Comunidades zooplanctónicas estivales en relación con parámetros ambientales en el golfo de Kavala, norte del mar Egeo

Shallow coastal areas are ecosystems with high productivity. Although the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea is oligotrophic, the shallow coastal waters of the northern Aegean, such as Kavala Gulf, are productive due to the influence of the Black Sea water and the presence of freshwater input from three rivers. The aim of this work was to determine the structure of zooplankton communities in Kavala Gulf in the summer of 2002 and 2003 and to investigate their relation to environmental variables. Zooplankton communities were characterized by the presence of common coastal Cladocera, such as Penilia avirostris, small pelagic Copepoda, such as the calanoida Acartia clausi and the cyclopoida Oithona plumifera, and Tunicata, such as Oikopleura, Fritillaria and Doliolidae. The abundances corresponded to the peak of the warm period and were significantly greater in 2002 because of a P. avirostris bloom, which seemed to have better exploited the environmental sources favouring its dominance in the area. Overall, the structure of summer mesozooplankton communities in Kavala Gulf follows the pattern exhibited by mesozooplankton communities in other Greek coastal areas of the northern Aegean Sea.Las aguas costeras poco profundas son ecosistemas con alta productividad. Aunque el mar Mediterráneo oriental es oligotrófico, las aguas costeras poco profundas al norte del mar Egeo, como el golfo de Kavala, son productivas debido a la influencia de aguas provenientes del mar Negro y a los aportes de agua dulce procedentes de tres ríos. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar la estructura de las comunidades de zooplancton en el golfo de Kavala durante los veranos de 2002 y 2003, e investigar su relación con variables ambientales. Las comunidades de zooplancton se caracterizaron por la presencia de cladóceros costeros comunes, como Penilia avirostris, pequeños copépodos pelágicos, tales como el calanoide Acartia clausi y el ciclopoide Oithona plumifera, y tunicados como Oikopleura, Fritillaria y Doliolidae. Las abundancias correspondieron al pico del periodo cálido y fueron significativamente mayores en 2002 debido a una proliferación de P. avirostris, que parece que supo explotar mejor las condiciones ambientales favoreciendo su dominio en la zona. En general, la estructura de las comunidades de mesozooplancton de verano en el golfo de Kavala siguen el patrón exhibido por las comunidades de mesozooplancton en otras areas costeras griegas al norte del mar Egeo

Towards a list of available names in zoology, partim Phylum Rotifera

Many, mostly older, names of animal species are nomenclaturally problematic, either because their orthography is unstable, or they cannot be linked reliably to a taxonomic identity, due to the lack of recognisable descriptions and/or types. Yet, they represent available (sensu International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) names and must be taken into account in zoological works. This situation, with available senior, yet dubious names confounding nomenclature, is undesirable. It creates uncertainties at a time when molecular approaches are revolutionizing our concepts of species diversity, and fails us when the current extinction crisis calls for efficient, accurate, and constructive approaches to document, monitor, and conserve biodiversity. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (The Code) provides a means to address this issue by restricting availability, application and orthography of names to those included in the List of Available Names in Zoology (LAN). The Code (Art. 79) allows an international body of zoologists in consultation with the Commission to propose a candidate part of the LAN for a major taxonomic field. We explore this possibility for 3570 species-group names of Phylum Rotifera (of which 665 are problematic), by presenting such a candidate Rotifera part of the LAN. The web site of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (http://www.iczn.org) will hold both the candidate list and a forum to facilitate consultation on the candidate list, while the list itself also can already be freely downloaded from three other Internet sites: http://fada.biodiversity. be, http://rotifer.ansp.org/LAN, and www.hausdernatur.at/rotifera. We give here an overview of the general approach and procedures applied in preparation of the candidate list, and anticipate that our effort will promote the process as well as result in a standard list of names for use in taxonomy, the Global Names Architecture and other biodiversity information initiatives

Reverse taxonomy applied to the Brachionus calyciflorus cryptic species complex: Morphometric analysis confirms species delimitations revealed by molecular phylogenetic analysis and allows the (re) description of four species

The discovery and exploration of cryptic species have been profoundly expedited thanks to developments in molecular biology and phylogenetics. In this study, we apply a reverse taxonomy approach to the Brachionus calyciflorus species complex, a commonly studied freshwater monogonont rotifer. By combining phylogenetic, morphometric and morphological analyses, we confirm the existence of four cryptic species that have been recently suggested by a molecular study. Based on these results and according to an exhaustive review of the taxonomic literature, we name each of these four species and provide their taxonomic description alongside a diagnostic key

Brachionus rotundiformis tschugunoff, 1921 from the brachionus plicatilis species complex (Rotifera: Monogononta): A new record from galápagos archipelago, Ecuador

The presence of the rotifer species Brachionus rotundiformis from the B. plicatilis species complex in Lake Arcturo, a saline lake in the Genovesa Island of the Galápagos Islands, is here reported. This is the first record of the species for the rotifer fauna of Ecuador as well as of the species complex to the Galápagos Islands. This finding is consistent with the idea of high dispersion capacity, and of cosmopolitan distribution of this species complex. Because Genovesa Island is uninhabited, passive transport by wind currents and zoochory by migrant birds seem to emerge as the most plausible factors in this process of colonization. Integrative studies on the morphological variations, genetic, molecular, and ecological aspects are still required to further understand the process of dispersion and the ecology of this member of the B. plicatilis species complex in this remote and isolated locality, and the exact taxonomical position of the island’s population to the other members of the complex.</p

Reverse taxonomy applied to the Brachionus calyciflorus cryptic species complex: Morphometric analysis confirms species delimitations revealed by molecular phylogenetic analysis and allows the (re) description of four species.

The discovery and exploration of cryptic species have been profoundly expedited thanks to developments in molecular biology and phylogenetics. In this study, we apply a reverse taxonomy approach to the Brachionus calyciflorus species complex, a commonly studied freshwater monogonont rotifer. By combining phylogenetic, morphometric and morphological analyses, we confirm the existence of four cryptic species that have been recently suggested by a molecular study. Based on these results and according to an exhaustive review of the taxonomic literature, we name each of these four species and provide their taxonomic description alongside a diagnostic key

Neuroinflammation, Mast Cells, and Glia: Dangerous Liaisons

The perspective of neuroinflammation as an epiphenomenon following neuron damage is being replaced by the awareness of glia and their importance in neural functions and disorders. Systemic inflammation generates signals that communicate with the brain and leads to changes in metabolism and behavior, with microglia assuming a pro-inflammatory phenotype. Identification of potential peripheral-to-central cellular links is thus a critical step in designing effective therapeutics. Mast cells may fulfill such a role. These resident immune cells are found close to and within peripheral nerves and in brain parenchyma/meninges, where they exercise a key role in orchestrating the inflammatory process from initiation through chronic activation. Mast cells and glia engage in crosstalk that contributes to accelerate disease progression; such interactions become exaggerated with aging and increased cell sensitivity to stress. Emerging evidence for oligodendrocytes, independent of myelin and support of axonal integrity, points to their having strong immune functions, innate immune receptor expression, and production/response to chemokines and cytokines that modulate immune responses in the central nervous system while engaging in crosstalk with microglia and astrocytes. In this review, we summarize the findings related to our understanding of the biology and cellular signaling mechanisms of neuroinflammation, with emphasis on mast cell-glia interactions

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (December 2019)

This paper is a collection of novel distributional records of 20 species belonging to 8 phyla (Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda and Chordata) from 11 Mediterranean countries, namely, Spain: an additional record of the Canary dentex Dentex canariensis is reported from Spain (Valencia), this is the northernmost record of this species in the Mediterranean; Algeria: the first documented record of Caulerpa chemnitzia is reported from the Algerian coast; France: the first record of the Spotted sea hare Aplysia dactylomela is reported from the eastern coast of Corsica; Italy: the first records of the Lessepsian polychaete Dorvillea similis and the alien bivalve Isognomon legumen are reported from Italian waters while additional records of Mnemiopsis leidyi in the south Adriatic are provided;  Libya: the first record of an alien mollusc Crepidula fornicata is reported from Libyan waters; Malta: multiple sightings of gelatinous species Apolemia uvaria, Phacellophora camtschatica and Physophora hydrostatica are reported for the first time from Maltese waters, as well as the first tentative record of the Orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus cfr. coioides; Greece: an occurrence of a rare Bigeye thresher shark Alopias superciliosus is reported from Hellenic Ionian waters, while the first records of the alien Mertens’ prawn-goby Vanderhorstia mertensi, the recently described cyclopoid copepod Oithona davisae and the alien red seaweed Asparagopsis armata are reported from the Aegean Sea. The presence of the micromollusc Euthymella colzumensis is confirmed for Greece; Cyprus: the first record of the red cornetfish Fistularia petimba is reported from Cyprus; Turkey: the first record of the alien jellyfish Marivagia stellata is reported from south-eastern Turkey; Israel: the first records of the sea nettle Chrysaora sp. in the Levant are reported

Mast cells are activated by Streptococcus pneumoniae In Vitro but Dispensable for the host Defense against Pneumococcal central nervous system infection In Vivo

Mast cells reside on and near the cerebral vasculature, the predominant site of pneumococcal entry into the central nervous system (CNS). Although mast cells have been reported to be crucial in protecting from systemic bacterial infections, their role in bacterial infections of the CNS remained elusive. Here, we assessed the role of mast cells in pneumococcal infection in vitro and in vivo. In introductory experiments using mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC), we found that (i) BMMC degranulate and release selected cytokines upon exposure to Streptococcus pneumoniae, (ii) the response of BMMC varies between different pneumococcal serotypes and (iii) is dependent on pneumolysin. Intriguingly though, apart from a slight enhancement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis, neither two different mast cell-deficient Kit mutant mouse strains (WBB6F1-KitW/Wv and C57BL/6 KitW-sh/W-sh mice) nor pharmacologic mast cell stabilization with cromoglycate had any significant impact on the disease phenotype of experimental pneumococcal meningitis. The incomplete reversal of the enhanced CSF pleocytosis by local mast cell engraftment suggests that this phenomenon is caused by other c-Kit mutation-related mechanisms than mast cell deficiency. In conclusion, our study suggests that mast cells can be activated by S. pneumoniae in vitro. However, mast cells do not play a significant role as sentinels of pneumococcal CSF invasion and initiators of innate immunity in vivo

L'internationalisation des constitutions des Etats en crise : l'encadrement du pouvoir constituant originaire par le droit international

Droit Public Généra

La justification de l'intervention armée unilatérale dans la cadre des conflits intra-étatiques

This thesis examines the arguments and the modalities of justification of the military interventions of States, of the coalitions of the willing and of the regional organizations in the internal conflicts of other States by virtue of the international law, when these interventions take place outside the framework of the UNO. This type of intervention is current nowadays given that the intra-state conflicts constitute the overwhelming majority of world conflicts and taking into consideration the multidimensional crisis of the UNO. The justifications invoked by States as well as by the doctrine aim to legalize or at least to legitimize what would be considered at first sight as an illegal use of force under the law of the United Nations and in particular under the principle of non- intervention in civil wars.Cette thèse examine les arguments et les modalités de justification des interventions armées des Etats, des coalitions étatiques et des organisations régionales dans les conflits internes d’autres Etats sous le prisme du droit international, lorsque ces interventions sont menées en dehors du cadre de l’ONU. Ce type d’intervention caractérise notre époque où les conflits intra-étatiques constituent l’écrasante majorité des conflits mondiaux et où l’ONU traverse une crise pluridimensionnelle. Les justifications, invoquées aussi bien par les Etats que par la doctrine, visent à légaliser ou du moins à légitimer ce qui serait, à première vue, considéré comme un recours à la force illégal au regard du droit des Nations Unies et en particulier au regard du principe de non intervention dans les guerres civiles