Imaging multi-age construction settlement behaviour by advanced SAR interferometry

This paper focuses on the application of Advanced Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (A-DInSAR) to subsidence-related issues, with particular reference to ground settlements due to external loads. Beyond the stratigraphic setting and the geotechnical properties of the subsoil, other relevant boundary conditions strongly influence the reliability of remotely sensed data for quantitative analyses and risk mitigation purposes. Because most of the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) measurement points (Persistent Scatterers, PSs) lie on structures and infrastructures, the foundation type and the age of a construction are key factors for a proper interpretation of the time series of ground displacements. To exemplify a methodological approach to evaluate these issues, this paper refers to an analysis carried out in the coastal/deltaic plain west of Rome (Rome and Fiumicino municipalities) affected by subsidence and related damages to structures. This region is characterized by a complex geological setting (alternation of recent deposits with low and high compressibilities) and has been subjected to different urbanisation phases starting in the late 1800s, with a strong acceleration in the last few decades. The results of A-DInSAR analyses conducted from 1992 to 2015 have been interpreted in light of high-resolution geological/geotechnical models, the age of the construction, and the types of foundations of the buildings on which the PSs are located. Collection, interpretation, and processing of geo-thematic data were fundamental to obtain high-resolution models; change detection analyses of the land cover allowed us to classify structures/infrastructures in terms of the construction period. Additional information was collected to define the types of foundations, i.e., shallow versus deep foundations. As a result, we found that only by filtering and partitioning the A-DInSAR datasets on the basis of the above-mentioned boundary conditions can the related time series be considered a proxy of the consolidation process governing the subsidence related to external loads as confirmed by a comparison with results from a physically based back analysis based on Terzaghi's theory. Therefore, if properly managed, the A-DInSAR data represents a powerful tool for capturing the evolutionary stage of the process for a single building and has potential for forecasting the behaviour of the terrain-foundation-structure combination

Women’s experiences of border crossing: gender, mobility and border control

In recent years, new migration patterns emerged in Europe and border control operations became more complex and broader, resulting in an increasing number of non-nationals detained for migration-related reasons. This paper aims to explore how gender, migration and border control intersect in the lives of women detained for not having authorisation to remain in Portugal. Several visits were made to a detention facility, where ten women detainees were interviewed. Our findings reveal how gender plays a crucial role in women’s mobility pathways, and how the lack of a secure migrant status can be used as a control mechanism within the context of gendered relationships. Overall, due attention is paid to the way crossing borders impacts the lives of these women, reinforcing their vulnerabilities, and to the ways in which women deal with and resist the precariousness and violence they are exposed to, seeking a meaning and continuity for their lives.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

An Overview of the Sorption Studies of Contaminants on Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) Microplastics in the Marine Environment

Marine pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems, mainly due to single-use or disposable plastic waste fragmenting into microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) and entering oceans from the coasts together with human-made MPs. A rapidly growing worry concerning environmental and human safety has stimulated research interest in the potential risks induced by the chemicals associated with MPs/NPs. In this framework, the present review analyzes the recent advances in adsorption and desorption studies of different contaminants species, both organic and metallic, on MPs made of poly (ethylene terephthalate). The choice of PET is motivated by its great diffusion among plastic items and, unfortunately, also in marine plastic pollution. Due to the ubiquitous presence of PET MPS/NPs, the interest in its role as a vector of contaminants has abruptly increased in the last three years, as demonstrated by the very high number of recent papers on sorption studies in different environments. The present review relies on a chemical engineering approach aimed at providing a deeper overview of both the sorption mechanisms of organic and metal contaminants to PET MPs/NPs and the most used adsorption kinetic models to predict the mass transfer process from the liquid phase to the solid adsorben

CXCL16/CXCR6 axis drives microglia/macrophages phenotype in physiological conditions and plays a crucial role in glioma

Microglia are patrolling cells that sense changes in the brain microenvironment and respond acquiring distinct phenotypes that can be either beneficial or detrimental for brain homeostasis. Anti-inflammatory microglia release soluble factors that might promote brain repair; however, in glioma, anti-inflammatory microglia dampen immune response and promote a brain microenvironment that foster tumor growth and invasion. The chemokine CXCL16 is expressed in the brain, where it is neuroprotective against brain ischemia, and it has been found to be over-expressed in glioblastoma (GBM). Considering that CXCL16 specific receptor CXCR6 is diffusely expressed in the brain including in microglia cells, we wanted to investigate the role of CXCL16 in the modulation of microglia cell activity and phenotype, and in the progression of glioma. Here we report that CXCL16 drives microglia polarization toward an anti-inflammatory phenotype, also restraining microglia polarization toward an inflammatory phenotype upon LPS and IFN? stimulation. In the context of glioma, we demonstrate that CXCL16 released by tumor cells is determinant in promoting glioma associated microglia/macrophages (GAMs) modulation toward an anti-inflammatory/pro-tumor phenotype, and that cxcr6ko mice, orthotopically implanted into the brain with GL261 glioma cells,survive longer compared to wild-type mice. We also describe that CXCL16/CXCR6 signaling acts directly on mouse glioma cells, as well as human primary GBM cells, promoting tumor cell growth, migration and invasion. All together these data suggest that CXCL16 signaling could represent a good target to modulate microglia phenotype in order to restrain inflammation or to limit glioma progression

Entangling Data while Entangling Disciplines. Discussing the Future of Anthropological Collaborations with Data Scientists

This special issue discusses forms of possible collaboration and mutual intermixing between anthropology and data science, by presenting projects and creative experiments that have been conducted astray the two fields. While we may say that all scientists work with data, this special issue focuses on data that are collected and/or processed by digital means. In addition, attention will be paid to computation as anthropologists have recently turned to the study of data, AI and algorithms, offering critical insights about their production and implementation. They have addressed the effects of algorithmic automation (e.g. increasing surveillance, inequality exacerbation, new forms of discrimination) and conducted fieldwork among data scientists in order to bring the socio- cultural dimensions of their work to the forefront. In this introduction, we will illustrate what motivated this special issue and will introduce the articles by positioning them critically within the current debate about computation, big data and AI

Planning and Designing Transport Infrastructures for Sustainability: the Great Project NAPLEST

In this paper transport infrastructures are presented highlighting their role  in promoting sustainable mobility, i.e. reducing congestion and therefore improving the quality of the environment within which they are conceived. The implementation of the Great Project Naplest in the city of Naples in the south of Italy is here reported as case study. The latter is made up of an integrated set of actions with the objective of overcoming the problems of traffic saturation and therefore of reducing pollutants’ emissions in the existing road network with the subsequent renewal of the eastern part of the city itself

Technological and theoretical aspects for testing electroporation on liposomes

Recently, the use of nanometer liposomes as nanocarriers in drug delivery systems mediated by nanoelectroporation has been proposed. This technique takes advantage of the possibility of simultaneously electroporating liposomes and cell membrane with 10-nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) facilitating the release of the drug from the liposomes and at the same time its uptake by the cells. In this paper the design and characterization of a 10 nsPEF exposure system is presented, for liposomes electroporation purposes. The design and the characterization of the applicator have been carried out choosing an electroporation cuvette with 1 mm gap between the electrodes. The structure efficiency has been evaluated at different experimental conditions by changing the solution conductivity from 0.25 to 1.6 S/m. With the aim to analyze the influence of device performances on the liposomes electroporation, microdosimetric simulations have been performed considering liposomes of 200 and 400 nm of dimension with different inner and outer conductivity (from 0.05 to 1.6 S/m) in order to identify the voltage needed for their poration

Practicing ethnography in migration-related detention centers: A reflexive account

Feminist scholars, as well as community psychologists, have advocated the role of reflexive engagement in the research process in order to challenge power relations. Moreover, the liberating potential of storytelling, especially when working with issues of diversity and marginalization, has been stressed. The purpose of this article is to reflect on an ethnographic work underway in the Identification and Expulsion Center-CIE of Ponte Galeria, Rome. How the researcher's identities, values, and experiences, alongside power and privilege, have influenced her positioning in the research setting and the relationships formed with the different setting members is the subject of discussion. In sharing the story of this work, the final intent is to contribute to the joint effort to foster a reflexive community psychology practice incorporating feminist goals and a dialogue about ethnography in community psychology.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Semantic Technologies for Business Decision Support

2015 - 2016In order to improve and to be competitive, enterprises should know how to get opportunities coming from data provided from the Web. The strategic vision implies a high level of communication sharing and the integration of practices across every business level. This not means that enterprises need a disruptive change in informative systems, but the conversion of them, reusing existent business data and integrating new data. However, data is heterogeneous, and so to maximise the value of the data it is necessary to extract meaning from it considering the context in which they evolve. The proliferation of new linguistic data linked to the growth of textual resources on the Web generate an inadequacy in the analysis and integration phases of data in the enterprise. Thus, the use of Semantic Technologies based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications is required in advance. This study arises as a first approach to the development of a document-driven Decision Support System (DSS) based on NLP technology within the theoretical framework of Lexicon-Grammar by Maurice Gross. Our research project has two main objectives: the first is to recognize and codify the innovative language with which the companies express and describe their business, in order to standardize it and make it actionable by machine. The second one aims to use information resulting from the text analysis to support strategic decisions, considering that through Text Mining analysis we can capture the hidden meaning in business documents. In the first chapter we examine the concept, characteristics and different types of DSS (with particular reference to document-driven analysis) and changes that these systems have experienced with web development and consequently of information systems within companies. In the second chapter, we proceed with a brief review of Computational Linguistics, paying particular attention to goals, resources and applications. In the third chapter, we provide a state-of-the-art of Semantic Technology Enterprises (STEs) and their process of integration in the innovation market, analysing the diffusion, the types of technologies and main sectors in which they operate. In the fourth chapter, we propose a model of linguistic support and analysis, according with Lexicon-Grammar, in order to create an enriched solution for document-driven decision systems: we provide specific features of business language, resulted from experimental research work in the startup ecosystem. Finally, we recognize that the formalization of all linguistic phenomena is extremely complex, but the results of analysis make us hopeful to continue with this line of research. Applying linguistic support to the business technological environment provides results that are more efficient and in constantly updated innovating even in strong resistance to change conditions. [edited by author]XV n.s

Mesoporous Titania: Synthesis, Properties and Comparison with Non-Porous Titania

Some relevant physico-chemical and photocatalytic properties of ordered mesoporous TiO2 as obtained by template-assisted synthesis methods are reported. After a review of the crucial aspects related to different synthesis procedures reported by the literature, the focus is pointed on the (often) superior physico-chemical properties of ordered mesoporous TiO2 with respect to (commercial) bulk TiO2. Those are essentially higher specific surface area and ordered mesoporosity; possibility to control the formation of different crystalline phases by varying the synthesis conditions and possibility to obtain films, nanoparticles with different morphologies and/or materials with hierarchical porosity. Although mesoporous TiO2 is extensively studied for many applications in the fields of photocatalysis, energy and biomedicine, this chapter focuses on the use of mesoporous TiO2 in environmental photocatalysis, by putting in evidence how the physico-chemical properties of the material may affect its photocatalytic behaviour and how mesoporous TiO2 behaves in comparison with commercial TiO2 samples