Toward coherent space–time mapping of seagrass cover from satellite data: an example of a Mediterranean lagoon

Seagrass meadows are a highly productive and economically important shallow coastal habitat. Their sensitivity to natural and anthropogenic disturbances, combined with their importance for local biodiversity, carbon stocks, and sediment dynamics, motivate a frequent monitoring of their distribution. However, generating time series of seagrass cover from field observations is costly, and mapping methods based on remote sensing require restrictive conditions on seabed visibility, limiting the frequency of observations. In this contribution, we examine the effect of accounting for environmental factors, such as the bathymetry and median grain size (D50) of the substrate as well as the coordinates of known seagrass patches, on the performance of a random forest (RF) classifier used to determine seagrass cover. Using 148 Landsat images of the Venice Lagoon (Italy) between 1999 and 2020, we trained an RF classifier with only spectral features from Landsat images and seagrass surveys from 2002 and 2017. Then, by adding the features above and applying a time-based correction to predictions, we created multiple RF models with different feature combinations. We tested the quality of the resulting seagrass cover predictions from each model against field surveys, showing that bathymetry, D50, and coordinates of known patches exert an influence that is dependent on the training Landsat image and seagrass survey chosen. In models trained on a survey from 2017, where using only spectral features causes predictions to overestimate seagrass surface area, no significant change in model performance was observed. Conversely, in models trained on a survey from 2002, the addition of the out-of-image features and particularly coordinates of known vegetated patches greatly improves the predictive capacity of the model, while still allowing the detection of seagrass beds absent in the reference field survey. Applying a time-based correction eliminates small temporal variations in predictions, improving predictions that performed well before correction. We conclude that accounting for the coordinates of known seagrass patches, together with applying a time-based correction, has the most potential to produce reliable frequent predictions of seagrass cover. While this case study alone is insufficient to explain how geographic location information influences the classification process, we suggest that it is linked to the inherent spatial auto-correlation of seagrass meadow distribution. In the interest of improving remote-sensing classification and particularly to develop our capacity to map vegetation across time, we identify this phenomenon as warranting further research.</p

Screening for Tuberculosis in Health Care Workers. Experience in an Italian Teaching Hospital

Health care workers (HCW) are particularly at risk of acquiring tuberculosis (TB), even in countries with low TB incidence. Therefore, TB screening in HCW is a useful prevention strategy in countries with both low and high TB incidence. Tuberculin skin test (TST) is widely used although it suffers of low specificity; on the contrary, the in vitro enzyme immunoassay tests (IGRA) show superior specificity and sensitivity but are more expensive. The present study reports the results of a three-year TB surveillance among HCW in a large teaching hospital in Rome, using TST (by standard Mantoux technique) and IGRA (by QuantiFERON-TB) as first- and second-level screening tests, respectively. Out of 2290 HCW enrolled, 141 (6.1%) had a positive TST; among them, 99 (70.2%) underwent the IGRA and 16 tested positive (16.1%). The frequency of HCW tested positive for TB seems not far from other experiences in low incidence countries. Our results confirm the higher specificity of IGRA, but, due to its higher cost, TST can be considered a good first level screening test, whose positive results should be further confirmed by IGRA before the patients undergo X-ray diagnosis and/or chemotherapy

Designing statistical models for holstein rearing heifers’ weight estimation from birth to 15 months old using body measurements

Body measurements could be used to estimate body weight (BW) with no need for a scale. The aim was to estimate heifers weight based on their body dimension characteristics. Twenty-five Holstein heifers represent the study group (SG); another 13 animals were evaluated as a validation group (VG). All the heifers were weighed (BW) and their wither height (WH), shin circumference (SC), heart girth circumference (HG), body length (BL), hip width (HW) and body condition score (BCS) were measured immediately after birth, and then weekly until 2 months and monthly until 15 months old. Equations were built with a stepwise regression in order to estimate the BW at each time using body measures for the SG. A linear regression was applied to evaluate the relationship between the estimated BW and the real BW. Equations found were to be statistically significant (r2 = 0.688 to 0.894; p &lt; 0.0001). Three variables or fewer were needed for BW estimation a total of 11/23 times. Regression analysis indicated that the use of HG was promising in all the equations built for BW estimation. These models were feasible in the field; further studies will evaluate possible modifications to our equations based on different growing rate targets

Control of wind-wave power on morphological shape of salt marsh margins

Salt marshes are among the most common morphological features found in tidal landscapes and provide ecosystem services of primary ecological and economic importance. However, the continued rise in relative sea level and increasing anthropogenic pressures threaten the sustainability of these environments. The alarmingly high rates of salt marsh loss observed worldwide, mainly dictated by the lateral erosion of their margins, call for new insights into the mutual feedbacks among physical, biological, and morphological processes that take place at the critical interface between salt marshes and the adjoining tidal flats. We combined field measurements, remote sensing data, and numerical modeling to investigate the interplays between wind waves and the morphology, ecology, and planform evolution of salt marsh margins in the Venice Lagoon of Italy. Our results confirm the existence of a positive linear relationship between incoming wave power density and rates of salt marsh lateral retreat. In addition, we show that lateral erosion significantly decreases when halophytic vegetation colonizes the marsh margins, and that different erosion rates in vegetated margins are associated with different halophytes. High marsh cliffs and smooth shorelines are expected along rapidly eroding margins, whereas erosion rates are reduced in gently sloped, irregular edges facing shallow tidal flats that are typically exposed to low wind-energy conditions. By highlighting the relationships between the dynamics and functional forms of salt marsh margins, our results represent a critical step to address issues related to conservation and restoration of salt marsh ecosystems, especially in the face of changing environmental forcings

Healthcare Associated Infections. educational intervention by "Adult Learning" in an Italian teaching hospital

An educational intervention for HAI prevention based on a combination of training, motivation and subsequent application in the current clinical practice in an Italian teaching hospital

La titulización de créditos como medio de financiamiento: su aplicación en el caso de una PyME Cordobesa

El objetivo del presente trabajo final de licenciatura es analizar la viabilidad y conveniencia del fideicomiso financiero como instrumento para la Titulización de la Cartera de Créditos. Se trata de la adaptación de este a una pequeña institución financiera de la Ciudad de Córdoba, con la finalidad de proporcionar liquidez, mejorar la estructura del activo y optimizar la asignación de recursos. En primera instancia, se desarrollan los principales aspectos teóricos y legales de la propuesta, posteriormente se presenta la aplicación técnica desde el punto de vista de la empresa y, finalmente, se evalúa la eficacia y conveniencia de la herramienta aplicada, respecto de otras fuentes de financiamiento tradicionales.Fil: Sarmiento, Julián Luca. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Peralta, María Florencia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Marani, María Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Bustos, Hugo Darío. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina

Recommendations on complementary feeding for healthy, full-term infants

Weaning (or introduction of complementary feeding) is a special and important moment in the growth of a child, both for the family and the infant itself, and it can play a major role in the child's future health. Throughout the years, various weaning modes have come in succession, the latest being baby-led weaning; the timing for introducing foods and the requirements of which sort of nutrient for weaning have also changed over time. Furthermore, the role played by nutrition, especially in the early stages of life, for the onset of later non-communicable disorders, such as diabetes, obesity or coeliac disease has also been increasingly highlighted. Members of Italian Society of Gastroenterology, Hepathology and Pediatric Nutrition (SIGENP) and the Italian Society of Allergology and Pediatric Immunology (SIAIP) Emilia Romagna here propose a practical approach for pediatricians to deal with daily practice. The four main areas for discussion were weaning in relation with the onset of allergic diseases, coeliac disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, the nutrition requirements to take into account for assessing the diet of infants under one year of age and about the practice of baby-led weaning focusing on limits and benefits, respectively

High-resolution magnetics reveal the deep structure of a volcanic-arc-related basalt-hosted hydrothermal site (Palinuro, Tyrrhenian Sea)

High-resolution magnetic surveys have been acquired over the partially sedimented Palinuro massive sulfide deposits in the Aeolian volcanic arc, Tyrrhenian Sea. Surveys flown close to the seafloor using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) show that the volcanic-arc-related basalt-hosted hydrothermal site is associated with zones of lower magnetization. This observation reflects the alteration of basalt affected by hydrothermal circulation and/or the progressive accumulation of a nonmagnetic deposit made of hydrothermal and volcaniclastic material and/or a thermal demagnetization of titanomagnetite due to the upwelling of hot fluids. To discriminate among these inferences, estimate the shape of the nonmagnetic deposit and the characteristics of the underlying altered area—the stockwork—we use high-resolution vector magnetic data acquired by the AUV Abyss (GEOMAR) above a crater-shaped depression hosting a weakly active hydrothermal site. Our study unveils a relatively small nonmagnetic deposit accumulated at the bottom of the depression and locked between the surrounding volcanic cones. Thermal demagnetization is unlikely but the stockwork extends beyond the limits of the nonmagnetic deposit, forming lobe-shaped zones believed to be a consequence of older volcanic episodes having contributed in generating the cones