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Currently available data show mixed results as to whether the processing of emotional information has the same characteristics in the native (L1) as in the second language (L2) of bilinguals. We conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment to shed light on the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying bilinguals’ emotional processing in L1 and L2 during an emotional interference task (i.e., the Emotional Stroop Task – EST). Our sample comprised proficient Italian-English bilinguals who learned their L2 during childhood mainly in instructional rather than immersive contexts. In spite of no detectable behavioural effects, we found stronger brain activations for L1 versus L2 emotional words in sectors of the posteromedial cortex involved in attention modulation, episodic memory, and affective processing. While fMRI findings are consistent with the hypothesis of a stronger emotional resonance when processing words in a native language, our overall pattern of results points to the different sensitivity of behavioural and hemodynamic responses to emotional information in the two languages of bilingual speakers.

In this study we present a novel general methodology for probabilistic volcanic hazard assessment (PVHA) for lahars. We apply the methodology to perform a probabilistic assessment in the Campanian Plain (southern Italy), focusing on syn-eruptive lahars from a reference size eruption from Somma–Vesuvius. We take advantage of new field data relative to volcaniclastic flow deposits in the target region (Di Vito et al., 2024b) and recent improvements in modelling lahars (de' Michieli Vitturi et al., 2024). The former allowed defining proper probability density functions for the parameters related to the flow initial conditions, and the latter allowed computationally faster model runs. In this way, we are able to explore the effects of uncertainty in the initial flow conditions on the invasion of lahars in the target area by sampling coherent sets of values for the input model parameters and performing a large number of simulations. We also account for the uncertainty in the position of lahar generation by running the analysis on 11 different catchments threatening the Campanian Plain. The post-processing of the simulation outputs led to the production of hazard curves for the maximum flow thickness reached on a grid of points covering the Campanian Plain. By cutting the hazard curves at selected threshold values, we produce a portfolio of hazard maps and probability maps for the maximum flow thickness. We also produce hazard surface and probability maps for the simultaneous exceeding of pairs of thresholds in flow thickness and dynamic pressure. The latter hazard products represent, on one hand, a novel product in PVHA for lahars and, on the other hand, a useful means of impact assessment by assigning a probability to the occurrence of lahars that simultaneously have a relevant flow thickness and large dynamic pressure.

BackgroundTherapeutic targeting of host-cell factors required for SARS-CoV-2 entry is an alternative strategy to ameliorate COVID-19 severity. SARS-CoV-2 entry into lung epithelium requires the TMPRSS2 cell surface protease. Pre-clinical and correlative data in humans suggest that anti-androgenic therapies can reduce the expression of TMPRSS2 on lung epithelium. Accordingly, we hypothesize that therapeutic targeting of androgen receptor signaling via degarelix, a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist, will suppress COVID-19 infection and ameliorate symptom severity.MethodsThis is a randomized phase 2, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial in 198 patients to compare efficacy of degarelix plus best supportive care versus placebo plus best supportive care on improving the clinical outcomes of male Veterans who have been hospitalized due to COVID-19. Enrolled patients must have documented infection with SARS-CoV-2 based on a positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction result performed on a nasopharyngeal swab and have a severity of illness of level 3-5 (hospitalized but not requiring invasive mechanical ventilation). Patients stratified by age, history of hypertension, and severity are centrally randomized 2:1 (degarelix: placebo). The composite primary endpoint is mortality, ongoing need for hospitalization, or requirement for mechanical ventilation at 15 after randomization. Important secondary endpoints include time to clinical improvement, inpatient mortality, length of hospitalization, duration of mechanical ventilation, time to achieve a normal temperature, and the maximum severity of COVID-19 illness. Exploratory analyses aim to assess the association of cytokines, viral load, and various comorbidities with outcome. In addition, TMPRSS2 expression in target tissue and development of anti-viral antibodies will also be investigated.DiscussionIn this trial, we repurpose the FDA approved LHRH antagonist degarelix, commonly used for prostate cancer, to suppress TMPRSS2, a host cell surface protease required for SARS-CoV-2 cell entry. The objective is to determine if temporary androgen suppression with a single dose of degarelix improves the clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04397718. Registered on May 21, 2020.

IntroductionIn Thailand, community-level poultry trade is conducted on a small-scale involving farmers and traders with many trade networks. Understanding the poultry movements may help identify different activities that farmers and traders might contribute to the spread of avian influenza.MethodsThis study aimed to describe the characteristics of players involved in the poultry trade network at the northeastern border of Thailand using network analysis approaches. Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom provinces, which border Laos, and Ubon Ratchathani province, which borders both Laos and Cambodia, were selected as survey sites.ResultsLocal veterinary officers identified and interviewed 338 poultry farmers and eight poultry traders in 2021. A weighted directed network identified incoming and outgoing movements of where the subdistricts traded chickens. Ninety-nine subdistricts and 181 trade links were captured. A self-looping (trader and consumer in the same subdistrict) feedback was found in 56 of 99 subdistricts. The median distance of the movements was 14.02 km (interquartile range (IQR): 6.04–102.74 km), with a maximum of 823.08 km. Most subdistricts in the network had few poultry trade connections, with a median of 1. They typically connected to 1–5 other subdistricts, most often receiving poultry from 1 to 2.5 subdistricts, and sending to 1–2 subdistricts. The subdistricts with the highest overall and in-degree centrality were located in Mukdahan province, whereas one with the highest out-degree centrality was found in Nakhon Phanom province.DiscussionThe poultry movement pattern observed in this network helps explain how avian influenza could spread over the networks once introduced.

Nowadays, modeling of tephra fallout hazard is coupled with probabilistic analysis that takes into account the natural variability of the volcanic phenomena in terms of eruption probability, eruption sizes, vent position, and meteorological conditions. In this framework, we present a prototypal methodology to carry out the long-term tephra fallout hazard assessment in southern Italy from the active Neapolitan volcanoes: Somma–Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, and Ischia. The FALL3D model (v.8.0) has been used to run thousands of numerical simulations (1500 per eruption size class), considering the ECMWF ERA5 meteorological dataset over the last 30 years. The output in terms of tephra ground load has been processed within a new workflow for large-scale, high-resolution volcanic hazard assessment, relying on a Bayesian procedure, in order to provide the mean annual frequency with which the tephra load at the ground exceeds given critical thresholds at a target site within a 50-year exposure time. Our results are expressed in terms of absolute mean hazard maps considering different levels of aggregation, from the impact of each volcanic source and eruption size class to the quantification of the total hazard. This work provides, for the first time, a multi-volcano probabilistic hazard assessment posed by tephra fallout, comparable with those used for seismic phenomena and other natural disasters. This methodology can be applied to any other volcanic areas or over different exposure times, allowing researchers to account for the eruptive history of the target volcanoes that, when available, could include the occurrence of less frequent large eruptions, representing critical elements for risk evaluations.

In response to the accidental exhumation of three ancient trees by farmers, we conducted a multidisciplinary study based on the stratigraphic analysis of boreholes, carbon-14 dating, aerial photo interpretation, and analysis of palaeobotanical and archaeological evidences. We reconstructed the formation and evolution during Roman times of a first “continuous” and then “discontinuous” deltaic strandplain at the mouth of the Carapelle Stream in the Tavoliere di Puglia Plain—the second-largest plain in Italy. Ttwo main phases can be recognised in the evolution of the Carapelle deltaic strandplain: 1) a first phase, lasted until ca. the birth of Christ, was characterised by a regular and continuous construction of sand ridges one leaning against the other; 2) a second phase, lasted more or less from the birth of Christ to the termination of the construction of the deltaic strandplain, was characterised by the discontinuous construction of sand ridges/coastal barriers with the isolation of lagoons/ponds, and by evidences of alluvial events. The most probable climatic–environmental scenario to have formed the Roman-period deltaic strandplain implied that: 1) the first phase was triggered by a higher total amount of precipitations, but with less extreme alluvial events; 2) the second phase was triggered by a total amount of precipitation lower than the previous period, but with higher occurrence of extreme alluvial events and/or by extreme alluvial events separated by longer period of low precipitations. This second phase was enhanced by the opening of vegetation. The passage between the first and second phase of the Carapelle deltaic strandplain coincides with the passage from overall negative NAO index to an overall positive NAO index.

Abstract Inhibitory control is the capacity to withhold or suppress a thought or action intentionally. The anterior Midcingulate Cortex (aMCC) participates in response inhibition, a proxy measure of inhibitory control. Recent research suggests that response inhibition is modulated by individual variability in the aMCC sulcal morphology. However, no study has investigated if this phenomenon is associated with neurofunctional differences during a task. In this study, 42 participants performed an Attention Network Task and a Numerical Stroop task in an MRI scanner. We investigated differences in brain activity and response inhibition efficiency between individuals with symmetric and asymmetric aMCC sulcal patterns. The results showed that aMCC morphological variability is partly associated with inhibitory control, and revealed greater activation in individuals with symmetric patterns during the Stroop task. Our findings provide novel insights into the functional correlates of the relationship between aMCC morphology and executive abilities.

Abstract Santiaguito, Guatemala, represents one of the best cases of active lava dome complex in the world, producing lava flow effusion, weak explosive activity, and cycles of lava dome extrusion over varying timescales. Since the inception in 1922, it has shown a remarkable constant eruptive activity, characterized by effusion of blocky domes and lava flows punctuated by moderate explosions of gas-and-ash and pyroclastic flows. In this study, we reconstruct the time evolution of discharge rates of Santiaguito across one entire century, from 1922 to 2021, combining, for the more recent activity, new satellite thermal data. By using discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and Morlet wavelet analyses, we identify three fundamental periodicities in subsets of the 1922–2021 time-series: (i) long term (ca. 10 years), (ii) intermediate term (ca. 3.5 years), and (iii) short term (from ca. 1 year to ca. 3 months), which are comparable with those observed at other lava dome eruptions at calc-alkaline volcanoes. Such inferred periodicities provide a powerful tool for the interpretation of the non-linear eruptive behaviour and represent a pivotal benchmark for numerical modelling aimed to reconstruct the dynamics of the magma feeding system based on a time-averaged discharge rate dataset. Graphical Abstract