The Sea Between Image and Imagination - The Investigation of the Underwater World from the Renaissance to the Age of Enlightenment.

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The oldest herpetological collection in the world : the surviving amphibian and reptile specimens of the Museum of Ulisse Aldrovandi

The natural history collection of the Bolognese polymath, encyclopedist, and natural philosopher Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) is regarded as the first museum in the modern sense of the term. It was intended as a resource for scholarship and a microcosm of the natural world, not simply a cabinet of curiosities. In addition to physical specimens, Aldrovandi's zoological material included a large series of paintings of animals (Tavole di Animali) that were integral to the collection. Following Aldrovandi's death, his collection was maintained by the terms of his will, but by the 19th century relatively little remained. We examined surviving herpetological components of the collection, comprising 19 specimens of ten species, as well as the corresponding paintings and associated archival material in the Museum of Palazzo Poggi, Museo di Zoologia, and Biblioteca Universitaria Bolognese in Bologna, Italy. Although the antiquity of some of these dried preparations is in question, many are documented in the Tavole di Animali and/or are mentioned in 17th century lists of the museum, verifying them as the oldest museum specimens of amphibians and reptiles in the world. Exotic species are best represented, including two specimens of Uromastyx aegyptia and several boid snakes - the first New World reptiles to be displayed in Europe. However, the Tavole di Animali suggest that the original collection was dominated by Italian taxa and that greater effort may have been made to conserve the more spectacular specimens. The Aldrovandi collection provides a tangible link to the dawn of modern herpetology in Renaissance Italy

A Molecular Phylogeny of Bivalve Mollusks: Ancient Radiations and Divergences as Revealed by Mitochondrial Genes

Background: Bivalves are very ancient and successful conchiferan mollusks (both in terms of species number and geographical distribution). Despite their importance in marine biota, their deep phylogenetic relationships were scarcely investigated from a molecular perspective, whereas much valuable work has been done on taxonomy, as well as phylogeny, of lower taxa. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we present a class-level bivalve phylogeny with a broad sample of 122 ingroup taxa, using four mitochondrial markers (MT-RNR1, MT-RNR2, MT-CO1, MT-CYB). Rigorous techniques have been exploited to set up the dataset, analyze phylogenetic signal, and infer a single final tree. In this study, we show the basal position of Opponobranchia to all Autobranchia, as well as of Palaeoheterodonta to the remaining Autobranchia, which we here propose to call Amarsipobranchia. Anomalodesmata were retrieved as monophyletic and basal to (Heterodonta + Pteriomorphia). Conclusions/Significance: Bivalve morphological characters were traced onto the phylogenetic trees obtained from the molecular analysis; our analysis suggests that eulamellibranch gills and heterodont hinge are ancestral characters for all Autobranchia. This conclusion would entail a re-evaluation of bivalve symplesiomorphies

3D Digitization and Web Publishing of an ISMAR Cartographic Heritage: Historical Maps of Venice Lagoon

Recently a collection of ancient maps was found in the Institute of Marine Sciences of CNR in Venice. The collection includes maps, perspective views, pilot books and ancient manuscripts: this work took into account a selection of maps and documents representing the Venice Lagoon and the Adriatic coast. The first part of this research focused on the application of a scientific method for digital acquisition of historical cartography; thanks to the Geomatic tools and especially to digital photogrammetry it is possible to acquire metric, semantic and symbolic information and also the three-dimensional shape of the geometrical support to correct the deformations occurred over time. In order to allow historical and morphological analysis of the Venice Lagoon, one of the main goals of this research will be the creation of a digital catalogue on a web-gis platform with all the ancient maps acquired. In this way it will be possible to query and to overlap the maps in an interactive way, allowing studies and comparisons with the more recent cartography. The applied procedure of recovery and valorization of historical cartography is divided into three different phases: acquisition, georeferencing and data elaboration of maps in a digital environment. This research underlines the application of a scientific procedure for the conservation and valorization of the historical Cartographic Heritage

IMPARCIALIDADE SUBJETIVA DO JUIZ NO PROCESSO PENAL COMO ELEMENTO ESTRUTURANTE DO SISTEMA ACUSATÓRIO: ANÁLISE A PARTIR A TEORIA DA DISSONÂNCIA COGNITIVA

O presente artigo tem como objeto de estudo a imparcialidade subjetiva do juiz no Processo Penal a partir da Teoria da Dissonância Cognitiva. A hipótese do trabalho é a de que o contato prévio do juiz com o produto da investigação preliminar causa um desequilíbrio cognitivo no julgador em favor da versão acusatória (primado da hipótese sobre os fatos). Os objetivos específicos da pesquisa são: a) tratar de uma das pilastras do Constitucionalismo, qual seja, a limitação de poderes; b) investigar a imparcialidade do julgador no âmbito do Sistema Acusatório de Processo (imparcialidade subjetiva e imparcialidade objetiva); e, c) compreender como a Teoria da Dissonância Cognitiva pode explicar as tendências naturais do juiz em supervalorar informações que confirmam as teses previamente conhecidas a partir da investigação e, por outro lado, de subvalorar todas as informações que contrastam com essas teses. Em conclusão, verifica-se que o juiz que conhece os elementos da fase preliminar busca confirmar essas informações na medida em que o Processo Penal se desenvolve, selecionando conteúdo de prova para confirmá-las. O método de pesquisa é o indutivo, subsidiado pela pesquisa bibliográfica

New deep-water cnidarian sites in the southern Adriatic Sea

Recent ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) exploration and bottom sampling in the southern Adriatic Sea (Apulian and Montenegrin margins) resulted in the discovery of cnidarian-rich deep-sea habitats in the depth range of ca. 400-700 m. In particular, ROV inspection of Montenegrin canyons reveals the existence of megabenthic communities dominated by a variety of cnidarians, including scleractinians (Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa, Dendrophyllia cornigera),antipatharians (Leiopathes glaberrima) and gorgonians (Callogorgia verticillata) as major habitat forming taxa, often in association with sponges and, subordinately, serpulids. All such cnidarians are new records for the south-eastern side of the Adriatic Sea. Our investigation indicates that an almost continuous belt of patchy cold water coral sites occurs along the entire south-western margin (Apulian),basically connecting the Adriatic populations with those inhabiting the Ionian margin (Santa Maria di Leuca coral province)

ROV-SCUBA integrated survey of the Montecristo Island Nature Reserve (Tuscan Archipelago National Park, Mediterranean Sea)

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First-episode psychosis and migration in Italy (PEP-Ita migration): a study in the Italian mental health services

BACKGROUND: It has been frequently reported a higher incidence of psychotic disorders in immigrants than in native populations. There is, however, a lack of knowledge about risk factors which may explain this phenomenon. A better understanding of the causes of psychosis among first-generation migrants is highly needed, particularly in Italy, a country with a recent massive migration. METHODS/DESIGN: The "Italian study on first-episode psychosis and migration (PEP-Ita)" is a prospective observational study over a two-year period (1 January 2012-31 December 2013) which will be carried out in 11 Italian mental health centres. All participating centres will collect data about all new cases of migrants with first-episode psychosis. The general purpose ("core") of the PEP-Ita study is to explore the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and the pathways to care of a population of first-episode psychosis migrants in Italy. Secondary aims of the study will be: 1) to understand risk and protective factors for the development of psychotic disorders in migrants; 2) to evaluate the correlations between psychopathology of psychotic disorders in migrants and socio-demographic characteristics, migration history, life experiences; 3) to evaluate the clinical and social outcomes of first-episode psychoses in migrants. DISCUSSION: The results of the PEP-Ita study will allow a better understanding of risk factors for psychosis in first-generation migrants in Italy. Moreover, our results will contribute to the development of prevention programmes for psychosis and to the improvement of early intervention treatments for the migrant population in Italy