Sprawl dynamics in rural-urban territories highly suited for wine production. Mapping urban growth and changing territorial shapes in North-East Italy

In Italy, large-scale changes in the structure of land use can be observed. These are caused primarily by socio-economic pressures, generally determining the conversion of agricultural land into artificial surfaces. Our aim was to investigate if and how sprawl dynamics influence viticultural landscapes (that is, if they result in scattered, intermediate, or compact urban developments). We focused on selected territories in North-East Italy, where vine-growing provides almost uninterrupted land cover, as case study areas. Using GIS-based techniques, we documented the processes of land use, analyzing the resulting changes of urban-rural forms and in territorial shapes. Results at the Provincial level showed decreasing dispersed artificial surfaces and increasing clustered urban developments. This trend is also detected in areas under vine, but in general is more modest. Our research indicates that typical agricultural productions can determine resistance to the alienation of land, maintaining a sufficient consistency for areas to develop in a more varied and articulated (for example touristic) manner

Polyp expansion of passive suspension feeders : A red coral case study

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Polyp activity in passive suspension feeders has been considered to be affected by several environmental factors such as hydrodynamics, water temperature and food concentration. To better elucidate the driving forces controlling polyp expansion in these organisms and the potential role of particle concentration, the octocoral Corallium rubrum was investigated in accordance with two approaches: (1) high-frequency in- situ observations examining various environmental and biological variables affecting the water column, and (2) video-recorded flume-controlled laboratory experiments performed under a range of environmental and biological conditions, in terms of water temperature, flow speed, chemical signals and zooplankton. In the field, C. rubrum polyp expansion correlated positively with particle (seston and zooplankton) concentration and current speed. This observation was confirmed by the flume video records of the laboratory experiments, which showed differences in polyp activity due to changes in temperature and current speed, but especially in response to increasing nutritional stimuli. The maximum activity was observed at the highest level of nutritional stimulus consisting of zooplankton. Zooplankton and water movement appeared to be the main factors controlling polyp expansion. These results suggest that the energy budget of passive suspension feeders (and probably the benthic community as a whole) may rely on their ability to maximise prey capture during food pulses. The latter, which may be described as discontinuous organic matter (dead or alive) input, may be the key to a better understanding of benthic-pelagic coupling processes and trophic impacts on animal forests composed of sessile suspension feeders

La qualità dell’inclusione nel sistema scolastico italiano alla luce della Dichiarazione di Salamanca e nella prospettiva dell’ICF

The Declaration of Salamanca (UNESCO, 1994) has represented an opportunity for the development of the principles that the international organizations have utilized, in the last years, to develop the basis of inclusive education (UNESCO, 2005, 2009; UN, 2006, CoE, 2018). Therefore, on the one hand, the importance of the full participation of students with SEN in the ordinaryclasses, has been emphasized; in the other hand, the urgency to facilitate this participation by the adaptation of the environmental factors present at school has been more and more clear.These principles are consistent with the bio-psycho-social model of “human functioning” that the WHO has elaborated in the ICF (WHO, 2001, 2007, 2017). At this moment, in the Italian school law, the ICF represents the conceptual reference of all actions aimed to develop school inclusion. The present paper analyses how the ICF culture enhances the concepts of curriculum and school management identified by the Salamanca Declaration as “scholastic-factors” decisive for inclusion. The authors present a reflection about how, in the last decade, these concepts have been developed in Italian schools, and about how these are encouraging the methods of didactic planning, the evaluation, the teacher-training and the governance of special educational needs in an inclusive direction

Potentially combined effect of the invasive seaweed Caulerpa cylindracea (Sonder) and sediment deposition rates on organic matter and meiofaunal assemblages

The seaweed Caulerpa cylindracea (Sonder) is one of the most successful marine bioinvaders worldwide. Caulerpa cylindracea can influence the quantity and biochemical composition of sedimentary organic matter (OM). However, it is still unknown if the effects of C. cylindracea on both OM and small metazoans (i.e. meiofauna) can change according to different sediment deposition rates. To provide insights on this, we investigated the biochemical composition of sediments along with the abundance and composition of meiofaunal assemblages in sediments colonized and not-colonized by the seaweed C. cylindracea under different regimes of sediment deposition. Our results show that the presence of the invasive alga C. cylindracea could alter quantity, biochemical composition, and nutritional quality of organic detritus and influence the overall functioning of the benthic system, but also that the observed effects could be context-dependent. In particular, we show that the presence of C. cylindracea could have a positive effect on meiofaunal abundance wherever the sediment deposition rates are low, whereas the contextual presence of high to medium sedimentation rates can provoke an accumulation of sedimentary organic matter, less favourable bioavailability of food for the benthos, and consequent negative effects on meiofauna

How Much Recurrent Outbreaks of the Moon Jellyfish May Impact the Dynamics of Bacterial Assemblages in Coastal Lagoons?

The moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea (Scyphozoa) is one of the most common and largest jellyfish inhabiting coastal lagoons, confined bays, and marinas of temperate and subtropical coastal waters. The annual population dynamics of A. coerulea along with some bacterial parameters (bacterial size and biomass, total coliforms, faecal coliforms, intestinal enterococci, culturable Vibrio spp., and culturable bacteria at 37 degrees C), sea surface temperature (SST), salinity, and an array of nutrients (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, silicates, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus) were assessed in the Varano lagoon (Adriatic Sea) that is subject to anthropogenic pollution. Statistical analyses revealed that jellyfish outbreaks and their consequent biomass deposition significantly correlated to seawater temperature, total nitrogen, phosphates, and ammonia concentrations while negative correlations appeared with nitrite and nitrate concentrations. In addition, bacterial biomass and Vibrio abundance correlated with each other and temperature, jellyfish density, and total nitrogen. These findings suggest that environmental changes could trigger the occurrence of jellyfish bursts in the lagoon which, in turn, may act as one of the central drivers of processes regulating some bacterial components. The positive relationship between jellyfish flush-and-crash dynamics and SST suggests that ongoing global warming will seemingly increase jellyfish outbreaks

Dandy-Walker malformation: is the "tail sign" the key sign?

OBJECTIVE.To demonstrate the value of the "tail sign" in the assessment of Dandy-Walker Malformation (DWM). METHODS: A total of 31fetal MRI, performed before 24 weeks of gestation after second-line US examination between May 2013 and September 2014, were examined retrospectively. All MRI examinations were performed using a 1.5 Tesla magnet without maternal sedation. RESULTS: MRI diagnosed 15/31 cases of Dandy-Walker Malformation, 6/31 cases of vermian partial caudal agenesis, 2/31 of vermian hypoplasia, 4/31 of vermian malrotation, 2/31 of Walker-Warburg Syndrome, 1/31 of Blake pouch cyst, 1/31 of rhombencephalosynapsis. All data were compared with fetopsy results, Fetal MR after the 30th week or postnatal MRI; the follow up depended on the maternal decision to terminate or continue pregnancy. In our review study we found the presence of the "tail sign"; this sign was visible only in Dandy-Walker Malformation and Walker-Warburg Syndrome. CONCLUSION: The "tail sign" could be helpful in the difficult differential diagnosis between Dandy Walker, vermian malrotation, vermian hypoplasia and vermian partial agenesis

The laminA/NF-Y protein complex reveals an unknown transcriptional mechanism on cell proliferation

Lamin A is a component of the nuclear matrix that also controls proliferation by largely unknown mechanisms. NF-Y is a ubiquitous protein involved in cell proliferation composed of three subunits (-YA -YB -YC) all required for the DNA binding and transactivation activity. To get clues on new NF-Y partner(s) we performed a mass spectrometry screening of proteins that co-precipitate with the regulatory subunit of the complex, NF-YA. By this screening we identified lamin A as a novel putative NF-Y interactor. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments and confocal analysis confirmed the interaction between the two endogenous proteins. Interestingly, this association occurs on euchromatin regions, too. ChIP experiments demonstrate lamin A enrichment in several promoter regions of cell cycle related genes in a NF-Y dependent manner. Gain and loss of function experiments reveal that lamin A counteracts NF-Y transcriptional activity. Taking advantage of a recently generated transgenic reporter mouse, called MITO-Luc, in which an NF-Y–dependent promoter controls luciferase expression, we demonstrate that lamin A counteracts NF-Y transcriptional activity not only in culture cells but also in living animals. Altogether, our data demonstrate the occurrence of lamin A/NF-Y interaction and suggest a possible role of this protein complex in regulation of NF-Y function in cell proliferatio

Trace Metals do not Accumulate over Time in The Edible Mediterranean Jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) from Urban Coastal Waters

Jellyfish as food represent a millennial tradition in Asia. Recently, jellyfish have also been proposed as a valuable source of protein in Western countries. To identify health risks associated with the potential human consumption of jellyfish as food, trace element accumulation was assessed in the gonads and umbrella tissues of the Mediterranean Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778), sampled over a period of 16 months along the shallow coastal waters a short distance from the city of Taranto, an area affected by metallurgic and oil refinery sources of pollution. Higher tissue concentrations of trace elements were usually detected in gonads than in umbrella tissue. In particular, significant differences in the toxic metalloid As, and in the metals Mn, Mo, and Zn, were observed among different tissues. The concentrations of vanadium were slightly higher in umbrella tissues than in gonads. No positive correlation was observed between element concentration and jellyfish size, suggesting the lack of bioaccumulation processes. Moreover, toxic element concentrations in R. pulmo were found below the threshold levels for human consumption allowed by Australian, USA, and EU Food Regulations. These results corroborate the hypothesis that R. pulmo is a safe, potentially novel food source, even when jellyfish are harvested from coastal areas affected by anthropogenic impacts

Gioco e disabilità: l’ICF-CY nella progettazione didattica inclusiva nel nido e nella scuola dell’infanzia

Nell’ambito della dialettica sul rapporto tra gioco e disabilità, la presente ricerca si interroga sulla possibilità e sull’efficacia dell’impiego dell’ “International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth” (ICF-CY) nelle procedure di osservazione sistematica nel nido e nella scuola dell’infanzia per rilevare informazioni descrittive degli aspetti del funzionamento umano propri dei/lle bambini/e con disabilità durante le attività di gioco e nell’interazione con l’ambiente circostante.In tale quadro, lo studio fornisce, in particolare, dati quali-quantitativi su alcune tipologie di gioco da considerare per la progettazione didattica inclusiva e presenta un set di strumenti di osservazione e analisi su base ICF-CY