No short term effect of Clinostomum complanatum (Trematoda: Digenea: Clinostomatidae) on survival of Triturus carnifex (Amphibia: Urodela: Salamandridae)

In this paper we evaluated the effects of the metacercariae of C. complanatum on body condition and survival probability of the Italian crested newt. We studied two populations of T. carnifex, with one of the two infected by the trematode, in central Italy, for a year. We found that: i) paedomorphic newts were more likely to be infected; ii) cysts were mostly located on the head and into the mouth; iii) the infection did not affect the body size of newts; iv) survival probabilities of infected and not infected newts from the same population did not differ, and it was similar to the survival of newts from the not-infected population. We conclude that, at least in the short term, the metacercariae of C. complanatum are not damaging for T. carnifex

Pineoblastoma in Adults: A Rare Case Successfully Treated with Multimodal Approach Including Craniospinal Irradiation Using Helical Tomotherapy

Pineoblastomas (PBs) are rare and aggressive malignancies of the pineal gland. They are more commonly diagnosed in children between 1-12 years old, and are very rarely diagnosed in adults. For this reason, evidence in literature for adults is scarce and mainly derives from the paediatric practice. For their clinical behaviour and embryonal histology, PBs are often grouped together with medulloblastomas in clinical trials. In this report, we describe an adult PB case who was treated at our institution. We reference the literature to explain the clinical reasoning behind our decision-making process. A 46-year-old male patient was referred to our institution in November 2015 with three months history of headache. Imaging confirmed localised disease of the pineal gland. He underwent surgery which was radical and clinically uncomplicated. Histology showed PB. He then received adjuvant craniospinal radiotherapy with a boost to the tumour bed followed by consolidation chemotherapy. After 36 months follow-up, he remains disease-free without significant toxicities. Surgery followed by craniospinal irradiation and consolidation chemotherapy can be a safe and effective treatment option in adult PBs

An Unexpected Case of Heterospecific Altruistic Behaviour in a Non-Breeding Migrant Tern (Charadriformes, Sternidae)

Abstract Observations of birds feeding chicks or fledglings of a different species have already been reported in many publications. However, the benefits of the altruistic behaviour are not easy to understand, as benefits and costs of this behaviour have been poorly identified. In May 2013, in a wetland in Central Italy (Piana Fiorentina, Tuscany), some cases of interspecific feeding of an Eurasian Coot Fulica atra chick by an adult non breeding Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida were witnessed. We suggest that the behaviour of the Tern was triggered by the begging of the chick or by its own hormonal status

Control Strategy Influence on the Efficiency of a Hybrid Photovoltaic-Battery-Fuel Cell System Distributed Generation System for Domestic Applications☆

AbstractThe full exploitation of locally available renewable resources together with the reduction of system installation and management costs are key issues of diffused Distributed Generation (DG). In the given context, hybrid systems are already at an advanced stage of development which typically integrate several sub-systems. In such hybrid systems, Renewable Energy Sources generation systems (e.g. photovoltaic panels) are coupled to energy storage devices (electric batteries) and with programmable generators (a diesel generator or, more recently, with a sub-system based on fuel cells) allowing stable operations under a wide range of conditions. In this paper a solution which uses hydrogen and fuel cells as a programmable source is presented and is studied by means of a mixed experimental and numerical: a Hardware-In-Loop test bench designed and realized at the Department lab, able to reproduce the behavior of a hybrid system for domestic applications. The system is controlled by means of a rule-based control strategy acting on the common DC-bus whose optimization has a significant influence both on system design and on its overall system energy performances. Results show that Rule-Based strategy have a great potential towards cost reduction and components lifetime increase, while energy efficiency mainly depends on correct system sizing

Subcellular localization of the five members of the human steroid 5α-reductase family

In humans the steroid 5a-reductase (SRD5A) family comprises five integral membrane enzymes that carry out reduction of a double bond in lipidic substrates: D4-3-keto steroids, polyprenol and trans-enoyl CoA. The best-characterized reaction is the conversion of testosterone into the more potent dihydrotestosterone carried out by SRD5A1-2. Some controversy exists on their possible nuclear or endoplasmic reticulum localization. We report the cloning and transient expression in HeLa cells of the five members of the human steroid 5a-reductase family as both N- and Cterminus green fluorescent protein tagged protein constructs. Following the intrinsic fluorescence of the tag, we have determined that the subcellular localization of these enzymes is in the endoplasmic reticulum, upon expression in HeLa cells. The presence of the tag at either end of the polypeptide chain can affect protein expression and, in the case of trans enoyl-CoA reductase, it induces the formation of protein aggregates

Body size, age and population structure of Triturus carnifex (Urodela: Salamandridae) in the context of facultative paedomorphosis

Facultative paedomorphosis occurs rarely in the genus Triturus compared to other European newts such as Ichthyosaura alpestris and Lissotriton spp., with most of observation related to single or few individuals per site. In this paper we report about body size, age and population size of two populations of Triturus carnifex with paedomorphs. Since one of the populations consisted of approximately 25% of paedomorphs, this is the first study about a population of large-bodied newts with a conspicuous number of paedomorphic individuals. We found evidences for an ecological causation of paedomorphosis, as well as further support for two recent findings about paedomorphosis: the reduction of sexual size dimorphism and the female-biased sex-ratio within paedomorphs

Aliens Coming by Ships: Distribution and Origins of the Ocellated Skink Populations in Peninsular Italy

The ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus) is a widespread lizard, naturally distributed between the Maghreb and coastal Pakistan, with few insular populations in the Mediterranean coastal area. Some populations of this species have also been recorded in peninsular Italy, Campania and Southern Tuscany due to accidental introductions via touristic and commercial routes. In this work, we conducted genetic analyses on mitochondrial DNA COXI, cytb and 16S mtDNA genes on a sample of Italian insular and peninsular populations. Differently from what previously suggested, the nucleus in Portici (Southern Italy) may have originated from Sardinia. The intense trade and touristic traffic between Sardinia and Southern Tuscany may have been responsible for the introduction of this lizard also to Central Italy

Rana temporaria on Monti della Laga (Central Italy): isolated population or wide distribution? First record in Abruzzo and Marche

In Central Italy Rana temporaria is only known to occur as a glacial relict on the eastern side of Monti della Laga (Lazio). In this study we report the presence of the species in other areas of the mountain chain, with documented sightings in five distinct localities in Marche and Abruzzo. We use these new records, together with other occurrence data from the Apennine chain, to generate a species distribution model and perform an analysis of the geological preference of the species in Central Italy. Although the model indicates a wide area of Marche and Abruzzo as suitable for R. temporaria, the actual distribution of the species in northern and central Apennine appears strongly associated with sandstones. Therefore, we argue that the presence of this geological substrate on Monti della Laga, but not in surrounding karst uplands, could be among the factors explaining its isolation. Our study aims at paving the way for future surveys and measures to protect these isolated populations from the threat posed by climate change

New distributional data for the Mediterranean medicinal leech Hirudo verbana Carena, 1820 (Hirudinea, Hirudinidae) in Italy, with a note on its feeding on amphibians

Scarce data are currently available about the distribution of the Mediterranean medicinal leech Hirudo verbana in Italy, and most of the known occurrence localities are based on records collected in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, which were not confirmed in the last decades, mostly due to a lack of surveys. Accordingly, the available knowledge on the distribution of the species is far from being updated and representative, although a significant negative trend of H. verbana throughout the country is supposed. The lack of sound distribution data is a significant shortfall, which hinders the implementation of the monitoring of the species as required by the Article 17 of the “Habitats Directive” on the species of Union concern. To provide recent, validated distributional data for the Mediterranean medicinal leech in Italy to be used as baseline data for further surveys and monitoring, we present herein a set of unpublished observations collected in the last decades in peninsular Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia. Moreover, we report observation of H. verbana feeding on amphibians, a feeding habit to date poorly documented for the Mediterranean medicinal leech. Based on both published and novel data, H. verbana is characterised by a large but fragmented distribution in Italy. Therefore, dedicated monitoring programs and the collection of validated occasional observations are highly desirable to get a clearer picture of the real distribution of the species