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A low-cost, low power consumption indoor environment monitoring instrument, called SKOMOBO (school monitoring box), was developed and tested. SKOMOBO includes sensors to monitor temperature/relative humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter and motions. SKOMOBO was developed using the open source hardware Arduino Pro Mini. This paper describes the process of building SKOMOBO, including sensor selection, printed circuit board design, sensor programming and performance evaluation. Two co-located tests have been undertaken; one in the controlled environment and one in the uncontrolled environment. Results show SKOMOBO measurements have high correlations with their commercial equivalents. In the two different testing environments, the R2 of temperature measurements for all six SKOMOBOs were 1. The R2 for relative humidity and CO2 measurements were above 0.9. The result of this work shows the reliability of SKOMOBO on monitoring indoor air quality.

Background and aim: Over 80% (365/454) of the nation’s centers participated in the Italian Society of Nephrology COVID-19 Survey. Out of 60,441 surveyed patients, 1368 were infected as of April 23rd, 2020. However, center-specific proportions showed substantial heterogeneity. We therefore undertook new analyses to identify explanatory factors, contextual effects, and decision rules for infection containment. Methods: We investigated fixed factors and contextual effects by multilevel modeling. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis was used to develop decision rules. Results: Increased positivity among hemodialysis patients was predicted by center location [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20–1.51], positive healthcare workers (IRR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02–1.17), test-all policy (IRR 5.94, 95% CI 3.36–10.45), and infected proportion in the general population (IRR 1.002, 95% CI 1.001–1.003) (all p < 0.01). Conversely, lockdown duration exerted a protective effect (IRR 0.95, 95% CI 0.94–0.98) (p < 0.01). The province-contextual effects accounted for 10% of the total variability. Predictive factors for peritoneal dialysis and transplant cases were center location and infected proportion in the general population. Using recursive partitioning, we identified decision thresholds at general population incidence ≥ 229 per 100,000 and at ≥ 3 positive healthcare workers. Conclusions: Beyond fixed risk factors, shared with the general population, the increased and heterogeneous proportion of positive patients is related to the center’s testing policy, the number of positive patients and healthcare workers, and to contextual effects at the province level. Nephrology centers may adopt simple decision rules to strengthen containment measures timely.

Il Coralligeno di piattaforma è un indicatore ambientale e hotspot di biodiversità nelle zone marine costiere. Poiché esso viene considerato un ecosistema marino vulnerabile, numerose sono le azioni volte alla sua completa caratterizzazione e mappatura. L'obiettivo del lavoro è di confrontare differenti metodologie utilizzate nell’analisi della distribuzione del Coralligeno di piattaforma, applicate al settore offshore della Sicilia nord-occidentale. Il focus del lavoro consiste nell’evidenziare come l’approccio multidisciplinare sia fondamentale nelle fasi di individuazione, caratterizzazione e predizione statistica della distribuzione delle associazioni biocenotiche, al fine di eseguire una mappatura degli habitat costieri. L'area di studio si trova nel tratto di piattaforma continentale antistante i Monti di Palermo e compreso tra Isola delle Femmine e Capo Gallo. Le mappe di distribuzione degli habitat possono essere ottenute attraverso tre approcci metodologici differenti. Il primo proviene dallo studio geologico-geofisico dei fondali, che ha permesso di cartografare le comunità bentoniche sulla base dei caratteri morfo-batimetrici. In questo senso il Coralligeno di piattaforma è stato classificato secondo Ballesteros (2006) e Giaccone (2007), differenziandolo in banchi ed orli e infralitorale e circalitorale, rispettivamente. Il secondo approccio è quello biologico che consiste nel calibrare le facies acustiche ricavate dall’interpretazione dei dati Side Scan Sonar con i dati di campioni di fondo e validati attraverso immagini ROV; in questo modo vengono mappati e descritti i depositi di coralligeno con i relativi parametri quantitativi. Il terzo approccio è quello statistico, basato sul modello di massima entropia (MaxEnt) che permette di ipotizzare la distribuzione della specie sulla base di dati di presenza (presence-only) e di parametri ambientali mappati per l’intera area di indagine (Fig. 1). I parametri considerati sono: batimetria, acclività, esposizione, presenza di fluidi, aree ad erosione, sedimentologia. Oltre alla predizione sulle presenze della specie considerata, l’analisi statistica ha consentito di individuare i fattori che controllano la distribuzione del coralligeno lungo il margine, quali: fondali sabbiosi e, in subordine, sabbioso-limosi e substrato roccioso, inclinazione elevata, assenza di processi erosivi in atto ed emissione di fluidi. L’integrazione di dati provenienti da tre diversi approcci ha reso possibile definire con maggiore dettaglio la distribuzione dei vari generi che costituiscono l’associazione a coralligeno dell’infralitorale (Rhodophyta, Cnidaria e Chlorophyta), che si distribuiscono prevalentemente lungo il limite piattaforma interna-piattaforma esterna (coralligeno di orlo), ad esclusione di alcune associazioni in banchi (probabilmente legati ad emissioni di fluidi. Questo approccio può costituire uno strumento utile nell’individuazione e monitoraggio di aree marine da sottoporre a tutela ambientale.

The results of a geomorphological survey carried out in the urban area of Palermo are described. The study area is located in the northern margin of Western Sicily and is part of the SE-verging Alpine orogenic belt (Catalano et al., 2013). An E-W mountain range (Sicilian Apennines) is the topographical expression of this belt (Di Maggio et al., 2017). In the Palermo area, the physical continuity of the mountain range is broken by a large topographically-depressed coastal area. This area is set on a half-graben and is characterized by a plain (Conca d’Oro plain), opened to sea and surrounded by wide scarps hundreds of meters tall to the inland. The wide and tall scarps are abandoned coastal cliffs derived from original fault scarps. Large talus slopes bound the scarps at their base. A very slight dipping wedge of Calabrian coastal and shallow water clastic deposits from few to tens of meters thick crops out in the Conca d’Oro plain. These deposits (Marsala synthem, ISPRA 2013) lie on Meso-Cenozoic rocks with strong angular unconformities. Along the plain, a Middle- Upper Pleistocene succession of marine terraces develops from 0 m up to 150 m a.s.l. These terraces are characterized by large and well-preserved polycyclic wave-cut surfaces which in turn are down-cut by some river valleys from few to ten meters deep. The city of Palermo rises along the marine terrace surfaces and the river valleys of the Conca d’Oro plain. Over the last 2700 years, the urban area of Palermo has been affected by remarkable man-made changes to the topographic surface and to the drainage network. The main changes consist of: filling of river valleys; concreting, diversion and burial of riverbeds; excavation of aqueduct tunnel (qanat) and underground or open quarries; massive nourishment of the coast areas by means of demolition materials of the Second World War. Geomorphological setting, man-made changes, and urban development up to the talus slope expose the city of Palermo a hydraulic, sinkhole, and landslide risks. To facilitate study on urban planning and environmental risk assessment, a geomorphological map of the urban area of Palermo has been achieved through field surveys, multitemporal analysis of aerial photographs and topographic map, consultation of historical documents, and stratigraphic and topographic reconstructions from numerous wells.

Since 2012 an open working group, coordinated by ISPRA-SGI, involving researchers from various universities and research institutes, has been discussing the contents and representation of a “Structural map of Italian seas.” The first step was to identify, classify and reorganize existing data, to agree on the minimum descriptive requirements needed to define meaningful structural elements, to convey all of the available structural data and to elaborate a reasoned GIS representation of the relevant tectonic elements. Data represented in the last published version of national structural map (Bigi et al., 1990-92) have been updated and implemented by data and results obtained in the frame of the ongoing Italian National Geological Mapping Project (CARG), as well as by additional data collected by different national research institutions within other projects. They have not yet been reported in regional synthesis papers. Since 2009 the European Union has created a coordinated and harmonized web GIS service regarding geological knowledge of submerged areas by means of the EMODNet - Geology Project (http://www. emodnet-geology.eu/emodnet/srv/eng/home). Within the Work Package dedicated to “Geological events and probabilities” (led by the Geological Survey of Italy-ISPRA) procedures to collect geological data concerning earthquakes, volcanoes and submarine slides have been identified. The comparison of all available tectonic lineaments with the outcomes elaborated for EMODnet-Geology has led to the identification of the structural elements as basic components for an updated and more complete structural model for the Italian submerged areas, in agreement with the model established on land. Regional scale structural domains (“crustal units”) have been defined according to a geodynamic approach, also based on the characteristics of volcanic seamounts, grouped into districts identified on the basis of chemical composition, age and geographical location. Structural elements, classified according to EMODNet terminology (INSPIRE compliant), will be mapped starting from this representation. The map is intended to provide a scientific useful tool for either basic or applied research, as well as for scientific learning, since it represents the “state of the art” at the end of a decades data collection period and allows at the same time both a synthetic overview of the geological structure of large areas, and to grasp the most significant regional structures of a given sector.

We present morphological and stratigraphic results coming from surveys acquired in a NNW-SSE trending submarine depression (Marettimo Valley) located in the Egadi Islands (western Sicily offshore). In this area the seafloor is characterized by both depositional and erosional features generated under a variety of sedimentary processes. We identified two seismic facies units that are correlatable to: A) the progradation of shallow water (coastal to offshore) deposits during forced-regression sedimentary process, and B) contourite drifts emplaced by geostrophic currents through the Marettimo Valley. This unusual association of very shallow water contourites and shelf margin deposits originates, during middle-late Pleistocene glacio-eustatic cycles, from enhanced sedimentary dynamics establishing mutual interaction between progradational growth of the margin and bottom current deposition.

The paleomagnetic investigation of the western Sicily Maghrebian belt has revealed since the 1970s that large clockwise (CW) rotations up to 140° with respect to the Hyblean-African foreland occurred synchronous with Tertiary shortening of the chain. The observation that rotations decrease stepwise from internal to external tectono-stratigraphic units led in the 1990s to a widely accepted model postulating that rotational thrust-sheet emplaced during forward orogenic propagation. More recently, other authors suggested that CW rotations from Sicily are conversely the result of late orogenic dextral strike-slip tectonics. Here we report on a paleomagnetic investigation of 30 Jurassic-Eocene sedimentary sites sampled mainly across the WNW-ESE Mt. Kumeta and Rocca Busambra ridges (Trapanese Unit), both bounded to the north by high-angle reverse faults with dextral strike-slip components. We find rotations of 110°-120° at faults of northern ridge margins, that decrease to 80°-90° at ~200 m to the south and rise again moving further south. Thus an excess rotation of 20°-40° due to dextral-strike slip shear is annulled to the regional rotational background of the Trapanese Unit at only 200 m from fault traces, translating to paleomagnetically-calculated strike-slip offsets not exceeding 600 m. Further north, seven sites sampled in the Imerese Unit, tectonically stacked above the Trapanese Unit, yield a ~130° rotation. Thus our data confirm that CW rotations in Sicily are predominantly related to thrust-sheet emplacement. Strike-slip tectonics has very limited relevance, and gives local rotations that fade out at only 200 m from fault planes. No differential rotation occurred between the Panormide and Imerese units, both characterized by 130° rotation values and likely representing contiguous paleogeographic domains separated by secondary thrust faults. Considering data from Mt. Kumeta, we constrain at 80° the rotation of the Trapanese Unit. The upper Cretaceous-Eocene Scaglia cover of both Mt. Kumeta and Rocca Busambra records an additional 20°-30° rotation with respect to the Jurassic ridge backbones, implying that it was décolled from the substratum. Assuming rigid nappe rotations and a rotation pole along the west Sicily coast, we derive (at a 13.5°E longitude) a total 230 km rotational shortening of the chain, and individual nappe displacements in the 20-120 km range, although further non-rotational shortening might have occurred. Thus paleomagnetism definitely represents a proof for the high allochthony of the Maghrebian chain of Sicily, consistently with recent seismic reflection data interpretations. By further assuming that rotations occurred during late Miocene thrusting events in the 12-5 Ma age window (except the Saccense Unit, later stacked onto the foreland), we derive an average 17°/Myr rotation rate, and a paleomagnetically-calculated average shortening rate of 3 cm/yr, that is again consistent with recent geological estimates.

Il percorso si svolge in territori pianeggianti e collinari attraversando, da sud a nord, la Conca d’Oro e addentrandosi nella valle del Fiume Oreto. Sarà possibile osservare aspetti stratigrafici, tettonici e geomorfologici, rappresentativi delle aree costiere e montuose della Sicilia settentrionale, che raccontano un’evoluzione geologica di oltre duecento milioni di anni. All'interno della città di Palermo saranno inoltre illustrati aspetti che riguardano i geomateriali locali, impiegati sia nella pratica edile ordinaria come nella costruzione di beni storico-monumentali, e le opere antropiche legate allo sfruttamento del sottosuolo e delle risorse geologiche in genere, evidenziando il forte legame tra la vita degli abitanti e le caratteristiche naturali del territorio che li accoglie. La percorribilità è agevole in tutti i periodi dell’anno e risulta rallentata all'interno del tessuto urbano della città di Palermo. Le possibilità di pernottamento sono numerose e diversificate. Per le escursioni fuori città e per le visite alle sorgenti e alle cave storiche è necessario un abbigliamento tecnico idoneo.

This article uses data-driven techniques combined with established theory in order to analyse gambling behavioural patterns of 91 thousand individuals on a real-world fixed-odds gambling dataset in New Zealand. This research uniquely integrates a mixture of process mining, data mining and confirmatory statistical techniques in order to categorise different sub-groups of gamblers, with the explicit motivation of identifying problem gambling behaviours and reporting on the challenges and lessons learned from our case study. We demonstrate how techniques from various disciplines can be combined in order to gain insight into the behavioural patterns exhibited by different types of gamblers, as well as provide assurances of the correctness of our approach and findings. A highlight of this case study is both the methodology which demonstrates how such a combination of techniques provides a rich set of effective tools to undertake an exploratory and open-ended data analysis project that is guided by the process cube concept, as well as the findings themselves which indicate that the contribution that problem gamblers make to the total volume, expenditure, and revenue is higher than previous studies have maintained.

A low-cost, low power consumption indoor environment monitoring device, called SKOMOBO (SKOol Monitoring Box), was developed. SKOMOBO includes the sensors to monitor temperature/relative humidity, carbon dioxide, particulate matter (PM) and motion (PIR). SKOMOBO was developed using the open source software on Arduino Pro Mini. 165 units of SKOMOBO were manufactured at Massey University (New Zealand) in September 2017. These units were then deployed across New Zealand to monitor the indoor air quality in primary school classrooms. This paper describes the practical deployment issues we faced and lessons learnt prior/during the field study aimed at understanding the connection between the air quality and student performance. We believe that the discussion in this paper is of importance and could potentially save a lot of money and effort for other similar sensor products.

The main aim of this work is to statistically predict the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) along the continental shelf regions of the northern Sicilian margin (southern Mediterranean). The considered habitats, already mapped in the area on a qualitative base, are the Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa seagrasses and the Coralligenous biocenosis. Posidonia oceanica and Coralligenous are considered as VMEs owing to their value as environmental indicators and biodiversity hotspots in coastal marine areas. For this reason, several actions were aimed in recent years to their complete characterization and mapping. The study area is located in the continental shelf of the northern Sicily margin, between the Cape San Vito (Gulf of Castellammare) and Cape Zafferano (Gulf of Palermo). Different physical characteristics of the seafloor were extracted from a database acquired in recent years in the frame of official national cartography (CARG) and hazard assessment (MAGIC) Italian Projects, including geological and geophysical data (seabed sampling, ROV footage, multibeam bathymetry, backscatter maps, high resolution seismic reflection records) The ultimate goal is to apply a statistical methodology allowing to predict the distribution of marine habitats from a “presence only” sampling dataset. This target was pursued by using a multidisciplinary approach, including abiotic (i.e. depth, morphological and hydrodynamic features, type of seabed) and biotic components (benthic communities) that define and characterize the mapped habitats. Predictive maps are based on the Maximum Entropy model (MaxEnt), a statistical method based on punctual occurrence of specimen (presence-only). The punctual occurrence of the three habitats was already known, whilst we considered the bathymetry, seabed steepness, aspect, fluid escape, erosional areas and sediment type as physical features for the model. The analysis was also aimed to test the performance of models obtained by choosing the training samples with different criteria. Therefore, different outputs (42 in total) have been produced by selecting samples on the basis of the area (regional analysis), the type of coasts (morphological) or randomly (random). Moreover, the models were built up both with only training samples either with training and test samples to obtain more constrained distribution patterns. Almost all the created predictive models produced good performances, with statistical parameters (gain, AUC standard deviation) very positive on average. The models derived from the regional analysis resulted to be more performing than the others, with the random-derived being the worst. The response curves pointed out that bathymetry and sediment types are the most important physical features influencing the distribution of the mapped VMEs, whereas aspect and slope are not-independent variables. These outputs also provided important information and constraints on the favorable environmental conditions for the three habitats. Results from this preliminary statistical modeling appears potentially useful in the evaluation of important environmental parameters, allowing to draw the broad distribution of marine habitats in areas where only presence data are available, and can represent a contribution in the design and monitoring of marine protected areas.

The main aim of this work is to statistically predict the distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) along the continental shelf regions of the northern Sicilian margin (southern Mediterranean). The considered habitats, already mapped in the area on a qualitative base, are the Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa seagrasses and the Coralligenous biocenosis. Posidonia oceanica and Coralligenous are considered as VMEs owing to their value as environmental indicators and biodiversity hotspots in coastal marine areas. For this reason, several actions were aimed in recent years to their complete characterization and mapping. The study area is located in the continental shelf of the northern Sicily margin, between the Cape San Vito (Gulf of Castellammare) and Cape Zafferano (Gulf of Palermo). Different physical characteristics of the seafloor were extracted from a database acquired in recent years in the frame of official national cartography (CARG) and hazard assessment (MAGIC) Italian Projects, including geological and geophysical data (seabed sampling, ROV footage, multibeam bathymetry, backscatter maps, high resolution seismic reflection records). The ultimate goal is to apply a statistical methodology allowing to predict the distribution of marine habitats from a “presence only” sampling dataset. This target was pursued by using a multidisciplinary approach, including abiotic (i.e. depth, morphological and hydrodynamic features, type of seabed) and biotic components (benthic communities) that define and characterize the mapped habitats. Predictive maps are based on the Maximum Entropy model (MaxEnt), a statistical method based on punctual occurrence of specimen (presence-only). The punctual occurrence of the three habitats was already known, whilst we considered the bathymetry, seabed steepness, aspect, fluid escape, erosional areas and sediment type as physical features for the model. The analysis was also aimed to test the performance of models obtained by choosing the training samples with different criteria. Therefore, different outputs (42 in total) have been produced by selecting samples on the basis of the area (regional analysis), the type of coasts (morphological) or randomly (random). Moreover, the models were built up both with only training samples either with training and test samples to obtain more constrained distribution patterns. Almost all the created predictive models produced good performances, with statistical parameters (gain, AUC standard deviation) very positive on average. The models derived from the regional analysis resulted to be more performing than the others, with the random-derived being the worst. The response curves pointed out that bathymetry and sediment types are the most important physical features influencing the distribution of the mapped VMEs, whereas aspect and slope are not-independent variables. These outputs also provided important information and constraints on the favorable environmental conditions for the three habitats. Results from this preliminary statistical modeling appears potentially useful in the evaluation of important environmental parameters, allowing to draw the broad distribution of marine habitats in areas where only presence data are available, and can represent a contribution in the design and monitoring of marine protected areas.

Open source intelligence (OSINT) is intelligence that is synthesized using publicly available data. We will discuss the current state of OSINT and data science. The changes in the analysts and users will be explored. We will cover data analysis, automated data gathering, APIs, and tools; algorithms including supervised and unsupervised learning, geolocational methods, de-anonymization. How do all these things interact within OSINT including ethics and context? Now that open intelligence has become more open and playing fields are leveling, the need to ensure and encourage positive use is even stronger.

We present a simple Poisson process model for the growth of Tradescantia fluminensis, an invasive plant species that inhibits the regeneration of native forest remnants in New Zealand. The model was parameterised with data derived from field experiments in New Zealand and then verified with independent data. The model gave good predictions which showed that its underlying assumptions are sound. However, this simple model had less predictive power for outputs based on variance suggesting that some assumptions were lacking. Therefore, we extended the model to include higher variability between plants thereby improving its predictions. This high variance model suggests that control measures that promote node death at the base of the plant or restrict the main stem growth rate will be more effective than those that reduce the number of branching events. The extended model forms a good basis for assessing the efficacy of various forms of control of this weed, including the recently-released leaf-feeding tradescantia leaf beetle (Neolema ogloblini).

The geological, geomorphological and sedimentological features of the north-western Sicily continental shelf are here illustrated with the aim to propose a geological model able to explain the Neogene-Quaternary evolution of the Sicilian continental margin in the context of the central Mediterranean region. Above the continental shelf and upper slope the sedimentary succession, showing along the different sectors of the margin considerably variable internal geometry and stratigraphic relationships with the underlying units, is interpreted as a IV order depositional sequence (Late Quaternary Depositional Sequence, LQDS) deposited during the last eustatic change (last 125 ky). The lower boundary of the LQDS is represented by a subaerial erosional surface formed during the last eustatic sea level fall ended in the LGM (20-18 ka). This unconformity lies above a seaward dipping Pleistocene succession whose depositional architecture is in turn controlled by Quaternary eustatic sea-level fluctuations. A dense dataset of morphobathymetric and high resolution seismic data allowed to recognize along the continental shelf to bathyal plain system different types of continental shelf with different stratigraphic and morphostructural settings, associated to both large-scale processes and specific factors related to more local control: a) predominantly rocky shelves, both accompanied by a moderate frontal sedimentary prism and with a structural edge, in the structural highs of the Monti di Palermo offshore and around the main rocky headlands (Capo San Vito, Monte Catalfano); b), depositional shelves, in the Castellammare, Palermo and Termini Imerese gulfs, both with a regular seaward deepening of the substrate and with a substrate uplift at the shelf break. We confirm that depositional sequences in this margin are the result of the interaction between sea level changes and sedimentation, but demonstrate that the tectonic activity has played a key role, not only in the creation of different types of continental shelves, but also to determine the different characters of each sequence in different areas. The general tectonic uplift during the Pleistocene, together with the episodic alternation of extensional and compressional events, often with strike-slip component, is responsible for the thickness and facies variation both onland, where residual Pleistocene marine deposits today outcrops, and in the continental shelf, where most of the depositional sequences developed and are now recognized. As well tectonic activity exerted a control on the geomorphological features (e.g. pockmarks and mounds) of the present day coastal areas and shelf-slope system, as well as for the submarine canyons and the mass failure processes.

Sedimentary dynamics of the Marettimo continental shelf and Marettimo Channel (Egadi Island – Western Mediterranean), have been unveiled based on the erosive and depositional features observed at the seafloor. Different morphologic features were recognized through side scan sonar, multibeam and high-resolution seismics, acquired in the framework of national Research Projects (CARG, GebecSud, MaGIC) carried out by the Department of Earth and Marine Science (former Department of Geology and Geodesy) of the University of Palermo. Sediment samples have been also collected and analyzed. The Egadi Islands are part of the NW Sicilian offshore, and belong to the mountain chain that connects the Sicilian chain to the Maghrebides one. The Marettimo Island represents an isolated portion of the Egadi continental shelf and is separated from the rest of the archipelago by the Marettimo Channel. Previous studies allowed to recognize different kind of sedimentary structures along the seafloor. Lo Iacono and Guillén (2008) described extensive field of subaqueous dunes (Ashley, 1990) along the Marettimo inner shelf, forming on gravelly and pebbly sediments and related to strong storm events (H:5.5 m, T: 12 s). Larger dunes have been observed in the north-western sector of the inner shelf with wavelengths ranging from 1 to 2.5 m, heights between 15 cm and 30 cm and extending laterally for hundreds of meters. Moreover in the north-eastern sector of the inner shelf, sorted bedforms have been detected at a depth of 40 m: they are characterized by a width varying between 15 m and 50 m and a length that reaches hundreds of meters. In the south-eastern sector of the Marettimo outer shelf, Colantoni et al. (1993) map two groups of sedimentary structures. In the same area, Lo Iacono (2004) recognized two-dimensional and three-dimensional subaqueous dunes. 2D dunes are found at depths between 60 and 90 m and show a wavelength variable between 15 and 50 m. 3D dunes, which are found at a depth of 80 m, are characterized by a wavelength of 30 m and a lateral extent of 50 m. Morphological evidences of a strong hydrodynamic regime come also from the morphobathymetric analysis of the Marettimo Channel, that is a 24 km long submarine valley oriented NNW-SSE, with a depth ranging from a minimum of 180 m to a maximum of 370 m and a width from 2 km to 14 km. Inside the channel, south of its narrowest point, a 180 m deep bathymetric threshold separates two areas, which deepens towards opposite directions: north-west and south. The flanks of the sector that deepens towards the NW are affected by mass-wasting features (Lo Iacono et al., 2007). The western flank of the channel, which delimits the Marettimo continental shelf, is carved by gullies, making the shelf-edge very uneven. Gullies develop to a maximum depth of 280 m and have a length of 250 m and a width of 50 m. At the bottom of the channel a linear incision 20 m deep, 400 m wide and almost 3 km long, is probably generated by erosive bottom currents. On the whole, the morpho-sedimentary structures here described reveal a strong hydrodynamic regime. The morphological and textural features of the bedforms observed on the Marettimo inner continental shelf suggest the occurrence of sporadic medium to strong storm events coming from western sectors. The morphological characteristics of the Marettimo Channel reveal the occurrence of strong bottom currents probably related to the severe interchange of water masses between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Sicily Channel. References: Ashley, G., 1990. Journal of Sedim. Petrology 60, 160–172. Colantoni, P., Ligi, M., Morsiani, M.P., Penitenti, D., 1993. UNESCO Reports in Mar. Science 58, 93–98. Lo Iacono, C., 2004. Università di Napoli ‘‘Federico II,’’ Naples, Italy. Ph.D. Thesis, 150pp... Lo Iacono, C., Catalano, R., Agate, M., 2007. VI Conv. FIST GeoItalia, Rimini (Italy), 12-14 Sept. Lo Iacono C., Guillén J., 2008. Continental Shelf Research 28, 245–256.

Tettonica sinsedimentaria del Pliocene inferiore nei Monti delle Madonie settentrionali (Sicilia). L'analisi stratigrafico-strutturale condotta in un piccolo bacino infra-pliocenico nelle Madonie settentrionali (Lascari-Capo Plaja) permette di descrivere un evento tettonico sin-sedimentario. La sinclinale EW in cui si sviluppa il bacino sintettonico appartiene ad un sistema di pieghe nord vergenti che deformano un piano di sovrascorrimento più antico (Langhiano-Serravalliano). La geometria di crescita che caratterizza il pattern stratale dei depositi pliocenici e la discordanza angolare alla base suggeriscono che la nucleazione di queste strutture compressionali si possa essere realizzata almeno dal Messiniano al Pliocene inferiore. Le strutture nordvergenti riconosciute nell'area in studio mostrano stile deformativo ed orientazione compatibile con le fasi tardive della strutturazione riconosciute in Sicilia occidentale da autori precedenti. I dati raccolti sono pertanto un contributo alla datazione delle strutture traspressive nord vergenti che seguono la messa in posto dei sovrascorrimenti principali e che sono connesse al sollevamento della sottostante piattaforma.

Prediction of complex behavioural tasks via relatively simple modelling techniques, such as logistic regression and discriminant analysis, often has limited success. We hypothesized that to more accurately model complex behaviour, more complex models, such as kernel-based methods, would be needed. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the value of six modelling approaches for predicting driving ability based on performance on computerized sensory–motor and cognitive tests ( SMCTests™) in 501 people with brain disorders. The models included three models previously used to predict driving ability (discriminant analysis, DA; binary logistic regression, BLR; and nonlinear causal resource analysis, NCRA) and three kernel methods (support vector machine, SVM; product kernel density, PK; and kernel product density, KP). At the classification level, two kernel methods were substantially more accurate at classifying on-road pass or fail (SVM 99.6%, PK 99.8%) than the other models (DA 76%, BLR 78%, NCRA 74%, KP 81%). However, accuracy decreased substantially for all of the kernel models when cross-validation techniques were used to estimate prediction of on-road pass or fail in an independent referral group (SVM 73–76%, PK 72–73%, KP 71–72%) but decreased only slightly for DA (74–75%) and BLR (75–76%). Cross-validation of NCRA was not possible. In conclusion, while kernel-based models are successful at modelling complex data at a classification level, this is likely to be due to overfitting of the data, which does not lead to an improvement in accuracy in independent data over and above the accuracy of other less complex modelling techniques.

Data from performance on a computerized battery of driving-related sensory-motor and cognitive tests (SMCTests™) were used to predict outcome on a blinded on-road driving assessment in 501 people with brain disorders. Six modelling approaches were assessed: discriminant analysis (DA), binary logistic regression (BLR), nonlinear causal resource analysis (NCRA), and three kernel methods (product kernel density (PK), kernel-product density (KP), and support vector machine (SVM)). At the classification level, the three kernel methods were more accurate for predicting on-road Pass or Fail (SVM 99%, PK 99%, KP 80%) than the other models (DA 75%, BLR 77%, NCRA 66%). However, accuracy decreased substantially across the kernel models when leave-one-out cross-validation was used to estimate how accurately the models would predict on-road Pass or Fail in an independent referral group (SVM 76%, PK 73%, KP 72%) but remained fairly constant for DA (74%) and BLR (76%). Cross-validation of NCRA was not possible. While kernel-based models are successful at modelling complex data at a classification level, this appears to be due to overfitting of the data which does not improve accuracy in an independent data set over and above the accuracy of other modelling techniques.

Rilievi geologici finalizzati alla compilazione di carte geologiche in Sicilia nord-occidentale (Progetto CARG) Vengono descritti i risultati del rilevamento di numerosi fogli geologici a scala 1:50.000 ubicati nella Sicilia settentrionale (dalle Isole Egadi fino ai Monti delle Madonie), eseguito nel quadro del Progetto CARG. I rilievi sul terreno sono stati integrati con i dati di sottosuolo provenienti da profili sismici a riflessione e perforazioni profonde. I risultati ottenuti offrono un quadro a scala regionale dell’assetto stratigrafico-strutturale di uno dei settori più complessi della Catena Siciliano-Maghrebide. Sono state ricostruite le successioni stratigrafiche dei paleodomini meso-cenozoici, così come la loro progressiva deformazione avvenuta in due principali eventi tettonici, il più antico tra il Langhiano ed il Tortoniano, il più recente tra la fine del Miocene ed il Pleistocene inferiore.