As a consequence of the recent debate about restrictions in the access to content on the Internet, a strong motivation has arisen for censorship monitoring: an independent, publicly available and global watch on Internet censorship activities is a necessary goal to be pursued in order to guard citizens' right of access to information. Several techniques to enforce censorship on the Internet are known in literature, differing in terms of transparency towards the user, selectivity in blocking specific resources or whole groups of services, collateral effects outside the administrative borders of their intended application. Monitoring censorship is also complicated by the dynamic nature of multiple aspects of this phenomenon, the number and diversity of resources targeted by censorship and its global scale. In the present Thesis an analysis of literature on internet censorship and available solutions for censorship detection has been performed, characterizing censorship enforcement techniques and censorship detection techniques and tools. The available platforms and tools for censorship detection have been found falling short of providing a comprehensive monitoring platform able to manage a diverse set of measurement vantage points and a reporting interface continuously updated with the results of automated censorship analysis. The candidate proposes a design of such a platform, UBICA, along with a prototypical implementation whose effectiveness has been experimentally validated in global monitoring campaigns. The results of the validation are discussed, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed design and suggesting future enhancements and research.
The European Union, in the "Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment" (2006), has pointed out the importance of identification and monitoring urban environment quality indicators. In this scheme, the quality of 31 urban green areas in Pisa was assessed by monitoring topsoil physical, chemical and biological features and by using the plant bioindicator Taraxacum officinale Web. Results were compared with an extra-urban area (near S.Rossore-Migliarino-Massaciuccoli Natural Park) and with the quantitative limits fixed by Italian Law (DLgs 152/2006). The soils of the green areas of Pisa were mostly sandy, sub-alkaline, and lightly calcareous, with rather high organic matter content. They showed a widespread pollution by hydrocarbons, probably caused by road traffic incomplete combustion and by domestic heating. Only in few sites the total amounts of Cd, Cr and Hg were significantly higher than the minimum value established by the Italian Law. Probably due to the vehicular traffic, pollution by Pb, Cu and Zn was instead widespread. A sequential extraction (BCR method) was performed for determining the forms of heavy metals within the soil matrix. Instead of Zn and Pb, Cr and Cu showed the absence in soil of the labile forms. As far as Cr forms were concerned, the most represented one was the residual, while the anthropogenic addition of the element was found in the oxidizable form. For Cu forms, the most represented was the residual, while reducible and oxidizable forms were enriched by anthropogenic addition of the element. Regarding Pb and Zn forms, the most represented one was the reducible, while the anthropogenic additions of the elements were evenly distributed among the four fractions. Principal component analysis revealed the existence of four different patterns of distribution of the elements, whose differences have been attributed at the origin, each composed of a different number of variables: the first one, consisting of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sb, Sn, Sr, and Zn, whose main source was fit to identify in the traffic; as to the second factor, consisting of Fe, Mn, and Ni, the main source was identified by pedogenic substrate. Each of the third and the fourth factor was composed of a single element, respectively Cr and Hg, which had a particular distribution, different from that of all other HMs. Even the geostatistical analysis has identified the previous four patterns of distribution of HMs, bringing back, through interpolation techniques, also their coarse spatial distribution; according to this analysis, the central area of the city was identified as the one having the most polluted green areas. Hierarchical clustering analysis identified different groups of areas with different levels of contamination, both from the qualitative and quantitative point of view. Platinoids (Pt, Pd), "new generation" pollutants, released from recently introduced three way catalytic converters, absent in the substrate, showed a beginning of accumulation in a limited number of areas. As to soil biological features, cumulative respiration of monitored areas was evaluated during a 25 day incubation period. Results showed that evolved CO2-C was different among the monitored areas and influenced by soil carbon total content and pollution level. Community level physiological profiling of soil microbial population of the monitored areas was performed by using Biolog Ecoplates. The relative data of AWCD, CMD and H (Shannon-Weaver index of biodiversity) showed a limited variability among the monitored areas. Soil antioxidant capacity was evaluated and showed changes among monitored areas, being correlated with organic carbon content and, in particular, with phenolic substances. Soil enzymatic activities vary among monitored sites and appear to be influenced by organic matter and pollutants' contents. The control site has shown the lowest rate of activities if compared to all the other sites. Positive correlation was detected among all enzymatic activities except for dehydrogenase. In spite of the presence of various pollutants, vegetal bioindicator Taraxacum officinale Web. did not show any alteration in the photosynthetic process with values of Fv/Fm, and FPSII, representing respectively the efficiency of PSII in conducting photochemical events and photochemical yield of PSII, typical of the leaves of healthy plants. Even photosynthetic pigment contents and qNP, representing mechanisms aiming at dissipating excess excitation energy, did not show any alteration among the monitored areas. That trend was confirmed by other parameters, monitored in order to understand if the polluted urban environment is not dangerous for the plant or if vegetal put into repairing actions. On the dissected aboveground and radical portions of the biomarker, antioxidant capacity, phenolic content, heavy metals contents and metal chelating capacity of vegetal tissues did not reveal any differences among the monitored sites, probably showing the dandelion ability in non-absorbing pollutants. We can finally conclude that the degree of pollution of the green areas in the city of Pisa, although present, does not cause major problems to the utilized bioindicators. We need more sensible biomarkers to effectively detect this degree of pollution.
As internet is becoming a critical infrastructure and the amount of traffic carried on it is rapidly growing, along with the potential security threats, monitoring is becoming more and more a crucial activity to the correct operations of networks and network based services. However, the amount of data to be analyzed, the extreme variety of the analysis to be supported, along with the need to correlate data from different sources and the limitations imposed by the privacy legislation make network monitoring a difficult and challenging task. In this work we explore several research fields, all of them related to network monitoring and testing. First of all, we propose tomographic techniques, that allow to infer the internal state of the network by applying statistical analysis to measurements carried out by the end–hosts, with no cooperation from the internal nodes. We then illustrate novel algorithms and data structures for speeding up expensive packet processing tasks, such as deep packet inspection. Subsequently, we move on to architectural topics and show how general purpose processors and special purpose devices can complement each other in order to build monitoring and testing systems offering an optimal trade–off between flexibility and performance. Moreover, we also investigate on the potential that the modern commodity hardware (which is highly parallel) provides and on how this can be leveraged for the benefit of the network monitoring applications. Finally, we delve into the topic of distributed monitoring and propose novel solutions for building an overlay of monitoring probes which can efficiently correlate the observed data, thus avoiding the scalability bottleneck of an architecture based on a single collection point.
Like all modern agriculture sectors, turfgrass production and management is headed towards cost reduction, resource optimization and reduction of the environmental impact. In recent years, within the European Union several legislative, monitoring and coordinating actions have been undertaken to encourage sustainable use of resources, reduction in the use of chemicals and improvement of the urban environment. In this respect, two concepts that are strictly related to most of the aspects above are: "precision agriculture" and "precision conservation" and more specifically "precision turfgrass management." Optical sensing has become a crucial part of precision turfgrass management and spectral reflectance in particular has been an active area of research for many years. However, while turfgrass status evaluation by proximity-sensed spectral reflectance appears to be an established and reliable practice, much more could be achieved in terms of monitoring of large turfgrass areas through remote sensing, and in particular through satellite imagery. This thesis reports the results of four trials attempting: a) to evaluate the spectral signatures of several turfgrass species\cultivars, for future use in satellite monitoring. This experimental study focused on 20 turfgrass species\cultivars, including perennial ryegrasses, tall fescues, kentucky bluegrasses, bermudagrasses (ecotypes, seeded and vegetatively propagated cultivars) and zoysiagrasses. Various agronomical and biological parameters were studied (quality, color, dry matter, chlorophyll, carotenoids, nitrogen content) and turfgrass spectral reflectance for all entries was gathered. Results showed that, within the same species, selected vegetation indices are often able to discriminate between different cultivars that have been established and maintained with identical agronomical practices. Evaluation of the spectral reflectance of plants using field spectroradiometry provides the possibility to identify different species\ cultivars, especially through the use of hyperspectral proximity and remote sensing; b) to calculate on these 20 species and cultivars the most interesting vegetation indices by simulating the available wavelengths deriving from World View 2 satellite imagery. Results showed that within the same species selected vegetation indices are often able to discriminate between different varieties that have been established and maintained with identical agronomical practices; c) to evaluate the proximity sensed spectral reflectance on Festuca arundinacea turf with 9 water replenishment levels (Linear Gradient Irrigation System) and 2 nitrogen conditions. ET0 was estimated using the Hargreaves and Samani method. The following parameters were determined: turf quality, drought tolerance, pest problems, temperature of the surface, clippings weight and relative nitrogen content, turf growth and soil moisture. Spectral reflectance data were acquired using a LICOR 1800 spectroradiometer. Pearson correlation coefficients were studied among all parameters and vegetation indices. Nitrogen fertilization influenced significantly turf quality, clippings weight, nitrogen content and turf growth. Water replenishment influenced significantly all parameters except nitrogen content. Among all parameters the highest correlation coefficient was registered relating drought tolerance with turf quality (r = 0.88) and with surface temperature (r = - 0.88). Among vegetation indices results showed that Water Index (WI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), are better able to discriminate between different levels of water replenishment. Comparing WI with NDWI, the correlation coefficients were higher for Water Index in all the parameters, in particular the highest WI value was registered for drought tolerance (r = 0.91). This preliminary research demonstrates that spectral remote sensing can be a useful diagnostic tool to detect water stress in turfgrasses; d) to compare N status in different turfgrasses, from remote multi-spectral data acquired by GeoEye-1 satellite and by two ground-based instruments. The study focused on creating a nitrogen concentration gradient on 3 warm-season turfgrasses (Cynodon dactylon x transvaalensis 'Patriot', Paspalum vaginatum 'Salam', Zoysia matrella 'Zeon') and 2 cool-season (Festuca arundinacea 'Grande', Lolium perenne 'Regal 5'). The linear gradient ranged from 0 to 342 kg ha-1 of N for the warm-season and from 0 to 190 kg ha-1 of N for the cool-season turfgrasses. Proximity and remote reflectance measurements were acquired and used to determine Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Results showed that the N status is highly correlated with the spectral reflectance. Our results prove that NDVI measured with the ground-based instruments are highly correlated with data from satellite. The correlation coefficients between the satellite and the other sensors ranged from 0.90 to 0.99 for the warm-season and from 0.83 to 0.97 for the cool-season species. 'Patriot' had a clippings N concentration ranging from 1,20 % to 4.1 %, thus resulting the most reactive species to N fertilization. GeoEye-1 satellite can adequately assess the N status of different turfgrass species, and its spatial variability within a field depending on the N rates applied on the surfaces. In future information obtained from satellite could allow target management depending on the real need of the turf.
La domanda può, a prima vista, suonare un po' accademica: si può misurare il valore di un sistema di controllo? La questione è, in realtà, molto concreta. In una fase, come quella che molte imprese stanno vivendo, di ripensamento dei modelli organizzativi e di business, rispondere è d'importanza cruciale per il management. Le imprese, in generale, hanno investito molto per rendere efficaci i controlli interni: più addetti, nuovi sistemi informativi, maggiore lavoro per tutta l'organizzazione. L'investimento è stato spesso dettato da recenti obblighi normativi e dalle sollecitazioni di regolatori e autorità di vigilanza. Altre volte si è trattato di una scelta determinata dall'operare in contesti di mercato impegnativi, per esempio quelli internazionali, che implicano l'adozione di standard adeguati. La voce controlli ha, in ogni caso, acquisito un peso crescente nel conto economico diventando, inevitabilmente, un possibile target quando, pressate dalla bassa congiuntura, molte imprese si sono trovate a dover stringere la cinghia. E allora anche per gli Internal Auditor è diventato importante dare una misura del proprio contributo al risultato. È in quest'ottica che l'Internal Audit costituisce un supporto per la corporate governance, offrendo un prezioso contributo alla valutazione del sistema di governo strategico e operativo dell'impresa e assumendo un atteggiamento proattivo per il suo miglioramento continuo. Tutto ciò determina lo sviluppo di una cultura del controllo interno, inteso non come un mero proliferare di controllori rispetto agli esecutori, ma come un sistema integrato d'azienda ove le attività di controllo si coniugano con quelle di gestione del business. La professione dell'Internal Auditor è stata caratterizzata, nel corso degli anni, da un'importante evoluzione storica, che ha determinato lo spostamento del suo raggio d'azione da verifiche limitate principalmente ad aspetti di conformità normativa e procedurale ad attività di maggiore ampiezza nell'ambito del controllo sistemico, della consulenza organizzativa e della governance aziendale. Questo processo evolutivo ha richiesto un incremento degli skill per lo svolgimento della professione e ha determinato una maggiore visibilità e credibilità della stessa Funzione aziendale. A tal fine l'Associazione Italiana Internal Auditor ha fornito un notevole contributo poiché, oltre a promuovere lo sviluppo delle tematiche di controllo interno e di gestione dei rischi verso tutti gli stakeholder interessati alla corporate governance, garantisce la diffusione degli Standard Internazionali per la Pratica Professionale dell'internal auditing (IPPF), sostiene la formazione continua per la professione e il conseguimento di certificazioni specifiche riconosciute a livello internazionale e contribuisce alla realizzazione di programmi di quality assurance. Le organizzazioni hanno la necessità di considerare nuovi approcci alternativi alle tradizionali attività di Internal Audit, spinti da business in continua trasformazione e dall'evoluzione del panorama normativo e regolatorio che esercitano pressioni sui costi, sulle persone e sui processi. Il Continuous Auditing e il Continuous Monitoring, che si configurano quali nuove opportunità da affiancare all'attività di Internal Audit, utilizzati in modo adeguato, possono aiutare le organizzazioni a gestire in modo efficace le esposizioni ai principali rischi, in quanto consentono di rilevare, monitorare e prevenire anomalie in modo più facile, completo e tempestivo rispetto agli approcci tradizionali. Il processo di Continuous Auditing contribuisce a garantire la conformità alle politiche e procedure aziendali. In molti casi, questo sistema può operare come strumento di «allarme» per individuare preventivamente aspetti critici del Sistema di Controllo Interno. Significa quindi, eseguire verifiche ad elevata frequenza (fino, addirittura, nel continuo) su base dati integrali (senza dover campionare) e in automatico (utilizzando i CAAT). L'uso implicito di strumenti automatizzati permette anche l'applicazione di nuove tecniche di analisi euristica in grado di evidenziare l'esistenza di problemi nascosti o non anticipati. Il processo di Continuous Monitoring permette, invece, di avere una visibilità realtime del corretto funzionamento e dei problemi dei processi operativi o di business dal punto di vista del manager. Il collegamento e l'osmosi di approcci tra i due processi arriva in profondità, a tal punto che in determinati casi gli strumenti automatizzati possono essere i medesimi, impiegati con ottiche e scopi diversi, ma sempre con l'obiettivo di minimizzare i tempi di intervento e le conseguenze di errori, di non conformità e di potenziali frodi. Appare evidente il vantaggio che le organizzazioni possono trarre dall'introduzione di approcci di questo tipo, in termini di risparmi diretti e di minori problemi dei sistemi operativi e di quelli di controllo. Non si tratta di abbandonare gli audit tradizionali, si tratta di introdurre nuove tecniche che consentano di aumentare la copertura della funzione e di focalizzare meglio la pianificazione degli audit tradizionali che per loro natura sono molto affidabili ma anche particolarmente dispendiosi in termini di tempo e costi. In quest'ottica, l'ottimizzazione della qualità dei controlli si lega alla capacità di prevedere i comportamenti a maggior rischio nei vari cicli aziendali che possono impattare sul business e quindi sul conto economico. La capacità di identificare ex ante un insieme di comportamenti anomali (dall'inosservanza delle procedure interne fino alla frode), costituisce la nuova sfida cui sono chiamate a rispondere le funzioni di controllo, congiuntamente alle funzioni di business. L'introduzione di strumenti di Continuous Monitoring o Continuous Auditing nelle organizzazioni consente la realizzazione di questi obiettivi. In una survey pubblicata cinque anni fa si prevedeva che " nei prossimi cinque anni gli internal auditor si focalizzeranno sempre più sui temi del continuous auditing and assessment, nel tentativo di ottimizzare e migliorare i processi di audit. Gli audit diventeranno più dinamici e saranno effettuati secondo necessità dettate più dai cambiamenti dei profili di rischio di volta identificati che da calendari di audit prestabiliti secondo le logiche tradizionali. In questa ricerca di maggiore efficacia ed efficienza gli auditor faranno leva sulla tecnologia combinata con la loro innata capacità analitica di identificare key risk indicators che possono monitorare al meglio le condizioni di rischio". Quella che cinque anni fa sembrava solo una possibile evoluzione, ottimisticamente azzardata, delle funzioni di controllo, in questi ultimi anni è diventata realtà: in tutto il mondo le organizzazioni più avanzate hanno compiuto questo fondamentale passo avanti nel percorso evolutivo della funzione di Internal Audit, e sono sempre più aziende che stanno seguendo l'esempio dei leader, affacciandosi con interesse a questa soluzione. La maturità raggiunta dalle funzioni di controllo e dai suoi protagonisti, unita a una tecnologia finalmente in grado di analizzare e rendere disponibili i risultati in real time, ci consente di vedere con chiarezza le future evoluzioni. Ecco che le imprese sono sempre più alla ricerca di tecnologie specifiche che garantiscano gli imprescindibili requisiti di trasparenza, sicurezza e disponibilità dei dati, nonché l'integrità di ogni singola transazione. Il software di data mining maggiormente adottato in relazione al rispettivo fabbisogno, è Audit Command Language (ACL), con la finalità di rielaborare le informazioni secondo alcuni algoritmi associati agli indicatori di rischio, i quali a loro volta hanno il compito di attivare dei segnali di "alert" in caso di superamento dei livelli di soglia predeterminati. Specificamente concepite per le attività di controllo e gestione dei rischi, le soluzioni ACL di Audit Management si rivelano essere le migliori attualmente sul mercato e sono riconosciute come leader nel campo della Data Analysis. Per questo oltre 14.500 aziende in tutto il mondo, di cui più di 100 tra le maggiori imprese italiane di tutti i settori, hanno già adottato ACL.
The conservation of works of art exhibited inside museums is influenced considerably by the indoor microclimatic conditions. Temperature and air moisture content variations and lighting play an important role in the deterioration of works of art, both artefact of historical-artistic value and demoethnoanthropological goods. Small museums around the country are a source of pride for local people. They preserve and guarantee the transmission to future generations of important works of art or goods of cultural interest. In these contexts is not sustainable an environmental monitoring like that carried out in major museums, both for the high cost of equipment and management and for the lower influx of visitors. The aim of this work has been to verify the conservation conditions of a remarkable collection of votive wood paintings housed in the Museum of the Basilica of the Madonna della Quercia (Viterbo, Italy), using simple instruments and tools. Microclimatic environment characterization has been conducted from December 2008 to September 2009, surveying temperature and relative humidity. Lux and radiation measures have been performed. Moreover punctual microclimatic surveys of surface temperature of a wooden votive tablet, as well as measurements of environment temperature, relative humidity and dew point have been carried out. The results have been interpreted with reference to museum standards regarding the conservation of works of art, in order to verify compliance of the measured values with the optimal values of the parameters established by the legislation proposed by the Italian Ministry of Culture n. 238, 19-10-2001.
In the last years the interest in the study and monitoring of the Earth has been gradually growing, and many institutions have planned missions for these purposes. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is one of the most promising approaches to acquire images of every part of the world in short time. The characteristics that make the SAR a very powerful instrument are its capability to operate independently of weather conditions, at day and night, and to reach target that are inaccessible to ground measurement. There are many fields of interest for Earth Observation (both civilian and military), such as the detection and surveillance of ships or marine traffic, monitoring of agricultural fields, study of the winds in tropical storms and study of oceanic current, monitoring the damage caused by earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, inundation or other natural disasters, and more over. Natural disasters, in particular landslides, frequently affect our country, Italy. The hydrogeological risk is very high during rainy periods, and a space observation can be useful as support to civil protection in times of emergency, but also in the next phase of damage assessment. The knowledge of soil moisture behaviour is critical in different environmental and land activities; for example is the basis for prediction of river floods, rainfalls, avalanches and landslides. Given the link between specific soil parameters (such as moisture and surface roughness) and permittivity, it is possible to accurately measure these parameters with SAR data, starting from the measurements of the dielectric constant. The main problem is to separate the individual effects of the various parameters on the backscattered signal. However, this is possible using polarimetric data, in fact this data permits to minimize the effect of vegetation and surface roughness by using polarization ratios: combining cross- and co- polarizations ratios it can be possible to determine the soil moisture regardless of surface roughness. This research is funded by the Italian Space Agency in the framework of Cosmo-SkyMed Seconda Generazione project; it is focused on soil moisture retrieval by using polarimetric data. I analysed some Cosmo-SkyMed first generation polarimetric data (provided by courtesy of Italian Space Agency), in order to demonstrate the capability of the new generation of high resolution SAR system, and to suggest some possible upgrades or improvements for the new generation of ASI satellites.
Nel lavoro di tesi svolto è stato sviluppato un modello il cui scopo è quello di riprodurre il comportamento di un sistema di lubrificazione di una gearbox militare. Il modello è stato sviluppato per cercare di riprodurre l'andamento di grandezze fisiche di interesse provenienti da dati sperimentali adibiti al monitoraggio per la salute della macchina. Un ulteriore modello è stato sviluppato con l'utilizzo del software GT-Suite ponendo alcune linee guida per l'utilizzo del software stesso.
La questione del consumo del suolo sta assumendo un'importanza crescente nel dibattito scientifico e istituzionale sullo sviluppo sostenibile ed il buon governo del territorio. In ambito europeo, molti paesi tra cui Regno Unito, Germania, Francia, Paesi Bassi hanno introdotto un mix di misure di natura normativa e fiscale per contenere lo sprawl urbano e regolamentare gli usi del suolo e la stessa Commissione europea è già da tempo impegnata a favorire un uso più sostenibile del territorio. L'attenzione verso il tema ha rilanciato l'interesse per gli strumenti analitici utilizzabili per la misurazione del "consumato" ed ha accresciuto la domanda di informazione sugli usi del suolo. Il presente lavoro, muovendo da tale esigenza, fornisce una rassegna critica delle principali fonti informative per il monitoraggio del consumo del suolo utilizzabili in ambito europeo con un approfondimento sull'Italia. ; The issue of land take has become increasingly important both in the academic and in the political debate on sustainable development and good governance of the territory. In Europe, many countries including UK, Germany, France, Netherlands have introduced a mix of regulatory and fiscal measures to contain urban sprawl and regulate land uses; the European Commission itself has committed to promote a more sustainable use of the territory. The attention to this issue has reawakened the interest in the analytical tools used for measuring the settlement areas, increasing the demand for information on land use. In the aim of meeting such demand, this paper provides a critical review of the main information sources on land take available at European scale, with a focus on Italy.
This thesis deal with the design, implementation and testing of a Server application, which is in charge to receive, store and present a certain number of data flows, measured by a network of water radioactivity monitoring nodes, with the aim to control the quality of the tap water with respect to the radioactivity content, in order to verify whether the distributed water is far from the limits set by the EU legislation.
The Food Hygiene Package is a body of European Regulations laying down hygiene rules for foodstuffs produced in the EU and non-EU countries exporting to the EU. The pursuit of a high level of protection of human life and health is one of the fundamental objectives of this laws package. Some points of EC Regulations undergo to critical review by the Commission, and particular attention was given to fishery products. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, in Annex I, Chapter 1, lays down the food safety criteria for live bivalve molluscs and live echinoderms, tunicates and gastropods and sets sampling-plans, limits and analytical reference methods only concerning bacterial micro-organisms of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli genera. Epidemiological data of the last years reported the consumption of live bivalve shellfish infected by enteric viruses as common cause of human gastroenteritis. Norovirus resulted the leading cause of all human gastroenteritis outbreaks worldwide. For this reason, in the first part of Reg. (EC) No 2073/2005, in the whereas at point 12, it's written that the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public Health (SCVPH) issued an opinion on Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs, noroviruses) on 30-31 January 2002. In that opinion it concluded that the conventional fecal indicators are unreliable for demonstrating the presence or absence of NLVs and that the reliance on fecal bacterial indicator removal for determining shellfish purification times is unsafe practice. So Salmonella and Escherichia coli can not be used as only indicators of safety criteria in live bivalve molluscs. In particular, at following points we can read that it may be necessary to set harmonized sampling frequencies at Community level, particularly in order to ensure the same level of controls to be performed throughout the Community. Finally it's confirmed that criteria for pathogenic viruses in live bivalve molluscs should be established when the analytical methods are developed sufficiently (at point 27). In response to concerns expressed by EU Regulations and taking into account the latest epidemiological data, the international networks dealing prevention, communication and control of human food borne illness diseases caused by enteric viruses have intensified their researches on norovirus. In the past few years, numerous research projects financed by government departments and international organizations have been implemented in order to get more information on these viral pathogens and check most hazardous areas. Among the areas traditionally known for a high fish consumption, there are the Southern Italy regions, where mussels are highly appreciated. Mytilus galloprovincialis accounts for over 22.4% of annual consumption of fish (data by E.U., Unimar, Ismea e Uniprom), particularly in Campania the mussels consumption was calculated to be about 41 000 tonnes each year. Since ancient times, in most coastal areas the custom of eating raw or undercooked bivalve shellfish remains common. In this way, however, the assumption of norovirus eventually present and bioaccumulated in shellfish makes easier. Noroviruses are highly resistant to adverse environmental conditions and a simple shellfish cleaning or the application of so-called "mild technologies", such as steaming, are unable to eliminate viral contamination. Among filter feeders bivalve, oysters are the species most common in France. In fact the French coastal areas produce more than 90% of oysters in the EU and France has the historic first for production and consumption of these molluscs. Oysters are traditionally eaten raw, still alive, mostly with a few drops of lemon juice. As for Mytilus galloprovincialis, oysters can represent an hazard for the occurrence of human food borne illness from enteric viruses. In the course of my PhD studies, I have dealt with norovirus in bivalve molluscs. During my first year of PhD study, I concurred to the development of a method for detection of norovirus in live bivalve molluscs working together with researchers of the ISS. The method is based on the use of Real Time RT PCR. During our researches it has been subjected to inner validation by the ISS and it resulted provided of efficiency to research norovirus in live bivalve molluscs. So the Italian Ministry of Health with Note of 24/11/2009 established the one-step Real Time RT-PCR protocol as the official method to research norovirus in live bivalve molluscs. After this period, during the second year of my PhD studies, I worked for a national monitoring to test norovirus presence in bivalve molluscs. The one-step Real Time RT PCR protocol was used again. Studies have been carried out within a project financed by Campania Region. Shellfish collected from harvesting areas and bought at retailers located on the three coastal districts of Naples, Caserta and Salerno have been tested for norovirus presence. During the last year, my scientific experience has been enriched by a collaboration with IFREMER researchers. IFREMER is one of the French national research centers taking part in FBVE-network. I have worked at the section of the Virology of Laboratory of Microbiology (MIC) sited in Nantes, that was indicated National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for the control of bacterial and viral contamination of bivalve molluscs in France by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. IFREMER has the same functions of the Italian NRL concerning norvirus research and control. During my stage at IFREMER, bioaccumulation physiological activity was analyzed in oysters living in seawater contaminated by Norovirus spp. The research was carried out on samples of Crassostea gigas coming from different harvesting areas located along the Atlantic coast of Brittany, area known for oysters production worldwide. For bioaccumulation studies classified and quantized strains of norovirus GI.1 and GII.3 were used. At the IFREMER laboratory, the one-step RT Real Time PCR protocol was used and further validated.
Le caratteristiche del paesaggio sono legate all'eterogeneità ambientale e funzionale di natura, agricoltura, insediamenti e attività antropiche, in grado, col loro fraseggio territoriale, di originare mosaici peculiari e mutevoli nel tempo. In seguito alla rivoluzione industriale, il sottile equilibrio che regolava il rapporto di coevoluzione uomo-natura si è decisamente inclinato a favore di una società alla continua ricerca e conquista di nuovi spazi, tanto che attualmente circa il 75% delle terre emerse presenta alterazioni per effetto della presenza antropica. Il principale fattore che determina le dinamiche di trasformazione del paesaggio e dei suoi processi di funzionamento, è dunque l'uso del suolo, le cui modifiche alterano la fisionomia della copertura biofisica del suolo, influenzando i processi ecologici alla base della fornitura di beni e servizi di supporto alla vita ed al benessere umano. Il presente lavoro è strutturato in tre parti riguardanti: a) il monitoraggio dei cambiamenti d'uso e copertura del suolo; b) la valutazione degli impatti sull'erogazione di servizi ecosistemici; c) le implicazioni di tali valutazioni per la pianificazione del territorio. Lo studio dei cambiamenti d'uso e copertura del suolo è stato basato principalmente sull'utilizzo dell'Inventario dell'Uso delle Terre d'Italia (IUTI). Lo sviluppo di nuove metodologie di monitoraggio ha consentito di aumentarne il potenziale informativo e l'applicabilità nell'ambito della pianificazione territoriale, pur rispondendo a criteri di economicità ed accuratezza. L'analisi di dettaglio dei cambiamenti d'uso e copertura del suolo in ambienti particolari quali quelli montani e dei Parchi Nazionali, ha inoltre consentito di caratterizzare in maniera analitica i principali fenomeni occorsi in Italia negli ultimi 20 anni, tra cui: la perdita di superfici agricole, sia seminativi che prati e pascoli; l'espansione della superficie forestale; l'espansione della superficie urbana. L'approccio multidisciplinare adottato ha inoltre consentito la migliore comprensione delle cause di tali modificazioni, le possibili traiettorie future e le conseguenti ricadute sulla pianificazione e politiche territoriali. La seconda parte del lavoro ha riguardato la quantificazione dei servizi ecosistemici, in particolare la capacità di fissazione della CO2, e la loro variazione in risposta a strategie migliorative legate ad esempio alla gestione forestale, o di fenomeni altamente impattanti quale l'espansione delle aree urbane. È stato dimostrato come tali valutazioni consentano di meglio bilanciare le analisi costi-benefici legate a progetti, piani e politiche, offrendo quindi una concreta opportunità di riconciliare le necessità dell'uomo alle reali capacità degli ecosistemi naturali in un'ottica di sviluppo sostenibile. La possibilità di attribuire un valore alle risorse naturali comporta nuove sfide e prospettive legate alla loro gestione, che vanno dalla valutazione degli effetti delle passate politiche, alla proposizione di modelli di sviluppo innovativi sempre più basati sulle effettive peculiarità dei territori e sulle necessità di chi in essi vive. In un quadro complesso di cambiamenti ed implicazioni più o meno dirette sull'ambiente e sul benessere umano come quello analizzato, è di primaria importanza la disponibilità di dati e modelli facilmente aggiornabili in grado di descrivere tali processi e permettere la creazione di scenari futuri di supporto ai decision makers pubblici e privati in sede di pianificazione e progettazione. Quella che potrebbe oggi apparire come una scelta legata a particolari sensibilità o a questioni di marketing per amministratori illuminati, imprese o comuni cittadini, è ormai chiaro che dovrà rappresentare il futuro modus operandi. ; The environmental and functional heterogeneity of nature, agriculture, settlements and other anthropogenic activities, influences landscape characteristics and their changes over time. After the industrial Revolution, the precarious equilibrium which regulated the co-evolutionary process between man and nature, has decidedly leaned in favor of a society which is continuously in search of new spaces to be explored and inhabited. In fact, currently, about 75% of emerged lands shows evidence of human alterations. The main factor determining changes in landscape and its functional processes is the land use. Land use change alters the biophysical coverage of soil, thus influencing ecological processes which provide goods and services supporting Life and human wellbeing. The present work is composed of three sections focused on: I) land use and land cover change monitoring; II) impact on ecosystem services assessment; II) evaluate their implications on land use policies and planning. Land use and land cover change analysis were performed using data from the Italian Land Use Inventory (IUTI). The development of new monitoring approaches allowed for the enhancement of the informative power of IUTI maintaining its low cost and high accuracy characteristics, thus encouraging its implementation in decision making processes. The detailed analysis of land use and land cover change in particular contexts like mountain landscapes and National Parks, allowed for the characterization of the main phenomena occurred in Italy during the past 20 years, among which: loss of arable lands, grasslands and pastures; forest expansion; urban growth. We adopted a multidisciplinary approach to better understand the causes of these modifications, their possible future trajectories and implications for land use policies and planning. The second part of this study focused on the assessment of ecosystem services, particularly carbon storage and sequestration, and their changes in response to positive or negative influences, such as forest management and urban growth, respectively. The assessment of impacts on ecosystem services may help to reconcile the historical bias between nature and human, through improving and completing the costs-benefits analysis related to particular choices, policies, plans and projects. Therefore, it will play an important role supporting future policies aimed to satisfy human needs but at a smaller cost on natural systems. The possibility to give a value to natural resources offers new challenges and opportunities related to their management: from the analysis of past policies to the development and implementation of innovative management strategies strictly connected to the needs of territories and local communities. In such a complex framework, characterized by fast changes affecting environmental quality and human wellbeing, the availability of data and models easily updatable plays a key role in supporting private and public decision makers. These choices, now apparently mainly related to the particular awareness or market strategies of administrations, enterprises and private citizens, will represent the future modus operandi. ; Dottorato di ricerca in Scienze agro-forestali, delle tecnologie agro-industriali e del territorio rurale. I sistemi forestali (XXVII ciclo)
L'importanza di monitorare, analizzare e correlare le attività di sistemi sempre più complessi ed eterogenei spinge l'ITsec verso lo studio di sistemi di intrusion detection system in grado di essere proattivi. L'eterogeneità e la complessità dei sistemi aumenta le difficoltà di rilevare tentativi di attacchi o di scansioni oppure attività semplicemente non consentite dalle politiche aziendali. In questa tesi si analizza e si valuta uno degli strumenti per l'analisi, monitoraggio e correlazione dei log : Cisco Security Mars. La valutazione di questo strumento è stata effettuata sulla base delle capacità di rilevare e analizzare le attività quali scansioni , peer to peer , attacchi semplici , complessi , multi step e host based di una rete di calcolatori.
