Integration of HVSR measures and stratigraphic constraints for seismic microzonation studies: the case of Oliveri (ME)

Because of its high seismic hazard the urban area of Oliveri has been subject of first level seismic microzonation. The town develops on a large coastal plain made of mixed fluvial/marine sediments, overlapping a complexly deformed substrate. In order to identify points on the area probably suffering relevant site effects and define a preliminary Vs subsurface model for the first level of microzonation, we performed 23 HVSR measurements. A clustering technique of continuous signals has been used to optimize the calculation of the HVSR curves. 42 reliable peaks of the H/V spectra in the frequency range 0.6–10 Hz have been identified. A second clustering technique has been applied to the set of 42 vectors, containing Cartesian coordinates, central frequency and amplitude of each peak to identify subsets which can be attributed to continuous spatial phenomena. The algorithm has identified three main clusters that cover significant parts of the territory of Oliveri. The HVSR data inversion has been constrained by stratigraphic data of a borehole. To map the trend of the roof of the seismic bedrock, from the complete set of model parameters only the depth of the seismic interface that generates peaks fitting those belonging to two clusters characterized by lower frequency has been extracted

Ambiente e clima della Sicilia durante gli ultimi 20 mila anni

Environment and Climate in Sicily over the last 20, 000 years. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2010). A series of recent studies shed light on the central Mediterranean, and Sicily, climate and environment, starting from the last glacial maximum (about 20 ka cal BP). In the present paper, we examine most of these works, in order to unravel environmental changes of the past, mainly in terms of temperature, atmospheric pattern, precipitation, vegetation and faunal associations. The climate of the last glacial maximum was characterised by very low temperature and by repeated northerlies penetration, even during summer. Low precipitation values led to a steppe- or semisteppe-like vegetation pattern, dominated by herbs and shrubs. Episodes of climatic anomaly, characterised by lower temperature and strengthened wind activity, could have occurred during the Holocene, as testified by micropaleontological and geochemical investigations carried out on the southern Tyrrhenian Sea and in the northern Sicily Channel. In the terrestrial record, there is evidence of drought at 8.2 ka cal BP, from the isotopic composition of a stalagmite recovered near Palermo, and of prolonged drought intervals during the Little Ice Age in the Erice village (Trapani). The vegetation pattern shows the development of Mediterranean Maquis in coastal sites and deciduous forests in sub-montane and montane regions, approximately from the Holocene base. The human impact is the main factor that forced the present vegetation pattern, as a consequence of intensive land-use, which started about 2.7 ka cal BP, when Greek colonies were first established. Human activity is however superimposed on a natural trend towards aridity, with climatic forces still not fully understood

Effects of Sacubitril/Valsartan on Exercise Capacity in Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction and the Role of Percentage of Delayed Enhancement Measured by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Predicting Therapeutic Response: A Multicentre Study

Background: This study aims to evaluate the cardiopulmonary effects of sacubitril/valsartan therapy in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), investigating a possible correlation with the degree of myocardial fibrosis, as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance. Methods: A total of 134 outpatients with HFrEF were enrolled. Results: After a mean follow-up of 13.3 ± 6.6 months, an improvement in ejection fraction and a reduction in E/A ratio, inferior vena cava size and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels were observed. At follow-up, we observed an increase in VO2 peak of 16% (p34 (OR 3.98; 95% CI [1.59–10.54]; p=0.0028); ventilatory oscillatory pattern (OR 4.65; 95% CI [1.55–16.13]; p=0.0052); and haemoglobin level (OR 0.35; 95% CI [0.21–0.55]; p4.6% was detected, a lower response after sacubitril/valsartan therapy was observed as expressed by improvement in ΔVO2 peak, O2 pulse, LVEF and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. No significant differences were observed in ΔVO2/Δ work and VE/VCO2 slope. Conclusion: Sacubitril/valsartan improves cardiopulmonary functional capacity in HFrEF patients. The presence of myocardial fibrosis on cardiac magnetic resonance is a predictor of response to therapy

La campagna di Russia

Il volume raccoglie gli interventi del convegno internazionale di studi Russian Front Convention, tenuto il 23 novembre 2010 presso la Sapienza, Università di Roma. I contributi consentono un confronto e un approfondimento sul tema della guerra sul fronte russo nel secondo conflitto mondiale, coinvolgendo relatori civili e militari provenienti dai diversi Paesi coinvolti nella drammatica esperienza storica. Vengono analizzati un’ampia gamma di argomenti relativi al conflitto: le operazioni militari, i conflitti etnici, la lotta partigiana, i prigionieri, la memoria. Antonello Biagini professore ordinario di Storia dell’Europa orientale presso la Facoltà di Filosofia, Lettere, Scienze Umanistiche e Studi Orientali e Prorettore alla Cooperazione e ai Rapporti Internazionali della Sapienza Università di Roma. Ha insegnato presso le Università di Perugia e di Messina, è stato componente del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche e coordinatore nazionale del progetto strategico CNR “Il sistema Mediterraneo: radici storiche e culturali e specificità nazionali”. Ha ricevuto la Laurea in Storia honoris causa dall’Università Petru Maior di Târgu Mures (Romania) e dall’Università di Szeged (Ungheria), l’onorificenza Pro cultura Hungarica del governo ungherese e quella di Ofiter Ordinul National Serviciul Credincios della Repubblica di Romania. Ispettore onorario degli Archivi di Stato, fa parte di diversi consigli scientifici e istituzioni culturali, è consulente dell’Ufficio Storico dell’Esercito e presidente del Comitato di Roma per la Storia del Risorgimento Italiano. Antonino Zarcone dall’aprile del 2007 ha assunto l’incarico di Capo Ufficio Storico. Laureato in Scienze Strategiche all’Università di Torino e in Scienze Diplomatiche ed Internazionali all’Università di Trieste, ha il Master in Scienze Strategiche dell’Università di Torino ed in Studi Internazionali Strategico Militari dell’Università di Milano, in Comunicazione Istituzionale presso l’Università di Tor Vergata di Roma. Coautore di Dalla Grande Guerra ad una Grande Forza, del libro in inglese From World War I, a Great Force, curatore di Vita di guerra. Ettore Viola ed autore di saggi storici e convegni sulla prima e seconda guerra mondiale e sulla guerra di Liberazione e l’internamento militare in Germania. Vincitore del Premio Carducci 2008 per la saggistica storica.This work contains the papers of the international conference of the studies of the Russian Front Convention, held on November 23, 2010 at Sapienza University of Rome. The contributions allow a discussion and an in-depth analysis about the war on the Russian front in World War II, of civil and military speakers from the various countries involved in the dramatic historical experience. A wide range of topics related to the conflict are analyzed: military operations, ethnic conflicts, guerrilla warfare, prisoners, memory. Antonello Biagini is a Professor of East European History at the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters, Humanities and Oriental Studies and the Vice-Rector for International Relations and Cooperation of the Sapienza University of Rome. He has taught at the universities of Perugia and Messina, he was a member of the National Research Council and the National Coordinator of the strategic project of the National Research Council “The Mediterranean system: historical and cultura

Contribution of HVSR measures for seismic microzonation studies

The HVSR method applied to seismic noise can be a very useful technique to map the site effects of the territory, to identify the thickness of the soft covering and so the depth of the seismic bedrock. The case of the urban area of Oliveri is presented. Because of its high seismic hazard this area has been subject of first level seismic microzonation. The town lies on a large coastal plain made of mixed fluvial/marine sediments, overlapping a deformed substrate. In order to identify points on the area probably suffering of relevant site effects and to define a preliminary Vs subsurface model, 23 HVSR measurements were performed. A clustering technique of continuous signals has been used to optimize the calculation of the HVSR curves and 42 reliable peaks, in the frequency range 0.1-20 Hz, have been identified. A second clustering technique has been applied to the set of 42 vectors, containing coordinates, frequency and amplitude of each peak, to identify subsets attributed to the same seismic discontinuities. Three main clusters have been identified. The two characterized by lower frequencies have been considered in the HVSR data inversion, as stratigraphic peaks probably caused by the seismic bedrock. Finally, the morphology of the top of the seismic bedrock has been mapped. The deepening of the seismic bedrock below the mouth of the Elicona Torrent suggests the possible presence of a buried paleo-valley

The integration of surface and subsurface stratigraphic data with HVSR measures for studies of seismic microzonation: the case of Oliveri (ME)

Because of its high seismic hazard the urban area of Oliveri has been subject of a study on seismic microzonation at first level (OPCM 3907/2010). The urban area develops on a large coastal plain made of Late Pleistocene and Holocene mixed fluvial/marine sediments, that mainly consist of silty sands and gravels. The eastern part of this plain is dominated by the alluvial deposits of the Elicona torrent. The coastal and alluvial sediments overlap a complexly deformed substrate made of Hercynian metamorphites (Aspromonte unit), the Capo d’Orlando Flysch, the Antisicilide Argille Scagliose and Pleistocene clays and calcarenites. This area is affected by high uplift rates as recently estimated in the adjacent Furnari zone. In order to define a preliminary subsurface model for the first level of microzonation, we performed 23 HVSR measurements, homogeneously distributed in the area with a minimum spacing of 250 m, integrating a few available well-log data. All the significant peaks of the H/V spectra in the frequency range 0.6-10 Hz have been identified. Their attribution to resonance phenomena of buried structures has been validated in agreement with SESAME criteria, sample standard deviation of the spectral coefficients and independence from the azimuth. A set of 23 vectors, containing Cartesian coordinates, central frequency and amplitude for each peak was used to identify a subsets which can be reasonably attributed to a continuous phenomenon with respect to the position, using a clustering technique. The outlier peaks were attributed to minor topographic sources or to features of the source noise and therefore they were not considered. Two clusters related to sets of points that cover a significant fraction of the investigated area were used to construct two different frequency maps by kriging interpolation. From the HVSR curves of the two clusters 1D models of S-wave velocity have been obtained. The HVSR data inversion has been constrained by stratigraphic data of a near borehole and by the related vertical seismic profile. To map the depth of the seismic bedrock, from the complete set of modelparameters we extracted only the depths of two seismic interfaces. The depth of an interface was set equal to zero where the peak related to the resonance frequency of the covering layer is absent and lithologies, mechanically compatible with seismic bedrock, outcrop. The reconstructed outline of the top of the seismic bedrock allow us to highlight its deepening below the mouth of the Elicona Torrent, thus suggesting the possible presence of a buried paleo-valley

Integration of stratigraphic data with HVSR measures for studies of seismic microzonation: the case of Oliveri (ME)

The seismic microzoning is a technique of analysis of a territory which aims to recognize, at a small scale, the local geological and geomorphologic conditions that may significantly affect the characteristics of the seismic motion, generating stress on structures that could produce permanent and critical effects. In other words, this technique has the objective to predict and evaluate possible site effects as a result of an earthquake. The first phase of the seismic microzoning is the detailed partition of the territory in homogeneous areas with respect to the expected behavior of soils during an earthquake. The seismic micro-zoning is a tool for prevention and reduction of seismic risk particularly effective when used already in the process of planning. The present paper focus on a recent study applied to the Oliveri, a coastal village settled on a coastal plain in north-eastern Sicily