Evaluating impact of possible transgenic poplar cultivation on protected areas

Plant biodiversity studies have been performed in the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Park in Tuscany (Italy) within the framework of the European project LIFE08 NAT/IT/342.This project aims at developing a quick monitoring index (QMI) to rapidly assess the potential risk generated by transgenic plants in characterized ecosystems or biotopes. For this reason test areas have been selected inside the protected area to evaluate plant (weeds and trees), animal, and soil microoganisms biodiversity. The proximity of the selected test area to cropped surfaces where Genetically Modified Plants (GMPs) might be cultivated has been taken into account. GMPs could spread pollen and contaminate natural populations. To avoid this risk, an efficient monitoring system is required taking into account genetic diversity and breeding study. As far as tree biodiversity concern, Populus species were identified in the test areas. Two populations of Populus present into two different ecosystems (forest and wetland areas) were examined together with two cultivated varieties. The two ecosystems were characterized for the vegetation. Nuclear microsatellites were used to evaluate genetic diversity of poplar populations and level of breeding between natural and cultivated Populus. In addition the insect populations present on male and female poplars during flowering period have been studied

Babylonian encounters in the Upper Diyala River Valley:Contextualizing the results of regional survey and the 2016–2017 excavations at Khani Masi

Kassite Babylonia counts among the great powers of the Late Bronze Age Near East. Its kings exchanged diplomatic letters with the pharaohs of Egypt and held their own against their Assyrian and Elamite neighbors. Babylonia's internal workings, however, remain understood in their outlines only, as do its elite's expansionary ambitions, the degrees to which they may have been realized, and the nature of ensuing imperial encounters. This is especially the case for the region to the northeast, where the Mesopotamian lowlands meet the Zagros piedmonts in the Diyala River valley and where a series of corridors of movement intersect to form a strategic highland-lowland borderland. In this paper, we present critical new results of regional survey in the Upper Diyala plains of northeast Iraq and excavations at the Late Bronze Age site of Khani Masi. Not only do our data and analyses expand considerably the known extent of Babylonia's cultural sphere, but also the monumental character of Khani Masi and its wider settlement context prompt a fundamental rethinking of the nature and chronology of Babylonian presence in this transitional landscape. As such, this paper contributes an important new case study to the field of archaeological empire and borderland studies

Landscape strategies in Bronze Age Southwestern Cyprus (2500-1100 B.C.)

This thesis concerns the analysis of the socio-economic transformation of communities in Bronze Age southwestern Cyprus. Through the adoption of a dialectical perspective of analysis, individuals and environment are considered part of the same unity: they are cooperating agents in shaping society and culture. The Bronze Age is a period of intense transformation in the organization of local communities, made of a continuous renegotiation of the socio-economic roles and interactions. The archaeological record from this portion of the island allows one to go beyond the investigation of the complex and articulated transition from the EBA-MBA agro-pastoral and self-sufficient communities to the LBA centralized and trade-oriented urban-centres. Through a shifting of analytical scales, the emerging picture suggests major transformations in the individual-community-territory dialectical relations. A profound change in the materials conditions of social life, as well as in the superstructural realm, was particularly entailed by the dissolution of the relation to the earth, due to the emergence of new forms of land exploitation/ownership and to the shift of the settlement pattern in previously unknown areas. One of the key points of this thesis is the methodological challenge of working with legacy survey data as I re-analysed a diverse archaeological legacy, which is the result of more than fifty years of survey projects, rescue and research-oriented excavations, as well as casual discoveries. Source critique and data evaluation are essential requirements in an integrative and cross-disciplinary regional perspective, in the comprehensive processing of heterogeneous archaeological and environmental datasets. Through the estimation of data precision and certainty, I developed an effective - but simple - method to critically evaluate existing datasets and to inter-correlate them without losing their original complexity. This powerful method for data integration can be applied to similar datasets belonging to other regions and other periods as it originates from the evaluation of larger methodological and theoretical issues that are not limited to my spatial and temporal focus. As I argue in this thesis, diverse archaeological legacies can be efficiently re-analysed through an integrative and regional methodology. The adoption of a regional scale of analysis can provide an excellent perspective on the complexity of transformations in ancient societies, thus creating a fundamental bridge between the local stories and grand landscape narratives

Thinking data. Integrative big data approaches towards an ‘introspective’ digital archaeology in the ancient Mediterranean

Archaeological data is what economists call a ‘non-rivalrous’ good: it can be processed again and again with no diminishing of its value. The proliferation of surveys and excavations, coupled with the large-scale adoption of digitalization in archaeology, exponentially increased the amount of data. Instead of keeping isolated ‘data silos’, one of the current challenges is the aggregation and correlation of archaeological data in the 3V’s perspective of ‘Big Data’: high volume, high velocity and high variety. Archaeologists make traditionally use of SQL RDBMS databases, although the rising importance of Big Data in Computer Science has recently brought to our attention a new typology of Database Management System: the NoSQL. This typology of database can much more effectively handle Big Data by preserving a ‘more human’ approach through dynamic queries and enhanced functions of data visualisation. In this perspective, NoSQL may prove to be a fundamental tool in moving from ‘data silos’ to a more complex strategy of data management. This paper explores the potential of a specific type of NoSQL Graph database (Neo4j) of handling archaeological ‘Big Data’, through the discussion of a specific case study in Bronze Age South-western Cyprus.Archaeological data is what economists call a ‘non-rivalrous’ good: it can be processed again and again with no diminishing of its value. The proliferation of surveys and excavations, coupled with the large-scale adoption of digitalization in archaeology, exponentially increased the amount of data. Instead of keeping isolated ‘data silos’, one of the current challenges is the aggregation and correlation of archaeological data in the 3V’s perspective of ‘Big Data’: high volume, high velocity and high variety. Archaeologists make traditionally use of SQL RDBMS databases, although the rising importance of Big Data in Computer Science has recently brought to our attention a new typology of Database Management System: the NoSQL. This typology of database can much more effectively handle Big Data by preserving a ‘more human’ approach through dynamic queries and enhanced functions of data visualisation. In this perspective, NoSQL may prove to be a fundamental tool in moving from ‘data silos’ to a more complex strategy of data management. This paper explores the potential of a specific type of NoSQL Graph database (Neo4j) of handling archaeological ‘Big Data’, through the discussion of a specific case study in Bronze Age South-western Cyprus

Desensitizing the attention system to distraction while idling: A new latent learning phenomenon in the visual attention domain

For the good and the bad, the world around us is full of distraction. In particular, onset stimuli that appear abruptly in the scene grab attention, thus disrupting the ongoing task. Different cognitive mechanisms for distractor filtering have been proposed, but prevalent accounts share the idea that filtering is accomplished to shield target processing from interference. Here we provide novel evidence that challenges this view, as passive exposure to a repeating visual onset is sufficient to trigger learning-dependent mechanisms to filter the unwanted stimulation. In other words, our study shows that during passive exposure the cognitive system is capable of learning about the characteristics of the salient yet irrelevant stimulation, and to reduce the responsiveness of the attention system to it, thus significantly decreasing the impact of the distractor upon start of an active task. However, despite passive viewing efficiently attenuates the spatial capture of attention, a short-lived performance cost is found when the distractor is initially encountered within the context of the active task. This cost, which dissipates in a few trials, likely reflects the need to familiarize with the distractor, already seen during passive viewing, in the new context of the active task. Although top-down inhibitory signals can be applied to distractors for the successful completion of goal-directed behavior, our results emphasize the role of more automatic habituation mechanisms for distraction exclusion based on a neural model of the history of the irrelevant stimulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Characterization of Late Prehistoric Plasters and Mortars from Erimi - Laonin tou Porakou (Limassol, Cyprus)

Several plasters and mortars from the Middle Bronze Age site of Erimi – Laonin tou Porakou (Cyprus) were analysed in order to perform a technological characterization. Morphological (SEM), elemental (EDX), mineralogical (XRPD), petrographic (polarized OM, SEM–EDX), thermal (TGA) and spectroscopic (FT–IR) techniques were applied. Plasters and mortars were identified as pyrotechnological lime products, obtained using local raw materials and containing a moderate amount of spathic calcite fragments. The use of organic fibres was ascertained and a seminal use of a crumbled ceramic as additive was evidenced