The use of complementary and alternative medicine is frequent in patients with pancreatic disorder

BACKGROUND: Herbal remedies and other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are used by 30% of the patients with liver and inflammatory bowel diseases. However, there are no data regarding CAM use in patients with pancreatic disorders, including potential pancreatotoxicity. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of CAM use in patients with pancreatic disorders and screen for pancreatotoxicity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey of consecutive outpatients seen at a Pancreas Center. Data were collected in a specific questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the prevalence and the patterns of CAM use. Characteristics associated with CAM use were analyzed by appropriate statistics. RESULTS: Of 108 patients (52% male; mean age, 65±13 years), 47 (43.5%) used CAM. The use of CAM was more frequent among patients with previous acute pancreatitis (47%). Reported reasons for the use of CAM were to help standard therapies and for an overall better feeling. About 61% of the patients reported advantages with treatment. As compared with nonusers, CAM users were more often female (55% vs. 42%), with a higher school degree (43% vs. 36%), more frequently performing physical activity (51% vs. 41%), and reporting anxiety (45% vs. 31%). However, none of these differences were statistically significant. Three patients with previous acute pancreatitis reported the use of Serenoa repens that is potentially pancreatotoxic. DISCUSSION: The rate of CAM use in patients with pancreatic disorders is similar to those reported for other digestive diseases. CAM use seems to be more frequent in women with a higher education level and a "healthier lifestyle." Patients might not be aware of the potential pancreatotoxicity of CAM, which should be carefully considered by physician

Surface Geomorphological Features of Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformations : A Look to the Role of Lithostructure (N Apennines, Italy)

The attention to deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) has steadily increased in the last few decades, because such features are ubiquitous in mountain areas. Their geomorphological surface expression, especially when related to the effects of lithostructural control in sedimentary stratified bedrocks, is well characterized in theory, but sometimes not as well documented in field cases. In this contribution the investigation of several DSGSDs in the area of the Northern Apennines of Italy is reported. A survey of the area was conducted using fast and lowcost satellite imaging techniques, in order to describe the surface features of selected DSGSDs and verify how their occurrence is linked to the effect of lithostructural constrains such as bedding and folding. Surface features developed in parallel to the strike of the slope are mostly related to the main gravitative strain acting on the deformation. Features along slope dip are instead formed by the release of tension caused by compressive forces at the landslide foot or by the presence of preexisting weak lines. One example of a DSGSD, formed on the hinge of a vertical fold, shows a corrugated appearance due to the release of vertical fractures that mask most other features usually associated with DSGSDs. This potentially impairs the detection of these landforms during field and remote surveys

The Eneolithic/Bronze Age Transition at Tegole di Bovino (Apulia): Geoarchaeological Evidence of Climate Change and Land-Use Shift

Human communities at the transition between the Eneolithic period and the Bronze Age had to rapidly adapt to cultural and climatic changes, which influenced the whole Mediterranean. The exact dynamics involved in this crucial passage are still a matter of discussion. As newer studies have highlighted the key role of climatic fluctuations during this period, their relationship with the human occupation of the landscape are yet to be fully explored. We investigated the infilling of negative structures at the archaeological site of Tegole di Bovino (Apulia, Southern Italy) looking at evidence of the interaction between climate changes and human strategies. The archaeological sedimentary deposits, investigated though geoarchaeological and micromorphological techniques, show the presence of natural and anthropogenic infillings inside most structures. Both human intervention and/or natural events occurred in the last phases of occupation of the site and its subsequent abandonment. The transition to unfavorable climatic conditions in the same period was most likely involved in the abandonment of the site. The possible further impact of human communities on the landscape in that period, testified by multiple other archives, might have in turn had a role in the eventual change in land use

Variable fault tip propagation rates affected by near-surface lithology and implications for fault displacement hazard assessment

The fabric of reverse fault zones close to the surface is usually partitioned in between a narrow discrete rupture zone and a more distributed one, where folding is predominant. This makes quite challenging the adoption of proper setbacks in surface rupture hazard studies for critical facilities or microzoning. Some of the parameters controlling fault zone fabric are related to mechanics of near-surface geology (lithology, overburden thickness, cohesion and water content) whose interaction is complex and only partially understood. Nevertheless, these can be seldom measured or derived. Kinematic models, conversely, express such an interaction of complex variables as simple synthetic parameters, such as the amount of upward propagation of the fault tip for unit of slip, usually referred to as the P/S ratio (Propagation on Slip). Here, we discuss results on the trishear kinematic inverse modeling of a contractional fault propagation fold at Monte Netto Hill (Capriano del Colle, N. Italy), observing a two-stage fault and fold growth evolution, marked by a significant shift in the P/S parameter. At this site, exceptional sequence of exposures due to ca. 10 years of quarry excavations allowed to obtain a series of cross-sections across the fault zone. We use this detailed, high-resolution, example as a natural \u201canalogue\u201d for more general, large-scale surface ruptures involving a thick alluvial cover, a very common setting for the siting of critical facilities. During the early stage of displacement, the fault cut through clast-supported fluvial gravels with a high propagation rate (P/S\u202f=\u202f7) and a discrete rupture width. Then, during the latest movements of the thrust, fault tip propagation slowed down to P/S\u202f 48\u202f2.9, as the fault started cutting through several stacked bodies of clays and silty clays, pedogenized aeolian silts and overbank deposits, causing a pronounced folding of the layers over a wider deformation zone. These results strongly suggest that lithological changes in the underlying shallow stratigraphy, common in an alluvial plain depositional setting, would significantly affect the potential for surface faulting across the same tectonic structure, with relevant implications in the fault displacement hazard assessment