Assessing temporal and geographic contacts across the Adriatic Sea through the analysis of genome-wide data from Southern Italy

AbstractSouthern Italy was characterised by a complex prehistory that started with different Palaeolithic cultures, later followed by the Neolithic transition and the demic dispersal from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe during the Bronze Age. Archaeological and historical evidence points to demic and cultural influences between Southern Italians and the Balkans, starting with the initial Palaeolithic occupation until historical and modern times. To shed light on the dynamics of these contacts, we analysed a genome-wide SNP dataset of more than 700 individuals from the South Mediterranean area (102 from Southern Italy), combined with ancient DNA from neighbouring areas. Our findings revealed high affinities of South-Eastern Italians with modern Eastern Peloponnesians, and a closer affinity of ancient Greek genomes with those from specific regions of South Italy than modern Greek genomes. The higher similarity could be associated with the presence of a Bronze Age component ultimately originating from the Caucasus and characterised by high frequencies of Iranian and Anatolian Neolithic ancestries. Furthermore, to reveal possible signals of natural selection, we looked for extremely differentiated allele frequencies among Northern and Southern Italy, uncovering putatively adapted SNPs in genes involved in alcohol metabolism, nevi features and immunological traits, such as ALDH2, NID1 and CBLB

Educational Intervention of Healthy Life Promotion for Children with a Migrant Background or at Socioeconomic Disadvantage in the North of Italy: Efficacy of Telematic Tools in Improving Nutritional and Physical Activity Knowledge

The aim of the "Smuovi La Salute " ( "Shake Your Health ") project was to implement an integrated and comprehensive model to prevent and treat overweight and obesity in low socioeconomic status (SES) and minority groups living in three different districts in the north of Italy. An app and a cookbook promoting transcultural nutrition and a healthy lifestyle were developed, and no-cost physical activities were organized. Healthy lifestyle teaching was implemented in 30 primary school classrooms. Learning was assessed through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. At the Obesity Pediatric Clinic, overweight and obese children of migrant background or low SES were trained on transcultural nutrition and invited to participate in the project. Primary school students increased their knowledge about healthy nutrition and the importance of physical activity (p-value < 0.001). At the Obesity Pediatric Clinic, after 6 months, pre-post-intervention variation in their consumption of vegetables and fruit was +14% (p < 0.0001) and no variation in physical activity habits occurred (p = 0.34). In this group, the BMI z-score was not significantly decreased (-0.17 & PLUSMN; 0.63, p= 0.15). This study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of telematic tools and targeted community approaches in improving students' knowledge with regard to healthy lifestyle, particularly in schools in suburbs with a high density of migrants and SES families. Comprehensive and integrated approaches provided to the obese patients remain mostly ineffective

Assessing temporal and geographic contacts across the Adriatic Sea through the analysis of genome-wide data from Southern Italy

none18noSouthern Italy was characterised by a complex prehistory that started with different Palaeolithic cultures, later followed by the Neolithization and the demic dispersal from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe during the Bronze Age. Archaeological and historical evidences point to a link between Southern Italians and the Balkans still present in modern times. To shed light on these dynamics, we analysed around 700 South Mediterranean genomes combined with informative ancient DNAs. Our findings revealed high affinities of South-Eastern Italians with modern Eastern Peloponnesians, and a closer affinity of ancient Greek genomes with those from specific regions of South Italy than modern Greek genomes. The higher similarity could be associated with a Bronze Age component ultimately originating from the Caucasus with high Iranian and Anatolian Neolithic ancestries. Furthermore, extremely differentiated allele frequencies among Northern and Southern Italy revealed putatively adapted SNPs in genes involved in alcohol metabolism, nevi features and immunological traits.Raveane, Alessandro; Molinaro, Ludovica; Aneli, Serena; Capodiferro, Marco Rosario; de Gennaro, Luciana; Ongaro, Linda; Rambaldi Migliore, Nicola; Soffiati, Sara; Scarano, Teodoro; Torroni, Antonio; Achilli, Alessandro; Ventura, Mario; Pagani, Luca; Capelli, Cristian; Olivieri, Anna; Bertolini, Francesco; Semino, Ornella; Montinaro, FrancescoRaveane, Alessandro; Molinaro, Ludovica; Aneli, Serena; Capodiferro, Marco Rosario; de Gennaro, Luciana; Ongaro, Linda; Rambaldi Migliore, Nicola; Soffiati, Sara; Scarano, Teodoro; Torroni, Antonio; Achilli, Alessandro; Ventura, Mario; Pagani, Luca; Capelli, Cristian; Olivieri, Anna; Bertolini, Francesco; Semino, Ornella; Montinaro, Francesc