Assessing the current status of urban forest resources in the context of Parco Nord, Milan, Italy

During the early part of the 1980s, a major project called Parco Nord was undertaken by the Lombardia Region to establish forest resources within an industrial area located in the northern part of the city of Milan. Since 1983, more than 60 ha of formerly industrial land has been converted into urban forest plantations, thus creating large patches of trees with the potential to sustain a wide range of functions and services. This paper describes an integrative study aimed to assess the current status of forest resources in Parco Nord. It focuses on the actions taken to determine whether forest resources significantly changed their status 20 years after their establishment, considering historical field data and records of management practices. Analyses have been conducted at both stand and tree level by collecting quantitative and qualitative parameters. Stand-level analysis gave a quantitative estimation of the response of species to ecological conditions and management practices while tree-level analysis provided evidence of species renovation after thinning operations.     

Specific interaction between cyclophilin and cyclic peptides

Cyclophilin A, a peptidyl-prolyl cis–trans isomerase that catalyzes the otherwise slow isomerization of Xaa-Pro imidic bond, specifically binds the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A. Herein we reportevidence on binding of cyclolinopeptide A and its synthetic analogue, [Aib^5,6-D -Ala⁸] cyclolinopeptide, to bovine cyclophilin A. Binding experiments were monitored by fluorescence. CD, and second-derivative spectroscopies, evidencing no remarkable rearrangement of protein structure organization. The possibility that cyclolinopeptide A could act as a substitute of cyclosporin A in the immunosuppression modulation is also briefly discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Role of the prostaglandin system in the monoaminergic control of prolactin release in the rat]

In ovariectomized rats treated with estradiol benzoate, the pre-treatment with bromocriptine or metergoline on increase of PRL secretion induced by some prostaglandins has been investigated. The PGs used were able to hinder the drop in PRL levels induced by metergoline, a blocker of 5-HT receptors, but not that produced by bromocriptine, a dopamine receptor agonist. Therefore it is possible to suppose that the PGs are involved in the monoaminergic hypothalamic regulation of the PRL secretion.     

A self-adapting approach for the detection of bursts and network bursts in neuronal cultures

Dissociated networks of neurons typically exhibit bursting behavior, whose features are strongly influenced by the age of the culture, by chemical/electrical stimulation or by environmental conditions. To help the experimenter in identifying the changes possibly induced by specific protocols, we developed a self-adapting method for detecting both bursts and network bursts from electrophysiological activity recorded by means of micro-electrode arrays. The algorithm is based on the computation of the logarithmic inter-spike interval histogram and automatically detects the best threshold to distinguish between inter- and intra-burst inter-spike intervals for each recording channel of the array. An analogous procedure is followed for the detection of network bursts, looking for sequences of closely spaced single-channel bursts. We tested our algorithm on recordings of spontaneous as well as chemically stimulated activity, comparing its performance to other methods available in the literature.     

Ecogeographical variation in skull morphometry of howler monkeys (Primates: Atelidae)

Our aim is to identify ecomorphological adaptations in the skull shape of the South American howler monkeys (species of the genus Alouatta, Lacépède, 1799, Primates, Atelidae). Since Alouatta is relatively homogenous in feeding ecology, we expect skull shape variation to be relatively conservative across species. We used geometric morphometrics to quantify craniodental morphology in six species of Alouatta. Multivariate regression, two-block Partial Least Squares, and variation partitioning were used to test for the impact of taxonomy, sexual dimorphism, allometry, geography and climate on skull shape. We found morphological overlap among species and sexes, although some discrimination occurs between species living in seasonal environments as opposed to rain forest species. There was a negative latitudinal gradient in skull size across species, with size explaining 34% of total shape variance. Latitude and climate, though important, were secondary in explaining shape variance. Amazonian Alouatta are larger, have thinner molars, wide incisors, and proportionally larger neurocranium. Overall, the shape of southern species seem well adapted to cope with proportionally tougher food items, whereas Amazonian species seem better equipped to deal with a diet richer in fruits, as confirmed by independent field observations. The small size of Alouatta in the South is possibly linked to the effect of competition with the larger folivorous atelid Brachyteles.