The European transhumance network. The ancestral infrastructuring of the territory for settlement rebalance in post-pandemic society.

The lockdown caused by the Covid-19 outbreak was an involuntary socio-environmental experiment demonstrating that the conditions exist to pursue alternative solutions to our short-sighted economic-productive system. Long neglected themes have returned to the center of the debate: the potential of inland areas in the policies of redistribution of settlement density; the value, not only cultural, of secondary historical settlements; the enhancement of ecosystem services due to large-area environmental systems; the role of urban spaces and proximity green spaces for the sustainability of dense settlements. For all these issues, the transhumance system has played a central role over time. In this new scenario, the article reports on a research effort aimed at defining a territorial model for the European transhumance network. The territorial system of transhumance, observed according to the taxonomic hierarchy proposed by the research, will be able to constitute a knowledge base for implementing policies for the conservation of customs, traditions, beliefs, food and wine culture, and expression of the pastoral world. Furthermore, the system may become a coherent framework aimed at assessing the environmental and landscape sustainability of rebalancing settlement transformations in a climate-proof way, with particular reference to the new mobility strategies and new settlement choices that will become appropriate in the post-pandemic era

Hydraulics of skimming flows on stepped chutes: The effects of inflow conditions?

Modern stepped spillways are typically designed for large discharge capacities corresponding to a skimming flow regime for which flow resistance is predominantly form drag. The writer demonstrates that the inflow conditions have some effect on the skimming flow properties. Boundary layer calculations show that the flow properties at inception of free-surface aeration are substantially different with pressurized intake. The re-analysis of experimental results highlights that the equivalent Darcy friction factor is f similar to 0.2 in average on uncontrolled stepped Chute and f similar to 0.1 on stepped chute with pressurized intake. A simple design chart is presented to estimate the residual flow velocity, and the agreement of the calculations with experimental results is deemed satisfactory for preliminary design

Control of Gene Expression by the Retinoic Acid-Related Orphan Receptor Alpha in HepG2 Human Hepatoma Cells

Retinoic acid-related Orphan Receptor alpha (RORα; NR1F1) is a widely distributed nuclear receptor involved in several (patho)physiological functions including lipid metabolism, inflammation, angiogenesis, and circadian rhythm. To better understand the role of this nuclear receptor in liver, we aimed at displaying genes controlled by RORα in liver cells by generating HepG2 human hepatoma cells stably over-expressing RORα. Genes whose expression was altered in these cells versus control cells were displayed using micro-arrays followed by qRT-PCR analysis. Expression of these genes was also altered in cells in which RORα was transiently over-expressed after adenoviral infection. A number of the genes found were involved in known pathways controlled by RORα, for instance LPA, NR1D2 and ADIPOQ in lipid metabolism, ADIPOQ and PLG in inflammation, PLG in fibrinolysis and NR1D2 and NR1D1 in circadian rhythm. This study also revealed that genes such as G6PC, involved in glucose homeostasis, and AGRP, involved in the control of body weight, are also controlled by RORα. Lastly, SPARC, involved in cell growth and adhesion, and associated with liver carcinogenesis, was up-regulated by RORα. SPARC was found to be a new putative RORα target gene since it possesses, in its promoter, a functional RORE as evidenced by EMSAs and transfection experiments. Most of the other genes that we found regulated by RORα also contained putative ROREs in their regulatory regions. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) confirmed that the ROREs present in the SPARC, PLG, G6PC, NR1D2 and AGRP genes were occupied by RORα in HepG2 cells. Therefore these genes must now be considered as direct RORα targets. Our results open new routes on the roles of RORα in glucose metabolism and carcinogenesis within cells of hepatic origin

The discharge of turbine water wheels

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A Note on observations of cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary, Australia to Israel, April 1995

A forty-day voyage from Hobart (Australia) to Haifa (Israel) included a visual and acoustic census for cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary. One hundred and sixty-three sightings were made, 156 occurring within the Sanctuary. Twelve species were identified. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) were encountered most frequently (51% of identified encounters), whilst spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) were numerically dominant. Other species identified included bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.), short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), pan-tropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata), rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis), Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), killer whale (Orcinus orca), short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens), Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) and Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris). The most sightings occurred WNW of the Seychelles, east of Somalia, and in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Half of the sperm whale sightings were to the east of Ras Hafun (Somalia), and included adults, subadults and at least one calf. Thirteen hours were spent listening for cetaceans using a towed array whilst the ship was underway. Cetaceans were detected at 78% of the listening stations, with a possible four species recorded (sperm whale, spinner dolphin, pilot whale, bottlenose dolphin). The survey shows the value of platforms of opportunity for studying the pelagic communities of cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary. It highlights the need for further research in the northwestern sector where anthropogenic threats are varied and increasing.9 page(s

Performance of Type III stilling basins for stepped spillways

Presented at the Protections 2016: 2nd international seminar on dam protection against overtopping: concrete dams, embankment dams, levees, tailings dams held on 7th-9th September, 2016, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. The increasing demand for dam and levee safety and flood protection has motivated new research and advancements and a greater need for cost-effective measures in overtopping protection as a solution for overtopping concerns at levees and dams. This seminar will bring together leading experts from practice, research, development, and implementation for two days of knowledge exchange followed by a technical tour of the Colorado State University Hydraulic Laboratory with overtopping flume and wave simulator. This seminar will focus on: Critical issues related to levees and dams; New developments and advanced tools; Overtopping protection systems; System design and performance; Applications and innovative solutions; Case histories of overtopping events; Physical modeling techniques and recent studies; and Numerical modeling methods.Includes bibliographical references.Energy dissipation within hydraulic structures continues to be one of the major issues facing the designer of new or rehabilitated facilities, such as for overtopping protection of embankment dams. The energy dissipation characteristics of stepped spillways have been well documented, both for low- and high-head dams. Interestingly, much of the generalized research on stepped channels and spillways over the past few decades, while concerned with the amount of energy dissipated on the steps themselves, has contributed very little to generalized design criteria for terminal dissipation structures/stilling basins. Many site specific studies have included work on modifications to stilling basins to account for the increased energy dissipation on the steps, typically resulting in a shortening of the basin length. Others have included some stilling basin parameters within their studies. A few studies have attempted to provide generalized design guidance for the use of specific types of stilling basins with stepped chutes and spillways. This paper will focus on recent studies at the Reclamation laboratory that evaluated the application of smooth channel design criteria for Type III stilling basins to a variety of stepped spillway slopes. While there is a lack of specific generalized studies for stilling basin performance over the range of all types of stepped spillways that exist, there appears to be adequate data available to allow the designer to select and size an appropriate stilling basin for most types of stepped spillways currently in use, including RCC overtopping protection systems