PROGETTO LIFE11 ENV IT 215 RESILFORMED - RESILIENZA AL CAMBIAMENTO CLIMATICO NELLE FORESTE MEDITERRANEE

Le condizioni climatiche delle regioni mediterranee, caratterizzate da frequenti annate siccitose, contribuiscono all’indebolimento degli ecosistemi forestali. Come risultato le foreste riducono le loro capacità produttive e sono più soggette a fenomeni di degrado secondario. Inoltre i contesti economico-sociali possono acuire il degrado con la diffusione di uno scorretto uso della risorsa (tagli boschivi, pascolamento) e con la diffusione degli incendi boschivi. L’obiettivo generale del progetto è preservare i sistemi forestali in ambiente mediterraneo dai rischi derivanti dai cambiamenti climatici, tramite processi di naturalizzazione, aumento di biodiversità e migliorata reattività, nei processi di recupero, in seguito ad eventi destabilizzanti. Obiettivo specifico è implementare una politica forestale regionale in grado di aumentare la capacità di resilienza delle foreste siciliane, migliorandone l’efficienza ecosistemica e favorendo la salvaguardia della biodiversità. Tra le azioni principali previste dal progetto, che si concluderà alla fine del 2015, si possono citare la classificazione delle categorie forestali siciliane in funzione della sensibilità alla desertificazione, l’indagine diacronica sull’uso e copertura del suolo dei principali paesaggi forestali siciliani, la definizione di prassi selvicolturali specifiche; la realizzazione di 120 ettari di interventi dimostrativi in 6 aree della Sicilia; la realizzazione di 6 piani di indirizzo forestali attraverso processi partecipativi con le popolazioni locali. Nella fase finale del progetto è prevista l’implementazione delle linee strategiche sperimentate con ResilForMed nel Piano Forestale Regionale della Sicilia

Validation and psychometric evaluation of the Italian version of the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale

Excessive problematic sexual behavior in the form of compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD), hypersexuality (HS), and sex addiction has gained increasing credibility in recent years and has led to the development of various psychometric instruments to assess such behavior. However, there is still considerable controversy over the operational definition of such concepts and whether they can be used interchangeably to describe the behavior. One recently developed tool is the Bergen–Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS) based on the “components model of addiction.” The present study validated the Italian version of the BYSAS. The BYSAS was administered to a large Italian-speaking sample of Italian adults [N = 1230, aged 18 to 67 years] along with psychometric instruments assessing the “Big Five” personality traits, self-esteem, depression, and two other measures of addictive sexual behavior (i.e., PATHOS and Shorter PROMIS Questionnaire–Sex Subscale). Confirmatory factorial analysis supported a one-factor solution. Furthermore, the scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.787). The BYSAS was positively associated with extroversion, openness to experience, depression, and problematic sexual behavior, and negatively associated with self-esteem, conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, and age. Based on the findings, the BYSAS is a brief, psychometrically reliable and valid measure for assessing sex addiction among Italian adults

Intracellular proteomics and extracellular vesiculomics as a metric of disease recapitulation in 3D-bioprinted aortic valve arrays

In calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), mechanosensitive valvular cells respond to fibrosis- and calcification-induced tissue stiffening, further driving pathophysiology. No pharmacotherapeutics are available to treat CAVD because of the paucity of (i) appropriate experimental models that recapitulate this complex environment and (ii) benchmarking novel engineered aortic valve (AV)–model performance. We established a biomaterial-based CAVD model mimicking the biomechanics of the human AV disease-prone fibrosa layer, three-dimensional (3D)–bioprinted into 96-well arrays. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analyses probed the cellular proteome and vesiculome to compare the 3D-bioprinted model versus traditional 2D monoculture, against human CAVD tissue. The 3D-bioprinted model highly recapitulated the CAVD cellular proteome (94% versus 70% of 2D proteins). Integration of cellular and vesicular datasets identified known and unknown proteins ubiquitous to AV calcification. This study explores how 2D versus 3D-bioengineered systems recapitulate unique aspects of human disease, positions multiomics as a technique for the evaluation of high throughput–based bioengineered model systems, and potentiates future drug discovery

The Italian Water Industry

The Italian Integrated Water Supply system presents a very complex landscape. Italy\u2019s water main and wastewater treatment plant network is very heterogeneous. Best practices exist, where entire areas are fully served by drinking water flowing directly to their homes all day, but there are other areas where the water flows from the tap only a few days a week. Municipalities served with high-quality water by innovative technologies coexist with poor areas characterized by outdated mains providing low-quality water

Circadian Amplitude And Quality Of Sleep In A Group Of Active Elderly Subjects

Increased sleep fragmentation, attributed to a decline in the amplitude of sleep-wake cycle (SWC) that seems to be linked to ageing, has been described as the most important factor for impaired sleep quality in the elderly. In this work we assessed possible between SWC circadian amplitude and; a-increasing age; and b-subjective sleep quality. Twenty five healthy and active subjects (aged from 60 to 83) completed sleep logs for 23 consecutive days in April 1989. Twenty two of them were also evaluated concerning subjective sleep quality. Data thus obtained were submitted to spectral analysis (to assess the strength of rhythmic components of SWC) and descriptive statistics. Significant correlations were evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation test. Results showed no significant correlation between subjects' ages and the strength of the circadian and the semicircadian components of SWC. Sleep quality was positively correlated with the strength of the circadian component (p<0.05), and negatively correlated with the strength of the semicircadian component of SWC (p<0.01). Regularity of some characteristics of SWC (e.g., sleep latency and waking time) showed a significant positive correlation with increasing age and better sleep quality. Based on our results, which are consonant with recent literature data, we suggest that a decline in circadian amplitude of SWC seems to be related to inactivity and diseases rather than to old age per se; therefore, strengthening circadian amplitude could help improve sleep quality.273398408Benedito-Silva, A.A., Menna-Barreto, L., Marques, N., Tenreiro, S., A self-assessment questionnaire for the determination of morningness-eveningness types in Brazil (1990) Chronobiology: Its Role in Clinical Medicine, General Biology and Agriculture, (PART B), pp. 89-98. , Hayes, D.K., Pauly, J.E. & Reiter, R.J. (ed.) Wiley-Liss. 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Geo-archaeological study of the territory of Burnum\u2019s Roman site (Croatia) through LANDSAT multi-temporal satellite images and high resolution GeoEye.

Archaeologists can increasingly profit fromdigital elevationmodels for study and analysis of the actual landscape, which can contain signs of the past or mirror the ancient landscapes. From among the techniques available for such analyses, a photogrammetric method was chosen here that used images acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle and involved structure-from-motion algorithms during the process. These methods were selected because as the state-of-the-art of the discipline they are in the initial stages and are under continuous evolution. Furthermore, they provided us with the possibility of rapid, highly automated, and also low-cost, production of high-resolution three-dimensional data. This test was carried out on the Roman site of Burnum (Croatia). It focused on the comparison between the digital surface model created using an unmanned aerial vehicle with a structure-from-motion approach, and the digital terrain model already built through a kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System survey. The results of the validation provided a final vertical accuracy of about 10 cm,which was achieved in specific areas where there were no trees, bushes and high grass. Through the resulting digital terrain models, archaeologists can provide vital support for important hypothesis regarding the ancient environment