93 research outputs found
First record of Europe’s smallest marine fish Lebetus guilleti (Gobiidae) in the Italian Seas.
No full textThe first record of Lebetus guilleti for the Italian seas is reported here. The finding is based on photographic records of specimens located in shallow waters off the Conero Promontory (An) along the Adriatic coast of Italy. This record expands the distribution range of this species in the Mediterranean and moves its southern limit in the Adriatic Sea 170 km further south, adding to the suspicion that the distribution of this cryptic species might be wider than previously described. Recreational SCUBA diving focused on biodiversity observations and underwater photography proved instrumental again in providing information about the presence and distribution of marine fauna, including the most easily overlooked species
Le Rocche ritrovate. Storie di restauri: Riolo Terme e Monte Battaglia
No full textIn the border and transit area along the Apennine ridge between Romagna and Tuscany, encastellation has given rise to villages and towns since medieval times. Although by the end of the nineteenth century most of the defense systems had already been lost, there are numerous vestiges of that heritage that still endure today. Examples are the fortress of Riolo Terme, in the province of Ravenna; and that of Monte Battaglia, in Casola Valsenio, still employed as strategic nodes during World War II. In the first case it is a square defense tower built in 1388, in its original core, by the Bolognese government, with the purpose of providing shelter for the militia. In the 15th century the village of Riolo - which had become the new capital of the Senio valley - saw the fortification increased, with the addition of circular towers, a moat and a wall. Under the rule of the Riario-Sforza family, it reached its maximum military efficiency, then underwent significant transformations in the following centuries, until it housed municipal offices inside between the 19th and 20th centuries. The Longobard-era fortress, located on Mount Battaglia in Casola Valsenio, was similarly a key garrison of the Manfredi family to defend the valleys and the two rivers between Imola and Faenza. With an irregular plan that followed the contours of the land, the fortress included a watchtower about 15 meters high, used to monitor and coordinate the defense. Over the following centuries it fell into decay, later transforming into a memorial site dedicated to the fallen soldiers of World War II The paper aims to investigate the theme of military architecture as an object of study in the second half of the twentieth century, analyzing the projects and strategies of recovery and restoration curated by the Rava-Piersanti studio in the two cases of the Riolo and Monte Battaglia fortresses
Further spreading in the Italian seas of already established non-indigenous mollusc species
No full textWe hereby provide new distributional data for alien and possible alien molluscs from the Italian seas, together with a brief
review of their known Italian distribution and updated distributional maps. In particular, Haminoea cyanomarginata is con-
firmed for the Calabrian shores of the Strait of Messina area and is first reported from eastern and western Sicily, therefore
suggesting a natural spreading into the Italian central Mediterranean Sea. Melibe viridis is confirmed for the Ionian
Calabrian shores and Sardinia, where it was previously known from isolated records only. Pinctada imbricata radiata is
first reported as naturally widening its distribution in Sardinia and in the Gulf of Taranto, where new populations are
soon awaited, whilst Aplysia dactylomela is now expanding its range along the Italian Adriatic shores. And last, recent
records of Anadara transversa from the Sabaudia Lake testify the role of lagoon systems as hot-spots for the introduction
and secondary spreading of alien species, and indicate mussel aquaculture as the likely vector of introduction for its
occurrenc
Il nauta adest navigio cartesiano e l’avatära videoludico. Angeli, menti e corpi elettronici nell’epoca dell’incarnazione digitale
No full textNel rapporto fra la seconda e la sesta meditazione cartesiana affiora la problematica dell’interazione fra mente e corpo, res cogitans e res extensa che però, a un’ attenta analisi,
risultano inevitabilmente unite almeno per quanto riguarda il caso dell’essere umano, in un unum quid del tutto unico e particolare. Stando a tali teorie, neppure le creature
angeliche possono dirsi simili in questo all’umano in quanto non dotate di tale unità immanente, bensì capaci, nell’incarnarsi in spoglie umane, di muovere il corpo come
farebbe un pilota con la sua nave. Il rapporto non è di immediata connessione. Si afferma in questa sede che qualcosa di simile accade, al giorno d’oggi, con i videogiochi e i loro
avatära; in questi prodotti, infatti, la mente umana pur calandosi entro le spoglie digitali dell’alter ego ne resta distaccata. Attraverso l’enorme numero di incarnazioni digitali che
caratterizzano la contemporaneità ci troviamo dinnanzi a un nuovo ‘dualismo’
What's Wrong in a Jump? Prediction and Validation of Splice Site Variants
No full textAlternative splicing (AS) is a crucial process to enhance gene expression driving organ-ism development. Interestingly, more than 95% of human genes undergo AS, producing multiple protein isoforms from the same transcript. Any alteration (e.g., nucleotide substitutions, insertions, and deletions) involving consensus splicing regulatory sequences in a specific gene may result in the production of aberrant and not properly working proteins. In this review, we introduce the key steps of splicing mechanism and describe all different types of genomic variants affecting this process (splicing variants in acceptor/donor sites or branch point or polypyrimidine tract, exonic, and deep intronic changes). Then, we provide an updated approach to improve splice variants detection. First, we review the main computational tools, including the recent Machine Learn-ing-based algorithms, for the prediction of splice site variants, in order to characterize how a genomic variant interferes with splicing process. Next, we report the experimental methods to vali-date the predictive analyses are defined, distinguishing between methods testing RNA (tran-scriptomics analysis) or proteins (proteomics experiments). For both prediction and validation steps, benefits and weaknesses of each tool/procedure are accurately reported, as well as sugges-tions on which approaches are more suitable in diagnostic rather than in clinical research. © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
The microbiota of marketed processed edible insects as revealed by high-throughput sequencing
No full textEntomophagy has been linked to nutritional, economic, social and ecological benefits. However, scientific
studies on the potential safety risks in eating edible insects need to be carried out for legislators, markets
and consumers. In this context, the microbiota of edible insects deserves to be deeply investigated.
The aim of this study was to elucidate the microbial species occurring in some processed marketed
edible insects, namely powdered small crickets, whole dried small crickets (Acheta domesticus), whole
dried locusts (Locusta migratoria), and whole dried mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor), through culturedependent
(classical microbiological analyses) and -independent methods (pyrosequencing). A great
bacterial diversity and variation among insects was seen. Relatively low counts of total mesophilic aerobes,
Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, Clostridium perfringens spores, yeasts and moulds in all of
the studied insect batches were found. Furthermore, the presence of several gut-associated bacteria,
some of which may act as opportunistic pathogens in humans, were found through pyrosequencing.
Food spoilage bacteria were also identified, as well as Spiroplasma spp. in mealworm larvae, which has
been found to be related to neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans. Although viable pathogens
such as Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected, the presence of Listeria spp.,
Staphylococcus spp., Clostridium spp. and Bacillus spp. (with low abundance) was also found through
pyrosequencing. The results of this study contribute to the elucidation of the microbiota associated with
edible insects and encourage further studies aimed to evaluate the influence of rearing and processing
conditions on that microbiota
Getting insight into the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes in specimens of marketed edible insects
No full textThis study was aimed at investigating the occurrence of 11 transferable antibiotic resistance (AR) genes [erm(A), erm(B), erm(C), vanA, vanB, tet(M), tet(O), tet(S), tet(K), mecA, blaZ] in 11 species of marketed edible insects (small crickets powder, small crickets, locusts, mealworm larvae, giant waterbugs, black ants, winged termite alates, rhino beetles, mole crickets, silkworm pupae, and black scorpions) in order to provide a first baseline for risk assessment. Among the AR genes under study, tet(K) occurred with the highest frequency, followed by erm(B), tet(S) and blaZ. A high variability was seen among the samples, in terms of occurrence of different AR determinants. Cluster Analysis and Principal Coordinates Analysis allowed the 11 samples to be grouped in two main clusters, one including all but one samples produced in Thailand and the other including those produced
in the Netherlands
Investimenti pubblici nel Nord-Est e riolo della finanza privata con particolare riferimento al Project Financing
No full textVeduta della Zisa, di Tommaso Riolo
No full textscheda critica e storico-artistica del dipinto "Veduta della Zisa di Palermo" di Tommaso Riol
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