorescent metal–organic gel [MOG(Eu) gel] has been synthesized for the first time by metal‐ion exchange between Eu3+ and Al3+ in the nonfluorescent MOG(Al) gel. More importantly, the postsynthetic MOG(Eu) xerogel shows remarkable selective detection ability towards ronidazole (RDZ), ornidazole (ODZ), metronidazole (MDZ), and dimetridazole (DTZ) antibiotics, as well as 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP), with low detection limits of 1.205, 0.542, 0.999, 0.377, and 1.582 ppm, respectively. The high quenching efficiencies can be attributed to the decrease of effective energy transfer in the host–guest systems. The strategy of metathesis opens up new opportunities for synthetic methods and functional applications in MOGs materials.

Political Education and It’s Improvement in the World

With the advent of the Roman domination in the 19th century, the police, the most important institution of this civilization, also started to withdraw from the stage of history. Even with the different perspectives of Plato and Aristotle, the great philosophers of ancient Greece, it is not in vain that they seek to uplift the police, to preserve it. Likewise, the average policeman was able to give his elite free time to deal with philosophy and art because he had a lower population than the great empires that had millions of people in his land, and therefore did not need a big bureaucracy. But the police, which allowed this great civilization to be born, left the great central empire order that the order came in the face of the great and regular armies of Rome and included many nations into its place. VII. Towards the end of the century, the city of Rome, which is located about 20 miles from the mouth of the Tiber River and composed of elements of Latin and Sabin, was first organized as kingdom, then republic, and finally empire. Rome, which emerged as a republican city state from the 5th century BC, had a diffuse policy different from Greek police.

Range expansion of an invasive goby in the River Tiber basin (Central Italy): effects on the abundance and shelter occupancy of a congeneric native goby

Range expansion of an invasive goby in the River Tiber basin (Central Italy): effects on the abundance and shelter occupancy of a congeneric native goby

Streamflow Observations From Cameras: Large‐Scale Particle Image Velocimetry or Particle Tracking Velocimetry?

AbstractImage‐based methodologies, such as large scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV) and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), have increased our ability to noninvasively conduct streamflow measurements by affording spatially distributed observations at high temporal resolution. However, progress in optical methodologies has not been paralleled by the implementation of image‐based approaches in environmental monitoring practice. We attribute this fact to the sensitivity of LSPIV, by far the most frequently adopted algorithm, to visibility conditions and to the occurrence of visible surface features. In this work, we test both LSPIV and PTV on a data set of 12 videos captured in a natural stream wherein artificial floaters are homogeneously and continuously deployed. Further, we apply both algorithms to a video of a high flow event on the Tiber River, Rome, Italy. In our application, we propose a modified PTV approach that only takes into account realistic trajectories. Based on our findings, LSPIV largely underestimates surface velocities with respect to PTV in both favorable (12 videos in a natural stream) and adverse (high flow event in the Tiber River) conditions. On the other hand, PTV is in closer agreement than LSPIV with benchmark velocities in both experimental settings. In addition, the accuracy of PTV estimations can be directly related to the transit of physical objects in the field of view, thus providing tangible data for uncertainty evaluation.

An Empirical Model for River Ecological Management with Uncertainty Evaluation

River Basin District Authorities make use of water quality models in order to assess the environmental status of water bodies. The current Italian procedure aiming to classify the ecological status of a watercourse employs the quality assessment of four biological elements with the support of some chemical and physical elements. Since many measures of the Directive 2000/60/CE affect the chemical and physical elements of the river, the Tiber River Basin Authority (TRBA) has designed an empirical model linking the anthropogenic pressures, the chemical and physical elements of impacts and river biological quality elements. The general model is named PARBLEU, which stands for Pressures/impacts/responses Assessment into River Basins Leading to Environmental Uses. In the present manuscript, only a sub-model of PARBLEU (ecological sub-model concerning the interactions of impacts on water and biota matrices) is discussed. The sub-model is able to simulate the ecological status of river water bodies by acting on the control of impacts, in particular relating to changes of nutrients and dissolved oxygen. The aim of the present study was threefold. First, to select an appropriate functional form for the model and choose which variables to be included (specification process but without validation). Second, to simulate the responses (and the associated uncertainty) on biological elements due to a hypothesized change of chemical and physical conditions. Third, to provide a user friendly tool, but sufficiently reliable, for the professionals, regional technical structures and Authorities.

On the theoretical velocity distribution and flow resistance in natural channels

The velocity distribution in natural channels is of considerable interest for streamflow measurements to obtain information on discharge and flow resistance. This study focuses on the comparison of theoretical velocity distributions based on 1) entropy theory, and 2) the two-parameter power law. The analysis identifies the correlation between the parameters of the distributions and defines their dependence on the geometric and hydraulic characteristics of the channel. Specifically, we investigate how the parameters are related to the flow resistance in terms of Manning roughness, shear velocity and water surface slope, and several formulae showing their relationships are proposed. Velocity measurements carried out in the past 20 years at Ponte Nuovo gauged section along the Tiber River, central Italy, are the basis for the analysis.

Ornidazole-loaded graphene paper for combined antibacterial materials

Excellent antibacterial property of graphene oxide makes it an important antibacterial material. However, in some cases, a synergistic combination of materials with different antibacterial mechanisms is desired. In this work, we developed a simple two-step protocol to prepare ornidazole (ONZ), a nitroimidazole antiprotozoal drug, loaded graphene-based paper for combined antibacterial materials. Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were used as carriers in antibacterial materials. After mixed with ONZ directly in aqueous media and filtrated under vacuum, the freestanding GO/ONZ and rGO/ONZ were peeled off from the filtrate membrane. The ONZ loading contents in the paper was determined by UV/vis spectroscopy and the surface properties were investigated by measuring their contact angle, which will have an important impact on the antibacterial effects of the papers.

A Muskingum-based methodology for river discharge estimation and rating curve development under significant lateral inflow conditions

Quite often the discharge at a site is estimated using the rating curve developed for that site and its development requires river flow measurements, which are costly, tedious and dangerous during severe floods. To circumvent the conventional rating curve development approach, Perumal et al. in 2007 and 2010 applied the Variable Parameter Muskingum Stage-hydrograph (VPMS) routing method for developing stage-discharge relationships especially at those ungauged river sites where stage measurements and details of section geometry are available, but discharge measurements are not made. The VPMS method enables to estimate rating curves at ungauged river sites with acceptable accuracy. But the application of the method is subjected to the limitation of negligible presence of lateral flow within the routing reach. To overcome this limitation, this study proposes an extension of the VPMS method, henceforth, known herein as the VPMS-Lin method, for enabling the streamflow assessment even when significant lateral inflow occurs along the river reach considered for routing. The lateral inflow is estimated through the continuity equation expressed in the characteristic form asadvocated by Barbetta et al. in 2012.The VPMS-Lin, is tested on two rivers characterized by different geometric and hydraulic properties: 1) a 50km reach of the Tiber River in (central Italy) and 2) a 73km reach of the Godavari River in the peninsular India. The study demonstrates that both the upstream and downstream discharge hydrographs are well reproduced, with a root mean square error equal on average to about 35 and 1700m3s−1 for the Tiber River and the Godavari River case studies, respectively. Moreover, simulation studies carried out on a river stretch of the Tiber River using the one-dimensional hydraulic model MIKE11 and the VPMS-Lin models demonstrate the accuracy of the VMPS-Lin model, which besides enabling the estimation of streamflow, also enables the estimation of reach averaged optimal roughness coefficients for the considered routing events.

Natural soil mediated photo Fenton-like processes in treatment of pharmaceuticals: Batch and continuous approach

This paper manifests the potential viability of soil as a cost-free catalyst in photo-Fenton-like processes for treating pharmaceuticals at large scale. Naturally available soil without any cost intensive modification was utilized as a catalyst to degrade pharmaceuticals, specifically ornidazole (ORZ) and ofloxacin (OFX). Soil was characterized and found enriched with various iron oxides like hematite, magnetite, goethite, pyrite and wustite, which contributes toward enhanced dissolution of Fe3+ than Fe2+ in the aqueous solution resulting in augmented rate of photo-Fenton reaction. The leached iron concentration in solution was detected during the course of experiments. The degradation of ORZ and OFX was assessed in solar induced batch experiments using H2O2 as oxidant and 95% ORZ and 92% OFX removal was achieved. Elevated efficiencies were achieved due to Fe2+/Fe3+ cycling, producing more hydroxyl radical leading to the existence of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions simultaneously. The removal efficiency of solar photo-Fenton like process was also compared to photo-Fenton process with different irradiation sources (UV-A and UV-B) and were statistically analysed. Continuous-scale studies were conducted employing soil either in the form of soil beads or as a thin layer spread on the surface of baffled reactor. Soil beads were found to have satisfactory reusability and stability. 84 and 79% degradation of ORZ and OFX was achieved using soil as thin layer while with soil beads 71 and 68% degradation, respectively. HPLC and TOC study confirmed the efficient removal of both the compounds. Toxicity assessment demonstrates the inexistence of toxic intermediates during the reaction.

Rome’s urban history inferred from Pb-contaminated waters trapped in its ancient harbor basins

Heavy metals from urban runoff preserved in sedimentary deposits record long-term economic and industrial development via the expansion and contraction of a city's infrastructure. Lead concentrations and isotopic compositions measured in the sediments of the harbor of Ostia-Rome's first harbor-show that lead pipes used in the water supply networks of Rome and Ostia were the only source of radiogenic Pb, which, in geologically young central Italy, is the hallmark of urban pollution. High-resolution geochemical, isotopic, and 14C analyses of a sedimentary core from Ostia harbor have allowed us to date the commissioning of Rome's lead pipe water distribution system to around the second century BC, considerably later than Rome's first aqueduct built in the late fourth century BC. Even more significantly, the isotopic record of Pb pollution proves to be an unparalleled proxy for tracking the urban development of ancient Rome over more than a millennium, providing a semiquantitative record of the water system's initial expansion, its later neglect, probably during the civil wars of the first century BC, and its peaking in extent during the relative stability of the early high Imperial period. This core record fills the gap in the system's history before the appearance of more detailed literary and inscriptional evidence from the late first century BC onward. It also preserves evidence of the changes in the dynamics of the Tiber River that accompanied the construction of Rome's artificial port, Portus, during the first and second centuries AD.

The impact of anthropogenic pressure on the virological quality of water from the Tiber River, Italy.

To the best of our knowledge, this study constitutes the first attempt to assess the occurrence of enteric viruses in river waters, in areas differentially influenced by anthropogenic pressure. Enteric viruses (enterovirus, norovirus, adenovirus, rotavirus, hepatitis A and E viruses, and bocavirus) were widespread in the industrial and urban areas, and were less frequently detected in the agricultural area. Interestingly, human bocavirus was the most frequently detected virus, outnumbering even adenoviruses, known to be widespread in water environments. The widespread presence of bocavirus in surface waters suggests that a potential role of water in its transmission should not be excluded.

The multi temporal/multi-model approach to predictive uncertainty assessment in real-time flood forecasting

This work extends the multi-temporal approach of the Model Conditional Processor (MCP-MT) to the multi-model case and to the four Truncated Normal Distributions (TNDs) approach, demonstrating the improvement on the single-temporal one. The study is framed in the context of probabilistic Bayesian decision-making that is appropriate to take rational decisions on uncertain future outcomes. As opposed to the direct use of deterministic forecasts, the probabilistic forecast identifies a predictive probability density function that represents a fundamental knowledge on future occurrences. The added value of MCP-MT is the identification of the probability that a critical situation will happen within the forecast lead-time and when, more likely, it will occur.MCP-MT is thoroughly tested for both single-model and multi-model configurations at a gauged site on the Tiber River, central Italy. The stages forecasted by two operative deterministic models, STAFOM-RCM and MISDc, are considered for the study. The dataset used for the analysis consists of hourly data from 34 flood events selected on a time series of six years.MCP-MT improves over the original models’ forecasts: the peak overestimation and the rising limb delayed forecast, characterizing MISDc and STAFOM-RCM respectively, are significantly mitigated, with a reduced mean error on peak stage from 45 to 5cm and an increased coefficient of persistence from 0.53 up to 0.75.The results show that MCP-MT outperforms the single-temporal approach and is potentially useful for supporting decision-making because the exceedance probability of hydrometric thresholds within a forecast horizon and the most probable flooding time can be estimated.

Detection of Coxiella burnetii in Urban River Water.

Previous molecular-based studies have identified microorganisms of zoonotic and human nature in surface waters. Contaminated water can lead to human health issues, and the detection of pathogenic microorganisms is a valuable tool for the prevention of their spread. Water samples were taken from the River Tiber in and out of the city of Rome. Genetic analysis of the sequences obtained showed the presence of Coxiella burnetii in both the analyzed sites. Blast analysis showed that two sequences were identical to each other. Sequences from the polluted site showed high homology with different strains of C. burnetii. In this article, we report for the first time the presence of C. burnetii in environmental waters.

Culture-Led Regeneration in Rome: From the Factory City to the Knowledge City

In the early 1990s, the notion of culture-led regeneration entered the urban agenda of several European cities confronted with drastic economic changes due to losses in their industrial base. This paper critically addresses a major case in the City of Rome, indeed less affected by these phenomena. In here, the densely populated working-class districts of Ostiense and Testaccio along the Tiber River just outside the City Centre have become part for some years now of a culture-led regeneration program conveying a brand new idea of “Knowledge City” deemed able to supplant the previous image of the “Factory City.”

Quaternary fluvial terraces of the Tiber Valley: geochronologic and geometric constraints on the back-arc magmatism-related uplift in central Italy

Through a geomorphological study relying on statistically assessed classes of hilltop elevations, we reconstruct a suite of paleo-surfaces along the Tiber River Valley north of Rome that we identify as fluvial terraces formed by interplay between global sea-level fluctuations and regional upift. Using biostratigraphic constraints provided by marine through continental deposits of Santernian age, we recognize the oldest terrace in this area, corresponding to an early coastal plain of late Santernian-Emilian age. By assuming the simple chronological principle of a staircase geometry we correlate the sea-level highstands of MIS 21 through MIS 5 with the lowest eight paleo-surfaces. By plotting against time the cumulated terrace elevations and the average elevation of the Santernian coastline in the investigated area, we detect rates of uplift during the last 1.8 Ma. Two major pulses of uplift are recognized 0.86 through 0.5 Ma, and 0.25 Ma through the Present, which are interpreted as driven by the subduction process and uprising of metasomatized magma bodies on the Tyrrhenian Sea Margin of central Italy, superimposied on a smaller isostatic component of uplift.

Editorial: River basin hydrology and natural hazards: monitoring, prediction and prevention

The 5th edition of the ‘Hydrology Days’ of the Italian Hydrological Society was held in Perugia, Italy, 6–8 October 2015, to provide a joint forum of hydrologists and a broad range of stakeholders for commenting and discussing on ‘River basin hydrology and natural hazards: monitoring, prediction and prevention’. A total of 58 abstracts were presented at the workshop. The 2½-day conference was organized by the ‘Hydrology Group’ of the Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (National Research Council of Italy) in collaboration with the Italian Hydrological Society, the Tiber River Basin Authority and the professional association of Engineers of Perugia. Specifically, the Italian Hydrological Society (SII-IHS) was founded in 2009 to foster progress, enhancement and dissemination of hydrological sciences in Italy, including all aspects related to water resources systems management and possible interaction with human activity. In this perspective, one of the main objectives of the Association is to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration among academia, research institutes, institutional stakeholders and private operators. This Special Issue of Hydrology Research contains a selection of 14 peer-reviewed papers that reflect the multidisciplinary aim of the conference. The papers included in this Special Issue are organized into three main topics; the first topic addresses Innovative techniques for hydrological monitoring , the second topic includes studies focusing on River basin hydrology , the third topic comprises River basin management and mitigation measures …

Climate change, water supply and environmental problems of headwaters: The paradigmatic case of the Tiber, Savio and Marecchia rivers (Central Italy)

River headwaters, in spite of their importance for habitats and water supply, are often inadequately studied and managed. This study discusses the effects of the hydrogeological system and climatic variations on the environment of Monte Fumaiolo (Central Italy), which corresponds to the headwaters of the rivers Tiber, Savio and Marecchia. The area is a key system for supplying drinking-water and is also the habitat of amphibians such as the endemic and endangered Bombina pachypus and other amphibian species. Ongoing climate change is affecting the area: during the last 30years, five prolonged droughts have occurred, against only one in the preceding 40years. On all time-scales, there is a decrease in rainfall during the recharge period and an increase of temperature: these trends correspond to a decrease in water yield of about 12% over the last 30years. The hydrologic system of the study area is composed of one basic aquifer and a few perched aquifers feeding springs. Their resilience to drought depends on their geological setting: study of some depletion curves helped us to understand the geological setting of the various types, and two promising sites for the habitat preservation of amphibians were identified. Study results indicate new approaches to the study and management of the environment and its water supply, which could be useful in similar areas.

A novel multidisciplinary bio- and geo-chronological approach for age determination of Palaeolithic bone artifacts in volcanic settings: An example from eastern Sabatini, Latium, Italy

In this study, we provide combined biochronologic and chronostratigraphic constraints to the fluvial-lacustrine succession cropping out near the village of Rignano Flaminio, 35 km north of Rome, where two bone instruments have been recovered along with several vertebrate fossil remains. The presence of bone tools is characteristic of the Latium region, whereas it is rare in the rest of Italy, but very few sites in which such artifacts occur have precise geochronological constraints. In the investigated site, the presence of Cervus elaphus eostephanoceros, among other taxa, indicates a time interval limited to Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 13 and MIS 11. The occurrence of the Tufo Rosso a Scorie Nere pyroclastic-flow deposit, dated 449 ± 2 ka, at the base of the sedimentary deposits hosting the faunal assemblage allows us at restricting the interval to MIS 11. Moreover, applying a recently validated conceptual model accounting for an aggradational mechanism linked with sea-level rise during glacial termination for the sedimentary successions of the Tiber River and its tributaries in a relatively wider area around Rome, we further constrain the age to 430–405 ka. Following this approach, we present a review of the archaeological sites of Latium yielding bone instruments, remarking that only other four sites have been recently provided with geochronological constraints, through the application of the multidisciplinary methodology applied here.

Preparation of monoclonal antibody and development of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for ornidazole detection.

A monoclonal antibody (mAb) and an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) for ornidazole (ONZ) detection were developed. ONZ was conjugated with cationic bovine serum albumin as a hapten to generate the artificial immunogens and coating antigens. BALB/c mice were immunized, and mAbs were obtained. The competitive inhibition curve of ic-ELISA was y=0.0438x2-0.2101x+0.2925, with R2=0.9941. The 50% inhibition concentration, the limit of detection, and limit of quality for ONZ were 0.15, 0.01, and 0.05µg/kg, respectively. The cross-reactivity of the mAbs to secnidazole was 0.33%. The recoveries were from 89.18% to 101.63% and the coefficient of variation was less than 7.15% in chicken, chicken liver, and honey samples, all of which had ONZ concentrations of 0.05 and 0.1μg/kg. Results showed that the ic-ELISA based on mAb could be used for the rapid detection for ONZ.