Walking along the oldest human fossil pathway (Roccamonfina volcano, Central Italy)?

Here we report the remarkable superposition of a pre-historic trackway (349–350 ± 3 ka) with one used in more recent historical times, potentially forming one of the oldest path or trackways currently known. A Plinian eruption of the Roccamonfina Volcano resulted in a succession of pyroclastic flows. A combination of syn-sedimentary erosion and depositional morphology resulted in a bench, contouring the depositional slope. Prior to rapid lithification of the flow, early human ancestors used the bench as a route-way. At least two individuals diverted from this route-way to make the famous Trackways A and B of the Devil's Trails which have been described previously. The bench and associated animal tracks were covered by subsequent pyroclastic ash falls before being exhumed in historical times by a combination of natural erosion and quarrying. The bench was re-used as a route-way at this time and some of the tracks modified by human action to improve surface conditions and perhaps drainage. The P1-Trackway is the result and its detailed morphology is described here. Not only does it provide remarkable evidence of the convergence of route-ways through time along key geomorphological features in the landscape but the palimpsest of tracks provides a useful case study for archaeologists and ichnologists interpreting complex and superimposed surface traces

Dinosaur diversification linked with the Carnian Pluvial Episode

Dinosaurs diversified in two steps during the Triassic. They originated about 245 Ma, during the recovery from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, and then remained insignificant until they exploded in diversity and ecological importance during the Late Triassic. Hitherto, this Late Triassic explosion was poorly constrained and poorly dated. Here we provide evidence that it followed the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE), dated to 234–232 Ma, a time when climates switched from arid to humid and back to arid again. Our evidence comes from a combined analysis of skeletal evidence and footprint occurrences, and especially from the exquisitely dated ichnofaunas of the Italian Dolomites. These provide evidence of tetrapod faunal compositions through the Carnian and Norian, and show that dinosaur footprints appear exactly at the time of the CPE. We argue then that dinosaurs diversified explosively in the mid Carnian, at a time of major climate and floral change and the extinction of key herbivores, which the dinosaurs opportunistically replaced

Continuous central venous saturation monitoring in critically ill patients

Table 1 (abstract P39). Patients\u2019 variables according to ScvO2 range ScvO2 75 Patients 15/37 36/37 36/37 SpO2 (%) 95.8 \ub1 3.0 95.0 \ub1 3.3 96.4 \ub1 2.3 HR (bpm) 90.6 \ub1 16.1 90.5 \ub1 18.1 90.7 \ub1 16.5 MAP (mmHg) 82.5 \ub1 10.6 83.4 \ub1 12.7 82.2 \ub1 11.7 CVP (mmHg) 18.3 \ub1 4.6 20.2 \ub1 8.2 19.2 \ub1 5.

Human footprints from Italy: the state of the art

The ichnological record of human traces from Italy is rich and quite diversified. In recent years, the development and dissemination of various methodologies and technological facilities has implemented the re-analysis of this record, enabling to reach different, sometimes deeper, interpretations favoured by the integration of external data, both geological and palaeontological. The oldest occurrence of the human ichnological record from Italy is represented by the Middle Pleistocene ‘Devil’s Trails’ ichnosite in the “Foresta” area (Roccamonfina volcano, southern Italy), depicting human trackmakers trampling a pyroclastic flow deposit while descending a slope about 349 ka. Most of the record is Holocene in age and is constituted by the Upper Palaeolithic Grotta della Bàsura site (Toirano, northern Italy, about 14 ky), the protohistoric sites of Afragola, Nola and Palma, the area of Pompei and the site of Aosta. The record is enriched by the ichnological evidences preserved in military structures of Trentino region (northern Italy) during the First World War. An updated report and discussion of these sites is here provided.Fil: Avanzini, Marco. Museo Delle Scienze di Trento; ItaliaFil: Citton, Paolo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Alto Valle. Instituto de Investigaciones en Paleobiología y Geología; ArgentinaFil: Mietto, Paolo. Università di Padova; ItaliaFil: Panarello, Adolfo. Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale; ItaliaFil: Raia, Pasquale. Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II; ItaliaFil: Romano, Marco. Università di Roma; ItaliaFil: Salvador, Isabella. Museo Delle Scienze di Trento; Itali

Correction: Nitrogen washout/washin, helium dilution and computed tomography in the assessment of end expiratory lung volume

INTRODUCTION: End expiratory lung volume (EELV) measurement in the clinical setting is routinely performed using the helium dilution technique. A ventilator that implements a simplified version of the nitrogen washout/washin technique is now available. We compared the EELV measured by spiral computed tomography (CT) taken as gold standard with the lung volume measured with the modified nitrogen washout/washin and with the helium dilution technique. METHODS: Patients admitted to the general intensive care unit of Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Mangiagalli Regina Elena requiring ventilatory support and, for clinical reasons, thoracic CT scanning were enrolled in this study. We performed two EELV measurements with the modified nitrogen washout/washin technique (increasing and decreasing inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) by 10%), one EELV measurement with the helium dilution technique and a CT scan. All measurements were taken at 5 cmH2O airway pressure. Each CT scan slice was manually delineated and gas volume was computed with custom-made software. RESULTS: Thirty patients were enrolled (age = 66 +/- 10 years, body mass index = 26 +/- 18 Kg/m2, male/female ratio = 21/9, partial arterial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaO2)/FiO2 = 190 +/- 71). The EELV measured with the modified nitrogen washout/washin technique showed a very good correlation (r2 = 0.89) with the data computed from the CT with a bias of 94 +/- 143 ml (15 +/- 18%, p = 0.001), within the limits of accuracy declared by the manufacturer (20%). The bias was shown to be highly reproducible, either decreasing or increasing the FiO2 being 117+/-170 and 70+/-160 ml (p = 0.27), respectively. The EELV measured with the helium dilution method showed a good correlation with the CT scan data (r2 = 0.91) with a negative bias of 136 +/- 133 ml, and appeared to be more correct at low lung volumes. CONCLUSIONS: The EELV measurement with the helium dilution technique (at low volumes) and modified nitrogen washout/washin technique (at all lung volumes) correlates well with CT scanning and may be easily used in clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials NCT00405002