The scorpion collections (Arachnida, Scorpiones) held in the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali of Turin (Italy)

Data and considerations about the history and contents of the scorpion collection housed in the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali of Turin (MRSN) are reported. Information on type material and important historical specimens are provided, as well as biographical notes about the major zoologists of the museum

Taxonomic notes on Cybaeus vignai Brignoli, 1977 (Araneae, Cybaeidae) and Dysdera cribrata Simon, 1882 (Araneae, Dysderidae) from the Italian Maritime Alps

FIG. 6. — Dysdera cribrata Simon, 1882, male palp: A, bulb, retrolateral view, from Tende; B-F, variability of bulb distal segment: B-C, from Villars-Colmars; D, from Piano del Valasco; E, from Tende; F, from Forêt de Durbon. Abbreviations: see Material & methods. Scale bars: A, 0.5 mm; B-F, 0.2 mm.Published as part of Isaia, Marco & Chiarle, Alberto, 2015, Taxonomic notes on Cybaeus vignai Brignoli, 1977 (Araneae, Cybaeidae) and Dysdera cribrata Simon, 1882 (Araneae, Dysderidae) from the Italian Maritime Alps, pp. 45-56 in Zoosystema 37 (1) on page 52, DOI: 10.5252/z2015n1a3, http://zenodo.org/record/457763

RHO Family GTPases in the Biology of Lymphoma

RHO GTPases are a class of small molecules involved in the regulation of several cellular processes that belong to the RAS GTPase superfamily. The RHO family of GTPases includes several members that are further divided into two different groups: typical and atypical. Both typical and atypical RHO GTPases are critical transducers of intracellular signaling and have been linked to human cancer. Significantly, both gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutations have been described in human tumors with contradicting roles depending on the cell context. The RAS family of GTPases that also belong to the RAS GTPase superfamily like the RHO GTPases, includes arguably the most frequently mutated genes in human cancers (K-RAS, N-RAS, and H-RAS) but has been extensively described elsewhere. This review focuses on the role of RHO family GTPases in human lymphoma initiation and progression

Annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Site of Community Importance and Special Area of Conservation “Alpi Marittime” (NW Italy)

FIG. 6. — Metellina segmentata (Clerck, 1757) (Tetragnathidae), Entracque, Gorge della Reina. Photograph: Alberto Chiarle (2011).Published as part of Isaia, Marco, Paschetta, Mauro & Chiarle, Alberto, 2015, Annotated checklist of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Site of Community Importance and Special Area of Conservation "Alpi Marittime" (NW Italy), pp. 57-114 in Zoosystema 37 (1) on page 76, DOI: 10.5252/z2015n1a4, http://zenodo.org/record/457768

Programación fetal en vacas lecheras

La programación fetal representa los cambios en la expresión génica del feto que son promovidos por causas nutricionales y/o endócrinas que ocurren en la vaca durante la gestación. Lo interesante es que estos cambios repercuten en aspectos de la vida adulta de la progenie, como por ejemplo, su performance productiva. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar qué efecto poseen en la primera lactancia de las hijas (producción de leche acumulada hasta los 150 días): 1) la lactancia de la madre durante la gestación; 2) el número de gestaciones de la madre (1 a 8); 3) los días en lactancia y 4) la secreción de energía en la leche de la madre al momento de la concepción. Los datos se obtuvieron de una base de que contiene registros de 1131 tambos de la región pampeana durante el período 1981 a 2011 y se analizaron con un modelo de regresión lineal mixto (SAS 9.3). La producción de leche de las hijas a los 150 días disminuyó a medida que aumentaba el número de partos de la madre (valor de P 0,1). En conclusión, los cambios metabólicos que enfrentan las vacas en lactancia al momento de la concepción y posiblemente, a consecuencia de las sucesivas gestaciones, repercuten en la producción futura de la descendencia.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Programación fetal en vacas lecheras

La programación fetal representa los cambios en la expresión génica del feto que son promovidos por causas nutricionales y/o endócrinas que ocurren en la vaca durante la gestación. Lo interesante es que estos cambios repercuten en aspectos de la vida adulta de la progenie, como por ejemplo, su performance productiva. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar qué efecto poseen en la primera lactancia de las hijas (producción de leche acumulada hasta los 150 días): 1) la lactancia de la madre durante la gestación; 2) el número de gestaciones de la madre (1 a 8); 3) los días en lactancia y 4) la secreción de energía en la leche de la madre al momento de la concepción. Los datos se obtuvieron de una base de que contiene registros de 1131 tambos de la región pampeana durante el período 1981 a 2011 y se analizaron con un modelo de regresión lineal mixto (SAS 9.3). La producción de leche de las hijas a los 150 días disminuyó a medida que aumentaba el número de partos de la madre (valor de P 0,1). En conclusión, los cambios metabólicos que enfrentan las vacas en lactancia al momento de la concepción y posiblemente, a consecuencia de las sucesivas gestaciones, repercuten en la producción futura de la descendencia.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Rock temperature variability in high-altitude rockfall-prone areas

In a context of cryosphere degradation caused by climate warming, rock temperature is one of the main driving factors of rockfalls that occur on high-elevation mountain slopes. In order to improve the knowledge of this critical relationship, it is necessary to increase measurement capability of rock temperature and its variability in different lithological and slope/aspect conditions, and also to increase local scale studies, increasing the quality and the comparability of the data. This paper shows an example of metrological characterization of sensors used for rock temperature measurement in mountain regions, by means of the measurement uncertainty. Under such approach, data and results from temperature measurements carried out in the Bessanese high-elevation experimental site (Western European Alps) are illustrated. The procedures for the calibration and field characterization of sensors allow to measure temperature in different locations, depths and lithotypes, within 0.10 °C of overall uncertainty. This work has highlighted that metrological traceability is fundamental to asses data quality and establish comparability among different measurements; that there are strong differences between air temperature and near-surface rock temperature; and that there are significant differences of rock temperature acquired in different aspect conditions. Finally, solar radiation, slope/aspect conditions and lithotype, seem to be the main driving factors of rock temperature

Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps

Climate change is seriously affecting the cryosphere in terms, for example, of permafrost thaw, alteration of rain ∕ snow ratio, and glacier shrinkage. There is concern about the increasing number of rockfalls at high elevation in the last decades. Nevertheless, the exact role of climate parameters in slope instability at high elevation has not been fully explored yet. In this paper, we investigate 41 rockfalls listed in different sources (newspapers, technical reports, and CNR IRPI archive) in the elevation range 1500–4200 m a.s.l. in the Italian Alps between 1997 and 2013 in the absence of an evident trigger. We apply and improve an existing data-based statistical approach to detect the anomalies of climate parameters (temperature and precipitation) associated with rockfall occurrences. The identified climate anomalies have been related to the spatiotemporal distribution of the events. Rockfalls occurred in association with significant temperature anomalies in 83 % of our case studies. Temperature represents a key factor contributing to slope failure occurrence in different ways. As expected, warm temperatures accelerate snowmelt and permafrost thaw; however, surprisingly, negative anomalies are also often associated with slope failures. Interestingly, different regional patterns emerge from the data: higher-than-average temperatures are often associated with rockfalls in the Western Alps, while in the Eastern Alps slope failures are mainly associated with colder-than-average temperatures