Spaces of Encounter: Community and the Public Library

In our increasingly globalized world, the space of the public library is changing. This poster sheds light on and discusses two different sorts of negotiations of space and how they relate to the public library. The first is the concept of the low-intensive meeting place, in which people are exposed to ideas and values different from their own. The second is the idea of Third Space, where people encounter a culture and redefine themselves in relation to the discourse of the space. Taken together, these two models suggest how public library users relate to the space of the library and how librarians can understand and manage the construction of the symbolic library space to benefit the diverse communities that they serve

Measurement of physical quantities in upper-limb tele-rehabilitation

A total of 50 patients (affected by traumatic brain injury, stroke or multiple sclerosis) were treated for one month using a rehabilitation protocol. Rehabilitation could be monitored using a Portable Unit (PU) which could be installed in a patient's home allowing the measurement of kinetic and kinematic variables during exercise. In a preliminary analysis, the variables related to four rehabilitation exercises were examined for two patients at baseline and at the end of the one-month treatment. The exercises involved movement of checkers, a pencil, a jar and a key. The results suggest that, even if the overall duration of exercise execution is an important aspect of the rehabilitation process, other variables acquired by the PU might deliver useful information for assessing the patient's status. In order to integrate such variables into the assessment process, further studies are needed to investigate their eventual correlation with traditional rehabilitation scales and variables

Virulence of 32 Salmonella Strains in Mice

Virulence and persistence in the BALB/c mouse gut was tested for 32 strains of Salmonella enterica for which genome sequencing is complete or underway, including 17 serovars within subspecies I (enterica), and two representatives of each of the other five subspecies. Only serovar Paratyphi C strain BAA1715 and serovar Typhimurium strain 14028 were fully virulent in mice. Three divergent atypical Enteritidis strains were not virulent in BALB/c, but two efficiently persisted. Most of the other strains in all six subspecies persisted in the mouse intestinal tract for several weeks in multiple repeat experiments although the frequency and level of persistence varied considerably. Strains with heavily degraded genomes persisted very poorly, if at all. None of the strains tested provided immunity to Typhimurium infection. These data greatly expand on the known significant strain-to-strain variation in mouse virulence and highlight the need for comparative genomic and phenotypic studies

Role of deep sponge grounds in the Mediterranean Sea: a case study in southern Italy

The Mediterranean spongofauna is relatively well-known for habitats shallower than 100 m, but, differently from oceanic basins, information upon diversity and functional role of sponge grounds inhabiting deep environments is much more fragmentary. Aims of this article are to characterize through ROV image analysis the population structure of the sponge assemblages found in two deep habitats of the Mediterranean Sea and to test their structuring role, mainly focusing on the demosponges Pachastrella monilifera Schmidt, 1868 and Poecillastra compressa (Bowerbank, 1866). In both study sites, the two target sponge species constitute a mixed assemblage. In the Amendolara Bank (Ionian Sea), where P. compressa is the most abundant species, sponges extend on a peculiar tabular bedrock between 120 and 180 m depth with an average total abundance of 7.3 +/- 1.1 specimens m(-2) (approximately 230 gWW m(-2) of biomass). In contrast, the deeper assemblage of Bari Canyon (average total abundance 10.0 +/- 0.7 specimens m(-2), approximately 315 gWW m(-2) of biomass), located in the southwestern Adriatic Sea between 380 and 500 m depth, is dominated by P. monilifera mixed with living colonies of the scleractinian Madrepora oculata Linnaeus, 1758, the latter showing a total biomass comparable to that of sponges (386 gWW m(-2)). Due to their erect growth habit, these sponges contribute to create complex three-dimensional habitats in otherwise homogenous environments exposed to high sedimentation rates and attract numerous species of mobile invertebrates (mainly echinoderms) and fish. Sponges themselves may represent a secondary substrate for a specialized associated fauna, such zoanthids. As demonstrated in oceanic environments sponge beds support also in the Mediterranean Sea locally rich biodiversity levels. Sponges emerge also as important elements of benthic-pelagic coupling in these deep habitats. In fact, while exploiting the suspended organic matter, about 20% of the Bari sponge assemblage is also severely affected by cidarid sea urchin grazing, responsible to cause visible damages to the sponge tissues (an average of 12.1 +/- 1.8 gWW of individual biomass removed by grazing). Hence, in deep-sea ecosystems, not only the coral habitats, but also the grounds of massive sponges represent important biodiversity reservoirs and contribute to the trophic recycling of organic matter

Morphology of the larva and ancestrula of Myriapora truncata (Bryozoa, Cheilostomatida).

During an essay to rear in aquarium some colonies of the Mediterranean erect bryozoan Myriapora truncata (Gymnolaemata, Cheilostomatida, Ascophorina, Myriaporidae) it was possible to study its larval and ancestrular morphology by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and by light microscope. The different phases of metamorphosis, giving origin to the preancestrula and the ancestrula, were also investigated. The larva of M. truncata is short-lived, lecithotrophic, and of the coronate type, with expanded corona and small pallial sinus (AEO/ps type, according to Zimmer & Woollacott; VB type, according to d\u2019Hondt). Its morphology, life and metamorphosis appear very similar to those of other well described cheilostome larvae (Neocheilostomida sensu d\u2019Hondt). But, unlike in the other known species of this group, the ancestrula derived from metamorphosis is an \u2018ancestrular twin\u2019, in which two zooids simultaneously develop; these can form in two possible reciprocal orientations (same\u2014ipsolateral\u2014or opposite\u2014contralateral\u2014in the direction of growth)

Evaluation of an automated complement fixation test (Seramat) for the detection of chlamydial antibodies in sheep and goat sera.

The use of an automated complement fixation test for the diagnosis of chlamydiosis in goat and sheep sera is reported