Il monitoraggio del consumo del suolo in Italia

La progressiva artificializzazione e cementificazione del territorio, legate sempre più spesso a un’espansione urbana incontrollata e non pianificata, sono responsabili del consumo del suolo, particolarmente degradato quando viene coperto in maniera permanente con materiali impermeabili come l’asfalto, con risvolti sia sul piano ambientale che su quello economico. Nel presente studio viene illustrata la metodologia di analisi del consumo di suolo sviluppata dall’ISPRA, che ricostruisce l’andamento del fenomeno in Italia dal 1950 ai giorni nostri, integrando dati campionari che derivano da un monitoraggio dettagliato di tipo puntuale con dati di osservazione della terra a livello europeo. Per i sei anni di rilevazione della serie storica disponibile (1956, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2010), sono stati prodotti indicatori per rilevanti ambiti amministrativi, che hanno evidenziato un consumo di suolo crescente nel tempo, dalla scala comunale a quella nazionale, passando dal 2,8% di superficie consumata totale nel 1956 al 6,9% nel 2010. In base ai risultati, l’aumento del consumo di suolo, che avviene soprattutto a discapito dei paesaggi peri-urbani, non è imputabile solo alla crescita demografica. Appare dunque necessaria una regolamentazione più stringente della crescita urbana che possa stimolare la rigenerazione dei centri esistenti, forme di insediamento più compatte, e la protezione delle aree naturali e agricole.The progressive land exploitation, increasingly related to exurban development and urban sprawl, produces the consumption of soil, particularly degraded when it is permanently covered with impervious materials as the asphalt, with environmental as well as economic implications. The present study illustrates a procedure developed by the Italian National Institute for Environmental Research and Protection, for assessing soil consumption in Italy. This procedure reconstructs the evolution of the phenomenon from 1956 to the present day, integrating data derived from a detailed monitoring of sample plots with earth observation data at European level. The indicators, produced for relevant administrative areas at six points in the investigated time (1956, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2010), showed an increasing sealed area over the years, both on local and national scale. Interestingly, on the basis of our results, soil consumption rose from 2.8% in 1956 to 6.9% in 2010 in Italy and this increase, occurring mainly at the expense of peri-urban landscapes, is not only due to population growth. Therefore, a more efficient regulation of the urban development is needed to stimulate the regeneration of city centres, more compact forms of settlement, and the protection of natural and agricultural areas

Politik und Markt in der Krise: Die industriellen Beziehungen im Europa der siebziger Jahre

Zwei große Wellen der Instabilität haben die europäischen Volkswirtschaften im vergangenen Jahrzehnt erschüttert: eine Inflationswelle, die 1973 bzw. 1975 ihre höchsten Höhen erreichte, und eine lange Welle von Arbeitslosigkeit und wirtschaftlichem Rückgang, wie sie nach der ,Ölkrise' in allen westeuropäischen Ländern in signifikantem, bedrohlichem Umfang aufgetreten ist. Die Wirkungen beider Welle sind heute noch zu spüren - und niemand kann sagen, ob ihnen nicht noch weitere folgen werden. Die Regierungen handeln fast alle angesichts einer solchen Situation mit äußerster Vorsicht: Einerseits vermeiden sie aus Angst vor Inflation und Zahlungsbilanzschwierigkeiten eine wirtschaftspolitische Expansion, die eine solche Größenordnung erreichen würde, daß dadurch die Arbeitslosigkeit beseitigt werden könnte; andererseits schrecken sie aber auch vor einer allzu weitgehenden Deflation zurück, wie sie von einigen Wirtschaftssachverständigen empfohlen wird, um keine ,übermäßige' Arbeitslosigkeit - mit den entsprechenden politischen Folgen - auszulösen. Sie glauben, auf diese Weise noch am ehesten den ,schmalen Pfad' finden zu können, auf dem die Industriegesellschaften schließlich doch noch einen Ausweg aus ihren gegenwärtigen Schwierigkeiten finden könnten (vgl. OECD 1977)

Sustainability of compact cities: the SOS_UrbanLab activity

Urban development is facing new challenges to allow the evolution of the environment, in accordance to sustainability principles. In this context, decision makers have to answer to three main issues: how to intervene on the existing compact cities? How to combine and develop interventions on different scales? How to move from requalification to regeneration? The SOS_UrbanLab (Engineering Laboratory for Construction and Environmental Sustainability) researches, starting from a multi-scale analysis, propose a set of eco-friendly solutions to support the potential and capability of territories, integrating their benefits to reach a full sustainable approach

The use of noninvasive ventilation outside the intensive care unit: a clinical case report

Noninvasive Ventilation (NIV) is one of the best weapon at our disposal to treat respiratory failure. The early use of NIV out of the Intensive Care Unit can improve patients’ outcome. A 58-year-old man affected by severe bilateral pneumonia caused by Legionella Pneumophila was treated with Noninvasive Ventilation in extra Intensive Care Unit until the evidence of a marked improvement of clinical and radiological state

Recent results and perspectives on cosmology and fundamental physics from microwave surveys

Recent cosmic microwave background data in temperature and polarization have reached high precision in estimating all the parameters that describe the current so-called standard cosmological model. Recent results about the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect from cosmic microwave background anisotropies, galaxy surveys, and their cross-correlations are presented. Looking at fine signatures in the cosmic microwave background, such as the lack of power at low multipoles, the primordial power spectrum and the bounds on non-Gaussianities, complemented by galaxy surveys, we discuss inflationary physics and the generation of primordial perturbations in the early Universe. Three important topics in particle physics, the bounds on neutrinos masses and parameters, on thermal axion mass and on the neutron lifetime derived from cosmological data are reviewed, with attention to the comparison with laboratory experiment results. Recent results from cosmic polarization rotation analyses aimed at testing the Einstein equivalence principle are presented. Finally, we discuss the perspectives of next radio facilities for the improvement of the analysis of future cosmic microwave background spectral distortion experiments.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures. Review Article. International Journal of Modern Physics D, in press. [Will appear also on the proceedings of the Fourteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting University of Rome "La Sapienza" - Rome, July 12-18, 2015 (http://www.icra.it/mg/mg14/), eds. Robert T. Jantzen, Kjell Rosquist, Remo Ruffini. World Scientific, Singapore

Urban morphology indicators for solar energy analysis

Within the variation of energy performance at urban scale, the relation between solar irradiation and urban form takes a central role. The solar availability on façades which is influenced by the morphology of the urban context, is strictly related to building energy performance indeed. In this paper, we aim at identifying a set of urban morphology indicators (UMIs) that show the most accurate relations with the solar availability on façades (SIy) in the Mediterranean context. The analysis that relates to 14 urban textures of Rome and Barcelona comprises seven UMIs: gross space index, floor space index, façade-to-site ratio, average building height, volume-area ratio, building aspect ratio and sky factor of building façades. The SIy in each texture has been calculated with Heliodon2 software, using normalised models; the relation between SIy and UMIs were investigated using least-square regression analysis. Results suggest that gross space index, façade-to-site ratio and sky factor show very good correlation with SIy (R2 = 0,91) and could be used to develop a comparative assessment tool of solar performance at fabric scale. This could ease the work of urban planners and architects in the early stage of design, reducing both data and time normally needed to perform solar analyses at urban scale

Figuring the features of the Roman Campagna: recent landscape structural transformations of Rome’s countryside

This paper quantified the impact of urban expansion on landscape characteristics of a famous landscape icon, the Roman Campagna, during the last thirty years. Landscape composition and structure were assessed between 1974, when the distinguishing features of Roman Campagna are still widespread and 2008, after the trajectory of urban decentralisation and urban sprawl. Changes in landscape structure were explored by spatial pattern analysis to detect how structural changes in landscape components can modify both land structure and landscape image. Non-parametric correlation statistics and multi factor analysis showed that the distinctive features of the Roman Campagna landscape are now blurred. A generalized landscape mixitè was generated by the juxtaposition of different fragmented land uses, as showed by a negative relationship between changes in surface area and patchiness found in almost all other land use classes. Adaptation measures for preserving peri-urban agriculture in a landscape changed in structure and image are finally discussed

Acquiring vulnerability indicators to geo-hydrological hazards: An example of mobile phone-based data collection

Abstract Geo-hydrological risk reduction is a key issue for local governments in Italy. In this context, a collaboration was undertaken between multiple actors in the La Spezia municipality aimed at: (i) monitoring building characteristics, using specific and valuable indicators, and (ii) increasing the knowledge of geo-hydrological hazards across residents and local land planners (iii) implementing local emergency civil protection plan. An extensive mobile data collection was carried out through apps specifically developed for Android and IOS mobile devices. The digital forms were differentiated on the basis of the potential hazard: one of 46 fields and one of 125 fields designed for buildings respectively located in flood prone areas and in medium to very high landslide susceptibility areas. The digital version of the forms was designed using the Open Data Kit (ODK) and GISCloud client-server approach. All the collected data, including geospatial locations and images, were automatically sent to a central server, stored and organized in a database. Geospatial data-analysis and maps resulted useful in evaluating possible impacts to exposed buildings to potential geo-hydrological processes. The proposed public participation method for data-gathering increased the knowledge across residents providing a better understanding of the urban systems, of the buildings condition and their relation respect to the geo-hydrological risk. The method can be considered as part of the decision support systems for civil protection purposes to better planning geo-hydrological mitigation measures. The application of mobile technology for data collection can be effectively used when local government resources are limited

A new bioavailable fenretinide formulation with antiproliferative, antimetabolic, and cytotoxic effects on solid tumors.

Fenretinide is a synthetic retinoid characterized by anticancer activity in preclinical models and favorable toxicological profile, but also by a low bioavailability that hindered its clinical efficacy in former clinical trials. We developed a new formulation of fenretinide complexed with 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (nanofenretinide) characterized by an increased bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Nanofenretinide was active in cell lines derived from multiple solid tumors, in primary spheroid cultures and in xenografts of lung and colorectal cancer, where it inhibited tumor growth independently from the mutational status of tumor cells. A global profiling of pathways activated by nanofenretinide was performed by reverse-phase proteomic arrays and lipid analysis, revealing widespread repression of the mTOR pathway, activation of apoptotic, autophagic and DNA damage signals and massive production of dihydroceramide, a bioactive lipid with pleiotropic effects on several biological processes. In cells that survived nanofenretinide treatment there was a decrease of factors involved in cell cycle progression and an increase in the levels of p16 and phosphorylated p38 MAPK with consequent block in G0 and early G1. The capacity of nanofenretinide to induce cancer cell death and quiescence, together with its elevated bioavailability and broad antitumor activity indicate its potential use in cancer treatment and chemoprevention