The marine activities performed within the TOMO-ETNA experiment

The TOMO-ETNA experiment was planned in order to obtain a detailed geological and structural model of the continental and oceanic crust beneath Mt. Etna volcano and northeastern Sicily up to the Aeolian Islands (southern Italy), by integrating data from active and passive refraction and reflection seismic methodologies, magnetic and gravity surveys. This paper focuses on the marine activities performed within the experiment, which have been carried out in the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, during three multidisciplinary oceanographic cruises, involving three research vessels (\u201cSarmiento de Gamboa\u201d, \u201cGalatea\u201d and \u201cAegaeo\u201d) belonging to different countries and institutions. During the offshore surveys about 9700 air-gun shots were produced to achieve a high-resolution seismic tomography through the wide-angle seismic refraction method, covering a total of nearly 2650 km of shooting tracks. To register ground motion, 27 ocean bottom seismometers were deployed, extending the inland seismic permanent network of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) and a temporary network installed for the experiment. A total of 1410 km of multi-channel seismic reflection profiles were acquired to image the subsurface of the area and to achieve a 2D velocity model for each profile. Multibeam sonar and sub bottom profiler data were also collected. Moreover, a total of 2020 km of magnetic and 680 km of gravity track lines were acquired to compile magnetic and gravity anomaly maps offshore Mt. Etna volcano. Here, high-resolution images of the seafloor, as well as sediment and rock samples, were also collected using a remotely operated vehicle

Octoport (single multiport device) use in pediatric age: first experience in Italy

Authors describe advantages in use of laparoscopic device (octoport) in pediatric miniinvasi surger

Response of Mount Etna to dynamic stresses from distant earthquakes

Influences of distant earthquakes on volcanic systems by dynamic stress transfer are well documented. We analyzed seismic signals and volcanic activity at Mount Etna during two periods, January 2006 and May 2008, that clearly showed variations coincident with distant earthquakes. In the first period, characterized by mild volcano activity, the effect of the dynamic stress transfer, caused by an earthquake in Greece (M = 6.8), was twofold: (1) banded tremor activity changed its features and almost disappeared; (2) a swarm of volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes took place. The changes of the banded tremor were likely due to variations in rock permeability, caused by fluid flows driven by dynamic strain. The VT earthquake swarm probably developed as a secondary process, promoted by the dynamically triggered activation of magmatic fluids. The second period, May 2008, showed an intense explosive activity. During this interval, the dynamic stress transfer, associated with the arrival of the seismic waves of the Sichuan earthquake (M = 7.9), affected the character of the seismo?volcanic signals and on the following day triggered an eruption. In particular, we observed changes in volcanic tremor and increases of both occurrence rate and energy of long period events. In this case, we suggest that dynamic stress transfer caused nucleation of new bubbles in volatile-rich magma bodies with consequent buildup of pressure, highlighted by the increase of long period activity, followed by the occurrence of an eruption. We conclude that stresses from distant earthquakes are capable of modifying the state of the volcano

Long-term follow-up of nailfold videocapillaroscopic microvascular parameters in mixed connective tissue disease versus systemic sclerosis patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective. To retrospectively study nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) changes in mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) patients and to compare the capillary morphological abnormalities between patients affected by MCTD and systemic sclerosis (SSc) over time. Methods. Ten MCTD patients on whom NVC had been performed, with a follow- up of three years, were selected. In addition, ten patients affected by SSc with similar age and disease duration of MCTD patients were enrolled to compare NVC abnormalities at baseline (T0). Results. Seven out of ten patients with MCTD showed a \u201cscleroderma-like pattern\u201d at first NVC. No statistically significant variation of the detected NVC parameters was observed during the 3-year follow-up, and no statistically significant correlation was observed between capillary parameters and MCTD clinical aspects at first visit and during the follow-up. The scores of enlarged capillaries, giant capillaries and microhaemorrhages were significantly lower (p<0.05) in MCTD versus SSc patients at T0, moreover, the absolute number of total capillaries and normal capillaries was found significantly higher (p<0.05) in MCTD versus SSc patients. Conclusion. This study suggests that nailfold microvascular damage does not seem to be significantly progressive in MCTD patients during a three-year follow-up. MCTD patients show significantly lower number of enlarged/giant capillaries, but higher number of total and normal capillaries than SSc patients at first nailfold capillaroscopy. The identification of a specific NVC pattern in MCTD patients is not yet possible

A multiparameter approach to volcano monitoring based on 4D analyses of seismo-volcanic and acoustic signals: The 2008 Mt. Etna eruption

Volcanic tremor and low frequency events, together with infrasound signals, can represent important precursory phenomena of eruptive activity because of their strict relationship with eruptive mechanisms and with fluid flows through the volcano\u2019s feeding system. Important variations of these seismo-volcanic and infrasound signals, recorded at Mt. Etna volcano, occurred both in the medium- and shortterm before the eruption, that took place on 13 May 2008. The most significant changes were observed in the frequency content and location of LP events, as well as in volcanic tremor location, that allowed us to track the magma pathway feeding the 2008 eruptive activity. The infrasound showed three different families of events linked to the activity of the three active vents: North-East Crater, South-East crater and the eruptive fissure. The seismic and infrasonic variations reported, corroborated by ground deformations variations, help to develop a quantitative prediction and early-warning system for effusive and/or explosive eruptions

Tailored-BODIPY/Amphiphilic cycledextrin nanoassemblies with PDT effectiveness

Amphiphilic cyclodextrins (aCDs) are an intriguing class of carrier systems which, recently, have been proposed to deliver porphyrinoids and anticancer drugs or combined dose of both for dual therapeutic applications. The design of nanoassemblies based on aCD and photosensitizers (PSs) aims to preserve the photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy of PS, reducing the tendency of PS to self-aggregate, without affecting the quantum yield of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) production, and, not less importantly, minimizing dark toxicity and reducing photosensitization effects. With this idea in mind, in this paper, we focus on nanoassemblies between a non-ionic aCD (SC6OH) and halo-alkyl tailored iodinated boron-dipyrromethenes (BODIPY) dye, a class of molecules which recently have been successfully proposed as a stimulating alternative to porphyrinoids for their high photodynamic efficacy. Nanoassemblies of BODIPY/aCD (BL01I@SC6OH) were prepared in different aqueous media by evaporation of mixed organic film of aCD and BODIPY, hydration, and sonication. The nanostructures were characterized, measuring their hydrodynamic diameter and ξ-potential and also evaluating their time-stability in biological relevant media. Taking advantage of emissive properties of the not-iodinated BODIPY analogue (BL01), nanoassemblies based on aCD and BL01 were investigated as model system to get insight on entanglement of BODIPY in the amphiphile in aqueous dispersion, pointing out that BODIPY is well-entrapped in monomeric form (τ ≅ 6.5 ns) within the colloidal carriers. Also morphology and fluorescence emission properties were elucidated after casting the solution on glass. BL01@SC6OH is easily detectable in cytoplasm of HCT116 cell lines, evidencing the remarkable intracellular penetration of this nanoassembly similar to free BODIPY. On the same cell lines, the photodynamically active assembly BL01I/aCD shows toxicity upon irradiation. Despite the fact that free BL01I is more PDT active than its assembly, aCD can modulate the cell uptake of BODIPY, pointing out the potential of this system for in vivo PDT application

Insights into magma and fluid transfer at Mount Etna by a multiparametric approach: A model of the events leading to the 2011 eruptive cycle

Since the second half of the 1990s, the eruptive activity of Mount Etna has provided evidence that both explosive and effusive eruptions display periodic variations in discharge and eruption style. In this work, a multiparametric approach, consisting of comparing volcanological, geophysical, and geochemical data, was applied to explore the volcano's dynamics during 2009–2011. In particular, temporal and/or spatial variations of seismicity (volcano-tectonic earthquakes, volcanic tremor, and long-period and very long period events), ground deformation (GPS and tiltmeter data), and geochemistry (SO2 flux, CO2 flux, CO2/SO2 ratio) were studied to understand the volcanic activity, as well as to investigate magma movement in both deep and shallow portions of the plumbing system, feeding the 2011 eruptive period. After the volcano deflation, accompanying the onset of the 2008–2009 eruption, a new recharging phase began in August 2008. This new volcanic cycle evolved from an initial recharge phase of the intermediate-shallower plumbing system and inflation, followed by (i) accelerated displacement in the volcano's eastern flank since April 2009 and (ii) renewal of summit volcanic activity during the second half of 2010, culminating in 2011 in a cyclic eruptive behavior with 18 lava fountains from New Southeast Crater (NSEC). Furthermore, supported by the geochemical data, the inversion of ground deformation GPS data and the locations of the tremor sources are used here to constrain both the area and the depth range of magma degassing, allowing reconstructing the intermediate and shallow storage zones feeding the 2011 cyclic fountaining NSEC activity.Published3519–35391.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcaniJCR Journalrestricte