Search results for "Mediterranean region"
showing 10 items of 212 documents
Impact of polyploidy on fertility variation of Mediterranean Arundo L. (Poaceae)
2015
International audience; Failure of seed production in the genus Arundo L. (Poaceae) is often attributed to polyploidy. This study tested the impact of two ploidy levels (2n = 12 and 18x) on the fertility of four Mediterranean Arundo. Viable pollen was screened from its production to its germination, and seed occurrence was monitored in admixture or isolated conditions. In addition, insights on restructuration of polyploid genornes were analysed using molecular cytogenetics. Our results show that high ploidy levels do not automatically induce failure of sexual reproduction. The two ploidy levels are able to produce viable pollen and seed set depending on species and cultural conditions. The …
Indoor air quality in schools of a highly polluted south Mediterranean area
2019
This study aimed at surveying lower secondary schools in southern Italy, in a highly polluted area. A community close to an industrial area and three villages in rural areas was investigated. Indoor temperature, relative humidity (RH), gaseous pollutants (CO 2 and NO 2 ), selected biological pollutants in indoor dust, and the indoor/outdoor mass concentration and elemental composition of PM 2.5 were ascertained. Temperature and RH were within, or close to, the comfort range, while CO 2 frequently exceeded the threshold of 1000 ppm, indicating inadequate air exchange rate. In all the classrooms, median NO 2 levels were above the WHO threshold value. Dermatophagoides p. allergen concentration…
Association between dietary fibre intake and fruit, vegetable or whole-grain consumption and the risk of CVD: results from the PREvención con DIeta M…
2016
Prospective studies assessing the association between fibre intake or fibre-rich food consumption and the risk of CVD have often been limited by baseline assessment of diet. Thus far, no study has used yearly repeated measurements of dietary changes during follow-up. Moreover, previous studies included healthy and selected participants who did not represent subjects at high cardiovascular risk. We used yearly repeated measurements of diet to investigate the association between fibre intake and CVD in a Mediterranean cohort of elderly adults at high cardiovascular risk. We followed-up 7216 men (55-80 years) and women (60-80 years) initially free of CVD for up to 7 years in the PREvención con…
Materials for sustainable architecture in the Mediterranean region
2016
There has been recent increased use of earth for construction of buildings in developed countries, largely because of concerns with the environmental impact and embodied carbon from fired bricks and cement based products. Of all forms of earth construction, the widest impact on modern construction is likely to come from commercially produced unfired earth masonry where large scale production can significantly reduce costs. The use of traditional materials in the Mediterranean area needs to be reassessed with a thought given to environmental sustainability, but also with an eye to the reappropriation of the predominantly massive nature of Mediterranean architecture. This article contemplates…
The orophilous communities of the Pino-Juniperetea class in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean area
2001
Orophilous plant communities of the Pino-Juniperetea class, occurring in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean area, are examined. This vegetation is characterized by the dominance of trees and shrubs, mostly represented by conifers belonging to the genera Juniperus, Abies and Pinus. These communities are nowadays relegated to the supra- and oromediterranean belt, and show a fragmentary distribution, which is an evident proof of their relict connotation. The comparison among these communities, based on original and literature data, has highlighted a remarkable floristic and structural homogeneity, together with a series of geographical vicariances. From the phytosociological point of view, …
Testing alternative vicariance scenarios in Western Mediterranean discoglossid frogs
2004
Dated molecular phylogenies are often used to interpret evolutionary history with respect to paleogeographic events. Where more than one interpretation is possible, it is desirable but difficult to assess the alternatives in an objective manner. The present work demonstrates a formalized method for testing molecular clock calibrations and biogeographic scenarios based on them. We assessed the plausibility of several previously published biogeographic hypotheses, using the frog genera Alytes, Discoglossus, and Bombina as model groups. Our data set comprised ca. 900bp of partial mitochondrial 16S and 12S rRNA gene sequences (both genes evolved in a clock-like manner across genera) from nearly…
Atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype and LDL size and subclasses in women with gestational diabetes.
2008
AIMS: Women with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease after pregnancy; however, the exact nature of the lipid alterations present is not clear. In Mediterranean women with gestational diabetes, we measured low-density lipoprotein (LDL) size and all seven subclasses, as well as the 'atherogenic-lipoprotein phenotype'[ALP, e.g. concomitant presence of elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and increased small, dense LDL]. METHODS: In 27 women with gestational diabetes and 23 healthy pregnant women matched for age, weeks of gestation and body mass index, we measured plasma lipids and LDL size and subclass…
Synthetic microbiology as a source of new enterprises and job creation: a Mediterranean perspective
2019
Peer reviewed
Creating and sustaining local entrepreneurs: a Schumpeterian view of economic growth
2010
In his Theory of economic development and Business cycles Joseph Schumpeter explained the long and short-run importance of an economy’s credit system to the vitality of entrepreneurship. Famously, the entrepreneur is the key figure in the process of innovating the structure of an economy, according to Schumpeter, which is the secret to the long term growth record of capitalist economies. In this project we use Schumpeter’s ideas about the relationship between credit, innovation, and growth in order to evaluate the current state of this relationship in the Mediterranean region, using Sicily as a case study. Based on the case of Sicily we then suggest ways in which local, as opposed to global…
A legacy of contrasting spatial genetic structure on either side of the Atlantic-Mediterranean transition zone in a marine protist
2012
The mechanisms that underpin the varied spatial genetic structures exhibited by free-living marine microorganisms remain controversial, with most studies emphasizing a high dispersal capability that should redistribute genetic diversity in contrast to most macroorganisms whose populations often retain a genetic signature of demographic response to historic climate fluctuations. We quantified the European phylogeographic structure of the marine flagellate Oxyrrhis marina and found a marked difference in spatial genetic structure, population demography, and genetic diversity between the northwest Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea that reflects the persistent separation of these regions as well …