544 research outputs found
Assessment of landslide-induced damage to structures: the Agnone landslide case study (southern Italy)
Multisource data integration to investigate one century of evolution for the Agnone landslide (Molise, southern Italy)
Landslides are one of the most relevant geohazards worldwide, causing direct and indirect costs and fatalities. Italy is one of the countries most affected by mass movements, and the Molise region, southern Italy, is known to be susceptible to erosional processes and landslides. In January 2003, a landslide in the municipality of Agnone, in the Colle Lapponi-Piano Ovetta (CL-PO) territory, occurred causing substantial damage to both structures and civil infrastructure. To investigate the evolution of the landslide-affected catchment over approximately one century, different data were taken
into account: (i) literature information at the beginning of the twentieth century; (ii) historical sets of aerial optical photographs to analyse the geomorphological evolution from 1945 to 2003; (iii)
SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) data fromthe ERS1/2, ENVISATand COSMO-SkyMed satellites tomonitor the displacement from 1992 to 2015; (iv) traditional measurements carried out through geological
and geomorphological surveys, inclinometers and GPS campaigns to characterize the geological setting of the area; and (v) recent optical photographs of the catchment area to determine the enlargement of the landslide. Using the structure from motion technique, a 3D reconstruction of each set of historical aerial photographs was made to investigate the geomorphological evolution and to trace the
boundary of the mass movements. As a result, the combination of multitemporal and multitechnique analysis of the evolution of the CL-PO landslide enabled an assessment of the landslide expansion,
which resulted in a maximum length of up to approximately 1500 m. A complete investigation of the past and present deformational sequences of the area was performed to potentially plan further
mitigation and prevention strategies to avoid possible reactivations
Familial aggregation of MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery scores in a large sample of outpatients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives
The increased use of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to investigate cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia fostered interest in its sensitivity in the context of family studies. As various measures of the same cognitive domains may have different power to distinguish between unaffected relatives of patients and controls, the relative sensitivity of MCCB tests for relative-control differences has to be established. We compared MCCB scores of 852 outpatients with schizophrenia (SCZ) with those of 342 unaffected relatives (REL) and a normative Italian sample of 774 healthy subjects (HCS). We examined familial aggregation of cognitive impairment by investigating within-family prediction of MCCB scores based on probands' scores
Early targets of miR-34a in neuroblastoma
Several genes encoding for proteins involved in proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis are known to be direct miR-34a targets. Here, we used proteomics to screen for targets of miR-34a in neuroblastoma (NBL), a childhood cancer that originates from precursor cells of the sympathetic nervous system. We examined the effect of miR-34a overexpression using a tetracycline inducible system in two NBL cell lines (SHEP and SH-SY5Y) at early time points of expression (6, 12, and 24 h). Proteome analysis using post-metabolic labeling led to the identification of 2,082 proteins, and among these 186 were regulated (112 proteins down-regulated and 74 up-regulated). Prediction of miR-34a targets via bioinformatics showed that 32 transcripts held miR-34a seed sequences in their 3′-UTR. By combining the proteomics data with Kaplan Meier geneexpression studies, we identified seven new gene products (ALG13, TIMM13, TGM2, ABCF2, CTCF, Ki67, and LYAR) that were correlated with worse clinical outcomes. These were further validated in vitro by 3′-UTR seed sequence regulation. In addition, Michigan Molecular Interactions searches indicated that together these proteins affect signaling pathways that regulate cell cycle and proliferation, focal adhesions, and other cellular properties that overall enhance tumor progression (including signaling pathways such as TGF-β, WNT, MAPK, and FAK). In conclusion, proteome analysis has here identified early targets of miR-34a with relevance to NBL tumorigenesis. Along with the results of previous studies, our data strongly suggest miR-34a as a useful tool for improving the chance of therapeutic success with NBL
Penile cancer: prognostic and predictive factors in clinical decision-making
: Penile cancer (PC) is a typical tumor of non-industrialized countries. The incidence is 20-30 times higher in Africa and South America, considering the elevated prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases. Histologically, PC includes squamous cell carcinoma (SCPC), the most frequent, and nonsquamous carcinoma (NSCPC). Early diagnosis is the goal, whereas later diagnosis relates to poor functional outcomes and worse prognosis. The 5-year survival rate is 85% for patients with histologically regional negative lymph nodes, compared to 29%-40% for those with histologically regional positive lymph nodes. To date no new drugs are approved, and there are few new data about molecular mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis. The SCPC remains a rare tumor and the current therapeutic algorithm is based principally on retrospective analysis and less on prospective trials. In this review article, biomarkers of prognosis and efficacy of current treatments are summarized with a focus on those that have the potential to affect treatment decision-making in SCPC
Dark matter search in a Beam-Dump eXperiment (BDX) at Jefferson Lab
MeV-GeV dark matter (DM) is theoretically well motivated but remarkably
unexplored. This Letter of Intent presents the MeV-GeV DM discovery potential
for a 1 m segmented plastic scintillator detector placed downstream of the
beam-dump at one of the high intensity JLab experimental Halls, receiving up to
10 electrons-on-target (EOT) in a one-year period. This experiment
(Beam-Dump eXperiment or BDX) is sensitive to DM-nucleon elastic scattering at
the level of a thousand counts per year, with very low threshold recoil
energies (1 MeV), and limited only by reducible cosmogenic backgrounds.
Sensitivity to DM-electron elastic scattering and/or inelastic DM would be
below 10 counts per year after requiring all electromagnetic showers in the
detector to exceed a few-hundred MeV, which dramatically reduces or altogether
eliminates all backgrounds. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations are in progress to
finalize the detector design and experimental set up. An existing 0.036 m
prototype based on the same technology will be used to validate simulations
with background rate estimates, driving the necessary RD towards an
optimized detector. The final detector design and experimental set up will be
presented in a full proposal to be submitted to the next JLab PAC. A fully
realized experiment would be sensitive to large regions of DM parameter space,
exceeding the discovery potential of existing and planned experiments by two
orders of magnitude in the MeV-GeV DM mass range.Comment: 28 pages, 17 figures, submitted to JLab PAC 4
Interplay Among Psychopathologic Variables, Personal Resources, Context-Related Factors, and Real-life Functioning in Individuals With Schizophrenia: A Network Analysis
Enhanced understanding of factors associated with symptomatic and functional recovery is instrumental to designing personalized treatment plans for people with schizophrenia. To date, this is the first study using network analysis to investigate the associations among cognitive, psychopathologic, and psychosocial variables in a large sample of community-dwelling individuals with schizophrenia
Social cognition in people with schizophrenia: A cluster-analytic approach
Background The study aimed to subtype patients with schizophrenia on the basis of social cognition (SC), and to identify cut-offs that best discriminate among subtypes in 809 out-patients recruited in the context of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses. Method A two-step cluster analysis of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), the Facial Emotion Identification Test and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test scores was performed. Classification and regression tree analysis was used to identify the cut-offs of variables that best discriminated among clusters. Results We identified three clusters, characterized by unimpaired (42%), impaired (50.4%) and very impaired (7.5%) SC. Three theory-of-mind domains were more important for the cluster definition as compared with emotion perception and emotional intelligence. Patients more able to understand simple sarcasm (14 for TASIT-SS) were very likely to belong to the unimpaired SC cluster. Compared with patients in the impaired SC cluster, those in the very impaired SC cluster performed significantly worse in lie scenes (TASIT-LI <10), but not in simple sarcasm. Moreover, functioning, neurocognition, disorganization and SC had a linear relationship across the three clusters, while positive symptoms were significantly lower in patients with unimpaired SC as compared with patients with impaired and very impaired SC. On the other hand, negative symptoms were highest in patients with impaired levels of SC. Conclusions If replicated, the identification of such subtypes in clinical practice may help in tailoring rehabilitation efforts to the person's strengths to gain more benefit to the person
“I luoghi di Mercalli”: a travelling exhibition as a tool for scientists to dialogue with the public on volcanoes and earthquakes
On March 19, 1914 Giuseppe Mercalli, a seismologist and volcanologist, well-known around the world for the
Intensity scale of earthquakes bearing his name, died tragically. A hundred years after, the Istituto Nazionale di
Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) has promoted a variety of activities and cultural events that will take place under the
Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic within a year, the so called “Anno Mercalliano” (the Year of
Mercalli).
The opening ceremony took place in Naples, Italy, on March 19, 2014, in the Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele
II. A scientific conference was held with the participation of experts from INGV and the university of Milano –
Bicocca, and presentations of students. On that day the exhibition entitled “I luoghi di Mercalli” (Mercalli's places) was
also inaugurated, at the presence of local authorities.
The exhibition, organized by INGV, was realized in collaboration with the high school Vittorio Emanuele II, where
Mercalli has been teaching for 19 years, and the Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa, where he was professor
of natural sciences.
A biographical and geographical description of the places where Mercalli operated introduces the exhibition, which
is organized in sections:
- Mercalli educator (he taught at high schools in Reggio Calabria and Naples);
- Mercalli volcanologist (Mercalli studied Vesuvius volcanic activity for more than twenty years, he was a scientific
witness of the Vesuvius 1906 eruption, and of the eruptions occurred at Vulcano (1888-90) and Stromboli (1891)
islands.
- Mercalli seismologist (Mercalli Intensity scale definition, based on his experience as witness of catastrophic
earthquakes, such as Casamicciola in 1883 and Messina in 1908).
Another section deals with the Vesuvius Observatory, directed by Mercalli between 1911 and 1914, and the
description of the three active volcanoes of the Campania region (Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia island), which
have been the subject of studies by the well-known scientist. The exhibition is enriched by documents, manuscripts,
photos and field notebooks of Mercalli.
It is not intended to be only a celebratory exhibition; rather it is designed as a tool for dissemination of scientific
culture and to raise awareness about seismic and volcanic hazards.
In the exhibition path a continuous thread between the figure of Mercalli as a researcher and the role of an Earth
Science researcher today is highlighted, pointing to the development of scientific knowledge in the past century. The
goal is to improve the capability of learning from the disasters occurred in the past to implement preventive actions to
safely deal with future events.
The exhibition is travelling and will be provided on request to institutions and schools.PublishedMilano, Italia1V. Storia e struttura dei sistemi vulcaniciope
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