Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico

Mountain regions in Europe are experiencing changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, as well as an increasing frequency and intensity of droughts. Periods of low precipitation reduce winter snow accumulation, while anomalous hot periods during spring and summer accelerate snowmelt, altering the water cycle and discharge patterns of mountain systems and their downstream areas. The combination of warmer and drier conditions increases water scarcity, reduces crop yields and decreases hydropower generation, with reductions in streamflow and groundwater recharge. Implementing high-resolution land surface models allow us to predict future conditions by capturing the complex behavior of flow paths and water storage across entire regions. Consequently, these models facilitate the study of future droughts and their impact on hydrological conditions within the catchment. We identify a number of droughts including snow droughts in the Central Apennines of Italy, and investigate their compounded effects on the hydrosphere, biosphere and pedosphere using a fully distributed, mechanistic land surface model (Tethys-Chloris) over two decades (from 2000 to 2020). Our model configuration resolves energy budgets and mass balances at an hourly timestep and 250 m resolution to simulate processes such as snowmelt, sublimation and plant transpiration. We force the model using a combination of stations and bias-corrected ERA5Land reanalysis data and evaluate it against streamflow measurements, snow depth, soil moisture and remote sensing products of snow-covered area and leaf area index. We analyze distributed simulations of snow depth, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, lateral subsurface water fluxes and surface temperature to obtain a highly resolved picture of the functioning of the mountain hydrological system. Our analysis shows how droughts produced by a reduction of snow accumulation, precipitation or warm temperatures produce runoff deficits and positive anomalies of evapotranspiration at high elevations. We focus in particular on the effect of evaporative fluxes in reducing water yields. Our findings indicate that warm periods lead to enhanced evapotranspiration at elevations between 1500 and 2500 m a.s.l. We also investigate the contrasting effect of snow on this so-called drought paradox, as snow provides water vital to plant functioning, but limits the growing season length. This phenomenon ultimately reduces downstream water availability in mountain regions, which impacts water security for mountain-dependent communities and ecosystems. As such, our study provides an entirely new understanding of the eco-hydrological functioning of the Central Apennines water system under drought stresses, and establishes a baseline of unprecedented resolution in time and space to predict the ecological and hydrological impacts of future droughts.

Introduction: Isometric strength training (IST) is an important component of different types of sport and others activities of daily life. However, until the present moment, no studies have linked the isometric strength training with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity changes. Objective: We evaluated the effects of IST on the muscular AChE activity and strength. Materials and Methods: Wistar rats (n =20) were divided into 2 groups: Control group (Ctr) (sedentary) and trained group (Tr) (submitted to 8 weeks of Isometric strength training). The muscle strength and the acetylcholinesterase activity were evaluated in the solear (SOL) and Extensor Digitorum Longus (EDL) muscles. Results: The body weight of the trained animals was 7.39 % lower than in Ctr rats (p < 0.01) and the EDL weight was 25 % higher (p < 0.05) compared to Ctr. Further, an increase of 30.36 % in strength was observed in the fourth week (p < 0.006) and 26.41 % in eighth week (p < 0.003) of training. In addition, we found an increase of 46.64% in AChE activity in the SOL. In contrast, a reduction of 55.36% in AChE activity in the EDL was observed. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that biochemical, zoometric and functional changes can be evoked by IST with low overload. Keywords: Isometric Strength Training, Solear, Extensor Digitorum Longus and Enzyme.

The article describes the peculiarities of three traditional academic models of the "ideal type" of teaching and research related to national culture in the field of education. The authors considered the essence and role of innovations in ensuring the competitiveness of universities in the modern educational services market. The article analyzes the Model of Thomas J. Peters, which distinguishes four types of cultures depending on how they affect innovation, action, control or harmony of culture in the organization. The conducted research made it possible to identify and substantiate the directions of transformations in organizational culture to ensure competitiveness and innovative development of educational institutions. The following areas of change in the field of management of educational institutions have been determined: implementation of a business-organization model that stimulates the aspiration of educational institutions to achieve higher standards of professional business management; adaptation of educational institutions to modern challenges and threats, as well as changes in the labor market; improving the autonomy of university teachers in the implementation of didactic and scientific activities. The following aspects of changes in the field of scientific activity of educational institutions were identified: creation of an organizational environment that promotes the attraction of grants from national and international organizations; creation of a culture focused oninnovation and the development of scientific research; increasing the effectiveness of the structural unit responsible for scientific research (R&D department), and for teachers -building effective cooperation with this unit; improvement of coordination,integration and management processes, as well as employee motivation; formation of the culture of scientific activity of educational institutions focused on innovations. Areas of transformation of didactic activities of educational institutions include further development of joint learning technologies, focused on more interactive technologies; development of electronic learning technologies, courses on online-platforms; development of person-oriented learning.

Non che mi sembrasse una scoperta, certo, ho sempre amato il calcio e ne conoscevo per sommi capi la storia, compreso il fatto che il Genoa Cricket & Football Club, fondato nel 1893 da commercianti britannici, fosse la prima squadra ufficialmente riconosciuta in Italia. Tuttavia, l’evidenza documentale che attraverso il porto di Genova fosse entrato, assieme alla fonte energetica emblema della (seconda) rivoluzione industriale, anche lo sport che piu rappresenta quella fase cruciale della storia umana, mi fece venir voglia di scrivere una storia economica del football in Italia.

The authors translate and comment a digression from the Kitāb al-Āṯār al-Bāqiya on several hydraulic and hydrological subjects. The passage reveals al-Bīrūnī’s understanding of fluvial regimes, water physical behaviour, and of a handful of peculiar natural phenomena. Al-Bīrūnī departs from a discussion of weather forecast and seasonal fluvial regimes of the Tigris, Euphrates, Oxus, and Nile. The main concern of al-Bīrūnī is to defend the principle that water moves only downwards in absence of external forces. In doing so, the Khwarazmian scientist touches on the origin of salinity of the seas, the functioning of syphons related hydraulic machines, and relates a report of an artificial phenomenon, that he dismisses as result of faulty observations, that could be recognized as a hydraulic jump. In addition, the passage contains much relevant information on al-Bīrūnī’s understanding of the inhabitability of subequatorial regions, the possibility of the void, and the water cycle.

<p>Underground4Value is a COST Action (CA18110) aiming at providing adequate cultural, scientific and technical knowledge of the UBH concerning different aspects (i.e. archaeology, geotechnics, history, urban planning, architecture, cultural anthropology, economics, tourism, sustainable development), in a multi-disciplinary context. So far there are 30 participant countries, moreover Tunisia and Mexico.</p><p>The overarching idea is supporting Underground Built Heritage (UBH) conservation, valorization, management, and fostering decision-making through community-led development. The main challenge is how to stimulate social innovations in local communities through heritage management approaches.</p><p>One of the living lab stemmed by the activities of the Cost Action is in center Italy, where are many other hypogea with different function: water reservoir, military-strategic, food storage, cultural or religious function, mines or quarries. Among them the city of Camerano represents a local heritage and a landmark for its network of connected built underground spaces. The local community's self-initiative and the determination and far-sightedness of the local authority allowed to differentiate the local tourism offer leading to success in terms of tourism attractiveness, with more than 25'000 visitors per year. First reliable records date 1327 AC.</p><p>Special attention is given to the digital dimension of Cultural Heritage. An asset for the next decade, in particular after the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys of the interior environment of the caves were carried out using two laser instruments in different acquisition modes. The use of the static laser scanner requires a longer time for both the acquisition and the subsequent processing phases. The use of a mobile laser scanner, on the other hand, makes it possible to scan and record the underground environment in real time in just a few hours, thus providing a fast and agile solution. This means that it is possible to go more often for constant and rapid monitoring. The integration of spherical photos taken along the route of the caves themselves offers the possibility of creating a virtual reality (VR) tour that can be integrated with a 3D model of the entire underground environment. This allows the caves to be visited from a virtual point of view when they are closed for restoration work or in cases of emergencies, such as pandemic one. </p>

The subject matter of the article is an assessment of the threats of the marketing environment in the condition of a client-oriented approach to the management of enterprises in the construction industry implementation. The goal is to substantiate the scientific and methodical approach for the implementing a client-oriented approach to the management of enterprises in the construction industry, taking into account the assessment of the threats to the marketing environment. Objectives: the components of the marketing environment are investigated, its threats are systematized taking into account the peculiarities of the functioning of the construction industry enterprises. The state and trends of the construction industry development at the macro and micro levels are analyzed. The state of housing construction in Ukraine is analyzed in comparison with the state of the housing stock of the country as a whole. The relevance of the implementation of a client-oriented approach to the management of corporate enterprises in the construction industry is substantiated. Methods: abstract-logical analysis, theoretical generalization, system and statistical analysis, expert evaluations. The following results are obtained. The classification of threats to the marketing environment of corporate enterprises in the construction industry is carried out. The methodical approach to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the client-oriented management system for the seven components is developed, namely the compliance of the product with the customer’s expectations; level of accomplishment of the adjoining territory; degree of satisfaction of clients with quality of construction works and materials; the degree of satisfaction of the clients with the comfort of the house; customer service level; level of awareness of the client about the activities of the company; competitive advantages and reputation of the company. Conclusions. The tendencies of development of the enterprises of the building industry of Ukraine during 2013-2017 are analyzed. Competitiveness of construction industry enterprises depends to a large extent on both the efficiency of management and the risk factors at both macro and micro levels, which determines the expediency of finding ways to attract a sufficient number of consumers, in order to strengthen the competitive advantages of the industry. It is proved that the main parameters of the competitiveness of construction industry enterprises are the level of quality of construction works, the price, additional services for consumers, which can form additional utility and strengthen the position of the company on the market and which are the basis for the formation of values in the system of client-oriented management. The segmentation of the construction real estate market is proposed and the approaches to customer retention within the framework of the system of cyber-oriented management are highlighted. On the basis of an expert survey, a methodical approach to assessing the effectiveness of client-oriented management in the corporate security system of the construction industry enterprises is developed.

In età tardoantica le statue di culto furono al centro di polemiche tra pagani e cristiani ed oggetto di provvedimenti imperiali. In questa sede, verrà presa in esame la tradizione delle statue “animate”, quella cioè relativa ai simulacri di divinità che per diverse circostanze si riteneva potessero diventare “vivi” e comunicare con gli uomini: accanto ai casi di statue animate tramite trucchi o per eventi miracolosi, di particolare interesse sono le credenze relative alle statue che pronunciavano oracoli, alle statue “magiche” e a quelle animate attraverso i rituali della teurgia. Tale indagine può servire ad approfondire le ragioni della condanna da parte dei cristiani della statuaria mitologica oggetto di culto e, contestualmente, a riconoscere i diversi modi in cui le statue potevano essere percepite da parte dei “pagani” nel complesso panorama della società tardoantica.