• Title/Summary/Keyword: Mediterranean

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Merging the cryptic genera Radicilingua and Calonitophyllum (Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta): molecular phylogeny and taxonomic revision

  • Wolf, Marion A.;Sciuto, Katia;Maggs, Christine A.;Petrocelli, Antonella;Cecere, Ester;Buosi, Alessandro;Sfriso, Adriano
    • ALGAE
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.165-174
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    • 2021
  • Radicilingua Papenfuss and Calonitophyllum Aregood are two small genera of the family Delesseriaceae that consist of only three and one taxonomically accepted species, respectively. The type species of these genera, Radicilingua thysanorhizans from England and Calonitophyllum medium from the Americas, are morphologically very similar, with the only recognized differences being vein size and procarp development. To date, only other two species were recognized inside the genus Radicilingua: R. adriatica and R. reptans. In this study, we analysed specimens of Radicilingua collected in the Adriatic and Ionian Sea (Mediterranean), including a syntype locality of R. adriatica (Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea), alongside material from near the type locality of R. thysanorhizans (Torpoint, Cornwall, UK). The sequences of the rbcL-5P gene fragment here produced represent the first molecular data available for the genus Radicilingua. Phylogenetic reconstruction showed that the specimens from the Adriatic and Ionian Seas were genetically distinct from the Atlantic R. thysanorhizans, even if morphologically overlapping with this species. A detailed morphological description of the Mediterranean specimens, together with an accurate literature search, suggested that they were distinct also from R. adriatica and R. reptans. For these reasons, a new species was here described to encompass the Mediterranean specimens investigated in this study: R. mediterranea Wolf, Sciuto & Sfriso. Moreover, in the rbcL-5P tree, sequences of the genera Radicilingua and Calonitophyllum grouped in a well-supported clade, distinct from the other genera of the subfamily Nitophylloideae, leading us to propose that Calonitophyllum medium should be transferred to Radicilingua.

Plant diversity of the pads of electric towers along the deltaic Mediterranean coast of Egypt

  • Kamal Shaltout;Hani Beshara;Yassin Al-Sodany;Ahmed Sharaf, El-Din;Ragab El-Fahar
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.63-74
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    • 2023
  • Background: Comparing with the several types of infrastructures, linear infrastructures are known to facilitate the spread of undesirable species in ecosystems. Recently, some new man-made habitats (e.g., gravel pads of the high-voltage towers, solid wastes and sewage habitats) were established along the Deltaic Mediterranean coast of Egypt as a result of the construction of the E-W coastal international highway. The current study evaluates the floristic composition associated with the pads of high-voltage towers that had been constructed for stabilizing the power line towers in the North Nile Delta. Plant cover was measured for 22 randomly stand. Results: Eighty-four species were recorded, of which 35 are perennials (41.6%), 2 biennials (2.3%) and 47 annuals (56.0%) belonging to 23 families. The largest families were Asteraceae (16 species), Poaceae (15 species), Chenopodiaceae (12 species), and Fabaceae (7 species). Ten aliens (10.7%) out of the 84 species were recorded. Therophytes have the highest percentage (58%), followed by hemicryptophytes (14%), chamaephytes (11%). Six vegetation groups were recognized in the study area after the application of two way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, Phragmites australis, and Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum have the highest presence percentage. Both of Salsola cyclophylla and Solanum villosum were recorded for the first time in North Nile Delta. Natural habitat had the highest α-diversity, but the lowest β-diversity (4.9, 15.4), while gravel pads had the reverse (2.7, 30.8). Some species which are native to the desert habitats (e.g., Rumex pictus, Salsola kali, and Carthamus tenuis) were able to invade the North Nile Delta. Conclusions: Habitat of gravel pads is an expressing form about the intense of disturbance in Deltaic Mediterranean coast of Egypt. More of efforts should be carried out to avoid more human disturbances that creating as ruderal habitats which open the gate to invasive species in the flora of North Nile Delta.

European Medieval and Renaissance Cosmography: A Story of Multiple Voices

  • CATTANEO, Angelo
    • Asian review of World Histories
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.35-81
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    • 2016
  • The objective of this essay is to propose a cultural history of cosmography and cartography from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. It focuses on some of the processes that characterized these fields of knowledge, using mainly western European sources. First, it elucidates the meaning that the term cosmography held during the period under consideration, and the scientific status that this composite field of knowledge enjoyed, pointing to the main processes that structured cosmography between the thirteenth century and the sixteenth century. I then move on to expound the circulation of cosmographic knowledge among Portugal, Venice and Lisbon in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This analysis will show how cartography and cosmography were produced at the interface of articulated commercial, diplomatic and scholarly networks; finally, the last part of the essay focuses on the specific and quite distinctive use of cosmography in fifteenth-century European culture: the representation of "geo-political" projects on the world through the reformulation of the very concepts of sea and maritime networks. This last topic will be developed through the study of Fra Mauro's mid-fifteenth-century visionary project about changing the world connectivity through the linking of several maritime and fluvial networks in the Indian Ocean, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean Sea basin, involving the circumnavigation of Africa. This unprecedented project was based on a variety of sources accumulated in the Mediterranean Sea basin as well as in Asia and in the Indian Ocean over the course of several centuries.

Morphology and molecular study of Pterosiphonia arenosa sp. nov. (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) from Jeju Island, Korea

  • Kim, Myung Sook;Kim, Su Yeon;Yang, Mi Yeon;Kim, Byeongseok;Diaz-Tapia, Pilar
    • ALGAE
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.259-268
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    • 2012
  • The genus Pterosiphonia is composed of 22 species worldwide and four of these species have been reported in the North-East Asia. In Korea, P. pennata originally described from the Mediterranean Sea has been previously recorded from the southern coast as a widespread species. In order to confirm the same species from Korea and Mediterranean, we observed the morphology of Korean Pterosiphonia specimen and analyzed rbcL sequences for inferring phylogenetic relationships among similar congeners. Korean entity was recognized as a new species, Pterosiphonia arenosa sp. nov. The new species is characterized by ecorticate axes with 7-10 pericentral cells, branches formed every two segments, and coalesced with main axis over 1-1.25 axial segments, and tetrasporangia formed in straight series on determinate branches of the upper parts of erect axes. A phylogenetic analysis of rbcL sequences demonstrated that P. arenosa was distinct from P. pennata found in Spain as well as other species. In conclusion, morphological and molecular sequence data indicated that P. arenosa sp. nov. has been previously misidentified as P. pennata in Korea.

The Effects of the Somatic Cell Count on Yield, Composition and Coagulating Properties of Mediterranean Buffalo Milk

  • Tripaldi, C.;Terramoccia, S.;Bartocci, S.;Angelucci, M.;Danese, V.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.16 no.5
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    • pp.738-742
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    • 2003
  • The monitoring was carried out for one year on 20 farms of Mediterranean buffalo situated in central Italy. The milk yield, the somatic cell count, the coagulating properties and some components were determined. The average value of somatic cells was $21.28n{\times}10^3/ml$. Milk production decreased when somatic cell numbers increased. The rennet clotting time increased significantly when somatic cells were higher than $300.00n{\times}10^3/ml$, the curd firming time was significantly higher when somatic cells were more than $1,000.00n{\times}10^3/ml$ and the curd firmness increased up to $200.00n{\times}10^3$/ml, then gradually decreased. Protein and casein decreased when somatic cells increased and the same trend was shown by casein/protein ratio. Both for these components and the coagulating properties the threshold limit of somatic cells to obtain better results was $200.00n{\times}10^3/ml$. The somatic cell number did not show a trend which was strictly influenced by the lactation stage, contrary to what happened in the other species.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids와 혈중 Cholesterol

  • 지석우;지규만
    • Proceedings of the Korea Society of Poultry Science Conference
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    • 2000.11a
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    • pp.14-35
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    • 2000
  • There have been growing interests in olive oil, which is attributed to the beneficial health effects of the Mediterranean diet. Numerous studies suggest that oleic acid, the major fatty acid in olive oil, may contribute to less incidence of coronary heart disease(CHD) in the Mediterranean area. Although the major effects of high monounsaturated fatty acid(MUFA) consumption on lowered plasma cholesterol are generally attributed to the consequential replacement of saturated fatty acid in diets, some studies have shown a modest cholesterol lowering effect of MUFA alone when it replaces dietary carbohydrate at an equal amount of energy. Furthermore, MUFA increases the level of the protective high-density lipoprotein cholesterol more than polyunsaturated fatty acid(PUFA) does when these two classes of fatty acids replace carbohydrates in the diet. It has been generally recommended that optimal dietary fat should be rich in MUFA, such as oleic acid, low in saturated fatty acids and provide adequate amounts of PUFA. However, no conclusive observations have been made yet mainly due to a difficulty in controlling the proportion of oleic acid without adjusting the levels of the other fatty acids to be constant, which could also affect plasma cholesterol levels. Recent findings also suggest that dietary PUFA results in higher tendency toward lipid peroxidation whereas with MUFA the susceptibility of low density lipoprotein to oxidative stress is reduced. More studies are needed to clarify the effects of MUFA on reducing the incidence of CHD.

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ChlorophyII and suspended sediment specific absorption coefficient in the sea.

  • Ahn, Yu-Hwan;Moon, Jeong-Eon
    • Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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    • 1998.09a
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    • pp.399-403
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    • 1998
  • Absorption coefficient per mass unit of particles, specific absorption coefficient, is one of main parameters in developing algorithms for ocean color remote sensing. Specific absorption coefficient of chlorophyll (a$^*_{ph}$) and suspended sediment (SS) were analyzed by "wet filter technique" and "Kishino method" for data sets observed in the Yellow and Mediterranean Seas. A new data-recovering method for the filter technique was also developed using spectrum slopes. This method recovered the baseline of spectrum that was often missed in the Kishino method. High a$^*_{ph}$($\lambda$) values in the oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea and low values in the Yellow Sea were observed, spanning over the range of 0.02 to 0.12 $m^2$/mg, at the chlorophyll maximum absorption wavelength 440nm. The empirical relationship between a$^*_{ph}$ and chlorophyll concentration was found to fit a power function, which was slightly different from that proposed by Bricaud et ai. (1995). Absorption specific coefficients for suspended sediment (a$^*_{SS}$) didn't show any relationship with concentrations of suspended sediment. However, the average value of a$^*_{SS}$ at 440nm was close to the specific absorption coefficient of soil (loess) measured by Ahn (1990). The more-pronounced variability of a$^*_{SS}$ than a$^*_{ph}$ perhaps can explain more wide range of size-distribution for SS, which were determined by their specific gravity and agitation of water mass in the sea surface.

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An analysis of user behaviors on the search engine results pages based on the demographic characteristics

  • Bitirim, Yiltan;Ertugrul, Duygu Celik
    • KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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    • v.14 no.7
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    • pp.2840-2861
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    • 2020
  • The purpose of this survey-based study is to make an analysis of search engine users' behaviors on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) based on the three demographic characteristics gender, age, and program studying. In this study, a questionnaire was designed with 12 closed-ended questions. Remaining questions other than the demographic characteristic related ones were about "tab", "advertisement", "spelling suggestion", "related query suggestion", "instant search suggestion", "video result", "image result", "pagination" and the amount of clicking results. The questionnaire was used and the data collected were analyzed with the descriptive statistics as well as the inferential statistics. 84.2% of the study population was reached. Some of the major results are as follows: Most of each demographic characteristic category (i.e. female, male, under-20, 20-24, above-24, English computer engineering, Turkish computer engineering, software engineering) have rarely or more click for tab, spelling suggestion, related query suggestion, instant search suggestion, video result, image result, and pagination. More than 50.0% of female category click advertisement rarely; however, for the others, 50.0% or more never click advertisement. For every demographic characteristic category, between 78.0% and 85.4% click 10 or fewer results. This study would be the first attempt with its complete content and design. Search engine providers and researchers would gain knowledge to user behaviors about the usage of the SERPs based on the demographic characteristics.

Intestinal Parasites in an Ottoman Period Latrine from Acre (Israel) Dating to the Early 1800s CE

  • Eskew, William H.;Ledger, Marissa L.;Lloyd, Abigail;Pyles, Grace;Gosker, Joppe;Mitchell, Piers D.
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.57 no.6
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    • pp.575-580
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    • 2019
  • The aim of this study is to determine the species of parasites that affected the inhabitants of the city of Acre on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean during the Ottoman Period. This is the first archaeological study of parasites in the Ottoman Empire. We analysed sediment from a latrine dating to the early 1800s for the presence of helminth eggs and protozoan parasites which caused dysentery. The samples were examined using light microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. We found evidence for roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), fish tapeworm (Dibothriocephalus sp.), Taenia tapeworm (Taenia sp.), lancet liver fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum), and the protozoa Giardia duodenalis and Entamoeba histolytica. The parasite taxa recovered demonstrate the breadth of species present in this coastal city. We consider the effect of Ottoman Period diet, culture, trade and sanitation upon risk of parasitism in this community living 200 years ago.