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Neuroptera (Insecta) of Pantelleria, the Pelagic Islands and the Maltese archipelago: towards an annotated checklist with new records
No full textMediterranean islands have a high ecological and biogeographical significance since they bridge the gap between Europe and North Africa. However, many factors make it difficult to decipher their biogeographical patterns. Taking into account published and unpublished records, a revised and annotated checklist of the Neuroptera found in Pantelleria, the Pelagic Islands and the Maltese archipelago was compiled
L\u27autonomia di movimento dei bambini della Regione Lazio
No full textThe survey on autonomous mobility of children provided for the administration of a questionnaire that asked the children and their respective parents both how often (never, often or always) they could go without the accompaniment of adults in some places of their neighborhood and how they carried out the home - school route, indicating one of the four possibilities: without accompanying adults (alone); accompanied by adults; accompanied by car and by the school bus. In addition, the questionnaire asked what difficulties made these experiences of autonomy difficult or impossible and the perception of the danger of some places in the city. The survey involved a regional sample consisting of 1753 children and their respective parents, from primary and lower secondary school; the Municipalities of the sample are Casperia (RI), Genazzano (RM), Formia (LT), Subiaco (RM), Vasanello (VT). The primary children constitute 48.7% of the sample, those of the lower secondary 51.3%; the sample of pupils is equally divided between males and females, 51.6% (M) and 48.4% (F).L\u27indagine sulla mobilit? autonoma dei bambini ha previsto la somministrazione di un questionario che chiedeva ai bambini e ai loro rispettivi genitori sia con quale frequenza (mai, molte volte o sempre) potevano andare senza l\u27accompagnamento di adulti in alcuni luoghi del loro quartiere e sia come effettuavano il percorso casa - scuola, indicando una delle quattro possibilit?: senza accompagnamento di adulti (da solo); accompagnati da adulti; accompagnati in automobile e con lo scuolabus. Inoltre il questionario chiedeva quali difficolt? rendessero difficili o impossibili queste esperienze di autonomia e la percezione della pericolosit? di alcuni luoghi della citt?. L\u27indagine ha coinvolto un campione regionale costituito da 1753 alunni e dai loro rispettivi genitori, di scuola primaria e secondaria inferiore; i Comuni del campione sono Casperia (RI), Genazzano (RM), Formia (LT), Subiaco (RM), Vasanello (VT). I bambini della primaria costituiscono il 48,7% del campione, quelli della secondaria inferiore il 51,3%; il campione degli alunni ? equamente diviso tra maschi e femmine, 51,6% (M) e 48,4% (F)
Pacifier overuse and conceptual relations of abstract and emotional concepts
No full textThis study explores the impact of the extensive use of an oral device since infancy (pacifier) on acquisition of concrete, abstract and emotional concepts. While recent evidence showed a negative relation between pacifier use and children\u27s emotional competence (Niedenthal et al., 2012; 2014), the possible interaction between use of pacifier and processing of emotional and abstract language has not been investigated. According to recent theories, while all concepts are grounded in sensorimotor experience, abstract concepts activate linguistic and social information more than concrete ones. Specifically, the Words As Social Tools (WAT) proposal predicts that the simulation of their meaning leads to an activation of the mouth (Borghi & Binkofski, 2014; Borghi & Zarcone, 2016). Since the pacifier affects facial mimicry forcing mouth muscles into a static position, we hypothesize its possible interference on acquisition/consolidation of abstract and emotional concepts, which are mainly conveyed during social and linguistic interactions, than of concrete concepts. First grade children, with a history of different frequency of pacifier use, provided oral definitions of the meaning of abstract, emotional and concrete words. Main effect of concept type emerged, with higher accuracy in defining concrete and emotional concepts with respect to abstract concepts, independently from pacifier use. Further analyses suggest that the use of pacifier differently modulates the conceptual relationships elicited by emotional and abstract concepts. Children who overused the pacifier (for more than three years) tend to distinguish less clearly between concrete and emotional concepts and between concrete and abstract concepts than children who did not use it or used it for short. As to the conceptual relations they produced, children who overused the pacifier tend to refer less to their experience and to social and emotional situations, use more exemplifications and functional relations, and less free associations
Local- and Plot-Scale Measurements of Soil Moisture: Time and Spatially Resolved Field Techniques in Plain, Hill and Mountain Sites.
No full textSoil moisture measurement is essential to validate hydrological models and satellite data. In this work we provide an overview of different local and plot scale soil moisture measurement techniques applied in three different conditions in terms of altitude, land use, and soil type, namely a plain, a mountain meadow and a hilly vineyard. The main goal is to provide a synoptic view of techniques supported by practical case studies to show that in such different conditions it is possible to estimate a time and spatially resolved soil moisture by the same combination of instruments: contact-based methods (i.e., Time Domain Reflectometry-TDR, and two low frequency probes) for the time resolved, and hydro-geophysical minimally-invasive methods (i.e., Electromagnetic Induction-EMI, Ground Penetrating Radar-GPR, and the Electrical Resistivity Tomography-ERT) for the spatially resolved. Both long-term soil moisture measurements and spatially resolved measurement campaigns are discussed. Technical and operational measures are detailed to allow critical factors to be identified
Report on ETLAT EDA Project: Test of Dummy Sensors in Water Tank
No full textThe goal of the \u27Test of dummy sensors in water tank\u27 report is to get data to validate the fluid-dynamic numerical models on the thin line array dynamic behaviour. All the partners, involved in the project, have to realize the dummy sensors (3 diameters, length > 5 m) and measurement of the speed and pressure fields around the sensors with water speed up to 5 m/s. In the present document the experimental measures of the speed and pressure fields of water flowing around TLA sensors at max 5 m/s are exposed. In the first part, the Test Plan and Interface Specification between dummy sensors and water tank are explained. Instead, the second part reports the measured speed and pressure fields with different types of TLA sensors. Test performed at INSEAN towing tank
Alien species in Italian freshwater ecosystems: a macroecological assessment of invasion drivers
No full textThe relative role of propagule pressure, abiotic and biotic variables as determinants of alien species occurrence differs among studies. This limits the synthesis of emergent patterns in invasion ecology and generalisations for conservation actions. In order to produce a broad and general assessment of the invasion pattern in aquatic habitats we here propose a macroecological approach to assess the drivers of occurrence of alien species within the whole biota (microorganisms, plants and animals) across several natural freshwater ecosystems of Italy. We simultaneously tested three groups of variables (propagule pressure, abiotic and biotic characteristics), selected as putative predictors of invasibility of a site. Propagule pressure, expressed as proximity to larger inhabited areas, and differences in the native species richness of the receiving community, had a significant role in determining the number of alien species occurrences. Furthermore, body size influenced the occurrence and colonization processes of alien species. Finally, climatic characteristics were relevant in determining the chances that a site was invaded, confirming the role of these abiotic filters in the invasion process
Quali prospettive per il futuro delle ricerche sui laghi nelle Terre Alte?
No full textNot availablePrevedere cambiamenti non ? facile, ma spostamenti di rotta negli approcci di ricerca sui laghi nelle Terre Alte riguarderanno probabilmente due aspetti complementari: da una parte il modo in cui si acquisiscono e si archiviano i dati e dall\u27altra le domande che ci si pone usando i laghi delle Terre Alte come modelli di studio. Il monitoraggio delle caratteristiche dei laghi pu? essere ottimizzato grazie a nuove tecnologie o nuove concezioni. Esempi di tali cambiamenti riguardano: per il comparto abiotico, le tecniche di telerilevamento o l\u27utilizzo di droni; per il comparto biotico, gli approcci mediante DNA metabarcoding. Inoltre, l\u27utilizzo di database aggiornati o interattivi, collegati a livello internazionale (ad esempio PESI, LifeWatch, GenBank ecc.) permette l\u27introduzione di app per smartphone da usare per citizen science, ad esempio chiavi di riconoscimento fotografiche per organismi viventi. I laghi delle Terre Alte possono essere usati come ambienti modello per rispondere a domande di carattere generale. Ad esempio i laghi in quota possono essere usati come sentinelle del cambiamento climatico, per analizzare la diffusione di nuovi inquinanti (ad esempio i famigerati neonicotinoidi) o di problemi emergenti (come la temibile resistenza agli antibiotici in batteri presenti nell\u27ambiente) e per studiare gli adattamenti degli organismi agli ambienti estremi, in modo da trovare potenziali applicazioni biotecnologiche
L\u27acqua nelle Terre Alte: una risorsa tra biodiversit? e sfruttamento da parte dell\u27uomo
No full textNot availableL\u27acqua ? una risorsa fondamentale per la vita dell\u27uomo e per l\u27esistenza degli organismi presenti sul pianeta. Tuttavia secondo la visione antropocentrica e utilitaristica dominante l\u27acqua ? considerata un elemento ?vuoto?, una risorsa da consumare per placare la sete, per la produzione di energia, per l\u27utilizzo nell\u27industria, inesauribile. Solo recentemente, sebbene ancora in misura nettamente minoritaria, si sta facendo strada l\u27idea che l\u27acqua di laghi e fiumi sia un elemento fondamentale per la vita di un gran numero di altri organismi che svolgono un ruolo decisivo e insostituibile per il funzionamento degli ecosistemi. L\u27acqua dunque ha valore, e non solo perch? pu? essere utilizzata dall\u27uomo, ma anche perch? ? sorgente di diversit? biologica (Biodiversit?) riconosciuta in se stessa come un valore. Tra gli organismi acquatici, i pesci sono quelli pi? noti anche ai non esperti ai lavori, probabilmente per la loro maggior visibilit? rispetto agli organismi pi? piccoli, e possono essere presi a titolo di esempio per capire la complessit? delle relazioni che possono intercorrere tra il mondo degli uomini e la risorsa acquatica. I pesci di laghi e fiumi sono infatti al centro di molteplici interessi quali la pesca commerciale e ricreativa, la gastronomia locale, il turismo, ma anche, in quanto organismi viventi, sono parte costituente la biodiversit? degli ambienti acquatici. Indirettamente poi sono toccati dall\u27uso dell\u27acqua e dagli utilizzi del territorio intorno a fiumi e laghi, che condizionano la struttura degli habitat ripariali ed acquatici e la qualit? delle acque stesse. In questi paragrafi affronteremo brevemente il tema della gestione degli ecosistemi acquatici con un particolare focus sul rapporto tra uomo e fauna ittica. Si porter? all\u27attenzione del lettore l\u27esperienza del Parco Nazionale della Val Grande quale esempio di best practice gestionale illustrando come da una visione integrata dei problemi si possa arrivare a proporre soluzioni basate su una solida conoscenza scientifica ma che riescono a conciliare diverse esigenze, quelle di conservazione delle risorse naturali e quelle di utilizzo del territorio anche a favore dell\u27uomo. Infine, si illustrer? una proposta progettuale (IdroLIFE), sottoposta alla attenzione della Unione Europea, e mirata alla tutela della biodiversit? acquatica nelle aree protette del VCO anche attraverso il ripristino e valorizzazione dei cosiddetti Corridoi Blu, i corridoi ecologici fluviali. Questa proposta progettuale ? condivisa oltre che da numerosi Enti Pubblici anche da stakeholders e cofinanziatori privati, nonch? associazioni piscatorie e ambientaliste, dimostrando che ? possibile raccogliere e conciliare sul tema della tutela e della conservazione degli ambienti acquatici, interessi, esperienze ed esigenze diversi
A combination of long term fragmentation and glacial persistence drove the evolutionary history of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus
No full textBackground The current distribution of genetic diversity is the result of a vast array of microevolutionary processes, including short-term demographic and ecological mechanisms and long-term allopatric isolation in response to Quaternary climatic fluctuations. We investigated past processes that drove the population differentiation and spatial genetic distribution of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus by means of sequences of mitochondrial cytb (n?=?277 from 115 localities) and nuclear mc1r and ?-fibint7genes (n?=?262 and n?=?91, respectively) from all its distribution range. The pattern emerging from the genetic data was compared with current and past (last glacial maximum) species distribution modeling (SDM). Results We identified seven deeply divergent parapatric clades which presumably remained isolated in different refugia scattered mainly throughout the Tyrrhenian coast. Conversely, the Adriatic coast showed only two haplogroups with low genetic variability. These results appear to agree with the SDM prediction at the last glacial maximum (LGM) indicating a narrow area of habitat suitability along the Tyrrhenian coast and much lower suitability along the Adriatic one. However, the considerable land exposure of the Adriatic coastline favored a glacial colonization of the Balkan Peninsula. Conclusions Our population-level historical demography showed a common trend consistent with glacial expansions and regional persistence during the last glacial maximum. This complex genetic signature appears to be inconsistent with the expectation of the expansion-contraction model and post-LGM (re)colonizations from southern refugia. Hence it is one of an increasing number of cases in which these assumptions are not met, indicating that long-term fragmentation and pre-LGM events such as glacial persistence were more prominent in shaping genetic variation in this temperate species
Arabic Natural Language Processing: Models, systems and applications
No full textAt present, language technologies are instrumental to millions of people, who use them every day with little if any awareness of their existence and role. Popular machine translation systems or web search engines rely more and more on levels of linguistic information automatically overlaid by batch processing tools using language technologies. This development has not only had a huge impact on our daily life, but has also deeply affected the way we think about language as an object of scientific inquiry. The present special issue of JKSU is intended to explore the contribution of computational language models to a better understanding of linguistic, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, and literary issues of the Arabic language and culture. The wide array of contributions offered here, ranging from text diacriticisation to psycho-computational modelling of Arabic lexical organisation, bears witness to the maturity of the field and highlight a few general lessons we can learn from current research on Arabic Natural Language Processin