A LATE TRIASSIC OSTRACOD ASSEMBLAGE FROM THE QUATTERVALS NAPPE (AUSTROALPINE, NORTHERN ITALY)

The up to 1200 m thick Norian succession of the Quattervals Nappe (Central Austroalpine, Italy) documents a tectonically-driven passage from intertidal facies (Dolomia Principale-Hauptdolomit), represented by early-dolomitized bedded to massive gray dolostones, to intraplatform basin sediments (Pra Grata Formation and Quattervals Limestone), consisting of resedimented dark limestones and thin bedded laminated limestones, alternating (mainly in the Pra Grata Formation) with intraformational breccias containing abundant shallow-water facies. The transitional and basinal facies contain an interesting ostracod assemblage, beside bioclastic layers containing shallow-water and upper slope skeletal grains.The ostracod fauna is rich in specimens belonging to few genera, denoting restricted environmental conditions characterized by variations of salinity and low oxygenation. Despite the intense deformation and recrystallization related to the Alpine tectonics, the paleontological analysis of the ostracod assemblage from the base of the Quattervals Limestone, allowed the identification of the two new species of ostracods Rhombocythere dimorphica and Kerocythere quattervalsi in association with other already known forms.&nbsp

Opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the Pangea B to Pangea A transformation during the Permian

We studied the stratigraphy, composition, and paleomagnetic properties of lateritic weathering profiles of Permian age from northern Iran and western Karakoram, Pakistan. A limited set of samples deemed representative yielded stable low-inclination paleomagnetic components carried essentially by hematite of chemical origin isolated in massive, fine-grained, and homogeneous ferricrete facies. These laterites originated at equatorial paleolatitudes characterized by intense weathering processes under warm and humid climatic conditions. Paleomagnetic estimates of paleolatitude from Iran, Karakoram, and north Tibet from this study and the literature, albeit sparse, provide testable constraints on the motion of the Cimmerian terranes as the result of the opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean along the eastern margin of Gondwana during the Permian. We confirm and help refine previous suggestions that the Cimmerian terranes migrated from southern Gondwanan paleolatitudes in the Early Permian to subequatorial paleolatitudes by the Middle Permian – Early Triassic. As a novel conclusion, we find that timing, rates, and geometry of Cimmerian tectonics are broadly compatible with the transformation of Pangea from an Irvingian B to a Wegenerian A-type configuration with Neo-Tethyan opening taking place contemporaneously essentially in the Permian

What is the role of the placebo effect for pain relief in neurorehabilitation? Clinical implications from the Italian consensus conference on pain in neurorehabilitation

Background: It is increasingly acknowledged that the outcomes of medical treatments are influenced by the context of the clinical encounter through the mechanisms of the placebo effect. The phenomenon of placebo analgesia might be exploited to maximize the efficacy of neurorehabilitation treatments. Since its intensity varies across neurological disorders, the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation (ICCP) summarized the studies on this field to provide guidance on its use. Methods: A review of the existing reviews and meta-analyses was performed to assess the magnitude of the placebo effect in disorders that may undergo neurorehabilitation treatment. The search was performed on Pubmed using placebo, pain, and the names of neurological disorders as keywords. Methodological quality was assessed using a pre-existing checklist. Data about the magnitude of the placebo effect were extracted from the included reviews and were commented in a narrative form. Results: 11 articles were included in this review. Placebo treatments showed weak effects in central neuropathic pain (pain reduction from 0.44 to 0.66 on a 0-10 scale) and moderate effects in postherpetic neuralgia (1.16), in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (1.45), and in pain associated to HIV (1.82). Moderate effects were also found on pain due to fibromyalgia and migraine; only weak short-term effects were found in complex regional pain syndrome. Confounding variables might have influenced these results. Clinical implications: These estimates should be interpreted with caution, but underscore that the placebo effect can be exploited in neurorehabilitation programs. It is not necessary to conceal its use from the patient. Knowledge of placebo mechanisms can be used to shape the doctor-patient relationship, to reduce the use of analgesic drugs and to train the patient to become an active agent of the therapy

Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register

Beta (β)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to β2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective β1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37-0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective β1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76-2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a β1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations

What is the role of the placebo effect for pain relief in neurorehabilitation? Clinical implications from the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation

Background: It is increasingly acknowledged that the outcomes of medical treatments are influenced by the context of the clinical encounter through the mechanisms of the placebo effect. The phenomenon of placebo analgesia might be exploited to maximize the efficacy of neurorehabilitation treatments. Since its intensity varies across neurological disorders, the Italian Consensus Conference on Pain in Neurorehabilitation (ICCP) summarized the studies on this field to provide guidance on its use. Methods: A review of the existing reviews and meta-analyses was performed to assess the magnitude of the placebo effect in disorders that may undergo neurorehabilitation treatment. The search was performed on Pubmed using placebo, pain, and the names of neurological disorders as keywords. Methodological quality was assessed using a pre-existing checklist. Data about the magnitude of the placebo effect were extracted from the included reviews and were commented in a narrative form. Results: 11 articles were included in this review. Placebo treatments showed weak effects in central neuropathic pain (pain reduction from 0.44 to 0.66 on a 0-10 scale) and moderate effects in postherpetic neuralgia (1.16), in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (1.45), and in pain associated to HIV (1.82). Moderate effects were also found on pain due to fibromyalgia and migraine; only weak short-term effects were found in complex regional pain syndrome. Confounding variables might have influenced these results. Clinical implications: These estimates should be interpreted with caution, but underscore that the placebo effect can be exploited in neurorehabilitation programs. It is not necessary to conceal its use from the patient. Knowledge of placebo mechanisms can be used to shape the doctor-patient relationship, to reduce the use of analgesic drugs and to train the patient to become an active agent of the therapy

Foreword 125-1 - In memory of Maurizio Gaetani

The first issue of volume 125 (2019) of Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia is dedicated to the memory of Maurizio Gaetani (1940-2017), world-renowned Professor of Geology and Stratigraphy at the University of Milan, to honour his fruitful life of research and his grandeur as a man, a friend, a mentor and an Editor of this journal

PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL INTERPPRETATION OF THE LATE TRIASSIC FRAELE FORMATION (ORTLES NAPPE, AUSTROALPINE DOMAIN, LOMBARDY)

The Fraele Formation crops out in the Ortles Nappe (upper Valtellina, Northern Italy), structurally part of the Central Austroalpine Domain. It consists of fine siliciclastics alternating with carbonates, mostly limestones,rare dolostones and marls. The formation differs lithologically from the underlying Norian Dolomia del Cristallo because of different paleonvironmental evolution.The change in environmental parameters was controlled mainly by a climatic change to more humid conditions.This favoured on one hand the mobilisation and trasport by rivers of siliciclastic material from the continent to the Tethys gulf,and on the other influenced the sea-water chemistry.Freshwater influxes lowered salinity and inhibited early dolomitisation. Input of low density freshwater resulted in the astablishment of a permanent water mass stratification which influenced the benthic life. This paleoenvironmental reconstruction fits with the sudden clastic input which occurred in several palaeogeographic domains of the western Tethys realm (Austroalpine, Southalpine, Apennine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) during the Late Norian. &nbsp

Subsidence history from a backstripping analysis of the Permo-Mesozoic succession of the Central Southern Alps (Northern Italy)

Seven tectonic subsidence curves, based on outcrop data, have been calculated in order to constrain the geodynamic evolution of the Permian-Mesozoic sedimentary succession (up to 10 km thick) of the Central Southern Alps basin (Italy). The analysis of the tectonic subsidence curves, covering a time span of about 200 Ma, allowed us to quantify the subsidence rates, to document the activity of syndepositional fault systems and calculate their slip rates. Different stages, in terms of duration and magnitude of subsidence-uplift trends, have been identified in the evolution of the basin. The fault activity, reconstructed by comparing subsidence curves from adjacent sectors, resulted as highly variable both temporally and spatially. Strike-slip tectonics was coeval to Permian sedimentation, as suggested by the strong differences in the subsidence rates in the sections. The evolution and subsidence rates suggest a continental shelf deposition from Early Triassic to Carnian, when subsidence came to a stop. A rapid resumption of subsidence is observed from the Norian, with a subsidence pulse in the Late Norian, followed by the regional uplift, in the Late Rhaetian. The following Early Jurassic subsidence is characterized by tectonic subsidence similar to that of the Norian. The Norian and Early Jurassic pulses were characterized by the highest slip rates along growth faults and are identified as two distinct tectonic events. The Norian-Rhaetian event is tentatively related to transtensional tectonics whereas the Early Jurassic event is related to crustal extension. The Early Jurassic subsidence records a shift in space an time of the beginning of the extensional stage, from Late Hettangian to the east to Late Pliensbachian-Toarcian to the west. From the Toarcian to the Aptian, the curves are compatible with regional thermal subsidence, later followed (Albian-Cenomanian) by uplift pulses in a retrobelt foreland basin (from Cenomanian onward)