Recent advancements in the use of aerosol-assisted atmospheric pressure plasma deposition

Atmospheric pressure plasma allows for the easy modification of materials' surfaces for a wide range of technological applications. Coupling the aerosol injection of precursors with atmospheric pressure plasma largely extends the versatility of this kind of process; in fact solid and, in general, scarcely volatile precursors can be delivered to the plasma, extending the variety of chemical pathways to surface modification. This review provides an overview of the state of the art of aerosol-assisted atmospheric pressure plasma deposition. Advantages (many), and drawbacks (few) will be illustrated, as well as hints as to the correct coupling of the atomization source with the plasma to obtain specific coatings. In particular, the deposition of different organic, hybrid inorganic-organic and bioactive nanocomposite coatings will be discussed. Finally, it will be shown that, in particular cases, unique core-shell nanocapsules can be obtained

Shaking Scenarios from Multiple Source Models Shed Light on the 8 September 1905 Mw 7 Calabria Earthquake (Southern Italy)

4noThe earthquake (Mw 7) that struck western Calabria (southern Italy) on 8 September 1905 profoundly struck a broad region, causing 557 deaths, injuring more than 2000 people, and leaving about 300,000 people homeless. Historical documents also reported a tsunami, although not devastating, for which effects were observed both along the coast and offshore. For all the damage it caused, this event was much studied but not fully explained. Literature source models for the 1905 earthquake are numerous and diverse, in fault geometry, location, and even associated magnitude. They also differ in nature, because these solutions are either field-based or derived from tsunami modeling and macroseismic data inversion. Above all, few or none of the previously published source models appear to be fully compatible with the damage pattern caused by this earthquake. To contribute to the identification of the seismogenic source of this destructive event, we computed a series of ground-shaking scenarios based on the different fault-source models that various authors associated with this event. The only documented data available that are suitable for our comparative purposes are the macroseismic intensities associated with localities affected by the event. Our results show that shaking scenarios for two out of seven literature source models are compatible with the damage distribution caused by the 1905 earthquake. The different parameters and boundary conditions constraining these two solutions suggest that either seismogenic source should include further complexities. Alternatively, because these two sources are antithetic and partially form a graben, they might have kinematically interacted, if passively, on 8 September 1905. Also, our critical analysis attempts to take site effects into account, at least qualitatively, allowing a more robust evaluation of damage distribution against numerical models.openembargoed_20160430Sandron, Denis; Loreto, Maria Filomena; Fracassi, Umberto; Tiberi, LaraSandron, Denis; Loreto, Maria Filomena; Fracassi, Umberto; Tiberi, Lar

Middle Pleistocene to Holocene activity of the Gondola Fault Zone (Southern Adriatic Foreland): deformation of a regional shear zone and seismotectonic implications

Recent seismicity in and around the Gargano Promontory, an uplifted portion of the southern Adriatic Foreland domain, indicates active E-W strike-slip faulting in a region that has also been struck by large historical earthquakes, particularly along the Mattinata Fault. Seismic profiles published in the past two decades show that the pattern of tectonic deformation along the E-W–trending segment of the Gondola Fault Zone, the offshore counterpart of the Mattinata Fault, is strikingly similar to that observed onshore during the Eocene-Pliocene interval. Based on the lack of instrumental seismicity in the south Adriatic offshore, however, and on standard seismic reflection data showing an undisturbed Quaternary succession above the Gondola Fault Zone, this fault zone has been interpreted as essentially inactive since the Pliocene. Nevertheless, many investigators emphasised the genetic relationships and physical continuity between the Mattinata Fault, a positively active tectonic feature, and the Gondola Fault Zone. The seismotectonic potential of the system formed by these two faults has never been investigated in detail. Recent investigations of Quaternary sedimentary successions on the Adriatic shelf, by means of very high-resolution seismic-stratigraphic data, have led to the identification of fold growth and fault propagation in Middle-Upper Pleistocene and Holocene units. The inferred pattern of gentle folding and shallow faulting indicates that sediments deposited during the past ca. 450 ka were recurrently deformed along the E-W branch of the Gondola Fault Zone. We performed a detailed reconstruction and kinematic interpretation of the most recent deformation observed along the Gondola Fault Zone and interpret it in the broader context of the seismotectonic setting of the southern Apennines-foreland region. We hypothesise that the entire 180 km-long Molise-Gondola Shear Zone is presently active and speculate that also its offshore portion, the Gondola Fault Zone, has a seismogenic behaviour

Middle Pleistocene to Holocene activity of the Gondola Fault Zone (Southern Adriatic Foreland): deformation of a regional shear zone and seismotectonic implications

Recent seismicity in and around the Gargano Promontory, an uplifted portion of the Southern Adriatic Foreland domain, indicates active E–W strike-slip faulting in a region that has also been struck by large historical earthquakes, particularly along the Mattinata Fault. Seismic profiles published in the past two decades show that the pattern of tectonic deformation along the E–W-trending segment of the Gondola Fault Zone, the offshore counterpart of the Mattinata Fault, is strikingly similar to that observed onshore during the Eocene–Pliocene interval. Based on the lack of instrumental seismicity in the south Adriatic offshore, however, and on standard seismic reflection data showing an undisturbed Quaternary succession above the Gondola Fault Zone, this fault zone has been interpreted as essentially inactive since the Pliocene. Nevertheless, many investigators emphasised the genetic relationships and physical continuity between the Mattinata Fault, a positively active tectonic feature, and the Gondola Fault Zone. The seismotectonic potential of the system formed by these two faults has never been investigated in detail. Recent investigations of Quaternary sedimentary successions on the Adriatic shelf, by means of very high-resolution seismic–stratigraphic data, have led to the identification of fold growth and fault propagation in Middle–Upper Pleistocene and Holocene units. The inferred pattern of gentle folding and shallow faulting indicates that sediments deposited during the past ca. 450 ka were recurrently deformed along the E–W branch of the Gondola Fault Zone. We performed a detailed reconstruction and kinematic interpretation of the most recent deformation observed along the Gondola Fault Zone and interpret it in the broader context of the seismotectonic setting of the Southern Apennines-foreland region. We hypothesise that the entire 180 km-long Molise–Gondola Shear Zone is presently active and speculate that also its offshore portion, the Gondola Fault Zone, has a seismogenic behaviour

Approaching the seismogenic source of the Calabria 8 September 1905 earthquake: New geophysical, geological and biochemical data from the S. Eufemia Gulf (S Italy)

Recognizing the seismogenic source of major historical earthquakes, particularly when these have occurred offshore, is a long-standing issue across the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere. The destructive earthquake (M ~7) that struck western Calabria (southern Italy) on the night of 8 September 1905 is one such case. having various authors proposed a seismogenic source, with apparently diverse hypotheses and without achieving a unique solution. To gain novel insight into the crustal volume where the 1905 earthquake took place and to seek a more robust solution for the seismogenic source associated with this destructive event, we carried out a well-targeted multidisciplinary survey within the Gulf of S. Eufemia (SE Tyrrhenian Sea), collecting geophysical data, oceanographic measurements, and biological, chemical and sedimentary samples. We identified three main tectonic features affecting the sedimentary basin in the Gulf of S. Eufemia: 1) a NE-SW striking, ca. 13-km-long, normal fault, here named S. Eufemia Fault; 2) a WNW-striking polyphased fault system; and 3) a likely E-W trending lineament. Among these, the normal fault shows evidence of activity witnessed by the deformed recent sediments and by its seabed rupture along which, locally, fluid leakage occurs. Features in agreement with the anomalous distribution of prokaryotic abundance and biopolymeric C content, resulted from the shallow sediments analyses. The numerous seismogenic sources proposed in the literature during the past 15 years make up a composite framework of this sector of western Calabria, that we tested against a) the geological evidence from the newly acquired dataset, and b) the regional seismotectonic models. Such assessment allows us to propose the NE-SW striking normal fault as the most probable candidate for the seismogenic source of the 1905 earthquake. Re-appraising a major historical earthquake as the 1905 one enhances the seismotectonic picture of western Calabria. Further understanding of the region and better constraining the location of the seismogenic source may be attained through integrated interpretation of our data together with a) on-land field evidence, and b) seismological modeling

Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic evaluation in dogs with hypothyroidism before and after levothyroxine supplementation: A prospective controlled study.

Background: Improvement in cardiac function has been demonstrated after thyroxine treatment in humans with hypothyroidism using the myocardial performance index (MPI). Cardiac changes after thyroxine supplementation are poorly documented in dogs with spontaneous hypothyroidism and comparison with clinically healthy dogs is lacking. Objectives: To evaluate the electrical activity and mechanical function of the heart in dogs with primary hypothyroidism at baseline (T0) and after thyroxine supplementation (T60). Animals: Forty client-owned dogs with hypothyroidism and 20 clinically healthy dogs. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Selected electrocardiographic and echocardiographic variables, including the MPI, were measured in all dogs at T0 and in 30 hypothyroid dogs at T60. Results: Hypothyroid dogs had significantly decreased median or mean heart rate (HR), P wave amplitude, and R wave amplitude (P =.04, P =.002, and P =.003, respectively) and E-point-to-septal separation normalized to body weight (EPSSn) and trans-mitral E wave velocity (E max; P <.001 and P =.025, respectively) at T0 compared to control dogs. At T60, significantly increased median or mean HR, P wave amplitude, fractional shortening, and E max (P <.001, P =.004, P =.002, and P =.009, respectively) and significantly decreased left ventricular end-diastolic volume index, and normalized systolic diameter and EPSSn (P =.03, P =.03, and P =.001, respectively) were found. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Hypothyroidism in dogs induces mild and reversible changes of electromechanical cardiac function. The MPI does not have clinical importance in identifying cardiac dysfunction in affected dogs

Rationale, experimental data, and emerging clinical evidence on early and preventive use of levosimendan in patients with ventricular dysfunction

Acute ventricular dysfunction (AVD) is a complex condition with substantial morbidity and mortality, still featuring unique therapeutic challenges. Levosimendan is a calcium sensitizer and ATP-dependent potassium channel opener that was developed as an inodilating drug for the treatment of acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock. Differently from other more widely used inotropic agents, levosimendan has some exclusive characteristics, in terms of mechanisms of action, pharmacodynamic profile, and haemodynamic effects. This may have important clinical implications. In particular, in patients with AVD or in patients with pre-existing severe ventricular impairment undergoing planned myocardial stress, the administration of levosimendan before the onset of overt symptoms or before cardiovascular therapeutic procedures may have the potential to bridge the patient through the critical phase. In this review, we will focus on the rationale, the existing experimental data, and the emerging clinical experience supporting an early, even preventive use of levosimendan in severe ventricular dysfunction, beyond its recognized indications

Calcium and phosphate homeostasis in dogs with newly diagnosed naturally occurring hypercortisolism

Background: Hypercortisolism affects calcium and phosphate metabolism in dogs; however, the exact mechanisms are not completely understood. Objectives: To evaluate circulating concentrations of whole parathormone (wPTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D), calcitriol, and fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) in dogs with naturally occurring hypercortisolism (NOHC) and healthy dogs, and their association with calcium and phosphate homeostasis. Animals: Twenty-three client-owned dogs with NOHC, and 12 client or staff-owned healthy dogs. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study. The circulating concentrations of total calcium, ionized calcium (iCa), phosphate, wPTH, 25-(OH)D, calcitriol and FGF-23, and the urinary fractional excretion of phosphate (FEP) and calcium (FECa) were compared between dogs with NOHC before treatment and healthy dogs. Results: Dogs with NOHC had higher mean serum phosphate concentrations (4.81 mg/dL, SD ± 0.71 vs 3.86 mg/dL, SD ± 0.60; P <.001), median FECa (0.43%, range, 0.03-2.44 vs 0.15%, range, 0.06-0.35; P =.005), and median serum wPTH concentrations (54.6 pg/mL, range, 23.7-490 vs 24.6 pg/mL, range, 5.5-56.4; P =.003) as compared to the controls. Circulating concentrations of total calcium, iCa, and calcitriol and the FEP did not differ between groups, whereas the serum 25-(OH)D concentrations were lower in dogs with NOHC as compared to the controls (70.2 pg/mL, SD ± 42.3 vs 106.3 pg/mL, SD ± 35.3; P =.02). The dogs with NOHC had lower plasma FGF-23 concentrations than controls (316.6 pg/mL, range, 120.8-575.6 vs 448.7 pg/mL, range, 244.8-753; P =.03). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Urine loss of calcium and hyperphosphatemia could contribute to the adrenal secondary hyperparathyroidism