THE 23 JULY 1930 EARTHQUAKE (MS=6.7) IN THE SOUTHERN APENNINES (ITALY): GEOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL EFFECTS

The 23 July 1930 earthquake (MS=6.7) in the Southern Apennines (Italy) was a catastrophic event that produced many effects such as surface faulting, fractures, landslides, settlements, hydrological changes, variations in chemical/ physical activity related to the volcanic and/or thermal zones and also acoustic and optical phenomena. It is the first great earthquake of the twentieth century that was studied, thanks to the hydrological monitoring network of the Italian Hydrographic Survey (IHS) set up from 1925 to 1929. For this earthquake we analysed the initial IHS hydrometric and pluviometric data, looking for significant anomalies in springs, water wells and mountain streams. Hydrological data relative to rivers, springs and water wells indicate that some changes can be correlated with the earthquake: a post-seismic excess discharge in some streams, pre- and co-seismic decreases in stream flows and water levels in wells, pre- and post-seismic increases in discharges. The pre- and co-seismic stresses and the tectonic deformations were studied in order to find a possible model of interaction between stress state and hydrological variations. The anomalies found in this work can be considered “rebound anomalies”, which are the most common precursor reported by several authors and related to increases in porosity and permeability caused by the fracturing that precedes an earthquake. An estimation of the total excess discharge (0.035 km3) caused by the Ms=6.7 Irpinia earthquake is consistent with the excess discharge of about 0.01 km3 determined for the Mw=6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. To define the normal hydrodynamic behaviour of the considered aquifers, an analysis of the correlation between rainfalls and water levels and flow rates has been carried out. The delay of significant peaks in the correlograms of figure 7 with respect to the start of the hydrological anomaly and/or its duration, can define the space-time limits of the changes correlated with earthquake

Hydrological anomalies connected to earthquakes in southern Apennines (Italy)

The study of hydrological variations in the watersheds of seismic areas can be useful in order to acquire a new knowledge of the mechanisms by which earthquakes can produce hydrological anomalies. Italy has the availability of many long historical series both of hydrological parameters and of seismological data, and is an ideal laboratory to verify the validity of theoretical models proposed by various authors. In this work we analyse the hydrological anomalies associated with some of the big earthquakes that occurred in the last century in the southern Apennines: 1930, 1980 and 1984. For these earthquakes we analysed hydrometric and pluviometric data looking for significant anomalies in springs, water wells and mountain streams. The influence of rainfalls on the normal flows of rivers, springs and wells has been ascertained. Also, the earthquake of 1805, for which a lot of hydrological perturbations have been reported, is considered in order to point out effects imputable to this earthquake that can be similar to the effects of the other big earthquakes. The considered seismic events exhibit different modes of energy release, different focal mechanisms and different propagation of effects on the invested areas. Furthermore, even if their epicentres were not localised in contiguous seismogenetic areas, it seems that the hydrological effects imputable to them took place in the same areas. Such phenomena have been compared with macroseismic fields and transformed in parameters, in order to derive empirical relationships between the dimensions of the event and the characteristics of the hydrological variations. The results of this work point to a close dependence among hydrological anomalies, regional structures and fault mechanisms, and indicate that many clear anomalies have been forerunners of earthquakes. In 1993, the Naples Bureau of the Hydrographic National Service started the continuous monitoring of hydrologic parameters by a network of automatic stations and transmission in real time; presently 7 acquifers are under control in which also pH, <i>T</i> , salinity, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen are measured. We envisage to increase the number of monitoring sites and controlled parameters

Cataract and optic disk drusen in a patient with glycogenosis and di George syndrome: clinical and molecular report

Background We report the ophthalmic findings of a patient with type Ia glycogen storage disease (GSD Ia), DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), cataract and optic nerve head drusen (ONHD). Case presentation A 26-year-old white woman, born at term by natural delivery presented with a post-natal diagnosis of GSD Ia. Genetic testing by array-comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) for DGS was required because of her low levels of serum calcium. The patient has been followed from birth, attending the day-hospital every six months at the San Paolo Hospital, Milan, outpatient clinic for metabolic diseases and previously at another eye center. During the last day-hospital visit, a complete eye examination showed ONHD and cataract in both eyes. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was subsequently done to check for any association between the eye problems and metabolic aspects. Conclusions This is the first description of ocular changes in a patient with GSD Ia and DGS. Mutations explaining GSD Ia and DGS were found but no specific causative mutation for cataract and ONHD. The metabolic etiology of her lens changes is known, whereas the pathogenesis of ONHD is not clear. Although the presence of cataract and ONHD could be a coincidence; the case reported could suggest that hypocalcemia due to DGS could be the common biochemical pathway

Exon 3 of the NUMB Gene Emerged in the Chordate Lineage Coopting the NUMB Protein to the Regulation of MDM2

MDM2 regulates a variety of cellular processes through its dual protein:protein interaction and ubiquitin ligase activities. One major function of MDM2 is to bind and ubiquitinate P53, thereby regulating its proteasomal degradation. This function is in turn controlled by the cell fate determinant NUMB, which binds to and inhibits MDM2 via a short stretch of 11 amino acids, contained in its phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain, encoded by exon 3 of the NUMB gene. The NUMB-MDM2-P53 circuitry is relevant to the specification of the stem cell fate and its subversion has been shown to be causal in breast cancer leading to the emergence of cancer stem cells. While extensive work on the evolutionary aspects of the MDM2/P53 circuitry has provided hints as to how these two proteins have evolved together to maintain conserved and linked functions, little is known about the evolution of the NUMB gene and, in particular, how it developed the ability to regulate MDM2 function. Here, we show that NUMB is a metazoan gene, which acquired exon 3 in the common ancestor of the Chordate lineage, first being present in the Cephalochordate and Tunicate subphyla, but absent in invertebrates. We provide experimental evidence showing that since its emergence, exon 3 conferred to the PTB domain of NUMB the ability to bind and to regulate MDM2 functions

Proteolysis, Texture and Microstructure of Goat Cheese

Changes in the structure of cheese are mostly due to changes in the protein matrix, mainly because of the degradation of α- and β- and k-casein. Therefore, the objective of this work was to study the effect of proteolysis on the microstructure and texture of goat cheese during ripening. The cheeses were made using Creole goat milk from the Quebrada de Humahuaca in Jujuy and ripened at 10 °C and 90% RH. Samples were taken after 5 hours of preparation and after 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 80 days of ripening. Proteolysis was studied by the evolution of the major fractions of casein (α, β and para-κ) determined by HPLC and soluble nitrogen, allowing the calculation of the rate of maturation. The texture profile was determined using a texture analyzer QTS 25. The changes in the protein matrix of the cheese were observed by scanning electron microscopy using a JEOL JSM-6480 LV. We found that the α-casein was hydrolyzed at a low speed at the beginning and until 30 days, between 30 and 40 days of ripening, α-casein was hydrolyzed faster. After this time, this fraction content became stable until the end of the ripening. The rate of hydrolysis of para-κ-casein increased starting from 30 days up to 60 days of ripening, when it became stable. It was observed that the initial matrix of cheese protein was formed by free large cavities with a heterogeneous dispersion of casein particles. During ripening, the size of the cavities decreased and the cheese protein matrix became more compact. The size of the holes was reduced and the globular characteristic of the micelles was lost after 40 days of maturation, coinciding with accentuated hydrolysis α-caseins. The soluble nitrogen at pH 4.6, increased significantly until 30 days. After that, it remained statistically unchanged for 80 days. The velocity of maturation determined as soluble nitrogen in TCA, rose steadily until 60 days of ripening. Hardness, gumminess, adhesiveness and chewiness increased sharply at 40 days of maturation. After this time, these parameters increased slowly until the end of the sampling period, when the changes in the microstructure of the cheeses revealed the highest compaction of the matrix. This may be related to the formation of soluble nitrogen and degradation of α-caseins during ripeningFil: Burgos, Laura Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Facultad de Ingeniería. Centro de Investigación en Tecnología Alimentaria; ArgentinaFil: Pece Azar, Nora Beatriz del Carmen. No especifíca;Fil: Maldonado, S.. No especifíca

NUMB (numb homolog (Drosophila))

Review on NUMB (numb homolog (Drosophila)), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

Seismically induced ground effects of the 1805, 1930 and 1980 earthquakes in the Southern Apennines (Italy

Seismically induced environmental effects (in particular, surfacefaults, ground cracks, slope failures, liquefaction, soil compaction, hydrological changes, tsunamis) are assumed to provide fundamentalinformation on the earthquake size and its intensity field, crucial for a more efficient seismic hazard assessment. Accordingly, this study is aimed at substantiating this assumption by showing that the knowledge about ground effects acquired in recent earthquakes, when combined with that illustrated in historical documents, allows to buildan improved picture of historic seismic events, with respect to that usually provided by the solely damage-based macroseismic scales. In this perspective, the environmental effects are analysed and cataloguedof three of the most ruinous earthquakes in Southern Italy of the last two centuries: the July 26,1805, Molise event (XI MCS, M 6.8), the July 23, 1930, Irpinia event (X MCS, M 6.7), and the November 23, 1980 Campania-Basilicata event (X MSK, Ms 6.9). The distribution of the earthquake environmental effects, in particular their distance from the known or supposed causative fault, has been investigated to obtain a more detailed and comprehensive picture of the macroseismic field, a key parameter in seismic hazard assessment and seismic zonation. KEY WORDS: historical seismicity, intensity, ground effects, earthquak

Ground effects and hydrological changes in the Southern Apennines (Italy) in response to the 23 July 1930 earthquake (<i>M_S</i>=6.7)

The 23 July 1930 earthquake (MS=6.7) in the Southern Apennines (Italy) was a catastrophic event that produced many effects such as surface faulting, fractures, landslides, settlements, hydrological changes, variations in chemical/physical activity related to the volcanic and/or thermal zones and also acoustic and optical phenomena. It is the first great earthquake of the twentieth century that was studied, thanks to the hydrological monitoring network of the Italian Hydrographic Survey (IHS) set up from 1925 to 1929. For this earthquake we analysed the initial IHS hydrometric and pluviometric data, looking for significant anomalies in springs, water wells and mountain streams. Hydrological data relative to rivers, springs and water wells indicate that some changes can be correlated with the earthquake: a post-seismic excess discharge in some streams, pre- and co-seismic decreases in stream flows and water levels in wells, pre- and post-seismic increases in discharges. The pre- and co-seismic stresses and the tectonic deformations were studied in order to find a possible model of interaction between stress state and hydrological variations. The anomalies found in this work can be considered "rebound anomalies", which are the most common precursor reported by many authors and related to increases in porosity and permeability caused by the fracturing that precedes an earthquake. An estimation of the total excess discharge (0.035 km3) caused by the MS=6.7 Irpinia earthquake is consistent with the excess discharge of about 0.01 km3 determined for the Mw=6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake

Prep1 (pKnox1) transcription factor contributes to pubertal mammary gland branching morphogenesis

Prep1 (pKnox1) is a homeodomain transcription factor essential for in utero and post-natal development and an oncosuppressor gene in human and adult mice. We have analyzed its role in the development of the mouse mammary gland. We used Prep1i/i hypomorphic and Prep1F/F-Ker5CRE crosses to analyze the role of Prep1 in vivo in adult mouse mammary gland development. We also cultured mammary gland stem/progenitor cells in mammospheres to perform biochemical studies. Prep1 was expressed in mammary gland progenitors and fully differentiated mammary gland cells. Using different Prep1-deficient mouse models we show that in vivo Prep1 contributes to mammary gland branching since the branching efficiency of the mammary gland in Prep1-deleted or Prep1 hypomorphic mice was largely reduced. In-vitro, Prep1 sustained functions of the mammary stem/progenitor compartment. Prep1-deficient mammary stem/progenitor cells showed reduced ability to form mammospheres; they were not able to branch in a 3D assay, and exhibited reduced expression of Snail1, Snail2 and vimentin. The branching phenotype associated with increased Tp53-dependent apoptosis and inability to properly activate signals involved in branching morphogenesis. Finally, Prep1 formed complexes with Snail2, a transcription factor essential in branching morphogenesis, and its absence destabilizes and promotes Snail2 proteasome-mediated degradation. We conclude that Prep1 is required for normal adult mammary gland development, in particular at its branching morphogenesis step. By binding Snail2, Prep1 protects it from the proteasomal degradation