0000000000126286
AUTHOR
Giuseppe D'anna
Waveforms clustering and single-station location of microearthquake multiplets recorded in the northern Sicilian offshore region
In 2009 December, the OBSLab-INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia) deployed an Ocean Bottom Seismometer with Hydrophone (OBS/H) near the epicentral area of the main shock of the Palermo seismic sequence of 2002. The monitoring activity had a total duration of about 8 months. During this experiment, the OBS/H recorded 247 very local microearthquakes, whose local magnitude is between -0.5 and 2.5 and TS - TP delay time between 0.2 and 5 s, almost all ofwhichwere undetected by the Italian National Seismic Network. This local microseismicity has been analysed using an innovative clustering technique that exploits the similarity between the waveforms generated by different events…
The Palermo (Sicily) seismic cluster of September 2002, in the seismotectonic framework of the Tyrrhenian Sea-Sicily border area
The northern coast of Sicily and its offshore area represent a hinge zone between a sector of the Tyrrhenian Basin, characterized by the strongest crustal thinning, and the sector of the Sicilian belt which has emerged. This hinge zone is part of a wider W-E trending right-lateral shear zone, which has been affecting the Maghrebian Chain units since the Pliocene. Seismological and structural data have been used to evaluate the seismotectonic behavior of the area investigated here. Seismological analysis was performed on a data set of about 2100 seismic events which occurred between January 1988 and October 2002 in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. This paper focuses…
COVID-19 infection: comparing the knowledge, attitude and practices in a sample of nursing students.
Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection is a global health problem that is primarily detected in Italy with progressive increase in cases and deaths. To facilitate the management of the pandemic in Italy, it is essential to understand the level of attention on COVID-19. The aim of the study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices towards SARS-CoV-2 among the nursing students of University of Palermo during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional study. On-line questionnaires were used for the collection of the data by providing a survey in all nursing students. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: demographics and Knowledg…
Urban MEMS based seismic network for post-earthquakes rapid disaster assessment
Abstract. In this paper, we introduce a project for the realization of the first European real-time urban seismic network based on Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. MEMS accelerometers are a highly enabling technology, and nowadays, the sensitivity and the dynamic range of these sensors are such as to allow the recording of earthquakes of moderate magnitude even at a distance of several tens of kilometers. Moreover, thanks to their low cost and smaller size, MEMS accelerometers can be easily installed in urban areas in order to achieve an urban seismic network constituted by high density of observation points. The network is being implemented in the Acireale Municipality (…
Nursing students and depressive symptomatology: an observational study in University of Palermo
Purpose Depression is a common and serious medical illness, considered as a public health issue because it interferes with the interpersonal, social and professional functioning of the individual, and its frequency is constantly increasing. According to a recent review, approximately 34 per cent of nursing students had experienced depression worldwide. The university period may represent a moment in which the mental well-being of students is subjected to stress with a relative predisposition to the development of diseases related to mood disorders. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence and examine the socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptomatology. Design/metho…
Contraceptive methods and knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases in nursing students. Results from a survey conducted at the University of Palermo

 Background: The main purpose of the study was to evaluatesexual habits, sexual relations and knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among the students in the nursing science course of University of Palermo, and to evaluate the use of contraceptive methods. 
 Methods: In April 2019, a survey was provided to students who attend daily lessons in the nursing science course of University of Palermo, that investigate primarily about sexual habits, sexual relations and knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases. A multivariable logistic regression was performed. 
 Results: The sample size consists of 405 students. The average age of the sample is 21.65 years, 69.63% o…
Local Earthquake Tomography in the Southern Tyrrhenian Region of Italy: Geophysical and Petrological Inferences on the Subducting Lithosphere
We obtained a high-resolution seismic tomography of the Ionian lithosphere subduction using a new approach based on: (a) the Double-Difference technique for inversions and (b) the statistical post-processing of a great number of preliminary models (Weighted Average Model, WAM method); the latter was used to increase reliability and resolution. In the tomographic model, the high-velocity portion of the steeply dipping Ionian slab is well imaged, as is an underlying low-Vp (≈7.0 km/s) aseismic region. We propose that the low-velocity region can be assigned to a partially hydrated (serpentinized) mantle of the subducting Ionian slab, which progressively dehydrates with depth in dense high-pres…
The marine activities performed within the TOMO-ETNA experiment
<p>The TOMO-ETNA experiment was planned in order to obtain a detailed geological and structural model of the continental and oceanic crust beneath Mt. Etna volcano and northeastern Sicily up to the Aeolian Islands (southern Italy), by integrating data from active and passive refraction and reflection seismic methodologies, magnetic and gravity surveys. This paper focuses on the marine activities performed within the experiment, which have been carried out in the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, during three multidisciplinary oceanographic cruises, involving three research vessels (“Sarmiento de Gamboa”, “Galatea” and “Aegaeo”) belonging to different countries and institutions. During the o…
A Low Cost Customizable Micro-ROV for Environmental Research - Applications, Advances and Challenges
Summary Several shallow submarines areas are characterized by considerable releases of hydrocarbon gases, which, during earthquakes or volcanic activity, may suddenly and violently occur. In some instances, changes in chemical and physical properties of gas emissions, which are generated by geothermal systems connected to the volcanoes’ plumbing system, are important precursors of volcanic activity and useful indices for the study of the geothermal field. Furthermore, some superficial structures such faults, landslide slopes or archaeological relics should be studied with such a high detail that geophysical and bathymetric surveys are unable to provide. In response to the needs increasingly…
Integration of onshore and offshore seismic arrays to study the seismicity of the Calabrian Region: a two steps automatic procedure for the identification of the best stations geometry
Abstract. We plan to deploy in the Taranto Gulf some Ocean Bottom broadband Seismometer with Hydrophones. Our aim is to investigate the offshore seismicity of the Sibari Gulf. The seismographic network optimization consists in the identification of the optimal sites for the installation of the offshore stations, which is a crucial factor for the success of the monitoring campaign. In this paper, we propose a two steps automatic procedure for the identification of the best stations geometry. In the first step, based on the application of a set of a priori criteria, the suitable sites to host the ocean bottom seismic stations are identified. In the second step, the network improvement is eval…
Risky consumption of alcohol in nursing students
BACKGROUND: abuse of alcohol among students is a problem that has not to be undervalued because it can damage mental and global health and, as a consequence, it can negatively influence the academic and training performance roping at the end on patients’ health. Our study focused particularly on nursing students of the University of Palermo of the three years of course with the aim to estimate the prevalence of risky alcohol consumption and to analyze the associated factors. MethODs: in april 2019 a questionnaire was administered to all the nursing students of University of Palermo of the three years of course, accompanied by informed consent. Multivariable logistic regression was performed…
Simultaneous seismic wave clustering and registration
In this paper we introduce a simple procedure to identify clusters of multivariate waveforms based on a simultaneous assignation and alignment procedure. This approach is aimed at the identification of clusters of earthquakes, assuming that similarities between seismic events with respect to hypocentral parameters and focal mechanism correspond to similarities between waveforms of events. Therefore we define a distance measure between seismic curves in R^d d>=1, in order to interpret and better understand the main features of the generating seismic process.
The INGV's new OBS/H: Analysis of the signals recorded at the Marsili submarine volcano
Abstract The ocean bottom seismometer with hydrophone deployed on the flat top of the Marsili submarine volcano (790 m deep) by the Gibilmanna OBS Lab (CNT–INGV) from 12th to 21st July, 2006, recorded more than 1000 transient seismic signals. Nineteen of these signals were associated with tectonic earthquakes: 1 teleseismic, 8 regional (located by INGV) and 10 small local seismic events (non located earthquakes). The regional events were used to determine sensor orientation. By comparing the signals recorded with typical volcanic seismic activity, we were able to group all the other signals into three categories: 817 volcano–tectonic type B (VT-B) events, 159 occurrences of high frequency t…
Severity of anxious symptoms in nursing students of the University of Palermo
BACKGROUND: The university student is vulnerable to the adverse effects of many stress factors that can lead to an increase in the burden of illness in young people. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of anxious symptoms in the student population of the degree course in nursing at the University of Palermo. METHODS: The study design is observational. In the month of April 2019, a survey was provided to all nursing students of University of Palermo of the three years of course, accompanied by informed consent. The statistical significance level chosen for all analyzes was 0.05. The results were analyzed using the STATA statistical software version 14.XX Results are exp…
Internet addiction in nursing students
BACKGROUND: Problematic internet use is a growing problem in modern societies. Internet addiction (IA ) can be defined as a behavioral addiction between human and information technology-machine. Our aim was to identify IA among Palermo University nursing students by means of the Internet Addiction Test. METHODS: The study employed a cross-sectional study design. In April 2019 a survey was provided to students who attend daily lessons. The questionnaire was structured into two parts. The first section investigates on socio-demographic information, year of study, the perception of the economic and health status. In the second section of the questionnaire IAT was administered. A multivariable …
Seismic Network Evaluation through Simulation: An Application to the Italian National Seismic Network
Abstract A properly organized seismic network is a valuable tool for monitoring seismic zones and assessing seismic hazards. In this paper we propose a new method (seismic network evaluation through simulation, SNES) to evaluate the performance of hypocenter location of a seismic network. The SNES method gives, as a function of magnitude, hypocentral depth, and confidence level, the spatial distribution of the number of active stations in the location procedure and their relative azimuthal gaps, along with confidence intervals in hypocentral parameters. The application of the SNES method also permits evaluation of the magnitude of completeness ( M C ), the background noise levels at the sta…