Urban animals – domestic, stray and wild: notes from a bear repopulation project in the alps

This piece explores “domesticity” as a social territory defined by its relationship with the conceptual and ecological space of “the wild,” and asks whether these spaces stand in opposition to each other or more subtle relations of co-implication are at play. As we look into the domestic and the wild, a conceptual map of notions emerges, including the public, the common, the civilized, and the barbarian. The paper suggests the domestic and the wild constitute two semiotic-ecological domains constantly stretching into each other without any stable or even clear boundary line, and it elaborates on a series of corollaries for studying non-human animals in urban contexts. As an illustrative case study, we follow the story of Daniza, a wild brown bear introduced in the Brenta Natural Park on the Italian Alps in the 2000s. Declared a “dangerous animal,” Daniza was accidentally, and controversially, killed by the public authorities in 2014.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

SEMANTIC SEGMENTATION of BENTHIC COMMUNITIES from ORTHO-MOSAIC MAPS

Visual sampling techniques represent a valuable resource for a rapid, non-invasive data acquisition for underwater monitoring purposes.Long-term monitoring projects usually requires the collection of large quantities of data, and the visual analysis of a human expertoperator remains, in this context, a very time consuming task. It has been estimated that only the 1-2%of the acquired images are lateranalyzed by scientists (Beijbom et al., 2012). Strategies for the automatic recognition of benthic communities are required to effectivelyexploit all the information contained in visual data. Supervised learning methods, the most promising classification techniques in thisfield, are commonly affected by two recurring issues: the wide diversity of marine organism, and the small amount of labeled data.In this work, we discuss the advantages offered by the use of annotated high resolution ortho-mosaics of seabed to classify and segmentthe investigated specimens, and we suggest several strategies to obtain a considerable per-pixel classification performance although theuse of a reduced training dataset composed by a single ortho-mosaic. The proposed methodology can be applied to a large number ofdifferent species, making the procedure of marine organism identification an highly adaptable tas

Treatment and posttreatment effects of a facial mask combined with a bite-block appliance in Class III malocclusion.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: In this cephalometric investigation, we analyzed the treatment and posttreatment effects of an orthopedic protocol for Class III malocclusion consisting of a facial mask combined with a removable bite-block appliance. METHODS: The treated sample consisted of 22 Class III patients treated with the facial mask and bite-block protocol before the pubertal growth spurt (mean age, 8.9 +/- 1.5 years). Treated subjects were evaluated after facial mask and bite-block therapy and at a posttreatment observation in absence of retention. The treated group was compared with a matched control group of 12 untreated Class III subjects. All treated and control subjects were postpubertal at the final observation. Significant differences between the treated and control groups were assessed with the Mann-Whitney U test (P <0.05). RESULTS: Both angular and linear sagittal measurements of the maxilla showed significant improvements during active treatment. Significant improvements of SNA angle, ANB angle, overjet, and molar relationship remained stable during the posttreatment period. No significant effect was found in the mandibular skeletal measures. No significant protraction of the maxillary incisors or retraction of the mandibular incisors was observed. CONCLUSIONS: A bite-block appliance in the mandibular arch with a facial mask enabled effective control of mandibular rotation with progressive closure of the gonial angle. This added to the favorable maxillary outcomes of the treatment protocol. 2010 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved

SEMANTIC SEGMENTATION OF BENTHIC COMMUNITIES FROM ORTHO-MOSAIC MAPS

Visual sampling techniques represent a valuable resource for a rapid, non-invasive data acquisition for underwater monitoring purposes. Long-term monitoring projects usually requires the collection of large quantities of data, and the visual analysis of a human expert operator remains, in this context, a very time consuming task. It has been estimated that only the 1-2% of the acquired images are later analyzed by scientists (Beijbom et al., 2012). Strategies for the automatic recognition of benthic communities are required to effectively exploit all the information contained in visual data. Supervised learning methods, the most promising classification techniques in this field, are commonly affected by two recurring issues: the wide diversity of marine organism, and the small amount of labeled data. In this work, we discuss the advantages offered by the use of annotated high resolution ortho-mosaics of seabed to classify and segment the investigated specimens, and we suggest several strategies to obtain a considerable per-pixel classification performance although the use of a reduced training dataset composed by a single ortho-mosaic. The proposed methodology can be applied to a large number of different species, making the procedure of marine organism identification an highly adaptable task.</p

Long-term trends of PM10-bound arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and lead across the Veneto region (NE Italy)

Since the mid-90s, the European Community has adopted increasingly stringent air quality standards. Consequently, air quality has generally improved across Europe. However, current EU standards are still breached in some European hotspots. The Veneto region (NE Italy) lies in the eastern part of the Po Valley, a major European hotspot for air pollution, where EU standards for particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone are still breached at some sites. This study aims to analyse the PM10-bound arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and lead concentrations over a 10 years-long period (2010-2020) in the Veneto Region by using data collected by the local environmental protection agency (ARPAV) in 20 sampling stations mostly distributed across the plain areas of the region and categorized as rural (RUR), urban (URB), and suburban (SUB) background, industrial (IND) and traffic (TRA) hotspots (Figure 1). The comprehensive dataset discussed in this study was statistically investigated to detect the seasonal trends, their relationship with other air pollutants and meteorological parameters and their spatial variations at a regional scale. This study completes previous air quality studies over the Veneto region for gaseous pollutants and bulk PM10 (Masiol et al. 2017). Samplings were carried out according to CEN EN 12341:1998 standard on quartz fibre filters and were continuous for 24 h, starting at midnight. The gravimetric determination of PM10 mass was measured following the CEN EN 12341:2014 standard. The elemental analysis was performed using an ICP-MS (Agilent 7700) after acid digestion (EN 14902:2005). The trends were analysed using different approaches on the monthly-averaged data. The shape of trends and their seasonal variations were assessed through the seasonal-trend decomposition time series procedure based on “Loess” (STL). The linear trends were computed by the Mann-Kendall trend test (p &lt; 0.05) and the Theil-Sen nonparametric estimator of slope (MK-TS). Since this latter analysis assumes monotonic linear trends and does not consider the shape of trends, the presence of possible breakpoints was investigated using the piecewise regression. Generally, monthly patterns of all analysed elements show higher concentrations during winter, following PM10 concentrations. Some exceptions were detected and discussed. Results of trend analysis indicate statistically significant negative (decreasing) or null linear trends in almost all stations. A few positive (increasing) but not statistically significant trends were also detected. Some sites showed rapid decreases occurred in short periods and linked to peculiar events or local causes. Among others, several sites across the Venice area showed significant drops of arsenic concentrations after the REACH (Registration Evaluation Authorisation of Chemicals) implementation (Formenton et al., 2021). Data used in this study are provided by ARPAV (Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e Protezione Ambientale del Veneto, https://www.arpa.veneto.it/)