Historical and Instrumental Seismicity of the Sansepolcro Basin, Northern Apennines, Italy

In this work we analyse the most important earthquakes of the 20th century occurred in the Altotiberina Valley in 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1948; in particular instrumental relocation and Ms magnitude estimation are re-evaluated. The area investigated, the Sansepolcro basin, is characterized by the presence of important earthquakes in the past with estimated intensity even larger than IX MCS (the 1352 Monterchi earthquake, the 1389 Boccaserriola, the 1458 Citta' di Castello, the 1781 Cagliese and the 1917 Monterchi-Citerna earthquakes, CPTI Working Group, 2004) and by a surprisingly scarce instrumental seismicity compared to the adjacent areas struck by high seismicity (Castello et al., 2005; Ciaccio et al., 2006). In particular, the area north of Sansepolcro has been struck in recent years by four minor sequences, occurred between 1987 and 2001 with magnitude ranging from Ml3.0 to Mw4.7. The relocation of these earthquakes is particularly critical and in an important issue. An instrumental and precise location is critical for the complexity of the problems associated with the study of seismograms prior to the rst half of the twentieth century and is relevant because in the surrounding regions higher seismicity is observed. Regarding this peculiarity of the area, it’s very important to detect the localization of the historical earthquakes: in particular, the 1917 event is often associated to the possibility that the regional low angle Altotiberina Fault (Barchi et al., 1998) is able or not to nucleate large- or moderate-magnitude events, being historically located close to its surface (Boncio and Lavecchia, 2000)

The Correlation Between Historical and Instrumental Seismicity in the Sansepolcro Basin, Northern Apennines, Italy

The area investigated, the Sansepolcro basin, is characterized by the presence of important earthquakes in the past with estimated intensity even larger than IX MCS (the 1352 Monterchi earthquake, the 1389 Boccaserriola, the 1458 Citta’ di Castello, the 1781 Cagliese and the 1917 Monterchi-Citerna earthquakes, CPTI Working Group, 2004) and by a surprisingly scarce instrumental seismicity compared to the adjacent areas struck by high seismicity (Castello et al., 2005; Ciaccio et al., 2006). The area north of Sansepolcro has been struck in recent years by four minor sequences, occurred between 1987 and 2001 with magnitude ranging from Ml3.0 to Mw4.7. In this work we analyse the most important earthquakes of the 20th century occurred in the Altotiberina Valley in 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1948; in particular instrumental relocation, focal mechanisms and Ms and Mw magnitude estimation are re-evaluated. The relocation of these earthquakes is particularly critical and is an important issue. An instrumental and precise location is critical for the complexity of the problems associated with the study of seismograms prior to the first half of the twentieth century and is relevant because in the surrounding regions higher seismicity is observed. Regarding this peculiarity of the area, it’s very important to detect the location of the historical earthquakes: in particular, the 1917 event is often associated to the possibility that the regional low angle Altotiberina Fault (Barchi et al., 1998) is able or not to nucleate large- or moderate-magnitude events, being historically located close to its surface (Boncio and Lavecchia, 2000)

Revised NODDI model for diffusion MRI data with multiple b-tensor encodings

This work proposes a revision of the NODDI model to relate brain tissue microstructure to the new generation of diffusion MRI data with multiple b-tensor encodings. NODDI was developed originally for conventional multi-shell diffusion data acquired with linear tensor encoding (LTE). While adequate for LTE data, it has been shown to be incompatible with data using spherical tensor encoding (STE). We embed a different set of assumptions in NODDI, while retaining the tortuosity constraint, to accommodate both LTE and STE data. Experiments with human data with multiple b-tensor encodings confirm the efficacy of the revision

Genetic variation associated with hypersensitivity to mercury

OBJECTIVES: Very little is known about mechanisms of idiosyncratic sensitivity to the damaging effects of mercury (Hg); however, there is likely a genetic component. The aim of the present study was to search for genetic variation in genes thought to be involved in Hg metabolism and transport in a group of individuals identified as having elevated Hg sensitivity compared to a normal control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Survivors of pink disease (PD; infantile acrodynia) are a population of clinically identifiable individuals who are Hg sensitive. In the present study, single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes thought to be involved in Hg transport and metabolism were compared across two groups: (i) PD survivors (n = 25); and (ii) age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 25). RESULTS: Analyses revealed significant differences between groups in genotype frequencies for rs662 in the gene encoding paraoxanase 1 (PON1) and rs1801131 in the gene encoding methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). CONCLUSIONS: We have identified two genetic polymorphisms associated with increased sensitivity to Hg. Genetic variation in MTHFR and PON1 significantly differentiated a group formerly diagnosed with PD (a condition of Hg hypersensitivity) with age- and gender-matched healthy controls

The development of a new blood substitute

Trattasi di un sommario pubblicato online nel sito dell'Agenzia di divulgazione scientifica Atlas of Science, AoS Nordic AB, Moscow, Russia, riguardante l'impiego di nuovi sostituti del sangu

Expression of cytokine mRNA and protein in joints and lymphoid organs during the course of rat antigen-induced arthritis

Cytokine expression was assessed during antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) in synovial membrane (SM), inguinal lymph node (LN), and spleen using competitive RT-PCR and sandwich ELISA. In the SM, early elevations of IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA (by 6 hours; 450- and 200-fold, respectively) correlated with the joint swelling; a 6-fold increase in tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) was not significant. Not only IL-2 and IFN-γ (which increased 10,000-fold and 200-fold, respectively), but also IL-5 and IL-10, increased acutely (6 hours – day 1; 3-fold and 35-fold, respectively) in the SM. In general, the protein levels in the SM for IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10 (increase from 4-fold to 15-fold) matched the course of mRNA expression. In the inguinal LN, there were early mRNA elevations of IL-6 (a 2.5-fold increase by 6 hours, which correlated positively with the joint swelling) and IL-2 (4-fold by 6 hours), as well as later rises of IL-4 and IL-5 (2.5- and 4-fold, respectively, by day 3). No significant elevations of the corresponding proteins in this tissue were observed, except for IL-1β (by day 6) and IL-10 (by day 1). In the spleen, there were significant mRNA elevations at 6 hours of IL-1β (1.5-fold), IL-6 (4-fold; positively correlated with the joint swelling), IFN-γ (3-fold), and IL-2 (7- to 10-fold). IL-5 and IL-10 (2- and 3-fold, respectively) peaked from 6 hours to day 3 in the spleen. Increases of the corresponding proteins were significant in comparison with day 0 only in the case of IL-2 (day 6). By day 6 (transition to the chronic phase), the mRNA for cytokines declined to or below prearthritis levels in all the tissues studied except for IL-1β in the SM and IL-6 in the spleen. AIA is thus characterized by four phenomena: early synovial activation of macrophages, T helper (Th)1-like, and Th2-like cells; late, well-segregated Th2-like responses in the inguinal LN; late, overlapping Th1-like/Th2-like peaks in the spleen; and chronic elevation of synovial IL-1β mRNA and spleen IL-6 mRNA

Carotid artery stiffness in metabolic syndrome: Sex differences

Introduction: The effect of metabolic syndrome (MS) on carotid stiffness (CS) in the context of gender is under research. Objective: We examined the relationship between the MS and CS in men (M) and women (W) and investigated if the impact of cardiovascular risk factors on CS is modulated by gender. Patients and Methods: The study included 419 subjects (mean age 54.3 years): 215 (51%) with MS (109 W and 106 M) and 204 (49%) without MS (98 W and 106 M). Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and CS parameters (beta stiffness index (beta), Peterson’s elastic modulus (Ep), arterial compliance (AC) and one-point pulse wave velocity (PWV-beta)) were measured with the echo-tracking (eT) system. Results: ANCOVA demonstrated that MS was associated with elevated CS indices (p = 0.003 for beta and 0.025 for PWV-beta), although further sex-specific analysis revealed that this relationship was significant only in W (p = 0.021 for beta). Age was associated with CS in both M and W, pulse pressure (PP) and body mass index turned out to be determinants of CS solely in W, while the effect of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate was more pronounced in M. MANOVA performed in subjects with MS revealed that age and diabetes mellitus type 2 were determinants of CS in both sexes, diastolic blood pressure and MAP – solely in M and systolic blood pressure, PP and waist circumference – solely in W (the relationship between the waist circumference and AC was paradoxical). Conclusion: The relationship between MS and CS is stronger in W than in M. In subjects with MS, various components of arterial pressure exert different sex-specific effects on CS – with the impact of the pulsative component of arterial pressure (PP) observed in W and the impact of the steady component (MAP) observed in M

Surface enhanced deep Raman detection of cancer tumour through 71 mm of heterogeneous tissue

Detection of solid tumours through tissue− from depths relevant to humans− has been a significant challenge for biomedical Raman spectroscopy. The combined use of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) imaging agents with deep Raman spectroscopy (DRS), i.e., surface enhanced deep Raman spectroscopy (SEDRS), offer prospects for overcoming such obstacles. In this study, we investigated the maximum detection depth through which the retrieval of SERS signal of a passively targeted biphenyl-4-thiol tagged gold nanoparticle (NP) imaging agent, injected subcutaneously into a mouse bearing breast cancer tumour, was possible. A compact 830 nm set-up with a hand-held probe and the flexibility of switching between offset, transmission and conventional Raman modalities was developed for this study. In vivo injection of the above SERS NP primary dose allowed surface tumour detection, whereas additional post mortem NP booster dose was required for detection of deeply seated tumours through heterogeneous animal tissue (comprising of proteins, fat, bone, organs, blood, and skin). The highest detection depth of 71 mm was probed using transmission, translating into a ∼40% increase in detection depth compared to earlier reports. Such improvements in detection depth along with the inherent Raman chemical sensitivity brings SEDRS one step closer to future clinical cancer imaging technology

Recent progress and current opinions in Brillouin microscopy for life science applications

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordMany important biological functions and processes are reflected in cell and tissue mechanical properties such as elasticity and viscosity. However, current techniques used for measuring these properties have major limitations, such as that they can often not measure inside intact cells and/or require physical contact-which cells can react to and change. Brillouin light scattering offers the ability to measure mechanical properties in a non-contact and label-free manner inside of objects with high spatial resolution using light, and hence has emerged as an attractive method during the past decade. This new approach, coined "Brillouin microscopy," which integrates highly interdisciplinary concepts from physics, engineering, and mechanobiology, has led to a vibrant new community that has organized itself via a European funded (COST Action) network. Here we share our current assessment and opinion of the field, as emerged from a recent dedicated workshop. In particular, we discuss the prospects towards improved and more bio-compatible instrumentation, novel strategies to infer more accurate and quantitative mechanical measurements, as well as our current view on the biomechanical interpretation of the Brillouin spectra.COST Action BioBrilloui