Many hands make light work: Collaborative CLIL Activities for university courses in Medieval funerary Archaeology

This paper describes the activities performed by the students of the course of funerary archaeology held at the Division of Palaeopathology of Pisa University in collaboration with the Institute for Computational Linguistics (ILC) of the National Research Council (CNR) in Pisa in the period April-June 2014. The lessons, which used a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach, were aimed at studying the funerary beliefs and burial practices in Italy and England in the Middle Ages. The 2014 course followed on from the courses of the year 2012 (focused on the more general issue of taphonomy; primary and secondary burials; single, double, or multiple burials), and 2013 (which examined the world of the ancient Romans and their burial customs of cremation and inhumation). The lessons were conducted by using extracts from self-contained specialized texts that were simple to read and that offered the basic concepts of medieval funerary archaeology. The students were supported by a reference text for funerary archaeology, which established the correct nomenclature to use when describing bodies, grave goods and tombs. Powerpoint slide presentations helped students break up the monotony of the text work and made the material more interesting and engaging. The slides were used to illustrate different types of burials in filled or empty spaces; the position of burials in both rural and urban environments; the disposition of the limbs in the burial; the rise of the Monasteries in the early Middle Ages and of the religious Orders of the Dominicans and Franciscans in the late Middle Ages. Each student was responsible for researching and reporting on a particular topic, and was supported by the use of information and communication techniques. Particular attention was devoted to the Books of Hours, important illuminated medieval manuscripts (containing psalms, short prayers and biblical quotations) that marked the different parts of the day and that were specifically composed for wealthy people. Classroom activities ranged from the simpler multi-matching and gap-filling exercises to the more complex tasks of providing definitions for given words, creating mind-maps, enriching a bilingual English-Italian glossary and providing contextualized examples for an English grammar book. Educational videos from the BBC or other channels and pertaining to the topics treated during the lessons were projected each time and were followed by direct questioning and more general conversation, to help students gain proficiency in oral communication. In the last three years, the Italian students from Pisa University have been working in collaboration with those of Ohio University on an excavation project carried out at the Field School in Medieval Archaeology and Bioarchaeology at Badia Pozzeveri (Lucca, Italy), to which the prestigious International journal SCIENCE dedicated a special issue and cover in December 2013. Finally, multidisciplinary elements were also included in the courses, by exploiting the information extracted from videos related to disciplines other than funerary archaeology, for example a BBC Channel 4 video describing the British meals of the day, the origins of which date back to medieval times

A reappraisal of the Italian record of the Cretaceous pachycormid fish Protosphyraena Leidy, 1857

The genus Protosphyraena is known mainly from partial remains, consisting of isolated blade-like teeth, conical rostra and scythe-like pectoral fins. This paper provides a new insight into partial specimens of the genus Protosphyraena from the Cretaceous of NE Italy, housed in historical collections from local paleontological museums and previously poorly known to the international scientific community. The specimens are referred to the species Protosphyraena ferox, based on the morphology of the pectoral fin. This attribution is consistent with the paleobiogeographic distribution and stratigraphic range of this taxon. The Italian material provides new information about the distribution in time and space of Protosphyraena, which is relatively poorly known despite being an iconic taxon. The Italian remains, although fragmentary, contribute to fill a gap in the central Tethys record of the genus, whose range probably extended worldwide, considering also the genus Australopachycormus and its profound (possibly congeneric) similarities

Variazione dei parametri di funzionalita piastrinica durante la conservazione di buffy-coat

Introduzione: In questi ultimi 10 anni i metodi per la raccolta, la lavorazione e la conservazione dei concentrati piastrinici si sono rapidamente evoluti mentre, di pari passo, si è ampliato il numero delle patologie che si giovano di tale trattamento cosicché, a partire dai primi anni ottanta ad oggi, l'uso dei concentrati piastrinici è aumentato del 400% . Inizialmente i concentrati piastrinici per uso terapeutico erano allestiti come pool di plasma ricco di piastrine ottenuto da una singola donazione di sangue intero. Sono poi state introdotte nuove metodologie produttive, ad esempio l'allestimento di concentrati piastrinici random a partire da pool di buffy-coat; la conservazione di buffy-coat ha però diversi punti critici, tra i quali quanto tempo possono essere conservati. Attualmente la conservazione dei buffy-coat prima dell’assemblaggio non è definita per cui, alla luce dell’aumentata richiesta di concentrati piastrinici sviluppatasi negli ultimi anni, sarebbe utile conoscere il tempo massimo di conservazione di questi ultimi. Scopo di questo lavoro è valutare come variano i parametri funzionalità e morfologia piastrinica nel concentrato ottenuto da un pool di buffy-coat conservato fino a 5 giorni. Materiali e Metodi: da 15 buffy coat di gruppo A è stato preparato un pool conservato in agitazione a 20-24°C. A partire dal giorno della raccolta dei buffy coat (T1), dopo 3 (T3) e 5 giorni (T5) è stato ottenuto il concentrato piastrinico. Su quest’ultimo è stato effettuata l’analisi emocromocitometrica, e determinati alcuni parametri biochimici quali il glucosio, lattato, lattato deidrogenasi (LDH) e pH. È stata inoltre valutata la funzionalità piastrinica mediante test di aggregazione (usando come agonisti l’ADP e il collagene), il grado di attivazione delle piastrine in base all’espressione di P-selectina sulla superficie mediante citofluorimetria e la concentrazione di serotonina mediante HPLC. Risultati: I risultati ottenuti hanno dimostrato una diminuzione progressiva della concentrazione di glucosio da T1 a T5 accompagnata da un aumento sia della concentrazione del lattato che dell’attività catalitica di LDH. Il pH diminuisce da 6,5 a 6,2 dopo 5 giorni. Anche i parametri relativi alla morfologia piastrinica si modificano nel tempo con un aumento progressivo sia dell’MPV che del PDW. L’espressione della P-selectina va dal 10,3% il primo giorno dopo la raccolta (T1) al 29,4% il terzo giorno (T3) fino ad arrivare al 44,1% a T5. Insieme all’aumentata espressione della P-selectina è stato riscontrato anche un aumento dei livelli di serotonina. Conclusioni: Da questi primi risultati è possibile concludere che già dopo tre giorni di conservazione i concentrati piastrinici presentano alterazioni biochimiche del mezzo, ed alterazioni morfologiche e di funzionalità delle piastrine. Questo studio preliminare suggerisce che non è consigliabile la conservazione dei buffy-coat oltre i tre giorni

Correzione delle alterazioni cliniche e metaboliche della Sindrome dell'ovaio policistico con insulino-sensibilizzanti: dai trattamenti classici alle nuove frontiere.

La Sindrome dell'ovaio policistico è una causa frequente di irregolarità mestruali e si associa ad iperandrogenismo, infertilità ed alterazioni del metabolismo, tra cui iperinsulinemia e possibile sviluppo di DMII, sindrome metabolica e malattie cardiovascolari. In questo lavoro ci si propone di valutare e confrontare i risultati di terapie svolte con diversi tipi di insulino-sensibilizzanti

Digital Hypertexts vs. Traditional Books: An Inquiry Into Non-Linearity

The current study begins with an awareness that today’s media environment is characterized by technological development and a new way of reading caused by the introduction of the Internet. The researcher conducted a meta analysis framed within Technological Determinism to investigate the process of hypertext reading, its differences from linear reading and the effects such differences can have on people’s ways of mentally structuring their world. The relationship between literacy and the comprehension achieved by reading hypertexts is also investigated. The results show hypertexts are not always user friendly. People experience hyperlinks as interruptions that distract their attention generating comprehension and disorientation. On one hand, hypertextual jumping reading generates interruptions that finally make people lose their concentration. On the other hand, hypertexts fascinate people who would rather read a document in such a format even though the outcome is often frustrating and affects their ability to elaborate and retain information

An English Grammar and a bilingual Glossary acting as complementary Tools for a CLIL-based Course

This paper describes how two complementary tools, an English grammar and a bilingual (Italian- English) glossary, can be expanded by University students attending a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) course in which a funerary archaeology lecturer, an English language instructor and an archaeologist work together, integrating content and language. This work is part of a wider project carried out at the Division of Palaeopathology, History of Medicine and Bioethics, and approved by the University of Pisa. Starting from a sample of Italian and English monographic texts and other publications in printed or electronic form dealing with the subject of funerary archaeology and other related research areas (anthropology, field archaeology, anatomy and chemistry, which can provide new insights into past civilizations, cultures and practices so far undiscovered), we have extracted separate, preliminary lists of specialized terms. The students working alone, in pairs or in groups, are asked to expand these lists, tracking down additional words with their definitions and example sentences drawn from other authoritative sources. The information with specification of the authors and detailed bibliographical references should be written in independent appropriately labelled files, and sent to the computer analyst responsible for the computer software editing. The reading of various definitions at different levels of depth will enable the user to understand better, have a clearer and more exhaustive picture of a particular word, concept, or phenomenon. The glossary, addressed to the students who are at the same time creators and users of the product, can also be of interest to professors, scholars or translators who need to dispose of the specialised terms of funerary archaeology in a language other than their own. Many of the definitions and other types of useful information can be exploited to illustrate the different grammar points and structures of an easy-to-use on-line English intermediate-level grammar book, to study the grammar not in isolation but in meaningful contexts and real-life situations, to encourage the learners to become active explorers of the language. This ongoing grammar can be a valuable resource for students with minimum linguistic knowledge and competence, but also be useful to those wishing to improve the English language, enhancing their learning proficiency. Implementation of the two complementary products - grammar and glossary - will proceed together, contributing to the learning of funerary archaeology on the part of the students, both learners and creators of the two tools. As we know, the possibilities offered by the computer in terms of space, links, cross-references, etc. make it possible to organize and customize the material, meeting as much as possible the users\u27 needs. The technological tools increasingly available in the educational context support both the subject and language teacher in making the learning process easier and more engaging, helping clarify certain concepts in a non-traditional way in order to accomplish various instructional objectives

TVOCs and PM 2.5 in Naturally Ventilated Homes: Three Case Studies in a Mild Climate

In southern Europe, the present stock of social housing is ventilated naturally, with practice varying in the di erent seasons of the year. In winter, windows are kept closed most of the day with the exception of short periods for ventilation, whereas the rest of the year the windows are almost permanently open. In cold weather, air changes depend primarily on the air infiltrating across the envelope and when the temperature is warm, on the air flowing in through open windows. CO2, PM2.5, and TVOC concentration patterns were gathered over a year’s time in three social housing developments in southern Europe with di erent airtightness conditions and analyzed to determine possible relationships between environmental parameters and occupants’ use profiles. Correlations were found between TVOC and CO2 concentrations, for human activity was identified as the primary source of indoor contaminants: peak TVOC concentrations were related to specific household activities such as cooking or leisure. Indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations were likewise observed to be correlated, although not linearly due to the presence of indoor sources. Ventilation as presently practiced in winter appears to be insufficient to dilute indoor contaminants in all three buildings, nor does summertime behavior guarantee air quality

For the History of Cholera in Italy. The pandemia of 1854-55 in Tuscany and the Cholera cemetery of Benabbio (LU)

The cholera, endemic in Bengal, in the early 19th century spread in the West thanks to the revolution in transportation resulted from the steam engine. Tuscany was struck in 1835 and then, even more violent, in 1854-55. Thanks to Pietro Betti, Superintendent for health of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, we have a detailed description of the epidemic and a precise estimate of the deaths. 26,327 individuals died in 1855. The disease penetrated in Tuscany by Liguria in July 1854; from the ports of Avenza and Livorno spread towards the Interior of the region, until Florence, and quietened down in December 1854. Then cholera rekindled in devastating form in March-April of 1855, starting from the area immediately west of Florence, a district rich in activities related to the water cycle, and retraced the route in reverse order made last year, always following the way of the Arno and the new railway line opened in 1848: in august-september the cholera was spread to all the Tuscany. The area of Lucca is one of the hardest hit in the region. Between 2007 and 2010, the Division of Paleopathology of the University of Pisa undertook the archaeological exploration of the cholera cemetery of Benabbio, a mountain village near Lucca, where cholera lashed between August and October of 1855 causing 46 deaths in a population of around 900 inhabitants. The excavation made it possible to detect for the first time the material characteristics of a cholera cemetery. The findings provide a new source for anthropologically reading the reaction of a community facing the mortality crisis, between acceptance of regulations imposed by the authorities and local strategies

Developmental hip dysplasia of Giovanna from Austria (1548-1578) and her daughter Anna (1569-1584): some clarifications

I am pleased that paleopathology is starting to acquire general interest and that our paper on hip dysplasia of Giovanna from Austria and of her daughter Anna attracted comments. The lesions observed in the acetabular roofs of Giovanna had already been cited in a preliminary report, where an incomplete dislocation of the hip was diagnosed. The defect we described was only in the external acetabular roof of both women, with no lesions present in other parts of the acetabular cavities or in the femoral heads. Therefore, radiographs would probably not be helpful at this stage. We believe that the lesions of the acetabular roof of the pelvis of Giovanna and Anna are macroscopically evident, and that a diagnosis of mild developmental hip dysplasia is likel

A Low Energy FPGA Platform for Real-Time Event-Based Control

We present a wireless sensor node suitable for event-based real-time control networks. The node achieves low-power operation thanks to tight clock synchronisation with the network master (at present we refer to a star network but extensions are envisaged). Also, the node does not employ any programmable device but rather an FPGA, thus being inherently immune to attacks based on code tampering. Experimental results on a simple laboratory apparatus are presented