East and west separation of Rhipicephalus sanguineus mitochondrial lineages in the Mediterranean Basin

Background: Rhipicephalus sanguineus belongs to a complex of hard tick species with high veterinary-medical significance. Recently, new phylogenetic units have been discovered within R. sanguineus, which therefore needs taxonomic revision. The present study was initiated to provide new information on the phylogeography of relevant haplotypes from less studied regions of Europe and Africa. With this aim, molecular-phylogenetic analyses of two mitochondrial markers were performed on 50 ticks collected in Hungary, the Balkans, countries along the Mediterranean Sea, Kenya and Ivory Coast. Results: In the "temperate lineage" of R. sanguineus, based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and 16S rRNA genes, Rhipicephalus sp. I was only found in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Basin (with relatively homogenous haplotypes), whereas Rhipicephalus sp. II occurred in the middle-to-western part of this region (with phylogenetically dichotomous haplotypes). Ticks identified as R. leporis (based on morphology and cox1 gene) were found in Kenya and Ivory Coast. These clustered phylogenetically within R. sanguineus (s.l.) ("tropical lineage"). Conclusions: In the Mediterranean Basin two mitochondrial lineages of R. sanguineus, i. e. Rhipicephalus sp. I and Rhipicephalus sp. II exist, which show different geographical distribution. Therefore, data from this study confirm limited gene flow between Rhipicephalus sp. I and Rhipicephalus sp. II, but more evidence (analyses of nuclear markers, extensive morphological and biological comparison etc.) are necessary to infer if they belong to different species or not. The phylogenetic relationships of eastern and western African ticks, which align with R. leporis, need to be studied further within R. sanguineus (s.l.) ("tropical lineage")

Shear wave velocity prediction using seismic attributes and well log data

Formation’s properties can be estimated indirectly using joint analysis of compressional and shear wave velocities. Shear wave data isnot usually acquired during well logging, which is most likely for costsaving purposes. Even if shear data is available, the logging programs provide only sparsely sampled one-dimensional measurements: this informationis inadequate to estimate reservoir rock properties. Thus, if the shear wave data can be obtained using seismic methods, the results can be used across the field to estimate reservoir properties. The aim of this paper is to use seismic attributes for prediction of shear wave velocity in a field located in southern part of Iran. Independent component analysis(ICA) was used to select the most relevant attributes to shear velocity data. Considering the nonlinear relationship between seismic attributes and shear wave velocity, multi-layer feed forward neural network was used for prediction of shear wave velocity and promising results were presented

Rheological properties of magma from the 1538 eruption of Monte Nuovo (Phlegrean Fields, Italy): An experimental study

The rheology of natural, partially crystallized samples from Monte Nuovo (1538 AD) eruption have been investigated using a high temperature, high pressure internally heated pressure vessel. Within the temperature interval of investigation the samples exhibited Newtonian rheology at deformation strain rates up to 10−4 s−1. At higher strain rates a decrease of viscosity with increasing strain rate (shear thinning), eventually terminating in a sudden viscosity drop (stress weakening), was observed. Stress weakening occurred at higher applied strain rates and stresses with increasing temperature. The microstructural analyses of the samples revealed that stress weakening resulted from strain localization, which occurred in brittle and viscous regimes at the lowest and highest temperatures investigated respectively. The different rheological behaviors of the investigated material is likely responsible for the changes in the dynamics of magma ascent within the volcanic conduit during the eruption of Monte Nuovo volcano. We infer that the occurrence of syn-eruptive decompression driven crystallization, observed in previous studies, induced strong variations in the rheological properties of magma, which in turn was responsible for the changes of eruptive style observed during the Monte Nuovo eruption

Management of paediatric maxillofacial fractures: conventional methods and resorbable materials

To compare the outcomes between the use of resorbable plates and screws and the conventional methods in children with paediatric maxillofacial fractures

Mandibular condyle fractures: evaluation of the Strasbourg Osteosynthesis Research Group classification.

Condylar fractures (CFs) are about 30\% of mandibular fractures. Condylar fractures are treated with several protocols, and unsatisfying outcome is achieved in some cases. A staging system for classifying CFs is of paramount importance to plan therapy, to define prognosis, and to exchange information among trauma centers. The Strasbourg Osteosynthesis Research Group proposed a classification system for CFs, but no report focusing to its effectiveness is still available. Thus, we performed a retrospective study on a series of patients affected by CFs.The Strasbourg Osteosynthesis Research Group classification defines 3 main types of CFs: diacapitular fracture (i.e., through the head of the condyle [DF]), fracture of the condylar neck, and fracture of the condylar base (CBF). A series of 66 patients (and 84 CFs) was evaluated, and age, sex, clinical diagnosis at admission, treatment, and outcome were considered.Fractures of the condylar base and DFs are the most (52.4\%) and the least (4.8\%) frequent fractures, respectively. Conversely, associated fractures of the facial skeleton are found in most cases of DFs (75\%) and in few cases of CBFs (20.5\%). Surgery was performed in about 15\% of all cases: no DF was operated, whereas fractures of the condylar neck and CBFs have an open reduction and an internal rigid fixation in 57\% and 43\%, respectively. Postsurgical and late sequelae were 22.3\% and 19\%. Temporomandibular joint symptoms and malocclusion cover about 80\% and 90\% of postsurgical and late sequelae.The new classification is a simple method to define CFs and can give some elements about the prognosis