Performances of the Italian seismic network, 1985-2002: the hidden thing

Seismic data users and people managing a sesimic network are both interested in the potentiality of the data, with the difference that the former look at stability, the second at improvements. In this work we measure the performances of the Italian Telemetered Seismic Network in 1985-2002 by defining basic significant parameters and studying their evolution during the years. Then, we deal with the geological methods used to characterise or to plan a seismic station deployment in a few cases. Last, we define the gain of the network as the percentage of located earthquakes with respect to the total recorded earthquakes. By analysing the distribution of non-located ("missed") earthquakes, we suggest possible actions to take in order to increase the gain. Results show that completeness magnitude is 2.4 in the average over the analysed period, and it can be as low as 2.2 when we consider non-located earthquakes as well. Parameters such as the distance between an earthquake and the closest station, and the RMS location decrease with time, reflecting improvements in the location quality. Methods for geologic and seismological characterisation of a possible station site also proved to be effective. Finally, we represent the number of missed earthquakes at each station, showing that nine stations control more that 50% of all missed earthquakes, and suggesting areas in Italy where the network might be easily improved.Comment: 17 pages, 1 table, 11 figures. Submitted to Annals of Geophysic

The unbearable lightness of bone marrow homeostasis

The anatomical and functional dimensions of bone marrow topography have been at the forefront of modern bone and immunological research for many years and remain a source of complexity and perplexity due to the multitude of microhabitats within this microenvironment. In fact, research has uncovered fascinating functional aspects of bone marrow residents, and the bone marrow niche has been identified as the foremost reservoir of a variety of cells including hematopoietic, skeletal and endothelial stem/progenitor cells. The physical interactions of the marrow residents, combined with the release of cytokines and growth factors, organize well-defined operative compartments, which preserve bone and immune cell homeostasis. In a simplistic view, both the hematopoietic and bone marrow stromal (mesenchymal) stem/progenitor cell populations dwell at the interface between the endosteum and the bone marrow area (endosteal niche) and in the perivascular space (vascular niche). Indeed, the tantalizing hypothesis of bone marrow regulatory dependency on these niches is supported by current research insofar as the increase in the number of osteoblasts results in a concomitant increase in the hematopoietic population, indicating that the osteoblasts and the endosteal niche are key components of HSC maintenance. On the other hand, impaired function of the vascular niche compromises the endosteal niche's ability to support hematopoiesis. These fascinating discoveries indicate that there are strong ties between bone marrow inhabitants within the confines of the bone marrow itself. When these ties fail, niche-niche communication suffers and results in reduced bone formation, enfeebled hematopoiesis and unrestrained HSC migration through blood circulation. This study focused on the extraordinary homeostatic equilibrium and function of both bone and immune cells within the spatially defined microenvironment of bone marrow. But how important is the anatomically outlined scenery in which the bone marrow entity supports and hosts the hematopoietic elements

Poverty Indicators at Local Level: Definitions, Comparisons in Real Terms and Small Area Estimation Methods

The importance of computing poverty measures at sub-national level is nowadays widely attested. Local poverty indicators are relevant both for a detailed planning of the policy actions against poverty and social exclusion, and for the citizens to evaluate their effects. However, there are still open problems to compute adequate sub-national poverty indicators. They refer to: 1) the definition of poverty lines; 2) the methods for accounting the spatial variation of the cost of living to make comparisons in ‘real terms’ between different areas; 3) the use of Small Area Estimation methods when the sample size is not enough to obtain accurate estimates of the indicators at local level. In this paper, we discuss the issues above by presenting some analyses on the impact of using different poverty lines on the value of the poverty rate for the 20 Italian Regions, which represent a planned domain of study in Italy. Then, we estimate the poverty rate for the 110 Italian Provinces, unplanned domains in Italy, by using specific parametric models and SAE methods. The key results highlight strong differences in the territorial distribution of the poverty rate by using national versus sub-national specific poverty lines. The effect of the heterogeneity of the general spatial price indexes on the poverty rates seems instead less important in comparison with the relevant territorial differences in the cost of housing. Moreover, the different methods of estimation of poverty rates at local level provides interesting first results and indicates the route for further research to improve the methods of estimation of poverty at the sub-regional level

On-Site Inspection Form in Veterinary Cases: The Parma Veterinary Form

Simple Summary In veterinary practice, the on-site inspection of the scene of an animal dead body is crucial for a correct interpretation of the autopsy results, in particular to determine the manner, mechanism and cause of death, as an important role in the control of public health including the prevention of zoonoses. It is also fundamental for the recognition and the contrast of crimes against animals and to animal abuse phenomena, considered an alert sign of an anti-social or violent behavior of humans, theory known as "The Link". A good practice is the presence of a veterinary pathologist on the scene. Although photographs and information made available by the police officers on the place of discovery of the animal cadaver can be useful, the information that can be achieved by a direct examination of the scene is irreplaceable. Today the best veterinary procedure requires an accurate collection of evidence at the scene that can be then handed to experts belonging to other forensic sciences for further evaluation and data interpretation. In this paper authors suggest a form aiming to facilitate either the on-site and the autopsy activities. The suggested form can contribute to guarantee the quality of the forensic process from the discovery site up to the court. Particular attention is paid to the training of non-medical personnel who often represent the first, and sometimes, the only figure to be present on the scene. The form proposed is inspired by the interdisciplinary form developed by the European Council of Legal Medicine. This form represents an initial tool to improve a multidisciplinary activity in close synergy with other forensic experts. The on-site inspection of the scene of an animal cadaver is crucial for a correct interpretation of the autopsy results, to determine the manner, method, and cause of death. This information plays a crucial role in the control of public health including the prevention of zoonoses. It is also fundamental for the recognition and the contrast of crimes against animals and to animal abuse phenomena, considered an alert sign of an anti-social or violent behavior of humans. Today the best veterinary procedure requires an accurate collection of the evidence at the scene that can be then handed to experts belonging to other forensic disciplines for further evaluation and data interpretation. In this paper authors suggest a form aiming to facilitate either the on-site and the autopsy activities, as a guarantee of the quality of the forensic process starting from the discovery scene up to the reconstruction of the case. Essential is training of non-medical personnel who often represent the first responder to be present on the scene. The form is inspired by the interdisciplinary form developed by the European Council of Legal Medicine and represents an initial tool to stimulate a multidisciplinary activity in close synergy with other forensic experts

Child brides: the age estimation problem in young girls

The aim of this work is to study a sample of girls from 15 different countries using Third Molar Maturity Index (I3M ), to assess the probability that a girl has reached the legal age of 18 years. The studied sample consisted of 3228 Orthopantomograms of healthy female subjects from 15 different countries. The cut- off value of I3M = 0.08 was tested to discriminate adults (≥18 years) and minors (<18 years). X-ray images were processed by computer-aided drafting program ImageJ. The information on sensitivity and specificity of I3M coming from the 15 countries was pooled together using a bivariate Bayesian modeling approach. Specificity of the I3M test did not change when the country was considered, and its value remains greater than 85% for each studied country. This method is useful to estimate the age of the girls involved in suspected early marriage because of the high probability of correctly identifying a minor with similar results observed among tested populations

Synthesis of kainoids via a highly stereoselective hydroformylation of kainic acid.

An efficient prepn. of a series of secondary amines, structurally related to the kainic acid scaffold, is described.  Naturally occurring (-)-α-kainic acid was hydroformylated with complete terminal selectivity and high stereoselectivity.  The stereochem. of the product was investigated through the ROESY and HETLOC spectra of the corresponding 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone, showing the presence of a single diastereoisomer with rotamers related to the presence of the Boc group.  The aldehyde was used as a platform to prep. amines by reductive amination in ionic liqs