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The frequency and the accumulation of medium–small flood events can cause severe impacts. In a climate change context, real-time monitoring and a fast risk assessment are needed to support the post-disaster phases. The present work presents a novel methodology that leverages the potential of earth observation data to produce a proof-of-concept for flood vulnerability assessment, serving as the basis for a Map Operational Service for the Lombardy region. The proof-of-concept is related to both flood hazard estimation and vulnerability assessment, considering the evaluation of the potentialities of the synthetic aperture radar data when used to feed a downstream service. Using the city of Pavia (Italy), which was affected by a flood event in November 2019, as a case study, we present an integrated flood impact approach that includes a combination of social and physical parameters. The results contribute to a processing chain designed as a pre-operational service where each data analytic retrieves thematic products to support the exposure and damage estimates based on earth observation-derived hazard products for emergency and recovery responses. Three different satellites covered more than 40 h of the flood’s evolution, supporting the great potential of the multi-sensor approach. Therefore, different sensor configurations in terms of spectral bands (X and C bands) and resolutions (from 10 to 1 m) provide a near real-time view of the event. Comparing the results obtained through the three hazard scenarios, a final social and physical Integrated Impact Index is obtained. The added value information leads to the determination of hotspots with which to prioritize effective interventions during emergency and recovery phases, crucial for capturing inherent conditions that allow communities to absorb impacts and cope with a damaging flood event.

Nature-based solutions are increasingly relevant tools for spatial and environmental planning, climate change adaptation (CCA), and disaster risk reduction (DRR). For this reason, a wide range of institutions, governments, and financial bodies are currently promoting the use of green infrastructure (GI) as an alternative or a complement to traditional grey infrastructure. A considerable amount of research already certifies the benefits and multi-functionality of GI: natural water retention measures (NWRMs), as GIs related specifically to the water sector are also known, are, for instance, a key instrument for the prevention and mitigation of extreme phenomena, such as floods and droughts. However, there are persisting difficulties in locating and identifying GI and one of the most promising solutions to this issue, the use of satellite-based data products, is hampered by a lack of well-grounded knowledge, experiences, and tools. To bridge this gap, we performed a review of the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) products, which consist of freely-available bio-geophysical indices covering the globe at mid-to-low spatial resolutions. Specifically, we focused on vegetation and energy indices, examining previous research works that made use of them and evaluating their current quality, aiming to define their potential for studying GI and especially NWRMs related to agriculture, forest, and hydro-morphology. NWRM benefits are also considered in the analysis, namely: (i) NWRM biophysical impacts (BPs), (ii) ecosystem services delivered by NWRMs (ESs), and (iii) policy objectives (POs) expressed by European Directives that NWRMs can help to achieve. The results of this study are meant to assist GI users in employing CGLS products and ease their decision-making process. Based on previous research experiences and the quality of the currently available versions, this analysis provides useful tools to identify which indices can be used to study several types of NWRMs, assess their benefits, and prioritize the most suitable ones.

Understanding crop types and their annual cycles is key to managing natural resources, especially when the pressures on these resources are attributable to climate change and social, environmental, and economic policies. In recent years, the space sector’s development, with programs such as Copernicus, has enabled a greater availability of satellite data. This study uses a multi-sensor approach to retrieve crop information by developing a Proof of Concept for the integration of high-resolution SAR imagery and optical data. The main goal is to develop a pre-automatized processing chain that explores the temporal dimension of different crop. Results are related to the advantage of using a multi-sensor approach to retrieve vegetation biomass and vertical structure for the identification of phenological stages and different crops. The novelty consists of investigating the multi-temporal pattern of radiometric indices and radar backscatter to detect the different phenological stages of each crop, identifying the Day of the Year (DoY) in which the classes showed greater separability. The current study could be considered a benchmark for the exploitation of future multi-sensor missions in downstream services for the agricultural sector, strengthening the evolution of Copernicus services.

This article presents an approach to identify Green Infrastructure (GI), its benefits and condition. This information enables environmental agencies to prioritise conservation, management and restoration strategies accordingly. The study focuses on riparian areas due to their potential to supply Ecosystem Services (ES), such as water quality, biodiversity, soil protection and flood or drought risk reduction. Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) related to agriculture and forestry are the type of GI considered specifically within these riparian areas. The approach is based on ES condition indicators, defined by the European Environment Agency (EEA) to support the policy targets of the 2020 Biodiversity Strategy. Indicators that can be assessed through remote sensing techniques are used, namely: capacity to provide ecosystem services, proximity to protected areas, greening response and water stress. Specifically, the approach uses and evaluates the potential of freely available products from the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) to monitor GI. Moreover, vegetation and water indices are calculated using data from the Sentinel-2 MSI Level-2A scenes and integrated in the analysis. The approach has been tested in the Italian Po river basin in 2018. Firstly, agriculture and forest NWRM were identified in the riparian areas of the river network. Secondly, the Riparian Zones products from the CLMS local component and the satellite-based indices were linked to the aforementioned ES condition indicators. This led to the development of a pixel-based model that evaluates the identified GI according to: (i) its disposition to provide riparian regulative ES and (ii) its condition in the analysed year. Finally, the model was used to prioritise GI for conservation or restoration initiatives, based on its potential to deliver ES and current condition.

In an assessment of the clinical relevance of serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA testing in chronic HBV infection, changes in the presence of this marker were investigated by spot hybridization in 138 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patients with chronic liver disease who were followed up for one to eight years. Forty-one patients were treated with steroids, often with evidence of potentiation of viral replication, whereas 92 patients remained untreated and had no evidence of δ agent infection during follow-up. Data analysis in these patients allowed us to determine the significance of testing for hepatitis B e antigen and for HBV DNA in the natural history of the infection. The findings indicate that sequential testing for serum HBV DNA may be of great importance in HBsAg chronic carriers with liver disease for adequate evaluation of HBV replication and for the contribution of HBV DNA to the clinical assessment of chronic hepatitis.

To the Editor: Hepatitis B virus DNA sequences have been detected not only in the serum and in the liver of infected patients, but also in several extrahepatic tissues 1 and in some biologic fluids, including saliva, urine, and semen. 2 , 3 It has not yet been established whether the virus can cross the blood–brain barrier and reach the nervous system. We had the opportunity to address this point with an investigation of the presence of the hepatitis B genome in cerebrospinal fluid from two patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who were positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Both patients were . . .

An experimental study was conducted to assess the nature and extent of the biodeterioration of the limestone in the Batalha Monastery in Portugal. Stone fragments covered with microbial biofilms and lichenous crusts were investigated using Optical Microscopy (OM), Low Vacuum Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (LV-SEM + EDS), and X-ray micro-Diffractometry (μ-XRD). Microbial samples were collected from the stone surface, cultured, and analyzed with NGS metagenomic DNA test to classify the bacterial communities associated with the formation of the biofilms. Particulate air pollutants collected on Pall GN-6 paper filters using a cascade impactor were characterized by SEM-EDS + NGS. The results showed that lichens play a major role in biodeterioration by promoting both physical and chemical attack on the limestone substrate via hyphae mechanical penetration along calcite inter-crystalline spaces, the dissolution/leaching of calcite minerals, and the precipitation of secondary minerals such as Ca-oxalates within the stone porosity framework. DNA analyses identified the bacterial communities within the biofilms and their relative abundances. Air quality monitoring results suggest that the microbial population colonizing the monastery limestone could at least partially be derived from the dry and wet deposition of airborne biological particles on the stone surfaces and that S, N, and P-rich air pollutants may have provided nutrients and energy for the bacteria communities, thus indirectly facilitating biofilm formation, the growth of a lichenous crusts, and limestone biodeterioration effects.

Samples of orange patinas found on a limestone window tracery and an ornament of the Batalha Monastery have been investigated by X-ray micro-diffractometry (μ-XRD) and low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (LV-SEM + EDS). The aim of the study was to determine the composition of the layered patinas, assess whether they have been intentionally applied or naturally formed, and study their degradation patterns. Preliminary results revealed that the orange patinas on the window tracery and the ornament showed different compositions and appearance, suggesting distinct formation pathways. Orange patinas on the ornament, which are now showing decay and delamination patterns, mainly consisted of gypsum with hematite as a minor component, implying the possibility of an intentional application of a mixture of ochre and lime as tint plaster. Orange patinas on the window tracery show, instead, the presence of Ca-oxalates, abundant weddellite, and minor whewellite, with minor hematite suggesting the yellowish/orange color as being due to Ca-oxalate patinas imbedding soil dust airborne particles. Such patina was possibly formed naturally either by the chemical attack due to atmospheric air pollutants from traffic exhausts emissions or by bacterial activity. No delamination was observed on the window tracery sample with granular decohesion as the major decay phenomenon. A comparison was made between this patina and the so-called scialbatura, a surface yellowish coating often found by conservators on limestone and marble in ancient monuments in the Mediterranean region.