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Current strategies for the delivery of proteins into cells face general challenges of endosomal entrapment and concomitant degradation of protein cargo. Efficient delivery directly to the cytosol overcomes this obstacle: we report here the use of biotin-streptavidin tethering to provide a modular approach to the generation of nanovectors capable of a cytosolic delivery of biotinylated proteins. This strategy uses streptavidin to organize biotinylated protein and biotinylated oligo(glutamate) peptide into modular complexes that are then electrostatically self-assembled with a cationic guanidinium-functionalized polymer. The resulting polymer-protein nanocomposites demonstrate efficient cytosolic delivery of six biotinylated protein cargos of varying size, charge, and quaternary structure. Retention of protein function was established through efficient cell killing via delivery of the chemotherapeutic enzyme granzyme A. This platform represents a versatile and modular approach to intracellular delivery through the noncovalent tethering of multiple components into a single delivery vector.

Introduction Bien que la littérature décrive plusieurs vignettes cliniques (associées à des questions) destinées à évaluer les attitudes/comportements des professionnels de la santé face à un patient souffrant de lombalgie, ces vignettes sont généralement incomplètes et n’abordent que peu, voire pas, les facteurs psychosociaux. De plus, celles-ci n’examinent pas l’adéquation entre la prise en charge préconisée et les recommandations récentes de la HAS [1] et l’itinéraire de soins proposés par le KCE [2]. Dès lors, les objectifs de cette étude étaient : 1) de développer 3 vignettes originales (patient fictif souffrant d’une lombalgie non spécifique aiguë, subaiguë/récurrente ou chronique) et un questionnaire (pouvant être utilisé avec chaque vignette) répondant aux limites des outils existants afin d’apprécier les attitudes de (futurs) professionnels de la santé ; 2) de mesurer les qualités psychométriques de base (effet plancher/plafond, validité et reproductibilité) de ce nouvel outil. Matériels et méthodes Une fois les 3 vignettes et le questionnaire (18 affirmations combinées à une échelle de degré d’accord de Likert) développés, deux groupes expérimentaux (un groupe d’experts et un groupe expérimental composé de professionnels de la santé diplômés et d’étudiants de dernière année (en kinésithérapie ou en médecine) ont été invités à compléter un questionnaire en ligne. Ils devaient, après avoir pris connaissance de chacune des 3 nouvelles vignettes cliniques, répondre au questionnaire (permettant l’obtention d’un score pour chaque vignette et d’un score global). Ils étaient également soumis à une vignette (et les questions qui y sont associées) fréquemment utilisée dans la littérature (Rainville et al., 2000). La validité de ce nouvel outil d’évaluation a été examinée, d’une part, en comparant les scores des groupes « experts » et « expérimental » et, d’autre part, en comparant les résultats obtenus à la vignette de Rainville et al. à ceux obtenus pour ces nouvelles vignettes. La reproductibilité test-retest a été évaluée en resoumettant le groupe expérimental au nouvel outil une à deux semaines plus tard. Résultats Après l’analyse des réponses des 8 « experts » recrutés, une des questions (sur la médication) a été retirée en raison de désaccords entre les réponses des experts. Cent onze participants ont été recrutés dans le groupe « expérimental ». L’analyse des scores aux questionnaires liés aux vignettes suggère : 1) l’absence d’effet plancher et plafond ; 2) une validité (scores significativement différents entre les 2 groupes et concordants avec les résultats à la vignette de Rainville et al.) ; une bonne reproductibilité (coefficient de corrélation intraclasse supérieure à 0,9 pour le score global et compris entre 0,83 et 0,91 pour chaque vignette). Discussion Ce nouvel outil autorisera l’identification des recommandations les moins suivies, la comparaison de différentes disciplines médicales et l’évaluation des effets de formations destinées à présenter les recommandations de bonne pratique. Conclusion Cette étude a permis de développer 3 nouvelles vignettes permettant d’examiner de façon valide et reproductible si les croyances et attitudes des professionnels de la santé relatives à la prise en charge de la lombalgie sont en adéquation avec les dernières guidelines. La poursuite du développement de ce nouvel outil est nécessaire en examinant notamment ses autres qualités métrologiques telles que sa sensibilité au changement.

A cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) was developed for the installation of curtain wall modules (CWM). The research addressed the question of whether the CDPR was capable installing CWMs with sufficient accuracy while being competitive compared to conventional manual methods. In order to develop and test such a system, a conceptual framework that consisted of three sub-systems was defined. The tests, carried out in two close-to-real demonstration buildings, revealed an absolute accuracy of the CWM installation of 4 to 23 mm. The working time for installing a CWM was reduced to 0.51 h. The results also show that the system is competitive for a workspace greater than 96 m2 compared to conventional manual methods. However, improvements such as reducing the hours for setting up the CDPR on the one hand and achieving a faster and more robust MEE on the other hand will be still necessary in the future. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 732513

Introduction: Serum uric acid (SUA) has been depicted as a contributory causal factor in metabolic syndrome (MS), which in turn, portends unfavourable prognosis. Aim: We assessed the prognostic role of SUA in patients with and without MS. Methods: We used data from the multicentre Uric Acid Right for Heart Health study and considered cardiovascular mortality (CVM) as death due to fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden cardiac death, or heart failure. Results: A total of 9589 subjects (median age 58.5 years, 45% males) were included in the analysis, and 5100 (53%) patients had a final diagnosis of MS. After a median follow-up of 142 months, we observed 558 events. Using a previously validated cardiovascular SUA cut-off to predict CVM (> 5.1 mg/dL in women and 5.6 mg/dL in men), elevated SUA levels were significantly associated to a worse outcome in patients with and without MS (all p < 0.0001) and provided a significant net reclassification improvement of 7.1% over the diagnosis of MS for CVM (p = 0.004). Cox regression analyses identified an independent association between SUA and CVM (Hazard Ratio: 1.79 [95% CI, 1.15–2.79]; p < 0.0001) after the adjustment for MS, its single components and renal function. Three specific combinations of the MS components were associated with higher CVM when increasing SUA levels were reported, and systemic hypertension was the only individual component ever-present (all p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Increasing SUA levels are associated with a higher CVM risk irrespective of the presence of MS: a cardiovascular SUA threshold may improve risk stratification. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2021, The Author(s).

A primary task of a network-based, earthquake early warning system is the prompt event detection and location, needed to assess the magnitude of the event and its potential damage through the predicted peak ground shaking amplitude using empirical attenuation relationships. Most of real-time, automatic earthquake location methods ground on the progressive measurement of the first P-wave arrival time at stations located at increasing distances from the source but recent approaches showed the feasibility to improve the accuracy and rapidity of the earthquake location by using the additional information carried by the P-wave polarization or amplitude, especially with unfavorable seismic network lay-outs. Here, we propose an evolutionary, Bayesian method for the real-time earthquake location which combines the information derived from the differential P-wave arrival times, amplitude ratios and back-azimuths measured at a minimum of two stations. As more distant stations record the P-wave, the posterior pdf is updated and new earthquake location parameters are determined along with their uncertainty. To validate the location method, we performed a retrospective analysis of mainshocks (M > 4.5) occurred during the 2016–2017 Central Italy earthquake sequence by simulating the typical acquisition layouts of in-land, coastal and linear array of stations. Results show that with the combined use of the three parameters, 2–4 s after the first P-wave detection, the method converges to stable and accurate determinations of epicentral coordinates and depth even with a nonoptimal coverage of stations. The proposed methodology can be generalized and adapted to the off-line analysis of seismic records collected by standard local networks.

ObjectivesTo estimate population sodium and potassium intakes and explore knowledge, attitudes and behaviour (KAB) towards the use of salt in adults in the Sultanate of Oman.DesignNational cross-sectional population-based survey.SettingProportional random samples, representative of Omani adults (18 years or older), were obtained from all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman.ParticipantsFive hundred and sixty-nine (193 men, 376 women; 18 years or older) were included in the analysis (response rate 57%). Mean age was 39.4 years (SD 13.1). Participants attended a screening including demographic, anthropometric and physical measurements.Primary and secondary outcome measuresWe assessed dietary sodium, potassium and creatinine by 24-hour urinary sodium (UNa), potassium (UK) and creatinine (UCr) excretions. We collected KAB by a questionnaire on an electronic tablet.ResultsMean UNa was 144.3 (78.8) mmol/day, equivalent to 9.0 g of salt/day and potassium excretion 52.6 (32.6) mmol/day, equivalent to 2.36 g/day, after adjusting for non-urinary losses. Men ate significantly more sodium and potassium than women. Only 22% of the sample had a salt intake below the WHO recommended target of 5 g/day and less than 10% met WHO targets for potassium excretion (>90 mmol/day). While 89.1% of those interviewed knew that consuming too much salt could cause serious health problems and only 6.9% felt they were using too much added salt, one in two participants used always or often salt, salty seasonings or salty sauces in cooking or when preparing food at home.ConclusionsIn the Sultanate of Oman, salt consumption is higher and potassium consumption lower than recommended by WHO, both in men and in women. The present data provide, for the first time, evidence to support a national programme of population salt reduction to prevent the increasing burden of cardiovascular disease in the area.

Controlling aligned fiber micro-architectures to simulate the extracellular matrix for inducing important biological functions is a key challenge with regard to successful tissue regeneration. Here we present a bottom-up microemulsion-mediated strategy to obtain highly bioactive and biocompatible, striped Ce-TiO

Background and aims To systematically review the latest evidence on established and emerging nutrition-related risk factors for incidence of and mortality from total, ischemic and haemorrhagic strokes. The present review was conducted in the framework of the work carried out through 2015 and 2016 for the preparation of the Italian Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Stroke, 8th Edition, by ISO-SPREAD (Italian Stroke Organization and the Stroke Prevention and Educational Awareness Diffusion). Methods and results Systematic review of articles focused on primary prevention of stroke published between January 2013 to May 2016 through an extensive search of the literature using MEDLINE/PUBMED, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library. Articles were ranked according to the SIGN methodology while the GRADE system was used to establish the strength of recommendations. As a result of our literature search, we examined 87 meta-analyses overall (mainly of prospective studies), a few isolated more recent prospective studies not included in the meta-analyses, and a smaller number of available randomized controlled trials and case–control studies. Based on the analysis of the above articles, 36 Syntheses of the available evidence and 36 Recommendations were eventually prepared. The present document was developed by organizing the available evidence into three individual areas (nutrients, food groups and dietary patterns) to provide a systematic and user-friendly overview of the available evidence on the relationship between nutrition and primary prevention of stroke. Yet analysis of foods and food patterns allowed translating the information about nutrients in a tool more amenable to use in daily life also in the light of the argument that people eat foods rather than nutrients. Conclusions The present literature review and dietary recommendations provide healthcare professionals and all interested readers with a useful overview for the reduction of the risk of total, ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke through dietary modifications.

In this paper we investigate via an asymptotic method the opening of gaps in the spectrum of a stiff problem for the Laplace operator $-\Delta$ in $\mathbb{R}^2$ perforated by contiguous circular holes. The density and the stiffness constants are of order $\varepsilon^{-2m}$ and $\varepsilon^{-1}$ in the holes with $m\in (0,1/2)$. We provide an explicit expression of the leading terms of the eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions which are related to the Bessel functions of the first kind.

Serum uric acid (SUA) levels discriminating across the different strata of cardiovascular risk is still unknown. By utilizing a large population-based database, we assessed the threshold of SUA that increases the risk of total mortality and cardiovascular mortality (CVM). The URRAH study (Uric Acid Right for Heart Health) is a multicentre retrospective, observational study, which collected data from several large population-based longitudinal studies in Italy and subjects recruited in the hypertension clinics of the Italian Society of Hypertension. Total mortality was defined as mortality for any cause, CVM as death due to fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden cardiac death, or heart failure. A total of 22 714 subjects were included in the analysis. Multivariate Cox regression analyses identified an independent association between SUA and total mortality (hazard ratio, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.21-1.93]) or CVM (hazard ratio, 2.08 [95% CI, 1.146-2.97]; P

We propose a new real-time approach to detect, locate, and estimate the volume of rockslides by analyzing waveforms acquired from broadband regional seismic networks. The identification of signals generated by rockslides from other sources, such as natural and/or induced earthquakes, is accomplished by exploiting the ratio between local magnitudes (ML) and duration magnitudes (MD). We found that signals associated with rockslides have ML/MD

Aims High-density lipoprotein (HDL) function may be altered in patients with chronic disease, transforming the particle from a beneficial vasoprotective molecule to a noxious pro-inflammatory equivalent. Adolescents with Type 1 diabetes often have elevated HDL, but its vasoprotective properties and relationship to endothelial function have not been assessed. Methods and results Seventy adolescents with Type 1 diabetes (age 10-17 years) and 30 age-matched healthy controls supplied urine samples for the measurement of early renal dysfunction (albumin:creatinine ratio; ACR), blood samples for the assessment of cardiovascular risk factors (lipid profiles, HDL functionality, glycaemic control, and inflammatory risk score), and had their conduit artery endothelial function tested using flow-mediated dilation (FMD). HDL-c levels (1.69 ± 0.41 vs. 1.44 ± 0.29mmol/L; P < 0.001), and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (8.4 ± 1.2 vs. 5.4 ± 0.2%; P < 0.001) were increased in all patients compared with controls. However, increased inflammation and HDL dysfunction were evident only in patients who also had evidence of early renal dysfunction (mean ± standard deviation for high-ACR vs. low-ACR and healthy controls: inflammatory risk score 11.3 ± 2.5 vs. 9.5 ± 2.4 and 9.2 ± 2.4, P < 0.01; HDL-mediated nitric-oxide bioavailability 38.0 ± 8.9 vs. 33.3 ± 7.3 and 25.0 ± 7.7%, P < 0.001; HDL-mediated superoxide production 3.71 ± 3.57 vs. 2.11 ± 3.49 and 1.91 ± 2.47nmol O2 per 250 000 cells, P < 0.05). Endothelial function (FMD) was impaired only in those who had both a high inflammatory risk score and high levels of HDL-c (P < 0.05). Conclusion Increased levels of HDL-c commonly observed in individuals with Type 1 diabetes may be detrimental to endothelial function when accompanied by renal dysfunction and chronic inflammation. © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.

The region of central and eastern Europe is an area characterised by a relatively high seismic risk. Since 2001, to monitor the seismicity of this area, the OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale) in Italy, the Agencija Republike Slovenije za Okolje (ARSO) in Slovenia, the Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik (ZAMG) in Austria, and the Università di Trieste (UniTS) have cooperated in real-time seismological data exchange. In 2014 OGS, ARSO, ZAMG and UniTS created a cooperative network named the Central and Eastern European Earthquake Research Network (CE3RN), and teamed up with the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, to implement an earthquake early warning system based on the existing networks. Since May 2014, the earthquake early warning system (EEWS) given by the integration of the PRESTo (PRobability and Evolutionary early warning SysTem) alert management platform and the CE3RN accelerometric stations has been under real-time testing in order to assess the system's performance. This work presents a preliminary analysis of the EEWS performance carried out by playing back real strong motion recordings for the 1976 Friuli earthquake (MW= 6.5). Then, the results of the first 6 months of real-time testing of the EEWS are presented and discussed.

When accompanied by appropriate training and preparedness of a population, Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS) are effective and viable tools for the real-time reduction of societal exposure to seismic events in metropolitan areas. The Italian Accelerometric Network, RAN, which consists of about 500 stations installed over all the active seismic zones, as well as many cities and strategic infrastructures in Italy, has the potential to serve as a nationwide early warning system. In this work, we present a feasibility study for a nationwide EEWS in Italy obtained by the integration of the RAN and the software platform PRobabilistic and Evolutionary early warning SysTem (PRESTo). The performance of the RAN-PRESTo EEWS is first assessed by testing it on real strong motion recordings of 40 of the largest earthquakes that have occurred during the last 10 years in Italy. Furthermore, we extend the analysis to regions that did not experience earthquakes by considering a nationwide grid of synthetic sources capable of generating Gutenberg-Richter sequences corresponding to the one adopted by the seismic hazard map of the Italian territory. Our results indicate that the RAN-PRESTo EEWS could theoretically provide for higher seismic hazard areas reliable alert messages within about 5 to 10 s and maximum lead times of about 25 s. In case of large events (M > 6.5), this amount of lead time would be sufficient for taking basic protective measures (e.g., duck and cover, move away from windows or equipment) in tens to hundreds of municipalities affected by large ground shaking.

Acoustic noise assessment is a crucial problem in areas in which transportation means, such as motorway, railway, airport, etc., are present. Dwelled areas, in fact, represent a sensible point, that is affected by several externalities, among which, acoustic noise is very important. In this paper, the techniques known as Time Series Analysis (TSA), are used to analyze datasets of noise level produced by transport systems. This approach is based on the analysis of trend and seasonality of the series, and on the implementation of a function of the time that can provide predictions for future time periods. According to the choice and to the input of each model, the forecast horizon can vary from few days further to any time period in the future. Two techniques will be presented: one is based on a Deterministic Decomposition (DD-TSA), able to predict at any future time period; the second is based on a stochastic approach, and adopt the so called SARIMA (Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average) models, to provide prediction on a short time range. Both techniques will be applied to a road traffic noise dataset and to an airport noise levels time series. Results will show that the typology of transportation system does not affect the prediction performances of both the DD-TSA and the SARIMA techniques, even though the time basis of the data is different, being daily for traffic noise and hourly for airport.

The underlying idea of the paper is that a generic traveller is first interested in carsharing, then he/she subsequently decides to join the service and to use it. Moreover, unlike urban carsharing services, inter-urban carsharing can be more significantly affected by the transport modes available and by the level of service supplied. In this conceptual context, the present paper investigates the most effective attributes able to explain and measure the interest towards an inter-urban carsharing service. In particular, the paper aims to demonstrate that users’ interest significantly depends on the multimodal accessibility currently supplied and on the users’ mode choice behaviour. To this aim, the interest in carsharing was investigated through an “ad-hoc” stated preferences survey and modelled through the calibration of the random utility theory. Different accessibility indicators were specified and tested, from simple ones (distance, travel time, generalised cost) to more complex and behaviourally coherent ones (Expected Maximum Perceived Utility).

Salinity is a problem for crop production worldwide and may be particularly problematic for ornamental plants because it has the potential to degrade visual quality. Daffodils [Narcissus sp. (L.) Amaryllidaceae] are a popular bulb plant, in demand for both landscapes and cut flowers. In this study, we examined how salinities ranging from 0 to 300 mm NaCl affected growth, flower production, and leaf physiology of three of the most popular cultivars of daffodil (‘Dutch Master’, ‘Ice Follies’, and ‘Tete-a-Tete’). Salinity reduced growth rate and biomass production at salinities greater than or equal to 100 mm NaCl with the greatest reductions in the highest salinity treatments (200 and 300 mm NaCl). Despite reductions in biomass, there was no significant chlorosis of the leaves. Flower quantity was unaffected by salinity in ‘Dutch Master’ and ‘Ice Follies’, but anthesis was delayed and flower duration was reduced by 40% to 70% at salinities of 150 mm NaCl and above. Anthesis and flower duration in ‘Tete-a-Tete’ were unaffected by salinity, but the number of flowers produced was negatively affected (reductions of 50% or more) by salinities of 150 mm NaCl and above. Sodium concentration in the leaves and bulbs increased 53% to 400% compared with the 0 mm NaCl control with lower accumulation in the bulbs than in the shoots. Sodium accumulation occurred at or above 50 mm NaCl in ‘Tete-a-Tete’, but at salinities greater than 150 mm NaCl in ‘Dutch Master’ and only in the 300-mm NaCl treatment in ‘Ice Follies’. Despite the Na+ accumulation in the leaves, the plants in most of the salinity treatments were able to maintain a K+:Na+ ratio above 1 (except in ‘Tete-a-Tete’ at salinities 150 mm NaCl or greater), which may have helped the daffodils tolerate the negative affects of Na+ and maintain good visual quality. ‘Dutch Master’, ‘Tete-a-Tete’, and ‘Ice Follies’ can be considered highly salt-tolerant because they maintain visual quality (leaf greenness, flower production, and flower duration) at soil NaCl-induced electrical conductivities greater than 6 dS·m−1.

Objective:In Moldova, cardiovascular disease is the main cause of morbidity and mortality. High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for the CVD burden. It is common habit in Moldova to add salt to food at the table and when cooking and to eat processed food. The aim was to measure population s

Objective:Hypertension in young adults is a steadily increasing phenomenon. Increased arterial stiffness is possibly involved in its pathophysiology and may predict its development. Socio-economic and lifestyle risk factors may play a major role in early vascular aging in young adults. Thus, the aim

Objective:Excess salt (sodium chloride) and inadequate potassium intakes are responsible for high blood pressure in populations and they are associated with higher cardiovascular disease (CVD). In Montenegro, CVD is the leading cause of death and disability. Moreover, there is no survey that has dir

We systematically analysed the experimental data related to the specific conductivities (χE) and heats of mixing (QEmix) of a series of more than a thousand serially diluted and agitated (SDA) solutions. The results show systematically higher specific conductivities and heats of mixing for SDA solutions with sodium hydroxide than for NaOH with the reference solvents at the same chemical composition. The analysis of the results yielded an extraordinary and unexpected correlation, of an exponential kind, between the two excess parameters and the volume of the solution in the container. In other words, when the specific conductivity of samples of the same preparation that differ in volume (1–200 ml) were measured, the conductivity values were found to increase as the sample volumes decrease. As the influence of volume on the physicochemical properties of the SDA solution was unexpected, the volumes and time of stay at a given volume are not known exactly but are estimates.A new systematic study based on known and constant volumes across the life of the samples is underway. The influence of volume on χE (μS cm−1) and QEmix (J kg−1) turned out to be overwhelming compared with that of time, and is therefore statistically very significant despite the uncertainty in terms of the exact volume value. A simple rationalizing hypothesis is put forth which is consistent with the more general idea of water as a system that is capable of auto-organizing, even in the presence of small perturbations, and is then able to sustain a far from equilibrium state (dissipative structures).

To optimize magnitude estimation for the earthquake early warning system around the Tehran region, different amplitude‐ and frequency‐based parameters, that is, predominant period (), characteristic period ( τ c ), log‐average period ( τ log ), and peak displacement ( P d ) were analyzed in this article. All parameters were calculated directly from seismic records, with an epicentral distance less than 150 km, and within the initial 3 s of the P waves. The analysis of earthquakes in the 2.4 M L P d and τ c were underestimated, and there was no scaling relationship with the τ log parameter. When combined with the global observations from Japan, Taiwan, and Italy, the results of P d and τ c for the Tehran region produced optimized results.

An earthquake early warning (EEW) system is a real-time seismic monitoring infrastructure that has the capability to provide warnings to target cities before the arrival of the strongest shaking waves. In order to provide a rapid alert when targets are very close to the epicenter of the events, we developed an on-site EEW approach and evaluated its performance at the Italian national scale. The system is a P wave-based method that measures in real time two parameters: the initial peak displacement (Pd) and the average period (τc). As output, the system provides the predicted ground-shaking intensity at the monitored site, the alert level, and a qualitative classification of both earthquake magnitude and source-to-receiver distance. We applied the on-site EEW methodology to a data set of Italian earthquakes, with magnitude ranging from 3.8 to 6, and evaluated the performance of the system in terms of correct warning and lead times (i.e., time available for security actions at the target). The results of this retrospective analysis show that for the large majority of the analyzed cases, the method is able to deliver a correct warning shortly after the P wave detection, with more than 80% of successful intensity predictions at the target site. The lead times increase with distance, with a value of 8–10 s at 50 km and 15–18 s at 100 km.

We carried out conductometric titrations of Extremely Diluted Solutions (EDS), obtained through an iterative process of successive dilutions and agitations. The aim of our investigations was to gain information on whether the agitation/dilution processes could produce non-equilibrium changes in the supramolecular structure of water and aqueous solutions. The titrations were performed by adding HCl solutions at concentrations between 1·10 − 4 and 1·10 − 3 M. The measurements evidenced some relevant differences between the EDS and the water solvent. Such results were interpreted by considering the interactions that can take place between the H + ions and some hypothesized molecular aggregates of water molecules, i.e. dissipative structures.

We present the results of a feasibility study of an earthquake early warning system (EEWS) for the Campania region (southern Italy) using schools as specific targets. The study considered the seismogenic zones as sources of potential earthquakes for the area, the Italian accelerometric network as the recording network for seismic event occurrence, and the performances of the software platform PRESTo Plus for data analysis and processing. We analyze the distribution of lead-times for all possible threatening seismic sources for each municipality in the region under study by extracting the lead-time value corresponding to the 5th, 10th and 25th percentiles of the distributions. We discuss the results for the 5th percentile in order to analyze the worst-case scenario: in the case of a single site, the lead-time is expected to be larger than this value in the 95 % of the cases. Since the population distribution in Campania is uneven and most of the people live nearby the coast, whilst the most destructive earthquakes occur along the Apennine chain, we can conclude that an efficient EEWS can allow most of the schools in the area to undertake some mitigating actions. The testing of the EEWS was carried out in the high school ITIS ‘E. Majorana’, located at Somma Vesuviana, about 80 km from the seismogenic Irpinia region. For this purpose, the Sentinel, an actuator made up of low-cost hardware (i.e., Arduino®), was developed in close cooperation with students and teachers of the school to receive alert messages from the PRESTo Plus platform and warn the school users in case of a seismic event. The EEWS and the Sentinel were successfully tested during some blind drills performed during normal school activities.

The “extremely diluted solutions” (EDS) have revealed a really intriguing behaviour, characterized by multiple independent variables. Because of their behaviour, EDS can be described as far-from-equilibrium systems, capable of auto-organizing as a consequence of little perturbations. We measured the heats of mixing of basic and acid solutions with such EDS and their electrical conductivity, comparing with the analogous heats of mixing and electrical conductivity of the untreated solvent. In particular, calorimetric titrations have been performed with NaOH or HCl solutions at various concentrations. Plots of the excess heat as a function of the concentration of titrant reveal differences and similarities between the two. By analysing these plots we were able to formulate new hypotheses about the supramolecular organization of the solvent water, when subject to mechanical perturbations stemming from the EDS preparation protocol, that is comprised of an iterative process of successive dilutions and succussions.

PRESTo (PRobabilistic and Evolutionary early warning SysTem) is a software platform for regional earthquake early warning that integrates recently developed algorithms for real-time earthquake location and magnitude estimation into a highly configurable and easily portable package. The system is under active experimentation in Southern Italy on the Irpinia Seismic Network (ISNet), which is deployed in a seismogenic area that is expected to produce a large earthquake within the next 20 years. In this paper we describe the architecture of the system and test its performances using both small earthquakes (Mo3.5) recorded at the ISNet and a large event recorded in Japan, through a simulation mode. The results show that, when a dense seismic network is deployed in the fault area, PRESTo can produce reliable estimates of earthquake location and size within 5–6 s from the event origin. Each estimate is provided as a probability density function, with an uncertainty that typically decreases with time: a stable solution is generally reached within 10 s from the origin. Thanks to its fully probabilistic approach, PRESTo can be a powerful tool for end-users in addressing the trade-off problem of whether and when to initiate safety measures. The software makes use of widespread standards for real-time data input and output, and can be finely tuned to easily adapt it to different networks and seismogenic regions.

The Irpinia Seismic Network (ISNet) is deployed in Southern Apennines along the active fault system responsible for the 1980, November 23, M s 6.9 Campania–Lucania earthquake. It is set up by 28 stations and covers an area of about 100 × 70 km2. Each site is equipped with a 1-g full-scale accelerometer and a short-period velocimeter. Due to its design characteristics, i.e., the wide dynamic range and the high density of stations, the ISNet network is mainly devoted to estimating in real-time the earthquake location and magnitude from low- to high- magnitude events, and to providing ground-motion parameters values so to get some insights about the ground shaking expected. Moreover, the availability of high-quality of data allows studying the source processes related to the seismogenetic structures in the area. The network layout, the data communication system and protocols and the main instrumental features are described in the paper. The data analysis is managed by Earthworm software package that also provides the earthquake location while custom software has been developed for real-time computation of the source parameters and shaking maps. Technical details about these procedures are given in the article. The data collected at the ISNet stations are available upon request.