Recreational fishing on the West coast of the Northern Adriatic Sea (Western Mediterranean) and its possible ecological implications

The marine recreational fishing (MRF) represents one of the most popular activities along the coasts of numerous countries around the world, in particular in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the evidences of potential effects on the marine biodiversity and commercially exploited stocks, a sound information base and adequate management plans are still lacking, both at the national and basin level. An analysis of the MRF on the West coasts of the Adriatic Sea was carried out, in 2014, by using a standardized questionnaires approach, aiming to describe the state of the art and to preliminarily assess catches, in comparison with the commercial ones, at the regional scale. Gilt-headed seabream, European seabass, cuttlefish, squid and Atlantic bluefin tuna resulted the anglers' preferred species, even if the top five in term of caught biomass were bluefin tuna, seabream, cuttlefish, common dolphinfish and little tunny, in the order (accounting up to 60% of total catches). The exploitation level resulted to be significant, as confirmed by the comparison with commercial fisheries, being the MRF captures 30% or 45% of the artisanal fishery in the same area, with some species, such as bluefish, bonito, pandora and picarel, showing larger values. The preliminary assessment of ecological effects, highlighted that the exploitation use about 10%-16% of energy fixed by the primary production (Primary Production Required to sustain fishery), but the ecosystem effects are still sustainable (Lindex and probability to be sustainable fished). However, combining catches by MRF with those by small scale fishery completely changes the situation, showing an unsustainable condition, suggesting the need for taking into the account also MRF in the future management planning for the Adriatic coastal area. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Permanent trawl fishery closures in the Mediterranean Sea: An effective management strategy?

Since June 2010 the Italian government prohibited the trawling activity within three nautical miles from the coast or within the 50 m isobath. This decision was expected to have a great impact on trawl fishing activities, but at the moment no real assessment of the effects on catches and possible ecological implications has been undertaken. In order to fill this gap, an assessment on the North Western Adriatic Sea coast has been performed. Landings per Unit of Effort (kilograms per boat per day) for each trawling fleet segment have been analysed, by comparing on a monthly basis the before (2007-2009) and after ban (2011-2013) period. The comparison was carried out considering total landings and the six main species targeted inside the three miles area (sand smelt, cuttlefish, red mullet, sole, turbot, and mantis shrimp). Within a general reduction of total landings, a differential effect based on the analysed metiers was detected, with small trawlers being more negatively affected than the large and rapido ones, which showed, for some species, positive impacts. From an ecological point of view, though, no positive overall effects were detected, probably due to the fact that the adopted measure is not sufficient to reduce the overexploitation. In any case, all this is affecting the structure of the small-scale fishery in the area, since small trawlers are changing métier, moving towards the artisanal fishery, with deep impacts on the very coastal area that the trawling ban was designated to protect, compromising all possible benefitsSince June 2010 the Italian government prohibited the trawling activity within three nautical miles from the coast or within the 50 m isobath. This decision was expected to have a great impact on trawl fishing activities, but at the moment no real assessment of the effects on catches and possible ecological implications has been undertaken. In order to fill this gap, an assessment on the North Western Adriatic Sea coast has been performed. Landings per Unit of Effort (kilograms per boat per day) for each trawling fleet segment have been analysed, by comparing on a monthly basis the before (2007-2009) and after ban (2011-2013) period. The comparison was carried out considering total landings and the six main species targeted inside the three miles area (sand smelt, cuttlefish, red mullet, sole, turbot, and mantis shrimp). Within a general reduction of total landings, a differential effect based on the analysed m tiers was detected, with small trawlers being more negatively affected than the large and rapido ones, which showed, for some species, positive impacts. From an ecological point of view, though, no positive overall effects were detected, probably due to the fact that the adopted measure is not sufficient to reduce the overexploitation. In any case, all this is affecting the structure of the small-scale fishery in the area, since small trawlers are changing m tier, moving towards the artisanal fishery, with deep impacts on the very coastal area that the trawling ban was designated to protect, compromising all possible benefits. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Removal of lead (II) from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto activated carbons prepared from coconut shell

In the nuclear field, the availability of effective techniques to eliminate lead pollution from wastewater is of interest both for the purposes of radiation protection from the radioactive isotope lead-210 and also for the issues related to the use of lead in the new generation reactors nowadays under study. Evidences exist of lead pollution due to the radioactive isotope lead-210 in the proximities of uranium extraction mines. In this study, two commercial granular activated carbons obtained by physical activation of coconut shell, specifically developed and selected to purify potable water from dissolved organics (GCN 1240) and for use in gold recovery systems (GCN 816 G), were studied in batch systems to evaluate their effectiveness for separation of lead (II) from aqueous solutions. A characterization of the two carbons, different in particle size, is provided through determination of their pH(PZC) and scanning electron microscope analysis. Adsorption of lead (II) was observed as a function of contact time, and its kinetics were fitted. Adsorption data at equilibrium were fitted by isotherm models and the maximum adsorption capacity of the carbons resulted to be 92.39mg/g (GCN1240) and 32.08mg/g (GCN 816 G). Experiments were carried out to investigate effects of pH on lead adsorption, evidencing that best removal performances of lead occur near pH 5.0. The present study shows that the considered commercial granular activated carbons can be successfully adopted for removal of lead (II) by adsorption from aqueous solutions. Keyword

The self-morningness/eveningness (Self-ME): An extremely concise and totally subjective assessment of diurnal preference

The assessment of diurnal preference, or the preferred timing of sleep and activity, is generally based on comprehensive questionnaires such as the Horne- 6stberg (H 6). The aim of the present study was to assess the reliability of a subject's self-classification as extremely morning (Self-MM), more morning than evening (Self-M), more evening than morning (Self-E) or extremely evening (Self-EE) type, based on the last question of the H 6 (Self-ME). A convenience sample of 461 subjects [23.8\u2009\ub1\u20094.7 years; 322 females] completed a full sleep-wake assessment, including diurnal preference (H 6), night sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), daytime sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, KSS), and habitual sleep-wake timing (12\u2009d sleep diaries; n\u2009=\u2009296). Significant differences in H 6 total score were observed between Self-ME classes, with each class being significantly different from neighboring classes (p\u2009<\u20090.0001). Significant differences in sleep-wake timing (bed time, try to sleep and sleep onset, wake up, and get up time) were observed between Self-ME classes. Such differences were maintained when sleep-wake habits were analysed separately on work and free days, and also in a smaller group of 67 subjects who completed the Self-ME as a stand-alone rather than as part of the original questionnaire. Significant differences were observed in the time-course of subjective sleepiness by Self-ME class in both the large and the small group, with Self-MM and Self-M subjects being significantly more alert in the morning and sleepier in the evening hours compared with their Self-E and Self-EE counterparts. Finally, significant differences were observed in night sleep quality between Self-ME classes, with Self-EE/Self-E subjects sleeping worse than their Self-MM/Self-M counterparts, and averaging just over the abnormality PSQI threshold of 5. In conclusion, young, healthy adults can define their diurnal preference based on a single question (Self-ME) in a way that reflects their sleep-wake timing, their sleepiness levels over the daytime hours, and their night sleep quality. Validation of the Self-ME across the decades and in diseased populations seems worthy

Diurnal preference, mood and the response to morning light in relation to polymorphisms in the human clock gene PER3

PER3 gene polymorphisms have been associated with differences in human sleep-wake phenotypes, and sensitivity to light. The aims of this study were to assess: i) the frequency of allelic variants at two PER3 polymorphic sites (rs57875989 length polymorphism: PER3 (4), PER3 (5); rs228697 SNP: PER3 (C), PER3 (G)) in relation to sleep-wake timing; ii) the effect of morning light on behavioural/circadian variables in PER3 (4) /PER3 (4) and PER3 (5) /PER3 (5) homozygotes. 786 Caucasian subjects living in Northern Italy donated buccal DNA and completed diurnal preference, sleep quality/timing and sleepiness/mood questionnaires. 19 PER3 (4) /PER3 (4) and 11 PER3 (5) /PER3 (5) homozygotes underwent morning light administration, whilst monitoring sleep-wake patterns and the urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) rhythm. No significant relationship was observed between the length polymorphism and diurnal preference. By contrast, a significant association was observed between the PER3 (G) variant and morningness (OR\u2009=\u20092.10), and between the PER3 (G)-PER3 (4) haplotype and morningness (OR\u2009=\u20092.19), for which a mechanistic hypothesis is suggested. No significant differences were observed in sleep timing/aMT6s rhythms between PER3 (5) /PER3 (5) and PER3 (4) /PER3 (4) subjects at baseline. After light administration, PER3 (4) /PER3 (4) subjects advanced their aMT6s acrophase (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.05), and showed a trend of advanced sleep-wake timing. In conclusion, significant associations were observed between PER3 polymorphic variants/their combinations and both diurnal preference and the response to light