Mappatura speditiva della qualità delle acque sotterranee pugliesi

A methodology is proposed for groundwater quality classification, using a restricted number of analytical parameters (chemical-physical and not desirable substances). For Apulian aquifers, the authors experiment and modify previous scientific experiences in relation to the hydrogeological specific setting

Identification of typical chemical and physical conditions in Apulian groundwater (southern Italy) through well multi-parameter logs

Apulia is affected by two types of human-related pollution: salt contamination and chemico-physical and biological pollution. The special severity of the situation calls for a rigorous approach based on available scientific knowledge and supplemented by up-to-date investigations of the evolution of groundwater quality. Particularly useful are to this end the multi-parameter logs which have been executed along the water column of the well, through the monitoring of temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and oxidation-reduction potential of groundwater. This method, which has been tested in 120 wells over one year, has allowed to detect some typical trends of the parameters under study. These types, which are rather recurrent in space and time, allow an extensive use of the suggested method which can be easily applied to the preliminary detection of the hydrogeological conditions which determine the chemical and physical nature of groundwater and the occurrence of human- or salt-related contamination

Santa Cesarea coastal thermal springs (southern Italy)

The coastal carbonate Apulian aquifers, located in southern Italy, feed numerous coastal cold springs and constitute the main local source of high quality water. The group of Santa Cesarea springs constitutes the unique occurrence of thermal groundwater outflow, observed in partially submerged coastal caves. The spring water is rich of hydrogen sulfide; temperature ranges from 25 to 33 C°. For their properties, spring waters are used for spa activities from several decades. Hydrogeological spring conceptualisations proposed up now were not able to justify water geochemical peculiarities or were not completely confirmed up now. To reduce these uncertainties, a complex hydrogeological survey has been defined. Geological and structural surveys, chemical and isotopic groundwater analyses, spring and well discharge measurements, well loggings, multi-parameters spring automatized measurements, and cave explorations are ongoing. All available data have been used to improve the knowledge of groundwater flow system, including the valuable deep aquifer, the origin of the thermal waters, and to investigate the possibility of using low-enthalpy geothermal fluids to fulfil the thermal needs of the town of Santa Cesarea Terme

Groundwater as main resources of a wide semiarid region: the case of Apulian region (southern italy)

The Apulian region is characterized by very low availability of surface water resources due to the its widespread karstic nature. Considerable groundwater resources are located in large carbonate coastal aquifers. Groundwater for domestic, irrigation and industrial use has been withdrawn in large and increasing quantities over the years, it still allows the development of local population. Groundwater is affected by two types of degradation risks: quality and quantity degradation. Starting by the analysis of long hydrological time series, the dramatic decreasing trend of groundwater availability is characterised and the negative effect in terms of groundwater quality is highlighted

Coastal hydrogeological system of Mar Piccolo (Taranto, Italy)

The Mar Piccolo basin is an internal sea basin located along the Ionian coast (Southern Italy), and it is surrounded primarily by fractured carbonate karstic environment. Because of the karstic features, the main continental water inflow is from groundwater discharge. The Mar Piccolo basin represents a peculiar and sensitive environment and a social emergency because of sea water and sediments pollution. This pollution appears to be caused by the overlapping effects of dangerous anthropogenic activities, including heavy industries and commercial and navy dockyards. The paper aims to define the contribution of subaerial and submarine coastal springs to the hydrological dynamic equilibrium of this internal sea basin. A general approach was defined, including a hydrogeological basin border assessment to detect inflowing springs, detailed geological and hydrogeological conceptualisation, in situ submarine and subaerial spring measurements, and flow numerical modelling. Multiple sources of data were obtained to define a relevant geodatabase, and it contained information on approximately 2,000 wells, located in the study area (1,600 km2). The conceptualisation of the hydrogeological basin, which is 978 km2 wide, was supported by a 3D geological model that interpolated 716 stratigraphic logs. The variability in hydraulic conductivity was determined using hundreds of pumping tests. Five surveys were performed to acquire hydro-geochemical data and spring flow-yield measurements; the isotope groundwater age was assessed and used for model validation. The mean annual volume exchanged by the hydrogeological basin was assessed equal to 106.93 106 m3. The numerical modelling permitted an assessment of the mean monthly yield of each spring outflow (surveyed or not), travel time, and main path flow

La valutazione della vulnerabilità integrata degli acquiferi. La sperimentazione nell'area campione di Corigliano in Salento

Si descrivono le metodologie utilizzate e i risultati conseguiti con uno studio di dettaglio di un’area campione dell’unità idrogeologica del Salento (Puglia), costituita da un vasto acquifero carbonatico mesozoico. Tale area, rappresentativa sia degli aspetti idrogeologici tipici delle zone di alimentazione del Salento sia degli effetti dell'antropizzazione, è sede di nurnerosi pozzi adibiti ad uso potabile. Lo studio è stato finalizzato alla redazione della carta della vulnerabilità dell’acquifero con ii metodo SINTACS. La natura sperimentale dell’applicazione è legata alle peculiarità dell’acquifero salentino e all’assenza di esperienze pregresse per tale contesto. Sono stati effettuati rilievi diretti, prove idrogeologiche e piü cicli di campionarnento idrico ed analisi di laboratorio. I centri di pericolo sono stati censiti sulla base delle banche dati disponibili ed ispezionando ii territorio. L’infiltrazione si è dirnostrata molto rapida, anche laddove l’acquifero non affiora. La vulnerabilità è risultata notevole, da alta a molto elevata. La qualita delle acque, per quanto tuttora buona, si è dimostrata sensibile alla posizione e all’azione dei centri di pericolo. I rischi di degrado qualitativo sono risultati non trascurabili

Caratterizzazione idrogeologica della piana di Metaponto, qualità e rischi di degrado delle acque sotterranee

The study area falls within the Ionian coastal plain (Southern Italy), bounded on the West by the Sinni River and on the East by Bradano River. It covers 40 km along the coast and 6 km inland. The geological and hydrogeological features of the study area and the chemical-physical groundwater characterisation have been inferred from the data analysis of 1130 boreholes. Some aquifers, connected among them, constituted by soils of different geological origin, exist in the area also if the coastal plain aquifer is the most interesting for practical utilisation. Groundwater flow is mainly unconfined inland, where the aquifer is constituted by terraced deposits and confined in the alluvial coastal plain. An upper clayey layer overlies the sandy coastal aquifer characterised by a mean hydraulic conductivity value equal to 2.3 10-4 m/s. Being the direct natural recharge extremely low, the recharge of this coastal aquifer is mainly guaranteed by the discharge from upward aquifers and from the river leakage. The bottom of the aquifer is a silty-clayey bed which lies under the sea level permitting so the seawater intrusion. This phenomenon involves the studied coastal plain for a width of 1-1.5 km on average and it is less evident moving inwards where the altitude of the clayey bottom of the aquifer becomes progressively higher than the sea level. Other chemical-physical data, studied to determine the quality of the waters, showed that the pollution of the groundwater is considered a grave environmental problem for the studied area

Data on consistency among different methods to assess atherosclerotic plaque echogenicity on standard ultrasound and intraplaque neovascularization on contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging in human carotid artery

AbstractHere we provide the correlation among different carotid ultrasound (US) variables to assess echogenicity n standard carotid US and to assess intraplaque neovascularization on contrast enhanced US. We recruited 45 consecutive subjects with an asymptomatic≥50% carotid artery stenosis. Carotid plaque echogenicity at standard US was visually graded according to Gray–Weale classification (GW) and measured by the greyscale median (GSM), a semi-automated computerized measurement performed by Adobe Photoshop®. On CEUS imaging IPNV was graded according to the visual appearance of contrast within the plaque according to three different methods: CEUS_A (1=absent; 2=present); CEUS_B a three-point scale (increasing IPNV from 1 to 3); CEUS_C a four-point scale (increasing IPNV from 0 to 3). We have also implemented a new simple quantification method derived from region of interest (ROI) signal intensity ratio as assessed by QLAB software. Further information is available in “Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging of intraplaque neovascularization and its correlation to plaque echogenicity in human carotid arteries atherosclerosis (M. Cattaneo, D. Staub, A.P. Porretta, J.M. Gallino, P. Santini, C. Limoni et al., 2016) [1]

Reduction of ST-elevation myocardial infarction in Canton Ticino (Switzerland) after smoking bans in enclosed public places—No Smoke Pub Study

Background: Second-hand smoke increases the risk of acute myocardial infarction. Canton Ticino (CT) first introduced a smoking ban in public places in 2007. This offered the opportunity to assess the long-term impact of a smoking ban on the incidence of ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI) compared with a population where the law was not yet implemented. Methods: We assessed the incidence of STEMI hospitalizations per 100 000 inhabitants both during 3 years before and after the ban application in CT and in Canton Basel City (CBC), where this law was not yet applied. Data were obtained from the codified hospital registry (ICD-10 codes). Results: In CT, the mean incidence of STEMI admissions during the 3 pre-ban years (123.7) was significantly higher than the incidence of admissions in each of the 3 post-ban years (92.9, 101.6 and 89.6 respectively; P <.024). Analysing population subsets, a post-ban reduction was observed among ≥65-year-old people of both sexes in each of the 3 post-ban years and in the <65-year age group during the first post-ban year (P = 0.02). Conversely, the mean incidence of STEMI hospitalizations in CBC (92.4) didn't change significantly in each of the 3 post-ban years (83.9, 83.3 and 79.5, P = NS) during the same period. However, a significant long-term reduction in STEMI admissions was observed in CBC among the male group with ≥65 years (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Our work suggests a significant impact of the smoke-free policy on the number of annual STEMI. Specific population subsets (i.e. ≥65-year-old females) were particularly affected by the smoking ban, showing a significant reduction in STEMI hospitalization

CERT1 mutations perturb human development by disrupting sphingolipid homeostasis

Neural differentiation, synaptic transmission, and action potential propagation depend on membrane sphingolipids, whose metabolism is tightly regulated. Mutations in the ceramide transporter CERT (CERT1), which is involved in sphingolipid biosynthesis, are associated with intellectual disability, but the pathogenic mechanism remains obscure. Here, we characterize 31 individuals with de novo missense variants in CERT1. Several variants fall into a previously uncharacterized dimeric helical domain that enables CERT homeostatic inactivation, without which sphingolipid production goes unchecked. The clinical severity reflects the degree to which CERT autoregulation is disrupted, and inhibiting CERT pharmacologically corrects morphological and motor abnormalities in a Drosophila model of the disease, which we call ceramide transporter (CerTra) syndrome. These findings uncover a central role for CERT autoregulation in the control of sphingolipid biosynthetic flux, provide unexpected insight into the structural organization of CERT, and suggest a possible therapeutic approach for patients with CerTra syndrome