Prevalence of Anisakis Larvae in Different Fish Species in Southern Albania: Five-Year Monitoring (2016-2020)

Anisakidae are nematodes that commonly parasitize in the coelomic cavity and viscera of several fish species. They can be found in flesh, which is why they have an important economic and public health impact. The aim of the current work was to assess the presence and prevalence of Anisakis larvae in fish species caught in the coastal area of the Karaburun Peninsula in Vlora Bay (Albania). A total of 856 of wild teleosts and 219 specimens of farmed fish were collected over a 5-year period (from 2016 to 2020). The results showed that out of a total of 1075 analyzed samples, 361 (33.58%) were parasitized with L3 larvae. In particular, only Solea vulgaris returned negative results, while Sparus aurata, Dicentrarchus labrax, and Sardinella aurita showed the lowest prevalence (4.55%, 9.17%, and 10.53%, respectively) and mean abundance (0.84, 1.19, and 0.92, respectively). Conversely, Scomber japonicus and Scomber scombrus showed the highest prevalence (74.07% and 68.00%, respectively) and mean abundance (188.24 and 249.82, respectively). The data suggest that the coastal area of the Karaburun Peninsula (southern Albania) may be a high-risk area for zoonotic diseases, and the consumption of raw or undercooked fish caught in the Vlora district could result in the acquisition of human anisakiasis. For these reasons, it is necessary to improve the surveillance plan

Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: Effects on reproductive and productive performance and meat quality in rabbit breeding

Rabbit breeding has many critical aspects related to reproduction, production, and animal welfare, which reduce its profitability as well as consumer attractiveness. Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) seems to be a good nutritional strategy to improve several aspects of rabbit breeding, enhance animal welfare and produce a new functional food considered healthy for human consumption. For this reason, the main available scientific research regarding the physiological effects of n-3 PUFA rich products supplemented to the rabbit diet will be reviewed. In particular, consequences on the reproductive performances of both doe and buck, the productive parameters, and the meat quality will be analysed

Differential effects of dietary fatty acids on the accumulation of arachidonic acid and its metabolic conversion through the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase in platelets and vascular tissue

Semisynthetic diets containing either corn oil (CO) or butter (B) (11 and 2.2 en % as linoleic acid, respectively) were fed to male rabbits for periods of 3 weeks and 3 months. The CO diet, in respect to the B diet, induced higher levels of linoleic acid (LA) and lower levels of arachidonic acid (AA) in platelet phospholipids, lower levels of AA in aortic phosphatidylinositol (PI) and accumulation of both LA and AA in liver lipids. The thresholds for aggregation with AA, but not with collagen, were higher in the CO group and the formation of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) from [14C] AA, but not from endogenous substrate after collagen stimulation, was lower in the same group. Formation of PGE2-like material by incubated aortas was higher in the B group. In the CO group, platelet cyclooxygenase appeared to be selectively depressed. The correlations among diet-induced fatty acid changes in platelet and aortic lipids, platelet aggregation and thromboxane and prostacyclin formation are discussed

Energy poverty, development outcomes, and transition to green energy

There is a close connection between energy and development outcomes. Therefore, energy constraints could adversely influence development outcomes. Consequently, building resilience to energy constraints could be one effective channel to improve development outcomes. This study analyses the effect of energy poverty, while considering the influence of green energy transition, on several development outcomes. Our approach delineates the short and long run dynamics of the net effects of energy poverty and renewable energy transition on development outcomes. First, as a direct effect, we find that energy poverty (renewable energy) has a negative (positive) effect on income, education, life expectancy, employment and mobile phone subscription and a positive (negative) effect on poverty, income inequality, sanitation risk and risk of drinking unsafe water. Conditioning the effect of energy poverty on renewable energy, we find that the transition to green energy partially compensates the adverse effects of energy poverty on the various development outcomes considered in this study. Further, we find that, for several of the development outcomes, the risk of inflated energy cost associated with renewable energy transitions in the short-term is likely to neutralise in the long run, except for income poverty and environmental risk factors. We discuss the policy implications

GYKI 14,451, a synthetic tripeptide inhibitor of thrombin: activity on platelet aggregation and arachidonic acid metabolism

The in vitro effects of a new synthetic tripeptide GYK1 14,451 on platelet aggregation and arachidonic acid metabolism were evaluated. GYKI 14,451 at concentrations as low as 1 \u3bcM selectively inhibited platelet aggregation induced by 0.5 U/ml of thrombin. Similarl-malondialdehyde and thromboxane B2 production by platelets stimulated with thrombin were inhibited by the peptide. No inhibitory effect of the peptide was shown when 14C Arachidonic acid metabolism was evaluated in unstimulated platelets. Kinetic studies suggest that GYKI 14,451 interacts with thrombin by an apparently competitive mechanism

RAPD analysis and flavonoid composition of Aconitum genus as an aid for the taxonomic discrimination

The RAPD technique and phytochemical analysis, based on the investigation of flavonoid composition, were used to study Aconitum vulparia, A. paniculatum, A. napellus subsp. tauricum (from two different localities), and A. napellus subsp. neomontanum. Twenty primers were screened for the genetic analysis and 14 were selected providing 51 polymorphic bands. The phenogram based on UPGMA clustering of Jaccard coefficient revealed a clear division between yellowish and blue Aconitum plants and inside this second group A. paniculatum is clearly separated from all populations belonging to A. napellus group. Also the flavonoid profile well characterise all species and subspecies under study