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We compiled a database for the Campi Flegrei seismic events that occurred from 2011 to 2018 at all stations available (merging permanent and temporary networks). Then we computed the two observables of the crustal anisotropy: time delay between fast and slow S-wave’s arrivals, and polarization direction of the fast S-wave. These results provide useful information about the amount of crustal anisotropy and the main direction, respectively, with this latter representing a proxy for the local stress field. We could thus obtain a picture of their spatial and temporal distributions to be compared with other geophysical and geochemical observations. In particular we could identify common features, such as change points, to several time series. This helps us in building a more complete interpretation of the volcanic system changes that were occurring during the recent ongoing unrest phase, which started in 2005.

SUMMARY Following the Mw 3.9 earthquake that occurred in the Ischia island (Naples, southern Italy) on 21 August 2017, the local monitoring seismic network was significantly improved in terms of both number of stations and instrumentation performance. Due to the huge amount of collected seismic ambient noise data, in this paper we present a first 3-D shear wave velocity model of the island retrieved from the inversion of horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio curves by fixing the shear wave velocities (Vs) and modifying the thicknesses to get the corresponding 1-D Vs models. We are confident about the robustness of the attained models since the inversion process provided a good convergence towards the best-fitting solutions. Then, a first 3-D velocity model was obtained by contouring all the 1-D models obtained for the selected seismic stations to highlight possible lateral variations of the layer thicknesses and to reconstruct the morphology of the deeper interface characterized by a high-impedance contrast. A good correspondence between the 3-D Vs model and the geological features of the island was observed, especially in the northern sector where most of the stations are installed. In particular, the top of the high-impedance contrast interface appears deeper in the northern coastal areas and shallower in the central sector. This result agrees with the structural settings of the island likely due to the resurgence of Mount Epomeo.

Severe gut motility disorders are characterized by ineffective propulsion of intestinal contents. As a result, patients often develop extremely uncomfortable symptoms, ranging from nausea and vomiting along with alterations of bowel habits, up to radiologically confirmed subobstructive episodes. Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a typical clinical phenotype of severe gut dysmotility due to morphological and functional alterations of the intrinsic (enteric) innervation and extrinsic nerve supply (hence neuropathy), interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) (mesenchymopathy), and smooth muscle cells (myopathy). In this chapter, we highlight some molecular mechanisms of CIPO and review the clinical phenotypes and the genetics of the different types of CIPO. Specifically, we will detail the role of some of the most representative genetic mutations involving RAD21, LIG3, and ACTG2 to provide a better understanding of CIPO and related underlying neuropathic or myopathic histopathological abnormalities. This knowledge may unveil targeted strategies to better manage patients with such severe disease.

The volcanic island of Ischia has shown to have an important seismogenic potential, being the location of several destructive earthquakes, e.g. 1881, 1883 and 2017. The damage caused by these earthquakes was more connected to the proximity of the source to the surface than to their magnitude (M w < 5.2). The need to monitor and model this seismicity required the installation of a dense and modern seismic network. The first modern seismic station on the island was installed in 1993, and the network was successively increased with time. A meaningful improvement to the network was made after the earthquake that occurred on the 21 of August 2017. The network currently has 11 sites with velocimeters and some of them with accelerometers installed too. We analysed the seismic network configuration in comparison with the seismicity that characterizes the area to mark a starting point for future seismological analysis. The network is currently able to locate shallow earthquakes with duration magnitude greater or equal to 0 in the whole island.

The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) is an Italian research institution with focus on earth sciences. Moreover, the INGV is the operational center for seismic surveillance and earthquake monitoring in Italy and is a part of the civil protection system as a center of expertise on seismic, volcanic, and tsunami risks.INGV operates the Italian National Seismic Network and other networks at national scale and is a primary node of the European Integrated Data Archive for archiving and distributing strong-motion and weak-motion seismic recordings. In the control room in Rome, INGV staff performs seismic surveillance and tsunami warning services; in Catania and Naples, the control rooms are devoted to volcanic surveillance. Volcano monitoring includes locating earthquakes in the regions around the Sicilian (Etna, Eolian Islands, and Pantelleria) and the Campanian (Vesuvius, Campi Fregrei, and Ischia) active volcanoes. The tsunami warning is based on earthquake location and magnitude (M) evaluation for moderate to large events in the Mediterranean region and also around the world. The technologists of the institute tuned the data acquisition system to accomplish, in near real time, automatic earthquake detection, hypocenter and magnitude determination, and evaluation of several seismological products (e.g., moment tensors and ShakeMaps). Database archiving of all parametric results is closely linked to the existing procedures of the INGV seismic surveillance environment and surveillance procedures. Earthquake information is routinely revised by the analysts of the Italian seismic bulletin. INGV provides earthquake information to the Department of Civil Protection (Dipartimento di Protezione Civile) to the scientific community and to the public through the web and social media. We aim at illustrating different aspects of earthquake monitoring at INGV: (1) network operations; (2) organizational structure and the hardware and software used; and (3) communication, including recent developments and planned improvements.

The purpose of this work is to study the subsoil structure of the Campi Flegrei area using both spectral ratios and array techniques applied to seismic noise. We have estimated the dispersion curves of Rayleigh waves by applying the Frequency–Wavenumber (f–k hereinafter) and Modified Spatial Autocorrelation (MSPAC) techniques to the seismic noise recorded by the underground short period seismic Array “ARF”, by the broadband stations of the UNREST experiment and by the broadband stations of the seismic monitoring network of INGV – Osservatorio Vesuviano. We have performed the inversion of a dispersion curve (obtained averaging the f–k and MSPAC dispersion curves of seismic noise and single phase velocity values of coherent transient signals) jointly with the H∕V spectral ratio of the broadband station CELG, to obtain a shear wave velocity model up to 2000 m depth. The best-fit model obtained is in a good agreement with the stratigraphic information available in the area coming from shallow boreholes and deep wells drilled for geothermal exploration. In active volcanic areas, such as Campi Flegrei, the definition of the velocity model is a crucial issue to characterize the physical parameters of the medium. Generally, a high quality characterization of the medium properties helps to separate the contributions of the volcanic source, path and site in the geophysical observables. Therefore, monitoring possible variations in time of such properties in general can help to recognize anomalies due to the volcano dynamics, i.e. fluid migration connected to the volcanic activity.

We present a comprehensive review of seismic and gravity observations and tomographic models produced over the past four decades in order to understand the structure of the crust beneath the Campi Flegrei caldera. We describe the main lithological and structural discontinuities defined through these observations, illustrate their geophysical responses, and discuss the constraints they give to the understanding of magmatic and volcanic processes. Micro-seismic crises related to caldera unrest, and ambient seismic noise measurements provide comprehensive seismic data to local earthquake and ambient noise tomography. In combination with reflection data from onshore and offshore active seismic experiments, velocity tomography reconstructs the elastic properties of the caldera between surface and ~4 km depth. Active experiments also define the depth of lithological interfaces and deep (~7.5 km) partially molten bodies. Seismic attenuation tomography provides information complementary to velocity tomography, defining lateral lithological changes and the geometry of onshore and offshore fluid and magma bodies down to 4 km depth. Once compared with seismic analyses, gravity data highlight lateral changes in the offshore caldera structures. During the deformation and seismo-geochemical unrest (1982–1984), they permitted to reconstruct a minor (

Co-ordinating the dynamic behaviour of actin filaments (F-actin) and microtubules in filopodia is an important underlying process in neuritogenesis, but the molecular pathways involved are ill-defined. The drebrin/end-binding protein 3 (EB3) pathway is a candidate pathway for linking F-actin to microtubules in filopodia. Drebrin binds F-actin and, simultaneously, the microtubule-binding protein EB3 when bound to microtubule plus-ends. We assessed the effect on neuritogenesis of gain- or loss-of-function of proteins in the drebrin/EB3 pathway in rat embryonic cortical neurons in culture. Loss-of-function of drebrin by gene editing or pharmacological inhibition of drebrin binding to F-actin reduced the number of dynamic microtubules in the cell periphery and simultaneously delayed the initiation of neuritogenesis, whereas over-expression of drebrin induced supernumerary neurites. Similarly, loss of EB3 inhibited neuritogenesis, whereas loss of end-binding protein 1 (EB1), a related protein that does not bind to drebrin, did not affect neuritogenesis. Over-expression of EB3, but not EB1, induced supernumerary neurites. We discovered that EB3 is more proximally located at dynamic microtubule plus-ends than EB1 in growth cone filopodia allowing for continuous microtubule elongation as the drebrin/EB3 pathway zippers microtubules to F-actin in filopodia. Finally, we showed that preventing the entry of dynamic microtubules into filopodia using a pharmacological inhibitor of microtubule dynamics is associated with a loss of EB3, but not EB1, from microtubule plus-ends and a concurrent attenuation of neuritogenesis. Collectively, these findings support the idea that neuritogenesis depends on microtubule/F-actin zippering in filopodia orchestrated by the drebrin/EB3 pathway.

Studying seismicity in a volcanic environment provides important information on the state of activity of volcanoes. The seismicity of the Neapolitan volcanoes, Campi Flegrei, Vesuvius, and Ischia, shows distinctive characteristics for each volcano, covering a wide range of volcanic seismicity patterns and types. In this study we relocated some significant volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquake swarms that occurred in Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius. Moreover, we compared the earthquake occurrence evolution, the magnitude and the seismic energy release of the three volcanoes. Also, we considered the results of seismic analysis in the light of geochemical and ground deformation data that contribute to defining the state of activity of volcanoes. In Campi Flegrei, which is experiencing a long term unrest, we identified a seismogenic structure at shallow depth in Pisciarelli zone that has been activated repeatedly. The increasing seismicity accompanies an escalation of the hydrothermal activity and a ground uplift phase. Even at Vesuvius a very shallow seismicity is recorded, which in recent years has shown an increase in terms of the number of events per year. Earthquakes are usually located right beneath the crater axis. They are concentrated in a volume affected by the hydrothermal system of Vesuvius. Finally, Ischia generally shows a low level of seismicity, however, in Casamicciola area events with a moderate magnitude can occur which are potentially capable of causing severe damage to the town and population, due to their small hypocentral depth (typically

SUMMARYThe aim of this paper is to study the temporal variations in the seismic wavefield associated with the stress changes in the dynamic features of the Mt Etna volcanic activity. We used shear wave splitting analysis on a huge data set of local earthquakes, in order to identify changes of the local stress field at Mt Etna during the time interval from 2006 to 2011. This analysis allows us to obtain two parameters: the polarization direction of the fast shear wave (φ) and the time delay of the slow shear wave (Td,time delay between the split shear waves). Orientation of φ generally provides information about the anisotropic symmetry and stress direction whereas Td provide information about the average crack density along the ray path.Based on our findings it is possible to divide Etna Volcano in three different sectors, each one distinguished by typical fast wave polarization direction. We find that the western part of the volcano is controlled by the regional tectonic stress field having a NS and EW directions. Instead, the eastern part of the volcano is mainly controlled by the local volcanic stress, particularly an EW local stress field in the NE sector (Pernicana), and a quasi NS local stress field in the SE sector (Mascalucia, Timpe), where previous studies evidenced: (i) some low-Qp anomaly regions between 0 and about 6 km depth, probably associated with high pore pressure and the intense faulting and (ii) by magnetotelluric surveys, several high conductivity zones, up to 8 km depth, related to a diffuse presence of hydrothermal activity and fluid circulation. Temporal variations in time delay, mostly before the 2008–2009 lateral eruption, can be interpreted as stress accumulation increase with a consequent release of stress due to coalescing of microcracks in the conduit for the eruption of magma.

Postsurgical gastric dysfunction is common, but the mechanisms are varied and poorly understood. The pylorus normally acts as an electrical barrier isolating gastric and intestinal slow waves. In this report, we present an aberrant electrical conduction pathway arising between the stomach and small intestine, following pyloric excision and surgical anastomosis, as a novel disease mechanism. A patient was referred with postsurgical gastroparesis following antrectomy, gastroduodenostomy, and vagotomy for peptic ulceration. Scintigraphy confirmed markedly abnormal 4-h gastric retention. Symptoms included nausea, vomiting, postprandial distress, and reflux. Intraoperative, high-resolution electrical mapping was performed across the anastomosis immediately before revision gastrectomy, and the resected anastomosis underwent immunohistochemistry for interstitial cells of Cajal. Mapping revealed continuous, stable abnormal retrograde slow-wave propagation through the anastomosis, with slow conduction occurring at the scar (4.0 ± 0.1 cycles/min; 2.5 ± 0.6 mm/s; 0.26 ± 0.15 mV). Stable abnormal retrograde propagation continued into the gastric corpus with tachygastria (3.9 ± 0.2 cycles/min; 1.6 ± 0.5 mm/s; 0.19 ± 0.12 mV). Histology confirmed ingrowth of atypical ICC through the scar, defining an aberrant pathway enabling transanastomotic electrical conduction. In conclusion, a “gastrointestinal aberrant pathway” is presented as a novel proposed cause of postsurgical gastric dysfunction. The importance of aberrant anastomotic conduction in acute and long-term surgical recovery warrants further investigation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY High-resolution gastric electrical mapping was performed during revisional surgery in a patient with severe gastric dysfunction following antrectomy and gastroduodenostomy. The results revealed continuous propagation of slow waves from the duodenum to the stomach, through the old anastomotic scar, and resulting in retrograde-propagating tachygastria. Histology showed atypical interstitial cells of Cajal growth through the anastomotic scar. Based on these results, we propose a “gastrointestinal aberrant pathway” as a mechanism for postsurgical gastric dysfunction.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is the third division of the autonomic autonomic nervous system and the largest collection of neurons outside the central nervous system (CNS). The ENS has been referred to as “the brain in the gut” or “the second brain of the human body” because of its highly integrated neural circuits controlling a vast repertoire of gut functions, including absorption/secretion, splanchnic blood vessels, some immunological aspects, intestinal epithelial barrier, and gastrointestinal (GI) motility. The latter function is the result of the ENS fine-tuning over smooth musculature, along with the contribution of other key cells, such as enteric glia (astrocyte like cells supporting and contributing to neuronal activity), interstitial cells of Cajal (the pacemaker cells of the GI tract involved in neuromuscular transmission), and enteroendocrine cells (releasing bioactive substances, which affect gut physiology). Any noxa insult perturbing the ENS complexity may determine a neuropathy with variable degree of neuro-muscular dysfunction. In this review, we aim to cover the most recent update on genetic mechanisms leading to enteric neuropathies ranging from Hirschsprung’s disease (characterized by lack of any enteric neurons in the gut wall) up to more generalized form of dysmotility such as chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) with a significant reduction of enteric neurons. In this line, we will discuss the role of the RAD21 mutation, which we have demonstrated in a family whose affected members exhibited severe gut dysmotility. Other genes contributing to gut motility abnormalities will also be presented. In conclusion, the knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in enteric neuropathy may unveil strategies to better manage patients with neurogenic gut dysmotility and pave the way to targeted therapies.

Abnormal gut motility is a feature of several mitochondrial encephalomyopathies, and mutations in genes such as TYMP and POLG, have been linked to these rare diseases. The human genome encodes three DNA ligases, of which only one, ligase III (LIG3), has a mitochondrial splice variant and is crucial for mitochondrial health. We investigated the effect of reduced LIG3 activity and resulting mitochondrial dysfunction in seven patients from three independent families, who showed the common occurrence of gut dysmotility and neurological manifestations reminiscent of mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. DNA from these patients was subjected to whole exome sequencing. In all patients, compound heterozygous variants in a new disease gene, LIG3, were identified. All variants were predicted to have a damaging effect on the protein. The LIG3 gene encodes the only mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) ligase and therefore plays a pivotal role in mtDNA repair and replication. In vitro assays in patient-derived cells showed a decrease in LIG3 protein levels and ligase activity. We demonstrated that the LIG3 gene defects affect mtDNA maintenance, leading to mtDNA depletion without the accumulation of multiple deletions as observed in other mitochondrial disorders. This mitochondrial dysfunction is likely to cause the phenotypes observed in these patients. The most prominent and consistent clinical signs were severe gut dysmotility and neurological abnormalities, including leukoencephalopathy, epilepsy, migraine, stroke-like episodes, and neurogenic bladder. A decrease in the number of myenteric neurons, and increased fibrosis and elastin levels were the most prominent changes in the gut. Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficient fibres in skeletal muscle were also observed. Disruption of lig3 in zebrafish reproduced the brain alterations and impaired gut transit in vivo. In conclusion, we identified variants in the LIG3 gene that result in a mitochondrial disease characterized by predominant gut dysmotility, encephalopathy, and neuromuscular abnormalities. Bonora et al. identify a new mitochondrial recessive disorder caused by biallelic variants in the LIG3 gene encoding DNA ligase III, which is responsible for mitochondrial DNA repair. Clinical signs include gut dysmotility and neurological features such as leucoencephalopathy, epilepsy and stroke-like episodes.

Two paroxysmal explosions occurred at Stromboli volcano in the Summer 2019, the first of which, on July 3, caused one fatality and some injuries. Within the 56 days between the two paroxysmal explosions, effusive activity from vents located in the summit area of the volcano occurred. No significant changes in routinely monitored parameters were detected before the paroxysmal explosions. However, we have calculated the polarization and the fractal dimension time series of the seismic signals from November 15, 2018 to September 15, 2019 and we have recognized variations that preceded the paroxysmal activity. In addition, we have defined a new parameter, based on RSAM estimation, related to the Very Long Period events, called VLP size, by means of which we have noticed significant variations through the whole month preceding the paroxysm of July 3. In the short term, we have analyzed the signals of a borehole strainmeter installed on the island, obtaining automatic triggers 10 minutes and 7.5 minutes before the July 3 and the August 28 paroxysms, respectively. The results of this study highlight mid-term seismic precursors of paroxysmal activity and provide valuable evidence for the development of an early warning system for paroxysmal explosions based on strainmeter measurements.

This paper attempts to provide a contribute to electric field monitoring on soil by Self-potential (SP) survey utilizing matrix determinant and eigenvalues. SP is connected to the electrical conductivity of soil that is an indirect measurement and correlates very well with several physical and chemical properties. The purpose of this method is to map the electrical potential to reveal one or several polarization mechanisms at play in the ground. In some cases, the self-potential signals are monitored with an electrodes network which provides the possibility to discriminate between various sources.Our study provides synthetic and experiment cases that carried out a semi-quantitative method to estimate the variation of the electric field vector in the soil starting from the measurement of the SP. The experimental case is referred to a site located in the Campania Region in southern Italy. SP measurements can be performed by array dipoles oriented N-S, E-W and vertical direction. In this way, we can define the contribution of the electric field in both time and spatial domain. Now, if we denote with V(t) the potential difference between two electrodes, for each dipole, we will have 3 values Vx(tn), Vy(tn) and Vz(tn) relative to the dipoles in the three directions. Assuming that the electric currents associated with the potentials are continuous or in any case at very low frequency, we can with good approximation assume that the resulting electric field associated with such currents is conservative. Remembering that in the case of a conservative field the electric field vector, we can be expressed as a gradient of the scalar potential V. The SP data were obtained using an Arduino acquisition system with internal voltmeter impedance of 10 MOhm and resolution of 0.1 mV. In order to provide reliable SP measurements, the impedance of the voltmeter needs to be substantially higher than the impedance of the soil between the electrodes because of the small bias current used to measure the voltage. The electric potentials were measured between each electrode and a reference electrode was connected by ground. The electrode consisted of 8 electrodes spaced 1m and arranged in a cross array which form 6 dipoles. The cross array was orientated in N-S and E-W direction.Because the SP depend on the electrical conductivity of the soil and therefore on the sources and the medium, any variation of the chemical-physical soil variation implies a variation of the SP. We calculated the determinant and the eigenvalues of the matrix whose columns consist of the components of the measured electric field and therefore, by such parameters it was possible to observe the variations of the electric field in the time domain.

In summer 2019, two paroxysmal explosions occurred in Stromboli. The first one occurred on July 3, when the Strombolian ordinary eruptive activity did not show a significant intensification. The explosion formed an eruptive column more than 3 km high. A pyroclastic flow ran down the “Sciara del Fuoco” slope causing a victim and some injuries. Moreover, the pyroclastic flow spread over the sea surface for about one kilometer. On August 28, a second paroxysmal explosion occurred, similar to the previous one. Also in this case the eruption formed an eruptive column of more than 3 km and a pyroclastic flow that expanded along the “Sciara del Fuoco” slope and traveled about 1 km on the sea surface. In the period between the two paroxysms, effusive activity occurred from the summit crater area. The eruptive phase of summer 2019, which began with the paroxysm of 3 July, was not preceded by significant changes in the routinely monitored parameters, such as the hourly frequency (daily average) of the VLP events (typical of Stromboli) and the amplitude of the seismic signal (RSAM). For this reason, we have analyzed the seismic and dilatometric data, which were recorded by the INGV geophysical network in the period November 2018 - September 2019, focusing our attention on other parameters that can give indications on the activity state of the volcano. In particular, we analyzed the data of the broadband seismic stations, equipped with the Guralp CMG40T sensors, and the data of one Sacks-Evertson borehole strainmeter. We defined the "VLP size", which takes into account the waveform of the VLP events, in terms of both amplitude and duration. We also applied time varying Fractal Dimension (FD) analysis to the seismograms of a seismic station close to the crater area and we analyzed the polarization of the same signal. We carried out the polarization analysis both without applying a filter and by filtering the seismic signal in the typical frequency bands of the Stromboli volcanic tremor (1-3 Hz) and of the VLPs (0.5-0.05 Hz). We found that the "VLP size", the FD and the polarization parameters showed significant changes about one month before the paroxysm of July 3. In the short term, we applied an appropriately tuned STA/LTA algorithm to the data of the borehole strainmeter, which is installed on the island at about 2km from the craters, and we obtained an automatic detection of the paroxysmal events 10 and 7.5 minutes before the explosion of July 3 and August 28, respectively.

This is a seven-year study (1/7/2011-31/12/2017) of radon monitoring at two sites of Campi Flegrei caldera (Neaples, Southern Italy) that in the last 70 years experienced repeated phases of volcanic unrest. The sites are equipped with devices for radon detection, based on the spectrometry analysis of the α-particles of radon daughters. A hybrid method, as combination of three known methods, is applied for the identification of residuals (anomalies) and trends of the time series of Radon. The results are compared with the following indicators of current caldera unrest: the tremor caused by the major fumarolic vent registered by a seismic station; the cumulative of background seismicity; the maximum vertical deformation acquired by GPS networks during the current phase of uplift; the temperature-pressure of the hydrothermal system estimated based on gas geo-indicators. The comparisons show strong correlation among independent signals and suggest that the extension of the area affected by current Campi Flegrei crisis is larger than the area of seismicity and of intense hydrothermal activity from which the radon stations are 1–4 km away. These results represent an absolute novelty in the study of a such calderic area and mark a significant step forward in the use and interpretation of the radon signal.

Progress in robots' application to everyday scenarios has increased the interest in human-robot interaction (HRI) research. However, robots' limited social skills are associated with decreased humans' positive attitude during HRI. Here, we put forward the idea of developing adaptive Theory of Mind (ToM) model-based systems for social robotics, able to deal with new situations and interact with different users in new tasks. Therefore, we grouped current research from developmental psychology debating the computational processes underlying ToM for HRI strategy development. Defining a model describing adaptive ToM processes may in fact aid the development of adaptive robotic architectures for more flexible and successful HRI. Finally, we hope with this report to both further promote the cross-talk between the fields of developmental psychology and robotics and inspire future investigations in this direction.