High precision tilt observation at Mt. Etna Volcano, Italy

In 2007-2008, we installed on Mt. Etna two deep tilt stations using high resolution, self-leveling instruments. These installations are the result of accurate instrument tests, site selection, drilling and sensor positioning that has allowed detecting variations related to the principal diurnal and semidiurnal tides for first time on Mt. Etna using tilt data. We analyzed the tidal effects recorded on tilt signals and we removed tidal effects from signals, thereby allowing to detect changes of about 20 nanoradians with a considerable improvement respect to the previous installation. Tilt changes have accompanied the Mt. Etna main eruptive phases and are generally related to the rapid rise of magma and formation of dikes and eruptive fissures. However, tilt changes characterize lava fountains, earthquakes and inflation-deflation phases. The 2008-2009 eruption represents an example of the potential of these tiltmeters providing new perspectives for highly precise monitoring of ground deformation on volcanoes

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Childbearing Female Candidates for Bariatric Surgery, Pregnancy, and Post-partum Management After Bariatric Surgery

Emerging evidence suggests that bariatric surgery improves pregnancy outcomes of women with obesity by reducing the rates of gestational diabetes, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and macrosomia. However, it is associated with an increased risk of a small-for-gestational-age fetus and prematurity. Based on the work of a multidisciplinary task force, we propose clinical practice recommendations for pregnancy management following bariatric surgery. They are derived from a comprehensive review of the literature, existing guidelines, and expert opinion covering the preferred type of surgery for women of childbearing age, timing between surgery and pregnancy, contraception, systematic nutritional support and management of nutritional deficiencies, screening and management of gestational diabetes, weight gain during pregnancy, gastric banding management, surgical emergencies, obstetrical management, and specific care in the postpartum period and for newborns

The “resort effect”: Can tourist islands act as refuges for coral reef species?

There is global consensus that marine protected areas offer a plethora of benefits to the biodiversity within and around them. Nevertheless, many organisms threatened by human impacts also find shelter in unexpected or informally protected places. For coral reef organisms, refuges can be tourist resorts implementing local environment-friendly bottom-up management strategies. We used the coral reef ecosystem as a model to test whether such practices have positive effects on the biodiversity associated with de facto protected areas.USAI

The Enigma of Soil Animal Species Diversity Revisited: The Role of Small-Scale Heterogeneity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Are there real endogeic species in temperate forest mites?

The determinants of mite diversity in soil and the reasons why so many species coexist are poorly understood. There is evidence that niche differentiation (i.e. microhabitat complexity) in the titter layers of forest floors is important, however, little is known for deeper horizons since mite density and diversity in deeper soil layers have been rarely studied. In order to address this dearth of information, we collected microarthropods from both the forest floor and the mineral soil to a depth of 1 m in two deciduous forest locations. The density exceeded 8 x 105 microarthropods M-2 in one location, and a number of individuals were collected from deep in the soil. No species was exclusively living in mineral horizons. Measurements of porosity spectrum, pH, water content, total C and total N were made at each depth and related to mite diversity and species richness. Meso- and microporosity were strongly correlated with species distribution while macroporosity and pH were correlated to density and species richness. (C) 2004 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved

Comparison of endogeic and cave communities: microarthropod density and mite species richness

Quantitative studies of mite communities in endogeic and cave ecosystems are scarce. In this paper, we tested and validated the hypotheses that (1) deep soil and cave mite communities are distinct and (2) that species composition is more variable in caves than in deep soils. Mites were sampled in May, November, and January at 15-20 cm depth in three temperate forest soils and at the surface of sediments in two caves situated directly below two of these soils. Endogeic mite densities ranged from 77 to 225 individuals/dm(3) vs. 9 to 43 in caves. Organic matter was found to be the main factor correlated to density in soils while flooding are thought to profoundly affect cave communities: it introduce accidental species that eventually die without breeding, inducing a sharp seasonal variation in mite density. Mite richness estimates amounted to about 80 species in most locations. (1) Cave populations were distinct from endogeic ones and migration between those habitat compartments is thus supposed to be infrequent. (2) Both the fragmented structure and flooding that lead to the addition of accidental species, are invoked to explain the larger variability of cave communities compared to soil communities. (C) 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved

Survey of mites in caves and deep soil and evolution of mites in these habitats

We studied adaptations to subterranean environments in Acari. Mite populations of two caves and of the mineral horizon of soil from three forest sites were analysed. In the soil, body length was limited by the pore size. The proportions of (i) predators, (ii) phoretic mites, and (iii) primitive oribatids were higher in caves. This was potentially explained by (i) polyphagy or predation on other groups and reduced interspecific competition, (ii) the fragmented structure and liability to flooding of the cave habitat, and (iii) the higher humidity in caves. Adaptations to dry habitats probably greatly influenced the evolution in Oribatida. It is proposed that numerous mites colonized caves directly from deep soil without a surface stage