Haplotype characterization of a stranded common minke whale calf (Balaenoptera acutorostrata lacépède, 1804): Is the mediterranean sea a potential calving or nursery ground for the species?

The stranding of a suckling calf of Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) on the coast near Salerno (Campania, Southern Italy) is reported. The molecular analysis of a partial sequence of the mitochondrial DNA control region shows that the animal bore a haplotype identical to haplotype Ba169 considered as typical of individuals from North Atlantic population. Historical data and our results suggest the possibility that the Mediterranean Sea might be a potential calving or nursery ground for this species

Seasonal dependent effects of temperature on the response of adenylate cyclase to FSH stimulation in the oviparous lizard Podarcis sicula.

The study of environmental factors affecting vertebrate reproduction has long interested both developmental and evolutionary biologists. Although photoperiod has been considered to be an important environmental parameter for vertebrates such as birds, temperature is probably a primary external factor responsible for reproductive cyclicity in reptiles. In spite of the progress made in the understanding of reptilian reproductive strategies and adaptations, much remains to be learned about the interplay between endocrine physiological factors, such as hormones, and environmental parameters. In this report, we have examined the effects of in vivo administered FSH on oocyte recruitment during the most significant periods of the reproductive cycle of the lizard, Podarcis sicula. The results show that when FSH is administered in proximity to the reproductive period, it stimulates oocyte growth and ovulation; when the hormone is administered at the beginning of the winter stasis it affects ovarian activity without inducing ovulation. Ovarian adenylate cyclase activity is moderately sensitive to in vitro FSH stimulation during the pre- and post-reproductive periods. The sensitivity to hormone stimulation increases significantly during the reproductive period and winter stasis. We have also tested the hypothesis that environmental temperature affects the responsiveness of ovarian adenylate cyclase to FSH stimulation. For such a purpose, we exposed animals to 28 degrees C or 4 degrees C in different periods of the ovarian cycle. The results show that, whenever the temperature applied mimics the thermal regime of the coming season, adenylate cyclase sensitivity to FSH shifts towards levels that anticipate the natural responsiveness

HOW FOLLICLE NUMBER IS REGULATED IN THE OVARY OF THE LIZARD PODARCIS SICULA?

The paper demonstrates that follicle recruitment was stimulated by favourable environmental conditions and inhibited by the release of a diffusible factor secreted by large previtellogenic follicles

Biodiversity’s contributions to sustainable development

International concern to develop sustainably challenges us to act upon the inherent links between 23 our economy, society and environment, and is leading to increasing acknowledgement of 24 biodiversity’s importance. This Review discusses the breadth of ways in which biodiversity can 25 support sustainable development. It uses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a basis for 26 exploring scientific evidence of the benefits delivered by biodiversity. It focuses on papers that 27 provide examples of how biodiversity components (i.e. ecosystems, species and genes) directly 28 deliver benefits that may contribute to the achievement of individual SDGs. It also considers how 29 biodiversity’s direct contributions to fulfilling some SDGs may indirectly support the achievement of 30 other SDGs to which biodiversity does not contribute directly. How the attributes (e.g. diversity, 31 abundance or composition) of biodiversity components influence the benefits delivered is also 32 presented, where described by the papers reviewed. While acknowledging potential negative 33 impacts and trade-offs between different benefits, the study concludes that biodiversity may 34 contribute to fulfilment of all SDGs

Exposhakespeare

Come un Sommo Gourmet, William Shakespeare è attento ai temi dell’alimentazione e pronto a combinare gli ingredienti del pianto e del riso, della commedia e della tragedia con i sapori più piccanti dell’eros e delle sue molte tavole imbandite. Basti pensare alle allegre crapule di Falstaff, il grasso cinghiale divorato dai triumviri di Antony and Cleopatra, il ricco ma fugace banchetto che appena s’intravede in The Tempest, oltre alle numerose altre scene in cui il cibo è metafora importante e portante dei molteplici sensi del testo. Nella cucina del bardo si sono inoltre formati autori che in modo cannibalesco hanno attinto a piene mani a ingredienti e sapori per cucinare testi inediti, succulenti o rivoltanti. Dai lecca-lecca dei burlesque ottocenteschi, passando per il grano dei Coriolanus di Bertold Brecht e Günter Grass, gli ingredienti shakespeariani lievitano misteriosamente e in modi sorprendenti nella dieta mediterranea di Franco Zeffirelli e Kenneth Branagh oltre che negli allegri brindisi del Falstaff verdiano

Stato di nutrizione della vitamina D e correlazione con misure antropometriche

Premessa Numerosi studi documentano uno stato di carenza di micronutrienti in soggetti obesi; la restrizione calorica può aggravare tale stato di malnutrizione, mentre la lipolisi rende disponibili i composti liposolubili accumulati nel tessuto adiposo. Tale problema è di particolare rilievo nei pazienti sottoposti a chirurgia bariatrica, in cui è descritto un aumento transitorio dei valori sierici di vit.D nel 1° mese post-intervento. Scopo dello studio Valutare lo stato di nutrizione della vit.D e analizzare la correlazione tra concentrazione sierica, BMI, circonferenza vita (CV) e massa adiposa (BF). Materiali e metodi In un campione di 1031 soggetti, reclutati nel periodo 2004-2013 presso il DH di Medicina Interna del DMS, sono stati misurati: statura, peso, BMI, CV, BF (DEXA), livelli sierici di vit.D e PTH. Risultati Il campione è costituito da: M22,2%, età 44,9±14,24 anni; F75,8%, età 46,2±13,5 anni; BMI40kg/m2: M26,5%-F26,3%. È stata analizzata la correlazione tra BMI-vit.D (M: r=-0,235 p=0,05; F: r=-0,207 p=0,000), CV-vit.D (M: r=-0,306 p=0,05; F: r=-0,254 p=0,05), BF%-vit.D (M: r=-0,118; p=0,103 F: r=-0,13; p=0,01); BMI-PTH (M: r=-0,158 p=0,22; F: r=-0,224 p=0,000), CV-PTH (M: r=-0,295 p=0,000; F: r=-0,231; p=0,000), BF%-PTH (M: r=-0,154 p=0,51; F: r=-0,219; p=0,000); vit.D-PTH (M: r=-0,276 p=0,000; F: r=-0,292; p=0,000); vit.D/età (M: r=-0,059 p=0,351; F: r=-0,089; p=0,012). Conclusioni Nelle donne le concentrazioni sieriche di vit.D e PTH risultano correlate con BMI, CV e BF%, mentre negli uomini la vit.D è correlata solo con BMI e CV e il PTH con la CV. Nei soggetti con ipovitaminosi D la frequenza di ipertPTH risulta: M 11,8% - F 14,2%. La correlazione vit.D e PTH con l’età risulta significativa solo nelle donne. Questi risultati: confermano l’alta frequenza di ipovitaminosi D associata a iperPTH nei soggetti obesi; fanno ipotizzare un ruolo determinante dell’assetto ormonale nelle donne e della distribuzione del grasso negli uomini; possono fornire indicazioni per la supplementazione, in particolare durante il rapido decremento ponderale post-chirurgia bariatrica. È auspicabile l’identificazione di biomarkers per la valutazione dello stato di nutrizione della vit.D, che tengano conto dell’accumulo nel tessuto adiposo; tale considerazione potrebbe essere estesa anche alle altre vitamine liposolubili

Effect of Na(+) binding on the conformation, stability and molecular recognition properties of thrombin

In the present work, the effect of Na(+) binding on the conformational, stability and molecular recognition properties of thrombin was investigated. The binding of Na(+) reduces the CD signal in the far-UV region, while increasing the intensity of the near-UV CD and fluorescence spectra. These spectroscopic changes have been assigned to perturbations in the environment of aromatic residues at the level of the S2 and S3 sites, as a result of global rigidification of the thrombin molecule. Indeed, the Na(+)-bound form is more stable to urea denaturation than the Na(+)-free form by ∼2 kcal/mol (1 cal≡4.184 J). Notably, the effects of cation binding on thrombin conformation and stability are specific to Na(+) and parallel the affinity order of univalent cations for the enzyme. The Na(+)-bound form is even more resistant to limited proteolysis by subtilisin, at the level of the 148-loop, which is suggestive of the more rigid conformation this segment assumes in the ‘fast’ form. Finally, we have used hirudin fragment 1–47 as a molecular probe of the conformation of thrombin recognition sites in the fast and ‘slow’ form. From the effects of amino acid substitutions on the affinity of fragment 1–47 for the enzyme allosteric forms, we concluded that the specificity sites of thrombin in the Na(+)-bound form are in a more open and permissible conformation, compared with the more closed structure they assume in the slow form. Taken together, our results indicate that the binding of Na(+) to thrombin serves to stabilize the enzyme into a more open and rigid conformation