Predicting Earthquake-Induced Landslides by Using a Stochastic Modeling Approach: A Case Study of the 2001 El Salvador Coseismic Landslides

In January and February 2001, El Salvador was hit by two strong earthquakes that triggered thousands of landslides, causing 1259 fatalities and extensive damage. The analysis of aerial and SPOT-4 satellite images allowed us to map 6491 coseismic landslides, mainly debris slides and flows that occurred in volcanic epiclastites and pyroclastites. Four different multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) models were produced using different predictors and landslide inventories which contain slope failures triggered by an extreme rainfall event in 2009 and those induced by the earthquakes of 2001. In a predictive analysis, three validation scenarios were employed: the first and the second included 25% and 95% of the landslides, respectively, while the third was based on a k-fold spatial cross-validation. The results of our analysis revealed that: (i) the MARS algorithm provides reliable predictions of coseismic landslides; (ii) a better ability to predict coseismic slope failures was observed when including susceptibility to rainfall-triggered landslides as an independent variable; (iii) the best accuracy is achieved by models trained with both preparatory and trigger variables; (iv) an incomplete inventory of coseismic slope failures built just after the earthquake event can be used to identify potential locations of yet unreported landslides

"Volentes pro meliori ... providere ... super ludo": provvedimenti sul gioco per i territori veneziani (secoli XIII-XVI). Ricognizioni preliminari.

Ricognizione e analisi della normativa sul gioco prodotta, fra medioevo ed età moderna, da Venezia per i territori soggetti come premessa per una politica ludica sovracittadina

Expression of phospholipase C genes in cultured endothelial cells

During inflammation, endothelial cells (EC) are the first elements to be exposed to mediators circulating in the bloodstream. EC react with finely tuned responses mediated by different pathways, including the Phosphoinositide (PI) signal transduction system. The PI pathway contributes to a variety of cell functions, including hormone secretion, neurotransmitter signal transduction, cell growth, membrane trafficking, ion channel activity, cytoskeleton regulation, cell cycle control, apoptosis, embryonic development, organogenesis, and cell/tissue polarity. The Phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) enzymes contribute to the regulation of the spatio-temporal balance of molecules belonging to the PI system. Thirteen mammalian PI-PLC enzymes have been identified, divided into six sub-families on the basis of amino acid sequence, domain structure and mechanism of recruitment. Isoforms within sub-families share sequence similarity, common domain organization, and general regulatory mechanism. The expression of PI-PLCs is strictly tissue specific, and evidences suggest that it varies under different conditions, such as tumor progression or cell activation. We obtained the complete panel of expression of PI-PLC isoforms in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), a widely used experimental model for EC. Then, we analyzed the mRNA concentration of PI-PLCs in LPS treated HUVEC by using the multiliquid bioanalyzer methodology after 3, 6, 24 48 and 72 hours from LPS administration. Marked differences in the expression of most PI-PLC codifying genes were evident

Local variability of the ground shaking during the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake (April 6, 2009—Mw 6.3): the case study of Onna and Monticchio villages

The 2009 Mw 6.3 L’Aquila event caused extensive damage in the city of L’Aquila and in some small towns in its vicinity. The most severe damage was recognized SE of L’Aquila town along the Aterno river valley. Although building vulnerability and near-source effects are strongly responsible for the high level of destruction, site effects have been invoked to explain the damage heterogeneities and the similarities between the 2009 macroseismic field with the intensities of historical earthquakes. The small village of Onna is settled on quaternary alluvium and suffered during the L’Aquila event an extremely heavy damage in the masonry structures with intensity IX–X on the Mercalli-Cancani-Sieberg (MCS) scale. The village of Monticchio, far less than 1.3 km from Onna, is mostly situated on Meso- zoic limestone and suffered a smaller level of damaging (VI MCS). In the present paper, we analyze the aftershock recordings at seismic stations deployed in a small area of the middle-Aterno valley including Onna and Monticchio. The aim is to investigate local ampli-fication effects caused by the near-surface geology. Because the seismological stations are close together, vulnerability and near-source effects are assumed to be constant. The wave- form analysis shows that the ground motion at Onna is systematically characterized by large high-frequency content. The frequency resonance is varying from 2 to 3 Hz and it is related to alluvial sediments with a thickness of about 40 m that overlay a stiffer Pleistocene substrate. The ground motion recordings of Onna are well reproduced by the predictive equation for the Italian territory.Published783-8072T. Sorgente SismicaJCR Journalreserve

The COVID-related mental health load of neonatal healthcare professionals: a multicenter study in Italy

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected healthcare professionals’ lives. We investigated the potential mental health risk faced by healthcare professionals working in neonatal units in a multicentre cross-sectional observational study. Methods: We included all healthcare personnel of seven level-3 and six level-2 neonatal units in Tuscany, Italy. We measured the level of physical exposure to COVID-19 risk, self-reported pandemic-related stress, and mental health load outcomes (anxiety, depression, burnout, psychosomatic symptoms, and post-traumatic symptoms) using validated, self-administered, online questionnaires during the second pandemic wave in Italy (October 2020 to March 2021). Results: We analyzed 314 complete answers. Scores above the clinical cutoff were reported by 91% of participants for symptoms of anxiety, 29% for post-traumatic symptoms, 13% for burnout, and 3% for symptoms of depression. Moreover, 50% of the participants reported at least one psychosomatic symptom. Pandemic-related stress was significantly associated with all the measured mental health load outcomes, with an Odds Ratio of 3.31 (95% confidence interval: 1.87, 5.88) for clinically relevant anxiety, 2.46 (1.73, 3.49) for post-traumatic symptoms, 1.80 (1.17, 2.79) for emotional exhaustion, and 2.75 (1.05, 7.19) for depression. Female health care professionals displayed a greater risk of anxiety, and male health care professionals and nurses, of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Despite the low direct clinical impact of COVID-19 in newborns, neonatal professionals, due to both living in a situation of uncertainty and personal exposure to contacts with parents and other relatives of the newborns, and having to carry out activities once routine and now fraught with uncertainty, displayed clear signs of mental health load outcomes. They must be considered a specific population at risk for psychological consequences during the pandemic

Evaluation of site effects in the Aterno river valley (Central Italy) from aftershocks of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake

A temporary network of 33 seismic stations was deployed in the area struck by the 6th April 2009, Mw 6.3, L’Aquila earthquake (central Italy), with the aim to investigate the site amplification within the Aterno river Valley. The seismograms of 18 earthquakes recorded by 14 of the 33 stations were used to evaluate the average horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) for each site and the standard horizontal spectral ratio (SSR) between a site and a reference station. The obtained results have been compared to the geological and geophysical information in order to explain the resonance frequencies and the amplification levels with respect to surface geology of the valley. The result indicate that there is no uniform pattern of amplification, due to the complex geologic setting, as the thickness and degree of cementation of the deposits is highly variable. As consequence, a large number of the local site response is observed, therefore it is very difficult to elaborate a unique model that can explain such a variability of the amplification.Published697-7154.1. Metodologie sismologiche per l'ingegneria sismicaJCR Journalpartially_ope

Evaluation of the local site effects in the upper and middle Aterno valley

In the months following the April 6th, 2009, L’Aquila earthquake, several Italian and foreign research institutions installed dozens of seismic stations to monitor more than 100 localities with the aim of studying the local site effects in the epicentral area (upper and middle Aterno valley). The stations (accelerometers and velocimeters) have been deployed inside or very close to the inhabited areas. Among the investigated sites there are Onna, where almost the totality of the buildings collapsed, and the historic centre of L’Aquila, both towns suffering many casualties. The preliminary results for the examined sites show an extreme variability of ground motion and significant amplification for the most damaged localities.In press4.1. Metodologie sismologiche per l'ingegneria sismicaN/A or not JCRope

Rapid response to the earthquake emergency of May 2012 in the Po Plain, northern Italy

No abstrac

Il papato nel Medioevo

Ricostruzione critica della storia del papato in epoca tardoantica e medievale, dalla cristianizzazione dell'impero romano fino al XV secolo, seguendo lo sviluppo dell’istituzione sia all'interno della chiesa cattolica sia in rapporto alla società laica nel suo complesso. Viene illustrato il graduale processo attraverso cui si definirono, in sede teorica e nel concreto, il ruolo e le prerogative specifiche del pontefice romano in seno alle istituzioni ecclesiastiche. E' inoltre preso in esame il rapporto che il papato ebbe con l'altra autorità universale, l'impero, dapprima romano-cristiano e bizantino e poi occidentale, nel lungo contenzioso per stabilire a chi spettasse la supremazia su tutta la società cristiana. Infine, ci si sofferma sulla particolare configurazione che il papato romano assunse alla fine dell'età medievale, dopo lo scontro con la nuova realtà politica delle monarchie nazionali, nell’epoca del conflitto con le tendenze conciliariste emerse all'interno della chiesa e della prima costituzione di un vero e proprio "stato territoriale" pontificio nel cuore della penisola italiana