Comparative Analysis of Existing Tools for Assessment of Post-Earthquake Short-Term Lodging Needs

AbstractThe assessment of shelter needs aimed at displaced population in the aftermath of major earthquake events is one the main challenges that emergency responders currently have to face. The study presented here is focused on a critical review of currently available methodologies and software packages that were developed specifically to estimate the number of displaced people and those who will most likely seek public sheltering and will need temporary housing. The main features and shortcomings of such tools are shown

Human impact during the Bronze Age on the vegetation at Lago Lucone (northern Italy)

Lake-sediment records were used to reconstruct human impact on the landscape around Lago Lucone (45°33′N, 10°29′E, 249ma.s.l.), a former lake in the western amphitheatre system of the Lago di Garda. Presence of prehistoric human populations is attested by pile-dwelling settlements from the Early-Middle Bronze Age, with one settlement at a distance of only 100m from the coring site. Pollen, plant-macrofossil and microscopic charcoal analyses were applied to a 250cm sediment core with four dates providing the time control. A mixed oak forest that was important during the Early-Middle Holocene was cleared and replaced by open vegetation during the Bronze Age (∼2000-1100 b.c.) when open lands were estimated to have covered more than 60% of the total relevant pollen-source area. During a phase of high human impact, independent climatic proxies suggest warm and dry climatic conditions. Later, ca. 1100 b.c., palaeobotanical evidence indicates a sharp decrease in human pressure in the Lago Lucone area. The comparison with other sedimentary palaeocultural records shows that the period 1300-1100 b.c. was characterised by general declines of agricultural activities both south and north of the Alps. These declines have been previously attributed to a change towards wetter and colder climatic conditions in and around the Alps. However, the decline in human impact around Lago Lucone cannot be exclusively attributed to climatic variation. Therefore other forcing factors independent of climatic changes, such as cultural crises or changes in spatial organisation of the habitats, cannot be ruled out under the present state of knowledg

A new concept for avalanche warning in Switzerland

During the past 60 years the Swiss Federal Institut for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF), which is in charge of the avalanche warning in Switzerland issued national avalanche bulletins three to four times a week at around 9 a.m. Due to technical reasons, these bulletins could not be compiled earlier and only contained information on the current snow, weather and avalanche hazard conditions i.e. they did not contain any forecast. Especially for ski-mountaineers, off-pisté skiers or climbers the bulletins were issued too late. Progress in meteorology, snow and avalanche research as well as new developments in sensor, communication and information technology make it now possible to continuously gather and process information about the snow and weather situation and to assess the avalanche hazard risk more accurately. Therefore, the SLF has started a number of projects to improve the avalanche service in Switzerland over the next few years. For the winter 97/98 the SLF has already introduced a number of new features. Firstly, the avalanche bulletin is now being issued daily at 5 p.m. and contains a forecast for the following day as well as an outlook for the nex few days. Secondly, the SLF introduced regional avalanche bulletins, covering' areas of about 1000 - 5000 km2. The regional bulletinst are issued daily at 7 a.m. and give more detailed information than the national forecast. Thirdly, the SLF is setting up a network of remote snow and weather stations which are connected to a snow and avalanche information system linking up local, regional and the national avalanche centres. The infornation system allows to access and exchange information between all the people who are involved in avalanche safety in Switzerland

Human impacts and eutrophication patterns during the past ~200 years at Lago Grande di Avigliana (N. Italy)

A short sediment core from Lago Grande di Avigliana (Piedmont, Italy), the second most eutrophied lake in Italy, was analysed for pollen and diatoms to reconstruct land-use changes and to estimate baseline conditions for total phosphorus (TP) in the water column. Varve counts on sediment thin-sections and 210Pb, 226Ra, and 137Cs dating provided a reliable chronology for the past ~200 years. The main pollen-inferred land-use changes showed a sharp decrease of hemp retting around AD 1900, as well as a gradual change to less intensive agriculture and increasing abundance of exotic plants since AD ~1970. Diatom-inferred TP reconstructions indicated stable TP concentrations until AD ~1950, revealing baseline mesotrophic conditions (TP <25 µg l−1). After AD ~1950, TP values increased distinctly and continuously, culminating in the late 1960s with concentrations of 150 µg l−1. Subsequently, diatoms implied a linear decrease of TP, with an inferred value of 40 µg l−1 in the surface sediment sample. Comparison with instrumental TP measurements from the water column since AD 1980 showed a rapid recovery and allowed a direct validation of the diatom TP inference. However, although the TP concentration has decreased considerably, baseline conditions have not yet been reached. When compared to the limnological effects of sewage discharges on inferred-TP concentration, our results indicated that agricultural land use played a minor role in the lake's eutrophicatio

The potential of stomata analysis in conifers to estimate presence of conifer trees: examples from the Alps

To estimate whether or not a plant taxon found in the fossil record was locally present may be difficult if only pollen is analyzed. Plant macrofossils, in contrast, provide a clear indication of a taxon's local presence, although in some lake sediments or peats, macrofossils may be rare or degraded. For conifers, the stomata found on pollen slides are derived from needles and thus provide a valuable proxy for local presence and they can be identified to genus level. From previously published studies, a transect across the Alps based on 13 sites is presented. For basal samples in sandy silt above the till with high pollen values of Pinus, for example, we may distinguish pine pollen from distant sources (samples with no stomata), from reworked pollen (samples with stomata present). The first apparent local presence of most conifer genera based on stomata often but not always occurs together with the phase of rapid pollen increase (rational limit). An exception is Larix, with its annual deposition of needles and heavy poorly dispersed pollen, for it often shows the first stomata earlier, at the empirical pollen limit. The decline and potential local extinction of a conifer can sometimes be shown in the stomata record. The decline may have been caused by climatic change, competition, or human impact. In situations where conifers form the timberline, the stomata record may indicate timberline fluctuations. In the discussion of immigration or migration of taxa we advocate the use of the cautious term "apparent local presence” to include some uncertainties. Absence of a taxon is impossible to prove

The Challenge of Resilience in a Globalised World

Resilience determines the capacity to successfully deal with difficult events and to adapt and overcome adversity. It creates stability in a changing world which in turn promotes job creation, economic growth and environmental sustainability. Resilience is a fundamental prerequisite for Europe as the largest integrated economic area in the world and has an important social dimension which requires the active cooperation of all stakeholders; citizens, the private sector, governments and NGOs included. This report discusses the concept of resilience from different perspectives and the role of science in the continuous process of building a resilient, stable, competitive and prosperous Europe.JRC.G-Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (Ispra

Fibrin and D-dimer bind to monomeric GPVI

Fibrin has recently been shown to activate platelets through the immunoglobulin receptor glycoprotein VI (GPVI). In the present study, we show that spreading of human platelets on fibrin is abolished in patients deficient in GPVI, confirming that fibrin activates human platelets through the immunoglobulin receptor. Using a series of proteolytic fragments, we show that D-dimer, but not the E fragment of fibrin, binds to GPVI and that immobilized D-dimer induces platelet spreading through activation of Src and Syk tyrosine kinases. In contrast, when platelets are activated in suspension, soluble D-dimer inhibits platelet aggregation induced by fibrin and collagen, but not by a collagen-related peptide composed of a repeat GPO sequence or by thrombin. Using surface plasmon resonance, we demonstrate that fibrin binds selectively to monomeric GPVI with a KD of 302 nM, in contrast to collagen, which binds primarily to dimeric GPVI. These results establish GPVI as the major signaling receptor for fibrin in human platelets and provide evidence that fibrin binds to a distinct configuration of GPVI. This indicates that it may be possible to develop agents that selectively block the interaction of fibrin but not collagen with the immunoglobulin receptor. Such agents are required to establish whether selective targeting of either interaction has the potential to lead to development of an antithrombotic agent with a reduced effect on bleeding relative to current antiplatelet drugs