Development of a multi-risk index for Italy: a tool for supporting informed decision making on disaster risk reduction prioritisation

Effective disaster-risk management decision making relies on holistic multi-risk quantification approaches. Such approaches should capture the effects of multiple (natural) hazards, facilitating the development and implementation of appropriate preparedness and mitigation strategies. They should also account for social vulnerability factors, which may significantly influence how different communities respond to and cope with hazardous events. We propose a straightforward multi-risk index that integrates both of these crucial considerations. The index appropriately accounts for uncertainties, relying on probabilistic distributions of hazard inputs, physical and social vulnerability indices, and population exposure for each individual risk of interest. The resulting individual risk scores are combined through suitable weights that explicitly reflect variable stakeholder perspectives in related policymaking. We demonstrate the index for earthquake and flood risk across the entire country of Italy (at the resolution of municipalities) using easily accessible data. The proposed metric identifies hotspots across the Italian territory that should be prioritised for actions that promote disaster risk reduction. Sensitivity analyses of metric weights reveal how these hotspots can change as a function of stakeholder preferences and/or variations in the emphasis placed on different types of hazards, ultimately underlining the importance of accounting for accurate stakeholder feedback and adopting a holistic view of risk in disaster-related decision making. A prominent advantage of the proposed index is that it is relatively simple and could be easily adopted for practical multi-risk decision support across any other national or transnational context of interest

A Comparative Analysis of Deep Reinforcement Learning-based xApps in O-RAN

The highly heterogeneous ecosystem of Next Generation (NextG) wireless communication systems calls for novel networking paradigms where functionalities and operations can be dynamically and optimally reconfigured in real time to adapt to changing traffic conditions and satisfy stringent and diverse Quality of Service (QoS) demands. Open Radio Access Network (RAN) technologies, and specifically those being standardized by the O-RAN Alliance, make it possible to integrate network intelligence into the once monolithic RAN via intelligent applications, namely, xApps and rApps. These applications enable flexible control of the network resources and functionalities, network management, and orchestration through data-driven control loops. Despite recent work demonstrating the effectiveness of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) in controlling O-RAN systems, how to design these solutions in a way that does not create conflicts and unfair resource allocation policies is still an open challenge. In this paper, we perform a comparative analysis where we dissect the impact of different DRL-based xApp designs on network performance. Specifically, we benchmark 12 different xApps that embed DRL agents trained using different reward functions, with different action spaces and with the ability to hierarchically control different network parameters. We prototype and evaluate these xApps on Colosseum, the world's largest O-RAN-compliant wireless network emulator with hardware-in-the-loop. We share the lessons learned and discuss our experimental results, which demonstrate how certain design choices deliver the highest performance while others might result in a competitive behavior between different classes of traffic with similar objectives.Comment: 6 pages, 16 figure

Roe enhancement of Paracentrotus lividus: Nutritional effects of fresh and formulated diets

Sea urchin gonads are exploited both for gastronomic and scientific purposes; thus, the production of large and mature gonads is essential. Natural populations of the Mediterranean Sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus are subject to increasing fishing ef- forts, due to continuous intensification of consumptions. Aquaculture practices may represent an answer, but the availability of artificial feeds accelerating the produc- tion of high-quality gonads in terms of size, taste, colour, firmness, maturity and via- bility of gametes is critical to boost the productions. The accessibility of cheap and effective feeds promoting the fattening of gonads and the quality of gametes is still a bottleneck slowing down the expansion of echinoculture practices. This investiga- tion is aimed at enabling the development of this strategic sector, by comparing the dietetic effects of fresh foods and a commercial feed for aquaculture, to four newly formulated feeds. The protein contents of diets were strongly related to the GSIs. The abundance of fatty acids appeared inversely related to the viability of embryos and abnormalities of larvae. The features of an ideal diet for this sea urchin were defined, based on the results of experimental trials, and the need for increasing levels of plant-derived proteins during the grow-out period was demonstrated

Morphologic and genic effects of waste pollution on the reproductive physiology of Paracentrotus lividus lmk: a mesocosm experiment

: A considerable amount of coastal contamination is caused by wastes deriving from household and the degradation and the metabolism of plants and animals, even if our attention is commonly focused on industrial pollutants and contaminants. Waste pollutants are mainly represented by highly diluted soluble compounds and particles deriving from dead organisms. This complex combination, consisting of suspended particles and dissolved nutrients, has a significant impact on coastal planktonic and benthic organisms, also playing an active role in the global cycles of carbon. In addition, production practices are nowadays shifting towards recirculated aquaculture systems (RAS) and the genic responses of target organisms to the pollution deriving from animal metabolism are still scarcely addressed by scientific investigations. The reservoir of organic matter dissolved in the seawater is by far the least understood if compared to that on land, cause only a few compounds have been identified and their impacts on animals and plants are poorly understood. The tendency of these compounds to concentrate at interfaces facilitates the absorption of dissolved organic compound (DOC) onto suspended particles. Some DOC components are chemically combined with dissolved metals and form complexes, affecting the chemical properties of the seawater and the life of the coastal biota. In this research, we compared the reproductive performances of the common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus cultured in open-cycle tanks to those cultured in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), where pollution progressively increased during the experiment due to animal escretions. Sea urchins were cultured for 7 months under these two conditions and their gametes were collected. Embryos resulting by in vitro fertilization were analyzed by Real Time qPCR to identify possible effects of pollution-induced stress. The fertility of sea urchins was evaluated, as well as the gonadosomatic indices and the histological features of gonads. Our results indicate that pollution due to excess of nutrients, event at sub-lethal concentrations, may hardly impact the reproductive potential of this key species and that chronic effects of stress are revealed by the analyses of survival rates and gene expression

Simplified assessment of seismic performance for RC building classes towards preliminary applications of SISMABONUS incentive at the community scale

This paper applies a simplified approach for the attribution of seismic risk classes SRC to infilled reinforced concrete RC archetype buildings representative of existing gravity load designed GLD building typologies in Italy and investigates on the effect of possible local retrofit interventions to reduce SRC. The evaluation is based on simplified modeling of lateral seismic behavior and on the estimate of the peak ground acceleration PGA corresponding to attainment of building capacity at increasing damage limit states. The SRC is attributed as the minimum between two classes, depending on safety level (percentage of new building standard %NBS) and on expected annual loss EAL. It is shown that, due to brittle failures induced by local infill-frame interaction and consequent low seismic capacity at life safety limit state, the lower (worst) SRC is generally attained for the considered building typologies, independently from the seismic hazard at the site. The application of local retrofit interventions allows ameliorating the SRC and it is found that the most probable SRC for retrofitted building typology depends on the seismic hazard at the sitelower SRC are obtained for zones of higher hazard. Application to RC building typologies in the town of Pompei, near Naples, and cost benefit analysis CBA is performed to investigate on the convenience of alternative retrofit strategies towards risk reduction at the community level

Effect of Dewaxed Coffee on Gastroesophageal Symptoms in Patients with {GERD}: A Randomized Pilot Study

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is multifactorial pathogenesis characterized by the abnormal reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. Symptoms are worse after the ingestion of certain foods, such as coffee. Hence, a randomized pilot study conducted on 40 Italian subjects was assessed to verify the effect of standard (SC) and dewaxed coffee (DC) consumption on gastroesophageal reflux symptoms and quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal diseases. The assessment of patient diaries highlighted a significant percentage reduction of symptoms frequency when consuming DC and a significant increase in both heartburn-free and regurgitation-free days. Consequentially, patients had a significant increase of antacid-free days during the DC assumption. Moreover, the polyphenolic profile of coffee pods was ascertained through UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS analysis. Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) were the most abundant investigated compounds with a concentration level ranging between 7.316 (DC) and 6.721 mg/g (SC). Apart from CGAs, caffeine was quantified at a concentration level of 5.691 mg/g and 11.091 for DC and SC, respectively. While still preliminary, data obtained from the present pilot study provide promising evidence for the efficacy of DC consumption in patients with GERD. Therefore, this treatment might represent a feasible way to make coffee more digestible and better tolerated

VALIDAÇÃO DE MÉTODOS ANALÍTICOS: ESTRATÉGIA E DISCUSSÃO

Neste trabalho são apresentadas as definições dos parâmetros (seletividade, limites de detecção e quantificação, exatidão, precisão, linearidade, gráfico analítico, sensibilidade e robustez) considerados nos processos de validação de métodos analíticos. A estratégia a ser adotada para a determinação desses parâmetros depende do propósito e da natureza do método. Exemplos são apresentados para a avaliação dos parâmetros no procedimento de validação. ANALYTICAL METHODS VALIDATION: STRATEGY AND DISCUSSION Abstract This paper presents the definitions of the parameters (selectivity, limits of detection and quantification, accuracy, precision, linearity, analytical graphic, sensitivity and ruggedness) considered on analytical methods validation procedures. The strategy to be adopted for determinations of these parameters depends on the purpose and the nature of the method. Some examples are presented for parameters evaluation in a validation procedure

AVALIAÇÃO DA EXATIDÃO E DA PRECISÃO DE MÉTODOS DE ANÁLISE DE RESÍDUOS DE PESTICIDAS MEDIANTE ENSAIOS DE RECUPERAÇÃO

Discute-se a importância da exatidão e da precisão na validação de métodos de análise de resíduos de pesticidas. São apresentados, mediante dois estudos de casos, os principais processos para a avaliação da exatidão. Nos casos relatados foram obtidas recuperações entre 80 e 104% e coeficiente de variação entre 2,81 e 12,74%, ambos enquadrados na faixa recomendada pela Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) para os níveis de concentração investigados. Os estudos evidenciaram que, os ensaios de recuperação são adequados para a avaliação dos critérios de exatidão e precisão para as mesmas matrizes. EVALUATION OF METHODS ACCURACY AND PRECISION FOR ANALYSIS OF PESTICIDES RESIDUES THROUGH RECUPERATION ASSAYS Abstract The importance of accuracy and precision in the methods validation of pesticides residues analysis is discussed. The main processes for accuracy evaluation are presented through two case studies. In the cited cases, recoveries were obtained between 80 and 104% and variation coefficient between 2,81 and 12,74% both in the range recommended by AOAC for the concentration levels investigated. The studies evidenced that the recovery assays were adequate for the evaluation of the accuracy and precision criteria for the same matrix

Fishing for Targets of Alien Metabolites: A Novel Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR) Agonist from a Marine Pest

Although the chemical warfare between invasive and native species has become a central problem in invasion biology, the molecular mechanisms by which bioactive metabolites from invasive pests influence local communities remain poorly characterized. This study demonstrates that the alkaloid caulerpin (CAU)—a bioactive component of the green alga Caulerpa cylindracea that has invaded the entire Mediterranean basin—is an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). Our interdisciplinary study started with the in silico prediction of the ligand-protein interaction, which was then validated by in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro assays. On the basis of these results, we candidate CAU as a causal factor of the metabolic and behavioural disorders observed in Diplodus sargus, a native edible fish of high ecological and commercial relevance, feeding on C. cylindracea. Moreover, given the considerable interest in PPAR activators for the treatment of relevant human diseases, our findings are also discussed in terms of a possible nutraceutical/pharmacological valorisation of the invasive algal biomasses, supporting an innovative strategy for conserving biodiversity as an alternative to unrealistic campaigns for the eradication of invasive pest