Search results for "Island"
showing 10 items of 761 documents
Understanding "Islandness"
2023
Islandness is a contested concept, not just between disciplines but also cultures, entangled with what islands, island studies, and island identity are understood to be. The purpose of this article is to explore some of these different meanings, without necessarily unifying or reconciling them, with the aim of keeping multiple understandings of islandness in creative tension. We begin by considering islandness as smallness, recognizing that though many entry points into island studies relate to size in some way, what constitutes small is dependent on both context and worldview. Next, we consider islandness as culture, and the concept of island identity, which is expressed in varied forms. F…
Amygdaloid projections to the ventral striatum in mice: direct and indirect chemosensory inputs to the brain reward system
2011
Rodents constitute good models for studying the neural basis of socio-sexual behaviour. Recent findings in mice have revealed the molecular identity of the some pheromonal molecules triggering intersexual attraction. However, the neural pathways mediating this basic socio-sexual behaviour remain elusive. Since previous work indicates that the dopaminergic tegmento-striatal pathway is not involved in pheromone reward, the present report explores alternative pathways linking the vomeronasal system with the tegmento-striatal system (the limbic basal ganglia) by means of tract-tracing experiments studying direct and indirect projections from the chemosensory amygdala to the ventral striato-pall…
Effects of reduced pH on shell integrity of a common whelk from a natural undersea CO2 vent community off Vulcano Island, Italy.
2014
Hexaplex trunculus is a widespread Mediterranean gastropod mollusc that plays a crucial role in benthic ecosystem dynamics. Individuals occur in shallow, sublittoral habitats near Vulcano Island, Italy, where an undersea CO2 vent provides a gradient of seawater acidification mimicing future predicted levels of ocean acidification. Individuals were collected from three sites with declining pH [ambient ( pH 8.18), medium (pH 8.05) and low (pH 7.49)]. Dissolution of shells was clearly evident at the medium (smoothing of outer shell ) and low (pitting and holes) pH sites. Scanning electron microcroscopy will provide a qualitative comparative assessment of micro-scale impacts of shell dissolutio…
Residential mobility as a cause and consequence of vulnerability among the elderly in Reunion Island
2021
Sur la base d’une revue de la littérature et d’un corpus de quatorze entretiens semi-directifs, l’objet de cet article est de mettre en relation les facteurs de vulnérabilité du territoire réunionnais, ceux des personnes âgées de ce département français d’outre-mer ainsi que ceux éventuellement issus d’une mobilité résidentielle. Pour cela, une analyse macroscopique et une analyse individuelle sont proposées autour des facteurs de vulnérabilité dans les registres économiques, sanitaires, sociaux et environnementaux. Ces deux niveaux d’analyse indiquent la nécessité d’une approche territoriale fine pour mieux comprendre la vulnérabilité des personnes âgées et ses liens avec la mobilité résid…
Measurement and communication interfaces for distributed generation in smart grids
2013
The aim of this work is to perform a feasibility study on the measurement and communication strategies for the development of a new generation of interface devices for distributed generators and their integration on smart grids. The communication system can use one or more technologies, at the various levels, creating a low cost network infrastructure, in the framework of a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) architecture. As regards the measurements, the attention is focused on the anti-islanding protection, based on a hybrid solution, which makes use of local measurements and communications with the grid, at both MV and LV level by employing the PLC technology. Some simulatio…
An interface protection system with power line communication for distributed generators remote control
2014
The aim of this work is to present a narrow band power line communication (NB-PLC) interface protection system (IPS) for distributed generators (DGs); it has been developed according to the current standard CEI 0-21 and the requirements for smart grid applications. For such applications, the new IPSs have to implement new intelligent functions such as remote monitoring and control of DGs and Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) inverters, not only in terms of disconnection but also of voltage regulation and power modulation by the utility control. The main feature of the developed IPS is the ability to interact with both the grid and the DG's and ESS's inverters. In fact, it can communicate with t…
Norme dal patrimonio culturale per la trasformazione e lo sviluppo sostenibile. Sperimentazione applicata al Piano del Colore delle Isole Egadi
2020
L’arcipelago delle isole Egadi, all'estremità occidentale della Sicilia, custodisce un patrimonio architettonico, paesaggistico e ambientale di grande valore. Dal difficoltoso rapporto tra la popolazione insediata e un ambiente per molti versi ostile, è stato forgiato nei secoli un paesaggio eccezionale, frutto di condizioni estreme di sopravvivenza condizionate dalle esigue risorse locali come la pesca del tonno, l'estrazione della pietra da costruzione e l'agricoltura. L’intero arcipelago è oggi soggetto a vincolo paesaggistico per l’alto valore dei suoi elementi costituenti che si configurano, nella loro interezza, come beni culturali. La texture e le cromie della pietra locale, una calc…
Effects of shallow hydrothermal vents on macroalgal communities
2011
A Feasibility Study for the Transition to Electric Mobility in the Island of Favignana
2021
The energy transition and climate neutrality are a short time scenario as climate concerns are rising fast. Small islands are natural microgrids in which the energy transition is subjected to economic and regulatory constraints and highly challenged by technical issues. As a first step, the Mediterranean island of Favignana has been considered in this study, to assess how electric mobility could impact the power system. According to the plans from the local decision makers, the island is moving towards a full public electric mobility in the near term, also due to the participation in the BloRin project. For this reason, a feasibility study about the technical and environmental impact of ele…
Nitrogen-fixing cushion Astragalus siculus modulates soil fertility, microclimate, plant facilitation, bacterial and fungal microbiota along an eleva…
2023
Question: Cushion-forming vascular plants are adapted to alpine environments and act as ecosystem engineers by moderating microclimate and creating a fertility island under their canopy. Most of the available studies on cushion ecology have been devoted to plant facilitation, but none used a holistic approach that considers the response of co-existing plant species with other key ecosystem players. Here, we quantified the biogenic effect and facilitation capacity of Astragalus siculus, a spiny nitrogen-fixing cushion plant, and test the hypothesis that the facilitation effect would increase with elevation as stress gradient.Location: Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in the Mediterrane…