Deformation analysis of a metropolis from C- to X-band PSI: proof-of-concept with Cosmo-Skymed over Rome, Italy

Stability of monuments and subsidence of residential quarters in Rome (Italy) are depicted based on geospatial analysis of more than 310,000 Persistent Scatterers (PS) obtained from Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS) processing of 32 COSMO-SkyMed 3m-resolution HH StripMap ascending mode scenes acquired between 21 March 2011 and 10 June 2013. COSMO-SkyMed PS densities and associated displacement velocities are compared with almost 20 years of historical C-band ERS- 1/2, ENVISAT and RADARSAT-1/2 imagery. Accounting for differences in image processing algorithms and satellite acquisition geometries, we assess the feasibility of ground motion monitoring in big cities and metropolitan areas by coupling newly acquired and legacy SAR in full time series. Limitations and operational benefits of the transition from medium resolution C-band to high resolution X-band PS data are discussed, alongside the potential impact on the management of expanding urban environments

Functional neuroanatomy of interoceptive processing in children and adolescents: a pilot study

In adults, interoception – the sense of the physiological condition of the body - appears to influence emotion processing, cognition, behavior and various somatic and mental health disorders. Adults demonstrate frontal-insula-parietal-anterior cingulate cortex activation during the heartbeat detection task, a common interoceptive measure. Little, however, is known about the functional neuroanatomy underlying interoception in children. The current pilot study examined interoceptive processing in children and adolescents with fMRI while using the heartbeat detection task. Our main findings demonstrate that children as young as the age of six activate the left insula, cuneus, inferior parietal lobule and prefrontal regions. These findings are similar to those in adults when comparing heartbeat and tone detection conditions. Age was associated with increased activation within the dACC, orbital frontal cortex and the mid-inferior frontal gyri. Thus, our pilot study may provide important information about the neurodevelopment of interoceptive processing abilities in children and a task for future interoception neuroimaging studies in children