TOPOGRAPHIC AND EDUCATIONAL MAPPING: SOME PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS ON THE HISTORIC EVOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF MATERA AND ITS NEIGHBORHOODS

Questo contributo vuole offrire spunti di lettura e didattica della cartografia topografica finalizzati all’esame della riorganizzazione ed evoluzione del territorio della città di Matera. L’esame si basa sulla lettura diacronica della cartografia topografica IGM al 50.000 del 1919 e del 1978, supportata da riferimenti storici, da un’immagine aerea della città del 1945 e da alcune fotografie del territorio per favorirne una migliore comprensione degli stadi evolutivi. La lettura della carta riguarda lineamenti sia naturali sia umani del territorio, l’osservazione e il riscontro delle trasformazioni guidano nell’analisi dell’evoluzione dei luoghi.This contribution intends to prompt in teaching and reading of maps in order to observe the topographic reorganization and evolution of the Matera territory. The examination is based on diachronic reading of the 1:50.000 IGM topographic maps of 1919 and 1978. In order to facilitate a better understanding of the evolution of the area, this exam will be supported by historical references, a 1945 air-photograph and also by some photographs. The reading of the map concerns both natural and human features, so that observation and comparison of changes may advise in the analysis of the area evolution

Hyperspectral monitoring of green roof vegetation health state in sub-mediterranean climate: preliminary results

In urban and industrial environments, the constant increase of impermeable surfaces has produced drastic changes in the natural hydrological cycle. Decreasing green areas not only produce negative effects from a hydrological-hydraulic perspective, but also from an energy point of view, modifying the urban microclimate and generating, as shown in the literature, heat islands in our cities. In this context, green infrastructures may represent an environmental compensation action that can be used to re-equilibrate the hydrological and energy balance and reduce the impact of pollutant load on receiving water bodies. To ensure that a green infrastructure will work properly, vegetated areas have to be continuously monitored to verify their health state. This paper presents a ground spectroscopy monitoring survey of a green roof installed at the University of Calabria fulfilled via the acquisition and analysis of hyperspectral data. This study is part of a larger research project financed by European Structural funds aimed at understanding the influence of green roofs on rainwater management and energy consumption for air conditioning in the Mediterranean area. Reflectance values were acquired with a field-portable spectroradiometer that operates in the range of wavelengths 350–2500 nm. The survey was carried out during the time period November 2014–June 2015 and data were acquired weekly. Climatic, thermo-physical, hydrological and hydraulic quantities were acquired as well and related to spectral data. Broadband and narrowband spectral indices, related to chlorophyll content and to chlorophyll–carotenoid ratio, were computed. The two narrowband indices NDVI705 and SIPI turned out to be the most representative indices to detect the plant health status

THE WATER RESOURCES AND THE SOUTHERN QUESTION: THE RESERVOIRS IN BASILICATA

La presente nota parte dalla questione meridionale nata subito dopo l’unità d’Italia del 1861. Le differenze fra il Nord e il Sud del Paese erano causate da diversi fattori, fra i quali il sistema organizzativo e l’arretratezza tecnologica delle lavorazioni agricole, che al Sud si legava anche alle caratteristiche fisiche del territorio e alla disponibilità della risorsa idrica, con riflessi sulla ridotta possibilità di coltivazione, sulla limitazione della velocità di crescita della vegetazione e su un ecosistema più fragile rispetto all'erosione e al secolare disboscamento. Da qui tutti gli interventi avvenuti negli anni che hanno segnato la storia del nostro Paese e, nel caso particolare, della Regione Basilicata oggetto del presente articolo. Dopo la contestualizzazione storica del problema della risorsa idrica in Basilicata, l’attenzione è posta sugli interventi sul sistema idrico in Basilicata e, in particolare, alla realizzazione dei principali invasi, studiati soprattutto attraverso fonti cartografiche prima e dopo la loro realizzazione. Questi invasi sono stati descritti, illustrati e rivisti come presenza attuale sul territorio. Gli interventi abilmente effettuati dall’uomo, in anni in cui l’attenzione a uno sviluppo sostenibile non era certamente la stessa che si ha adesso, conferiscono attualmente agli invasi una presenza quasi naturale con valorizzazione delle aree nelle quali insistono. Gli invasi oggi si fondono con il territorio circostante creando suggestivi scenari paesaggistici e danno ai luoghi valenza culturale, paesaggistica, ambientale e turistica con l’insediamento di Osservatori Ovifaunistici e Oasi del WWF, attività di birdwatching, manifestazioni sportive, realizzazione di aree attrezzate. A completamento, una parte del lavoro è stata propriamente dedicata alle opere di sbarramento sotto il profilo ingegneristico, agli studi, alle conoscenze e alle indagini necessarie alla loro realizzazione. La risorsa idrica in Basilicata, da problema storicizzato, è attualmente la seconda risorsa regionale dopo il petrolio, ma la prima se si guardano i bisogni primari della popolazione.Starting from the “Southern Question" born just after the 1861 Italian national unity, this article reviews the main causes of the differences between Italy's North and South and, especially, the structure and the technological backwardness of the cultivations that has been particularly examined due to its links to the physical characteristics of the of the country and the water availability that underlie a reduced cultivation possibility and a limited growth rate, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, cause a more fragile ecosystem also due to the ancient deforestation of the area. After a short historic contextualization of the water resources problem, a closed attention is paid to the works on the Basilicata Region water system and, especially, on the main reservoirs studied through the exam of cartographic maps before and after their construction. These reservoirs have been drawn, illustrated and reviewed considering their presence on the territory. These works, even if performed in times when the attention to a sustainable development was not as high as nowadays, give to the reservoir a nearly natural aspect, beside increasing the value of the surrounding areas. These reservoirs, as a matter of facts, merging with the territory create evocative landscapes and lend to the area a particular cultural, landscape and environmental worthiness through the settlement of WWF oasis and observatories, bird-watching activities, sports events and equipped areas. Finally, part of this article is dedicated to the engineering aspects of the dams, that is to the studies, the knowledges and to the surveys necessary for their construction. The water resource of the Basilicata Region has been a problem in the past, but it is now the second regional resource just after the oil, but it must be considered the first one if the primary needs of the population are considered

EVOLUTION OF JONICA SHORELINE BETWEEN BRADANO AND BASENTO RIVERS THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL AND RECENT CARTOGRAPHIES AND IMAGES

La dinamica costiera jonica fra i fiumi Basento e di Bradano è un processo geomorfologico complesso, che prende in considerazione l'erosione, la sedimentazione, le attività umane, le mareggiate ed altri fattori. L'uso e l'analisi di cartografie e di immagini storiche e recenti può essere considerata un'operazione importante per il controllo e la valutazione del litorale costiero. Questo lavoro presenta cartografie e dati che illustrano la dinamica costiera di questa zona dal 1873 al 2007 ed consente di avere dati quantitativi per la comprensione dei fenomeni in atto e per la fase successiva decisionale per la mitigazione degli stessi.Jonica coastal dynamic between Bradano and Basento rivers analysis is a geomorphologically complex process, that takes in consideration the erosion, the sedimentation, the human activities, the seas storm and other factors. The use and the analysis of historical and recent cartographies and images can be considered a valuable task for coastal monitoring and assessment. This paper presents maps illustrating the shoreline dynamic of this area from 1873 to 2007, and supplies quantitative data for the understanding of the phenomena and the following phase of the decisional processes for the reduction of the same ones

CARTOGRAPY IN THE EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE: 3D LASER SCANNER APPLICATIONS

La presente proposta è relativa all’utilizzo dei rilievi Laser Scanner 3D per la valorizzazione dei beni culturali e naturali. Alla base di ogni intervento volto alla valorizzazione dei beni culturali e naturali è fondamentale che ci sia un percorso di conoscenza che non sia solo storico-artistico come accade spesso, ma anche attraverso la conoscenza accurata delle sue caratteristiche (posizione, forma, geometria, materia e colore), dettagli fondamentali per tutelare e valorizzare il patrimonio. La tecnologia del laser scanner 3D consente di ottenere risultati di eccellente qualità in tempi relativamente brevi e di intervenire in ambienti complessi laddove altre tecniche mostrano numerosi limiti. L’innovativa metodologia di rilievo rivela la sua efficacia non solo nell’acquisizione e restituzione dei dati, ma soprattutto nella rappresentazione cartografica. Rispetto alle altre tecniche, il rilievo non è parziale ma completo e oggettivo: tutto ciò che è presente nel range di azione del laser scanner 3D viene rilevato senza alcuna distinzione. Il suo impiego risulta, pertanto, essenziale per rilevare e acquisire informazioni su beni particolarmente articolati ed irregolari, su parti inaccessibili o comunque non facilmente raggiungibili (notevoli altezze, presenza di asperità, ecc.), su elementi delicati, evitandone il contatto diretto. In questa nota sono riportati alcuni esempi applicativi della metodologia laser scanner 3D ed il beneficio delle relative informazioni cartografiche attraverso il rilievo di alcuni importanti beni culturali di grande valenza architettonica, storica e naturale quali il, gli ipogei di piazza della città di Matera e di un tratto del torrente Gravina di Matera che intaglia formazioni coerenti determinando suggestivi paesaggi.The present paper deals with the use of the 3D Laser Scanner ion the development of natural and cultural resources. Any intervention pointed to the development of natural and cultural resources needs to learn, besides the fundamental historical and artistic knowledge, some of their characteristics such as location, form, geometrical aspects, material properties and colour, all features that must be considered basic for both the safeguard and the development of the resource itself. The 3D Laser Scanner technology enables to obtain in a short time excellent results and to be active in particular environments where other techniques result to be rather limited. This technique is particularly effective not only in the acquisition and rendering processes, but also in cartographic representation of data. Compared to other technique, the 3D Laser Scanning is complete and objective: everything that is in the activity range of the used instrument is completely registered without any distinction. Ultimately, its use results to be absolutely necessary to survey and collect information in case of quite irregular and articulated structures, of very difficult or completely inaccessible parts and of fragile elements, avoiding the direct contact. Some examples of the use of the 3D Laser Scanner technique are here quoted emphasizing the advantages of the cartographic information as result from the survey of some important cultural resources relevant from architectural, historical and natural points of view, in particular: the Santuario della Palomba, the Vittorio Veneto Square in Matera hypogees, and a part of the Gravina di Matera, a torrent deeply incised in limestones rocks that creates striking sceneries

MAPPING OF SHEEP TRACKS AND PATHS OF TRANSHUMANCE IN THE BASILICATA: THE OLD SHEEP-TRACK-MATERA MONTESCAGLIOSO

La presente proposta parte dalla tutela e valorizzazione dei tratturi, sentieri erbosi, pietrosi o in terra battuta, sempre a fondo naturale, originatisi dal passaggio e dal calpestio degli armenti ed utilizzati dai pastori per compiere la transumanza, ossia per trasferire con cadenza stagionale le greggi da un pascolo all'altro. Tali tratturi sono definiti, ai sensi delle disposizioni di legge, "beni di interesse archeologico", e sono soggetti, come ogni opera anche di pubblico interesse, a parere vincolante della soprintendenza archeologica e per i beni architettonici e per il paesaggio. La pubblicazione si sviluppa con un inquadramento del bene, storico, normativo e cartografico, partendo dalla carta generale dei tratturi in scala 1:500.000 del 1912 a cura dell'Ufficio Tecnico di Finanza di Foggia, rivista come Mappa dei tratturi nel 1959 sulla precedente edizione del 1912, terminando al web GIS Tratturi del Centro Cartografico Dipartimentale della Regione Basilicata. L’attenzione è quindi posta sull’antico tratturo Matera – Montescaglioso, percorso che si svolge lungo il ciglio della Gravina passando per Cristo la Selva, il guado Passarelli e le chiese rupestri del Vallone della Loe. L'ultimo tratto percorre il tratturo regio di Montescaglioso e si conclude nell’abbazia benedettina di San Michele Arcangelo. La percorrenza di questo tratturo consente di trarre informazioni su un tratto di territorio materano ricco di storia umana e di evidenze artistiche e naturali. Approfondimenti conoscitivi specifici sui diversi tratturi che interessano il comune di Matera, come il tratturo qui dettagliato, possono portare ad una pianificazione, articolazione e attuazione di obiettivi di tutela e valorizzazione. Le tipologie di intervento, in relazione alle caratteristiche locali, possono avere un diverso grado di trasformabilità, di godimento e tutela, e consentire, nel rispetto della conservazione dell’integrità, il miglioramento della visitabilità e della leggibilità dei tracciati tratturali, tale da ottenere, attraverso il recupero delle residue testimonianze, un riuso compatibile del sedime tratturale attraverso funzioni di potenziamento del sistema del verde e dei percorsi pedonali educativi e ludici.This proposal is part of the protection and enhancement of the tracks, grassy paths, rocky or clay, always natural background, originated by the transition and by the trampling of cattle and used by shepherds to make transhumance, to transfer every season the flocks from one pasture to another. These sheep tracks are defined in accordance with the provisions of the law as "goods of archaeological interest", and are subject, like any work in public interest, in the opinion of the archaeological and architectural Superintendent. The publication is developed in a framework of historical and recent cartography and of legal history, starting from the general map of the sheep tracks in scale of 1:500,000 created in 1912 by the Technical Office of Finance of Foggia towards to the most recent cartography. The focus is then placed on the old sheep-track Matera - Montescaglioso that starts from Matera centre and ends at the Benedictine abbey of St. Michael the Archangel in Montescaglioso. The sheep-track allows to get information on a stretch of Matera area rich in human history with artistic and natural evidence. Specific cognitive insights on the different sheep-tracks that affect the municipality of Matera can lead to action for planning, articulation and implementation of objectives of protection and enhancement

Regenerative Approaches in Wound Healing: New Alternatives for Older Tools

Critical wounds are well known to develop in elderly people and in other conditions where inflammation, vascular, and nervous disease lead to chronical inefficiency in running up healing processes. Recent researches have been focusing on microenvironment, and specific technologies have contributed to design and produce new materials (the era of biomaterials and devices in wound healing)

Quantum Brachistochrone Curves as Geodesics: Obtaining Accurate Minimum-Time Protocols for the Control of Quantum Systems

Most methods of optimal control cannot obtain accurate time-optimal protocols. The quantum brachistochrone equation is an exception, and has the potential to provide accurate time-optimal protocols for a wide range of quantum control problems. So far, this potential has not been realized, however, due to the inadequacy of conventional numerical methods to solve it. Here we show that the quantum brachistochrone problem can be recast as that of finding geodesic paths in the space of unitary operators. We expect this brachistochrone-geodesic connection to have broad applications, as it opens up minimal-time control to the tools of geometry. As one such application, we use it to obtain a fast numerical method to solve the brachistochrone problem, and apply this method to two examples demonstrating its power.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Project PHY-1005571)United States. Army Research Office. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Grant W911NF-11-1-0268)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Project CCF-1350397

Digital for Heritage and Museums: Design-Driven Changes and Challenges

In the recent decade, cultural institutions have increasingly embraced digital technologies as key resources for accomplishing their mission and innovating their cultural activities. In the present work, we attempt to disentangle through a design-driven and multidisciplinary approach the challenges brought by digital transformation in the cultural heritage sector. A diversified research team has thus been involved to include scholars with different backgrounds around the common phenomenon of investigation of Digital (Cultural) Heritage, under the Design Think Thank project. The Introduction is followed by a Methodological section, which outlines the approach to select and review case studies from the exploratory literature for producing a state-of-the-art report and delineates the methodology to map the main user behaviours and needs in the digital experience of CH throughout the value chain. The research team identified three relevant and major themes for the investigation which are addressed in the Literature Review Section through the lenses of design research and practices; simultaneously, design knowledge emerges to have an agency in the transformation. The following section tries to triangulate the results from the literature review, and the mapping of users and stakeholders throughout the cultural institutions value chain, to track and highlight their role and interest in changing heritage panorama. The contribution of the present work wishes to consolidate the results gathered in the first phases of the TT, providing the design community of academics and practitioners with a theoretical contribution about digital changes and challenges of heritage and museums based on a design perspective

Investigating Multiple Candidate Genes and Nutrients in the Folate Metabolism Pathway to Detect Genetic and Nutritional Risk Factors for Lung Cancer

Purpose: Folate metabolism, with its importance to DNA repair, provides a promising region for genetic investigation of lung cancer risk. This project investigates genes (MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, CBS, SHMT1, TYMS), folate metabolism related nutrients (B vitamins, methionine, choline, and betaine) and their gene-nutrient interactions. Methods: We analyzed 115 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 15 nutrients from 1239 and 1692 non-Hispanic white, histologically-confirmed lung cancer cases and controls, respectively, using stochastic search variable selection (a Bayesian model averaging approach). Analyses were stratified by current, former, and never smoking status. Results: Rs6893114 in MTRR (odds ratio [OR] = 2.10; 95% credible interval [CI]: 1.20–3.48) and alcohol (drinkers vs. non-drinkers, OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.26–0.84) were associated with lung cancer risk in current smokers. Rs13170530 in MTRR (OR = 1.70; 95% CI: 1.10–2.87) and two SNP*nutrient interactions [betaine*rs2658161 (OR = 0.42; 95% CI: 0.19–0.88) and betaine*rs16948305 (OR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30–0.91)] were associated with lung cancer risk in former smokers. SNPs in MTRR (rs13162612; OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.11–0.58; rs10512948; OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.41–0.90; rs2924471; OR = 3.31; 95% CI: 1.66–6.59), and MTHFR (rs9651118; OR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.43–0.95) and three SNP*nutrient interactions (choline*rs10475407; OR = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.11–2.42; choline*rs11134290; OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.27–0.92; and riboflavin*rs8767412; OR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.15–0.95) were associated with lung cancer risk in never smokers. Conclusions: This study identified possible nutrient and genetic factors related to folate metabolism associated with lung cancer risk, which could potentially lead to nutritional interventions tailored by smoking status to reduce lung cancer risk