Development of a site conditions map for the Campania-Lucania region (southern Apennines, Italy)

Having a reliable site conditions estimate is an important step to analyze and predict earthquake ground motions. To provide this information for the Campania-Lucania region (southern Apennines, Italy), in the framework of a collaboration with regional civil protection agency, geologic units shown on 1:250,000 scale geologic map, have been sorted together into four categories based on age and geological similarities. According to the site classification defined in engineering building codes, we have assigned to each site classes, a value or range of values of the average shear-wave velocity to 30 m (Vs30) and of the site dominant period. Thus, we have digitized the category boundaries from the map tracing only the geologic contacts that separate units of different site classes. The accuracy of the site-conditions map is only limited by the number of Vs profiles, used to compute the Vs30, and geologic data available so far. Analyses with new data will allow updates and modifications of this map. Anyhow, the resulting site classification map may be an helpful tool to better characterizing the sites effects for those applications where amplification values at large scale are need, such as ground-shaking maps or seismic hazard maps

MATISSE: an ArcGIS tool for monitoring and nowcasting meteorological hazards

Abstract. Adverse meteorological conditions are one of the major causes of accidents in aviation, resulting in substantial human and economic losses. For this reason it is crucial to monitor and early forecast high impact weather events. In this context, CIRA (Italian Aerospace Research Center) has implemented MATISSE (Meteorological AviaTIon Supporting SystEm), an ArcGIS Desktop Plug-in able to detect and forecast meteorological aviation hazards over European airports, using different sources of meteorological data (synoptic information, satellite data, numerical weather prediction models data). MATISSE presents a graphical interface allowing the user to select and visualize such meteorological conditions over an area or an airport of interest. The system also implements different tools for nowcasting of meteorological hazards and for the statistical characterization of typical adverse weather conditions for the airport selected

New tools for scientific learning in the EduSeis project: the e-learning experiment

The Educational Seismological Project (EduSeis) is a scientific and educational project, the main aim of which is the development and implementation of new teaching methodologies in Earth Sciences, using seismology as a vehicle for scientific learning and awareness of earthquake risk. Within this framework, we have recently been experimenting with new learning and information approaches that are mainly aimed at a high school audience. In particular, we have designed, implemented and tested a model of an e-learning environment in a high school located in the surroundings of the Mt. Vesuvius volcano. The proposed e-learning model is built on the EduSeis concepts and educational materials (web-oriented), and is based on computer-supported collaborative learning. Ten teachers from different disciplines and fifty students at the ITIS «Majorana» technical high school (Naples) have been taking part in a cooperative e-learning experiment in which the students have been working in small groups (communities). The learning process is assisted and supervised by the teachers. The evaluation of the results from this cooperative e-learning experiment has provided useful insights into the content and didactic value of the EduSeis modules and activities. The use of network utilities and the «Learning Community» approach promoted the exchange of ideas and expertises between students and teachers and allowed a new approach to the seismology teaching through a multidisciplinary study

Mechanical Systems: Symmetry and Reduction

Reduction theory is concerned with mechanical systems with symmetries. It constructs a lower dimensional reduced space in which associated conservation laws are taken out and symmetries are \factored out" and studies the relation between the dynamics of the given system with the dynamics on the reduced space. This subject is important in many areas, such as stability of relative equilibria, geometric phases and integrable systems

Design, Implementation and Testing of a Network-Based Earthquake Early Warning System in Greece

In this study we implemented and tested the Earthquake Early Warning system PRESTo (PRobabilistic and Evolutionary early warning System, Satriano et al., 2011) on the Greek Ionian islands of Lefkada, Zakynthos and Kefalonia. PRESTo is a free and open source platform for regional Earthquake Early Warning developed at the University of Naples Federico II, which is currently under experimentation in Southern Italy, in the area covered by the Irpinia Seismic Network. The three Ionian islands selected for this study are located on the North-Western part of the Hellenic trench. Here the seismicity rate and the seismic hazard, coupled with the vulnerability of existing critical infrastructures, make this region among the highest seismic risk areas in Europe, where the application of Earthquake Early Warning systems may become a useful strategy to mitigate the potential damage caused by earthquakes. Here we studied the feasibility of implementing an Earthquake Early Warning system on an existing seismic network, which was not specifically made for earthquake early warning purposes, and evaluated the performance of the system, using a data set of real-earthquake recordings. We first describe the technical details of the implementation of PRESTo in the area of interest, including the preliminary parameter configuration and the empirical scaling relationship calibration. Then we evaluated the performance of the system through the off-line analysis of a database of real earthquake records belonging to the most recent M > 4.0 earthquakes occurred in the area. We evaluated the performance in terms of source parameter estimation (location, magnitude), accuracy of ground shaking prediction and lead-time analysis. Finally, we show the preliminary results of the real-time application of PRESTo, performed during the period 01–31 July 2019

Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a promising technique for eliciting referred tactile sensations in patients with limb amputation. Although several studies show the validity of this technique, its application in daily life and away from laboratories is limited by the need for more portable instrumentation that guarantees the necessary voltage and current requirements for proper sensory stimulation. This study proposes a low-cost, wearable high-voltage compliant current stimulator with four independent channels based on Components-Off-The-Shelf (COTS). This microcontroller-based system implements a voltage-current converter controllable through a digital-to-analog converter that delivers up to 25 mA to load up to 3.6 kΩ. The high-voltage compliance enables the system to adapt to variations in electrode-skin impedance, allowing it to stimulate loads over 10 kΩ with currents of 5 mA. The system was realized on a four-layer PCB (115.9 mm × 61 mm, 52 g). The functionality of the device was tested on resistive loads and on an equivalent skin-like RC circuit. Moreover, the possibility of implementing an amplitude modulation was demonstrated

Prune cAMP phosphodiesterase binds nm23-H1 and promotes cancer metastasis

We identify a new enzymatic activity underlying metastasis in breast cancer and describe its susceptibility to therapeutic inhibition. We show that human prune (h-prune), a phosphoesterase DHH family appertaining protein, has a hitherto unrecognized cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity effectively suppressed by dipyridamole, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. h-prune physically interacts with nm23-H1, a metastasis suppressor gene. The h-prune PDE activity, suppressed by dipyridamole and enhanced by the interaction with nm23-H1, stimulates cellular motility and metastasis processes. Out of 59 metastatic breast cancer cases analyzed, 22 (37%) were found to overexpress h-prune, evidence that this novel enzymatic activity is involved in promoting cancer metastasis

RIP1-HAT1-SirT complex identification and targeting in treatment and prevention of cancer

Purpose: Alteration in cell death is a hallmark of cancer. A functional role regulating survival, apoptosis, and necroptosis has been attributed to RIP1/3 complexes.Experimental Design: We have investigated the role of RIP1 and the effects of MC2494 in cell death induction, using different methods as flow cytometry, transcriptome analysis, immunoprecipitation, enzymatic assays, transfections, mutagenesis, and in vivo studies with different mice models.Results: Here, we show that RIP1 is highly expressed in cancer, and we define a novel RIP1/3-SIRT1/2-HAT1/4 complex. Mass spectrometry identified five acetylations in the kinase and death domain of RIP1. The novel characterized pan-SIRT inhibitor, MC2494, increases RIP1 acetylation at two additional sites in the death domain. Mutagenesis of the acetylated lysine decreases RIP1-dependent cell death, suggesting a role for acetylation of the RIP1 complex in cell death modulation. Accordingly, MC2494 displays tumor-selective potential in vitro, in leukemic blasts ex vivo, and in vivo in both xenograft and allograft cancer models. Mechanistically, MC2494 induces bona fide tumor-restricted acetylated RIP1/caspase-8-mediated apoptosis. Excitingly, MC2494 displays tumor-preventive activity by blocking 7,12-dimethylbenz(α)anthracene-induced mammary gland hyperproliferation in vivoConclusions: These preventive features might prove useful in patients who may benefit from a recurrence-preventive approach with low toxicity during follow-up phases and in cases of established cancer predisposition. Thus, targeting the newly identified RIP1 complex may represent an attractive novel paradigm in cancer treatment and prevention

Big data analytics capabilities and performance: Evidence from a moderated multi-mediation model

Big data analytics (BDA) have the power to revolutionize traditional ways of doing business. Nevertheless, the impact of BDA capabilities on a firm's performance is still not fully understood. These capabilities relate to the flexibility of the BDA infrastructure and the skills of the management and the firm's personnel. Most scholars explored the phenomenon from either a theoretical standpoint or neglected intermediate factors, such as organizational traits. This article builds on the dynamic capabilities view to propose and empirically test a model exploring whether organizational ambidexterity and agility mediate the relationship between BDA capabilities and organizational performance. Using data from surveys of 259 managers of large European organizations, we tested a proposed model using bootstrapped moderated mediation analysis. We found that organizational BDA capabilities affect a firm's ambidexterity and agility, which, in turn, affect its performance. These results establish ambidexterity and agility as positive mediators in the relationship between organizational BDA capabilities and a firm's performance. Furthermore, the organizational resistance to the implementation of information management systems and the fit between the organization and these systems also moderated this relationship. Practical implications for managers are also discussed. © 2019 Elsevier Inc

Negotiating sexuality and masculinity in school sport: An autoethnography

This autoethnography explores challenging and ethically sensitive issues around sexual orientation, sexual identity and masculinity in the context of school sport. Through storytelling, I aim to show how sometimes ambiguous encounters with heterosexism, homophobia and hegemonic masculinity through sport problematise identity development for young same-sex attracted males. By foregrounding personal embodied experience, I respond to an absence of stories of gay and bisexual experiences among males in physical education and school sport, in an effort to reduce a continuing sense of Otherness and difference regarding same-sex attracted males. I rely on the story itself to express the embodied forms of knowing that inhabit the experiences I describe, and resist a finalising interpretation of the story. Instead, I offer personal reflections on particular theoretical and methodological issues which relate to both the form and content of the story