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The Italian earthquake waveform data are collected here in a dataset suited for machine learning analysis (ML) applications. The dataset consists of nearly 1.2 million three-component (3C) waveform traces from about 50 000 earthquakes and more than 130 000 noise 3C waveform traces, for a total of about 43 000 h of data and an average of 21 3C traces provided per event. The earthquake list is based on the Italian Seismic Bulletin (http://terremoti.ingv.it/bsi, last access: 15 February 2020​​​​​​​) of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia between January 2005 and January 2020, and it includes events in the magnitude range between 0.0 and 6.5. The waveform data have been recorded primarily by the Italian National Seismic Network (network code IV) and include both weak- (HH, EH channels) and strong-motion (HN channels) recordings. All the waveform traces have a length of 120 s, are sampled at 100 Hz, and are provided both in counts and ground motion physical units after deconvolution of the instrument transfer functions. The waveform dataset is accompanied by metadata consisting of more than 100 parameters providing comprehensive information on the earthquake source, the recording stations, the trace features, and other derived quantities. This rich set of metadata allows the users to target the data selection for their own purposes. Much of these metadata can be used as labels in ML analysis or for other studies. The dataset, assembled in HDF5 format, is available at http://doi.org/10.13127/instance (Michelini et al., 2021).

Objective: ADHD is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. Impairments in executive functioning (EF) are central to models of ADHD, while alpha-band spectral power event-related decreases (ERD) have emerged as a putative electroencephalography (EEG) biomarker of EF in ADHD. Little is known about the roles of EF and alpha ERD and their interactions with symptoms of ADHD. Method: We estimated network models of ADHD symptoms and integrated alpha ERD measures into the symptom network. Results: EF emerges as a bridge network node connecting alpha ERD and the hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention symptoms. We found that EF most closely relates to a subset of symptoms, namely the motoric symptoms, "seat" (difficulty staying seated), and "runs" (running or climbing excessively). Conclusions: EF functions as a bridge node connecting alpha ERD and the ADHD symptom network. Motoric-type symptoms and EF deficits may constitute important nodes in the interplay between behavior/symptoms, cognition, and neurophysiological markers of ADHD.

OBJECTIVE: ADHD is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. Impairments in executive functioning (EF) are central to models of ADHD, while alpha-band spectral power event-related decreases (ERD) have emerged as a putative electroencephalography (EEG) biomarker of EF in ADHD. Little is known about the roles of EF and alpha ERD and their interactions with symptoms of ADHD. METHOD: We estimated network models of ADHD symptoms and integrated alpha ERD measures into the symptom network. RESULTS: EF emerges as a bridge network node connecting alpha ERD and the hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention symptoms. We found that EF most closely relates to a subset of symptoms, namely the motoric symptoms, seat (difficulty staying seated), and runs (running or climbing excessively). CONCLUSIONS: EF functions as a bridge node connecting alpha ERD and the ADHD symptom network. Motoric-type symptoms and EF deficits may constitute important nodes in the interplay between behavior/symptoms, cognition, and neurophysiological markers of ADHD.

The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) is an Italian research institution, with focus on Earth Sciences. INGV runs the Italian National Seismic Network (Rete Sismica Nazionale, RSN) and other networks at national scale for monitoring earthquakes and tsunami as a part of the National Civil Protection System coordinated by the Italian Department of Civil Protection (Dipartimento di Protezione Civile, DPC). RSN is composed of about 400 stations, mainly broadband, installed in the Country and in the surrounding regions; about 110 stations feature also co-located strong motion instruments, and about 180 have GPS receivers and belong to the National GPS network (Rete Integrata Nazionale GPS, RING). The data acquisition system was designed to accomplish, in near-real-time, automatic earthquake detection, hypocenter and magnitude determination, moment tensors, shake maps and other products of interest for DPC. Database archiving of all parametric results are closely linked to the existing procedures of the INGV seismic monitoring environment and surveillance procedures. INGV is one of the primary nodes of ORFEUS (Observatories & Research Facilities for European Seismology) EIDA (European Integrated Data Archive) for the archiving and distribution of continuous, quality checked seismic data. The strong motion network data are archived and distributed both in EIDA and in event based archives; GPS data, from the RING network are also archived, analyzed and distributed at INGV. Overall, the Italian earthquake surveillance service provides, in quasi real-time, hypocenter parameters to the DPC. These are then revised routinely by the analysts of the Italian Seismic Bulletin (Bollettino Sismico Italiano, BSI). The results are published on the web, these are available to both the scientific community and the general public. The INGV surveillance includes a pre-operational tsunami alert service since INGV is one of the Tsunami Service providers of the North-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Tsunami warning System (NEAMTWS).

In this paper we present and discuss the performance of the procedure for earthquake location and characterization implemented in the Italian Candidate Tsunami Service Provider at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) in Rome. Following the ICG/NEAMTWS guidelines, the first tsunami warning messages are based only on seismic information, i.e., epicenter location, hypocenter depth, and magnitude, which are automatically computed by the software Early-est. Early-est is a package for rapid location and seismic/tsunamigenic characterization of earthquakes. The Early-est software package operates using offline-event or continuous-real-time seismic waveform data to perform trace processing and picking, and, at a regular report interval, phase association, event detection, hypocenter location, and event characterization. Early-est also provides mb, Mwp, and Mwpd magnitude estimations. mb magnitudes are preferred for events with Mwp ≲ 5.8, while Mwpd estimations are valid for events with Mwp ≳ 7.2. In this paper we present the earthquake parameters computed by Early-est between the beginning of March 2012 and the end of December 2014 on a global scale for events with magnitude M ≥ 5.5, and we also present the detection timeline. We compare the earthquake parameters automatically computed by Early-est with the same parameters listed in reference catalogs. Such reference catalogs are manually revised/verified by scientists. The goal of this work is to test the accuracy and reliability of the fully automatic locations provided by Early-est. In our analysis, the epicenter location, hypocenter depth and magnitude parameters do not differ significantly from the values in the reference catalogs. Both mb and Mwp magnitudes show differences to the reference catalogs. We thus derived correction functions in order to minimize the differences and correct biases between our values and the ones from the reference catalogs. Correction of the Mwp distance dependency is particularly relevant, since this magnitude refers to the larger and probably tsunamigenic earthquakes. Mwp values at stations with epicentral distance Δ ≲ 30° are significantly overestimated with respect to the CMT-global solutions, whereas Mwp values at stations with epicentral distance Δ ≳ 90° are slightly underestimated. After applying such distance correction the Mwp provided by Early-est differs from CMT-global catalog values of about δ Mwp ≈ 0.0 ∓ 0.2. Early-est continuously acquires time-series data and updates the earthquake source parameters. Our analysis shows that the epicenter coordinates and the magnitude values converge within less than 10 min (5 min in the Mediterranean region) toward the stable values. Our analysis shows that we can compute Mwp magnitudes that do not display short epicentral distance dependency overestimation, and we can provide robust and reliable earthquake source parameters to compile tsunami warning messages within less than 15 min after the event origin time.

We report a research-based proposal on electromagnetic induction within the theoretical framework of the Model of Educational Reconstruction. The proposal is based on a sequence of inquiry-based experimental activities centered on hands-on materials and "Real-Time" quantitative experiments, through which students explore the phenomenology of electromagnetic induction. The sequence was planned to address Faraday-Neumann-Lenz law analyzing the involved physics quantities and constructing quantitative relationships between them. Our hypothesis was based on the idea that phenomenological explorations performed through online sensors promote a functional understanding of electromagnetic induction and help students to face the conceptual knots highlighted by international literature about these phenomena. The educational sequence was proposed to a sample of 87 high school students with the aim of analyzing the evolution of the educational processes employing a set of inquiry-based tutorials. The qualitative analysis of students' answers demonstrates that students increased their knowledges in the analysis of electromagnetic induction phenomena recognizing the fundamental role of time-variation of the magnetic field flux in the Faraday-Neumann-Lenz law.

Abstract A search is made for charged Higgs bosons predicted by Two-Higgs-Doublet extensions of the Standard Model (2HDM) using electron-positron collision data collected by the OPAL experiment at $\sqrt{s}=189\mbox{--}209\ \mbox{GeV}$ , corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 600 pb−1. Charged Higgs bosons are assumed to be pair-produced and to decay into $\mathrm{q} \bar{\mathrm{q}}$ , τν τ or AW±. No signal is observed. Model-independent limits on the charged Higgs-boson production cross section are derived by combining these results with previous searches at lower energies. Under the assumption $\mathrm{BR} (\mathrm{H}^{\pm} \to \tau\nu_{\tau}) + \mathrm{BR} (\mathrm{H}^{\pm} \to \mathrm{q} \bar{\mathrm{q}}) = 1$ , motivated by general 2HDM type II models, excluded areas on the $[m_{\mathrm{H}^{\pm}} , \mathrm{BR} (\mathrm {H}^{\pm} \to \tau\nu_{\tau})]$ plane are presented and charged Higgs bosons are excluded up to a mass of 76.3 GeV at 95 % confidence level, independent of the branching ratio BR(H±→τν τ). A scan of the 2HDM type I model parameter space is performed and limits on the Higgs-boson masses $m_{\mathrm{H}^{\pm}}$ and m A are presented for different choices of tanβ.

A clinical research requires a systematic approach with diligent planning, execution and sampling in order to obtain reliable and validated results, as well as an understanding of each research methodology is essential for researchers. Indeed, selecting an inappropriate study type, an error that cannot be corrected after the beginning of a study, results in flawed methodology. The results of clinical research studies enhance the repertoire of knowledge regarding a disease pathogenicity, an existing or newly discovered medication, surgical or diagnostic procedure or medical device. Medical research can be divided into primary and secondary research, where primary research involves conducting studies and collecting raw data, which is then analysed and evaluated in secondary research. The successful deployment of clinical research methodology depends upon several factors. These include the type of study, the objectives, the population, study design, methodology/techniques and the sampling and statistical procedures used. Among the different types of clinical studies, we can recognize descriptive or analytical studies, which can be further categorized in observational and experimental. Finally, also pre-clinical studies are of outmost importance, representing the steppingstone of clinical trials. It is therefore important to understand the types of method for clinical research. Thus, this review focused on various aspects of the methodology and describes the crucial steps of the conceptual and executive stages.

Animal experimentation is widely used around the world for the identification of the root causes of various diseases in humans and animals and for exploring treatment options. Among the several animal species, rats, mice and purpose-bred birds comprise almost 90% of the animals that are used for research purpose. However, growing awareness of the sentience of animals and their experience of pain and suffering has led to strong opposition to animal research among many scientists and the general public. In addition, the usefulness of extrapolating animal data to humans has been questioned. This has led to Ethical Committees' adoption of the 'four Rs' principles (Reduction, Refinement, Replacement and Responsibility) as a guide when making decisions regarding animal experimentation. Some of the essential considerations for humane animal experimentation are presented in this review along with the requirement for investigator training. Due to the ethical issues surrounding the use of animals in experimentation, their use is declining in those research areas where alternative in vitro or in silico methods are available. However, so far it has not been possible to dispense with experimental animals completely and further research is needed to provide a road map to robust alternatives before their use can be fully discontinued.

ObjectiveThe combination of d-methylphenidate and guanfacine (an α-2A adrenergic agonist) may be an effective alternative to either agent as monotherapy in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study investigated the neural mechanisms underlying medication effects using cortical source analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) data.MethodA total of 172 children with ADHD (aged 7-14; 118 boys) completed an 8-week randomized, double-blind, comparative study with 3 treatment arms: d-methylphenidate, guanfacine, or their combination. EEG modulations of brain oscillations at baseline and end point were measured during a spatial working memory task from cortical sources localized within the anterior cingulate (midfrontal) and primary visual cortex (midoccipital), based on previously reported ADHD and control differences. Linear mixed models examined treatment effects on EEG and performance measures.ResultsCombined treatment decreased midoccipital EEG power across most frequency bands and task phases. Several midoccipital EEG measures also showed significantly greater changes with combined treatment than with monotherapies. D-methylphenidate significantly increased midoccipital theta during retrieval, while guanfacine produced only trend-level reductions in midoccipital alpha during maintenance and retrieval. Task accuracy improved with combined treatment, was unchanged with d-methylphenidate, and worsened with guanfacine. Treatment-related changes in midoccipital power correlated with improvement in ADHD severity.ConclusionThese findings show that combined treatment ameliorates midoccipital neural activity associated with treatment-related behavioral improvements and previously implicated in visuo-attentional deficits in ADHD. Both monotherapies had limited effects on EEG measures, with guanfacine further showing detrimental effects on performance. The identified midoccipital EEG profile may aid future treatment monitoring for children with ADHD.Clinical trial registration informationSingle Versus Combination Medication Treatment for Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Project1); https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00429273.Diversity & inclusion statementWe worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our reference list. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group.

Teaching and learning quantum mechanics is one of the most demanding educational and conceptual challenges, in particular in secondary schools where students do not possess an adequate mathematical background to effectively support the description of quantum behaviour. Educational research shows that traditional approaches, generally based on historical and narrative perspectives, are only partially effective. The reason is that they do not address in depth those basic quantum concepts that radically question the fundamentals of classical physics. A research-based educational program has been proposed to two final-year classes of an Italian scientific high school. In order to build the main concepts of quantum mechanics and their formal basic representation via real and simulated experiments, the program uses the light polarization as a context. A quantum game was then integrated in the educational program, to support students' learning. Their conceptual paths, monitored by means of tutorials and questionnaires, show significant student learning especially on the concept of state and on appropriating the formalism meaning, whereas students more frequently referred to the geometrical vector representation instead of the algebraic-analytic formula. The quantum game has emerged to support intuition and operative experience in distinguishing the foundational concepts of superposition and entanglement.

We present a study on teacher education and, in particular, on Physics. Our assumption is that General Didactics and Disciplinary Didactic constitute two fundamental components of teachers' professional development and therefore both must be used to interpret didactic phenomena adequately. This research involves a sample of 274 prospective teachers, enrolled in the Primary Education Sciences degrees in three Italian Universities (Milano Bicocca, Udine, Urbino). It concerns the study of the spontaneous representations produced by students to foster understanding of the force concept and on the reasons given to motivate their effectiveness on an educational level and disciplinary one. The research tools and methods were developed by crossing the literature of General Didactics and Physics Education, identifying analytical categories that emerge from two different and complementary perspectives. In the broad spectrum of students' conceptions, given by this double perspective, some aspects stand out: most of the representations do not include the representation of the forces at play, but rather imply a precise didactic approach inherent to the concept of force. This is confirmed by the analysis of the didactic and disciplinary motivations, in which a frequent identification of the two types of motivations emerges.

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) is a new proposed mental disorder in which an excessive absorption in vivid, narrative fantasies generates impairments in various life domains. This study aimed to examine the role of traumatic life experiences and immature, neurotic, and mature defense styles in MD. Three hundred and fifty-six Italian adults, ranging in age from 18 to 60 years completed an online survey, including measures of MD, traumatic life events, and defense styles. A multiple mediation model showed that immature, neurotic, and mature defense styles fully mediated the relationship between traumatic life experiences and MD. These findings suggest that clinical interventions for people with a history of traumatic experience who developed MD should aim to help them acquire more adaptive coping strategies to deal with traumatic memories., Author(s): Alessandro Musetti [sup.1] , Alessio Gori [sup.2] [sup.3] , Giovanni Michelini [sup.4] , Cinzia Di Monte [sup.5] , Christian Franceschini [sup.6] , Rachele Mariani [sup.5] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/02k7wn190, [...]

During the 1982–1984 bradyseismic crises in the Campi Flegrei area (Italy), the University of Wisconsin deployed a network of seismological stations to record local earthquakes. In order to analyse the potential of the recorded data in terms of tomographic imaging, a blind test was recently set up and carried out in the framework of a research project. A model representing a hypothetical 3D structure of the area containing the Campi Flegrei caldera was also set up, and a synthetic dataset of time arrivals was in turn computed. The synthetic dataset consists of several thousand P- and S-time arrivals, computed at about fourteen stations. The tomographic inversion was performed by four independent teams using different methods. The teams had no knowledge of either the input velocity model or the earthquake hypocenters used to create the synthetic dataset. The results obtained by the different groups were compared and analysed in light of the true model. This work provides a thorough analysis of the earthquake tomography potential of the dataset recording the seismic activity at Campi Flegrei in the 1982–1984 period. It shows that all the tested earthquake tomography methods provide reliable low-resolution images of the background velocity field of the Campi Flegrei area, but with some differences. However, none of them succeeds in detecting the hypothetical structure details (i.e. with a size smaller than about 1.5–2 km), such as a magmatic chamber 4 km deep and especially the smaller, isolated bodies, which represent possible magmatic chimneys and intrusions.

ObjectiveThe combination of d-methylphenidate and guanfacine (an alpha-2A agonist) has emerged as a potential alternative to either monotherapy in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it is unclear what predicts response to these treatments. This study is the first to investigate pre-treatment clinical and electroencephalography (EEG) profiles as predictors of treatment outcome in children randomized to these different medications.Method181 children with ADHD (aged 7-14; 123 boys) completed an 8-week randomized, double-blind, comparative study with d-methylphenidate, guanfacine, or combined treatments. Pre-treatment assessments included ratings on ADHD, anxiety, and oppositional behavior. EEG activity from cortical sources localized within midfrontal and midoccipital regions was measured during a spatial working memory task with encoding, maintenance, and retrieval phases. Analyses tested whether pre-treatment clinical and EEG measures predicted treatment-related change in ADHD severity.ResultsHigher pre-treatment hyperactivity-impulsivity and oppositional symptoms and lower anxiety predicted greater ADHD improvements across all medication groups. Pre-treatment event-related midfrontal beta power predicted treatment outcome with combined and monotherapy treatments, albeit in different directions. Weaker beta modulations predicted improvements with combined treatment, whereas stronger modulation during encoding and retrieval predicted improvements with d-methylphenidate and guanfacine, respectively. A multivariate model including EEG and clinical measures explained twice as much variance in ADHD improvement with guanfacine and combined treatment (R2=.34-.41) as clinical measures alone (R2=.14-.21).ConclusionWe identified treatment-specific and shared predictors of response to different pharmacotherapies in children with ADHD. If replicated, these findings would suggest that aggregating information from clinical and brain measures may aid personalized treatment decisions in ADHD.

Pre-pandemic, the international education marketplace was expanding rapidly along with cross-border educational mobilities. Researchers have explored the adaptions of international students to study destinations, notably within an acculturation framework. However, researchers have given less attention to adapting to life in the country of origin that international students encounter as returnees. It is commonplace for returning graduates to transition from higher education to employment. Despite such challenges, few studies have investigated how international students reintegrate into the job markets of their home countries. In this paper, we discuss the current state of relevant research on acculturation and reacculturation and provide a foundation for future research. Finally, theoretical and practical contributions in the field of counselling and guidance are provided.