ß-Diversity partitioning of moth communities within and between different forest types.

The partitioning of ß-diversity is a recurrent practice in biogeographic and ecological studies that can provide key insights for land management, such as identification of biodiversity hot-spots. In this study, we used Baselga's metrics to measure the contribution of spatial turnover (ßsim) and nestedness-resultant dissimilarity (ßnes) to overall ß-diversity (ßsor) within- and between-forest types. We analyzed a presence/absence dataset concerning 593 species of nocturnal Lepidoptera sampled within chestnut, silver fir, beech, and black pine forests of southern Italy. Ordination methods and analysis of similarities were used to assess the relative contribution of ßsim and ßnes to ßsor, and to assess their relationships with variables linked to the experimental design and known to be determinant for insect diversity and abundance. We found that ßsor was mostly due to turnover, around 98.5% in ß-diversity assessment of the whole sample, and around 91% in ß-diversity assessment of individual forests. Using ordination analyses based on ßsim, stands were grouped according to forest type, while ßnes alone was used to ordinate stands coherently with their species richness. Nevertheless, the addition of ßnes to ßsim produced a more ecologically coherent grouping of stands within individual forest types, and ßnes alone was able to recognize patterns determined by human disturbance. In conclusion, we demonstrate that ß-diversity partitioning can help to detect differences in magnitude and role of processes determining the composition of forest moth communities as in different forests the same pattern can be due to opposite processes, providing strong ecological insights into managing forest biodiversity.

Periodic and aperiodic liquid crystal-polymer composite structures realized via spatial light modulator direct holography.

In this work we present the first realization and characterization of two-dimensional periodic and aperiodic POLICRYPS (Polymer Liquid Crystal Polymer Slices) structures, obtained by means of a single-beam holographic technique exploiting a high resolution spatial light modulator (SLM). A first investigation shows that the gratings, operating in the Raman Nath regime, exhibit a morphology and a electro-optical behavior that are typical of the POLICRYPS gratings realized by two-beam interference holography.

Mondino's book and the human body.

The assertion that Mondino da Luzzi, the 14th Century Bolognese anatomist, was the first genuine human anatomist is questioned. Mondino's work is examined and his findings shown to be less than original. The investigations of surgeons, who conducted post mortem examinations during the 13th Century are highlighted, their contributions to anatomical science underscored, and their knowledge of human structure reexamined and evaluated.