85 research outputs found
Spatio-temporal analysis of the urban–rural gradient structure: an application in a Mediterranean mountainous landscape (Serra San Bruno, Italy)
Abstract. The most recent and significant transformations of European landscapes have occurred as a consequence of a series of diffused, varied and often connected phenomena: urban growth and sprawl, agricultural intensification in the most suitable areas and agricultural abandonment in marginal areas. These phenomena can affect dramatically ecosystems' structure and functioning, since certain modifications cause landscape fragmentation while others tend to increase homogeneity. Thus, a thorough comprehension of the evolution trends of landscapes, in particular those linked to urban-rural relations, is crucial for a sustainable landscape planning. In this framework, the main objectives of the present paper are: (a) to investigate Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) transformations and dynamics that occurred over the period 1955–2006 in the municipality of Serra San Bruno (Calabria, Italy), an area particularly representative of the Mediterranean mountainous landscape; (b) to compare the settlement growth with the urban planning tools in charge in the study area; (c) to examine the relationship between urban–rural gradient, landscape metrics, demographic and physical variables; (d) to investigate the evolution of urban–rural gradient composition and configuration along significant axes of landscape changes. Data with a high level of detail (minimum mapping unit 0.2 ha) were obtained through the digitisation of historical aerial photographs and digital orthophotos identifying LULC classes according to the Corine Land Cover legend. The investigated period was divided into four significant time intervals, which were specifically analysed to detect LULC changes. Differently from previous studies, in the present research the spatio-temporal analysis of urban–rural gradient was performed through three subsequent steps: (1) kernel density analysis of settlements; (2) analysis of landscape structure by means of metrics calculated using a moving window method; (3) analysis of composition and configuration of the urban–rural gradient within three landscape profiles located along significant axes of LULC change. The use of thematic overlays and transition matrices enabled a precise identification of the LULC changes that had taken place over the examined period. As a result, a detailed description and mapping of the landscape dynamics were obtained. Furthermore, landscape profiling technique, using continuous data, allowed an innovative and valuable approach for analysing and interpreting urban–rural gradient structure over space and time
A proposal of a new methodology for best location of environmentally sustainable roads infrastructures. Validation along the Fabriano-Muccia road
El trabajo contempla la creación de un modelo para definir la mejor localización en el territorio de nuevos proyectos de infraestructuras viarias y su convalidación en una carretera que forma parte de un proyecto de gran envergadura denominado Cuadrilátero Marcas-UmbrÃa, en vÃas de realización. El objetivo del trabajo consiste en la puesta a punto de una herramienta ágil y versátil, capaz de sopesar, interpretándolos de forma correlacionada, los distintos aspectos de carácter medioambiental, socioeconómico, técnico y operativo, ligados a la construcción de una obra viaria. Se ha prestado especial atención a las dinámicas de uso y consumo de los hábitats naturales y a las problemáticas vinculadas a los fenómenos de fragmentación ecológica provocados por la red viaria y los asentamientos. La metodologÃa que se ha puesto a punto prevé la recogida y la implementación, dentro de un sistema de información territorial dedicado, de un amplio abanico de datos capaces de definir las caracterÃsticas peculiares del ámbito que es objeto del estudio, posteriormente interpretados y reconducidos a sÃntesis mediante la aplicación de una serie de indicadores especÃficos. Los indicadores definidos se incorporan posteriormente mediante la aplicación de técnicas de análisis multicriterio para definir un Ãndice de evaluación sintético capaz de estimar de forma correlacionada la sensibilidad del territorio ante la introducción de nuevas infraestructuras viarias. Para convalidar la metodologÃa, los Ãndices propuestos se han aplicado a un área de estudio donde se está construyendo una infraestructura viaria de importancia considerable para las conexiones transversales de Italia central
Twenty years of experience in juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) preoperative endovascular embolization: An effective procedure with a low complications rate
Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign tumor of the nasal cavity that predominantly affects young boys. Surgical removal remains the gold standard for the management of this disease. Preoperative intra-arterial embolization (PIAE) is useful for reductions in intraoperative blood loss and surgical complications. In our series of 79 patients who underwent preoperative embolization from 1999 to 2020, demographics, procedural aspects, surgical management and follow-up outcome were analyzed. Embolization was performed in a similar fashion for all patients, with a superselective microcatheterization of external carotid artery (ECA) feeders and an injection of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles, followed, in some cases, by the deployment of coils. Procedural success was reached in 100% of cases, with no complications such as bleeding or thromboembolic occlusion, and surgical intraoperative blood loss was significantly decreased. In conclusion, PIAE is a safe and effective technique in JNA treatment, minimizing intraoperative bleeding
Synthetizing Qualitative (Logical) Patterns for Pedestrian Simulation from Data
This work introduces a (qualitative) data-driven framework
to extract patterns of pedestrian behaviour and synthesize Agent-Based
Models. The idea consists in obtaining a rule-based model of pedestrian
behaviour by means of automated methods from data mining. In order to
extract qualitative rules from data, a mathematical theory called Formal
Concept Analysis (FCA) is used. FCA also provides tools for implicational
reasoning, which facilitates the design of qualitative simulations
from both, observations and other models of pedestrian mobility. The
robustness of the method on a general agent-based setting of movable
agents within a grid is shown.Ministerio de EconomÃa y Competitividad TIN2013-41086-
reference architecture and framework
M. Adorni, F. Arcelli, S. Bandini, L. Baresi, C. Batini, A. Bianchi, D. Bianchini, M. Brioschi, A. Caforio, A. Cali, P. Cappellari, C. Cappiello, T. Catarci, A. Corallo, V. De Antonellis, C. Franza, G. Giunta, A. Limonta, G. Lorenzo, P. Losi, A. Maurino, M. Melideo, D. Micucci, S. Modafferi, E. Mussi, L. Negri, C. Pandolfo, B. Pernici, P. Plebani, D. Ragazzi, C. Raibulet, M. Riva, N. Simeoni, C. Simone, G. Solazzo, F. Tisato, R. Torlone, G. Vizzari, and A. Zill
Urban-rural gradient detection using multivariate spatial analysis and landscape metrics
The gradient approach allows for an innovative representation of landscape composition and configuration not presupposing spatial discontinuities typical of the conventional methods of analysis. Also the
urban-rural dichotomy can be better understood through a continuous landscape gradient whose characterization changes accordingly to natural and anthropic variables taken into account and to the spatio-temporal scale adopted for the study. The research was aimed at the analysis of an urban-rural gradient within a study area located in central Italy, using spatial indicators associated with urbanization, agriculture and natural elements. A multivariate spatial analysis (MSA) of such indicators enabled the identification of urban, agricultural and natural
dominated areas, as well as specific landscape transitions where the most relevant relationships between agriculture and other landscape components were detected. Landscapes derived from MSA were studied by a set of key landscape pattern metrics within a framework oriented to the structural characterization of the whole urban-rural gra-
dient. The results showed two distinct sub-gradients: one urban-agricultural and one agricultural-natural, both characterized by different fringe areas. This application highlighted how the proposed methodology can represent a reliable approach supporting modern landscape
planning and management
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES DEMAND, SUPPLY AND BUDGET ALONG THE URBAN-RURAL-NATURAL GRADIENT
Landscapes can be viewed as a continuum and studied using spatial gradients,
along which environmental modifications are ordered in space and determine the
structural and functional components of ecosystems. The anthropogenic land
uses generate specific gradients that can be recognised along the succession of
urban\u2013suburban\u2013cultivated\u2013managed-natural landscapes. From this point of
view, the traditional urban-rural dichotomy can also be considered as a gradient,
produced by a sliding level of human influence on ecosystems. Since the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), many scientists are directing their
effort to studying and quantifying the benefits people obtain from ecosystems,
synthesised by the concept of Ecosystem Services (ES). One of the major
approaches for ES assessment is based on the analysis of stock and the condition
of the biodiversity of the usual components of habitat, ecotopes or biomes.
Despite this increasing interest, spatially explicit methods to analyse ES are still
lacking. The research aimed to develop an innovative methodology supporting
landscape analysis and planning processes by means of (a) the identification and
characterisation of the types of landscape along the urban-rural-natural gradient
and (b) the analysis of potential ES demand and supply within said types of
landscape. The Kernel Density Estimation technique was applied to calculate
continuous intensity indicators associated with urbanisation, agriculture, and
natural elements, considered as key components of the formation of the
landscape gradient. A multivariate, spatial analysis enabled the identification of
different landscape structures constituting the gradient of the study area. The
classification highlighted not only specific \u201cpillar\u201d landscapes, dominated by
one of the three components (urban, agricultural, and natural), but also
transitional landscapes, where the most relevant relationships between land uses
were identified. The potential ES demand, supply, and budget within each
landscape area were assessed using specific indices, based on an expertknowledge
approach, retrieved from the bibliography and combined with the
intensity indicators calculated for the landscape components under investigation.
This method enabled a large group of ES to be quantified simultaneously by
means of comparable demand, supply and budget indicators. Results showed a
complex organisation of pillar and transitional landscapes along the identified
urban-rural-natural gradient, which match different bundles of ES demand and
supply. The research findings contribute to a new interpretation of ES demand
and supply on the landscape scale and can support a better spatial
contextualisation of the ecological and socio-economic issues characterising
landscape gradients
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