Studio preliminare di due sequenze di microterremoti accadute nel 2011 e nel 2012 nell'area dei Monti Iblei Orientali (Sicilia sudorientale - Italia)

Nell’ottobre 2011 e nel giugno 2012 due sequenze sismiche hanno interessato l’area a sud di Canicattini Bagni, sulle propaggini orientali dei Monti Iblei, in Sicilia sudorientale. Le due sequenze, costituite ognuna da più di un centinaio di scosse, sebbene di modesta energia, sono state avvertite con ansia dalla popolazione provocando anche lievi danni nelle località prossime all’area epicentrale. Al fine di monitorare con maggior dettaglio l’evoluzione della sequenza in corso, la rete sismica permanente gestita dall’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Osservatorio Etneo - Sezione di Catania (INGV-OE) è stata implementata, subito dopo l’inizio della sequenza di ottobre 2011, da due stazioni mobili digitali in registrazione locale. Successivamente, dopo la ripresa dell’attività sismica nel mese di giugno 2012, le due stazioni mobili digitali sono state reinstallate negli stessi siti utilizzati precedentemente per ulteriori circa quaranta giorni. Le due stazioni mobili, durante il loro periodo di funzionamento, hanno permesso di rilevare un elevato numero di microterremoti. In questo lavoro vengono presentati i risultati preliminari relativi alle due sequenze sismiche allo scopo di definire con estremo dettaglio la struttura sismogenetica attivatasi. È attualmente in corso l’integrazione del dataset acquisito dall’INGV-OE nell’ambito delle attività di monitoraggio, con i dati acquisiti dalle due stazioni mobili installate. La peculiarità delle due sequenze consiste nel fatto che esse: i) rappresentano il maggior rilascio energetico, avvenuto nel corso degli ultimi dieci anni, nell’area iblea; ii) testimoniano la presenza di una sorgente sismogenetica superficiale ben distinta dal pattern sismico tipico dell’Altopiano Ibleo

High-resolution aeromagnetic survey of Calabria (Southern Italy)

We present a 1:350,000 high-resolution magnetic anomaly map of Calabria (Southern Italy), obtained by merging the results from two low-altitude aeromagnetic surveys performed in southern and northern Calabria. Magnetic anomalies of Calabria are of low intensity, and mostly range from 11 to –9 nT. Northern Calabria is characterized by positive anomalies in the Tyrrhenian margin (Coastal Chain) that turn into negative values moving eastward in the Sila Massif. Southern Calabria is characterized by slightly positive anomaly values, interrupted by a null magnetic anomaly corridor roughly corresponding to the eastern margin of the Gioia Tauro basin. Finally, anomaly values turn systematically negative in the Messina Straits. Due to the unprecedented resolution (low flying height, spatial sampling along the flight line of ∼5 m and 1–2 km flight line spacing), the new map highlights, in detail, the geometry and setting of the upper crustal features. As Calabria is one of the most seismically active regions in Italy, hit by several high-magnitude earthquakes in recent centuries, the interpretation of this new map will hopefully contribute to new insights into the crustal geological setting, location and dimension of the main seismogenic sources.Published116-1231A. Geomagnetismo e Paleomagnetismo3SR. AMBIENTE - Servizi e ricerca per la SocietàJCR Journa

The reproduction in women affected by cooley disease

The health background management and outcomes of 5 pregnancies in 4 women affected by Cooley Disease, from Paediatric Institute of Catania University, are described, considering the preconceptual guidances and cares for such patients. These patients were selected among a group of 100 thalassemic women divided into three subgroups, according to their first and successive menstruation characteristics: i) patients with primitive amenorrhoea, ii) patients with secondary amenorrhoea and iii) patients with normal menstruation. Only one woman, affected by primitive amenorrhoea, needed the induction of ovulation. A precise and detailed pre-pregnancy assessment was effected before each conception. This was constituted by a series of essays, including checks for diabetes and hypothyroidism, for B and C hepatitis and for blood group antibodies. Moreover were evaluated: cardiac function, rubella immunity and transaminases. Other pregnancy monitoring, and cares during labour and delivery were effected according to usual obstetrics practice

The Borehole Experiment: Investigation of Cortical Structures Through 3D Array Techniques

Over the last few years it is growing the need to monitor the volcanic activity with modern technology in order to mitigate volcanic hazard through the detection of any possible precursor phenomena. The use of high performance seismic stations, such as borehole instruments, may increase the signal to noise ratio (SNR), improving the capability to detect very small signals. Over the past 40 years much attention has been given to the use of seismic arrays to measure the slowness vector of coherent signals. The main advantage of seismic arrays consists in their ability to detect weak or emergent signals, and to allow for an effective noise reduction through multichannel waveform stacking. A reliable prediction of the ray-path back-propagated from the recording site to the source is strongly limited by the poor knowledge of the local shallow velocity structure. Usually in volcanic environments the propagation of seismic signals through the shallow layers is strongly affected by lateral heterogeneity, attenuation, scattering, and interaction with the free surface. Driven by these motivations, on May 2014, in collaboration with the colleagues of Osservatorio Vesuviano (INGV), we deployed a 3D seismic array in the area where the borehole seismic station called Pozzo Pitarrone is installed at a depth of about 130 meters. This will improve our knowledge about: • the structure of the top layer and its relationship with geology; • analysis of the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of volcanic signals as a function of frequency; • study of seismic ray-path deformation caused by the interaction of the seismic waves with the free surface; • evaluation of the attenuation of the seismic signals correlated with the volcanic activity. The results of these analyses will improve the general knowledge of wave propagation in the shallow layers and will give a new contribution to the seismic monitoring of Etna volcano.PublishedNicolosi (Catania), Italy1T. Struttura della Terr

Surface ruptures database related to the 26 December 2018, MW 4.9 Mt. Etna earthquake, southern Italy

We provide a database of the surface ruptures produced by the 26 December 2018 Mw 4.9 earthquake that struck the eastern flank of Mt. Etna volcano in Sicily (southern Italy). Despite its relatively small magnitude, this shallow earthquake caused about 8 km of surface faulting, along the trace of the NNW-trending active Fiandaca Fault. Detailed field surveys have been performed in the epicentral area to map the ruptures and to characterize their kinematics. The surface ruptures show a dominant right-oblique sense of displacement with an average slip of about 0.09 m and a maximum value of 0.35 m. We have parsed and organized all observations in a concise database, with 932 homogeneous georeferenced records. The Fiandaca Fault is part of the complex active Timpe faults system affecting the eastern flank of Etna, and its seismic history indicates a prominent surface-faulting potential. Therefore, this database is essential for unravelling the seismotectonics of shallow earthquakes in volcanic areas, and contributes updating empirical scaling regressions that relate magnitude and extent of surface faulting.Publishedid 422T. Deformazione crostale attivaJCR Journa

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

MarCONI - One-Hand Controller for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Here authors present MarCONI (Multi Channel One haNd Interface), a system born to control remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), in particular multi-rotors, by means of new generation peripherals. Among those, used in personal computing environment, a generation of 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) advanced controllers is the SpaceMouse family by 3Dconnexion. MarCONI is a hardware-software system, acting as a bridge between the USB peripheral and the UAV's radio-controller. A shaping block has been added to the system in order to process raw data flow generated by the SpaceMouse. This step allows the user to adapt the controller feedback to the specific vehicle features and response. Shaping parameters are fully customizable by a specific Web GUI, accessible through a Wi-Fi connection, making possible the setup tuning by means of mobile devices, such as smartphones or laptops. A side benefit of this system is the possibility to pilot UAVs using one hand only, with no restriction.Published8-132IT. Laboratori sperimentali e analitici7TM. Sviluppo e Trasferimento TecnologicoN/A or not JC

Sicily and southern Calabria focal mechanism database: a valuable tool for local and regional stress-field determination

In this work, we present a new catalog of focal mechanisms calculated for earthquakes recorded in Sicily and southern Calabria. It comprises about 300 solutions, for events with magnitudes ranging from 2.7 to 4.8 that occurred from 1999 to 2011. We used P-wave polarities to compute the fault-plane solutions. Two main goals are achieved. For the first, the catalog allows the stress regime and kinematics characterizing the studied area to be depicted at a regional and more local scale. In particular, moving along the tectonic lineament that extends from the Aeolian Islands to the Ionian Sea, there is a change from a regime characterized by sub-horizontal P-axes, ca. NW-SE directed, to an extensive one in the Calabro-Peloritan Arc, where T-axes striking in a NW-SE direction prevail. Our results also show that part of the seismicity is clustered along the main active seismogenic structures, of which the focal mechanisms indicate the kinematics. Finally, in the Etna volcano area, different stress fields act at different depths due to the combination of the regional tectonics, the strong pressurization of the deep magmatic system, and the dynamics of the shallower portion of the volcano. As a second goal, we highlight that the catalog also represents a valuable tool, through the data distribution on the internet, for further studies directed towards improving our understanding of the geodynamic complexity of the region, and for a better characterization of the seismogenic sources

UAVs for volcano monitoring: A new approach applied on an active lava flow on Mt. Etna (Italy), during the 27 February–02 March 2017 eruption

Mt. Etna (Italy)with 55 effusive events in the last six years is one of themost active volcanoes in theworld,with a million people living on its flank and thousands of tourists who visit it every summer. For this reason, the lava flowmonitoring for riskmitigation and Civil Protection purposes is one of the fundamental tasks of the Cartographic Laboratory of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo. This activity was traditionally performed using data collected from the field (with terrestrial GPS surveys) and from helicopter taking visible and thermal images. During the 27 February–02 March 2017 eruption the FlyEye Team, applied Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to monitor the active lava flow. Two high-resolution UAV surveys were performed on the lava flow field on the south flank of Mt. Etna, between 3050 and 2600 m a.s.l., obtaining almost 1170 images. Structure-from-Motion techniques were applied to create orthophotos and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) of the lava flowfield and surroundings. The obtained DEMhas a resolution of 14.2, and 20.7 cm/px for the main lava flow and the west branch, respectively. On the wall, the 96% of the lava flow field was mapped using aerial images by UAV covering an area of 0.3 × 106 m2. Lava flow volume was calculated with the topographic approach: difference between post- and pre-eruption surface, DEM 2017 and DEM 2014, respectively. The impossibility of spreading the GCPs homogenously distorted the resulting DEM; for this reason, it was necessary to align the lava flow point clouds, obtained from the photogrammetry software, to the basal 2014 DEM. Subtracting the two DEMs a lava flow thickness grid resulted leading to a total volume of 1.4 × 106 m3 and an error estimation of about 20%. Finally, dividing the total volume for the effusion duration (63 h) a mean output rate of 6.2 m3/s resulted. The calculated volcanological parameters have the same order of magnitude of the previous activity ofMt. Etna, between 2011 and 2016. This research demonstrates thatUAV photogrammetry was successfully exploited during an eruptive crisis, allowing a first fast processing, to obtain an orthophoto of the lava flow field, useful for “decision makers” and a further slower processing for the realization of a highresolution DEM. The lattermakes it possible to update the topography, another important argument for Civil Protection purpose. This paper describes a methodology that could be applied during other natural events in extreme environmental conditions.Dipartimento di Protezione Civile (DPC) Allegato B2 - SubtaskD4Published250–2625V. Processi eruttivi e post-eruttiviJCR Journa

Short-term detection of volcanic unrest at Mt. Etna by means of a multi-station warning system

Early-warning assessment of a volcanic unrest requires that accurate information from monitoring is continuously gathered before volcanic activity starts. Seismic data are an optimal source of such information, overcoming safety problems due to dangerous conditions for field surveys or cloud cover that may hinder visibility. We designed a multi-station warning system based on the classification of patterns of the background seismic radiation, so-called volcanic tremor, by using Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) and fuzzy clustering. The classifier automatically detects patterns that are typical footprints of volcanic unrest. The issuance of the SOM colors on DEM allows their geographical visualization according to the stations of detection; this spatial location makes it possible to infer areas potentially impacted by eruptive phenomena. Tested at Mt. Etna (Italy), the classifier forecasted in hindsight patterns associated with fast-rising magma (typical of lava fountains) as well as a relatively long lead time of the outburst (lava flows from eruptive fractures). Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves gave an Area Under the Curve (AUC) ∼0.8 indicative of a good detection accuracy that cannot be achieved from a mere random choice.This work was supported by the MED-SUV project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Program for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No 308665.Publishedid 65064V. Processi pre-eruttiviJCR Journa