ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND SEASONAL VARIABILITY:REMOTE SENSING AND MODELING APPLICATION FOR THE MONITORING OF SAHELIAN NATURAL RESOURCES

Il lavoro sviluppato in questa Tesi si \ue8 incentrato sullo studio dei sistemi pascolivi delle regioni del Sahel, Africa Occidentale, tramite tecniche e strumenti del telerilevamento satellitare. L\u2019area oggetto di studio \ue8 una fascia di savana semi-arida, rappresentate la zona di transizione tra il Sahara a nord e le foreste del golfo di Guinea a sud. La regione \ue8 caratterizzata da ana marcata stagionalit\ue0, con una breve stagione umida (da Giugno ad Ottobre) in cui concentra gran parte delle produzione di biomassa vegetale e di conseguenza la produzione di derrate alimentari, seguita da una lunga stagione secca (Novembre-Maggio). A seconda della distanza dal Sahara le precipitazioni medie annuali vanno dai 150 mm annui ai 500, con elevata variabilit\ue0 tra le annate. In questo sistema cos\uec mutevole la pastorizia transumante \ue8 l\u2019attivit\ue0 antropica che meglio si adattata alle dinamiche stagionali. Difatti le uniche fonti di cibo sono date dalla pastorizia e, ove possibile, da agricoltura di sussistenza di specie molto rustiche come il Miglio (Pennisetum glaucum). Nonostante questi adattamenti la regione ha subito una serie di crisi umanitarie a partire dagli anni 70\u2019 del secolo scorso, causate da un brusco calo delle precipitazioni annuali. Il fenomeno climatico \ue8 risultato essere dovuto ad anomalie di temperature dell\u2019oceano Atlantico, similmente al fenomeno de El Ni\uf1o. Nonostante le piogge siano in lenta ripresa dall\u2019inizio degli anni 90\u2019, ricorrenti crisi umanitarie continuano ad interessare l\u2019area (l\u2019ultima nel 2010), motivo per cui le strategie da adottare per incrementare la sicurezza alimentare dell\u2019area rimangono questioni dibattute. In particolare, essendo il Sahel un\u2019area marginale a ridosso di una zona iper-arida, non vi sono gli estremi per attuare due comuni strategie di food security, l\u2019incremento delle aree coltivate e l\u2019intensificazione delle produzioni. In questo contesto, in cui strategie top-down sono inefficaci o dannose, \ue8 il monitoraggio del territorio che riveste un ruolo cruciale. In particolare in un\u2019area semi-naturale vasta come quella Saheliana, gli strumenti del telerilevamento satellitare sono strategici grazie alla loro capacit\ue0 di fornire dati spazializzati ed ad elevata risoluzione temporale. Scopo del lavoro \ue8 stato quello di contribuire a due aspetti del monitoraggio delle risorse naturali: lo studio di serie storiche di dati satellitari per individuare zone sottoposte a cronico degrado e studiare parametri correlati allo sviluppo della biomassa vegetale ad al suo stato idrico. Mentre il primo lavoro vuole dare informazioni utili alla pianificazione della gestione delle risorse naturali, il secondo vuole fornire informazioni in grado di fotografare in tempo reale l\u2019andamento della stagione corrente. La prima parte del lavoro ha riguardo il confronto sull\u2019intera Africa Occidentale tra il 1998 e il 2009) dei i trend delle cumulate stagionali di NDVI come proxy dello sviluppo vegetazionale, e delle precipitazioni in quanto variabile climatiche guida. I risultati hanno confermato che larga parte del territorio saheliano ha visto queste due variabili come perfettamente concordi durante il decennio passato. Tuttavia sono state evidenziate aree in cui i trend di produzione vegetale non sono spiegati dalle piogge. Aree in cui le produzioni sono aumentate nonostante la sostanziale stabilit\ue0 delle precipitazioni (Anomalous Greening, AG) risultano pi\uf9 frequenti nelle aree pi\uf9 meridionali dell\u2019Africa Occidentale ove \ue8 preponderante l\u2019attivit\ue0 agricola (West Sudanian savannah, 46% degli AG rilevati), mentre zone localizzate di anomalo decremento dell\u2019NDVI (Anomalous Degradation, AD) sono state rilevate nelle zone pi\uf9 aride del Sahel (Sahelian Acacia savannah, 59% degli AD rilevati). La analisi condotte a scala pi\uf9 di dettaglio con immagini ad alta risoluzione (30 m) hanno mostrato come queste anomalie si correlino ad usi e coperture del suolo differenti, con l\u2019AG in aree agricole l\u2019AD in aree marginali ove \ue8 praticabile unicamente la pastorizia. Due casi particolari di AG hanno mostrato eventi particolarmente drammatici in Chad e in Sudan. Entrambi i fenomeni sono risultati, da remoto, in un incremento dello sviluppo vegetazionale non legato alle piogge, dovuto al ritiro delle acque del lago Chad ed all\u2019abbandono delle terre di pascolo a seguito del conflitto del Darfur (2005-2006). I risultati sino a qui ottenuti permettono di sviluppare una mappatura tematica di aree localizzate soggette a cronico degrado, evidenziando in un sistema semi-naturale largamente legato alle precipitazioni zone in cui altre variabili vanno ad incidere sullo sviluppo vegetazionale. Queste possono essere approfondite dagli esperi locali, in modo da verificare se una popolazione rurale in continua crescita demografia sia incidendo sulla capacit\ue0 di carico dell\u2019ecosistema. La seconda parte del lavoro si \ue8 concentrata sullo stima dello stress idrico e della biomassa, due variabili fondamentali nel monitoraggio delle risorse naturali e pascolive in aree semi-aride. Serie temporali di frazione evapotraspirativa (EF) a bassa risoluzione sono state ottenute grazie alla relazione tra albedo e temperature superficiale. L\u2019EF \ue8 una componente del bilancio energetico ed \ue8 strettamente correlata con la disponibilit\ue0 idrica per la pianta. Le stime risultano avere dinamiche spaziotemporali coerenti con quelle che sono le dinamiche ecologiche della regione (piogge, fase vegetativa etc.) . Inoltre, l\u2019EF \ue8 risultata altamente correlata con flussi energetici misurati a terra da una stazione eddy covariance in Niger (r2 > 0.7). Il metodo implementato \ue8 di sicura utilit\ue0 per la stima dello stress idrico su vaste aree come quella Saheliana, frequentemente interessata da siccit\ue0 e piogge scarse. Stime di produzioni di biomassa sono state ottenute dal prodotto operativo satellitare Dry Matter Productivity (DMP) basato su di un modello di Light Use Efficiency (LUE). Le stime satellitari sono state valutate grazie al confronto con dati di produzione di biomassa pascoliva in 46 siti di misura in Niger lungo 10 anni (2000-2009). Le stime da remoto riportano valori di biomassa (kg/ha) in linea con le produzioni medie annuali dell\u2019area, tra i 200 kg/ha (aree iper-aride in annate sfavorevoli) e i 2000 kg/ha (pascoli altamente produttivi). Tuttavia le correlazioni coi dati di campo risultano basse (r2<0.3), ed il lavoro propone due approcci per incrementare l\u2019accuratezza del modello satellitare. La prima consiste nell\u2019integrazione dell\u2019EF come fattore di efficienza di disponibilit\ue0 idrica, attualmente non considerata dal DMP. L\u2019EF ha permesso di incrementare la capacit\ue0 del modello di LUE di spiegare la variabilit\ue0 dei dati di campo, specialmente su quei siti ove \ue8 pi\uf9 marcata la carenza idrica. Inoltre \ue8 stato verificato che il modello pu\uf2 incrementare la sua accuratezza nel caso in cui diverse Radiation Use Efficency (RUE) siano considerate, e seconda delle differenti coperture vegetali presenti al suolo. Le biomasse di queste \u201cunit\ue0 ecologiche\u201d presentano correlazioni staticamente differenti con le stime satellitari, e si differenziano tra di loro per la loro produttivit\ue0 media (max NDVI) e la loro fenologia (inizio della stagione, SoS). In conclusione, una stima satellitare di biomassa corretta per la disponibilit\ue0 idrica e l\u2019efficienza d\u2019uso della radiazione da parte delle diverse specie vegetali, una volta prodotta operativamente potr\ue0 fornire indicazioni sulla capacit\ue0 di carico dei pascoli nel corso della stagione, permettendo, se necessario, di produrre tempestive indicazioni sulle aree soggette a criticit\ue0.The research thesis here discussed focused on the Sahelian semi-arid rangeland, a region characterized by strong rainfall seasonality, with few dry months followed by a long dry season. In that area rangeland vegetation and human livelihoods of pastoralism and rainfed crop relies on this peculiar climatic condition. Unfavorable years whit poor or erratic rain results in reducing food supply from agropastoral activities possibly creating food insecurity condition. The work conducted address to main aspects of natural resources monitoring: long term study to identify critical condition that require further analysis to assess potential unbalanced human activities and near real time production of herbaceous biomass relate parameters to support on-going season early warning. In order to achieve the first goal satellite time-series of vegetation index and estimated rainfall were exploited (1998-2009) to identify areas where the two variables have opposite trends. These areas of anomalous hot spots highlight situations where the trend in the development of vegetation is locally driven by other factors mainly linked to human activity, rather than climatic driving force. In the humid regions of the southern part of the study area an increase of NDVI was observed even in conditions where rainfall remained stable (i.e. no significant trend), or even decreased (anomalous greening). These patches of increased NDVI are associated to crop land and savannah land cover classes. A number of hot spots of anomalous conditions along the boundary between the Sahelian and the Sahelian-Sudanian zones were analyzed in details using multi-temporal Landsat TM/ETM+ images and a more detailed analysis was conducted on a test area in Niger analyzing the anomalies in terms in changes of land cover and land use through years. The analysis of changes occurred between pairs of images acquired over the same area confirmed at local scale the trends of land degradation or recovery identified at the coarser resolution of 1km. It is important to underline that these anomalous situations are driven by local causes. Anomalous greening occurring north of Lake Chad is indicative of a critical environmental situation: the shrinking of Lake Chad has uncovered new lands colonized by new agricultural fields. On the contrary, small pockets anomalous degradation have been identified mainly in the Northern part of the study area, in the belt from West Mali to the Chad-Sudan border, which is well-known as fragile zone, where increasing population and human activity (rainfed agriculture, pastoralism and wood exploitation) are in instable equilibrium. Their strong dependence on climatic conditions determines frequent humanitarian crises due to food shortage. In Niger anomalous greening corresponds to the intensification of cropping in a fertile floodplain, whereas in Western Sudan it is associated to the abandonment of agro-pastoral land as a consequence of Darfur conflict. In areas where anomalous vegetation degradation is observed, the demographic framework and associated increase of the exploitation of environmental resources provide the general framework but are not sufficient to explain the local patterns. This result would be a support for natural resources exploitation planning, highlighting local chronic rangeland condition that need detailed analysis to identify causes and specific strategies to compensate the negative effect. The second part of the thesis focused on the estimation of two crucial variables in rangeland monitoring, the water availability for vegetation and the biomass production. Time series of evaporative fraction (EF), strongly linked to the vegetation water status and able to increase the performances of biomass estimation , were estimated from low resolution satellite data exploiting the albedo vs. land surface temperature relation. EF satellite derived resulted highly correlated to flux tower evapotranspiration (ET) measurements. In order to monitoring regional biomass the reliability of an operational LUE based product called Dry Matter Productivity (DMP) was evaluated in Niger rangeland thanks to ground biomass measurements on 46 sites over 10 years. In order to improve this useful biomass prediction at large scales the contribution of EF as a water stress efficiency in DMP algorithm was tested. Moreover the DMP performances were analyzed in relation to different ecological units, homogeneous in terms of vegetation cover and vegetation seasonal behaviour. Results suggest and discuss feasible LUE modelling improvement over the Sahel, taking into account satellite estimation of water availability and different radiation use efficiency for distinct plant communities. In conclusion, satellite biomass estimation corrected by water availability and including eco-types radiation use efficiency, once operationally produced and validated, could provide the necessary information for i) the creation of near real time bulletin of ongoing season and ii) if the case, the identification potential critical situation occurrence due to food shortage

Linee guida di prevenzione oncologica - Tabagismo

Linee guida sulla prevenzione oncologica predisposte dal Consiglio sanitario regionale toscano

From bench to bedside: in vitro and in vivo evaluation of a neonate-focused nebulized surfactant delivery strategy.

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive delivery of nebulized surfactant has been a neonatology long-pursued goal. Nevertheless, the clinical efficacy of nebulized surfactant remains inconclusive, in part, due to the great technical challenges of depositing nebulized drugs in the lungs of preterm infants. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of delivering nebulized surfactant (poractant alfa) in vitro and in vivo with an adapted, neonate-tailored aerosol delivery strategy. METHODS: Particle size distribution of undiluted poractant alfa aerosols generated by a customized eFlow-Neos nebulizer system was determined by laser diffraction. The theoretical nebulized surfactant lung dose was estimated in vitro in a clinical setting replica including a neonatal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) circuit, a cast of the upper airways of a preterm neonate, and a breath simulator programmed with the tidal breathing pattern of an infant with mild respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). A dose-response study with nebulized surfactant covering the 100-600\u2009mg/kg nominal dose-range was conducted in RDS-modelling, lung-lavaged spontaneously-breathing rabbits managed with nasal CPAP. The effects of nebulized poractant alfa on arterial gas exchange and lung mechanics were assessed. Exogenous alveolar disaturated-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) in the lungs was measured as a proxy of surfactant deposition efficacy. RESULTS: Laser diffraction studies demonstrated suitable aerosol characteristics for inhalation (mass median diameter, MMD\u2009=\u20093\u2009\u3bcm). The mean surfactant lung dose determined in vitro was 13.7%\u2009\ub1\u20094.0 of the 200\u2009mg/kg nominal dose. Nebulized surfactant delivered to spontaneously-breathing rabbits during nasal CPAP significantly improved arterial oxygenation compared to animals receiving CPAP only. Particularly, the groups of animals treated with 200\u2009mg/kg and 400\u2009mg/kg of nebulized poractant alfa achieved an equivalent pulmonary response in terms of oxygenation and lung mechanics as the group of animals treated with instilled surfactant (200\u2009mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS: The customized eFlow-Neos vibrating-membrane nebulizer system efficiently generated respirable aerosols of undiluted poractant alfa. Nebulized surfactant delivered at doses of 200\u2009mg/kg and 400\u2009mg/kg elicited a pulmonary response equivalent to that observed after treatment with an intratracheal surfactant bolus of 200\u2009mg/kg. This bench-characterized nebulized surfactant delivery strategy is now under evaluation in Phase II clinical trial (EUDRACT No.:2016-004547-36)

From bench to bedside: In vitro and in vivo evaluation of a neonate-focused nebulized surfactant delivery strategy

Background: Non-invasive delivery of nebulized surfactant has been a neonatology long-pursued goal. Nevertheless, the clinical efficacy of nebulized surfactant remains inconclusive, in part, due to the great technical challenges of depositing nebulized drugs in the lungs of preterm infants. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of delivering nebulized surfactant (poractant alfa) in vitro and in vivo with an adapted, neonate- tailored aerosol delivery strategy. Methods: Particle size distribution of undiluted poractant alfa aerosols generated by a customized eFlow-Neos nebulizer system was determined by laser diffraction. The theoretical nebulized surfactant lung dose was estimated in vitro in a clinical setting replica including a neonatal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) circuit, a cast of the upper airways of a preterm neonate, and a breath simulator programmed with the tidal breathing pattern of an infant with mild respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). A dose-response study with nebulized surfactant covering the 100\u2013600 mg/kg nominal dose-range was conducted in RDS-modelling, lung-lavaged spontaneously-breathing rabbits managed with nasal CPAP. The effects of nebulized poractant alfa on arterial gas exchange and lung mechanics were assessed. Exogenous alveolar disaturated-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) in the lungs was measured as a proxy of surfactant deposition efficacy. Results: Laser diffraction studies demonstrated suitable aerosol characteristics for inhalation (mass median diameter, MMD = 3 \u3bcm). The mean surfactant lung dose determined in vitro was 13.7% \ub1 4.0 of the 200 mg/kg nominal dose. Nebulized surfactant delivered to spontaneously-breathing rabbits during nasal CPAP significantly improved arterial oxygenation compared to animals receiving CPAP only. Particularly, the groups of animals treated with 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of nebulized poractant alfa achieved an equivalent pulmonary response in terms of oxygenation and lung mechanics as the group of animals treated with instilled surfactant (200 mg/kg). Conclusions: The customized eFlow-Neos vibrating-membrane nebulizer system efficiently generated respirable aerosols of undiluted poractant alfa. Nebulized surfactant delivered at doses of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg elicited a pulmonary response equivalent to that observed after treatment with an intratracheal surfactant bolus of 200 mg/kg. This bench-characterized nebulized surfactant delivery strategy is now under evaluation in Phase II clinical trial (EUDRACT No.:2016\u2013004547-36)

The CUORE cryostat: an infrastructure for rare event searches at millikelvin temperatures

The CUORE experiment is the world's largest bolometric experiment. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals, for a total mass of 742 kg. CUORE is presently taking data at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te. A large custom cryogen-free cryostat allows reaching and maintaining a base temperature of about 10 mK, required for the optimal operation of the detector. This apparatus has been designed in order to achieve a low noise environment, with minimal contribution to the radioactive background for the experiment. In this paper, we present an overview of the CUORE cryostat, together with a description of all its sub-systems, focusing on the solutions identified to satisfy the stringent requirements. We briefly illustrate the various phases of the cryostat commissioning and highlight the relevant steps and milestones achieved each time. Finally, we describe the successful cooldown of CUORE

First search for Lorentz violation in double beta decay with scintillating calorimeters

We present the search for Lorentz violation in the double beta decay of Se-82 with CUPID-0, using an exposure of 9.95 kg x yr. We found no evidence for the searched signal and set a limit on the isotropic components of the Lorentz violating coefficient of (a) over circle ((3))(of) ((3))(of) obtained with a scintillating bolometer, showing the potentiality of this technique

CUORE: The first bolometric experiment at the ton scale for the search for neutrino-less double beta decay

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the most massive bolometric experiment searching for neutrino-less double beta (0νββ) decay. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO crystals (742 kg) arranged in a compact cylindrical structure of 19 towers. This paper will describe the CUORE experiment, including the cryostat, and present the detector performance during the first year of running. Additional detail will describe the effort made in improving the energy resolution in the Te 0νββ decay region of interest (ROI) and the suppression of backgrounds. A description of work to lower the energy threshold in order to give CUORE the sensitivity to search for other rare events, such as dark matter, will also be provided. 2 13

Measurement of the (π−\pi^-, Ar) total hadronic cross section at the LArIAT experiment

We present the first measurement of the negative pion total hadronic cross section on argon, which we performed at the Liquid Argon In A Testbeam (LArIAT) experiment. All hadronic reaction channels, as well as hadronic elastic interactions with scattering angle greater than 5~degrees are included. The pions have a kinetic energies in the range 100-700~MeV and are produced by a beam of charged particles impinging on a solid target at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. LArIAT employs a 0.24~ton active mass Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) to measure the pion hadronic interactions. For this measurement, LArIAT has developed the ``thin slice method", a new technique to measure cross sections with LArTPCs. While generally higher than the prediction, our measurement of the ($\pi^-$,Ar) total hadronic cross section is in agreement with the prediction of the Geant4 model when considering a model uncertainty of $\sim$5.1\%.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables, accepted by PR

Status and prospects of discovery of 0νββ decay with the CUORE detector

In this contribution we present the achievements of the CUORE experiment so far. It is the first tonne-scale bolometric detector and it is in stable data taking since 2018. We reached to collect about 1800 kg×yr of exposure of which more than 1ton×year have been analysed. The CUORE detector is meant to search for the neutrinoless double β decay (0νββ) of the 130Te isotope. This is a beyond Standard Model process which could establish the nature of the neutrino to be Dirac or a Majorana particle. It is an alternative mode of the two-neutrinos double β decay, a rare decay which have been precisely measured by CUORE in the 130Te. We found no evidence of the 0νββ and we set a Bayesian lower limit of 2.2×1025yr on its half-life. The expertise achieved by CUORE set a milestone for any future bolometric detector, including CUPID, which is the planned next generation experiment searching for 0νββ with scintillating bolometers