Toward a centralized data management center for integrated landslide monitoring in Emilia Romagna Region (Italy)

In Emilia Romagna Region, slope monitoring systems have become more widely used for hazard and risk management. However, they are generally non-interoperable. Moreover dispersion of monitoring data in several local databases have made data sharing among the involved institutional actors quite laborious and often untimely. A centralized database and a web-based portal that integrate infor- mation derived by different types of slope monitoring systems has been developed. The paper illustrates the specific features of the developed “SensorNet” and provides examples of its use for visualizing and analyzing in an integrated manner data from different monitoring systems. In perspective it could serve as an every-day operational tool for a timely reporting of landslide monitoring data for surveillance and warning purposes

Case report: bullous pemphigoid development underlies dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa disease worsening

Autoimmune response to cutaneous basement membrane components superimposed on a genetic skin fragility disease, hereditary epidermolysis bullosa (EB), has been described, but its effects on disease course remain unclear. We report a 69-year-old individual with congenital skin fragility and acral trauma-induced blistering that had suddenly worsened with the onset of severe itch and diffuse spontaneous inflammatory blisters. Next-generation sequencing identified compound heterozygous null and missense COL7A1 mutations, allowing the diagnosis of recessive dystrophic EB. However, the patient’s clinical history prompted us to investigate whether he might have developed a pathological autoimmune response against basement membrane components. Tissue-bound and circulating IgG antibodies to the major bullous pemphigoid (BP) antigen, BP180, were detected in the patient’s skin and serum, respectively, consistent with a diagnosis of BP. Corticosteroid therapy was initiated resulting in remission of BP manifestations. EB patients presenting rapid disease worsening should be investigated for the development of a concomitant autoimmune blistering disease

A portable continuous GPS array used as rapid deployment monitoring system during landslide emergencies in Emilia Romagna

The possibility to rapidly deploy a continuous monitoring system in and around an active landslide during an emergency is crucial in order to gather information for hazard and risk scenarios updates. This paper deals with the use of an optimized portable and self-powered array of continuous GPS receivers that has been used for rapid deployment in several landslides during 2013 and 2014 emergency events in Emilia Romagna. In order to optimize the array of GPS receivers, so to make it a sort of plug-and-play system that can be operative in a few hours only and provide data in near-real time, several technical and logistic issues had to be pre-evaluated and solved in the configuration of the system. These issues are illustrated in the short note together with some of the results obtained in the monitored sites