Seasonal change in acclimatised respiration rate of Temora longicornis

We investigated the seasonal changes in the respiration rate (R) of adult Temora longicornis (Müller) acclimatised to in situ conditions over 1 yr. Mean (±1 SE) R varied from 50.5 ± 2.8 nl O2 ind.-1 h-1 in December to 73.2 ± 3.53 nl O2 ind.-1 h-1 in August for copepods of mean body dry weight (DW) of 33.5 ± 1.1 and 26.3 ± 0.95 µg, respectively. Males represented ~8% of the total measurements, and their respiration did not differ significantly from that of females. R scaled isometrically with dry weight (DW), i.e. the allometric exponent of the power function (R = aDWb) did not differ significantly from unity (b = 0.83 to 1.35). The relationship between in situ weight-specific respiration rate (Rsp) and temperature (T) was described by a sigmoid trend with Q10 ranging from 1 to 2.88 (mean 1.57 to 1.89). In contrast, the acclimated and acutely measured Rsp of copepods maintained under optimal feeding conditions in the laboratory increased exponentially with temperature and were characterised by higher mean Q10 of 2.05 and 2.41, respectively. Acclimatised ln R increased significantly with ln DW, T, ln chlorophyll a (ln Chl) and ln egg production rate (ln EPR). Our results indicate that seasonal changes in T. longicornis respiration rate are not simply determined by body mass and temperature but also reflect copepod nutritional and reproductive condition. We argue that predictive ecological models using fixed thermal coefficient values may overestimate copepod respiration, particularly under ambient conditions limiting growth and reproduction. Our findings have important implications for the calculation of carbon flow in marine food-webs and for understanding how zooplankton physiology responds to changes in global temperature

ANALISI DELLA DISTRIBUZIONE VERTICALE NEL SUBSTRATO SABBIOSO DI DUE SPECIE DI POLICHETI APPARTENENTI AL GENERE OPHELIA Savigny, 1818 LUNGO IL LITORALE PISANO

Recenti studi morfologici e genetici su campioni mediterranei di Ophelia hanno evidenziato la presenza di due specie: O. bicornis Savigny 1818, con sei paia di nefridopori e O.barquii Fauvel 1927 con cinque paia (Maltagliati et al., 2004-2005). Con il presente lavoro si è voluto saggiare l'ipotesi di una segregazione verticale delle due specie, con O. bicornis presente nello stato superficiale del substrato (0-15 cm) e di O. barquii in quello più profondo (16-30 cm) in due spiagge del litorale pisano. Durante precedenti lavori (Maltagliati) è stato osservato che nelle spiagge del litorale pisano le due specie si presentano in apparente simpatria. Il tema della variabilità spaziale in Ophelia è stato anche affrontato da Iraci Sereri (2006) che, a differenza del presente lavoro, ha studiato la distribuzione di O. bicornis e O. barquii in condizioni di allopatria. I risultati della presente tesi respingono l'ipotesi proposta da Iraci Sereri, relativa alla prevalente e costante presenza nello strato superficiale del substrato (0-15 cm) di O. bicornis e di O. barquii nelle zone più profonde (16-30 cm), non evidenziando associazione costante tra specie e strato

El arte de enseñar las lenguas extranjeras

Esta propuesta de trabajo pretende aunar criterios de trabajo dentro del Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras basándonos en la metodología unificada que se presentará a los ingresantes para la selección de idioma Inglés o Francés en 1er año. Nuestro proyecto se encuentra dentro del marco teórico institucional que se basa en el enfoque comunicativo; los pilares que sustentan este marco teórico son la música, el arte y la literatura. Dichos ejes han sido tomados en nuestra investigación adoptando como marco teórico los principios de CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning), acentuando el trabajo sobre estrategias de aprendizaje e incorporando las nuevas tecnologías. Enseñar las lenguas extranjeras a través de contenidos curriculares tomados de otras asignaturas implica un cambio de paradigma en la metodología de trabajo de Departamento y en la selección y elaboración de materiales. Haremos un recorrido por el proyecto, su implementación y sus resultados.This paper is aimed at unifying the teaching-learning process within the Foreign Language Department based on an only methodology that will be exposed to the new coming students in 1 st year so that they can choose either English or French as a foreign language. This project is inserted within the institutional theoretical frame based on the communicative approach; its bases are Music, Art and Literature. These axes have been adopted in our investigation selecting as theoretical frame the CLIL principles, aiming at working on learning strategies and incorporating new technologies. Teaching foreign languages through areal curricular contents implies a changing paradigm in the Department working methodology and in the selection and material building. We will show the project, its implementation and results.Sección: Artículos de investigación y prácticas pedagógicasBachillerato de Bellas Artes "Prof. Francisco A. De Santo

Comparison between 16S rRNA and shotgun sequencing data for the taxonomic characterization of the gut microbiota

In this paper we compared taxonomic results obtained by metataxonomics (16S rRNA gene sequencing) and metagenomics (whole shotgun metagenomic sequencing) to investigate their reliability for bacteria profiling, studying the chicken gut as a model system. The experimental conditions included two compartments of gastrointestinal tracts and two sampling times. We compared the relative abundance distributions obtained with the two sequencing strategies and then tested their capability to distinguish the experimental conditions. The results showed that 16S rRNA gene sequencing detects only part of the gut microbiota community revealed by shotgun sequencing. Specifically, when a sufficient number of reads is available, Shotgun sequencing has more power to identify less abundant taxa than 16S sequencing. Finally, we showed that the less abundant genera detected only by shotgun sequencing are biologically meaningful, being able to discriminate between the experimental conditions as much as the more abundant genera detected by both sequencing strategies

Genomic, transcriptomic and RNA editing analysis of human MM1 and VV2 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is characterized by a broad phenotypic spectrum regarding symptoms, progression, and molecular features. Current sporadic CJD (sCJD) classification recognizes six main clinical-pathological phenotypes. This work investigates the molecular basis of the phenotypic heterogeneity of prion diseases through a multiomics analysis of the two most common sCJD subtypes: MM1 and VV2. We performed DNA target sequencing on 118 genes on a cohort of 48 CJD patients and full exome RNA sequencing on post-mortem frontal cortex tissue on a subset of this cohort. DNA target sequencing identified multiple potential genetic contributors to the disease onset and phenotype, both in terms of coding, damaging-predicted variants, and enriched groups of SNPs in the whole cohort and the two subtypes. The results highlight a different functional impairment, with VV2 associated with higher impairment of the pathways related to dopamine secretion, regulation of calcium release and GABA signaling, showing some similarities with Parkinson’s disease both on a genomic and a transcriptomic level. MM1 showed a gene expression profile with several traits shared with different neurodegenerative, without an apparent distinctive characteristic or similarities with a specific disease. In addition, integrating genomic and transcriptomic data led to the discovery of several sites of ADAR-mediated RNA editing events, confirming and expanding previous findings in animal models. On the transcriptomic level, this work represents the first application of RNA sequencing on CJD human brain samples. Here, a good clusterization of the transcriptomic profiles of the two subtypes was achieved, together with the finding of several differently impaired pathways between the two subtypes. The results add to the understanding of the molecular features associated with sporadic CJD and its most common subtypes, revealing strain-specific genetic signatures and functional similarities between VV2 and Parkinson’s disease and providing preliminary evidence of RNA editing modifications in human sCJD

Effect of a low protein diet on chicken ceca microbiome and productive performances

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of supplementation of a low protein diet on ceca microbiome and productive performances of broiler chickens. A total of 1,170 one-day-old male chicks (Ross 308) were divided in 2 diet groups and reared in the same conditions up to 42 D. Birds belonging to the control group were fed a basal diet. Birds belonging to the low protein group the basal diet with a reduced level of crude protein (–7%). Cecum contents from randomly selected birds were collected at 14 and 42 D within each diet group, submitted to DNA extraction and then tested by shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Abundances of species belonging to Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were mainly affected by the diet as well as interaction between diet and time, while species belonging to Firmicutes and Cyanobacteria changed mainly according to the age of the birds. At family level, Lactobacillaceae significantly decreased in the low protein group up to 14 D. However, at the end of the rearing period the same family was significantly higher in the low protein group. The most abundant functional genes, represented by cystine desulfurase, alpha-galactosidase, and serine hydroxymethyltransferase, displayed comparable abundances in both diet groups, although significative differences were identified for less abundant functional genes at both sampling times. Birds fed control and low protein diets showed similar productive performances. However, in the finisher phase, feed conversion rate was significantly better in chickens fed the low protein diet. Overall, this study showed that a reduced intake of crude protein in broilers increases the abundance of Lactobacillaceae in the ceca over time and this seems to be linked to a better feed conversion rate between 36 and 42 D. A reduced intake of crude protein in chicken production can help to improve exploitation of edible resources, while reducing the emission of nitrogen pollutants in the environment

Gramática Ciclo Superior : Francés, inglés, italiano, portugués

Este trabajo se propone contribuir al desarrollo de las dimensiones gramatical, semántica, contextual y funcional de los alumnos del ciclo superior del Bachillerato de Bellas Artes en las lenguas extranjeras francés, inglés, italiano y portugués. Las estructuras gramaticales se explican y practican en un contexto discursivo determinado y empleando diversos tipos y géneros de textos.Bachillerato de Bellas Artes "Prof. Francisco A. De Santo

Interleukin-31: a new cytokine involved in inflammation of the skin.

Cytokines affect immune functions involved inmotility, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, cytotoxicityand antigen presentation (1). Interleukins (IL) arepleiotropic cytokines with diverse receptorsignaling pathways whose expression is controlledat multiple levels (2). Interleukin receptors (ILR)have intrinsic roles in regulating and amplifyingthe inflammatory response (3-12).Skin is the largest organ of the body with thespecific immune defense and its inflammatoryconditions include atopic dermatitis, allergies,psoriasis etc. (13-19). Infiltrated lymphocytesproliferate in an activated state in the skin lesion inan autocrine and/or paracrine manner and produceTH2-type cytokines that might evoke immunologicabnormalities (20-23)...