Life history and ecological genetics of the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri

The colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri is a cosmopolitan, marine filter feeder, introduced as a laboratory research organism in the 1950s. Currently, it is widely used in many laboratories to investigate a variety of biological questions. Recently, it has become a species of concern, as it is an invasive species in many coastal environments. Here, we review studies on the geographical distribution of the species, sexual and asexual reproduction in the field, tolerance to temperature, salinity and anthropogenic activity, polychromatism, enzymatic polymorphism, and the genetic basis of pigmentation. Studying the relationship between genetic polymorphism and the adaptation of B. schlosseri to environmental stress is a challenge of future research and will improve our understanding of its evolutionary success and invasive potential

Sow rearing in north Italy: II. analysis of nitrogen balance in different herds

The evolution of the legislation concerning the environmental impact of livestock make necessary to find solution useful to evaluate and reduce the total excretion of nitrogen (N) and other possible pollutants at territorial and farm level. The methodological approach to evaluate the amount of nitrogen excreted proposed by ERM (1999) suggested that the amount of N excreted can be calculated as a difference between the amount of nitrogen consumed less the amount of N retained in the animal products

UV observations of the globular cluster M10 from HST and GALEX. The BSS population

We present a combination of high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope and wide-field ground-based and Galaxy Evolution Explorer data of the Galactic Globular Cluster M10 (NGC6254). By using this large data-set we determined the center of gravity of the cluster and we built its density profile from star counts over its entire radial extension. We find that the density profile is well reproduced by a single-mass King model with structural parameters c=1.41 and r_c=41". We also studied the Blue Straggler Star population and its radial distribution. We count a total number of 120 BSS within the tidal radius. Their radial distribution is bimodal: highly peaked in the cluster center, decreasing at intermediate distances and rising again outwards. We discuss these results in the context of the dynamical clock scheme presented by Ferraro et al. (2012) and of recent results about the radial distribution of binary systems in this cluster.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ; 26 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl

Sow rearing in north Italy: I. analysis of technical and productive characteristics of different herds

There is a lack of information about reference values for the main productive and reproductive indexes for the sow herds in North Italy. This investigation was aimed to collect data from different kind of sow herds placed in the Veneto Region, in order to achieve representative values, in terms of mean and variability, for the main indexes of productivity: herd composition, feed consumption and feed composition

An optimal estimator for the CMB-LSS angular power spectrum and its application to WMAP and NVSS data

We use a Quadratic Maximum Likelihood (QML) method to estimate the angular power spectrum of the cross-correlation between cosmic microwave background and large scale structure maps as well as their individual auto-spectra. We describe our implementation of this method and demonstrate its accuracy on simulated maps. We apply this optimal estimator to WMAP 7-year and NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) data and explore the robustness of the angular power spectrum estimates obtained by the QML method. With the correction of the declination systematics in NVSS, we can safely use most of the information contained in this survey. We then make use of the angular power spectrum estimates obtained by the QML method to derive constraints on the dark energy critical density in a flat $\Lambda$CDM model by different likelihood prescriptions. When using just the cross-correlation between WMAP 7 year and NVSS maps with 1.8$^\circ$ resolution, the best-fit model has a cosmological constant of approximatively 70% of the total energy density, disfavouring an Einstein-de Sitter Universe at more than 2 $\sigma$ CL (confidence level).Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Selenium biofortification in the 21st century: status and challenges for healthy human nutrition

Background: Selenium (Se) is an essential element for mammals and its deficiency in the diet is a global problem. Plants accumulate Se and thus represent a major source of Se to consumers. Agronomic biofortification intends to enrich crops with Se in order to secure its adequate supply by people. Scope: The goal of this review is to report the present knowledge of the distribution and processes of Se in soil and at the plant-soil interface, and of Se behaviour inside the plant in terms of biofortification. It aims to unravel the Se metabolic pathways that affect the nutritional value of edible plant products, various Se biofortification strategies in challenging environments, as well as the impact of Se-enriched food on human health. Conclusions: Agronomic biofortification and breeding are prevalent strategies for battling Se deficiency. Future research addresses nanosized Se biofortification, crop enrichment with multiple micronutrients, microbial-integrated agronomic biofortification, and optimization of Se biofortification in adverse conditions. Biofortified food of superior nutritional quality may be created, enriched with healthy Se-compounds, as well as several other valuable phytochemicals. Whether such a food source might be used as nutritional intervention for recently emerged coronavirus infections is a relevant question that deserves investigation

A Panchromatic Study of the Globular Cluster NGC 1904. I: The Blue Straggler Population

By combining high-resolution (HST-WFPC2) and wide-field ground based (2.2m ESO-WFI) and space (GALEX) observations, we have collected a multi-wavelength photometric data base (ranging from the far UV to the near infrared) of the galactic globular cluster NGC1904 (M79). The sample covers the entire cluster extension, from the very central regions up to the tidal radius. In the present paper such a data set is used to study the BSS population and its radial distribution. A total number of 39 bright ($m_{218}\le 19.5$) BSS has been detected, and they have been found to be highly segregated in the cluster core. No significant upturn in the BSS frequency has been observed in the outskirts of NGC 1904, in contrast to other clusters (M 3, 47 Tuc, NGC 6752, M 5) studied with the same technique. Such evidences, coupled with the large radius of avoidance estimated for NGC 1904 ($r_{avoid}\sim 30$ core radii), indicate that the vast majority of the cluster heavy stars (binaries) has already sunk to the core. Accordingly, extensive dynamical simulations suggest that BSS formed by mass transfer activity in primordial binaries evolving in isolation in the cluster outskirts represent only a negligible (0--10%) fraction of the overall population.Comment: ApJ accepte

An unexpected guest: Pulmonary echinococcosis diagnosed by intraoperative frozen section examination. A case report and literature review

Echinococcosis is caused by tapeworms belonging to the Echinococcus genus. The most common site of infection is the liver although it may involve almost any organ. Symptoms of pulmonary echinococcosis vary depending on the location and structure of the cyst. While uncomplicated cysts usually appear at imaging as well-defined homogeneous lesions with fluid content and smooth walls of variable thickness, complicated lesions may have a more heterogeneous content with higher density making more difficult the distinction from malignancies or other infections. Hereby we describe the case of a 61-year-old Northern African male admitted to our tertiary center for left upper chest pain who then underwent a chest computed tomography (CT) scan which demonstrated a large hypodense lesion, with smooth and thick walls, in the upper left lobe. The following magnetic resonance confirmed the homogeneous fluid content, and the 18 F- fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/CT demonstrated a mild uptake of the walls. According to these findings, the main differential diagnoses at imaging included bronchogenic cyst, synovial sarcoma, and pulmonary hematoma although the patient denied any recent trauma. Given the large size and clinical symptoms he underwent surgery. Intra-operative frozen section, supported by imprint cytology, excluded the presence of malignancy while suggested an echinococcal laminar exocyst. The final pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of echinococcosis (i.e., Echinococcus Granulosus protoscolex). After surgery he was treated with albendazole and at the six-month follow-up he was in good clinical conditions. Our case highlights the importance of considering rare infections, particularly in individuals from endemic areas. Frozen tissue analyses can be a diagnostic challenge and often require ancillary tools such as imprint cytology and serial sections for more sensitive and accurate diagnosis