Le tracce del terremoto del 1908 nell'ambiente naturale

Importanti sconvolgimenti, conseguenti il terremoto di Messina del 26 dicembre 1908, segnarono il paesaggio in una vasta parte della Calabria e della Sicilia, e in modo particolarmente incisivo nell’area delle maggiori distruzioni. Il censimento sistematico di questi effetti mette in evidenza la grande vulnerabilità dell’area dello Stretto, l’assenza di fenomeni interpretabili in modo certo come effetti di fagliazione superficiale e suggerisce, in particolare per le aree della Sicilia centro–meridionale e occidentale, la presenza di particolari effetti di amplificazione (effetti di sito) in correlazione con forti terremoti come l’evento sismico avvenuto il 28 dicembre 1908

Cento anni di studi scientifici sul terremoto e maremoto del 1908

Il terremoto del 28 dicembre 1908 è stato un importante oggetto di studio nel corso del tempo da parte di un gran numero non solo di geologi e sismologi, ma anche di architetti, urbanisti, storici e medici. Un bilancio complessivo degli studi sul terremoto del 1908, come oggetto ispiratore, dovrebbe quindi comprendere un arco disciplinare molto vasto, mentre la bibliografia qui presentata comprende solo studi sviluppati nel campo delle scienze della Terra, focalizzati su questo evento o, più in generale, studi nei quali questo terremoto costituisce un elemento importante delle analisi sviluppate. Sono state selezionate 281 pubblicazioni, tra articoli scientifici e studi monografici, suddivisi per anno di pubblicazione. Una bibliografia relativa a un secolo di pubblicazioni sul grande evento sismico, evidenzia che quello del 1908 è il caso più studiato in Italia dalla sismologia e dalla geologia, ma anche un oggetto di studi di interesse internazionale. Dai primissimi lavori di Mercalli, Baratta, Taramelli, agli “storici” contributi del sismologo giapponese Omori, e fino agli ultimi agguerriti studi di ingegneria e di geologia, per valutare la pericolosità sismica dello Stretto, questo terremoto è ancora un centro nevralgico di analisi, calcoli e ipotesi, un vero e proprio laboratorio

Progetto Terra più Sicura: i rischi geologici e la loro prevenzione spiegati agli studenti delle scuole secondarie di primo grado

L'associazione Geologia Senza Frontiere onlus (www.gsf.it) è nata nel 2003 dalla volontà di un gruppo di geologi, ambientalisti e naturalisti di dare una prospettiva comune alle competenze conseguite nell'ambito della ricerca universitaria, dell'attività professionale e della cooperazione. Durante l'anno scolastico 2013-2014 Geologia Senza Frontiere ha ideato e realizzato il progetto Terra più Sicura (TpS), volto all'insegnamento dei rischi geologici in scuole secondarie di primo grado di Lazio, Toscana e Veneto. Gli obiettivi del progetto sono stati in particolare l'avvicinamento di studenti ed insegnanti ai problemi della sicurezza del territorio, dei rischi in esso presenti, oltre a come prevenire ed affrontare in maniera consapevole e corretta le emergenze naturali

Adipose Stromal/Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Potential Next-Generation Anti-Obesity Agents

Over the last decade, several compounds have been identified for the treatment of obesity. However, due to the complexity of the disease, many pharmacological interventions have raised concerns about their efficacy and safety. Therefore, it is important to discover new factors involved in the induction/progression of obesity. Adipose stromal/stem cells (ASCs), which are mostly isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue, are the primary cells contributing to the expansion of fat mass. Like other cells, ASCs release nanoparticles known as extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are being actively studied for their potential applications in a variety of diseases. Here, we focused on the importance of the con-tribution of ASC-derived EVs in the regulation of metabolic processes. In addition, we outlined the advantages/disadvantages of the use of EVs as potential next-generation anti-obesity agents

Naming fMRI predicts the effect of temporal lobe resection on language decline

Objective: To develop language functional MRI (fMRI) methods that accurately predict postsurgical naming decline in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Methods: Forty‐six patients with TLE (25 left) and 19 controls underwent two overt fMRI paradigms (auditory naming and picture naming, both with active baseline conditions) and one covert task (verbal fluency). Clinical naming performance was assessed preoperatively and 4 months following anterior temporal lobe resection. Preoperative fMRI activations were correlated with postoperative naming decline. Individual laterality indices (LI) were calculated for temporal (auditory and picture naming) and frontal regions (verbal fluency) and were considered as predictors of naming decline in multiple regression models, along with other clinical variables (age at onset of seizures, preoperative naming scores, hippocampal volume, age). Results: In left TLE patients, activation of the left posterior inferior temporal gyrus during auditory naming and activation of left fusiform gyrus during picture naming were related to greater postoperative naming decline. Activation LI were the best individual predictors of naming decline in a multivariate regression model. For picture naming, an LI of higher than 0.34 gave 100% sensitivity and 92% specificity (positive predictive value (PPV) 91.6%). For auditory naming, a temporal lobe LI higher than 0.18 identified all patients with a clinically significant naming decline with 100% sensitivity and 58% specificity (PPV: 58.3%). No effect was seen for verbal fluency. Interpretation: Auditory and picture naming fMRI are clinically applicable to predict postoperative naming decline after left temporal lobe resection in individual patients, with picture naming being more specific

Unexpected stability of aqueous dispersions of raspberry-like colloids

Aqueous colloidal suspensions, both man-made and natural, are part of our everyday life. The applicability of colloidal suspensions, however, is highly limited by the range of conditions over which they are stable. Here, we report a novel type of highly monodisperse ‘raspberry’ colloids, which are prepared in a single-step synthesis that relies on simultaneous dispersion and emulsion polymerisation. The resulting raspberry colloids behave almost like hard spheres. In aqueous solutions such prepared raspberries show unprecedented stability against aggregation over large variations of added salt concentrations without addition of surfactants or other stabilisers. We present simple DLVO-calculations performed on raspberries and smooth colloids showing that this stability results from our raspberries’ unique morphology preventing salt-induced colloidal aggregation, which extends our understanding of colloidal stability against salting. Our calculations are supported by salting experiments using a variety of salts and differently sized colloids with varying ‘roughness’. Further, the raspberies’ stability facilitates the formation of superspheres and thin films in which the raspberry colloids self-assemble into hexagonally close-packed photonic crystals with exquisite reproducibility.Y.L. thanks the CSC Cambridge scholarship for financial support. A.C. thanks D. Frenkel for discussions and acknowledges the ETN-COLLDENSE (H2020-MCSA-ITN-2014, Grant No. 642774). S.V. acknowledges the BBSRC David Phillips fellowship (BB/K014617/1), the European Research Council (ERC-2014-STG H2020 639088) and B. Frka-Petesic for discussions. G.G. thanks the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, 1525292), V.E.J. the European Commission (Marie Curie Fellowship LODIS, 701455), J.L. the Marie Curie FP7 SASSYPOL ITN (607602) and M.K. EPSRC (EP/L027151/1) for financial support. E.E., Y.L. and S.V. thank the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability

Guanosine-mediated anxiolytic-like effect: Interplay with adenosine a1 and a2a receptors

Acute or chronic administration of guanosine (GUO) induces anxiolytic-like effects, for which the adenosine (ADO) system involvement has been postulated yet without a direct experimental evidence. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether adenosine receptors (ARs) are involved in the GUO-mediated anxiolytic-like effect, evaluated by three anxiety-related paradigms in rats. First, we confirmed that acute treatment with GUO exerts an anxiolytic-like effect. Subsequently, we investigated the effects of pretreatment with ADO or A1R (CPA, CCPA) or A2AR (CGS21680) agonists 10 min prior to GUO on a GUO-induced anxiolytic-like effect. All the combined treatments blocked the GUO anxiolytic-like effect, whereas when administered alone, each compound was ineffective as compared to the control group. Interestingly, the pretreatment with nonselective antagonist caffeine or selective A1R (DPCPX) or A2AR (ZM241385) antagonists did not modify the GUO-induced anxiolytic-like effect. Finally, binding assay performed in hippocampal membranes showed that [3H]GUO binding became saturable at 100–300 nM, suggesting the existence of a putative GUO binding site. In competition experiments, ADO showed a potency order similar to GUO in displacing [3H]GUO binding, whereas AR selective agonists, CPA and CGS21680, partially displaced [3H]GUO binding, but the sum of the two effects was able to displace [3H]GUO binding to the same extent of ADO alone. Overall, our results strengthen previous data supporting GUO-mediated anxiolytic-like effects, add new evidence that these effects are blocked by A1R and A2AR agonists and pave, although they do not elucidate the mechanism of GUO and ADO receptor interaction, for a better characterization of GUO binding sites in ARs

Asymptomatic bacteriuria in clinical urological practice : preoperative control of bacteriuria and management of recurrent UTI

Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) is a common clinical condition that often leads to unnecessary antimicrobial use. The reduction of antibiotic overuse for ABU is consequently an important issue for antimicrobial stewardship and to reduce the emergence of multidrug resistant strains. There are two issues in everyday urological practice that require special attention: the role of ABU in pre-operative prophylaxis and in women affected by recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs). Nowadays, this is the time to think over our practice and change our way of thinking. Here, we aimed to summarize the current literature knowledge in terms of ABU management in patients undergoing urological surgery and in patients with rUTIs. In the last years, the approach to patient with ABU has changed totally. Prior to all surgical procedures that do not enter the urinary tract, ABU is generally not considered as a risk factor, and screening and treatment are not considered necessary. On the other hand, in the case of all procedures entering the urinary tract, ABU should be treated in line with the results of a urine culture obtained before the procedure. In patients affected by rUTIs, ABU can even have a protective role in preventing symptomatic recurrence, particularly when Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) has been isolated