Mt. Etna Volcanic Aerosol and Ash Retrievals using MERIS and AATSR Data

Envisat MERIS and AATSR data have been acquired in the framework of the Eurorisk-Preview project. The project addresses European civil protections and proposes to develop, at the European scale, new information services to support the risk management. In Italy one of the most important natural risks is due to the presence of volcanoes. Mt. Etna in Sicily, displays persistent activity, periodically interrupted by eruptions, which emit volcanic aerosol and ash to different altitudes in troposphere affecting the central Mediterranean area. In order to test the use of MERIS and AATSR data to derive emitted particles parameters as optical depth, effective radius and the ash mass of particles, the already developed remote sensing techniques has been adapted. MERIS and AATSR data acquired during the Mt. Etna 2002-2003 volcanic eruption has been chosen. The use of VIS and TIR bands of the two sensor demonstrates the potential to derive useful information on plume particles and to monitor the volcanic plume during eruption if frequent and high resolution data is available in near real time

Bone marrow vasculature advanced in vitro models for cancer and cardiovascular research

Copyright © 2023 Campanile, Bettinelli, Cerutti and Spinetti. Cardiometabolic diseases and cancer are among the most common diseases worldwide and are a serious concern to the healthcare system. These conditions, apparently distant, share common molecular and cellular determinants, that can represent targets for preventive and therapeutic approaches. The bone marrow plays an important role in this context as it is the main source of cells involved in cardiovascular regeneration, and one of the main sites of liquid and solid tumor metastasis, both characterized by the cellular trafficking across the bone marrow vasculature. The bone marrow vasculature has been widely studied in animal models, however, it is clear the need for human-specific in vitro models, that resemble the bone vasculature lined by endothelial cells to study the molecular mechanisms governing cell trafficking. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on in vitro models of bone marrow vasculature developed for cardiovascular and cancer research.The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. MC and GS are supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente and 5xmille to the IRCCS MultiMedica). CC is the recipient of the International Cancer Research Fellowship ICARE-2 funded from by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 800924 (“Single-cell epigenetic and molecular signatures in human breast cancer metastasis formation)

The OPERA magnetic spectrometer

The OPERA neutrino oscillation experiment foresees the construction of two magnetized iron spectrometers located after the lead-nuclear emulsion targets. The magnet is made up of two vertical walls of rectangular cross section connected by return yokes. The particle trajectories are measured by high precision drift tubes located before and after the arms of the magnet. Moreover, the magnet steel is instrumented with Resistive Plate Chambers that ease pattern recognition and allow a calorimetric measurement of the hadronic showers. In this paper we review the construction of the spectrometers. In particular, we describe the results obtained from the magnet and RPC prototypes and the installation of the final apparatus at the Gran Sasso laboratories. We discuss the mechanical and magnetic properties of the steel and the techniques employed to calibrate the field in the bulk of the magnet. Moreover, results of the tests and issues concerning the mass production of the Resistive Plate Chambers are reported. Finally, the expected physics performance of the detector is described; estimates rely on numerical simulations and the outcome of the tests described above.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figures, presented at the 2003 IEEE-NSS conference, Portland, OR, USA, October 20-24, 200

Increased Aortic Calpain-1 Activity Mediates Age-Associated Angiotensin II Signaling of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Angiotensin II (Ang II) signaling, including matrix metalloproteinase type II (MMP2) activation, has been linked to an age-associated increase in migration capacity of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), and to other proinflammatory features of arterial aging. Calpain-1 activation is required for MMP2 expression in fibroblasts and is induced in cardiomyocytes by Ang II. The consequences of engagement of calpain-1 with its substrates, however, in governing the age-associated proinflammatory status within the arterial wall, remains unknown.The present findings demonstrate that transcription, translation, and activity of calpain-1 are significantly up-regulated in rat aortae or early-passage aortic VSMC from old (30-mo) rats compared to young (8-mo). Dual immunolabeling of the arterial wall indicates that colocalization of calpain-1 and Ang II increases within the aged arterial wall. To further explore the relationship of calpain-1 to Ang II, we chronically infused Ang II into young rats, and treated cultured aortic rings or VSMC with Ang II. We also constructed adenoviruses harboring calpain-1 (CANP1) or its endogenous inhibitor calpastatin (CAST) and infected these into VSMC. Ang II induces calpain-1 expression in the aortic walls in vivo and ex vivo and VSMC in vitro. The Ang II mediated, age-associated increased MMP2 activity and migration in VSMC are both blocked by calpain inhibitor 1 or CAST. Over-expression of calpain-1 in young VSMC results in cleavage of intact vimentin, and an increased migratory capacity mimicking that of old VSMC, which is blocked by the MMP inhibitor, GM6001.Calpain-1 activation is a pivotal molecular event in the age-associated arterial Ang II/MMP2 signaling cascade that is linked to cytoskeleton protein restructuring, and VSMC migration. Therefore, targeting calpain-1 has the potential to delay or reverse the arterial remodeling that underlies age-associated diseases i.e. atherosclerosis

Volcanic Risk Management: the Case of Mt. Etna 2006 Eruption

Mt. Etna volcano is located in a very populated area of eastern Sicily (Italy). Its permanent degassing activity from summit craters and frequent eruptions impact significantly on town habitations and cultivated areas. In the latest years Etna has produced copious ash emission causing great losses to local economy and causing serious hazards to national and international air traffic over Mediterranean area and the often closure of Catania airport. In July 2006 eruptive vents opened on the East and South flanks of the summit craters showing irregular explosive and effusive activity lasting 6 months. This eruption represented the opportunity to perform the pre-operative test of FP6 Eurorisk-Preview (Prevention, Information and Early Warning) project aimed to develop tools for monitoring volcanoes. The test was performed during two temporal phases: the first one of early-warning was aimed to measure ground deformation and the second one during the crisis to survey volcanic ash produced during the explosions. The ground deformations were measured through the elaboration of SAR data. Beside the geophysical objectives, the test was also important to check data availability and efficiency of European Space Agency procedures. The pre-operative test has been peculiar to understand and quantify the delivering time of the final satellite products expected from the Volcanological Observatory in operative case. The analysis of July 2005 - July 2006 SAR data showed a pre-eruptive inflation trend in agreement with the ground network of GPS data. The magmatic source, that produced the September - October activity, has been located about 2.7 km below the summit craters. During the crisis phase characterized by paroxysmal activity, the Italian Civil Protection (DPC) in charge of airport closure in case of volcanic hazard, requested the satellite volcanic ash product retrieved from the NASA-MODIS data. An agreement between the industry Telespazio as direct broadcast of satellite data at Matera station and INGV was signed in order to elaborate the data in near-real time. The volcanic ash product provided information about: the presence of volcanic ash in the air; the affected area; the volcanic plume dispersal direction, dimensions and altitude and the volcanic ash loading. The satellite products and the observations report have been successively inserted in a web-interface. At the same time the observations report has been linked to the DPC dedicated Web-GIS interface that allows in a short time the availability of volcanic ash information to DPC in support to their decisions.Published77-811.10. TTC - Telerilevamentoope

Monitoring Actives Volcanoes by Using of Envisat and Ers Data: First Results of the Eurorisk-Preview Project

In the framework of the Eurorisk-Preview project, funded by the European Union, a task is dedicated to the assessment, prevention and management of volcanic risk. We are developing a multidisciplinary approach, integrating the geophysical prospecting at local scale and large scale remote sensing data. To achieve this task, two volcanic test sites have been identified: Mt. Etna, in Sicily (Italy), and Tenerife, in Canary Islands (Spain). We investigate the surface deformation and the volcanic emission in the atmosphere by using SAR series and multispectral data, requested in the ESA Category 1 (n. 3560). For Mt. Etna data from historical to recent eruptions (1992 – 2006) has been analysed while for Tenerife archived SAR data from 1992 to 2005 has been analysed, individuating anomaly ground deformations in Pico de Teide and surrounding areas as suggested by GPS campaigns

Volcanic Risk Management: the Case of Mt. Etna 2006 Eruption

Mt. Etna volcano is located in a very populated area of eastern Sicily (Italy). Its permanent degassing activity from summit craters and frequent eruptions impact significantly on town habitations and cultivated areas. In the latest years Etna has produced copious ash emission causing great losses to local economy and causing serious hazards to national and international air traffic over Mediterranean area and the often closure of Catania airport. In July 2006 eruptive vents opened on the East and South flanks of the summit craters showing irregular explosive and effusive activity lasting 6 months. This eruption represented the opportunity to perform the pre-operative test of FP6 Eurorisk-Preview (Prevention, Information and Early Warning) project aimed to develop tools for monitoring volcanoes. The test was performed during two temporal phases: the first one of early-warning was aimed to measure ground deformation and the second one during the crisis to survey volcanic ash produced during the explosions. The ground deformations were measured through the elaboration of SAR data. Beside the geophysical objectives, the test was also important to check data availability and efficiency of European Space Agency procedures. The pre-operative test has been peculiar to understand and quantify the delivering time of the final satellite products expected from the Volcanological Observatory in operative case. The analysis of July 2005 - July 2006 SAR data showed a pre-eruptive inflation trend in agreement with the ground network of GPS data. The magmatic source, that produced the September - October activity, has been located about 2.7 km below the summit craters. During the crisis phase characterized by paroxysmal activity, the Italian Civil Protection (DPC) in charge of airport closure in case of volcanic hazard, requested the satellite volcanic ash product retrieved from the NASA-MODIS data. An agreement between the industry Telespazio as direct broadcast of satellite data at Matera station and INGV was signed in order to elaborate the data in near-real time. The volcanic ash product provided information about: the presence of volcanic ash in the air; the affected area; the volcanic plume dispersal direction, dimensions and altitude and the volcanic ash loading. The satellite products and the observations report have been successively inserted in a web-interface. At the same time the observations report has been linked to the DPC dedicated Web-GIS interface that allows in a short time the availability of volcanic ash information to DPC in support to their decisions

Dimethyl-2-oxoglutarate improves redox balance and mitochondrial function in muscle pericytes of individuals with diabetes mellitus

Aims/hypothesis Treatment of vascular complications of diabetes remains inadequate. We reported that muscle pericytes (MPs) from limb muscles of vascular patients with diabetes mellitus display elevated levels of oxidative stress causing a dysfunctional phenotype. Here, we investigated whether treatment with dimethyl-2-oxoglutarate (DM-2OG), a tricarboxylic acid cycle metab- olite with antioxidant properties, can restore a healthy metabolic and functional phenotype. Methods MPs were isolated from limb muscles of diabetes patients with vascular disease (D-MPs) and from non-diabetic control participants (ND-MPs). Metabolic status was assessed in untreated and DM-2OG-treated (1 mmol/l) cells using an extracellular flux analyser and anion-exchange chromatography–mass spectrometry (IC-MS/MS). Redox status was measured using commercial kits and IC-MS/MS, with antioxidant and metabolic enzyme expression assessed by quanti- tative RT-PCR and western blotting. Myogenic differentiation and proliferation and pericyte–endothelial interaction were assessed as functional readouts. Results D-MPs showed mitochondrial dysfunction, suppressed glycolytic activity and reduced reactive oxygen species- buffering capacity, but no suppression of antioxidant systems when compared with ND-MP controls. DM-2OG supple- mentation improved redox balance and mitochondrial function, without affecting glycolysis or antioxidant systems. Nonetheless, this was not enough for treated D-MPs to regain the level of proliferation and myogenic differentiation of ND-MPs. Interestingly, DM-2OG exerted a positive effect on pericyte–endothelial cell interaction in the co-culture angiogenesis assay, independent of the diabetic status. Conclusions/interpretation These novel findings support the concept of using DM-2OG supplementation to improve pericyte redox balance and mitochondrial function, while concurrently allowing for enhanced pericyte–endothelial crosstalk. Such effects may help to prevent or slow down vasculopathy in skeletal muscles of people with diabetes