Fetal translocation between chromosomes 2, 18, and 21 resolved by fish

An apparently balanced t(2q;21q) translocation was discovered in fetal blood and amniocytes of a 22-week fetus, monitored because of ultrasonographic evidence of a heart disease. FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) analysis disclosed a complex translocation between chromosomes 2q, 18q, and 21q, which was inherited from the healthy mother. This observation corroborates the usefulness of molecular cytogenetic techniques in raising the quality of prenatal diagnosis and detecting subtle rearrangements not resolved by standard cytogenetics.     

Sediment pollution and dynamic in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (southern Italy): insights from bottom sediment traps and surficial sediments

Major and trace element, PAH, and PCB concentrations were measured in surface sediments and particles from sediment traps collected in the First and Second Basin of the Mar Piccolo (Gulf of Taranto) in two periods (June–July and August–September, 2013). The aim of the study was to evaluate pollution degree, sediment transport and particle redistribution dynamic within the area. Results confirm the higher contamination of sediments from the First Basin observed by previous researches, particularly for Cu, Hg, Pb, total PAHs, and total PCBs. Advective transport from the First to the Second Basin appears to be the leading transfer mechanism of particles and adsorbed contaminants, as evidenced by measured fluxes and statistical analyses of contaminant concentrations in surficial sediments and particles from sediment traps. Long-range selective transports of PAHs and microbial anaerobic degradation processes for PCBs have been also observed. These results are limited to a restricted time window but are consistent with the presence of transport fluxes at the bottom of the water column. This mechanism deserves further investigation and monitoring activities, potentially being the main responsible of pollutant delivering to the less contaminated sectors of the Mar Piccolo.     

Towards deliberative and pragmatic co-management: a comparison between inshore fisheries authorities in England and Scotland

In seeking to answer the question ‘who should be included in fisheries co-management?’, a constructive critique of the existing co-management literature is provided by filling the gaps of Habermas’s deliberative theory of democracy with Dewey’s pragmatism. Three conditions for ensuring democratic co-management are extrapolated from the theories: actors’ authority over decision making (empowerment), actors’ diversity (membership), and the right to self-nomination (procedures for external inclusion). The theoretical insights developed are supported with two examples of co-management institutions for inshore fisheries in the UK: Scottish Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) and English Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCAs).     

Socioeconomic development and vulnerability to land degradation in Italy

In recent years, the surface area affected by land degradation (LD) has significantly increased in southern European regions where the socioeconomic development has been proposed as a basic factor underlying the degree of vulnerability to LD. This paper investigates the correlation between several socioeconomic indicators and the level of vulnerability to LD in Italy, expressed as changes (1990–2000) in a composite index of land vulnerability (ΔLVI). The analysis was carried out over 784 local districts. The impact of per capita value added, agricultural intensity, industrial and tourism concentration, and urban growth was separately tested on ΔLVI. Results indicate that a lower district value added, crop intensification, irrigation, and the level of land vulnerability to degradation are strongly associated with the increasing level of land vulnerability over time, highlighting the role of the socioeconomic development as a main process underlying LD. In this framework, spatially equitable sustainable development may represent the effective strategy to mitigate the detrimental effects of economic growth and regional disparities on Mediterranean LD.     

Estrogenic activity of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment

In the last years pharmaceuticals have aroused great interest as environmental pollutants for their toxic effects towards non target organisms. This study wants to draw attention to a further adverse effect of drugs, the endocrine interference. The most representative drugs of the widespread classes in environment were investigated. The YES-test and the E-screen assay were performed to detect the capability of these substances to bind the human estrogenic receptor α (hERα) in comparison with 17β-estradiol. Out of 14 tested pharmaceuticals, 9 were positive to YES-assay and 11 were positive to E-screen assay; in particular, Furosemide and the fibrates (Bezafibrate, Fenofibrate and Gemfibrozil) gave the maximal estrogenic response. Tamoxifen showed its dual activity as agonist and antagonist of hERα.     

Evaluation of a temporal trend heavy metals contamination in Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile, (1813) along the western coastline of Sicily (Italy)

The use of biological species in the monitoring of marine environmental quality allows the evaluation of biologically available levels of contaminants in the ecosystem and the effects of contaminants on living organisms. The seagrass Posidonia oceanica is a useful bioindicator because through the lepidochronology technique it is possible to obtain a historical contamination trend of a given area. This study aims to assess the temporal trend contamination by heavy metal investigations on dead sheaths of 100 samples of P. oceanica collected in the Protected Marine Area of "Plemmirio" (Sicily) and in the Siracusa bay. Important results were obtained because data show a significant negative temporal trend for the metals analysed especially for As, Co, Cr, Hg, Pb, Se, U and V that in the past had higher concentrations, with a stronger contamination in the Plemmirio area, the site much more exposed to the pollution of the nearby petrochemical complex. This study confirms the relevance of the use of P. oceanica as a biological indicator of metal contamination in coastal ecosystems. Thus the usefulness of P. oceanica as a tracer of spatial metal contamination and as a good tool for water quality evaluation is reinforced.     

Analysis of extinction in ultraviolet and visible spectra of water bodies of the Paraguay and Brazil wetlands

The extinction spectra in ultraviolet and visible radiation were analyzed using filtered and unfiltered water samples obtained in 11 open water bodies in the Neembucù (Paraguay) and Pantanal (Brazil) wetlands. The role of dissolved and suspended matter in the total extinction was analyzed between 260 nm and 700 nm. The chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) was the major component in extinction of considered ultraviolet radiation (260-400 nm). The differences in CDOM concentrations explained the main pattern of extinction of the ultraviolet radiation in the samples. Nevertheless, differences between the studied water bodies were found also to depend on the rate of photodegradation and photobleaching. The methodology developed in the present study was to distinguish "humic optic waters" according to quantity and quality of dissolved and suspended matter present. In the "humic optic water", the penetration of 10% of incident UV radiation and the photoactive layer are estimated. The influence of particulate matter increases in the total extinction of the wavelengths higher than 400 nm. The integral of the extinction curve of suspended matter in the visible wavelengths (400-700 nm) was found to relate with the total suspended solids and chlorophyll concentrations.