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First Survey on Sea Turtles’ Interactions in Mussel Farms in Italy
No full textSea turtles, particularly the opportunistic feeder species loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), are increasingly reported as a source of disturbance to mussel farming operations, especially in the Adriatic Sea. Despite the evident damage caused by these interactions, comprehensive national data on the phenomenon are still lacking. This study aimed to address this gap through a survey conducted among Italian mussel farmers, combined with the analysis of gastrointestinal contents from stranded sea turtles along the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts, focusing on the ingestion of Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis). Survey results revealed frequent turtle sightings in the northern Adriatic (Veneto and Emilia-Romagna) during summer months (June to August), while southern regions (Molise and Puglia) reported more sightings in autumn (September to October), likely influenced by seasonal water temperatures. The Mediterranean mussel was identified as the most commonly ingested mollusk in the Adriatic, with a notable increase in presence from 2018 to 2021. Although mussels are not a targeted prey, they appear to be a consistent dietary component due to adaptive feeding behavior. These interactions are increasingly and consistently reported, leading to significant management challenges for mussel farms. Based on these findings, a broader national and international assessment is recommended to evaluate the overall impact of sea turtles on shellfish aquaculture in the Mediterranean
Cold currents and warm preferences: how temperature shapes the 3D locomotion of Niphargus longicaudatus
No full textGroundwater ecosystems play a pivotal role in global biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, yet they face increasing pressures from climate change. The amphipod genus Niphargus, a dominant taxon in European groundwater habitats, has shown evidence of broad thermal adaptability that challenges prevailing theories on narrow thermal niches in groundwater species. This study investigated the locomotory behaviour of Niphargus longicaudatus (Costa, 1851), a stygobitic amphipod, under habitat temperature (9 °C) and preferred temperature (15 °C) using 3D tracking techniques. Individuals at 15 °C displayed significantly higher average swimming speed, increased vertical occupancy, and greater trajectory tortuosity compared to those at 9 °C, despite spending a similar amount of time in movement. These behavioural shifts suggest metabolic adjustments enabling enhanced resource exploration at warmer temperatures. The findings are contextualized within the evolutionary history of the amphipod genus Niphargus, shaped by past climatic, geological and hydrological conditions, which may have selected for eurythermal traits in some lineages. These adaptations highlight potential to exploit habitats across a broad temperature range, not necessarily providing an advantage to N.longicaudatus due to the complex effects of climate change on groundwater ecosystems. This work underscores the importance of integrating behavioural, metabolic, and paleoclimatic perspectives in understanding the impacts of climate change on subterranean biodiversity and distribution
Detecting ear lesions in slaughtered pigs through open-source convolutional neural networks
No full textBackground: Ear biting is a damaging behavior of pigs, likely triggered by a genetic predisposition, previous health issues and/or poor environmental conditions. The accurate assessment of animal health and welfare relies on the systematic gathering of data about animals, resources and management. In this respect, slaughterhouse surveys offer valuable insights, as distinct tail and skin lesions can act as ‘iceberg’ parameters, suitable to estimate welfare during the entire animals’ lifecycle. However, the routine recording of lesions is often costly and time-consuming, making it unfeasible in high-throughput abattoirs. This study aims to train open-source convolutional neural networks for detecting ear biting lesions in slaughtered pigs, as a pre-requisite for a systematic and cost-effective welfare monitoring. Results: A total of 3,140 pictures were employed to train and test open-source convolutional neural networks. Investigations were carried out by three veterinarians, who agreed to assess porcine ears using a simplified method, to minimize inter-observers’ variability and to facilitate the convolutional neural networks’ training: a) healthy auricles (label 0); deformed auricles displaying alterations in their contour due to real lesions (label 1); postmortem artefacts due to slaughtering (label 2). The entire dataset (training set and test set) was evaluated by one observer, while a supplementary set of 150 pictures was assessed by all veterinarians. Overall, the agreement among observers was very high (Cohen’s kappa coefficient > 0.88). Moreover, convolutional neural networks’ performances appeared suitable when compared with veterinarians: overall accuracy 0.89, specificity 0.96, sensitivity 0.86, agreement with each individual observer 0.79 (Cohen’s kappa coefficient). Conclusions: Open-source convolutional neural networks can achieve good performances, especially when the task is strictly defined and rather easy. Valuable experiences are being gathered about the routine application of artificial intelligence-powered tools in pig abattoirs. We consider that such tools will likely enable the systematic collection of data, addressing the distinct needs of stakeholders in a cost-effective manner
Styrax spp.: habitat, phenology, phytochemicals, biological activity and applications.
No full textStyrax is the largest genus of the family Styracaceae, with about 130 species distributed across America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The oleo-resin of these woody shrubs, called Styrax benzoin, has a long tradition of use as incense and in therapeutics, which has stimulated research and industrial applications. Many studies have been carried out on the biological applications of different Styrax species, but some gaps still remain to be filled, particularly regarding the phenology and the biological activity and application in different fields. Hence, this review gathers updated and valuable information on the distribution and phenology of Styrax spp., considering their phytochemicals, biological activity, current and possible applications in medicine, animal feeding, energy production, and the food industry. Overall, Styrax obassia and Styrax japonicus are the most studied, but Styrax officinalis has been thoroughly investigated for its phytochemicals. The recent literature highlights promising applications in oncology and also as an energy crop. The data described in this review could be useful in upgrading the quantity and quality of Styrax benzoin, as well as expanding knowledge on emerging applications, such as bio-pesticides or the development of active packaging for the food industry
Thiotaurine Attenuates TNF-α-Induced Inflammation in Human Chondrocytes via NF-κB Pathway Suppression and Thiol-Dependent Persulfidation
No full textThiotaurine (2-aminoethane thiosulfonate) is a naturally occurring sulfur-based compound featuring a thiosulfonate group, enabling it to act as a biologically relevant donor of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) through thiol-dependent persulfidation. H2S levels are known to be reduced in individuals with osteoarthritis, where it plays roles in modulating inflammation, oxidative stress, and pain. This study investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of Thiotaurine in human primary chondrocytes exposed to a pro-inflammatory cytokine. Cells were pre-treated with Thiotaurine prior to stimulation with TNF-α, and the expression levels of key interleukins were assessed at both the mRNA and protein levels. TNF-α stimulation led to upregulation of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-1β, which was significantly attenuated by Thiotaurine pre-treatment. Additionally, immunofluorescence analysis showed that Thiotaurine inhibited the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of p65, indicating suppression of NF-κB pathway activation. Persulfide detection assays confirmed an increase in intracellular persulfide levels following Thiotaurine treatment. In summary, due to its anti-inflammatory activity and ability to release H2S, Thiotaurine emerges as a promising and potentially safe therapeutic option for osteoarthritis and other inflammation-related conditions
Sedentarietà e instabilità politica: un'analisi macroeconomica degli effetti dei conflitti sull'attività fisica
No full textIl ponderoso volume, settimo titolo della collana “I quaderni di Scienze Politiche” diretta da Francesca Fausta Gallo, raccoglie gli Atti della X Conferenza del Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche dell’Università di Teramo. Negli ultimi anni, e in modo più evidente a partire dal 2022, il tema della guerra è entrato prepotentemente nel dibattito pubblico europeo. L’invasione dell’Ucraina da parte della Russia, i più recenti crimini perpetrati a Gaza, hanno posto al centro dell’opinione pubblica il tema della guerra, sempre più accettata come una opzione da tenere in conto per la risoluzione dei conflitti tra gli Stati da affiancare alle sempre meno efficaci trattative diplomatiche. L’aumento delle spese militari, la crescente presenza della NATO nel continente europeo, la centralità che il tema della “difesa militare” sta assumendo nel dibattito pubblico, sono altrettanti segnali di un cambio di prospettiva e di mentalità all’interno delle nostre società, che non guardano più alla pace come ad un valore acquisito e non negoziabile
EGCop: An Expert-Curated Occurrence Dataset of European Groundwater-Dwelling Copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda)
No full textMotivation: Subterranean biodiversity is increasingly threatened by multiple intertwined anthropogenic impacts, including habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation of resources, biological invasions and climate change. Worryingly, subterranean biodiversity is still poorly represented in conservation agendas, also due to persisting gaps in our knowledge of the organisms thriving in the often-secluded and difficult-to-access subterranean ecosystems. This is even more apparent for small-sized (body size < 1 mm) groundwater-dwelling metazoans, among which copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda) represent the dominant group in terms of both species richness and biomass. We present a dataset including 6986 occurrence records of 588 species/subspecies of European obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods. We curated all records to make their taxonomy consistent with the current systematics of Copepoda, while assessing uncertainty in the geographic coordinates by coupling in-depth web and literature searches with GIS analyses. We suggest the data provided can be used to explore a range of eco-evolutionary questions—from the drivers of the distribution of groundwater fauna to the assembly of groundwater communities—as well as to prompt the conservation of groundwater biodiversity and more. Main Types of Variables Contained: Occurrence records of groundwater-dwelling copepods, with details about specimen taxonomy, source of the record, occurrence locality and habitat type. Spatial Location and Grain: Geographical Europe (including western Russian Federation), along with Turkey and Georgia. Occurrence records were assigned projected geographic coordinates (EPSG:3035) at 100 m resolution but with varying spatial uncertainty. Time Period and Grain: 1907–2017. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement: Crustacea: Copepoda. Most records have species-level identification, while some of them are identified at the subspecies level. Software Format: Comma-separated values file (.csv) and Excel file (.xlsx), with UTF-8 encoding and meta-data provided following the Darwin Core standard