Oggetto dell'opera è lo studio dei contesti cultuali indigeni della Sicilia, tra l'VIII e il IV sec. a.C., al fine di ricostruire le modalità in cui si configura la sfera del sacro nel suo complesso, dall'organizzazione dello spazio sacro alle pratiche di culto. Contemporaneamente, si sono analizzati gli effetti del contatto con il mondo greco, fuggendo dalla tradizionale visione ellenocentrica, ed evidenziando, piuttosto, le forme di acquisizione e rielaborazione delle sollecitazioni esterne messe in atto dalle popolazioni locali. Un attento esame dell'evidenza archeologica, mediante una schedatura sistematica dei luoghi di culto, ha permesso di individuare sessantatre contesti, diversi per caratteristiche intrinseche e loro grado di conoscenza. L'esame complessivo della documentazione è stato sviluppato attraverso tre successive fasi cronologiche : a) VIII - prima metà del VI sec. a.C., b) seconda metà del VI - prima metà del V sec. a.C., c) seconda metà del V - prima metà del IV sec. a.C., distinguendo tre unità topografiche, corrispondenti alla Sicilia Orientale, a quella centro-meridionale e alla Sicilia Occidentale. Infine si sono tracciate alcune considerazioni conclusive sull'argomento attraverso quattro livelli, a nostro parere essenziali per la comprensione dei fenomeni cultuali: la collocazione topografica dei luoghi di culto - sia in rapporto alla realtà geomorfologica ambientale che a quella umana insediativa -, l'organizzazione dello spazio sacro e le caratteristiche planimetriche e architettoniche delle strutture cultuali, le attività rituali - dalle libagioni e dai pasti sacri alle deposizioni votive -, le divinità venerate. / The subject of this work is the study of the sacred indigenous contexts of Sicily, between 8th and 4th century BC, to reconstruct the religious sphere on the whole, from the sacred space to the cult practices. At the same time the effects of the contact with the Greek world were analysed, evading traditional ellenocentric vision, and showing, on the contrary, the forms of acquisition and elaboration of the outside spurs, that were carried out by the local populations. A careful examination of the archaeological evidence, through a systematic catalogue of the sacred places, has allowed locating sixty-three contexts, different for distinctive features and degree of knowledge. The total inspection of documentation was developed through three following periods : a) 8th first half of 6th century BC, b) second half of 6th first half of 5th century BC, c) second half of 5th first half of 4th century BC, dividing three topographic units, corresponding with eastern Sicily, with centre-southern and with western Sicily. In the end some conclusive considerations about the subject were traced, through four levels, according to us of capital importance to understand religious phenomena: the location of the sacred places - whether as regard the geographic environment or as regard the human landscape -, the organization of the sacred space and the planimetric and architectural peculiarities of the structures, the ritual practices from the libations and the sacred meals to the votive depositions -, the divinities worshipped.

Il lavoro affronta l'analisi funzionale dei contenitori ceramici provenienti da diversi contesti archeologici attraverso un approccio interdisciplinare. Le metodologie di analisi adottate affiancano all'approccio archeologico i risultati derivanti dall'integrazione con metodiche e strumenti di analisi di tipo archeometrico. Uno degli obiettivi principali della ricerca è quello di risalire alla funzione pratica dei contenitori ceramici attraverso l'analisi chimica dei residui organici in essi contenuti. È stato affrontato uno studio comparato di varie classi ceramiche, provenienti dai seguenti contesti in corso di scavo da parte dell'Università di Lecce: abitato arcaico di San Vito dei Normanni (Br), santuario di Tas Silg (Malta), santuario di Apollo a Hierapolis (Turchia). I materiali ceramici selezionati sono stati sottoposti ad analisi chimiche finalizzate ad identificare i residui organici, attraverso l'impiego incrociato di due tecniche analitiche: Gas cromatografia con spettrometria di massa (GC/MS) e Spettroscopia ad infrarossi in trasformata di Fourier (FTIR). I materiali sono stati inoltre letti in rapporto ai contesti di provenienza, al fine di pervenire anche ad una valutazione della distribuzione dei contenitori ceramici sulla superficie e quindi delle attività che si svolgevano nelle diverse aree di un ambiente o di un edificio, dei sistemi di immagazzinamento delle derrate, delle modalità di preparazione e di consumo del cibo. / In the framework of a study on the relations between form and function of pottery, organic residues analysis has been applied to different types of vessels from three archaeological sites excavated by the University of Lecce: San Vito dei Normanni (Brindisi, South Italy), Tas Silg sanctuary (Malta), Apollo sanctuary at Hierapolis (Turkey). Organic residues were identified by two analytical procedures based on gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and on Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) respectively.

Il tema del progetto di ricerca è lo studio della pittura romana nell’area della Cisalpina orientale, con particolare riferimento alle problematiche connesse alla definizione dei processi formativi e delle peculiarità delle maestranze. L’ambito geografico considerato è compreso tra Altino e Trieste: all’interno di questo comparto territoriale Aquileia e Altino hanno costituito i due ambiti privilegiati della ricerca, anche per la possibilità di condurre un’indagine rigorosa su tutto il materiale pittorico conservato presso i Musei Archeologici. L’esame autoptico condotto con un approccio metodologico volto a considerare il supporto e la superficie dipinta è stato incrociato con l’analisi delle fonti documentarie inedite, che nel caso di Aquileia hanno rappresentato un imprescindibile strumento per la restituzione dei contesti: sono stati riqualificate nel senso topografico alcune partizioni edite, che assieme a numerose altre inedite vanno a restituire una nuova immagine alle abitazioni scavate nel secolo scorso. Lo studio ha messo in evidenza un panorama ricco dal punto di vista quantitativo che ho offerto significativi spunti di analisi sui caratteri della produzione, soprattutto nell’ottica del riconoscimento delle peculiarità regionali elaborate dalle officine pittoriche operanti sul territorio. / The subject of this research project is the study of Roman wall-painting in eastern Cisalpine Gaul, more specifically dealing with the aspects of the creation and development of the local workshops and their peculiar characteristics. The area taken into consideration is set between Altino and Trieste: within this territory Aquileia and Altino have represented the two privileged research fields, given the possibility to analyse thoroughly all the wall-painting evidence preserved in the Archaeological Museums. Direct examination, conducted with a specific attention to the plaster bearer and the painted surface, has been combined with the analysis of unpublished documentation which, in the case of Aquileia, has represented an indispensable instrument for the reconstruction of the original contexts. In this way it has been possible to re-define topographically some well known examples of wall-paintings which, together with many yet unpublished examples, contribute to give a new image of the private houses excavated during the last century. This research has revealed an outline very rich in respect of the quantities and which has offered interesting starting points for the analysis of the different aspects of the production, specifically aimed to the recognition of local peculiarities developed by the workshops operating in this area.

Multistage Interconnection Networks (MIN) are popular in switching and communication applications. It has been used in telecommunication and parallel computing systems for many years. The new challenge facing optical MIN is crosstalk, which is caused by coupling two signals within a switching element. Crosstalk is not too big an issue in the Electrical Domain, but due to the stringent Bit Error Rate (BER) constraint, it is a big major concern in the Optical Domain. In this research dissertation, we will study the blocking probability in the optical network and we will study the deterministic conditions for strictly non-blocking Vertical Stacked Optical Benes Networks (VSOBN) with and without worst-case scenarios. We will establish the upper bound on blocking probability of Vertical Stacked Optical Benes Networks with respect to the number of planes used when the non-blocking requirement is not met. We will then study routing in WDM Benes networks and propose a new routing algorithm so that the number of wavelengths can be reduced. Since routing in WDM optical network is an NP-hard problem, many heuristic algorithms are designed by many researchers to perform this routing. We will also develop a genetic algorithm, simulated annealing algorithm and ant colony technique and apply these AI algorithms to route the connections in WDM Benes network.

<p>Although we often study mutualisms (interactions in which both species benefit) at the level of the individual partners, mutualistic interactions take place in the context of populations and communities. Sharing mutualists with others in a population could result in indirect interactions in the form of mutualist-mediated competition or facilitation. In my dissertation work I asked whether intraspecific competition or facilitation for ants might occur in an extrafloral nectary-bearing (EFN) plant, and what the consequences would be for long-term population dynamics of the plant. My focal species was <italic>Colubrina spinosa</italic> (Rhamnaceae), a neotropical treelet on which I observed 69 ant species at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. </p><p> Demonstrating intraspecific competition for mutualists requires that 1) neighbor densities affect mutualist visits to an individual, and 2) change in mutualist visits results in reduced benefit. To determine how mutualist density affects plant benefit, I experimentally manipulated ant abundances on plants over two years and measured growth and survival. To assess competition for mutualists, I excluded ants from conspecific neighbors and followed ant abundance on focal plants. To consider long-term facilitation, in which greater local nectar resources increase local ant abundance, I manipulated nectar resources in a two-year field experiment and estimated ant abundance on <italic>C. spinosa</italic> plants and on baits. </p><p> Considering local neighbor density both within a 1m radius and in 5x5 m plots, ant densities on <italic>C. spinosa</italic> plants showed evidence for a small-scale competition effect and a contrasting plot-level facilitation effect. The small-scale competition was sized-based; smaller plants lost ants to larger plants. Ant benefit to plants also depended on plant size. For larger plants, those with greater size-adjusted ant density had higher growth and survival than those with fewer ants than expected for their size. </p><p> To determine whether these contrasting competition and facilitation effects could impact population growth or densities, I modeled population dynamics with an integral projection model (IPM). Growth and survival were functions of ant density, which in turn depended on conspecific neighbors, plant size, and mean background ants. Results suggest that larger-scale facilitation of mutualists impacts long-term population growth more than small-scale competition. Population growth rate increased with increasing background ant density, which depended on facilitation at the 5x5m plot scale. In contrast, small-scale competition caused a redistribution of mutualist ants among plants of different sizes, but had very little effect on long-term population growth. </p><p> I thus conclude that on the scale of individuals there is evidence of intraspecific competition for ants as well as facilitation in the EFN plant <italic>C. spinosa</italic>, but only facilitation effects lead to appreciable changes in population dynamics. If mutualist-mediated facilitation effects tend to occur over long time scales in other systems as well, facilitation might prove to be more important than competition in other mutualisms.</p> / Dissertation

Solenopsis invicta, the red imported fire ant, has recently become associated with Antonina graminis, an invasive pest, and Neodusmetia sangwani, biological control agent, and maybe negatively affecting established biological control. A preliminary survey outlined the range of A. graminis and its parasitoids, and found N. sangwani was present at a reduced rate in South Texas and in the southeastern United States. A greenhouse experiment demonstrated that S. invicta decreased the rate of parasitism of A. graminis by N. sangwani, with S. invicta directly interfering with oviposition. Interactions between S. invicta and A. gaminis may be facilitating the spread and establishment of two invasive pests which has a negative impact on established classical biological control of A. graminis by N. sangwani.

Ants are capable of building close associations with plants, insects, fungi and bacteria. Symbionts can provide essential nutrients to their insect host, however, the development of new molecular tools has allowed the discovery of new microorganisms that manipulate insect reproduction, development and even provide defense against parasitoids and pathogens. In this study we investigated the presence of bacteria inside the Red Imported Fire Ant midgut using molecular tools and transmission electron microscopy. The midgut bacteria were also characterized by their morphology, biochemical activity, and antibiotic resistance profile. After isolation, culture, and characterization of these bacteria, the molecular analysis revealed ten unique profiles which were identified to at least the genus level, Enterococcus sp./durans, Klebsiella ornithinolytica, Kluyvera cryocrescens, Lactococ-cus garvieae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Bacillus pumilus, Listeria innucua, Serratia marcescens, and an uncultured bacterium from the Entero-bacteriaceae. New SEM and TEM techniques revealed a possible functional association of endosymbiotic bacteria with the insect host, and it also showed the absence of bacteriocytes in the epithelial cells of the midgut. The PCR results, from the bacteria abundance and distribution studies, showed that Enterococcus sp., Kluyvera cryocres-cens and Lactococcus garvieae are the most abundant species, but they are not consistently found in all sites throughout the southeastern United States. Kluyvera cryocrescens, Serratia marcescens, and an uncultured bacterium (isolate #38: Enterobacteriaceae) were genetically modified with the plasmid vector pZeoDsRed and successfully reintroduced into fire ant colonies. Strong fluorescence of DsRed was detected up to seven days after introduction. The transformed bacteria can still be rescued after pupal emergence; however most were passed out in the meconium. We further demonstrated that nurses contributed to the spread of the transformed bacteria within the colony by feeding the meconium to naive larvae. Although the role of midgut bacteria in the fire ant is still unknown, we have no indication that they cause any pathology. Studies emphasizing the role of these bacteria in fire ant physiology are still ongoing. These results are the foundation for a fire ant biological control program using endosymbiotic bacteria as vectors to introduce foreign genes that express proteins with insecticidal properties.

The thesis comprises three parts: Part 1 is the design and implementation of a high speed pipelined carry lookahead adder (CLA) ; Part 2 introduces how to build 0.35£gm basic cell library in the Cadence 97¡¦s environment and execute the cell-based design flow by self-built basic cells; Part 3 is the design and implementation of a low-power discrete cosine transform (DCT) processor. Part 1 of this thesis is a 32-bit tree-structured pipelined carry lookahead adder (CLA) constructed by the modified all-N-transistor (ANT) design. Not only the CLA possesses few transistor count, but also occupies small chip size. Moreover, the post- layout simulation results given by TimeMill show that the clock used in the 32-bit CLA can run up to 1.25 GHz. The proposed architecture can be easily expanded for long data addition. Part 2 of this thesis is to describe the procedure of a self-built cell library in detail, and explain how to correctly proceed cell-based design flow by using the self-built basic cell library. Part 3 of this thesis is to implementation of a DCT processor. We carefully observed the operation behavior of Multiply Accumulator (MAC) and improved the power consumption

This study examined modifications made by Pogonomyrmex barbatus, by their processes of granivory and nest construction, to forb and grass dynamics under large-scale disturbances of fire, recent drought and long-term, large-mammalian herbivory using comparative studies, field experimental manipulations, and a simulation model on the Edwards Plateau, Texas. Ant nests are refugia for grass survival during extreme droughts as demonstrated during the drought of 1998 to 2002. Significantly greater cover of grasses and lower abundance and cover of forbs was found beside nests compared with surrounding habitat throughout the drought and recovery. Grasses near nests may be the seed source for surrounding habitats during recovery. Seeds were differentially collected among most forbs and grasses despite seed abundance. Harvest was significantly reduced in the fall relative to spring. During preference experiments, harvest differences were found between grazing treatments for two of four species, but only during the spring. High lipid content seeds were unpreferred in fall compared to high protein and carbohydrate content seeds. Granivory influences on seedling establishment were studied by comparing seedling recruitment among sown and naturally occurring seeds excluded and open to foragers. Exclosures were placed in three nest densities and two burn treatments. Seeds in exclosures produced significantly more seedlings than open arenas only during the first year of drought recovery. Densities of grasses and annual forbs were higher in open arenas the second year due to indirect effects of granivory. By reducing seeds ants release seedlings from competition. Sown seedling abundance was unaffected by colony density and fire. Colony density and distribution were influenced by topography, soil types, soil depth and woody cover, but not by historical grazing treatments. Cleared vegetation on nest disks impacted less than 1% of total surface area and losses were compensated by greater basal cover of grasses next to disks compared to surrounding habitats. Foraging areas influenced 17.3-73.6% of surface area and could diminish seed populations for potential seedlings. Model results agree with experimental observations that communities may be modified by P. barbatus presence due to differential responses of grass species to interaction between nests or granivory and rainfall amounts.

I examined the impacts of the invasive red imported fire ant (RIFA, Solenopsis invicta) on native ants (Monomorium minimum, Paratrechina sp., S. krockowi, Pheidole metallescens, Forelius pruinosus, and Camponotus americanus) and litter removal in a post oak savannah community in central Texas. The study site was divided into 3 adjacent areas, and ant-toxic bait was used, along with additional colonies of RIFA, to establish 3 different densities of RIFA (naturally occurring, low, and high). I surveyed the ants in the 3 density areas and calculated the catch per unit effort for each species. Litter baits were placed in the 3 density areas for 14 12-hour trials. The masses of the litter removed were measured, and means were calculated for each speciesdensity/ trial/date/period/bait combination. The average amounts of litter removed by RIFA and native ant were different in the 3 density areas (0.42 g, 0.0 g, and 0.75 g for RIFA in the natural RIFA density area, low RIFA density area, and high RIFA density area, respectively; 0.0 g, 0.16 g, and 0.15 g for native ants in the natural RIFA density area, low RIFA density area, and high RIFA density area, respectively), indicating that RIFA does have an effect on native ant habitat use.