Constraints on the early and late integrated Sachs-Wolfe effects from the Planck 2015 cosmic microwave background anisotropies in the angular power spectra

The Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect predicts additional anisotropies in the Cosmic MicrowaveBackground due to time variation of the gravitational potential when the expansion of the universeis not matter dominated. The ISW effect is therefore expected in the early universe, due to thepresence of relativistic particles at recombination, and in the late universe, when dark energy startsto dominate the expansion. Deviations from the standard picture can be parameterized byAeISWandAlISW, which rescale the overall amplitude of the early and late ISW effects. Analyzing themost recent CMB temperature spectra from the Planck 2015 release, we detect the presence of theearly ISW at high significance withAeISW= 1.06±0.04 at 68% CL and an upper limit for thelate ISW ofAlISW<1.1 at 95% CL. The inclusion of the recent polarization data from the Planckexperiment erases such 1.5σhint forAeISW6= 1. When considering the recent detections of the lateISW coming from correlations between CMB temperature anisotropies and weak lensing, a value ofAlISW= 0.85±0.21 is predicted at 68% CL, showing a 4σevidence. We discuss the stability of ourresult in the case of an extra relativistic energy component parametrized by the effective neutrinonumberNeffand of a CMB lensing amplitudeA

Mixed Land Use as an Intrinsic Feature of Sprawl: A Short-Term Analysis of Settlement Growth and Population Distribution Using European Urban Atlas

This study investigates the land-use/population mix over time as the base to derive an indicator of urban sprawl. Land-use individual patches (provided by Urban Atlas, hereafter UA, with a detailed spatial geometry at 1:10,000 scale) were associated with the total (resident) population based on official statistics (census enumeration districts and other public data sources), providing a comprehensive mapping of the spatial distribution of population density by land-use class in a representative case study for the Mediterranean region (metropolitan Athens, Greece). Data analysis adopted a mix of statistical techniques, such as descriptive statistics, non-parametric curve interpolation (smoothing splines), and exploratory multivariate statistics, namely hierarchical clustering, non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and confirmative factor analysis. The results of this study indicate a non-linear gradient of density decline from downtown (dominated by compact settlements) to peripheral locations (dominated by natural land). Population density in agricultural land was locally high and increasing over time; this result suggests how mixed land use may be the base of intense sprawl in large metropolitan regions. The methodology implemented in this study can be generalized over the whole sample of European cities included in Urban Atlas, providing a semi-automatic assessment of exurban development and population re-distribution over larger metropolitan regions

Growth performance of selected eucalypt hybrid clones for SRWC in central and southern Italy

Eucalypt short-rotation woody crop (SRWC) is becoming an attractive option for energy biomass in Mediterranean dry environments. The present study is aimed at assessing growth performance of selected eucalypt hybrid clones for SRWC in three Italian sites (Massama, Sardinia; Mirto, Calabria; Rome, Latium) compared with Eucalyptus camaldulensis, the most commonly cultivated eucalypt species in Italy. The study identified eucalypt clones with stable and high performance between several alternatives. Results pointed out the declining growth performance observed in the second rotation compared with the first cycle. This is due to the cultivation model, age rotation and harvesting method adopted, which negatively affect the available soil nutrients’ content. The clone/site interaction as for basal area growth at the three investigated sites, suggests a significantly different clones’ performance among sites. Viglio and Velino clones showed the best overall performance and are suggested to be used over the large scale SRWC in central and southern Italy

Novel Modality of Endoluminal Anastomotic Integrity Assessment with Fluoroangiography After Left-sided Colorectal Resections

Background Several methods have been described for the intraoperative evaluation of colorectal anastomotic integrity. Technological evolution has allowed to progress from basic mechanical methods to the use of more sophisticated techniques. This study describes a novel endoluminal modality of colorectal anastomotic assessment through the use of a Disposable Rigid Scope Introducer (DRSI) also allowing for intraoperative endoluminal perfusion evaluation by indocyanine green (ICG) fluoroangiography in patients undergoing left-sided colorectal resection. Methods The DRSI consists of an endoluminal introducer device made up of an insertion tube and port connected to an insufflation bulb to manually insufflate the sigmoid and rectum and is compatible with any laparoscopic camera, also allowing for ICG fluoroangiography for perfusion purposes. Results The DRSI was successfully used to assess anastomotic integrity after left-sided colorectal resections performed in 16 consecutive patients. The DRSI allowed to visualize by fluoroangiography the quality of tissue perfusion at the anastomotic site in all cases, contributing to the decision of avoiding loop ileostomies in low rectal resections. In 2 cases, the DRSI showed the presence of significant anastomotic bleeding which was successfully controlled by laparoscopic suture placement. No adverse event resulted from the use of this device. Conclusions The DRSI combines direct endoluminal visualization of the anastomosis together with real-time evaluation of its blood flow. This device holds great potential for prompt intraoperative detection of anastomotic alterations, possibly reducing the risk of postoperative anastomotic bleeding or leaks related to mechanical construction/perfusion issues. Potential advantages of this device warrant larger cohort studies and prospective randomized trials

Reporting land degradation sensitivity through multiple indicators: Does scale matter?

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Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region

[EN] Climate change leverages landscape transformations and exerts variable pressure on natural environments and rural systems. Earlier studies outlined how Mediterranean Europe has become a global hotspot of climate warming and land use change. The present work assumes the olive tree, a typical Mediterranean crop, as a candidate bioclimatic indicator, delineating the latent impact of climate aridity on traditional cropping systems at the northern range of the biogeographical distribution of the olive tree. Since the olive tree follows a well-defined latitude gradient with a progressive decline in both frequency and density moving toward the north, we considered Italy as an appropriate case to investigate how climate change may (directly or indirectly) influence the spatial distribution of this crop. By adopting an exploratory approach grounded in the quali-quantitative analysis of official statistics, the present study investigates long-term changes over time in the spatial distribution of the olive tree surface area in Northern Italy, a region traditionally considered outside the ecological range of the species because of unsuitable climate conditions. Olive tree cultivated areas increased in Northern Italy, especially in flat districts and upland areas, while they decreased in Central and Southern Italy under optimal climate conditions, mostly because of land abandonment. The most intense expansion of the olive tree surface area in Italy was observed in the northern region between 1992 and 2000 and corresponded with the intensification of winter droughts during the late 1980s and the early 1990s and local warming since the mid-1980s. Assuming the intrinsic role of farmers in the expansion of the olive tree into the suboptimal land of Northern Italy, the empirical results of our study suggest how climate aridity and local warming may underlie the shift toward the north in the geographical range of the olive tree in the Mediterranean Basin. We finally discussed the implications of the olive range shift as a part of a possible landscape scenario for a more arid future.Rodrigo-Comino, J.; Salvia, R.; Quaranta, G.; Cudlín, P.; Salvati, L.; Giménez Morera, A. (2021). Climate Aridity and the Geographical Shift of Olive Trees in a Mediterranean Northern Region. Climate. 9(4):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9040064S1189

The coral assemblage of an off-shore deep Mediterranean rocky bank (NW Sicily, Italy)

In this study we characterized the deep assemblages dwelling at 200–250 m depth on a large shoal off Capo St. Vito Promontory (Northwestern coast of Sicily, South Tyrrhenian Sea) by means of ROV-imaging. Two assemblages of suspension feeders, dominated by the gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata and by the black coral Leiopathes glaberrima, together with a tanatocoenosis of the colonial yellow scleractinian coral Dendrophyllia cornigera, were examined. The three main species were significatively distributed into two areas corresponding to different habitat preferences: a more elevated hardground hosting black corals and a gently sloping, silted rocky bottom hosting the other coral species. The study area is subjected to a heavy pressure from the professional fishery, resulting in the mechanical damage of numerous colonies, some of which are then overgrown by various epibionts including a parasitic bioluminescent zoanthid, new for the Mediterranean fauna, and tentatively identified as Isozoanthus primoidus. In the Mediterranean Sea, these deep off-shore rocky banks are widely known among recreational and professional fishermen due to their rich fish fauna. However, there has been still little effort into quantifying and characterizing the extent of the impact and its consequences on the benthic communities, which may represent, as in this case, only a partial picture of their original structure and extent

High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis

[EN] Diachronic variations in demographic rates have frequently reflected social transformations and a (more or less evident) impact of sequential economic downturns. By assessing changes over time in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) at the regional scale in Italy, our study investigates the long-term transition (1952-2019) characteristic of Mediterranean fertility, showing a continuous decline of births since the late 1970s and marked disparities between high- and low-fertility regions along the latitude gradient. Together with a rapid decline in the country TFR, the spatiotemporal evolution of regional fertility in Italy-illustrated through an exploratory time series statistical approach-outlines the marked divide between (wealthier) Northern regions and (economically disadvantaged) Southern regions. Non-linear fertility trends and increasing spatial heterogeneity in more recent times indicate the role of individual behaviors leveraging a generalized decline in marriage and childbearing propensity. Assuming differential responses of regional fertility to changing socioeconomic contexts, these trends are more evident in Southern Italy than in Northern Italy. Reasons at the base of such fertility patterns were extensively discussed focusing-among others-on the distinctive contribution of internal and international migrations to regional fertility rates. Based on these findings, Southern Italy, an economically disadvantaged, peripheral region in Mediterranean Europe, is taken as a paradigmatic case of demographic shrinkage-whose causes and consequences can be generalized to wider contexts in (and outside) Europe.Rodrigo-Comino, J.; Egidi, G.; Salvati, L.; Quaranta, G.; Salvia, R.; Giménez Morera, A. (2021). High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis. Data. 6(2):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/data6020019S1146

Re-Framing the Latent Nexus between Land-Use Change, Urbanization and Demographic Transitions in Advanced Economies

[EN] The linkage between land-use change and demographic transitions in advanced countries has becoming increasingly complex because of the mutual interplay of environmental and socioeconomic spheres influencing the degree of sustainability of both regional and local developmental processes. The relationship between urbanization and economic development has been relatively well investigated by clarifying the consequent impacts on population dynamics. In the early phases of urbanization and economic development, population grew at a particularly high rate, declining (more or less rapidly) in the subsequent time interval. Improving income and education opportunities in urban settings resulted in further urbanization, leading to progressively lower fertility. At the same time, a more general view on the relationship between land-use change and demographic transition focusing on a broader spectrum of landscape processes (including farmland abandonment and forest expansion) at larger spatial scales (from regional to country and continental scale) is increasingly required. The present study provides an integrated view of the relationship between land-use change, urbanization, and demographic transitions with specific focus on Europe. Considering divergent processes of landscape transformations in a unified socioeconomic view may evidence the intimate linkage with recent population trends in both urban and rural areas.Egidi, G.; Salvati, L.; Falcone, A.; Quaranta, G.; Salvia, R.; Vecenakova, R.; Giménez Morera, A. (2021). Re-Framing the Latent Nexus between Land-Use Change, Urbanization and Demographic Transitions in Advanced Economies. Sustainability. 13(2):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020533S11713

Democrazia energetica e inclusione sociale nelle aree interne. Il ruolo della contrattazione sociale e territoriale nel contrasto alla povertà energetica

Il paper presenta i risultati di una ricerca-azione sul tema della povertà energetica nelle aree interne. L’indagine è stata promossa e condotta dallo Spi-Cgil (Sindacato dei pensionati italiani), in collaborazione con la Fondazione Giuseppe Di Vittorio. L’indagine sul campo è stata condotta su tutto il territorio nazionale attraverso un disegno di campionamento per quote a due stadi: i comuni periferici e ultra-periferici, selezionati con procedura casuale, come unità di primo stadio; le persone di età maggiore 64 anni residenti negli stessi comuni, come unità di secondo stadio. Gli scopi della ricerca sono: i) fornire strumenti interpretativi per definire, misurare e contrastare il fenomeno della povertà energetica; ii) indagare la vulnerabilità e la povertà economica ed energetica nelle aree periferiche ed ultra-periferiche quali ambiti privilegiati per la costruzione di pratiche innovative di investimento sociale place-based e di nuovo welfare locale da cui ripartire per rispondere ai nuovi bisogni di protezione dei soggetti più fragili; iii) rafforzare il ruolo della contrattazione sociale e territoriale dei sindacati nella lotta alla povertà energetica e nella costruzione di una transizione ecologica giusta