Deformed Pleistocene marine terraces along the Ionian sea margin of southern Italy: unveiling blind fault-related folds contribution to coastal uplift

Morphotectonic analysis and fault numeric modeling of uplifted marine terraces along the Ionian Sea coast of the Southern Apennines allowed us to place quantitative constraints on middle Pleistocene-Holocene deformation. Ten terrace orders uplifted to as much as +660 m were mapped along ~80 km of the Taranto Gulf coastline. The shorelines document both a regional and a local, fault-induced contribution to uplift. The intermingling between the two deformation sources is attested by three 10 km scale undulations superimposed on a 100 km scale northeastward tilt. The undulations spatially coincide with the trace of NW-SE striking transpressional faults that affected the coastal range during the early Pleistocene. To test whether fault activity continued to the present, we modeled the differential uplift of marine terraces as progressive elastic displacement above blind oblique-thrust ramps seated beneath the coast. Through an iterative and mathematically based procedure, we defined the best geometric and kinematic fault parameters as well as the number and position of fault segments. Fault numerical models predict two fault-propagation folds cored by blind thrusts with slip rates ranging from 0.5 to 0.7 mm/yr and capable of generating an earthquake with a maximum moment magnitude of 5.9–6.3. Notably, we find that the locus of predominant activity has repeatedly shifted between the two fault systems during time and that slip rates on each fault have temporally changed. It is not clear if the active deformation is seismogenic or dominated by aseismic creep; however, the modeled faults are embedded in an offshore transpressional belt that may have sourced historical earthquakes

Morfologia e morfometria del settore ionico del Golfo di Taranto.

Il versante Ionico del Golfo di Taranto \ue8 caratterizzato dalla presenza di alti strutturali e bacini che rappresentano l\u2019espressione morfologica di sistemi di faglie pleistoceniche transpressive. La dorsale di Amendolara si estende per 45 Km in direzione N130\ub0E, ed \ue8 caratterizzato dalla presenza di tre alti batimetrici minori (denominati Amendolara, Rossano e Cariati). Verso NE, la dorsale di Capo Spulico si estende per 40 Km in direzione !N115\ub0E. Durante la Campagna Oceanografica \u201cTeatioca\u201d sono stati acquisiti 1100Km2 di dati batimetrici multibeam e profili sismici monocanale ad alta (Sparker) ed altissima risoluzione (Subbottom Chirp). L\u2019analisi integrata dei nuovi dati ha consentito di ottenere una sintesi morfostrutturale preliminare dell\u2019area sud-orientale del Golfo di Taranto [Santoro et al., 2012]. L\u2019insieme dei dati morfometrici evidenzia un ruolo chiave nell\u2019attivit\ue0 traspressiva della faglia che borda a SW la dorsale di Amendolara, in quanto la regolarit\ue0 dei pendii rivolti a S \ue8 legata alla deformazione e sollevamento dei versanti, che tende a superare l\u2019effetto dei processi erosivi (versanti a controllo morfostrutturale). Il processo di basculamento guidato dall\u2019azione della faglia sembra essere all\u2019originedei processi responsabili dell\u2019erosione gravitazionale canalizzata sui pendii esposti a nord (versanti a controllo morfosedimentario). Sette ordini di terrazzi sono stati riconosciuti sul top del Banco di Amendolara, attraverso tecniche di analisi dei picchi nel diagramma di distribuzione delle quote [Passaro et al., 2011]. Tale dato e le statistiche sui profili estratti dal DTM testimoniano la presenza di tassi differenziali di sollevamento ed un complessivo tilt (verso E) del settore frontale ionico dell\u2019Appennino Meridionale, in accordo con quanto suggerito in letteratura [Ferranti et al., 2009]. Bibliografia Ferranti, L., Santoro, E., Mazzella, M.E., Monaco, C., Morelli, D., (2009). Active transpression in the northern Calabria Apennines, southern Italy. Tectonophysics, 476 (1-2), 226-251. Passaro, S., Ferranti, L., de Alteriis, G., (2011). The use of high resolution elevation histograms for mapping submerged terraces: a test from the Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Quat. Int., 232, 1-2, 238-249. Santoro, E., Ferranti, L., Passaro, S., Burrato, P., Morelli, D., (2012). Morphometric analysis in the offshore of the southern Taranto Gulf: unveiling the structures controlling the Late Pleistocene-Holocene bathymetric evolution. Rend. On. Soc. Geol. It., 21 (2), 1132-1135

An active oblique-contractional belt at the transition between the Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc: The Amendolara Ridge, Ionian Sea, Italy

High-resolution, single-channel seismic and multibeam bathymetry data collected at the Amendolara Ridge, a key submarine area marking the junction between the Apennine collision belt and the Calabrian subduction forearc, reveal active deformation in a supposedly stable crustal sector. New data, integrated with existing multichannel seismic profiles calibrated with oil-exploratory wells, show that middle to late Pleistocene sediments are deformed in growth folds above blind oblique-reverse faults that bound a regional pop-up. Data analysis indicates that ~10 to 20 km long banks that top the ~80 km long, NW-SE trending ridge are structural culminations above en echelon fault segments. Numeric modeling of bathymetry and stratigraphic markers suggests that three 45° dipping upper crustal (2–10 km) fault segments underlie the ridge, with slip rates up to ~0.5 mm/yr. Segments may be capable with M ~ 6.1–6.3 earthquakes, although an unknown fraction of aseismic slip undoubtedly contributes to deformation. The fault array that bounds the southern flank of the ridge (Amendolara Fault System) parallels a belt of Mw < 4.7 strike-slip and thrust earthquakes, which suggest current left-oblique reverse motion on the array. The eastern segment of the array shows apparent morphologic evidence of deformation and might be responsible for Mw ≤ 5.2 historic events. Late Pliocene-Quaternary growth of the oblique contractional belt is related to the combined effects of stalling of Adriatic slab retreat underneath the Apennines and subduction retreat of the Ionian slab underneath Calabria. Deformation localization was controlled by an inherited mechanical interface between the thick Apulian (Adriatic) platform crust and the attenuated Ionian Basin crust

An active oblique-contractional belt at the transition between the Southern Apennines and Calabrian Arc: The Amendolara Ridge, Ionian Sea, Italy

High-resolution, single-channel seismic and multibeam bathymetry data collected at the Amendolara Ridge, a key submarine area marking the junction between the Apennine collision belt and the Calabrian subduction forearc, reveal active deformation in a supposedly stable crustal sector. New data, integrated with existing multichannel seismic profiles calibrated with oil-exploratory wells, show that middle to late Pleistocene sediments are deformed in growth folds above blind oblique-reverse faults that bound a regional pop-up. Data analysis indicates that ~10 to 20 km long banks that top the ~80 km long, NW-SE trending ridge are structural culminations above en echelon fault segments. Numeric modeling of bathymetry and stratigraphic markers suggests that three 45\ub0 dipping upper crustal (2\u201310km) fault segments underlie the ridge, with slip rates up to ~0.5mm/yr. Segments may be capable with M~ 6.1\u20136.3 earthquakes, although an unknown fraction of aseismic slip undoubtedly contributes to deformation. The fault array that bounds the southern flank of the ridge (Amendolara Fault System) parallels a belt of Mw<4.7 strike-slip and thrust earthquakes, which suggest current left-oblique reverse motion on the array. The eastern segment of the array shows apparent morphologic evidence of deformation and might be responsible for Mw 64 5.2 historic events. Late Pliocene-Quaternary growth of the oblique contractional belt is related to the combined effects of stalling of Adriatic slab retreat underneath the Apennines and subduction retreat of the Ionian slab underneath Calabria. Deformation localization was controlled by an inherited mechanical interface between the thick Apulian (Adriatic) platform crust and the attenuated Ionian Basin crust

Geometria e modellazione di un sistema di retro-scorrimenti attivosulla base di dati di geofisica marina ad alta risoluzione:la Dorsale di Amendolara (Golfo di Taranto).

Nuovi dati sismici ad alta (Sparker) ed altissima (Subbottm Chirp) risoluzione, acquisiti durante la Campagna Oceanografica “Teatioca_2010”, integrati da dati sismici multicanale ad alta penetrazione, pubblici disponibili sul sito www.videpi.com, calibrati con pozzi profondi, batimetrici multifascio e carotaggi, rivelano che la dorsale di Amendolara, estensione sottomarina della zona frontale del sistema a thrust dell’Appennino meridionale, è stata controllata nel Quaternario da un sistema di retro-scorrimenti e faglie transpressive (ATFS) che dislocano verso SW la catena mio-pliocenica NE-vergente. Il pacco di sequenze deposizionali attribuito, sulla base della facies sismica e della presenza di discordanze controllate dalle oscillazioni glacio-eustatiche, al Pleistocene medio-superiore risulta piegato in maniera consistente con le strutture desumibili dai profili multicanale. I dati morfometrici e sismici documentano che la dorsale, orientata NW-SE, è formata da 3 banchi lunghi ~10-20 km, cresciuti sopra rampe di sovrascorrimenti ciechi (~2 km) disposti en-echelon a formare un sistema segmentato. Sono stati individuati e modellati i segmenti di Amendolara a NW e Cariati a SE, collegati da una più piccola rampa laterale (segmento di Rossano). La modellazione numerica calibrata sui dati batimetrici e sismici indica che le rampe hanno inclinazione di ~45° e sono radicate a ~10 km di profondità a possibili scollamenti o strutture maggiori. I tassi di scorrimento negli ultimi 4-500 ka, calcolati per i segmenti sulla base degli strati di crescita nei bacini sin tettonici variano da 0.5-0-9 mm/a per il segmento di Amendolara a 0.35-0.5 mm/a per quello di Cariati. L’ATFS coincide con una fascia di moderata sismicità (Mw<4.7) con meccanismi focali inversi o transpressivi. L’orientazione degli assi di strain incrementale (sismico) e finito (geologico, come documentano i dati a terra) suggerisce per i segmenti dell’ATFS un movimento da inverso a obliquo sinistro. In base alla dimensione dei segmenti di faglia, nell’ipotesi di deformazione puramente elastica, si stima una magnitudo potenziale massima per l’ATFS di M~6.1-6.4, ma è verosimile che buona parte della deformazione sia asismica o microsismica. L’epicentro macrosismico del terremoto del 1988 (Mw=4.9) ricade su un tratto del segmento di Cariati che mostra rotture a fondo mare e possibile risalita di fluidi localizzata lungo strutture attive. La crescita dell’ATFS è stata verosimilmente controllata da un interfaccia meccanica tra la spessa crosta apula e la crosta ionica assottigliata o in parte oceanica, quando in tempi recenti la convergenza Adria-Europa ha prevalso sull’arretramento della cerniera della subduzione ionica

Utility of Doppler-Ultrasound and Liver Elastography in the Evaluation of Patients with Suspected Pregnancy-Related Liver Disease

Grayscale abdomen ultrasound (US) is routinely performed in pregnant women with suspected pregnancy-related liver dysfunction, but its diagnostic yield is very low. We aimed to investigate the association between Doppler-US findings, liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and different causes of pregnancy-related liver dysfunction. This is a prospective cohort study of pregnant women referred to our tertiary center for any suspected gastrointestinal disease between 2017 and 2019 and undergoing Doppler-US and liver elastography. Patients with previous liver disease were excluded from the analysis. For group comparisons of categorical and continuous variables, the chi-square test or Mann-Whitney test, and the McNemar test were used, as appropriate. A total of 112 patients were included in the final analysis, of whom 41 (36.6%) presented with suspected liver disease: 23 intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), six with gestational hypertensive disorders and 12 cases with undetermined causes of elevated liver enzymes. Values of LSM were higher and significantly associated with a diagnosis of gestational hypertensive disorder (AUROC = 0.815). No significant differences at Doppler-US or LSM were found between ICP patients and controls. Patients with undetermined causes of hypertransaminasemia showed higher hepatic and splenic resistive indexes than controls, suggesting splanchnic congestion. The evaluation of Doppler-US and liver elastography is clinically useful in patients with suspected liver dysfunction during pregnancy. Liver stiffness represents a promising non-invasive tool for the assessment of patients with gestational hypertensive disorders

National action plans for antimicrobial resistance and variations in surveillance data platforms

Objective To assess how national antimicrobial susceptibility data used to inform national action plans vary across surveillance platforms. Methods We identified available open-access, supranational, interactive surveillance platforms and cross-checked their data in accordance with the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Data Quality Assurance: module 1. We compared platform usability and completeness of time-matched data on the antimicrobial susceptibilities of four blood isolate species: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae from WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System, European Centre for Disease Control’s (ECDC’s) network and Pfizer’s Antimicrobial Testing Leadership and Surveillance database. Using Bland–Altman analysis, paired t-tests, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, we assessed susceptibility data and number of isolate concordances between platforms. Findings Of 71 countries actively submitting data to WHO, 28 also submit to Pfizer’s database; 19 to ECDC; and 16 to all three platforms. Limits of agreement between WHO’s and Pfizer’s platforms for organism–country susceptibility data ranged from −26% to 35%. While mean susceptibilities of WHO’s and ECDC‘s platforms did not differ (bias: 0%, 95% confidence interval: −2 to 2), concordance between organism–country susceptibility was low (limits of agreement −18 to 18%). Significant differences exist in isolate numbers reported between WHO–Pfizer (mean of difference: 674, P-value: < 0.001 and WHO–ECDC (mean of difference: 192, P value: 0.04) platforms. Conclusion The considerable heterogeneity of nationally submitted data to commonly used antimicrobial resistance surveillance platforms compromises their validity, thus undermining local and global antimicrobial resistance strategies. Hence, we need to understand and address surveillance platform variability and its underlying mechanisms

Curcuma longa Extract Exerts a Myorelaxant Effect on the Ileum and Colon in a Mouse Experimental Colitis Model, Independent of the Anti-Inflammatory Effect

Background: Curcuma has long been used as an anti-inflammatory agent in inflammatory bowel disease. Since gastrointestinal motility is impaired in inflammatory states, the aim of this work was to evaluate if Curcuma Longa had any Methods: The biological activity of Curcuma extract was evaluated against Carbachol induced contraction in isolated mice intestine. Acute and chronic colitis were induced in Balb/c mice by Dextran Sulphate Sodium administration (5% and 2.5% respectively) and either Curcuma extract (200 mg/kg/day) or placebo was thereafter administered for 7 and 21 days respectively. Spontaneous contractions and the response to Carbachol and Atropine of ileum and colon were studied after colitis induction and Curcuma administration. Results: Curcuma extract reduced the spontaneous contractions in the ileum and colon; the maximal response to Carbachol was inhibited in a non-competitive and reversible manner. Similar results were obtained in ileum and colon from Curcuma fed mice. DSS administration decreased the motility, mainly in the colon and Curcuma almost restored both the spontaneous contractions and the response to Carbachol after 14 days assumption, compared to standard diet, but a prolonged assumption of Curcuma decreased the spontaneous and Carbachol-induced contractions. Conclusions: Curcuma extract has a direct and indirect myorelaxant effect on mouse ileum and colon, independent of the anti-inflammatory effect. The indirect effect is reversible and non-competitive with the cholinergic agent. These results suggest the use of curcuma extract as a spasmolytic agent

Size and location of spontaneous portosystemic shunts predict the risk of decompensation in cirrhotic patients

Background: The prognostic role of spontaneous portosystemic shunts (SPSS) has been poorly investigated. / Aims: To evaluate the impact of the presence of SPSS, as well as their characteristics, on the risk of decompensation. / Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 235 advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD) patients with available imaging examination, transient elastography, and upper endoscopy. ACLD was defined as liver stiffness measurement (LSM) >10 kPa. Competitive risk analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with the main outcome. / Results: SPSS were reported in 141 (60%) of the patients. Non-viral etiology was independently associated with SPSS presence [Odds-Ratio (OR): 2.743;95%-Interval-of-Confidence (IC):1.129–6.664]. During a follow-up of 37 (20–63) months, SPSS were found predictors of any decompensation type [Subhazard Ratio (SHR):2.264; 95%-IC:1.259–4.071], independently from a history of decompensation or high-risk-varices presence. The risk of complications was higher in patients with large (SHR: 3.775; 95%-IC: 2.016–7.070) and multiple (SHR:3.832; 95%-IC: 2.004–7.330) shunts, and in those with gastrorenal shunts (SHR:2.636; 95%-IC:1.521–4.569). / Conclusions: The presence, size, and number of SPSS predict not only the risk of hepatic encephalopathy but that of any type of decompensation across all stages of cirrhosis. Future studies should explore the possibility of treating shunts to prevent decompensation