Age and Depositional Environment of Whale-Bearing Sedimentary Succession from the Lower Pliocene of Tuscany (Italy): Insights from Palaeomagnetism, Calcareous Microfossils and Facies Analyses

A c. 31 m thick section straddling the fossil find of an Early Pliocene baleen whale ("Brunella", hereafter), made in 2007 in the sedimentary fill of the Middle Ombrone Basin of Tuscany, is investigated for depositional age and environment combining palaeomagnetic, micropalaeontological (Foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils) and sedimentary facies analyses. Resting unconformably onto Late Miocene continental deposits, the Early Pliocene marine deposits include, from bottom to top, a coarse-grained wave-winnowing lag, the few metres-thick fossiliferous sandstone bedset from which Brunella was unearthed, and several metres of clays. The stratigraphic organisation of these deposits indicate deposition in a deepening upward inner shelf environment. Successful isolation of characteristic remanent magnetisation and calcareous nannofossil content indicate the investigated marine section was deposited during the interval of polarity Chron C3n.2n corresponding to the basal part of the Mediterranean nannofossil zone MNN13 (between Helicosphaera sellii Base common and the Amaurolithus primus Top) and allow estimating the depositional age of Brunella to c. 4.6 Ma. Sedimentary facies, benthic Foraminifera association and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility characterising the deposits that embedded Brunella suggest deposition above the fair-weather base level

Covid-19 and the role of smoking: The protocol of the multicentric prospective study COSMO-IT (covid19 and smoking in italy)

The emergency caused by Covid-19 pandemic raised interest in studying lifestyles and comorbidities as important determinants of poor Covid-19 prognosis. Data on tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity are still limited, while no data are available on the role of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTP). To clarify the role of tobacco smoking and other lifestyle habits on COVID-19 severity and progression, we designed a longitudinal observational study titled COvid19 and SMOking in ITaly (COSMO-IT). About 30 Italian hospitals in North, Centre and South of Italy joined the study. Its main aims are: 1) to quantify the role of tobacco smoking and smoking cessation on the severity and progression of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients; 2) to compare smoking prevalence and severity of the disease in relation to smoking in hospitalized COVID-19 patients versus patients treated at home; 3) to quantify the association between other lifestyle factors, such as e-cigarette and HTP use, alcohol and obesity and the risk of unfavourable COVID-19 outcomes. Socio-demographic, lifestyle and medical history information will be gathered for around 3000 hospitalized and 700-1000 home-isolated, laboratory-confirmed, COVID-19 patients. Given the current absence of a vaccine against SARS-COV-2 and the lack of a specific treatment for COVID-19, prevention strategies are of extreme importance. This project, designed to highly contribute to the international scientific debate on the role of avoidable lifestyle habits on COVID-19 severity, will provide valuable epidemiological data in order to support important recommendations to prevent COVID-19 incidence, progression and mortality

The POEMMA (Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics) mission

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is designed to observe cosmic neutrinos (CNs) above 20 PeV and ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) above 20 EeV over the full sky. The POEMMA mission calls for two identical satellites flying in loose formation, each comprised of a 4-meter wide field-of-view (45 degrees) Schmidt photometer. The hybrid focal surface includes a fast (1 ${\mu}$s) ultraviolet camera for fluorescence observations and an ultrafast (10 ns) optical camera for Cherenkov observations. POEMMA will provide new multi-messenger windows onto the most energetic events in the universe, enabling the study of new astrophysics and particle physics at these otherwise inaccessible energies.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, presented in 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference (Madison). arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1907.0621

The Comparative Osteology of the Petrotympanic Complex (Ear Region) of Extant Baleen Whales (Cetacea: Mysticeti)

Anatomical comparisons of the ear region of baleen whales (Mysticeti) are provided through detailed osteological descriptions and high-resolution photographs of the petrotympanic complex (tympanic bulla and petrosal bone) of all extant species of mysticete cetaceans. Salient morphological features are illustrated and identified, including overall shape of the bulla, size of the conical process of the bulla, morphology of the promontorium, and the size and shape of the anterior process of the petrosal. We place our comparative osteological observations into a phylogenetic context in order to initiate an exploration into petrotympanic evolution within Mysticeti.The morphology of the petrotympanic complex is diagnostic for individual species of baleen whale (e.g., sigmoid and conical processes positioned at midline of bulla in Balaenoptera musculus; confluence of fenestra cochleae and perilymphatic foramen in Eschrichtius robustus), and several mysticete clades are united by derived characteristics. Balaenids and neobalaenids share derived features of the bulla, such as a rhomboid shape and a reduced anterior lobe (swelling) in ventral aspect, and eschrichtiids share derived morphologies of the petrosal with balaenopterids, including loss of a medial promontory groove and dorsomedial elongation of the promontorium. Monophyly of Balaenoidea (Balaenidae and Neobalaenidae) and Balaenopteroidea (Balaenopteridae and Eschrichtiidae) was recovered in phylogenetic analyses utilizing data exclusively from the petrotympanic complex.This study fills a major gap in our knowledge of the complex structures of the mysticete petrotympanic complex, which is an important anatomical region for the interpretation of the evolutionary history of mammals. In addition, we introduce a novel body of phylogenetically informative characters from the ear region of mysticetes. Our detailed anatomical descriptions, illustrations, and comparisons provide valuable data for current and future studies on the phylogenetic relationships, evolution, and auditory physiology of mysticetes and other cetaceans throughout Earth's history

The Roadmap to the POEMMA mission

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is designed to observe ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and cosmic neutrinos from space with sensitivity over the full celestial sky. Developed as a NASA Astrophysics Probe-class mission, POEMMA consists of two identical telescopes orbiting the Earth in a loose formation designed to observe extensive air showers (EAS) via air fluorescence and Cherenkov emissions. UHECRs and UHE neutrinos above 20 EeV are observed with the stereo fluorescence technique, while tau neutrinos above 20 PeV are observed via the optical Cherenkov signals produced by up-going EAS generated by the decay of Earth-emerging tau-leptons. The POEMMA satellites are designed to quickly re-orientate to follow up transient cosmic neutrino candidate sources and obtain unparalleled neutrino flux sensitivity. Both observation techniques and the instrument design are being validated by current and upcoming missions, such as Mini-EUSO and EUSO-SPB as part of the JEM-EUSO program, and the Terzina instrument onboard the NUSES SmallSat mission. We discuss the POEMMA science performance and the current roadmap to the POEMMA mission

Simulating the performance of the Southern Wide-view Gamma-ray Observatory

The Southern Wide-view Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) will be a next-generation gamma-ray observatory using a large array of particle detectors at a high elevation site in South America. This project is currently in a three years R&D phase in which the design will be optimised for cost and performance. Therefore it is crucial to efficiently evaluate the impact of different design options on the scientific objectives of the observatory. In this contribution, we will introduce the strategy and the simulation framework in which this evaluation takes place

Study of water Cherenkov detector designs for the SWGO experiment

The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) is a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray detector under development to reach a full sky coverage together with the current HAWC and LHAASO experiments in the northern hemisphere. It will complement the observation of transient and variable multi-wavelength and multi-messenger phenomena, offering moreover the possibility to access the Galactic Centre. One of the possible SWGO configurations consists of an array of water Cherenkov tanks, with a high fill-factor inner array and a low-density outer array, covering an overall area of one order of magnitude larger than HAWC. To reach a high detection efficiency and discrimination capability between gamma-ray and hadronic air showers, various tank designs were studied. Double-layer tanks with several sizes, shapes and number of photomultiplier tubes have been considered. Single-particle simulations have been performed to study the tank response, using muons, electrons, and gamma-rays with energies typical of extensive air showers particles, entering the tanks with zenith angles from 0 to 60 degrees. The tank response was evaluated considering the particle detection efficiency, the number of photoelectrons produced by the photomultiplier tubes, and the time resolution of the measurement of the first photon. The study allowed to compare the performance of tanks with circular and square base, to understand which design optimizes the performance of the array. The method used in the study and the results will be discussed in this paper

The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory reach for Primordial Black Hole evaporation

The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) is a proposed ground-based gamma-ray detector that will be located in the Southern Hemisphere and is currently in its design phase. In this contribution, we will outline the prospects for Galactic science with this Observatory. Particular focus will be given to the detectability of extended sources, such as gamma-ray halos around pulsars; optimisation of the angular resolution to mitigate source confusion between known TeV sources; and studies of the energy resolution and sensitivity required to study the spectral features of PeVatrons at the highest energies. Such a facility will ideally complement contemporaneous observatories in studies of high energy astrophysical processes in our Galaxy

Lake Deployment of Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) Detector Units

The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) will be a next-generation high altitude gamma-ray survey observatory in the southern hemisphere consisting of an array of water cherenkov detectors. With its energy range, wide field of view, large duty cycle and location it will complement the other existing and planned gamma-ray observatories. In this contribution we describe the lake concept for SWGO, an alternative to a HAWC-like design with individual water tanks and a LHAASO-style design with artificial ponds. In the lake concept, bladders filled with clean water are deployed near the surface of a natural lake, where each bladder is a light-tight stand-alone unit containing one or more photosensors. We will give an overview of the advantages and challenges for this design concept and describe the first results obtained from prototyping