Ricerc@Sapienza

Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As), non essential, but toxic, elements for animals and plants are frequently present in paddy fields. Oryza sativa L., a staple food for at least the half of world population, easily absorbs As and Cd by the root, and in this organ the pollutants evoke consistent damages, reducing/modifying the root system. Auxins are key hormones in regulating all developmental processes, including root organogenesis. Moreover, plants respond to environmental stresses, such as those caused by Cd and As, by changing levels and distribution of endogenous phytohormones.

The responsiveness of net photosynthetic rate (Aa) to mean monthly air temperature (TM) of eight Mediterranean
evergreen species was investigated by analyzing the inter-annual changes in leaf mass area (LMA), leaf tissue
density (LTD) and leaf thickness (LT). We wanted to test if species leaf habitus affected this response. To hit the
goal, a multi-year dataset from our previously published papers was used. The inter-annual variability in LMA,
LTD and LT was assessed by their coefficients of variation (CVs). Aa sensitivity to TM (SAa) was quantified by the

In this work, an interesting potential application of phytochemistry is reported. In particular, we employed the
Sporne diagrams to provide information about the evolution of some different Lamiaceae species in relation to
their content in secondary metabolites. In more details, fifteen species belonging to six different genera were
studied i.e. Ajuga L., Galeopsis L., Melittis L., Sideritis L., Stachys L. and Teucrium L. The selected secondary
metabolites were iridoids because of their wide occurrence and distribution within all the family, thus providing

Jassa slatteryi is a cosmopolitan amphipod reported as cryptogenic or invasive species throughout the world. Although it had been signaled in the Mediterranean Sea, it was never found on the Italian coasts. This study represents the first record of J. slatteryi in Italy. A total of 87 specimens were collected on artificial hard substrates in the Port of Civitavecchia (Rome). The presence of this species in the Mediterranean Sea was probably underestimated due to the similar morphological features and ecological requirements of different species of Jassa spp.

The increasing use of phylogenetic methods in community ecology recognizes that accumulated evolutionary differences
among species mirror, to some extent, ecological processes. The scope of this work is thus to propose a new method for the
measurement of community-level phylogenetic redundancy, which takes into account the branching pattern of the underlying
phylogeny. Like for functional redundancy, a measure of phylogenetic redundancy can be described as a normalized

Assessing biodiversity from field-based data is difficult for a number of practical reasons: (i) establishing the total
number of sampling units to be investigated and the sampling design (e.g. systematic, random, stratified) can be
difficult; (ii) the choice of the sampling design can affect the results; and (iii) defining the focal population of
interest can be challenging. Satellite remote sensing is one of the most cost-effective and comprehensive approaches

Discordance between mitochondrial and nuclear patterns of population genetic structure is providing key insights into the eco-evolutionary dynamics between and within species, and their assessment is highly relevant to biodiversity monitoring practices based on DNA barcoding approaches. Here, we investigate the population genetic structure of the fire salamander Salamandra salamandra in peninsular Italy. Both mitochondrial and nuclear markers clearly identified two main population groups.

One of the features that distinguishes modern humans from our extinct relatives and ancestors is a globular shape of the braincase [1-4]. As the endocranium closely mirrors the outer shape of the brain, these differences might reflect altered neural architecture [4, 5]. However, in the absence of fossil brain tissue, the underlying neuroanatomical changes as well as their genetic bases remain elusive. To better understand the biological foundations of modern human endocranial shape, we turn to our closest extinct relatives: the Neandertals.

This article discusses the topic of the ‘architecture’ of the prison in the Italian context.
It argues the Italian context data and it deals with issues related to prison’s architectural
typology evolution, the needs and performance approach and examples of good practices.
The prison lacks architecture in Italy. What is the best design approach and the
methodology right? The chapter contends that it’s necessary to consider the prison as
architecture for life linked with urban life and the design can start from needs of users.

Scenari interessanti emergono dal confronto tra IA e neuroetica, nel quale si tenta di formulare e promuovere un’etica dell’IA, coerente con risultati e i dibattiti relativi alle basi naturalistiche delle scelte morali. Nel presente contributo, ci soffermeremo sul tema di un possibile profilo morale di una Super-IA, e ragioneremo sulle potenziali conseguenze dell’evoluzione autonoma progressiva della moralità delle macchine, effettuando un parallelo con quanto avviene per l’evoluzione degli organismi biologici in natura. Discuteremo quindi i problemi della singolarità e del controllo.