Monitoring In Italy Research Articles

Early Desertification Risk in Advanced Economies: Summarizing Past, Present and Future Trends in Italy

Being located in the middle of Southern Europe, and thus likely representing a particularly dynamic member of Mediterranean Europe, Italy has experienced a sudden increase in early desertification risk because of multiple factors of change. Long-term research initiatives have provided relatively well-known examples of the continuous assessment of the desertification risk carried out via multiple exercises from different academic and practitioner stakeholders, frequently using the Environmentally Sensitive Area Index (ESAI). This composite index based on a large number of elementary variables and individual indicators—spanning from the climate to soil quality and from vegetation cover to land-use intensity—facilitated the comprehensive, long-term monitoring of the early desertification risk at disaggregated spatial scales, being of some relevance for policy implementation. The present study summarizes the main evidence of environmental monitoring in Italy by analyzing a relatively long time series of ESAI scores using administrative boundaries for a better representation of the biophysical and socioeconomic trends of interest for early desertification monitoring. The descriptive analysis of the ESAI scores offers a refined representation of economic spaces in the country during past (1960–2010 on a decadal basis), present (2020), and future (2030, exploring four different scenarios, S1–S4) times. Taken as a proxy of the early desertification risk in advanced economies, the ESAI scores increased over time as a result of worse climate regimes (namely, drier and warmer conditions), landscape change, and rising human pressure that exacerbated related processes, such as soil erosion, salinization, compaction, sealing, water scarcity, wildfires, and overgrazing.

Chronic Wasting Disease Monitoring in Italy 2017-2019: Neuropathological Findings in Cervids.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects cervids; it is classified under transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). CWD is particularly contagious, making its eradication in endemic areas very difficult and creating serious problems for cervid conservation and breeding. It has recently become an emerging public health risk to be managed by health authorities. Starting in 2017, active CWD surveillance in Italy has intensified with the monitoring of wild and farmed cervids. The present study summarizes findings from a histopathological survey of the brains from wild ruminants collected via CWD monitoring between 2017 and 2019. A total of 113 brains from 62 red deer (Cervus elaphus) and 51 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were submitted for analysis at the National Reference Center for Animal Encephalopathies (CEA) to determine major patterns of neuropathological lesions and correlated pathogens. Brain lesions were detected in 20 animals, 10 brain samples were unsuitable for examination, and 83 presented no lesions. Neuropathological examination revealed non-suppurative encephalitis or meningoencephalitis in most cases (15/20). This brain study revealed evidence for the absence of CWD in Italy and provided a reference spectrum of neuropathological lesions for differential diagnosis in cervids.

Health-related quality of life 24 months after prostate cancer diagnosis: an update from the Pros-IT CNR prospective observational study.

This study analyzes patient health-related quality of life (QoL) 24-month after prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis within the PROState cancer monitoring in ITaly from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR) study. Pros-IT CNR is an ongoing, longitudinal and observational study, considering a convenience sample of patients enrolled at PCa diagnosis and followed at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months from the diagnosis. Patients were grouped according to the treatment received: nerve sparing radical prostatectomy (NSRP), non-nerve sparing radical prostatectomy (NNSRP), radiotherapy (RT), RT plus androgen deprivation (RT plus ADT) and active surveillance (AS). QoL was measured through the Italian versions of SF-12 and UCLA-PCI questionnaires at diagnosis and at 6-12 and 24-month. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was defined as half a standard deviation of the baseline domain. Overall, 1537 patients were included in the study. The decline in urinary function exceeded the MCID at each timepoint only in the NSRP and NNSRP groups (at 24 months -14.7, P<0.001 and -19.7, P<0.001, respectively). The decline in bowel function exceeded the MCID only in the RT (-9.1, P=0.02) and RT plus ADT groups at 12 months (-10.3, P=0.001); after 24 months, most patients seem to recover their bowel complaints. The decline in sexual function exceeded the MCID at each timepoint in the NNSRP, NSRP and RT plus ADT groups (at 6 months -28.7, P<0.001, -37.8, P<0.001, -20.4, P<0.001, respectively). Although all the treatments were relatively well-tolerated over the 24 month period following PCa diagnosis, each had a different impact on QoL.

The Italian PrEPventHIV challenge: a scoping systematic review on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis monitoring in Italy.

Background and aim:In Italy, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (FTC/TDF) was authorized for HIV prevention in 2017. This scoping systematic review summarizes current evidence on PrEP implementation in Italy since 2017.Methods:A systematic search was conducted in relevant databases, using a search strategy built upon controlled vocabulary, cross-referencing of the citation lists from included reports, and hand-searching of surveillance documents. Findings were summarized narratively according to key issues and themes.Results:A total of 106 reports were retrieved and six met criteria for inclusion in the review, being three journal articles and three surveillance report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In Italy, users can obtain in PrEP in specific hospital- or community-based PrEP services, under prescription by specialists. Due to drug costs, the access is limited to those who can afford it. Data and indicators on PrEP use and monitoring are limited. The vast majority of users were men who have sex with men. In this population, PrEP knowledge and attitudes were investigated across two reports, finding a medium to high level to knowledge and a scare use (mostly due to high costs). A health technology assessment on the adoption of PrEP in Italy advised that the most cost-containing strategy would be the use of PrEP as an “add-on” strategy.Conclusions:In conclusion, this scoping review found a relevant evidence gap on PrEP monitoring. Italy needs to implement specific policies and programs for effective and timely delivery of care. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Impact of Gastrointestinal Side Effects on Patients' Reported Quality of Life Trajectories after Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer: Data from the Prospective, Observational Pros-IT CNR Study.

Simple SummaryThe analyses presented, based on data from the PROState cancer monitoring in ITaly from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR) study, evaluated patients’ reported quality of life outcomes related to bowel function and bother over a 2-year period from the diagnosis. Growth mixture models were considered for patients who underwent radiotherapy, including treatments that were associated or not associated with androgen deprivation therapy. Our data revealed that the proportion of patients that were radiotherapy-treated with persisting significant bowel worsening at the 24 months interval is very limited. The absence of comorbidities and the use of intensity or volumetric radiotherapy techniques with image guidance were found to be related with a better tolerance to radiotherapy in terms of bowel side effects. These findings could be relevant for treatment selection and accurate patient information.Radiotherapy (RT) represents an important therapeutic option for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The aim of the current study is to examine trajectories in patients’ reported quality of life (QoL) aspects related to bowel function and bother, considering data from the PROState cancer monitoring in ITaly from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR) study, analyzed with growth mixture models. Data for patients who underwent RT, either associated or not associated with androgen deprivation therapy, were considered. QoL outcomes were assessed over a 2-year period from the diagnosis, using the Italian version of the University of California Los Angeles-Prostate Cancer Index (Italian-UCLA-PCI). Three trajectories were identified for the bowel function; having three or more comorbidities and the use of 3D-CRT technique for RT were associated with the worst trajectory (OR = 3.80, 95% CI 2.04–7.08; OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.22–3.87, respectively). Two trajectories were identified for the bowel bother scores; diabetes and the non-Image guided RT method were associated with being in the worst bowel bother trajectory group (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.06–2.67; OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.70–3.86, respectively). The findings from this study suggest that the absence of comorbidities and the use of intensity modulated RT techniques with image guidance are related with a better tolerance to RT in terms of bowel side effects.

Seismic Surveillance and Earthquake Monitoring in Italy

Abstract The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) is an Italian research institution with focus on earth sciences. Moreover, the INGV is the operational center for seismic surveillance and earthquake monitoring in Italy and is a part of the civil protection system as a center of expertise on seismic, volcanic, and tsunami risks.INGV operates the Italian National Seismic Network and other networks at national scale and is a primary node of the European Integrated Data Archive for archiving and distributing strong-motion and weak-motion seismic recordings. In the control room in Rome, INGV staff performs seismic surveillance and tsunami warning services; in Catania and Naples, the control rooms are devoted to volcanic surveillance. Volcano monitoring includes locating earthquakes in the regions around the Sicilian (Etna, Eolian Islands, and Pantelleria) and the Campanian (Vesuvius, Campi Fregrei, and Ischia) active volcanoes. The tsunami warning is based on earthquake location and magnitude (M) evaluation for moderate to large events in the Mediterranean region and also around the world. The technologists of the institute tuned the data acquisition system to accomplish, in near real time, automatic earthquake detection, hypocenter and magnitude determination, and evaluation of several seismological products (e.g., moment tensors and ShakeMaps). Database archiving of all parametric results is closely linked to the existing procedures of the INGV seismic surveillance environment and surveillance procedures. Earthquake information is routinely revised by the analysts of the Italian seismic bulletin. INGV provides earthquake information to the Department of Civil Protection (Dipartimento di Protezione Civile) to the scientific community and to the public through the web and social media. We aim at illustrating different aspects of earthquake monitoring at INGV: (1) network operations; (2) organizational structure and the hardware and software used; and (3) communication, including recent developments and planned improvements.

Overview of potential determinants of radical prostatectomy versus radiation therapy in management of clinically localized prostate cancer: results from an Italian, prospective, observational study (the Pros-IT CNR study).

We assessed patients and tumor characteristics, as well as health-related quality of life (HRQoL) items, associated with curative intent treatment decision-making in clinically localized prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Clinically localized PCa treated with either radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiation therapy (RT) within 12 months from diagnosis were abstracted from The PROState cancer monitoring in ITaly, from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR) database. Multivariable logistic regression (MLR) models predicting RT vs. RP were fitted, after adjustment for HRQoL items, patients and tumor characteristics. Of 1041 patients, 631 (60.2%) were treated with RP and 410 (39.8%) with RT. Relative to RT, RP patients were younger age (mean age 64.5±6.6 vs. 71.4±4.9, P<0.001) and had higher rates of D'Amico low-intermediate risk groups (31.8 vs. 21.9% low, 46.3% vs. 43.5% intermediate and 21.9% vs. 34.6% high risk, P<0.001). Overall, 93.2% of RP patients were enrolled by urologists and 82.7% of RT patients by radiation oncologists. RP patients had generally higher means values of HRQoL items. In MLR models, higher RT rates were independently associated with more advanced age (odds ratio [OR] 6.14, P<0.001) and BMI≥30 kg/m2 (OR 1.78, P<0.001). Conversely, lower rates of RT were independently associated with married (OR 0.55, P=0.01) and worker status (OR 0.52, P=0.004), enrollment in academic centers (OR 0.59, P=0.005) and higher physical composite score (OR 0.88, P=0.03) and baseline sexual function items (OR 0.92, P<0.001). Most patients with clinically localized prostate cancer undergoing definitive treatment at Italian institutions receive RP instead of RT. Moreover, those who are younger, married, working, as well as those with better physical and sexual function are more likely to undergo surgery.

Solar UV Irradiance in a Changing Climate: Trends in Europe and the Significance of Spectral Monitoring in Italy

Review of the existing bibliography shows that the direction and magnitude of the long-term trends of UV irradiance, and their main drivers, vary significantly throughout Europe. Analysis of total ozone and spectral UV data recorded at four European stations during 1996–2017 reveals that long-term changes in UV are mainly driven by changes in aerosols, cloudiness, and surface albedo, while changes in total ozone play a less significant role. The variability of UV irradiance is large throughout Italy due to the complex topography and large latitudinal extension of the country. Analysis of the spectral UV records of the urban site of Rome, and the alpine site of Aosta reveals that differences between the two sites follow the annual cycle of the differences in cloudiness and surface albedo. Comparisons between the noon UV index measured at the ground at the same stations and the corresponding estimates from the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) forecast model and the ozone monitoring instrument (OMI)/Aura observations reveal differences of up to 6 units between individual measurements, which are likely due to the different spatial resolution of the different datasets, and average differences of 0.5–1 unit, possibly related to the use of climatological surface albedo and aerosol optical properties in the retrieval algorithms.

Preventive actions for the gradual reduction of excessive salt intake and its monitoring in Italy

Abstract Issue The WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention of NCDs recommends a 30% relative reduction in mean population intake of salt/sodium. To this end, the Italian Ministry of Health (MoH) has strengthened prevention and health promotion through the “Gaining health: making healthy choices easy” Programme and the National Preventive Plan (NPP) 2014-2019, with the collaboration of the Interdisciplinary Working group for Salt Reduction in Italy (GIRCSI). Description of the problem According to the “Gaining Health” Programme, agreements between the MoH and the associations of artisan bakers and food industry companies were signed since 2009 to reduce the salt content in bread and in other food products. The reduction of excessive salt intake is one of the main objective of the NPP 2014-2019 pursued by the Regions through initiatives as local inter-sectors agreements and information activities for the population and training for food sector operators. The Italian Institute of Health conducts national surveys to estimate habitual salt intake in the general adult population by collecting 24h urine. Baseline assessment was in 2008-2012 from random samples of persons aged 35-79 years, resident in all 20 Regions. A new survey is ongoing (2018-2019) involving persons aged 35-74 years, resident in 10 Regions. Surveys are funded by the MoH-CCM; urinary sodium excretion is effected by a central lab at Federico II University of Naples, subjected to strict quality controls. Results The baseline survey showed a mean sodium excretion of 10.6 g/24h (95% confidence interval 10.5-10.8) in 1963 men and 8.2g/24h (8.1-8.4) in 1894 women. Results of the ongoing survey are expected in the coming months. Lessons In Italy preventive actions of salt reduction supported by the MoH have been implemented. Estimation of salt intake in diet by 24h/urine is included. Results of baseline and on-going surveys will allow to estimate the possibility of meeting the WHO salt reduction target by 2025. Key messages In Italy inter-sectors preventive actions of salt reduction are implemented. Results of the baseline and on-going surveys will allow to estimate in Italy the possibility of meeting the WHO salt reduction target by 2025.

Organizational Psychology and Technology: ethical, legal and practical issues related to active listening and work-related stress monitoring in Italy and Europe

Active listening is a powerful tool for the prevention and reduction of organizational disease and stress as well as for performance enhancement and even corporate social responsibility development. Active listening and wider work-related stress monitoring, as proven in literature and by several ongoing action-research experiences, can be made particularly effective if implemented in organizations through both traditional and technological methods , such as telephone and web-based chats, synchronous and asynchronous video-messaging and communicating tools, anonymous edropboxes and whistleblowing solutions, electronic questionnaires, and active monitoring technologies, just to name a few. While these technologies can have a positive impact on psychological intervention in organizations and, therefore, on the life of workers, they pose a series of ethical and legal issues. Some of them are still strongly debated and are under scrutiny of professional boards and governmental bodies. In Italy, the National Board of Psychologists has recently published guidelines for the web-based psychological practice. The European and Italian Parliaments have also produced several new norms that impact on the possibility of psychological interventions. Technology does not only involve the difficulty of the legal systems to follow the pace of its evolution, but also poses concrete difficulties in professional psychological applications, often related with the technological gap between the theoretical possibilities and the capabilities and instruments of the target organizations. This work aims to analyze some of these legal and applied issues and to propose, on the basis of a wide legal analysis and real case-study discussions, concrete solutions for incrementing the efficacy of the psychological interventions.

The use of real time continuous glucose monitoring or flash glucose monitoring in the management of diabetes: A consensus view of Italian diabetes experts using the Delphi method

Until recently, in Italy, the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems has been limited, but is now rapidly increasing, including the so-called real-time CGM (rtCGM) and the intermittently viewed CGM (iCGM), also called Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM). These technologies overcome many of the limitations of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) by fingerprick and allow to go beyond HbA1c to check glucose control in diabetes. However, standardized protocols for applying and interpreting rtCGM and FGM data are lacking. In this paper, we delineate a consensus amongst Italian diabetes physicians on the attributes of rtCGM and FGM technologies, and introduce a consistent approach for their use by Italian healthcare professionals. Most experts consider rtCGM and FGM as two separate categories of interstitial subcutaneous fluid (ISF) sensing technologies, and see them as superior to SMBG. Furthermore, there is strong consensus that rtCGM and FGM reduce hypoglycemia risk, increase the amount of time in the target glucose range and augment treatment satisfaction. However, there is still no agreement on the indication of the FGM for subjects who suffer asymptomatic hypoglycemia. Consensus on the role of education in initiating and optimizing use of rtCGM/FGM and about the interpretation of glucose trends was near unanimous, whereas no consensus was reached on the statement that there are no disadvantages/risks of rtCGM/FGM. Some issues remain in rtCGM/FGM management: a) risk of excessive correction of high or low glucose; b) risk of alert fatigue leading to alert silencing or rtCGM termination; c) allergic reaction to the adhesive keeping rtCGM or FGM sensors in place. The panel almost unanimously agreed that sensor accuracy depends on multiple variables, that alarm setting should be individualized, and that global glycemic profile represent an useful tool in interpreting glucose data. More clinical studies and a wider use of these devices will increase the efficacy and effectiveness of continuous glucose monitoring in Italy.

Impact of Surgical Approach on Patient-Reported Outcomes after Radical Prostatectomy: A Propensity Score-Weighted Analysis from a Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Study (The Pros-IT CNR Study)

Background: To report health-related quality of life outcomes as assessed by validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) after radical prostatectomy (RP). ­Methods: This study analyzed patients treated with RP within The PROState cancer monitoring in Italy, from the National Research Council (Pros-IT CNR). Italian versions of Short-Form Heath Survey and university of California los Angeles-prostate cancer index questionnaires were administered. PROMs were physical composite scores, mental composite scores and urinary, bowel, sexual functions and bothers (UF/B, BF/B, SF/B). Baseline unbalances were controlled with propensity scores and stabilized inverse weights; differences in PROMs between different RP approaches were estimated by mixed models. Results: Of 541 patients treated with RP, 115 (21%) received open RP (ORP), 90 (17%) laparoscopic RP (LRP) and 336 (61%) robot-assisted RP (RARP). At head-to-head ­comparisons, RARP showed higher 12-month UF vs. LRP (interaction treatment * time p = 0.03) and 6-month SF vs. ORP (p < 0.001). At 12-month from surgery, 67, 73 and 79% of patients used no pad for urinary loss in ORP, LRP and RARP respectively (no differences for each comparison). Conversely, 16, 27 and 40% of patients declared erections firm enough for sexual intercourse in ORP, LRP and RARP respectively (only significant difference for ORP vs. RARP, p = 0.0004). Conclusions: Different RP approaches lead to significant variations in urinary and sexual PROMs, with a general trend in favour of RARP. However, their clinical significance seems limited.

From ERS 1/2 to Sentinel-1: Subsidence Monitoring in Italy in the Last Two Decades

The use of InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) products has greatly increased in the last years because of the technological advances in terms of both acquisition sensors and processing algorithms. The development of multi-interferogram techniques and the availability of free SAR analysis tools has significantly increased the number of worldwide applications of satellite measurements for mapping and monitoring geohazards. InSAR techniques excel in determining ground deformation in urban areas, where the coherence of the radar images is high, and the obtainable results are particularly reliable. Thus, measuring urban subsidence has always been one of the main targets of the InSAR analysis. In this paper, we present a brief review on the applications, in the last decades, of both single and multi-interferogram techniques to monitor ground lowering in urban areas along the Italian Peninsula. Because of its geological context, Italy is prone to slow natural subsidence phenomena sometimes aggravated and accelerated, especially along the coasts and in urbanized areas, by anthropogenic factors (i.e. groundwater overexploitation, consolidation in recent urban expansion, geothermal activities). The review will show how the interferometric data allowed the scientific community to increase the knowledge of the phenomena, map their spatial distribution and reconstruct their temporal evolution. The final goal of the review is to demonstrate the added value of InSAR data in supporting groundwater management and urban development in Italy.

Integration of microwave data from SMAP and AMSR2 for soil moisture monitoring in Italy

In this study, an integration of microwave data obtained from the SMAP and AMSR2 satellite radiometers has been attempted, to achieve an accurate estimation of the Soil Moisture Content (SMC). This research aimed to overcome the failure of radar sensor in SMAP satellite as well as the failure to generate the radar/radiometer combined SMC product at a spatial resolution of 9 km × 9 km.A disaggregation technique, based on the Smoothing Filter based Intensity Modulation (SFIM), enabled us to obtain co-located SMAP and AMSR2 brightness measurements at L, C, X, Ku and Ka bands at approximately 10 km × 10 km on the selected test area, which corresponds to the entire Italian territory. These disaggregated microwave data were used as inputs of the “HydroAlgo” retrieval algorithm based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), which were able to exploit the synergy between radiometric acquisitions from these two sensors. The algorithm was defined, implemented and tested using all the overlapping orbits of SMAP and AMSR2 over Italy throughout the 9_month period between April and December 2015. Distributed SMC reference values for implementing and validating the algorithm were obtained from the Soil Water Balance hydrological model, SWBM. Through HydroAlgo, an SMC product at a resolution of approximately 10 km × 10 km was obtained. This result is close to the original Radar/Radiometer SMC product from SMAP, with an average correlation coefficient R > 0.75 and RMSE ≅ 0.03 m3/m3, in both ascending and descending orbits.

Comparison of attractants for monitoring Drosophila suzukii in sweet cherry orchards in Italy

AbstractThe invasiveness of Drosophila suzukii Matsumura is causing sizable damage to soft fruits and cherry. In order to define a targeted strategy for D. suzukii management, it is important to have access to highly sensitive trapping tools for detection, monitoring and control that are also selective, practical in use, economic, and with low environmental impact. The aim of this study was to compare different combinations of traps and lures to define a best practice approach for D. suzukii monitoring in Italy, extended over a wide elevational gradient and landscape complexity. The high attractiveness was not always combined with high selectivity, as in some cases up to 95% of the Drosophila spp. captured were belonging to species different from D. suzukii. The commercial Droso‐Trap was very efficient providing high capture ability. Overall, the most attractive lure was Droskidrink while Suzukii Trap was the most selective one. Lure attractiveness and selectivity, however, changed during the season in relation to environmental temperatures and phenological developmental stages, suggesting the need for implementing different lures in different periods and for the different purposes (monitoring or mass trapping). In terms of trap management, Droskidrink showed the problem of bacterial‐gel formation, while Suzukii Trap and Pherocon SWD were easier to handle as they did not need to be checked at weekly interval. Finally, these results were gathered to convey the most efficient combination of trap and bait able to efficiently perform mass trapping and attract and kill technique.

Quantile regression analysis as a predictive tool for lake macroinvertebrate biodiversity

The Water Framework Directive introduced in Europe major changes to improve the management of water resources. This study aims to highlight some of the potential implications of its implementation for lake water monitoring in Italy. A Life+ project was launched to plan the first monitoring of lake macroinvertebrates standardized at the national level.Quantile regression analysis was used to explain different metrics of diversity describing macroinvertebrate communities in response to twenty-one variables representing chemical, physical and morphological characteristics of the environment. Nine lakes located in two Italian regions (Piedmont and Sardinia) were analyzed covering a wide trophic spectrum, from oligotrophy to hyper-eutrophy. The lakes were sampled following the national standardized protocol with samples covering the three recognized lake zones: littoral, sublittoral, profundal.The studied lakes had high chemical variability with conductivity ranging between 53 and 561μS/cm, pH between 6.5 and 9.1, and alkalinity between 14 and 398mg/l. The bottom sediments were characterized by fine sand (range 51–99%), followed by silt (1–35%) and clay (0–28%). When the Lake Habitat Survey was also applied to these lakes, its synthetic indices (LHMS, Lake Habitat Modification Score and LHQA, Lake Habitat Quality Assessment) produced higher values in natural lakes (mean values±SD: LHMS=26±7, LHQA=57±3) than in the reservoirs (LHMS=22±4, LHQA=52±6). In all lakes, macroinvertebrates mainly consisted of chironomids and oligochaetes characterized by relative abundances up to 80% and >90%, respectively.Using quantile regression to evaluate limiting responses, only two variables, namely sampling depth and oxygen percent saturation (oxygen content), resulted the ones that best explained all the analyzed metrics of diversity of the macroinvertebrate communities. Depth and oxygen were then used to suggest synthetic models describing the various metrics of potential community diversity. These models can help the environmental agencies responsible for monitoring at the national level in distinguishing entire lakes or part of them with high biodiversity from those in altered conditions and then address remediation efforts toward the water bodies with the most critical conditions. Such approach could also be used to optimize the sampling procedures for the application of the Benthic Quality Index for lakes currently adopted at national level.

An Alternate Antenna Array Geometry for a GB-SAR System Used in Landslide Monitoring

A Ground Based- Synthetic Aperture Radar System (GB-SAR), is currently employed for round the clock landslide monitoring in Italy. This paper proposes an alternate antenna array design for the sensor module of the existing GB-SAR system. In this paper, various linear antenna array configurations such as Broadside, Ordinary End-fire, Hansen Woodyard end-fire, Binomial, Dolph-Tschebyscheff and planar antenna array configurations have been analyzed using MatLab simulations. The parameters of antenna design, like Directivity and Half Power Beamwidth have been simulated and compared for the different linear and planar antenna array configurations. Based on the simulation results and tradeoff calculations between directivity and half power beam width, a planar antenna array geometry has been proposed as the most feasible design for the sensor module of the GB-SAR system. Further, peak side lobe ratio of the various antenna array geometries has been calculated for generating a quality image. These calculations also show that the proposed geometry is the best alternative for the sensor module of the existing GB-SAR system.

Noroviruses in Seafood: A 9-Year Monitoring in Italy

Norovirus (NoV) are increasingly important as etiological agents of gastrointestinal infections. Consumption of bivalve molluscs and ready-to-eat fishery products is one of the most common ways of acquiring NoV foodborne infections, and the rise of outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis represents an important health problem that is also responsible for economic losses. The aim of this work was to define the prevalence of NoV contamination in preserved fishery products and in shellfish commercialized in Italy, taking into account the results obtained during 9 years of survey (2003-2011) and paying special attention to the regions more involved in national production. A total of 4463 samples were examined (2310 mussels, 1517 clams, 510 oysters, 22 other shellfish species, 104 preserved seafood products) and the average positivity rate for NoV presence was 4.1% and ranged from 0.6% in 2007 to 9.8% in 2003 and from 1.9% in preserved seafood products to 4.7% in mussels. Genetic characterization of circulating strains showed a prevalence of genogroup II genotypes, including GII.b and GII.e polymerase types and different GII.4 variants. This information could contribute to the optimization of risk-based sampling strategies for NoV contamination in seafood, taking into account variability in different species and from year to year.

Forest growth and climate change: evidences from the ICP-Forests intensive monitoring in Italy

Abstract: A few concurrent and/or counteracting factors (increase of average air temperature, rainfall shortage, drought, CO2 enrichment, ozone, nitrogen fertilization, sulphate deposition) drive today the soil-tree-atmosphere relationships in the Mediterranean area. Radial stem growth measured within the ICP-Forests level II Italian network provides a sensitive response to these occurrences. Climate fluctuations and repeated anomalous seasons or extreme events are the major evidences of the change in progress. The 2003 heat wave is the main event occurred in this decade over large part of Europe. In Italy, it provoked a marked water deficit coupled to high air temperature, which resulted in a heavy water stress. The growth performance in different forest types was analyzed in this paper: growth rate in 2000-2004, compared with 1997-1999, showed reductions up to 50% on half of the plots examined. Most of them were: (i) in northern-central Italy within the southern continental border of the climatic deviation; (ii) at low elevation, which is more sensitive to high air temperature and drought; (iii) made up of deciduous broadleaved forests (beech and oaks), i.e., species showing growth effects also in the following year. Over the time-window 2005-2009, a significant growth decrease was vice-versa detected within the coniferous spruce forests located at medium-high elevation in the Alps. Repeated seasonal deviations in temperature and rainfall were recorded in the Alps in 2005-2009. Climate effects at local scale were examined in a site where two oak species with a different auto-ecology (sessile oak and Turkey oak) grow together. The on-going change produced heavy mortality and reduced the growth of the more demanding and less drought-tolerant sessile oak; in a few years Turkey oak became prevailing in the stand composition and structure.

Strong motion monitoring in Italy

Strong motion monitoring in Italy