"Identità", incontri fra culture e prospettive plurilinguistiche nel Mediterraneo antico. Il progetto Transformation and Crisis in the Mediterranean

Developed in 2013 from the confluence of two different lines of research, the tcm project (Transformations and Crisis in the Mediterranean) has the main aim to investigate the forms and modalities in which a given community or social group creates its self-definition, the instruments it uses in its search for cohesion and stability, as well as the encounter and/or conflict with the “other”, during particular moments of crisis and transformation in the historical and cultural conditions. At the same time, the research wishes to offer some reflections on the methodology and analytical tools that can be utilized when engaging with such a topic, with specific reference to the concept and term “identity”, to its connotations and to its applicability to historical investigations. At the centre of the study are placed the peoples of the Levant during the late 2nd and the 1st millennium bce, including those – such as the socalled Phoinikes – who soon became protagonists in western Mediterranean history as well. The following notes, then, are addressed to discuss two of the main concepts and terms around which the research revolves: “identity” and “interculturality”

Tarteso. Nuevas Fronteras (I)

El presente volumen recoge las contribuciones presentadas al II Congreso Internacional sobre Tarteso, Nuevas Fronteras, que tuvo lugar en Mérida entre los días 17 y 19 de noviembre de 2021. Su lectura permite un viaje desde el extremo oriental del Mediterráneo hasta el suroeste de la península ibérica, mostrando las diversas realidades históricas acontecidas en este territorio durante la I Edad del Hierro. El objetivo de esta publicación es mostrar la situación que atravesaba el Mediterráneo durante los años de surgimiento y desarrollo de la cultura tartésica para así comprender mejor la formación y evolución de dicha cultura. El conocimiento de Tarteso ha evolucionado sensiblemente en la última década, desde la celebración y publicación de las actas del I Congreso Internacional, Tarteso. El emporio del metal (Almuzara, 2013). La incorporación de nuevas voces y visiones enfocadas al conocimiento de la protohistoria peninsular, así como de algunos temas nunca antes abordados en el conocimiento de Tarteso, permiten presentar en este volumen una visión renovada, donde destaca la incorporación de unos nuevos límites territoriales para esta cultura.Esta publicación se ha beneficiado de las siguientes ayudas para su financiación: Proyecto de Investigación del Plan Nacional I+D+i: “Construyendo Tarteso 2.0: análisis constructivo, espacial y territorial de un modelo arquitectónico en el valle medio del Guadiana” (PID2019-108180GB- I00), financiado por MCIN AEI/10.13039/501100011033). Subvención global de la Secretaría General de Ciencia, Tecnología, Innovación y Universidad de la Junta de Extremadura al Instituto de Arqueología.Peer reviewe

L’insediamento fenicio e punico di Pani Loriga. Risultati preliminari degli scavi 2016-2017 alle “Casematte” (Area C)

This paper illustrates the results of the first two excavation campaigns (2016, 2017) in a sector of the Phoenician and Punic settlement of Pani Loriga (Santadi, Sardinia): the area of the s.c. "Casematte" (Area C), located along a terrace flanking the "acropolis". Activity focused on "ambiente 1", the first of a series of eleven rectangular structures. These were identified and partially explored in the late 1960s by Ferruccio Barreca and Giovanni Tore, who also assigned them a defensive function. On the basis of the stratigraphic sequence recognized so far - it should be emphasized that the excavation is still in progress - it is now possible to date the use of the "ambiente 1" between early 5th and 4th centuries BC. The finding of particular objects, such as a kernos, associated with rooster and deer bones and river pebbles, and of many domestic artifacts, concentrated in a small structure near the NW corner, led us to propose that ritual activities took place in this area. However, only further investigations will explain the function of the structure, as well as of the entire complex

Nuove indagini nell’insediamento fenicio e punico di Pani Loriga di Santadi, Carbonia-Iglesias

Nuove indagini nell’insediamento fenicio e punico di Pani Loriga di Santadi, Carbonia-Iglesia

"Immuni" and the National Health System: Lessons Learnt from the COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing in Italy

Since the early stage of the current pandemic, digital contact tracing (DCT) through mobile phone apps, called "Immuni", has been introduced to complement manual contact tracing in Italy. Until 31 December 2021, Immuni identified 44,880 COVID-19 cases, which corresponds to less than 1% of total COVID-19 cases reported in Italy in the same period (5,886,411). Overall, Immuni generated 143,956 notifications. Although the initial download of the Immuni app represented an early interest in the new tool, Immuni has had little adoption across the Italian population, and the recent increase in its download is likely to be related to the mandatory Green Pass certification for conducting most daily activities that can be obtained via the application. Therefore, Immuni failed as a support tool for the contact tracing system. Other European experiences seem to show similar limitations in the use of DTC, leaving open questions about its effectiveness, although in theory, contact tracing could allow useful means of "proximity tracking"

Arsenic may be a carcinogenic determinant of a subset of gallbladder cancer: A pilot study

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is one of the deadliest malignancy and treatment options are deplorably limited. Better strategies of prevention are urgently needed but knowledge on risk factors remains scarce. Recent data suggested that arsenic (As) may be involved in GBC carcinogenesis but the question remains debated. To date, there are no data on As measurement in GBC samples. This pilot study aimed to measure As concentrations in tissue samples from patients with GBC compared to non-cancerous gallbladder (NCGB). Included patients underwent chole-cystectomy at Hospital Clinico Universidad de Chile, Santiago in Chile, a country with high As exposure, between 2001 and 2020. Tissue samples were preserved in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks. Selected samples were retrieved, processed and submitted to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine As concentrations. A total of 77 patients were included, including 35 GBC and 42 NCGB. The two groups were comparable, except for age (68 vs. 49 years, p < 0.001). Measured in 11 GBC and 38 NCGB, total As was detected in 5 GBC (14%) compared to 0 NCGB samples (p < 0.001). GBC group also showed higher median values of As compared to NCGB (p < 0.001). This pilot study provided a proof-of-concept to measure As concentrations in gallbladder samples and showed higher level of As in GBC samples compared to NCGB, paving the way for future studies aiming to investigate the impact of As on GBC, which may contribute to the prevention of this deadly disease

Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccine in a Big Italian COVID-19 Hospital: An 18-Month Follow-Up

Objectives: This is a longitudinal prospective study which was designed to assess the trend of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies targeting the Spike (anti-S) and Nucleocapside protein (anti-N) viral antigens over a 9-month period after the administration of an anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in a big COVID-19 hospital located in Northern Italy. Participants: 7411 vaccinated workers were included in a linear mixed-effect model analysis performed to model the anti-S decay over the 9 months following the vaccination, during serological screening performed approximately 2, 4, and 9 months following the first jab administration. Serological tests performed in the 9 months preceding vaccine administration were retrospectively analysed to identify the burden of infections occurring before vaccination. Results: The serological assays were used for monitoring the antibody titres during the observational period. Vaccination significantly reduced the rate of infection and elicited a specific humoral response, which lasted during the whole observational period (9 months). A decay was observed in all considered subgroups. At 35 weeks, workers with no history of pre-vaccine infection showed a significantly lower anti-S titre (−2522 U/mL on average (−2589.7 to −2445.7)); younger workers showed significantly higher anti-S titres (140.2 U/mL on average (82.4 to 201.3)). Only seven immunocompromised workers did not show significant levels of anti-S antibodies; three of them, all females, showed a specific T-cell response. Conclusions: Comparing the 9-month periods before and after the first vaccine dose, a significant reduction in infection rate was observed (1708 cases vs. 156). Pre-vaccine infection, especially if contracted during the first pandemic wave, greatly enhanced the response to vaccination, which was significantly affected also by age both in extent and duration (inversely related). A gender effect on the T-cell immune response was observed in a small group of workers who did not produce antibodies after vaccine administration

Ancient Waterlands

Autour de la Méditerranée, dans des régions marquées par des ressources limitées, l’eau potable est une ressource indispensable et un élément de base. Sa présence a souvent conditionné l’installation d’un peuplement humain et donné naissance à des croyances et des rites destinés à la protéger et à la conserver. Aussi, après deux volumes consacrés à des questions d’histoire des techniques et des politiques hydrauliques, le réseau de chercheurs HYDRΩMED, créé par une équipe d’Aix-Marseille Université en 2015, entend-il explorer les voies religieuses et symboliques des eaux, sources et fleuves, dans les mentalités de la Méditerranée du premier millénaire avant notre ère. Fleuves, sources et fontaines sont couramment associés à des traditions mythiques et étiologiques par le biais de récits aussi bien que par des pratiques rituelles et votives. Croisant approches géologiques et usages culturels ou religieux des points de jaillissement des eaux, l’objectif de l’ouvrage est d’étudier les processus de transformation des paysages naturels autour des sources et des rivières (des grottes naturelles au développement de fontaines bâties ou à la création pure et simple de grottes artificielles). Eau nourricière, délassante, ou guérisseuse, eau-spectacle… Comment a-t-elle été parfois monumentalisée, mise en scène, voire sacralisée ? Dans quelle mesure a-t-elle été considérée comme la base de récits cosmologiques, étiologiques et mythologiques ou comme un miroir de l’identité collective d’un groupe ? Autant de questions auxquelles cherchent à répondre les auteurs de cet ouvrage collectif à partir d’études de cas répartis sur l’ensemble de la Méditerranée