Detailed study of the seismotectonic setting in the Lucanian Apennines and surrounding areas (Southern Italy)

In this research work I analyzed the instrumental seismicity of Southern Italy in the area including the Lucanian Apennines and Bradano foredeep, making use of the most recent seismological database available so far. I examined the seismicity occurred during the period between 2001 and 2006, considering 514 events with magnitudes M ≥ 2.0. In the first part of the work, P- and S-wave arrival times, recorded by the Italian National Seismic Network (RSNC) operated by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), were re-picked along with those of the SAPTEX temporary array (2001–2004). For some events located in the Upper Val d'Agri, I also used data from the Eni-Agip oil company seismic network. I computed the VP/VS ratio obtaining a value of 1.83 and I carried out an analysis for the one-dimensional (1D) velocity model that approximates the seismic structure of the study area. After this preliminary analysis, making use of the records obtained in the SeSCAL experiment, I incremented the database by handpicking new arrival times. My final dataset consists of 15,666 P- and 9228 S-arrival times associated to 1047 earthquakes with magnitude ML ≥ 1.5. I computed 162 fault-plane solutions and composite focal mechanisms for closely located events. I investigated stress field orientation inverting focal mechanism belonging to the Lucanian Apennine and the Pollino Range, both areas characterized by more concentrated background seismicity. Moreover, I applied the double difference technique (DD) to improve the earthquake locations. Considering these results and different datasets available in the literature, I carried out a detailed analysis of single sub-areas and of a swarm (November 2008) recorded by SeSCAL array. The relocated seismicity appears more concentrated within the upper crust and it is mostly clustered along the Lucanian Apennine chain. In particular, two well-defined clusters were located in the Potentino and in the Abriola-Pietrapertosa sector (central Lucanian region). Their hypocentral depths are slightly deeper than those observed beneath the chain. I suggest that these two seismic features are representative of the transition from the inner portion of the chain with NE-SW extension to the external margin characterized by dextral strike-slip kinematics. In the easternmost part of the study area, below the Bradano foredeep and the Apulia foreland, the seismicity is generally deeper and more scattered and is associated to the Murge uplift and to the small structures present in the area. I also observed a small structure NE-SW oriented in the Abriola-Pietrapertosa area (activated with a swarm in November 2008) that could be considered to act as a barrier to the propagation of a potential rupture of an active NW-SE striking faults system. Focal mechanisms computed in this study are in large part normal and strike-slip solutions and their tensional axes (T-axes) have a generalized NE-SW orientation. Thanks to denser coverage of seismic stations and the detailed analysis, this study is a further contribution to the comprehension of the seismogenesis and state of stress of the Southern Apennines region, giving important contributions to seismotectonic zoning and seismic hazard assessment.

Rigorous results in Spin Glasses and Monomer-Dimer systems

In this work I reported recent results in the field of Statistical Mechanics of Equilibrium, and in particular in Spin Glass models and Monomer Dimer models . We start giving the mathematical background and the general formalism for Spin (Disordered) Models with some of their applications to physical and mathematical problems. Next we move on general aspects of the theory of spin glasses, in particular to the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model which is of fundamental interest for the work. In Chapter 3, we introduce the Multi-species Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model (MSK), we prove the existence of the thermodynamical limit and the Guerra's Bound for the quenched pressure together with a detailed analysis of the annealed and the replica symmetric regime. The result is a multidimensional generalization of the Parisi's theory. Finally we brie y illustrate the strategy of the Panchenko's proof of the lower bound. In Chapter 4 we discuss the Aizenmann-Contucci and the Ghirlanda-Guerra identities for a wide class of Spin Glass models. As an example of application, we discuss the role of these identities in the proof of the lower bound. In Chapter 5 we introduce the basic mathematical formalism of Monomer Dimer models. We introduce a Gaussian representation of the partition function that will be fundamental in the rest of the work. In Chapter 6, we introduce an interacting Monomer-Dimer model. Its exact solution is derived and a detailed study of its analytical properties and related physical quantities is performed. In Chapter 7, we introduce a quenched randomness in the Monomer Dimer model and show that, under suitable conditions the pressure is a self averaging quantity. The main result is that, if we consider randomness only in the monomer activity, the model is exactly solvable.

Numerical simulations of magma chamber dynamics at Campi Flegrei, and associated seismicity, deformation and gravity changes

Understanding the complex relationships between quantities measured by volcanic monitoring network and shallow magma processes is a crucial headway for the comprehension of volcanic processes and a more realistic evaluation of the associated hazard. This question is very relevant at Campi Flegrei, a volcanic quiescent caldera immediately north-west of Napoli (Italy). The system activity shows a high fumarole release and periodic ground slow movement (bradyseism) with high seismicity. This activity, with the high people density and the presence of military and industrial buildings, makes Campi Flegrei one of the areas with higher volcanic hazard in the world. In such a context my thesis has been focused on magma dynamics due to the refilling of shallow magma chambers, and on the geophysical signals detectable by seismic, deformative and gravimetric monitoring networks that are associated with this phenomenologies. Indeed, the refilling of magma chambers is a process frequently occurring just before a volcanic eruption; therefore, the faculty of identifying this dynamics by means of recorded signal analysis is important to evaluate the short term volcanic hazard. The space-time evolution of dynamics due to injection of new magma in the magma chamber has been studied performing numerical simulations with, and implementing additional features in, the code GALES (Longo et al., 2006), recently developed and still on the upgrade at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia in Pisa (Italy). GALES is a finite element code based on a physico-mathematical two dimensional, transient model able to treat fluids as multiphase homogeneous mixtures, compressible to incompressible. The fundamental equations of mass, momentum and energy balance are discretised both in time and space using the Galerkin Least-Squares and discontinuity-capturing stabilisation technique. The physical properties of the mixture are computed as a function of local conditions of magma composition, pressure and temperature.The model features enable to study a broad range of phenomenologies characterizing pre and sin-eruptive magma dynamics in a wide domain from the volcanic crater to deep magma feeding zones. The study of displacement field associated with the simulated fluid dynamics has been carried out with a numerical code developed by the Geophysical group at the University College Dublin (O’Brien and Bean, 2004b), with whom we started a very profitable collaboration. In this code, the seismic wave propagation in heterogeneous media with free surface (e.g. the Earth’s surface) is simulated using a discrete elastic lattice where particle interactions are controlled by the Hooke’s law. This method allows to consider medium heterogeneities and complex topography. The initial and boundary conditions for the simulations have been defined within a coordinate project (INGV-DPC 2004-06 V3_2 “Research on active volcanoes, precursors, scenarios, hazard and risk - Campi Flegrei”), to which this thesis contributes, and many researchers experienced on Campi Flegrei in volcanological, seismic, petrological, geochemical fields, etc. collaborate. Numerical simulations of magma and rock dynamis have been coupled as described in the thesis. The first part of the thesis consists of a parametric study aimed at understanding the eect of the presence in magma of carbon dioxide in magma in the convection dynamics. Indeed, the presence of this volatile was relevant in many Campi Flegrei eruptions, including some eruptions commonly considered as reference for a future activity of this volcano. A set of simulations considering an elliptical magma chamber, compositionally uniform, refilled from below by a magma with volatile content equal or dierent from that of the resident magma has been performed. To do this, a multicomponent non-ideal magma saturation model (Papale et al., 2006) that considers the simultaneous presence of CO2 and H2O, has been implemented in GALES. Results show that the presence of CO2 in the incoming magma increases its buoyancy force promoting convection ad mixing. The simulated dynamics produce pressure transients with frequency and amplitude in the sensitivity range of modern geophysical monitoring networks such as the one installed at Campi Flegrei . In the second part, simulations more related with the Campi Flegrei volcanic system have been performed. The simulated system has been defined on the basis of conditions consistent with the bulk of knowledge of Campi Flegrei and in particular of the Agnano-Monte Spina eruption (4100 B.P.), commonly considered as reference for a future high intensity eruption in this area. The magmatic system has been modelled as a long dyke refilling a small shallow magma chamber; magmas with trachytic and phonolitic composition and variable volatile content of H2O and CO2 have been considered. The simulations have been carried out changing the condition of magma injection, the system configuration (magma chamber geometry, dyke size) and the resident and refilling magma composition and volatile content, in order to study the influence of these factors on the simulated dynamics. Simulation results allow to follow each step of the gas-rich magma ascent in the denser magma, highlighting the details of magma convection and mixing. In particular, the presence of more CO2 in the deep magma results in more ecient and faster dynamics. Through this simulations the variation of the gravimetric field has been determined. Afterward, the space-time distribution of stress resulting from numerical simulations have been used as boundary conditions for the simulations of the displacement field imposed by the magmatic dynamics on rocks. The properties of the simulated domain (rock density, P and S wave velocities) have been based on data from literature on active and passive tomographic experiments, obtained through a collaboration with A. Zollo at the Dept. of Physics of the Federici II Univeristy in Napoli. The elasto-dynamics simulations allow to determine the variations of the space-time distribution of deformation and the seismic signal associated with the studied magmatic dynamics. In particular, results show that these dynamics induce deformations similar to those measured at Campi Flegrei and seismic signals with energies concentrated on the typical frequency bands observed in volcanic areas. The present work shows that an approach based on the solution of equations describing the physics of processes within a magmatic fluid and the surrounding rock system is able to recognise and describe the relationships between geophysical signals detectable on the surface and deep magma dynamics. Therefore, the results suggest that the combined study of geophysical data and informations from numerical simulations can allow in a near future a more ecient evaluation of the short term volcanic hazard.

Structure of the Southern Tyrrhenian subduction system: insights from seismological analysis of anisotropy and attenuation

The Southern Tyrrhenian subduction system shows a complex interaction among asthenospheric flow, subducting slab and overriding plate. To shed light on the deformations and mechanical properties of the slab and surrounding mantle, I investigated seismic anisotropy and attenuation properties through the subduction region. I used both teleseisms and slab earthquakes, analyzing shear-wave splitting on SKS and S phases, respectively. The fast polarization directions φ, and the delay time, δt, were retrieved using the method of Silver and Chan [1991. SKS and S φ reveal a complex anisotropy pattern across the subduction zone. SKS-rays sample primarily the sub-slab region showing rotation of fast directions following the curved shape of the slab and very strong anisotropy. S-rays sample mainly the slab, showing variable φ and a smaller δt. SKS and S splitting reveals a well developed toroidal flow at SW edge of the slab, while at its NE edge the pattern is not very clear. This suggests that the anisotropy is controlled by the slab rollback, responsible for about 100 km slab parallel φ in the sub-slab mantle. The slab is weakly anisotropic, suggesting the asthenosphere as main source of anisotropy. To investigate the physical properties of the slab and surrounding regions, I analyzed the seismic P and S wave attenuation. By inverting high-quality S-waves t* from slab earthquakes, 3D attenuation models down to 300 km were obtained. Attenuation results image the slab as low-attenuation body, but with heterogeneous QS and QP structure showing spot of high attenuation , between 100-200 km depth, which could be due dehydration associated to the slab metamorphism. A low QS anomaly is present in the mantle wedge beneath the Aeolian volcanic arc and could indicate mantle melting and slab dehydration.

Refined Estimation of Earthquake Source Parameters: Methods, Applications and Scaling Relationships

The objective of this work of thesis is the refined estimations of source parameters. To such a purpose we used two different approaches, one in the frequency domain and the other in the time domain. In frequency domain, we analyzed the P- and S-wave displacement spectra to estimate spectral parameters, that is corner frequencies and low frequency spectral amplitudes. We used a parametric modeling approach which is combined with a multi-step, non-linear inversion strategy and includes the correction for attenuation and site effects. The iterative multi-step procedure was applied to about 700 microearthquakes in the moment range 1011-1014 N•m and recorded at the dense, wide-dynamic range, seismic networks operating in Southern Apennines (Italy). The analysis of the source parameters is often complicated when we are not able to model the propagation accurately. In this case the empirical Green function approach is a very useful tool to study the seismic source properties. In fact the Empirical Green Functions (EGFs) consent to represent the contribution of propagation and site effects to signal without using approximate velocity models. An EGF is a recorded three-component set of time-histories of a small earthquake whose source mechanism and propagation path are similar to those of the master event. Thus, in time domain, the deconvolution method of Vallée (2004) was applied to calculate the source time functions (RSTFs) and to accurately estimate source size and rupture velocity. This technique was applied to 1) large event, that is Mw=6.3 2009 L’Aquila mainshock (Central Italy), 2) moderate events, that is cluster of earthquakes of 2009 L’Aquila sequence with moment magnitude ranging between 3 and 5.6, 3) small event, i.e. Mw=2.9 Laviano mainshock (Southern Italy).

Three dimensional seismic imaging and earthquake locations in a complex, segmented fault region in Southern Apennines (Italy)

The southern Apennines of Italy have been experienced several destructive earthquakes both in historic and recent times. The present day seismicity, characterized by small-to-moderate magnitude earthquakes, was used like a probe to obatin a deeper knowledge of the fault structures where the largest earthquakes occurred in the past. With the aim to infer a three dimensional seismic image both the problem of data quality and the selection of a reliable and robust tomographic inversion strategy have been faced. The data quality has been obtained to develop optimized procedures for the measurements of P- and S-wave arrival times, through the use of polarization filtering and to the application of a refined re-picking technique based on cross-correlation of waveforms. A technique of iterative tomographic inversion, linearized, damped combined with a strategy of multiscale inversion type has been adopted. The retrieved P-wave velocity model indicates the presence of a strong velocity variation along a direction orthogonal to the Apenninic chain. This variation defines two domains which are characterized by a relatively low and high velocity values. From the comparison between the inferred P-wave velocity model with a portion of a structural section available in literature, the high velocity body was correlated with the Apulia carbonatic platforms whereas the low velocity bodies was associated to the basinal deposits. The deduced Vp/Vs ratio shows that the ratio is lower than 1.8 in the shallower part of the model, while for depths ranging between 5 km and 12 km the ratio increases up to 2.1 in correspondence to the area of higher seismicity. This confirms that areas characterized by higher values are more prone to generate earthquakes as a response to the presence of fluids and higher pore-pressures.

Ruolo del test da sforzo cardiopolmonare nei pazienti affetti da cardiomiopatia ipertrofica in età pediatrica

Background Decreased exercise capacity, and reduction in peak oxygen uptake are present in most patients affected by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) . In addition an abnormal blood pressure response during a maximal exercise test was seen to be associated with high risk for sudden cardiac death in adult patients affected by HCM. Therefore exercise test (CPET) has become an important part of the evaluation of the HCM patients, but data on its role in patients with HCM in the pediatric age are quite limited. Methods and results Between 2004 and 2010, using CPET and echocardiography, we studied 68 children (mean age 13.9 ± 2 years) with HCM. The exercise test was completed by all the patients without adverse complications. The mean value of achieved VO2 max was 31.4 ± 8.3 mL/Kg/min which corresponded to 77.5 ± 16.9 % of predicted range. 51 patients (75%) reached a subnormal value of VO2max. On univariate analysis the achieved VO2 as percentage of predicted and the peak exercise systolic blood pressure (BP) Z score were inversely associated with max left ventricle (LV) wall thickness, with E/Ea ratio, and directly related with Ea and Sa wave velocities No association was found with the LV outflow tract gradient. During a mean follow up of 2.16 ± 1.7 years 9 patients reached the defined clinical end point of death, transplantation, implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock, ICD implantation for secondary prevention or myectomy. Patients with peak VO2 < 52% or with peak systolic BP Z score < -5.8 had lower event free survival at follow up. Conclusions Exercise capacity is decreased in patients with HCM in pediatric age and global ventricular function seems being the most important determinant of exercise capacity in these patients. CPET seems to play an important role in prognostic stratification of children affected by HCM.

Quantum Correlations in Field Theory and Integrable Systems

In this thesis we will investigate some properties of one-dimensional quantum systems. From a theoretical point of view quantum models in one dimension are particularly interesting because they are strongly interacting, since particles cannot avoid each other in their motion, and you we can never ignore collisions. Yet, integrable models often generate new and non-trivial solutions, which could not be found perturbatively. In this dissertation we shall focus on two important aspects of integrable one- dimensional models: Their entanglement properties at equilibrium and their dynamical correlators after a quantum quench. The first part of the thesis will be therefore devoted to the study of the entanglement entropy in one- dimensional integrable systems, with a special focus on the XYZ spin-1/2 chain, which, in addition to being integrable, is also an interacting model. We will derive its Renyi entropies in the thermodynamic limit and its behaviour in different phases and for different values of the mass-gap will be analysed. In the second part of the thesis we will instead study the dynamics of correlators after a quantum quench , which represent a powerful tool to measure how perturbations and signals propagate through a quantum chain. The emphasis will be on the Transverse Field Ising Chain and the O(3) non-linear sigma model, which will be both studied by means of a semi-classical approach. Moreover in the last chapter we will demonstrate a general result about the dynamics of correlation functions of local observables after a quantum quench in integrable systems. In particular we will show that if there are not long-range interactions in the final Hamiltonian, then the dynamics of the model (non equal- time correlations) is described by the same statistical ensemble that describes its statical properties (equal-time correlations).

The Right to Voice: Its Realization by Estonian and American Parents in Public Schools

Investigating parents’ formal engagement opportunities in public schools serves well to characterize the relationship between states and societies. While the relationship between parental involvement and students’ academic success has been thoroughly investigated, rarely has it been seen to indicate countries’ governing regimes. The researcher was curious to see whether and how does parents’ voice differ in different democracies. The hypothesis was that in mature regimes, institutional opportunities for formal parental engagement are plenty and parents are actively involved; while in young democracies there are less opportunities and the engagement is lower. The assumption was also that parental deliberation in expressing their dissatisfaction with schools differs across democracies: where it is more intense, there it translates to higher engagement. Parents’ informedness on relevant regulations and agendas was assumed to be equally average, and their demographic background to have similar effects on engagement. The comparative, most different systems design was employed where public middle schools last graders’ parents in Tartu, Estonia and in Huntsville, Alabama the United States served as a sample. The multidimensional study includes the theoretical review, country and community analyses, institutional analysis in terms of formal parental involvement, and parents’ survey. The findings revealed sizeable differences between parents’ engagement levels in Huntsville and Tartu. The results indicate passivity in both communities, while in Tartu the engagement seems to be alarmingly low. Furthermore, Tartu parents have much less institutional opportunities to engage. In the United States, multilevel efforts to engage parents are visible from local to federal level, in Estonia similar intentions seem to be missing and meaningful parental organizations do not exist. In terms of civic education there is much room for development in both countries. The road will be longer for a young democracy Estonia in transforming its institutional systems from formally democratic to inherently inclusive.

Application Platforms for the Internet of Things: Theory, Architecture, Protocols, Data Formats, and Privacy

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the next industrial revolution: we will interact naturally with real and virtual devices as a key part of our daily life. This technology shift is expected to be greater than the Web and Mobile combined. As extremely different technologies are needed to build connected devices, the Internet of Things field is a junction between electronics, telecommunications and software engineering. Internet of Things application development happens in silos, often using proprietary and closed communication protocols. There is the common belief that only if we can solve the interoperability problem we can have a real Internet of Things. After a deep analysis of the IoT protocols, we identified a set of primitives for IoT applications. We argue that each IoT protocol can be expressed in term of those primitives, thus solving the interoperability problem at the application protocol level. Moreover, the primitives are network and transport independent and make no assumption in that regard. This dissertation presents our implementation of an IoT platform: the Ponte project. Privacy issues follows the rise of the Internet of Things: it is clear that the IoT must ensure resilience to attacks, data authentication, access control and client privacy. We argue that it is not possible to solve the privacy issue without solving the interoperability problem: enforcing privacy rules implies the need to limit and filter the data delivery process. However, filtering data require knowledge of how the format and the semantics of the data: after an analysis of the possible data formats and representations for the IoT, we identify JSON-LD and the Semantic Web as the best solution for IoT applications. Then, this dissertation present our approach to increase the throughput of filtering semantic data by a factor of ten.

Numerical and Analytical Methods for Laser-Plasma Acceleration Physics

Theories and numerical modeling are fundamental tools for understanding, optimizing and designing present and future laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs). Laser evolution and plasma wave excitation in a LPA driven by a weakly relativistically intense, short-pulse laser propagating in a preformed parabolic plasma channel, is studied analytically in 3D including the effects of pulse steepening and energy depletion. At higher laser intensities, the process of electron self-injection in the nonlinear bubble wake regime is studied by means of fully self-consistent Particle-in-Cell simulations. Considering a non-evolving laser driver propagating with a prescribed velocity, the geometrical properties of the non-evolving bubble wake are studied. For a range of parameters of interest for laser plasma acceleration, The dependence of the threshold for self-injection in the non-evolving wake on laser intensity and wake velocity is characterized. Due to the nonlinear and complex nature of the Physics involved, computationally challenging numerical simulations are required to model laser-plasma accelerators operating at relativistic laser intensities. The numerical and computational optimizations, that combined in the codes INF&RNO and INF&RNO/quasi-static give the possibility to accurately model multi-GeV laser wakefield acceleration stages with present supercomputing architectures, are discussed. The PIC code jasmine, capable of efficiently running laser-plasma simulations on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) clusters, is presented. GPUs deliver exceptional performance to PIC codes, but the core algorithms had to be redesigned for satisfying the constraints imposed by the intrinsic parallelism of the architecture. The simulation campaigns, run with the code jasmine for modeling the recent LPA experiments with the INFN-FLAME and CNR-ILIL laser systems, are also presented.

Safety, Security And safeguards In GEN IV sodium fast reactors

This work presents first a study of the national and international laws in the fields of safety, security and safeguards. The international treaties and the recommendations issued by the IAEA as well as the national regulations in force in France, the United States and Italy are analyzed. As a result of this, a comparison among them is presented. Given the interest of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency for the aspects of criminal penalties and monetary, also the Japanese case is analyzed. The main part of this work was held at the JAEA in the field of proliferation resistance (PR) and physical protection (PP) of a GEN IV sodium fast reactor. For this purpose the design of the system is completed and the PR & PP methodology is applied to obtain data usable by designers for the improvement of the system itself. Due to the presence of sensitive data, not all the details can be disclosed. The reactor site of a hypothetical and commercial sodium-cooled fast neutron nuclear reactor system (SFR) is used as the target NES for the application of the methodology. The methodology is applied to all the PR and PP scenarios: diversion, misuse and breakout; theft and sabotage. The methodology is applied to the SFR to check if this system meets the target of PR and PP as described in the GIF goal; secondly, a comparison between the SFR and a LWR is performed to evaluate if and how it would be possible to improve the PR&PP of the SFR. The comparison is implemented according to the example development target: achieving PR&PP similar or superior to domestic and international ALWR. Three main actions were performed: implement the evaluation methodology; characterize the PR&PP for the nuclear energy system; identify recommendations for system designers through the comparison.

Neural network modelling of the wave-structure interaction processes

This thesis presents a new Artificial Neural Network (ANN) able to predict at once the main parameters representative of the wave-structure interaction processes, i.e. the wave overtopping discharge, the wave transmission coefficient and the wave reflection coefficient. The new ANN has been specifically developed in order to provide managers and scientists with a tool that can be efficiently used for design purposes. The development of this ANN started with the preparation of a new extended and homogeneous database that collects all the available tests reporting at least one of the three parameters, for a total amount of 16’165 data. The variety of structure types and wave attack conditions in the database includes smooth, rock and armour unit slopes, berm breakwaters, vertical walls, low crested structures, oblique wave attacks. Some of the existing ANNs were compared and improved, leading to the selection of a final ANN, whose architecture was optimized through an in-depth sensitivity analysis to the training parameters of the ANN. Each of the selected 15 input parameters represents a physical aspect of the wave-structure interaction process, describing the wave attack (wave steepness and obliquity, breaking and shoaling factors), the structure geometry (submergence, straight or non-straight slope, with or without berm or toe, presence or not of a crown wall), or the structure type (smooth or covered by an armour layer, with permeable or impermeable core). The advanced ANN here proposed provides accurate predictions for all the three parameters, and demonstrates to overcome the limits imposed by the traditional formulae and approach adopted so far by some of the existing ANNs. The possibility to adopt just one model to obtain a handy and accurate evaluation of the overall performance of a coastal or harbor structure represents the most important and exportable result of the work.

Analysis of cerebral and autonomic response to respiratory events in patients with Sleep Apnea Syndrome

The arousal scoring in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is important to clarify the impact of the disease on sleep but the currently applied American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) definition may underestimate the subtle alterations of sleep. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the impact of respiratory events on cortical and autonomic arousal response and to quantify the additional value of cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) and pulse wave amplitude (PWA) for a more accurate detection of respiratory events and sleep alterations in OSAS patients. A retrospective revision of 19 polysomnographic recordings of OSAS patients was carried out. Analysis was focused on quantification of apneas (AP), hypopneas (H) and flow limitation (FL) events, and on investigation of cerebral and autonomic activity. Only 41.1% of FL events analyzed in non rapid eye movement met the AASM rules for the definition of respiratory event-related arousal (RERA), while 75.5% of FL events ended with a CAP A phase. The dual response (EEG-PWA) was the most frequent response for all subtypes of respiratory event with a progressive reduction from AP to H and FL. 87.7% of respiratory events with EEG activation showed also a PWA drop and 53,4% of the respiratory events without EEG activation presented a PWA drop. The relationship between the respiratory events and the arousal response is more complex than that suggested by the international classification. In the estimation of the response to respiratory events, the CAP scoring and PWA analysis can offer more extensive information compared to the AASM rules. Our data confirm also that the application of PWA scoring improves the detection of respiratory events and could reduce the underestimation of OSAS severity compared to AASM arousal.

Aerobic biodegradation of chlorinated solvents and plastics in batch and continuous-flow bioreactors: process development, and identification of suitable chemical pre-Treatments

The purpose of the first part of the research activity was to develop an aerobic cometabolic process in packed bed reactors (PBR) to treat real groundwater contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA). In an initial screening conducted in batch bioreactors, different groundwater samples from 5 wells of the contaminated site were fed with 5 growth substrates. The work led to the selection of butane as the best growth substrate, and to the development and characterization from the site’s indigenous biomass of a suspended-cell consortium capable to degrade TCE with a 90 % mineralization of the organic chlorine. A kinetic study conducted in batch and continuous flow PBRs and led to the identification of the best carrier. A kinetic study of butane and TCE biodegradation indicated that the attached-cell consortium is characterized by a lower TCE specific degredation rates and by a lower level of mutual butane-TCE inhibition. A 31 L bioreactor was designed and set up for upscaling the experiment. The second part of the research focused on the biodegradation of 4 polymers, with and with-out chemical pre-treatments: linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), polyethylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Initially, the 4 polymers were subjected to different chemical pre-treatments: ozonation and UV/ozonation, in gaseous and aqueous phase. It was found that, for LLDPE and PP, the coupling UV and ozone in gas phase is the most effective way to oxidize the polymers and to generate carbonyl groups on the polymer surface. In further tests, the effect of chemical pretreatment on polyner biodegrability was studied. Gas-phase ozonated and virgin polymers were incubated aerobically with: (a) a pure strain, (b) a mixed culture of bacteria; and (c) a fungal culture, together with saccharose as a co-substrate.