1,744 research outputs found
Dinophasma maalon Gottardo, 2007, n. sp.
No full text<i>Dinophasma maalon</i> n. sp. <p>Figs. 1-3, 5-9</p> <p> <b>Type material.</b> Holotype male: Philippines, Panay Island, Antique, Mt. Madja-as, 1000 m, VIII. 2005, leg. R. Cabale (MSNG).</p> <p> <b>Comparative material.</b> <i>Dinophasma braggi</i> (Zompro, 2004): holotype male, Brunei, Borneo, Staudinger (NMW); paratype female, Bukit Belalong, Brunei, Nov. 1996 I. Abercrombie, Bill Fleming (FSCC) (photograph examined). <i>Dinophasma guttigerum</i> (Westwood, 1859): 2 males, Borneo (NMW). <i>Dinophasma ruficornis</i> (Redtenbacher, 1906): paralectotype male, Kinabalu, Borneo, Staudinger (NMW). <i>Dinophasma saginata</i> (Redtenbacher, 1906): lectotype male, Kinabalu, Borneo, Staudinger (NMW); 2 males and 2 females, Borneo, reared by M. Gottardo (MGC). <i>Dinophasma viridis</i> Bragg, 2005: holotype female and paratype male, Sabah, Kinabalu N. P., Silau Silau trail, P. E. Bragg, 03-08-2001 (BMNH) (photographs examined).</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> Main lengths (in mm). Body: 36.5; antennae: 15.8; head: 2.8; pronotum: 3.4; mesonotum: 4.3; metanotum: 1.6; median segment: 2.7; hind wing: 11.4; cercus: 2.1; fore femur: 5.7; fore tibia: 4.5; fore tarsus: 3.6; middle femur: 4.3; middle tibia: 4.3; middle tarsus: 3.0; hind femur: 7.9; hind tibia: 7.3; hind tarsus: 4.5.</p> <p> Small <i>Dinophasma</i> species, habitus as in Fig. 1. General body colour of preserved holotype mid-brown, integument slightly glossy.</p> <p> <i>Head.</i> About as long as wide, strongly flattened dorsoventrally. Dorsal surface granulose, with a rounded, flat, mainly pale brown tubercle anteriorly (Fig. 3). Eyes projecting more than hemispherically. Antennae incomplete, right antenna composed of 19 segments (Fig. 2). Antennal segments I-II dark brown with lighter speckles, III-XII alternatively mid-brown and light-brown, remainder almost uniformly dark brown. Antennal segment I about 1.70 times longer than wide, thickened and moderately widened from base to apex, flat dorsally and almost semicircular in cross-section. Antennal segment II shorter than I, almost as long as wide and oval in cross-section. Antennal segment III narrower and slightly shorter than II.</p> <p> <i>Thorax.</i> Dorsal and lateral surfaces granulose, with numerous mid-brown and dark brown speckles; ventral margins with some whitish setae. Pronotum (Fig. 3) longer than wide, front margin slightly indented. Dorsum of pronotum with anterior half moderately raised and a cross-shaped shallow impression medially; a minute mound is present at the posterior margin. Lateral lobe of pronotum strongly constricted in anterior half. Mesonotum about 1.30 times length of pronotum, with a minute triangular tubercle medioposteriorly. Metanotum wider than long, with a medium-sized tubercle medioposteriorly.</p> <p> <i>Wings.</i> Tegminae lacking. Hind wings reaching half length of abdominal segment IV. Costal region dark brown, with some lighter blotches and a large light-brown stripe on the posterior half; lighter areas occupying altogether about 40 % of the region. Base of costal region spine-like, acutely pointed. Anal region almost uniformly translucent light-brown, exterior margin darkening very moderately.</p> <p> <i>Legs.</i> Broad and short, mottled from yellowish brown to dark brown, with some tufts of whitish setae (Figs. 5-7). Hind legs reaching to half of abdominal segment IX. Femora laterally compressed and very wavy ventrally; dorsal surface rounded. Fore femora moderately incurving at base; ventral undulating lamina composed of four expansions, from base to apex: I-II broad and of uniform size, III-IV progressively shortened. Mid femora straight, with less developed ventral undulating lamina, lacking distinct expansions III-IV. Hind femora straight, ventral undulating lamina with expansions I-III broad, IV shortened. Fore tibiae and hind tibiae irregular, with broad expansions; mid tibiae almost regular. Tarsi short: tarsal segment I shorter than II-IV; tarsal segments I-IV progressively shorter; tarsal segment V as long as II-IV, regularly widened from base to apex. Tarsal claws pectination indistinct.</p> <p> <i>Abdomen.</i> Median segment about 1.75 times length of metanotum. Abdomen (Figs. 8-9) narrowing regularly from segments II-VII, then widening from VIII-IX, X of uniform width. Abdominal segments II-V increasing in lengh, VI- VIII progressively shorter, IX as long as VIII, X shorter than IX. Lateral margins of abdominal segments VII-IX moderately projecting angularly towards posterior end. Posterior of abdominal tergites V-VIII darkened. Abdominal tergites V- VII with a very small sublateral tubercle on posterior margin, VIII-IX also bearing a small lobe medioposteriorly. Posterior margin of abdominal segment X rounded. Cerci straight, interior surface flat, exterior surface convex, apices incurving very moderately. Subgenital plate flat, 1.65 times longer than wide, broad proximally, then constricted in anterior one/third and roundly dilated distally.</p> <p> <b>Female and egg.</b> Unknown.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The epithet “ maalon ” (from Tagalog, very wavy) refers to the distinctive shape of the femora.</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> This species is until now known only from Mount Madja-as, Antique province, Panay Island, Philippines.</p> <p> <b>Taxonomic notes.</b> Zompro (2004) established the genus <i>Xylobistus</i> and a new subfamily Xylobistinae (Aschiphasmatidae) for a puzzling new species, <i>X. braggi</i> Zompro, 2004 from Borneo, characterized by the presence of a strongly developed ventral undulating lamina on the femora, as well as by other morphological characters of the insect and the egg. However, this taxonomic arrangement was modified by Bragg (2005), who synonymized <i>Xylobistus</i> with <i>Dinophasma</i>, based on the hypothesis of a strict relationship between <i>X. braggi</i> and <i>Dinophasma viridis</i> Bragg, 2005 from Borneo, which shows a certain similarity with the former species.</p> <p> Because of the presence of a strongly developed ventral undulating lamina on the femora, and reduced tarsal claws pectination, the new species is clearly related to <i>D. braggi</i> (Zompro, 2004) from Borneo. <i>D. maalon</i> <b>n. sp.</b> can be distinguished from the mentioned species by the following set of male morphological characters: more slender body and overall size smaller; head dorsum with a flat tubercle (in <i>braggi</i>: two); absence of tegminae (in <i>braggi</i> present); hind wings: base of costal region spine-like, acutely pointed (in <i>braggi</i> hump-like, not acutely pointed); weakly developed tubercles and lobes on abdominal tergites (in <i>braggi</i> strongly developed); straight cerci (in <i>braggi</i> curved). Additionally, a difference is found in the length ratios of the abdominal segments, and shorter hind wings.</p> <p> These two species differ significantly from all the other known members of the genus for the peculiar features of the legs, shortened antennal segment III and traits of the egg in <i>D. braggi</i>. More material, especially the female and egg of <i>D. maalon</i> <b>n. sp.</b>, is needed to clarify the current taxonomical status of the genus <i>Dinophasma</i>.</p> <p> <b>Acknowledgements.</b> I am grateful to George Beccaloni (BMNH), Phil Bragg (Nottinghamshire, England) and Oliver Zompro (Max-Planck-Institute, Plön, Germany) for providing useful information and photographic material. My sincere thanks to Ulrike Aspöck (NMW) and Roberto Poggi (MSNG) for allowing access to collections, to Orlando L. Eusebio (University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines) and Benjamin Z. Mabanta (Manila, Philippines) for providing the Tagalog name, and to Fausto Pesarini (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Ferrara, Italy) for precious support. The manuscript benefited from the careful comments of Filippo M. Buzzetti (University of Padova, Italy).</p>Published as part of <i>Gottardo, Marco, 2007, First record of the genus Dinophasma Uvarov from the Philippines (Phasmatodea: Aschiphasmatidae), pp. 33-36 in Zootaxa 1530</i> on pages 33-36, DOI: <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/177663">10.5281/zenodo.177663</a>
Tecniche di scavo ed effetti sociali
No full textDopo aver analizzato la questione dell'attraversamento delle Alpi, il saggio esamina lo scavo della galleria del San Gottardo con attenzione alle opere tecniche e agli effetti sociali, per i villaggi dei minatori e le malattie contratte dagli operai
Un bilancio sull’esperienza del progetto EuropeAid Knowledge Health and Food for All
No full textLe attività del progetto EuropeAid descritte in
questo saggio e svoltesi da febbraio 2011 a dicembre
2012, rientrano in un percorso di ricerca-intervento più
ampio di “Pedagogia di comunità” avviato dal gruppo
di ricerca del prof. Salvatore Colazzo con alcune realtà
locali del territorio. Percorso di R-I finalizzato a:
Promuovere cittadinanza attiva e coesione sociale
tramite interventi di auto-promozione e inclusione
sociale volti alla valorizzazione della memorie della
comunità e dell’identità sociale, culturale, economica
connessa alle aree di intervento;
Promuovere e valorizzare il patrimonio ambientale
e socio-culturale della comunità proponendo un
modello di sviluppo integrato e sostenibile nella logica
di una governance orizzontale delle risorse;
Tutela e valorizzazione dell’agrobiodiversità e dei
saperi locali connessi ai prodotti e ai processi materiali
e immateriali propri del territorio
DOMPERIDONE E MORTE CARDIACA IMPROVVISA: IMPLICAZIONI MEDICOLEGALI
No full textIntroduzione: la morte cardiaca improvvisa (MCI) è definita come una morte naturale per cause cardiache, che si realizza al massimo entro un’ora dalla comparsa della sintomatologia acuta in un soggetto nel quale, indipendentemente dalla conoscenza di una cardiopatia preesistente, il decesso giunga inatteso e per il tempo e per la modalità. La MCI usualmente riconosce il concorso di concause pre-esistenti, a diversa espressione disfunzionale, sulle quali agisce un fattore scatenante, il quale può assumere rilievo forense.Materiali e metodi: è presentato il caso di una donna di 47 anni con storia di dipendenza da alcool e prolasso valvolare mitralico noto, che, senza prescrizione medica, ha assunto per disturbi gastrointestinali 2 compresse da 10 mg di Domperidone (D), alle ore 09.00 e alle ore 12.00 della stessa giornata nella quale, alle ore 17,45 andava incontro a morte improvvisa. Ciò avveniva nel corso di una seduta di psicoterapia. L’esame necroscopico era corredato da prelievi ed esami tossicologici con ricerca di D su sangue e screening “general unknown” su urine (LC-MS/MS).Risultati: l’esame cardiopatologico ha rilevato macroscopicamente lieve ipertrofia cardiaca e minimo prolasso del lembo anteriore della valvola mitrale, ed istologicamente ipertrofia miocitaria, diffusa disorganizzazione delle miofibre, edema e fibrosi perivascolare. A livello epatico steato-cirrosi avanzata. Gli esami tossicologici su sangue hanno accertato una concentrazione ematica di D pari a 36,81 ng/mL (86 nM); la ricerca di xenobiotici su urina ha dato esito negativo.Conclusioni: si tratta di un caso di MCI di tipo aritmico, correlabile sotto il profilo concausale a fattori preesistenti quali il prolasso mitralico1 ed una cardiomiopatia ad eziologia non nota (verosimilmente esotossica), implicanti la sussistenza di un quadro di instabilità elettrica miocardica con conseguente abbassamento della soglia di fibrillazione ventricolare. Il possibile effetto pro-aritmico è stato esercitato, a nostro avviso, dal Domperidone (D), farmaco a rischio di torsione di punta2 e di MCI, agente con un blocco dei canali del potassio della cellula cardiaca (IKr.) e correlata alterazione della fase di ripolarizzazione miocitaria da cui rischio di sviluppo di aritmie3. Le prime segnalazioni di tali effetti avversi risalgono a circa 10 anni or sono, comportando la diffida all’impiego del farmaco da parte della Comunità Scientifica. Studi recenti hanno stabilito, tra l’altro, per il D un basso indice terapeutico, potendosi documentare alterazioni della ripolarizzazione miocitaria già a partire da 30-60 nM (12,8-25.5 ng/mL)4. Inoltre, sebbene i predetti effetti avversi del D siano stati di recente recepiti dall’Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco (AIFA) con la sua nota del 14.11.20115, il D, per dosaggi bassi (5 mg), rimane di libera vendita per automedicazione, nonostante possa essere riconosciuto quale fattore trigger anche letale. Il D è metabolizzato a livello epatico, la sua somministrazione in soggetti epatopatici è pertanto controindicata, implicando il realizzarsi di picchi ematici elevati ed il prolungarsi del tempo di dimezzamento. Nel caso sopra esposto infatti, nonostante l’assunzione di un dosaggio entro il range terapeutico, il farmaco è stato in grado di determinare, in un soggetto epatopatico, l’instaurarsi di concentrazioni ematiche idonee a causare alterazioni della ripolarizzazione miocitaria ad evoluzione letale
Effect of FRP mesh reinforcement on shear capacity and deformability of masonry walls
No full textThe research deals with the analysis of the structural behaviour of CFRP (rebars) reinforced masonry panel. The study shows also the comparison between the behavior of plain masonry and masonry reinforced with ordinary mesh steel under shear test. The tests were carried out using the diagonal test; two different types of wall were employed (but with the same mechanical characteristics of materials) with 200 mm and 330 mm of thickness, using the steel mesh reinforcement and carbon FRP rebars on both sides. The sample was made with mortar applied directly to the face, with the reinforcement inside. Finally the research makes a comparison with a similar test carried out by other authors using FRP strips and lamina
Toxicokinetics of cocaine and metabolites: the forensic toxicological approach.
No full textCocaine is one of the most used psychomotor stimulants all over the world. On this basis, the interest for the pharmacological activity and the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic aspects of this drug is very prominent in both clinical and forensic toxicological environments. The review presents and discusses 65 scientific publications covering all the aspects of cocaine toxicokinetic, including absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination of the drug. Particular attention has been dedicated to the studies on the disposition of the drug in alternative biological matrices, such as oral fluid, hair, fetus fluids and tissues, and sweat. In fact, in the last years the use of these matrices has been proposed in clinical and forensic drug analysis in order to obtain additional information to that which can be obtained by analyzing the traditional biological matrices, such as blood and urine
The Rice-Sprout Song: la danza macabra dei contadini cinesi
No full textThe peasants’ life, traditionally a remote peripheral reality for the Chinese cultural élites, and the highly marginalized propaganda literature converge in the novel by Zhang Ailing, a bilingual Shanghainese woman writer who occupies a hyper-canonical place in the Sinophone literary world. The novel, written in English and self-translated into Chinese, was commissioned by the United States Intelligence Service in the 1950s as part of its cultural activities aimed to prevent the spread of communism in Asia, and provides a realistic portrait of the miserable daily life of peasants under the Land Reform implemented by the new-born People’s Republic of China. While making a harsh criticism of Chinese communism, the author, faithful to her poetics, subverts the conventions of propaganda literature in a tale that unites the oppressed and the oppressors in a common destiny of desolation. Ignored by the us public for its non-conformity with the tones and clichés of the Red Scare, and marginalized in the writer’s production because of its propaganda origins, the novel bears witness to Zhang Ailing’s resistance to the pressure of the ideological clash that marks the Cold War era and reveals her refusal to being assimilated into the ghettoizing role of native informant, assigned to the Chinese intellectuals who took refuge in the us following the Communist Party’s takeover of China
A Cardinium-like symbiont in the proturan Acerella muscorum (Hexapoda)
No full textEndosymbionts of the Cardinium-like genus are described in the testes and other tissues of the proturan Acerella muscorum (Ionescu). Few endosymbionts are present in the large apical cells of functional testes, but they become numerous at the end of the reproductive cycle. They are also found within sperm cells where induce their degeneration. The Gram-negative endosymbionts are characterized by the presence of microtubule-like structures (MLC) in their cytoplasm. It is suggested a possible role of the endosymbionts in the elimination of degenerating sperm cells when the testes activity is ended, thus somewhat playing a role in the timing of the reproductive cycle of the proturan species
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