A Spatial Multi-criteria Decision Support System for Stress Recovery-Oriented Forest Management

AbstractA solution to cope with chaotic urban settlements and frenetic everyday life is refuging in nature as a way to reduce stress. In general—in recent years—it has been scientifically demonstrated how natural areas are an important environment for psycho-physiological health. As a consequence, it is important to plan dedicated spaces for stress recovery in order to increase the well-being of people. With respect to forests, there is a growing interest in understanding the marketing and tourist potential of forest-therapy activities and policies. This paper develops a decision support system (DSS) for decision makers, based on geographic information system to define the suitability of forest areas to improve psychological and physiological human well-being. Innovative technologies such as electroencephalography (EEG) and virtual reality (VR) are applied to test human status. The DSS combines four sets of indicators in a multi-attribute decision analysis and identifies the areas with the largest stress-recovery potential. Two multi-attribute model—one in summer and one in winter—are elaborated to obtain a dynamic evaluation of suitability. Results show significant differences among forest type, forest management, altitude range, and season in terms of stand suitability. EEG and VR seem to be promising technologies in this research area. Strengths and weaknesses of the approach, as well as potential future improvement and implications for territorial marketing, are suggested

Epoxy/ graphene nanocomposites – processing and properties: a review

Graphene has recently attracted significant academic and industrial interest because of its excellent performance in mechanical, electrical and thermal applications. Graphene can significantly improve physical properties of epoxy at extremely small loading when incorporated appropriately. Herein, the structure, preparation and properties of epoxy/graphene nanocomposites are reviewed in general, along with detailed examples drawn from the key scientific literature. The modification of graphene and the utilization of these materials in the fabrication of nanocomposites with different processing methods have been explored. This review has been focused on the processing methods and mechanical, electrical, thermal, and fire retardant properties of the nanocomposites. The synergic effects of graphene and other fillers in epoxy matrix have been summarised as well

Neuroscience application for the analysis of cultural ecosystem services related to stress relief in forest

The paper presents an integrated methodology to assess psychological and physiological responses of people when exposed to forests, with the main objective of assessing the suitability of different stands for stress recovery on the basis of tree species and density. From the methodological viewpoint, the study applies both a Restoration Outcome Scale (ROS) questionnaire and a neuroscientific technique grounded on electro-encephalographic (EEG) measurement. Results show different outcomes for conifers and broadleaves as well as a statistical significance of density in the evaluation of an individual’s emotional state. A forest with a high density of conifers and low density of broadleaves seems to be the proper combination for stress recovery. The differences among psychological stated preferences and EEG trends highlights potential conflict among “needs” and “wants” of people in the topic of stress relief. Potential applications of the research for health care and territorial marketing operations are suggested

Ig Glycosylation in Ulcerative Colitis: It’s Time for New Biomarkers

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing disease, which needs a continue monitoring, especially during biological therapies. An increasing number of patients is treated with anti-Tumor Necrosis factor (TNF) drugs, and current research is focalized to identify biomarkers able to monitor the disease and to predict therapeutic outcome. Methods: We enrolled consecutive UC patients treated with anti-TNF, naïve to biologic drugs. Therapeutic outcome was evaluated after 54 weeks of treatment in terms of clinical remission (Partial Mayo Score -PMS- <2) and mucosal healing (Mayo Endoscopic Score <2). On serum samples collected at baseline and after 54 weeks of treatment, a Lectin-based ELISA assay was performed, and specific glycosylation patterns were evaluated by biotin-labelled lectins. We have also collected 21 healthy controls (NHS) samples, age and sex-matched. Results: Out of 44 UC patients enrolled, 22 achieved clinical remission and mucosal healing after 54 weeks. At baseline, when Protein A was used as coating, UC patients non-responders showed a reduced reactivity to Jacalin (JAC) in comparison with NHS (p = 0.04). After one year of treatment, a decrease in JAC binding was seen only in responders, in comparison with baseline (p = 0.04). When JAC binding was tested selecting IgG by means of Fab anti-IgG Fab, UC patients displayed an increased reactivity after anti-TNF therapy (p < 0,0001 vs controls). At baseline, PMS inversely correlates with JAC binding when Fab anti-IgG Fab was used in solid phase (r2 = 0,2211; p = 0,0033). Patients with higher PMS at baseline (PMS ≥5) presented lower binding capacity for JAC in comparison with NHS and with lower PMS patients (p = 0,0135 and p = 0,0089, respectively). Conclusion: Ig glycosylation was correlated with clinical and endoscopic activity in patients with UC. JAC protein A-selected Ig showed a possible role in predicting therapeutic effectiveness. If these data would be confirmed, Ig glycosylation could be used as biomarker in UC

Relating process languages for security and communication correctness (extended abstract)

Process calculi are expressive specification languages for concurrency. They have been very successful in two research strands: (a) the analysis of security protocols and (b) the enforcement of correct message-passing programs. Despite their shared foundations, languages and reasoning techniques for (a) and (b) have been separately developed. Here we connect two representative calculi from (a) and (b): we encode a (high-level) π-calculus for multiparty sessions into a (low-level) applied π-calculus for security protocols. We establish the correctness of our encoding, and we show how it enables the integrated analysis of security properties and communication correctness by re-using existing tools