Comprehensive Multi-Timespan Analysis of Known AGN

Only two sources of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-rays (~50 GeV to ~10 TeV) from outside of the Milky Way have been detected by the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. Although varying timescale analyses have been performed, a complete search of all multi-day time scales has not been executed. The primary sources of extragalactic VHE gamma-rays are Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), supermassive blackholes at the center of other galaxies, actively feeding on matter. I propose a comprehensive analysis of known AGN in all multi-day time scales since HAWC began operations. Such an analysis would allow for limits to be placed on the frequency of AGN flares, and improve our understanding of AGN in the VHE regime. In order to determine the significance of the flux received, a False Alarm Rate (FAR) must first be established by analyzing the significance distribution of pseudomaps created by poisson fluctuating the background. This step requires the bulk of computing time and is nearly complete. The next step will be to run the program to determine the significance of known AGN on a comprehensive set of timescales.Maryland Summer Scholars Progra

Consumo di suolo lungo i corpi idrici

Stime aggiornate del consumo di suolo utilizzando i dati Copernicus ad alta risoluzione.Confronta i dati 2015 con quelli 2012, nel complesso, significativo aumento del suolo consumato

Forme di urbanizzazione e tipologia insediativa

La conoscenza delle diverse forme di urbanizzazione e della tipologia insediativa è un elemento fondamentale della sostenibilità e della resilienza urbana. I processi di diffusione, dispersione urbana e di frammentazione continuano a produrre un effetto di “città diffusa” con conseguente perdita di limiti tra territorio urbano e rurale (Indovina, 1990, 2009; Simon, 2008). Il consumo di risorse e la sottrazione di qualità al territorio si presenta attraverso la creazione di centri urbani di dimensione medio-piccola all’esterno dei principali poli metropolitani, la crescita di zone di margine con insediamenti dispersi intorno ai centri, la saldatura di zone di insediamento a bassa densità in un continuum che annulla i limiti tra territorio urbano e rurale, la frammentazione del paesaggio e la mancanza di identità dei nuclei urbanizzati sparsi e senza coesione. Gli effetti ambientali e sociali dei fenomeni di espansione delle città a bassa densità e dello sprawl urbano sono rilevanti in termini di qualità ambientale, di integrità del paesaggio e di consumo di risorse naturali. L’entità di tali effetti dipende fortemente dalla modalità con la quale si realizza la trasformazione. In Europa e in Italia, l’espansione delle superfici impermeabilizzate, si manifesta nella frangia urbana e peri-urbana di molte importanti città come commistione di tipologie di uso del suolo diversificate e come aumento più marcato del consumo di suolo proprio nelle aree di margine e nei paesaggi suburbani (EEA, 2006; ISPRA, 2015). A questi fenomeni di espansione diffusa si associano, inoltre, costi pubblici e privati associati alla mobilità e alla fornitura e alla gestione delle opere di urbanizzazione primaria e secondaria. La frammentazione produce, infine, una forte riduzione della qualità della biodiversità complessiva nelle aree interessate, sia in termini di capacità residua di connessione degli ecosistemi sia di disponibilità dei servizi ecosistemici nelle unità territoriali.The knowledge of the different forms of urbanization and type of settlements are key element of sustainability and urban resilience. The processes of diffusion, urban sprawl and fragmentation continue to produce a consequent loss of boundaries between urban and rural land (Guess, 1990, 2009; Simon, 2008). Consumption of natural resources and threatening of land quality take place through the creation of small-medium sized urban centers outside of the major metropolitan, through the growth of dispersed settlements in marginal areas around the centers, through low-density settlement in a continuum that cancels the boundaries between urban and rural land, through landscape fragmentation and the lack of identity of the settlements scattered and without cohesion. The environmental and social effects of those phenomena are relevant in terms of environmental quality, integrity of the landscape and the consumption of natural resources. The magnitude of these effects depends strongly on how transformation is realized. In Europe and in Italy, the majority of expansion of the sealed areas is in urban and peri-urban fringe of many major cities, as a mixture of different types of land use, driving to the greater increase in the land take in this fringe areas and suburban landscapes (EEA, 2006; ISPRA, 2015). Is known that dispersed and fragmented urbanization is associated with widespread expansion of public and private costs associated with mobility and costs of primary and secondary urbanization. Fragmentation produces, finally, a strong reduction in the quality of the overall biodiversity, in terms of residual capacity of connection of ecosystems and the availability of ecosystem services in the territorial units

Land Consumption Monitoring with SAR Data and Multispectral Indices

Land consumption is the increase in artificial land cover, which is a major issue for environmental sustainability. In Italy, the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA) have the institutional duty to monitor land consumption yearly, through the photointerpretation of high-resolution images. This study intends to develop a methodology in order to produce maps of land consumption, by the use of the semi-automatic classification of multitemporal images, to reduce the effort of photointerpretation in detecting real changes. The developed methodology uses vegetation indices calculated over time series of images and decision rules. Three variants of the methodology were applied to detect the changes that occurred in Italy between the years 2018 and 2019, and the results were validated using ISPRA official data. The results show that the produced maps include large commission errors, but thanks to the developed methodology, the area to be photointerpreted was reduced to 7300 km2 (2.4% of Italian surface). The third variant of the methodology provided the highest detection of changes: 70.4% of the changes larger than 100 m2 (the pixel size) and over 84.0% of changes above 500 m2. Omissions are mainly related to single pixel changes, while larger changes are detected by at least one pixel in most of the cases. In conclusion, the developed methodology can improve the detection of land consumption, focusing photointerpretation work over selected areas detected automatically

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

Il consumo di suolo in Italia - Edizione 2015

Nel nostro Paese si continua a consumare suolo e la seconda edizione del Rapporto ISPRA fornisce un quadro completo sull’avanzata della copertura artificiale del nostro territorio. Il Rapporto sul consumo di suolo in Italia 2015 integra nuove informazioni, aggiorna le precedenti stime sulla base di dati a maggiore risoluzione e completa il quadro nazionale con specifici indicatori per regioni, province e comuni. Sono, inoltre, approfonditi alcuni aspetti che caratterizzano le dinamiche di espansione urbana e di trasformazione del paesaggio a scala nazionale e locale con riferimento alla fascia costiera, alle aree montane, ai corpi idrici, alle aree protette, alle aree a pericolosità idraulica, all’uso del suolo, alle forme e alle densità di urbanizzazione, ai fenomeni dello sprawl urbano, della frammentazione, della dispersione e della diffusione insediativa

Relationship between gender differences and clinical outcome in patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), characterized by artherial and/or venous thrombosis, pregnancy morbidity and "antiphospholipid" antibodies (aPLs), is more common in women than in men, with a female to male ratio of about 3.5:1. Only few studies have investigated the clinical differences between male and female patients with APS. Therefore, this study was aimed to analyze the differences of clinical manifestations and laboratory tests, at diagnosis, between female and male APS patients and the clinical outcome. We enrolled 191 consecutive APS patients (125 with primary APS, PAPS, and 66 with secondary APS, SAPS) with a female predominant ratio of approximately 3:1 (142 vs 49). The prevalence of PAPS was higher in males than females (p<0.001). The analysis of aPL profile revealed that high IgM anti-cardiolipin (aCL) and high-medium IgG aCL titers were more frequent in males. In thrombotic APS peripheral arterial thrombosis was more common in male than female patients (p=0.049), as well as myocardial infarction (p=0.031). Multivariate analysis to correct for cardiovascular risk factors, high titer of aPLs and triple positivity for aPLs, revealed that the odds ratio for myocardial infarction in male was 3.77. Thus, APS may be considered as a disease in which serological (IgM titer) and clinical profiles are influenced by gender

Area di impatto del consumo di suolo

Una corretta valutazione dell’impatto del consumo del suolo non può prescindere dall’esaminare gli effetti dello stesso nell’intorno della superficie direttamente coperta artificialmente. Sebbene una quota importante degli effetti possa essere considerata diretta, e valutabile attraverso gli impatti diretti sugli ecosistemi e sulla biodiversità, non sono da trascurare gli effetti indiretti e di disturbo, che interessano alcuni importanti servizi ecosistemici di regolazione climatica ed idrogeologica (si veda anche la parte III). Limitando l’analisi alla dimensione orizzontale della superficie terrestre, si è scelto di stimare la superficie potenzialmente impattata dalla presenza di coperture artificiali considerando una distanza di 60, 100 e 200 metri. Tali misure, che si traducono operativamente in diversi buffer sulle aree costruite, sono state scelte per generalizzare la questione degli impatti senza assegnare pesi specifici ai comparti ambientali coinvolti

The Impact of Urbanization on Land: A Biophysical-Based Assessment of Ecosystem Services Loss Supported by Remote Sensed Indicators

Urbanization and related land consumption are one of the main causes of ecosystem services loss. This is especially the case for soil-related services affecting ecosystem functions and limiting accessibility to natural resources. Satellite remote sensing and environmental databases enable in-depth analysis of urban expansion and land changes, which can be used to monitor trends in the provision of ecosystem services. This work aims to describe a multilayered approach to the assessment of biophysical loss of ecosystem services flows in Italy caused by an increase in land consumption in the period 2012–2020. The results show higher losses in wood production, carbon storage, hydrological regime regulation, and pollination in the northern regions of Italy, as well as in some southern regions, such as Campania and Apulia. Habitat quality loss is widespread throughout Italy, whereas crop production loss varies on the basis of the locations in which it occurs and the crop types involved. Loss of arable land and fodder production mainly occurs in northern regions, whereas southern regions have experienced a drop in permanent crop production. This study highlights the importance of using integrated data and methodologies for well-founded approaches, with a view to gaining a thorough understanding of ecosystem services-related processes and the changes connected therewith