Riviste Online SApienza - R.O.SA - 2 (Sapienza University of Rome)
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Effect of agricultural practice on groundwater qualityin south-eastern Sicily
Get PDFAgricultural practice in southeastern Sicily is among the most important activities carried out in the island from the economic point of view. For this reason, groundwater has been exploited in the latest 20 years by all the agricultural companies of the area. Such activity persisted with no management of the resource, thus compromising the water quality. The goal of this paper is to highlight the worsening of the groundwater quality due to the intense agricultural practice. The evolutive trend of chemical indicators testify the efficiency of the productive system and their knowledge can lead the producers to choice of the best available technology non entailing excessive costs (BATNEEC). The carbonate aquifers, because of their permeability, are exposed to pollution, especially in agricultural areas where fertilizers and pesticides are intensively used. The confined and unconfined aquifers exploited in the study area have been monitored in 1996, 2006 and 2008 to outline the groundwater quality. Most of the analyzed samples are enriched of elements deriving from the use of fertilizers. Particularly the nitrate, in both aquifers, overcomes 50 mg/l concentration (the legal limit value of drinking water). To classify the groundwater suitability for irrigation purpose, chemical indices like TDS, Percent Sodium (Na%), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Permeability Index (PI) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were carried out. Results show a worsening of the groundwater quality in the time interval 1996-2008, which makes the water not suitable for farming activity
Rhythmic abdominal pumping movements in praying Mantises (Insecta: Mantodea)
Get PDFWe analyzed the rhythmic, cyclical dorsal-ventral abdominal pumping movements of nymphal and adult Hierodula patellifera (Audinet- Serville 1839), and adult Stagmomantis carolina (Johansson 1763), Tenodera sinensis (de Saussure 1871), Miomantis paykullii (Stål 1871), and Sphodromantis lineola (Burmeister 1838) using a combination of customized video analysis software and frame-by-frame video analyses. Despite the phylogenetic and ecological diversity of these species, we found fundamental similarities in the overall, intermittent patterns of their abdominal pumping movements. In adults of all species, intermittent bouts of abdominal pumping had median durations of 64-89 sec, and were separated by intervals with median durations of 10-25 sec. Bouts began with rhythmic upward abdominal deflections of progressively increasing amplitude and frequency which were superimposed on an overall, progressive abdominal elevation. Bouts ended with 1-4 very high amplitude, low frequency upward deflections after which the abdomen returned to its horizontal (resting) position. In H. patellifera, the overall adult pattern emerged gradually during larval development. Given the diversity of the species tested, our data suggest that intermittent abdominal pumping (which has been associated with respiratory behavior in insects) may be independent of ecological niche or acute environmental stressors in mantises. Instead, our data support the hypothesis that these apparently respiratory related, intermittent abdominal pumping movements are an emergent property of the mantis central nervous system organization
Description of the female of Xiphodontus endroedyi Bartolozzi, 2005 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)
Get PDFThe female of Xiphodontus endroedyi Bartolozzi, 2005 is described for the first time. The new locality record for this species shows that it actually has a wide distribution range across the Cape Floral Region, in the Fynbos Biome. Both larvae and adults were found boring into dead wood at the base of senescent trunks of a variety of Proteaceae species, including the alien invasive Hakea sericea
Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Clanoptilus Motschulsky, 1854 in Italy (Coleoptera: Cleroidea, Malachiidae)
Get PDFIn this paper, the species of the genus Clanoptilus Motschulsky, 1854 mentioned for the Italian territory are reviewed. Two separate keys are provided for identification of males and females. For each species a discussion of taxonomic status and distribution in Italy, and the list of localities of studied specimens are also presented. Clanoptilus affinis subconcolor (Pic, 1911) and Clanoptilus spinipennis brevispina (Kiesenwetter, 1871) are tentatively proposed as valid subspecies or separate semi-species. The new synonymy Clanoptilus bellieri (Peyron, 1877) = Clanoptilus transadriaticus (Evers, 1970) is also proposed
New maps relative to the special protection area of the “palude di Torre Flavia” (central Tyrrhenian Sea - Italy) prone to severe coastal erosion
No full textThis paper is aimed at Palude di Torre Flavia (SPZ IT 6030020) within the Natura 2000 Network including a coastal sector of central Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy) located about 35 km to the NW of Rome along the right sector of the Tiber River Delta, Italy. This site has a high naturalistic value because it includes a wetland area today threatened in particular by coastal erosion and partly by climate change in progress. The analysis of the shoreline evolution shows that in the past, the wetland should be wider than the current one and, during the time, it was susceptible to an ongoing reduction due to a prevailing erosive trend. This erosive character resulted in reduced backshore width and the steepening of the shoreface. Seasonal morphological profiles show that the winter profile resembles much more a summer beach profile, while the summer profile is in part characterized by winter features. This anomalous climate regime occurring during 2017 belongs to a series of climate irregularity occurring in the last years along the Italian peninsula that testify an ongoing climate change at global scale. Two objectives are proposed: i) understanding the coastal dynamics processes that induce erosion phenomena; ii) editing the geomorphological map using the ISPRA-AIGeo legend recently applied for several Italian coastal sites. It is proposed to identify, characterize and map the forms of the coastal landscape with the purpose of providing a useful tool to evaluate the coastal hazard and to support future land planning and management
Bulk volume determination using the sand pycnometry method with other granular materials
Get PDFIt has always been difficult to determine precisely the bulk volume of irregularly shaped natural and artificial solid objects such as rocks, bricks, concrete and mortar, considering their porosity, permeability and potential interaction with water. The sand pycnometry method could fix these issues, but it can also lead to imprecision due to the irregular shape and the degree of compaction wide variability span of sand grains. For this reason, we tested granular materials other than sand, in particular steel and glass beads, in order to identify the most suitable procedure in conducting laboratory bulk volume determinations. The effect of packing on the fine granular materials was investigated using three different compaction conditions: no compaction, compacted by vibration alone, and compacted by vibration and simultaneous plugging. According to the results, the heaviest, uncompacted steel bead granular material was identified as the best solution among those studied
Gravine: peculiar morphological elements of the landscape in Southern-East Italy
No full textThe landscape of the area on the boundary between Basilicata and Apulia, in south-east Italy is characterized by the presence of deep narrow valleys, i.e. ravine, named gravine. These develop at the western bound of the calcareous horst named Murge highland that is part of the Cretaceous calcareous bedrock of the Apulian Foreland domain, oriented along NW-SE direction. These ravines show typical peculiarities, hich make their origin quite controversial. Traditionally, they are believed as erosive or karst valleys, cut by the action of the runoff water. However, they show an irregular state of hydrographic evolution, arising several doubts about their genesis. Here, the specific characteristics of the ravines of Matera and Ginosa are briefly analyzed and presented for emphasizing their common particular features, introducing some notes and alternative interpretations about their genesis and evolution
The protective role of family ties and the mortality of older people: addressing the bias introduced by the selection of the institutionalized population
No full textMost of the literature linking the living conditions of older people with their health outcomes refers to older populations living in private dwellings, while studies dealing with the topic from a broader perspective, including the institutionalised, are sparse. This can be ascribed to the fact that nation-wide health surveys do not generally include institutionalised populations, and to a strong selection of any institutionalised populations, which calls for specific techniques to deal with the induced bias in estimators. Our study highlights the effect of family support on the survival of older people looking at private and collective households. We examine the relationship between living conditions and mortality in a cohort of 16,263 individuals aged 55 and over, living in both private residences and institutions in France. We perform inverse probabilities of treatment weighting (IPTW) with the Cox model so as to include and adjust for confounders. We found a protective effect for marriage and childbearing in both private and collective settings. We also found a protective institutional effect for those who are disabled
Politiche di bilancio e debito pubblico nella storia italiana: un modello non lineare
No full textAre Italy’s primary-surplus policies compatible with the sustainability of government debt? We address the question by examining historical budget data in post-unification Italy, over the 150 years from 1862 to 2012. Controlling for temporary output, temporary spending and world war-time periods in assessing whether primary surpluses significantly reacted to changes in debt, we find the following results: (i) the hypothesis of nonlinearity in the surplus-debt relationship significantly outperforms the hypothesis of linearity; (ii) there exists a threshold level in the debt-GDP ratio, approximately equal to 111%, above which Italian fiscal policy makers are concerned with corrective actions to avoid insolvency; (iii) the robustly positive reaction of primary surpluses to debt beyond the trigger point ensures fiscal sustainability
Zonizzazione e direzioni privilegiate: riflessioni geografiche a partire dal Friuli Venezia Giulia
No full textThe aim of this paper is to offer some empirical reflections on the construction of homogeneous regions through the use of classical clustering algorithms. After defining what a territorial analysis is and evaluating the different ways of conceiving and identifying a region, the article focuses on the empirical aspects of the automatic procedure of classification employed to seek homogeneity with respect to selected indicators. Starting from different zoning experiences developed through multivariate analysis methods, using as reference the Italian Friuli Venezia Giulia region, the paper will explain the decisions, which have a subjective and qualitative nature, that a researcher must take into account, such as the possibility of introducing the contiguity constraint in the analysis. Finally, the article will discuss the use of “direction indicators”, if these exist, to solve partially the issue of contiguity among territorial units. Some examples, relating to the refuelling across the Slovenian border and to the Regional Landscape Plan, will be proposed