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Late Quaternary crustal uplift is well recognized in northeast Sicily, southern Italy, a region also prone to damaging earthquakes such as the 1908 "Messina" earthquake (Mw 7.1), the deadliest seismic event reported within the Italian Earthquake Catalogue. Yet it is still understudied if, within the Milazzo Peninsula, crustal uplift rates are varying spatially and temporally and whether they may be either influenced by (i) local upper‐plate faulting activity or (ii) deep geodynamic processes. To investigate the long‐term crustal vertical movements in northeast Sicily, we have mapped a flight of Middle‐Late Pleistocene marine terraces within the Milazzo Peninsula and in its southern area and refined their chronology, using a synchronous correlation approach driven by published age controls. This has allowed a new calculation of the associated crustal uplift rates, along a north–south oriented coastal‐parallel transect within the investigated area. Our results show a decreasing uplift rate from south to north across the Milazzo Peninsula and beyond, and that the associated rates of uplift have been constant through the Late Quaternary. This spatially varying yet temporally constant vertical deformation helps to constrain the amount of uplift, allowing us to explore which is the driving mechanism(s), proposing a few related scenarios. We discuss our results in terms of tectonic implications and emphasize the importance of using appropriate approaches, as such applying a synchronous correlation method, to refine chronologies of undated palaeoshorelines when used for tectonic investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quaternary uplift is well documented in SE Sicily, a region prone to damaging seismic events, such as the 1693 "Val di Noto" earthquake (Mw 7.4), the largest seismic event reported within the Italian Earthquake Catalogue, whose seismogenic source is still debated and, consequently, the long‐term seismic hazard is poorly understood. However, the spatial variation in the timing and rates of uplift are still debated, so it is difficult to link the dominant tectonic process(es) responsible for the uplift and the location of seismogenic sources. To better constrain the uplift rate, we have refined the dating of Late Quaternary marine terraces, using a synchronous correlation approach, driven by both published and newly obtained numerical age controls (234U/230Th dating on corals). This has allowed recalculation of uplift rates along a N‐S oriented transect within the Hyblean Plateau (HP) foreland region. Consequently, we have mapped the geometry of paleoshorelines along a coastline‐parallel transect and hence the rates of uplift. The results suggest increasing uplift rate from south to north across the HP and that uplift rates have remained constant through the Late Quaternary. This spatially changing but temporally constant uplift places constraints on the proportion of uplift produced by regional geodynamic processes versus produced by local faults, such as an offshore east dipping active normal fault. We discuss these new findings in terms of the long‐term seismic hazard for one of the most seismically active regions in the Mediterranean Basin. Key Points: Differential uplift is mapped in the Hyblean Plateau (SE Sicily, Italy) by looking at raised paleoshorelines over the Late QuaternaryDifferential uplift in the Hyblean Plateau is caused by a combined process between offshore normal faulting and regional processesDeformation rates associated to the offshore normal fault (Western Fault) need to be refined, subtracting the regional processes signal [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at selecting effective histological indicators of the freezing process, for the discrimination of fresh and frozen common octopus Octopus vulgaris. Histological indices of freezing process were selected in mantle and arm muscle and axial nerve tissues. Seven histological parameters were chosen: overall muscle tissue structural organization (a); gaping among muscle bundles (b); presence of optically empty spaces between and within muscle bundles (c); white spaces percentage between and within muscle bundles (d); overall nerve structural organization (e); presence of linear fissures and/or empty spaces within neuropil and axonal tract (f); presence of empty spaces within connective tissue matrix surrounding the nerve (g); empty space percentage within arm axial nerve region (h). The parameters were assessed on 150 mantle muscle sections (a, b, c, d), 150 arm muscle (b, c) and nervous (e, f, g, h) tissue sections belonging to 20 fresh exemplars further subdued to conventional freezing procedure at − 20 °C, 25 fresh curled exemplars, 25 exemplars industrially frozen at − 80 °C, and 20 thawed, curled, and individually quick frozen exemplars. Overall structural organization (a, e), gaping (b), and presence of optically empty spaces (c, f) confirmed significant morphological freezing indices in mantle and arm sections. In mantle, two d values (d < 25% and 25% < d < 33%) were proposed as complementary thresholds to be applied in association with b and c indices for freezing discrimination. These parameters appear eligible to set a method for discriminating fresh/thawed octopus products to be applied both in official control and self-check activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a randomized controlled trial that aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of combining a Computer Aided Detection (CADe) system and a G-EYE balloon in detecting adenomas during colonoscopy in a fecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based colorectal cancer screening program. The study included 188 subjects who underwent either CADe colonoscopy or CADe+GEYE colonoscopy. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the rate of "high-risk" subjects or the adenoma detection rate between the two groups. The authors suggest that the high detection rate of lesions with CADe may have limited the impact of the mucosal-exposure device. However, caution is advised as these are preliminary findings and full data is still awaited. [Extracted from the article]