MODELLO NUMERICO DEL COMPORTAMENTO IDROLOGICO DEL LAGO DI MONATE (VA)

ASPETTI CHIAVE - Viene proposto un modello numerico concettuale del comportamento idrologico del bacino del Lago di Monate - La calibrazione del modello proposto è stata condotta sfruttando simultaneamente sia le osservazioni di livello idrometrico del lago che misure freatimetriche - Il modello proposto permette di valutare il bilancio idrologico del lago a scala annuale restituendo risultati in linea con quanto riportato in letteratur

Cardiac Manifestations of Myotonic Dystrophy in a Pediatric Cohort

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most prevalent inherited neuromuscular dystrophy in adults. It is a multisystem disease with cardiac manifestations. Whilst these are well-defined in adults, there are scarce published data in the pediatric population. This study aimed to investigate the yield and progression of cardiac disease in pediatric DM1 patients, focusing on congenital DM1 (cDM1). Methods: A retrospective observational study of all pediatric DM1 patients referred to our center (December 2000-November 2020) was conducted. Patients were classified into DM1 forms according to age of symptom onset and disease severity. Patients underwent clinical and cardiac evaluation with 12-lead ECG, transthoracic echocardiography and 24-h ECG Holter monitoring. Results: 67 DM1 pediatric patients were included: 56 (83.6%) cDM1 and 11 (16.4%) non-cDM1. Median follow-up time of cDM1 patients was 8.0 [3.25-11.0] years. 49 (87.5%) cDM1 patients had baseline 12-lead ECG and 44 (78.6%) had a follow-up 12-lead-ECG, with a median follow-up time from diagnosis to baseline ECG of 2.8 [1.0-8.5] years and to follow-up ECG of 10.9 [5.7-14.2] years. Overall, 43 (87.8%) presented ECG abnormalities, most commonly in the form of asymptomatic conduction disease (n = 23, 46.9%), of which 21 (42.9%) had first degree atrioventricular block (1st AVB). There was an increase of prevalence from baseline to follow-up ECG in low QRS voltage (16.7%), poor R wave progression (13.9%), abnormal repolarisation (11.9%) and 1st AVB (7.6%). one patient (1.8%) underwent pacemaker implantation for syncope in the context of progressive conduction disease. No patients developed left ventricular systolic dysfunction. 4 (7.1%) cDM1 patients died during follow up, including three who died suddenly with no clear cause of death. Conclusions: This study is the first to analyse the prevalence and progression of ECG abnormalities in cDM1 pediatric patients. The high prevalence of abnormal findings, progressive changes and number of potentially associated events (1 pacemaker implantation and 3 unexplained sudden deaths) stresses the importance of systematic and continued cardiac evaluation of these patients

Interface Investigations on Titanium Nitride Bilayer Systems

Nanocomposite coatings composed of two phases with atomically sharp phase boundaries, show interesting mechanical properties. These properties are often originating from their high interface to volume ratio. Composites of nanocrystalline titanium nitride (TiN) grains surrounded by a one to two monolayer thick interlayer of silicon nitride (Si3N4) show an enhanced nanohardness. The central theme of this thesis is concernedwith the interfacial properties of two-dimensional bilayer systems, which are used as model systems to describe the interfaces occurring in nanocomposite coatings. The systems under investigation are TiN interfaces in contact with silicon (Si), silicon nitride (Si3N4) and aluminum nitride (AlN). The primary tool used to analyze the interfaces of bilayer systems is X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) with emphasis put on the shake-up feature of the Ti 2p photoelectron line. Shake-ups in TiN are observed as an additional peak on the lower binding energy side of the energy lines of the Ti 2p orbitals. Shake-ups are strongly influenced by valence electrons and electron density distributions. This makes them a powerful tool to probe the chemical and electronic structure of TiN interfaces. The aim of this study is to utilize the shake-up energy and its intensity to gain insight into interfacial structures and correlate their changes to interfacial polarization and macroscopic mechanical properties. Single crystalline (sc-) and oxygen-free TiN as well as oxygen-free bilayer systems were deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering and analyzed by Angle Resolved (AR-)XPS. Bilayer samples were deposited and their quality was controlled using X-ray diffraction (crystallinity), Rutherford back scattering (elemental composition), and atomic force microscopy (roughness). All XPS samples were fabricated, transfered and analyzed whilst maintaining ultra high vacuum. A precise and self-consistent XPS data processing method was developed to evaluate Ti 2p spectra. This method accounts for the correct photoelectron line shape, background subtraction and photoelectron peak area intensity. Binding energy, shake-up energy and intensity ratios of shake-ups taken frompristine TiN surfaces are precisely determined, and the influence of oxygen on the information content in peak positions and intensities was investigated. The shake-up energy and intensity of bulk sc-TiN and its origin of the shake-up are discussed. An analytical description for the XPS signal ratio of bilayer systems is derived to separate the interfacial signals from the bulk information. The results obtained by this analytical description are strongly influenced by the interface thickness that has been found to be proportional to the overlayer thickness. The revealed interface properties show a correlation between the shake-up intensity and the interface morphology, oxygen content, overlayer material and overlayer thickness. AR-XPS and X-ray Photoelectron Diffraction (XPD) results were used to interpret the crystalline structure of the different TiN/AlN and TiN/Si3N4 bilayer systems. AlN shows XPD patterns indicating a crystalline growth of AlN on sc-TiN. The electrically insulating AlN overlayer creates a charge accumulation at the TiN interface, which results in an enhanced shake-up intensity. XPD patterns of Si3N4 systems revealed a crystalline growth of Si3N4 in the first 0.6nm. The intensity of the diffraction patterns reduces with increasing Si3N4 overlayer thickness due to a change in the growth behavior from crystalline to amorphous structures. Si3N4 films show, in comparison to AlN, reduced interface charging and hence a lower shakeup intensity. The crystalline growth of Si3N4 in the initial stages is hindered in systems where a bias voltage is applied to the substrate during the deposition process. In contrast to the unbiased systems, which have crystalline interfacial structures, the biased systems no longer show XPD patterns due to a loss of crystallinity. Additionally the shake-up intensity of biased systems is thickness-independent, which is in contrast to unbiased systems. The difference in the shake-up intensity of biased and unbiased Si3N4 is explained by a different band gap of the Si3N4 structure in the first two monolayers. This thesis shows that the increase in the shake-up intensity is correlated to intrinsic and extrinsic interface charging. The obtained results, in combination with theoretical structure models from literature, show that in one to two monolayer thick interlayers a build-up of interface polarization is unlikely. The observed nanohardness enhancement in TiN/Si3N4 systems is explained with already known hardness effects

Is "option B+" also being adopted in pregnant women in high-income countries? Temporal trends from a national study in Italy

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A Preliminary Assessment of Young Water Fractions in Groundwater from Alluvial Aquifers Facing the Northern Italian Apennines

This study sums up the first estimates of the young water fraction (Fyw; here understood as the percentage proportion of groundwater passing through the well’s screen and younger than approximately 2–3 months) from groundwater collected in 75 wells from alluvial fans facing the northern Italian Apennines of Italy. The Fyw estimates were based on a monthly dataset of water-stable isotopes (oxygen-18 (18O)) from surficial water (9 rivers), while the dataset of groundwater (75 wells) consisted of three-monthly isotopic data. In the cases of surficial water and stable isotopes, these lasted over the period of January 2003 to December 2007, while in the case of groundwater, the data were collected from January 2005 to December 2007. The values of Fyw were estimated by means of a sine-wave fitting technique; the results made evident the presence of unexpectedly reduced differences between groundwater. In particular, shallower groundwater hosted in aquifers from the apical parts of the alluvial fans (i.e., aquifers characterized by the coarsest materials such as gravels and sands, and closest to the recharge areas) showed similar values of Fyw to the deepest aquifers from the distal parts; however, former studies mentioned here evidenced the existence of poorly recharged old groundwater. Our results seem to confirm a complex behavior of these aquifers compared with what had previously been thought

Hydrogeology, Hydrochemistry and Isotopic Investigation to Define the Lateral Hydraulic Boundaries of a Deep Rock Slide (Berceto Landslide: Northern Apennines)

The Berceto landslide is a deep and active rock slide located in the northern Apennines. It affects a slope characterised by the overlapping of flysch and shale formations. The landslide has been monitored since the 1990s and an inclinometer installed in the head zone shows a sliding surface at the depth of 110 m. The landslide and the adjacent areas are affected by morphological anomalies in the slopes and in the surface drainage patterns. These anomalies are related to the presence of deep landslide or to the presence of faults in the bedrock. In particular, the River Baganza (RB) is situated at about 100 m upstream of the landslide main scarp and it is separated from the landslide by a thin layer of shale. The RB streambed is located at an elevation 70 m higher than the elevation of the active sliding surface. Due to these morphological anomalies, it is possible to speculate that the present extension of the landslide limit is not correct and that the landslide sliding surface could be extended as far as the RB. In this study, hydro-chemical and isotopic investigation have been carried out on the Berceto rock slide in order to define the lateral hydraulic boundary, the geometry of the slide surface and the groundwater flow paths. The ion contents and the \u3b418O-\u3b42H values indicate the presence in the landslide body of an external source of groundwater which could be provided by the RB through a sliding surface developed within the shale or by the flysch below the landslide body

Continuous monitoring of active rock blocks slide in the northern Apennines

A large and morphologically spectacular rock slope instability is detected in the northern Apennines of Italy. Ten of metres of blocks and columns, in calcareous rock formation, slide and spread on clay shale, dipping down slope 30\ub0. The geological structures and the morphological features of the slope deformation have been identi\ufb01ed with use of high-resolution digital elevation models obtained from ground based laser scanner and airborne LiDAR. The actual morphological setting of the slope is characterized, also far away form the main scarp, by some metres high columns in vertical position. This suggests that the main deformations are parallel to the slope. Inside the landslide, rock falls are also frequent, due to the failure of large blocks and columns through set of joints. The origin of the instability is probably related with the erosion of the clay formation, at the foot of the slope, by the close torrent. From the analysis of aero-photographs of the past \ufb01fty years is possible identi\ufb01ed an enlargement of the mass instability in the up slope direction. A destructive event was recognized in the Seventies, when the road and the bridge below the landslide were destroyed. During the event was documented the passage between slow to very fast moving. In the summer 2009, after the increase of the slope deformations of the last years, a continuous monitor system was installed. The system is a robotic station that every two hours measures 20 benchmarks \ufb01xed in the rock blocks and columns in the landslide area. Today, tens centimetre of displacements are recorded. The data show an increase of the deformations rate with the distance from the main scarp. At the moment, the evolution of the slope is controlled by continuous creeping processes and by period with accelerates deformations. These last correlate with wet and snow melt periods, which are responsible of the variation in the groundwater regime and of the changes in the material behaviour within the sliding zon