Search results for "CONSERVATION"
showing 10 items of 2328 documents
Growth form matters – Crustose lichens on dead wood are sensitive to forest management
2022
Lichens have a vital role in forest ecosystems and they are a threatened group in boreal forests. However, the conservation ecology of the total lichen community has very rarely been studied. Here we studied lichen species and communities, including macrolichens (=foliose and fruticose growth forms) and rarely studied crustose li-chens, on decaying wood in boreal spruce-dominated forests in Finland. We also studied obligate lignicoles that grow only on dead wood and are mostly crustose in growth form. Species richness and community composition were examined on decaying logs and natural or cut stumps of Picea abies at different decay stages (2-5) in 14 stands, half of which were natural or s…
Structure of SNX9 SH3 in complex with a viral ligand reveals the molecular basis of its unique specificity for alanine-containing class I SH3 motifs
2021
Class I SH3 domain-binding motifs generally comply with the consensus sequence [R/K]x0PxxP, the hydrophobic residue 0 being proline or leucine. We have studied the unusual 0 = Ala-specificity of SNX9 SH3 by determining its complex structure with a peptide present in eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) nsP3. The structure revealed the length and composition of the n-Src loop as important factors determining specificity. We also compared the affinities of EEEV nsP3 peptide, its mutants, and cellular ligands to SNX9 SH3. These data suggest that nsP3 has evolved to minimize reduction of conformational entropy upon binding, hence acquiring stronger affinity, enabling takeover of SNX9. The R…
BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene
2018
Abstract Motivation The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. Main types of variables included The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, th…
Decision-making in energy planning. Application of the Electre method at regional level for the diffusion of renewable energy technology
2003
The authors show an application of the multicriteria decision-making methodology used to assess an action plan for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies at regional scale. This methodological tool gives the decision-maker considerable help in the selection of the most suitable innovative technologies in the energy sector, according to preliminary fixed objectives. In this paper, a case study is carried out for the island of Sardinia. This region presents, on one hand, a high potential for energy resources exploitation, but on the other hand, it represents a specific case among other Italian regions, because of its socio-economic status and history. Three decision scenarios have bee…
Degradation study of XVIII century graffiti on the walls of Chiaramonte Palace (Palermo, Italy)
2010
A systematic investigation of the original materials and the degradation phenomena induced by soluble salts on the wall matrix and on the graffiti of the Inquisition jails of Chiaramonte Palace in Palermo (Italy) was carried out. Built in the XIV century, Chiaramonte Palace was used as Inquisition court during the XV–XVI centuries. The ancient graffiti, recently discovered, represent a unique historical witness of the prisoners that lived during that terrible period. In order to study the nature, the amount and the distribution of the salts in the masonry, stone materials sampled at different depth from the wall matrix and saline efflorescences were analysed. Different physical techniques w…
Monitoring of renewable energy prototype for the DEDUENERT research project
2016
In this paper, we present a renewable energy sustainable micro-system installed upon a platform located in the Research and Technology Centre of Energy in Borj Cedria Techno park (Tunisia). This prototype has been conceived within the ENPI (European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument) cross-border cooperation Italy-Tunisia 2007–2013 research project framework. This project's overall goal is to develop a common strategy for the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency by endorsing the cooperation between Italy and Tunisia. The focus is to implement the use of sustainable energy microsystems that generate electricity from various renewable sources (solar thermal, photovoltaic…
Architectures “on ruins” and ambiguous transparency: the glass in preservation and communication of archaeology
2008
Abstract The contemporary architecture is characterized by an even more marked transparency, as a result of a continuous experimentation all directed towards the search of the built “lightness”, that is towards the “dematerialization” of the architecture and the consequent loss of weight connected to the excess of form. It is in 1851 that a New Architectural Age springs because of the realization of the Crystal Palace, in London – that has addressed towards the experimentation of the glass as an architectural, structural element and of design. Today, part of this experimentation has been applied for some interventions of coverage, protection and communication in situ of the archaeological r…
Population dynamics and genetics of European Pond Turtle Emys orbicularis
2013
Dispersal, characterized by the movements of individuals in space leading to gene flows, allows populations to connect. The study of dispersal has become of essential importance to predict the consequences of global changes on the population structures and dynamics. Species with limited dispersal, such as chelonians, are particularly threatened by these phenomena. Our study aimed at analyzing the dispersal of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), in decline in Europe, in a habitats fragmentation context and determining the causes of this behavior through analysis of population dynamics and genetics. Our results show, firstly, that the slow generation time in Emys orbicularis (about 1…
XRF analysis to identify historical photographic processes: The case of some Interguglielmi Jr.’s images from the Palermo Municipal Archive
2017
Abstract In the early period, even though professional photographers worked with similar techniques and products, their artistic and commercial aims determined different choices and led them to follow different, often personal, recipes. For this reason, identification of the techniques through date and name of the photographer or through some visual features like colour, tonality and surface of the image layer, often needs further investigation to be proved. Chemical characterization, carried out in a non or micro destructive way, can be crucial to provide useful information about the original composition, degradation process, realization technique, in obtaining an indirect dating of the ph…
Diagnostic system based on the T.r.u.e. Methodology (Termography, Radar, Ultrasound, Endoscopy) and its applications
2013
Il poster 1 è dedicato alla Metodologia T.R.U.E., che persegue l'obiettivo di supportare la progettazione del restauro, con particolare riferimento alla conservazione delle superfici di finitura e nel rispetto del valore di autenticità materiale delle architetture storiche. Poster number 1 is dedicated to the T.R.U.E. Methodology, that pursues the finality to elaborate the project for the conservation of the architectural surfaces and, in general, the respect of the authenticity of the materials stratified on the monumental architectures.