1,720,992 research outputs found
Utilizzo degli ostracodi (Crustacea: Ostracoda) per il monitoraggio della qualità delle acque del Fiume Ledra
No full textFreshwater Ostracoda (Crustacea) as indicators for surface water quality: a case study from Ledra river basin (NE Italy
No full textOstracoda (Crustacea) as indicators for surface water quality: a case study from the Ledra River basin (NE Italy)
No full textWastewater discharges associated with urbanisations, farming activities and industry may dramatically reduce the ecological health of river ecosystems. During the reconstruction of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region following the 1976 earthquake, a lot of resources were used to build large numbers of wastewater treatment plants to minimize the impact of human activities on lotic ecosystems. Their efficiency is usually assessed through monitoring of the physical and chemical environment near the discharge point. However, discontinuous monitoring of the abiotic environment may fail to detect periodic malfunctioning and do not recognize indirect effects on the ecosystem. We assessed the potential of an alternative approach to assess the impact of wastewater discharges, based on the monitoring of ostracod density, richness and community composition. We repeatedly measured physical, chemical and microbial parameters and collected ostracod samples at stations up- and downstream from wastewater discharge points scattered over a 21-km stretch of the Ledra River (NE Italy). The results indicate that monitoring ostracods is a potentially valuable approach, for two reasons. Communities appeared to be well differentiated even in the small spatial area of this study, indicating that they can provide sufficient resolution to pick up even minor impacts. Secondly, despite the seasonal succession in species composition, spatial differentiation was consistent over time, suggesting that ostracods provide a time-integrated picture of the water quality. The traditional approach failed to detect any consistent impact of wastewater discharges, apart from an ambiguous increase in nutrient levels. The density and/or richness of the ostracod communities was altered by some wastewater discharges, but not by others. We identified a general trend for wastewater discharges to systematically replace regionally rare ostracod species with common species. In particular, the species Ilyocypris inermis was very sensitive to discharges, and may be used as an indicator species for good ecosystem health
Using crustaceans to identify different pond types. A case study from the Alta Murgia National Park, Apulia (South-eastern Italy)
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to test the
effectiveness of crustaceans in the identification of
different pond types, including ‘Mediterranean Temporary
Ponds’ (sensu ‘Habitats’ Directive) and ponds
characterised by a range of hydroperiods. Thus, we
performed a limnological study in the Alta Murgia
National Park (central Apulia), conducting a three-year
monitoring programme in 19 ponds, both temporary and
permanent. Occurrence data for macrophytes and
quantitative samples of crustaceans were collected
contemporaneously with measures of water variables
and environmental features. Based on macrophyte
assessment, half of the studied waterbodies were found
to include Mediterranean Temporary Pond priority
habitats, and the possible relationships with the crustacean
assemblages were analysed. All ponds were
grouped into three different classes depending on their
hydroperiod. Data analysis revealed that (i) there was a
significant relationship between the distribution of
crustaceans and macrophytes; (ii) crustacean richness
was highest in ponds belonging to the shortest hydroperiod
class considered and (iii) the different hydroperiod
classes were associated with specific crustacean assemblages.
This study indicates that crustaceans—in addition
to macrophytes—can be used as an effective tool
for the identification of different pond types
An annotated checklist of the Recent non-marine ostracods (Ostracoda: Crustacea) from Italy
No full textWe present an updated checklist of non-marine ostracods from Italy. Data were obtained from the published literature up to April 2013 and new collections carried out in 18 out of 20 Italian regions. Altogether, 1665 ostracod samples were collected from 1241 new sites visited between 1981 and 2013. Sites were selected to encompass the most widespread types of freshwater aquatic habitats (i.e., pools, ponds, peat bogs, springs and streams, etc.). This field study led to the identification of 89 ostracod species. Five additional taxa remained at the generic level because only few (juvenile) individuals were available or the material was damaged. Of particular interest is the occurrence of four species new to Italy: Candonocypris novaezelandiae, Eucypris elongata, Ilyocypris getica and I. hartmanni. In addition, three putative new species (Pseudolimnocythere sp., Candona sp. 1 and Eucypris sp. 1) are left in open nomenclature.
After synonymising several species and removing invalid taxa reported in the literature, the updated checklist now includes 152 species and 5 taxa identified at supraspecific level, belonging to 57 genera and 12 families (Candonidae, Cyprididae, Cytherideidae, Darwinulidae, Ilyocyprididae, Notodromadidae, Limnocytheridae, Leptocytheridae, Loxochonchidae, Hemicytheridae, Xestoleberididae and Entocytheridae). For each species, its distribution in Italy and its bibliographic records (including synonyms) for Italy are provided
Una patria che non discrimina: la tradizione letteraria italiana negli "Ultimi anni di Clelia Trotti"
No full text"Gli ultimi anni di Clelia Trotti" è il racconto che più di altri nelle "Cinque storie ferraresi" fa trapelare la presenza di certe suggestioni letterarie mai confessate da Giorgio Bassani, attive in forma di paradigma morale sollecitante nella scrittura una vocazione civile che modernizza e attualizza quella tradizione politico-rivoluzionaria espressasi agli albori del Risorgimento con le figure del Foscolo e del Leopardi
CAR-T Cells for the Treatment of Central Nervous System Tumours: Known and Emerging Neurotoxicities
No full textThe advent of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells has recently changed the prognosis of relapsing/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, showing response rates as high as 60 to 80%. Common toxicities reported in the pivotal clinical trials include the cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and the Immune effector Cell-Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome (ICANS), a stereotyped encephalopathy related to myeloid cell activation and blood–brain barrier dysfunction, presenting with a distinctive cascade of dysgraphia, aphasia, disorientation, attention deficits, vigilance impairment, motor symptoms, seizures, and diffuse brain oedema. The tremendous oncological efficacy of CAR-T cells observed in systemic B-cell malignancies is leading to their growing use in patients with primary or secondary central nervous system (CNS) lymphomas and in patients with solid tumours, including several CNS cancers. Early studies conducted in adult and paediatric patients with solid CNS tumours reported a distinct profile of neurotoxicity referred to as Tumour inflammation-associated neurotoxicity (TIAN), corresponding to local inflammation at the tumour site manifesting with focal neurological deficits or mechanical complications (e.g., obstructive hydrocephalus). The present review summarises available data on the efficacy and safety of CAR-T cells for solid and haematological CNS malignancies, emphasising known and emerging phenotypes, ongoing challenges, and future perspectives
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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