Valantia deltoidea (Rubiaceae) sulle Madonie (Sicilia)

Valantia deltoidea, a therophyte endemic to Sicily, so far known only from its locus classicus on the Rocca Busambra (Palermo, Province) has recently been found at the foot of the Serre di Quacella (Madonie, on dolomite rock, about 1300 m altitude. Besides outlines of taxonomical characteristics of such species, the data on the new locality and the updated distribution are provided here

Evidenze altomedievali nelle valli dei fiumi Torto e Imera settentrionale

Si illustrano i risultati relativi al periodo altomedievale nell'area della Sicilia centro-settentrionale corrispondente ai bacini dei fiumi Torto e Imera settentrionale. I dati archeologici, frutto delle prospezioni qui condotte, testimoniano forme di popolamento rurale sparso, con poche eccezioni rappresentate da siti egemoni

Little owl (Athene noctua): nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals divergence of soutwestern and central european subspecies

We utilized mitochondrial and nuclear DNA to study the phylogeography of little owls (Athene noctua) across Europe. Data from 326 individuals distributed among 22 sites were used to assess geographical distribution of the European subspecies, i.e., the widely accepted vidalii, noctua and indigena, and the questioned sarda-species. On the basis of the sequences of two mtDNA markers (CRI D-Loop 494 bp and COI 679 bp), we found a major difference between a first haplogroup, distributed in the North-West (from Iberia to Denmark and Czech Republic) and three other clades, distributed in the South-Eastern part of the study area. In particular we found a second group distributed in the Balkans and a third located in Sardinia, while in Italy there was a mixture between a fourth haplogroup of South-Italy and both the North-West and the Balkan clades. All individuals sampled in Sardinian differed clearly from other haplogroups. The combined analyses of the 13 nuclear microsatellite loci corroborated these results. Both mitochondrial and nuclear markers showed that interaction across contact zones generate a mixture of genotypes not only in Italy, but also in Central Europe. The apparent position of the contact zones differs substantially from the subspecies distribution reported in literature. DNA data are consistent with the phylogeographic hypothesis that this species survived the Pleistocene glaciations in three major refugia located in Iberia, South Italy, and the Balkans. Expansion patterns indicate that little owls from the Iberian refugium were the predominant source of postglacial colonization of northern Europe, while expansion out of South-Italy and Balkans had more limited effects

Habitat selection in a changing environment: the relationship between habitat alteration and Scops Owl (Aves: Strigidae) territory occupancy

Abstract The Scops Owl Otus scops (L., 1758) is a species of European concern, which suffered a noticeable decrease in distribution in the last decades, and changes in agricultural practices have been proposed as a major threat for this owl. We studied the habitat preference of the Scops Owl by assessing the habitat occupancy of 401 territories distributed in a large area in northwest Italy, with a special focus on 98 territories located in a high-density area (Monferrato). Habitat characteristics were analyzed with maximum entropy (MAXENT) models that included both vegetational (16 land use categories) and physical features estimated from a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) (altitude, slope, hillshade). In the Monferrato area, a comparison of 2009 landcover was also made with year 1954/55 characteristics obtained from aerial photographs. In the full northwest Italy area, the Scops Owl preferred areas located at middle altitude with intermediate slope. The preferred habitats included riparian areas and pasture-grassland, while woodlands and zones with Robinia pseudoacacia shrublands were avoided. In the Monferrato area, Scops Owl occupancy occurred in sites where the landuse (croplands/vineyard mosaic) had changed little since the mid-1950s. Our study suggests that conservation activity should focus on interventions halting riparian zone transformation and subsidies promoting agricultural practices favouring pastures and grassland

Is the Salmonella contamination of swine carcasses at slaughter related to the Salmonella load in caecum?

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the load of Salmonella spp. in caeca and the carcass contamination in an Italian slaughterhouse. The sampling scheme was designed to be representative of the pigs slaughtered in a day and to estimate a 12% prevalence of pigs highly contaminated by Salmonella spp. (HCP, cecal load ≥3log). Environmental swabs were taken before slaughter. Cecal contents and carcass swabs were collected from the same pig. Salmonella MPN were estimated according to ISO6579- 2:2012/A1 and ISO7218:2007/E. The overall Salmonella prevalence were 34.64% and 7.19% for ceca and carcasses respectively, with S. Derby and S. 4,[5],12:i:- being the prevalent serotypes. The HCP prevalence was 11.44%. 7/59 environmental swabs tested positive; when the same serotype was isolated from the environment and from carcasses, the samples were excluded from further analysis. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between Salmonella spp. loads in the cecum and contamination of the carcass of the same pig and the prevalence of HCP and the contamination of carcasses on the same day. For this purpose, the days were classified as “high prevalence days” depending on the proportion of caeca resulted positive (≥36%) and as “high load” days depending on the prevalence of HCP (≥10%). A correlation between the contamination of carcasses and the cecal Salmonella loads of the same animal was found (Spearman’s correlation coefficient: 0.2254; p-value=0.0001). No correlation was found between the contamination of carcasses and the categorization of the day of sampling as “high prevalence day”. Conversely, a correlation was found between the contamination of carcasses and the “high load” category of the sampling day (Wilcoxon test, p=0.0011). Notably, not the prevalence of pigs carrying Salmonella spp. but the prevalence of highly contaminated pigs was shown to be related to the contamination of carcasses

Autonomous nuclear waste management

Redundant and non-operational buildings at nuclear sites are decommissioned over a period of time. The process involves demolition of physical infrastructure resulting in large quantities of residual waste material. The resulting waste materials are packed into import containers to be delivered for post-processing, containing either sealed canisters or assortments of miscellaneous objects. At present post-processing does not happen within the United Kingdom. Sellafield Ltd. and National Nuclear Laboratory are developing a process for future operation so that upon an initial inspection, imported waste materials undergo two stages of post-processing before being packed into export containers, namely sort and segregate or sort and disrupt. The post-processing facility will remotely treat and export a wide range of wastes before downstream encapsulation. Certain wastes require additional treatment, such as disruption, before export to ensure suitability for long-term disposal. This article focuses on the design, development, and demonstration of a reconfigurable rational agent-based robotic system that aims to highly automate these processes removing the need for close human supervision. The proposed system is being demonstrated through a downsized, lab-based setup incorporating a small-scale robotic arm, a time-of-flight camera, and high-level rational agent-based decision making and control framework