Search results for "africa"
showing 10 items of 962 documents
Animal Perception of Seasonal Thresholds: Changes in Elephant Movement in Relation to Rainfall Patterns
2012
Background The identification of temporal thresholds or shifts in animal movement informs ecologists of changes in an animal’s behaviour, which contributes to an understanding of species’ responses in different environments. In African savannas, rainfall, temperature and primary productivity influence the movements of large herbivores and drive changes at different scales. Here, we developed a novel approach to define seasonal shifts in movement behaviour by examining the movements of a highly mobile herbivore (elephant; Loxodonta africana), in relation to local and regional rainfall patterns. Methodology/Principal Findings We used speed to determine movement changes of between 8 and 14 GPS…
F. Marci Antonii Cappelli Franciscani Commentalis De appellationibus Ecclesiae Africanae ad Romanam sedem, dissertatio : Aduersus haereticos nostri t…
1622
Sign. : A-I8, K4
Recensione a BENJAMIN TODD LEE, ELLEN FINKELPEARL, LUCA GRAVERINI (eds.), Apuleius and Africa, New York-London, Routledge 2014, pp. XVI-344
2014
Recensione del volume miscellaneo "Apuleius and Africa", con il quale si è inteso verificare l'influenza dello status di africano sulle opere di Apuleio
Karthago provinciae nostrae magistra venerabilis. Uno sguardo su Cartagine: i Florida di Apuleio
2023
This paper proposes a focus on the city of Carthage through Florida: Apuleius lavishes continuous and extraordinary praise on Carthage and its citizens. It becomes clear how the city, in Apuleius' time, was by then an established and ‘Romanised’ cultural centre. In Apuleius' words, Carthage appears as the only city capable of competing with Rome.
Advances in the knowledge of South African Riella (Sphaerocarpales) and a new endemic species, Riella trigonospora
2014
Cultures of soil sediments collected in June 2012 from saltpans and vleis from five South African localities have revealed two new, geographically distant, populations of the endemic Riella alatospora, confirmed the presence of Riella purpureospora from Blouvlei in the Cape Town area and uncovered a new endemic species, Riella trigonospora. The new species obtained from cultures from five sampled localities is described and illustrated. It is dioicous and characterised by acuminate to rostrate, papillose involucres and by a unique spore morphology. The spores are dark purple, as in R. purpureospora, and have an irregular discontinuous wing at the equatorial plane, which suggests a morpholog…
Guenon Radiation is Enriched by a New Species that Demonstrates an Evolutionary Complexity with Which we are yet to Become Familiar
2012
th September described this discovery to the scientific community (1). As is becoming increasingly frequent these days, given the high number of scientific articles, the media news reached us faster than the scientific information. The area known as TL2, a few hundred km as the crow flies south- west from the city of Kisangani, famous for its manufacturing, and important port on the Zaire river, is still uncontaminated and houses several important endemisms. This new species, studied in the area since 2007, on the basis of first sightings by the inhabitants of the zone and local hunters, has been named Cercopithecus lomamiensis. C.lomamiensis (CLO) is a tree-dweller and has been described i…
Chemical characterization of organic residues on Late Roman amphorae from shipwrecks off the coast of Marsala (Trapani, Italy)
2021
Abstract Organic residues were extracted from thirty-three different types of Roman and Late Antique amphorae retrieved from underwater contexts in the custody of the Archaeological Museum “Baglio Anselmi” of Marsala in Sicily. The samples were analysed using GC-MS and 1H NMR, finding biomarkers of plant oils (including saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, alcohols and alkanes present in plant waxes) were identified in seven samples. The biomarkers for Pinaceae spp., used for making pitch, were identified in one sample. The results obtained shed light on the function of different types of North African amphorae, traditionally interpreted as containers for olive oil, wine and fish sauce, p…
XRF and LA-ICP-MS studies of gold and silver artefacts from a 12–13th century CE tumulus in Senegal: Implications for the medieval African gold trade
2019
Abstract Silver and gold artefacts from a 12–13th c. CE tumulus in Senegal were recently analysed by means of XRF and LA-ICP-MS. The identification of major, minor and trace elements allowed gaining a rare insight into the composition of precious metals circulating in that part of Africa in medieval times. The results show that all objects were made of polymetallic alloys. Comparisons with analyses from other West African as well as North African and European silver and gold artefacts suggest that the metal from the studied objects most probably originate from outside West Africa. At least in the case of the gold artefacts, this is quite surprising, as we expected to come across pure West A…
Molecular and Functional Characterisation of Hemocyanin of the Giant African Millipede Archispirostreptus gigas
2013
SummaryIn contrast to other terrestrial arthropods where gaseous O2 that fuels aerobic metabolism diffuses to the tissues in tracheal tubes, and most other metazoans where O2 is transported to tissues by circulating respiratory proteins, the myriapods (millipedes and centipedes) strikingly have tracheal systems as well as circulating hemocyanin (Hc). In order to elucidate the evolutionary origin and biological significance of millipede Hc we report the molecular structure (subunit composition and amino acid sequence) of multimeric (36-mer) Hc from the forest-floor dwelling giant African millipede Archispirostreptus gigas and its allosteric oxygen binding properties under various physico-che…