A Support Analysis Framework for mass movement damage assessment: applications to case studies in Calabria (Italy)

The analysis of data describing damage caused by mass movements in Calabria (Italy) allowed the organisation of the Support Analysis Framework (SAF), a spreadsheet that converts damage descriptions into numerical indices expressing direct, indirect, and intangible damage. <br><br> The SAF assesses damage indices of past mass movements and the potential outcomes of dormant phenomena re-activations. It is based on the effects on damaged elements and is independent of both physical and geometric phenomenon characteristics. <br><br> SAF sections that assess direct damage encompass several lines, each describing an element characterised by a value fixed on a relative arbitrary scale. The levels of loss are classified as: L4: complete; L3: high; L2: medium; or L1: low. For a generic line <i>l</i>, the SAF multiplies the value of a damaged element by its level of loss, obtaining <i>d<sub>l</sub></i>, the contribution of the line to the damage. <br><br> Indirect damage is appraised by two sections accounting for: (a) actions aiming to overcome emergency situations and (b) actions aiming to restore pre-movement conditions. The level of loss depends on the number of people involved (a) or the cost of actions (b). <br><br> For intangible damage, the level of loss depends on the number of people involved. <br><br> We examined three phenomena, assessing damage using the SAF and SAFL, customised versions of SAF based on the elements actually present in the analysed municipalities that consider the values of elements in the community framework. We show that in less populated, inland, and affluent municipalities, the impact of mass movements is greater than in coastal areas. <br><br> The SAF can be useful to sort groups of phenomena according to their probable future damage, supplying results significant either for insurance companies or for local authorities involved in both disaster management and planning of defensive measures

Landslide damage assessment using the Support Analysis Framework (SAF): the 2009 landsliding event in Calabria (Italy)

In this paper, a simplified methodological approach is used to assess damage indices related to landslide phenomena that occurred in Calabria (Italy) between November 2008 and January 2009. This approach, which was designed for and applied to single landslides, uses the Support Analysis Framework (SAF), a procedure containing the elements that can be damaged by a landslide grouped in categories. In this paper, we test wide-ranging use of the SAF on a number of landslides, assessing landslide damage on a municipal scale to get a final estimate of the amount of damage caused by all of the landslides that occurred in a selected municipality. <br><br> Data regarding the damage caused by landslides were gathered from the press. Daily newspapers were systematically collected and elaborated to assess direct, indirect and intangible damage caused during the abovementioned period by a rainfall-triggered <i>landsliding event</i>. In the paper, regional- and provincial-scale results are described, and the methodological approach is briefly described. <br><br> The application of the proposed methodological approach to the 2009 landsliding event shows that the results can be used to summarise landslide damage from a complex event in order to better plan an intervention strategy at a regional, provincial or municipal scale. <br><br> The availability of newspaper data during the event and the speed of the proposed approach allow for rapid location of the damaged sectors during the event, which will continuously upgrade the regional damage framework. This can all be done almost in "real time". <br><br> For regional agencies, this framework can be a starting point to both manage the emergency and to acquire and interpret data giving a more detailed damage distribution so that a response can be organised. Moreover, based on the damage assessment, a characterisation of the landsliding event can also be carried out and used to describe the damage scenario occurring after each type of event

Painful constipation: a neglected entity?

Functional chronic constipation is a common symptom in daily clinical practice. Although the definition of constipation may be variable, there is usually agreement that (at least for research purposes) the definition given by the Rome Committee are useful. However, some blind spots or hidden angles remain, even in the more thorough classifications; among these, there is painful constipation, a poorly defined yet clinically encountered entity. The present article reviews the current knowledge about painful constipation, trying to put together the scarce data available, and to frame it in the more general context of chronic constipation

miR-29b sensitizes multiple myeloma cells to bortezomib-induced apoptosis through the activation of a feedback loop with the transcription factor Sp1

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) with tumor-suppressor potential might have therapeutic applications in multiple myeloma (MM) through the modulation of still undiscovered molecular pathways. Here, we investigated the effects of enforced expression of miR-29b on the apoptotic occurrence in MM and highlighted its role in the context of a new transcriptional loop that is finely tuned by the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. In details, in vitro growth inhibition and apoptosis of MM cells was induced by either transient expression of synthetic miR-29b or its stable lentivirus-enforced expression. We identified Sp1, a transcription factor endowed with oncogenic activity, as a negative regulator of miR-29b expression in MM cells. Since Sp1 expression and functions are regulated via the 26S proteasome, we investigated the effects of bortezomib on miR-29b-Sp1 loop, showing that miR-29b levels were indeed upregulated by the drug. At the same time, the bortezomib/miR-29b combination produced significant pro-apoptotic effects. We also demonstrated that the PI3K/AKT pathway plays a major role in the regulation of miR-29b-Sp1 loop and induction of apoptosis in MM cells. Finally, MM xenografts constitutively expressing miR-29b showed significant reduction of their tumorigenic potential. Our findings indicate that miR-29b is involved in a regulatory loop amenable of pharmacologic intervention and modulates the anti-MM activity of bortezomib in MM cells

Effect of weathering on the compressibility and shear strength of a natural clay

In situ, seasonal changes expose soils to frequent wetting–drying–freezing–thawing cycles. Such processes can favour and trigger shallow instabilities controlled by the weathering process. This paper presents an experimental study carried out to investigate the effects of the weathering process, caused by the wetting–drying–freezing–thawing cycles, on the compressibility and shear strength of a natural clay. Several specimens were trimmed from block samples of overconsolidated clays taken from a slope in south Calabria, Italy. Specimens were subjected to wetting– drying–freezing–thawing cycles of different durations and then tested with standard equipment (oedometer and direct shear). Test results show that the wetting–drying–freezing–thawing cycles caused a change in the initial microstructure that produced a decrease in the compression index and an increase in the swelling index. Moreover, the direct shear test results show a decrease in the peak shear strength and demonstrate that a larger reduction occurs in the first month of weathering cycles. The intense cycles performed in the laboratory produced a decay of compressibility and a shear strength approaching reconstituted values. The conclusions are important when choosing the shear strength parameters required when studying shallow landsliding in clay slopes

Influence of degradation cycles on the mechanical characteristics of natural clays.

On low depths, soils are exposed seasonally to frequent wetting-drying and freezing-thawing cycles; the degradation effects of these cycles are more pronounced in clayey soils. The number of cycles is due to periods of rainfall and variations in air temperature. Such processes can trigger shallow instability essentially controlled by the physical weathering of soils. An experimental study was carried out to investigate how the physical weathering, reproduced by laboratory wetting-drying and freezing-thawing cycles, affects the mechanical behaviour of natural clays in the superficial layers. For this purpose block samples of Pliocene clays were taken from a slope in Southern Calabria (Italy). They are overconsolidated stiff clays which can be classified as to high plasticity clays (CH). Different specimens were trimmed from the block samples and they were subjected to different numbers of wetting-drying-freezing-thawing cycles and then tested in oedometer and direct shear tests. Results of oedometer and direct shear tests seem to show that the physical weathering has caused a degradation of the bonding due to an insufficient ability to resist this cyclic process. The variations of peak shear strength are pronounced in the first month then they may be regarded as essentially constant. The wetting-drying-freezing-thawing cycles also cause a decrease in compression index and an increase of swelling inde

Probabilistic analysis of vulnerability of buildings to slow moving landslides: a study in two municipalities in southern Italy

The paper presents a probabilistic analysis of the vulnerability of buildings interacting with slow-moving landslides. With reference to two municipalities of the Calabria region (southern Italy) severely affected by this type of slope instabilities, the combination of data collected by way of expeditious damage surveys with building settlements retrieved from the use of Differential Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) techniques allows generating separate couples of empirical fragility and vulnerability curves for the two investigated urban areas. The comparison of the obtained results highlights that the use of such tools for damage forecasting purposes in other landslide-affected areas requires selecting – from a statistical point of view – building samples belonging to the same data population (i.e. referring to homogeneous land-urban systems)