Assessment and Mapping Green Areas Ecosystem Services and Socio-Demographic Characteristics in Turin Neighborhoods (Italy)

The ecosystem services (ES) and human well-being are keywords that guide the Italian strategy on urban greening. The development of ES priorities linked to specific land uses help to guide the drafting of management plans. The aim of the research was to assess and map green areas ecosystem services and socio-demographic characteristics in Turin neighborhoods in order to identify where to improve the provision of ecosystem services and the socio-demographic conditions. The Preliminary Assessment Method (PAM) was used for the assessment of provision and regulating services based on land use. The Species-specific Air Quality index (S-AQI) was used to assess the regulating services provided by trees. Three socio-demographic characteristics were analyzed at the neighborhood level—age index, housing density, and % of economically assisted citizens. PAM results show that Turin provides more ecosystem services in peripheral areas of the city. Trees with high S-AQI values represent 21% of the censed trees. Not recommended trees are 18%. The neighborhoods with higher S-AQI values are not always characterized by a higher number of trees/km2 or species richness. Results show that the northern part of the city is characterized by higher values of ES and socio-demographic conditions than the central-southern part. This aspect is related to the conspicuous presence of agricultural land uses and water bodies, together with the presence of tree species with a high S-AQI values and high or medium socio-demographic conditions. 57% of the neighborhoods present low results for both aspects. Actions to improve the quality of green spaces in those neighborhoods could have great effects on liveability. Future management and planning strategies for increasing citizens’ well-being through urban greening should consider the proposed approach

New technology based on clamping for high gradient radio frequency photogun

High gradient rf photoguns have been a key development to enable several applications of high quality electron beams. They allow the generation of beams with very high peak current and low transverse emittance, satisfying the tight demands for free-electron lasers, energy recovery linacs, Compton/Thomson sources and high-energy linear colliders. In the present paper we present the design of a new rf photogun recently developed in the framework of the SPARC_LAB photoinjector activities at the laboratories of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Frascati (LNF-INFN, Italy). This design implements several new features from the electromagnetic point of view and, more important, a novel technology for its realization that does not involve any brazing process. From the electromagnetic point of view the gun presents high mode separation, low peak surface electric field at the iris and minimized pulsed heating on the coupler. For the realization, we have implemented a novel fabrication design that, avoiding brazing, strongly reduces the cost, the realization time and the risk of failure. Details on the electromagnetic design, low power rf measurements and high power radiofrequency and beam tests performed at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) are discussed in the paper

Urban Green Development and Resilient Cities: A First Insight into Urban Forest Planning in Italy

The research proposes an application of a modification of the 3–30–300 rule to identify areas that require Urban Forestry implementation in small and medium-sized Roman and/or medieval urban areas. The selected case study is that of Asti in Piedmont, Italy. An open source, cross-platform desktop geographic information system is used to process geospatial datasets via qualitative analyses of electoral sections (or wards). An analysis of the number and distribution of trees around each building is performed, in addition to the calculation of tree canopy cover and distance between buildings and green spaces. Findings reveal that 64 out of 70 wards have an average of at least three trees per building and sufficient green areas of at least 0.5 hectares within 300 m of the buildings. Additionally, the tree canopy cover ranges from approximately 0.6% (lowest) to about 55% (highest) for the electoral sections. Lastly, findings suggest that the highly built-up urban fabric in these areas may significantly affect the availability and quality of green spaces. In conclusion, the case study proves the benefits of applying the 3–30–300 rule to small and medium-sized urban areas using an integrated assessment approach based on nature-based solutions and ecosystem services

Are Current Cancer Treatments on Target for Our Ageing Cancer Population?

Worldwide the cancer population is ageing – within a decade almost two-thirds of newly diagnosed patients will be aged 65 years and older. Despite this, the majority of oncology clinical trials continue to recruit patients who are younger and fitter than those typically encountered in clinical practice. As such, there is a lack of clinical data to guide management, particularly in those patients living with frailty and/or comorbidity. Importantly, the lack of older adults in trials also means that the subsequent translational work that underpins biomarker and therapeutic discovery may not be relevant to those we see in clinic. In this commentary, we discuss this challenge and the ways we as an Oncology community can look to address this pressing issue

Are Current Cancer Treatments on Target for Our Ageing Cancer Population?

Worldwide the cancer population is ageing – within a decade almost two-thirds of newly diagnosed patients will be aged 65 years and older. Despite this, the majority of oncology clinical trials continue to recruit patients who are younger and fitter than those typically encountered in clinical practice. As such, there is a lack of clinical data to guide management, particularly in those patients living with frailty and/or comorbidity. Importantly, the lack of older adults in trials also means that the subsequent translational work that underpins biomarker and therapeutic discovery may not be relevant to those we see in clinic. In this commentary, we discuss this challenge and the ways we as an Oncology community can look to address this pressing issue