Salvatore magazù

• Full Professor in Physics
• Head of Department at University of Messina

The paper introduces a parametric resonance model for characterizing some features of the brain’s electrical activity. This activity is assumed to be a fundamental aspect of brain functionality underpinning functions from basic sensory processing to complex cognitive operations such as memory, reasoning, and emotion. A pivotal element of the propos...

The design and synthesis of molecular nanoswitches using organic molecules represent a crucial research fild within molecular electronics. To understand the switching mechanisms, it is essential to investigate various factors, such as charge/energy transfer, electron transfer, nonlinear optical properties (NLO), current−voltage (I−V) curves, Joule-...

Microbial degradation represents an eco-friendly alternative to traditional physicochemical treatments in removing persistent and toxic environmental pollutants, including synthetic dyes (i.e., methylene blue, MB) employed in different industries. The exploitation of thermophilic bacilli, such as those isolated from the shallow hydrothermal vents o...

In this work, we use a combination of dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3) and the TiberCAD framework for the first time to investigate a newly designed and synthesized class of (C6H10N2)[CuCl4] 2D-type perovskite. The inter- and intra-atomic reorganization in the crystal packing and the type of interaction forming in the active...

Microbial degradation of xenobiotics represents an eco-friendly alternative to traditional physicochemical treatments in removing persistent and toxic environmental pollutants. We have previously reported that thermophilic and thermotolerant hydrocarbon-utilizing bacilli, isolated from shallow hydrothermal marine vents of the Eolian Islands (Italy)...

The selectivity of a novel chemosensor, based on a modified nitrobenzofurazan referred to as NBD-Morph, has been investigated for the detection of heavy metal cations (Co2+, Pb2+, Mg2+, Ag+, Cu2+, Hg2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+). The ligand, 4-morpholino-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Morph), was characterized using spectroscopic techniques including FT-IR and 1H...

PREFACE Using the term static magnetic field, we would like to indicate a magnetic field whose intensity has a constant value over time. Earth's magnetic field is the example that is generally taken in account to describe a uniform magnetic field, whose intensity varies according to the latitude from about 30 to 70 µT, but which is precisely const...

In this chapter the competition between static magnetic field (SMF) and thermal molecular agitation of some organic macromolecules was described. This irregular agitation coupled with continue collisions with molecules of the fluid give up to the so-called Brownian motion. A SMF is a uniform magnetic field. All living beings are constantly exposed...

This study focuses on the experimental thermal response analysis of a newly synthesized nanocomposite, denoted as HAP/PEG, containing Hydroxyapatite-alt-Polyethylene Glycol. Complementary data obtained from density functional theory (DFT) studies afford insights into the structural and optoelectronic properties of the nanocomposite using the 6-31 g...

The variations in the distribution of solar radiation due to the ~ 10⁵ years Milankovitch cycle, which is connected to the Earth eccentricity variation, cannot explain the sharp drop in temperature of 6 °C ÷ 10 °C that marks the transition from the interglacial to the glacial age registered in the last ~ 5.5 10⁶ years temperature variation behavior...

Marine extreme habitats such as deep shallow hydrothermal vents are inhibited by extremophyles well adapted to physical chemical conditions (high temperature, low pH H2S and hydrocabons). The common occurrence od hydrocarbons in these sites suggest the development of special microbial ability to increase solubility of hydrocarbons such as the produ...

Climate change predictions indicate that water supplied by rainfall for agriculture is decreasing and several countries face an ever-increasing rate of desertification [1]. Water stress is a critical issue for plant growth in arid and semi-arid soils. Therefore, novel eco-friendly products are needed to increase water availability. Extremophilic ba...

Hydrothermal vents of Eolian Islands are extreme environments characterized by prohibitive conditions (high temperature, high concentrations of H2S, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals) for most organisms, and they are sources of new micro-organisms able to produce compounds with biotechnological potential [1,2]. Bacillus licheniformis B3-15, isolated f...

Proteins aggregation is a phenomenon that is related to mis-folding of proteins and that can be induced by some diseases or external stresses. The authors of this chapter have recently discovered that also electromagnetic fields can denature typical proteins inducing their aggregation. To this aim, the effects of extremely low frequency and high fr...

In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of new nanocomposite materials based on hydroxyapatite (HAP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) with two different ratios (80/20 and 60/20). The structural properties of the synthesized nanocomposite (HAP/PEG) compound based on chemical composition and morphological features of the surface were...

Abstract The present work aims at exploring the high electrophilic character of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl) toward the morpholine group by an SNAr reaction in acetonitrile or water (thereafter referred to as NBD-Morph). The electron-donating ability of the morpholine causes intra-molecular charge transfer (ICT). In this report...

Resonance phenomenon consists of the oscillation at high amplitude of a material if it is forced mechanically, acoustically or electrically at some specific frequencies named natural resonance frequencies. In particular, some researchers have hypothesized that biological systems have natural resonant frequencies in the microwaves region so that an...

Volcanic emissions (ash, gas, aerosols) dispersed in the atmosphere during explosive eruptions generate hazards affecting aviation, human health, air quality, and the environment. We document for the first time the contamination of airspace by very fine volcanic ash due to sequences of transient ash plumes from Mount Etna. The atmospheric dispersal...

We report the ability of the crude biosurfactant (BS B3-15), produced by the marine, thermotolerant Bacillus licheniformis B3-15, to hinder the adhesion and biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 to polystyrene and human cells. First, we attempted to increase the BS yield, optimizing the culture...

Volcanic emissions (ash, gas, aerosols) dispersed in the atmosphere during explosive eruptions generate hazards affecting aviation, human health, air quality and the environment. We document for the first time the contamination of airspace by very fine volcanic ash due to sequences of tran-sient ash plumes from Mount Etna. The atmospheric dispersal...

We investigate the ability of the 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl) to append Pyrrolidine (Pyrr), a secondary amine, acting as a nucleophile group in SNAr reactions resulting in the fluorescent NBD-Pyrr compound. Their electrochemical and photo-physical responses have been thoroughly investigated using Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), UV-Visible, photo...

Radon measurements in soil gases were carried out along the Tyrrhenian margin of north-eastern Sicily (southern Apennines of Italy), one of the most tectonically and seismically active areas within the central Mediterranean region. The collected data highlight an ~ NW–SE oriented zone located to the south of the Milazzo Peninsula marked by intense...

Proteins denaturation is a phenomenon that can be due to some diseases or external stresses. In particular, hemoglobin can be subjected to denaturation (unfolding) of its secondary structure due to various causes, that is represented by a decrease in intensity of the α-helix/β-sheet ratio in the Amide I and II infrared regions. Hemoglobin is a tetr...

In this brief review paper the protective effectiveness of trehalose against magnetic fields was shown. FTIR spectroscopy was used to study this protective effectiveness and, to this aim, typical proteins in water solutions in absence and in presence of trehalose were used. Trehalose is a disaccharide such as sucrose, having the same chemical formu...

During the autumn season, Sicily is often affected by severe weather events, such as self-healing storms called V-shaped storms. These phenomena cause significant total rainfall quantities in short time intervals in localized spatial areas. In this framework, this study analyzes the meteorological event recorded on 11–12 November 2019 in Sicily (so...

The variations in the distribution of solar radiation due to the ∼10⁵ years Milankovitch cycle alone cannot explain the sharp drop in temperature of approximately 10 K that marks the transition from the interglacial to the glacial age registered in the last ∼5.5 10⁶ years temperature variation behavior. More specifically, only a temperature variati...

Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production represents an adaptive strategy developed by extremophiles to cope with environmental stresses. The EPS-producing Bacillus licheniformis B3-15, of shallow marine vent origin (Vulcano Island, Italy), was previously reported as tolerant to arsenate (AsV). In this study, we evaluated: (i) the increasing production of...

The main aim of the present paper is to characterize the hydration properties of glucose and the hydrogen bond network in glucose–water mixtures. For these purposes, temperature scans on ten concentration values of glucose–water mixtures were performed by means of Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy. More specifically, in order to get th...

Infrared spectroscopy measurements were performed on Lysozyme aqueous solutions also in the presence of PolyEthylene Glycol (PEG 400) as a function of an increasing temperature from T = 27 °C to 90 °C, and, successively in sequence, by decreasing temperatures from T = 90 °C to 27 °C. Data were analyzed by evaluating the spectral difference with res...

One of the most important challenges in atmospheric science and, in particular, in numerical weather predictions (NWP), is to forecast extreme weather events. These events affect very localized areas in space, recording high pluviometric accumulations in short time intervals. In this context, with the present study, we aim to analyze the extreme me...

Creatine is a very popular amino acid widely utilized in the sports world due to its functions mainly related to muscle building and increasing performance. The present work investigates the behavior of creatine aqueous solutions and of creatine aqueous in the presence of trehalose as a function of time changes by means of Infrared spectroscopy. In...

This paper presents analyses of 222Rn activity concentration performed on groundwater samples collected from wells and natural springs in 70 different sites of the crystalline area of north-eastern Sicily (southern Italy), up to now poorly studied. Alpha spectroscopy of the short-lived radon progeny was used to measure the 222Rn activity concentrat...

Macroalgae inhabiting transitional environments, such as the brackish lake of Ganzirri (Messina, Italy), produce large amounts of biomass which needs to be periodically removed and treated as waste. Macroalgal polysaccharides possess several activities with attractive interest for the valuable transformation of waste into an economic and eco-friend...

The surfactin-like lipopeptide (BS-SBP3) and the exopolysaccharide (EPS-SBP3) produced by the polyextremophilic Bacillus horneckiae SBP3 (DSM 103063) have been recently described as valuable biopolymers useful in biotechnological applications. To investigate the hydrating capabilities of BS-SBP3 and EPS-SBP3, here we evaluated (i) their wetting pro...

The exploitation of thermophilic hydrocarbon-utilizing bacilli could provide novel environmentally friendly surfactants. In this work, 80 thermophilic bacilli isolated from shallow hydrothermal vents of the Eolian Islands (Italy) were screened for their ability to utilize hydrocarbons and produce biosurfactants (BSs). Among them, 15 strains grew wi...

Glutamine plays a significant role in several basic metabolic processes and is an important regulator of heat shock protein response. The present work is focused on the analysis of the thermal response of aqueous solutions of Glutamine and aqueous solutions of Glutamine in the presence of Trehalose by means of infrared absorption technique. The per...

This preface to the Special Issue titled “Climate Change Dynamics and Modeling: Future Perspectives” presents eight articles, largely focused on a range of interdisciplinary issues related to climatic changes [...]

This contribution is intended to answer the question of why in teaching approaches it is important to speak about territory? The answer to the question is driven by the consideration that the territory, including the established human activities, encompasses the history, the events and the culture of the people who populated it. On this regard, it...

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the effects of variable eruption source parameters on volcanic plume transport in the Mediterranean basin after the paroxysm of Mount Etna on 23 November 2013. This paroxysm was characterized by a north-east transport of ash and gas, caused by a low-pressure system in northern Italy. It is evaluate...

Biological systems have magnetic properties due to microscopic atomic dipoles in their compounds which align themselves individually if a magnetic field is applied. As a result, a biological system can align along the direction of an applied magnetic field following the theory of paramagnetism. This effect can be induced also in simple organic syst...

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is a molecule composed by sodium and chloride ions. Despite it is not an electric conductor in its solid state, it can induce a shielding action against environmental stress agents such as electromagnetic fields when it is solved in water. In order to quantify this property, the effect of replacing water molecules with sodium...

Nitrofurantoin is an antimicrobial agent obtained through the addition of a nitro group and a side chain containing hydantoin to a furan ring. The interactions of the antibiotic with human serum albumin (HSA) have been investigated by fluorescence, UV-VIS, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy, and protein-ligand docking studi...

Pollution due to natural radioactivity is still a poorly known topic among young people. This paper describes the contents for an introductive university course or lecture conceived in a multitask program. Along with a so-called "flipped" configuration, where students are able to receive didactic materials prior to face-to-face lessons, multimedia...

A new approach to the physical nature of the water density maximum at 4°C is proposed. The main attention is focused on the role of H -bonds in the formation of the specific volume and thermal expansion coefficients for ordinary and heavy water. It is shown that the minimum of the specific volume for water is connected with the amplification of H -...

Among the issues affecting the aeronautical field, it is worth highlighting the impact that volcanic eruptions have on airport infrastructures. Such events can lead to delays and flights cancellations. In addition, airports may need to be shut down in order to restore the runway conditions with an important financial impact on the airport and airli...

In previous literature, several studies have highlighted both harmful and beneficial effects of electromagnetic fields for human beings and, in particular, possible applications for the treatment of some diseases. In this regard, we hypothesize that a possible application of beneficial effects of electromagnetic fields can be represented by irradia...

Numerical weather predictions (NWP) play a fundamental role in air quality management. The transport and deposition of all the pollutants (natural and/or anthropogenic) present in the atmosphere are strongly influenced by meteorological conditions such as, for example, precipitation and winds. Furthermore, the presence of particulate matter in the...

Spores from Bacillus horneckiae SBP3 (SBP3) of shallow hydrothermal vent origin have recently been reported to survive extreme conditions more often than their close phylogenetic relatives B. horneckiae DSM 23495T (BHO) and B. subtilis 168 (BSU) used in biodosimetry and the space microbiology model. To investigate the structures of unheated spores,...

Deuterium Oxide (D2O) is an isotopic form of water which contains two atoms of deuterium (D) and one atom of oxygen. It is stable, non-radioactive and one of its characteristic properties is the shielding action against external stress agents. In particular, this effect has been highlighted comparing the changes of the characteristic vibration of t...

Recent decades have registered the hottest temperature variation in instrumentally recorded data history. The registered temperature rise is particularly significant in the so-called hot spot or sentinel regions, characterized by higher temperature increases in respect to the planet average value and by more marked connected effects. In this framew...

The monitoring of a wide variety of bridges often requires an approach that, a priori, does not take into account the specific vibrational modes of their structure. An experimental approach to this issue requires to sufficiently energize the structure to allow the detection system to collect the entire range of the structure vibrational modes as we...

Background Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy analysis on Bacillus clausii and Bacillus clausii in the presence of trehalose are reported. Objective in order to characterize the thermal response of such systems the InfraRed technique was employed to collect the spectra from 25.0°C to 80.0°C in the 4000 cm-1 - 400 cm-1 spectral range. Methods...

Amide I and Amide II bands are the most characteristic vibration bands that are observed in the infrared spectra of proteins and that arise from the amide bonds that link proteins amino acids. In particular, the Amide I band is due to the stretching vibrations of the C=O bond, whilst the Amide II is associated with the bending vibration of the N—H...

There is unanimous consensus on the interdisciplinary nature of Leonardo da Vinci's work due to his holistic vision of the world. Our study aims to point out that da Vinci created links and bridges among concepts belonging to exact and human sciences, revealing not only the interdisciplinary but also the transdisciplinary nature of his approach. Th...

The achievement of Wireless 5G technology is leading to a drastic increase of the effects of exposure to microwave radiation elsewhere, inducing possible increasing of harmful effects for human health that have been largely reported in literature. Indeed, it was already hypothesized that biological systems exhibit natural resonant frequencies in th...

This paper reports the analysis of the intramolecular OH stretching band obtained by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy measurements. In order to characterize the effect of montmorillonite on the properties of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) the two-state model is adopted for the analysis of the OH stretching band. We assume that the OH stre...

The investigation of the structural features in biological membranes represents a central topic in many aspects of biological science. It involves the study of the collective behavior of a great number of interacting macromolecules, while the study of the structure-function relationship require the observation and calculation of a large number of k...

This paper reports the analysis of the intramolecular OH stretching band obtained by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy measurements. In order to characterize the effect of montmorillonite on the properties of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) the two-state model is adopted for the analysis of the OH stretching band. We assume that the OH stre...

Submarine surveys, started in 2008 during the preliminary excavations preceding the construction of a new pier in the port of Lipari Island (Italy), brought to light the presence of large submerged remains, dated to the Roman age, in the base of typological features of the related pottery fragment styles. The archaeological discoveries included the...

Crystalline rocks can produce dangerous radiation levels on the basis of their content in radioisotopes. Here, we report radiological data from 10 metamorphic and igneous rock samples collected from the crystalline basement of the Peloritani Mountains (southern Italy). In order to evaluate the radiological properties of these rocks, the gamma radia...

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) thanks to their unique physical properties have been employed in several innovative applications particularly for energy storage applications. Certain technical features of carbon nanotubes, such as their remarkable specific surface, mechanical strength, as well as their electron and thermal conductivity are suitable for the...

The starting point of the results summarized in this brief note is represented by the assumption that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the microwaves (MWs) range can interact with the sophisticated electromagnetic circuits of livings, in particular at some frequencies named 'natural resonant frequencies' [1-5]. Resonance phenomenon occurs if a mate...

A didactic multiscale approach for drone modeling is proposed. Specifically, we investigate the drone structure at both macroscopic and microscopic scales, by making use of finite element and atomistic simulations, respectively. The structural analysis is performed with the aim to equip the drone with specific sensors and measuring instruments capa...

New emerging technology 5G will require higher speed, power and capacity in data transmission than previous generation, in order to obtain a complete world-wireless communication without limitation. In this scenario, given that the achievement of 5G technology will lead to a drastic increase of effects of exposure to microwave radiation, a strategy...

To provide a contribution to the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection, here we present the results of a study focused on the potentially toxic elements (PTE) content in agricultural soils’ representative for the Mediterranean region. To reach this aim, samples of 22 Italian (NE Peloritani Mountains, Sicily) and 18 Turkish (Amik Plain, Hatay) soils...

Extremophiles are optimal models in experimentally addressing questions about the effects of cosmic radiation on biological systems. The resistance to high charge energy (HZE) particles, and helium (He) ions and iron (Fe) ions (LET at 2.2 and 200 keV/µm, respectively, until 1000 Gy), of spores from two thermophiles, Bacillus horneckiae SBP3 and Bac...

The aim of the present work is to utilize a new functionality within the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF–Chem) that allows simulating emission, transport, and settling of pollutants released during the Etna 2015 volcanic activities. This study constitutes the first systematic application of the WRF–Chem online-bas...

In the last decades, human activities have generated increasing in ground albedo produced by deforestation and overbuilding. Man-made deforestation has caused desertification and a consequent increasing of ground reflected solar radiation. In addition, the areas of cemented land have increased more and more because a large increase in the demand fo...

Cancer is one of the most important causes of humans death. In particular, breast cancer is a leading cause of death of women in many countries. Also, the psychological impact on woman affected by cancer breast subjected to forced entire removal of the breast is dramatic. Generally, the most used methods of cancer treatment are surgery, chemotherap...

In this study Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used. It is a technique based on the vibrations of atoms and molecules which can provide relevant information on organic compounds under applied stress agents. It was used to compare meat cooking by conventional convective oven with meat cooking by microwave oven, in order to highligh...

This study showed a correlation between proteins aggregation in bovine meat and power level used for cooking by microwave oven. FTIR Spectroscopy was used to study the effects of microwave heating on different samples of minced bovine meat cooked in some microwave oven for 120 s at different power levels (700, 800, 900 and 1000 W ). Methylene vibra...

We propose a didactic approach to use the Machine Learning protocol in order to perform weather forecast. This study is motivated by the possibility to apply this method to predict weather conditions in proximity of the Etna and Stromboli volcanic areas, located in Sicily (south Italy). Here the complex orography may significantly influence the wea...

The aim of this study is to investigate the causes of the different response of Amide I and Amide II bands in neuronal-like cells under an applied magnetic field at extremely low frequency and intensity. A Lumos IR microscope of Bruker Optics coupled with a FTIR spectrometer equipped with a wide-band liquid nitrogen cooled mercury-cadmium-telluride...

The main aim of the present work is to improve the quality of the Etna volcanic ash fallout forecasts through the optimization of an integrated simulation system based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the WRF chemistry (WRF - Chem) module. The proposed approach constitutes the first systematic application of the WRF...

The present work reports the analysis of the intramolecular OH stretching band obtained by Infrared spectroscopy measurements. In order to characterize the effect of montmorillonite on the properties of Lysozyme the so-called two-state model is adopted for the analysis of the intramolecular OH stretching band. This latter assumes that the OH stretc...

Geopolymers are synthetic materials, which attract increasing interest because they represent a supplementary cementitious material as an alternative to Portland cement. Geopolymers are considered as environmentally friendly materials, due to the low processing temperature and the absence of CO 2 gas emissions. These ecological features, linked to...

In this work we investigate, from both a macroscopic and a microscopic point of view, the fragility degree of complex material systems. In particular, we integrate a microscopic and a macroscopic approach. The former is formulated in the framework of non-equilibrium thermodynamics in order to obtain the phenomenological equations for the heat flux...

Materials self-assembly represents a key strategy for the design and fabrication of nanostructured systems and has become a fundamental approach for the construction of advanced nanomaterials [...]

In this study, a correlation between cell channel α-helices displacement and the mitochondrial transmembrane potential after exposure of 3, 7, 15 and 24 h of neuronal-like cells to a uniform magnetic field at the intensity of 2 mT was shown. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and fluorescence techniques were used to analyze the secondar...

The aim of this study was to highlight the existence of a correlation between Maillard reaction and protein aggregation in bovine meat as a function of power level and exposure time used by microwave heating. The obtained results are compared with those of convective heating. For this, Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy was used to analyze the...

The aim of this study was to investigate the response of chromosomes in typical human and plant cells under applied low-frequency magnetic fields at low and high intensities. Neuronal-like cells and roots of Alliumsativumand Vicia faba were used to investigate chromosome's response to a static and 50 Hz magnetic fields at intensities ranging from 1...

Experimental findings obtained by FTIR and Raman spectroscopies on montmorillonite-water mixtures at three concentration values are presented. To get some insight into the hydrogen bond network of water within the montmorillonite network, FTIR and Raman spectra have been collected as a function of time and then analyzed following two complementary...

We present weighty evidence of specific transformations during thermal motion in bulk water in the physiological temperature range. The vicinity of the temperature point of 315 K (42 °C) is the maximum value for death for many warm-blooded organisms under physiological conditions and at the same time is the upper limit of the temperature range in w...

In this paper, we survey recent advances in the self-assembly processes of novel functional platforms for nanomaterials and biomaterials applications. We provide an organized overview, by analyzing the main factors that influence the formation of organic nanostructured systems, while putting into evidence the main challenges, limitations and emergi...

In this study, the correlation between the displacement of the α-helices in cellular membrane channels and the frequency of the applied electromagnetic field was evaluated comparing the results after exposure to static, 50 Hz and 900 MHz electromagnetic fields of neuronal-like cells at the same intensity of 10 μT, using FTIR spectroscopy. The main...

The-Marmi Mischi‖ (mixed glass mosaic tesserae) are artificial calcium-rich glass decorations, typically used in southern Italy and Sicily during the Baroque period (1600-1700) to decorate walls and altars of religious edifices. In this study, we provide new archaeometric information on the raw materials, pigments and opacifying agents used to prod...