Local Site Behaviour in the 1976 Friuli Earthquake

Soon after the main shock of Friuli, Italy, May 6th 1976 earthquake, two strong motion recorders accelerographs were installed in two sites about 650 meters distant one from the other. One instrument was installed on hard outcropping rock, the other at the surface of an alluvial deposit 20+25 meters thick underlain by a sloping bedrock. Among the numerous records obtained three aftershocks of magnitude about 6 and hypocentral distance within 20 Km, are investigated by comparing maximum accelerations, durations, Arias intensity and Husid ratios. A new numerical tool is proposed which consists of a series of plots of the Husid ratios of low-pass filtered accelerograms. The numerical tool seems to be very promising since it allows to describe at the same time energy, duration and frequencies content, of a given ground motion. Moreover the application to the records simultaneously obtained at the two stations suggests that it would be more appropriate to define an accelerogram according to the type of behavior shown by the site during a certain earthquake rather than according to the local site characteristics like soft or hard

Caratterizzazione geotecnica dei terreni sottostanti le postazioni accelerografiche di Ancona-Rocca e Ancona-Palombina

SIGLEITItal

Risanamento ambientale della laguna di Orbetello: studi idrologici ed idrogeologici

SIGLEITItal

The novel potent multidrug resistance inhibitors N,N-bis(cyclohexanol)amine aryl esters are devoid of vascular effects

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the four isomers (3a, 3b, 3c and 3d) of a novel multidrug resistance-reverting agent - 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid 4-(methyl-{4-[3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acryloyloxy]cyclohexyl}amino)cyclohexyl ester - on vascular functions in vitro. A comparison of their mechanical and electrophysiological actions in rat aorta rings and single rat tail artery myocytes, respectively, was performed. In rat aorta rings, 3a-d antagonized both 60 mmol/l K(+)- and phenylephrine-induced contraction in a concentration-dependent manner, with maximal relaxation values averaging 50% of controls, 3d being the most effective of the series. The vasorelaxing effect was similar either in presence or absence of intact endothelium. In rat tail artery myocytes, out of the four isomers, only 3a consistently inhibited Ba(2+) current through Ca(v)1.2 channels. Our results provide functional evidence that 3a-d are weak vasorelaxing agents, although at concentrations much higher than those effective for multidrug resistance reversion in cancer cells

Muir–Torre syndrome or phenocopy? The value of the immunohistochemical expression of mismatch repair proteins in sebaceous tumors of immunocompromised patients

Primary and secondary immunodepressive conditions are associated with an increased incidence of sebaceous tumors. Microsatellite instability (MSI) and lack of expression of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, typical markers of Muir-Torre/Lynch heredo-familial settings, can be recognized also in immunocompromised patients. We aimed to carry on a systematic examination of clinical, immunohistochemical, biomolecular features of sebaceous tumors arising in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients between 1986 and 2012. Microsatellite screening, immunohistochemical analysis and genetic testing were performed for hMLH1, hMSH2 and hMSH6. Methylation status of MMR genes was checked in cases with immunohistochemistry (IHC) loss of MMR proteins expression and no germline mutations. Fifteen patients had a personal history of visceral carcinomas fulfilling diagnostic criteria for Muir-Torre syndrome. In this cohort, IHC analysis, MSI status and genetic testing were in agreement, showing eight MSH2 and two MLH1 germline mutations. Five patients were immunosuppressed and their sebaceous tumors showed a lack of MSH2/MSH6 expression, although just one case with positive family history for visceral cancer harbored a germline mutation. In immunosuppressed patients, loss of IHC for MMR proteins is not necessarily secondary to MMR germline mutations. IHC false positives are probably due to epigenetic alterations. MSI and lack of expression of MMR proteins can be recognized also in immunocompromised patients without MMR germline mutations