The southern Apennines (Italy) chain is a fold-and-thrust belt mainly derived from the deformation of the African–Apulian passive margin where shallow-water, basinal, and shelf-margin facies ...successions, including fine-grained sediments, occur. Here, we provide a review of the geochemistry of Meso–Cenozoic shales from the Lagonegro basin to elucidate provenance and paleoweathering. The different suites of these shales are dominated by 2:1 clay minerals and are Fe shales and shales. An R-mode factor analysis suggests Ti, Al, and LREE (F1) and K2O-MgO (F2) covariance, likely related to the illite → smectite → kaolinite evolution during weathering. HREE and Y are distributed by phosphate minerals, suggesting LREE/HREE fractionation. The CIA paleoweathering proxy rules out non-steady-state weathering conditions and indicates that the source area was affected by moderate to intense weathering. The paleoprecipitation values derived from the CIA-K and CALMAG indices show median values in the 1214–1610 mm/y range. The Eu/Eu*, Sm/Nd, and Ti/Al provenance ratios point toward a UCC-like source excluding any mafic supply and suggest that the Lagonegro basin was connected, through a southern area, with the African cratonic area. However, the Eu/Eu* median value of the southern Apennine shales is quite similar to the value of the Archean shales, possibly indicating a less differentiated component. This is consistent, in many samples, with the value of the (Gd/Yb)ch ratio, suggesting that the shales likely incorporated ancient sediments derived from African Archean terranes through a cannibalistic process.
The high-throughput extraction of quantitative information from medical images, known as radiomics, has grown in interest due to the current necessity to quantitatively characterize tumour ...heterogeneity. In this context, texture analysis, consisting of a variety of mathematical techniques that can describe the grey-level patterns of an image, plays an important role in assessing the spatial organization of different tissues and organs. For these reasons, the potentiality of texture analysis in the context of radiotherapy has been widely investigated in several studies, especially for the prediction of the treatment response of tumour and normal tissues. Nonetheless, many different factors can affect the robustness, reproducibility and reliability of textural features, thus limiting the impact of this technique. In this review, an overview of the most recent works that have applied texture analysis in the context of radiotherapy is presented, with particular focus on the assessment of tumour and tissue response to radiations. Preliminary, the main factors that have an influence on features estimation are discussed, highlighting the need of more standardized image acquisition and reconstruction protocols and more accurate methods for region of interest identification. Despite all these limitations, texture analysis is increasingly demonstrating its ability to improve the characterization of intratumour heterogeneity and the prediction of clinical outcome, although prospective studies and clinical trials are required to draw a more complete picture of the full potential of this technique.
Brain plasticity and functional reorganization are mechanisms behind functional motor recovery of patients after an ischemic stroke. The study of resting-state motor network functional connectivity ...by means of EEG proved to be useful in investigating changes occurring in the information flow and find correlation with motor function recovery. In the literature, most studies applying EEG to post-stroke patients investigated the undirected functional connectivity of interacting brain regions. Quite recently, works started to investigate the directionality of the connections and many approaches or features have been proposed, each of them being more suitable to describe different aspects, e.g., direct or indirect information flow between network nodes, the coupling strength or its characteristic oscillation frequency. Each work chose one specific measure, despite in literature there is not an agreed consensus, and the selection of the most appropriate measure is still an open issue. In an attempt to shed light on this methodological aspect, we propose here to combine the information of direct and indirect coupling provided by two frequency-domain measures based on Granger's causality, i.e., the directed coherence (DC) and the generalized partial directed coherence (gPDC), to investigate the longitudinal changes of resting-state directed connectivity associated with sensorimotor rhythms α and β, occurring in 18 sub-acute ischemic stroke patients who followed a rehabilitation treatment. Our results showed a relevant role of the information flow through the pre-motor regions in the reorganization of the motor network after the rehabilitation in the sub-acute stage. In particular, DC highlighted an increase in intra-hemispheric coupling strength between pre-motor and primary motor areas, especially in ipsi-lesional hemisphere in both α and β frequency bands, whereas gPDC was more sensitive in the detection of those connection whose variation was mostly represented within the population. A decreased causal flow from contra-lesional premotor cortex towards supplementary motor area was detected in both α and β frequency bands and a significant reinforced inter-hemispheric connection from ipsi to contra-lesional pre-motor cortex was observed in β frequency. Interestingly, the connection from contra towards ipsilesional pre-motor area correlated with upper limb motor recovery in α band. The usage of two different measures of directed connectivity allowed a better comprehension of those coupling changes between brain motor regions, either direct or mediated, which mostly were influenced by the rehabilitation, revealing a particular involvement of the pre-motor areas in the cerebral functional reorganization.
The Intra-Voxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) model allows to estimate water diffusion and perfusion-related coefficients in biological tissues using diffusion weighted MR images. Among the available ...approaches to fit the IVIM bi-exponential decay, a segmented Bayesian algorithm with a Conditional Auto-Regressive (CAR) prior spatial regularization has been recently proposed to produce more reliable coefficient estimation. However, the CAR spatial regularization can generate inaccurate coefficient estimation, especially at the interfaces between different tissues. To overcome this problem, the segmented CAR model was coupled in this work with a k-means clustering approach, to separate different tissues and exclude voxels from other regions in the CAR prior specification. The proposed approach was compared with the original Bayesian CAR method without clustering and with a state-of-the-art Bayesian approach without CAR. The approaches were tested and compared on simulated images by calculating the estimation error and the coefficient of variation (CV). Furthermore, the proposed method was applied to some illustrative real images of oncologic patients. On simulated images, the proposed innovation reduced the average error of 47%, 21% and 58% for D, f and D*, respectively, compared to the state-of-the-art Bayesian approach, and of 48% and 34% for D and f, respectively, compared to the original CAR, while it achieved the same error for D*. The clustering approach was also able to consistently reduce the CV for each coefficient. On real images, the novel approach did not alter the IVIM maps obtained by the original CAR method, with the advantage of reducing their typical blotchy appearance at the boundaries. The proposed approach represents a valuable improvement over the state-of-the-art Bayesian CAR method and provides more reliable IVIM coefficient estimation, and is less sensitive to bias and inconsistency at tissue/tissue and tissue/background interfaces.
In this study, the hydrogeological characterization of the northern sector of the Lauria Mounts carbonate hydrostructure (southern Apennines, Basilicata region) has been carried out and the ...hydrochemical properties of different collected groundwater samples have been characterized. Several normal springs drain the hydrostructure, some of them characterized by high annual mean discharges. Groundwater samples were collected from different springs; many parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids have been measured, and major (cations and anions) elements and stable isotopes have been analysed following standard test procedures. Other chemical characteristics were derived from the analysed quality parameters. The results elucidate that the main hydrogeochemical processes control the chemical content and assess the quality of the groundwater within the hydrostructure. The analyses highlight that the chemical compositions of groundwater are strongly influenced by the lithology, especially limestones and dolomitic limestones; they explain and confirm the hydrogeological setting of the system. The groundwater system displays light different geochemical signatures. The processes contributing to the concentrations of major ions depend primarily on carbonate dissolution. The analysis, in all studied groundwater samples, shows that the facies groundwater type is Ca–HCO3, bicarbonate is the dominant anion, and calcium is the dominant cation with appreciable magnesium concentrations. To identify the aquifer’s recharge areas, the environmental stable isotopes oxygen and hydrogen, deuterium, and 18O were analysed. The unaltered δ18O and δD signatures for the groundwater of the major springs allows identifying the recharge area of these emergencies at elevations ranging from 900 m to 1000 m (a.s.l.), pointing out the presence of deeper flow regime feeding of these springs. The groundwater sample isotopic characteristics of D and 18O suggest that most of the groundwater is recharged directly by infiltration in a high-permeability medium.
The main aim of this paper was to propose triggered intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging sequences for the evaluation of perfusion changes in calf muscles before, during and after isometric ...intermittent exercise.
Twelve healthy volunteers were involved in the study. The subjects were asked to perform intermittent isometric plantar flexions inside the MRI bore. MRI of the calf muscles was performed on a 3.0 T scanner and diffusion‐weighted (DW) images were obtained using eight different b values (0 to 500 s/mm2). Acquisitions were performed at rest, during exercise and in the subsequent recovery phase. A motion‐triggered echo‐planar imaging DW sequence was implemented to avoid movement artifacts. Image quality was evaluated using the average edge strength (AES) as a quantitative metric to assess the motion artifact effect. IVIM parameters (diffusion D, perfusion fraction f and pseudo‐diffusion D*) were estimated using a segmented fitting approach and evaluated in gastrocnemius and soleus muscles.
No differences were observed in quality of IVIM images between resting state and triggered exercise, whereas the non‐triggered images acquired during exercise had a significantly lower value of AES (reduction of more than 20%). The isometric intermittent plantar‐flexion exercise induced an increase of all IVIM parameters (D by 10%; f by 90%; D* by 124%; fD* by 260%), in agreement with the increased muscle perfusion occurring during exercise. Finally, IVIM parameters reverted to the resting values within 3 min during the recovery phase.
In conclusion, the IVIM approach, if properly adapted using motion‐triggered sequences, seems to be a promising method to investigate muscle perfusion during isometric exercise.
The IVIM approach was properly implemented using motion‐triggered sequences, on a 3 T MRI scanner, to investigate muscle perfusion during isometric intermittent plantar flexion. This paper points out a muscle IVIM perfusion‐related parameter increase occurring during movement and a subsequent fast parameter recovery at the end of exercise. The proposed method may be useful to gain further insights into physiopathological changes of muscle perfusion and to evaluate the effects of pharmalogical/rehabilitation interventions.
A multi-analytical study on serpentinites in the ophiolite units (Calabria-Basilicata boundary, southern Apennines) was carried out on samples collected from a serpentinite quarry, locally called ...“Pietrapica”, which sitsin the Pollino UNESCO Global Geopark. Optical microscopy observations revealed the petrographic characteristics, ICP-MS was used to assess the chemical composition while EMPA mineral chemistry, Raman spectroscopy and X-Ray Powder Diffraction and were used altogether to trace the mineral composition of the rocks. Petrography revealed that serpentinites from Pietrapica quarry are essentially composed of serpentine group minerals, amphibole and carbonate minerals with lower abundances of talc and Cr-spinel. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction analysis clearly allowed to establish that carbonate minerals, serpentine and amphibole-like minerals, are the dominant phases, followed by 2:1 phyllosilicate. Electron probe microanalyses were carried out on different minerals in serpentinites samples including serpentine, amphibole, chlorite, clinopyroxene, magnetite, talc, quartz and titanite which are often associated with carbonate veins. Bulk geochemistry is dominated by major oxides SiO2, MgO and Fe2O3 while the most abundant trace elements are Ni and Cr. Chemical analysis showed that some heavy metals in the studied serpentinites such as Ni and Cr, are beyond the maximum admissible limits for Italian normative for public, private and residential green as well as for commercial and industrial use representing a potential environmental concern. Anyway, some of these heavy metals have been recently listed by Europe as critical raw materials and therefore, the Pietrapica abandoned quarry could represent a new resource considering their economic potentiality.
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has the potential to specifically destroy tumor cells without damaging the tissues infiltrated by the tumor. BNCT is a binary treatment method based on the ...combination of two agents that have no effect when applied individually:
B and thermal neutrons. Exclusively, the combination of both produces an effect, whose extent depends on the amount of
B in the tumor but also on the organs at risk. It is not yet possible to determine the
B concentration in a specific tissue using non-invasive methods. At present, it is only possible to measure the
B concentration in blood and to estimate the boron concentration in tissues based on the assumption that there is a fixed uptake of
B from the blood into tissues. On this imprecise assumption, BNCT can hardly be developed further. A therapeutic approach, combining the boron carrier for therapeutic purposes with an imaging tool, might allow us to determine the
B concentration in a specific tissue using a non-invasive method. This review provides an overview of the current clinical protocols and preclinical experiments and results on how innovative drug development for boron delivery systems can also incorporate concurrent imaging. The last section focuses on the importance of proteomics for further optimization of BNCT, a highly precise and personalized therapeutic approach.
In this paper, new mineralogical and petrographical data of asbestiform Magnesio-riebeckite from ophiolite cropping out in the Pollino Unesco Global Geopark (southern Italy) are presented. ...Magnesio-riebeckite schists with HP-LT index mineral assemblage recorded metamorphic events in blueschist facies in the Frido Unit. Previous toxicological studies showed that asbestiform Magnesio-riebeckite species exhibited high carcinogenicity in previous intraperitoneal injection experiments with rats. The results have been obtained using different analytical techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and electron probe micro analysis (EPMA). Results show that all the samples contain fibrous Magnesio-riebeckite and/or prismatic, acicular crystals in aggregates. The concentration of elements in Magnesio-riebeckite crystals is: Na2O (4.12–6.26 wt%), MgO (8.22–10.87 wt%), FeO (19.07–23.81 wt%), SiO2 (52.05–56.06 wt%), CaO (1.12–4.53 wt%), Al2O3 (1.34–1.93 wt%), and MnO (0.10–0.34 wt%). Magnesio-riebeckite crystals are documented in the Pollino Unesco Global Geopark for the first time. For this reason, the aim of this paper is the characterization of Magnesio-riebeckite to improve the knowledge of this mineral in the studied area, because the release of fibers into the environment is dangerous for human health.
Muscular dystrophies present diagnostic challenges, requiring accurate classification for effective diagnosis and treatment. This study investigates the efficacy of deep learning methodologies in ...classifying these disorders using skeletal muscle MRI scans. Specifically, we assess the performance of the Swin Transformer (SwinT) architecture against traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in distinguishing between healthy individuals, Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), and limb–girdle muscular Dystrophy type 2 (LGMD2) patients. Moreover, 3T MRI scans from a retrospective dataset of 75 scans (from 54 subjects) were utilized, with multiparametric protocols capturing various MRI contrasts, including T1-weighted and Dixon sequences. The dataset included 17 scans from healthy volunteers, 27 from BMD patients, and 31 from LGMD2 patients. SwinT and CNNs were trained and validated using a subset of the dataset, with the performance evaluated based on accuracy and F-score. Results indicate the superior accuracy of SwinT (0.96), particularly when employing fat fraction (FF) images as input; it served as a valuable parameter for enhancing classification accuracy. Despite limitations, including a modest cohort size, this study provides valuable insights into the application of AI-driven approaches for precise neuromuscular disorder classification, with potential implications for improving patient care.
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