THE “CARA VALLE” ABBEY AND ITS REFECTORY

The Refectory of Chiaravalle abbey, still in use today, is a masonry building (with bricks that are not common in size), vaulted and characterized by complex stratifications that required careful cognitive analysis of the documentary sources, structural and physical analysis to be understood. To this aim, an accurate 3D laser scanner and photogrammetric survey was carried out during last years in order to obtain geometric information on the building and its complex elements, in scale 1&thinsp;:&thinsp;50. Those data were also fundamental to support the mapping of the different construction phases, the transformations and the dated additions, to be compared to the archive, iconographic and photographic documents. A canal derived from the Vettabbia, which served to move the blades of the mill (now reactivated), flows right under the Refectory causing the usual phenomena of degradation. Saint Bernard had chosen this place because it was rich both in water, and therefore highly productive, and in clayey soil, which allowed the construction of the buildings of the abbey. However, today the strongly compromised irrigation and water regulation system (especially after the construction, in 2003, of the large purifier in Milano Nosedo) represents the main factor of degradation for all the buildings of the monastic complex, in particular for the Refectory.The purpose of this paper is to present the main results of the studies and surveys conducted on the Chiaravalle abbey in the last ten years, focusing in particular on the Refectory.</p

Effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on glycaemic control in subjects with type 2 diabetes: the glycalock study

Aim: To assess the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown on glycaemic control in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and Methods: In this observational, multicentre, retrospective study conducted in the Lazio region, Italy, we compared the differences in the HbA1c levels of 141 subjects with T2D exposed to lockdown with 123 matched controls with T2D who attended the study centres 1 year before. Basal data were collected from 9 December to 9 March and follow-up data from 3 June to 10 July in 2020 for the lockdown group, and during the same timeframes in 2019 for the control groups. Changes in HbA1c (ΔHbA1c) and body mass index (ΔBMI) during lockdown were compared among patients with different psychological well-being, as evaluated by tertiles of the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBS). Results: No difference in ΔHbA1c was found between the lockdown and control groups (lockdown group −0.1% [−0.5%−0.3%] vs. control group −0.1% [−0.4%−0.2%]; p =.482). Also, no difference was found in ΔBMI (p =.316) or ΔGlucose (p =.538). In the lockdown group, subjects with worse PGWBS showed a worsening of HbA1c (p =.041 for the trend among PGWBS tertiles) and BMI (p =.022). Conclusions: The COVID-19 lockdown did not significantly impact glycaemic control in people with T2D. People with poor psychological well-being may experience a worsening a glycaemic control because of restrictions resulting from lockdown. These findings may aid healthcare providers in diabetes management once the second wave of COVID-19 has ended

Sister species diverge in modality-specific courtship signal form and function

Understanding the relative importance of different sources of selection (e.g., the environment, social/sexual selection) on the divergence or convergence of reproductive communication can shed light on the origin, maintenance, or even disappearance of species boundaries. Using a multistep approach, we tested the hypothesis that two presumed sister species of wolf spider with overlapping ranges and microhabitat use, yet differing degrees of sexual dimorphism, have diverged in their reliance on modality- specific courtship signaling. We predicted that male Schizocosa crassipalpata (no ornamentation) rely predominantly on diet-dependent vibratory signaling for mating success. In contrast, we predicted that male S. bilineata (black foreleg brushes) rely on diet-dependent visual signaling. We first tested and corroborated the sister-species relationship between S. crassipalpata and S. bilineata using phylogenomic scale data. Next, we tested for species-specific, diet-dependent vibratory and visual signaling by manipulating subadult diet and subsequently quantifying adult morphology and mature male courtship signals. As predicted, vibratory signal form was diet-dependent in S. crassipalpata, while visual ornamentation (brush area) was diet-dependent in S. bilineata. We then compared the species-specific reliance on vibratory and visual signaling by recording mating across artificially manipulated signaling environments (presence/absence of each modality in a 2 × 2 full factorial design). In accordance with our diet dependence results for S. crassipalpata, the presence of vibratory signaling was important for mating success. In contrast, the light and vibratory environment interacted to influence mating success in S. bilineata, with vibratory signaling being important only in the absence of light. We found no differences in overall activity patterns. Given that these species overlap in much of their range and microhabitat use, we suggest that competition for signaling space may have led to the divergence and differential use of sensory modalities between these sister species

Incidence of parasitoids and predators on eggs of seven species of Therididae (Araneae)

Although many characteristics of the egg sacs of spiders likely evolved to reduce the effect of parasites and predators that attack their eggs, many parasite and predator insects have become specialized on spider eggs. Eggs of six of the seven species of Theridiidae included in this study were attacked by wasp parasites (Baeus achaearaneus, Idris sp., and Comastichus zopheros), and two by the specialized spider egg predator (Neuroptera: Zeugomantispa minuta). The incidence of parasites in the egg sacs varied across species. Parasites attacked more than 60% of the egg sacs of Tidarren sisyphoides and Parasteatoda tepidariorum, but none of the sacs of Latrodectus geometricus. The incidence of parasites in the egg sacs was higher during the dry season for T. sisyphoides, and during the rainy season for P. tepidariorum. The proportion of the eggs parasitized per egg sac varied from 0.09 (± 0.19) in Nesticodes rufipes to 0.50 (± 0.46) in T. sisyphoides. Differences in the biology of parasites, as well as in the structure of spider webs and hábitat preference of spiders, may influence the incidence of parasitism and proportion of eggs parasitized in each egg sac.Vicerrectoría de InvestigaciónUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Gli scali ferroviari di Milano: la conservazione nella trasformazione

Le trasformazioni di Milano determinate prima dall'arrivo della linea ferrata con gli scali ferroviari e poi dal suo successivo ampliamento e trasformazione (1908) e la città con i suoi monumenti: una storia nella storia della citt

A-LETHEIA 1 RICERCHE SULLE ARCHITETTURE LOMBARDE DIMENTICATE

Il volume raccoglie i lavori di ricerca sulle architettre lombarde dimenticate nelle provincie lombarde

Corrado Ricci e la tutela dei monumenti a Ravenna

Il saggio ripercorre l'attività svolta da Corrado Ricci alla prima soprintendenza italiana (1897) ed espone la storia dei restauri alla basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe, mettendo a confronto i progetti conservati presso l'Archivio Centrale dello Stato e quelli della locale Soprintendenza

IL CENTRO STORICO CHE C'E': IL DEGRADO DOPO LA RICOSTRUZIONE

Reggio Calabria, a cent'anni dalla ricostruzione del sisma del 1908: il riconoscimento del costruito esistente e i suoi problemi di conservazione dopo le manomissioni degli ultimi anni

A-Letheia 4. L'ARCHITETUTRA MODERNA. CONOSCENZA, TUTELA, CONSERVAZIONE

I

OLTRE L'ARCHITETTURA. RAGIONI DEL PROGETTO E RAGIONI DELLA CONSERVAZIONE

Il saggio - riprendendo da Persico il titolo - presenta gli studi iconologici dell'architettura mettendo in evidenza la gravità dei restauri di ripristino che non tengano conto anche di questa particolare possibilità di lettura delle fabbriche storiche, una fase della conoscenza fin troppo spesso trascurata