Search results for "Mediterranean."

Trophic habits of Muscardinus avellanarius (Mammalia Gliridae) as revealed by multiple stable isotope analysis

2007

Multiple stable isotope analysis was used to investigate the diet of the common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius in a mixed Mediterranean forest. δ13C and δ15N values of dormouse tissues compared to those of the vegetal and animal sources available in the area showed that the isotopic composition of both adult and juvenile M. avellanarius could be explained by a mixture of vegetal and animal organic matter. The isotopic composition of the assimilated nitrogen was mostly explained by the organic matter from flora. Among the vegetal components, flowers of Fagus silvatica, Quercus robur, and the rarer Crataegus oxyacantha, berries of Ilex aquifolium and acorns of Q. robur were found in the ad…

The Black Mediterranean: A View from Sicily

2021

While Italy has recently experienced nationalist drives, Sicily and in particular the City of Palermo, one of the major ports of refuge for countless migrants arriving in Europe from the African shores, has distinguished itself as an experimental site where to rethink and challenge notions of residence, mobility, citizenship and belonging. Through a series of cultural initiatives, Palermo has become a hub for frontline artists, writers, intellectuals, and activists who have gathered to explore the historically and contemporary ways in which black voices have been silenced and black bodies have been ambiguously imagined in Western-dominated global culture. Investigating these questions is fu…

Paleoenvironmental and climatic changes during the last 25 ky along a W-E transect across the Mediterranean Sea.

2012

Materiali ceramici di importazione africana dalla catacomba di Villagrazia di Carini. Un aggiornamento sulla circolazione nel territorio della eccles…

2012

Primo volume della Collana "Quaderni Digitali di Archeologia Postclassica". La catacomba di Villagrazia di Carini è uno dei principali monumenti del primo Cristianesimo siciliano, cimitero di una comunità agiata e aperta alle relazioni con l'area mediterranea. Lo studio proposto in questo volume, partendo dai dati relativi ai materiali ceramici restituiti dalla stratigrafia archeologica dei settori indagati dal 2000 al 2012, testimonia i rapporti commerciali intercorsi fra il territorio servito dalla presenza del complesso catacombale, coincidente con quello dell'ecclesia carinensis citata da Gregorio Magno, e l'Africa romana e protobizantina.

Mediterranean coccolith ecobiostratigraphy since the penultimate Glacial (the last 145,000years) and ecobioevent traceability

2015

The Mediterranean Sea is a miniature ocean ideal to test the response of marine ecosystems to amplified orbital and suborbital climate changes. Here we present coccolith data from a Sardinia Channel gravity core (Arcose C_33) analysed over the last 145,000 years, with a mean resolution of about 900 years. The study highlights that regional phytoplankton assemblages underwent significant modifications between the penultimate glacial and the last interglacial, as well as between the last glacial and the Holocene. The N ratio palaeoproductivity index suggests reduced productivity levels and the development of a deep nutricline during the last interglacial and the Holocene. Within the last glac…

Green coffee, bioactive compounds’ analysis of experimental cultivation in Sicily: a new frontier in the Sicilian food sector

2023

Recently, climate change represents a new possibility for tropical cultivars fruit in Mediterranean areas. The focus of this work is the evaluation of the real possibility of coffee cultivation in Sicily, like coffee plants grown in tropical and subtropical regions. The objective was to evaluate plant adaptation to our climate and to study the chemical qualities of green coffee pulps and seeds: total phenolic content, antiradical capacity, fatty acids, amino acids, alkaloids, vitamins, proximate composition, polyphenolic profile and other bioactive compounds of cosmetic, pharmaceutical and agrary interest. Temperature, light and vegetative growth of Coffea arabica L. cv. “Caturra” plants we…

Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND dietary patterns and cognitive function: The 2-year longitudinal changes in an older Spanish cohort

2021

Wu, L., and Sun, D. (2017). Adherence to Mediterranean diet and risk of developing cognitive disorders: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Sci. Rep. 7:41317. doi: 10.1038/srep41317 Wu, Z., Phyo, A. Z. Z., Al-harbi, T., Woods, R. L., and Ryan, J. (2020). Distinct cognitive trajectories in late life and associated predictors and outcomes: a systematic review. J. Alzheimer’s Dis. Rep. 4, 459–478. doi: 10.3233/ADR-200232 Conflict of Interest: SKN was a volunteer member of the not-for profit group Plant Based Canada. JS-S reported receiving research support from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Departament de Salut P…

Metformin Use and Cognitive Function in Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Following a Mediterranean Diet Intervention

2021

Background and Purpose: Both adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and the use of metformin could benefit the cognitive performance of individuals with type 2 diabetes, but evidence is still controversial. We examined the association between metformin use and cognition in older adults with type 2 diabetes following a MedDiet intervention. Methods: Prospective cohort study framed in the PREDIMED-Plus-Cognition sub-study. The PREDIMED-Plus clinical trial aims to compare the cardiovascular effect of two MedDiet interventions, with and without energy restriction, in individuals with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome. The present sub-study included 487 cognitively normal subjects…

Risposte agli stress ambientali in CYSTOSEIRA (C. AGARDH): effetti della temperatura sul contenuto dei composti fenolici

2012

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites involved in different protection mechanisms as, for example, against grazers, epiphytes and UV radiation. Seasonal variations of phenolic content in C. amentacea were analysed and laboratory experiments, in which C. amentacea was exposed to an increase of temperature (258C and 308C), were performed. Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined colorimetrically with the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent. In C. amentacea, a seasonal pattern in TPC was observed, with a maximum value in winter-spring. C. amentacea responded significantly to the temperature treatments with a consistent decrease in TPC after 48 h.

LOW VIGOR PEACH × ALMOND ROOTSTOCKS FOR INTENSIVE PEACH PLANTINGS IN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTS

2014

A three-year trial was carried out to evaluate the vegetative and productive performance of five peach rootstocks of varied vigor. The study was conducted in south-western Sicily using 45 V-trained trees of 'Tropic Snow' peach planted in 2005 and grafted on GF677 and four low-vigor rootstocks selected at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Pisa, namely IS5/8 (Polluce), IS5/19 (Castore), IS5/23, IS5/29. Trunk circumference, winter and summer pruning weight, number and mass of fruit were recorded from 2010 to 2012. All IS selections reduced trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) and pruning weight compared to GF677 with IS5/23 inducing the highest reducti…