Monitoring riverbank erosion in mountain catchments using terrestrial laser scanning

Sediment yield is a key factor in river basins management due to the various and adverse consequences that erosion and sediment transport in rivers may have on the environment. Although various contributions can be found in the literature about sediment yield modeling and bank erosion monitoring, the link between weather conditions, river flow rate and bank erosion remains scarcely known. Thus, a basin scale assessment of sediment yield due to riverbank erosion is an objective hard to be reached. In order to enhance the current knowledge in this field, a monitoring method based on high resolution 3D model reconstruction of riverbanks, surveyed by multi-temporal terrestrial laser scanning, was applied to four banks in Val Tartano, Northern Italy. Six data acquisitions over one year were taken, with the aim to better understand the erosion processes and their triggering factors by means of more frequent observations compared to usual annual campaigns. The objective of the research is to address three key questions concerning bank erosion: "how" erosion happens, "when" during the year and "how much" sediment is eroded. The method proved to be effective and able to measure both eroded and deposited volume in the surveyed area. Finally an attempt to extrapolate basin scale volume for bank erosion is presented

Co-Transplantation of endothelial progenitor cells and pancreatic islets to induce long-lasting normoglycemia in streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats

Graft vascularization is a crucial step to obtain stable normoglycemia in pancreatic islet transplantation. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) contribute to neoangiogenesis and to the revascularization process during ischaemic events and play a key role in the response to pancreatic islet injury. In this work we co-transplanted EPCs and islets in the portal vein of chemically-induced diabetic rats to restore islet vascularization and to improve graft survival. Syngenic islets were transplanted, either alone or with EPCs derived from green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic rats, into the portal vein of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Blood glucose levels were monitored and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests were performed. Real time-PCR was carried out to evaluate the gene expression of angiogenic factors. Diabetic-induced rats showed long-lasting (6 months) normoglycemia upon co-transplantation of syngenic islets and EPCs. After 3–5 days from transplantation, hyperglycaemic levels dropped to normal values and lasted unmodified as long as they were checked. Further, glucose tolerance tests revealed the animals' ability to produce insulin on-demand as indexed by a prompt response in blood glucose clearance. Graft neovascularization was evaluated by immunohistochemistry: for the first time the measure of endothelial thickness revealed a donor-EPC-related neovascularization supporting viable islets up to six months after transplant. Our results highlight the importance of a newly formed viable vascular network together with pancreatic islets to provide de novo adequate supply in order to obtain enduring normoglycemia and prevent diabetes-related long-term health hazards

Identificazione di anomalie in tracciati ECG mediante dispositivi indossabili. Algoritmi per l'analisi in movimento ed implementazione ottimizzata per sistemi ultra-low power

LAUREA MAGISTRALEIn questa tesi presenteremo un sistema in grado di rilevare anomalie cardiache durante l'acquisizione del tracciato elettrocardiografico (ECG) attraverso dispositivi indossabili. La rilevazione delle anomalie si basa sulla teoria delle rappresentazioni sparse. Il presente lavoro e` composto da due parti principali. Nella prima, ci siamo focalizzati su come rendere il sistema di rilevamento delle anomalie robusto al rumore generato dai movimenti compiuti dall'utente. In particolare, utilizzando tecniche di machine learning, proponiamo una soluzione in grado di predire il verificarsi di disturbi dovuti al movimento in modo tale che i battiti predetti come rumorosi verranno scartati, evitando di generare false anomalie. La seconda parte e` dedicata all'integrazione del sistema sulla scheda NUCLEO STM32. In particolare, presentiamo sia i moduli software per l'analisi dei singoli battiti e il rilevamento delle anomalie in tempo reale sia le modalita` in cui interagiscono tra loro.In this thesis we will present a system capable of detecting anomalous heartbeats during the acquisition of electrocardiographic traces (ECG) through wearable devices. The detection of anomalies is based on the sparse representation theory. This work consists of two main parts. In the first, we focused on how to make the anomaly detection system robust to the noise generated by the user's movements. In particular, using techniques of machine learning, we propose a solution that can predict the occurrence of disturbances due to movement, so that the beats predicted as noisy will be discarded, avoiding creating false anomalies. The second part is dedicated to integrate the anomaly detection system on the NUCLEO board STM32. In particular, we present both the software modules for the single beat analysis and anomalous real-time detection and how they interact with each other

An Alternative to commercial optical fibre sensors for shallow ladslide monitoring – interferometric optical fibre sensing

Optical fibre-based monitoring has settled in the field of geohazards monitoring. Interferometric optical fibre sensors are the least used in landslide monitoring, while classical approaches rely on Fibre Bragg Grating and Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry/Analysis. Landslide monitoring goes hand by hand with the development of technology. While authors tend to focus on the unprecedented accuracy and reduced costs of the sensor itself, the economic and practical aspects related to the interrogating systems are often disregarded. Recently, a simpler and significantly more cost-effective approach has been introduced through “integral coherent measurements” because they yield an integral of the signal response over the entire length of the optical fibre sensor. This sensing system proves to be suitable to provide an overall indication of the state of the entire monitored domain and yield indications of the onset of motion with a high temporal resolution. The sensor has been tested in controlled conditions as a monitoring tool in a downscaled landslide model. We exploit the large bandwidth and high frequency of acquisition in order to detect high frequency elastic waves. The proposed sensor is able to distinguish the vibration footprint generated by ground movement. The results obtained from the experimental tests demonstrate that the proposed sensing system is able to recognize the onset of motion some minutes before a visual indication of instability could be observed

How Brexit affected the trade of UK firms

The UK left the EU’s single market and customs union at the start of 2021, entering unto the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU. Rebecca Freeman, Marco Garofalo, Enrico Longoni, Kalina Manova, Rebecca Mari, Thomas Prayer and Thomas Sampson look into what effect this has had on UK-EU trade, and find that it’s the smaller UK firms that were hit the hardest, with a significant drop of their exports to the EU

Atypical antipsychotics and metabolic syndrome : from molecular mechanisms to clinical differences

Atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) are commonly prescribed medications to treat schizophre-nia, bipolar disorders and other psychotic disorders. However, they might cause metabolic syndrome (MetS) in terms of weight gain, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and high blood pressure, which are responsible for reduced life expectancy and poor adherence. Importantly, there is clear evidence that early metabolic disturbances can precede weight gain, even if the latter still remains the hallmark of AAPs use. In fact, AAPs interfere profoundly with glucose and lipid homeostasis acting mostly on hypothalamus, liver, pancreatic β-cells, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle. Their ac-tions on hypothalamic centers via dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and histamine receptors affect neuropeptides and 5′ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity, thus producing a supra-physiological sympathetic outflow augmenting levels of glucagon and hepatic glucose production. In addition, altered insulin secretion, dyslipidemia, fat deposition in the liver and adipose tissues, and insulin resistance become aggravating factors for MetS. In clinical practice, among AAPs, olan-zapine and clozapine are associated with the highest risk of MetS, whereas quetiapine, risperidone, asenapine and amisulpride cause moderate alterations. The new AAPs such as ziprasidone, lurasi-done and the partial agonist aripiprazole seem more tolerable on the metabolic profile. However, these aspects must be considered together with the differences among AAPs in terms of their efficacy, where clozapine still remains the most effective. Intriguingly, there seems to be a correlation between AAP’s higher clinical efficacy and increase risk of metabolic alterations. Finally, a multidisciplinary approach combining psychoeducation and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is proposed as a first-line strategy to avoid the MetS. In addition, pharmacological treatments are discussed as well.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Mesenchymal Stem Cell in Pancreatic Islet Transplantation

Pancreatic islet transplantation is a therapeutic option for achieving physiologic regulation of plasma glucose in Type 1 diabetic patients. At the same time, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have demonstrated their potential in controlling graft rejection, the most fearsome complication in organ/tissue transplantation. MSCs can interact with innate and adaptive immune system cells either through direct cell-cell contact or through their secretome including exosomes. In this review, we discuss current findings regarding the graft microenvironment of pancreatic islet recipient patients and the crucial role of MSCs operation as cell managers able to control the immune system to prevent rejection and promote endogenous repair. We also discuss how challenging stressors, such as oxidative stress and impaired vasculogenesis, may jeopardize graft outcomes. In order to face these adverse conditions, we consider either hypoxia-exposure preconditioning of MSCs or human stem cells with angiogenic potential in organoids to overcome islets' lack of vasculature. Along with the shepherding of carbon nanotubes-loaded MSCs to the transplantation site by a magnetic field, these studies look forward to exploiting MSCs stemness and their immunomodulatory properties in pancreatic islet transplantation

Deep integration and trade: UK firms in the wake of Brexit

How does dismantling deep integration affect international trade? This paper provides new evidence on the consequences of disintegration by estimating the impact of Brexit on goods trade by UK firms. The UK's exit from the EU's single market and customs union in January 2021 led to an immediate, sharp drop in both exports and imports with the EU for the average firm. In addition, many exporters and importers stopped trading with the EU entirely. However, heterogeneous firm-level responses to the implementation of trade barriers mitigated Brexit's impact on aggregate trade. The decline in exports was concentrated among smaller firms, but insignificant for the largest firms. Our estimates imply that, in the short run, leaving the EU reduced worldwide UK exports by 6.4% and worldwide imports by 3.1%. The fall in imports was driven by lower imports from the EU, which importers offset by sourcing more from the rest of the world