Aerial assessment of landscape net change by means of two-phase network sampling: an application to central Italy

A design-based procedure for estimating the land cover net change between two dates in time is considered by means of aerial information. The aerial information in the first date consists of analogical photos while the aerial information in the second date consists of digital photos or satellite imagery. In the first phase of sampling a set of points is selected on the study area by means of unaligned systematic sampling. The digital imagery available for the second date may be readily adopted for spotting and classifying the first-phase points, thus obtaining a firstphase estimator of the areal extents in the second date. On the other hand, owing to the operational difficulties of spotting all the first-phase points on the analogical photos, a second-phase sample selected from these points is necessary to estimate the areal extents of the land categories in the first date. Finally, the land cover net changes may be estimated by means of the difference between the resulting estimates in the two dates. The use of stratified network sampling is considered in the second phase in order to handle the presence of analogical photos overlapping each other at their boundaries. An application of the procedure is considered for assessing the land cover net change in the Abruzzo Region (Central Italy) between the years 1954 and 2002.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.interscience.wiley.co

Kinematic and stellar population properties of the counter-rotating components in the S0 galaxy NGC 1366

Context. Many disk galaxies host two extended stellar components that rotate in opposite directions. The analysis of the stellar populations of the counter-rotating components provides constraints on the environmental and internal processes that drive their formation. Aims. The S0 NGC 1366 in the Fornax cluster is known to host a stellar component that is kinematically decoupled from the main body of the galaxy. Here we successfully separated the two counter-rotating stellar components to independently measure the kinematics and properties of their stellar populations. Methods. We performed a spectroscopic decomposition of the spectrum obtained along the galaxy major axis and separated the relative contribution of the two counter-rotating stellar components and of the ionized-gas component. We measured the line-strength indices of the two counter-rotating stellar components and modeled each of them with single stellar population models that account for the \u3b1/Fe overabundance. Results. We found that the counter-rotating stellar component is younger, has nearly the same metallicity, and is less \u3b1/Fe enhanced than the corotating component. Unlike most of the counter-rotating galaxies, the ionized gas detected in NGC 1366 is neither associated with the counter-rotating stellar component nor with the main galaxy body. On the contrary, it has a disordered distribution and a disturbed kinematics with multiple velocity components observed along the minor axis of the galaxy. Conclusions. The different properties of the counter-rotating stellar components and the kinematic peculiarities of the ionized gas suggest that NGC 1366 is at an intermediate stage of the acquisition process, building the counter-rotating components with some gas clouds still falling onto the galaxy. \ua9 ESO 2017

Extending large-scale forest inventories to assess urban forests

Urban areas are continuously expanding today, extending their influence on an increasingly large proportion of woods and trees located in or nearby urban and urbanizing areas, the socalled urban forests. Although these forests have the potential for significantly improving the quality the urban environment and the well-being of the urban population, data to quantify the extent and characteristics of urban forests are still lacking or fragmentary on a large scale. In this regard, an expansion of the domain of multipurpose forest inventories like National Forest Inventories (NFIs) towards urban forests would be required. To this end, it would be convenient to exploit the same sampling scheme applied in NFIs to assess the basic features of urban forests. This paper considers approximately unbiased estimators of abundance and coverage of urban forests, together with estimators of the corresponding variances, which can be achieved from the first phase of most largescale forest inventories. A simulation study is carried out in order to check the performance of the considered estimators under various situations involving the spatial distribution of the urban forests over the study area. An application is worked out on the data from the Italian NFI.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore www.springer.co

The 1936 Italian Kingdom Forest Map reviewed: a dataset for landscape and ecological research

The recovery of the 1936 Italian Kingdom Forest Map (IKFM) (276 sheets 1:100,000) is described. It is a unique document that describes the forest extent and species composition for the whole of Italy. The original document is available in paper format using a datum and a map projection no longer in use, therefore it is not suitable for analysis using current digital tools. Therefore, this map has been firstly converted to a digital image, georeferenced and reprojected as a raster map in the official Italian datum; secondly, has been digitalized in vector format. This map provides historical, ecological and landscape information and fills a great temporal gap in those portions of Italy where landscape maps are available for some earlier periods. Its importance is extended to parts of Croatia, Slovenia and France. The technical problems faced in the recovery and transformation of the cartography into a usable format are described and discussed. A first data overview and analysis based on a test study, and comparisons with current national forest inventory data aimed to highlight potential and limits of IKFM are presented. The map is available on-line through a WebGIS at the address carta1936.dicam.unitn.i

SELF-EXPANDABLE METAL STENT PLACEMENT FOR CLOSURE OF A LEAK AFTER TOTAL GASTRECTOMY FOR GASTRIC CANCER: REPORT ON THREE CASES AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

consequently the management of this problem has become more critically focused than was previously possible. We report here three cases of placement of a partially silicone-coated SEMS (Evolution Controlled Release Esophageal Stent System, CookMedical, Winston-Salem, NC, USA) in patients who underwent total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y end-to-side esophagojejunostomy for a gastric adenocarcinoma. The promising results of our report, despite the small number of patients, suggest that early stenting (through a partially silicone-coated SEMS) is a feasible alternative to surgical treatment in this subset of patients. In fact, in the treatment of leakage after total gastrectomy, plastic stents and totally covered metallic stents may not adhere sufficiently to the esophagojejunal walls and, as a result, migrate beyond the anastomosis. However, prospective studies with a larger number of patients might assess the real effectiveness and safety of this procedure

Impact of trans-stent gradient on outcome after PCI: results from a HAWKEYE substudy

To test whether quantitative flow ratio (QFR)-based trans-stent gradient (TSG) is associated with adverse clinical events at follow-up. A post-hoc analysis of the multi-center HAWKEYE study was performed. Vessels post-PCI were divided into four groups (G) as follows: G1: QFR >= 0.90 TSG = 0 (n = 412, 54.8%); G2: QFR >= 0.90, TSG > 0 (n = 216, 28.7%); G3: QFR < 0.90, TSG = 0 (n = 37, 4.9%); G4: QFR < 0.90, TSG > 0 (n = 86, 11.4%). Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the effect of baseline and prognostic variables. The final reduced model was obtained by backward stepwise variable selection. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was plotted and area under the curve (AUC) was calculated and reported. Overall, 449 (59.8%) vessels had a TSG = 0 whereas (40.2%) had TSG > 0. Ten (2.2%) vessel-oriented composite endpoint (VOCE) occurred in vessels with TSG = 0, compared with 43 (14%) in vessels with TSG > 0 (p < 0.01). ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.67 to 0.80; p < 0.001). TSG > 0 was an independent predictor of the VOCE (HR 2.95 [95% CI 1.77-4.91]). The combination of higher TSG and lower final QFR (G4) showed the worst long-term outcome while low TSG and high QFR showed the best outcome (G1) while either high TSG or low QFR (G2, G3) showed intermediate and comparable outcomes. Higher trans-stent gradient was an independent predictor of adverse events and identified a subgroup of patients at higher risk for poor outcomes even when vessel QFR was optimal (> 0.90)

The CONECOFOR Programme: general presentation, aims and co-ordination

Following EU Regulation no. 1091/94, the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry Policy (National Forest Service) has since 1995 sponsored the "National Integrated Programme for Forest Ecosystems Monitoring" (CONECOFOR), implemented to study the effects of atmospheric pollution and climate change on forest ecosystems. The Programme also operates within the framework of the Geneva Convention on Trans-boundary air pollution (L.R.T.A.P. U.N.-E.C.E.), ratified by Italy in 1982, and of the Resolutions of the Ministerial Conferences on the protection of forests in Europe (Res. no. 1, Strasbourg, 1990, Res. H4, Helsinki, 1993). The Programme involves the development of the so-called Level I investigations, which have been in progress since 1987 on a European grid made up of 16×16 km2. At present there are in Italy 265 monitoring plots distributed over the whole country, where annual assessments are made of the state of the tree crowns. At selected points within the same square, in 1995/6, pedological investigations were carried out and the chemical content of the leaves analysed. The Level II CONECOFOR Programme is currently based on 28 permanent plots in the framework of the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests; 11 areas are also classed as "biomonitoring sites", in the framework of the International Co-operative Programme on Integrated Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Ecosystems. Nine different researches have since 1996 been in progress in the permanent plots, involving the following analyses: geological and geomorphological (preliminary), vegetation (yearly), crown condition (yearly), chemical content of leaves (every 2 years), soil (every 10 years), variations in tree growth (every 5 years), atmospheric depositions (continuous), meteorological (continuous), atmospheric pollutants (continuous). Since 2000, surveys of soil solution (continuous), tree phenology (continuous) and ozone visible damage (yearly) have been added. Test phases of new surveys (biodiversity, biotic damage, etc.) are planned for 2002/3. The National Forestry Service (CONECOFOR Service) co-ordinates six participating research institutes, each of which is responsible for the analyses and monitoring activities. The permanent plots are selected according to the directive of EU Regulation no. 1091/94 so as to include the major forest ecosystems in Italy, and are distributed over the whole country. Each covers an area of 10-100 ha, within which two sample units of 2,500 m2 are designated. The main dominant species are Fagus sylvatica (10 areas), Picea abies (6), Quercus cerris (5), Quercus ilex (4), Quercus petraea (1) Quercus robur (1) and Abies alba (1). The first six years of the CONECOFOR Programme have resulted in a detailed, organic description of the main forest ecosystems in Italy. Implementation of the programme has meant that we are now in possession of a reasonably complete knowledge of the ecological characteristics of 17 different Italian forest communities ranging from the Alps to Sicily. The assessment and monitoring of forest health represent a key point for environmental policy-makers and for the management of environmental resources in the framework of sustainable development