Geomorphic signal of active faulting at the northern edge of Lut Block. Insights on the kinematic scenario of Central Iran

Recent works documented Neogene to Quaternary dextral strike-slip tectonics along the Kuh-e-Sarhangi and Kuh-e-Faghan intraplate strike-slip faults at the northern edge of the Lut Block of Central Iran, previously thought to be dominated by sinistral strike-slip deformation. This work focuses on the evidence of Quaternary activity of one of these fault systems, in order to provide new spatio-temporal constraints on their role in the active regional kinematic scenario. Through geomorphological and structural investigation, integrated with Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of three generations of alluvial fans and fluvial terraces (at ~53, ~25 and ~6 ka), this study documents (i) the topographic inheritance of the long-term (Myr) punctuated history of fault nucleation, propagation, and exhumation along the northern edge of Lut Block; (ii) the tectonic control on drainage network evolution, pediment formation, fluvial terraces, and alluvial-fan architecture; (iii) the minimum Holocene age of Quaternary dextral strike-slip faulting; and (iv) the evidence of Late Quaternary fault-related uplift localized along the different fault strands. The documented spatial and temporal constraints on the active dextral strike-slip tectonics at the northern edge of Lut Block provided new insights on the kinematic model for active faulting in Central Iran, which has been reinterpreted in an escape tectonic scenario

Spatio-temporal evolution of intraplate strike-slip faulting: the Neogene-Quaternary Kuh-e-Faghan Fault, Central Iran

Central Iran provides an ideal region to study the long-term morphotectonic response to the nucleation and propagation of intraplate faulting. In this study, a multidisciplinary approach that integrates structural and stratigraphic field investigations with apatite (U+Th)/He (AHe) thermochronometry is used to reconstruct the spatio-temporal evolution of the Kuh-e-Faghan Fault (KFF) in northeastern Central Iran. The KFF is a narrow, ca. 80 km long, deformation zone that consists of three main broadly left stepping, E-W trending, dextral fault strands that cut through the Mesozoic-Paleozoic substratum and the Neogene-Quaternary sedimentary cover. The AHe thermochronometry results indicate that the intra-fault blocks along the KFF experienced two major episodes of fault-related exhumation at ~18 Ma and ~4 Ma. The ~18 Ma faulting/exhumation episode is chiefly recorded by the structure and depositional architecture of the Neogene deposits along the KFF. A source-to-sink scenario can be reconstructed for this time frame, where topographic growth caused the synchronous erosion/exhumation of the pre-Neogene units and deposition of the eroded material in the surrounding fault-bounded continental depocenters. Successively, the KFF gradually entered a period of relative tectonic quiescence and, probably, of regional subsidence during which a thick pile of fine-grained onlapping sediments were deposited. This may have caused resetting of the He ages of apatite in the pre-Neogene and the basal Neogene successions. The ~4 Ma faulting episode caused the final exhumation of the fault system, resulting in the current fault zone and topography. The two fault-related exhumation episodes fit with the regional early Miocene collision-enhanced uplift/exhumation, and the late Miocene–early Pliocene widespread tectonic reorganization of the Iranian plateau. The reconstructed long term, spatially and temporally punctuated fault system evolution in intraplate Central Iran during Neogene-Quaternary times may reflect states of far-field stress changes at the collisional boundaries

Compensation of Nonlinearity of Voltage and Current Instrument Transformers

partially_open11This paper aims at characterizing and improving the metrological performances of current and voltage instrument transformers (CTs and VTs) in harmonic measurements in the power system. A theoretical analysis is carried out to demonstrate that, due to the iron core nonlinearity, CT and VT output signal is distorted even when the input signal is a pure sine wave. Starting from this analysis, a new method for CT and VT characterization and compensation is proposed. In a first step, they are characterized in sinusoidal conditions and the harmonic phasors of the distorted output are measured; in the second step, these phasors are used to compensate the harmonic phasors measured in normal operating conditions, which are typically distorted. The proposed characterization and compensation techniques are called SINusoidal characterization for DIstortion COMPensation (SINDICOMP). Several experimental tests, using high-accuracy calibration setups, have been performed to verify the proposed methods. The experimental results showed that the SINDICOMP technique assures a significant improvement of CT and VT metrological performances in harmonic measurements.restrictedopenCataliotti, Antonio; Cosentino, Valentina; Crotti, Gabriella; Femine, Antonio Delle; Cara, Dario Di; Gallo, Daniele; Giordano, Domenico; Landi, Carmine; Luiso, Mario; Modarres, Mohammad; Tine, GiovanniCataliotti, Antonio; Cosentino, Valentina; Crotti, Gabriella; Femine, Antonio Delle; Cara, Dario Di; Gallo, Daniele; Giordano, Domenico; Landi, Carmine; Luiso, Mario; Modarres, Mohammad; Tine, Giovann

p85 regulatory subunit of PI3K mediates cAMP–PKA and estrogens biological effects on growth and survival

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Botulinum Toxin Is Effective in the Management of Neurogenic Dysphagia. Clinical-Electrophysiological Findings and Tips on Safety in Different Neurological Disorders

Background and Aims: Neurogenic dysphagia linked to failed relaxation of the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) can be treated by injecting botulinum toxin (BTX) into the cricopharyngeal (CP) muscle. We compared the effects of this treatment in different neurological disorders with dysphagia, to evaluate its efficacy over time including the response to a second injection. Materials and Methods: Sixty-seven patients with neurogenic dysphagia associated with incomplete or absent opening of the UES (24 with brainstem or hemispheric stroke, 21 with parkinsonian syndromes, 12 with multiple sclerosis, and 10 with spastic-dystonic syndromes secondary to post-traumatic encephalopathy) were treated with the injection of IncobotulinumtoxinA (dose 15–20 U) into the CP muscle under electromyographic guidance. The patients were assessed at baseline and after the first and second treatment through clinical evaluation and fiberoptic endoscopy of swallowing, while their dysphagia was quantified using the Dysphagia Outcome and Severity Scale (DOSS). An electrokinesiographic/electromyographic study of swallowing was performed at baseline. Results: Most patients responded to the first BTX treatment: 35 patients (52.2%) were classified as high responders (DOSS score increase >2 levels), while other 19 patients (28.4%) were low responders (DOSS score increase of ≤2 levels). The effect of the first treatment usually lasted longer than 4 months (67%), and in some cases up to a year. The treatment efficacy remained high also after the second injection: 31 patients (46.3%) qualified as high responders and other 22 patients (32.8%) showed a low response. Only in the parkinsonian syndromes group we observed a reduction in the percentage of high responders as compared with the first treatment. Side effects were mostly mild and reported in non-responders following the first injection. A severe side effect, consisting of ingestion pneumonia, was observed following the second BTX injection in two patients who had both been non-responders to the first. Non-responders were characterized electromyographically by higher values of the oropharyngeal interval. Conclusion: These findings confirm the effectiveness of IncobotulinumtoxinA injection in the treatment of neurogenic dysphagia due to hyperactivity and relaxation failure of the UES. Caution should be used as regards, the re-injection in non-responders to the first treatment

Targeting prolyl-isomerase Pin1 prevents mitochondrial oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction: insights in patients with diabetes

The present study demonstrates that Pin1 is a common activator of key pathways involved in diabetic vascular disease in different experimental settings including primary human endothelial cells, knockout mice, and diabetic patients. Gene silencing and genetic disruption of Pin1 prevent hyperglycaemia-induced mitochondrial oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and vascular inflammation. Moreover, we have translated our findings to diabetic patients. In line with our experimental observations, Pin1 up-regulation is associated with impaired flow-mediated dilation, increased oxidative stress, and plasma levels of adhesion molecules. In perspective, these findings may provide the rationale for mechanism-based therapeutic strategies in patients with diabete

ATM activates the pentose phosphate pathway promoting anti-oxidant defence and DNA repair

The DNA damage-induced ATM kinase is linked to the metabolic pentose phosphate pathway, thus boosting biosynthesis of nucleotide precursors required for DNA repair and stimulating generation of the anti-oxidant NADPH, which may explain neurological defects of ataxia telangiectasia patients lacking ATM function

Complete determination of neutron yield from 62 MeV protons on 9Be for the design of a low – power ADS

Within the European Partitioning & Transmutation research programs, infrastructures specifically dedicated to the study of fundamental reactor physics of future fast neutron-based reactors are very important. In this respect, an Accelerator Driven System low-power prototype, based on a 70 MeV proton beam impinging on a thick Beryllium converter, was recently proposed and designed within the INFN-E project. The world data on neutron yield from Be target are scarce in this proton energy range. This lack of data calls for a dedicated measurement which was performed at INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, covering a wide angular range, from 0 to 150 degrees, and an almost complete neutron energy interval, from thermal up to the beam energy. In this contribution the results are discussed together with the description of the proposed ADS facility

Hyades Member K2-136c:The Smallest Planet in an Open Cluster with a Precisely Measured Mass

International audienceK2-136 is a late-K dwarf (0.742 ± 0.039 M ⊙) in the Hyades open cluster with three known, transiting planets and an age of 650 ± 70 Myr. Analyzing K2 photometry, we found that planets K2-136b, c, and d have periods of 8.0, 17.3, and 25.6 days and radii of 1.014 ± 0.050 R ⊕, 3.00 ± 0.13 R ⊕, and 1.565 ± 0.077 R ⊕, respectively. We collected 93 radial velocity (RV) measurements with the High-Accuracy Radial-velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern hemisphere (HARPS-N) spectrograph (Telescopio Nazionale Galileo) and 22 RVs with the Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations (ESPRESSO) spectrograph (Very Large Telescope). Analyzing HARPS-N and ESPRESSO data jointly, we found that K2-136c induced a semi-amplitude of 5.49 ± 0.53 m s-1, corresponding to a mass of 18.1 ± 1.9 M ⊕. We also placed 95% upper mass limits on K2-136b and d of 4.3 and 3.0 M ⊕, respectively. Further, we analyzed Hubble Space Telescope and XMM-Newton observations to establish the planetary high-energy environment and investigate possible atmospheric loss. K2-136c is now the smallest planet to have a measured mass in an open cluster and one of the youngest planets ever with a mass measurement. K2-136c has ~75% the radius of Neptune but is similar in mass, yielding a density of ${3.69}_{-0.56}^{+0.67}$ g cm-3 (~2-3 times denser than Neptune). Mass estimates for K2-136b (and possibly d) may be feasible with more RV observations, and insights into all three planets' atmospheres through transmission spectroscopy would be challenging but potentially fruitful. This research and future mass measurements of young planets are critical for investigating the compositions and characteristics of small exoplanets at very early stages of their lives and providing insights into how exoplanets evolve with time