Riometry at the Italian Antarctic station of Terra Nova Bay

A solid-state riometer has been installed at Terra Nova Bay (74-420S and 164-060E) during the IX Italian Antarctic expedition (1993/1994) to provide, in the frame of the geophysical observatories, studies on the ionospheric absorption in the lower part of the ionosphere. This kind of measurements will integrate the already existing active vertical ionospheric sounding and the magnetic absolute vector observations, with the objective of investigating the state of the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling. In order to evaluate the base disturbance to the riometer, a remote campaign has been performed at McCarthy Ridge, rather far from the base station, where no anthropic noise is expected. Preliminary data analysis confirms the good quality of the Antarctic riometer observations

Helminth communities of herons (Aves: Ardeidae) in southern Italy

The helminth communities of nine species of herons from southern Italy were studied and compared. Of 24 taxa found including seven digeneans, seven nematodes, six cestodes and four acanthocephalans, only five taxa were found in more than one heron species, and five of the 21 taxa that could be identified to species level were classified as 'heron specialists'. The total number of helminth species per heron species ranged from 1 in Botaurus stellaris to 9 in Ixobrychus minutus with infection levels generally low. A statistical comparison was carried out for herons with a sample size >. 5. At the infracommunity level, only I. minutus clearly differed from other heron species. Diversity parameters of heminth infracommunities did not significantly differ among heron species. Species richness ranged from just 0.3 to 2.3 helminth taxa per individual host, and the Brillouin index, from 0 to 0.3. Total helminth abundance did not exceed 40 worms per host except in a single case of Ardeola ralloides. Infracommunities clearly were dominated by single helminth species. The present study confirms a depauperate helminth community in herons from southern Italy. Comparison with data from Spain and the Czech Republic showed strong quantitative similarities with values obtained in the present study. Results also suggest that the composition of local helminth communities are strongly variable depending on geographical location as is demonstrated by comparison with data from other European areas. However, whether herons in Europe naturally host depauperate helminth communities or these communities are depauperate because of other factors is unknow

First report of a naturally patent infection of Angiostrongylus costaricensis in a dog

Angiostrongylus costaricensis is the zoonotic agent of abdominal angiostrongyliasis in several countries in North and South America. Rodents are recognized as the main definitive hosts of A. costaricensis, but other wildlife species can develop patent infections. Although, several human cases have been described in the literature, the role of domestic animals in the epidemiology of the infection is not clear. Here we review the literature available on A. costaricensis in mammals and describe the first confirmed fatal case of abdominal angiostrongyliasis in a 4-month-old dog, presented with intestinal perforation, peritonitis and faecal shedding of first-stage larvae. Parasite identity was confirmed by morphology, histology and molecular characterization of target genes. This is the first record of a naturally infected dog acting as a definitive host for A. costaricensis. These data suggest that dogs may potentially spread this parasite in urbanized area

The Sandia Fracture Challenge: blind round robin predictions of ductile tearing

Existing and emerging methods in computational mechanics are rarely validated against problems with an unknown outcome. For this reason, Sandia National Laboratories, in partnership with US National Science Foundation and Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, launched a computational challenge in mid-summer, 2012. Researchers and engineers were invited to predict crack initiation and propagation in a simple but novel geometry fabricated from a common off-the-shelf commercial engineering alloy. The goal of this international Sandia Fracture Challenge was to benchmark the capabilities for the prediction of deformation and damage evolution associated with ductile tearing in structural metals, including physics models, computational methods, and numerical implementations currently available in the computational fracture community. Thirteen teams participated, reporting blind predictions for the outcome of the Challenge. The simulations and experiments were performed independently and kept confidential. The methods for fracture prediction taken by the thirteen teams ranged from very simple engineering calculations to complicated multiscale simulations. The wide variation in modeling results showed a striking lack of consistency across research groups in addressing problems of ductile fracture. While some methods were more successful than others, it is clear that the problem of ductile fracture prediction continues to be challenging. Specific areas of deficiency have been identified through this effort. Also, the effort has underscored the need for additional blind prediction-based assessments

Marine terraces in the Tyrrhenian Sea margin of the Southern Apennines (Italy): new constraints on differential vertical motions from dated paleoshorelines

The Neogene to Quaternary southern Apennines mountain belt is flanked to the SW by the Tyrrhenian Sea back-arc basin, which was formed since late Miocene times. Extensional tectonics related to back-arc basin formation affected the Tyrrhenian margin of the southern Apennines since the Quaternary with formation of a series of horst and graben structures. Huge amounts of existing surface, subsurface and offshore data indicate that subsidence on the order of thousands of metres affected the grabens, and remarkable flights of marine terraces are indicative of Quaternary uplift of the horst blocks. The highest and older marine terraces, Early Pleistocene in age, occur up to several hundreds of metres above the sea level. A huge number of former studies have provided fundamental data on both the outcropping (raised) and buried paleoshorelines and littoral deposits, the chronological framework for the identified relative sea level fluctuations mostly rests on local-scale relative chronology reconstructions constrained by dating that are still quite rare and sparse. Detail-scale geomorphological-geological mapping, integrated with Quaternary stratigraphy, aimed at the recognition, characterisation and dating of raised marine terraces and paleoshorelines (tidal notches, platform inner edges) has been carried out in several key areas of the southern Apennines Tyrrhenian Sea margin, from Campania, in the North, to northern Calabria, in the South. The field surveys have been carried out both in rocky coasts (where continental deposits cover and sometimes hide the paleoshorelines) and in the two main alluvial-coastal basins, namely the Campania and Sele River plains. The new geochronological data constrain the ages of several late Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene sea level markers, allowing a better definition of the vertical motions in each study area. Overall, the time-space distribution of the vertical motions on the regional scale is better reconstructed, along with the framework of the Quaternary surface uplift of the southwestern slope of the southern Apennines mountain belt

Geomorphological and Structural Assessment of the Coastal Area of Capo Faro Promontory, NE Salina (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

Capo Faro Promontory, located in Salina (Aeolian Islands, southern Italy), is a popular summer destination due to its volcanic morphologies, seaside, and enogastronomy. A flat area, right behind the scarp edge of a coastal cliff, hosts the Capo Faro Estate, one of the most renowned vineyards and residences on Salina Island. The promontory has been characterised in terms of geomorphological features. Remote sensing analysis, after nadir and off-nadir UAV flights, supports the field activities to explore the hazard to which the area is subjected. In particular, the coastal cliff turns out to be affected by a rapid retreat inducing landslides. Therefore, the cliff area has been investigated through a detailed stratigraphic and structural field survey. Using the generated high-resolution Digital Elevation Model, bathymetric-topographic profiles were extracted along the coastline facing the cliff. The thickness of volcanic deposits was evaluated to obtain a geological model of it. The main rock mass discontinuities have been characterised to define the structural features affecting the stability of the rock wall. The obtained results prove the contribution of such research fundamental in planning risk mitigation measures

Utility of Post-Mortem Genetic Testing in Cases of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) describes a sudden death with negative autopsy and toxicological analysis. Cardiac genetic disease is a likely etiology. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the clinical utility and combined yield of post-mortem genetic testing (molecular autopsy) in cases of SADS and comprehensive clinical evaluation of surviving relatives. METHODS: We evaluated 302 expertly validated SADS cases with suitable DNA (median age: 24 years; 65% males) who underwent next-generation sequencing using an extended panel of 77 primary electrical disorder and cardiomyopathy genes. Pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants were classified using American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) consensus guidelines. The yield of combined molecular autopsy and clinical evaluation in 82 surviving families was evaluated. A gene-level rare variant association analysis was conducted in SADS cases versus controls. RESULTS: A clinically actionable pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant was identified in 40 of 302 cases (13%). The main etiologies established were catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and long QT syndrome (17 [6%] and 11 [4%], respectively). Gene-based rare variants association analysis showed enrichment of rare predicted deleterious variants in RYR2 (p = 5 × 10(-5)). Combining molecular autopsy with clinical evaluation in surviving families increased diagnostic yield from 26% to 39%. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular autopsy for electrical disorder and cardiomyopathy genes, using ACMG guidelines for variant classification, identified a modest but realistic yield in SADS. Our data highlighted the predominant role of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and long QT syndrome, especially the RYR2 gene, as well as the minimal yield from other genes. Furthermore, we showed the enhanced utility of combined clinical and genetic evaluation

Carotid plaque imaging profiling in subjects with risk factors (diabetes and hypertension)

Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) due to the presence of atherosclerotic plaque (AP) is a frequent medical condition and a known risk factor for stroke, and it is also known from literature that several risk factors promote the AP development, in particular aging, smoke, male sex, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoke, diabetes type 1 and 2, and genetic factors. The study of carotid atherosclerosis is continuously evolving: even if the strategies of treatment still depends mainly on the degree of stenosis (DoS) determined by the plaque, in the last years the attention has moved to the study of the plaque components in order to identify the so called “vulnerable” plaque: features like the fibrous cap status and thickness, the volume of the lipid-rich necrotic core and the presence of intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) are risk factors for plaque rupture, that can be studied with modern imaging techniques. The aim of this review is to give a general overview of the principle histological and imaging features of the subcomponent of carotid AP (CAP), focalizing in particular on the features of CAP of patients affected by hypertension and diabetes (in particular type 2 diabetes mellitus)