1,720,978 research outputs found
Deep hypersaline anoxic basins as untapped reservoir of polyextremophilic prokaryotes of biotechnological interest
No full textFrom virus isolation to metagenome generation for investigating viral diversity in deep-sea sediments
No full textExtracellular DNA as a genetic recorder of microbial diversity in benthic deep-sea ecosystems
Full text linkChemical contamination can promote turnover diversity of benthic prokaryotic assemblages: the case study of the Bagnoli-Coroglio bay (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)
No full textChemical contamination of marine ecosystems represents a major concern for the detrimental consequences at different levels of biological organization. However, the impact of chronic contamination on the diversity and assemblage composition of benthic prokaryotes is still largely unknown, and this limits our understanding of the potential implications on ecosystem functioning. The Bagnoli-Coroglio bay (Gulf of Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea) is a typical example of coastal area heavily contaminated by metals and hydrocarbons, released for decades by industrial activities, which ceased at the beginning of nineties. In the present study we analyzed the abundance, diversity and assemblage composition of benthic prokaryotic assemblages at increasing distance from the historical source of contamination in relation to the heavy hydrocarbons (C > 12), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metal concentrations in the sediments. Prokaryotic abundance in the sediments differed among sites, and was mostly driven by environmental factors rather than by contamination levels. Conversely, the richness of prokaryotic taxa was relatively high in all samples, was driven by contamination levels and decreased significantly with increasing contamination (15–38%). Moreover, our results indicate large variations in the composition of the benthic prokaryotic assemblages among sites, mostly explained by the different levels and types of chemical contaminants found in the sediments. Overall, our findings suggest that chemical contaminants, even after decades from the end of their release, can profoundly influence the richness and turnover diversity of the benthic prokaryotic assemblages, in turn promoting a high diversification of the benthic bacterial and archaeal assemblages by selecting those lineages more adapted to specific mixtures of different contaminants. Our results open new perspectives for understanding of the long-term effects of chemical contamination on the benthic prokaryotic assemblages and the ecological processes they mediate
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Characterization of indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae from the Italian region of Marche: hunting for new strains for local wine quality improvement
No full textMarine Fungi as Potential Eco-Sustainable Resource for Precious Metals Recovery from Electronic Waste
No full textThe recovery of valuable metals from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEE or e-waste) might be achieved by bioleaching, a microbial-based technology which can substitute in the future chemical-based processes, reducing environmental impacts. Although marine fungi are still little exploited for such purposes, they are potential interesting targets. In the present study, we isolated marine fungi from contaminated sediments collected in two coastal areas (Bagnoli-Coroglio Bay, Italy; Bilbao estuary, Spain) and identified four high tolerant fungal taxa to high concentration of e-waste (100 g L-1). Such fungal taxa, belonging to the fungal families Dipodascaceae, Microascaceae, Gymnoascaceae and Trichocomaceae, were tested for their bioleaching and bioaccumulation potential of metals present in e-waste, using different experimental approaches. Results reported here indicate that the fungi are able to bioaccumulate metals released from e-waste with an efficiency depending from fungal strains and metals considered. Among precious elements, platinum was highly concentrated within fungal biomass (31-62%) across all strains. Our findings provide new insights on the potential of marine fungi inhabiting highly contaminated marine sediments as promising candidates to be used for the recovery of precious metals from electronic waste
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
