Measuring and interpreting CO2 fluxes at regional scale: the case of the Apennines, Italy

Tectonically active regions are often characterized by large amounts of carbon dioxide degassing, and estimation of the total CO2 discharged to the atmosphere from tectonic structures, hydrothermal systems and inactive volcanic areas is crucial for the definition of present-day global Earth degassing. The carbon balance of regional aquifers is a powerful tool to quantify the diffuse degassing of deep inorganic carbon sources because the method integrates the CO2 flux over large areas. Its application to peninsular Italy shows that the region is characterized by specific CO2 fluxes higher than the baseline determined for the geothermal regions of the world, and that the amount of endogenous CO2 discharged through diffuse regional degassing (c. 2.1 × 1011 mol a−1) is the major component of the geological CO2 budget of Italy, definitely prevailing over the CO2 discharged by Italian active volcanoes and volcanoes with hydrothermal activity. Furthermore, the positive correlation between geothermal heat and deep CO2 dissolved in the groundwater of central Italy suggests that (1) the geothermal heat is transported into the aquifers by the same hot CO2-rich fluids causing the Italian CO2 anomaly and (2) the advective heat flow is the dominant form of heat transfer of the region. Supplementary material: The location, flow rate, extent of the hydrogeological basin, chemical and isotopic analyses of the 160 springs considered in this study, and the results of the carbon mass balance are reported in a table available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.423702

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Triponzo: a thermal system in a cold area of the Apennines (Italy)

Bagni di Triponzo thermal springs, characterised by a Ca-SO4 composition and temperatures up to 30°C, are located in the eastern sector of Umbria region in the Umbria-Marche Apennine (central Italy). The region is characterised by a low geothermal gradient and low conductive heat flux and the composition of Triponzo thermal waters significantly differs with respect to the cold waters circulating in the surrounding areas. The origin of the heat transported by the waters of the Triponzo springs is mainly due to a deep component, characterised by high CO2 and He contents, coming from a deeper reservoir, rising along normal faults and mixing with infiltrating waters of meteoric origin. The total amount of thermal water discharged by the system is about 34 L s-1. According to the ternary SO4-2-F--HCO3- geoindicator for carbonate-evaporite reservoirs, the fluids at reservoir condition are charcterised by a partial pressure of CO2 about 0.5 bar and a temperature between 70-75°C whereas the Silica geothermometers give a temperature about 62°C. The computed thermal energy transported by advection and discharged at the surface by Triponzo springs is about 3.71×1011 ± 0.56×1011 J/day.Published62-721TR. Georisorse2TR. Ricostruzione e modellazione della struttura crostaleJCR Journa

Measuring and interpreting CO2 fluxes at regional scale: the case of the Apennines, Italy

Tectonically active regions are often characterized by large amounts of carbon dioxide degassing, and estimation of the total CO2 discharged to the atmosphere from tectonic structures, hydrothermal systems and inactive volcanic areas is crucial for the definition of present-day global Earth degassing. The carbon balance of regional aquifers is a powerful tool to quantify the diffuse degassing of deep inorganic carbon sources because the method integrates the CO2 flux over large areas. Its application to peninsular Italy shows that the region is characterized by specific CO2 fluxes higher than the baseline determined for the geothermal regions of the world, and that the amount of endogenous CO2 discharged through diffuse regional degassing (c. 2.1 × 1011 mol a−1) is the major component of the geological CO2 budget of Italy, definitely prevailing over the CO2 discharged by Italian active volcanoes and volcanoes with hydrothermal activity. Furthermore, the positive correlation between geothermal heat and deep CO2 dissolved in the groundwater of central Italy suggests that (1) the geothermal heat is transported into the aquifers by the same hot CO2-rich fluids causing the Italian CO2 anomaly and (2) the advective heat flow is the dominant form of heat transfer of the region.Published408–4161TR. GeorisorseJCR Journa

A Layout-Similarity-Based Approach for Detecting Phishing Pages

Phishing is a current social engineering attack that results in online identity theft. In a phishing attack, the attacker persuades the victim to reveal confidential information by using web site spoofing techniques. Typically, the captured information is then used to make an illegal economic profit by purchasing goods or undertaking online banking transactions. Although simple in nature, because of their effectiveness, phishing attacks still remain a great source of concern for organizations with online customer services. In previous work, we have developed AntiPhish, a phishing protection system that prevents sensitive user information from being entered on phishing sites. The drawback is that this system requires cooperation from the user and occasionally raises false alarms. In this paper, we present an extension of our system (called DOMAntiPhish) that mitigates the shortcomings of our previous system. In particular, our novel approach leverages layout similarity information to distinguish between malicious and benign web pages. This makes it possible to reduce the involvement of the user and significantly reduces the false alarm rate. Our experimental evaluation demonstrates that our solution is feasible in practice.