La batteria Valdilocchi alla Spezia, rilievo digitale e documentazione di un’architettura alla fine di un’epoca

[EN] All the fortifications have their time. They respond to specific way of defending and attacking they change in time accordingly to the terrible habits of the weaponry and technology evolution. For a long time, from the age of the great fortifications, to the use of cannons, to the invention of the aerial war, the military built heritage have seen a long transformation made of sudden architectural changes, until the moment when the possibility of bombing and attacking from the sky signed the sunset of the large over ground buildings in favour of mimetic and underground structures. The “Valdilocchi Battery” belong to the last age of the large fortress, capable to resist to ground attack while showing the aspect of an inexpugnable stronghold. Sited on the top of a hill in the eastern part of the La Spezia gulf, this battery had the function of second line defense to control the neighboring valleys. The particular pentagonal plant and the state of excellent preservation, except for a part of collapse on the front of the gorge due to the German bombing, make it an artifact of great value.Verdiani, G.; Marinaro, L.; Reitano, D. (2020). La batteria Valdilocchi alla Spezia, rilievo digitale e documentazione di un’architettura alla fine di un’epoca. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 495-502. https://doi.org/10.4995/FORTMED2020.2020.11432OCS49550

NEMO-SN1 Abyssal Cabled Observatory in the Western Ionian Sea

The NEutrinoMediterranean Observatory—Submarine Network 1 (NEMO-SN1) seafloor observatory is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, Western Ionian Sea, off Eastern Sicily (Southern Italy) at 2100-m water depth, 25 km from the harbor of the city of Catania. It is a prototype of a cabled deep-sea multiparameter observatory and the first one operating with real-time data transmission in Europe since 2005. NEMO-SN1 is also the first-established node of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observatory (EMSO), one of the incoming European large-scale research infrastructures included in the Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) since 2006. EMSO will specifically address long-term monitoring of environmental processes related to marine ecosystems, marine mammals, climate change, and geohazards

Colonial refractions: the 'Gypsy camp' as a spatio-racial political technology

Camps for civilians first appeared in the colonies. Largely drawing on the literature on colonialism and race, this article conceptualizes the 'Gypsy camp' in Western European cities as a spatio-racial political technology. We first discuss the shift, starting with decolonization, from colonial to metropolitan technologies of the governance of social heterogeneity. We then relate this broad historical framing to the ideas and ideologies that since the 1960s have been underpinning the planning and governance of the ‘Gypsy camp' in both the UK and Italy. We document the 1970s emergence of a new and distinctive type of camp that was predicated upon a racially connoted tension between policies criminalizing sedentarization and ideologies of cultural protection. Given that the imposition of the ‘Gypsy camp' was essentially uncontested, we argue that the conditions of possibility for it to emerge and become institutionalized were both a spatio-racial similarity with typically colonial technologies of governance, and the fact that it was largely perceived as a self-evident necessity for the governance and control of one specific population. We conclude by calling for more analyses on this and other forms of urban confinement in both the Global North and South, in order to account for the increasingly disquieting mushrooming of confining and controlling governance devices, practices and ideologies

Song Notes and Patterns of the Mediterranean Fin Whale (<i>Balaenoptera physalus</i>) in the Ionian Sea

The Mediterranean fin whale emits two types of 20-Hz calls, known as “classic” and “backbeat”, that can be produced in irregular series or in patterned sequences called songs. The analysis of songs is recognized as a meaningful approach to study baleen whales and can be used to investigate populations’ identities. Mediterranean fin whale songs have been studied previously, but only in the western Mediterranean Sea. This work describes the structure of the songs recorded in the Ionian Sea. The inter-note intervals and the alternation of 20-Hz note types were considered to assess the occurrence of recurring patterns. Differences between patterned songs and irregular sequences were also investigated. Acoustic data were sampled continuously for about 10 months by the cabled observatory NEMO-SN1, deployed at 2100 m depth, 25 km offshore Catania; 28 call sequences were isolated and 10 of these were classified as either patterned songs or irregular sequences. Significant differences were observed in the spectral features of classic notes between songs and irregulars; four-note patterns were found repeatedly over different months, indicating a regular structure in detected songs. This work establishes a reference to interpret Mediterranean fin whale songs, and to assess the acoustic behavior of the population

Macronutrient intakes in obese subjects with or without small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: An alimentary survey

Objective: Obesity is a multifactorial disorder with a possible microbiota derangement in its pathogenesis. Moreover, in obese patients the likelihood of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is greater than in controls, although few studies are currently available. This study investigates the prevalence of SIBO and the possible role of dietary macronutrients in obesity. Materials and methods: Sixty obese patients and normal lean controls were enrolled for SIBO detection. Diagnosis of SIBO was performed by a glucose breath test. A 24-hour recall questionnaire was administered to investigate macronutrient daily intake between the two obese patient subgroups (with/without SIBO). Results: The presence of SIBO in obese and controls was respectively 23.3% and 6.6% (p = 0.02, OR = 4.26, 95% Confidence interval = 1.31-13.84). Obese patients with SIBO ingested more carbohydrates (252.75 ± 30.53 vs 201 ± 70.76 g/day, p = 0.01), more refined sugars (104.15 ± 28.69 vs 73.32 ± 44.93 g/day, p = 0.02) and less total and insoluble fibers (9.6 ± 1.97 vs 14.65 ± 8.80 g/day, p = 0.04 and 4.7 ± 1.11 vs 8.82 ± 5.80 g/day, p = 0.01, respectively). There were no significant differences in lipid and protein intake between the two groups. Conclusions: SIBO is widespread in obese subjects. Carbohydrates might promote the development of SIBO in obesity and fibers provide a protective function. Our results suggest a close relationship between diet and SIBO in obesity, thus supporting a possible role for intestinal microbiota

Fabrication and characterization of a fully integrated microdevice for in-vitro single cell assays

The aim of this work is the development of a microdevice able to provide in-vitro assays at single cell level. Two modules, integrated in a single platform, are presented: interdigitated electrode arrays (IDEs)-based microsystem for the cell addressed delivery of bio-functionalized nano/microparticles and a cell size microelectrode array (MEA) for single cell electroporation. Both the modules are characterized by two levels of metal structures (buried connection lines made of Al 1% Si + Ti/TiN and gold electrodes) in order to reduce the fabrication costs and the dimensions while improving the device electrical performances. Additional steps of bulk micromachining are developed in order to realize the inlet microfluidics of the MEA-based module. Biocompatible polymers and quartz are used for microchannels and cells confinement respectively. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, both modules are individually characterized. The dielectrophoretic (DEP) capability of the former is demonstrated by using polystyrene microbeads and the bioaffinity of the latter is evaluated by successful Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells culture on chip. Moreover, preliminary results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy [100Hz–1MHz] and of a Randles-based electrical model show the stability of electrode/solution interface parameters (│Z(f)│dispersion < 3%) before and after the cell culture

RIVELAZIONE DI SEGNALI ACUSTICI DA PROSPEZIONI GEOFISICHE (AIRGUNS) NEL GOLFO DI CATANIA, MAR IONIO. POSSIBILI IMPATTI SULL’AMBIENTE MARINO.

Gli airgun sono tra le sorgenti di rumore più invasive per l’ambiente marino, con effetti nocivi su invertebrati, pesci e cetacei. L'analisi dei dati acustici dell'osservatorio NEMO-SN1 ha consentito di monitorare in modo continuativo, per circa 10 mesi, il rumore sottomarino nel Golfo di Catania. La presenza di impulsi airgun è stata rivelata quasi giornalmente, tra novembre 2012 e febbraio 2013. Gli impulsi registrati sono compatibili con sorgenti distanti centinaia di km dall’area di studio

Fin whale detections per month.

<p>(a) Total number of hours with detections per recording month. (b) Total number of 20 Hz calls detected per recording month.</p

Dataset from Annual Acoustic Presence of Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Offshore Eastern Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea

<p>This dataset is form the study: </p> <p>Sciacca V., Caruso F.,Beranzoli L., Chierici F., De Domenico E., Embriaco D., Favali P., Giovanetti G., Larosa G., Marinaro G., Papale E., Pavan G., Pellegrino C., Pulvirenti S., Simeone F., Viola S., and G. Riccobene. "Annual Acoustic Presence of Fin Whale (<em>Balaenoptera physalus</em>) Offshore Eastern Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea." PLoS ONE 10(11): e0141838. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141838</p> <p>The archives labeled YYYYMM_Spectrograms.zip contain the data from each  month of passive acoustic recording -MM- of the years -YYYY- 2012 and 2013. Data consist of the spectrograms (1-50 Hz) of 10-min audio recordings, in PNG format files. These data were used in the cited study to verify the presence of fin whale calls.</p> <p>The archive labeled "NoiseData.zip" consists of two matrix (ASCII format) containing the recorded values of acoustic noise within the fin whale call frequency band.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p

Fin whale daily acoustic presence and noise levels.

<p>(a) The total number of hours with detection of fin whale calls is shown per recording day, from 2^nd July, 2012 to 10^th May, 2013. (b) The 5^th (green line), the 50^th (blue line) and the 98^th (red line) percentiles of noise integrated in the 17.9–22.5 Hz frequency band measured per 10-min file and averaged per analyzed day.</p