Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università del Salento
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Effect of Bacillus velezensis MT9 on Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Intestinal Microbiota
Get PDFIn recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of probiotics in aquaculture, due to their effectiveness on pro- duction, safety, and environmental friendliness. Probiotics, used as feed additives and as an alternative to antibiotics for disease prevention, have been shown to be active as growth promoters, improving survival and health of farmed fish. In this study, we have investigated the ability of the strain Bacillus velezensis MT9, as potential probiotic, to modulate the intestinal microbiota of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed with the Bacillus velezensis-supplemented feed in an experimental aquaculture plant. The analysis of the microbial community of the Nile tilapia by culture-based and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approaches demonstrated that B. velezensis MT9 reshapes the fish intestinal microbiota by reducing the amounts of opportunistic Gram-negative bacterial pathogens belonging to the phylum of Proteobacterium (Pseudomon- adota) and increasing the amounts of beneficial bacteria belonging to the phyla Firmicutes (Bacillota) and Actinobacteria (Actinomycetota). Specifically, dietary supplementation of Nile tilapia with B. velezensis MT9 resulted in an increase in the relative abundance of bacteria of the genus Romboutsia, which has a well-documented probiotic activity, and a decrease in the relative abundance of Gammaproteobacteria of the genera Aeromonas and Vibrio, which include opportunistic pathogens for fish, and Escherichia/Shigella, which may pose a risk to consumers. The whole genome sequence of B. velezensis MT9 was then determined. Genome analysis revealed several peculiarities of B. velezensis MT9 compared to other B. velezensis reference strains including specific metabolic traits, differences in two-component and quorum sensing systems as well as the potential ability to produce a distinct array of secondary metabolites, which could explain the strong ability of this strain to modulate the intestinal microbiota of the Nile tilapia
Emozioni e fumetti per piccoli eco-gesti perfetti. Educazione geografica alla sostenibilità nella scuola primaria con vignette e balloon
No full textSeguendo le riflessioni maturate in seno all’eco-critica, questo saggio intende indagare il ruolo del fumetto come risorsa didattica capace di creare un’atmosfera emozionale positiva riguardo al tema del cambiamento climatico e, nel contempo, di favorire l’avvio di un percorso geografico di insegnamento-apprendimento teso a rendere i bambini e le bambine della scuola primaria consapevoli e responsabili del destino della casa terrestre
Effects of a competitive season on the plasma lipid profile of soccer players
No full text: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a soccer season on the lipid profile of professional soccer players. Forty male players participated in the study. Blood samples for lipid profile analysis were collected at four time points: before the start of the training period (T0), immediately after the 4-week training phase (T1), at mid-season (T2, 23 weeks after T0), and the end of the season (T3, 43 weeks after T0). Throughout the competitive season, there was a significant decrease in body fat percentage (BFP, p < 0.001, RM-ANOVA) and an increase in fat-free mass (FFM, p < 0.001, RM-ANOVA). Plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL) significantly decreased (TC: p = 0.003, LDL: p = 0.033, RM-ANOVA), whereas HDL cholesterol (HDL) levels increased significantly in response to training (p = 0.013, RM-ANOVA). Triglyceride (TG) concentrations were significantly higher before the season than after (p < 0.001, RM-ANOVA). Additionally, the LDL/HDL and TC/HDL ratios showed significant reductions over the season (LDL/HDL: p = 0.004, TC/HDL: p < 0.001, RM-ANOVA). The observed decrease in LDL, TC, and TG levels, along with the increase in HDL levels at the end of the season. These results suggest that regular soccer training induces favorable changes in the lipid profile of professional players. Further studies are needed to determine whether such changes are associated with long-term health outcomes in elite athletes, particularly considering their typically low baseline risk for cardiovascular conditions
Lysosomal Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Familial Case Linked to the p.G376D TARDBP Mutation
No full textAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons. Consequent to the loss of these cells, neuromuscular functions decline, causing progressive weakness, muscle wasting, and paralysis, leading to death in 2 to 5 years. More than 90% of ALS cases are sporadic, while the remaining 10% of cases are familial, due to mutations in 40 different genes. One of the most common genes to be mutated in ALS is TARDBP (transactive response DNA binding protein 43), which encodes TDP-43 (TAR DNA-binding protein 43). A mutation in exon 6 of TARDBP causes the aminoacidic substitution G376D in the C-terminal region of TDP-43, leading to its cytoplasmic mislocalization and aggregation. In fibroblasts derived from patients carrying this mutation, we found a strong increase in lysosome number, with overexpression and higher nuclear translocation of the transcription factor TFEB. In contrast, lysosomal functionality was deeply compromised. Interestingly, lysosomal activity was unaffected at an early stage of the disease, worsening in more advanced stages. Moreover, we observed the same pathological phenotype in iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cells)-derived patient motor neurons carrying the G376D mutation. Therefore, this mutation compromises the functionality of lysosomes, possibly contributing to neurodegeneration
Verfassungsbeschwerde e recurso de amparo: quale posto per la Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’UE?
Get PDFDal punto di vista della tutela multilivello dei diritti fondamentali, l'equivalenza della Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell'UE ai Trattati ha posto nuovi problemi di coordinamento a livello europeo. Con riferimento ai ricorsi diretti alle Corti costituzionali, il Bundesverfassungsgericht, con la sentenza Right to be forgotten II (2019), consente ora ai singoli di presentare ricorso diretto per violazione dei diritti sanciti dalla Carta. Tale orientamento non è stato accolto dalla Corte costituzionale spagnola. Il presente articolo, partendo dalle somiglianze e dalle differenze tra i modelli tedesco e spagnolo, si propone di analizzare il quadro normativo vigente e di interrogarsi sulle conseguenze che potrebbero derivare dal consolidamento di tale diversità di orientamenti
Innovating University teaching through UDL: challenges and opportunities fron the D.A.N.T.E.-U. project
Get PDFThe paper presents the structure and some outcomes of the PRIN 2022 project D.A.N.T.E.-U., aimed at innovating university teaching through the Universal Design for Learning model, with a specific focus on non-traditional students. After identifying this category and analysing the services provided by the five Italian partner universities, the project involves the development of an online platform for faculty, based on the adaptation of CAST’s UDL Guidelines 3.0 to the university context
Combining autonomous delivery robots and traditional vehicles with public transportation infrastructure in last-mile distribution
Get PDFThe recent boom of e-commerce and the resulting concern about emissions increase are promoting the development of alternative paradigms for last-mile delivery, involving greener vehicles, such as air drones and autonomous delivery robots, which are also less sensitive to traffic congestion. In this paper, we study a last-mile distribution problem in which a heterogeneous fleet composed of both traditional vehicles and autonomous delivery robots is used to service a large number of customer requests in an urban area. The delivery robots use stations of the public transportation network as their depots. The problem amounts to building both van and delivery-robot routes in such a way as to minimize the distribution cost, meeting the constraints imposed by the different ranges and capacities of both vehicles. At the same time, another decision involves choosing at which stations of the public transportation network the delivery robots are based. For this purpose, we develop two variants of a matheuristic scheme based on the solution of a hybrid set-partitioning and location-based model. We perform thorough computational experiments on instances inspired by the problem of distributing drugs to pharmacies in the urban area of Rome (Italy) and show that, when the instance size grows, the proposed solution approach allows us to obtain significant cost reductions compared to both a straightforward solution of a mathematical model and a classical metaheuristic scheme. In addition, we show that combining autonomous delivery robots with traditional vehicles allows us to achieve important cost and emission reductions with respect to a traditional delivery scheme