Land consumption in Italy

This paper illustrates a land consumption map for Italy (year 2017) at a scale 1:1,300,000, and the assessment of its changes (2012–2017). We define land consumption as the replacement of a non-artificial land cover to an artificial land cover, both permanent and no-permanent. The maps are a 10 m spatial resolution raster, produced by photointerpretation of very high resolution images and semiautomatic classification of high resolution remote sensing images. An overall accuracy of 97.7% for the map of 2012 and of 99.66% for the map of 2017 was obtained. The results suggest that the method proposed is appropriate to detect land consumption, both for the urban densification and for the sprawling phenomena, from national to local level. Furthermore, because of the high spatial resolution and the classification scheme adopted, it is suitable for an effective monitoring system, compared to other existing classification systems or monitoring programs

Developing Digital Tools for Remote Clinical Research:How to Evaluate the Validity and Practicality of Active Assessments in Field Settings

The ability of remote research tools to collect granular, high-frequency data on symptoms and digital biomarkers is an important strength because it circumvents many limitations of traditional clinical trials and improves the ability to capture clinically relevant data. This approach allows researchers to capture more robust baselines and derive novel phenotypes for improved precision in diagnosis and accuracy in outcomes. The process for developing these tools however is complex because data need to be collected at a frequency that is meaningful but not burdensome for the participant or patient. Furthermore, traditional techniques, which rely on fixed conditions to validate assessments, may be inappropriate for validating tools that are designed to capture data under flexible conditions. This paper discusses the process for determining whether a digital assessment is suitable for remote research and offers suggestions on how to validate these novel tools

Per un curricolo della lingua italiana nella scuola di base

The curriculum of the Italian language needs, nowadays, to face the complexity of the current socio-cultural situation which is deeply characterized by multimodality and multiculturalism, by the technological development and by the effects of globalization. In the contribution the first reflections collected during a qualitative investigation, run by the research group of the department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism of the University of Macerata (Italy), are discussed. The investigation highlights interesting practices, often innovative, but that also show the need to give a new meaning to the concept of curriculum.Teachers show consciousness of the effects on the teaching/learning process of the Italian language caused by the current class context’s complexity. Their reference to class activities and strategies they usually promote to actively involve students are numerous and include the students’ enciclopedia (language-subject) and their multimodal experiences in the interaction with the world (language-world). But, often, such processes are not connected to the curriculum and a step is missing to let teachers acquire the needed fullawareness on the modalities they activate and let them foster triangulation process among the language- subject, the language-world and the languageobject, that is, among processes of immersion in the contexts and ability of distancing and reflection.Il curricolo di Italiano richiede oggi una riflessione profonda. Tale necessità trova origine nei cambiamenti socio-culturali che derivano dalla complessità dell’attuale situazione socio-culturale profondamente connotata dalla multimodalità e dalla multiculturalità, dallo sviluppo tecnologico e dagli effetti della globalizzazione.In questa sede riportiamo alcune riflessioni scaturite da un’indagine di tipo qualitativo sulle strategie messe in atto nelle classi in relazione alla didattica dell’italiano, condotta dal gruppo di ricerca afferente al Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione, dei Beni Culturali e del Turismo dell’Università degli Studi di Macerata. Dall’indagine emergono pratiche interessanti e spesso innovative, ma fanno emergere anche l’esigenza di attribuire un nuovo significato al concetto di curricolo. La complessità attuale impatta nel processo di insegnamento/ apprendimento della lingua italiana e molti sono gli esempi di percorsi e strategie attuate dal docente in cui lo studente è coinvolto in modo attivo sul piano linguistico, percorsi che includono la sua enciclopedia (lingua-soggetto) e le sue esperienze multimodali nell’interazione con il mondo (lingua-mondo). Manca però quel passaggio che consenta agli insegnanti di acquisire consapevolezza delle modalità attivate e di costruire una coerenza tra tali processi e il curricolo esplicito, favorendo processi di triangolazione tra lingua-soggetto, lingua-mondo e lingua-oggetto, ovvero tra processi di immersione nei contesti e capacità di distanziamento e riflessione

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Degradation of Glass Mineral Wool Insulation after 25 Years in Masonry Cavity Walls

An experimental study was carried out on glass wool insulation extracted from the cavity of vertical envelope of buildings constructed in the 1980s to evaluate the insulation conservation state after 25 years. Laboratory tests on insulation samples were carried out to assess any changes of the morphological, chemical, physical and thermal properties of the material. The results show that in glass mineral wool insulation, the glass fibers and the binder were affected by a degradation process thus increasing both water absorption and thermal conductivity

Nanotechnology on wood: The effect of photocatalytic nanocoatings against Aspergillus niger

Fungi play a primary role in wood decay, including building and historical surfaces. Over the last years, nanotechnology has been used to preserve different type of surfaces from biodeterioration caused by the development of biological contaminants. In this study, photocatalytic titanium dioxide (TiO2) based nanocompounds (also containing silver and copper) were brushed on wood surfaces to evaluate biocidal ability against the development of soft-rot fungus Aspergillus niger. Five different nanotreatments were applied on two types of wood (softwood and hardwood). Compatibility with wooden substrates has been assessed using colorimetry. Antifungal capability of metallic nanotreatments was quantitatively evaluated considering different parameters: microscopic observation, chromatic variation, reflectance change and mould extent. Even though photocatalytic nanotreatments inhibited A. niger development only partially, they seem to be a promising tool to reduce harmful mould development and to better preserve wooden artefacts