Motor activity and the effects on development in evolutionary age

In recent years several studies have been carried out attesting to the importance of motor education within Primary schools. The integration of physical activity into the school curriculum is a way to increase levels of movement by interrupting static moments produced by the traditional lesson, and in unison, stimulate with active methodologies the acquisition of more complex content and making them more motivating. Motor exercises are therefore not only beneficial or health-based but, when linked with cognitive objectives, they can also improve school learning. A systematic review has been carried out on the main search engines to understand the results obtained in the cognitive, motor and educational fields at European level and beyond, reflecting on any adjustments to be made or taking for example those experiments that have obtained positive needs, as a sample for a strengthening of motor activity in primary school, still not always carried out also at institutional level and not easy to investigate in this particular target audienc

Non-invasive diet analysis based on DNA Barcoding: the Himalayan Brown Bears (Ursus arctos isabellinus) as a case study

The study of food webs and their dynamics is fundamental to understand how the feeding habits of the different species can affect the community, thus improving our understanding of the functioning of the ecosystem as a whole. Furthermore, the study of feeding ecology becomes crucial when it concerns endangered species since a precise knowledge of their diet is to be gathered when designing reliable conservation strategies. A wide range of methodologies have been proposed for diet analysis, including simple ones, as visual observation of foraging behavior, and more complex ones such as Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy and DNA based methods. DNA barcoding, i.e. species identification using a standardized DNA region or markers, has recently received much attention and is being further developed through an international initiative called "Consortium for the Barcode of Life". When using DNA barcoding for diet analysis, the choice of the markers is crucial. The ideal DNA barcoding marker should meet several criteria. It should be variable among species, standardized, with enough phylogenetic information, extremely robust, and short enough to allow amplification of degraded DNA. In this study we propose the trnL (UAA) intron as marker for plant DNA barcoding. The power and the limitations of this system were evaluated as well as the possibility of species identification with highly degraded DNA. The main limitation of this system is its relatively low resolution in discriminating closely related species. Despite the relatively low resolution, it has many advantages: the primers are highly conserved, the amplification system is very robust and it is able to work with much degraded DNA samples. This system has been coupled with massively parallel pyrosequencing technique. We demonstrate the efficiency of this new approach by analyzing the diet of various herbivorous species. The whole chloroplast trnL (UAA) intron (254–767 bp) and a shorter fragment of this intron (the P6 loop, 10–143 bp) were used in this study. For the whole trnL intron 67.3% of the species retrieved from GenBank were unambiguously identified and 19.5% for the P6 loop. The resolution is much higher after calibration of specific contexts using species originating from the same ecosystem. Furthermore, the trnL approach was coupled with individual and sex identification using microsatellites polymorphism in the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus). Among world brown bears populations; those in Asia are the most ii endangered and least studied. Here, populations have declined by more than half in the past century owing to habitat loss and fragmentation and human activity. Presently in Pakistan brown bear occur sparsely in seven small populations, with the largest isolate in the Deosai National Park. We examined this population using a combination of fecal DNA analysis and field data for which geographical location and date of sampling were available, with the aim to study individual and sexual differentiation in the diet, and also temporal and geographical variations. Twenty-eight individuals (16 male, 10 females and 2 unknown sex) were identified in this study with microsatellites markers. Only eight plant species were found represented in more than 50% of individual feces. Temporal differences were found with more energetic food detected before the hibernation periods.Lo studio delle reti trofiche e della loro dinamica è fondamentale per comprendere come le abitudini alimentari delle diverse specie possono incidere sulla comunità, migliorando in tal modo la nostra comprensione sul funzionamento dell'ecosistema nel suo complesso. Inoltre, lo studio dell’ecologia dell’alimentazione diventa cruciale quando si tratta di specie in via d’estinzione, nelle quali una precisa conoscenza della loro dieta deve essere acquisita per definire una strategia di conservazione di successo. Una vasta gamma di metodi é stata proposta per l’analisi della dieta, che vanno da quelli più semplici, come osservazione visiva dell’animale durante il pasto, a quelli più complessi, come la Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy e i metodi basati sul DNA. Il DNA barcoding, cioè l’identificazione di attraverso una regione standardizzata di DNA o attraverso marcatori, ha recentemente ricevuto molta attenzione e si è ulteriormente sviluppato attraverso un'iniziativa del consorzio internazionale denominato "Consortium for Barcoding of Life". Quando si usa il DNA barcoding per l'analisi della dieta, la scelta dei marcatori è cruciale. Il marcatore ideale per il DNA barcoding deve soddisfare diversi criteri. Deve essere variabile tra specie, standardizzato, avente una sufficiente informazione filogenetica, molto robusto, e abbastanza corto da consentire l'amplificazione di DNA degradato. In questo studio si propone l'introne trnL (UAA) come marcatore per il DNA barcoding delle piante. I vantaggi e gli svantaggi di questo sistema sono stati valutati come pure la possibilità di identificare di specie da DNA molto degradato. Il limite principale di questo sistema è la sua relativamente bassa risoluzione in discriminare specie filogeneticamente molto simili. Nonostante la relativa bassa risoluzione, il sistema ha molti vantaggi: i primers sono molto conservati, il sistema di amplificazione è molto robusto ed è in grado di funzionare con campioni di DNA molto degradati. Questo sistema è stato accoppiato con la tecnica di pirosequenziamento parallelo. Abbiamo dimostrato l'efficacia di questo nuovo approccio analizzando la dieta di varie specie d’erbivori. L'intero introne trnL (UAA) del cloroplasto (254-767 pb) e un breve frammento di questo introne (il P6 loop, 10-143 pb) sono stati utilizzati in questo studio. Per l'intero introne trnL, il 67,3% delle specie, recuperate da GenBank, sono statie indentificate in modo inequivocabile e 19,5% per il P6 loop. La risoluzione è molto più elevata dopo la calibrazione in contesti specifici utilizzando specie originarie dello stesso ecosistema. vi Inoltre, il trnL approach è stato condotto in parallelo con identificazione degli individui e del sesso dell’animale tramite microsatelliti nell’orso bruno imalaiano (Ursus arctos isabellinus). Tra le popolazioni d’orso bruno al mondo, quelle in Asia sono le più minacciate e meno studiate. Qui, le popolazioni sono diminuite di oltre la metà nel secolo passato, a causa della frammentazione, la perdita di habitat e le attività umane. Attualmente in Pakistan, l’orso bruno è presente in sette piccole popolazioni isolate, con la più grande nel Parco Nazionale del Deosai. Abbiamo esaminato questa popolazione utilizzando una combinazione d’analisi di DNA da feci e di dati di campo per i quali la localizzazione geografica e la data di campionamento erano disponibili, con l'obiettivo di studiare differenze nella dieta a livello individuale tra i due sessi, e anche variazioni geografiche e temporali. Ventotto individui (16 maschi, 10 femmine e 2 di sesso sconosciuto) sono stati identificati in questo studio con i marcatori microsatelliti. Solo otto specie di piante sono state trovate rappresentate per oltre il 50% degli individui. Differenze temporali sono state riscontrate, con un consumo di cibo più energtico prima del periodo del letargo.L'étude des réseaux trophiques et leur dynamique est fondamentale pour comprendre comment les habitudes alimentaires des différentes espèces peuvent influencer la communauté, afin d'améliorer notre compréhension du fonctionnement de l'écosystème dans son ensemble. En outre, l'étude de l'écologie alimentaire devient cruciale lorsqu'il s'agit des espèces en voie de disparition, une connaissance précise de leur alimentation doit être acquise lors de la conception des stratégies de conservation. Un large éventail de méthodes a été proposé pour l’analyse du régime alimentaire, y compris les plus simples, comme l'observation visuelle du comportement d’alimentation, et les plus complexes, comme la spectrométrie dans le proche infrarouge et les méthodes basées sur l'ADN. "DNA barcoding" (Code barre d’ADN), c'est-à-dire l'identification des espèces en utilisant une région standardisée d'ADN ou des marqueurs standardisés, a récemment reçu beaucoup d'attention et est actuellement développé grâce à une initiative internationale appelée "Consortium for The Barcoding of Life". Lors de l'utilisation du "DNA barcoding" pour le régime alimentaire, le choix des marqueurs est crucial. Le marqueur idéal pour le "DNA barcoding" doit satisfaire plusieurs critères. Il doit être variable entre les espèces, standardisé, avec suffisamment d'informations phylogénétiques, très robuste, et suffisamment court pour permettre l'amplification de l’ADN dégradé. Dans cette étude, nous proposons l’intron trnL (UAA) en tant que marqueur pour le "DNA barcoding" des plantes. Le pouvoir et les limites de ce système ont été évalués, ainsi que la possibilité d'identification des espèces avec de l'ADN fortement dégradé. La principale limitation de ce système est la relative faible résolution de discrimination des espèces très proches. En dépit de la résolution relativement faible, elle présente de nombreux avantages: les amorces sont hautement conservées, le système d'amplification est très robuste et il est capable de travailler avec des échantillons d'ADN très dégradés. Ce système a été couplé avec la technique du pyroséquençage. Nous avons démontré l'efficacité de cette nouvelle approche par l'analyse de l'alimentation de différentes espèces herbivores. L'ensemble des introns chloroplastique trnL (UAA) (254-767 pb) et d'un court fragment de cet intron (P6 boucle, 10-143 pb) ont été utilisés dans cette étude. Pour l'ensemble de l’intron trnL, 67,3% des espèces récupérées à partir de GenBank ont été identifiées sans ambiguïté et 19,5% pour la P6 boucle. La résolution iv est beaucoup plus élevée après calibration sur des contextes spécifiques en utilisant des espèces originaires d'un même écosystème. En outre, l’approche par le trnL a été associée à l'identification individuelle et le sexe en utilisant le polymorphisme de microsatellites dans l’ours brun himalayen (Ursus arctos isabellinus). Parmi les populations mondiales d'ours bruns, celles d’Asie sont les plus menacées et les moins étudiées. Ici, les populations ont diminué de plus de moitié au cours du siècle dernier en raison de la perte d'habitats, de sa fragmentation et de l'activité humaine. Actuellement, au Pakistan l'ours brun existe dans sept petites populations isolées, dont la plus grande est située dans le Parc National du Deosai. Nous avons examiné cette population au moyen d'une combinaison de l'analyse d'ADN des fèces et de données de terrain pour lesquelles les coordonnées géographiques et la date de prélèvement étaient disponibles, pour étudier la différenciation sexuelle et individuelle du régime alimentaire, ainsi que les variations temporelles et géographiques. Vingt-huit individus (16 mâles, 10 femelles et 2 de sexe inconnu), ont été identifiés dans cette étude avec les marqueurs microsatellites. Seulement huit espèces de plantes ont été trouvées représentées dans plus de 50% des fèces des individus. Des différences temporelles ont été trouvées, avec une alimentation plus énergétique avant la période d'hibernation.Dottorato di ricerca in Ecologia e gestione delle risorse biologich

Circus-mobility: The value of a circus laboratory at school

The circus has always fascinated children due to its magic, imaginary and creativity. In this work, we analyse international research which emphasises the value of the discipline of the circus in relation to mobility. The aim of the study is to introduce the circus into schools. Although there is no unique definition of circus pedagogy as yet, scholars agree that such a discipline could provide a valid alternative to learn and deepen various mobility contents. We report examples of proposed school activities from the international landscape. Taking into consideration that circus pedagogy is little known in Italy, a comparison with the “National curriculum guidelines for 2012” Italy, was key to adapting this discipline to the Italian school context (in nursery and primary school) contributing to create and integrate a pupil’s mobility experience creatively

Educazione motoria e lateralizzazione: il binomio perfetto per apprendere. Un progetto di ricerca nella scuola primaria

In the present study the effect of a physical education protocol aiming at improving the prerequisites of reading and writing skills was evaluated in the primary school.Two year-one classes were assigned, respectively, to a control group, which undertook standard physical education classes (1h, 2 times-a-week for the whole school year), and to an experimental group, which undertook the same physical education schedule and contents but spent some of those hours on an exercise program aimed at improving reading and writing skill prerequisites. Before and after the intervention children of both groups were assessed for reading and writing skills (SD1 test), walking and object handling skills (TGM tests), and lateral dominance. The results were compared using the independent sample Mann-Whitney U (intergroup comparisons of the pre-testvalues and of the variations recorded in each group across the school year) and the matched sample Wilcoxon (intra-group comparisons between pre- and post-test values) non parametric statistics. Results showed significantly greater improvements of the SD1 and TGM tests in the experimental group compared to control group, and significant improvements of lateral dominance in bothgroups. In conclusion, physical education significantly improves the acquisition of the reading and writing prerequisites.In questo studio è stato indagato, nella scuola primaria, l’effetto di un intervento di educazione motoria mirato allo sviluppo dei pre-requisiti delle capacità di letto-scrittura.Due classi prime sono state assegnate, rispettivamente, ad un gruppo di controllo, che effettuava lezioni di attività motoria (1 ora, 2 volte a settimana per tutto l’anno scolastico) con contenuti standard, e ad un gruppo sperimentale, che effettuava lo stesso monte ore di lezione con i medesimi contenuti, ma dedicava parte delle ore ad un intervento sperimentale di attività motoria appositamente ideato per il miglioramento dei pre-requisiti della letto-scrittura. Prima e dopo la sperimentazione i bambini di entrambe le classi sono stati sottoposti a valutazione delle capacità di letto-scrittura (SD1), delle abilità di locomozione e controllo oggetti (TGM), e della dominanza laterale. I risultatisono stati confrontati con test non parametrici per campioni indipendenti (raffronto inter-gruppo dei valori dei pre-test e delle variazioni nel corso dell’anno scolastico) e per campioni dipendenti (raffronti intra-gruppo della variazione tra i valori pre- e post-test).I risultati evidenziano un miglioramento significativamente maggiore di SD1 e dei TGM nel gruppo di controllo rispetto al gruppo sperimentale ed incrementi significativi della dominanza laterale in entrambi i gruppi. In conclusione, l’attività motoria migliora significativamente l’apprendimento dei prerequisiti per la letto-scrittura

Using environmental DNA for detection of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in natural water

Rapid, early, and reliable detection of invasive pathogenic microorganisms is essential in order to either predict or delineate an outbreak, and monitor appropriate mitigation measures. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans is expanding in Europe, and infection with this fungus may cause massive mortality in urodelans (salamanders and newts). In this study, we designed and validated species‐specific primers and a probe for detection of B. salamandrivorans in water. In a garden pond in close proximity to the B. salamandrivorans index site in the Netherlands, B. salamandrivorans‐infected newts had been detected in 2015 and have been monitored since. In 2016 and 2017, no B. salamandrivorans was detected at this site, but in 2018 B. salamandrivorans flared up in this isolated pond which allowed validation of the technique in situ. We here present the development of an environmental DNA technique that successfully detects B. salamandrivorans DNA in natural waterbodies even at low concentrations. This technique may be further validated to play a role in B. salamandrivorans range delineation and surveillance in both natural waterbodies and in captive collections

No evidence for the effect of MHC on male mating success in the brown bear

Mate choice is thought to contribute to the maintenance of the spectacularly high polymorphism of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes, along with balancing selection from parasites, but the relative contribution of the former mechanism is debated. Here, we investigated the association between male MHC genotype and mating success in the brown bear. We analysed fragments of sequences coding for the peptide-binding region of the highly polymorphic MHC class I and class II DRB genes, while controlling for genome-wide effects using a panel of 18 microsatellite markers. Male mating success did not depend on the number of alleles shared with the female or amino-acid distance between potential mates at either locus. Furthermore, we found no indication of female mating preferences for MHC similarity being contingent on the number of alleles the females carried. Finally, we found no significant association between the number of MHC alleles a male carried and his mating success. Thus, our results provided no support for the role of mate choice in shaping MHC polymorphism in the brown bear

Power and limitations of the chloroplast trnL (UAA) intron for plant DNA barcoding

DNA barcoding should provide rapid, accurate and automatable species identifications by using a standardized DNA region as a tag. Based on sequences available in GenBank and sequences produced for this study, we evaluated the resolution power of the whole chloroplast trnL (UAA) intron (254–767 bp) and of a shorter fragment of this intron (the P6 loop, 10–143 bp) amplified with highly conserved primers. The main limitation of the whole trnL intron for DNA barcoding remains its relatively low resolution (67.3% of the species from GenBank unambiguously identified). The resolution of the P6 loop is lower (19.5% identified) but remains higher than those of existing alternative systems. The resolution is much higher in specific contexts such as species originating from a single ecosystem, or commonly eaten plants. Despite the relatively low resolution, the whole trnL intron and its P6 loop have many advantages: the primers are highly conserved, and the amplification system is very robust. The P6 loop can even be amplified when using highly degraded DNA from processed food or from permafrost samples, and has the potential to be extensively used in food industry, in forensic science, in diet analyses based on feces and in ancient DNA studies

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in amphibians from the Po River Delta, Northern Italy

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a pathogen infecting amphibians at the global scale and causing their decline, but knowledge of the distribution of this pathogen is far from complete. We sampled amphibians from three species (Hyla intermedia, Rana dalmatina and Pelophylax synklepton esculentus) to evaluate whether B. dendrobatidis infects amphibians in the Po River Delta Natural Park, Northern Italy. We detected the pathogen in one population of P. sk. esculentus (prevalence: 0.33). These findings expand the known distribution of B. dendrobatidis in Italy and add further concern to the conservation of amphibians in this area