Volume 91/Supplement 1 - 2018 Journal of Biological Research · Massimo Cocchi (President of SIBS,...

Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale

ResearchBiological

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jbrjbjjjwww.jbiolres.org

Volume 91/Supplement 1 - 2018

91th SIBS Congress on the role of theItalian Society for Experimental Biologyin the Italian research

Ancona, Italy, 9-10 November 2018

ABSTRACT BOOK

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Neville A. Marsh (Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane,Australia)

Bruno Masala (University of Sassari, Italy)Alejandro M.S. Mayer (Midwestern University, Downers Grove, USA)Vincenzo Mitolo (University “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy)Amir Sasan Mozaffari Nejad (Hamadan University of Medical Sciences,

Iran)Werner E.G. Muller (Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany)Kary B. Mullis, Children’s Hospital (Oakland Research Institute, USA)Giuseppe Murdaca (Università degli Studi di Genova, Italy)Giuseppe Palumbo (University Federico II, Napoli, Italy)Gian Luigi Panattoni (University of Torino, Italy)Massimo Pregnolato (University of Pavia, Italy)Mark R. Rasenick (University of Illinois, Chicago, USA)Angela Maria Rizzo (University of Milano, Italy)Giacomo Rizzolatti (University of Parma, Italy)Aldo Rustioni (University of North Carolina, USA)Salvatore Sapienza (University of Catania, Italy)Pietro Scotto Di Vettimo (University of Napoli, Italy)Vinicio Serino (University of Siena, Italy)Lynne Christine Weaver (University of Western Ontario, Canada)Ming Wei (Griffith University, Australia)Mario Wiesendanger (University of Friburg, Switzerland)

Editorial StaffFrancesca Baccino, Managing EditorClaudia Castellano, Production EditorTiziano Taccini, Technical Support

PublisherPAGEPress Publicationsvia A. Cavagna Sangiuliani, 527100 Pavia, ItalyTel. +39.0382.464340 – Fax. [email protected] – www.pagepress.org

Journal of Biological Research 2018; volume 91:(s1)

Journal of Biological ResearchBollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale

eISSN 2284-0230

EDITORS IN CHIEFMarco Giammanco (University of Palermo, Italy)Gian Luigi Mariottini (University of Genova, Italy)

ASSOCIATE EDITORSRenzo Antolini (University of Trento, Italy)Massimo Cocchi (President of SIBS, University of Bologna, Italy)Luigi Pane (University of Genova, Italy)Emma Rabino Massa (University of Turin, Italy)

EDITORIAL BOARD James Anthony (Michigan State University, USA)Saeme Asgari (Pasteur Institute, Iran)Han Bao (MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory of Michigan State

University, USA)Maria Grazia Bridelli (University of Parma, Italy)Dario Cantino (University of Torino, Italy)David Caramelli (University of Firenze, Italy)Giuseppe Caramia (G. Salesi Hospital, Ancona, Italy)Emilio Carbone (University of Torino, Italy)Brunetto Chiarelli (University of Firenze, Italy)Amelia De Lucia (University “Aldo Moro”, Bari (Italy)Danila Di Majo, (Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy)Andrea Drusini (University of Padova, Italy)Luciano Fadiga (University of Ferrara, Italy)Vittorio Farina (University of Sassari, Italy)William Galanter (University of Illinois, Chicago, USA)Lorenzo Gallus (University of Genoa, Italy)Darren Grice (Institute for Glycomics and School of Medical Science,

Griffith University, Nathan, Australia)Stefania Grimaudo (University of Palermo, Italy)Millie Hughes-Fulford (University of San Francisco, USA)Gaetano Leto (Università di Palermo, Italy)Gianni Losano (University of Torino, Italy)Mansoor A. Malik (Howard University Hospital, Washington DC (USA)Non

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PRESIDENT

Massimo Cocchi (University of Bologna, Italy)

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Renzo Antolini (University of Trento, Italy)

Nicola Benfante (QPP Institute, Italy)

Massimo Cocchi (University of Bologna, Italy)

Maria Grazia Bridelli (University of Parma, Italy)

Caterina Faggio (University of Messina, Italy)

Marco Giammanco (University of Palermo, Italy)

Gian Luigi Mariottini (University of Genova, Italy)

Emma Rabino Massa (University of Torino, Italy)

Luigi Pane (University of Genova, Italy)

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91th SIBS National Congress | Ancona, Italy, 9-10 November 2018

Partner

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91th SIBS Congress on the role of the Italian Societyfor Experimental Biology in the Italian research

Ancona, Italy, 9-10 November 2018

PRESIDENT OF SIBS 2018

Giuseppe Natale Frega (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona Italy)

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Massimo Cocchi (University of Bologna - QPP Institute, Italy)Giuseppe Natale Frega (Politechnic University of Marche, Italy)

Maria Grazia Bridelli (University of Parma, Italy)Gian Luigi Mariottini (University of Genova, Italy)Concetta Messina (University of Palermo, Italy)

* * *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Invited lectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Oral Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Posters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Index of authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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INVITED LECTURES

HOW DID TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS IMPACTHUMAN DIFFERENTIATION AND EVOLUTION?THE CASE OF NON-LTR RETROTRANSPOSONSAlessio Boattini1*, Etienne Guichard1, Valentina Peona1,2,Guidantonio Malagoli-Tagliazucchi3, Lucia Abitante1,Evelyn Jagoda4, Margherita Musella1, Marco Ricci1,2,Alejandro Rubio-Roldán5, Stefania Sarno1, Donata Luiselli1,Davide Pettener1, Cristian Taccioli6, Luca Pagani7,8,Jose Luis Garcia-Perez5,91University of Bologna, Department of Biological, Geologicaland Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy; 2Department ofEvolutionary Biology (EBC), Uppsala University, Uppsala;Sweden; 3Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Parma,Department of Research and Innovation, Parma, Italy;4Harvard University, Human Evolutionary Biology,Cambridge MA, USA; 5GENYO Pfizer Universidad deGranada Junta de Andalucía Centre for Genomics andOncological Research, PTS Granada, Granada, Spain;6University of Padova, Department of Animal Medicine,Production and Health, Legnaro (PD), Italy; 7University ofPadova, Department of Biology, Padova, Italy; 8EstonianBiocentre, Tartu, Estonia; 9MRC Human Genetics Unit, Instituteof Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM), University ofEdinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK*E-mail: [email protected]

Transposable Elements (TEs) are biologically importantcomponents of eukaryote genomes and their activity generat-ed at least 46 % of the human genome. In AnatomicallyModern Humans (AMH), only some non-LTR retrotransposonshave recently been active. These elements often contain inter-nal promoters, Transcription Factor Binding Sites andpolyadenylation signals. They can drive adjacent geneexpression, produce alternative transcripts for existing genesand contribute to the generation of new genes and pseudo-genes. These characteristics make them one of the primarysources for genomic mutations and variability. This study isaimed at the identification of the role of such retrotrans-posons in the differentiation and evolution of the genusHomo, by comparing insertions in the genome of AMH(GRCh37-hg19) with those of our closest extinct relatives,Neanderthals and Denisovans, as well as with chimpanzees.We analyzed reference sequences of AMH and chimps anddeveloped an in silico methodology for identifying species-specific insertions using ancient DNA sequencing data.These procedures led to the identification and confirmation ofa large number of modern-, archaic- and chimp-specific inser-tions, the genomic loci of which have been characterizedaccording to different approaches: variability in human pop-ulations, genetic and epigenetic features, selective pressuresand regulatory/expressional alteration inference. Our resultssuggest that the activity of non-LTR retrotransposons through-out Homo evolution might have played an important role inAMH differentiation, generating new variability, influencingrecent selective events and possibly affecting the humanbrain development. Further research on this topic can helpMolecular Anthropologists and Evolutionary Biologists to bet-ter understand functional evolution of the AMH genome,while also opening new possibilities for studies in genomicsand evolutionary dynamics. Guichard et al. (2018). Impactof non-LTR retrotransposons in the differentiation and evolu-tion of Anatomically Modern Humans. Mobile DNA, 9:28.

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DIETARY POLYPHENOLSAND RUMEN MICROBIOTAMarcello Mele1*, Arianna Buccioni2, Andrea Serra1,Carlo Viti21Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari, Agro-ambientali,University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Scienze delleProduzioni Agro-alimentari e dell’Ambiente, University ofFlorence, Firenze, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Plant polyphenols are largely present in the plant kingdomand, as a consequence, in the diet of ruminants. Polyphenolsmay interact with rumen microbiota, which is composed by thewhole consortium of rumen microorganisms. The interactionbetween dietary polyphenols and rumen microbiota may resultin changes of carbohydrates fermentation, protein degradationand lipid metabolism. Advancing in the analysis of rumen micro-biota allowed to increase the knowledge about the microbiotacomposition as affected by dietary factors. In the present review,the effect of plant polyphenols on rumen microbiota responsibleof unsaturated fatty acids biohydrogenation, fibre digestion andmethane production was discussed. Overall, dietary polyphe-nols are able to perturb rumen microbiota composition, depress-ing or modulating the biohydrogenation of dietary unsaturatedfatty acids. Large part of the literature is dedicated to the effectof a specific class of polyphenols: tannins. The effect of tanninson rumen microbiota largely depends to the nature of tanninsand to the amount of tannins included in the diet. Condensedtannins have an inhibitory effect on the biohydrogenation ofunsaturated fatty acids, whereas hydrolysable tannins have amodulatory effect on the biohydrogenation, by inducing theaccumulation of different kinds of intermediates of the biohydro-genation process, maybe as metabolic response of bacteria tothe stress induced by tannins. As regard fibre digestion, polyphe-nols are able to induce a depressive effect on Gram-positivefibrolytic bacteria and ciliate protozoa. This effect results in areduction of volatile fatty acid production (mainly acetate).Reduction of fibre digestion is usually associated with a reduc-tion of methane emission. This was demonstrated for condensedtannins, whereas the effect of hydrolysable tannins on methanereduction is probably due to a direct interaction with rumenmicrobiota without affecting dietary fibre digestion.

THE UNIT OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHIN BIOANTHROPOLOGYEmma Rabino Massa*

Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi,Università di Torino, Torino, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

In the framework of the study program on ancient and cur-rent human populations, the relationships between Biologyand Culture are considered with the aim to define the popula-tion dynamics, by valorizing them as functional entitiesimmersed in their environment. In terms of methodology, thestudy is carried out in order to demonstrate that the anthropo-logical history of a population is the result of a complexprocess whose intelligibility lies both in the biological dynam-ics and in the social and cultural one. The peculiarity of theproject consists in the investigation of the continuity betweencurrent and past populations through the analysis of the moststrictly biological parameters of Anthropology (genetic charac-teristics, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA polymorphism) aswell as the social and cultural factors (biodemography, eatingbehavior, living habits, migrations, state of health). To recon-

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struct the dynamics of the populations of the past, humanremains are used, which represent an important “BiologicalArchive”. This material allows one to reconstruct the life condi-tions of the past by means of the paleodemographic, paleoge-netic, paleodietary and paleopathological studies. In the bio-medical field, the results of the bio-anthropological researches,by taking in consideration the factors of biological and socialtransformation, may have useful consequences in order to pro-vide indications for possible preventive interventions.

TRADITIONAL AND EMERGING POLLUTANTSAS NEW CHALLENGES FOR MARINE ECOTOXICOLOGY:FROM THE MOLECULE TO ECOLOGICAL RISKASSESSMENTFrancesco Regoli*

Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, PolytechnicUniversity of Marche, Ancona, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

In the last 15 years the ecotoxicological approach based onthe use of bioindicator organisms has allowed to understandmechanisms of bioaccumulation and modes of action of envi-ronmental pollutants, highlighting how these compounds inter-act with several cellular districts, induce the activation of detox-ification pathways or the onset of various adverse effects.However, challenges for the marine environment are dramati-cally changing in the last decade both in terms of magnitude ofdisturbance, typologies of hazards, but also as new scientificand technological opportunities. Beside traditional chemicals,emerging pollutants like pharmaceuticals, microplastics (MPs),nanoparticles, algal toxins and new pathogens represent exam-ples of worrying stressors for the health status of marine organ-isms and ecosystems. Characterized by different environmentalsources and distribution pathways, these compounds have beenlargely ignored for a long time, representing now a growingconcern for their widespread diffusion, the possibility to beabsorbed by several species and possible deleterious effects. Atthe same time, the choice of bioindicators organisms is largelyincreased, and also methodological approaches greatlyevolved, from the analysis of individual cellular responses or sin-gle-molecule screening, to quantitative high throughput analy-ses. We certainly changed our way to thinking ecotoxicology,moving from the initial paradigm of the exposure-response con-tinuum to a more dynamic situation, in which biological inputsand normal biological functions can be modulated by compen-satory or adaptive mechanisms. Individual components of thetoxicity response pathway have been gradually characterizedwithin highly complex and sophisticated network of interactionsand cascade effects. Among emerging pollutants, recent datawill be presented on the ecotoxicological potential of differentpharmaceutical compounds in the marine environment, show-ing their accumulation in non target organisms, and the onsetof biological alterations from changes in transcriptomic profileto potential functional alterations at cellular level. Alsomicroplastics pose a remarkable hazard for their huge pres-ence in the marine environment, uptake by several speciesalong food webs, efficient absorption and release of differentclasses of pollutants after ingestion, tissue transfer and inductionof transcriptional and cellular effects. Similarly, marine organ-

isms are experiencing the effects of global change, in particularocean warming and acidification: beside direct adverse effects,such factors might influence the capability of marine organismsto cope with multiple stressors, including anthropogenic pollu-tion. Climate changes are also influencing the occurrence ofharmful algal blooms, biological invasions of alien species pro-ducing toxic metabolites, and new expansion of pathogenswhich had been considered as eradicated from coastal areas.In addition to significant ecological disturbance and humanhealth concerns, specific ecotoxicological properties have beendetected for some bioactive compounds, which are accumulat-ed in invertebrates and fish tissues, causing molecular and cel-lular alterations, effects on fatty acids metabolism and reproduc-tive potential of exposed organisms. The enhanced knowledgeon these new threats is contributing to raise public awarenessand promote new scientific or industrial initiatives. At the sametime, the ecotoxicological approach has also become a keycomponent of ecological risk assessment procedures andrecently included in some national environmental law.

TOWARDS ELECTROMAGNETIC MEDICINE:ELECTRO-CONDUCTIVE PROPERTIES OF CYTOSKELETALPROTEIN FILAMENTS EXPOSED TO TTFIELDSJack A. Tuszynski1,2*1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering(DIMEAS), Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy; 2Department ofOncology and Department of Physics, University of Alberta,Edmonton, Canada*E-mail: [email protected] - [email protected]

We provide an overview of the modeling performed atboth atomistic and coarse-grained levels in order to gaininsight into electrostatic and electro-conductive properties ofthe cytoskeleton. Computer simulations and experimentalmeasurements carried out for microtubules and actin filamentsare presented. Charge and dipole values for monomers anddimers as well as polymerized forms of these proteins aresummarized. Continuum approximations for cable equationsdescribing actin filaments and microtubules compare favor-ably to measurements in buffer solutions showing solitonwaves and transistor-like amplification of ionic signals. ACConductivity and capacitance of tubulin and microtubuleshave been measured and modeled in the range of frequenciesbetween 100kHz and 1 MHz. A dramatic change in conduc-tivity occurs when tubulin forms microtubules. In living cells,this signals a conductive phase transition coinciding with mito-sis in dividing cells. We conjecture that this process, coincid-ing with TTField penetration into the cleavage furrow in adividing cell provides the most significant mechanistic expla-nation of the observed effects. Finally, we provide estimates ofthe forces, energies and power involved in the action ofTTFields on microtubules and kinesin motors. These calcula-tions are compared and contrasted with typical values expe-rienced at a cell level and provide strong arguments for realphysical effects of TTFields in dividing cells. We also showresults of DLS and TEM measurements on microtubules andtubulin oligomers in solution, which allow us to quantify theseprocesses under controlled conditions.


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ORAL COMMUNICATIONS

“DRINK AND SLEEP LIKE A FISH”- GOLDFISH AS ABEHAVIOR MODEL TO STUDY PHARMACEUTICALEFFECTS IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMSValbona Aliko1*, Enis Mehmeti1, Mihallaq Qirjo1,Caterina Faggio21Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences,University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania; 2Department ofChemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and EnvironmentalSciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Behavior is a mechanism through which organisms react tointernal and external stimuli to best cope with challenges in anever-changing environment. The study of animal behavior pat-terns in response to environmental stress/threats, is relativelynew and unexplored. The aim of this study is to offer a modestcontribution in explaining the effects of pharmaceutical pollu-tants found in freshwater ecosystems, using the behavior pat-terns and physiology of Carassius auratus. Behavior changeswere evaluated through swimming patterns, opercular and pec-toral response, and rheological aggressivity. Animals wereexposed for 5 weeks to water (as control), ethanol (0.25 and1%, v/v), fluoxetine (100 µg/l) and caffeine (50 mg/l) andtheir short-term responses recorded. The video was analysesusing the open-sourced software program Track3D andEthoVision XT, which objectively quantified swimming andsocial behaviors. In all treatments, fish shown significantly(p<0.01) high level of stress, aggressivity and hyperactivity,compared to control. It was interesting the fact that for each pol-lutant, fish exhibited different swimming patterns, beside thenormal. These changes in the nervous system such as stressedbehavior, irregular swimming patterns, hyperactivity andaggression, are consequences of pharmaceutical pollution infreshwater bodies and as such they can be used as suitableearly physiological response biomarkers to environmentalstress. Monitoring of altered behavior is a great early indicatorof water pollution, which can easily be applied in the bestaquaculture and fishery practices.

TRANSITION FROM LATE LACTATION TO DRYPERIOD CAUSED SHIFTS IN METABOLICALLY ACTIVERUMEN MICROBIOTA OF COWS REVEALED BY RNABASED AMPLICON SEQUENCINGNida Amin*, Barbara Cardazzo, Lisa Carraro, Lucia BailoniDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science(BCA), University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

This study aimed at monitoring Italian Simmental cows dur-ing 2 different physiological stages/dietary treatments, toobserve possible modifications in their metabolically activerumen bacterial, archaeal and protozoal communities. Six lac-tating cows with close days in gestation were selected for thisstudy. The experiment was divided into 2 collection periods:late lactation (248-332 DIM) and dry period (2-52 days beforecalving). During each period, single rumen fluid sample wascollected with an esophageal probe from each cow, fed a spe-cific total mixed ration (TMR) at least for 14 days prior to col-lection. RNA was extracted in duplicates and used as a tem-plate for cDNA synthesis, that was further amplified by PCRusing gene specific primers. For bacteria and archaea, V3-V4region of 16S rRNA genes, and for eukaryotes, V9 region of18S rRNA genes were amplified, followed by sequencing using

300bp paired-end Illumina Miseq platform. In addition, thetotal protozoa No., and motility were also recorded using com-pound microscope. The transition from late lactation to dry peri-od caused significant modifications in the commonly detectedrumen bacterial phyla (Bacteroidetes & Proteobacteria), proto-zoal phyla (Ciliophora & Amoebozoa), and archaeal genera(vadinCA11, Methanobrevibacter & UnclassifiedMethanomassiliicoccaceae). In conclusion, dry period dietincreased the protozoa No., and motility, and resulted in higherabundance of methanogenic microorganisms. This study haspotential implication for microbial programming process infuture, by controlled feeding managements in early life that per-sist in later life, thereby reducing methanogenic microorganismsand improving animal health and production.

GRACILARIA GRACILIS: A POWERFUL PRODUCTFROM SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTUREGioele Capillo1*, Caterina Faggio1, Serena Savoca1,Giuseppe Panarello1, Marilena Sanfilippo1,Nunziacarla Spanò21Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche,Farmaceutiche ed Ambientali (ChiBioFarAm), University ofMessina, Messina, Italy; 2Dipartimento di ScienzeBiomediche, Odontoiatriche, e delle Immagini Morfologichee Funzionali (Biomorf), University of Messina, Messina, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Algal species of the genus Gracilaria Greville(Gracilariaceae, Rhodophyta) being the main source of agarare of relevant economic importance. The increasing demandof agar have increased and encouraged studies on differentagarophites species. Among these, one of the most interestingin term of agar yield and quality is Gracilaria gracilis(Stackhouse) Steentoft, Irvine & Farnham. Our study demon-strates the various characteristics of this alga thanks to differ-ent experiments. Growth potential of G. gracilis has beenestablished in natural environment using two different culturemethods: the square frames and the “reste” one. Resultsshowed significant differences between the two culture meth-ods with the “reste” with higher efficiency both for DailyGrowth Rate (DGR=4.56±1.19 kg m-2) and Biomass(Y=0.96±0.27 kg m-2), defining an innovative method forseaweed culture. Then, the “reste” method has been used toassess “biofiltering” potential and growth of G. gracilis inaquaculture plant wastewater. While quite positive resultsregarding growth during the experimental period have beenobtained the most interesting ones were related to reductionof dissolved “nutrients” as NO2, NO3, NH4, PO4 in water.Finally, the exploitability of G. gracilis as potential immune-stimulants in Danio rerio (zebrafish) feed formulation has beenestablished. As results upregulation of both antioxidantenzymes gene expression (CAT and SOD) and mucosalimmune parameters (Total Ig, Total protein and ALP activity) infishes fed on diet supplemented with Gracilaria powder weredetected. Results obtained lead to the conclusion that G. gra-cilis could represents a very interesting organism to beapplied in Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture procedures,being product exploitable as source of agar, feed supplementand others, derived from environmental friendly aquaculture.

CHANGES EVOKED BY THE INDUCTION OFSYNTHETIC TORPOR ON THE GUT MICROBIOTA INTHE RATPierfrancesco Chiavetta1*, Claudia Sisa1, Timna Hitrec1,Emiliana Piscitiello1, Agnese Stanzani1, Fabio Squarcio1,Roberto Amici1, Silvia Turroni2, Marco Candela2,Patrizia Brigidi2, Matteo Cerri1



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1Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences,Physiology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna,Bologna, Italy; 2Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology,Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, University of Bologna,Bologna, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

The ability to induce a hypothermic state, mimicking tor-por, would bring valuable benefits in medicine (1). During thisstate (called synthetic torpor) many organs undergo substan-tial adaptation. In natural hibernators, the microbiota wasalso changed both in quality and quantity. For example, thehibernating 13 lined ground squirrel gut microbiota showedevident alterations in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes popula-tions (2). Such changes may play a role in the metabolicadaptation to hibernation (3). The aim of this study was toassess whether such changes are also evoked by synthetic tor-por. In this study, specific analysis on gut microbial modifica-tions during synthetic torpor (4) was performed in severalintestinal areas. The analysis performed included phylogenet-ic classification and inferred functional characterization.Although in both the cecum and the feces no changes wereobserved in treated animals compared to controls, interestingdata resulted from the small intestine. At a class level, in thiscompartment, a strong tendency to decrease was recordedfor Bacilli, from 48% to 19% in treated animals (P=0.07), witha corresponding increase in Clostridia, from 47% to 79%(P=0.2). In conclusion, the state of synthetic torpor affects thebiodiversity of the microbiota in the small intestine even afteronly a few hours of metabolic suppression.

References

(1) Cerri M. (2017) Annu Rev Physiol, 79:167-186.(2) Carey et al., (2013) Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol.,

304(1):R33-42.(3) Sommer F et al., (2016) Cell Rep, 14(7):1655-1661.(4) Cerri, M. (2013) J Neurosci, 33(7), 2984-2993.

THE CHOLERA EPIDEMICS IN TWO MUNICIPALITIESOF MOLISE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURYSergio De Iasio1*, Valeria Ugolini1, Alessia Orrù2,Marilena Girotti2, Rosa Boano21Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, della Vita e dellaSostenibilità Ambientale, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy;2Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi,Università di Torino, Torino, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Epidemics and famines have been the main causes ofmortality crises in the past. In addition to changing thedemographic dimensions of the communities, they haveoften disrupted the social life, developing new mentalitiesand innovating behaviors, especially those related to themobility of individuals. In the nineteenth century the epi-demics of plague ceased but cholera struck almost all theeuropean populations since 1829. The governments tried tooppose the diffusion of the disease by adopting many pre-cautions that intensified over time (sanitary cordons, quaran-tine, street cleaning, prohibition of throwing waste on thestreet, inspection of food, enlargement of hospitals), but thelack of knowledge of the transmission methods of the bac-terium limited the effects of infection containment. TheMolise study was done using death registers of civil statusand comparing the characteristics of deaths in the years ofcrisis with those of previous years. All the epidemics thatstruck Italy also affected Molise. Despite the establishment ofmaritime sanitary cordons, deaths were more numerous in

the litoral municipalities. The most important epidemic wasthe first (1837). The number of deaths doubled in manymunicipalities and tripled in the coastal strip and in theimmediate hinterland; moreover they died more femalesthan males. Instead, in subsequent epidemics, the increasein deaths rarely exceeded 100% and died more males thanfemales. The improvement in potable water network, sani-tary services, food quality and precautions to limit the infec-tion were the basis of the disappearance of cholera fromMolise in the early twentieth century.

NUTRITIONAL FACTORS AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS:A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDYDanila Di Majo1*, Alessandra Casuccio2,Maurizio La Guardia3, Maria Chiara Cavallo1,Sabrina Realmuto4, Salvatore Cottone4, Marco Giammanco11Department of Experimental Biomedicine and ClinicalNeuroscience, Palermo, Italy; 2Department of Sciences forHealth Promotion and Mother-Child Care “G. D’Alessandro”,Palermo, Italy; 3Department of Biological, Chemical andPharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Palermo, Italy;4Azienda Ospedaliera, Ospedali Riuniti Villa Sofia-Cervello,Palermo, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating, inflammatoryand chronic Central Nervous System disease that has a sig-nificant impact on the National Health System. Data in theliterature have shown that diet can affect the symptoms asso-ciated with MS but it is not easy to know which foods areuseful and which are to be avoided to improve the patient'slife, as well as finding the most suitable diet regimens in thevarious stages of the disease. This is a cross-sectional studywhich seeks to investigate the relationships between dietaryhabits, lifestyle and Expanded Disability Status Scales(EDSS). The study involved 100 outpatients who were fol-lowed at the MS clinic of the Villa Sofia-Cervello hospital inPalermo, Italy. Through a structured questionnaire and med-ical records consultation, we collected data on demograph-ics and lifestyle including type and frequency of meals con-sumed and physical activity practiced. In addition, the nutri-tional status was evaluated on body mass index. The clinicaldata have included MS type, number of pulse therapies andtype of pharmacological therapies, and the EDSS. Finally acorrelation between food groups, (pro-inflammatory andanti-inflammatory), and disability index was made. Theresults show that there is an inverse correlation between thephysical activity practiced (p=0.05), the degree of satisfac-tion generated (p=0.009) and the EDSS scale. Furthermore,there is a linear correlation between the frequency of mealsconsumed and disability index (p=0.042). Finally, the con-sumption of milk and its derivatives was significantly associ-ated with increased levels of EDSS (p=0.008), while thefruits and vegetables intake is associated with lower levelsof disability (p=0.05).

RESEARCH, ENVIRONMENTS AND HEALTH IN THEMARCHE: EVIDENCE AND PROPOSALSMirco Fanelli*Dipartimento di Scienze Biomolecolari, Università degli Studidi Urbino “Carlo Bo”, Urbino, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

The Marche Region (Italy) is a territory rich in naturalresources but not without environmental criticalities that mayimpact on human health. One of the most critical area is theSite of National Interest (SIN) located adjacent to the city of


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Falconara Marittima and not far from other small cities.Falconara Marittima has been the subject of at least five dif-ferent epidemiological studies, for a total period of observa-tion of about 20 years, which have highlighted several healthproblems considering both the deaths, “the tip of the ice-berg”, and diagnoses. Given the numerous and consistent evi-dence of a population that is sick and dies more than theregional average, nothing has yet emerged concerning thepossible correlation between the environmental sources of pol-lutants with the excesses of diseases found in the territory. Infact, if on the one hand the epidemiological investigationshave provided important observations, contributing to bringout the state of health of the Falconara M. citizens, the samecannot be said for the accumulated knowledge regardingpossible environmental problems (e.g. mapping pollutantsand their sources in the territory). The lack of attempts to cor-relate the pollutants (and their sources) with the greater inci-dence of certain diseases, determines a terrific lack of knowl-edge that cannot provide the crucial guidelines (for the legis-lator) for the necessary actions to be taken for a more effectiveprimary prevention of the diseases. The citizens of FalconaraM. have to be considered a real “biological model” to in vivoinvestigate the effects of the environment on normal biologicalprocesses and, beyond the limits of physiological adaptation,how pathogenetic process can be induced.

CITY EPIDEMIOLOGICAL REPORT IN GENOA ANDTARANTO. TO IDENTIFY THE INEQUALITIES INMUNICIPAL GENERAL MORTALITY AND TO EARLYDIAGNOSE ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSESValerio Gennaro1*, Antonello Russo2, Stefano Cervellera3,Antonella Bruni4, Giovanni Murchio5, Emilio Gianicolo61UO Epidemiologia, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico SanMartino, Genova, Italy; Medici per l’Ambiente, InternationalSociety of Doctors for Environment (ISDE, Italia); 2Dottore inEconomia Aziendale, Lecce, Italy; 3PhD Statistica, UfficioStatistica Comune di Taranto, Collaboratore CattedraDemografia e Statistica Dipartimento Jonico, Università diBari, Bari, Italy; 4Epidemiologa, Dottoressa in ScienzePolitiche, Indirizzo Sociologico, Taranto, Italy; 5UfficioInformativo Comune di Genova, Genova, Italy; 6Istituto diFisiologia Clinica del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche(CNR) Lecce, Italy; Institut für Medizinische Biometrie,Epidemiologie und Informatik (IMBEI) der Universitatsmedizin-der Johannes Gutemberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany*E-mail: [email protected]

In addition to regularly monitoring environmental exposuresharmful to human health, we also suggest that human healthitself should be timely and periodically monitored by space-time-age-gender epidemiological mortality studies. The “CityEpidemiological Report (CER)” of Genoa and Taranto, usingmunicipal administrative sources, could identify possible causes(i.e. environmental) monitoring the overall mortality by districts(25 and 6 districts, respectively). Descriptive analyses of thegeneral mortality per year, gender and district, from 2010 to2017, adjusted according to age, were performed by usingGenoa and Taranto total mortality data. In both cities all popu-lation and deaths data of residents due to all pathologies in thedistrict of the two cities, and in the regions of Liguria and Apuliarespectively, were analyzed by gender, age and year of death.Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) for gender and district ofresidence with confidence intervals (90% CI) were calculatedusing internal (municipality) and external (region) referencepopulation. In both cities statistically significant excesses wereconfirmed for whole mortality in the general population residingin all districts located in the areas closest to industrial plants.Space-temporal-age-gender analysis based on overall mortality

data has allowed a reliable, timely and parsimoniously monitor-ing the health status in each district of the two cities. Risk excess-es were not reasonably attributable to demographic differences(age). The integration with different data related to previousstudies and specific pathologies will help us understanding thespecific etiological factors.

GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS OF NAFLDPROGRESSIONStefania Grimaudo*, Concetta Baiamonte, Rossella Zito,Rosaria Maria PipitoneUniversità degli Studi di Palermo, Dipartimento Biomedico diMedicina Interna e Specialistica, Palermo, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), actually recog-nized as the most common liver disease worldwide, repre-sents the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome, beingclosely related to obesity, insulin resistance and oxidativestress. It includes a spectrum of conditions ranging from sim-ple steatosis, characterized by hepatic fat accumulation withor without inflammation, to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH), defined by hepatic fat deposition with hepatocellulardamage, inflammation and fibrosis. NAFLD is a complex dis-ease where the interactions between the environment and thepolygenic host background are able to determine diseasephenotype and influence its progression. Recently, a lot ofgenome-wide association and large candidate gene studieshave enriched our understanding of the genetic basis ofNAFLD, which is useful to explain the substantial inter-patientvariation in disease progression. The rs738409 C>GPNPLA3 variant, involved in lipid droplets remodeling, repre-sents the major common genetic determinant of NAFLD, driv-ing a normal liver to steatosis, NASH and cirrhosis. However,other gene variants involved in VLDL secretion (TM6SF2,APOB), de novo lipogenesis regulation (GCKR), mitochondri-al lipid metabolism OxPhos (UCP2), phospholipid metabolism(MBOAT7) innate immunity (IL28B, MERTK) and hepatic stel-late cells activation (MERTK, Irisin) have been implicated inthe occurrence and/or the NAFLD progression. Nowadaysthe role of epigenetic modifications, DNA methylation andchromatin remodeling, on NAFLD progression is emerging.Finally, MicroRNAs, regulators of gene expression, commonlyderegulated in pathological conditions, are currently the mostintensely studied epigenetic factors in NAFLD (miR-122).Therefore, epigenetic changes interact with inherited risk fac-tors to determine an individual’s susceptibility to NAFLD.

COMPUTATIONAL AND IN VITRO STUDIES OF SYKINHIBITORS AS NEW DRUGS IN P. FALCIPARUMMALARIAGiuseppe Marchetti1*, Alessandro Dessì2,Roberto Dallocchio2, Ioannis Tsamesidis1, Cristina D’Avino1,Elisabetta Avitabile1, Antonella Pantaleo11Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari,Sassari, Italy; 2National Research Council (CNR) Institute ofBiomolecular Chemistry, Sassari, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Malaria remains one of the most devastating infectious dis-eases. Although the current therapies are working well, theWHO recommends Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs)as the frontline treatments against P. falciparum malaria to limitthe artemisinin resistance. In 2017 it has been confirmed in 5countries of the Greater Mekong subregion. An alternative wayto fight the parasite resistance could be use Syk inhibitors as newantimalarial drugs. Syk protein is present in human erythrocytes;



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its activation by oxidant stress involves the band 3 (AE1) mem-brane protein. Tyr phosphorylation (AE1) occurs during P. falci-parum growth leading to the release of microparticles containinghemichromes and RBCs structural weakening. Syk inhibitorsblock these events interacting with protein catalytic site. We haveperformed in vitro and in silico studies and compared theobtained results. In vitro we treated parasitized erythrocytes withdifferent concentrations of Syk inhibitors and we evaluate the Tyrphosphorylation levels in Band 3 residues by proteomic analy-sis. In presence of Syk inhibitors we observed a markeddecrease of band 3 phosphorylation according to drug concen-tration increase. The proteomic data trend relating to the inhibi-tion values IC50 correspond to the computational studies. In silicostudies were based on different approaches of molecular model-ing aimed to deepen the knowledge about the ligand-proteininteraction in order to obtain the highest efficacy in vitro. Thisstudy allow to optimize the structure of these compounds and todesign and discover new promising antimalarial drugs.

PRELIMINARY DATA ON THE MODULATORY EFFECTSOF DIFFERENT PLANT EXTRACTS ON JELLYFISHVENOMGian Luigi Mariottini1*, Laura Cornara1,2, Paolo Giordani3,Antonella Smeriglio4, Domenico Trombetta4,Lucrezia Guida5, Silvia Lavorano6, Bruno Burlando2,31Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV),University of Genova, Genova, Italy; 2Biophysics Institute,National Research Council (CNR), Genova, Italy;3Department of Pharmacy (DIFAR), University of Genova,Genova, Italy; 4Department of Chemical, Biological,Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University ofMessina, Messina, Italy; 5Department of ExperimentalMedicine (DIMES), Section of Biochemistry, University ofGenova, Genova, Italy; 6Acquario di Genova, Area PortoAntico, Ponte Spinola, Genova, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Jellyfish are toxic sea organisms representing a healthissue for both recreational and occupational activities. Giventhat herbal products are attracting increasing interest, weexamined plant extracts from Carica papaya L., Ananascomosus (L.) Merr., and Bouvardia ternifolia (Cav.) Schltdl.,known for protective properties against different animal ven-oms. The interference of these extracts with the toxicity of tis-sue homogenates from the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca,Phyllorhiza punctata, and Cassiopea andromeda, were eval-uated on L929 mouse fibroblasts, used as an in vitro skin cellmodel. The quantification of jellyfish cytotoxicity wasachieved by MTT cell viability assays, deriving dose responsecurves and IC50 values. Each of the extracts of C. papaya andA. comosus significantly lowered the cytotoxicity of P. noctilu-ca and P. punctata, but enhanced the toxic effect of C.andromeda. The extract of B. ternifolia reduced P. punctatecytotoxicity, showed no effect against P. noctiluca, andincreased C. andromeda cytotoxicity. In summary, the modu-latory effects of plant extracts on jellyfish homogenates cyto-toxicity resulted to be species-specific, showing either protec-tive or worsening effects. More specifically, extracts with pro-tease activities, like A. comosus and C. papaya, seem to pro-tect from jellyfish with toxic peptides like phospholipase A.

EXTREMOPHILES ORGANISMS AS VALUABLESOURCE OF RADICAL SCAVENGERS: APPLICATIONSIN THE BLUE-BIOTECHNOLOGIESConcetta M. Messina1*, Massimo Cocchi2,Andrea Santulli1,31University of Palermo, Department of Earth and Sea Science,

Laboratory of Marine Biochemistry and Ecotoxicology, Trapani,Italy; 2University of Bologna, Department of VeterinarySciences, Bologna, Italy; 3Consorzio Universitario dellaProvincia di Trapani, Marine Biology Institute, Trapani, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

A significant contribution to the discovery of new bioactivemolecules was given by the study of species that have adaptedto live in extreme environments, such as acidophilous organ-isms, halophilic, cryophilic and thermophilic. These are microor-ganisms that have developed unique physiological characteris-tics, which allow them to survive extreme physical and chemicalconditions, such as high temperatures, high salt concentrationsor extreme pH levels and therefore, can adapt itself and canproliferate in environments recognized as inhospitable to life.This is possible, because they are specialized to produce, in amodulated way, molecules that allow them to adapt to changesin the chemical-physical conditions of the environment. A largepart of these microorganisms belongs to the domain of theArchea, ancestral bacteria that represent a considerable frac-tion of the prokaryotic world in terrestrial and marine ecosys-tems; their unusual properties make them a potentially valuableresource in the development of new biotechnological processesand industrial applications such as new pharmaceuticals, cos-metics, food supplements, molecular probes and enzymes.

HYPERGLYCEMIA AFFECTS ANION EXCHANGETHROUGH BAND 3 PROTEIN: AN IN VITRO ANDIN VIVO STUDY ON HUMAN ERYTHROCYTESRossana Morabito1*, Alessia Remigante1,2, Saverio Loddo3,Vincenzo Trichilo3, Silvia Dossena2, Angela Marino11Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;2Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ParacelsusMedical University, Salzburg, Austria; 3Department of Clinicaland Experimental Medicine, AOU Policlinico Universitario G.Martino, Messina, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Band 3 protein (B3p) accounts for erythrocytes homeosta-sis, namely ion balance, gas exchange and membranedeformability. In the present investigation, the effect of hyper-glycemia, related to metabolic dysfunctions, has been evalu-ated on erythrocytes in vitro exposed to increasing concentra-tions of glucose (5-15-35-50 mM) for different time intervals(3-24 h) as well as on erythrocytes from patients with high gly-cated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. The rate constant forSO4=uptake, accounting for the efficiency of anion exchangethrough B3p, along with levels of MDA, GSH, -membrane –SH groups and osmotic fragility have been measured. Theincubation with high glucose concentrations (15-35 mM) for24 h exacerbated osmotic fragility, compromising the meas-urement of anion exchange through B3p. When erythrocyteswere exposed to high glucose for 3 h, being MDA, GSH andmembrane –SH levels unchanged, SO4=trapped by the cellswas significantly reduced with respect to control (5 mM).Under high HbA1c levels, the rate constant was higher thancontrol and SO4=content higher than both control and highglucose-treated erythrocytes. The present findings show that:i) measurement of the rate constant for SO4=uptake is a suit-able tool to monitor the effect of hyperglycemia on erythro-cytes; ii) hyperglycemia due to high glucose applied for 3 haffects anion exchange capability without producing lipid per-oxidation; iii) high HbA1c levels seem to accelerate anionexchange capability through B3p. Future studies will evaluatewhether this acceleration depends on an altered Bp3 confor-mation, affecting crosslink with Hb, or on altered phospho-rylative signaling underlying B3p function.


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MEDIEVAL BURIALS IN THE CATHEDRAL OF ALBA (CN):PALEODEMOGRAPHIC REVIEW AND UPDATESAlessia Orrù1*, Alessandra Cinti1, Sergio De Iasio2,Marilena Girotti1, Maurizio Brizzi3, Ezio Fulcheri4,Rosa Boano11Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi,Università di Torino, Torino, Italy; 2Dipartimento di ScienzeChimiche, della Vita e della Sostenibilità Ambientale,Università di Parma, Parma, Italy; 3Dipartimento di ScienzeStatistiche “Paolo Fortunati”, Università di Bologna, Bologna,Italy; 4Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche e Diagnosticheintegrate, Università di Genova, Genova, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

During the archaeological excavations carried out from2007 to 2011 in the Cathedral of Alba (Cuneo, North Italy),377 human skeletal remains, dating back from the 8th to the17th century, were exhumed. At the present, anthropologicaland paleopathological study was conducted on 302 individu-als, according to morphological and metrical standard criteriaprovided in human osteological manual and paleopathology lit-erature. In order to outline the biological and paleodemograph-ic profile, sex, age at the death, stature, biomechanical stressand pathological conditions are described. The anthropologicalanalyses reflected that 74 skeletons (24%) were non-adults,228 (76%) adults; moreover, 109 individuals (48%) were iden-tified as male, 62 (27%) female, and 57 (25%) unsexed, dueto poor preservation. In our research program, we have testedthe performance of statistics approach in sex estimation basedon the metric observations on the long bones. We discuss theresults obtained from applying statistical method in the group ofunsexed adults.

IMPORTANCE OF MUSSEL DIGESTIVE CELLSIN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ONXENOBIOTICSMaria Pagano1*, Alžběta Stará1,2, Caterina Faggio11Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;2Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, SouthBohemian Research Centre of Aquaculture and Biodiversity ofHydrocenoses, University of South Bohemia in eskéBud jovice, Vod any, Czech RepublicE-mail: [email protected]

Water environments, in particular coastal marine areas,brackish ecosystems and inland waters are subject to a strongimpact linked to human activities. Heavy metals, radioactivepollutants and different xenobiotics can cause long-termadverse effects in the ecosystem. To control the well-being ofthese environments, the main control strategies involve the useof organisms that tolerate the presence of external pollutantsand through molecular investigations on specific tissues. Themost commonly used sentinel organisms are molluscs of thegenus Mytilus. The target tissues in these organisms are gills,hemolymph and hepatopancreas. In recent years, hepatopan-creas has been used as a good indicator for conventional pol-lutants, such as heavy metals, present in ecosystems. Digestivecells are excellent biomarkers, in fact cytotoxic, genotoxicand oxidative stresses alter the normal metabolic processesthat can be easily identified. Changes in metabolic processessuch as changes in antioxidant enzymes, are also indicativeof the damage caused by emerging pollutants, by xenobioticssuch as drugs, body care products, biocides, nanoparticlesand microplastics, which released in small concentrations inthe environment cause a chronic damage in mussels3. Inaddition, to the obvious environmental damage linked tothese xenobiotics, the direct risk to humans through the food

chain should not be underestimated. Therefore, the impor-tance of using this organ in the current environmental investi-gations on biomonitoring became important.

ROLE OF O-GLCNACYLATION IN THE REGULATIONOF CELLULAR VOLUMEAlessia Remigante1,2*, Rossana Morabito2,Emanuele Bernardinelli1, Tamas Nagy3, Angela Marino2,Silvia Dossena11Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ParacelsusMedizinische Privatuniversität, Salzburg, Austria; 2Departmentof Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and EnvironmentalSciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy; 3Department ofLaboratory Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs,Hungary*E-mail: [email protected]

O-GlcNAcylation (O-GlcNAc) is a post-translational modifi-cation of proteins and occurs via conjugation of N-acetylglu-cosamine to serine/threonine residues. It is well established thatO-GlcNAc is chronically elevated in diabetes mellitus, but thepathophysiological significance of this finding is not fully eluci-dated. Recently, the protein ICln, crucial in the activation of achloride conductance (IClswell) after anisosmotic cell swelling,has been found to be O-GlcNacylated. Nuclear magnetic reso-nance and bioinformatics show multiple O-GlcNAc modifica-tion sites, of which the functional roles are unknown. To explorethe functional significance of O-GlcNAc modification of ICln,the wild type and different mutant forms of ICln have been char-acterized by patch clamp in the presence of normal or elevatedO-GlcNAc levels. Our results show that: I) O-GlcNAc elevationsuppresses IClswell and inhibits ICln function; II) IClnS67A is func-tional but insensitive to O-GlcNAc elevation; III) IClnS67T func-tion is lower compared to the wild type, and was not sup-pressed further by O-GlcNAc elevation; IV) IClnT223A is func-tional and sensitive to O-GlcNAc elevation; V) IClnS193X lostmost of its activity, though the residual current was sensitive toO-GlcNAc elevation. Together, these results clearly show thatO-GlcNacylation of ICln at S67 leads to IClswell suppression.Abnormally O-GlcNacylated proteins involved in the regulationof cellular volume may contribute to the onset and progressionof diabetic complications and may therefore represent novel tar-gets in the prevention or treatment of these conditions.

THE AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICE:RESILIENCE AND ECOSYSTEM TIMELINESara Sozzo1*, Edoardo Cecconello2, Marcello Valente3,Paola Maria Chiavazza41Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Universityof Turin, Torino, Italy; 2Department of Agronomy, UniversidadDe Oriente, Anzoátegui; Venezuela; 3Centro InterateneoFormazione Insegnanti, CIFIS, University of Turin, Torino, Italy;4Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences,University of Turin, Torino, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Resilience is one of the most fascinating concepts regardingsustainability, and mainly in the study of ecosystem services.Resilience in the study of ecosystem services requires a verycrosscutting approach, because it concerns complex systemssuch as ecosystems and human social systems. Agriculturalareas are fundamental components of sustainability; ecosystemservices can provide links to integrate management and gover-nance practices in the search for transitions towards greater sus-tainability in rural areas. The study concerns a micro-area in theprovince of Asti, using some typical tools of resilience andecosystem services, trying to find a new methodological



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approach. Without any better interconnection among researchand related policy, technology might not have an impact on thereal-world practical application. Indeed, every time theresearchers will begin their search without focusing on how thedata may be used, the final evaluation it fails to develop a newpolicy, which might be adapted to the new challenges. Whilstin the real politics, the under-estimation of the ecological studiesleads to a significant environmental decline. A commonapproach should measure the ecosystem condition, accordingto a natural status comparable threshold values, in other words,on the basis of its similarity to a man-made environment least-impacted. However, Pristine agro-ecosystem concept is notcredible nor does it provide an appropriate frame. Concernsthat the pristine agro-ecosystem concept is not credible or thatinformation provided is dubious may also dissuade the use. Thisarticle, is intentionally written in simple language, because thecomplexity can be explained only simply.

SOCIETY AND ECONOMY BETWEEN THE 17THAND 18TH CENTURY THROUGH SOMEPALEOPATHOLOGICAL INDICATORS: THE CASE OFTHE MUMMIES OF ROCCAPELAGO (MO)Mirko Traversari1*, Eugenio Bortolini1, Stefano Benazzi1,21Laboratories of Physical Anthropology and Ancient DNA,Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna,Ravenna, Italy; 2Department of Human Evolution, Max PlanckInstitute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany*E-mail: [email protected]

During the restoration of the church of the Conversion ofSt. Paul, located in Roccapelago, a village of the EmilianApennines (Northen Italy), a chamber was found containingthe remains of over 400 individuals who had lived betweenthe 17th and 18th century AD. Some of them were naturallymummified. Mummification was possible due to the particularlocation of the crypt, which was built on the ruins of themedieval fortress of Roccapelago and was thereforeequipped with ventilation slots. Thanks to the stratigraphy ofthe site and to the secure dating of the layers, it was possibleto investigate the development of certain phenomena from the17th to the 18th century. The aim of this study is to better under-stand the possible social changes underlying the developmentof some pathological characters in the ancient population ofRoccapelago during the available temporal interval. The

social structure of the community of Roccapelago, duringthese two centuries, remains substantially the same.Anthropological analysis seems to highlight an initial phase ofchange in the food and occupational aspects, which perhapsgoing to consolidate during the 19th century.The prevalenceof tibial periostitis remains stable, the study of clothes has infact shown that there is no variation in the type of clothingused during the 17th and 18th centuries. The stability of theaspects considered, could be related to the persistence of thesame activities in the sylvan environment and the same meth-ods of protection of the legs by means of inadequate clothing.

MECHANISM OF SYNERGIC INTERACTION OF SYKINHIBITORS ON ANTIMALARIAL ARTEMISININACTIVITYIoannis Tsamesidis1, Karine Reybier2, Giuseppe Marchetti1,Claudio Fozza3, Cristina D’Avino1, Francoise Nepveu2,Francesco Turrini4, Antonella Pantaleo11Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari,Sassari, Italy; 2UMR 152 Pharma-Dev, Université de Toulouse,IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France; 3Department of Clinical andExperimental Medicine, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy;4Department of Oncology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Artemisinin derivatives constitutes the major components ofall antimalarial therapies. Although the mechanism of action ofartemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT’s) are still debat-ed and unfortunately, in the Greater Mekong Subregion, theefficacy of ACT’s has recently been questioned by resistance toboth artemisinin derivatives and to the partner drugs. Therefore,the quest for new antimalarials that can be combined with anartemisinin to prevent the spread of drug resistance has height-ened. We previously demonstrated that Syk kinase inhibitorsblock the phosphorylation of band 3, thereby interfering withthe release of hemichromes and heme-enriched microvesicles.Those modifications are an essential prerequisite for parasiteegression from the host cell constituting the theoretical back-ground of the observed anti-plasmodial activity of Sykinhibitors. In the present study, we describe a marked, synergis-tic effect between Syk inhibitors and artemisinins. This synergis-tic effect appear to be causally related to the accumulation ofhemichromes in parasitized red blood cells (pRBCs) and to theircapacity to catalyze the activation of artemisinins.

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POSTERS

LANGERHANS CELLS, MORPHOLOGICAL ANDIMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATIONIN STRIPED DOLPHIN (STENELLA COERULEOALBA)EPIDERMISMarialuisa Aragona*, Gioele Capillo, Carol Magazzù,Simona Pergolizzi, Eugenia Rita LaurianoDepartment of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Messina, S. AgataMessina (ME), Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

The skin is the primary interface between the body and theenvironment, and has a central role in host defence.Langerhans cells (LCs), play a central role within inflammatoryand immune responses in the epidermis of terrestrial and aquat-ic mammals, through their specialized function in antigen cap-ture. Langerin/CD207 is a cell surface receptor of Langerhanscells (LC) and represents a key molecule to mark LCs [1, 2]. Theaim of this study was to characterize immunohistochemicallywith anti langerin/CD207antibody, Langerhans cell in the dol-phin Stenella coeruleoalba epidermis. An adult male stripeddolphin, was found live stranded (length: 197 cm), on April2011 in the Apulian coast (Adriatic Sea). The samples obtainedwere treated in accordance with protocol for opticalmicroscopy. Some serial sections were stained with hematoxylinand eosin (H&E), [3]; for immunofluorescence investigation,serial sections were treated with langerin/CD207 antibody. Inthis study, the immunoreactivity of Langerin/CD207 antibody,revealed numerous Langerhans cells (LCs) with a polyhedralshape, located in the epidermal suprabasal layer (stratum spin-osum). These cells present an irregular shape with long cyto-plasmic processes extending among keratinocytes, forming adelicate network. Future studies will be aimed to characterizedifferent dendritic cells populations present in the dolphin’s skin.

References1. Valladeau, J., et al., Langerin, a novel C-type lectin specific to

Langerhans cells, is an endocytic receptor that induces the forma-tion of Birbeck granules. Immunity, 2000. 12(1): p. 71-81.

2. Merad, M., F. Ginhoux, and M. Collin, Origin, homeostasis andfunction of Langerhans cells and other langerin-expressing dendriticcells. Nature Reviews Immunology, 2008. 8(12): p. 935-947.

3. Lauriano, E., et al., Immunohistochemical characterization of epi-dermal dendritic-like cells in giant mudskipper, Periophthalmodonschlosseri. Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 2018.

MOLECULAR DYNAMICS AND UV SPECTROSCOPYTO INVESTIGATE COLLAGEN FIBRILLOGENESISMaria Grazia Bridelli*, Ludovica Leo, Eugenia PolveriniDepartment of Mathematical, Physical and ComputationalSciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Collagen is a fibrous protein representing the main con-stituent of connective tissue in mammals, with a basic structuralunit called tropocollagen. Tropocollagen is a triple right-handedhelix consisting of Gly-Xaa-Yaa repetitions, in which one-thirds ofthe X and Y residues are either prolines or hydroxyprolines (Hyp).Collagen triple helices associate in fibrils, and the alignment ofthem yields to the characteristic fibres, where tropocollagen mol-ecules are staggered side-by-side with a shift of 234 residues

between two neighbours tropocollagens. MD simulations wereperformed to study tropocollagen aggregation in physiologicalconditions. Two tropocollagen fragments with different hydro-pathic profiles were chosen and built from Rattus norvegicus typeI collagen sequence. Other fragments were selected from thesame sequence with a shift of 234 residues upstream and down-stream of it. Association of two, three and four fragments in MDsimulations shows that the amino-acidic composition of the triplehelices strongly influences the assembly propensity. Fragmentsrich in charged residues needs a lateral addition of individualtropocollagens to self-assembly, while poorly charged segmentseasily associate in pairs. This behaviour suggests a cooperativebinding mechanism at tropocollagen level. Rat tail tendon colla-gen was prepared at low temperature and at different pH. Invitro collagen self-assembly was monitored by measuring the tur-bidity changes of the solution as observed from the increase inabsorbance at 310 nm. Curves of aggregate fractions vs timedisplay a sigmoid profile, composed by three defined regions(lag, growth, plateau) indicating, according with literature, acooperative process with a very short lag phase.

EFFECTS OF MIXTURE OF ATRAZINE,DESISOPROPYLATRAZINE AND DESETHYLATRAZINEON DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY LIFE STAGESOF ZEBRAFISH (DANIO RERIO)Claudia Cocilovo1*, Jana Blahova2, Lucie Plhalova2,Zdenka Svobodova2, Caterina Faggio11Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Messina, Italy;2Department of Animal Protection, Welfare and Ethology,University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno,Czech Republic*E-mail: [email protected]

Atrazine is one type of chloro-s-triazine herbicides and it isconsidered moderately toxic to aquatic animals. The aim of thisstudy was to assess the acute embryotoxicity of a mixture ofatrazine and two of its metabolites, desisopropylatrazine anddesethylatrazine. As a model organism we used zebrafish(Danio rerio), which belong to one of the model fish organismscommonly used in toxicity tests to determine negative effects ofvarious substances occurring in aquatic ecosystem. Toxic effectsof were studied using evaluation of lethal endpoints, develop-ment disorder, and other sublethal endpoints such as hatchingrate, formation of somites, and development of eyes, sponta-neous movement, heartbeat, blood circulation, pigmentation, oredema at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours post fertilization. Theembryonal toxicity test was performed through the modifiedmethod of Fish Embryo Acute Toxicity (FET) Test (OECD guide-line 236). Newly fertilized zebrafish eggs were exposed to var-ious concentrations of a mixture, which include environmentallevels in aquatic environment and multiples of environmental rel-evant concentration to find out if the negative effect is dosedependent. Our results showed that hight concentrations ofthese compounds cause significant changes in developmentafter 48 hours post fertilization.

NEW SILVER NANOPARTICLES DEVELOPMENTSTARTING FROM THE EXTRACT OF ARTEMISIAANNUA: GREEN SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATIONAND ANTI-MALARIAL ACTIVITYCristina D’Avino1*, Elisabetta Avitabile1,Ioannis Tsamesidis1, Giuseppe Marchetti1,Serenella Medici2, Antonella Pantaleo1



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1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari,Italy; 2Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University ofSassari, Sassari, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Among the metallic nanoparticles, interesting for theirchemical stability, good conductivity and good biologicalactivity, cover a primary role the silver nanoparticles. Theirability antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitical it isalready note in literature. In the last few years, the attentionhas been focused on the green synthesis of the nanoparticlesto increase their biocompatibility in biological use. Followingthis tendency we have synthesized some silver nanoparticlesusing extracts of Artemisia annua and evaluated their possibleuse as antimalarial agents. Treating infected RBCs with thisAgNPs no hemolytic effect was observed. Their TEMmicroscopy characterization displayed a homogenous sizedistribution in the range of 10-30 nm, useful for biomedicalapplications. Our in vitro test proves increased efficacy of A.annua AgNps in comparison to silver nanoparticles synthe-sized with classical chemical method. Preliminary results showthat A. annua AgNPs has a marked antimalarial effect on P.falciparum culture. All the experiments have been carried outunder different dose response conditions. Considering theresults obtained, it emerges that the potential of A. annua-AgNPs could be used as a novel nanotechnological strategyfor malarial treatment.

BETA-ESTRADIOL AND ETHINYL-ESTRADIOL EFFECTSON FEMALE HEMORHEOLOGYEmma Fiorino1*, Paulo L. Faber2, Teresa Freitas3,Carlota Saldanha3, Caterina Faggio1,Ana Santos Silva-Herdade31Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Messina, Italy; 2Hospitalda Luz, Aveiro, Portugal; 3Instituto de Medicina Molecular,Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal*E-mail: [email protected]

Estrogens are the primary female sex hormones. Amongthese, estradiol carries out the most powerful action. Estrogensare also the responsible for secondary sexual characteristics inwomen and affect the function of all major organ systems withinthe body [1]. It is also well-known that an estrogen-deficientstate led to neurovascular and cardiovascular diseases [2]. Incontrast, synthetic estrogens, like the ones used in oral contra-ceptives or hormonal replacement therapies, are associatedwith thrombosis and some other vascular diseases [3]. The aimof this study was to investigate the effects, in women, of β-estra-diol and ethinyl-estradiol on some hemorheological parameterslike blood viscosity, RBC aggregation and RBC deformability.The study was performed in accordance with the guidelines forhemorheological laboratory techniques and under the protocolestablished with the Portuguese Institute of Blood andTransplantation in Lisbon, Portugal. All donors were femalesand duly informed and signed their agreement. Blood aliquotswere gently mixed and incubated with different beta-estradioland ethinyl-estradiol concentrations, and RBC aggregation,RBC deformability and blood viscosity were assessed. The con-centrations of β-estradiol tested were 50 g, 100 g, 150 g,200 g and of ethinyl-estradiol were 25 g, 50 g, 75 g, 100 g.In our experiments, we observed a significant increase of theEEI for both compounds for some shear stress values. No signif-icant differences in RBC aggregation and blood viscosity werefound. These findings may be correlated with different patterns

of thrombotic and cardiovascular effects in different phases ofthe menstrual cycle or different dosages of oral contraceptivetherapy used by some of the donors.

References1. Hall, G. and T.J. Phillips, Estrogen and skin: The effects of estro-

gen, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy on the skin.Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2005. 53(4):p. 555-568.

2. Persky, A.M., et al., Protective Effect of Estrogens AgainstOxidative Damage to Heart and Skeletal Muscle In Vivo and InVitro (44463). Proceedings of the Society for ExperimentalBiology and Medicine, 2000. 223(1): p. 59-66.

3. Stegeman, B.H., et al., Different combined oral contraceptivesand the risk of venous thrombosis: systematic review and networkmeta-analysis. Bmj, 2013. 347: p. f5298.

ROLE OF 3,5-DIIODO-L-THYRONINE ON THEPITUITARY-THYROID AXISMarco Giammanco1,2*, Angela Marino3,Maurizio La Guardia4, Danila Di Majo11Department of Experimental Biomedicine and ClinicalNeurosciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy;2Research Unit in Endocrinology - Italian Society ofExperimental Biology, Italy; 3Department of Chemical,Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences,University of Messina, Messina, Italy; 4Department ofBiological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences andTechnologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Studies have highlighted that the administration of 3,5-diio-do-L-thyronine to rats fed diets rich in lipids induces a decreaseof cholesterol and triglycerides plasma levels and body weightwithout inducing liver steatosis. On the basis of these observa-tions we carried out some experimental in vivo studies to assessthe effects of multiple high doses of T2 on the pituitary thyroidaxis of rats fed diet rich in lipids. Fifteen male Wistar rats weredivided into three groups of five animals each. The first group(N group) received standard diet, the second group was fedwith a high fat diet (HFD group) while the third group (HFDT2group), was additionally given with T2 intraperitoneally at adose level of 70 g/100 g of body weight three time a weekup to four weeks. At the end of the treatment period blood sam-ple from each animal was collected, centrifuged and the result-ant serum was stored at -20°C. The serum concentrations ofTSH, T3, T4, ACTH, triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose, alanineaminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phos-phatase were then determined at various intervals. In addition,liver of rats was examined by histology order to assess the pres-ence and degree of steatosis. The administration of T2 to ratsfed with a high fat diet suppressed TSH secretion (p=0.013)while no steatosis was observed in the liver of these animals.These preliminary data show that multiple administration ofhigh doses of T2 to rats fed diets rich in lipid inhibits TSH secre-tion and prevents the onset of liver steatosis in these animals.

ANTHROPOMETRIC DATASET COMPARISONS:STATURE AND WEIGHT TREND IN ITALYAmbra Giustetto1,2*, Margherita Micheletti Cremasco1,2,Federica Caffaro1,3, Giordano Pierlorenzi4,Alessandra Fenoglio1, Melchiorre Masali11Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology -DBIOS-University of Torino, Torino, Italy; 2ICT e Innovazione perSocietà e Territorio- ICxT University of Torino, Torino, Italy;


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3Institute for Agricultural and Earthmoving Machines (IMAMOT-ER), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Torino, Italy;4Accademia delle Belle Arti e Design e Istituto Europeo diPsicologia ed Ergonomia Poliarte di Ancona, Ancona, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Anthropometric features are inherited characters, that followa polygenic model and are strongly influenced by environmen-tal aspects as life style. For this reason Anthropometric charac-teristics are indeed very different by geographical area andchange in time. Studying and monitoring the becoming of thesevariations, we search to verify the adequacy of the data sets totheir use for ergonomic design. The focus on the human mor-phometric is current because of the interests of virtual design indigital simulations, playing attention to refer to an appropriateanthropometric database of “general population” rather than“working population”. Italy has a tradition of anthropometricstudies in the academic field of Ergonomics already appliedsince the ‘70ies and integrated into the interests of productioncompanies (Locati et al., 1979) and until today (Micheletti etal., 2018). Moreover starting from method by Grieco andMasali, 1972, we participated in the definition of the interna-tional anthropometric standards (today ISO 7250.1: 2017)and in the first national survey on general adults population(“L’Italia si Misura” project, 1990-91 by M.Masali_University ofTorino and G.Pierlorenzi _Centro Sperimentale di Design nowPoliArte of Ancona). More than 4.000 subjects were measured,males and females, representatives of different geographicalregions (35 measurement). This survey is today a source of ref-erence data. Italians anthropometric characteristics are report-ed, in particular relating to the estimates of increase in statureand weight conditions according to what emerges from thecomparison of national databases of different periods to focuson changes in progress in Italy.

OXIDATIVE STRESS INDUCTION BY THE INVASIVESPONGE PARALEUCILLA MAGNA GROWING ONPEYSSONNELIA SQUAMARIA ALGAEEleonora Guzzetti1, Pere Ferriol2, Julio A. Díaz2,Eduardo Salaberry3, Silvia Tejada4, Caterina Faggio1,Antoni Sureda3*1Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;2Interdisciplinary Ecology Group, Biology Department,University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain;3Research Group on Community Nutrition and Oxidative Stress(NUCOX), University of Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca,Spain; 4Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Biology,University of Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain*E-mail: [email protected]

The arrival of non-native species can produce significantadverse effect on the colonized environments. The newspecies can compete with autochthonous organisms forresources and/or space leading to stress that can compromisethe survival of the affected organism. Paraleucilla magna is acalcareous sponge introduced to the Mediterranean Sea andNortheastern Atlantic. Eukaryotic cells contain a complex net-work of antioxidant defences that protects against the exces-sive production of reactive species induced by stressful situa-tions avoiding damages to biomolecules. The aim of the studywas to determine whether the new-come specie P. magnacould induce the activation of the antioxidant defences in thenative red algae Peyssonnelia squamaria. Individuals of P.squamaria growing isolated on rocky bottoms and individuals

epiphytized by P. magna were collected. The activity ofantioxidant enzymes – Catalase, superoxide dismutase, glu-tathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase – were signifi-cantly higher in the group affected by sponge compared tothe control group, whereas the detoxifying enzyme GST didnot evidence significant differences. Malondialdehyde levels,as marker of lipid peroxidation, were similar in samples epi-phytized with the sponge when compared with the controls.GSH and polyphenol levels were higher in algae affected bythe sponge compared to the control group. In conclusion, thearrival of the species P. magna is a threat for the native redalga P. squamaria inducing a situation of oxidative stressmeasured by means of biomarkers.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE METABOLIC PROFILEOF PELAGIA NOCTILUCA (SCYPHOZOA)Rosalia Li Volsi1*, Archimede Rotondo2, Rosaria Costa2,Gioele Capillo1, Nunziacarla Spanò11Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche, Farmaceuticheed Ambientali (ChiBioFarAm), University of Messina, Messina,Italy; 2Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Odontoiatriche, edelle Immagini Morfologiche e Funzionali (Biomorf), Universityof Messina, Messina, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

The phylum Cnidaria is one of the most important contrib-utors in providing abundance of bio- and chemodiversity.Jellyfish have to be considered a source of precious sub-stances of diet and nutraceutical interest, such as collagen,oligosaccharides, fatty acids and bioactive compounds,including peptides and enzymes. This study elucidates thechemical composition of the tissues belonging to the jellyfishPelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa), which is the most abundantjellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea. For each sample (male andfemale) we have simultaneously extracted the water-solublephase (namely A) and the CDCl3 soluble lipophilic fraction(namely B), which were consequently analyzed by nuclearmagnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The specific charac-terisation of two different tissues, bell and tentacles respective-ly, was carried out. As expected, samples showed the pres-ence of aminoacids and other metabolites with similar con-centration regardless of the kind of tissue. The B samples wit-nessed the presence of different fatty species among the tis-sues, as female bell is rich in simple triglycerides, which arenot present in the other analyzed tissues. Male tentacles arecharacterized by the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acidesters (often embedded in macromolecular complexes) andanimal sterols. We can conclude that there is a significantchemical and nutritional difference among the jellyfish tissues.

MORPHOLOGICAL AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL STUDYOF RHACOPHORUS REINWARDTII, SKIN (SCHLEGEL1840, RHACOPHORIDAE, AMPHIBIA) Carol Magazzù*, Krystyna Zuwala, Eugenia Rita Lauriano,Marialuisa Aragona, Simona Pergolizzi, Józef RózanskiDipartimento di Scienze Chimiche,Biologiche e Farmaceuticheed Ambientali, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy*E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

In this study we analyzed the morphological and ultrastruc-tural characteristics of the Rhacophorus reinwardtii skin, a flyingfrog, which is one of the few species of amphibians that usesthe “sliding flight” for movement. The ‘sliding flight’ of this



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species is possible thanks to prominent membranes which cre-ate the surface, making it possible to overcome significant dis-tances in the air. Using routine methods of LM, TEM andSEM we have studied the skin from gliding membrane, toe, anddewlap. We observed a conspicuous bundles of tonofilamentsin the cytoplasm of epithelial cells, allowing this species thelocomotion and the mechanism of adhesion to surfaces (glidingmembrane, toe, dewlap). In the toe outer layer, are present pris-matic cells; furthermore in the epidermis of the gliding mem-brane we have observed a layer of keratinized cells near thesurface. In the connective tissue under the epithelium there arenumerous mucous glands, an abundance of nerves and severaltypes of cells including:melanophores, iridiophores and xan-thophores. Our future studies are aimed to compareRhacophorus’s skin structures with those of other species exhibit-ing similar behaviour (climbing/flying) (Rana leucomystax,Litoria caerulea) and to characterize Merkel Cells andLangerhans cells, both cells present in the skin of all vertebrates.

THE COMBINED EXPOSITION TO POLYBROMINATEDCOMPOUNDS AND β-BLOCKERS MODULATESVITALITY AND OXIDATIVE STRESS PARAMETERS INTHE MARINE FISH CELL LINE SAF-1: PRELIMINARYRESULTSConcetta M. Messina1*, Cristobal Espinosa Ruiz1,Simona Manuguerra1, Maria Morghese1, Rosaria Arena1,Giuseppe Renda1, Alberto Cuesta1, Maria Esteban2,Andrea Santulli1,31University of Palermo, Dept of Earth and Sea Science,Laboratory of Marine Biochemistry and Ecotoxicology,Trapani, Italy; 2Fish Innate Immune System Group.Department of Cell Biology and Histology. Faculty of Biology,Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional “Campus MareNostrum”, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain; 3ConsorzioUniversitario della Provincia di Trapani, Marine BiologyInstitute, Trapani, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Pharmaceutically active compounds have been detectedin wastewater treatment plants and surface waters across theworld. Among these compounds, some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as well as β-blockers used to treat humanhypertension, such as atenolol (ATL), is one of the most abun-dant reported at a very variable range, in relation to the site.The uncertainty surrounding the behavior of these pharmaceu-tically active compounds could increase due to the presenceof others pollutants in the marine environment.Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of bromi-nated compounds which leads to accumulate in the marineenvironment, being ubiquitous and toxic. The interactionsbetween PBDE and ATL and its effects on marine organismsare still unknown and in vitro system are ideal for screeningof toxicity, dose-time exposure and studies on synergisms. Inthe present study are reported some preliminary resultsobtained in an experiment with the Sparus aurata fibroblastcell line (SAF-1), exposed to different concentrations of BDE-47, ATL and a mix of both, until 72 hours, to evaluate the cyto-toxicity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production.Evaluation of molecular markers related to toxicity, oxidativestress and cell cycle is in progress. At 72 hours the SAF-1 cellsexposed to both compounds showed a decreased viability.Our preliminary results suggested the synergic effects of theseclass of compounds, which not only could remark the impor-tance of the development of effective treatment strategies forremove these compounds from the marine environment, butalso the prevention of the discharge.

EFFECTS OF SUB-LETHAL DOSES OF THEPOLYBROMINATED BDE-47 ON SOME INNATEIMMUNE RELATED PARAMETERS OF MYTILUSGALLOPROVINCIALISConcetta M. Messina1*, Cristobal Espinosa Ruiz1,Simona Manuguerra1, Maria Morghese1, Rosaria Arena1,Francesco Sardo2, Giuseppe Renda1, Andrea Santulli1,31Department of Earth and Sea Science, Laboratory of MarineBiochemistry and Ecotoxicology. University of Palermo, , Trapani,Italy; 2Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bologna,Ozzano, Bologna, Italy; 3Consorzio Universitario della Provinciadi Trapani, Marine Biology Institute, Trapani, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) belong to the classof the flame retardants and are persistent and toxic pollutants,extremely stables. In fact, PBDEs have demonstrated to produceseveral negative effects on marine organisms. Marine bivalvesare susceptible to be exposed to a large quantity of pollutantsdue to its feeding habits. However, the effects of PBDEs on theinnate immune system from mussels remains unclear. With theaim to shed light on this issue, within the project CISAS, speci-mens of Mytilus galloprovincialis were allowed in aquaria, fedon microalgae contaminated with different concentrations ofPBDE-47. The treatment was maintained for 15 days. Samplesof haemolymph were obtained from T0 to 30 days of the exper-iment. Both immune and humoral related parameters were eval-uated and demonstrated to be affected by the treatment. Inaddition, the results indicated that after 15 days of detoxifica-tion, immune parameters did not restore its basal levels, butsome of them resulted overexpressed. BDE-47 exposure, at envi-ronmentally realistic levels, may affect various aspects ofimmune function in M. galloprovincialis, acting as a stressorthat can compromises the ability to counteract external stimuli,such as pathogens, reducing animal welfare.

ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CRUDEVENOM FROM PELAGIA NOCTILUCA (CNIDARIA:SCYPHOZOA) NEMATOCYSTS Alessia Remigante1,2, Rossana Morabito2, Angela Marino2,Silvia Dossena11Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ParacelsusMedical University, Salzburg, Austria; 2Department ofChemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and EnvironmentalSciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy*E-mail: [email protected] - [email protected]

Cnidarians are known to negatively impact on ecosys-tems and human economic activities, and represent a healthproblem consequent to their stings. However, their venom isa rich source of bioactive compounds, and is only partiallycharacterized. Pelagia noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) isthe most abundant jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, and itis mostly found in the Strait of Messina (Italy). To investigatethe properties of P. noctiluca venom, cultured human cellswere exposed to the crude venom (0,025 ug/ul). Changes inthe cellular volume were monitored by phase contrastmicroscopy and the membrane conductance was measuredby patch clamp. The exposure of cells to the venom induceda dramatic cell swelling and profoundly altered the ion con-ductance of the plasma membrane, thus affecting the home-ostatic functions of the maintenance and regulation of cellu-lar volume. Venom-treated cells exhibited a large inwardlyrectifying current, mainly due to permeation of Na+ and Cl-and sensitive to amiloride. Cell swelling and the venom-induced current were completely abrogated following


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removal of NaCl from the extracellular solution and thermaltreatment of venom extract. The current-inducing activity wasalso observed following delivery of venom to the cytosolicside of the plasma membrane, consistent with a pore-formingmechanism. This is the first study exploring in detail the abil-ity of P. noctiluca venom to modify the electrophysiologicalproperties of mammalian cells. In this light, the study i) pro-vides essential information on a possible use of bioactivesubstances; ii) provides new strategies in the treatment ofenvenomation.

ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF EXTRACTS FROMGRACILARIA GRACILIS (RHODOPHYTA)Serena Savoca1*, Gioele Capillo1, Giuseppe Panarello1,Angelina Lo Giudice2, Carmen Rizzo1, Rossana Rando3,Giovanni Bartolomeo3, Rosaria Costa3, Nunziacarla Spanò31Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche,Farmaceutiche ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi diMessina, Messina, Italy; 2Istituto per le Risorse Biologiche e leBiotecnologie Marine (IRBIM), Messina, Italy; 3Department ofBiomedical, Dental and Morphological and FunctionalImaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Marine algae produce a wide variety of bioactivemetabolites as antimicrobial, antifeedant, antihelmintic andcytotoxic agents. These compounds include alkaloids,polyketides, cyclic peptides, polysaccharides, phlorotan-nins, diterpenoids, sterols, quinones, lipids and glycerols.The antimicrobial potential differs among the different class-es of seaweed, with the most promising beingRhodophyceae, followed by Chlorophyceae andPhaeophyceae. In this study, the antimicrobial potential ofGracilaria gracilis, from the Natural Reserve of Capo Peloro(Sicily, Italy), was evaluated. Soxhelet extractions was car-ried out using five different solvents (methanol, ethanol, ace-tone, chloroform and ethyl ether). Extracts were testedagainst Gram positive and Gram negative pathogens (i.e.Vibrio cholerae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella sp.,Bacillus subtilis, Aeromonas hydrophila, Vibrio fischeri). Theantimicrobial susceptibility was assessed using the “agardisk diffusion method”: 20 l of each extract (at three differ-ent concentrations) were tested. Results showed that all theextracts were active against B. subtilis, with the best resultthat was obtained using the methanolic extract (inhibitionhalo diameter: 19 mm). A slight activity was also observedtowards Vibrio fischeri. Our results enlarge the existingknowledge about the antimicrobial potential of red macroal-gae. Further studies will be necessary to deepen the activityof Gracilaria gracilis against other Gram positive bacteria.Moreover, considering that Bacillus subtilis is often associat-ed with food poisoning outbreaks, it could be suggested theuse of G. gracilis extracts in the complexation of foodpreservatives, useful to reduce the risks deriving from thecontamination by such microorganism.

THE EFFECTS OF ACUTE EXPOSURE OFNEONICOTINOID INSECTICIDE ON DIFFERENTSPECIES OF CRAYFISHAlžběta Stará1,2*, Alžběta Strouhová2, Antonín Kouba2,Josef Velíšek2, Caterina Faggio11Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical andEnvironmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;2Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, SouthBohemian Research Centre of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of

Hydrocenoses, University of South Bohemia in ČeskéBudějovice, Vodňany, Czech Republic*E-mail: [email protected]

Neonicotinoids are one of the newest class of pesticides,used in agriculture like insecticides from the beginning of 90years. They have become very popular and widely used all overthe world for their low toxicity to vertebrates. Together, in lastyears some of the active substances in the neonicotinoid group(clothianidin, imidacloprid a thiamethoxam) have been bannedfor their secondary impact on non-target organisms and the envi-ronment. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute toxi-city 96hLC50 of Calypso 480 SC (containing 48% neonicoti-noid thiacloprid) on three species of crayfish. We used two dif-ferent developmental stages: marbled crayfish (Procambarus fal-lax f. virginalis), red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) andcommon yabby (Cherax destructor), which were tested separate-ly. The Calypso 480 SC had a more toxic effect on to youngerstages of crayfish, the 96hLC50 in mg/L was: 1.60 and 27.30marbled crayfish, 1.13 and 1.94 red swamp crayfish, 0.52 and7.65 mg/L common yabby, values are sorted consecutivelyyounger and then older. Also changes in behaviour in crayfishexposed to insecticide were observed, as is reduced aggressive-ness, slowing movement of the limbs, reduced breathing, turningthe crayfish on the back, apathy of organisms and subsequentdeaths. This study provides and complements other importantresults for evaluating the toxicity effect of thiacloprid on non-tar-get species, respectively crayfish. Acknowledgements:Supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of theCzech Republic - projects CENAKVA (No.CZ.1.05/2.1.00/01.0024) and CENAKVA II (No. LO1205under the NPU I program), and project Development ofUniversity of South Bohemia: International Mobility MSCA IF(no. CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/17_050/0008486).

METHADONE VERSUS BUPRENORPHINE: DATADETECTED FROM CALTANISSETTA SER.TFabio Venturella1, Giulia Cancellieri2,Anastasia Valentina Liga2*, Francesca Mortillaro2,Annamaria Di Carlo21Department of Biological, Chemical and PharmaceuticalScience and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo,Italy; 2Graduated in Pharmacy, University of Palermo,Palermo, Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

In last years, heroin-addicted have exponentiallyincreased: this has made it necessary to identify a pharmaco-logical strategy as effective as possible. With this purpose, astatistical investigation was conducted in a sample of individ-uals, aged between 18 and 50. They were diagnosed andsubjected to different treatments at Ser.T of Caltanissetta(Sicily-Italy) during the period 2013-2017. The analyzedpatients were treated with three different pharmacologicaltherapy: methadone 0.1%, methadone 0.5%, buprenorphineand suboxone. We obtained percentages of RESPONDERS,LOW RESPONDERS and NON RESPONDERS patients fromdata processing, based on used therapy. Considering phar-macological responses of the sample examined, it is possibleto observe that the treatment with buprenorphine has led to71.98% of RESPONDERS subjects, 23.52% of LOWRESPONDERS and 4.5% of NON RESPONDERS. Instead, theadministration of methadone 0.1 % has produced 82.82% ofRESPONDERS subjects, 11.08% of LOW RESPONDERS,6.1% of NON RESPONDERS. The therapy with methadone



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0.5% has resulted 88.98% of RESPONDERS subjects, 7.8%of LOW RESPONDERS, 3.22% of NON RESPONDERS.Finally, through the administration of suboxone, we obtained86.34% of RESPONDERS subjects, 9.84% of LOW RESPON-DERS and 3.82% of NON RESPONDERS. In conclusion,although it has emerged that treatment with methadone 0.5%is the most successful therapy, it is preferable to use suboxone(except in relapsing subjects) since it has also produced ahigh number of RESPONDERS subjects and a good safety pro-file for heroin addicted patients.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ABOUT DIFFUSIONOF EXERCISE ADDICTION IN SICILY Fabio Venturella1, Anastasia Valentina Liga2*,Francesca Catania2, Giulia Cancellieri21Department of Biological, Chemical and PharmaceuticalScience and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo,Italy; 2Graduated in Pharmacy, University of Palermo, Palermo,Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

Exercise Addiction (EA) is a behavioral dysfunctionmarked by uncontrolled compulsion towards all kinds of phys-ical activity. With the purpose of understanding the epidemi-ology of this steadily increasing phenomenon, we have donea statistical analysis about some data obtained through theadministration of an online-questionnaire (Google forms): thesame one was also converted into paper-questionnaire andthen it has been administered in many gyms in Palermo andTrapani (Sicily-Italy). The sample examined consists of 976people aged between 14 and 65 (47.3% of them are womenand 52.7% are men). For 53.8% of analyzed people, physi-cal activity is one of the most important things of their life. Infact, 18% of them declared to have conflicts with family orfriends, because of the excessive hours dedicated to sport.Moreover, 86.2% of them pointed out that physical activity isa mood-booster. Probably for this reason, 49.6% of themclaimed that they have drastically increased the number ofhours devoted to physical activities in last years. Now, themost impressive statistic is the following one: 23.5% of sur-veyed declared that they get restless and nervous if they areunable to perform the training. Thanks to the last data, a clearsymptom of craving emerged. It is very complicated to make

a diagnosis of EA: however, through these questionnaires, thedata indicate the presence of behaviors related to the ExerciseAddiction. For this reason, it is necessary to act with preven-tive and information works in order to stem this not fullyknown phenomenon as much as possible.

AMATEUR DOPING: A SURVEY AMONG SICILIANPEOPLE Fabio Venturella1, Giulia Cancellieri2*, Francesca Catania2,Anastasia Valentina Liga21Department of Biological, Chemical and PharmaceuticalScience and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo,Italy; 2Graduated in Pharmacy, University of Palermo, Palermo,Italy*E-mail: [email protected]

In last years, Amateur Doping has caused many victims. Inorder to know the diffusion of this phenomenon, we have con-ducted an online-survey through Google forms. We also trans-formed the same questionnaire on paper and it was adminis-tered in many gyms in Palermo and Trapani (Sicily-Italy). Thesample examined consists of 976 people aged between 14and 65 (47.3% of them are women and 52.7% are men). Weasked them if they ever took on substances to improve theirathletic performances: 25.8% of them answered affirmativelyand they declared to take on protein, amino acids but alsoEca Stacks, which are hired on regular basis (34.6%). Theybought this substances in sporting stores (32.2%), in pharma-cy without prescription (26.8%), on internet sites (22.8%), ingyms (10.7%); 7.5% of them answered that they bought sub-stances in other place. Furthermore, 17.9% of them declaredthat training companions, but also coaches and/or responsi-ble of sports societies have proposed to them to take doping-substances (Winstrol, Tamoxifene, Testosterone, EPO, exc...).16.8% of interviewed claimed that is right to take substancewith the purpose to improve their performances. However,when we asked them if they would ever have taken sub-stances to their children, 95.8% of them answered “absolutelynot”. They also declared to want more information about thereal dangers related to uncorrected doping-substances intake.In conclusion, it appears necessary to adopt measures ofinformation and prevention to reduce diffusion of this danger-ous phenomenon.

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Index of authors

AAbitante, Lucia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Aliko, Valbona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Amici, Roberto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Amin, Nida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Aragona, Marialuisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,11Arena, Rosaria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Avitabile, Elisabetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,9

BBaiamonte, Concetta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Bailoni, Lucia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Bartolomeo, Giovanni. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Benazzi, Stefano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Bernardinelli, Emanuele . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Blahova, Jana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Boano, Rosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,7Boattini, Alessio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Bortolini, Eugenio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Bridelli, Maria Grazia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Brigidi, Patrizia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Brizzi, Maurizio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Bruni, Antonella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Buccioni, Arianna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Burlando, Bruno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

CCaffaro, Federica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Cancellieri, Giulia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,14Candela, Marco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Capillo, Gioele . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,9,11,13Cardazzo, Barbara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Carraro, Lisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Casuccio, Alessandra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Catania, Francesca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Cavallo, Maria Chiara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Cecconello, Edoardo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Cerri, Matteo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Cervellera, Stefano. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Chiavazza, Paola Maria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Chiavetta, Pierfrancesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Cinti, Alessandra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Cocchi, Massimo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Cocilovo, Claudia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Cornara, Laura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Costa, Rosaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,13Cottone, Salvatore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Cuesta, Alberto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

DD’Avino, Cristina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,8,9

Dallocchio, Roberto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5De Iasio, Sergio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,7Dessì, Alessandro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Di Carlo, Annamaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Di Majo, Danila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,10Díaz, Julio A.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Dossena, Silvia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7,12

EEspinosa Ruiz, Cristobal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Esteban, Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

FFaber, Paulo L. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Faggio, Caterina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,7,9,10,11,13Fanelli, Mirco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Fenoglio, Alessandra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Ferriol, Pere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Fiorino, Emma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Fozza, Claudio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Freitas, Teresa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Fulcheri, Ezio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

GGarcia-Perez, Jose Luis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Gennaro, Valerio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Giammanco, Marco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,10Gianicolo, Emilio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Giordani, Paolo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Girotti, Marilena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,7Giustetto, Ambra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Grimaudo, Stefania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Guichard, Etienne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Guida, Lucrezia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Guzzetti, Eleonora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

HHitrec, Timna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

JJagoda, Evelyn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

KKouba, Antonín . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

LLa Guardia, Maurizio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,10Lauriano, Eugenia Rita. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,11Lavorano, Silvia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Leo, Ludovica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Li Volsi, Rosalia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Liga, Anastasia Valentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,14Lo Giudice, Angelina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Loddo, Saverio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6



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Luiselli, Donata. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

MMagazzù, Carol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,11Malagoli-Tagliazucchi, Guidantonio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Manuguerra, Simona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Marchetti, Giuseppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,8,9Marino, Angela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7,10,12Mariottini, Gian Luigi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Masali, Melchiorre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Medici, Serenella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Mehmeti, Enis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Mele, Marcello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Messina, Concetta M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,13Micheletti Cremasco, Margherita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Morabito, Rossana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7,12Morghese, Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Mortillaro, Francesca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Murchio, Giovanni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Musella, Margherita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

NNagy, Tamas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Nepveu, Francoise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

OOrrù, Alessia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,7

PPagani, Luca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Pagano, Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Panarello, Giuseppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,13Pantaleo, Antonella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,8,9Peona, Valentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Pergolizzi, Simona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,11Pettener, Davide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Pierlorenzi, Giordano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Pipitone, Rosaria Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Piscitiello, Emiliana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Plhalova, Lucie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Polverini, Eugenia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

QQirjo, Mihallaq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

RRabino Massa, Emma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Rando, Rossana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Realmuto, Sabrina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Regoli, Francesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Remigante, Alessia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,7,12Renda, Giuseppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Reybier, Karine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Ricci, Marco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Rizzo, Carmen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Rotondo, Archimede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Rózanski, Józef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Rubio-Roldán, Alejandro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Russo, Antonello. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SSalaberry, Eduardo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Saldanha, Carlota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Sanfilippo, Marilena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Santos Silva-Herdade, Ana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Santulli, Andrea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,12Sardo, Francesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Sarno, Stefania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Savoca, Serena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,13Serra, Andrea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Sisa, Claudia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Smeriglio, Antonella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Sozzo, Sara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Spanò, Nunziacarla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,11,13Squarcio, Fabio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Stanzani, Agnese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Stará, Alžběta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,13Strouhová, Alžběta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Sureda, Antoni. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Svobodova, Zdenka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

TTaccioli, Cristian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Tejada, Silvia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Traversari, Mirko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Trichilo, Vincenzo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Trombetta, Domenico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Tsamesidis, Ioannis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,8,9Turrini, Francesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Turroni, Silvia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Tuszynski, Jack A.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

UUgolini, Valeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

VValente, Marcello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Velíšek, Josef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Venturella, Fabio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,14Viti, Carlo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

ZZito, Rossella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Zuwala, Krystyna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11


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Volume 91/Supplement 1 - 2018 Journal of Biological Research · Massimo Cocchi (President of SIBS,...

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Transcript of Volume 91/Supplement 1 - 2018 Journal of Biological Research · Massimo Cocchi (President of SIBS,...