Mapping the avalanche risk: from survey to cartographic production. The avalanche bulletin of the Meteomont Service of the Alpine Troops Command

During the last decades, the process of explaining life-threatening natural hazards to the public has become a major public issue from the point of view of effective prevention policies. The avalanche risk and the communication methods aimed at its forecasting and prevention constitute the focus of this paper. Among the strategies for an effective communication of environmental risks, cartography plays a pivotal role. It has proved to be essential not only for communication purposes, but also for the planning of prompt and efficient preventive interventions; in so doing, it contributes to the reduction of avalanche-caused damages and deaths. The paper investigates prevention and forecasting activities of the Meteomont Service of the Alpine Troops Command (COMTA) of Bolzano (capital city of the province of South Tyrol - North Italy), resulting in the daily publication of avalanche bulletins (Bollettini valanghe), which also include hazard maps. Specifically, the phases that contribute to the production of the avalanche bulletin and the embedded avalanche risk maps will be firstly examined; secondly, such maps will be analysed in order to assess their communicative potential for the purpose of a correct interpretation aimed at the effective prevention of snow-related risks in mountain areas. Possible improvement will be proposed on the basis of the experience of several avalanche warning services worldwide

Bridging research and dissemination in the CoViD-19 era: a WebGIS dashboard for the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy)

The paper presents an ongoing project devoted to the study, the analysis and the representation of epidemiological data related to CoViD-19 spread in the territory of the Province of Trento (Italy), both for scientific and communication purposes. In this broader context, the construction of a digital cartography tool as a WebGIS to allow local communities understanding of epidemiological spread is presented. Data have been supplied by the local Provincial Health Authority; statistic have been processed in order to develop municipality scale vector polygonal coropleth and point maps in order to show affected, health and death rate distribution. A timeline allows the representation of changes and dynamics from Spring 2020 to the current date. The database provides “on-the-fly” data to the production scripts of maps and time charts. These scripts querying the database produce a geographic file in the geojson standard interchange format. This file is read by the javascript scripts based on the leaflet libraries for the production of the final maps. In a similar process, scripts based on the chart.js library produce the graph of the data temporal variation, automatically reading dates and interval time of analysis. A custom procedure was developed to allow the periodic update of the dataset. New information is added to the database by uploading an external spreadsheet. The study presents the methodology to develop and assess the WebGIS for managing, visualize and analyse Coronavirus diffusion. Future implementation of the WebGIS will expand the used data and allow the comparison with social and environmental factors

Mapping indirect effects of anthropic forcing in glacial environments. A quantitative cartography proposal using QGIS and WSL Monoplotting Tool

Di fronte all’odierna accelerazione dei cambiamenti climatici, la geografia applicata necessita oggi con urgenza di nuovi strumenti agili e affidabili per non essere superata dall’evoluzione stessa dei sistemi geomorfologici. La presente ricerca si è posta l’obiettivo di sperimentare l’impiego combinato di due strumenti di geografia digitale, QGIS e WSL Monoplotting Tool, per definire un flusso di lavoro semplificato atto a produrre dati geografici quantitativi sulle dinamiche glaciali. Con un primo test, è stata prodotta una cartografia diacronica di lungo periodo sulle variazioni frontali del ghiacciaio del Lys negli ultimi 150 anni. Con un secondo test, è stata prodotta una cartografia diacronica di breve periodo sulle variazioni frontali del Ghiacciaio di Pré de Bar negli ultimi 30 anni. Sono stati definiti tre metodi per la valutazione dei risultati e sono stati modellati gli errori e le incertezze di procedimento. Quanto ottenuto consente di tracciare ulteriori linee di ricerca per ridurre gli errori e aumentare la precisione dei risultati.While facing the current acceleration of climate changes, applied geography nowadays urgently needs new rapid and reliable instruments for not being surpassed by the evolution itself of geomorphological systems. This research has the aim to experiment the combined application of two digital geography devices, QGIS and WSL Monoplotting Tool, to define a simplified workflow apt to produce quantitative geographical data about glacial dynamics. With a first test, a long-term diachronic cartography was produced about the terminal variation of Lys Glacier during the last 150 years. With a second test, a short-term diachronic cartography was produced about the terminal variation of Pré de Bar Glacier during the last 30 years. Three methods for assessing the results were defined, and the proceedings errors and uncertainties were modeled. The outcome findings allow to trace further research pathways to reduce errors and improve the accuracy of the results

Una dinamicità nascosta: il ruolo del fattore abiotico nella mobilità degli ecosistemi delle aree deglacializzate

Negli ultimi anni si è assistito ad un crescente riconoscimento del ruolo della geografia fisica nel definire un panorama descrittivo efficiente, e una prospettiva applicativa efficace, nell’ambito della conservazione ambientale. Gli studiosi hanno riconosciuto quanto la componente abiotica sia imprescindibile, e pari ordinata, rispetto alla componente biotica nell’architettura degli ecosistemi locali e globali. Le specie animali e vegetali non possono essere adeguatamente tutelate se non si passa attraverso la visione integrata dei loro cicli, non solo rispetto al substrato geologico che abitano e da cui traggono sostegno e nutrimento, ma anche alle dinamiche geomorfologiche che lo modificano. Di fronte all’accelerazione dei cambiamenti climatici antropogenici, da più parti si è auspicato lo sviluppo di un approccio olistico che permetta di mitigare il crescente stress ambientale a cui sono e saranno sempre più sottoposti tutti i bioti, consentendone un maggior margine di adattamento. Una forma specifica di risposta rapida delle comunità biologiche al cambiamento è la mobilità altitudinale e latitudinale. La mobilità biotica è sempre stata nella storia della Terra lo strumento di reazione più immediato alle modificazioni climatiche sia di breve che di lungo periodo. Ancor prima che questo tipo di bio-mobilità possa essere studiata, è tuttavia indispensabile definire un quadro preciso della geo-mobilità retrostante, ovvero di come l’ambiente geomorfologico reagisce al cambiamento climatico, dal momento che le dinamiche abiotiche e biotiche sono strettamente interdipendenti

Epidemiological geography at work: An exploratory review about the overall findings of spatial analysis applied to the study of CoViD-19 propagation along the first pandemic year

The present work aims to give an overview on the international scientific papers related to the territorial spreading of SARS-CoV-2, with a specific focus upon applied quantitative geography and territorial analysis, to define a general structure for epidemiological geography research. The target publications were based on GIS spatial analysis, both in the sense of topological analysis and descriptive statistics or lato sensu geographical approaches. The first basic purpose was to organize and enhance the vast knowledge developments generated hitherto by the first pandemic that was studied “on-the-fly” all over the world. The consequent target was to investigate to what extent researchers in geography were able to draw scientifically consistent conclusions about the pandemic evolution, as well as whether wider generalizations could be reasonably claimed. This implied an analysis and a comparison of their findings. Finally, we tested what geographic approaches can say about the pandemic and whether a reliable spatial analysis routine for mapping infectious diseases could be extrapolated. We selected papers proposed for publication during 2020 and 209 articles complied with our parameters of query. The articles were divided in seven categories to enhance existing commonalities. In some cases, converging conclusions were extracted, and generalizations were derived. In other cases, contrasting or inconsistent findings were found, and possible explanations were provided. From the results of our survey, we extrapolated a routine for the production of epidemiological geography analyses, we highlighted the different steps of investigation that were attained, and we underlined the most critical nodes of the methodology. Our findings may help to point out what are the most critical conceptual challenges of epidemiological mapping, and where it might improve to engender informed conclusions and aware outcomes

“Tracciare l’Antropocene in ambiente glaciale: gli effetti indiretti dell’uomo sul Monte Rosa - Tracing the Anthropocene in a glacial environment: the indirect effects of mankind on Monte Rosa”, in AA.VV., “Il Monte Rosa”, Catalogo Mostra Adieu des Glaciers

Many researchers are currently trying to detect the hints of the beginning of a “human” geological epoch, the so-called Anthropocene, and they are also addressing the Alpine environments to study the anthropic impacts on glacial environments. To this end, applied geography methods can be used to retrieve geographical data from glacier photographs, which can then be processed and used for measurements and comparisons. This study tested them to create a historical-environmental map on the Lys Glacier. The results are precious: they can help researchers in confirming the moraine dating, as well as in producing estimates on the position of past glacial termini. These methods allow also to obtain new indirect measurements, so that the study of past changes can be linked to the analysis of current changes

Cartografia ufficiale del COVID-19: problematiche nella realizzazione di un webGIS per la divulgazione dei dati epidemiologici

Il contributo presenta in chiave critica l’esperienza degli Autori nella progettazione e realizzazione di un webGIS per la cartografia epidemiologica del COVID-19 in Trentino. Oltre alla descrizione generale delle caratteristiche informatiche del webGIS, sono esposte con maggiore dettaglio le rilevanti questioni normative riguardanti il trattamento di dati riservati e le soluzioni adottate, unitamente alle scelte operate in chiave comunicativa ai fini delle rappresentazioni tematiche

Dinamiche epidemiologiche e governance sanitaria in Trentino-Alto Adige

[ITA] -- Nel quadro del progetto condiviso di realizzare un Atlante COVID-19 sulle geografie del contagio in Italia, il saggio si concentra sulle dinamiche epidemiologiche che hanno investito il territorio della Regione Trentino-Alto Adige durante la primavera del 2020. Attraverso la raccolta e l’analisi statistico-spaziale di dati open source pubblici, integrati in un sistema informativo territoriale in ambiente GIS, è stato possibile identificare alcuni dei focolai iniziali e le direttrici di diffusione del contagio ed elaborare cartografie tematiche. La lettura comparativa con dati demografici, sociali e ambientali ha permesso di identificare alcune relazioni che concorrono a tracciare un quadro epistemologico sui fattori che hanno influenzato la diffusione geografica dell’epidemia. In particolare, è stato possibile evidenziare la bassa preponderanza di fenomeni quali l’inquinamento dell’aria rispetto al ruolo decisamente più marcato di processi territoriali come gli spostamenti di prossimità e i flussi turistici. Il contesto regionale considerato, che rappresenta un unicum nel mosaico amministrativo italiano in quanto sottoposto alla governance sanitaria di due diverse Aziende Sanitarie afferenti rispettivamente alla Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige e alla Provincia Autonoma di Trento, consente anche di riflettere sulle difficoltà insite nel raccogliere, comparare e analizzare dati prodotti da differenti Enti per ricostruire i trend di diffusione su territori sottoposti a misure autonome di monitoraggio e mitigazione. [ENG] -- Within the framework of the common project aimed at the production of a COVID-19 Atlas about the infection geographies in Italy, this essay focuses upon the epidemiological dynamics occurred across the territory of Trentino-Alto Adige Region during spring 2020. Through the collection and the spatial-statistical analysis of open source publicly available data, and their integration in a territorial informative infrastructure with GIS, we were able to detect some of the very first outbreaks and the main spreading directions of the pandemic, and we could produce thematic maps. The comparative analysis of demographic, social, economic, and environmental data allowed us to identify some relationships that contribute to outline an epistemological overview about the main factors that could have affected the geographical pattern of the pandemic. In particular, we could highlight the weak role of environmental factors like air pollution as opposed to the stronger effects of other territorial processes, like short-range displacements and touristic flows. The case studied hereby represents a unique entity within the Italian administrative system, as it undergoes two different Health Authorities, one controlled by the Autonomous Province of Trento, the other belonging to the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. It provides therefore the opportunity to deal with the intrinsic difficulties stemming from the collection, comparison and analysis of data produced by different entities while reconstructing the pandemic patterns within territories subjected to independent surveillance and mitigation measures. [DEU] -- Im Rahmen des gemeinsamen Projekts zur Erstellung eines COVID-19-Atlas über die Infektionsgeografien in Italien konzentriert sich dieser Aufsatz auf die epidemiologische Dynamik, die im Frühjahr 2020 auf dem Gebiet der Region Trentino-Südtirol aufgetreten ist. Die Erfassung und statistisch-räumliche Analyse öffentlicher Open-Source-Daten, die in ein territoriales Informationssystem mit GIS integriert waren, hat es ermöglicht, einige der ersten Ausbrüche und die Richtungen für die Ausbreitung der Infektion zu identifizieren sowie thematische Karten zu entwickeln. Die vergleichende Analyse demografischer, sozialer, wirtschaftlicher und ökologischer Daten ermöglichte es, einige Zusammenhänge zu identifizieren, die dazu beitragen, einen erkenntnistheoretischen Überblick über die Hauptfaktoren, die das geografische Pattern der Pandemie beeinflussten, zu zeichnen. Insbesondere konnte das geringe Überwiegen von Phänomenen wie Luftverschmutzung im Vergleich zu der ausgeprägteren Rolle territorialer Prozesse wie Kurzstreckenreisen und Touristenströme hervorgehoben werden. Der analysierte regionale Kontext stellt ein Unikat im italienischen Verwaltungssystem dar, da er der Gesundheitsverwaltung von zwei verschiedenen Gesundheitsbehörden unterliegt, die jeweils der Autonomen Provinz Bozen - Südtirol und der Autonomen Provinz Trient angehören. Dies ermöglicht es uns, über die Schwierigkeiten beim Sammeln, Vergleichen und Analysieren von Daten nachzudenken, die von verschiedenen Einrichtungen erstellt wurden, um die Verbreitungstrends in Gebieten, die autonomen Überwachungs- und Minderungsmaßnahmen unterzogen wurden, zu rekonstruieren

Replacement of Adalimumab Originator to Adalimumab Biosimilar for a Non-Medical Reason in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Real-life Comparison of Adalimumab Biosimilars Currently Available in Italy

Background and aims: Adalimumab (ADA) biosimilars have been included into the therapeutic armamentarium of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, comparative data on the efficacy and safety of the different ADA biosimilars after replacing the ADA originator for a non-medical reason remains scarce. We aimed to compare in a real-life setting the efficacy and safety of four ADA biosimilars SB5, APB501, GP2017, and MSB11022 in IBD patients after replacing the originator for a non-medical reason. Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was performed on consecutive IBD patients, analyzing clinical, laboratory, and endoscopic data. The primary endpoints of the study were maintenance of clinical remission and safety of the different biosimilars. Results: 153 patients were enrolled, 26 with UC and 127 with CD. Clinical remission was maintained in 124 out of 153 (81%) patients after a median (IQR) follow-up of 12 (6-24) months, without any significant difference between the four ADA biosimilars. ADA biosimilars dosage was optimized in five patients (3.3%). Loss of remission was significantly higher in UC patients (10/26 patients, 38.5%) than in CD patients (19/127 patients, 14.9%, p<0.025). Adverse events occurred in 12 (7.9%) patients; the large majority were mild. Conclusions: No difference in efficacy and safety was found between ADA biosimilars when used to replace the ADA originator for a non-medical reason. However, in UC patients the replacement of ADA originator for this reason should be carefully assessed

Comparison of Performances of Adalimumab Biosimilars SB5, APB501, GP2017, and MSB11022 in Treating Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Real-Life, Multicenter, Observational Study

Background Adalimumab (ADA) biosimilars have entered the therapeutic armamentarium of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), allowing for the treatment of a greater number of patients for their reduced cost than the originator. However, comparative data on the efficacy and safety of the various ADA biosimilars remains scarce. We compare the efficacy and safety of ADA biosimilars SB5, APB501, GP2017, and MSB11022 in treating IBD outpatients in a real-life Italian setting. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on consecutive IBD outpatients with complete clinical, laboratory, and endoscopic data. Clinical activity was measured using the Mayo score in ulcerative colitis (UC) and the Harvey-Bradshaw Index in Crohn's disease (CD). The primary endpoints were the following: (1) induction of remission in patients new to biologics and patients new to ADA but previously exposed to other anti-tumor necrosis factor agents or other biologics; (2) maintenance of remission in patients switched from the ADA originator to an ADA biosimilar; and (3) safety of various biosimilars. Results A total of 533 patients were enrolled according to the inclusion criteria: 162 patients with UC and 371 patients with CD. Clinical remission was obtained in 79.6% of patients new to biologics and 59.2% of patients new to ADA but not to other biologics; clinical remission was maintained in 81.0% of patients switched from the originator, and adverse events were recorded in 6.7% of patients. There was no significant difference between the 4 ADA biosimilars for each predetermined endpoint. Conclusions Adalimumab biosimilars are effective and safe in IBD treatment, both in new patients and in patients switched from the ADA originator. No difference in efficacy and safety was found between ADA biosimilars.Lay Summary We treated 533 IBD patients with adalimumab (ADA) biosimilars SB5, APB501, GP2017, and MSB11022. No differences between these 4 ADA biosimilars were found for reaching remission in naive patients, maintaining remission for nonmedical switching, clinical response, steroid-free remission, surgery rate, mucosal healing, or safety