Can urban metabolism models advance green infrastructure planning? Insights from ecosystem services research

Urban metabolism studies have gained momentum in recent years as a means to assess the environmental performance of cities and to point to more resource-efficient strategies for urban development. Recent literature reviews report a growing number of applications of the industrial ecology model for Material Flow Analysis (MFA) in the design of the built environment. However, MFA applications in green infrastructure development are scarce. In this article, we argue that: i) the use of MFA in green infrastructure practice can inform decision-making towards more resource-efficient urban planning; ii) the ecosystem service concept is critical to operationalize MFA for green infrastructure planning and design, and, through this, can enhance the impact of urban metabolism research on policy making and planning practice. The article draws from a systematic review of literature on urban ecosystem services and benefits provided by green infrastructure in urban regions. The review focuses on ecosystem services that can contribute to a more energy-efficient and less carbon-intensive urban metabolism. Using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services as a baseline, we then discuss opportunities for integrating energy provision and climate regulation ecosystem services in MFA. Our discussion demonstrates that the accounting of ecosystem services in MFA enables expressing impacts of green infrastructure on the urban energy mix (renewable energy provision), the magnitude of energy use (mitigation of building energy demand), and the dynamics of biogeochemical processes in cities (carbon sequestration). We finally propose an expanded model for MFA that illustrates a way forward to integrate the ecosystem service concept in urban metabolism models and to enable their application in green infrastructure planning and design

The notion of “landscape acceptability” as a potential key factor for a new integrated approach to energy-landscape policy

Sin dai suoi inizi, il percorso verso la realizzazione di una politica energetica “sostenibile” in diversi ambiti nazionali europei è stato puntellato dall’emergenza di una serie di problematiche socio-economiche e ambientali, come ad esempio quelle legate ai conflitti ingenerati dal cambio di destinazione d’uso dei suoli agricoli. Tali conflitti sono spesso intervenuti nella programmazione e nel processo d’installazione d’impianti di produzione di energia da fonte rinnovabile, divenendo un argomento sensibile nel dibattito sulla transizione energetica alla scala regionale, nazionale o sopranazionale. Questo paper propone uno studio analitico e comparativo della relazione esistente fra le attuali politiche energetiche e i processi trasformativi che hanno interessato negli ultimi decenni due territori europei (gli altipiani della Beauce in Francia e dell’Alta Murgia in Italia), entrambi caratterizzati da un’importante produzione agricola, prevalentemente cerealicola, ed energetica, da fonte eolica, solare o da biomassa. L’analisi comparativa dei due casi studio pone le basi per l’elaborazione di un approccio trasversale delle politiche energetiche e paesaggistiche alla scala regionale e locale per questi territori a vocazione intensamente produttiva. Alla luce dei risultati della fase analitica, la seconda parte dell’articolo elabora una nuova prospettiva di ricerca: lavorare alla costruzione di un “approccio integrato” delle politiche energetiche e paesaggistiche, volto a superare la semplice applicazione di strategie di “integrazione paesaggistica” o la nozione di “misura di compensazione”. Tale approccio propone l’elaborazione di una serie di criteri definiti di “accettazione paesaggistica” atti a orientare la progettazione e la gestione dei sistemi di produzione di energia da fonte rinnovabile alla grande scala. L’obiettivo è prendere in conto, in maniera sinergica e olistica, le complementari dimensioni socio-economiche, estetiche ed ecologiche che concorrono alla costruzione e configurazione dei paesaggi interessati da tali processi di trasformazione alla grande scala

Los nuevos saberes peronistas en la escuela primaria argentina (1945-1955)

El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo discutir la postura tradicional sobre la peronización del subsistema educativo de nivel primario. A partir de la investigación realizada para la Tesis de Maestría en Didáctica "La incidencia de las prácticas pedagógicas de los maestros primarios en la transmisión de los nuevos saberes peronistas (1945-1955)", que se apoya en el análisis de fuentes escritas tales como: libros de texto del Magisterio, documentos con lineamientos curriculares y normativa didáctica y de política educativa y de fuentes orales construidas con los testimonios de maestros y alumnos del período, se podría afirmar que la escuela no fue una agencia socializadora eficiente en relación con la transmisión de los nuevos saberes peronistas. La ritualización o formalización de la enseñanza de los "nuevos saberes peronistas", producto de una resistencia político-pedagógica de los maestros, habría impedido o al menos dificultado la apropiación significativa de dichos saberes, tanto por parle de los alumnos como de los propios docentes. A mi entender, entonces, la acción político-pedagógica del Estado peronista, por fuera del sistema educativo habría sido más eficiente en el proceso de transmisión de la ideología que la labor desarrollada desde la escuela primaria.Fil: Perrotti, Rosana. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina

An Integrated Procedure to Assess the Stability of Coastal Rocky Cliffs: From UAV Close-Range Photogrammetry to Geomechanical Finite Element Modeling

The present paper explores the combination of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry and three-dimensional geomechanical modeling in the investigation of instability processes of long sectors of coastal rocky cliffs. The need of a reliable and detailed reconstruction of the geometry of the cliff surfaces, beside the geomechanical characterization of the rock materials, could represent a very challenging requirement for sub-vertical coastal cliffs overlooking the sea. Very often, no information could be acquired by alternative surveying methodologies, due to the absence of vantage points, and the fieldwork could pose a risk for personnel. The case study is represented by a 600 m long sea cliff located at Sant\u2019Andrea (Melendugno, Apulia, Italy). The cliff is characterized by a very complex geometrical setting, with a suggestive alternation of 10 to 20 m high vertical walls, with frequent caves, arches and rock-stacks. Initially, the rocky cliff surface was reconstructed at very fine spatial resolution from the combination of nadir and oblique images acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles. Successively, a limited area has been selected for further investigation. In particular, data refinement/decimation procedure has been assessed to find a convenient three-dimensional model to be used in the finite element geomechanical modeling without loss of information on the surface complexity. Finally, to test integrated procedure, the potential modes of failure of such sector of the investigated cliff were achieved. Results indicate that the most likely failure mechanism along the sea cliff examined is represented by the possible propagation of shear fractures or tensile failures along concave cliff portions or over-hanging due to previous collapses or erosion of the underlying rock volumes. The proposed approach to the investigation of coastal cliff stability has proven to be a possible and flexible tool in the rapid and highly-automated investigation of hazards to slope failure in coastal areas

S100A8 calcium-binding expression in radicular and dentigerous cysts and in keratocystic odontogenic tumors

Introduction: Recently the term Keratocystic Odontogenic Tumor (KCOT) has been recommended for Odontogenic Keratocysts (OKC) to address the neoplastic nature of the lesion compared to radicular and dentigerous cysts. S100 are calcium-binding proteins involved in cell differentiation and inflammation, with a potential role in neoplastic transformation. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether S100A8 protein expression is different in KCOT compared to radicular cysts (RC) and dentigerous cysts (DC). Methods: A total of 84 consecutive odontogenic cysts, 34 RC, 25 DC, and 25 KCOT, were analyzed in this study. Results: Epithelial cells in KCOT cases were not immunoreactive for S100A8 except focally in cases associated with inflammation, while RC cases showed a variable positivity of all the epithelial layers from the basal to the superficial in 19/34 cases and DC cases showed a weak positivity of the intermediate and superficial layers in 7/25 cases. Conclusion: The lack of S100A8 protein expression seems to be observed more frequently in KCOT compared to RC and DC. This difference might be related to their neoplastic nature and a potential aggressive biological behavior for odontogenic cystic lesions

Las relaciones comerciales en América Latina en 1995 y 2015: un análisis de redes complejas

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las relaciones comerciales en América Latina en los años 1995 y 2015 utilizando el enfoque de redes complejas, con datos de los cinco primeros socios de importaciones y exportaciones de 17 países de la región. El estudio de las propiedades del grafo se complementa con el análisis de hechos históricos importantes y la composición de las canastas de importaciones y exportaciones. Los resultados muestran la tendencia en la región a comerciar con economías grandes en Asia y América del Norte a las que se les exporta principalmente bienes primarios y desde las que se importa tecnología, bienes industriales y de capital

The Expansion and Evaluation of Medication Assisted Treatment Services for an Underserved Rural Northern California Community

Problem: Widespread opioid misuse has led to the opioid epidemic that claims 130 deaths per day due to an opioid overdose (CDC, 2018). The opioid epidemic has plagued the United States for three decades and has been considered a public health emergency since 2017 (HHS, 2017). Rural communities are disproportionately affected by this problem and in 2014, the rate of opioid overdose deaths was 45% higher in rural communities (SAMHSA, 2018). Context: Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is considered the most effective treatment for opioid dependence because it incorporates medication management and biopsychosocial supports (Jones et al., 2018). Retention in a MAT program is predictive of better health outcomes (Timko et al., 2016). However, there is a gap between opioid dependence treatment need and access to MAT services in rural communities due to limited resources (SAMHSA, 2018). The context for this project, within the particular setting, is based upon the gap analysis that identified limited access and a waiting list for MAT services at a community-based substance use disorder and recovery organization, Granite Wellness, within a rural Northern California community. Proposed Intervention: The proposed intervention is the expansion of MAT services at Granite Wellness. Proposed Outcome Measures: The project will evaluate the following outcome measures: the number of patients admitted to MAT services, the 3-month treatment retention rate, patient satisfaction, and staff satisfaction

Let\u27s Move! from DC to PC: Policy and Programming in Providence Charter Schools Around Student\u27s Awareness Towards Living Healthy

A thesis developed out of an intership for the Office of the First Lady\u27s Let\u27s Move Initiative . Following said internship, the author conducted original research on the local level - namely, Providence charter schools - to design, implement, and assess a series of educational “interventions”. These interventions were created to provide information to students and their parents about the benefits of healthy eating and exercise. Over 500 elementary-level students were surveyed for the research. See document abstract for more information

Growth Cycles in Argentina

This article presents a characterization of Argentina’s GDP cycles of the last four decades. The cycle extraction strategy follows two well-known complementary approaches: the classic and the growth cycle (the later using four alternative filters from the frequency domain theory). A novel approach of this paper was the building of a combined index of the different methods included in the growth cycle approach. The results show similar conclusions from both approaches in terms of a) the number of cycles; b) the duration of the cycles; c) the prevalence of expansions to contractions’ duration; d) the synchronicity of the different cycles; and, e) the ordinal intensity ranking of the different phases.Este artículo presenta una caracterización de los ciclos del PIB de Argentina de las últimas cuatro décadas. La estrategia de extracción de los ciclos utiliza dos enfoques complementarios de amplia difusión: el clásico y el de ciclo de crecimiento (este último utilizando cuatro filtros alternativos de la teoría de dominio de frecuencias). Un enfoque novedoso del artículo es la construcción de un índice combinado de los diferentes métodos incluidos en el enfoque del ciclo de crecimiento. Los resultados muestran conclusiones similares de ambos enfoques en términos de a) el número de ciclos; b) la duración de los ciclos; c) la prevalencia de la duración de las expansiones respecto a las contracciones; d) la sincronicidad de los diferentes ciclos; y, e) la clasificación de intensidad ordinal de las diferentes fases