Structural control on development of karst landscape in the Salento Peninsula (Apulia, SE Italy)

Apulia region (SE Italy) is particularly prone to karst processes, due to the extensive presence of carbonate rocks. Karst marks the whole region, and represent the main landscape features, with a variety of landforms ranging from large-size dolines, to poljes, and fluvial-karstic valleys; given the configuration of Apulia, a great role is also played by coastal karst landforms. The Salento peninsula, in southern Apulia, is characterized by very low relief and cropping out of different types of carbonate rocks, ranging in age from Cretaceous to Quaternary. Recognition of karst features in this setting, and the likely implications for geohazards, is quite difficult, because of the subtleness of the features, and the facility for man to cancel or modify them. Nevrteheless, the presence of dolines is definitely a typical aspect of the area, which also implies some consequences in terms of risk to the built-up environment.This work focuses on the area of Barbarano del Capo, where two cover-collapse dolines are well known in the geological literature as Vora Grande and Vora Piccola. Despite morphometrical and stratigraphical features have already been investigated, few information are available about the hydro-geomorphological and structural settings of the area. This article presents the results of morphological and structural analyses, aimed at understanding the role played by tectonics in the development of karst features, and their evolution

Mn-Doped Glass–Ceramic Bioactive (Mn-BG) Thin Film to Selectively Enhance the Bioactivity of Electrospun Fibrous Polymeric Scaffolds

In recent years, significant progress has been made in the development of new technologies to meet the demand for engineered interfaces with appropriate properties for osteochondral unit repair and regeneration. In this context, we combined two methodologies that have emerged as powerful approaches for tissue engineering application: electrospinning to fabricate a nanofibrous polymeric scaffold and pulsed laser deposition to tune and control the composition and morphology of the scaffold surface. A multi-component scaffold composed of synthetic and natural polymers was proposed to combine the biocompatibility and suitable mechanical properties of poly(D,L-lactic acid) with the hydrophilicity and cellular affinity of gelatin. As part of a biomimetic strategy for the generation of bi-functional scaffolds, we coated the electrospun fibers with a thin film of a bioactive glass–ceramic material supplemented with manganese ions. The physico-chemical properties and composition of the bi-layered scaffold were investigated, and its bioactivity, in terms of induced mineralization, was tested by incubation in a simulated body fluid buffer. The processes of the inorganic film dissolution and the calcium phosphate phases growth were followed by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, confirming that a combination of bioactive glass–ceramics and nanofibrous scaffolds has promising potential in the regeneration of osteochondral tissue due to its ability to induce mineralization in connective tissues. © 2022 by the authors

A cross-sectional survey to investigate the quality of care in Tuscan (Italy) nursing homes: the structural, process and outcome indicators of nutritional care

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have investigated process and structure indicators of nutritional care as well as their use in nursing homes (NHs), but the relative weight of these indicators in predicting the risk of malnutrition remains unclear. Aims of the present study are to describe the quality indicators of nutritional care in older residents in a sample of NHs in Tuscany, Italy, and to evaluate the predictors of protein-energy malnutrition risk. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 67 NHs. Information was collected to evaluate quality indicators of nutritional care and the individual risk factors for malnutrition, which was assessed using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. A multilevel model was used to analyse the association between risk and predictors. RESULTS: Out of 2395 participants, 23.7 % were at high, 11 % at medium, and 65.3 % at low risk for malnutrition. Forty-two percent of the NHs had only a personal scale to weigh residents; 88 % did not routinely use a screening test/tool for malnutrition; 60 % used some standardized approach for weight measurement; 43 % did not assess the severity of dysphagia; 12 % were not staffed with dietitians. Patients living in NHs where a chair or platform scale was available had a significantly lower risk of malnutrition (OR = 0.73; 95 % CI = 0.56–0.94). None of the other structural or process quality indicators showed a statistically significant association with malnutrition risk. CONCLUSIONS: Of all the process and structural indicators considered, only the absence of an adequate scale to weigh residents predicted the risk of malnutrition, after adjusting for case mix. These findings prompt the conduction of further investigations on the effectiveness of structural and process indicators that are used to describe quality of nutritional care in NHs

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

The Botanical Record of Archaeobotany Italian Network - BRAIN: a cooperative network, database and website

Con autorización de la revista para autores CSIC[EN] The BRAIN (Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network) database and network was developed by the cooperation of archaeobotanists working on Italian archaeological sites. Examples of recent research including pollen or other plant remains in analytical and synthetic papers are reported as an exemplar reference list. This paper retraces the main steps of the creation of BRAIN, from the scientific need for the first research cooperation to the website which has a free online access since 2015.Peer reviewe

Antithrombotic Therapy for Vascular Disease and Intervention: The Best Is Yet to Come?

Despite ongoing progresses, atherothrombosis continues to have a substantial morbidity and mortality burden, with platelet aggregation and the coagulation cascade activation playing a pivotal role in thrombus formation at the site of endothelial injury. Indeed, endothelial barrier breakdown can be spontaneous because of the rupture or erosion of atherosclerotic plaques or iatrogenic in the course of heart and vascular procedures. In either of the cases, the unfavorable result can be the intermittent or permanent obstruction of the blood flow

Denudation processes and landforms map of the Camastra River catchment (Basilicata - South Italy).

This paper performs denudation processes and landforms characterizing the Camastra River catchment (Basilicata – South Italy), on a 1:40,000 scale map. The map, which includes gravitational processes and landforms and water erosion processes and landforms, was obtained by combining field surveys with the analysis of topographic maps and of multitemporal aerial photos, ranging from 1954 to 2010. These latter provided information on both spatial and temporal evolution of geomorphic processes. The integration and the elaboration of the data obtained in a GIS environment provided the inventory map of denudation processes and landforms. Landslides are widespread in the study area, and play an important role in the present-day landscape evolution. A total of 953 landslides were recognized, occupying a surface of 79 km2, about 22% of the whole study area. The recognized landslides were mapped on the basis of movement type, as follows: slides, flows, falls and complex landslides. With regard to water erosion processes, the most evident and spectacular landforms in the study area are represented by badlands (the so called calanchi), due to concentration of running water on steep clayey slopes, producing narrow and knife-edge ridges. Finally, sheet, rill and gully erosion are particularly active on areas devoid of vegetation cover, as well as on cultivated fields. This kind of map is an useful tool for land planning policy. Also, these types of studies are basic and complementary to applied methods for investigation and mapping of land susceptibility to denudation processes, as landslides and water erosion