Multiannual phytoplankton trends in relation to environmental changes across aquatic domains: A case study from Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea)

We investigated multiannual trends in phytoplankton in relation to several environmental drivers. We analyzed ecological data collected during the past two decades from three aquatic sites: an artificial lake, a coastal lagoon, and a marine coastal area. Hydrographic, nutrient, and phytoplankton data were statistically analyzed to detect trends and interactions. In all ecosystems, the chlorophyll a concentration decreased with increasing abundance of small-sized phytoplankton. Phytoplankton dynamics were related to decreased nutrient concentrations in the lake, to dynamics of phosphorus and decreased salinity in the lagoon, and probably to combined top-down and bottom-up processes in the marine gulf.     

First record of planktonic crustaceans in Sardinian reservoirs

Sardinian man-made lakes are reservoirs of species richness, hosting zooplankton taxa from the Mediterranean region and North Africa. To provide a first record of the taxa composition and diversity of zooplankton communities, we sampled 15 reservoirs during 2008–2009, from the north of the island to the south, representative of a range of size, depth, renewal time, and trophy. The survey was complemented by seasonal sampling in one of the largest lakes studied. Water samples collected from surface to bottom provided data on hydrochemistry and trophy. Crustacean dormant stages were inspected from sediments of the richest, and most diverse, Lake Sos Canales. RDA suggested that productivity, water depth, renewal time and altitude were the main variables related to taxa composition. The ubiquitous Copidodiaptomus numidicus, and its persistence in the water column, resulted from the production of subitaneous eggs throughout the year, an adaptive strategy in perennial water bodies. Genetic analyses of DNA sequences of the diagnostic gene ND5 placed the Sardinian Daphnia pulex in the North American group. Moreover, the ND5 sequence found in Sardinia was identical with that of an asexual hybrid clone between the American D. pulex and American D. pulicaria that replaced native D. pulex throughout Africa. The presence of this ND5 haplotype in Sardinia shows that this invasive clone also poses an invasive threat to native populations in Europe.     

Effect of Probiotic Use on Adverse Events in Adult Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: a Retrospective Cohort Study

Alterations of intestinal microflora are involved in the pathogenesis and natural history of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Manipulation of human gut microbiota with probiotics may be a therapeutic option. In this retrospective cohort study, the benefits of probiotic use in reducing adverse events were analyzed. Data from clinical charts of IBD patients followed up for at least 36 months were retrieved. The occurrence of adverse events including the need for systemic steroids, hospitalization, and surgery related to IBD was analyzed according to age, gender, body mass index, treatments, IBD phenotype, disease duration, and probiotic use. The amount of probiotic use was calculated as the ratio of time under probiotic treatment to the disease duration starting from the date of the first probiotic administration and expressed as a percentage. Patients were stratified according to the percentage of probiotic use as ≤?24%, 25–74%, and ≥?75%, and the number of adverse events per patient-years was calculated. Results were adjusted for Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) by multivariate analysis including study variables. Data from 200 patients (78 CD, 122 UC; 117 females; mean age 40.6?±?15.3 years; mean disease duration 12.1?±?8.7 years) were available. CD patients taking probiotics for 25–74% of the disease duration experienced a 64% reduction in total adverse events. The need for systemic steroids, hospitalization, and surgery dropped to zero events per person-year in UC patients and decreased by 93% (p?<?0.001) in CD patients taking probiotics for ≥?75% of the disease duration. Our findings suggest that the use of probiotics may be an additional therapeutic tool in patients with IBD.