Impact of new measured Mediterranean mineralization rates on the fate of simulated aquaculture wastes

In order to provide values of key parameters in aquaculture waste degradation modelling specifically for the Mediterranean, sampling campaigns were carried out in 2006. Accurate measurements of particulate carbon input and benthic respiration rates were performed using sediment traps and intact core incubations. The in situ measurements, compared with data from Atlantic salmon production, showed lower carbon flux and oxygen consumption, while a greater degradation capability was observed. Moreover, a temperature dependence of the benthic parameters was highlighted. Successively, the model Finite Organic Accumulation Module was used for an accurate comparison between different parameterizations. Finite Organic Accumulation Module simulates the organic carbon degradation and the net carbon accumulation on the sediment, yielding a benthic state index. In comparison with previous results, there was a decrease in benthic impacts due to minor inputs of carbon and higher mineralization rates. Moreover, a seasonal variation could be observed in the organic carbon concentration. Nevertheless, the new results remain consistent with the old ones on two points: (a) the negligible benthic impact of faeces with respect to uneaten feed and (b) the dependence of that impact on the different feed release conditions.     

Natural trematode infestation in feral Nebrodi Black pigs: Pathological investigations

Few studies describe the parasites of pigs bred in the wild state, although pigs are a known reservoir of trematode infestation. This article reports the results of a retrospective study carried out from January 2003 to June 2007 on 3021 Nebrodi Black male and female pigs, regularly slaughtered, aged between 8 months and 4 years. Fasciola hepatica and Dicrocoelium dendriticum flukes were detected in 143 (4.37%) of 3021 livers. The predominant histological features were multifocal to diffuse chronic hepatitis, with fibrosis and severely thickened walls of the bile ducts and chronic parietal, sometimes nodular inflammation. F. hepatica infestation was frequently associated with marked hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the submucosal glands. The study results confirm the important role swine play in the transmission of trematode infestations, indicate the prevalence of these parasites in the Nebrodi Park area, and draw attention to the need for a prophylaxis plan to prevent the spread of infestation to ruminants and humans living in the area.     

Recent plant diversity changes on Europe's mountain summits

In mountainous regions, climate warming is expected to shift species' ranges to higher altitudes. Evidence for such shifts is still mostly from revisitations of historical sites. We present recent (2001 to 2008) changes in vascular plant species richness observed in a standardized monitoring network across Europe's major mountain ranges. Species have moved upslope on average. However, these shifts had opposite effects on the summit floras' species richness in boreal-temperate mountain regions (+3.9 species on average) and Mediterranean mountain regions (-1.4 species), probably because recent climatic trends have decreased the availability of water in the European south. Because Mediterranean mountains are particularly rich in endemic species, a continuation of these trends might shrink the European mountain flora, despite an average increase in summit species richness across the region.     

Benzothiadiazole enhances resveratrol and anthocyanin biosynthesis in grapevine, meanwhile improving resistance to Botrytis cinerea

Pre-harvest multiple treatments of grapevine (cv. Merlot) with the plant activator benzothiadiazole (BTH, 0.3 mM) enhanced trans-resveratrol content in berries by about 40%. An even more striking effect was observed on anthocyanin synthesis, particularly on malvidine 3-glucoside, malvidine 3-(6-O-acetyl)glucoside and malvidine 3-(6-O-p-coumaroyl)glucoside, whose amounts were more than doubled. These data were obtained with a novel and time-saving HPLC method, set up for the simultaneous detection of stilbenes and anthocyanins, using an RF-10Axl fluorimetric detector instrument, with excitation at 330 nm and emission at 374 nm, and a SPD-Avp UV detector with absorption at 520 nm. Furthermore, BTH treatments induced systemic acquired resistance in grapevine, as assessed by inoculating clusters from treated and untreated plants with Botrytis cinerea. Disease severity, estimated according to the percentage of infected berries per cluster, was significantly reduced in grapes from BTH-treated plants. These results indicate that BTH treatments, besides improving the content of two important classes of nutraceuticals, with their well-known antioxidant, antitumoral, and phytoestrogenic activities, could be exploited in vineyard to protect grape against gray mould infection, thereby limiting an excessive use of fungicides     

Benzothiadiazole-induced resistance modulates ozone tolerance

The effects of ozone on bean plants pretreated with the SAR activator benzothiadiazole (BTH) have been investigated after fumigations with an acute dose of the pollutant (200 nL x L(-1) for 4 h), carried out at different times from BTH application. BTH pretreatment induced opposite effects on bean susceptibility to O(3), depending on the time elapsed before fumigation. When this time was only 1-2 days, bean plants were more susceptible to O(3) than untreated controls, showing rapid and extensive cell death in both palisade and spongy mesophyll. These damages appeared to be closely correlated with the amount and localization of H(2)O(2) in the leaf tissues. In BTH-pretreated, but not fumigated, plants, H(2)O(2) accumulation occurred in the cell walls and no dead cells were detected, whereas O(3) fumigation of untreated plants produced H(2)O(2) accumulation also inside some palisade mesophyll cells, causing their death. When BTH pretreatments were carried out 5-7 days before fumigation, plants appeared to be more tolerant to O(3) compared to untreated controls. Under these conditions, no visible symptoms of phytotoxicity were observed for at least 2 weeks after fumigation and no H(2)O(2) accumulation was detected. Biochemical assays showed a significant increase in the ascorbate (AA) level, taking place from the fifth to the seventh day after BTH treatment and unaffected by O(3) when given at these times. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity appeared to decrease during the first 2 days after BTH treatment, and the decrease was somewhat enhanced by fumigation. On the contrary, guaiacol peroxidase (GuPX) activity was found to steadily increase up to the fifth day after BTH treatment but showed a bimodal trend upon fumigation. These results suggest that, during the first 1-2 days after BTH application, the H(2)O(2) level is enhanced by O(3) over a critical threshold for cell viability. However, in the absence of the pollutant, H(2)O(2) decreases in the following days under the effect of AA accumulation and increased GuPX activity. As GuPX is known to promote cell wall lignification and protein cross-linking, these effects would protect plasmalemma from O(3) irreversible damage, provided the priming by BTH has been fully developed.     

Metal ions restore the proteolytic resistance of denatured conglutin gamma, a lupin seed glycoprotein, by promoting its refolding

The susceptibility to trypsin of conglutin gamma, a lupin seed glycoprotein affected by this enzyme only when in a non-native conformation, was used to study the effect of Zn(2+) and other metal ions on the structural dynamics of the protein. When acid-treated trypsin-susceptible conglutin gamma was incubated at neutral pH in the presence of Zn(2+), it became resistant to tryptic attack, contrary to the protein treated in the absence of Zn(2+). The time course of this refolding event has been quantitatively evaluated by SDS-PAGE. Amino acid sequencing of the major polypeptide fragments, produced by trypsin before completion of the refolding process, indicated that only a few cleavable bonds were accessible to the enzyme. This suggested that the presence of metal ions affected the pathway of degradation of the protein, by inducing its folding. Among the other metal ions tested, Ni(2+) also promoted the adoption of a trypsin-resistant conformation of conglutin gamma, whereas Mn(2+) and Ca(2+) had only much lower effects. The relevance of these findings for a deeper understanding of the in vivo degradation of plant food proteins and how it is affected by metal ions are discussed.     

Human impact and slope dynamics evolutionary trends in the monoclinal relief of Adriatic area of central Italy

The present work deals with a large area of the Marche–Abruzzi monoclinal relief which is made up of a clayey sediment succession with sandy–conglomeratic levels alternating at varying stratigraphic heights. The east-verging monocline was generated by an intense Quaternary tectonic uplifting. It differs approximately in the west-east and in the southern directions forming three wide morphostructures. The deep fluvial down-cutting disjointed the monoclinal relief into a succession of high hills which give the area a typical cuesta morphology, with fronts facing the western quadrants.