Hydrogeochemical changes before and during the 2016 Amatrice-Norcia seismic sequence (central Italy)

Seismic precursors are an as yet unattained frontier in earthquake studies. With the aim of making a step towards this frontier, we present a hydrogeochemical dataset associated with the 2016 Amatrice- Norcia seismic sequence (central Apennines, Italy), developed from August 24th, with an Mw 6.0 event, and culminating on October 30th, with an Mw 6.5 mainshock. The seismic sequence occurred during a seasonal depletion of hydrostructures, and the four strongest earthquakes (Mw ≥ 5.5) generated an abrupt uplift of the water level, recorded up to 100 km away from the mainshock area. Monitoring a set of selected springs in the central Apennines, a few hydrogeochemical anomalies were observed months before the onset of the seismic swarm, including a variation of pH values and an increase of As, V, and Fe concentrations. Cr concentrations increased immediately after the onset of the seismic sequence. On November 2016, these elements recovered to their usual low concentrations. We interpret these geochemical anomalies as reliable seismic precursors for a dilational tectonic setting

Pregnancy after liver transplantation: a case series and review of the literature

Objective: To evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women after liver transplantation with a case series and literature systematic review. Methods: This was a single-center case-series study performed at University of Naples Federico II. All consecutive women with liver transplantation who reported pregnancy at our institution were included in a dedicated database. In addition, a systematic literature review was performed, including case series, population-based studies, and national registries, including maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant women with liver transplant. Studies with fewer than 10 cases and surveys were excluded. The primary outcome was perinatal death, defined as either stillbirth (defined as intrauterine fetal death after 20 weeks of gestation) or neonatal death (death of a live-born infant within the first 28 d of life). Results: During the study period, two women who underwent liver transplantation had a pregnancy in our Institution. Both of them underwent liver transplantation for biliary atresia at 1 year of age. One of them received cyclosporin as immunosuppressive regime during pregnancy, while the other one received tacrolimus. Both of them had a pregnancy with no major complications and delivered by cesarean section at term a baby with normal weight. One of them developed thrombocytopenia. Seventeen articles were included in this systematic review. Preterm birth at less than 37 weeks of gestations occurred in 279 women (33.6%). One-hundred women (14.9%) experienced preeclampsia, and 206 women (49.2%) delivered by cesarean delivery. Graft rejection related to pregnancy occurred in 73 women (8.3%). 117 women (12.9%) experienced miscarriage, and 22 (2.3%) IUFD. Fifty-two women (9.52%) underwent elective I-TOP. 195 fetuses (33.4%) were LBW. Eight neonatal deaths were recorded (1.3%). Conclusion: The maternal and perinatal outcome is usually favorable, but with an increased risk of preeclampsia, preterm birth, and perinatal morbidity and mortality. However, appropriate counseling about risks and complications is essential but women shouldn't be advised against pregnancy

PALEOCENE TO LOWER EOCENE LARGER FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES FROM CENTRAL ITALY: NEW REMARKS ON BIOSTRATIGRAPHY

We present the micropaleontological record on ongoing research on Paleogene larger foraminifers from Central Italy collected in the field work for the realization of the geological sheet 348 “Antrodoco” of the Geological Map of Italy 1:50.000 scale. The work provides an examination of the biostratigraphic potential of selected taxa with emphasis on rotaliids. Ornatorotalia is documented for the first time from the Paleocene. Possible new species of Miscellanea, Ornatorotalia, and Rotalia are figured and described in open nomenclature

Life-long individual planning in children with developmental disability: the active role of parents in the Italian experience

AbstractMany young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders experience poor transition outcomesin key areas, including employment, health care, and independent living. Innovativewelfare models highlight the importance of involving the local community, and inparticular the parents, as important stakeholders capable to generate services and affectlocal economy. As indicated by the World Health Organization, the availability of person-centered responses, also providing a health budget, appears to be the basis for takinginto account person’s rights to self-determination. Health services and local stakeholderscould play an important role to facilitate the implementation of support networks thatare functional for an effective social inclusion. In order to improve current practices intransitioning to adulthood, it is of paramount importance to collect and learn from theliving experience of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families

On the Chiroptical Behavior of Conjugated Multichromophoric Compounds of a New Pseudoaromatic Class: Bicolchicides and Biisocolchicides

It is well known that, stemming from the mutual interplay between chromophores, circular dichroism (CD) is a powerful technique to deal with structural problems for both the small organic molecule and the biopolymer. However, quantitative interpretations of the spectroscopic and structural terms that give rise to the exciton couplet are usually presented for ideal cases, or a few CD bands only are taken into account, overlooking the role of the solvent medium. Circular dichroism and UV absorption spectra were carried out for colchicide (3) and isocolchicide (6), as well as their coupling products, 10,10'-bicolchicide (2) and 9,9'-biisocolchicide (5), in both hydrogen bonding and non hydrogen bonding solvents, as well as MeCN/H(2)O mixtures. A dramatic control by the solvent emerged, as even tiny changes in the composition of solvent mixtures, at ca 1 water molar fraction, induced a dramatic modification of their CD bands. A mutarotation phenomenon--long known for isocolchicine (8)--was also observed for 5, and can be attributed to the interconversion between atropisomers (R(a),7S),(R(a),7'S)-5a and (R(a),7S),(S(a),7'S)-5b. Our data show that with molecules built on two structurally identical moieties which embody both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, even tiny changes in the composition of solvent mixtures cause a dramatic modification of the CD bands. Their analysis arrives at a qualitative rationalization of the observed CD couplets from the coupling of high energy transitions, while attempts at a quantitative interpretation of these phenomena through time-dependent density functional theory allowed to reproduce satisfactorily the CD spectrum in the 300-450 nm region only. Failure with higher energies probably reflects currently inadequate specific theoretical treatments of the solvent medium

Diurnal and semidiurnal cyclicity of Radon (222Rn) in groundwater, Giardino Spring, Central Apennines, Italy

Understanding natural variations of Rn (222Rn) concentrations is the fundamental prerequisite of using this radioactive gas as a tracer, or even precursor, of natural processes, including earthquakes. In this work, Rn concentrations in groundwater were continuously measured over a seven-month period, during 2017, in the Giardino Spring, Italy, together with groundwater levels in a nearby well installed into a fractured regional aquifer. Data were processed to reduce noise, and then analyzed to produce the Fourier spectra of Rn concentrations and groundwater levels. These spectra were compared with the spectrum of tidal forces. Results showed that diurnal and semidiurnal cycles of Rn concentrations, and filtered oscillations of groundwater levels, in the nearby well, are correlated with solar and luni-solar components of tidal forces, and suggested no correlation with the principal lunar components. Therefore, influencing factors linked to solar cycles, such as daily oscillations of temperature and atmospheric pressure, and related rock deformations, may have played a role in Rn concentrations and groundwater levels. An open question remains regarding the correlation, which is documented elsewhere, of Rn concentrations and groundwater levels with the lunar components of the solid Earth tides

La grotta di Collepardo (Monti Ernici, FR)

The Collepardo cave is a karst hole, located south of the Collepardo village (Frosinone province), in the canyon of the Fiume creek, tributary of the Cosa river. It is caved in strongly fractured Cretaceous limestone, separated from Jurassic and Miocene carbonates through tectonic lineaments. The cave mouth is roughly triangular, with maximum width at the base about 11 m and maximum height about 7 m; within the cave different halls are distinguished, separated by concretions and collapse breccias. One hall is not accessible for the preservation of a bat colony. The historical importance of the Collepardo cave is due to the finding of human and mammal bones and manufacts of the Bronze Age. Moreover, it was a renowned destination of famous European voyagers in the 18th and 19th centuries

Detection of Wind Turbines in Intertidal Areas Using SAR Polarimetry

The detection of wind turbines in a strong clutter background is analyzed at variance of polarimetric synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) configurations. The area of interest is the intertidal zone near Jiangsu, China and two detectors are used, the polarimetric notch filter (PNF) and a change detector that optimizes the ratio between covariance matrices. The detection performance is quantitatively analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, while the scattering mechanisms that characterize wind turbines are analyzed using the Yamaguchi decomposition. Experimental analysis shows that: 1) wind turbines result in a nontrivial scattering mechanism and 2) full-polarimetric measurements achieve the best detection performance independently of the two detectors