The density of badger setts in a natural river corridor (NE Italy)

The European badger Meles meles (Linnaeus, 1758) is a common semifossorial mustelid species widely distributed throughout Europe. It also shows a high degree of plasticity, adapting its spatial and temporal behaviour to live in highly disturbed environments. Badgers live in social groups occupying underground systems called setts, which could be classified as “main” (i.e., the complex systems with a great number of entrances), and as “outliers”, “annexes” and “subsidiary” (i.e., the other burrows with a low number of entrances). An extensive scientific literature occurs on the ecology and biology of this species, and some information is available also for setts density in Europe and in Italy, too. However, since badgers may inhabit a wide variety of habitats, the setts density varies significantly both locally and on a large scale. We aimed to provide setts density in a river basin in the North-East of Italy. From January to March 2022, a sett survey was conducted in the eastern plain of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (NE Italy), along the floodplains of the lowest reaches of Isonzo/Soca river basin, from Pavia di Udine (Torre river) to the Isonzo river mouth, a natural corridor surrounded by a highly human-modified matrix. Transects to collect setts information were made in the entire area of 27.82 km2 by two or three operators. For each sett, we recorded the geo-referenced location, the type (main, subsidiary and outliers), the habitat, and the number of entrances. To estimate the density, we only considered active main setts, dividing their number by the area. A total of 22 main setts were identified within the floodplains, corresponding to a density of 0.79 setts/km2. The mean number of entrances was 13.67 (min: 5, max: 28) and they were mainly recorded in forested patches (riverine forests and transitional woodlands-shrublands). We founded other 14 subsidiaries and 13 outliers setts. The density estimated in our study area is remarkably high compared to those estimated in similar environmental conditions (e.g., Po plain area, NW Italy), but considerably lower than those reported for natural habitats (e.g., Alpine area). Even if we did not specifically analyse habitat selection of the badger for the location of setts, our results confirm the importance of the forested area and specifically riverine forests for the badgers in agricultural matrices. Furthermore, it is known that several mammals use the complex burrow system of the European badger as shelter or as a reproductive site. In a highly fragmented and disturbed area, the high density of badger setts could favour the expansion and the survival of other species, some of which are of conservation interest (e.g., European wildcat Felis silvestris and golden jackal Canis aureus) and some other invasive species (e.g., the raccoon dog Nyctereutes procyonoides)

Experimental measurements of a joint 5G-VLC communication for future vehicular networks

One of the main revolutionary features of 5G networks is the ultra-low latency that will enable new services such as those for the future smart vehicles. The 5G technology will be able to support extreme-low latency. Thanks to new technologies and the wide flexible architecture that integrates new spectra and access technologies. In particular, Visible Light Communication (VLC) is envisaged as a very promising technology for vehicular communications, since the information can flow by using the lights (as traffic-lights and car lights). This paper describes one of the first experiments on the joint use of 5G and VLC networks to provide real-time information to cars. The applications span from road safety to emergency alarm

The rhythm of the night: patterns of~activity of the European wildcat in the Italian peninsula

The European wildcat is a threatened carnivore, whose ecology is still scarcely studied, especially in Mediterranean areas. In this study, we estimated activity rhythm patterns of this felid, by means of camera-trapping at three spatial scales: (i) whole country (Italy); (ii) biogeographical areas; (iii) latitudinal zones. The activity rhythms patterns were also calculated according to temporal scales: (1) warm semester; (2) cold semester and (3) seasonal scales. Lastly, we also tested whether the effect of moon phases affected the wildcat activity. We conducted the analysis on a total of 975 independent events collected in 2009-2021, from 285 locations, in 65,800 camera days. We showed that the wildcat in Italy exhibits a > 70% nocturnal behaviour, with 20% of diurnal activity, at all spatial scales, and throughout the whole year, with peaks at 10.00 p.m. and 04.00 a.m. We observed a high overlap of wildcat activity rhythms between different biogeographical and latitudinal zones. The wildcat was mainly active on the darkest nights, reducing its activity in bright moonlight nights. Diurnal activity was greater in the warm months and decreased with the distance from shrubs and woodlands, most likely according to activity rhythms of its main prey, water presence in summer, the care of offspring and the availability of shelter sites. Conversely, the distance to paved roads seems to have no significant effects on diurnal activity, suggesting that, in presence of natural shelters, the wildcat probably may tolerate these infrastructures. We suggested limited plasticity in activity rhythm patterns of the wildcat, emphasizing the importance of dark hours for this species

Un Modello di Massima Copertura della Domanda per l’Allocazione Ottima delle Ciclostazioni di AMAT

AMAT Palermo S.p.A. is the public transport company of the municipality of Palermo. AMAT manages the bike sharing system and within a sustainable mobility project has involved the DSEAS and four secondary schools to the research project “GoToSchool”, a project whose main aim is to foster the use of the bike by the students in getting to the school.The project developed in two phases: the first phase was devoted to the estimate of the demand of bike sharing service from the students; the second phase was committed to the study of an optimal facility allocation problem in order to maximize the demand of bike sharing service arising from students.The optimization model can be easily customized to account for operational requirements from AMAT, such as, the maximum number of bike sharing stations that can be installed according to the available budget, the inclusion or exclusion (“blacklist” or “whitelist”) of potential bike station places because of specific planning and organizational needs. Finally,the model provides a tool to evaluate some fundamental parameters such as, the utility to reach school by bike, or the distances between the students home address and the places of the potential bike stations

Localizing polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy for laser treatment

Abstract A 72 years old woman reported decreased vision in her right eye . Ophthalmoscopy and FAG,ICG, OCT examination demonstrated a polypoidal choroidal vasculopaty (IPCV). Green laser photocoagulation was undertaken and the preexisting fluid and hemorrages disappeared. In the present case OCT proved to be useful togheter with ICG which remain the gold standard for the correct diagnosis and laser treatment of the polypoidal elements enhancing the efficacy and reducing treatment side effect

Population density of European wildcats in a pre-alpine area (Northeast Italy) and an assessment of estimate robustness

6noWhilst population density is a basic demographic parameter, it is rarely available for the elusive European wildcat, despite its wide distribution. Italy hosts at least five different wildcat populations and little information is available for the wildcats inhabiting the northeast of the Italian peninsula. With the aim to provide the first report on European wildcat population density, we used spatially explicit capture-recapture models applied to camera trapping data in a pre-alpine area in NE Italy. The survey was carried out from May 18 th to September 14 th , 2015, using 31 camera traps distributed within a 1×1 km grid, placing a single camera per km 2. We collected 32 videos of wildcats, corresponding to a total of eleven individuals. Density ± SE estimate was 0.35 ± 0.12 individuals per km 2 , with the encounter probability (g0) equal to 0.10 ± 0.03, and the spatial scale (σ) equal to 461 ± 62 m, corresponding to a mean home range size of 3.36 km 2. In addition, to evaluate our sampling design and the robustness of our estimates we simulated data generation and fitted SECR models under several realistic combinations of number and spacing of detectors, and sampling efforts. Considering the relative standard errors and relative bias our sampling design produced robust estimates, whereas in scenarios with short sampling periods or greater spacing of detectors, the estimates were inadequate. Our study provides previously unavailable data on the biology of the European wildcat from NE Italy and some important considerations concerning sampling design to plan future research.mixedembargoed_20221123Federica Fonda, Giovanni Bacaro, Silvia Battistella, Gianpasquale Chiatante, Stefano Pecorella, Marco PavanelloFonda, Federica; Bacaro, Giovanni; Battistella, Silvia; Chiatante, Gianpasquale; Pecorella, Stefano; Pavanello, Marc

Bilateral ocular malformations in a newborn with normal karyotype: Histologic findings

Microphthalmos with cyst is a rare condition characterized by a small globe and an inferior uveoretinal coloboma. There is also a defect in the posterior aspect of the eye through which a cyst lined by neuroectodermically derived tissue protrudes into the orbit. A case of isolated bilateral colobomatous and cystic microphthalmos is reported in an otherwise healthy child, showing no evidence of chromosomal abnormalities. Microscopic findings in the enucleated eye consisted of iris and retinal dysgenesis, ectopia lentis, persistent anterior tunica vasculosa lentis and pupillary membrane, intrachoroidal smooth muscle, and optic nerve hypoplasia. In the orbital cyst, a thick membrane reminiscent of the retinal inner limiting membrane lay between the fibroadipose and vascularised outer wall and the inner neuroectodermal lining. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved

Show me your tail, if you have one! Is inbreeding depression occurring in wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris) from Italy?

Knowledge of genetic diversity is important to wildlife conservation because genetically depleted populations experience an increased risk of extinction. Mammalian carnivores are characterized by small and fragmented populations and low dispersal, so that genetic erosion can lead to the fixation of deleterious genes relatively quickly, leading to morphological abnormalities. Kinked tails and cowlicks are indicative of inbreeding depression and have been described in two wild cat species so far, the puma (Puma concolor) and the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Here we report the first records of morphological abnormalities in five populations of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) in Italy by using (1) camera-trapping and (2) necropsy of road-killed individuals assessed through genetic analysis. We collected 24,055 trap-nights from 251 cameras and recorded 566 wildcat detections, from which we identified 148 wildcats. Among these, 11 individuals had a kinked tail and four displayed brachyuria, whereas three wildcats from Sicily had cowlicks on the thorax. We recovered 28 road-killed wildcats and two of them (from Sicily and Friuli Venezia Giulia) had a kinked tail. Among these, one female with a kinked tail had a male foetus with a kinked tail, which proved that this characteristic was genetically inherited. We are unsure why brachyuria or cowlicks were not detected across all monitored wildcat populations, given we found kinked tails throughout Italy. The frequencies at which we have detected these abnormalities in wildcats are far lower than reports from Florida panthers (Puma concolor). Future research is needed to verify whether these abnormalities are also associated with low genetic diversity or other morphological defects which might lower fitness. We recommend a nationwide effort, using these techniques within a standardized sampling design, to further understand the status of the wildcat in Ital