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Superimposition of craniofacial structures from radiographic examination has been always used for assessing changes in the maxilla-mandibular complexes, especially for the evaluation of potential changes occurring during growth as well as after orthodontic treatment and/or maxillofacial surgery. However, the availability of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and the recent advancement in 3D imaging have allowed the development of specific techniques for the registration and superimposition of virtual three-dimensional anatomical structures, improving the diagnosis and treatment plan strategies. In the present paper, it will be discussed the evolution of superimposition techniques from the beginning (2D) to the newest 3D approach, describing the most used methods and their main advantages and disadvantages, focusing primarily on accuracy and reproducibility of each technique.

Bacterial pathogens in coastal aquatic ecosystems pose a potential public health hazard for bathing water use. The European Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) currently relies on the culturability of fecal pollution bacterial indicators such as Escherichia coli, without considering dormant or quiescent (Viable But Not Culturable, VBNC) cells, whose possible resuscitation after bathers ingestion cannot be excluded. Standard methods are also time-consuming and therefore hardly meet early warning needs of marine monitoring. To solve this issue, a new index, the Bathing Water Quality Index (BWQI), has here been developed, allowing to identify the most favorable coastal zones for recreational use. The index was calculated by combining numerical simulations of living and dormant E. coli abundances and their residence times. To specifically set up the model with the different physiological states of the whole E. coli population, an ad hoc experiment based on the fluorescent antibody method was performed. The BWQI application to Santa Marinella bathing area highlights a potential risk for human health in the zone most frequented by bathers. This study provides a predictive tool to support preventive decisions of the competent authorities and to properly protect bathers&rsquo, health, stressing the need for improved methods for environmental monitoring.

Dissolved organic matter present in natural aquatic environments is a heterogeneous mixture of allochthonous and autochthonous materials. In coastal areas vulnerable to sewage waste, its biologically active component, the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), is expected to change its composition and distribution in relation to anthropogenic activities, suggesting the possible use of CDOM as a proxy of fecal contamination. This study aimed at testing such hypothesis by investigating and relating the optical properties of CDOM with Escherichia coli abundance, physiological state, and enzymatic activities in a bathing area of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea (Latium, Italy) affected by urban wastewaters. The parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) applied to the excitation&ndash, emission matrices (EEMs) of CDOM allowed us to distinguish three main components: C1 (&lambda, Ex/&lambda, Em = 342 nm/435 nm), C2 (&lambda, Em = 281&ndash, 373 nm/460 nm), and C3 (&lambda, Em = 286 nm/360 nm). C1 and C2 corresponded to humic acids of terrestrial origin, while C3 to tryptophan, whose fluorescence peak was detected close to sewage sites, strongly related to active E. coli cells. The comparison between spectral and microbiological methods is suggested as a suitable approach to monitor bathing water quality for the implementation of coastal observing system capability.

Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. Unvaccinated pregnant women are not only at risk of infection but also at risk of severe pregnancy complications. As measles causes a dysregulation of the entire immune system, we describe immunological variations and how immune response mechanisms can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. We evaluated data during the measles outbreak reported in the province of Catania, Italy, from May 2017 to June 2018. We controlled hospital discharge records for patients admitted to hospital obstetric wards searching the measles diagnostic code. We have indicated the case as “confirmed” when the IgM was found to be positive with the ELISA method. We registered 843 cases of measles and 51% were females (430 cases). 24 patients between the ages of 17 and 40 had measles while they were pregnant. Adverse pregnancy outcomes included 2 spontaneous abortions, 1 therapeutic abortion, 1 foetal death, and 6 preterm deliveries. Respiratory complications were more prevalent in pregnant women (21%) than in nonpregnant women with measles (9%). 14 health care workers (1.7%) were infected with measles, and none of these had been previously vaccinated. Immune response mechanisms were associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with measles. To reduce the rate of measles complications, gynaecologists should investigate vaccination history and antibody test results in all women of childbearing age. During a measles outbreak, gynaecologists and midwives should be active proponents of vaccination administration and counteract any vaccine hesitancy not only in patients but also among health care workers.

Microorganisms are considered as sentinels of environmental changes, but microbial response to the presence of contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, is still not fully understood. This study aimed at assessing the response of the microbial community to the presence of oil pollution, by comparison of two ecosystems, Milazzo Gulf (Sicily, Italy) and Caleta Cordova (Argentina), as representative of two different temperate Mediterranean and cold-temperate Patagonian ecoregions, respectively. Water and sediments were sampled at coastal stations characterized by different levels of hydrocarbon contamination and analyzed for their microbial enzymatic activity rates; the presence of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria was also determined. The study approach allowed to determine that microbial metabolism was significantly reduced at the polluted stations, suggesting the detrimental effects of contaminants on organic matter degradation process. The isolation of strains of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria confirmed that the oil contamination favoured the growth of strains specifically adapted to metabolize hydrocarbons and actively involved in the remediation processes.

In this paper, we present the full characterization of a new high-density (HD) cell silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) technology for ultraviolet (UV) and blue light detection, named near UV HD SiPM. Thanks to an optimized border region around each cell, we were able to develop devices having a very high detection efficiency and, at the same time, a high dynamic range. We produced SiPMs with a square cell pitch of 15, 20, 25, and 30 $\mu \text{m}$ featuring a peak efficiency in the violet region ranging from 40% to 55%, according to the cell size. We tested this technology for time-of-flight positron emission tomography. Using two $4\times 4$ mm2 SiPMs with a $25 \,\, \times \,\, 25~\mu \text{m}^{2}$ cell pitch coupled to $3\times 3\times 5$ mm3 LYSO scintillators, we reached for the first time 100-ps full-width at half-maximum coincidence time resolution. This result was independent of the temperature in a range from 20 °C to −20 °C. At the same time, thanks to the high dynamic range and low correlated noise, we obtained an energy resolution lower than 9% for 511-keV $\gamma $ -rays.

This is the accepted manuscript of the paper "A multi-platform approach to marine environment assessment in Civitavecchia (Rome) area", published as final paper in "JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY, 9(sup1), s131-s143" https://doi.org/10.1080/1755876X.2015.1119561 Multi-platform systems for coastal environment monitoring are important tools that enable a better understanding of the dynamics of coastal ecosystems and their forcings; these observation networks can be used to highlight changes in marine ecosystems in response to anthropogenic impacts, identifying specific evolution. trends. This paper reports the results of a field study conducted in summer 2012 to test the efficacy of the multi-platform Civitavecchia Coastal Environment Monitoring System (C-CEMS). An observation programme was employed to analyse the fate of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) in bathing areas, to predict its dynamics and to prevent the sanitary risk associated with the presence of this microorganism in seawater.

The understanding of the coastal environment is fundamental for efficiently and effectively facing the pollution phenomena as expected by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and for limiting the conflicts between anthropic activities and sensitivity areas, as stated by Maritime Spatial Planning Directive. To address this, the Laboratory of Experimental Oceanology and Marine Ecology developed a multi-platform observing network that has been in operation since 2005 in the coastal marine area of Civitavecchia (Latium, Italy) where multiple uses and high ecological values closely coexist. The Civitavecchia Coastal Environment Monitoring System (C-CEMS), implemented in the current configuration, includes various components allowing one to analyze the coastal conflicts by an ecosystem-based approach. The long-term observations acquired by the fixed stations are integrated with in situ data collected for the analysis of the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the water column, sea bottom and pollution sources detected along the coast. The in situ data, integrated with satellite observations (e.g., temperature, chlorophyll a and TSM), are used to feed and validate the numerical models, which allow the analysis and forecasting of the dynamics of pollutant dispersion under different conditions. To test the potential capabilities of C-CEMS, two case studies are reported here: (1) the analysis of fecal bacteria dispersion for bathing water quality assessment, and (2) the evaluation of the effects of the dredged activities on Posidonia meadows, which make up most of the two sites of community importance located along the Civitavecchia coastal zone. The simulation outputs are overlapped by the thematic maps showing bathing areas and Posidonia oceanica distribution, thus giving a first practical tool that could improve the resolution of the conflicts between coastal uses (in terms of stress produced by anthropic activities) and sensitivity areas.

This is the accepted manuscript of the paper "WATER RENEWAL TIME AND TRACE METAL CONCENTRATION IN CIVITAVECCHIA PORT (ROME), ITALY", published as final paper in " Int. J. Environ Impacts, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2018) 450–460;https://www.witpress.com/elibrary/ei-volumes/1/4/2166" Most of the harbours can be considered as semi-enclosed areas where water stagnation leads to physical and chemical alterations due to anthropogenic activities. These features affect the quality of the port waters as well as the environmental health of coastal ecosystems in the surrounding areas. In order to understand the potential degradation of water quality within the harbour area it is essential to evaluate the hydrodynamic behaviour of the system. In this study, the DELFT3D-FLOW model, which allows to estimate the three-dimensional field velocity, was used to spatially characterize the water renewal time within the harbour. In particular, the flushing time (FT), which represents the time required for the total mass of a conservative tracer originally within the water body to be reduced to a factor 1/e, was examined. The concentration of contaminants in sediments is indeed a proper parameter to test the reliability of the calculated water renewal time within the semi-enclosed basins, since it relies on time-integrated measurements compared to single observations of water column. This research aims at studying the relation between the FT and the pollution due to trace metals in marine sediments. For this purpose, surface sediment samples were collected along a series of stations located in the innermost part and near the mouth of the Civitavecchia harbour. As, Cr, Hg, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Al concentrations were analysed to calculate the enrichment factor, which provides an estimate of the heavy metal contamination in the harbour surface sediment. The obtained results show a high correlation between the FT and the enrichment factor within the Civitavecchia port, confirming that water renewal can be used as an indicator of water quality degradation in semi-enclosed areas.

Building on the successful experience in operating the DarkSide-50 detector, the DarkSide Collaboration is going to construct DarkSide-20k, a direct WIMP search detector using a two-phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC) with an active (fiducial) mass of 23 t (20 t). This paper describes a preliminary design for the experiment, in which the DarkSide-20k LAr TPC is deployed within a shield/veto with a spherical Liquid Scintillator Veto (LSV) inside a cylindrical Water Cherenkov Veto (WCV). This preliminary design provides a baseline for the experiment to achieve its physics goals, while further development work will lead to the final optimization of the detector parameters and an eventual technical design. Operation of DarkSide-50 demonstrated a major reduction in the dominant 39Ar background when using argon extracted from an underground source, before applying pulse shape analysis. Data from DarkSide-50, in combination with MC simulation and analytical modeling, shows that a rejection factor for discrimination between electron and nuclear recoils of $>3 \times 10^{9}$ is achievable. This, along with the use of the veto system and utilizing silicon photomultipliers in the LAr TPC, are the keys to unlocking the path to large LAr TPC detector masses, while maintaining an experiment in which less than $< 0.1$ events (other than $\nu$ -induced nuclear recoils) is expected to occur within the WIMP search region during the planned exposure. DarkSide-20k will have ultra-low backgrounds than can be measured in situ, giving sensitivity to WIMP-nucleon cross sections of $1.2 \times 10^{-47}$ cm2 ( $1.1 \times 10^{-46}$ cm2) for WIMPs of 1 TeV/c2 (10 TeV/c2) mass, to be achieved during a 5 yr run producing an exposure of 100 t yr free from any instrumental background.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between the Mediterranean diet and obesity in a Mediterranean cohort. Methods: The study population of MEAL (Mediterranean Healthy Eating, Ageing, and Lifestyle) study comprised 1814 men and women (18 + years) recruited in the city of Catania, southern Italy. Food intake was evaluated through a validated food frequency questionnaire and the Mediterranean diet adherence was assessed through the MEDI-LITE score. Results: Individuals highly adherent to the Mediterranean diet (highest quartile of the score) were less likely to be obese (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.32, 0.89) despite there was no significant associations when considering men and women separately. The dietary profile of obese and non-obese individuals did not significantly differ, except for vitamin E, processed meat, and alcohol more consumed among non-obese ones. Among the food groups characterizing this dietary pattern, only satisfaction of the criterion for dairy products (< 1 serving/day) was significantly associated with lower odds of being obese. Among other covariates, current smoking was associated with obesity, while high physical activity and regular alcohol drinking were inversely associated. Some differences between men and women in the highest category of occupational status occurred, as the former were less likely, while the latter were more likely to be obese. Conclusions: Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet as a whole dietary pattern, rather than its individual components, is associated with less likelihood of being obese. Level of evidence: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is a considerable issue in European countries and leads to low coverage rates. After a long debate, Italy has made vaccination mandatory for admission to its schools.Methods: In the NAVIDAD study (a cross-sectional multicentre study), a 63-item questionnaire was administered to 1820 pregnant women from 15 Italian cities. The questionnaire assessed the interviewee's opinion on mandatory vaccines, as well as their socioeconomic status, sources of information about vaccines, confidence in the Italian National Healthcare Service (NHS), and intention to vaccinate their newborn.Results: Information sources play a key role in determining the opinion on restoration of mandatory vaccines; in particular, women who obtained information from anti-vaccination movements are less likely to accept the vaccines (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.21-0.58, p < 0.001). Women who had confidence in healthcare professional information agreed more on mandatory vaccination than did the other women (OR: 2.66, 95% CI: 1.62-4.36, p < 0.001); those who perceived that healthcare professionals have economic interest in child immunization and who declared that healthcare providers inform only on vaccinations benefits not on risks were less likely to agree on compulsory vaccination (OR: 0.66, CI 95%: 0.46-0.96, p = 0.03; OR: 0.66, CI 95%: 0.46-0.95, p = 0.03, respectively).Conclusion: Information sources and confidence towards health professionals are the main determinants of acceptance of mandatory vaccine restoration. To increase the acceptability of the restoration and reduce vaccine hesitancy, these aspects need to be strengthened.

This is the accepted manuscript of the paper "Cost-Effective Technologies to Study the Arctic Ocean Environment", published as final paper in "Sensors 2018, 18, 2257;doi:10.3390/s18072257". Piermattei, V., Madonia, A., Bonamano, S., Martellucci, R., Bruzzone, G., Ferretti, R., Odetti, A., Azzaro, M., Zappalà, G., & Marcelli, M. (2018). Cost-Effective Technologies to Study the Arctic Ocean Environment†.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland),18(7), 2257. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18072257 The Arctic region is known to be severely affected by climate change, with evident alterations in both physical and biological processes. Monitoring the Arctic Ocean ecosystem is key to understanding the impact of natural and human-induced change on the environment. Large data sets are required to monitor the Arctic marine ecosystem and validate high-resolution satellite observations (e.g., Sentinel), which are necessary to feed climatic and biogeochemical forecasting models. However, the Global Observing System needs to complete its geographic coverage, particularly for the harsh, extreme environment of the Arctic Region. In this scenario, autonomous systems are proving to be valuable tools for increasing the resolution of existing data. To this end, a low-cost, miniaturized and flexible probe, ArLoC (Arctic Low-Cost probe), was designed, built and installed on an innovative unmanned marine vehicle, the PROTEUS (Portable RObotic TEchnology for Unmanned Surveys), during a preliminary scientific campaign in the Svalbard Archipelago within the UVASS project. This study outlines the instrumentation used and its design features, its preliminary integration on PROTEUS and its test results.

The aim of the present study was to determine the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and dyslipidaemia in a cohort of adults living in the Mediterranean area. The cross-sectional study comprised a total sample of 2044 men and women, aged >18 years old from southern Italy. The Mediterranean diet adherence was assessed using a validated score (MEDI-LITE score). Clinical data were investigated and anthropometric examinations were collected using standardised methods. Among included individuals, 18.4% had dyslipidaemia. The percentage of females with dyslipidaemia was higher than males (21.2% vs. 14.6%). Higher adherence to Mediterranean diet was inversely associated with dyslipidaemia (OR: 0.56, 95% Cl: 0.36, 0.86). Similar association was observed in men, but not in women. On the contrary, a positive association was found between dyslipidaemia and current smoking and higher occupational status. Our results support the potential effectiveness of this diet in the prevention of dyslipidaemia and justify future intervention studies.

International audience; We report on the cryogenic characterization of Red Green Blue - High Density (RGB-HD) SiPMs developed at Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) as part of the DarkSide program of dark matter searches with liquid argon time projection chambers. A cryogenic setup was used to operate the SiPMs at varying temperatures and a custom data acquisition system and analysis software were used to precisely characterize the primary dark noise, the correlated noise, and the gain of the devices. We demonstrate that FBK RGB-HD SiPMs with low quenching resistance (RGB-HD-LRq) can be operated from 40 K to 300 K with gains in the range 10(5) to 10(6) and noise rates at a level of around 1 Hz/mm(2).

Monitoring the quality of marine ecosystems is a challenge to achieve and preserve their good environmental status. Real time or near real time acquisition and collection of physical, chemical and biological data series describing the health conditions of marine environments is needed not only when pollution episodes occur, to set up proper remediation measures, but also to follow natural variability of water quality occurring at different time scales. The development of advanced systems for environmental monitoring (coastal and offshore buoys and platforms, unmanned or remotely controlled submersible and unsubmersible vehicles, etc.) gave a great contribution to operational oceanography, helping to bypass the limitations and costs of traditional oceanographic surveys. The systems here described constitute an improvement and application of the know-how acquired in the last two decades in the field of advanced systems for environmental investigations. Potential advantages of the new developed system in comparison with previous prototypes are described. A wide range of applications is possible, covering the cases when conventional "manual" sampling is not possible, or dangerous, for example in proximity to glaciers, or when oil spill, toxic algal blooms, waste water must be sampled. As a first test, the developed system has been used in Arctic waters (Svalbard Islands) to evaluate spatial variations in the microbial assemblage. Results obtained indicate that the developed automatic vehicle and water multi-sampler are a good complement of traditional oceanographic cruises, and constitute a practical low-cost system to obtain data with good spatio-temporal resolution both for the initial characterization and for the study of possible natural or anthropogenic disturbance in water quality.

We report on the characterization of near-ultraviolet high density silicon photomultiplier (\SiPM) developed at Fondazione Bruno Kessler (\FBK) at cryogenic temperature. A dedicated setup was built to measure the primary dark noise and correlated noise of the \SiPMs\ between 40 and 300~K. Moreover, an analysis program and data acquisition system were developed to allow the precise characterization of these parameters, some of which can vary up to 7 orders of magnitude between room temperature and 40~K. We demonstrate that it is possible to operate the \FBK\ near-ultraviolet high density \SiPMs\ at temperatures lower than 100~K with a dark rate below 0.01 cps/mm$^2$ and total correlated noise probability below 35\% at an over-voltage of 6~V. These results are relevant for the development of future cryogenic particle detectors using \SiPMs\ as photosensors.

Diet plays a role in the onset and progression of metabolic disorders, including metabolic syndrome (MetS). We aimed to systematically review and conduct a quantitative meta-analysis of results from observational cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies on adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern and risk of MetS. Literature databases including PubMed, SCOPUS and EMBASE were searched from the beginning to May 2016. Eight cross-sectional and four prospective studies were included in this meta-analysis, accounting for a total of 33,847 individuals and 6342 cases of MetS. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a risk of MetS (RR: 0.81, 95%CI: 0.71, 0.92). Regarding individual components of the MetS, the inverse associations were significant for waist circumference, blood pressure and low HDL-C levels. In conclusion, adoption of a Mediterranean dietary pattern was associated with lower risk of the MetS and it can be proposed for the primary prevention of the MetS.

This is the accepted manuscript of the paper "The Civitavecchia Coastal Environment Monitoring System (C-CEMS): a new tool to analyse the conflicts between coastal pressures and sensitivity areas", published as final paper in "Ocean Sci., 12, 87–100, 2016 https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-87-2016"https://www.ocean-sci.net/12/87/2016/ Bonamano, S., Piermattei, V., Madonia, A., Paladini de Mendoza, F., Pierattini, A., Martellucci, R., Stefanì, C., Zappalà, G., Caruso, G., and Marcelli, M.: The Civitavecchia Coastal Environment Monitoring System (C-CEMS): a new tool to analyze the conflicts between coastal pressures and sensitivity areas, Ocean Sci., 12, 87–100, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-87-2016, 2016. The understanding of the coastal environment is fundamental for efficiently and effectively facing the pollution phenomena as expected by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and for limiting the conflicts between anthropic activities and sensitivity areas, as stated by Maritime Spatial Planning Directive. To address this, the Laboratory of Experimental Oceanology and Marine Ecology developed a multi-platform observing network that has been in operation since 2005 in the coastal marine area of Civitavecchia (Latium, Italy) where multiple uses and high ecological values closely coexist. The Civitavecchia Coastal Environment Monitoring System (C-CEMS), implemented in the current configuration, includes various components allowing one to analyze the coastal conflicts by an ecosystem-based approach. The long-term observations acquired by the fixed stations are integrated with in situ data collected for the analysis of the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the water column, sea bottom and pollution sources detected along the coast. The in situ data, integrated with satellite observations (e.g., temperature, chlorophyllaand TSM), are used to feed and validate the numerical models, which allow the analysis and forecasting of the dynamics of pollutant dispersion under different conditions. To test the potential capabilities of C-CEMS, two case studies are reported here: (1) the analysis of fecal bacteria dispersion for bathing water quality assessment, and (2) the evaluation of the effects of the dredged activities onPosidoniameadows, which make up most of the two sites of community importance located along the Civitavecchia coastal zone. The simulation outputs are overlapped by the thematic maps showing bathing areas andPosidonia oceanicadistribution, thus giving a first practical tool that could improve the resolution of the conflicts between coastal uses (in terms of stress produced by anthropic activities) and sensitivity areas. &nbsp

Harbours and maritime transport are essential for both local and national economic development creating wealth, jobs and attracting investment and resources. However, the presence of port infrastructures and associated activities such as vessel docking, handling and transport of goods, production of a great quantity of wastes and pollutants and periodical dredgings, generate significant environmental impacts on coastal ecosystems and seawater quality. Civitavecchia harbour (Rome, Italy) is the first Mediterranean cruise port with approximately 2.6 million passengers, characterized by intense traffic of ships engaged in the carriage of goods and persons and interested by continuous maintenance and expansion works to improve its receptive capacity. In this context a significant support is given from the availability of continuous measurement systems, which offer an important tool for marine monitoring, allowing the acquisition of physical, chemical and biological time series, fundamental prerogative to promptly verify any unexpected phenomena and process. The Laboratory of Experimental Oceanology and Marine Ecology (University of Tuscia) is strongly involved in the environmental monitoring of the Civitavecchia coastal area. In June 2012 a fixed station was installed on a dock of the Civitavecchia harbour performing repeated measurements of surface water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and chl-a fluorescence. Moreover, a weather station acquiring meteorological parameters (wind speed and direction, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature and humidity and solar radiation), a surface buoy, moored outside the Civitavecchia harbour, and in situ water samplings provided data comparable with the fixed station. In support of the system a high resolution hydrodynamical model was used to calculate current and waves parameters around and inside the harbour area, allowing us to analyse the conservative constituents (e.g. suspended solids) behaviour. At the end of 2012 considerable modifications were made on the harbour structures, concerning Colombo breakwater extension and new Dock Services. The present work reports the observations on main water parameters before and after the cited works, comparing them with the results of model simulations. © 2014 WIT Press.

The Muon Portal Project aims at the construction of a large volume detector to inspect the content of travelling containers for the identification of high-Z hidden materials (U, Pu or other fissile samples), exploiting the secondary cosmic-ray muon radiation. An image of these materials is achieved reconstructing the deviations of the muons from their original trajectories inside the detector volume, by means of two particle trackers, placed one below and one above the container. The scan is performed without adding any external radiation, in a few minutes and with a high spatial and angular resolution. The detector consists of 4800 scintillating strips with two wavelength shifting (WLS) fibers inside each strip, coupled to Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). A smart strategy for the read out system allows a considerable reduction of the number of the read-out channels. Actually, an intense measurement campaign is in progress to carefully characterize any single component of the detector. A prototype of one of the 48 detection modules (1 × 3 m2) is actually under construction. This paper presents the detector architecture and the preliminary results.

Integrated observing systems are important tools for marine monitoring, as they allow acquisitions and record of ecological time series. Integration of time-series monitoring efforts is recognized as a priority in national and international scientific programs, being necessary to better understand how marine ecosystems will change not only in response to anthropogenic impacts, but also to identify trends in their natural evolution. Coastal ecosystems are areas particularly sensitive to climate changes and human impacts, consequently they deserve to be the subject of time-series observation programs. The Laboratory of Experimental Oceanology and Marine Ecology of Tuscia University is located in Civitavecchia's harbor; representing one of the main laboratories for marine experimental research on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it focuses its activities both on open sea and coastal processes. Although its recent constitution, it has already gained a good experience participating in national and European research projects, in many oceanographic cruises and collaborating with public institutions. Integrated marine observation activities were performed in the coastal area of Civitavecchia, an Italian city near Rome. Heart of the system was a platform moored near the harbor measuring every 20 minutes the main water parameters (temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, fluorescence). A GPS gave the buoy position that was verified to be in the allowed range; in negative case an alarm was immediately sent via SMS to the mobile phones of the buoy crew. Another system verified the functionality of the buoy simply generating calls to the buoy modem; a "no response" generated an alarm to the crew. The acquired data were transmitted twice a day to the base station (the Laboratory) via e-mail and FTP using a cellular modem. Another fixed station in the harbor measured temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, numerical models played a fundamental role allowing us to estimate the dispersion dynamic of different kinds of particles (pollutants, suspended matter, bacteria, etc.). The accumulation and the dynamics of spreading and transport of potentially infectious microorganisms were simulated, using physical and microbiological in situ collected data to feed and validate the model results. Satellite observations gave an estimate of Chlorophyll-a and suspended matter. The system demonstrated an efficient, flexible and cost-effective way to assess environmental conditions. Some recent results are reported.

The southern- central Tyrrhenian Sea is a poorly studied area of the Mediterranean Sea, although its importance for the biological fluxes among the western and eastern basins is recognised. This note aimed at evaluating in the waters of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea the efficiency of some steps of the organic matter processing (enzymatic hydrolysis, prokaryotic production and oxidation) and the role played by the prokaryotic community in this context. During the MEDBIO multidisciplinary cruise performed in July 2005, the distribution of prokaryotic abundance and activities (exo enzymatic activity, heterotrophic production and respiratory activity) was studied. The results showed the presence of high exo enzymatic activity rates (mostly leucine amino peptidase) in the deep sea, while heterotrophic production and respiratory activity rates were high at surface. Some speculations on the different behaviors of the Carbon fluxes occurring among the different epi, meso and bathypelagic layers are reported. At the epipelagic layer both the decomposition and biomass production processes were high. At the mesopelagic layer the organic matter was quickly mobilised but not efficiently incorporated into biomass, therefore the dissolved monomers remained available in the water column for export to other trophic levels or utilization in other chemical processes (lateral advection, oxidation). The bathypelagic layer was characterised by high levels of hydrolytic activity coupled with relatively high prokaryotic production; in this layer, exo enzymatic activity levels fall in an order of magnitude similar to that observed at the epipelagic one. This finding highlights the importance of microbially mediated processes in sustaining life in the marine depths.

Two measurements of Planck's constant, one based on the visible photoelectric effect and the other making use of light-emitting diodes of various colors, have been proposed for the third-year physics student undergraduate laboratory. The experimental data require various levels of analysis and interpretation, which may provide interesting activities for the students involved, notwithstanding the simplicity of the experimental setups employed.

The Muon Portal is a recent Project [1] which aims at the construction of a 18 m2 tracking detector for cosmic muons. This apparatus has been designed as a real-size prototype to inspect containers using the muon tomography technique, i.e. by measuring the deflection of muons when traversing high-Z materials. The detection setup is based on eight position-sensitive X-Y planes, four placed below and four above the volume to be inspected, with good tracking capabilities for charged particles. The detection planes are segmented into strips of extruded plastic scintillators with WLS fibres to transport the light produced in the scintillator material to the photo-sensors (SiPMs) at one of the fibre ends. Detailed GEANT4 simulations have been carried out under different scenarios to investigate the response of the apparatus. The tomographic images are reconstructed by tracking algorithms and suitable imaging software tools. Simulations have demonstrated the possibility to reconstruct a 3D image of the volume to be inspected in a reasonable amount of time, compatible with the requirement of a fast inspection technique. The first two of the 48 detection modules are presently under construction.

In order to realize prevention and ecological risk analysis systems, the world environmental policy (UNEP, IMO, etc) is implementing complex decision systems based on economically sustainable activities including forecasting models, satellite images and sustainable observatory networks. The oceanographic measurement networks play a key role both for satellite data calibration and mathematical models validation and feeding as well as to support the early warning systems for environmental pollution control and prevention. The high costs of offshore mooring systems and traditional oceanographic cruises have suggested the use of VOS (Voluntary Observing Ships) to obtain affordable data. Moreover, marine coastal areas can be monitored using small measure platforms integrating “on demand” the various measuring systems (meteorological stations, water samplers, automatic chemical analyzers, in situ and pumped oceanographic probes, etc). For this purpose a big effort has been dedicated to the design, development and realization of new oceanographic devices. This paper shows the advances in new technological devices: the TFLAP (Temperature Fluorescence LAunchable Probe) and the Automatic Multiple Launcher for expendable probes, to be used by VOS in open seas, and a coastal buoy to be moored near Civitavecchia, as a starting point of integrated coastal monitoring networks.

Microbial abundance and extracellular activity rates (leucine aminopeptidase, LAP, beta-glucosidase, -GLU, and alkaline phosphatase, AP) were studied in water and sediment samples for two years in three Sicilian mariculture sites. Microbial activities were measured with specific fluorogenic substrates; heterotrophic culturable bacteria (CFU) were counted on Marine agar plates. The amount of particulate organic matter (POM) and its composition in terms of bio-polymeric fractions (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids) were also monitored as indicators of trophic conditions. Cage sites were sampled before and after the set up of each off-shore mariculture plant, and compared to “control” sites. The study aimed at monitoring the impact caused by fish farming activities on the marine environment and at assessing the suitability of these microbial parameters as indirect indicators of organic pollution. Significant variations occurred both in microbial activity rates and in abundances at cage stations. Compared with the trophic parameters, the microbial parameters showed a more direct response to environmental perturbation due to fish farming. This suggested their use as indicators in assessing fish farming impact on both the pelagic and benthic compartments.

In recent years increasing importance has been given to knowledge of the marine environment, either to help detect and understand global climate change phenomena, or to protect and preserve those coastal areas where multiple interests converge (linked to tourism, recreational or productive activities) and that suffer greater impact from anthropogenic activities; this has in turn stimulated the start of research programs devoted to the monitoring and surveillance of these particular zones, coupling the needs for knowledge, sustainable development and the exploitation of natural resources. Modern instruments rely on an electronic heart; an integrated hardware-software system developed in Messina is presented here, which is used in various versions to control data acquisition and transmission on buoys or on ship-based instrumentation. The system was originally conceived to implement a PC-like architecture; basically, it comprises a Pentium family CPU, a variable number of RS-232 ports to connect measuring instruments and communication devices, an analog to digital converter, power outputs to drive the actuators and switch on and off the measuring systems, a satellite and/or cellular phone modem and GPS; the mass storage is supplied by Disk on Chip (DOC) devices. The software enables one to fully control the system and the connected instruments both in local and remote mode using a special set of macro commands. A "sequence manager" can be activated to run pre-programmed macro-command sequences. The macro-commands enable one to manage the data acquisition and transmission, the mission programming, the system hardware and the measuring instruments. The whole system can be connected to another computer (local laptop or remote desktop) using terminal software; however, to fully and easily use its capabilities, a remote control program has been written. Thanks to the hardware-software architecture, it is easy to upgrade the system to more powerful processors without the need to completely rewrite the software.

Extensive measurements of main sea water parameters (e.g. temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, bacterial abundance...) are required to investigate marine environment, both to evaluate its state and to quickly detect possible perturbations (arrival of pollutants, anthropogenic contaminants...). Traditional observing methods cannot offer the flexibility and cost effectiveness needed for extensive monitoring and water quality assessment in coastal areas where important health and economic issues are involved (e.g. aquaculture, tourism). As a part of the MFSTEP program (EU FP5) a new device was designed and built for pelagic use, the SAVE (Sliding Advanced VEhicle), able to perform continuous profiles of physical and optical measurements on the upper 200 m of the water column. The original system consists mainly in a depressor, towed at a fixed depth, using a cable on which the main unit slides. Both the depressor and the sliding unit can be equipped with various kinds of sensors. The new goal was to obtain a coastal version, to be towed from small boats. A smaller prototype is now under development and test, able to be towed by a very small (8-10 m.) boat, like those commonly used in aquaculture plants, and also fitted with modular water samplers for bacterial or chemical determinations. The paper gives some first results of this development. L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://library.witpress.com/

In aquatic ecosystems, the determination of the different physiological states coexisting within the bacterial assemblage is of great significance, as it may provide information on the effective role played by the viable component in the ecological processes. In May 2007, during a ship survey of the Messina Strait, a highly hydrodynamic system, an investigation was undertaken to study the abundance and distribution of the actively respiring and dead components of the bacterioplankton community. A dual-labelling procedure was applied, using SyBR Green as a probe of the total bacterioplankton community, in combination with the viability stains cyanotetrazolium chloride (CTC) or propidium iodide (PI), selective markers of actively respiring or membrane-damaged bacterial cells, respectively. Surface water samples were analysed onboard by a flow cytometer (FCM) and FCM counts were compared to the microscopic ones, obtained with the epifluorescence (EPI) method further performed in the laboratory. The study also pointed out the feasibility of the FCM approach as a rapid tool allowing the identification of the viable component and its discrimination from the dead or damaged one, also providing quantitative estimates correlated significantly with microscopic counts.

Operational oceanography is an applied science requiring new instrumentation to perform cost effective surveys. The use of XBT probes from Voluntary Observing Ships is a good way to obtain temperature profiles, but it is limited by the cost of the probes and of the operators on board. An automatic multiple XBT launcher was developed, to work unattended and be recharged by a crew member, without the need for a technician.

Marine Coastal Monitoring is a basic instrument for the assessment of environmental quality and detection of pollution phenomena. This paper describes the evolution of instruments and techniques in the last 20 years, together with some results from national and EU funded research programmes.

Monitoring the viability of pathogens in bathing waters is crucial for public health preservation. The fluorescent antibody (FA)-viability method, using antibodies for Escherichia coli combined with CTC (5-cyano-2, 3 ditolyl tetrazolium chloride, marker of active respiring cells) or PI (propidium iodide, marker of membrane-damaged cells), and the B-glucuronidase activity test (by 4- methylumbelliferyl-b-d-glucuronide, MUG) offer interesting perspectives for detecting this bacterial indicator of faecal pollution. The viability of E. coli cells in Sicilian seawaters was evaluated on a seasonal scale (n = 89 samples) by FA and MUG compared to the standard culture method (by m-FC agar). The total microscopic counts obtained exceeded the culturable counts (m-FC) by one order of magnitude; actively respiring (CTC+) cells accounted, on average, for 63% of the total E. coli population. B-glucuronidase activity rates ranged from 0.00004 to 726.88 nmol MUF 100 ml-1h-1, and were particularly enhanced during autumn and spring. The percentage of membrane-damaged cells increased in summer and in winter, probably due to adverse environmental conditions. In winter, high numbers of culturable cells suggested continental run-off to be an important source of pathogens; bacterial cells, however, were not actively respiring, but were membrane-damaged or with low metabolism, as indicated by the increase in PI counts and the decrease in MUG rates, respectively. In spring, increased numbers of CTC (+) cells and B-glucuronidase rates suggested the recovery of some metabolic functions. Both methods used provided evidence that some viability properties were retained by E. coli cells after their discharge into seawater; therefore their combination could be proposed as a useful and rapid tool for environmental monitoring.

A main goal of a ships of opportunity program is the provision of near real time temperature profiles. The use of expandable probes allows the reduction of costs, in comparison to usual scientific cruises. A major cost effectiveness can be achieved by using an automated multiple launcher, that can be used with a minimum personnel effort. A multiple launcher, developed in the framework of the Mediterranean Forecasting System – Toward Environmental Prediction, allows to collect eight temperature profiles, with a sampling strategy that can be monitored automatically by means of a software. The data acquisition system is controlled internally in all functionalities, and data can be transmitted by GSM or satellite telephone systems.

The effects of thymic hormones are not restricted within the immune system but are rather pleiotropic. Through neuropeptides the neuroendocrine system participates in the regulation of homeostasis as well as in the control of stress response and behavioural outputs. Thymic hormones increase spontaneous behaviour, inhibit anxiety-like responses and improve resistance to stress in tumour-bearing mice. In addition, thymic hormones modulate secretion of pituitary adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) and beta-endorphin in both primates and rodents. In turn, both ACTH and beta-endorphin influence stress response and behaviour. Besides their neuroendocrine effects, thymic hormones have radioprotective effects either when administered alone or when associated with other radioprotective agents. Thymic hormones are possibly able to reduce postirradiation tissue damage in the bone marrow and in the central nervous system. Finally, evidence suggests a potentiating effect of thymic hormones when associated with current anticancer drugs. From the data reviewed it seems reasonable to conclude that the combination of thymic hormones with cancer therapy is associated with improvement of behaviour and well-being status, protection of tissues from detrimental effects of cancer treatment, and possibly also with potentiation of the antiproliferative effects of other drugs. Thus, thymic hormones could be envisioned as a valuable adjunct to actual cancer therapy.

The juvenile osteochondritis dissecans of femoral trochlea is an uncommon lesion. Review of the literature reveals few reported cases of the medial or lateral trochlea. We report on 11-year-old child with a complete separate trochlea fragment. MRI and arthroscopy have shown a 2,5 × 2,2 cm osteochondral lesion. The fragment was reduced and synthesised by 3 absorbable pins using arthroscopic approach. At 6 months follow-up, the patient did not complain of knee pain, had full range of motion and returned to all the activities performed before the traumatic event. MRI and Athro-MRI showed healing of the lesion and continuity of the articular surface without any cleft between the fragment and the surrounding cartilage.