Interaction between APOE4 genotype and environmental risk factors in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is probably caused by both genetic and environmental risk factors. The major genetic risk factor is the E4 variant of apolipoprotein E gene called apoE4. Several risk factors for developing AD have been identified including lifestyle, such as dietary habits. The mechanisms behind the AD pathogenesis and the onset of cognitive decline in the AD brain are presently unknown. In this study we wanted to characterize the effects of the interaction between environmental risk factors and apoE genotype on neurodegeneration processes, with particular focus on behavioural studies and neurodegenerative processes at molecular level. Towards this aim, we used 6 months-old apoE4 and apoE3 Target Replacement (TR) mice fed on different diets (high intake of cholesterol and high intake of carbohydrates). These mice were evaluated for learning and memory deficits in spatial reference (Morris Water Maze (MWM)) and contextual learning (Passive Avoidance) tasks, which involve the hippocampus and the amygdala, respectively. From these behavioural studies we found that the initial cognitive impairments manifested as a retention deficit in apoE4 mice fed on high carbohydrate diet. Thus, the genetic risk factor apoE4 genotype associated with a high carbohydrate diet seems to affect cognitive functions in young mice, corroborating the theory that the combination of genetic and environmental risk factors greatly increases the risk of developing AD and leads to an earlier onset of cognitive deficits. The cellular and molecular bases of the cognitive decline in AD are largely unknown. In order to determine the molecular changes for the onset of the early cognitive impairment observed in the behavioural studies, we performed molecular studies, with particular focus on synaptic integrity and Tau phosphorylation. The most relevant finding of our molecular studies showed a significant decrease of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in apoE4 mice fed on high carbohydrate diet. Our results may suggest that BDNF decrease found in apoE4 HS mice could be involved in the earliest impairment in long-term reference memory observed in behavioural studies. The second aim of this thesis was to study possible involvement of leptin in AD. There is growing evidence that leptin has neuroprotective properties in the Central Nervous System (CNS). Recent evidence has shown that leptin and its receptors are widespread in the CNS and may provide neuronal survival signals. However, there are still numerous questions, regarding the molecular mechanism by which leptin acts, that remain unanswered. Thus, given to the importance of the involvement of leptin in AD, we wanted to clarify the function of leptin in the pathogenesis of AD and to investigate if apoE genotype affect leptin levels through studies in vitro, in mice and in human. Our findings suggest that apoE4 TR mice showed an increase of leptin in the brain. Leptin levels are also increased in the cerebral spinal fluid of AD patients and apoE4 carriers with AD have higher levels of leptin than apoE3 carriers. Moreover, leptin seems to be expressed by reactive glial cells in AD brains. In vitro, ApoE4 together with Amyloid beta increases leptin production by microglia and astrocytes. Taken together, all these findings suggest that leptin replacement might not be a good strategy for AD therapy. Our results show that high leptin levels were found in AD brains. These findings suggest that, as high leptin levels do not promote satiety in obese individuals, it might be possible that they do not promote neuroprotection in AD patients. Therefore, we hypothesized that AD brain could suffer from leptin resistance. Further studies will be critical to determine whether or not the central leptin resistance in SNC could affect its potential neuroprotective effects.

Genetic and environmental factors associated with cardiovascular diseases and acute myocardial infarction

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a multifactorial disease with a complex pathogenesis where lifestyle, individual genetic background and environmental risk factors are involved. Altered inflammatory responses seems to be implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. To understand which genes may predispose to increased risk of cardiovascular disease gene polymorphism of immune regulatory genes, and clinical events from the Offs of parents with an early AMI were investigated. Genetics data from Offs were compared with those obtained from healthy subjects and an independent cohort of patients with clinical sporadic AMI. Rates of clinical events during a 24 years follow up from Offs and from an independent Italian population survey were also evaluated. This study showed that a genetic signature consisting of the concomitant presence of the CC genotype of VEGF, the A allele of IL-10 and the A allele of IFN-γ was indeed present in the Offs population. During the 24-year follow-up, Offs with a positive familiarity in spite of a relatively young age showed an increased prevalence of diabetes, ischemic heart disease and stroke. In these patients with the genetic signature the EBV and HHV-6 herpes virus were also investigated and founded. These findings reinforce the notion that subjects with a familial history of AMI are at risk of an accelerated aging of cardiovascular system resulting in cardiovascular events. These data suggest that selected genes with immune regulatory functions and envoronmental factors are part of the complex genetic background contributing to familiarity for cardiovascular diseases.N

Stream sediments analysis for geochemical mapping of Romagna Apennines (Northern Italy): monitoring and management tool of environmental resources at various scales

Geochemical mapping is a valuable tool for the control of territory that can be used not only in the identification of mineral resources and geological, agricultural and forestry studies but also in the monitoring of natural resources by giving solutions to environmental and economic problems. Stream sediments are widely used in the sampling campaigns carried out by the world's governments and research groups for their characteristics of broad representativeness of rocks and soils, for ease of sampling and for the possibility to conduct very detailed sampling In this context, the environmental role of stream sediments provides a good basis for the implementation of environmental management measures, in fact the composition of river sediments is an important factor in understanding the complex dynamics that develop within catchment basins therefore they represent a critical environmental compartment: they can persistently incorporate pollutants after a process of contamination and release into the biosphere if the environmental conditions change. It is essential to determine whether the concentrations of certain elements, in particular heavy metals, can be the result of natural erosion of rocks containing high concentrations of specific elements or are generated as residues of human activities related to a certain study area. This PhD thesis aims to extract from an extensive database on stream sediments of the Romagna rivers the widest spectrum of informations. The study involved low and high order stream in the mountain and hilly area, but also the sediments of the floodplain area, where intensive agriculture is active. The geochemical signals recorded by the stream sediments will be interpreted in order to reconstruct the natural variability related to bedrock and soil contribution, the effects of the river dynamics, the anomalous sites, and with the calculation of background values be able to evaluate their level of degradation and predict the environmental risk.

Il cane come modello animale spontaneo di patologie neoplastiche dell'uomo: ene Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) Nnella predisposizione al cancro ed importanza dei riarrangimanti genici dei geni Ig/TCR per la diagnosi e prognosi delle malattie linfoproliferative

“Naturally occurring cancers in pet dogs and humans share many features, including histological appearance, tumour genetics, molecular targets, biological behaviour and response to conventional therapies. Studying dogs with cancer is likely to provide a valuable perspective that is distinct from that generated by the study of human or rodent cancers alone. The value of this opportunity has been increasingly recognized in the field of cancer research for the identification of cancer-associated genes, the study of environmental risk factors, understanding tumour biology and progression, and, perhaps most importantly, the evaluation and development of novel cancer therapeutics”.(Paoloni and Khanna, 2008) In last years, the author has investigated some molecular features of cancer in dogs. The Thesis is articulated in two main sections. In section 1, the preliminary results of a research project aimed at investigating the role of somatic mutations of Ataxia-Telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene in predisposing to cancer in boxer dogs, are presented. The canine boxer breed may be considered an unique opportunity to disclose the role of ATM somatic mutation since boxer dogs are known to be dramatically susceptible to cancer and since they may be considered a closed gene pool. Furthermore, dogs share with human the some environment. Overall, the abovementioned features could be considered extremely useful for our purposes. In the section 2, the results of our studies aimed at setting up accurate and sensitive molecular assays for diagnosing and assessing minimal residual disease in lymphoproliferative disorders of dogs, are presented. The results of those molecular assay may be directly translated in the field of Veterinary practice as well as the may be used to improve our objective evaluation of new investigational drugs effectiveness in canine cancer trials.

Sviluppo di un approccio congiunto fuzzy-Bayesiano per l'analisi e la modellizzazione degli ecosistemi: applicazione ad ecosistemi marini costieri.

Nell’attuale contesto di aumento degli impatti antropici e di “Global Climate Change” emerge la necessità di comprenderne i possibili effetti di questi sugli ecosistemi inquadrati come fruitori di servizi e funzioni imprescindibili sui quali si basano intere tessiture economiche e sociali. Lo studio previsionale degli ecosistemi si scontra con l’elevata complessità di questi ultimi in luogo di una altrettanto elevata scarsità di osservazioni integrate. L’approccio modellistico appare il più adatto all’analisi delle dinamiche complesse degli ecosistemi ed alla contestualizzazione complessa di risultati sperimentali ed osservazioni empiriche. L’approccio riduzionista-deterministico solitamente utilizzato nell’implementazione di modelli non si è però sin qui dimostrato in grado di raggiungere i livelli di complessità più elevati all’interno della struttura eco sistemica. La componente che meglio descrive la complessità ecosistemica è quella biotica in virtù dell’elevata dipendenza dalle altre componenti e dalle loro interazioni. In questo lavoro di tesi viene proposto un approccio modellistico stocastico basato sull’utilizzo di un compilatore naive Bayes operante in ambiente fuzzy. L’utilizzo congiunto di logica fuzzy e approccio naive Bayes è utile al processa mento del livello di complessità e conseguentemente incertezza insito negli ecosistemi. I modelli generativi ottenuti, chiamati Fuzzy Bayesian Ecological Model(FBEM) appaiono in grado di modellizare gli stati eco sistemici in funzione dell’ elevato numero di interazioni che entrano in gioco nella determinazione degli stati degli ecosistemi. Modelli FBEM sono stati utilizzati per comprendere il rischio ambientale per habitat intertidale di spiagge sabbiose in caso di eventi di flooding costiero previsti nell’arco di tempo 2010-2100. L’applicazione è stata effettuata all’interno del progetto EU “Theseus” per il quale i modelli FBEM sono stati utilizzati anche per una simulazione a lungo termine e per il calcolo dei tipping point specifici dell’habitat secondo eventi di flooding di diversa intensità.

Biomolecular studies in Alzheimer’s Disease models: investigations in vitro and in vivo

The Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent form of age-related dementia, is a multifactorial and heterogeneous neurodegenerative disease. The molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of AD are yet largely unknown. However, the etiopathogenesis of AD likely resides in the interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors. Among the different factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of AD, amyloid-beta peptides and the genetic risk factor apoE4 are prominent on the basis of genetic evidence and experimental data. ApoE4 transgenic mice have deficits in spatial learning and memory associated with inflammation and brain atrophy. Evidences suggest that apoE4 is implicated in amyloid-beta accumulation, imbalance of cellular antioxidant system and in apoptotic phenomena. The mechanisms by which apoE4 interacts with other AD risk factors leading to an increased susceptibility to the dementia are still unknown. The aim of this research was to provide new insights into molecular mechanisms of AD neurodegeneration, investigating the effect of amyloid-beta peptides and apoE4 genotype on the modulation of genes and proteins differently involved in cellular processes related to aging and oxidative balance such as PIN1, SIRT1, PSEN1, BDNF, TRX1 and GRX1. In particular, we used human neuroblastoma cells exposed to amyloid-beta or apoE3 and apoE4 proteins at different time-points, and selected brain regions of human apoE3 and apoE4 targeted replacement mice, as in vitro and in vivo models, respectively. All genes and proteins studied in the present investigation are modulated by amyloid-beta and apoE4 in different ways, suggesting their involvement in the neurodegenerative mechanisms underlying the AD. Finally, these proteins might represent novel potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets in AD.

Effects of pesticides on honey bees (Apis mellifera L.): study of a specific route of exposure and evaluation of biochemical-physiological changes in the assessment of the pesticides toxicity

In this study, some important aspects of the relationship between honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and pesticides have been investigated. In the first part of the research, the effects of the exposure of honey bees to neonicotinoids and fipronil contaminated dusts were analyzed. In fact, considerable amounts of these pesticides, employed for maize seed dressing treatments, may be dispersed during the sowing operations, thus representing a way of intoxication for honey bees. In particular, a specific way of exposure to this pesticides formulation, the indirect contact, was taken into account. To this aim, we conducted different experimentations, in laboratory, in semi-field and in open field conditions in order to assess the effects on mortality, foraging behaviour, colony development and capacity of orientation. The real dispersal of contaminated dusts was previously assessed in specific filed trials. In the second part, the impact of various pesticides (chemical and biological) on honey bee biochemical-physiological changes, was evaluated. Different ways and durations of exposure to the tested products were also employed. Three experimentations were performed, combining Bt spores and deltamethrin, Bt spores and fipronil, difenoconazole and deltamethrin. Several important enzymes (GST, ALP, SOD, CAT, G6PDH, GAPDH) were selected in order to test the pesticides induced variations in their activity. In particular, these enzymes are involved in different pathways of detoxification, oxidative stress defence and energetic metabolism. The results showed a significant effect on mortality of neonicotinoids and fipronil contaminated dusts, both in laboratory and in semi-field trials. However, no effects were evidenced in honey bees orientation capacity. The analysis of different biochemical indicators highlighted some interesting physiological variations that can be linked to the pesticide exposure. We therefore stress the attention on the possibility of using such a methodology as a novel toxicity endpoint in environmental risk assessment.

Water, sediment and soil physicochemical interactions in freshwater, brackish and saline systems

The physicochemical interactions between water, sediment and soil deeply influence the formation and development of the ecosystem. In this research, different freshwater, brackish and saline subaqueous environments of Northern Italy were chosen as study area to investigate the physicochemical processes which occur at the interface between water and sediments, as well as the effects of soil submergence on ecosystem development. In the freshwater system of the Reno river basin, the main purpose was to define the heavy metals hazard in water and sediments of natural and artificial water courses. Heavy metals partitioning and speciation allowed to assess the environmental risk linked to the critical action of dredging canal sediments, for the maintenance of the hydraulic safety of plain lands. In addition, some bioremediation techniques were experimented for protecting sediments from heavy metals contamination, and for giving an answer to the problem of sediments management. In the brackish system of S. Vitale park, the development of hydromorphic and subaqueous soils was investigated. The study of soil profiles highlighted the presence of a soil continuum among pedons subjected to different saturation degrees. This investigation allowed to the identification of both morphological and physicochemical indicators, which characterize the formation of subaqueous soils and describe the soil hydromorphism in transitional soil systems. In the saline system of Grado lagoon, an ecosystem approach was used to define the role of water oscillation in soil characterization and plants colonization. This study highlighted the close relationship and the mutual influence of soil submergence and aeration, tide oscillation and vegetation cover, on the soil development. In view of climate change, this study contribute to understand and suppose how soil and landscape could evolve. However, a complete evaluation of hydromorphic soil functionality will be achieved only involving physiological and biochemical expertise in these kind of studies.

Framing climate change: a planetary health perspective on the pediatric age

This thesis analyzes an analysis of the risk perception of Italian paediatricians and parents regarding the impact of climate change on pediatric health. The consequences of climate change are now before our eyes; the recent pandemic has highlighted the impact that the destruction of ecosystems and global warming can have on our health. Fragile subjects will pay the most for the consequences of this crisis: children, the elderly, pregnant women. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 88% of the disease burden linked to climate change falls on children under the age of 5. Climate change poses a challenge of equity not only between different areas of the world but also between generations: the worst consequences will weigh on those who have not caused damage to the ecosystem. This study began by studying the risk perceptions of the two main caregivers who deal with the child's health: parents and paediatricians. The study analyzed a mixed methods approach, exploiting quantitative and qualitative approaches. Two surveys were carried out in collaboration with the Italian Society of Pediatrics (SIP) and AGE, the Italian Parents' Association, using a tool already consolidated in the literature and adapted according to the needs of the thesis. Sixty semi-structured interviews were then conducted with pediatricians of different age groups and different regions of Italy. The collected data were then compared with the literature on the subject, in order to understand differences and similarities. This work is part of a still rather scarce, but growing, field of literature and represents the first study of this type in Italy.

Genetic and environmental factors associated with the risk of cognitive decline and dementia

AD is the most common age related neurodegenerative disease in the industrialized world. Clinically AD is defined as a progressing decline of cognitive functions. Neuropathologically, AD is characterized by the aggregation of b-amyloid (Ab) peptide in the form of extracellular senile plaques, and hyperphosphorlylated tau protein in the form of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. These neuropathological hallmarks are often accompanied by abundant microvascular damage and pronounced inflammation of the affected brain regions. In this thesis we investigated several aspects of AD focusing on the genetic aspect. We confirmed that Alpha 1 antichymotrypsin (ACT), an acute phase protein, was associated to AD subjects, being plasma levels higher in AD cases than controls. In addition, in a GWA study we demonstrated that two different gene, Clusterin and CR1 were strongly associated to AD. A single gene association not explain such a complex disease like AD. The goal should be to created a network of genetic, phenotypic and clinical data associated to AD. We used a new algorithm, the ANNs, aimed to map variables and search for connectivity among variables. We found specific variables associated to AD like cholesterol levels, the presence of variation in HMGCR enzyme and the age. Other factors such as the BMI, the amount of HDL and blood folate levels were also associated with AD. Pathogen infections, above all viral infections, have been previously associated to AD. The hypothesis suggests that virus and in particular herpes virus could enter the brain when an individual becomes older, perhaps because of a decline in the immune system. Our new hypothesis is that the presence of SNPs in our GWA gene study results in a genetic signature that might affect individual brain susceptibility to infection by herpes virus family during aging.

The environmental DNA in the risk assessment and decision making processes for the invasive species management in agri-food sector, hydraulic security and biodiversity conservation

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis as a monitoring tool is becoming more and more widespread. The eDNA metabarcoding methods allow rapid community assessments of different target taxa. This work is focused on the validation of the environmental DNA metabarcoding protocol for biodiversity assessment of freshwater habitats. Scolo Dosolo was chosen as study area and three sampling points were defined for traditional and eDNA analyses. The gutter is a 205 m long anthropic canal located in Sala Bolognese (Bologna, Italy). Fish community and freshwater invertebrate metazoans were the target groups for the analysis. After a preliminary study in summer 2019, 2020 was devoted to the sampling campaign with winter (January), spring (May), summer (July) and autumn (October) surveys. Alongside with the water samplings for the eDNA study, also traditional fish surveys using the electrofishing technique were performed to assess fish community composition; census on invertebrates was performed using an entomological net and a surber sampler. After in silico analysis, the MiFish primer set amplifying a fragment of the 12s rRNA gene was selected for bony fishes. For invertebrates the FWHF2 + FWHR2N primer combination, that amplifies a region of the mitochondrial coi gene, was chosen. Raw reads were analyzed through a bioinformatic pipeline based on OBITools metabarcoding programs package and QIIME2. The OBITools pipeline retrieved seven fish taxa and 54 invertebrate taxa belonging to six different phyla, while QIIME2 recovered eight fish taxa and 45 invertebrate taxa belonging to the same six phyla as the OBITools pipeline. The metabarcoding results were then compared with the traditional surveys data and bibliographic records. Overall, the validated protocol provides a reliable picture of the biodiversity of the study area and an efficient support to the traditional methods.

Food safety and zoonotic enteric pathogens: sources, risk factors and transmission routes of human salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis

Salmonella and Campylobacter are common causes of human gastroenteritis. Their epidemiology is complex and a multi-tiered approach to control is needed, taking into account the different reservoirs, pathways and risk factors. In this thesis, trends in human gastroenteritis and food-borne outbreak notifications in Italy were explored. Moreover, the improved sensitivity of two recently-implemented regional surveillance systems in Lombardy and Piedmont was evidenced, providing a basis for improving notification at the national level. Trends in human Salmonella serovars were explored: serovars Enteritidis and Infantis decreased, Typhimurium remained stable and 4,[5],12:i:-, Derby and Napoli increased, suggesting that sources of infection have changed over time. Attribution analysis identified pigs as the main source of human salmonellosis in Italy, accounting for 43–60% of infections, followed by Gallus gallus (18–34%). Attributions to pigs and Gallus gallus showed increasing and decreasing trends, respectively. Potential bias and sampling issues related to the use of non-local/non-recent multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data in Campylobacter jejuni/coli source attribution using the Asymmetric Island (AI) model were investigated. As MLST data become increasingly dissimilar with increasing geographical/temporal distance, attributions to sources not sampled close to human cases can be underestimated. A combined case-control and source attribution analysis was developed to investigate risk factors for human Campylobacter jejuni/coli infection of chicken, ruminant, environmental, pet and exotic origin in The Netherlands. Most infections (~87%) were attributed to chicken and cattle. Individuals infected from different reservoirs had different associated risk factors: chicken consumption increased the risk for chicken-attributed infections; animal contact, barbecuing, tripe consumption, and never/seldom chicken consumption increased that for ruminant-attributed infections; game consumption and attending swimming pools increased that for environment-attributed infections; and dog ownership increased that for environment- and pet-attributed infections. Person-to-person contacts around holiday periods were risk factors for infections with exotic strains, putatively introduced by returning travellers.

Agrofood chain analysis: production, commercialisation and consumption of healthy food for population at risk of poverty in Italy

Italy registers a fast increase of low income population. Academics and policy makers consider income inequalities as a key determinant for low or inadequate healthy food consumption. Thus the objective is to understand how to overcome the agrofood chain barriers towards healthy food production, commercialisation and consumption for population at risk of poverty (ROP) in Italy. The study adopts a market oriented food chain approach, focusing the research ambit on ROP consumers, processing industries and retailers. The empirical investigation adopts a qualitative methodology with an explorative approach. The actors are investigated through 4 focus groups for consumers and carrying out 27 face to face semi-structured interviews for industries and retailers’ representatives. The results achieved provide the perceptions of each actor integrated into an overall chain approach. The analysis shows that all agrofood actors lack of an adequate level of knowledge towards healthy food definition. Food industries and retailers also show poor awareness about ROP consumers’ segment. In addition they perceive that the high costs for producing healthy food conflict with the low economic performances expected from ROP consumers’ segment. These aspects induce a scarce interest in investing on commercialisation strategies for healthy food for ROP consumers. Further ROP consumers show other notable barriers to adopt healthy diets caused, among others, by a personal strong negative attitude and lack of motivation. The personal barriers are also negatively influenced by several external socio-economic factors. The solutions to overcome the barriers shall rely on the improvement of the agrofood chain internal relations to identify successful strategies for increasing interest on low cost healthy food. In particular the focus should be on improved collaboration on innovation adoption and marketing strategies, considering ROP consumers’ preferences and needs. An external political intervention is instead necessary to fill the knowledge and regulations’ gaps on healthy food issues.

Approccio multidisciplinare per le valutazioni ambientali: Problematiche e sinergie in un uso combinato delle metodologie life cycle assessment (lca) e risk assessment (ra)

In questo lavoro di tesi si è elaborato un quadro di riferimento per l’utilizzo combinato di due metodologie di valutazione di impatti LCA e RA, per tecnologie emergenti. L’originalità dello studio sta nell’aver proposto e anche applicato il quadro di riferimento ad un caso studio, in particolare ad una tecnologia innovativa di refrigerazione, basata su nanofluidi (NF), sviluppata da partner del progetto Europeo Nanohex che hanno collaborato all’elaborazione degli studi soprattutto per quanto riguarda l’inventario dei dati necessari. La complessità dello studio è da ritrovare tanto nella difficile integrazione di due metodologie nate per scopi differenti e strutturate per assolvere a quegli scopi, quanto nel settore di applicazione che seppur in forte espansione ha delle forti lacune di informazioni circa processi di produzione e comportamento delle sostanze. L’applicazione è stata effettuata sulla produzione di nanofluido (NF) di allumina secondo due vie produttive (single-stage e two-stage) per valutare e confrontare gli impatti per la salute umana e l’ambiente. Occorre specificare che il LCA è stato quantitativo ma non ha considerato gli impatti dei NM nelle categorie di tossicità. Per quanto concerne il RA è stato sviluppato uno studio di tipo qualitativo, a causa della problematica di carenza di parametri tossicologici e di esposizione su citata avente come focus la categoria dei lavoratori, pertanto è stata fatta l’assunzione che i rilasci in ambiente durante la fase di produzione sono trascurabili. Per il RA qualitativo è stato utilizzato un SW specifico, lo Stoffenmanger-Nano che rende possibile la prioritizzazione dei rischi associati ad inalazione in ambiente di lavoro. Il quadro di riferimento prevede una procedura articolata in quattro fasi: DEFINIZIONE SISTEMA TECNOLOGICO, RACCOLTA DATI, VALUTAZIONE DEL RISCHIO E QUANTIFICAZIONE DEGLI IMPATTI, INTERPRETAZIONE.

A Web GIS Decision Support System For Coastal Risk Assessment and Mitigation Planning

Coastal flooding poses serious threats to coastal areas around the world, billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure, and threatens the lives of millions of people. Therefore, disaster management and risk assessment aims at detecting vulnerability and capacities in order to reduce coastal flood disaster risk. In particular, non-specialized researchers, emergency management personnel, and land use planners require an accurate, inexpensive method to determine and map risk associated with storm surge events and long-term sea level rise associated with climate change. This study contributes to the spatially evaluation and mapping of social-economic-environmental vulnerability and risk at sub-national scale through the development of appropriate tools and methods successfully embedded in a Web-GIS Decision Support System. A new set of raster-based models were studied and developed in order to be easily implemented in the Web-GIS framework with the purpose to quickly assess and map flood hazards characteristics, damage and vulnerability in a Multi-criteria approach. The Web-GIS DSS is developed recurring to open source software and programming language and its main peculiarity is to be available and usable by coastal managers and land use planners without requiring high scientific background in hydraulic engineering. The effectiveness of the system in the coastal risk assessment is evaluated trough its application to a real case study.