Geomorphological evolution and relative chronology of terrace levels adjacent to the Chubut river mouth to the Atlantic (Chubut Province)

An ancient alluvial fan and its subsequent evolution are described. Ancient alluvial fan accumulations have been interpreted as the northern continuation of the rodados patagónicos of the Montemayor Plateau, a proposal that is contested. The methodological recognition of the ancient alluvial fan and its genetic and temporary distinction, were made from geomorphologic analysis and altimetric evaluation. Time assignment is a problem not yet solved. The methodology led to three different geomorphic systems or levels related to successive episodes of aggradation and erosion, with increasing lower positions, which coincide with a complex paleodrainage ancient alluvial fan. its successive developments are linked to proposed proto-rivers Chubut 1, 2, 3 and to a Simpson paleo-valley. Despite the mentioned limitations, we propose that the evolutionary model of ancient alluvial fan responds to a structure of cut and fill which is supported by the poly-formational composition of an ancient alluvial fan, and a gradual southward migration of the paleo-drainage. Based on geomorphologic analysis and altimetric distinction an upper level, composed of the remains of three plains (Pa, Pm and Pb), a middle level with two terraces (T1 and T2) and a complex lower level and five terraces (T3, T4, T5 T6 and T7) were recognized. Relict evidences of paleo-drainages are proposed based on the Estancia Paz and Don Morgan-Saraza paleo-valleys in the upper level. The age of the ancient alluvial fan based on the geomorphic evolution of the study area is tentatively assigned to an uncertain period between the late Pleistocene and late Sangamon interglacial at the end of the last glaciation.Fil:di Tommaso, I. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Geomorphology of the Moquehue and Aluminé Lakes: Considerations about the Meseta del Arco and Nacimientos del Aluminé calderas

The region is situated in the Neuquén Cordillera at 38° 30'S latitud close to the international border. Geomorphic and structural features are presented which indicated a glacial morphogenesis for the depression that contains the Moquehue- Aluminé lakes. Previous works have identified a large volcanic complex related to Plio-Quaternary volcanic activity located at the east of the present volcanic arc. In this sector various caldera depressions and associated domic bodies have been identified. From the nine proposed calderas only the Pino Hachado caldera has been studied in detail. The Meseta del Arco and Nacimientos del Aluminé are disregarded as calderas. The erosional genesis of the steep scarps previously interpreted as caldera margins is also identified with glacial erosion. Facies and types of the local Pleistocene glaciation, its extension, their flow direction and its quite probable diffluence (Paso del Arco) through coeval glaciers situated north of the international border are also analyzed. Local characteristics of volcanic and eolian morphogenic and the mass-wasting process are described. Brief comments about pre-glacial drainage and the previous proposal of Bío Bío-Aluminé trough on the region are added. Transversal topographic-geological profiles discard west of the Bío Bío-Aluminé Fault a structural unit related to tectonic depression of Bío Bío-Aluminé trough and the Nacimientos del Aluminé and Moquehue calderas.Fil:di Tommaso, I. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Large Deviations of the Free-Energy in Diluted Mean-Field Spin-Glass

Sample-to-sample free energy fluctuations in spin-glasses display a markedly different behaviour in finite-dimensional and fully-connected models, namely Gaussian vs. non-Gaussian. Spin-glass models defined on various types of random graphs are in an intermediate situation between these two classes of models and we investigate whether the nature of their free-energy fluctuations is Gaussian or not. It has been argued that Gaussian behaviour is present whenever the interactions are locally non-homogeneous, i.e. in most cases with the notable exception of models with fixed connectivity and random couplings $J_{ij}=\pm \tilde{J}$. We confirm these expectation by means of various analytical results. In particular we unveil the connection between the spatial fluctuations of the populations of populations of fields defined at different sites of the lattice and the Gaussian nature of the free-energy fluctuations. On the contrary on locally homogeneous lattices the populations do not fluctuate over the sites and as a consequence the small-deviations of the free energy are non-Gaussian and scales as in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model

Frailty and Sarcopenia in Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure

In patients with cirrhosis, sarcopenia is a critical reduction in skeletal muscle mass and frailty represents a status of global physical dysfunction caused by under nutrition, muscle wasting, and functional impairment. Both are prevalent conditions in liver transplant candidates and have shown to be independent predictors of adverse outcome. Evidence supports their incorporation into clinical practice both as a prognostic factor guiding clinical decision making and as a tool to identify candidates for physical and nutritional interventions. The wide heterogeneity of instruments used for sarcopenia and frailty measurement, the absence of a single suitable instrument for sarcopenia and frailty assessment in the outpatient versus inpatient acute- on-chronic clinical scenario, and the lack of strong evidence showing a beneficial effect of sarcopenia and frailty improvement on outcomes before and after transplantation are some of the questions that remain unanswere

Switching Frequency Effects on the Efficiency and Harmonic Distortion in a Three-Phase Five-Level CHBMI Prototype with Multicarrier PWM Schemes: Experimental Analysis

The current climatic scenario requires the use of innovative solutions to increase the production of electricity from renewable energy sources. Multilevel Power Inverters are a promising solution to improve the penetration of renewable energy sources into the electrical grid. Moreover, the performance of MPIs is a function of the modulation strategy employed and of its features (modulation index and switching frequency). This paper presents an extended and experimental analysis of three-phase five-level Cascaded H-Bridges Multilevel Inverter performance in terms of efficiency and harmonic content considering several MC PWM modulation strategies. In detail, the CHBMI performance is analyzed by varying the modulation index and the switching frequency. For control purposes, the NI System On Module sbRIO-9651 control board, a dedicated FPGA-based control board for power electronics and drive applications programmable in the LabVIEW environment, is used. The paper describes the modulation strategies implementation, the test bench set-up, and the experimental investigations carried out. The results obtained in terms of Total Harmonic Distorsion (THD) and efficiency are analyzed, compared, and discussed

Highly ionized region surrounding SN Refsdal revealed by MUSE

Supernova (SN) Refsdal is the first multiply imaged, highly magnified, and spatially resolved SN ever observed. The SN exploded in a highly magnified spiral galaxy at z = 1.49 behind the Frontier Fields cluster MACS1149, and provides a unique opportunity to study the environment of SNe at high z. We exploit the time delay between multiple images to determine the properties of the SN and its environment before, during, and after the SN exploded. We use the integral-field spectrograph MUSE on the VLT to simultaneously target all observed and model-predicted positions of SN Refsdal. We find Mg ii emission at all positions of SN Refsdal, accompanied by weak Fe ii* emission at two positions. The measured ratios of [O ii] to Mg ii emission of 10–20 indicate a high degree of ionization with low metallicity. Because the same high degree of ionization is found in all images, and our spatial resolution is too coarse to resolve the region of influence of SN Refsdal, we conclude that this high degree of ionization has been produced by previous SNe or a young and hot stellar population. We find no variability of the [O ii] line over a period of 57 days. This suggests that there is no variation in the [O ii] luminosity of the SN over this period, or that the SN has a small contribution to the integrated [O ii] emission over the scale resolved by our observations

Highly variable clinical pictures in dogs naturally infected with angiostrongylus vasorum

Canine angiostrongylosis by Angiostrongylus vasorum is increasingly reported in both enzootic and previously free areas. The complex pathogenesis of the disease makes the clinical workup challenging. Infected dogs show highly variable clinical pictures, characterized by subclinical to life-threatening general, cardio-respiratory, neurological and/or gastrointestinal signs. The present study reports the high variability of clinical pictures from 36 dogs across central and southern Italy that were naturally infected by A. vasorum. Of them, 23 (63.9%) presented at least one clinical sign, while 13 (36.1%) were subclinically infected and apparently healthy. Overall, 19 dogs (52.8%) showed cardiorespiratory signs, 14 (38.9%) had non-specific abnormalities, 2 (5.6%) presented coagulation disorders and 1 (2.8%) had a severe neurological condition. Importantly, four dogs presenting with clinical signs had neither cough nor dyspnea. These results underline that angiostrongylosis should be included in the differential diagnosis, even when dogs display only non-specific clinical signs. The proportion of apparently healthy dogs highlights the relevance of routine copromicroscopic and/or antigenic tests in enzootic areas to avoid the sudden onset of potentially life-threatening signs

Clinical criteria and diagnostic assessment of fibromyalgia: position statement of the Italian Society of Neurology-Neuropathic Pain Study Group

Background: The role of central and/or peripheral nervous system dysfunction is basically fundamental in fibromyalgia. Aim: The aim of this position statement on behalf of the Neuropathic Pain Study Group of the Italian Society of Neurology is to give practical guidelines for the clinical and instrumental assessment of fibromyalgia (FM) in the neurological clinical practice, taking into consideration recent studies. Methods: Criteria for study selection and consideration were original studies, case-controls design, use of standardized methodologies for clinical practice, and FM diagnosis with ACR criteria (2010, 2011, 2016). Results: ACR criteria were revised. For diagnostic procedure of small-fiber pathology, 47 studies were totally considered. Recent diagnostic criteria should be applied (ACR, 2016). A rheumatologic visit seems mandatory. The involvement of small fibers should request at least 2 among HRV + SSR and/or laser-evoked responses and/or skin biopsy and/or corneal confocal microscopy, eventually followed by monitoring of metabolic and/or immunological/ and or/paraneoplastic basis, to be repeated at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: The correct diagnostic approach to FM could promote the exclusion of the known causes of small-fiber impairment. The research toward common genetic factors would be useful to promote a more specific therapeutic approach

Practical and clinical utility of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the acute treatment of migraine. A post hoc analysis of the randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind PRESTO trial

Background: The PRESTO study of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS; gammaCore®) featured key primary and secondary end points recommended by the International Headache Society to provide Class I evidence that for patients with an episodic migraine, nVNS significantly increases the probability of having mild pain or being pain-free 2 h post stimulation. Here, we examined additional data from PRESTO to provide further insights into the practical utility of nVNS by evaluating its ability to consistently deliver clinically meaningful improvements in pain intensity while reducing the need for rescue medication. Methods: Patients recorded pain intensity for treated migraine attacks on a 4-point scale. Data were examined to compare nVNS and sham with regard to the percentage of patients who benefited by at least 1 point in pain intensity. We also assessed the percentage of attacks that required rescue medication and pain-free rates stratified by pain intensity at treatment initiation. Results: A significantly higher percentage of patients who used acute nVNS treatment (n = 120) vs sham (n = 123) reported a ≥ 1-point decrease in pain intensity at 30 min (nVNS, 32.2%; sham, 18.5%; P = 0.020), 60 min (nVNS, 38.8%; sham, 24.0%; P = 0.017), and 120 min (nVNS, 46.8%; sham, 26.2%; P = 0.002) after the first attack. Similar significant results were seen when assessing the benefit in all attacks. The proportion of patients who did not require rescue medication was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham for the first attack (nVNS, 59.3%; sham, 41.9%; P = 0.013) and all attacks (nVNS, 52.3%; sham, 37.3%; P = 0.008). When initial pain intensity was mild, the percentage of patients with no pain after treatment was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham at 60 min (all attacks: nVNS, 37.0%; sham, 21.2%; P = 0.025) and 120 min (first attack: nVNS, 50.0%; sham, 25.0%; P = 0.018; all attacks: nVNS, 46.7%; sham, 30.1%; P = 0.037). Conclusions: This post hoc analysis demonstrated that acute nVNS treatment quickly and consistently reduced pain intensity while decreasing rescue medication use. These clinical benefits provide guidance in the optimal use of nVNS in everyday practice, which can potentially reduce use of acute pharmacologic medications and their associated adverse events. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02686034