Digestive enzymes in Rhinolophus euryale (Rhinolophidae, Chiroptera) are active also during hibernation

During the winter, bats use hibernation as a means of surviving the period of low prey offer. However, the Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale) arouses from torpor quite frequently. Based on the actual climatic conditions, it can profit from occasional foraging oportunities, when they occur. We analysed faeces collected on four nights during the period from November 2012 to February 2013 from the Domica-Baradla cave system (Slovakia and Hungary). In mid-November, the largest proportion of faecal contents were from Lepidoptera. Later on, the proportion of non-consumptive mass in the faeces increased and prey remnants disappeared. We analysed the activity of digestive enzymes (amylase, chitobiase, endochitinase and glukosaminidase) in faeces. The activity of these enzymes was detected in fresh faeces throughout the whole winter. The faecal activity of the chitinases was relatively stable during the monitored period, whilst the activity of amylase was highest during late November and December. Some level of active digestive enzymes during the winter could be an adaptation to occasional winter foraging

Biodegradation-resistant multilayers coated with gold nanoparticles. Toward a tailor-made artificial extracellular matrix

Polymer multicomponent coatings such as multilayers mimic extracellular matrix (ECM) that attracts significant attention for their use as functional supports for advanced cell culture and tissue engineering. Herein, biodegradation and molecular transport in hyaluronan/polylysine multilayers coated with gold nanoparticles was described. Nanoparticle coating acts as semipermeable barrier that governs molecular transport into/from the multilayers and makes them biodegradation resistant. Model protein lysozyme (mimics of ECM soluble signals) diffuses in the multilayers as fast and slow diffusing populations existing in an equilibrium. Such composite system may have high potential to be exploited as degradation-resistant drug delivery platforms suitable for cell-based applications. The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides not only a structural support for cell-based applications

The respiratory response to changing temperature in millipedes belonging to the genus Glomeris Latreille, 1802

Volume: 169Start Page: 473End Page: 47

FIRST RECORD OF LIPOTHRIX ITALICA (CASSAGNAU, 1968) (HEXAPODA: COLLEMBOLA) IN ROMANIA

The authors present the first record of the springtail Lipothrix italica (Hexapoda: Collembola) in the Romanian fauna. Notes on the taxonomic status, morphology, distribution and ecology of the species are given