Copernicus high-resolution layers for land cover classification in Italy

The high-resolution layers (HRLs) are land cover maps produced for the entire Italian territory (approximately 30 million hectares) in 2012 by the European Environment Agency, aimed at monitoring soil imperviousness and natural cover, such as forest, grassland, wetland, and water surface, with a high spatial resolution of 20 m. This study presents the methodologies developed for the production, verification, and enhancement of the HRLs in Italy. The innovative approach is mainly based on (a) the use of available reference data for the enhancement process, (b) the reduction of the manual work of operators by using a semi-automatic approach, and (c) the overall increase in the cost-efficiency in relation to the production and updating of land cover maps. The results show the reliability of these methodologies in assessing and enhancing the quality of the HRLs. Finally, an integration of the individual layers, represented by the HRLs, was performed in order to produce a National High-Resolution Land Cover ma

Anti epidermal growth factor receptor therapy in small bowel adenocarcinoma

Rationale:Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is an uncommon gastrointestinal cancer, thus limited data about treatment for advanced disease are available. The lack of specific guidelines has justified the use of therapeutic protocols usually applied in advanced colorectal cancer. Few and preliminary data have suggested possible clinical benefit from the use of target therapy such as bevacizumab and cetuximab.Patient concerns:We present the case of a young woman who was admitted to the emergency department for acute abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting related to a jejunal stenosis.Diagnoses:An enteroscopy with jejunal biopsy showed poorly differentiated cancerous cells suggestive for primary intestinal cancer. There were no signs of metastatic disease at radiological evaluation. A jejunal resection was subsequently carried out and the diagnosis of mucinous adenocarcinoma of the jejunum was confirmed.Interventions:The computed tomography scan performed 1 month after surgery showed metastatic disease. Therefore, the patient received combined protocols of chemotherapy and either bevacizumab or the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) panitumumab.Outcomes:A partial response (PR) was achieved with Folfox plus panitumumab and a maintenance therapy with panitumumab is being conducted with a mild toxicity and a progression free survival of 19 months since the beginning of panitumumab.Lessons:This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report in the literature of a patient with SBA who has benefitted from panitumumab with an overall survival of 83 months

Fractal aggregation of active particles

We study active run-and-tumble particles with an additional two-state internal variable characterizing their motile or non-motile state. Motile particles change irreversibly into non-motile ones upon collision with a non-motile particle. The system evolves towards an absorbing state where all particles are non-motile. We initialize the system with one non-motile particles in a bath of motile ones and study numerically the kinetics of relaxation to absorbing state and its structure as function of the density of the initial bath of motile particles and of their tumbling rate. We find a crossover from fractal aggregates at low density to homogeneous ones at high density. The persistence of single-particle dynamics as quantified by the tumbling rate pushes this crossover to higher density and can be used to tune the porosity of the aggregate. At the lowest density the fractal dimension of the aggregate approaches that obtained in single-particle diffusion limited aggregation. Our results could be exploited for the design of structures of desired porosity. The model is a first step towards the study of the collective dynamics of active particles that can exchange biological information.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

AccroBiblio: évaluation d'une campagne d'image nationale en faveur des bibliothèques

Lancée le 23 avril 2015, Journée mondiale du livre, AccroBiblio (BiblioFreak pour l’espace germanophone et italophone) est une campagne d’image nationale en faveur des bibliothèques. Dans un environnement économique tendu où les dépenses publiques sont constamment réduites, les bibliothèques doivent de plus en plus prouver leur légitimité, ce qui passe par une amélioration de leur visibilité et de leur communication. C’est dans ce contexte que ce travail de master a été proposé. Il a pour objectifs d’évaluer cette campagne pour la Suisse romande et déterminer si AccroBiblio est un bon outil pour soutenir les bibliothèques dans leurs activités de promotion. Cette étude se décline en deux parties : dans la première, une approche théorique décrit des campagnes similaires effectuées dans le reste du monde afin d’en dégager les points communs et les faits saillants. On y découvre l’importance de mettre en avant l’usager, le recours inévitable aux réseaux sociaux et la nécessité de coordonner les différentes activités. Cette première partie sert de base à la seconde, résolument tournée vers la pratique. Celle-ci consiste à mettre en place une série d‘indicateurs de performance obtenus notamment à l’aide d’un questionnaire en ligne et l’utilisation d’un outil de web analytics. Il en ressort que 40 % des bibliothèques inscrites ont mis en place des actions de promotion. Pour les autres, les raisons invoquées sont principalement un manque de temps et d’argent. On apprend également que 75 % des sondés estiment qu’AccroBiblio est un élément motivateur pour l’organisation d’événements promotionnels. Il apparaît cependant que 57 % des bibliothèques interrogées reconnaissent consulter rarement ou jamais le site Internet de l’Association et que 80 % d’entre elles consultent rarement ou jamais le compte Facebook de l’Association, probablement pour des raisons de barrière linguistique. Ce dernier chiffre indique clairement qu’un dédoublement de compte (français-allemand) et, plus globalement, une politique de communication sur Internet et les réseaux sociaux est nécessaire. Evaluer efficacement une campagne nécessite d’avoir préalablement défini un certain nombre d’objectifs. Mais dans le cas d’AccroBiblio, l’inscription d’au moins 300 bibliothèques (dont 60 pour la partie romande) était le seul objectif. Même si celui-ci a été largement atteint, il aurait mérité d’être accompagné de plusieurs autres buts. Finalement, les nombreux indicateurs obtenus durant cette étude permettront de servir d’éléments comparatifs dans le cas où une prochaine campagne similaire serait organisée. Celle-ci bénéficiera également des recommandations établies dans ce travail.Am 23. April, dem Welttag des Buches, wurde AccroBiblio (im deutsch- und italienischsprachigen Sprachraum BiblioFreak genannt) lanciert, eine nationale Imagekampagne für Bibliotheken. In einem angespannten wirtschaftlichen Umfeld, in dem die öffentlichen Ausgaben konstant gesenkt werden, müssen die Bibliotheken ihre Legitimität immer stärker unter Beweis stellen. Die Kampagne zielt auf einer Verbesserung ihrer Sichtbarkeit und ihrer Kommunikation. Die vorliegende Masterarbeit situiert sich in diesem Kontext. Ziel ist eine Evaluation der Kampagne in der Romandie, um beurteilen zu können, ob AccroBiblio ein sinnvolles Instrument ist, um die Bibliotheken bei Vermittlungs- und Marketing-Aktivitäten zu unterstützen. Die Arbeit gliedert sich in zwei grosse Teile: Zunächst werden mittels eines theoretischen Ansatzes ähnliche internationale Kampagnen analysiert, um Grundlagen und gemeinsame Aspekte herauszuarbeiten. Hier wird deutlich, wie wichtig es ist, bei einer solchen Kampagne den Benutzer in den Vordergrund zu stellen, soziale Netzwerke miteinzubeziehen und die verschiedenen Tätigkeiten gut zu koordinieren. Der erste Teil dient als Grundlage für den zweiten praxisorientierten Teil. Dieser führt eine Reihe von Leistungsindikatoren ein, die aus einem Online Fragebogen und einer Webanalyse gewonnen wurden. Dies zeigt auf, dass von den eingeschriebenen Bibliotheken 40% Werbeaktionen in die Wege geleitet haben, die anderen haben dies aus Zeitgründen und fehlenden finanziellen Mittel unterlassen. Man erfährt ebenfalls, dass 75% der Befragten AccroBiblio als ein motivierendes Element für die Organisation von Vermittlungsanlässen einschätzen. Es zeigt sich jedoch, dass 57% der befragten Bibliotheken zugeben, dass sie die Webseite des Projekts selten oder nie besuchen, und dass 80% von ihnen selten oder nie die Facebook-Seite konsultieren, vermutlich wegen Sprachbarrieren. Diese letzte Ziffer lässt darauf schliessen, dass ein Nebeneinander von Konten (französisch-deutsch) und, allgemeiner noch, eine Kommunikationspolitik über das Internet und die sozialen Netzwerke nötig ist. Eine Kampagne effizient auszuwerten setzt voraus, dass im Vorfeld eine gewisse Anzahl Ziele festgehalten wurden. Aber im Fall von AccroBiblio stellte die Einschreibung von mindestens 300 Bibliotheken (davon 60 für die Romandie) das einzige Ziel dar. Obwohl dieses mehrheitlich erreicht worden war, wäre es angemessen gewesen, weitere Ziele zu formulieren. Schliesslich erlauben es die zahlreichen Indikatoren, die während dieser Studie gewonnen wurden, Vergleichselemente zu liefern für eine allfällige weitere Kampagne mit einer ähnlichen Ausrichtung. Diese würde ebenfalls von den in dieser Arbeit aufgestellten Empfehlungen profitieren.Lanciata il 23 aprile 2015, Giornata mondiale del libro, AccroBiblio - BiblioFreak per l’area germanofona e italofona - è una campagna d’immagine nazionale in favore delle biblioteche che terminerà alla fine del 2016. In effetti, in un contesto economico difficile, dove le spese pubbliche sono costantemente ridotte, le biblioteche devono sempre più dar prova della loro legittimità grazie ad un miglioramento della loro visibilità e della loro comunicazione. È quindi dal punto di vista della situazione citata poc’anzi che questo lavoro di Master è stato proposto. Esso ha come obiettivo di valutare questa campagna per la Svizzera francese ma anche per determinare se AccroBiblio sia un mezzo ottimale per supportare le biblioteche nelle loro attività di promozione. Questo studio si declina in due grandi parti: la prima è caratterizzata da un approccio teorico in cui si descrivono delle campagne simili effettuate nel resto del mondo allo scopo d’individuare i punti in comune ed i fatti salienti. Si potrà notare come l’accento sia messo sul fatto di mettere in valore l’utente, l’impiego inevitabile dei social network e la necessità di coordinare le differenti attività. Questa prima parte serve come base alla seconda, che si vuole risolutamente orientata alla pratica. In effetti, questa consiste a stabilire tutta une serie d’indicatori di prestazione ottenuti tra l’atro grazie ad un questionario online e l’utilizzo di un sistema di web analytics. Da questi indicatori emerge che il 40 % delle biblioteche iscritte ha realizzato delle attività di promozione. Per le altre, le ragioni evocate sono principalmente la mancanza di tempo e di fondi. Si è anche scoperto che il 75 % degli intervistati pensi che Bibliofreaks sia un elemento stimolante per motivare l’organizzazione di eventi promozionali. Nonostante ciò, il 57 % delle biblioteche interrogate ammette di consultare raramente o mai il sito internet dell’associazione e che il 80 % fra loro consulta raramente o mai il profilo Facebook dell’associazione, probabilmente per delle ragioni dovute alle barriere linguistiche. Queste ultime cifre indicano chiaramente che la creazione di un doppio profilo in francese e tedesco - e in maniera più generale - una politica di comunicazione su internet e i social network, risulti necessaria. Per valutare efficacemente une campagna promozionale bisognerebbe disporre di un certo numeri di obiettivi definiti precedentemente. Tuttavia, nel caso di Bibliofreaks, l’iscrizione di almeno 300 biblioteche, (di cui 60 per la Romandia) era l’unico obiettivo perseguito. Anche se quest’ultimo è stato pienamente raggiunto, avrebbe meritato d’essere associato ad ulteriori obiettivi. Infine, i numerosi indicatori ottenuti durante questo studio potranno servire da elementi comparativi nel caso in cui una futura campagna promozionale di questo tipo fosse organizzata. Quest’ultima potrà pure beneficiare delle raccomandazioni emesse nelle conclusioni di questo studio

Beware of contagion!

Landscape ecology starts from the assumption that diversity and spatial arrangement of ecosystem mosaics has ecological implications and tries to understand the interactions between diversity and structure of large spatially heterogeneous areas and its ecological functions. This approach implies effective use of earth observation techniques and geographic information systems, enabling a global view of the landscape mosaics. Consequently, a large number of indices has been used to quantify the structure of categorical maps as a surrogate of actual landscapes and correlate them to ecological processes. In particular, the entropy-based contagion index has been extensively used to summarize the amount of clumping or fragmentation of patches on raster categorical maps. However, despite its widespread application, the contagion index is very dependent on pixel resolution. This effect may render it inadequate as a meaningful measure of landscape structure. To overcome this major shortcoming, in this short note we propose to quantify pixel adjacency with a bivariate summary statistics that is not adversely influenced by pixel resolution.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.elsevier.co

A forest typology for monitoring sustainable forest management: The case of European Forest Types

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is presently widely accepted as the overriding objective for forest policy and practice. Regional processes are in progress all over the world to develop and implement criteria and indicators of SFM. In continental Europe, a set of 35 Pan-European indicators has been endorsed under the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) to measure progress towards SFM in the 44 countries of the region. The formulation of seven indicators (forest area, growing stock, age structure/diameter distribution, deadwood, tree species composition, damaging agents, naturalness) requires national data to be reported by forest types. Within the vast European forest area the values taken by these indicators show a considerable range of variation, due to variable natural conditions and anthropogenic influences. Given this variability, it is very difficult to grasp the meaning of these indicators when taken out of their ecological background. The paper discusses the concepts behind, and the requirements of, a classification more soundly ecologically framed and suitable for MCPFE reporting than the three (un-informative) classes adopted so far: broadleaved forest, coniferous forest, mixed broadleaved and coniferous forest. We propose a European Forest Types scheme structured into a reasonably higher number of classes, that would improve the specificity of the indicators reported under the MCPFE process and its understanding.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.tandf.co.uk/journals

European forest types and forest Europe SFM indicators: tools for monitoring progress on forest biodiversity conservation

Since 2003 the MCPFE-Forest Europe process has adopted a set of Pan-European Indicators that has become a policy instrument to monitor, evaluate and report progress towards sustainable forest management (SFM). Two new experimental tools have been introduced in the framework of the «State of Forests and Sustainable Forest Management in Europe 2011»: (i) pilot reporting by 14 classes of European Forest Types (EFTs) for a selection of quantitative SFM indicators; (ii) key parameters for monitoring progress for all quantitative indicators. The main aim of this paper is to discuss whether reporting by EFTs of key forest biodiversity-related parameters can improve the way forest biodiversity conservation policy targets are addressed and evaluated in Europe. Accordingly, data on SFM indicators for a sample of European countries (ranging from 6 to 28, depending on indicators) have been processed and analyzed in a pilot study using a question-driven approach, so that information from monitoring could direct policy action. The main findings show that: – forest area has been significantly increasing (>0.2% per year) in the period 2000–2010; however, annual changes in forest cover by EFTs reveal a polyedric picture at country level, in terms of gain and loss of forest habitat dominated by native and introduced tree species; – old even aged forests (>140 yrs) are fairly consistent (>5%) only in a few countries and limited to specific EFTs; – in naturally species-poor EFTs (e.g. Boreal forest, Alpine coniferous forest, Broadleaved evergreen forest) single species stands cover from 15–100% of the total area, while in species rich EFTs (e.g. Mesophytic deciduous forest, Thermophilous deciduous forest) the maximum share of single species is in the order of 30%; – deadwood amount ranges from 9 to 26 m3 ha 1, a value which is however far below natural reference values found in European old growth forests (160 m3 ha 1). Findings from this test demonstrate that reporting of key forest biodiversity-related parameters by EFTs enables question-driven monitoring in many ways: (i) reporting by EFTs helps to interpret the variability in the values taken by the indicators explicitly considering ecological differences between EFTs; (ii) temporal trends in forest area can be interpreted in terms of expansion or loss of forest habitats dominated by native and introduced tree species; (iii) progress in implementing biodiversity friendly strategies (e.g. increasing share of old even aged forests, promotion of multispecies stands and accumulation of deadwood) can be quantitatively evaluated against baselines.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://www.sciencedirect.co