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Coastal marine ecosystems are among the most productive ecosystems worldwide, providing essential resources both for the environment itself and for human life. This is the case of the Ligurian Sea, rich in marine biodiversity that characterizes a valuable natural capital that has, however, been damaged by the development of human activities along the coast leading to a decline of this biodiversity and health status of coastal ecosystems.This study analyzes the relationships between the distribution of natural capital and environmental flows values of Ligurian marine coastal habitats, and the natural and anthropogenic variables located along the coast. These variables may influence the capacity of the environment to generate and maintain the natural capital and affect, either directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, its spatial distribution together with that of the environmental flows. These relationships were analyzed using the Random Forest technique, subsequently compared with information from interviews administered to experts in the marine coastal field.Both methods showed that the anthropogenic variables have a greater influence on values’ distribution if compared with the natural ones, with a positive effect (namely the settlement of protection measures) showed as an increase in natural capital and environmental flows values, confirming how protection regimes (e.g., anchoring ban and establishment of Special Zones of Conservation) could be crucial for managing and conserving natural capital.This study links the status of natural capital and environmental flows along the coast to the presence of a set of variables, in order to operate on them for a better monitoring and management of the area, as well as a sustainable development.

The article aims to analyze some historiographical and methodological aspects of the study of polytheisms in Late Antiquity. Recent research has somewhat neglected the internal mechanisms of late antique polytheisms. Interpreted simply as residual in an Empire watching the “triumph of Christianity”, studies have continued to project on the polytheistic cults of the fourth and fifth centuries CE the new conception of religion that Christian authors were constructing as an autonomous sphere from the political and social life of the ancient city. Against this backdrop, we focus on some historiographical tendencies that have contributed to the interpretation of late antique polytheisms. Such tendencies include the alleged spread of a soteriological anxiety due to the crises that would have crossed the empire, the individualization of religious practices, the spiritualization of the cult, and the ritualization of philosophical activity. The analysis of the different cases encourages a change of paradigm, which takes into account the plurality of rites, agents, and historical contexts without homologizing them all into an alleged “paganism” that would have eventually been defeated by Christianity.

The deep shoal of Punta del Faro (Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean Sea) is a mesophotic rocky elevation hosting complex animal forests threatened by fishing activities. To identify appropriate conservation measures and set a reference example for similar cases, we present a detailed characterization of its megabenthic communities and a quantification of the fishing pressure. The results highlight the high natural value of the area, presenting high biodiversity (111 megabenthic and demersal species) and diverse types of animal forest, predominantly dominated by cnidarians. The tridimensional seascape is among the most complex in the eastern Ligurian Sea, but the long-term evaluation of its environmental status suggested consistent affects due to the high abundance of lost fishing gear (0.65 items m−2) directly entangled with structuring cnidarians. The artisanal and recreational fishing pressure are currently moderate. However, the use of bottom-contact fishing gear causes significant modifications to the seafloor’s integrity. This study emphasizes the high conservation value and vulnerability of the shoal, highlighting the importance of its protection through its inclusion in the Portofino MPA, whose external perimeter is 200 m from the study area. A critical discussion of the advantages and disadvantages is provided with a map of the possible extension of the MPA boundaries.

Quantum key distribution, which allows two distant parties to share an unconditionally secure cryptographic key, promises to play an important role in the future of communication. For this reason such technique has attracted many theoretical and experimental efforts, thus becoming one of the most prominent quantum technologies of the last decades. The security of the key relies on quantum mechanics and therefore requires the users to be capable of performing quantum operations, such as state preparation or measurements in multiple bases. A natural question is whether and to what extent these requirements can be relaxed and the quantum capabilities of the users reduced. Here we demonstrate a novel quantum key distribution scheme, where users are fully classical. In our protocol, the quantum operations are performed by an untrusted third party acting as a server, which gives the users access to a superimposed single photon, and the key exchange is achieved via interaction-free measurements on the shared state. We also provide a full security proof of the protocol by computing the secret key rate in the realistic scenario of finite-resources, as well as practical experimental conditions of imperfect photon source and detectors. Our approach deepens the understanding of the fundamental principles underlying quantum key distribution and, at the same time, opens up new interesting possibilities for quantum cryptography networks

Cities are currently engaged through their urban policies in pushing people towards less environmentally impacting mobility modalities: therefore, cycling and walking are strongly promoted, especially by means of new and wider limited traffic and no-cars zones. In this paper, the effectiveness of the new smartphones and apps-based technologies in modifying the mobility behaviors of citizens towards more sustainable choices has been investigated. Specifically, the potential of a smartphone app, directly involving citizens by means of a game rewarding the most sustainable trips, has been tested on a university commuters' group. These latter, starting from their current mobility situation, were challenged by an enhanced scenario characterized by more restrictive and sustainable targets. Promising results have been obtained suggesting that game–based tools could be effectively used as urban policy interventions intended to obtain a more sustainable mobility.

The study of causal relations has recently been applied to the quantum realm, leading to the discovery that not all physical processes have a definite causal structure. While indefinite causal processes have previously been experimentally shown, these proofs relied on the quantum description of the experiments. Yet, the same experimental data could also be compatible with definite causal structures within different descriptions. Here, we present the first demonstration of indefinite temporal order outside of quantum formalism. We show that our experimental outcomes are incompatible with a class of generalised probabilistic theories satisfying the assumptions of locality and definite temporal order. To this end, we derive physical constraints (in the form of a Bell-like inequality) on experimental outcomes within such a class of theories. We then experimentally invalidate these theories by violating the inequality using entangled temporal order. This provides experimental evidence that there exist correlations in nature which are incompatible with the assumptions of locality and definite temporal order.

The article deals with the essay “Inattualità di Dioniso” written by Furio Jesi as an introduction to the Italian translation of the volume Dionysos. Histoire du culte de Bacchus, by Henri Jeanmaire (Einaudi, 1972). The article places and discusses Jesi’s text in the context of studies on Dionysus of the second half of the twentieth century. The analysis focuses on the Jesian conception of the conception of “Dionysian” as a category still looming in the intellectual debate.

Cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down-conversion is capable of efficient generation of single photons with suitable spectral properties for interfacing with the atoms. However, beside the remarkable progress of this technique, multimode longitudinal emission remains a major drawback. Here, we demonstrate a bright source of single photons that overcomes this limitation by a novel mode-selection technique based on the introduction of an additional birefringent element to the cavity. This enables us to tune the double resonance condition independent of the phase matching and thus to achieve single-mode operation without mode filters. Our source emits single-frequency-mode photons at 852 nm, which is compatible to the Cs D2 line, with a bandwidth of 10.9 MHz and a detected photon-pair rate of 2.5 kHz at 10 mW of pump power, while maintaining g(2)(0) = 0.13. The efficiency of our source is further underlined by detecting a four-photon rate of 0.28 Hz at 20 mW of pump power. These detected rates correspond to a photon-pair generation rate of 47.5 Hz, and a four-photon generation rate of 37 Hz. Such photon generation rates open up a variety of new applications reaching from hybrid light-matter interactions to optical quantum information tasks based on long temporal coherence.

Topological phases play a fundamental role in a variety of physical systems, yet there is a lack of efficient tools for revealing the occurrence of associated quantum transitions. Here, Cardano et al.report that such transitions can be identified in the statistics of quantum-walk dynamics and validate this idea in a photonic experimental implementation.

In the context of the cohabitations of religions during the Roman Imperial Age, the rivalry between Christians and the traditional religions’worshippers shows itself in the conflict of stories, rites and images : the category of trueness and falsehood were an instrument to refute the beliefs of the others. In this perspective, the article aims to analyse some Christian strategies of the II and III century (Justin, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria) created to represent Greek and Roman religions as a set of false stories deforming the true Christian beliefs.

Understanding the effects of environmental change on ecosystems requires the identification of baselines that may act as reference conditions. However, the continuous change of these references challenges our ability to define the true natural status of ecosystems. The so-called sliding baseline syndrome can be overcome through the analysis of quantitative time series, which are, however, extremely rare. Here we show how combining historical quantitative data with descriptive 'naturalistic' information arranged in a chronological chain allows highlighting long-term trends and can be used to inform present conservation schemes. We analysed the long-term change of a coralligenous reef, a marine habitat endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. The coralligenous assemblages of Mesco Reef (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean) have been studied, although discontinuously, since 1937 thus making available both detailed descriptive information and scanty quantitative data: while the former was useful to understand the natural history of the ecosystem, the analysis of the latter was of paramount importance to provide a formal measure of change over time. Epibenthic assemblages remained comparatively stable until the 1990s, when species replacement, invasion by alien algae, and biotic homogenisation occurred within few years, leading to a new and completely different ecosystem state. The shift experienced by the coralligenous assemblages of Mesco Reef was probably induced by a combination of seawater warming and local human pressures, the latter mainly resulting in increased water turbidity; in turn, cumulative stress may have favoured the establishment of alien species. This study showed that the combined analysis of quantitative and descriptive historical data represent a precious knowledge to understand ecosystem trends over time and provide help to identify baselines for ecological management.

The effect of the Earth’s gravitational potential on a quantum wave function has only been observed for massive particles. In this paper we present a scheme to measure a gravitationally induced phase shift on a single photon traveling in a coherent superposition along different paths of an optical fiber interferometer. To create a measurable signal for the interaction between the static gravitational potential and the wave function of the photon, we propose a variant of a conventional Mach–Zehnder interferometer. We show that the predicted relative phase difference of 10 ^−5 rad is measurable even in the presence of fiber noise, provided additional stabilization techniques are implemented for each arm of a large-scale fiber interferometer. Effects arising from the rotation of the Earth and the material properties of the fibers are analysed. We conclude that optical fiber interferometry is a feasible way to measure the gravitationally induced phase shift on a single-photon wave function, and thus provides a means to corroborate the equivalence of the energy of the photon and its effective gravitational mass.

Seamounts and their influence on the surrounding environment are currently being extensively debated but, surprisingly, scant information is available for the Mediterranean area. Furthermore, although the deep Tyrrhenian Sea is characterised by a complex bottom morphology and peculiar hydrodynamic features, which would suggest a variable influence on the benthic domain, few studies have been carried out there, especially for soft-bottom macrofaunal assemblages. In order to fill this gap, the structure of the meio-and macrofaunal assemblages of the Vercelli Seamount and the surrounding deep area (northern Tyrrhenian Sea - western Mediterranean) were studied in relation to environmental features. Sediment was collected with a box-corer from the seamount summit and flanks and at two far-field sites in spring 2009, in order to analyse the metazoan communities, the sediment texture and the sedimentary organic matter. At the summit station, the heterogeneity of the habitat, the shallowness of the site and the higher trophic supply (water column phytopigments and macroalgal detritus, for instance) supported a very rich macrofaunal community, with high abundance, biomass and diversity. In fact, its trophic features resembled those observed in coastal environments next to seagrass meadows. At the flank and far-field stations, sediment heterogeneity and depth especially influenced the meiofaunal distribution. From a trophic point of view, the low content of the valuable sedimentary proteins that was found confirmed the general oligotrophy of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and exerted a limiting influence on the abundance and biomass of the assemblages. In this scenario, the rather refractory sedimentary carbohydrates became a food source for metazoans, which increased their abundance and biomass at the stations where the hydrolytic-enzyme-mediated turnover of carbohydrates was faster, highlighting high lability.

The article aims to analyze the educational function of women in the dionysiac rituals in the Greek and Roman world, concentrating on literary, epigraphic and iconographic sources. Through this investigation, the research underlines three different feminine functions inside the dionysiac practices: 1. the role in the institution or reformation of bacchic ceremonies; 2. the leadership of associations in the honour of Dionysus; 3. the transmission of dionysiac rituals and traditions.

Abstract Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer treatment, but they are associated with a range of immune-related adverse events (irAEs), and emerging evidence suggests significant sex differences in the incidence, type, and severity of these toxicities, suggesting an influential factor and understanding sex-related differences in irAEs as crucial for optimizing patient care and improving clinical outcomes. In MOUSEION-07 study, we aimed to assess the association between sex and treatment-related adverse events in cancer patients treated with immunotherapy through a large up-to-date meta-analysis of available clinical trials. The present systematic review and meta-analysis was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO no. CRD42024549518. Sixteen studies encompassing a total of 4658 patients were included, and 2133 adverse effects were highlighted. The analysis observed a not statistically significant difference in terms of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) between males and females (Odds Ratio 1.19; CI 0.88–1.63) and revealed the presence of publication bias (β = −2.53; 95% CI = [−4.03; −1.04]; P = 0.006). Sex differences in immunotherapy-related adverse events are a significant factor in cancer treatment, necessitating a personalized approach to patient care. Further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms driving these differences and to develop optimized strategies for monitoring and managing irAEs in both females and males.

Abstract The addition of metastasis-directed radiotherapy (MDRT) to immunotherapy in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC) has shown promising results. We report the real-world data from the ARON-2 study (NCT05290038) on the impact of conventional (CRT) or stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) on the outcome of aUC patients receiving pembrolizumab after platinum-based-chemotherapy. Medical records of 837 patients were reviewed from 60 institutions in 20 countries. Two hundred and sixty-two patients (31%) received radiotherapy (cohort A), of whom 193 (23%) received CRT and 69 (8%) received SBRT. Patients were assessed for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall response rate (ORR). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore the association of variables of interest with OS and PFS. With a median follow-up of 22.7 months, the median OS was 10.2 months, 6.8 months and 16.0 months in no RT, CRT and SBRT subgroups (p = 0.005), with an 1y-OS rates of 47%, 34% and 61%, respectively (p

Background: The treatment of heavily pretreated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) represents an unmet medical need and is still challenging. Objectives: The primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of the lenvatinib plus everolimus combination and the secondary objective was the toxicity profile of this combination. Design: We conducted a longitudinal retrospective study examining mRCC patients pre-treated with one or more lines of therapy among different cancer centers in Italy. Methods: The study included patients who received the combination of lenvatinib plus everolimus as either a second-line treatment or beyond. We assessed progression-free survival (PFS), time to treatment failure (TTF), overall survival (OS), response rate (RR), and toxicity profile. In addition, we explored the potential relationship between treatment effectiveness and clinical and laboratory parameters. Results: In all, 33 patients were assessed, the median age was 60 years, 57% had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 1–2 and. 63% received ⩾ 3 prior lines of therapy. 62% were ‘intermediate risk’ according to the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium and 30% were ‘poor risk’. The RR was 42% (no complete response), 18% stable disease. Median OS was 11.2 months (95% CI 6.8–19.9), median PFS was 6.7 months (95% CI 0.6–30.8), and median TTF was 6.7 months (95% CI 4.8–16.6). A shorter OS was significantly associated with lymph node metastases ( p = 0.043, 95% CI), neutrophils/ lymphocytes ratio (NLR) ⩾ 3 ( p = 0.007), hemoglobin/red cell distribution width ratio cutoff value