The serum lipoprotein pattern of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

1. The serum lipoprotein pattern of water buffalo was studied by means of electrophoresis and the lipoproteins were isolated by ultracentrifugation on the basis of their hydrated density. 2. High density lipoproteins (HDL) showed a higher level of cholesterol than did the other lipoproteins. Moreover, the level of phospholipids was higher in HDL than in very low density lipoproteins (VLDL). 3. The buffalo B100 apoprotein was similar to that of man and rat. Three apoproteins similar to human apo E, apo AI and AII were found in buffalo HDL, buffalo VLDL contained essentially apo B protein.     

Ferulic Acid Improves Cognitive Skills Through the Activation of the Heme Oxygenase System in the Rat

Over the last years, many studies reported on the antioxidant effects of ferulic acid (FA) in preclinical models of dementia through the activation of the heme oxygenase/biliverdin reductase (HO/BVR) system. However, only a few studies evaluated whether FA could improve neurological function under milder conditions, such as psychological stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of FA (150 mg/kg intraperitoneal route) on cognitive function in male Wistar rats exposed to emotional arousal. Animals were randomly assigned to two experimental groups, namely not habituated or habituated to the experimental context, and the novel object recognition test was used to evaluate their cognitive performance. The administration of FA significantly increased long-term retention memory in not habituated rats. Ferulic acid increased the expression of HO-1 in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of not habituated rats only, whereas HO-2 resulted differently modulated in these cognitive brain areas. No significant effects on either HO-1 or HO-2 or BVR were observed in the cerebellum of both habituated and not habituated rats. Ferulic acid activated the stress axis in not habituated rats, as shown by the increase in hypothalamic corticotrophin-releasing hormone levels. Pre-treatment with Sn-protoporphyrin-IX [0.25 μmol/kg, intracerebroventricular route (i.c.v.)], a well-known inhibitor of HO activity through which carbon monoxide (CO) and biliverdin (BV) are generated, abolished the FA-induced improvement of cognitive performance only in not habituated rats, suggesting a role for HO-derived by-products. The CO-donor tricarbonyldichlororuthenium (II) (30 nmol/kg i.c.v.) mimicked the FA-related improvement of cognitive skills only in not habituated rats, whereas BV did not have any effect in any group. In conclusion, these results set the stage for subsequent studies on the neuropharmacological action of FA under conditions of psychological stress.     

How Similar is the Coordination of Parental Roles Among Different Pairs? An Examination of a Monogamous Fish

Although most studies on biparental care assume that parents cooperate in raising offspring, few studies have documented how parents coordinate their activities. Using the biparental convict cichlid (Archocentrus nigrofasciatum) we compared the parental behavior of both single (‘widowed’) parents and individuals within pairs during the 5 d when the offspring were in the relatively uniform and stationary wriggler stage. In particular, we were interested in the consistency of day‐to‐day parental activities among single individuals and among individuals within pairs. Single parents showed differences in most parental activities that were consistent from one day to the next. This day‐to‐day consistency remained after an intruder was added and / or the mate was present. Thus, although the social context changed (i.e., presence or absence of mate, presence or absence of an intruder), an individual's consistency remained. The male and female within pairs were significantly correlated in the time spent on most parental activities across experimental pairs. Thus, while individuals within pairs were unique in their performance of a parental activity, paired males and females managed a high degree of correlation (i.e., coordination). In general, pairs were homogeneous in the degree to which males and females were correlated across different parental activities.     

Conserving plant diversity in Europe: outcomes,criticisms and perspectives of the Habitats Directive application in Italy

Habitat Directive is the core strategy of nature conservation in Europe aiming at halting biodiversity loss. In this study the results of the third Italian assessment regarding the conservation status (CS) of plants listed in the Habitat Directive (Flora of community interest—FCI) was presented. Data was collected from several sources related to plant distribution, population data, habitats and pressures. Following the official European procedure, all parameters were evaluated and combined to give the CS of each taxon in each biogeographical region of presence. A comparison between the recent Italian IUCN and Reporting assessments was performed in order to evaluate the consistency between these two assessments. The official EU checklist comprises 113 Italian plant taxa, 107 of which were examined in this study. Our results showed a critical situation with only 34% of favourable CS, while 50% were unfavourable (40% inadequate plus 10% bad) and 16% unknown, in particular in the Mediterranean bioregion, where the unfavourable assessments reach the 65%. The results of the Report were consistent with those of the IUCN assessment, in which 41.9% of plants were threatened with extinction. This report highlighted some benefits and criticisms at national level, but it may have a wider significance. Although a general advance of knowledge, a great effort is needed to reach the Habitats Directive goals. Despite the limited resources, monitoring activities needs to be improved in order to close information gaps for several plants. A positive outcome was the development of a specific national project funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment, with the ambitious target to set future monitoring activities for FCI and optimize monitoring efforts.     

Comparative genomic assessment of Multi-Locus Sequence Typing: rapid accumulation of genomic heterogeneity among clonal isolates of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campylobacter jejuni</Emphasis>

Background  

Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) has emerged as a leading molecular typing method owing to its high ability to discriminate among bacterial isolates, the relative ease with which data acquisition and analysis can be standardized, and the high portability of the resulting sequence data. While MLST has been successfully applied to the study of the population structure for a number of different bacterial species, it has also provided compelling evidence for high rates of recombination in some species. We have analyzed a set of Campylobacter jejuni strains using MLST and Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) on a full-genome microarray in order to determine whether recombination and high levels of genomic mosaicism adversely affect the inference of strain relationships based on the analysis of a restricted number of genetic loci.     

Disintegration of Dung Pats from Cattle Treated with the Ivermectin Anthelmintic Bolus,or the Biocontrol Agent Duddingtonia flagrans

An experiment was performed during the grazing seasons of 1998, 1999 and 2000 to study the influence of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin and the nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans on cattle dung disintegration. The faeces originated from groups of animals that were part of a separate grazing experiment where different control strategies for nematode parasite infections were investigated. Each group consisted of 10 first-season grazing cattle that were either untreated, treated with the ivermectin sustained-release bolus, or fed chlamydospores of D. flagrans. Faeces were collected monthly on 4 occasions and out of pooled faeces from each group, 4 artificial 1 kg dung pats were prepared and deposited on nylon mesh on an enclosed pasture and protected from birds. The position of the new set of pats was repeated throughout the 3 years of the study. Each year, the dung pats were weighed 4, 6, 8 and 10 weeks after deposition and immediately afterwards replaced to their initial positions.

Results showed that there was no difference in faecal pat disintegration between groups. However, the time-lag between deposition and complete disintegration of the faeces varied significantly between deposition occasions. Dung pats disappeared within 2 weeks (visual observation) when subjected to heavy rainfall early after deposition, whereas an extended dry period coincided with faeces still remaining 12 months after deposition.