A method to assess the mitochondrial respiratory capacity of complexes I and II from frozen tissue using the Oroboros O2k-FluoRespirometer

High-resolution respirometry methods allow for the assessment of oxygen consumption by the electron transfer systems within cells, tissue samples, and isolated mitochondrial preparations. As mitochondrial integrity is compromised by the process of cryopreservation, these methods have been limited to fresh samples. Here we present a simple method to assess the activity of mitochondria respiratory complexes I and II in previously cryopreserved murine skeletal muscle tissue homogenates, as well as previously frozen D. melanogaster, as a function of oxygen consumption

“New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” (March 2021)

This article includes twenty (20) new records of alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to six (6) Phyla (Rhodophyta, Tracheophyta, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, and Chordata) distributed from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Sea of Alboran. The records are reported from nine (9) countries and can be classified into two categories: new records for the Mediterranean Sea and new records of non-indigenous species expanding within the Mediterranean Sea. The first category includes the gastropod Turbo radiatus from Lebanon coasts, the portunid crab Charybdis (Charybdis) natator from Tunis southern lagoon, the mollusc Thuridilla mazda from South Spain, and the nudibranch Okenia picoensis from the Alboran coasts of Spain and from Malta. The second category includes the bivalve Nudiscintilla cf. glabra from the Aegean coast of Turkey, the rhodophyte Colaconema codicola from the North Aegean coasts of Greece, the naked band gaper Champsodon nudivittis from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey. Also, the brachyuran Gonioinfradens giardi from the Greek Ionian waters, the codlet Bregmaceros nectabanus from the Croatian coasts of the Adriatic Sea, and the bryozoan Arbopercula tenella and copepod Parvocalanus crassirostris both from the Gulf of Trieste, Slovenian and Italian coasts, respectively. New records were also reported for the ascidian Distaplia bermudensis from brackish the Gulf of Naples, Italy, the damselfish Abudefduf cf. saxatilis and the seagrass Halophila stipulacea from Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea, and for the fish Paranthias furcifer from the harbour of Almeria, Alboran Sea, Spain. Through these records, an understanding of the expanding mechanisms and processes and, if possible, the development of mitigation measures within the region will be further facilitated

Elliptic flow of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV

We report the first measurement of charged particle elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (|$\eta$|<0.8) and transverse momentum range 0.2< $p_{\rm T}$< 5.0 GeV/$c$. The elliptic flow signal v$_2$, measured using the 4-particle correlation method, averaged over transverse momentum and pseudorapidity is 0.087 $\pm$ 0.002 (stat) $\pm$ 0.004 (syst) in the 40-50% centrality class. The differential elliptic flow v$_2(p_{\rm T})$ reaches a maximum of 0.2 near $p_{\rm T}$ = 3 GeV/$c$. Compared to RHIC Au-Au collisions at 200 GeV, the elliptic flow increases by about 30%. Some hydrodynamic model predictions which include viscous corrections are in agreement with the observed increase.Comment: 10 pages, 4 captioned figures, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/389

New Alien Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (March 2021)

This article includes twenty (20) new records of alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to six (6) Phyla (Rhodophyta, Tracheophyta, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, and Chordata) distributed from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Sea of Alboran. The records are reported from nine (9) countries and can be classified into two categories: new records for the Mediterranean Sea and new records of non-indigenous species expanding within the Mediterranean Sea. The first category includes the gastropod Turbo radiatus from Lebanon coasts, the portunid crab Charybdis (Charybdis) natator from Tunis southern lagoon, the mollusc Thuridilla mazda from South Spain, and the nudibranch Okenia picoensis from the Alboran coasts of Spain and from Malta. The second category includes the bivalve Nudiscintilla cf. glabra from the Aegean coast of Turkey, the rhodophyte Colaconema codicola from the North Aegean coasts of Greece, the naked band gaper Champsodon nudivittis from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey. Also, the brachyuran Gonioinfradens giardi from the Greek Ionian waters, the codlet Bregmaceros nectabanus from the Croatian coasts of the Adriatic Sea, and the bryozoan Arbopercula tenella and copepod Parvocalanus crassirostris both from the Gulf of Trieste, Slovenian and Italian coasts, respectively. New records were also reported for the ascidian Distaplia bermudensis from brackish the Gulf of Naples, Italy, the damselfish Abudefduf cf. saxatilis and the seagrass Halophila stipulacea from Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea, and for the fish Paranthias furcifer from the harbour of Almeria, Alboran Sea, Spain. Through these records, an understanding of the expanding mechanisms and processes and, if possible, the development of mitigation measures within the region will be further facilitated

Sediment source fingerprinting: benchmarking recent outputs, remaining challenges and emerging themes

Abstract: Purpose: This review of sediment source fingerprinting assesses the current state-of-the-art, remaining challenges and emerging themes. It combines inputs from international scientists either with track records in the approach or with expertise relevant to progressing the science. Methods: Web of Science and Google Scholar were used to review published papers spanning the period 2013–2019, inclusive, to confirm publication trends in quantities of papers by study area country and the types of tracers used. The most recent (2018–2019, inclusive) papers were also benchmarked using a methodological decision-tree published in 2017. Scope: Areas requiring further research and international consensus on methodological detail are reviewed, and these comprise spatial variability in tracers and corresponding sampling implications for end-members, temporal variability in tracers and sampling implications for end-members and target sediment, tracer conservation and knowledge-based pre-selection, the physico-chemical basis for source discrimination and dissemination of fingerprinting results to stakeholders. Emerging themes are also discussed: novel tracers, concentration-dependence for biomarkers, combining sediment fingerprinting and age-dating, applications to sediment-bound pollutants, incorporation of supportive spatial information to augment discrimination and modelling, aeolian sediment source fingerprinting, integration with process-based models and development of open-access software tools for data processing. Conclusions: The popularity of sediment source fingerprinting continues on an upward trend globally, but with this growth comes issues surrounding lack of standardisation and procedural diversity. Nonetheless, the last 2 years have also evidenced growing uptake of critical requirements for robust applications and this review is intended to signpost investigators, both old and new, towards these benchmarks and remaining research challenges for, and emerging options for different applications of, the fingerprinting approach

Higher harmonic anisotropic flow measurements of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV

We report on the first measurement of the triangular $v_3$, quadrangular $v_4$, and pentagonal $v_5$ charged particle flow in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. We show that the triangular flow can be described in terms of the initial spatial anisotropy and its fluctuations, which provides strong constraints on its origin. In the most central events, where the elliptic flow $v_2$ and $v_3$ have similar magnitude, a double peaked structure in the two-particle azimuthal correlations is observed, which is often interpreted as a Mach cone response to fast partons. We show that this structure can be naturally explained from the measured anisotropic flow Fourier coefficients.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/387

Hidden Lives: Polychaetes Inhabiting Living and Not-living Substrata

I policheti (Annelida) costituiscono un’importante componente della macrofauna bentonica; sono in grado di stabilire differenti tipi di associazioni con altri organismi, come Poriferi e Cnidari, e possono far parte di processi bioerosivi riguardanti substrati calcarei. I principali obiettivi di questa ricerca riguardano: i) la descrizione della macrofauna bentonica associata a Poriferi nel Mar Mediterraneo, con interesse all’identificazione di alcuni cicli vitali; ii) l’implementazione delle conoscenze su policheti simbionti di Ottocoralli ed infine iii) l’identificazione di alcuni policheti perforatori e del loro tasso di erosione mediante l’utilizzo di substrati artificiali. i) Policheti e Demosponge. La macrofauna associata a due specie appartenenti al genere Sarcotragus (Demospongiae: Irciniidae), S. foetidus Schimdt, 1862 e S. spinosulus Schimdt, 1862, è stata descritta e analizzata durante un periodo di 18 mesi (Capitolo 1). Sono inoltre fornite nuove informazioni riguardanti il ciclo vitale della specie Ceratonereis (Composetia) costae (Annelida: Nereididae), campionata in S. spinosulus (Capitolo 2). Il ruolo funzionale che le spugne svolgono in qualità di “habitat-forming species” viene evidenziato in questi primi due capitoli. ii) Policheti e Ottocoralli: La stretta simbiosi che lega la gorgonia Paramuricea clavata (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) e la specie Haplosyllis chamaeleon (Annelida; Syllidae), è qui descritta e segnalata per la prima volta per le acque Italiane e Croate (Capitolo 3). La densità, la frequenza e la riproduzione di questo polichete suggeriscono la presenza di popolamenti stabili fino ad oggi ignorati. Inoltre, le analisi chimiche svolte sulla gorgonia hanno rivelato la presenza di un nuovo spettro di composti molecolari, in parte ritrovato nei policheti, aprendo così uno scenario per future ricerche (Capitolo 4). iii) Policheti perforanti: Nonostante i processi di bioerosione siano largamente diffusi, le informazioni riguardanti il Mar Mediterraneo sono scarse. Mediante l’utilizzo di pannelli calcarei, immersi in due aree adiacenti al promontorio di Ancona (Mar Adriatico), sono state investigate le specie coinvolte e i loro tassi di erosione (Capitolo 5).Polychaetes (Annelida) constitute a high percentage of the benthic macrofauna. These organisms can establish different kind of relationships with other invertebrates, like Porifera and Cnidaria, or can also became an important component of the boring communities. The main objects of this research are: i) the description of the macrofaunal assemblages associated with Porifera in the Mediterranean Sea, with particular interest in identifying life cycles; ii) update the knowledge about polychaetes living in symbiosis with Octocorals and iii) investigate the boring polychaetes into rock substrates. i) Polychaetes and Demosponges: The macrofaunal assemblages living in two species belonging to the genus Sarcotragus (Demospongiae: Irciniidae), S. foetidus Schimdt, 1862 and S. spinosulus Schimdt, 1862, were investigated for a total period of 18 months (Chapter 1). New data about the life cycle of the common species Ceratonereis (Composetia) costae (Annelida: Nereididae), associated with S. spinosulus, were achieved during one year of study (Chapter 2). These two studies support the functional role of the sponges as habitat-forming species. ii) Polychaetes and Octocorals: The neglected association between the gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) and the polychaetes Haplosyllis chamaeleon (Annelida; Syllidae), is here ascribed for first time for the Italian and Croatian fauna. New data about the density, the frequency of this syllid, and of its reproductive period are added (Chapter 3). The chemical analyses of this gorgonian resulted in a new molecular spectrum of compound, partially found in the polychaetes, and opening several research questions (Chapter 4). iii) Boring Polychaetaes: Erosion activity is largely diffused, but scant information is available for the Mediterranean Sea. Calcareous panels were soaked in two selected areas of the Ancona Promontory (Adriatic Sea). Species involved in bioerosion and their erosion rate were investigated and described (Chapter 5)