Search

The paper discusses the relative frequency of topics of study in Italy, through the bibliography compiled by Emilio Corti, an assistant professor at the Zoology Institute of the University of Pavia, covering the period 1850–1933, compared with those obtained from the world literature from the database of Web of Knowledge by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) of Thomson Reuters, for the period 1945–2005. Corti's bibliography, which has never been published, is kept in the Archives of the Pavia University Museum and comprises around 5500 papers covering various aspects of hydrobiology, fish and fish farming. Altogether what emerged was a methodical, complex study, providing a wealth of information even though made up solely of bibliographic references. Today it represents a significant source of consultation for anyone interested in the history of science and zoogeography. The comparison of Corti's topics with those of the 1945–2005 period confirmed (1) an overall increase in most research topics, (2) that some research topics, especially related to human activities, increased more than the others, (3) that the studies on malaria showed a peculiar trend, and that (4) organisms-based research did not diminish its importance through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities involving water may result in a crime scene. Typically, death may be due to natural causes, homicide, or mass disasters. Decomposition in water is a complex process where many factors may interplay. Human remains in water are subject to many potential interactions, depending upon the remains themselves, the type of water and the characteristics of the water. A number of studies are focused on the decomposition process of the corpse in water, on the identification of the post mortem submersion interval (PMSI) and on the diagnosis of drowning, but very few studies consider the fate of floating remains in any aquatic environment. The following case describes a corpse found on a shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea (South West of Italy, Calabria Region). The corpse and the soles of his shoes were colonized by the barnacle Lepas anatifera L. (Crustacea: Cirripedia: Pedunculata). The analyses of the barnacles present on the corpse aided in the evaluation of the floating time of the corpse which assisted in estimating the minimum time since death., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)