scholarly journals Time-invariance and geographical divide of earthquake mortality in Italy since 1800

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pier Luigi Bragato ◽  
Carla Barnaba ◽  
Chiara Scaini ◽  
Monica Sugan
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Seismic Source ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
The North ◽  
Time Invariance ◽  
Log Linear ◽  
The 19Th Century

We considered the mortality data of the earthquakes which occurred in Italy since 1800 and investigated their spatial-temporal characteristics. For this purpose, we developed a log-linear regression model relating the number of deaths to the magnitude of the earthquakes and analyzed the distribution of the residuals from the model. We found that, for fixed magnitude, the mortality of the earthquakes of the last decades is almost identical to that of the 19th century despite the fact that the population is decreasing in the small municipalities with high seismic hazard. There is also a geographical divide: for the same magnitude, an earthquake in southern Italy causes 2.9 times the number of victims than in northern Italy. The gap is partially justified by the higher population density in the seismic areas of southern Italy, while it does not seem to depend on seismological factors (seismic source, regional attenuation and site effects). The north/south divide increases to a factor of 8.3 for the earthquakes occurring between 00:00 and 05:00 a.m., when most people are sleeping and rely almost entirely on the strength of their houses for survival. We suggest that differences in the quality and maintenance level of the residential buildings are the primary factors determining this geographic divide, supported by data from a survey taken in 1934 and from the last general national census of 2011. Our results indicate that the situation of residential buildings in Italy requires a strict application of the seismic regulations as well as their extension to stimulate the correct maintenance and retrofitting of the existing buildings.

scholarly journals Contrasting patterns of climatic changes during the Holocene across the Italian Peninsula reconstructed from pollen data

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1233-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Peyron ◽  
M. Magny ◽  
S. Goring ◽  
S. Joannin ◽  
J.-L. de Beaulieu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Level ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Lake Levels ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The North ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. Lake-level records from Italy suggest that patterns of precipitation in the central Mediterranean during the Holocene were divided between the north and south, but a scarcity of reliable palaeoclimatic records in the north and central-southern Mediterranean means new evidence is needed to validate this hypothesis. We provide robust quantitative estimates of Holocene climate in the Mediterranean region using four high-resolution pollen records from northern (Lakes Ledro and Accesa) and southern (Lakes Trifoglietti and Pergusa) Italy. Multiple methods are used to provide an improved assessment of the palaeoclimatic reconstruction uncertainty. The multi-method approach uses the pollen-based weighted averaging, weighted-average partial least-squares regression, modern analogue technique, and the non-metric multidimensional scaling/generalized additive model methods. We use independent lake-level data to validate the precipitation reconstructions. Our results support a climatic partition between northern and southern Italy during the Holocene, confirming the hypothesis of opposing mid-Holocene summer precipitation regimes in the Mediterranean. The northern sites (Ledro, Accesa) are characterized by minima for summer precipitation and lake levels during the early to mid-Holocene, while the southern sites (Trifoglietti, Pergusa) are marked by maxima for precipitation and lake levels at the same time. Both pollen-inferred precipitation and lake levels indicate the opposite pattern during the late Holocene, a maximum in northern Italy and a minimum in southern Italy/Sicily. Summer temperatures show the same partitioning, with warm conditions in northern Italy and cool conditions in Sicily during the early/mid-Holocene, and a reversal during the late Holocene. Comparison with marine cores from the Aegean Sea suggests that climate trends and gradients observed in Italy show strong similarities with those recognized from the Aegean Sea, and more generally speaking in the eastern Mediterranean.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Proteinuria in Owned Dogs from Italy: A Multicentric Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
M. Gizzarelli ◽  
X. Roura ◽  
P. Scarpa ◽  
P. D'Ippolito ◽  
V. Foglia Manzillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Difference ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Renal Diseases ◽  
Dipstick Test ◽  
Multicentric Study ◽  
The North ◽  
Pathological Conditions ◽  
Canine Population

Even though proteinuria is related to different causes, when it is persistent and associated with inactive urinary sediment, it is primarily due to kidney disease. Early detection of proteinuria allows us to identify several pathological conditions. The aim of the study was screening a canine population not known as being proteinuric, by the urinary dipstick. The study was carried out in seven Italian veterinary clinics during a period of six weeks. Dogs were enrolled with no restriction of sex or age. Females in estrus, dogs with signs of genitourinary diseases, or those previously diagnosed with proteinuric nephropathy were excluded. Dogs were considered “nonproteinuric” (NP) in case of negative dipstick test or “suspected proteinuric” (SP), if positive at the dipstick. When possible, proteinuria was confirmed by UPC ratio. A total of 1156 dogs were evaluated: 414 were from northern Italy and 742 from southern Italy. Based on dipstick test, 655 (56.6%) dogs were NP, while 501 (43.3%) were SP. Among the NP dogs 225 out of 414 (54.3%) were in northern Italy and 430 of 742 (57.9%) in southern Italy. One hundred eighty-nine of 414 (45.7%) SP dogs were identified in northern Italy and 312 of 742 (42.1%) in southern Italy. No statistical difference was found between the North and the South of Italy. UPC was available in 412 out of 501 SP samples: proteinuria was confirmed in 263 (63.86%) samples. Results from our study showed a high percentage of suspected proteinuric dogs, apparently not affected by renal diseases, together with the absence of statistically significant differences based on geographical area.

Cancer Incidence in Turin: The Effect of Migration

1993 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 304-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Rosso ◽  
Silvia Patriarca ◽  
Piera Vicari ◽  
Roberto Zanetti
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Incidence ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Cancer Registries ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
The South ◽  
Incidence Data ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Corpus Uteri

Aims and Background Studies on migrant populations have been of great value in clarifying the role of environmental factors in cancer occurrence. Most of them consider migrants from other countries or continents. Turin, the target territory of this study, was an important area of Internal migration initially from the East, and more recently from southern Italy. Methods The study compared incidence rates (age-standardized) of the native population, of the migrants and incidence rates of the Cancer Registries located in the four main areas of origin. Results Overall incidence rates in migrants from southern Italy were intermediate compared with those of the stable populations of the South and the North. The same effect was not true for people from the North-East, who migrated in earlier decades. In this population, migration towards lower-incidence areas did not reduce cancer incidence. Migrants from the South showed a significant increase in intestinal, breast, and tobacco-related tumors compared to the stable southern population. No effect of migration was found for cancer of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach or corpus uteri. Incidence of liver cancer in migrant southern males was significantly different from the stable and the native north-western population. Conclusions The results, based on incidence data, validated previous findings based on mortality data on the effect of Italian Internal migrations and showed that migrants underwent changes in some environmental exposures. In particular, migrants from the South to the North of Italy came into contact with new risk factors, with an increase in occurrence of cancer.

Die Konstruktion von Natur – Central Park neu besichtigt | The Construction of Nature – Central Park Revisited

2005 ◽  
Vol 156 (8) ◽  
pp. 288-296
Author(s):  
Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
The United States ◽  
Central Park ◽  
Housing Developments ◽  
Hudson River School ◽  
The North ◽  
Man And Nature ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Relationship

In the first half of the 19th century scientific philosophers in the United States, such as Emerson and Thoreau, began to pursue the relationship between man and nature. Painters from the Hudson River School discovered the rural spaces to the north of New York and began to celebrate the American landscape in their paintings. In many places at this time garden societies were founded, which generated widespread support for the creation of park enclosures While the first such were cemeteries with the character of parks, housing developments on the peripheries of towns were later set in generous park landscapes. However, the centres of the growing American cities also need green spaces and the so-called «park movement»reached a first high point with New York's Central Park. It was not only an experimental field for modern urban elements, but even today is a force of social cohesion.

Colchicum autumnale (Colchicaceae) w okolicach Krakowa – dawne i obecne rozmieszczenie

2019 ◽  
pp. 15-27
Author(s):  
Magdalena Zarzyka-Ryszka
Keyword(s):  
Adjacent Area ◽  
Colchicum Autumnale ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
New Localities ◽  
Present Distribution ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
North Eastern Part

The paper describes the past and present distribution of Colchicum autumnale in the vicinity of Cracow, highlights the role of Stanisław Dembosz (who published the first locality of C. autumnale near Igołomia in 1841). Gives information about the occurrence of C. autumnale in Krzeszowice in the 19th century (reported by Bronisław Gustawicz), presents new localities noted in 2012–2014 in meadows in the north-eastern part of the Puszcza Niepołomicka forest and adjacent area (between the Vistula and Raba rivers), and gives a locality found in Cracow in 2005 (no longer extant).

scholarly journals Regional differences in mortality rates during the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Danila Azzolina ◽  
Giulia Lorenzoni ◽  
Luciano Silvestri ◽  
Ilaria Prosepe ◽  
Paola Berchialla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regional Differences ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Admission Rates ◽  
Considerable Impact ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Disease Diffusion

Abstract Objective The COVID-19 outbreak started in Italy on February 20th, 2020, and has resulted in many deaths and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. This study aimed to illustrate the epidemic COVID-19 growth pattern in Italy by considering the regional differences in disease diffusion during the first three months of the epidemic. Study design and methods Official COVID-19 data were obtained from the Italian Civil Protection Department of the Council of Ministers Presidency. The mortality and ICU admission rates per 100 000 inhabitants were calculated at the regional level and summarized via a Bayesian multilevel meta-analysis. Data were retrieved until April 21st, 2020. Results The highest cumulative mortality rates per 100 000 inhabitants were observed in northern Italy, particularly in Lombardia (85.3, 95% credibility intervals [CI] 75.7–94.7). The difference in the mortality rates between northern and southern Italy increased over time, reaching a difference of 67.72 (95% CI = 66–67) cases on April 2nd. Conclusions Northern Italy showed higher and increasing mortality rates during the first three months of the epidemic. The uncontrolled virus circulation preceding the infection spreading in southern Italy had a considerable impact on system burnout. This experience demonstrates that preparedness against the pandemic is of crucial importance to contain its disruptive effects.

Centroceras gasparrinii subsp. minor subsp. nov. (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta) in the North Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean): molecular and morphological characterization

Phytotaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 415 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-239
Author(s):  
MARION A. WOLF ◽  
ALESSANDRO BUOSI ◽  
ABDUL-SALAM F. JUHMANI ◽  
ADRIANO SFRISO
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Characterization ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Cortical Cells ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Gland Cells ◽  
The North ◽  
Red Algal ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The 19Th Century

Centroceras Kützing is a small red algal genus with 18 currently accepted species (Guiry & Guiry 2019), characterized by simple filamentous thalli with erect axes arising from a prostrate system and di-trichotomous branching (Hommersand 1963). The characters used to distinguish species are primarily cortical filament morphology: shape and number of the acropetal cortical cells, shape of gland cells, and shape of spines (Won et al. 2009). The generitype C. clavulatum (C. Agardh) Montagne has been viewed for a long time as a highly variable and cosmopolitan species (Hommersand 1963). Molecular and detailed morphological analyses brought Barros-Barreto et al. (2006) to report that C. clavulatum may consist of a species complex and Won et al. (2009) confirmed this hypothesis identifying eight taxonomic entities phylogenetically segregated from genuine C. clavulatum. Seven of these entities were assigned to the following species: C. gasparrinii (Meneghini) Kützing, C. hommersandii Won, T.O. Cho & Fredericq, C. hyalacanthum Kützing, C. micracanthum Kützing, C. natalensis Won, T.O. Cho & Fredericq, C. rodmanii Won, T.O. Cho & Fredericq, and C. tetrachotomum Won, T.O. Cho & Fredericq, (Won et al. 2009). Centroceras gasparrinii, C. hyalacanthum, and C. micracanthum are three western Atlantic species listed as synonyms of C. clavulatum since the middle of the 19th century and resurrected from the ‘C. clavulatum complex’ by Won et al. (2009). In particular, two of these taxa were described from specimens of the Mediterranean Sea: C. gasparrinii (as Ceramium gasparrinii Meneghini, type locality Palermo, Italy) and C. micracanthum (reported with the synonym Centroceras leptacanthum Kützing, type locality Genoa, Italy). Therefore, the numerous Mediterranean records of C. clavulatum (e.g., Gómez Garreta et al. 2001; Verlaque 2001; Sfriso & Curiel 2007; Taşkýn et al. 2013) most probably belong to one of these two species and have to be re-examined for a correct identification and to understand the spatial distribution of the different taxa (Tsiamis et al. 2010). For this reason, in the last years in Greece (Tsiamis et al. 2010), Spain (Gallardo et al. 2016) and Morocco (Hassoun et al. 2018) accurate sampling and morphological analyses of specimens previously identified as C. clavulatum were conducted to determine their correct taxonomic identities. In all cases the recognized species was C. gasparrinii, which can be distinguished morphologically from the other ones previously known as C. clavulatum by the presence of ovoid gland cells and ovoid terminal acropetal cortical cells (Won et al. 2009). As reported by Tsiamis et al. (2010), Greek samples differed from those described by Won et al. (2009), in the smaller number of periaxial cells (10–12 against 13–19).

Explosion Recurrence Modelling

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirous F. Yasseri ◽  
Jake Prager
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
The North ◽  
Offshore Installations ◽  
Risk Assessment Method ◽  
Explosion Load

This paper describes a recurrence law for explosions. The proposed recurrence law fits quite well to the historic explosion data in residential buildings as well as to the data on offshore installations in the North Sea. Generally quantified explosion risk assessment is performed for offshore installations, since it is believed historic data does not correspond to a specific installation and it may not be appropriate for use in performance based explosion engineering, which may in itself require realistic load description of explosion recurrence. The goodness-of-fit of the model for explosion occurrence data obtained using the quantified risk assessment method is also discussed. The paper then introduces the concept of performance-based design, which is an attempt to design structures with predictable performance under explosion loading. Performance objectives such as life safety, collapse prevention, or immediate resumption of operation are used to define the state of an installation following a design explosion. The recurrence law is then used to associate a level of explosion load to each limit state using a desirable level of probability of exceedance during the installations life time.

scholarly journals THE MERCURIO GUNFLINTS: A TECHNO-TYPOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL ASSESSMENT

2016 ◽  
Vol 96 ◽  
pp. 363-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Biagi ◽  
Elisabetta Starnini ◽  
Carlo Beltrame
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Manufacturing Technique ◽  
The North ◽  
Major Significance ◽  
Cultural Assessment ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Napoleonic Era ◽  
Small Finds

The discovery of the wreck of the brig Mercurio, which sank in 1812 in the waters of the north Adriatic, is of major significance for the study of Italic Kingdom vessels from the Napoleonic era. The underwater excavations carried out in 2004–11 led to the recovery of many small finds, among which are several gunflints of different size and shape. The Mercurio gunflints were produced mainly from blades using a technique in use in Britain and France, but also in the workshops of the Lessini Hills around Ceredo (Verona province, northern Italy). We suggest that the flint employed for their manufacture probably came from Monte Baldo, in the Trentino, or perhaps from the River Tagliamento, in Friuli. We can exclude the possibility that the specimens recovered from the shipwreck were made from French flint because of the typically north Italian manufacturing technique and the character of the grey Treveti-derived flint. Given the complexity of the period during which the Grado (or Pirano) battle took place, the study of even such small items can contribute to a better interpretation of the dramatic events that characterised the beginning of the nineteenth century in that part of the Mediterranean.

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