Global human activities, such as greenhouse emissions and pollution, are promoting global warming, environmental changes and biodiversity reduction. Pristine environments such as those of Antarctica are not immune to these phenomena, as is noticeable from the increasing pace of the temperature shift registered within the continent in recent decades. In this study, we describe the first de novo transcriptome analysis of the endemic Antarctic springtail (= collembolan) Cryptopygus terranovus and we evaluate its global gene expression response following a mid-term exposure of 20 days to 18°C. Expression data are compared with wild specimens sampled from their native environment to outline the molecular mechanisms triggered by the thermal exposure. Although individual plasticity in transcript modulation is assessed, several pathways appear to be differentially modulated in springtails subjected to the heat treatment vs wild specimens. Through enrichment analysis, we show that protein catabolism, fatty acid metabolism and a sexual response characterized by spermatid development are induced, while carbohydrate consumption, lipid catabolism and tissue development are downregulated in treated samples compared to controls.

The most promising candidate as an everyday alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are sodium-ion batteries (NIBs). This is not only due to Na abundance, but also because the main principles and cell structure are very similar to LIBs. Due to these benefits, NIBs are expected to be used in applications related to large-scale energy storage systems and other applications not requiring top-performance in terms of volumetric capacity. One important issue that has hindered the large scale application of NIBs is the anode material. Graphite and silicon, which have been widely applied as anodes in NIBs, do not show great performance. Hard carbons look very promising in terms of their abundance and low cost, but they tend to suffer from instability, in particular over the long term. In this work we explore a carbon-coated TiO2 nanoparticle system that looks very promising in terms of stability, abundance, low-cost, and most importantly that safety of the cell, since it does not suffer from potential sodium plating during cycling. Maintaining a nano-size and consistent morphology of the active material is a crucial parameter for maintaining a well-functioning cell upon cycling. In this work we applied Anomalous Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (ASAXS) for the first time at the Ti K-edge of TiO2 anatase nanoparticles on different cycled composite electrodes in order to have a complete morphological overview of the modifications induced by sodiation and desodiation. This work also demonstrates for the first time that the nanosize of the TiO2 is maintained upon cycling, which is in agreement with the electrochemical stability.

Here we briefly summarize our long period experience of constructing and operating wide-field monitoring cameras with sub-second temporal resolution to look for optical components of GRBs, fast-moving satellites and meteors. General requirements for hardware for such systems are discussed along with algorithms of real-time detection and classification of various kinds of short optical transients. We also give a status report on the next generation, multi-objective and transforming monitoring system, the MegaTORTORA, whose 6-channel (Mini-MegaTORTORA-Spain) and 9-channel prototypes (Mini-MegaTORTORA-Kazan) we are building now at SAO RAS. This system combines a wide field of view with subsecond temporal resolution in monitoring regime, and is able to reconfigure itself, in a fractions of second, to follow-up mode which has better sensitivity and provides us with multi-color and polarimetric information on detected transients simultaneously.

The results of investigation of 43 peaked R-band light curves of optical transients of gamma-ray bursts with known redshifts are presented. The parameters of optical transients were calculated in the comoving frame, and then a search for pair correlations between them was conducted. As a result of the statistical analysis, a strong correlation between the peak luminosity and redshift was found for pure afterglows and the events with residual gamma activity, which can’t be explained as an effect of observational selection. It suggests the cosmological evolution of the parameters of the local interstellar medium around the sources of gamma-ray burst. In the models of forward and reverse shock waves, a relation between the density of interstellar medium and redshift was built for gamma-ray burst afterglows. It was shown that for GRB host galaxies the star formation rate increases with redshift.

The foraging behaviour of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) on inflorescences of staghorn sumac [Rhus hirta Sudworth (ex-typhina L.)] was studied using a “choice table” placed in natural stands of this plant. The choice table consisted of a wooden grid with alternated male and female inflorescences of sumac. Honey bee activity was recorded also on inflorescences of naturally growing plants in which the secretion of nectar was measured and the anther dehiscence recorded. Honey bees were the only common pollinators observed on sumac in the study area. During the morning, both plant sexes secreted little nectar, and pollen was available after the dehiscence of the anthers which took place between 1000 and 1100 hours. Female inflorescences secreted great amounts of nectar during the afternoon, but in male inflorescences there was little secretion. Honey bees seemed to forage according to the circadian availability of resources. Most of their activity concentrated on male inflorescences in the morning and on female ones during the afternoon. Both the occurrence of bees with pollen loads in their corbiculae and the length of the visits to each sex also seemed to be in accordance to the kind of resource exploited at particular times of the day. Most of the bees with pollen loads were observed during the morning and the longest visits to any inflorescences were registered on female ones during the afternoon (by bees foraging for nectar). Despite our results suggesting that the pollination success of staghorn sumac would be impaired by the foraging pattern of honey bees, an explanation is proposed for its reproductive success.

Two colour morphs of Enoplognatha ovata (Clerck), “redimita” and “lineata” the abdomens of which are whitish with two pink stripes and greyish-yellow, respectively, differ in their foraging strategies. When placed in artificial arenas with flowering stems to ascend, we noted that both morphs had a strong tendency to wander over the ground rather than ascend a stem [unlike the crab spider, Misumena vatia Clerck (Araneae: Thomisidae)], but that lineata was significantly more prone to wander than was redimita. Neither morph showed choice for the type of stem or colour of flower. Nevertheless, redimita showed a greater preference for choosing white artificial flowers (discs) atop 30-cm wooden rods than did lineata. We propose that the relative abundances of the two colour morphs in the natural population represents a balanced polymorphism which is maintained in part by polyethism in hunting strategies, with redimita being more fastidious in its selection of cryptic hunting sites in flowers than is lineata, and the latter being more cryptic and more errant on the ground.

The water-shipping problem is modelled in a two-dimensional framework and studied experimentally and numerically for the case of a fixed barge-shaped structure. The analysis represents the second step of the research discussed in Greco et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 525, 2005, p. 309). The numerical investigation is performed by using both a boundary element method and a domain-decomposition strategy. The model tests highlight the occurrence of dam-breaking-type water on deck, (a) with and (b) without an initial plunging phase, and (c) an unusual type of water shipping connected with blunt water–deck impacts here called a hammer-fist type event never documented before. Cases (a) and (c) are connected with the most severe events and the related features and green-water loads are discussed in detail. A parametric analysis of water-on-deck phenomena has also been carried out in terms of the local incoming waves and bow flow features. We classify such phenomena in a systematic way to provide a basis for further investigations of water-on-deck events. The severity of (a)-type water-on-deck events is analysed in terms of initial cavity area and water-front velocity along the deck. The former increases as the square power of the modified incoming-wave (front-crest) steepness while the latter scales with its square-root. The two-dimensional investigation gives useful quantitative information in terms of water-front velocity for comparison with three-dimensional water-on-deck experiments on fixed bow models interacting with wave packets.

V, I time-series photometry of the new Milky Way satellite recently discovered in the Bootes constellation (Belokurov et al. 2006) was collected at the TNG, WIRO and Loiano telescopes and used to search for variable stars. We have identified a non-negligible population of RR Lyrae variables, which confirms the presence of an old population in this newly discovered structure. The distribution of periods coupled with information on the evolutionary status of the system derived fromthe color-magnitude diagram provide important hints on the nature and history of this intriguing new companion of the Milky Way.

We have applied the Image Subtraction to B,V time-series photometry of four globular clusters of the Fornax dwarf spheoridal galaxy, which were observed with the 2.2m ESO-MPI, the 6.5m Magellan/Clay, the 4m CTIO/Blanco telescopes and the WFPC2 on board of HST. We have identified RR Lyrae stars and obtained well sampled light curves for the clusters' variables. From the periods and pulsation properties of their RR Lyrae stars Fornax globular clusters seem to be of Oosterhoff intermediate type.

We have combined B, V, I time-series photometry from three different telescopes (SUBARU, TNG and HST) to study the variable star population of the remote Galactic globular cluster NGC 2419 and derive hints on a possible extragalactic origin for this cluster. We have discovered 40 new variables (34 RR Lyrae stars, 3 SX Phoenicis stars, Scuti 1 eclipsing binary system and 2 red irregular variables) doubling the number of known variable stars in NGC 2419.

The aim of this study was to explore the views of Primary Care Organisation (PCO) clinical governance leads on the implementation and development of clinical governance within primary care in the south west region. A grounded theory study using focus groups, research interviews and negotiated feedback reports was designed for use in the primary care setting. The subjects were a purposeful sample of 16 PCG-level clinical governance leads. Four main categories emerged from the data. These included: (1) defining clinical governance; (2) the process of implementing clinical governance; (3) positive aspects of clinical governance; and (4) concerns about delivering clinical governance. At the time of collecting the data (approximately 1 year after the introduction of clinical governance), there was evidence of a culture in primary care where clinicians valued efforts to improve the quality of patient care and enjoyed their own involvement in decision-making at a grass-roots level. However, whilst the concept of clinical governance was received with enthusiasm, the delivery of clinical governance faced challenges. These challenges included the paucity of ear-marked funding, the speed of implementation, the volume of work, and the impact on the clinical governance lead's relationships at home and at work and on his/her emotional wellbeing.

One juvenile specimen of the sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus was recorded for the first time from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The specimen has been collected in an area of the Sicilian coast where trawling is banned except for scientific purposes. Morphometrics and meristics data are given.

We present an overview of our study of the short period variable stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and in the dwarf galaxies Fornax, Leo I, and NGC 6822. Light curves are presented for RR Lyrae stars, Anomalous Cepheids and, for the first time, for Dwarf Cepheids in the field and in the globular cluster #3 of the Fornax galaxy.

In this study the solubility to α-chymotrypsin of the zona pellucida (ZP) of human oocytes and polyploid embryos obtained during various clinical procedures of assisted fertilisation (IVF, ICSI, cyropreservation) was evaluated. The aim of the study was to determine whether changes in ZP solubility occur during such procedures and whether abnormal solubility could be likened to fertilisation failure. Correlation between ZP solubility and cortical granule (CG) density was also studied. The results showed that ZP solubility varied considerably among germinal vesicle or metaphase oocytes obtained from different subjects, but was essentially identical for the oocyte cohort obtained from individual women. On the basis of ZP solubility metaphase oocytes were subdivided into two classes: class I, average ZP dissolution time ± SE = 24.1 ± 0.9 min, n = 28; and class II, 46.7 ± 2.0 min, n = 13. Prolonged ZP dissolution times of metaphase oocytes were significantly correlated with a low in vitro fertilisation rate in sibling oocytes. The zonae of fertilised eggs (polyploid embryos) showed long solubilisation times (IVF: 45.3 ± 3.4 min, n = 18; ICSI: 48.9 ± 2.7 min, n = 19). ZP solubility of oocytes that failed to fertilise was intermediate between that of class I metaphase oocytes and embryos (unfertilised IVF: 33.0 ± 2.7 min, n = 13; unfertilised ICSI: 43.0 ± 2.4 min, n = 9). A moderate spontaneous ZP hardening occurred when metaphase oocytes were cultured for 24 h. Finally, cryopreservation of unfertilised oocytes caused hardening of their ZP, with dissolution times that were comparable to those found in fertilised eggs (49.5 ± 2.3 min, n = 10). In most cases, an inverse correlation was found between ZP dissolution time and CG density (longer solubilisation times corresponding to lower CG density). ZP hardening caused by cryopreservation, however, was not associated with a significant reduction in CG density in most of the oocytes examined.

Coeliac disease (CD) is a malabsorptive disorder of the small intestine resulting from ingestion of gluten. The HLA risk factors involved in CD are well known but do not explain the whole genetic susceptibility. Several regions of potential linkage on chromosomes 3q, 5q, 10q, 11q, 15q and 19q have already been reported in the literature. These six regions were analyzed with the Maximum Lod Score method on a dense set of markers. A new sample of 89 Italian sibpairs was available for study. There was no evidence for linkage for any of the regions tested, except for chromosome 5q. For this region, our data, as well as a sample of 93 sibpairs from our first genome screen (Greco et al. 1998), are compatible with the presence of a risk factor for CD with a moderate effect.

Aliphatic dioic acids have been proposed as alternative nutrients in selected clinical situations. In this study, their possible insulinotropic action was investigated in isolated rat pancreatic islets prepared from fed rats. Azelaic acid, sebacic acid and tridecanedioic acids, when tested at a 10·0 mM CONCENTRATION, WERE FOUND TO AUGMENT INSULIN RELEASE EVOKED BY d-glucose (7·0 mm) in the pancreatic islets. Likewise, glycerol-1,2,3-tris(dodecanoedioate), when used at concentrations close to 1·0 mm, increased the secretory response to the hexose. It is speculated that these findings may extend to insulin-producing cells, the knowledge that aliphatic dioic acids or their esters may act as energy substrates, e.g. in parenteral nutrition.

Nodes of Ranvier are sites on myelinated axons where the insulating layers of myelin are interrupted. They represent an excellent example of a complex cellular structure that contains highly differentiated sub-regions. At these sites of cell-cell specialization, ion fluxes occur which are required for propagation of action potentials. Myelinated axons and their nodes of Ranvier represent an important evolutionary advance for vertebrates that permit very rapid propagation of action potentials without large increases in axonal diameter. This physiological achievement is based on adaptations at a molecular level resulting in an elegant cooperation between glial cells and the axons of neurons.

The organization and sub-specialization of the molecular components of the node of Ranvier are complex but often inter-related. The nodal region of axons are enriched in several channel and pump proteins including the voltage-gated Na+ channel, Na+-K+ ATPase and a number of different K+ channel isotypes.