Molluscs of the “Real Orto Botanico di Napoli”

The results of two years of research on the molluscs present in the Botanical Garden of Naples are reported and compared with the sole similar study published in 1875 and with other reports in the literature, the last of which published in 1930 by Boettger. As a general result, a noticeable decrease in the number of species present in the site was recorded. However, some species not reported before have also been observed, and namely Vallonia costata (O.F. Müller, 1774), Orcula dolium (Draparnaud, 1801) and Planorbarius corneus (Linnaeus, 1758), all recorded for the first time in Campania, and in addition Carychium minimum O.F. Müller, 1774, which appears to be well settled in the studied enclave; for this latter species the only previous indication was found in the bibliography for Campania (Bellini 1898). Finally, some limacid slugs, previously found and recorded only by Boettger (1930), have been found

Blood flow cytometry in Mugil cephalus and Carassius auratus: a comparative study

Blood and its parameters can give specific indications on the welfare of fishes.Many endogenous and exogenous factors exert influences on the characteristics of blood. The correct interpretation of fish hematology for a given species depends on the availability of reference values. The purpose of the present study was therefore to build a database with data on haematological profiles of Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus 1758) and goldfish Carassius auratus (Linnaeus 1758), in particular of some blood cells, namely red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC) and thrombocytes (TC). All the blood parameters studied showed significant differences in the two fish species considered, using flow cytometry and optical microscopy coupled with an automated system. In particular, RBC showed an increase in mullets in respect to goldfish, while WBC and TC decreased. The differences found may be due to the environmental conditions and the different eating habits of the two species. The results of this research will allow to better understand how the different dietary habits and environmental conditions can influence the haematological parameters of fishes. Flow cytometry represents a modern diagnostic technique in human. Moreover, the technique used by combining flow cytometry with automated haematological counting, has proved very effective in the early evaluation of haematological parameters of various fish species

Dietary and Behavioral Interventions Protect against Age Related Activation of Caspase Cascades in the Canine Brain

Lifestyle interventions such as diet, exercise, and cognitive training represent a quietly emerging revolution in the modern approach to counteracting age-related declines in brain health. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that long-term dietary supplementation with antioxidants and mitochondrial cofactors (AOX) or behavioral enrichment with social, cognitive, and exercise components (ENR), can effectively improve cognitive performance and reduce brain pathology of aged canines, including oxidative damage and Aβ accumulation. In this study, we build on and extend our previous findings by investigating if the interventions reduce caspase activation and ceramide accumulation in the aged frontal cortex, since caspase activation and ceramide accumulation are common convergence points for oxidative damage and Aβ, among other factors associated with the aged and AD brain. Aged beagles were placed into one of four treatment groups: CON – control environment/control diet, AOX– control environment/antioxidant diet, ENR – enriched environment/control diet, AOX/ENR– enriched environment/antioxidant diet for 2.8 years. Following behavioral testing, brains were removed and frontal cortices were analyzed to monitor levels of active caspase 3, active caspase 9 and their respective cleavage products such as tau and semaphorin7a, and ceramides. Our results show that levels of activated caspase-3 were reduced by ENR and AOX interventions with the largest reduction occurring with combined AOX/ENR group. Further, reductions in caspase-3 correlated with reduced errors in a reversal learning task, which depends on frontal cortex function. In addition, animals treated with an AOX arm showed reduced numbers of cells expressing active caspase 9 or its cleavage product semaphorin 7A, while ENR (but not AOX) reduced ceramide levels. Overall, these data demonstrate that lifestyle interventions curtail activation of pro-degenerative pathways to improve cellular health and are the first to show that lifestyle interventions can regulate caspase pathways in a higher animal model of aging

Data di pubblicazione del “Catalogo sistematico e ragionato de’ testacei delle Due Sicilie” di O.G. Costa

Volume: 49Start Page: 101End Page: 10

The (almost) unknown Italian naturalist Raffaello Bellini (1874 - 1930): biography malacological publications, and status of his recent molluscan taxa

Fasulo, Giuseppe, Duraccio, Sergio, Federico, Antonio, Crocetta, Fabio (2019): The (almost) unknown Italian naturalist Raffaello Bellini (1874 - 1930): biography malacological publications, and status of his recent molluscan taxa. Zootaxa 4668 (3): 343-369, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4668.3.

Stimulation of the autophagic activity in blastospores of Candida albicans exposed in vitro to fluconazole

Blastospores of Candida albicans were exposed in vitro to fluconazole, a bis-triazole which inhibits ergosterol biosynthesis in fungi by interfering with the cytochrome P-450 dependent 14 alpha-demethylase. Electron microscope examination revealed that a low dose (3 mu g/ml), short treatment (1-3 h) with this compound greatly stimulated autophagic activity not accompanied by alterations of the cell organelles. Only rarely, wall thickenings and some damage to the membrane system, except for the plasma membrane, was noted. This unusual phenomenon suggests that in the presence of fluconazole, due to the depletion of ergosterol and the consequent accumulation of 14 alpha-methylsterols, changes are induced in the properties of the tonoplast. it seems that in the presence of the molecule the membrane is not able to distinguish what is to be degraded from what is still useful for intracellular metabolism with the consequent disintegration of cell compartmentation. Fluconazole may be useful for indicating the mechanism for controlling lytic activity and the homeostatic role of the vacuole in yeasts

Morphogenetic effects induced by spermine and ruthenium red in yeasts

Spermine (Sp) produces growth inhibition and wall malformation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in response to oversynthesis of beta-glucans and chitin. The effect is related to the polycation nature of the molecule. In the present work, to verify this hypothesis, the yeast was treated with the abiogenic polycation ruthenium red (RR). The strict analogy observed between the RR- and Sp-induced alterations reinforced our earlier assumption that Sp interacted with the anionic sites of the plasmalemma determining a spurious activation of the two inserted enzymes beta-glucan and chitin synthases. This view was further confirmed by the aberrant accumulation of beta-glucans in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and of chitin in Rhodotorula glutinis treated with Sp and RR. In these micro-organisms spermidine, which bears three amino groups instead of the four encountered in Sp, was ineffective. It is inferred that at least four cation sites must be present in a compound in order to affect wall morphogenesis in yeasts