Use of intensive rearing systems as back‐up for coastal lagoon aquaculture: an experience with eels, Anguilla anguilla L., in the Comacchio lagoons

. The possibility of using eels from intensive rearing ponds to restock natural basins has been investigated by comparing growth, survival and rate of yellow-to-silver metamorphosis of 'wild type' eels and of eels from an intensive rearing pond. A total of 2243 marked eels were released into a closed natural environment of 22ha; 1254 were wild type (average length 45·6 ± 9·0cm), and 989 from an intensive rearing pond, split by a mechanical grader in two groups. The first group was made of 617 well-growing eels (44·9 ± 3·0cm), the second one of 372 smaller eels (36·9 ± 4·3cm) which had not adapted to the artificial conditions. The starting size being equal the animals grew to the same extent; in some cases the animals previously adapted to the artificial pond grew better than the wild type. The rate of metamorphosis from yellow to silver eel was 28·4% for the wild type eels and 22% for the others, although the latter became mostly silver males. Survival of the wild type eels (starting with the 35-cm size class and covering the period from April to December) was calculated by mark-recapture at approximately 98·6%. For the eels previously well adapted to the intensive rearing pond it was only 85%, indicating some difficulty in competing in the natural environment. The good growth shown by the smaller eels, with a survival of about 90%, would seem to indicate that these animals might be effectively used for restocking purposes, thus favouring an integration between the intensive ponds and the extensive environments

Sustainable landscape in arid zones : useful ornamental xeric species

Se analiza el valor económico, ecológico y paisajístico de especies vegetales, pertenecientes a la flora espontánea de Mendoza (Argentina), resistentes a la sequía y que pueden alcanzar porte arbóreo. Su empleo ahorra agua de riego en espacios verdes ornamentales y de protección ambiental. Se sugiere medidas de conservación de las especies espontáneas más útiles paisajísticamente, así como normas generales sobre métodos de plantación y mantenimiento. Se recomiendan especies leñosas espontáneas de la provincia, de bajo requerimiento hídrico, utilizables paisajísticamente.This paper analyzes the economic, ecological and landscape value of drought resistant species from the spontaneous flora of Mendoza (Argentina). Some of such species could reach tree size and its use might save the irrigation water used for ornamental and environmental protection areas. Actions to protect the most useful spontaneous species, as well as general rules for plantation and maintenance are suggested. Spontaneous wooden species of low water requirements, to use in different landscape objectives, are recommended.Fil: Codina, Ramón A.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción AgropecuariaFil: Manzano, Enrique R.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción AgropecuariaFil: Carrieri, Sergio A.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción AgropecuariaFil: Fioretti, Sonia B.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Agropecuari

Effect of 2 sex-sorting time schedules on SIT facility management

Improvements are needed in mosquito mass-rearing to effectively implement the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, managing this technique is challenging and resource intensive. SIT relies on mass rearing, sterilization, and release of adult males to reduce field populations. Maintaining an acceptable level of female presence, who can transmit viruses through biting, is crucial. Females are also essential for facility sustainability. Sex sorting plays a vital role in the production process, and our current mechanical sorting approach aims to obtain a high number of adult males with minimal female contamination within 24 h of pupation. Utilizing protandry helps control female contamination. While the 24-h sorting period achieves desired contamination levels, it may not yield enough females to sustain breeding lines, leading to increased labor costs that impact project sustainability. By delaying the sorting procedure to 48 h, we obtained sufficient females to sustain breeding lines, achieving a balance between male production and female contamination using the automatic version of the Fay-Morlan device as the sorting tool

Fk506 “rescue” for resistant rejection of renal allografts under primary cyclosporine immunosuppression

Seventy-seven patients with ongoing acute rejection on initial CsA therapy were converted to FK506 to attempt graft salvage. Fifty-nine patients had undergone primary transplantation and 18 had been retransplanted; there were 52 cadaveric and 25 living-donor transplants. The indications for conversion to FK506 were ongoing, biopsy-confirmed rejection in all patients, including vascular rejection in 20. The median interval to rescue was 2 months (range 2 weeks to 36 months) after transplantation. Sixty-one of the 77 patients (79%) had already received one or more courses of an antilymphocyte preparation (OKT3: n=33; ALG or ATG: n=1; OKT3+ALG/ATG: n=27). Of the 77 patients, 57 (74%) have been successfully rescued and still have functioning grafts with a mean follow-up of 14 months, with a mean serum creatinine of 2.35±0.97 mg/dl. Eighteen patients were already dialysis-dependent at the time of conversion to FK506; of these, 9 (50%) were successfully salvaged and have a mean serum creatinine of 2.3 mg/dl. Of the 61 patients previously treated with antilymphocyte preparations, 48 (79%) were rescued. In those salvaged, prednisone doses have been lowered from 22.2±7.2 mg/day preconversion to 7.5±5.6 mg/day postconversion, and 12 patients are on FK506 monotherapy. In nondiabetics, mean serum glucose was 101.4±20.5 mg/dl preconversion and 93.2±22 postconversion (P=0.07), uric acid 7.3±2.3 and 7.1±1.5 mg/dl (P=0.53), and triglycerides 199.2±101.6 and 167.2±106.4 mg/dl (P=0.06). Cholesterol levels were significantly lower following FK conversion (207.7±46.5 mg/dl pre. vs. 188.3±39.7 post, P=0.007). FK506 is capable of salvaging renal allografts with ongoing acute rejection on CsA therapy, even when antilymphocyte preparations have been ineffective. © 1994 by Williams and Wilkins

Vitamina C : una estrategia didáctica polifuncional

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo contextualizar contenidos curriculares de química: incursionando en el área de bioquímica, como elementos básicos de la formación en química del estudiante; proporcionando información general sobre las propiedades de la vitamina C que permitan al estudiante, como ciudadano, tener libertad de elección frente a la vasta publicidad que se ofrece, entre otros, en los medios masivos de comunicación; aplicando su cultura científica a situaciones de la vida cotidiana y, por lo tanto, valorando la importancia de la educación científica para poder ser capaz de conocer mejor lo que consume y poder opinar en forma crítica sobre ello. Se presentan técnicas sencillas para investigar la presencia de vitamina C en alimentos de uso común. Se discuten distintas estrategias de presentación y tratamiento del tema en los distintos niveles escolares con objetivos diferentes y se analizan cambios en la metodología de trabajo en el aula. Este trabajo fue presentado bajo la modalidad de taller en el XV Congreso Nacional e Internacional de Profesores de Química y los resultados y conclusiones a las que se arribaron fueron ampliamente satisfactorias, ya que permitieron una revalorización de la tarea educativa buscando un currículo más abierto donde el estudiante se sienta partícipe de su proceso de aprendizaje y encuentre contenidos científicos útiles para su vida.This paper attempts to contextualise chemistry curricula contents, entering the field of biochemistry, as basic elements for the formation of chemistry in the student by providing general information on the properties of C vitamin that allows the student, as a citizen, the freedom to choose in front of the huge publicity offered to them, among others, by the mass media. They can apply their scientific culture to everyday life, thus assessing how important scientific education is to be able to better know what is consumed and give a critical opinion. We present simple techniques to find C vitamin in commonly used food. We discuss different strategies to present and deal with this subject at different school levels with different aims, and we analyse the changes in the classroom working methodology. This paper was presented as a workshop in the 15th National and International Congress of Chemistry Professors and its results and conclusion were highly satisfactory, as they allowed revaluing the educational task aiming at a more open curriculum where the student feels part of his learning process and finds scientific contents useful in his everyday life

Suitability of aquatic mosses for biomonitoring micro/meso plastics in freshwater ecosystems

Abstract Background Mesoplastics (5–25 mm) and microplastics (0.001–5 mm) are emerging pollutants of great concern. However, reliable methods of monitoring these types of plastic in river ecosystems have not yet been established. The goal of this work was to evaluate, for the first time, the suitability of Fontinalis antipyretica as a biomonitor of meso- and micro-plastics in rivers. With this aim, native samples of the moss and devitalized moss clones, held inside the bags, were compared for the uptake of fluorescent polystyrene particles under laboratory conditions, and for retention of plastic debris in the field, in sites close to wastewater treatment plants. Results In the laboratory experiment, the moss retained smaller microplastics, and a higher number of polystyrene meso and microplastics was counted in the moss bags than in the native moss. In the field study, the moss retained plastic debris chiefly in the form of fibres regardless of the capacity and flow rate of the wastewater treatment plants affecting each sampling site. The uniform morphology of moss clone seems to affect the retention of this type of pollutant. The FTIR analysis confirmed the particles entrapped by the moss bags as plastic, specifically polyethylene and polyamide type 6, among the most common plastic polymers detected in rivers. Conclusions The study findings highlighted the value of using uniform material, as the clone exhibited a greater accumulation efficiency with respect to the native moss. The mesh bags could act as selective filters and/or prevent the loss of adhering plastics. In the field, the bags favour plastic fibres retention despite the river flow. Finally, although FTIR is useful for the identification of plastic type, it is not very sensitive when small quantities of ground samples are used

Aedes albopictus Sterile Male Production: Influence of Strains, Larval Diet and Mechanical Sexing Tools

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a biologically based method of pest control, which relies on the mass production, sterilization, and release of sterile males of the target species. Since females can transmit viruses, it is important to develop a mass rearing system to produce a large number of males with a low presence of females. We evaluated the effects of different strains, larval diets and sexing tools on male productivity and residual female presence for the application of SIT against Aedes albopictus. Strains coming from Italy, Germany, Greece, and Montenegro, with different levels of colonization, were reared with three larval diets: IAEA-BY, BLP-B and SLP-BY. Developed pupae were sexed using two different mechanical methods: sieve or Fay-Morlan separator. The results proved that adoption of the Fay-Morlan separator increased the productivity and limited the female presence. The IAEA-BY diet showed the lowest female contamination. Strains with a high number of breeding generations showed a decreased productivity and an increased female presence. Increased female presence was found only in extensively reared strains and only when the sorting operation was conducted with sieves. We hypothesize that extensive colonization may determine a size reduction which limits the sexing tool efficiency itself

\u201cWhat is more important than love?\u201d. Parental attachment and romantic relationship in Italian emerging adulthood

Previous researches suggest that individuals with different attachment styles practice different styles of love, but these do not consider the role of trust, communication, and closeness to the father and mother separately. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship and the impact of parental attachment, through the analysis of the participants\u2019 self-reported account and 1. Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata. Postbox: Piazzale Luigi Bertelli (Contrada Vallebona) 62100, Macerata, Italy 2. Psychology of Communication department, University of Macerata, Angelo Carrieri. 3. University of Pablo de Olavide, (ES), Health Plus Parish Priest Mifsud Str. Hamrun, Malta 4. Health Plus Parish Priest Mifsud Str. Hamrun, Malta Accepted Manuscript 4 romantic styles in Italians emerging adulthood by using a multidimensional approach (trust, communication, closeness to father and mother). The 296 participants (19\u201329 years; 50.7% males) rated items of information on a questionnaire, regarding their perspective of their attachment to their mother/father and attitude toward love. Using a variable-centred approach and a person-centred approach, the results suggest that the respondents differed in levels of parental attachment or love styles and that the present parental attachment has a positive impact on their romantic relationship. It is possible to estimate romantic relationships and prevent manic relationships based on the individual\u2019s current perceptions of their attachment to the father or mother. The role of parents and paternal attachment, are still fundamental in Italian young adults. The role of communication with the mother, in particular, is controversial and should be further investigated

Examining the association between depression and seizures amongst adults with epilepsy : a longitudinal analysis

This programme of work examined the links between psychopathology and seizures for adults with epilepsy using longitudinal data from two datasets and employing state-of the-art analytic approaches to tease apart inter-relationships. In the first study, using path analysis to examine direction of effects, a bi-directional relationship between seizure frequency and depression scores was confirmed. That is, not only did seizure frequency influence depression scores longitudinally and concurrently, but that depression scores also influenced seizure frequency equivalently. The second study employed a latent variable structural equation modelling approach to examine moderation and mediation and prediction of change in variable scores over time. In this study although anxiety, perceived stress and depression all separately influenced changes in seizures (frequency and recency), depression mediated the relationship between both anxiety and stress with seizures. The third study used a latent growth curve approach to focus on patterns of change within individuals. Trajectories of change in depression scores for individuals over time were examined as well as factors predicting this variation. This study found that seizure recency was a significant predictor of the individual differences in baseline depression scores as well as of the changes in depression scores over time for individuals with epilepsy. The implications of these results are that both effective management of seizures and depression are essential for people with epilepsy. Given that the current focus of clinical management strategies for people with epilepsy is on seizure management, this research suggests the importance of also identifying and managing depression amongst people with epilepsy. Strategies to implement this would include increased awareness of the importance of depression amongst clinical staff, improved screening for depression amongst people with epilepsy (for example by using depression screening questionnaires such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), implementing effective treatment (such as by using antidepressants or cognitive behaviour therapy) if depression is identified. Future aims would include confirming these findings using alternative designs, for example a randomised trial to investigate whether these links between depression and seizures arise because of a common antecedent factor or shared risk factors and examine whether other factors (such as gender) influence the relationships observed between depression and seizure outcomes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo