Relaciones entre talla del otolito y talla del pez en algunos peces mesopelágicos y batipelágicos del Mediterráneo (estrecho de Messina, Italia)

The length-weight relationships and the regressions between otolith size (length and width) and fish length of some mesopelagic and bathypelagic fishes living in the central Mediterranean Sea were provided. Images and morphological description of otoliths (sagittae) from 16 species belonging to the families of Gonostomatidae (1), Microstomatidae (2), Myctophidae (8), Phosichthyidae (2), Sternoptychidae (2) and Stomiidae (1) were given. The length-weight relationship showed an isometric growth in 13 species. No differences between right and left otolith sizes were detected by t-test, so a single linear regression was plotted against standard length (SL) for otolith length (OL) and otolith width (OW). Data fitted well to the regression model for both OL and OW to SL, for each species (R2 > 0.8). These relationships offer a helpful tool in feeding studies and also provide support to palaeontologists in their research on fish fossils.En este trabajo se presentan las relaciones talla-peso y las regresiones entre la talla del otolito (longitud y anchura) y la talla del pez (SL) para algunos peces meso y batipelágicos que viven en el Mediterráneo central. Se incluyen imágenes y descripciones morfológicas de los otolitos (sagittae) de 16 especies de las familias Gonostomatidae (1), Microstomatidae (2), Myctophidae (8), Phosichthyidae (2), Sternoptychidae (2) y Stomiidae (1). La relación talla-peso muestra un crecimiento isométrico en 13 especies. No se encontraron diferencias relevantes (t-test) entre la talla del otolito derecho e izquierdo, por lo que se representó una sola regresión lineal entre la longitud estándar y los siguientes parámetros: longitud de otolite (OL) y la anchura (OW). Los datos se ajustaron bien al modelo de regresión lineal para OL y OW, para todas las especies (R2 > 0.8). Las relaciones obtenidas puede ser utilizadas como instrumento en estudios de alimentación y para sustentar estudios de paleontología sobre peces fósiles

THE ROLE OF LAMIN ASSOCIATED DOMAINS IN GLOBAL CHROMATIN ORGANIZATION AND NUCLEAR ARCHITECTURE

Nuclear structure and scaffolding have been implicated in expression and regulation of the genome (Elcock and Bridger 2010; Fedorova and Zink 2008; Ferrai et al. 2010; Li and Reinberg 2011; Austin and Bellini 2010). Discrete domains of chromatin exist within the nuclear volume, and are suggested to be organized by patterns of gene activity (Zhao, Bodnar, and Spector 2009). The nuclear periphery, which consists of the inner nuclear membrane and associated proteins, forms a sub-nuclear compartment that is mostly associated with transcriptionally repressed chromatin and low gene expression (Guelen et al. 2008). Previous studies from our lab and others have shown that repositioning genes to the nuclear periphery is sufficient to induce transcriptional repression (K L Reddy et al. 2008; Finlan et al. 2008). In addition, a number of studies have provided evidence that many tissue types, including muscle, brain and blood, use the nuclear periphery as a compartment during development to regulate expression of lineage specific genes (Meister et al. 2010; Szczerbal, Foster, and Bridger 2009; Yao et al. 2011; Kosak et al. 2002; Peric-Hupkes et al. 2010). These large regions of chromatin that come in molecular contact with the nuclear periphery are called Lamin Associated Domains (LADs). The studies described in this dissertation have furthered our understanding of maintenance and establishment of LADs as well as the relationship of LADs with the epigenome and other factors that influence three-dimensional chromatin structure. I provide evidence that LAD patterns from DNA adenine methyltransferase identification (DamID)-derived molecular contact maps are reflective of higher order chromatin structure in both ensemble population measure and single cells. Importantly, this work provides the first in situ visualization of chromosome-wide molecular data in a single cell. These data, showing LAD and nonLAD organization, indicate that there is a speicifc and reproducible organization of sub-chromosomal domains. In addition, this work has furthered our understanding of the influence of chromatin state on both LAD and overall chromosome organization—demonstrating that higher-order chromatin structure and epigenetic signatures are closely linked. This work has contributed to the finding that LAD formation can be sequence driven, which was uncovered by examining variable LADs (vLADs) where LAD patterning differs between cell types. Also, examination of LADs across multiple cell types has uncovered genomic characteristics that can define LADs and may have a functional role in the process of genome organizatio

Indagine sulle lesioni da cinghiale nel cane

RIASSUNTO Gli autori hanno esaminato 118 cani che avevano riportato, in totale, 170 ferite da cinghiale (21 soggetti con ferite multiple). Lo scopo di questo studio clinico è stato di descrivere la localizzazione ed il tipo di lesione. Le ferite esaminate erano prevalentemente profonde (57%) e coinvolgevano, soprattutto, la regione della coscia e della spalla. Altro tipo di ferita riscontrata frequentemente è stata quella penetrante in torace. La caratteristica peculiare delle ferite da cinghiale è l’effetto “iceberg”. SUMMARY The authors examined 118 dogs with wild pig wounds, 170 lesions in total (21 of these with multiple wounds). The aim of this clinical study is to describe the localization and type of lesion. Most of the examined wounds were deep (57%) and, in particular, involving thigh and shoulder regions. Another type of wound frequently observed is the thoracic penetrating one. The main feature of wild pig wounds is the “iceberg” effect

Why Is Aedes aegypti Moving South in South America?

Colonies of Aedes aegypti have been reported at increasingly southern locations. Is this feature a manifestation of climate change or the result of the mosquito’s adaptation? Answering the question requires the testing and comparison of results produced under different, competing, hypotheses. We address the problem using “AedesBA”, a detailed model of the mosquito Aedes aegypti that has been under development for about 20 years. The aim of the model is to promote understanding. We incorporate the recently discovered biological behavior of this mosquito: diapause. Namely, this is the laying of resistance eggs when the day light shortens, entering into the unfavorable season for reproduction in temperate climates, as described from laboratory experiments. When the model is challenged to answer the questions posed, it suggests that climate change, as experienced during the time of the field records, does not explain the observations. Furthermore, the standard climate change argument does not support a detailed analysis. In contrast, we find that while diapause is not expected to be a trait that is selected by natural conditions in a subtropical climate (simulations for Resistencia, AR), within temperate climates such as in Buenos Aires city (AR), there is pressure favoring the selection of the trait. As we move southward (the cities of Dolores, Azul, Tandil, and Mar del Plata), the pressure increases, while the probability of Aedes aegypti to become established in them decreases, being in accordance with the field observations. The model shows in addition that the field-observable effects of diapause depend on weather variables, especially precipitation, and the dynamics of the nutritional resources in the breeding sites.Fil: Alonso, Lucas Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Romeo Aznar, Victoria Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Solari, Hernan Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentin

A rare case of oral multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disorder characterized by high proliferation of Langerhans dendritic cells. LCH is a solitary or multifocal disease that primarily involves bone tissue and often affects children and young men. A 29 years-old Caucasian man was referred to the Oral Surgery Unit of George Eastman Hospital - Umberto I teaching hospital, with third degree mobility of teeth belonging to second, third and fourth quadrant. Panoramic radiograph showed multiple radiolucent areas with well demarcated borders on the right and left site of the mandible and on the left site of the maxilla. Extractions of compromised teeth and biopsy of the osteolytic tissue were performed. The final diagnosis of multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity was made. The patient was sent to the Hematology department of Umberto I Teaching Hospital of ?Sapienza? ? University of Rome for the proper treatment. The present case of rare multisystem LCH involving oral hard and soft tissues shows the strong importance of better investigate, with appropriate additional exams, initial shifty symptoms that could lead to a misdiagnosis

Novi podaci o maču srebrnjaku Trachipterus trachypterus Gmelin, 1789. i srporibi srebrnici Zu cristatus (Bonelli, 1820) (Pisces: Trachipteridae) iz Sredozemnog mora

In this paper we report data on four juvenile individuals of T. trachypterus and one adult of Z. cristatus, from the Strait of Messina and southern Tyrrhenian Sea, respectively (Mediterranean Sea). Information on morphometric and meristic characters are provided together with some biological data such as prey and age estimation. Only stomachs of T. trachypterus contained prey: copepods, amphypods and pelagic snails. The analysis of growth patterns in vertebrae of Z. cristatus allowed to estimate an age of 4 years for this individual. We also combined our data together with information from bibliographic sources and estimated the relationships between total length and standard length, as well as total length and body mass, for these two species.U ovom radu objavljujemo podatke o četiri juvenilne jedinke T. trachypterus i jednoj zreloj jedin- ki. Z. cristatus, iz Mesinskog tjesnaca, odnosno južnog Tirenskog mora (Sredozemno more). Podaci o morfometrijskim i merističkim značajkama daju se zajedno s nekim biološkim podacima kao što su plijen i procjena starosti. Samo želuci T. trachypterus sadržavali su plijen: kopepode, amfipode i pelagične puževe. Samo želuci T. trachypterus sadržavali su plijen: kopepode, amfipode i pelagične puževe. Anali- za obrazaca rasta u kralješcima Z. cristatus omogućila je procjenu starosti ove jedinke od 4 godine. Također smo spojili naše podatke zajedno s informacijama iz bibliografskih izvora i procijenili odnose između ukupne duljine i standardne duljine, kao i ukupne duljine i tjelesne mase za ove dvije vrste

Marine caves of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea: a First Census of BenthicBiodiversity

This is the first paper documenting research on a selection of marine caves located along the coast of Capo Milazzo in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Three submarine and one semi-submerged caves were surveyed and sampled using underwater photo sampling. Surveys have only taken into account the sessile species belonging to the main taxa: Porifera, Anthozoa, Bryozoa and Polychaeta. Diversity indices and abundances were calculated for three sections within each explored cave: the Entrance Zone, Intermediate Zone and Bottom Zone. The richest group was Porifera with 21 taxa, followed by cnidarians, (Anthozoa), with 8 taxa, Polychaeta (5 taxa), and Bryozoa (5 taxa). Among Porifera, the presence of Petrobiona massiliana, a protected species according to SPA/BIO Protocol and the Bern Convention, must be highlighted. The encrusting forms were dominant in the Bottom Zone, the massive forms in the Intermediate Zone and the arborescent forms in the Entrance Zone. Generally, the percentage coverage of each morphological group showed a decline in the Intermediate Zone and a general increase in the Dark Zone within each cave. The S, H’ and J values showed different trends in the five caves. These differences, also evidenced by Permanova analysis, depend on the topographic specificity of each cave which, in turn, affects the gradients of the biotic and abiotic parameters. Finally, no horizontal gradient of rarefaction of the benthic sessile fauna has been detected. This study represents an important step for the management and conservation practices of these fragile ecosystems, especially in view of the forthcoming establishment of the Marine Protected Area

Análisis de proyectos intergeneracionales en educación infantil

Las actividades intergeneracionales dentro del ámbito educativo favorecen el desarrollo de la empatía en los niños, producen ilusión a las personas mayores y generan vínculos entre ambos grupos. Los estudios muestras que trabajar la relación intergeneracional es una actividad beneficiosa para ambas generaciones aumentando la satisfacción para ambosgrupos. Se ha realizado un análisis comparativo de cuatro casos de actividades intergeneracionales realizadas en educación infantil fuera de la escuela para generar vínculos que rompan con la brecha intergeneracional, profundizando en la información a través de una entrevista. Se ha podido observar que los vínculos afectivos que se van desarrollando, tanto por los niños como por las personas de la tercera edad, requieren de una metodología en la que el docente es un facilitador, no interviene en el proceso de la relación generando un ambiente donde la relación se produce de forma lo más natural posible, lo que muestra la importancia de una escuela abierta a la comunidad.<br /

Pelagic cephalopods of the central Mediterranean Sea determined by the analysis of the stomach content of large fish predators

The pelagic cephalopod fauna of the central Mediterranean Sea was investigated through stomach content analyses of large fish predators. A total of 124 Xiphias gladius, 22 Thunnus thynnus, 100 Thunnus alalunga, and 25 Tetrapturus belone were analyzed. Overall, 3,096 cephalopods belonging to 23 species and 16 families were identified. The cephalopod fauna in the study area is dominated by Sepiolidae, Ommastrephidae, and Onychoteuthidae. The sepiolid Heteroteuthis dispar was the most abundant species (n = 1,402) while the ommastrephid Todarodes sagittatus showed the highest biomass. They can be considered key-species in the pelagic food web of the study area. The neutrally buoyant Histioteuthis bonnellii, H. reversa, and Chiroteuthis veranyi seem to characterize the deeper water layers. Given the difficulty in sampling pelagic cephalopods, the presence of cephalopod beaks in the stomach of predators represents a fundamental tool to assess the biodiversity and the ecological importance of these taxa in the marine ecosystem