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The minute bivalve Gregariella semigranata (Reeve, 1858) was first reported from the coralligenous algal reefs off of Marzamemi in southeastern Sicily. The species has a cryptic, nestling lifestyle within convolutions of calcareous algae and crevices, occurring also under the canopy of fleshy algae and inside the soft tissues of sponges. A peculiar cocoon of threads and agglutinated mud enveloping some Gregariella specimens was observed, partly filling the gaps between the shell and the walls of hosting crevices, with a possible function of protection and/or stabilization. The posterior half of the valves develops a hairy periostracum with a tuft of long branched barbules resembling the surrounding soft algae. The tuft is the only part protruding from the substratum, with a possible mimetic function against predators. The numerous specimens of G. semigranata from Marzamemi allowed us to better focus on the ecology and the life strategy of this bivalve and adds a further record from the Ionian coasts of Sicily to its known Mediterranean geographical distribution.

Along the Mediterranean Sea shelf, algal reefs made of crustose coralline algae and Peyssonneliales are known as Coralligenous. It ranks among the most important ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea because of its extent, complexity, and heterogeneity, supporting very high levels of biodiversity. Descriptive approaches for monitoring purposes are often aimed at assessing the surficial ephemeral canopy, which is sustained and controlled by the occurrence of the long-lasting rigid structure at the base. This practice led to the non-univocal definition of Coralligenous, sometimes indicated as “animal Coralligenous” because of the surficial dominance of these components. The quantitative assessment of the builders that actively build up the persistent structure through geological time is therefore a fundamental topic. We collected two discrete coralligenous samples in front of Marzamemi village (Sicily, Ionian Sea), the first from an area of a dense coralligenous cover (- 37 m) and the second one from an area with sparse build-ups (- 36 m). By using image analysis and computerized axial tomography, we distinguished and quantified the different components both on the surface and inside the framework. In both cases, our results confirm the primary role of crustose coralline algae as major builders of the Mediterranean Coralligenous, this aspect matching with the evidence from the Quaternary fossil record. We suggest that the role of encrusting calcareous red algae in the Coralligenous should be considered in conservation and management policies.

La «favola antica» della cicala e della formica, raccontata in versi da Esopo e ripresa molti secoli più tardi, al tempo del Re Sole, da Jean de La Fontaine, ha per molti secoli rappresentato un racconto, spietato e idealmente edificante, sull’etica del lavoro, esplicitata nella morale che chiude tante versioni del racconto, soprattutto quando espressamente rivolta a lettori in formazione: «Nessuno deve vivere pigro o negligente». Già Rodari e Maraini, negli anni Sessanta e da prospettive differenti, avevano provato a rovesciare questa morale con versi giocosi e scoppiettanti che celebravano la gratuità del donare e la felicità del canto come bene necessario; e anche Leo Lionni, negli stessi anni, aveva riletto la «favola antica» nel suo Federico, difendendo il lavoro del poeta e la sua utilità – profonda e necessaria – in una prospettiva di tipo esistenziale. Nel suo Cicala, uscito nel 2018, Shaun Tan ci offre una visione rinnovata e sorprendente di questa figura cara alla tradizione favolistica, spostando la riflessione su un piano differente rispetto a quello consueto, dove la tensione non sembra riguardare la dimensione morale implicata nel rapporto tra dovere e piacere, lavoro e vita, lungimiranza e godimento del presente, quanto piuttosto quello tra umano e non umano. La cicala, protagonista del racconto verbo-visuale qui preso in esame, offre così al lettore un’occasione di riflessione sulla condizione di angusta limitatezza della prospettiva umana sull’esistenza, colta grazie alla forza disvelante della metafora e della poesia: e la rappresentazione del lavoro, al tempo stesso terribilmente realistica e decisamente surreale – binomio fantastico caro alla poetica dell’autore – diventa occasione per una messa a fuoco di molti tratti tipici dell’«umano» e dei modi in cui l’«umano» si manifesta nelle relazioni di potere (soprattutto, ma non esclusivamente), toccando questioni che anche i bambini sanno facilmente riconoscere nella propria esperienza di vita

A partire dal 1909, il metodo Montessori comincia ad essere conosciuto negli Stati Uniti grazie ad alcuni articoli comparsi su riviste e grazie alle successive visite, presso le Case dei bambini di Roma. Il dibattito in merito al metodo diviene più vivace, quando nel 1912 l’editore McClure pubblica la traduzione del libro di Maria Montessori. l’incontro con Mc Clure porta la dottoressa marchigiana a compiere il suo primo viaggio oltre oceano, nel 1913, per realizzare un ciclo di seminari di formazione e di convegni. Gli anni successivi vedono, da un lato, la rapida diffusione del metodo, dall’altro, l’emergere di un dibattito sempre più vivace e significativo in merito, grazie alla pubblicazione di volumi e di articoli, sia divulgativi sia specialistici. Nel 1915 la pedagogista compie il suo secondo viaggio oltre oceano e partecipa alla Panama Pacific International Exposition a San Francisco e al Congresso della National Education Association ad Oakland. Le fondamentali tappe di questa rapida diffusione e gli elementi più interessanti del dibattito oltre oceano sono documentati in quegli anni anche nelle pagine de La Coltura Popolare. In questo contributo ci proponiamo di analizzare come La Coltura Popolare abbia documentato, dal 1909 al 1922, l’imponente e articolato fenomeno della diffusione del metodo montessoriano negli Stati Uniti, contribuendo ad una significativa apertura internazionale del dibattito pedagogico italiano., From 1909 onwards, the Montessori method began to become known in the United States thanks to articles in magazines and subsequent visits to children's homes in Rome. The debate about the method became more lively when in 1912 the publisher McClure published a translation of Maria Montessori's book. the meeting with McClure led the doctor from the Marche region to make her first trip overseas in 1913 to carry out a series of training seminars and conferences. The following years saw, on the one hand, the rapid spread of the method, and on the other, the emergence of an increasingly lively and significant debate on the subject, thanks to the publication of volumes and articles, both popular and specialist. In 1915, the educationalist made her second trip overseas and participated in the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and the National Education Association Congress in Oakland. The fundamental stages of this rapid spread and the most interesting elements of the overseas debate are also documented in the pages of The Popular Culture in those years. In this contribution we propose to analyze how La Coltura Popolare documented, from 1909 to 1922, the impressive and articulated phenomenon of the diffusion of the Montessori method in the United States, contributing to a significant international opening of the Italian pedagogical debate.

I libri di testo hanno un ruolo fondamentale nella trasmissione dei saperi a scuola. In occasione del decennio ONU dedicato alle scienze del mare si è voluto analizzare come i libri di testo per la scuola primaria affrontino questo spazio. La visione del mare che è veicolata da questi strumenti è fortemente terracentrica, il mare è prevalentemente descritto come il limite della terra ferma. Dal punto di vista iconografico si riscontrano delle contraddizioni tra testo e immagini, inoltre il mare è prevalentemente rappresentato sulla falsa riga della sua immagine turistica.

Although several bryozoans are considered habitat-former species, allowing colonisation by epibionts and promoting biodiversity, studies dealt so far with only some, usually constructional, species. In this context, the present study focuses on the epibiosis found on the erect mineralised but flexible species Margaretta cereoides, contributing with some macroalgae to the canopy formation on a coralligenous build-up collected at 36.7 m depth offshore Marzamemi (Ionian Sea, Mediterranean) in the frame of the project CRESCIBLUREEF. Focusing on bryozoans and serpulids we documented high diversity (species richness) on the investigated substrata (M. cereoides, Flabellia petiolata, Peyssonnelia rubra, Osmundaria volubilis and all other fleshy algae including Phyllophora crispa). Diversity, total number of colonies/specimens hosted, and number of colonies/specimens per cm2 are higher on M. cereoides than on algae, possibly in relation with the morphology, robustness and persistence of the surface offered by the bryozoan contrasting with the flexible and ephemeral nature of most algae, often provided with chemical defenses. Bryozoan and even more serpulid epibiont diversity on M. cereoides is also higher than those reported for studied species in the Mediterranean and for Flustra foliacea from North Europe.

Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy for Luminal B-like breast cancers usually includes anthracycline-based regimens. However, some patients are reluctant to receive chemotherapy because of side-effects, especially alopecia, and ask for a “less intensive” or personalized approach. Patients and methods: We conducted a phase II feasibility trial to evaluate pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD, Caelyx®) as adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients who received surgery for pT1–3, any N, and luminal B-like early-stage breast cancer (EBC) candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy were included. PLD was administered intravenously at 20 mg/m2 biweekly for eight courses. Endocrine therapy was given according to menopausal status. Trastuzumab was administered in HER2-positive disease. The primary endpoint was to evaluate the feasibility of this regimen, defined as the ability of a patient to achieve a relative dose intensity (RDI) of at least 85% of the eight cycles of treatment. Secondary endpoints included adverse events (AEs), tolerability, breast cancer-free survival, disease-free survival, and overall survival. Results: From March 2016 to July 2018, 63 patients were included in the trial. Median age was 49 years (range: 33–76), with mostly pre-and peri-menopausal (65%) and stage I–II (94%). Only 5% of patients had HER2-positive EBC. Median RDI was 100% (range: 12.5–100%; interquartile range, IQR: 87.5–100%). The proportion of patients meeting the primary endpoint was 84% (95% confidence interval, CI: 73–92%). Overall, 55 out of 63 enrolled patients completed treatment (87%, 95% CI: 77–94%). Most common AEs were palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (12.2%), fatigue (10.4%), and mucositis (8.5%). Only 13% of patients had G3 AEs. None had alopecia. After a median follow-up of 3.9 years (range: 0.3–4.7) two distant events were observed, and all patients were alive at the date of last visit. Conclusions: The trial successfully met its primary endpoint: the regimen was feasible and well tolerated