PILOT APPLICATION OF 3D UNDERWATER IMAGING TECHNIQUES FOR MAPPING <i>POSIDONIA OCEANICA</i> (L.) DELILE MEADOWS

Seagrass communities are considered one of the most productive and complex marine ecosystems. Seagrasses belong to a small group of 66 species that can form extensive meadows in all coastal areas of our planet. Posidonia oceanica beds are the most characteristic ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea, and should be constantly monitored, preserved and maintained, as specified by EU Habitats Directive for priority habitats. Underwater 3D imaging by means of still or video cameras can allow a detailed analysis of the temporal evolution of these meadows, but also of the seafloor morphology and integrity. Video-photographic devices and open source software for acquiring and managing 3D optical data rapidly became more and more effective and economically viable, making underwater 3D mapping an easier task to carry out. 3D reconstruction of the underwater scene can be obtained with photogrammetric techniques that require just one or more digital cameras, also in stereo configuration. In this work we present the preliminary results of a pilot 3D mapping project applied to the P. oceanica meadow in the Marine Protected Area of Capo Rizzuto (KR, Calabria Region &ndash; Italy)

USE OF CAGED MUSSEL MYTILUS GALLOPROVINCIALIS IN AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL APPROACH TO ASSESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN OFF-SHORE ACTIVITIES

Abstract Mediterranean mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis, are well recognized bioindicator organisms which can be easily caged in investigated areas to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities. In this work a monitoring protocol was developed for off-shore installations in the Adriatic sea. Integration of chemical analyses with a wide range of biomarkers analysed in mussels caged at 2 platforms, allowed to evaluate the biological disturbance and confirmed the utility of the ecotoxicological approach for monitoring off-shore activities. Keywords : Bio-indicators, Adriatic Sea. Several environmental issues are associated with the off-shore oil and gas industry, from the impact caused during installation to various form of disturbance related to daily ship traffic, extraction activities, maintenance of structures and, finally, decommissioning of old platforms. During the last year a monitoring protocol with caged mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis, has been developed, to evaluate the potential ecotoxicological effects caused from the off-shore platform &quot;Giovanna&quot; in the Adriatic sea. Obtained results allowed to exclude marked biological disturbance and demonstrated the suitability of this approach. In this respect considering &quot;Giovanna&quot; as model platform, the monitoring protocol with caged mussel has been extended including also another off-shore installation, the &quot;Emilio&quot; platform. In this work native mussels were collected on a seasonal basis from a reference site on the Adriatic coast (Portonovo, Ancona) and transplanted for 4-6 weeks in both the sampling area and to the investigated platform &quot;Giovanna&quot; (42 • 46&apos; 060N, 14 • 27&apos; 750E) and Emilio (42 • 56&apos; 305 N; 14 • 13&apos; 915 E). After the translocation period, mussels were recovered dissected tissues frozen in liquid nitrogen and maintained at -80 • C until analyses. Chemical analyses on trace metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, mercury, manganese, nickel, lead, zinc) in mussels tissues An overall evaluation of results confirmed the absence of marked biological effects caused by the activities of &quot;Giovanna&quot; platform, as already demonstrated during the previous monitoring project. More variations were observed in mussels translocated to &quot;Emilio&quot;, i.e. higher activities of glutathione S-transferases, catalase and peroxisomal proliferation decrease of oxyradical scavenging capacity toward hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals and lysosomal destabilization (inhibition of neutral red retention time), indicating an onset of impairment condition in the organisms. Compared to mussels transplanted at the reference site, those from &quot;Emilio&quot; platform did not exhibit more elevated concentrations for the various metals and only for zinc and cadmium an higher bioavailability was detected close to the platform, suggesting the influence of galvanic anodes for cathodic protection. The overall results of this work confirmed the utility of using caged mussels as an additional contribution for monitoring off-shore activities and provided an ecotoxicological protocol based on cellular biomarkers for the early detection of biological disturbance

Metereological conditions and psychiatric emergency visits in Messina, Italy

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the association between psychiatric disease, climatic and seasonal factors in patients recorded to the Emergency Unit, in Messina Hospital (Italy). Method: A total of 6565 psychiatric patients were recorded to the Emergency Unit in Messina from January 2005 and December 2010. Each psychiatric visit in emergency, was categorized by date of appearance and admitting diagnosis according to diagnostic categories: Anxiety, Mood Disorders and Psychosis. Local weather data were obtained from the Metereological Instituted "Aereonautica Militare" station in Messina, Sicily, In addition, to gathering data on the state of the sky, temperature, atmosphericpressure with the normalized value at sea level, relative humidity, rainfall, wind direction and speed, the station is connected to a buoy located on the eastern sector of Tyrrhenian Sea. Results: In anxiety disorders we have found relevant results comparison between winter and spring (p=.007) and spring and fall (p=.001). In affective disorders the differences occur in relation to winter and fall (p=.002), spring and fall (p=001), spring and summer (p=002). The psychotic disorder presents significant differences between summer and fall (p=.001) and spring and fall (p=.002). Conclusions: We can observe a similarity of affective disorders, i.e. anxiety and mood disorders compared to psychosis, which have different influences and probably according to dissimilar etiopathogenetic ways. In our research, the distribution of anxiety disorders is higher than depressive disorders in terms of delivering emergency room visits. The major differences occur comparing spring and fall, the seasons when all pathological classes have significant differences. It follows that the most abrupt climate change, typical of these seasons, as a whole, cause psychopathological emergencies. The study is important for planning a more effective assistance for patients needing psychiatric support

Diagnostic accuracy of a three-gene Mycobacterium tuberculosis host response cartridge using fingerstick blood for childhood tuberculosis: a multicentre prospective study in low-income and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND: Childhood tuberculosis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in part due to missed diagnosis. Diagnostic methods with enhanced sensitivity using easy-to-obtain specimens are needed. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the Cepheid Mycobacterium tuberculosis Host Response prototype cartridge (MTB-HR), a candidate test measuring a three-gene transcriptomic signature from fingerstick blood, in children with presumptive tuberculosis disease. METHODS: RaPaed-TB was a prospective diagnostic accuracy study conducted at four sites in African countries (Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania) and one site in India. Children younger than 15 years with presumptive pulmonary or extrapulmonary tuberculosis were enrolled between Jan 21, 2019, and June 30, 2021. MTB-HR was performed at baseline and at 1 month in all children and was repeated at 3 months and 6 months in children on tuberculosis treatment. Accuracy was compared with tuberculosis status based on standardised microbiological, radiological, and clinical data. FINDINGS: 5313 potentially eligible children were screened, of whom 975 were eligible. 784 children had MTB-HR test results, of whom 639 had a diagnostic classification and were included in the analysis. MTB-HR differentiated children with culture-confirmed tuberculosis from those with unlikely tuberculosis with a sensitivity of 59·8% (95% CI 50·8–68·4). Using any microbiological confirmation (culture, Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, or both), sensitivity was 41·6% (34·7–48·7), and using a composite clinical reference standard, sensitivity was 29·6% (25·4–34·2). Specificity for all three reference standards was 90·3% (95% CI 85·5–94·0). Performance was similar in different age groups and by malnutrition status. Among children living with HIV, accuracy against the strict reference standard tended to be lower (sensitivity 50·0%, 15·7–84·3) compared with those without HIV (61·0%, 51·6–69·9), although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Combining baseline MTB-HR result with one Ultra result identified 71·2% of children with microbiologically confirmed tuberculosis. INTERPRETATION: MTB-HR showed promising diagnostic accuracy for culture-confirmed tuberculosis in this large, geographically diverse, paediatric cohort and hard-to-diagnose subgroups. FUNDING: European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, UK Medical Research Council, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)

The Century Freeway/Transitway I-105: Nucleation, Land Use Changes and Transportation Behavior

The Glenn M. Anderson Freeway/Transitway project includes six lanes for general traffic, two HOV lanes, and the Green Line, a light rail project with ten transit stations and park and ride lots. The 17.2 mile facility traverses eleven jurisdictions and serves these and other neighboring communities. The study analyzes transportation attitudes and behavior before and after the opening of both the freeway and before the transitway opening. We measure travel behavior impacts of the new transportation system using a panel study. The attitudes and intended use of the facility as well as a 24 hour travel diary. Also investigated land use around transit nodes and local freeway interchanges by measuring zoning changes, reviewing general plans and other documents, and interviewing local planning officials