Investigation on Farmland Abandonment of Terraced Slopes Using Multitemporal Data Sources Comparison and Its Implication on Hydro-Geomorphological Processes

This paper presents a quantitative multi\u2010temporal analysis performed in a GIS environment and based on different spatial information sources. The research is aimed at investigating the land use transformations that occurred in a small coastal terraced basin of Eastern Liguria from the early 1950s to 2011. The degree of abandonment of cultivated terraced slopes together with its influence on the distribution, abundance, and magnitude of rainfall\u2010induced shallow landslides were accurately analysed. The analysis showed that a large portion of terraced area (77.4%) has been abandoned over approximately sixty years. This land use transformation has played a crucial role in influencing the hydro\u2010geomorphological processes triggered by a very intense rainstorm that occurred in 2011. The outcomes of the analysis revealed that terraces abandoned for a short time showed the highest landslide susceptibility and that slope failures affecting cultivated zones were characterized by a lower magnitude than those which occurred on abandoned terraced slopes. Furthermore, this study highlights the usefulness of cadastral data in understanding the impact of rainfall\u2010induced landslides due to both a high spatial and thematic accuracy. The obtained results represent a solid basis for the investigation of erosion and the shallow landslide susceptibility of terraced slopes by means of a simulation of land use change scenarios

Preliminary analysis of the November 10, 2014 rainstorm and related landslides in the lower Lavagna valley (eastern Liguria)

On the evening of November 10, 2014, eight rainfall-induced shallow landslides were triggered on a slope in the lower Lavagna valley (eastern Liguria, Italy). Most of the shallow landslides were channelled as flows into steep hollows and reached the toe of the slope, where some sparse houses were built. One of these landslides impacted and destroyed a building located just at a steep channel outlet, causing two fatalities. Damage affected also agricultural terracing as well as some other buildings and a road running at the toe of the slope, which was buried for long tracts by landslide deposits. Since a few days after the landslides occurrence, various activities were carried out, with the aim of better understanding both the triggering and predisposing factors of landslides. These activities included field surveys, rainfall data analysis, topographic/thematic maps, DEM and aerial photo analyses, preliminary laboratory tests on soil samples. From the analyses performed, it seems that, in addition to the rainfall characteristics of the November 10, 2014 event, the antecedent rainfall may have played an important role as landslides predisposing factor. Other relevant predisposing factors can be referred to slope steepness, presence of hollows, stratigraphic and structural settings at the source areas and lack of maintenance of terracing. Investigations are still in progress to achieve a complete geotechnical and hydraulic characterization of soils. Furthermore, it is also expected to extend the analyses performed to the whole area affected by shallow landslides. However, we believe the results of this study can be helpful in shallow landslide modelling, hazard assessment and planning of appropriate risk mitigation measures

Preliminary analysis of the November 10, 2014 rainstorm and related landslides in the lower Lavagna valley (eastern Liguria)

On the evening of November 10, 2014, eight rainfall-induced shallow landslides were triggered on a slope in the lower Lavagna valley (eastern Liguria, Italy). Most of the shallow landslides were channelled as flows into steep hollows and reached the toe of the slope, where some sparse houses were built. One of these landslides impacted and destroyed a building located just at a steep channel outlet, causing two fatalities. Damage affected also agricultural terracing as well as some other buildings and a road running at the toe of the slope, which was buried for long tracts by landslide deposits. Since a few days after the landslides occurrence, various activities were carried out, with the aim of better understanding both the triggering and predisposing factors of landslides. These activities included field surveys, rainfall data analysis, topographic/thematic maps, DEM and aerial photo analyses, preliminary laboratory tests on soil samples. From the analyses performed, it seems that, in addition to the rainfall characteristics of the November 10, 2014 event, the antecedent rainfall may have played an important role as landslides predisposing factor. Other relevant predisposing factors can be referred to slope steepness, presence of hollows, stratigraphic and structural settings at the source areas and lack of maintenance of terracing. Investigations are still in progress to achieve a complete geotechnical and hydraulic characterization of soils. Furthermore, it is also expected to extend the analyses performed to the whole area affected by shallow landslides. However, we believe the results of this study can be helpful in shallow landslide modelling, hazard assessment and planning of appropriate risk mitigation measures

Update on Pathophysiology of Premature Ejaculation: The Bases for New Pharmacological Treatments

Even though premature ejaculation is the most widespread pathology of sexual behavior, it is still considered a psychological disease. Organic etiologies are only now becoming more evident. Premature ejaculation is largely under-diagnosed and under-treated, while erectile dysfunction has received great scientific and clinical attention in recent years. There are plenty of reasons for this: (i) PE is classically considered as psychogenic in nature; (ii) it is traditionally treated with behavioral psychotherapies; (iii) clear and accepted clinical definition(s) are lacking; (iv) the etiologies are largely unknown; (v) the pathogenesis is still obscure - there is a lack of awareness and acknowledgement of PE as a symptom of medical disease; (vi) lacking a medical presence in the field, requests for help from patients are low. Finally, erectile and ejaculatory dysfunctions frequently overlap. For all these reasons, an update on pathophysiology of premature ejaculation is to be considered the base for new pharmacological treatments. © 2006 European Association of Urology and European Board of Urology

Public policies oriented to mental health and social inclusion in the experience of sanitary program Casa S.I.S.

El artículo analiza los argumentos que los actores institucionales pertenecientes al programa sanitario Casa S.I.S., dispositivo intermedio dedicado a la contención transitoria en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires de personas con una problemática de salud mental egresadas de contextos de encierro penal de todo el país, construían y disputaban en torno al abordaje de la población padeciente y la justificación de estas asociaciones en el desarrollo de su tarea. Para ello se realizó un trabajo de campo etnográfico en la Casa durante seis meses (2015-2016), en el que se indagaron los discursos y las prácticas desplegadas por profesionales y personal de apoyo del programa. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la convergencia de posiciones muy diversas entre los actores involucrados, concluyendo que el proceso de implementación de una política pública redefine los términos mismos en los que se plantea el problema original a abordar y el diseño de su tratamiento gubernamental.The article analyzes the arguments that the institutional actors working in the Casa SIS health program, an intermediate device designed to the temporary containment in the City of Buenos Aires of former inmates with a mental health problem, builted and disputed regarding how to address the suffering population and the justifications of these associations in their daily tasks. To this end we conducted six months (2015-2016) of ethnographic fieldwork in the device, by means of which we explored the discourses and practices deployed by the profesionals helpers who worked in the program. The results obtained show the convergence of diverse positions among the actors involved, and so concluding that the process of implementing a public policy redefines the very terms in which the original problem to be addressed and the design of its governmental treatment are posed.Fil: Lombraña, Andrea Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Pepe, María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales; Argentin

Localization of the cyclic ADP-ribose-dependent calcium signaling pathway in bovine rod outer segments.

PURPOSE Calcium ions play a pivotal role in phototransduction. In this study, the presence and functional role of the adenosine diphosphoribosyl (ADPR)-cyclase-cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) system in bovine retinal rod outer segments (ROS) was investigated. METHODS A Ca(2+) release from osmotically intact ROS discs elicited by cADPR was studied in the presence of the Ca(2+) tracer fluo-3. Endogenous cyclic guanosine diphosphate ribose (cGDPR) formation in discs was investigated by spectrophotometric detection of its synthesis from nicotinamide guanine dinucleotide (NGD(+)). ADPR-cyclase was also investigated at a structural level on mildly denaturing SDS-PAGE by production of cyclic inosine diphosphate ribose from nicotinamide hypoxantine dinucleotide (NHD(+)). Western immunoblot analysis with a specific antibody was conducted to verify the presence of ryanodine-sensitive Ca(2+) channels (RyRs) in ROS discs. RESULTS cADPR-dependent Ca(2+) release was a linear function of extravesicular free Ca(2+) concentration, between 200 and 900 nM Ca(2+). When free Ca(2+) was 203 +/- 10 nM the mean Ca(2+) release was 23 +/- 3 pmol/mL per milligram protein. The average rate of cGDPR production was 13 +/- 2 nmol cGDPR/min per milligram protein, by a putative enzyme with an apparent molecular mass of 53 +/- 1 kDa. ROS ADPR-cyclase was localized in the membranous fraction. No nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide glycohydrolase (NADase) activity was detected. The presence of RyR channels in pure disc preparations was confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. CONCLUSIONS A cADPR metabolism may be present in retinal ROS discs, which may be Ca(2+) stores operated by cADPR. A model is proposed for the physiological role of cADPR-mediated Ca(2+) release in bovine ROS

Experimental investigation of quantum decay at short, intermediate and long times via integrated photonics

The decay of an unstable system is usually described by an exponential law. Quantum mechanics predicts strong deviations of the survival probability from the exponential: indeed, the decay is initially quadratic, while at very large times it follows a power law, with superimposed oscillations. The latter regime is particularly elusive and difficult to observe. Here we employ arrays of single-mode optical waveguides, fabricated by femtosecond laser direct inscription, to implement quantum systems where a discrete state is coupled and can decay into a continuum. The optical modes correspond to distinct quantum states of the photon and the temporal evolution of the quantum system is mapped into the spatial propagation coordinate. By injecting coherent light states in the fabricated photonic structures and by measuring light with an unprecedented dynamic range, we are able to experimentally observe not only the exponential decay regime, but also the quadratic Zeno region and the power-law decay at long evolution times

Artificial Intelligence: new data and new models in credit risk management

During the last decade, the increase in computational capacity, the consolidation of new data processing methodologies and the availability of access to new information concerning both individuals and organizations, aided by the widespread internet usage, has increased the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) within companies. The application of AI techniques in the banking sector attracts wide interest as the extraction of information from data is inherent to banks. As matter of fact, for many years now models play a crucial role in several banks processes and are strictly regulated when they drive capital measurement processes. Among banks’ risk models a special role is played by credit ones, as they manage the most relevant risk banks face and are often used in regulatory relevant processes. The new AI techniques, coupled with the usage of novel data, mostly unstructured ones related to borrowers’ behaviors, allow for an improvement of the accuracy of credit risk models, that so far relied on structured internal and external data. This paper takes inspiration from the Position Paper Aifirm 33/2022 and its English published translation (Locatelli, Pepe, Salis (eds), 2022. The paper is focused on literature review regarding the most common AI models in use in credit risk management, also adding a regulatory perspective due to the specific regime banking models are subject when they are used for regulatory purposes. Furthermore, the exploration of forthcoming challenges and future advancements considers a managerial perspective. It aims to uncover how credit risk managers can leverage the new AI toolbox and novel data to enhance the credit risk models’ predictive power, without overlooking the intrinsic problems associated with the interpretability of the results