Effects of the inclusion of microalgae spirulina (Spirulina platensis) in the diet of Gilthead Sea bream (Sparus aurata) on growth and metabolism

In gilthead seabream aquaculture, the feed supplies in the market is very expensive due to its high content of animal protein. In this respect, spiruline appears to be a valuable substitute to animal and vegetable protein. In this study we performed two experiments. The scope of the first one was to determine the effect of the inclusion of Spirulina platensis hydrolyzed on the physiological state and growth in juveniles of Sparus aurata. A total of 180 individuals were fed for 128 days with three different feeds: control diet, diet with 2% of hydrolyzed microalgae (Sp2), and diet with 4% of hydrolyzed microalgae (Sp4).The experimental groups were tested in triplicate (except control group that was in duplicate). Biometric parameters were registered every two or three weeks. At the end of the experiment blood samples were collected to analyze plasma metabolites. After this we tried to evaluate the anti-oxidant response in animals remained from the first experiment using a toxicological assay with sodium nitrite lasting three days. Fish were divided into control, Spi 2% and Spi 4%, all them with and without NaNO2. Even then, the plasma metabolites data were collected after 24h and 72h. At the end of the first experiment the administration of S. platensis appeared to have a negative impact on growth of S. aurata respect the control feed. Furthermore, the lactate content registered showed a significant difference between the control and the spiruline administration. In the second experiment the spiruline feed showed a glucose and a lactate content with significant differences after 72h of exposition to nitrites respect the control group due to the interaction between nitrites and treatment. S. platensis hydrolyzed 2% and 4% do not seems a good substitution for S. aurata both as a growth enhancer and improver of health metabolic pathways. Its role as a good antioxidant has not been confirmed in these experiments

Il laboratorio di matematica nella scuola di oggi

In questa comunicazione si presentano alcuni risultati di un progetto sulla metodologia del laboratorio di matematica, sviluppatosi a seguito del pro- getto regionale MMLab-ER. Esso si caratterizza per la collaborazione tra insegnanti di scuola primaria e di scuola secondaria di primo grado. Tra gli obiettivi vi è la progettazione e sperimentazione di attività di didattica laboratoriale con strumenti sia classici, come le macchine matematiche, che digitali. Si considera come esempio di attività laboratoriale il percorso sul Teorema di Pitagora. L’analisi del progetto permette, in particolare, di rispondere a domande poste nel progetto MMLab-ER sulle condizioni e sui vincoli per l’implementazione del laboratorio di matematica

Costruzioni con riga e compasso: approccio alla geometria piana

Nel seminario si presenteranno le tappe del percorso sperimentato nel corrente anno scolastico, proponendo l\u2019analisi di alcune attivit\ue0 con particolare attenzione ai processi cognitivi degli allievi e al ruolo di mediatore dell\u2019insegnante in un ambiente di apprendimento che unisce tecnologie classiche e digitali. Questo percorso, discusso e diffuso all'interno del Gruppo di Ricerca delle Macchine Matematiche dell\u2019IC \u201cMarconi\u201d di Castelfranco Emilia, \ue8 tale da ritenersi una buona pratica, per un percorso di geometria del primo anno della scuola secondaria di primo grado

Multitemporal Thermal Imagery Acquisition and Data Processing on Historical Masonry: Experimental Application on a Case Study

The recent improvement of infrared image quality has increased the use of thermography as a non-destructive diagnostic technique. Amongst other applications, thermography can be used to monitor historic buildings. The present work was carried out within the framework of the Horizon 2020 European project SHELTER, which aims to create a management plan for cultural heritage subject to environmental and anthropogenic risk. Among the chosen case studies is the Santa Croce Complex in Ravenna (Italy), which is exposed to different hazards, including flooding. The church has a peculiar architecture that develops below the street level, so the internal walls are affected by the deterioration caused by rising humidity. In such a case of advanced degradation, passive thermography cannot be used to its full potential. For this reason, an innovative methodology involving active thermography was first developed and validated with laboratory tests. Secondly, we conducted its first application to a real case study. With this purpose, an active thermography survey with forced ventilation was carried out to enhance different stages of material degradation by means of automatic classification of multitemporal data. These experiments have resulted in a method using an active thermal survey in a high moisture content environment to detect masonry degradation

Dibutyltin(IV) and Tributyltin(IV) Derivatives of meso-Tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine Inhibit the Growth and the Migration of Human Melanoma Cells

Melanoma is the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer, which is largely due to its propensity to metastasize. Therefore, with the aim to inhibit the growth and the metastatic dissemination of melanoma cells and to provide a novel treatment option, we studied the eects of the melanoma treatment with two organotin(IV) complexes of the meso-tetra(4-sulfonato-phenyl)porphine, namely (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS. In particular, we showed that nanomolar concentrations of (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS are sucient to inhibit melanoma cell growth, to increase the expression of the full-length poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1), to induce the cell cycle arrest respectively at G2/M and G0/G1 through the inhibition of the Cyclin D1 expression and to inhibit cell colony formation. Nanomolar concentrations of (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS are also sucient to inhibit the melanoma cell migration and the expression of some adhesion receptors. Moreover, we report that (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS act downstream of BRAF, mainly bypassing its functions, but targeting the STAT3 signalling protein. Finally, these results suggest that (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS may be eective therapeutic strategies for their role in the inhibition of melanoma growth and migration

Application of 2H and 18O Isotopes for Tracing Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Contamination of Groundwater. Two Italian Case Histories

Groundwater contamination due to municipal solid waste landfills leachate is a serious environmental threat. During recent years, the use of stable isotopes as environmental tracers to identify groundwater contamination phenomena has found application to environmental engineering. Deuterium (2H) and oxygen (18O) isotopes have successfully used to identify groundwater contamination phenomena if submitted to interactions with municipal solid waste landfills leachate, with a significant organic amount. The paper shows two case studies, in central and southern Italy, where potential contamination phenomenon of groundwater under municipal solid waste landfills occurred. In both cases, isotope compositions referred to 2H and 18O highlight a δ2H enrichment for some groundwater samples taken in wells, located near leachate storage wells. The δ2H enrichment is probably caused by methanogenesis phenomena, during which the bacteria use preferentially the hydrogen “lighter” isotope (1H), and the remaining enriched the “heavier” isotope (2H). The study of the isotope composition variation, combined with the spatial trend of some analytes (Fe, Mn, Ni) concentrations, allowed to identify interaction phenomena between the municipal solid waste landfills leachate and groundwater in both case histories. Therefore, these results confirm the effectiveness of 2H isotopes application as environmental tracer of groundwater contamination phenomena due to mixing with municipal solid waste landfills leachate

Isotope-Based Early-Warning Model for Monitoring Groundwater–Leachate Contamination Phenomena: First Quantitative Assessments

Groundwater contamination due to municipal solid waste landfills’ leachate is a serious environmental threat. Deuterium (2H) and oxygen (18O) isotopes have been successfully applied to identify groundwater contamination processes, due to interactions with municipal solid waste landfills’ leachate, including significant organic amounts. A parameter influencing the isotope content of deuterium and oxygen18 is the deuterium excess (d or d-excess). This paper presents a d-isotope-based model, defined early-warning model, depending on the assessment of the deuterium excess variations in groundwater samples. The isotopic results are corroborated with the trace elements’ concentrations (Fe, Mn, Ni, Co and Zn), suggesting that the methanogenic activity diminished under trace element limitation. This model provides the determination of an index, F, as the percentage variation of d-excess, which makes it possible to define an alert level system to assess and check groundwater contamination by leachate. The procedure shows that values of F index higher than 1.1 highlight possible contamination phenomena of groundwater due to leachate and, therefore, actions by the municipal solid waste landfill management are required. This early-warning model is presented by the application to a case study in Central Italy in order to evaluate innovative aspects and opportunities to optimize the model. The application of the procedure to the case study highlighted anomalous values of the F index for the samples AD16 (Fmax = 2.069) and AD13 (Fmax = 1.366) in January, April, July and October surveys as well as the boundary values (1 ≤ F ≤ 1.1) for samples AD73 (F = 1.229) and AD68 (F = 1.219) in the April survey. The proposed model can be a useful management tool for monitoring the potential contamination process of groundwater due to the presence of landfills with municipal solid waste, including a significant organic component

Dibutyltin(IV) and Tributyltin(IV) Derivatives of meso-Tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine Inhibit the Growth and the Migration of Human Melanoma Cells

Melanoma is the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer, which is largely due to its propensity to metastasize. Therefore, with the aim to inhibit the growth and the metastatic dissemination of melanoma cells and to provide a novel treatment option, we studied the eects of the melanoma treatment with two organotin(IV) complexes of the meso-tetra(4-sulfonato-phenyl)porphine, namely (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS. In particular, we showed that nanomolar concentrations of (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS are sucient to inhibit melanoma cell growth, to increase the expression of the full-length poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1), to induce the cell cycle arrest respectively at G2/M and G0/G1 through the inhibition of the Cyclin D1 expression and to inhibit cell colony formation. Nanomolar concentrations of (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS are also sucient to inhibit the melanoma cell migration and the expression of some adhesion receptors. Moreover, we report that (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS act downstream of BRAF, mainly bypassing its functions, but targeting the STAT3 signalling protein. Finally, these results suggest that (Bu2Sn)2TPPS and (Bu3Sn)4TPPS may be eective therapeutic strategies for their role in the inhibition of melanoma growth and migration

Let Young People Join The Legislative Process. A Twitter Based Experiment On Internships

The aim of this research is to examine the possible effects of labour market institutional characteristics on young people's perceptions of their internship experiences as expressed on Twitter. By looking at these opinions (satisfaction versus dissatisfaction) in relation to certain features of internships as well as to the more general labour market regulatory framework, this project aims to give a voice to young people, enabling them (indirectly) to provide policy suggestions to law-makers. Furthermore, we propose a preview of a possible empirical model for data collection based on the manual coding of Tweets. By employing a Probit regression and Blinder-Oaxaca and Fairlie decompositions, we have tried to establish a link between the perceived evaluation of internships and the country where the internship is based, the latter being used as a proxy for the legal system. In all our tests we found that the country in which the internship is placed is the main factor in the positive or negative perception. Ultimately we shall propose the use of Twitter not only as a relevant research tool, but also as an instrument for bringing young people's needs to the attention of law-makers