Innovative analysis and use of high-resolution DTMs for quantitative interrogation of Earth-surface processes

This is the era of digital landscapes; the widespread availability of powerful sensing technologies has revolutionized the way it is possible to interrogate landscapes in order to understand the processes sculpting them. Vastly greater areas have now been acquired at ‘high resolution’: currently tens of metres globally to millimetric precision and accuracy locally. This permits geomorphic features to be visualized and analysed across the scales at which Earth-surface processes operate. Especially exciting is the capturing of process dynamics in repeated surveying, which will only become more important with low-cost accessible data generation through techniques such as Structure from Motion (SfM). But the key challenge remains; to interpret high resolution Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), particularly by extracting geomorphic features in robust and objective ways and then linking the observed features to the underlying physical processes. In response to the new data and challenges, recent years have seen improved processing of raw data into DTMs, development of data fusion techniques, novel quantitative analysis of topographic data, and innovative geomorphological mapping. The twelve papers collected in this volume sample this progress in interrogating Earthsurface processes through the analysis of DTMs. They cover a wide range of disciplines and spatio-temporal scales, from landslide prone landscapes, to agriculturally modified regions, to mountainous landscapes, and coastal zones. They all, however, showcase the quantitative exploitation of information contained in high-resolution topographic data that we believe will underpin the improvement of our understanding of many elements of Earth-surface processes. Most of the papers introduced here were first presented in a conference session at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in 2011

A network-based analysis of critical resource accessibility during floods

Numerous government and non-governmental agencies are increasing their efforts to better quantify the disproportionate effects of climate risk on vulnerable populations with the goal of creating more resilient communities. Sociodemographic based indices have been the primary source of vulnerability information the past few decades. However, using these indices fails to capture other facets of vulnerability, such as the ability to access critical resources (e.g., grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.). Furthermore, methods to estimate resource accessibility as storms occur (i.e., in near-real time) are not readily available to local stakeholders. We address this gap by creating a model built on strictly open-source data to solve the user equilibrium traffic assignment problem to calculate how an individual's access to critical resources changes during and immediately after a flood event. Redundancy, reliability, and recoverability metrics at the household and network scales reveal the inequitable distribution of the flood's impact. In our case-study for Austin, Texas we found that the most vulnerable households are the least resilient to the impacts of floods and experience the most volatile shifts in metric values. Concurrently, the least vulnerable quarter of the population often carries the smallest burdens. We show that small and moderate inequalities become large inequities when accounting for more vulnerable communities' lower ability to cope with the loss of accessibility, with the most vulnerable quarter of the population carrying four times as much of the burden as the least vulnerable quarter. The near-real time and open-source model we developed can benefit emergency planning stakeholders by helping identify households that require specific resources during and immediately after hazard events

GeoFlood: Large-Scale Flood Inundation Mapping Based on High-Resolution Terrain Analysis

Recent floods from intense storms in the southern United States and the unusually active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season have highlighted the need for real‐time flood inundation mapping using high‐resolution topography. High‐resolution topographic data derived from lidar technology reveal unprecedented topographic details and are increasingly available, providing extremely valuable information for improving inundation mapping accuracy. The enrichment of terrain details from these data sets, however, also brings challenges to the application of many classic approaches designed for lower‐resolution data. Advanced methods need to be developed to better use lidar‐derived terrain data for inundation mapping. We present a new workflow, GeoFlood, for flood inundation mapping using high‐resolution terrain inputs that is simple and computationally efficient, thus serving the needs of emergency responders to rapidly identify possibly flooded locations. First, GeoNet, a method for automatic channel network extraction from high‐resolution topographic data, is modified to produce a low‐density, high‐fidelity river network. Then, a Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) raster is computed to quantify the elevation difference between each land surface cell and the stream bed cell to which it drains, using the network extracted from high‐resolution terrain data. This HAND raster is then used to compute reach‐average channel hydraulic parameters and synthetic stage‐discharge rating curves. Inundation maps are generated from the HAND raster by obtaining a water depth for a given flood discharge from the synthetic rating curve. We evaluate our approach by applying it in the Onion Creek Watershed in Central Texas, comparing the inundation extent results to Federal Emergency Management Agency 100‐yr floodplains obtained with detailed local hydraulic studies. We show that the inundation extent produced by GeoFlood overlaps with 60%~90% of the Federal Emergency Management Agency floodplain coverage demonstrating that it is able to capture the general inundation patterns and shows significant potential for informing real‐time flood disaster preparedness and response

c-HAND: near real-time coastal flood mapping

The Texas Gulf Coast region contains significant centers of population, infrastructure, and economy and is threatened by intensifying tropical storms. The flooding from these tropical storms often has multiple compounding drivers. This characteristic presents a complex numerical problem where a simulation must consider multiple hydrologic forcings. While several procedures exist for addressing this problem numerically, they tend to be resource-intensive and cannot be conducted in near real-time. We extend GeoFlood, a reduced physics approach for fluvial flood forecasting, to rapidly predict coastal and compound fluvial-coastal inundation. This method is validated against a numerical ocean circulation model (ADCIRC) simulation of Hurricane Ike, a major coastal flooding event that happened on the Texas Gulf Coast in 2008. We show that the inundation map generated by coastal HAND (c-HAND) has reasonable agreement with the ADCIRC simulation while taking about 1.7% of the time currently needed to run ADCIRC on a supercomputer. While our model correctly predicts 99% of ADCIRC-inundated DEM cells, it also overpredicts inundated area by a factor of approximately 27%. We combine c-HAND with the GeoFlood framework for fluvial flood forecasting to create a compound fluvial-coastal inundation mapping workflow that can be run in near real-time. c-HAND's fast wall-clock time and low CPU requirements can support decision making by first response personnel. The method provides timely and convenient access to crucial information, such as the locations of flooded roads and inundated coastal areas

IGF-IR Internalizes with Caveolin-1 and PTRF/Cavin in Hacat Cells

BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) is a tyrosine kinase receptor (RTK) associated with caveolae, invaginations of the plasma membrane that regulate vesicular transport, endocytosis and intracellular signaling. IGF-IR internalization represents a key mechanism of down-modulation of receptors number on plasma membrane. IGF-IR interacts directly with Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), the most relevant protein of caveolae. Recently it has been demonstrated that the Polymerase I and Transcript Release Factor I (PTRF/Cavin) is required for caveolae biogenesis and function. The role of Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin in IGF-IR internalization is still to be clarified. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have investigated the interaction of IGF-IR with Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin in the presence of IGF1in human Hacat cells. We show that IGF-IR internalization triggers Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin translocation from plasma membrane to cytosol and increases IGF-IR interaction with these proteins. In fact, Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin co-immunoprecipitate with IGF-IR during receptor internalization. We found a different time course of co-immunoprecipitation between IGF-IR and Cav-1 compared to IGF-IR and PTRF/Cavin. Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin silencing by siRNA differently affect surface IGF-IR levels following IGF1 treatment: Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin silencing significantly affect IGF-IR rate of internalization, while PTRF/Cavin silencing also decreases IGF-IR plasma membrane recovery. Since Cav-1 phosphorylation could have a role in IGF-IR internalization, the mutant Cav-1Y14F lacking Tyr14 was transfected. Cav-1Y14F transfected cells showed a reduced internalization of IGF-IR compared with cells expressing wild type Cav-1. Receptor internalization was not impaired by Clathrin silencing. These findings support a critical role of caveolae in IGF-IR intracellular traveling. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data indicate that Caveolae play a role in IGF-IR internalization. Based on these findings, Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin could represent two relevant and distinct targets to modulate IGF-IR function

Catching allergy by a simple questionnaire

Background: Identifying allergic rhinitis requires allergy testing, but the first-line referral for rhinitis are usually primary care physicians (PCP), who are not familiar with such tests. The availability of easy and simple tests to be used by PCP to suggest allergy should be very useful. Methods: The Respiratory Allergy Prediction (RAP) test, based on 9 questions and previously validated by a panel of experts, was evaluated in this study. Results: An overall number of 401 patients (48.6% males, age range 14-62 years) with respiratory symptoms was included. Of them, 89 (22.2%) showed negative results to SPT, while 312 (77.8%) had at least one positive result to SPT. Cohen's kappa coefficient showed that all questions had an almost perfect excellent agreement between pre and post-test. The algorithm of decision-tree growth Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector showed that answering yes to the question 4 (Your nasal/ocular complains do usually start or worsen during the spring?), 6 (Did you ever had cough or shortness of breath, even during exercise?) and 8 (Do you use nasal sprays frequently?) gave a probability to have a positive SPT of 85%. Conclusions: These findings show that RAP test can be proposed as an useful tool to be used by physician other than allergists when evaluating patients with rhinitis, suggesting the need of allergy testing

Allergic diseases in the elderly: Biological characteristics and main immunological and non-immunological mechanisms

Life expectancy and the number of elderly people are progressively increasing around the world. Together with other pathologies, allergic diseases also show an increasing incidence in geriatric age. This is partly due to the growing emphasis on a more accurate and careful diagnosis of the molecular mechanisms that do not allow to ignore the real pathogenesis of many symptoms until now unknown, and partly to the fact that the allergic people from 20 years ago represent the elderly population now. Moreover, environmental pollution predisposes to the onset of allergic asthma and dermatitis which are the result of internal pathologies more than the expression of allergic manifestations. At the same time the food contamination permits the onset of allergic diseases related to food allergy. In this review we provide the state of the art on the physiological changes in the elderly responsible for allergic diseases, their biological characteristics and the major immunological and extra immunological mechanisms. Much emphasis is given to the management of several diseases in the elderly, including anaphylactic reactions. Moreover, some new features are discussed, such as management of asthma with the support of physical activity and the use of the AIT as prevention of respiratory diseases and for the purpose of a real and long lasting benefit. The mechanisms of adverse reactions to drugs are also discussed, due to their frequency in this age, especially in polytherapy regimens. Study of the modifications of the immune system is also of great importance, as regards to the distribution of the lymphocytes and also the presence of a chronic inflammatory disease related to the production of cytokines, especially in prevision of all the possible therapies to be adopted to allow an active and healthy aging

Analyzing high resolution topography for advancing the understanding of mass and energy transfer through landscapes: A review

International audienceThe study of mass and energy transfer across landscapes has recently evolved to comprehensive considerations acknowledging the role of biota and humans as geomorphic agents, as well as the importance of small-scale landscape features. A contributing and supporting factor to this evolution is the emergence over the last two decades of technologies able to acquire high resolution topography (HRT) (meter and sub-meter resolution) data. Landscape features can now be captured at an appropriately fine spatial resolution at which surface processes operate; this has revolutionized the way we study Earth-surface processes. The wealth of information contained in HRT also presents considerable challenges. For example, selection of the most appropriate type of HRT data for a given application is not trivial. No definitive approach exists for identifying and filtering erroneous or unwanted data, yet inappropriate filtering can create artifacts or eliminate/distort critical features. Estimates of errors and uncertainty are often poorly defined and typically fail to represent the spatial heterogeneity of the dataset, which may introduce bias or error for many analyses. For ease of use, gridded products are typically preferred rather than the more information-rich point cloud representations. Thus many users take advantage of only a fraction of the available data, which has furthermore been subjected to a series of operations often not known or investigated by the user. Lastly, standard HRT analysis work-flows are yet to be established for many popular HRT operations, which has contributed to the limited use of point cloud data.In this review, we identify key research questions relevant to the Earth-surface processes community within the theme of mass and energy transfer across landscapes and offer guidance on how to identify the most appropriate topographic data type for the analysis of interest. We describe the operations commonly performed from raw data to raster products and we identify key considerations and suggest appropriate work-flows for each, pointing to useful resources and available tools. Future research directions should stimulate further development of tools that take advantage of the wealth of information contained in the HRT data and address the present and upcoming research needs such as the ability to filter out unwanted data, compute spatially variable estimates of uncertainty and perform multi-scale analyses. While we focus primarily on HRT applications for mass and energy transfer, we envision this review to be relevant beyond the Earth-surface processes community for a much broader range of applications involving the analysis of HRT