Upgrade of the CEDIT database of earthquake-induced ground effects in Italy

The database related to the Italian Catalogue of EarthquakeInduced Ground Failures (CEDIT), was recently upgraded and updated to 2017 in the frame of a work-in-progress focused on the following issues: i) reorganization of the geo-database architecture; ii) revision of the earthquake parameters from the CFTI5 e CPTI15 catalogues by INGV; ii) addition of new data on effects induced by earthquakes occurred from 2009 to 2017; iv) attribution of macroseismic intensity value to each effect site, according to the CFTI5 e CPTI15 catalogues by INGV. The revised CEDIT database aims at achieving: i) the optimization of the CEDIT catalogue in order to increase its usefulness for both Public Institutions and individual users; ii) a new architecture of the geo-database in view of a future implementation of the online catalogue which implies its usability via web-app also to support post-event detection and surveying activities. Here we illustrate the new geo-database design and discuss the statistics that can be derived from the updated database. Statistical analysis was carried out on the data recorded in the last update of CEDIT to 2017 and compared with the analysis of the previous update outline that: - the most represented ground effects are the landslides with a percentage of 55% followed by ground cracks with a percentage of 23%; - the MCS intensity (IMCS) distribution of the effect sites shows a maximum in correspondence of the IMCS class 8 even if a second frequency peak appears in the IMCS class 7 only for surface faulting effects; - the distribution of the effects according to the epicentral distance shows a decrease for all the typologies of induced ground effects with increasing epicentral distance

Il Catalogo CEDIT. Dall’inventario degli effetti sismoindotti all’analisi di scenario

Il Catalogo degli Effetti Deformativi al suolo Indotti da forti Terremoti in Italia (CEDIT) è un progetto a cura del Centro di Ricerca per i Rischi Geologici (CERI), nato a partire dal 1997 da una prima raccolta ed analisi delle fonti storiche e tecniche relative ai più forti terremoti italiani. Nella sua più recente versione il catalogo ha visto la nascita di un database di libera consultazione integrato a piattaforme online basate su servizi Web-GIS e Web Map Service (WMS). Il CEDIT censisce effetti documentati dal 1117 d.C. al 2018, per un totale di 3989 effetti per 173 terremoti, orientati lungo le principali sorgenti sismogeniche della penisola, di cui larga parte di questi (56%) sono legati a frane. Dalle analisi di distribuzione spaziale sono state derivate curve di massima distanza di sismoinduzione attesa per magnitudo sismica, a specifica valenza nazionale. I dati contenuti all’interno del catalogo risultano di particolare interesse per la definizione e analisi di scenari di evento o come dato essenziale per la valutazione della propensione di un territorio all’insorgenza di frane sismoindotte. Per i recenti eventi sismici del 2016-2017 in Appennino centrale e del 16 Agosto 2018 in Molise, le informazioni del CEDIT sono state utilizzate per analisi quantitative degli scenari osservati che, nel primo caso, hanno dimostrato la dipendenza della distribuzione delle frane dalla posizione topografica e dalla presenza di tagli stradali, mentre, nel secondo caso, hanno messo in luce il ruolo predisponente di precipitazioni, quale fattore concomitante ad un sisma.The Italian Catalogue of Earthquake-Induced Ground Failures (CEDIT) is a project by the Research Center for Geological Risks of Sapienza University of Rome (CERI) born since 1997 on a first collection and analysis of historical and technical sources related to the strongest Italian earthquakes. In its most recent release, the catalogue implemented a free consultation database integrated with online platforms based on Web-GIS and Web Map Service (WMS) services. The CEDIT catalogue records ground-effects documented since 1117 AD to 2018 for a total of 3989 effects induced by 173 earthquakes of which a large part (56%) are landslides, oriented along the main seismogenic sources of the peninsula. From the spatial distribution analyses, curves of maximum seismic induction distance expected for seismic magnitude, with specific national value, were derived. The data contained in the CEDIT catalogue are of particular interest for the definition and analysis of scenarios or as essential data for the assessment of the propensity of territory to the onset of earthquake-induced landslides. For the recent seismic events of 2016-2017 in the central Apennines and of 16 August 2018 in Molise, the CEDIT database was used for quantitative analysis of scenarios which, in the first case, demonstrated as the landslides distribution depends on both the topographic position and the presence of road cuts, while, in the second case, it demonstrated the predisposing role of concomitant rainfall with respect to the trigger produced by the seismic shaking

Hemorheological profiles and chronic inflammation markers in transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion- dependent thalassemia

: The rheological properties of blood play an important role in regulating blood flow in micro and macro circulation. In thalassemia syndromes red blood cells exhibit altered hemodynamic properties that facilitate microcirculatory diseases: increased aggregation and reduced deformability, as well as a marked increase in adherence to the vascular endothelial cells. A personalized approach to treating thalassemia patients (transfusions, iron chelation, and splenectomy), has increased patients' life expectancy, however they generally present many complications and several studies have demonstrated the presence of high incidence of thromboembolic events. In this study the hemorheological profiles of thalassemia patients have been characterized to point out new indices of vascular impairment in thalassemia. Plasma viscosity, blood viscosities at low and high shear rates (η1 and η200, respectively), erythrocyte aggregation index (η1/η200), and the erythrocyte viscoelastic profile (elastic modulus G', and viscous modulus G") have been studied in transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients. Moreover, the levels of inflammation biomarkers in thalassemia have been evaluated to investigate a relationship between the biomarkers, the disease severity and the rheological parameters. The biomarkers studied are the main components of the immune and endothelial systems or are related to vascular inflammation: cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, TNF-alpha), chemokines (IL-8, MIP-1alpha), adipocytokines (leptin and adiponectin), growth factors (VEGF, angiopoietin-1), adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-selectin, L-selectin), and a monocyte/macrophage activation marker (CD163). This study shows that transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients, both major and intermedia, have blood viscosities comparable to those of healthy subjects. Non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia intermedia patients show high blood viscosities at low shear rates (η1), corresponding to the flow conditions of the microcirculation, an increase in erythrocyte aggregation, and high values of the elastic G' and viscous G" modules that reflect a reduced erythrocyte deformability and an increase in blood viscosity. Levels of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules are different in transfusion- and non-transfusion dependent patients and positive correlations between η1 or η1/η200 and the cytokines IL-6 and IL-10 have been observed. The evaluation of the hemorheological profiles in thalassemia can provide new indicators of vascular impairment and disease severity in thalassemia in order to prevent the onset of thromboembolic events

Influence of geological complexities on local seismic response in the municipality of Forio (Ischia Island, Italy)

Seismic response studies carried out in the Municipality of Forio on Ischia (NA), southern Italy, following the 21st August 2017 earthquake allowed to detect local effects related to specific geological-structural settings that reflect the complexity of the volcanic context which characterises the entire island of Ischia and, more specifically, the western sector of Mt. Epomeo and the adjacent coastal plain of Forio. In particular, the following features have been observed: i) polarization and amplification effects in the proximity of tectonic elements that dissect the Zaro promontory, where volcanic deposits from massive to stratified widely outcrop; ii) stratigraphic resonances on significantly variable frequency values, changing within distances of a few hundred meters, which can be related to the juxtaposition of landslide debris (such as debris-/rockavalanches and lahar) in correspondence with the town of Forio; iii) seismic amplification in the sector involved in the ongoing gravitational deformation of Mt. Nuovo even in the absence of polarization of the particle motion. The peculiarities of the geological contexts analysed in the Forio Municipality allow to apply different interpretative schemes that vary from stratigraphic resonance (one-dimensional model of resonant column) mostly controlled by thickness and wave velocity in soft soils onto a stiff bedrock, to the resonance of jointed rock masses which are not completely released from the adjacent bedrock so avoiding typical free vibrations with normal modes (three-dimensional oscillating mass model), or to the interaction in the near surface with physical discontinuities responsible for modifying the physical properties of surface waves polarizing and amplifying them. The collected evidence of local seismic response in Forio exemplifies how not conventional interpretative keys for seismic zoning can be proposed to identify sectors whose response schemes do not necessarily fall within the standard of stratigraphic or topographical amplification adopted by current national guidelines for Seismic Microzonation (SM) studies. In particular, the evidence of local seismic response collected for the Forio Municipality were taken into account in the SM and relative products that were realised in the following year

Neuroacanthocytosis associated with a defect of the 4.1R membrane protein

BACKGROUND: Neuroacanthocytosis (NA) denotes a heterogeneous group of diseases that are characterized by nervous system abnormalities in association with acanthocytosis in the patients' blood. The 4.1R protein of the erythrocyte membrane is critical for the membrane-associated cytoskeleton structure and in central neurons it regulates the stabilization of AMPA receptors on the neuronal surface at the postsynaptic density. We report clinical, biochemical, and genetic features in four patients from four unrelated families with NA in order to explain the cause of morphological abnormalities and the relationship with neurodegenerative processes. CASE PRESENTATION: All patients were characterised by atypical NA with a novel alteration of the erythrocyte membrane: a 4.1R protein deficiency. The 4.1R protein content was significantly lower in patients (3.40 ± 0.42) than in controls (4.41 ± 0.40, P < 0.0001), reflecting weakened interactions of the cytoskeleton with the membrane. In patients IV:1 (RM23), IV:3 (RM15), and IV:6 (RM16) the 4.1 deficiency seemed to affect the horizontal interactions of spectrin and an impairment of the dimer self-association into tetramers was detected. In patient IV:1 (RM16) the 4.1 deficiency seemed to affect the skeletal attachment to membrane and the protein band 3 was partially reduced. CONCLUSION: A decreased expression pattern of the 4.1R protein was observed in the erythrocytes from patients with atypical NA, which might reflect the expression pattern in the central nervous system, especially basal ganglia, and might lead to dysfunction of AMPA-mediated glutamate transmission

Thermogravimetric analysis coupled with chemometrics as a powerful predictive tool for ß-thalassemia screening

Abstract: β-Thalassemia is a hemoglobin genetic disorder characterized by the absence or reduced β-globin chain synthesis, one of the constituents of the adult hemoglobin tetramer. In this study the possibility of using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) followed by chemometrics as a new approach for β-thalassemia detection is proposed. Blood samples from patients with β-thalassemia were analyzed by the TG7 thermobalance and the resulting curves were compared to those typical of healthy individuals. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the correlation between the hematological parameters and the thermogravimetric results. The thermogravimetric profiles of blood samples from β-thalassemia patients were clearly distinct from those of healthy individuals as result of the different quantities of water content and corpuscular fraction. The hematological overview showed significant decreases in the values of red blood cell indices and an increase in red cell distribution width value in thalassemia subjects when compared with those of healthy subjects. The implementation of a predictive model based on Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) for β-thalassemia diagnosis, was performed and validated. This model permitted the discrimination of anemic patients and healthy individuals and was able to detect thalassemia in clinically heterogeneous patients as in the presence of δβ-thalassemia and β-thalassemia combined with Hb Lepore. TGA and Chemometrics are capable of predicting ß-thalassemia syndromes using only a few microliters of blood without any pretreatment and with an hour of analysis time. A fast, rapid and cost-effective diagnostic tool for the β-thalassemia screening is proposed

Update on thalassemia diagnosis: new insights and methods

A novel approach based on Thermogravimetric analysis followed by Chemometrics (TGA/Chemometrics) is provided for Thalassemia diagnosis and a comprehensive study consisting of the coupled approach TGA/Chemometrics, the Complete Blood Count (CBC) and Red Blood Cell (RBC) indices is developed and results are compared. A number of 128 subjects were involved in this study included 16 thalassemia intermedia transfusion-dependent (TI-TD) patients, 18 thalassemia intermedia non transfusion-dependent (TI-NTD) patients, and 14 thalassemia major β (TM-TD) patients. Thalassemic patients were found to be clearly distinct from healthy donors as a function of a different thermal behavior. The chemometric analysis identifies the differences in the composition of blood and a model of prediction for β-thalassemia was developed and validated to distinguish all patients. TGA/Chemometrics method also permitted to differentiate thalassemic patients according to the severity of anaemia while the evaluation of the indices and the CBC are not able to identify TI-TD, TI-NTD and TM-TD patients at first level test. TGA/Chemometrics was successfully applied for thalassemia diagnosis with 100% of correct classification rate. Chemometric analysis demonstrated that red cell distribution width (RDW), haemoglobin (Hb) and RBC are the diagnostic features in thalassemia compared to mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH). New insights into the significance of the haematological features were provided for an update of the thalassemia classification. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

Advances in thermoanalytical techniques: may aspirin interfere with ß-thalassemia diagnosis?

Thermogravimetry coupled with chemometrics has proved to be a rapid and cost-effective diagnostic tool for β-thalassemia screening. This model, consisting of Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), permitted the discrimination of thalassemic patients and healthy individuals, using thermogravimetric curves of blood samples. In this study, the impact of aspirin on the capability of the TGA/chemometric validated model to screen for thalassemia was investigated. Whole blood samples from patients with congenital defects and healthy individuals were analyzed by the TGA7 thermobalance (Perkin Elmer) without any pretreament, and the resulting curves were compared to those typical of patients after aspirin intake. The chemometric approach allowed a quick identification of the anemia and confirms that the proposed model was not affected by aspirin. Results permit to consider the coupling TGA/chemometrics as a promising diagnostic approach to provide a high-throughput and sensitive tool to obtain an early detection of thalassemia. © 2018, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary

Data requirements and scientific efforts for reliable large-scale assessment of landslide hazard in urban areas

Landslides in urban areas are conceived as phenomena capable of tearing the physical structure as well as the networks of socio-economic, cultural, material and immaterial relations that make up the life of cities. Landslide hazard analysis is usually mandatory for proper land use planning and management. Nevertheless, in some cases (e.g., municipality of Rome in Italy) regulatory plans lack detailed thematic mapping of geohazard-related data. In Italy, the safety of urban areas has become a very important issue in the last decade, therefore projects of national interest have been funded for the mitigation of geological risks. Shallow landslides are common mass movements in urban areas. They can be triggered by earthquakes, heavy rains or induced by proximity to specific urban assets, like road cuts or retaining walls. Reliable quantification of landslide hazardous areas is often associated with the existence of static specific predisposing factors, such as local terrain variables, land use, lithology, proximity to roads and streams as well as dynamic factors related to trigger (e.g., antecedent rainfalls). Predictive multivariate statistical analysis, among which Machine Learning (ML) models, takes as input several predisposing and conditioning factors that may reveal patterns with the spatial and temporal distribution of different types of landslides. Therefore, ancillary landslide databases are the key-data to investigate the distribution, types, pattern, recurrence, and statistics of slope failures and consequently to determine the overall landslide hazard. However, the amount and quality of available data may be inadequate to build accurate large-scale predictive models. Open-source landslide inventories are often incomplete in spatial and temporal terms, with heterogeneous geometries, thus generating a data sparse environment consisting of a variety of low-accuracy datasets that need to be integrated and cross-validated to gain reliability. In this study, the adoption of a combined approach based on GIS tools and Machine Learning techniques allowed to estimate landslide susceptibility based on both real and synthetic Landslide Initiation Points (LIPs). Open-source landslide inventories have been collected, cross-validated, and integrated in a unique database, thus creating a richer data product that contains the strengths but overcomes the weakness of each contributing dataset. As the number of LIPs was too low to train reliable ML models, we developed a methodology based on the features of occurred landslides in order to derive synthetic LIPs to boost the original database by three times. This approach has been applied to the Metropolitan area of Rome (Lazio, Central Italy), where rainfall-induced shallow landslides have been widely overlooked. The final database with LIPs and predisposing factors has been used to create and validate different ML models and the most accurate one was then deployed to estimate landslide susceptibility for the whole area of the municipality of Rome with a resolution of 5 meters. The obtained results were then compared with pre-existing, regional, national, and European scale susceptibility maps to assess their reliability in case more detailed studies are not available. Eventually, rainfall probability curves were estimated to evaluate the temporal dependence of rainfall-induced shallow landslides

New methods for thalassemia screening: TGA/chemometrics test is not influenced by the aging of blood samples

The coupling of Thermogravimetry (TG) in conjuction with chemometrics was investigated for the first time to evaluate the capabilities of this novel test to provide the screening of thalassemia in blood samples stored at 4 °C until 15 days. Healthy donors were considered as reference subjects and a typical thermal behaviour as a function of aging was estimated and compared to thermal behaviour of thalassemia subjects. Diagnosis of thalassemia was made at the Day-Hospital Thalassemia of S. Eugenio Hospital through a comprehensive assessment of clinical presentation and hematological and molecular analysis. Despite blood changes with aging, the application of the TGA/Chemometrics test reveal that healthy and thalassemic population may be significantly differentiated after 15 days from blood collection with a 100% of correct classification rate. This new method applied to aged samples was able to discriminate thalassemia in transfused patients that is generally not possible by the common first level protocol used for thalassemia screening, and in δβ-thalassemias, and β-thalassemia combined with Hb Lepore, usually requiring the molecular analysis for diagnosis. This study, for the first time, describes a screening method for thalassemia able to detect thalassemia on whole blood samples stored for 15 days. In conclusion TGA/Chemometrics screening test for thalassemia is not influenced by the aging of blood samples and this approach could open the way to prevention programs for thalassemia also in the developing countries where expertise and facilities for their control are extremely limited or in situation involving delayed analyses