Deep Learning Solutions for TanDEM-X-based Forest Classification

In the last few years, deep learning (DL) has been successfully and massively employed in computer vision for discriminative tasks, such as image classification or object detection. This kind of problems are core to many remote sensing (RS) applications as well, though with domain-specific peculiarities. Therefore, there is a growing interest on the use of DL methods for RS tasks. Here, we consider the forest/non-forest classification problem with TanDEM-X data, and test two state-of-the-art DL models, suitably adapting them to the specific task. Our experiments confirm the great potential of DL methods for RS applications

A model to support the public administration decisions for the investments selection on historic buildings

The historical buildings can become an instrument for the growth of a territory in connection with the historic and artistic value, the ability to characterize environments and urban, rural and natural landscapesand on the basis of historical and documentary interest. This is confirmed in the numerous legislative measures that deal with urban planning at the international level. Most of the time, however, the interventions on the historical-architectural building heritage do not respond to logic capable of simultaneously ensuring the conservation and valorization. This problem is accentuated when the decision-making process is not supported by operating logical models capable of bringing into account the many effects of aninvestment, which are not only financial, but also social, cultural and environmental nature. The operational research, in particular discrete linear programming crossed with multicriteria analysis, can support the definition of useful models to the selection of investments on historical buildings. Intended for public authorities called to choose the projects to be financed, the model defined and tested in the presentwork can be easily adapted also to the case of resources allocation by private investor. The applicationof the model to a concrete case, concerning the definition of the projects portfolio for the valorization of buildings of historical-architectural value in a Municipality of South Italy, confirms the potential of the instrument in analysis

Using the “U-Multirank” to Compare the Performances of Brazilian Universities with Latin American Countries in Academic and Industry Products

 The present research makes comparisons of the performances of Brazilian Universities in terms of academic and industry related production, based in the “U-Multirank”, in the years 2017 to 2020. These comparisons are made with other Latin American countries listed in this ranking. Academic production is measured by indicators related to the number of papers published and citations received by Brazilian Universities, while Industry related products performance is based in the number of patents obtained and citations that Brazilian publications received in patents. This analysis is made for the average performances of all Brazilian universities listed in the “U-Multirank”, which is an academic multidimensional ranking implemented in Europe in 2014. It is based in five Dimensions, which are composed by 35 Indicators, with some of them related to pure academic productions and some others related to researches that are applied to industry. The results show that the performances of Brazilian universities are better in terms of academic products and below average in industry related products, such as the number of patents. It is also noted improvements in those numbers, a tendency that needs to be verified in the future. In Latin America, Chile has the best performances in all the Indicators related to Industrial products

the networking dynamics of the italian biofuel industry in time of crisis finding an effective instrument mix for fostering a sustainable energy transition

Abstract This paper aims to design the effective instrument mixes for fostering a sustainable energy transition in times of crises. We focus on a sufficiently developed green niche – namely the Italian biofuel sector – implementing a two-step investigation: 1) a social network analysis, to study the effects of the crisis on the basic niche development mechanisms, with the aim of eliciting its development needs; 2) a fuzzy inference simulation based on a causal-effect map drawn from experts' knowledge to identify the most effective instrument mix for the development of the niche studied. The major needs emerged in the case investigated are for an increase of actors' expectations towards the further development of the sector, and a need for a tailored networking activity, devoted to attracting specific knowledgeable actors. The results indicate that, among others, effective policy instruments are, in this case, the cooperation that has the best outcome in terms of networking, and the public procurement, which remarkably increases the level of expectation. The analysis presented constitutes a model to evaluate single policy drivers and their combinations to find adequate policy actions to promote the green energy transition in times of crisis

Implications of metabolism-driven myeloid dysfunctions in cancer therapy

Immune homeostasis is maintained by an adequate balance of myeloid and lymphoid responses. In chronic inflammatory states, including cancer, this balance is lost due to dramatic expansion of myeloid progenitors that fail to mature to functional inflammatory neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells (DCs), thus giving rise to a decline in the antitumor effector lymphoid response. Cancer-related inflammation orchestrates the production of hematopoietic growth factors and cytokines that perpetuate recruitment and activation of myeloid precursors, resulting in unresolved and chronic inflammation. This pathologic inflammation creates profound alterations in the intrinsic cellular metabolism of the myeloid progenitor pool, which is amplified by competition for essential nutrients and by hypoxia-induced metabolic rewiring at the tumor site. Therefore, persistent myelopoiesis and metabolic dysfunctions contribute to the development of cancer, as well as to the severity of a broad range of diseases, including metabolic syndrome and autoimmune and infectious diseases. The aims of this review are to (1) define the metabolic networks implicated in aberrant myelopoiesis observed in cancer patients, (2) discuss the mechanisms underlying these clinical manifestations and the impact of metabolic perturbations on clinical outcomes, and (3) explore new biomarkers and therapeutic strategies to restore immunometabolism and differentiation of myeloid cells towards an effector phenotype to increase host antitumor immunity. We propose that the profound metabolic alterations and associated transcriptional changes triggered by chronic and overactivated immune responses in myeloid cells represent critical factors influencing the balance between therapeutic efficacy and immune-related adverse effects (irAEs) for current therapeutic strategies, including immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy

The Macrophages-Microbiota Interplay in Colorectal Cancer (CRC)-Related Inflammation: Prognostic and Therapeutic Significance

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the main population of myeloid cells infiltrating solid tumors and the pivotal orchestrators of cancer-promoting inflammation. However, due to their exceptional plasticity, macrophages can be also key effector cells and powerful activators of adaptive anti-tumor immunity. This functional heterogeneity is emerging in human tumors, colorectal cancer (CRC) in particular, where the dynamic co-existence of different macrophage subtypes influences tumor development, outcome, and response to therapies. Intestinal macrophages are in close interaction with enteric microbiota, which contributes to carcinogenesis and affects treatment outcomes. This interplay may be particularly relevant in CRC, one of the most prevalent and lethal cancer types in the world. Therefore, both macrophages and intestinal microbiota are considered promising prognostic indicators and valuable targets for new therapeutic approaches. Here, we discuss the current understanding of the molecular circuits underlying the interplay between macrophages and microbiota in CRC development, progression, and response to both conventional therapies and immunotherapies

Building monitoring system in a large social housing intervention in Northern Italy

Within the framework of the well-known problem of the performance gap, the paper demonstrates how a building monitoring system is able to provide feedback data instrumental to address the ongoing management issues of multi-family buildings in social housing: the need to have a good understanding of what works and what does not in building operation, the need of bills controlling and allocation of individual costs between the occupants, the facility and energy management requirements including the understanding of occupant’s behavior. It adopts a case study approach, discussing the case of a large environmentally friendly social housing intervention consisting in 323 flats, in which a building monitoring system was installed

Thrombin–aptamer recognition: a revealed ambiguity

Aptamers are structured oligonucleotides that recognize molecular targets and can function as direct protein inhibitors. The best-known example is the thrombin-binding aptamer, TBA, a single-stranded 15-mer DNA that inhibits the activity of thrombin, the key enzyme of coagulation cascade. TBA folds as a G-quadruplex structure, as proved by its NMR structure. The X-ray structure of the complex between TBA and human α-thrombin was solved at 2.9-Å resolution, but did not provide details of the aptamer conformation and the interactions with the protein molecule. TBA is rapidly processed by nucleases. To improve the properties of TBA, a number of modified analogs have been produced. In particular, a modified TBA containing a 5′-5′ polarity inversion site, mTBA, has higher stability and higher affinity toward thrombin with respect to TBA, although it has a lower inhibitory activity. We present the crystal structure of the thrombin–mTBA complex at 2.15-Å resolution; the resulting model eventually provides a clear picture of thrombin–aptamers interaction, and also highlights the structural bases of the different properties of TBA and mTBA. Our findings open the way for a rational design of modified aptamers with improved potency as anticoagulant drugs

CORRELAZIONI TRA VALORI IMMOBILIARI E SERVIZI ECOSISTEMICI

The market value of urban property depends not only on its specific characteristics, but also on macro-economic variables such as socio-demographic, productive, infrastructural, and environmental quality and associated ecosystem services. The links between urban property real estate values and ecosystem services, particularly those generated by urban forests, are not yet sufficiently investigated and hence are the focus of this research. The study site is the City of Syracuse, New York, USA, with well characterized urban forest ecosystem services and property values. The paper correlates real estate values and parameters of economic condition (per-capita income), ecosystem services (carbon sequestration), and urban forestry system (tree canopy area). The median home value correlation with both per capita income has an R2= 0.8748 and with carbon sequestration it has an R2 = 0.7757. The data are obtained in the online i-Tree Landscape tool. Geographic information systems analysis is used to create maps that support analysis of the correlation levels between the involved variables