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The depositional history of the Storfjorden and Kveithola trough-mouth fans (TMFs) in the northwestern Barents\ud Sea has been investigatedwithin two coordinated Spanish and Italian projects in the framework of the International\ud Polar Year (IPY) Activity 367, NICE STREAMS. The investigation has been conducted using a multidisciplinary approach\ud to the study of sediment cores positioned on high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and TOPAS/CHIRP\ud sub-bottom profiles.\ud Core correlation and the age model were based on 27AMS 14C samples, rock magnetic parameters, lithofacies sequences,\ud and the presence of marker beds including two oxidized layers marking the post Last GlacialMaximum\ud (LGM) inception of deglaciation (OX-2) and the Younger Dryas cold climatic event (OX-1).\ud Sediment facies analysis allowed the distinction of a number of depositional processes whose onset appears\ud closely related to ice stream dynamics and oceanographic patterns in response to climate change. The glacigenic\ud diamictonwith lowwater content, high density, and high shear strength, deposited during glacial maxima, indicates\ud ice streams grounded at the shelf edge. Massive release of IRD occurred at the inception of deglaciation in\ud response to increased calving rates with possible outer ice streams lift off and collapse. The presence of a severalmeter-\ud thick sequence of interlaminated sediments deposited by subglacial outbursts of turbid meltwater\ud (plumites) indicates rapid ice streams' melting and retreat. Crudely-layered and heavily-bioturbated sediments\ud were deposited by contour currents under climatic/environmental conditions favorable to bioproductivity.\ud The extreme sedimentation rate of 3.4 cm a−1 calculated for the plumites from the upper-slope area indicates a\ud massive, nearly instantaneous (less than 150 years), terrigenous input corresponding to an outstanding meltwater\ud event.Wepropose these interlaminated sediments to represent the high-latitudemarine record ofMeltWater\ud Pulse 1a (MWP-1a). Different bathymetric and oceanographic conditions controlled locally the mode of glacial\ud retreat, resulting in different thickness of plumites on the upper continental slope of the Storfjorden and\ud Kveithola TMFs. It is possible that the southern part of Storfjorden TMF received additional sediments from the\ud deglaciation of the neighboring Kveithola ice stream

A study of the metamorphic and tectonic evolution of the Massa Unit in the Alpi Apuane Metamorphic Complex shows that this unit suffered relatively high-pressure conditions (peak higher than 0.8 GPa) and was exhumed during a multiphase history. The ®rst stage of exhumation occurred during Tertiary continental collision between Adria and Sardinia/Corsica and was associated with the thrusting of the more deeply buried chloritoid kyanite-bearing Massa Unit on top of the less deeply buried chloritoid pyrophyllite-bearing Apuane Unit. The subsequent stages of exhumation were shared by the two metamorphic units and were coeval with the beginning of crustal extension related to the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

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Background. Alkaptonuria, a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder caused by deficiency in homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase activity, leads to accumulation of oxidised homogentisic acid in cartilage and collagenous structures present in all organs and tissues, especially joints and heart, causing a pigmentation called ochronosis. A secondary amyloidosis is associated with AKU. Here we report a study of an aortic valve from an AKU patient. Results. Congo Red birefringence, Th-T fluorescence, and biochemical assays demonstrated the presence of SAA-amyloid deposits in AKU stenotic aortic valve. Light and electron microscopy assessed the colocalization of ochronotic pigment and SAA-amyloid, the presence of calcified areas in the valve. Immunofluorescence detected lipid peroxidation of the tissue and lymphocyte/macrophage infiltration causing inflammation. High SAA plasma levels and proinflammatory cytokines levels comparable to those from rheumatoid arthritis patients were found in AKU patient. Conclusions. SAA-amyloidosis was present in the aortic valve from an AKU patient and colocalized with ochronotic pigment as well as with tissue calcification, lipid oxidation, macrophages infiltration, cell death, and tissue degeneration. A local HGD expression in human cardiac tissue has also been ascertained suggesting a consequent local production of ochronotic pigment in AKU heart.