Habitat management and conservation in the Isonzo River Mouth Natural Regional Reserve

La Riserva Naturale Regionale Foce Isonzo, il cui territorio coincide in gran parte con quello del SIC/ZPS 3330004, conduce interventi di conservazione e gestione sui 21 habitat di interesse comunitario, inclusi nell’all.I della DIR CE 92/43, presenti nell’area. Altri habitat non inclusi nella DIR CE 92/43 vengono gestiti in quanto ospitano specie di interesse comunitario, incluse nell’all. II e/o IV della stessa Direttiva, nell’all.I della DIR CE 79/409, nelle Liste Rosse Nazionali e Regionali oppure presenti con un numero di individui considerato di importanza internazionale o nazionale per l’avifauna. Gli interventi di conservazione attuati sono previsti e regolamentati nella Riserva dai propri: Piano di Conservazione e Sviluppo, Piano Faunistico, Regolamento e Piano di gestione degli habitat vegetali. Molti habitat vengono lasciati alla libera evoluzione. Per la loro conservazione viene considerata sufficiente la regolamentazione delle attività antropiche. Altri habitat vengono mantenuti per mezzo di interventi di gestione ordinaria quali: lo sfalcio, il pascolo e la gestione dei livelli idrici nelle aree arginate. Alcune superfici di prati e pascoli in abbandono, ed in via di scomparsa a causa del progressivo arbustamento, sono state ripristinate mediante il taglio e l’asporto della biomassa legnosa ed il riavvio delle attività gestionali necessarie. Diversi interventi di rinaturazione sono stati inoltre eseguiti, in aree precedentemente drenate ed arate a fini agricoli, realizzando nuovi stagni permanenti e temporanei, prati, pascoli e boschi. In seguito a tali interventi, in questi nuovi ambienti, sono attualmente presenti numerosi habitat e numerosissime specie di interesse comunitario.The Isonzo River Mouth Natural Regional Reserve, whose borders coincide very closely with those of the SAC/SPA 3330004, carries out conservation and management actions on 21 habitat of European interest, included in Annex I of the EU Directive 92/43, that are present within its borders. Other habitats are not included in Annex I of the EU Directive 92/43, but they are managed because they host species of European interest, included in Annex II and IV of the same Directive, in Annex I of the European Directive 79/409, in the National and Regional Red Lists, or that are present with numbers of international or national relevance in the case of bird species. The conservation actions that have been carried out are regulated by several Plans that have relevance for the Reserve: Conservation and Development Plan, Faunistic Plan, Reserve Regulations and Vegetation Management Plan. Several habitats are not directly modified by human intervention. Indeed, their conservation is assured simply by regulating human activities. Other habitats are maintained only through ordinary management actions, such as grass cutting, grazing and water level management in the diken areas. Some areas, characterised by abandoned meadows and disappearing due to shrub invasion, have been restored by cutting and removing the wood biomass and by carrying out the subsequent ordinary management actions. Furthermore, several renaturation actions have been carried out in areas that had been dried and used for agriculture. In such areas, permanent and temporary ponds, meadows and woods have been created. Following such actions, in these environments a lot of habitats and species of European interest have appeared

Disease map-based biomarker selection and pre-validation for bladder cancer diagnostic

YesContext: Urinary biomarkers are promising as simple alternatives to cystoscopy for the diagnosis of de novo and recurrent bladder cancer. Objective: To identify a highly sensitive and specific biomarker candidate set with potential clinical utility in bladder cancer. Materials and methods: Urinary biomarkers concentrations were determined by ELISA. The performance of individual markers and marker combinations was assessed using ROC analysis. Results: A 5-biomarker panel (IL8, MMP9, VEGFA, PTGS2 and EN2) was defined from the candidate set. Discussion and conclusion: This panel showed a better overall performance than the best individual marker. Further validation studies are needed to evaluate its clinical utility in bladder cancer.This work has been supported in part by the European Commission Program DIPROMON - HEALTH-F5-2012-306157-2: Development of an integrated protein- and cell-based device for non-invasive diagnostics in the urogenital tract

Proteomic-biostatistic integrated approach for finding the underlying molecular determinants of hypertension in human plasma

Despite advancements in lowering blood pressure, the best approach to lower it remains controversial because of the lack of information on the molecular basis of hypertension. We, therefore, performed plasma proteomics of plasma from patients with hypertension to identify molecular determinants detectable in these subjects but not in controls and vice versa. Plasma samples from hypertensive subjects (cases; n=118) and controls (n=85) from the InGenious HyperCare cohort were used for this study and performed mass spectrometric analysis. Using biostatistical methods, plasma peptides specific for hypertension were identified, and a model was developed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression. The underlying peptides were identified and sequenced off-line using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization orbitrap mass spectrometry. By comparison of the molecular composition of the plasma samples, 27 molecular determinants were identified differently expressed in cases from controls. Seventy percent of the molecular determinants selected were found to occur less likely in hypertensive patients. In cross-validation, the overall R(2) was 0.434, and the area under the curve was 0.891 with 95% confidence interval 0.8482 to 0.9349, P<0.0001. The mean values of the cross-validated proteomic score of normotensive and hypertensive patients were found to be -2.007±0.3568 and 3.383±0.2643, respectively, P<0.0001. The molecular determinants were successfully identified, and the proteomic model developed shows an excellent discriminatory ability between hypertensives and normotensives. The identified molecular determinants may be the starting point for further studies to clarify the molecular causes of hypertension

Evaluation of the zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat as a model for human disease based on urinary peptidomic profiles

Representative animal models for diabetes-associated vascular complications are extremely relevant in assessing potential therapeutic drugs. While several rodent models for type 2 diabetes (T2D) are available, their relevance in recapitulating renal and cardiovascular features of diabetes in man is not entirely clear. Here we evaluate at the molecular level the similarity between Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, as a model of T2D-associated vascular complications, and human disease by urinary proteome analysis. Urine analysis of ZDF rats at early and late stages of disease compared to age- matched LEAN rats identified 180 peptides as potentially associated with diabetes complications. Overlaps with human chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) biomarkers were observed, corresponding to proteins marking kidney damage (eg albumin, alpha-1 antitrypsin) or related to disease development (collagen). Concordance in regulation of these peptides in rats versus humans was more pronounced in the CVD compared to the CKD panels. In addition, disease-associated predicted protease activities in ZDF rats showed higher similarities to the predicted activities in human CVD. Based on urinary peptidomic analysis, the ZDF rat model displays similarity to human CVD but might not be the most appropriate model to display human CKD on a molecular level

Impaired metabolism in donor kidney grafts after steroid pretreatment

We recently showed in a randomized control trial that steroid pretreatment of the deceased organ donor suppressed inflammation in the transplant organ but did not reduce the rate or duration of delayed graft function (DGF). This study sought to elucidate such of those factors that caused DGF in the steroid-treated subjects. Genome-wide gene expression profiles were used from 20 steroid-pretreated donor-organs and were analyzed on the level of regulatory protein protein interaction networks. Significance analysis of microarrays (SAM) yielded 63 significantly down-regulated sequences associated with DGF that could be functionally categorized according to Protein ANalysis THrough Evolutionary Relationships ontologies into two main biologic processes: transport (P < 0.001) and metabolism (P < 0.001). The identified genes suggest hypoxia as the cause of DGF, which cannot be counterbalanced by steroid treatment. Our data showed that molecular pathways affected by ischemia such as transport and metabolism are associated with DGF. Potential interventional targeted therapy based on these findings includes peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists or caspase inhibitors

The role of work orientation on career construction and satisfaction in a group of workers.

openLa presente ricerca ha coinvolto 251 lavoratori (156 femmine e 95 maschi), i quali hanno completato diversi questionari riguardo i costrutti di orientamento al lavoro, adattabilità professionale, comportamenti proattivi di carriera, competenza emozionale, soddisfazione lavorativa e per la vita in generale. I risultati hanno dimostrato relazioni consistenti tra le variabili e la presenza di alcune differenze associate al genere, all'età, alla professione e alla variabile career shock (Covid-19). Inoltre l'analisi dei dati riporta anche degli effetti di mediazione e di moderazione

The Effect of Resistance Training on Muscle Protein Turnover in the Fed State

Resistance exercise results in an increase in muscle protein synthesis (MPS); however, in the fasted state net muscle protein balance (synthesis minus breakdown) remains negative. With the ingestion of post-exercise amino acids, or protein, net protein balance becomes positive and protein accretion can occur over time. Previously, we found that resistance training elevated resting, fasted, mixed MPS, but blunted the acute resistance exercise-induced rise in MPS. We aimed to determine how resistance training would affect mixed MPS chronically and acutely, in the fed state. Young men (N = 10, 21 ± 0.47 yrs, BMI = 25.9 ± 1.4 kg·m^-2; means± SD) completed an 8-week unilateral leg resistance training protocol which consisted of knee extension exercise performed at ~80% 1 repetition maximum (1 RM) and resulted in one leg being trained (T), while the contralateral leg served as an untrained (UT) control. Strength gains were 3-fold greater in the T versus the UT leg (P < 0.05). As well, mean fibre cross-sectional area of Type I and Type II fibres increased (P < 0.05) in the T leg only. Following training, in the fed state, subjects underwent primed constant infusions of [ring-d_5 or -_13C_6]phenylalanine or d_3-(alpha)-ketoisocaproic acid in a randomized counterbalance manner to determine rates of MPS using the precursor product equation for incorporation into mixed muscle proteins, sampled via muscle biopsy of the vastus lateral is. MPS was assessed at rest, acutely following a bout of resistance exercise, which was at the same relative intensity for both legs, and approximately 28 h after the resistance exercise bout. Rates of MPS at rest were unchanged following training (P = 0.97). Following the resistance exercise bout, rates of MPS were elevated acutely in both the T and UT legs (4 h post-exercise; P < 0.01), but returned to baseline levels by 28 h post-exercise in the T leg only. We conclude that while resistance training did not alter resting MPS, it did affect the time course of MPS following an acute bout of resistance exercise compared to the UT leg. Hence, when taken with our previous results we conclude that resistance training attenuates the MPS response to an acute bout of resistance exercise when loads are matched at the same relative intensity, but the response is not altered by the nutritional status of the individual.ThesisMaster of Science (MS

Forêts "déshumanisées" pour Cervidés -

La forêt, entendue comme un bois assez vaste, abrite aujourd'hui, outre des animaux non humains, des animaux humains totalement détachés de l'écosystème forestier. Bois, sylves et forêts, malgré leurs sens différents, avaient autrefois une profonde signification symbolique et constituaient des lieux d'initiation. Aujourd'hui, ce pouvoir leur a été ôté. A la lumière des exigences des Cervidés (brièvement décrits), l'article soutient qu'il est nécessaire de passer d'une gestion passive, souvent fondée sur des projets touristiques, peu formatifs ni éducatifs, à une gestion active. En prenant en compte l'ancien pouvoir symbolique du Cerf et le nouveau, mais important, pouvoir du Chevreuil, il sera nécessaire de reconsidérer la forêt comme un lieu spécialement dédié à une nouvelle éducation et formation à la Nature. L'homme qui entre dans une forêt pour les Cervidés (ou autres espèces) devra alors se « déshumaniser » et reprendre dans la sylve ce parcours initiatique, donc forestier, qu'il avait oublié. On présente ensuite quelques suggestions pratiques pour que l'homme expérimente, toujours à la lumière des exigences biologiques des Cervidés, cet antique lien avec la forêt et avec ce qui est sylvatique

Considerations on dynamic soaring

This paper presents an analytical treatment of dynamic soaring, a behaviour that certain sea birds use to extract energy from wind gradient. Theoretical modeling and results of numerical simulations, based on a two-degrees-of-freedom point mass model, are presented