Il progetto “ceraNEApolis”: un sistema informativo cartografico delle produzioni ceramiche a Neapolis (IV a.C.-VII d.C.)

In the last few decades, urban archaeology in Naples has contributed to outline the history of the city. The discovery of a great amount of pottery gave information about the daily life of ancient Naples. It was therefore decided to draw up a thematic archaeological map of the ceramics finds to reconstruct their production and distribution from the 4th century B.C. to the 7th century A.D. The project ceraNEApolis consists of a pottery map linked to a bibliographic database, which will be made available online: a working tool for experts, useful to outline the cultural city stratification and to understand the Neapolitan archaeological sites through the material. It is useful in defining the topography of production (workshop, raw materials, and resources), distribution (communication routes, harbour, market), uses and consumption patterns (house, habitat, sacred areas, burials) in the city, even if lacking monumental evidence. It contributes to the reconstruction and analysis of the cultural and urban landscape, taking into account the geomorphological elements and the data contexts even in diachronic and transversal multi-disciplinary perspective. The analysis of some significant cases shows its validity also for potential alternative fruition. The integration of virtual reality systems is a possible extension also for the knowledge, enhancement, communication and use of cultural heritage

Intercalibration of four spectrofluorometric protocols for measuring RNA/DNA ratios in larval and juvenile fish

The ratio of tissue RNA to DNA (R/D) is a widely used index of recent growth and nutritional condition in larval and juvenile fish. To date, however, no standard technique for measuring nucleic acids has been adopted. Because methodological details can affect the estimate of R/D, researchers using different analytical protocols have been unable to compare ratios directly. Here, we report on the results of an international interlaboratory calibration of 4 spectrofluorometric protocols to quantify nucleic acids. Replicate sets of 5 tissue samples and 2 standards (common standards) were supplied to each of 5 researchers for analysis with their own methods and standards. Two approaches were evaluated for mitigating the observed differences in values: 1) the use of common nucleic acid standards and 2) standardizing to a common slope ratio (slope of DNA standard curve/slope of RNA standard curve or mDNA/mRNA). Adopting common standards slightly reduced the variability among protocols but did not overcome the problem. When tissue R/Ds were standardized based on a common mDNA/mRNA slope ratio, the variance attributed to analytical protocol decreased dramatically from 57.1% to 3.4%. We recommend that the ratio of the slopes of the standard curves be provided to facilitate intercomparability of R/D results among laboratories using different spectrofluorometric methods for the analysis of nucleic acids in fish

Nutritional situation for larval Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L.) in two nursery areas in thewestern Baltic Sea

The Greifswalder Bodden (GWB) is considered to be the most important spawning and nursery area for the western Baltic spring-spawning herring. However, the biotic and abiotic reasons for this are still unclear. Consequently, we investigated larval growth conditions in the GWB and in the Kiel Canal (KC), another nursery and spawning area of Baltic herring. We investigated prey quantity and quality [copepod abundance and essential fatty acid (EFA) concentration] as well as biochemically derived growth rates and fatty acid content of larval herring in spring 2011. A significant correlation between larval growth and larval EFA concentration could be observed in the GWB. The highest growth rates and EFA concentrations in the larval herring coincided with high food quality. Compensating effects of food quality on food quantity and vice versa could be observed in both the GWB and the KC. While larval growth rates in the KC were high early in the season, highest growth rates in the GWB were achieved late in the season. In conclusion, neither area was superior to the other, indicating similar growth conditions for larval herring within the region

Biochemical indices and life traits of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from Cape Verde Islands

The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is an endangered marine reptile for whom assessing population health requires knowledge of demographic parameters such as individual growth rate. In Cape Verde, as within several populations, adult female loggerhead sea turtles show a size-related behavioral and trophic dichotomy. While smaller females are associated with oceanic habitats, larger females tend to feed in neritic habitats, which is reflected in their physiological condition and in their offspring. The ratio of RNA/DNA provides a measure of cellular protein synthesis capacity, which varies depending on changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and food availability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined use of morphometric data and biochemical indices as predictors of the physiological condition of the females of distinct sizes and hatchlings during their nesting season and how temperature may influence the physiological condition on the offspring. Here we employed biochemical indices based on nucleic acid derived indices (standardized RNA/DNA ratio-sRD, RNA concentration and DNA concentration) in skin tissue as a potential predictor of recent growth rate in nesting females and hatchling loggerhead turtles. Our major findings were that the physiological condition of all nesting females (sRD) decreased during the nesting season, but that females associated with neritic habitats had a higher physiological condition than females associated with oceanic habitats. In addition, the amount of time required for a hatchling to right itself was negatively correlated with its physiological condition (sRD) and shaded nests produced hatchlings with lower sRD. Overall, our results showed that nucleic acid concentrations and ratios of RNA to DNA are an important tool as potential biomarkers of recent growth in marine turtles. Hence, as biochemical indices of instantaneous growth are likely temperature-, size- and age-dependent, the utility and validation of these indices on marine turtles stocks deserves further study.The authors thank the Cape Verde Ministry of Environment (General Direction for the Environment), INDP (National Fisheries Institution), the Canary Islands Government (D.G. Africa and D.G. Research and Universities), ICCM (Canarian Institution for Marine Sciences), the Andalusian Government (Andalusian Environmental Office) and AEGINA PROJECT (INTERREG IIIB) for funding and hosting them during this study. The authors also thank the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme, and national funds through FCT - PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2011 for supporting the biochemical analysis

Evaluation of bioelectrical impedance analysis and Fulton’s condition factor as nonlethal techniques for estimating short-term responses in postsmolt Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to food availabili

We evaluated measures of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and Fulton’s condition factor (K) as potential nonlethal indices for detecting short-term changes in nutritional condition of postsmolt Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Fish reared in the laboratory for 27 days were fed, fasted, or fasted and then refed. Growth rates and proximate body composition (protein, fat, water) were measured in each fish to evaluate nutritional status and condition. Growth rates of fish responded rapidly to the absence or reintroduction of food, whereas body composition (% wet weight) remained relatively stable owing to isometric growth in fed fish and little loss of body constituents in fasted fish, resulting in nonsignificant differences in body composition among feeding treatments. The utility of BIA and Fulton’s K as condition indices requires differences in body composition. In our study, BIA measures were not significantly different among the three feeding treatments, and only on the final day of sampling was K of fasted vs. fed fish significantly different. BIA measures were correlated with body composition content; however, wet weight was a better predictor of body composition on both a content and concentration (% wet weight) basis. Because fish were growing isometrically, neither BIA nor K was well correlated with growth rate. For immature fish, where growth rate, rather than energy reserves, is a more important indicator of fish condition, a nonlethal index that reflects shortterm changes in growth rate or the potential for growth would be more suitable as a condition index than either BIA measures or Fulton

Computational Analysis of Hybrid Norwood Circulation with Distal Aortic Arch Obstruction and Reverse Blalock-Taussig Shunt

BACKGROUND: The hemodynamics characteristics of the hybrid Norwood (HN) procedure differ from those of the conventional Norwood and are not fully understood. We present a multi-scale model of HN circulation to understand local hemodynamics and effects of aortic arch stenosis and a reverse Blalock-Taussig shunt (RBTS) on coronary and carotid perfusion. METHODS: Four 3-dimensional models of four HN anatomic variants were developed, with and without 90% distal preductal arch stenosis and with and without a 4-mm RBTS. A lumped parameter model of the circulation was coupled to a local 3-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model. Outputs from the lumped parameter model provided waveform boundary conditions for the computational fluid dynamics model. RESULTS: A 90% distal arch stenosis reduced pressure and net flow-rate through the coronary and carotid arteries by 30%. Addition of the RBTS completely restored pressure and flow rate to baseline in these vessels. Zones of flow stagnation, flow reversal, and recirculation in the presence of stenosis were rendered more orderly by addition of the RBTS. In the absence of stenosis, presence of the shunt resulted in extensive zones of disturbed flow within the RBTS and arch. CONCLUSIONS: We found that a 4-mm × 21-mm RBTS completely compensated for the effects of a 90% discrete stenosis of the distal aortic arch in the HN. Placed preventatively, the RBTS and arch displayed zones with thrombogenic potential showing recirculation and stagnation that persist for a substantial fraction of the cardiac cycle, indicating that anticoagulation should be considered with a prophylactic RBTS

A computationally inspired in-vivo approach identifies a link between amygdalar transcriptional heterogeneity, socialization and anxiety

Pharmaceutical breakthroughs for anxiety have been lackluster in the last half-century. Converging behavior and limbic molecular heterogeneity has the potential to revolutionize biomarker-driven interventions. However, current in vivo models too often deploy artificial systems including directed evolution, mutations and fear induction, which poorly mirror clinical manifestations. Here, we explore transcriptional heterogeneity of the amygdala in isogenic mice using an unbiased multidimensional computational approach that segregates intra-cohort reactions to moderate situational adversity and intersects it with high content molecular profiling. We show that while the computational approach stratifies known features of clinical anxiety including nitric oxide, opioid and corticotropin signaling, previously unrecognized druggable biomarkers emerge, such as calpain11 and scand1. Through ingenuity pathway analyses, we further describe a role for neurosteroid estradiol signaling, heat shock proteins, ubiquitin ligases and lipid metabolism. In addition, we report a remarkable behavioral pattern that maps to molecular features of anxiety in mice through counterphobic social attitudes, which manifest as increased, yet spatially distant socialization. These findings provide an unbiased approach for interrogating anxiolytics, and hint toward biomarkers underpinning behavioral and social patterns that merit further exploration

Effects of photoperiod and temperature on recent growth rates of sprat larvae in the Baltic Sea

Growth rate has been shown to effect survival and recruitment of marine fishes. How growth rates in the field are affected by larval development and environmental variability is poorly understood. Recent growth rates of sprat larvae, a key species in the Baltic Marine ecosystem, were determined by converting RNA/DNA ratios determined from individual larvae into recent growth based on a laboratory calibrated RNA/DNA temperature growth model. Several factors (larval size, temperature and photoperiod) that may contribute to the observed variability in recent growth sampled in the spawning seasons 2002 through 2004 were analyzed with a variety of models. Best fit was found for the Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). Larval size (dry weight), photoperiod and temperature terms explained 29 % and 36 % of the variability observed in recent growth of sprat larvae in the Baltic Sea, respectively