Chapter A new transplanting method of Posidonia oceanica (Linnaeus) Delile, 1813 plants

The seabed of the port of Piombino was to be modified to allow the arrivals of cruise ships. The great problem to overcome was the presence of Posidonia oceanica (Linnaeus) Delile, 1813 meadows. Initially, the project was to remove and grind the plants of the meadow causing a considerable environmental damage. The Port Authority of Piombino asked the Institute of Marine Biology and Ecology to study an alternative project. Knowing the short results of the methods of replanting P. oceanica plant by plant we decided to transplant 340 clods of P. oceanica of 2 m2 to a nearby meadow

Indice di adottabilita' e valutazione dell'aggressivita nei cani di canile

Titolo della Tesi: “Indice di adottabilità e valutazione dell’aggressività nei cani di canile” La mia tesi ha la finalità di fornire una possibile metodologia per l'individuazione dell'indice di adottabilità del cane in canile. L'obiettivo è stato raggiunto grazie alla raccolta di dati sul segnalamento (parametri fissi e semifissi come età, sesso, taglia, mantello, razza, storia clinica), associata alla formulazione ed esecuzione di un test per la valutazione comportamentale (parametri modificabili o dinamici). In particolare lo studio si è concentrato sull'analisi della manifestazione di un eventuale comportamento aggressivo. La determinazione della personalità dei cani presi in esame ha permesso l'individuazione di tre specifiche categorie o livelli di adottabilità (LDA): 1) individui facili da gestire e immediatamente adottabili; 2) individui che richiederebbero una gestione da parte di persone con esperienza o comunque di un percorso di educazione pre- o post-adozione; 3) individui problematici, difficilmente adottabili. Individuare la personalità del cane, vagliandone il livello di aggressività o inibizione, e tenere in considerazione le richieste dell'ipotetico adottante possono essere fattori che aumentano il successo nelle stesse adozioni. Inoltre, l'adozione responsabile è strettamente correlata al tema dell'abbandono e del randagismo che, visti i recenti fatti di cronaca, sono estremamente attuali e indagati dall'opinione pubblica. Infatti, se da un lato essi rappresentano una questione di natura morale - soprattutto per chi guarda al rispetto del benessere animale (welfare)- dall'altra questi episodi rappresentano un problema di rilevanza sociale, connesso ad aggressioni, incidenti stradali e al mantenimento economico delle strutture ospitanti. Per comprendere fino in fondo gli stati emozionali che stanno alla base dei comportamenti aggressivi indesiderati, nello studio di questa tesi sono stati presi in considerazione anche possibili cause correlate a stress e a patologie del comportamento nel cane

Marine litter and psammophytes: a case study in the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Park coastal sand dunes

Coastal sand dunes are one of the most impacted ecosystems in the world (1). They host various habitats of Community interest under the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC but are profoundly affected by pollution and waste management, even within protected areas. The factors that define the amount, type and distribution of beach litter are complex and relate more to human intervention and natural variables. This work aims to analyse the composition, abundance and distribution of marine litter within a protected area in two different chronological windows, i.e. before and after the bathing season. We also attempted to verify whether the presence of waste could alter the coverage of the psammophilous vegetation. The protected area examined in this project is the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Park (Tuscany, Italy), where we selected three dune sites stretching along the coastline with a North/South gradient: Lecciona (2 Km2), Bufalina (1 Km2) and Calambrone (1 Km2), respectively. We adopted a stratified random sampling design, using permanent multiscale squared-plots of 16 m2, with two nested plots placed at a fixed corner of 4 m2 and 1 m2, respectively. Each site was divided into same-area strata with a spatially optimised algorithm. Inside each layer two points were randomly selected, corresponding to the field plots; overall, a total of 22 plots were sampled. Sampling took place in two sessions, one in May and the other one in November. The data collected were the total percentage coverage of litter and the individual coverage of each type of litter for each plot. Classification of marine litter followed the directives of the "Master List of Categories of Litter Items", a list drawn up by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission based on several classification protocols (2). At the same time, we censused the plant species in each plot and measured their total percentage coverage at each investigated spatial scale. We compiled a litter × plot matrix with the percentage of coverage of each type of waste found in the plots at the three spatial scales and in the two periods. The PERMANOVA analysis of the matrix with 4 factors (month, site, layer and plot area) highlighted that the interaction term month × site explained significantly (P< 0.001) the variance in the composition of waste at the plot level. NMDS analysis (non-metric multidimensional scaling) showed that the categories most significantly related to the variability between plots were the following: "plastic fragments less than 2.5 cm (G78)" and "plastic fragments between 2.5 and 50 cm (G79)". These two types of litter showed contrasting patterns over time: G78 increased from June to November, G79 decreased in the same period. Multivariate analyses were carried out using the software PRIMER v.7 (3) and PERMANOVA+ (4). The diachronic study of the relationship between area and the number of litter categories, carried out using the Arrhenius power law equation (5), showed that in Lecciona and Bufalina there was in November a greater growth in types of litter as the area increased in respect to the first sampling period, while in Calambrone there were no differences. According to Pearson correlation test, temporal turnover of litter categories, quantified partitioning β-diversity following (6), and the total percentage coverage of vegetation resulted inversely correlated (cor = - 0.44, P = 0.038). In conclusion, artificial polymer materials were found to be the dominant waste type (85%) at the three study sites examined, two of which were characterised by an increase in waste after the bathing season. In the third site, however, probably due to regular manual cleaning actions, no differences were found. Where vegetation is more abundant, the total number of litter categories tends to be more stable across the seasons, suggesting that psammophytes are a relevant biotic component to be considered in the analysis of spatio-temporal dynamics of coastal litter. 1) Ciccarelli D., 2014. Environ. Manag. 54, 194–204 2) Galgani F., Hanke G., Werner S., et al. (2013) JRC Scientific and Policy reports 3) Clarke K., Warwick R. (2001). Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation Ed. 2. PRIMER-E, Plymouth 4) Anderson M.J., Gorley R.N., Clarke R.K. (2008). PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER: Guide to software and statistical methods. PRIMER-E, Plymouth 5) Arrhenius O. (1921) J Ecol, 9, 95-99 6) Baselga A. (2010). Glob Ecol Biogeogr, 19, 134-14

Opioid activity profiles of oversimplified peptides lacking in the protonable N-terminus

Recently, we described cyclopeptide opioid agonists containing the D-Trp-Phe sequence. To expand the scope of this atypical pharmacophore, we tested the activity profiles of the linear peptides Ac-Xaa-Phe-Yaa (Xaa = L/D-Trp, D-His/Lys/Arg; Yaa = H, GlyNH2). Ac-D-Trp-PheNH2 appeared to be the minimal binding sequence, while Ac-D-Trp-Phe-GlyNH 2 emerged as the first noncationizable short peptide (partial) agonist with high \u3bc-opioid receptor affinity and selectivity. Conformational analysis suggested that 5 adopts in solution a \u3b2-turn conformation. \ua9 2012 American Chemical Society

Assessment of the Life Cycle Environmental Impact of the Olive Oil Extraction Solid Wastes in the European Union

There is an increasing interest in developing sustainable systems in the European Union (EU) to recover and upgrade the solid wastes of the olive oil extraction process, i.e. wet husk. A Life Cycle Environmental Impact Assessment (LCIA) of wet husk has been carried out aiming at facilitating an appropriate Life Cycle Management of this biomass. Three scenarios have been considered, i.e. combustion for domestic heat, generation of electric power, and composting. The Environmental Product Declaration and the ReCiPe method were used for Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Domestic heating and power generation were the most important impact factors in damaging human health, ecosystems, and natural resources depletion. Composting was 2-4 orders of magnitude less impacting than domestic heat and power generation. Considering human health, the impact of climate change, human toxicity and particulate matter formation represented the main impact categories. Considering ecosystems, climate change and natural land transformation were the main impact categories. Within natural resources, fossil fuel depletion was impacted three orders more than metal depletion. Within domestic heating and power generation scenarios, storage of wet husk along with the extraction by organic solvent, and the waste treatment were the most impacting phases for global warming potential, ozone layer depletion, acidification and non renewable fossil resources depletion. The results obtained for the waste disposal have been comparatively assessed with respect to the environmental impact of the olive oil production chain

Prostorne i vremenske varijacije pokretnih makro-beskralješnjaka u livadama Posidonia oceanica

The present study assesses the spatial and temporal distribution of motile invertebrates in Posidonia oceanica meadows located off the coast of Tuscany, in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. A hierarchical sampling design was used to evaluate changes in composition and abundance of assemblages in relation to depth and to different periods over one year. A total of 136 taxa were determined, among them 34 Mollusca, 94 Arthropoda, 5 Annelida and 1 Echinodermata. Results of both multivariate and univariate analyses showed that the macro-invertebrate assemblage structure varied along a depth gradient but this pattern was not consistent in the two study periods. Results suggest that temporal and spatial differences in the structure of P.oceanica meadows are key drivers in determining the structure of associated macro-invertebrate assemblages, as values of richness and abundance decreased with a decrease in leaf length and shoot density.Ova studija procjenjuje prostorne i vremenske raspodjele pokretnih makro-beskralješnjaka u livadama Posidonia oceanica u blizini obale pokrajine Toskana, u sjeverozapadnom Mediteranu. Hijerarhijska uzorkovanja korištena su za procjenu promjena sastava i obilja u odnosu na dubinu i na različita razdoblja dulja od jedne godine. Ukupno 136 svojti je utvrđeno, među njima 34 Mollusca, 94 Arthropoda, 5 Annelida i 1 Echinodermata. Rezultati multivarijantne i Uni-varijabla analize pokazali su da je struktura makro-beskralješnjaka kolebala po dubini gradijenta, ali ovaj uzorak nije bio dosljedan u dva razdoblja istaživanja. Rezultati ukazuju na to da su vremenske i prostorne razlike u naselju livada P. oceanica ključni pokretači u određivanju strukture povezane sa sastavom makro-beskralješnjaka, kao što su vrijednosti bogatstva i obilja smanjene sa smanjenjem dužine lista i gustoće izdanaka

Chiral Recognition of Flexible Melatonin Receptor Ligands Induced by Conformational Equilibria

N-anilinoethylamides are a class of melatoninergic agents with the aniline portion mimicking the indole ring of the natural ligand and the ethylamide chain reproducing that of melatonin. The simplest compound in this class, N-{2-[(3-methoxyphenyl)methylamino]ethyl}acetamide (UCM793), has nanomolar binding affinity for MT1 and MT2 membrane receptors. To explore the effect of chain conformation on receptor binding, a methyl group was inserted on the methylene alpha or beta to the amide nitrogen and conformational equilibria were investigated by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Receptor affinity was conserved only for the beta-methyl derivative, which also showed significant stereoselectivity, with the (S) enantiomer being the eutomer. Molecular dynamics simulations, validated by NMR spectroscopy, showed that the beta-methyl group affects the conformational preferences of the ethylamide chain. Docking into the receptor crystal structure provides a rationale for the observed chiral recognition, suggesting that the (S)-beta-methyl group favors the conformation that better fits the receptor binding site

Artemisia spp. essential oils against the disease-carrying blowfly Calliphora vomitoria

Background: Synanthropic flies play a considerable role in the transmission of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms. In this work, the essential oil (EO) of two aromatic plants, Artemisia annua and A. dracunculus, were evaluated for their abilities to control the blowfly Calliphora vomitoria. A. annua and A. dracunculus EOs were extracted, analysed and tested in laboratory bioassays. Besides, the physiology of EOs toxicity and the EOs antibacterial and antifungal properties were evaluated. Results: Both Artemisia EOs were able to deter C. vomitoria oviposition on fresh beef meat. At 0.05 μL cm-2 A. dracunculus EO completely inhibited C. vomitoria oviposition. Toxicity tests, by contact, showed LD50 of 0.49 and 0.79 μL EO per fly for A. dracunculus and A. annua, respectively. By fumigation, LC50 values were 49.54 and 88.09 μL L-1 air for A. dracunculus and A. annua, respectively. EOs AChE inhibition in C. vomitoria (IC50 = 202.6 and 472.4 mg L-1, respectively for A. dracunculus and A. annua) indicated that insect neural sites are targeted by the EOs toxicity. Finally, the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the two Artemisia EOs may assist in the reduction of transmission of microbial infections/contaminations. Conclusions: Results suggest that Artemisia EOs could be of use in the control of C. vomitoria, a common vector of pathogenic microorganisms and agent of human and animal cutaneous myiasis. The prevention of pathogenic and parasitic infections is a priority for human and animal health. The Artemisia EOs could represent an eco-friendly, low-cost alternative to synthetic repellents and insecticides to fight synanthropic disease-carrying blowflies