57 research outputs found
Integrative Taxonomy of the Bubble Snails (Cephalaspidea, Heterobranchia) Inhabiting a Promising Study Area: The Coastal Sicilian Faro Lake (Southern Italy)
The worldwide diffused bubble snails, Haminoeidae, although characterized by an extreme morphological homogeneity, display the most diverse radiation inside the order Cephalaspidea. This hidden diversity within the family Haminoeidae was recently unraveled by molecular studies, which helped to understand the evolutionary history of this group by clarifying some aspects of its systematics. In fact, the type genus Haminoea W. Turton and Kingston (1830) was proved to be polyphyletic and, consequently, the genus Haminoea sensu stricto was restricted to the Mediterranean, Atlantic and East Pacific species, with the Mediterranean Haminoea hydatis Linnaeus (1758) as the type taxon. However, at the specie rank, many aspects need to be clarified, especially concerning the Mediterranean fauna. Due to low reliability of macro-morphological characters, the minimal quantity of molecular data currently available on Mediterranean specimen adds to the lack of molecular comparison in most reports. Based on such considerations, Haminoea species from an interesting Mediterranean study area, Faro Lake, a Sicilian coastal lake that is considered a hot spot for both alien and endemic marine Heterobranchia, have been studied using an integrative taxonomic approach. Eleven Mediterranean specimens belonging to four Haminoea bubble snails have been collected, identified and compared with samples from other localities, integrating ecological, morphological, anatomical (reproductive apparatus) and molecular data. Based on molecular investigations carried out on three different molecular markers (H3, 16S and COI), the morphological identifications of the species collected in the Faro Lake have been confirmed, and 37 new sequences are provided for future comparisons. Furthermore, results from this integrative systematic study shed light on the phylogenetic relationships occurring in this group of bubble snails that could be useful in identifying valid diagnostic morphological characters. Haminoea hydatis and H. navicula were confirmed to be close to each other, with H. orteai as sister to them and with H. orbignyana as the basal taxon. Given external morphological features are unreliable with species identification in Haminoea genus open questions on the geographical distribution of the species and on their ranges of intraspecific variability have yet to be addressed and further in-depth studies are needed. Finally, the presence of three sympatric Haminoea species, two of which are considered native or long-time naturalized, along with other occasional congeneric species, and the absence of the introduced invasive Haloa japonica, reflects both the resilience and stochastic space-temporal dynamics of Faro Lake. This confirms it as an inexhaustible source of case-studies
ï»żMolecular analysis of Lepidopleurus cajetanus (Poli, 1791) (Polyplacophora, Leptochitonidae) from the Mediterranean and near Atlantic
In the present paper we used a molecular data set (including mitochondrial partial 16S rRNA and COI gene sequences) to examine the genetic structure of Lepidopleurus cajetanus (Poli, 1791) (Polyplacophora, Leptochitonidae) - a distinctive shallow water chiton and member of the basal branching Lepidopleurida, which is widespread in and adjacent to the Mediterranean. The analyses of the two mt-standard marker fragments resolved two main discrete clusters reported as L. cajetanus s.s. and L. aff. cajetanus, respectively. Lepidopleurus cajetanus s.s. is widespread throughout the area under study, while the second distinct lineage apparently co-occurs on the eastern Spanish mainland coast of the Balearic Sea. This result is discussed comparing our data with those reported, in 2014, by FernĂĄndez and colleagues who described L. cajetanus as exhibiting âa âchaotic patchinessâ pattern defined by a high genetic variability with locality-exclusive haplotypes, high genetic divergence, and a lack of geographic structureâ. Although genetic data alone are not sufficient to draw any definitive conclusions, nevertheless we believe that present results shed new light on L. cajetanus which apparently shows more geographically patterned genetic structure than supposed so far
An Oxygen Abundance Gradient into the Outer Disk of M81
The extended HI disk and tidal tails of M81 present an interesting
environment to study the effects of galaxy interaction on star formation and
chemical evolution of the outer disk of a large spiral galaxy. We present
H{\alpha} imaging of the outer disk of M81 and luminosities for 40 HII regions
out to about 3 times the optical radius. We have also obtained MMT spectra for
21 HII regions out to more than twice the optical radius. We derive strong line
oxygen abundances for all HII regions using R_{23} based and [NII]/[OII] based
calibrations and electron temperature abundances for seven regions spanning a
galactocentric distance between 5.7 and 32 kpc. We also comment on the
abundances of HII regions near KDG 61 and the "tidal dwarf" candidate HoIX. Our
results constitute the most radially extended metallicity study for M81 to
date. With this extended data set, we find an overall oxygen abundance gradient
of -0.013 dex/kpc over the entire radial range. This is significantly flatter
than what has been found in previous studies which were limited to the optical
disk. From our temperature based abundances, we find a gradient of -0.020
dex/kpc and present the possibility of a broken gradient from these data, but
note the need to obtain more temperature based abundances at intermediate
galactocentric distances (~10-20 kpc) to verify whether or not this may be the
case. We discuss our main result of a rather flat gradient for M81 in the
context of simulations and observations of abundance gradients in other
galaxies. We find that the shallow abundance gradient of M81 is likely a result
of the interaction history of this galaxy.Comment: 41 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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;Â 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 Mertensâ 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
Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease
Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1ÎČ, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1ÎČ innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.
The point on Opaliopsis atlantis (Gastropoda: Epitoniidae) distribution: new data from the Mediterranean and implications
Specimens of the rare amphi-Atlantic epitoniid Opaliopsis atlantis have been recorded in the Strait of Messina (central Mediterranean) from a hydrozoan stylasterid-rich habitat. The record, which adds a new site to the sporadic occurrences of this prevalently deep-water species, may be considered the first contextualized report from Mediterranean Sea. Opaliopsis atlantis displays a planktotrophic larval development functional for long-range colonization of favorable habitats. Its discontinuous distribution all over its broad geographic range highlights the potential role of Atlantic seamounts as stepping-stones for transoceanic dispersal. Although no conclusive information is yet available upon the feeding requirements of O. atlantis all over its range, we suggest that this cnidarian-ectoparasitic prosobranch could adapt to different hosts, as a strategy that may enhance its wide biogeographic distribution
Let bygones be bygones: The troubled chronicle of Odostomia unidentata (Montagu, 1803) (Gastropoda: Pyramidellidae)
The recent publication by Oliver and co-authors about the extant type material of the molluscan taxa
described by George Montagu has revealed that the only existing syntype of Turbo unidentatus Montagu,
1803, currently accepted as Odostomia unidentata, does not fit the current concept of this species but is
a gerontic specimen of Brachystomia eulimoides (Hanley, 1844) instead.
In order to understand the origin of this inconsistency, we studied the variability of the two species and
carried out a review of the nomenclatural history of Odostomia unidentata.
We examined a large amount of material to show that, apart from the different type of protoconch, a
feature often neglected by ancient authors, the two species clearly differ due to the larger size reached by
Brachystomia eulimoides and the different proportions, which are maintained in gerontics.
A survey of the ancient literature showed that there was no consensus among 19th century authors about
the identity of Montaguâs species. We reconstructed the troubled nomenclatural chronicle of this species
and showed that, with very few exceptions, most authors misinterpreted Montaguâs description inverting
the two species, until the current usage of Odostomia unidentata was widely accepted following Jeffreysâ
(wrong) interpretation. The different ecology of the two species further supports this picture.
To preserve nomenclatural stability, we are preparing an appeal to the International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature to use its plenary powers to set aside the only syntype of Turbo unidentatus and
designate a neotype, based on a specimen fitting the current concept of O. unidentata, in agreement with
Article 75.6, in order to maintain the prevailing usage of Montaguâs taxon
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