Weather Impacts On Natural, Social And Economic System (WISE) Part II: Individual Perception of Climate Extremes in Italy

This paper focuses on the results of the research work carried out by Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) within the WISE project. This project aims at investigating the effects and the impacts of extreme weather events, particularly very warm summers, mild winters and storms, on the socio-economic systems of European countries. The output consists of a series of empirical studies, both of quantitative and qualitative-descriptive nature. The work of FEEM in the WISE project covers the quantitative analysis of the impacts of climate extremes on the socio-economic system in Italy and the analysis of individuals’ perception of climate extremes based on results from individuals’ surveys. In this paper is considered the study of the perception of weather impacts through questionnaire survey to the general public. With regard to the individuals’ perception survey, a sample of 300 individuals were interviewed by telephone: 150 extracted from the North of Italy and 150 from the South of Italy. Individuals were asked general questions about their perception of climate extremes, and about the impacts of weather extremes on their daily habits at work, at home, in their leisure activities, on their transport patterns, on their health and tourism choices.Climate change, Weather extremes, Perception, Impacts

Weather Impacts On Natural, Social And Economic System (WISE) Part I: Sectoral Analysis of Climate Impacts in Italy

This paper focuses on the results of the research work carried out by Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) within the WISE project. This project aims at investigating the effects and the impacts of extreme weather events, particularly very warm summers, mild winters and storms, on the socio-economic systems of European countries. The output consists of a series of empirical studies, both of quantitative and qualitative-descriptive nature. The work of FEEM in the WISE project covers the quantitative analysis of the impacts of climate extremes on the socio-economic system in Italy and the analysis of individuals' perception of climate extremes based on results from individuals' surveys. In this paper is presented the statistical modelling of the impact of weather, through quantitative analysis of activity time series. In particular, the core sectors analysed include fires, health, energy use, tourism and agriculture

Cognitive pilot channel: A radio enabler for spectrum awareness and optimized radio resource management

Today’s wireless communications landscape is characterized by the coexistence of a plethora of disparate radio access technologies (RATs), which exhibit varying features in terms of capacity and coverage capabilities, mobility support etc. and also offer a great number of applications and services to different types of devices. In such a miscellaneous environment, mobile terminals are provided with a great set of options while setting up the parameters of their operation including among others the RAT, carrier frequency, and must also take into account the latest trend towards a flexible spectrum framework in heterogeneous radio access networks (RANs). As a result, in order to implement the optimal action, a mobile terminal needs to be enabled to acquire knowledge of its environment and established policies. Apart from mobilizing a rather time- and power-consuming operation such as spectrum sensing, the Cognitive Pilot Channel (CPC) concept has been proposed as a solution for providing the terminal with the necessary radio awareness at a given time and place, in a possible flexible spectrum management context. Framed within the above, this paper, developed within the E3 project, aims at describing the CPC concept by showcasing its twofold role. First, as an enabler of the switch-on process for assisting the mobile terminal to camp onto the network side and second, as an enabler of an efficient decentralized and network-assisted radio resource management during the on-going communication phase.Postprint (published version

Travels of a Rayed Head: imagery, fiber, structure and connotations of early textiles from the South Central Andes

The rayed head image has long been identified as a central symbol associated with the Paracas tradition, also called the sun face 1 and associated with the concept of Oculate Being developed by the Berkeley School. 2 Prominently repeated on the central ground of the famous Paracas Textile at the Brooklyn Museum, this image has much earlier antecedents in the region. Scholars disagree on the extent to which many Paracas, Topara and early Nasca images with large round eyes, grinning mouths, and serpentlike appendages emitting from the head and body may also be manifestations of a particular Oculate Being or of more general concepts of natural or supernatural power. Recently, contemporary textiles found in the Sihuas valley to the south (see Haeberli in this volume) challenge us to reexamine the similarities and distinctions among rayed heads. One of the great challenges of the history of material culture, envisioned as a history of philosophical concepts, social values and cultural practices through their inscription in material objects, is the degree to which a recurrent image, pattern or special arrangement reflects a similar idea. A number of quite different images have been associated with the concept of an Oculate Being proposed by John Rowe and others of the Berkeley school based on their analysis of Ica valley ceramics and Ocucaje gravelots in the 1950s. I here trace the rayed head or sun face image as it occurs over at least 500 years in the region of Ica and Paracas. I then briefly consider its relationship to other contemporary imagery and later imagery featuring ray-like elements emitted from the head, both in the same contexts where the rayed head appears, and in other cemeteries to the south in southern Peru and northern Chile. All the imagery discussed here is associated with a period between about 450 BC and AD 450 called the Formative in the South Central Andes (Bolivia and northern Chile) and called the Early Horizon (or late Formative) and Early Intermediate (or Regional Development) Period in the Central Andes. Most of the images I discuss are created on textiles. While only recovered from burials on the desert coast, textile materials draw on relationships of production and exchange that spanned the Andean cordillera to the montane rainforest to the east, and stretched to the north and south. Either as clothing or cargo, textiles themselves traveled and were no doubt a primary source of non-local imagery. I do consider related images on non-textile artifacts. I compare textile based imagery with contemporary imagery on engraved and painted ceramics and gourds to try to distinguish among design features specific to medium, style and iconography

EVALITA Evaluation of NLP and Speech Tools for Italian - December 17th, 2020

Welcome to EVALITA 2020! EVALITA is the evaluation campaign of Natural Language Processing and Speech Tools for Italian. EVALITA is an initiative of the Italian Association for Computational Linguistics (AILC, http://www.ai-lc.it) and it is endorsed by the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AIxIA, http://www.aixia.it) and the Italian Association for Speech Sciences (AISV, http://www.aisv.it)

Remediation of a jet fuel contaminated aquifer through enhanced chemical desorption

The implementation of a georefereced database provides an integrated management, representation and analysis of diffrent data (geological, hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and geophysical) along with the creation of a 3D Hydrogeophysical model that represents an effctive “near real time” Decision Support System able to manage and to release data during the diffrent remediation phases, from the characterization to the technique of implementation, were carried out on a site that consists of a large airport area located in central Italy, where about twenty years ago a jet fuel spill occurred. This site is characterized by the alternation of fie and coarse particle size materials with a groundwater depth equal to about 5m showing a high variability throughout the year. The detected contamination, despite being mainly caused by a spill, is quite extensive and has been the subject of years of a Pump & Treat intervention (still operational) that over time has allowed both the reduction of the contaminant mass and a narrowing of the contaminant plume, that progressively has reached an asymptotic trend. Some portions located immediately downstream of the source show the residual presence of contaminants, which are considered irremovable with the technology being performed, due to the presence of phases adsorbed mainly to the less permeable portions of the aquifer. An in situ enhanced chemical desorption strategy was implemented using the Regenesis PetroCleanze™ product with a main technological function to increase the desorption of hydrocarbons adsorbed to saturated soils or at the capillary fringe, and to increase the recoverability of the product in a separate phase while hydrocarbons are made available in the dissolved phase, allowing a subsequent rapid and effctive physical recovery. The intervention was carried out during the pilot phase in 3 diffrent areas, by a direct application in the existing wells and reactivating the Pump & Treat system a few days later. The monitoring carried out made it possible to verify a substantial increase in the concentrations in the post-application phase, with a progressive subsequent decrease as a result of the pumping activities. The speciation analyzes carried out made it possible to detect an increase in the shorter hydrocarbon chains, indicating that the prevailing effct of the treatment was probably of a partial oxidative type with the breaking down of the longer chains. The monitoring data obtained during and after the test activities showed that a signifiant mass of contaminants was recovered (signifiantly increasing the effiency of the system present on the site) and a reduction of the pollutant mass in the area of interest. In addition to the monitoring activities, geophysical tests were performed during the test, which allowed to provide interesting information about the distribution of the reagents in the saturated subsoil. The full-scale project is currently underway. The case study is considered of interest as it illustrates an example of how it is possible to optimize the removal of LNAPL contaminants when they are substantially no longer recoverable by conventional technologies

Cognitive pilot channel: A radio enabler for spectrum awareness and optimized radio resource management

Today’s wireless communications landscape is characterized by the coexistence of a plethora of disparate radio access technologies (RATs), which exhibit varying features in terms of capacity and coverage capabilities, mobility support etc. and also offer a great number of applications and services to different types of devices. In such a miscellaneous environment, mobile terminals are provided with a great set of options while setting up the parameters of their operation including among others the RAT, carrier frequency, and must also take into account the latest trend towards a flexible spectrum framework in heterogeneous radio access networks (RANs). As a result, in order to implement the optimal action, a mobile terminal needs to be enabled to acquire knowledge of its environment and established policies. Apart from mobilizing a rather time- and power-consuming operation such as spectrum sensing, the Cognitive Pilot Channel (CPC) concept has been proposed as a solution for providing the terminal with the necessary radio awareness at a given time and place, in a possible flexible spectrum management context. Framed within the above, this paper, developed within the E3 project, aims at describing the CPC concept by showcasing its twofold role. First, as an enabler of the switch-on process for assisting the mobile terminal to camp onto the network side and second, as an enabler of an efficient decentralized and network-assisted radio resource management during the on-going communication phase

Gestione sostenibile di un plume di contaminazione da solventi clorurati combinando interventi in situ fisici, chimici e biologici

The presence of chlorinated solvents in groundwater in industrialized and urbanized areas represents an environmental problem. An industrial plant in a densely populated urban neighborhood of a large Italian city has historically generated a widespread plume of tetrachlorethylene (PCE) in the downgradient aquifer. The management of the plume in the external areas required a thoughtful approach due to the complex hydrological context and limited accessibility. Through a multiscale and coupled hydrogeochemical approach, a remediation strategy was developed consisting in the application of different technologies that intercept the plume in consideration of the level of concentration and of the specific logistic and hydrogeological characteristics. On the one hand, coaxial groundwater circulation wells (CGC) coupled with air sparging (AS) have been used, in the areas with the highest concentration, to promote the in situ transfer of PCE from the contaminated matrices into a gaseous flow which is then treated on site. On the other hand, the injection of reagents into the groundwater has the aim of stimulating chemical reduction combined with rapid adsorption in situ, creating adsorbing areas of contaminants and stimulating the dechlorinating activity, in areas of intermediate concentration. The monitored natural attenuation was instead used in areas with a lower concentration. The development of an integrated conceptual model of the site (MCS) captures the specific geological and hydrochemical peculiarities of the site and supports the decision-making process. The multi-source model guides the configuration and localization of an advanced remediation strategy that is adapted to particular physicochemical conditions. The encouraging results obtained in the first phase of the activity show how, on the basis of a sufficiently robust conceptual model of the contaminated site, it was possible to identify the most suitable intervention technologies in a residential urban area with logistical constraints and particularly challenging potential secondary impacts