Geomorphological hazard and tourist vulnerability along Portofino Park trails (Italy)

International audienceThe many trails existing in the coastal area of Portofino Promontory are used by tourists for trekking or as pathways to small villages and beaches. The aim of this paper is to define geomorphological hazard and tourist vulnerability in this area, within the framework of the management and planning of hiking activities in Portofino Natural Park. In particular, processes triggered by gravity, running waters and wave motion, affecting the slopes and the cliff, are considered. The typology of the trails and trail maintenance are also taken into account in relation to weather conditions that can make the excursion routes dangerous for tourists. In conclusion, an operative model is applied for the definition of possible risk scenarios. This model is founded on an inventory and the quantification of geomorphological hazards and tourist vulnerability, in comparison with trail rescue data. The model can be applied to other environments and tourist areas

Evaluation report of demonstrator

No abstract availabl

Multimodality imaging of chronic tophaceous gout

The diagnosis of gout is usually based on clinical presentation and laboratory findings. Imaging plays a role in the assessment and grading of articular damage related to chronic, long-standing disease, which is characterized by granulomatous synovitis, tophi, and erosions. Multimodality imaging of chronic tophaceous gout may be useful in clinical practice for a variety of purposes, including assessment of disease-related anatomical changes and monitoring of articular and soft-tissue lesions over time, especially in response to urate-lowering therapy. Radiography remains the primary imaging technique. Ultrasonography may detect monosodium urate crystals on cartilage, is helpful to assess small joint effusion, to guide to joint aspiration, and to evaluate the volume of tophi. Computed tomography is considered to be more sensitive than plain radiography in the detection and evaluation of cortical bone erosions associated with tophi. MRI represents the only imaging modality which provides visualization of bone marrow oedema associated with erosions and may be useful to characterize and distinguish tophi from other soft tissue nodules

RAPPRESENTAZIONE IN CARTA DELLE CARATTERISTICHE DEI SENTIERI AI FINI DELLA MITIGAZIONE DEL RISCHIO GEOMORFOLOGICO

L’ambiente naturale di alcuni particolari ambiti geografici è in rapida evoluzione non solo per quanto riguarda le sue variabili, legate alle tendenze climatiche in atto, ma anche in relazione all’aumentata frequentazione turistica. La maggiore diffusione dei mezzi di risalita in montagna e di navigazione lungo le coste, rende possibile l’accesso anche a siti altrimenti difficilmente raggiungibili: ciò porta ad un contatto rapido e diretto con ambienti talvolta mutevoli in tempi brevi. La crescente richiesta di una maggiore conoscenza dell’ambiente naturale, che si esplica per lo più attraverso la frequentazione della rete sentieristica, implica la necessità di abbinare alle proposte di percorsi ed itinerari, note illustrative e carte tematiche di immediata lettura, che evidenzino sia i siti di interesse naturalistico - culturale sia le possibili situazioni di rischio e di difficoltà di percorrenza degli itinerari stessi. Esistono infatti alcuni elementi morfologici del territorio che di per sé non costituiscono una pericolosità in senso stretto ma che, a seconda delle capacità del fruitore, possono essere fonte indiretta di danno, in quanto rendono difficile l’attraversamento di alcuni punti specifici o la percorrenza di particolari tratti di sentiero. Contemporaneamente la stagionalità in alcune regioni climatiche e la variabilità meteorologica possono incrementare sia la pericolosità sia la vulnerabilità e di conseguenza il rischio per il frequentatore. Obiettivo del presente lavoro è quello di proporre una simbologia adeguata da inserire sulle carte dei sentieri, e più specificatamente su quelle geoturistiche, per una rapida e facile identificazione di specifiche situazioni riscontrabili lungo itinerari: questi simboli, che dovranno riferirsi solo alla percorribilità dell’itinerario e non alla valorizzazione naturalistica dello stesso, andranno rappresentati su base topografica separata, al fine di non appesantire la lettura dell’elaborato cartografico principale e dovranno fornire solo informazioni oggettive che saranno poi interpretate dal fruitore dell’itinerario. La simbologia e le note terranno conto sia delle caratteristiche costanti dei sentieri che degli elementi variabili, in funzione anche delle condizioni climatiche o stagionali, a seconda dei diversi ambienti interessati

Architectural concept of analyser

No abstract availabl

Imaging studies of crystalline arthritides

Gout, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) deposition disease, and calcium hydroxyapatite deposition disease (HADD) are the three most common crystal-induced arthropathies. Multimodality imaging may help in their diagnosis, and is useful for a precise and comprehensive assessment and grading of the related osteoarticular damage. Plain film radiography, due to its low cost and wide availability, is the first imaging technique to be used in crystal deposition diseases, providing well-known and specific findings for CPPD deposition disease and HADD, while it may undergrade the early osteoarticular lesions in gouty patients. Ultrasonography (US) is a radiation-free approach that accurately depicts crystal deposits in cartilage, peri- and intra-articular soft tissues, but it does not give a panoramic view of the affected joints. Cross-sectional imaging techniques can examine crystal deposits in the spine and axial joints. CT has the potential to distinguish monosodium urate (MSU) crystals from calcium containing crystals, due to their different attenuation values. MRI may demonstrate synovitis, erosions and bone marrow edema in gouty patients and it may differentiate tophi from other soft tissue nodules due to its high contrast resolution and power of tissue characterization

Integrated Environmental Study for Beach Management: A Methodological Approach

This paper aims to present a project convened by the University of Genoa and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), in collaboration with Local Authorities, concerning the development of tools for beach management in the Riviera del Beigua (Liguria Region, Italy). The aim of the first step of the project is to assess the environmental state of resort beaches examining them interdisciplinary, through a data analysis based on a sound understanding of the components of the physical and the human system. The following step will be the treatment of the data, through the use of various instruments, which use a synthesis analysis, such as the traditional SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, and the use of a set of environmental and socio-economic indicators. Finally, our ultimate target is to propose guidelines, which will supply an instrument to back up policies concerning beach planning and management

A deep-seated gravitational slope deformation in the Upper Bargonasco Valley (Ligurian Apennines)

Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD) represent an important geomorphological feature of the Ligurian landscape, and have drawn scientific attention for the past several decades. Lithological characteristics of rock masses, tectonic movements, geomorphic and climatic factors are among the key processes generally recognized. Along the slope, which spreads between a ridge at 880 m and the Bargonasco River at 220 m a.s.l., where serpentinites and basalt outcrops connect with cherts and other sedimentary rocks along tectonic lineations, typical geomorphological evidence of DSGSD are observed, including grabens, trenches, double ridges, depressions, troughs, and counterslopes scarplets, all of which may reactivate pre-existing structural discontinuities. Within a UE program aimed at assessing the Pian del Lago wetland, which represent the top side of the DSGSD and correspond to a trench filled with lacustrine sediment, a drilling program was carried out and the stratigraphy of the area was defined. Several radiometric analyses conducted on samples of core peat demonstrated that the most ancient phase of this lacustrine basin dates from the Upper Pleistocene, featuring major climate changes. As such, it is possible that the beginning of the DSGSD occurred earlier than this, and that its formation is correlated to the various stadial-interstadial transitions that characterized the last 100 ky BP