Search results for "mediterranean islands"
showing 10 items of 56 documents
Isolation, identification and oenological characterization of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in a Mediterranean island
2016
UNLABELLED We isolated, identified and characterized yeast strains from grapes, and their fermented musts, sampled in the small island of Linosa, where there are no wineries and therefore the possibility of territory contamination by industrial strains is minimal. By traditional culture-dependent methods, we isolated 3805 colonies, distinguished by molecular methods in 17 different species. Five hundred and forty-four isolates were analysed for the main oenological characteristics such as fermentative vigour with and without sulphites, sugar consumption and production of alcohol, volatile acidity, hydrogen sulphide, glycerol and β-glucosidase. This analysis identified Kluyveromyces marxianu…
The spread of steppe and Iranian-related ancestry in the islands of the western Mediterranean
2020
Steppe-pastoralist-related ancestry reached Central Europe by at least 2500 bc, whereas Iranian farmer-related ancestry was present in Aegean Europe by at least 1900 bc. However, the spread of these ancestries into the western Mediterranean, where they have contributed to many populations that live today, remains poorly understood. Here, we generated genome-wide ancient-DNA data from the Balearic Islands, Sicily and Sardinia, increasing the number of individuals with reported data from 5 to 66. The oldest individual from the Balearic Islands (~2400 bc) carried ancestry from steppe pastoralists that probably derived from west-to-east migration from Iberia, although two later Balearic individ…
Distribution of risk factors, plasma lipids, lipoproteins and dyslipidemias in a small Mediterranean island: The Ustica Project
2003
Background and Aim: The populations of the Mediterranean area have a low incidence of cardiovascular disease (CHD). The aims of this paper are: 1) to present demographic data of the population of Ustica, a small island in the southern part of the Tyrrhenian sea that has reduced communications with the mainland and a diet presumably rich in fish; and 2) to evaluate the distribution of risk fa tors, plasma lipids, lipoproteins and dyslipidemias in this population. Methods and Results: We invited all of the free-living resident population aged more than 14 years (about 800 individuals) to participate in the study; 57 responded, for a participation rate of about 73%. The distribution of cardiov…
High Prevalence and Fast Rising Incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in Caltanissetta, Sicily, Southern Italy
2006
<i>Background:</i> Epidemiological studies conducted in Sicily and Sardinia, the two major Mediterranean islands, showed elevated incidence and prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS)and a recent increase in disease frequency. <i>Objective:</i> To confirm the central highlands of Sicily as areas of increasing MS prevalence and elevated incidence, we performed a follow-up study based on the town of Caltanissetta (Sicily), southern Italy. <i>Methods:</i> We made a formal diagnostic reappraisal of all living patients found in the previous study performed in 1981. All possible information sources were used to search for patients affected by MS diagnosed accordi…
Factors influencing the distribution, abundance and nest-site selection of an endangered Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) population in Sicily
2003
Egyptian vulture (Neophrom percnopterus) breeds in Sicily and, in 22 years of monitoring, has shown a decline followed by a slight recovery. We used Generalised Linear Models to predict: (1) the distribution range, (2) the habitat selection within the range, (3) the quality (i.e., occupation rate, breeding success) of breeding sites. Some 60% of Sicily proved to be unsuitable, being either too densely forested and without cliffs for nesting, or too densely populated, along with intensive agriculture. The models converged, indicating that the pairs select a precise upland habitat where low cliffs, distant from urban areas, are surrounded by arboreal crops and Mediterranean vegetation. The va…
Archaeogenetics and Landscape Dynamics in Sicily during the Holocene: A Review
2021
The Mediterranean islands and their population history are of considerable importance to the interpretation of the population history of Europe as a whole. In this context, Sicily, because of its geographic position, represents a bridge between Africa, the Near East, and Europe that led to the stratification of settlements and admixture events. The genetic analysis of extant and ancient human samples has tried to reconstruct the population dynamics associated with the cultural and demographic changes that took place during the prehistory and history of Sicily. In turn, genetic, demographic and cultural changes need to be understood in the context of the environmental changes that took place…
The first colonization of Ibiza and Formentera (Balearic Islands, Spain): Some more islands out of the stream?
1995
Abstract The Balearic Islands, off the east coast of Spain, have provided a focus of interest in investigations of the earliest colonization of the Mediterranean islands, because of the relatively late date of their oldest sites. Mallorca was visited in the fifth millennium BC and inhabited by the third, and Menorca was colonized during the closing centuries of the third millennium; this therefore makes Ibiza and Formentera special cases of isolation, since they were evidently not occupied until about 2000 BC and moreover were essentially deserted between roughly the thirteenth and seventh centuries BC. The paper presents all the currently available data relevant to this question, particula…
Performances of GPM satellite precipitation over the two major Mediterranean islands
2018
Reliable and accurate precipitation measurement or estimation is crucial for disaster monitoring and water resource management. However, obtaining accurate high-resolution precipitation fields is still a challenging task for scientists and practitioners, especially in the poorer region of the world. Nowadays the scientific community expects significant improvements in precipitation monitoring by the continuous technological evolution of satellite-rainfall estimate systems which are able to produce data with global coverage and thus can provide low-cost information even in scarcely populated areas or places where for economic reasons ground measures are missing. The most recent satellite mis…
Yeasts vectored by migratory birds collected in the Mediterranean island of Ustica and description of Phaffomyces usticensis f.a. sp. nov., a new spe…
2014
Nine yeast species belonging to genera Candida , Cryptococcus , Phaffomyces , Rhodotorula and Wickerhamomyces , and one species of Aureobasidium genus were isolated from the cloaca of migratory birds. Candida glabrata and C. inconspicua were the species most frequently isolated and Wickerhamomyces sylviae , which has recently been described as a new species isolated from bird cloaca, was again found. The majority of isolates showed the ability to grow up to 40 °C and/or at pH 3.0, two environmental conditions typical of the digestive tract of birds. The phylogenetic analysis of the D1/D2 domain of 26S rRNA gene placed the cultures of Phaffomyces in a new lineage that differed from the close…
Relationship between recruitment and mother plant vitality in the alien species Acacia cyclops A. Cunn. ex G. Don
2014
Acacia cyclops is a widespread invader in Mediterranean-climate regions. However, although its naturalization in the Mediterranean Basin dates back only a few years ago, and the invasion process has not been studied hitherto. We investigated seedlings recruitment strategy adopted by A. cyclops in a small island (Lampedusa, Italy) where its natural regeneration was strictly confined under mother plants canopy. Healthy plants (DCP), plants at incipient senescence (SCP) and dead plants (DP) were distinguished according to vitality and canopy status. Living plants were also characterized in relation to leaf C and N isotope composition. Regeneration pattern (seedlings and saplings abundance) was…