Unawareness of Alcoholic Content of Alcopops among 13-Year Old Italian Teenagers.

Aims: Alcopops are ready-mixed drinks containing approximately the same amount of alcohol as beer, usually sweet, and flavoured, particularly appealing to young people. The present study was aimed to investigate whether young adolescents aged 12-14 years, corresponding to the average age of the first drink, are capable of identifying the presence of alcohol in these beverages. Methods: Administration of a questionnaire comprising 8 questions investigating knowledge and consumption of different alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to a sample of 13-year old Italian students. Results: More than 20% of a sample of 224 students reported that they were unaware of the alcoholic content of alcopops at the age of the first drink. The number of students unable to distinguish alcopops from non-alcoholic beverages was significantly higher than students who were not able to distinguish beer from alcohol-free beverages. Conclusions: At the age of the first drink, the identification of alcopops as alcoholic beverages is more difficult than that of other beverages containing the same amount of alcohol. Information aimed at increasing the ability of adolescents to distinguish between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages should be provided to young adolescent students before they start drinking

Vaccination attitude and communication in early settings: An exploratory study

Background: This study assesses attitudes towards vaccination in mothers of new-born babies and explores its association with different exposures to communication. Methods: Data were collected through questionnaires administered by means of interviews. Results: Data highlighted that 20% of mothers showed an orientation towards vaccine hesitancy. As for the reasons behind the attitude to vaccine hesitancy, data showed that concern is a common feature. As for the different exposures to communication, 49% of mothers did not remember having received or looked for any information about vaccination during pregnancy and post-partum; 25% stated they received information from several healthcare and non-healthcare sources; 26% declared having received or looked for information by means of healthcare and non-healthcare sources, as well as having taken part in a specific meeting during antenatal classes or at birth centres. The attitude towards vaccine hesitancy tends to reduce as exposure to different communication increases. Conclusions: This study supports the hypothesis that participation in interactive meetings in small groups focused on vaccination during the prenatal course or at the birth point may act as an enabling factor contributing to a decrease in the tendency to experience vaccine hesitation

Mitochondrial DNA Variation among Dogs of Mongolian, Tuvinian and Altaic Nomads

Dogs originated from the domestication of Eurasian grey wolves. From a genetic viewpoint, they can be grouped into two main clusters: the first is represented by several breeds obtained by artificial selection, whereas the second is of dogs that adapted to a human commensal lifestyle. Here we have provided a molecular survey aimed to infer on the genetic variability of dogs from nomadic camps in Mongolia, and the Republics of Tuva and Altai belonging to the Russian Federation. The results provided evidence of typical marks of expanding populations with multiple origins. Such a scenario could be the result of genetic exchanges among dogs from different camps, that were likely mediated by nomads

A Short Note on the Recent Taxonomic Developmentsand Molecular Findings on the Cyprian Mouflon (OvisGmeliniOphion) and the Sardinian Mouflon (OvisGmelini Musimon)

Optic neuromyelitis (NMO) is a demienilizing disease traditionally characterized by optic neuritis and transverse myelitis..

Islands as Time Capsules for Genetic Diversity Conservation: The Case of the Giglio Island Mouflon

The use of multidisciplinary approaches of investigation including biological, biogeographical, historical, morphological, and genetic analysis, can be useful in identifying and preserving biodiversity. The present study focuses on the characterisation and conservation of a mouflon population (Ovis gmelini musimon) from the Mediterranean island of Giglio. Here we provide the first molecular data on the Giglio population and compare it with mouflons from Sardinia, Elba, and Corsica using both nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Our results suggest that the Giglio mouflon harbours genetic variability likely of Sardinian origin but not represented in the current Sardinian mouflon diversity. Although not presenting the typical characteristics of an invasive alien species, the Giglio mouflon is being subjected to eradication through culling or trapping and surgical sterilization. The molecular evidence we report highlights that such actions are causing the irremediable loss of ancestral genetic variants of the genus Ovis. Finally, we highlight how a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to aid the conservation and management of the anthropochorous populations of Mediterranean mammals

Genomic signatures of adaptive introgression from European mouflon into domestic sheep

Mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) became extinct from mainland Europe after the Neolithic, but remnant populations from the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia have been used for reintroductions across Europe since the 19th-century. Mouflon x sheep hybrids are larger-bodied than mouflon, potentially showing increased male reproductive success, but little is known about genomic levels of admixture, or about the adaptive significance of introgression between resident mouflon and local sheep breeds. Here we analysed Ovine medium-density SNP array genotypes of 92 mouflon from six geographic regions, along with data from 330 individuals of 16 domestic sheep breeds. We found lower levels of genetic diversity in mouflon than in domestic sheep, consistent with past bottlenecks in mouflon. Introgression signals were bidirectional and affected most mouflon and sheep populations, being strongest in one Sardinian mouflon population. Developing and using a novel approach to identify chromosomal regions with consistent introgression signals, we infer adaptive introgression from mouflon to domestic sheep related to immunity mechanisms, but not in the opposite direction. Further, we infer that Soay and Sarda sheep carry introgressed mouflon alleles involved in bitter taste perception and/or innate immunity. Our results illustrate the potential for adaptive introgression even among recently diverged populations

Haplotype affinities resolve a major component of goat (<i>Capra hircus</i>) MtDNA D-loop diversity and reveal specific features of the Sardinian stock

Goat mtDNA haplogroup A is a poorly resolved lineage absorbing most of the overall diversity and is found in locations as distant as Eastern Asia and Southern Africa. Its phylogenetic dissection would cast light on an important portion of the spread of goat breeding. The aims of this work were 1) to provide an operational definition of meaningful mtDNA units within haplogroup A, 2) to investigate the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of diversity by considering the modes of selection operated by breeders and 3) to identify the peculiarities of Sardinian mtDNA types. We sequenced the mtDNA D-loop in a large sample of animals (1,591) which represents a non-trivial quota of the entire goat population of Sardinia. We found that Sardinia mirrors a large quota of mtDNA diversity of Western Eurasia in the number of variable sites, their mutational pattern and allele frequency. By using Bayesian analysis, a distance-based tree and a network analysis, we recognized demographically coherent groups of sequences identified by particular subsets of the variable positions. The results showed that this assignment system could be reproduced in other studies, capturing the greatest part of haplotype diversity. We identified haplotype groups overrepresented in Sardinian goats as a result of founder effects. We found that breeders maintain diversity of matrilines most likely through equalization of the reproductive potential. Moreover, the relevant amount of inter-farm mtDNA diversity found does not increase proportionally with distance. Our results illustrate the effects of breeding practices on the composition of maternal gene pool and identify mtDNA types that may be considered in projects aimed at retrieving the maternal component of the oldest breeds of Sardinia.</br

The ACCENT-VOCBAS field campaign on biosphere-atmosphere interactions in a Mediterranean ecosystem of Castelporziano (Rome): site characteristics, climatic and meteorological conditions, and eco-physiology of vegetation

Biosphere-atmosphere interactions were investigated on a sandy dune Mediterranean ecosystem in a field campaign held in 2007 within the frame of the European Projects ACCENT and VOCBAS. The campaign was carried out in the Presidential estate of Castelporziano, a periurban park close to Rome. Former campaigns (e.g. BEMA) performed in Castelporziano investigated the emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC). These campaigns focused on pseudosteppe and evergreen oak groves whereas the contribution of the largely biodiverse dune vegetation, a prominent component of the Mediterranean ecosystem, was overlooked. While specific aspects of the campaign will be discussed in companion papers, the general climatic and physiological aspects are presented here, together with information regarding BVOC emission from the most common plant species of the dune ecosystem. During the campaign regular air movements were observed, dominated by moderate nocturnal land breeze and diurnal sea breeze. A regular daily increase of ozone concentration in the air was also observed, but daily peaks of ozone were lower than those measured in summer on the same site. The site was ideal as a natural photochemical reactor to observe reaction, transport and deposition processes occurring in the Mediterranean basin, since the sea-land breeze circulation allowed a strong mixing between biogenic and anthropogenic emissions and secondary pollutants. Measurements were run in May, when plant physiological conditions were optimal, in absence of severe drought and heat stress. Foliar rates of photosynthesis and transpiration were as high as generally recorded in unstressed Mediterranean sclerophyllous plants. Most of the plant species emitted high level of monoterpenes, despite measurements being made in a period in which emissions of volatile isoprenoids could be restrained by developmental and environmental factors, such as leaf age and relatively low air temperature. Emission of isoprene was generally low. Accounting for the high monoterpene spring emission of the dune ecosystem may be important to correct algorithms at regional and ecosystem levels, and to interpret measurements of fluxes of volatile isoprenoids and secondary pollutants