Publications by authors named "S Vinciguerra"

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a digestive disorder that can lead to chronic mucosal damage, causing esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. GERD currently affects about 13% of the world's population and represent a major public health concern due to the increasing prevalence and incidence. The aim of this study was to explore complementary strategies for GERD management based the natural compound palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), alone or associated with plant extracts with demonstrated anti-GERD activity (, , and ).

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Assessing the rock physical and mechanical behavior under different temperatures has become of utmost importance. It is well known that thermal stresses induce significant crack damage in rocks due to thermal expansion or phase transformation and volume changes. Quantifying and forecasting the evolution of rock physical and mechanical parameters with temperature is thus crucial for evaluating rock integrity in many applications such as geothermal fields, nuclear waste storage, wildfire or volcanic processes.

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Habitat loss is a potential long-term effect of projected climate change for Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of a close-to-nature silvicultural practice to conserve an old-growth white oak forest patch in Sicily (Italy) and promote regeneration dynamics. The study area, although small, is distinctive for its isolation, position and environmental characteristics.

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We propose a new statistical analysis of the Acoustic Emissions (AE) produced in a series of triaxial deformation experiments leading to fractures and failure of two different rocks, namely, Darley Dale Sandstone (DDS) and AG Granite (AG). By means of q-statistical formalism, we are able to characterize the pre-failure processes in both types of rocks. In particular, we study AE inter-event time and AE inter-event distance distributions.

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High temperatures exert a significant influence on the mechanical and fluid flow properties of rocks and minerals. In crystalline rocks, differential thermal expansion of minerals is known to induce microfracture damage leading to changes in bulk volume and tensile strength. Here we report new data from thermally treated core samples of Devon Granite in order to constrain the interplay between tensile strength and thermally-induced damage with respect to the background mineralogy.

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