Performances of the Italian Seismic Network, 1985-2002: the hidden thing

Abstract Seismic data users and people managing a seismic network take a great interest in the potentiality of the data, with the difference that the former look at stability, the latter at improvements. In this work, we measure the performances of the Italian Telemetered Seismic Network in the years 1985-2002 by defining basic significant parameters and studying their evolution during those years. Then, we deal with the geological methods used to characterise or to plan seismic station deployments in a few cases. Last, we define the gain of the network as the percentage of well-located earthquakes with respect to the total recorded earthquakes. By analysing the distribution of non-located (“missed”) earthquakes, we suggest possible actions to take in order to increase the gain. Results show that completeness magnitude is 2.4 in the average over the analysed period, and it can be as low as 2.2 when we consider non-located earthquakes as well. Parameters such as the minimum recording distance and the RMS of the location decrease with time, reflecting improvements in the location quality. Methods for geologic and seismological characterisation of a possible station site also resulted to be effective. Finally, we represent the number of missed earthquakes at each station, showing that nine stations control more than 50% of all missed earthquakes, and suggesting areas in Italy where the network might be easily improved

Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Tailored With Aromatic Dipeptide Nanoassemblies for a Tuneable Interaction With Cell Membranes

Engineered graphene-based derivatives are attractive and promising candidates for nanomedicine applications because of their versatility as 2D nanomaterials. However, the safe application of these materials needs to solve the still unanswered issue of graphene nanotoxicity. In this work, we investigated the self-assembly of dityrosine peptides driven by graphene oxide (GO) and/or copper ions in the comparison with the more hydrophobic diphenylalanine dipeptide. To scrutinize the peptide aggregation process, in the absence or presence of GO and/or Cu2+, we used atomic force microscopy, circular dichroism, UV–visible, fluorescence and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies. The perturbative effect by the hybrid nanomaterials made of peptide-decorated GO nanosheets on model cell membranes of supported lipid bilayers was investigated. In particular, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching techniques were used to track the changes in the viscoelastic properties and fluidity of the cell membrane, respectively. Also, cellular experiments with two model tumour cell lines at a short time of incubation, evidenced the high potential of this approach to set up versatile nanoplatforms for nanomedicine and theranostic applications

A tunable nanoplatform of nanogold functionalised with Angiogenin peptides for anti-angiogenic therapy of brain tumours

Angiogenin (ANG), an endogenous protein that plays a key role in cell growth and survival, has been scrutinised here as promising nanomedicine tool for the modulation of pro-/anti-angiogenic processes in brain cancer therapy. Specifically, peptide fragments from the putative cell membrane binding domain (residues 60-68) of the protein were used in this study to obtain peptide-functionalised spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of about 10 nm and 30 nm in optical and hydrodynamic size, respectively. Different hybrid biointerfaces were fabricated by peptide physical adsorption (Ang60-68) or chemisorption (the cysteine analogous Ang60-68Cys) at the metal nanoparticle surface, and cellular assays were performed in the comparison with ANG-functionalised AuNPs. Cellular treatments were performed both in basal and in copper-supplemented cell culture medium, to scrutinise the synergic effect of the metal, which is another known angiogenic factor. Two brain cell lines were investigated in parallel, namely tumour glioblastoma (A172) and neuron-like differentiated neuroblastoma (d-SH-SY5Y). Results on cell viability/proliferation, cytoskeleton actin, angiogenin translocation and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) release pointed to the promising potentialities of the developed systems as anti-angiogenic tunable nanoplaftforms in cancer cells treatment

Assessment of multispectral and hyperspectral imaging systems for digitisation of a Russian icon

In a study of multispectral and hyperspectral reflectance imaging, a Round Robin Test assessed the performance of different systems for the spectral digitisation of artworks. A Russian icon, mass-produced in Moscow in 1899, was digitised by ten institutions around Europe. The image quality was assessed by observers, and the reflectance spectra at selected points were reconstructed to characterise the icon’s colourants and to obtain a quantitative estimate of accuracy. The differing spatial resolutions of the systems affected their ability to resolve fine details in the printed pattern. There was a surprisingly wide variation in the quality of imagery, caused by unwanted reflections from both glossy painted and metallic gold areas of the icon’s surface. Specular reflection also degraded the accuracy of the reconstructed reflectance spectrum in some places, indicating the importance of control over the illumination geometry. Some devices that gave excellent results for matte colour charts proved to have poor performance for this demanding test object. There is a need for adoption of standards for digitising cultural heritage objects to achieve greater consistency of system performance and image quality.This article arose out of a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) conducted by Tatiana Vitorino when visiting University College London during a 2-week period in late October 2015. The research was carried out under the auspices of the European COST Action TD1201 Colour and Space in Cultural Heritage (COSCH). The project website is at http://www.cosch.info. Under the COST rules, TV received funding for travel and accommodation expenses, and all coauthors were able to claim travel expenses to attend the subsequent COSCH project meeting. No other funding was received from COSCH for labour or equipment and all work was done on a voluntary pro bono basis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative graphene oxide nanosheets for tumor cell therapy

Graphene oxide (GO) is a bidimensional novel material that exhibits high biocompatibility and angiogenic properties, mostly related to the intracellular formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this work, we set up an experimental methodology for the fabrication of GO@peptide hybrids by the immobilization, via irreversible physical adsorption, of the Ac-(GHHPH)4-NH2 peptide sequence, known to mimic the anti-angiogenic domain of the histidine-proline-rich glycoprotein (HPRG). The anti-proliferative capability of the graphene-peptide hybrids were tested in vitro by viability assays on prostate cancer cells (PC-3 line), human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), and human retinal endothelial cells (primary HREC). The anti-angiogenic response of the two cellular models of angiogenesis, namely endothelial and prostate cancer cells, was scrutinized by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release and wound scratch assays, to correlate the activation of inflammatory response upon the cell treatments with the GO@peptide nanocomposites to the cell migration processes. Results showed that the GO@peptide nanoassemblies not only effectively induced toxicity in the prostate cancer cells, but also strongly blocked the cell migration and inhibited the prostaglandin-mediated inflammatory process both in PC-3 and in HRECs. Moreover, the cytotoxic mechanism and the internalization efficiency of the theranostic nanoplatforms, investigated by mitochondrial ROS production analyses and confocal microscopy imaging, unraveled a dose-dependent manifold mechanism of action performed by the hybrid nanoassemblies against the PC-3 cells, with the detection of the GO-characteristic cell wrapping and mitochondrial perturbation. The obtained results pointed out to the very promising potential of the synthetized graphene-based hybrids for cancer therapy

Long-term expression of the Paganica Fault vs. 2009 L’Aquila Earthquake surface ruptures: looking for a better understanding of its seismic behavior

The Mw6.3, April 6, 2009 earthquake occurred on the previously identified Paganica normal fault and produced a 3 km-long co-seismic surface rupture along its northern section, with few centimeters of vertical displacement. Extensive 1:10,000-scale geological and geomorphological mapping has been carried out, focusing on the characterization of the long-term expression of the Paganica Fault at the surface. The field mapping was integrated by observations, made on 1:33,000 scale aerial photographs (GAI), 5-m-resolution Digital Elevation Model and standard morphometric derivatives (hill-shaded and slope angle maps, Spatial Analyst™). Particular attention was devoted to the study of the continental deposits and landforms affected by cumulative offset with the aim to reconstruct the Quaternary deformational history of the fault. The fault runs for a total length of 20 km and, along with antithetic faults on its hanging-wall, forms the graben of the Middle Aterno River Valley. The whole fault system and the variable setting of deformation affecting the continental deposits at the surface were identified. The Paganica long-term morphologic signature is represented by a set of prominent scarps formed by the tectonic juxtaposition of late Pliocene-middle Pleistocene and late Pleistocene alluvial deposits, and by lower scarps in late Pleistocene-Holocene deposits. In addition, evident Quaternary erosional and depositional paleosurfaces were recognized and sampled for 14C and OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) and tephra chronology dating for long-term slip-rate calculations. This study resulted helpful to locate four paleoseismological investigations (see Pantosti et al. talk) and to provide the appropriate context for correctly interpret the depositional bodies outcropping on the trench walls. These paleoseismological investigations evidenced the presence of repeated late Pleistocene-Holocene activity and allowed for slip-rate estimation at a shorter time-scale. Such estimates were valuable for a comparison with the preliminary estimates on late Pleistocene calculations carried out by geomorphological investigations. Moreover, we correlated co-seismic deformations with the long-term morphologies and structures. The 2009 co-seismic ruptures show a general coherence with the long-term Paganica fault trace, both in terms of location and style. However, the limited extent of the 2009 surface ruptures coincides with the portion of the fault trace where deformation is more localized and few splays contribute to the extension. This is also testified by the presence on its hanging-wall of a large late Pleistocene-Holocene alluvial fan that subsides over the basin depocenter. Conversely, where the Paganica fault system branches out, various splays accommodated the small 2009 co-seismic throw, resulting in a distributed and not evident extensional strain. The preserved fault-related geomorphology is evidence for the persistence of the rupture complexities during Quaternary. On this light, further studies on the style of fault activity are needed to estimate if the Paganica fault is capable of earthquakes with Magnitude larger than the 2009 event.SubmittedVienna, Austriaope

Directed self-assembly of a xenogeneic vascularized endocrine pancreas for type 1 diabetes.

Intrahepatic islet transplantation is the standard cell therapy for β cell replacement. However, the shortage of organ donors and an unsatisfactory engraftment limit its application to a selected patients with type 1 diabetes. There is an urgent need to identify alternative strategies based on an unlimited source of insulin producing cells and innovative scaffolds to foster cell interaction and integration to orchestrate physiological endocrine function. We previously proposed the use of decellularized lung as a scaffold for β cell replacement with the final goal of engineering a vascularized endocrine organ. Here, we prototyped this technology with the integration of neonatal porcine islet and healthy subject-derived blood outgrowth endothelial cells to engineer a xenogeneic vascularized endocrine pancreas. We validated ex vivo cell integration and function, its engraftment and performance in a preclinical model of diabetes. Results showed that this technology not only is able to foster neonatal pig islet maturation in vitro, but also to perform in vivo immediately upon transplantation and for over 18 weeks, compared to normal performance within 8 weeks in various state of the art preclinical models. Given the recent progress in donor pig genetic engineering, this technology may enable the assembly of immune-protected functional endocrine organs

Proton NMR study of spin dynamics in the magnetic organic chains M (hfac)3 NITEt (M=Eu3+,Gd3+)

In this work, we present a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of the spin dynamics in the rare-earth-based low-dimensional molecular magnetic chains Eu(hfac)3NITEt and Gd(hfac)3NITEt (in short, Eu-Et and Gd-Et). Although both samples are based on the same chemical building block, [(hfac)3NITEt], their magnetic properties change dramatically when the Eu3+ ion, which is nonmagnetic at low temperatures, is substituted by the magnetic Gd3+ ion. The present proton NMR investigation shows that, down to the lowest investigated temperature (T=1.5 K for Gd-Et and T=3 K for Eu-Et), the Eu-Et chain behaves as a one-dimensional Heisenberg model with antiferromagnetic exchange coupling (J=-20 K) between s=1/2 organic radicals, and has a T-independent exchange frequency (\u3c9e=2.6 71012 rad/s). In the Gd-Et chain, in contrast, a competition arises between nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic coupling and next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic coupling; moreover, two phase transitions have previously been found, in agreement with Villain's conjecture: a first transition, at T0=2.2 K, from a high temperature paramagnetic phase to a chiral spin liquid phase, and a second transition, at TN=1.9 K, to a three-dimensional helical spin solid phase. Contrary to the Eu-Et chain (whose three-dimensional ordering temperature is estimated to insurge at very low, TN 480.3 K), critical spin dynamics effects have been measured in the Gd-Et chain on approaching TN=1.9 K: namely, a divergence of the proton nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1, which in turn produces a sudden wipe-out of the NMR signal in a very narrow (\u394T 3c0.04 K) temperature range above TN. Below TN, an inhomogeneous broadening of the NMR line indicates a complete spin freezing. At T0=2.2 K, instead, such critical effects are not observed because NMR measurements probe the two-spin correlation function, while the chiral spin liquid phase transition is associated with a divergence of the four-spin correlation function