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In this work, the chemical compositions and antimicrobial properties of Juniperus essential oils and of their main components were determined. Five berry essential oils obtained from different species of Juniperus growing wild in Sardinia were analyzed. The components of the essential oils were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The antimicrobial activities of the oils and their components against food spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms were determined by a broth microdilution method. The GC-MS analysis showed a certain variability in the concentrations of the main constituents of the oils. α-Pinene was largely predominant in the oils of the species J. phoenicea subsp, turbinata and J. oxycedrus, α-Pinene and myrcene constituted the bulk (67.56%) of the essential oil of J. communis. Significant quantitative differences were observed for myrcene, δ-3-carene, and D-germacrene. The results of the antimicrobial assay show that the oils of J. communis and J. oxycedrus failed to inhibit any of the microorganisms at the highest concentrations tested (MLC ≥ 900 µg/ml), while the oils extracted from J. turbinata specimens were active against fungi, particularly against a strain of Aspergillus flavus (an aflatoxin B1 producer). Of the single compounds tested, δ-3-carene was found to possess the broadest spectrum of activity and appeared to contribute significantly to the antifungal activity observed for J. turbinata oils. This activity may be helpful in the prevention of afiatoxin contamination for many foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An extensive and inactive inland dune field has been identified in southern Italy. • Dune sands are coarse-grained, moderately sorted, positively skewed and mesokurtic. • Quartz and minor feldspars dominate sand petrographic composition. • Typical wind-generated features of sand grains were displayed by SEM analyses. • The dune field was active during the period going from 28 ka to VI-IV century B.C. Geomorphological investigations coupled with sedimentological, petrographical, and SEM analyses allowed to identify, for the first time, a paleo-fixed and inland aeolian dune field in the Gioia Tauro Plain, on the Tyrrhenian side of southern Calabria (southern Italy). The aeolian landforms, extended over an area of 43 km2, are characterized by smoothed and elongated NW-SE trending vegetation-fixed linear dunes, varying in height from a few meters up to 20 m. Forty sand samples were collected from dunes to perform laboratory analyses. Grain size analyses showed that samples are composed of unimodal coarse-grained sands (Mz = 0.820 φ), moderately sorted (σ = 0.862), positively skewed (Sk1 = 0.173) and mesokurtic (KG = 1.115). Petrographic analyses highlighted a composition dominated by quartz and minor feldspars. Modal data, and especially the high F/Q ratio and the Rg:Rs:Rm triangular plot, suggest a plutoniclastic supply from the Aspromonte Massif crystalline source rocks. SEM analyses of sand grains clearly displayed the presence of typical wind-generated features mainly represented by rounded form with low relief, bulbous edges, and dish-shaped depressions. These results combined with morphological analyses showed that these aeolian deposits fall into the category of sand sheets. Furthermore, geological and geoarchaeological data evidenced that dune field was formed in the time interval between ~28 ka and the VI - IV century B.C. The dune filed formation has been interrupted presumably by the combined effect of Holocene tectonics, along the Gioia Tauro-San Ferdinando normal fault, and the lowering of sea level, during the Last Glacial period, originating a natural barrier to windblown sand particles. The findings of the paper will help in understanding both inland aeolian products in southern Europe associated to the second colder phase of the Last Glacial period in the Mediterranean area and the complex patterns of spatial and temporal distribution, as well as the control factors determining preservation of the aeolian sediments throughout the rock record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycoglycerolipid analogues, characterized by a glycerol aglicone β-linked in position 2 to a glucose or galactose residue, and by a lipophilic C6 acyl chain on the glycerol unit, significantly inhibit proliferation of activated T cells. The inhibitory activity displayed by such synthetic compounds is comparable to the immunosuppressive properties shown by the natural glycolipids simplexides, to which they are structurally related. Vice versa, when the acyl chain is located on the sugar unit, no immunomodulating activity is observed, suggesting a strict relationship between the activity and the location of the acyl chain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]