Life History Traits of Sperm Whales Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758 Stranded along Italian Coasts (Cetartiodactyla: Physeteridae)

We investigated the relationship between age and body length, and age at sexual maturity of Physeter macrocephalus individuals stranded along the Italian coast. Our molecular analysis shows that all our samples belong to the C.001.002 haplotype, shared between Atlantic and Mediterranean populations. We show that males attain sexual maturity at 10 years, similar to those from other marine areas. However, considering the same body length class, Mediterranean males are older than Atlantic ones. Our finding of a Mediterranean pregnant female of only 6.5 m in length and an assessed age of 24–26 years is particularly noteworthy, considering that females reach sexual maturity at about 9 years and 9 m of total length in other regions. Comparing our results with the literature data, we highlight the positive correlation between lifespan, adult body length and weight of males from the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. Regardless of whether the relatively small size of Mediterranean specimens is a consequence of an inbreeding depression or an adaptation to less favorable trophic conditions, we recommend to closely monitor this population from a conservation perspective. In fact, its low genetic diversity likely corresponds to a relatively limited ability to respond to environmental changes compared with other populations

Measuring net protease activities in biological samples using selective peptidic inhibitors

The measurement of activities from individual proteases in biological samples is difficult because of the numerous proteases, their overlapping activities, and the lack of specific substrates. We applied selective protease inhibitors based on bicyclic peptides (>2000-fold selective over related proteases) to block individual proteases, allowing the quantification of their net activities. In protease mixtures, activity contributions of the serine proteases plasma kallikrein and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) were accurately quantified. In a tumor extract, we could quantify uPA activity. Because bicyclic peptide inhibitors toward virtually any protease can be generated by phage display, the approach should be applicable to any protease

Indagini diagnostiche ed osservazioni istologiche su esemplari di Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) spiaggiati lungo le coste della Campania negli anni 2008-2011

Diagnostic investigations and histological surveys on specimens of Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) stranded along the coasts of Campania Region in the years 2008-2011. The present work reports the results of diagnostic investigations carried out on specimens of Caretta caretta which were found stranded, beached or incidentally caught along the coasts of Campania Region during the period 2008-2011. The data were collected thanks to a scientific research collaboration between the University Federico II of Naples, the “Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno”, the “Centro Studi Cetacei” and the “Centro Studi Ecosistemi Marini”. This collaboration was signed in the 2008 with an agreement protocol finalized to the rationalization of the resources and the competences about to actions on the stranded Cetaceans and Sea Turtles along the Campanian coasts. In the 2009 the Health Department of the Campania Region published an ordinance finalized to “the constitution of the Regional Coordination Council for the execution of the agreement protocol of the intervention in case of stranded Cetaceans and Sea Turtles” composed by the cited Institutions, the coastal “AA.SS.LL.”, the Coast Direction of Naples and the “A.R.P.A.C.”. From 2008 we collected necroscopic data, including parasitological, bacteriological, histological, histopathological, toxicological and skeletochronological findings, concerning 23 specimens. Of the examined specimens, four were infected by potentially zoonotic bacteria, one by a coccidiosis, seven showed seriuous traumatic damages and four showed inflammations and diffuse hemorrhages due to ingestion of foreign bodies. Our results obtained from PAHs analysis in Caretta caretta are the first for the Mediterranean area. Finally, we also describe for the first time the histological structure of the esophageal papillae in Caretta caretta

Imaging alveolar–capillary gas transfer using hyperpolarized (129)Xe MRI

Effective pulmonary gas exchange relies on the free diffusion of gases across the thin tissue barrier separating airspace from the capillary red blood cells (RBCs). Pulmonary pathologies, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and edema, which cause an increased blood–gas barrier thickness, impair the efficiency of this exchange. However, definitive assessment of such gas-exchange abnormalities is challenging, because no methods currently exist to directly image the gas transfer process. Here we exploit the solubility and chemical shift of (129)Xe, the magnetic resonance signal of which has been enhanced by 10(5) with hyperpolarization, to differentially image its transfer from the airspaces into the tissue barrier spaces and RBCs in the gas exchange regions of the lung. Based on a simple diffusion model, we estimate that this MR imaging method for measuring (129)Xe alveolar-capillary transfer is sensitive to changes in blood–gas barrier thickness of ≈5 μm. We validate the successful separation of tissue barrier and RBC images and show the utility of this method in a rat model of pulmonary fibrosis where (129)Xe replenishment of the RBCs is severely impaired in regions of lung injury

Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy assessment of lower extremity skeletal muscles in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a multicenter cross sectional study.

IntroductionDuchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disorder that results in functional deficits. However, these functional declines are often not able to be quantified in clinical trials for DMD until after age 7. In this study, we hypothesized that (1)H2O T2 derived using (1)H-MRS and MRI-T2 will be sensitive to muscle involvement at a young age (5-7 years) consistent with increased inflammation and muscle damage in a large cohort of DMD subjects compared to controls.MethodsMR data were acquired from 123 boys with DMD (ages 5-14 years; mean 8.6 SD 2.2 years) and 31 healthy controls (age 9.7 SD 2.3 years) using 3-Tesla MRI instruments at three institutions (University of Florida, Oregon Health & Science University, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia). T2-weighted multi-slice spin echo (SE) axial images and single voxel 1H-MRS were acquired from the lower leg and thigh to measure lipid fraction and (1)H2O T2.ResultsMRI-T2, (1)H2O T2, and lipid fraction were greater (pDiscussionOverall, MR measures of T2 and lipid fraction revealed differences between DMD and Controls. Furthermore, MRI-T2 was greater in the older age group compared to the young age group, which was associated with higher lipid fractions. Overall, MR measures of T2 and lipid fraction show excellent sensitivity to DMD disease pathologies and potential therapeutic interventions in DMD, even in the younger boys