Search results for " Organism"
showing 10 items of 541 documents
Phenazine antibiotics produced by fluorescent pseudomonads contribute to natural soil suppressiveness to Fusarium wilt
2009
Natural disease-suppressive soils provide an untapped resource for the discovery of novel beneficial microorganisms and traits. For most suppressive soils, however, the consortia of microorganisms and mechanisms involved in pathogen control are unknown. To date, soil suppressiveness to Fusarium wilt disease has been ascribed to carbon and iron competition between pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum and resident non-pathogenic F. oxysporum and fluorescent pseudomonads. In this study, the role of bacterial antibiosis in Fusarium wilt suppressiveness was assessed by comparing the densities, diversity and activity of fluorescent Pseudomonas species producing 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) (phlD+) …
The Chorioallantoic Membrane Assay in Nanotoxicological Research—An Alternative for In Vivo Experimentation
2020
Nanomaterials unveil many applicational possibilities for technical and medical purposes, which range from imaging techniques to the use as drug carriers. Prior to any human application, analysis of undesired effects and characterization of their toxicological profile is mandatory. To address this topic, animal models, and rodent models in particular, are most frequently used. However, as the reproducibility and transferability to the human organism of animal experimental data is increasingly questioned and the awareness of animal welfare in society increases at the same time, methodological alternatives are urgently required. The chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay is an increasingly popu…
Hunger and sustainability
2019
This paper examines the problem of world hunger and discusses potential solutions to it. It reflects on the debate about whether transgenic foods should be used, which is more of a social controversy than a scientific one. Sustainability is considered a key driver for innovation that can be used as a basis for assessing the problem of hunger in the world, and the question is inseparable from its ethical aspects. Given that economic growth does not directly equate to human development, this paper states that it is necessary to address the problem of poverty and hunger from the capacity development framework according to human rights. Poverty causes disability by limiting human development; i…
On the occurrence of the silverstripe blaasop Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) along the Libyan coast
2012
Five individuals of Lagocephalus sceleratus were caught by trammel and gill nets off Ain Al Ghazala, Libya (approximately 32°09'N − 23°15'E) between 15 and 25 m depth in September 2010. Our findings represent the first record of this toxic species from Libya and provide further evidence of its occurrence along North African coasts.
Anti-inflammatory activity in selected Antarctic benthic organisms
2014
Antarctic benthos was prospected in search for anti-inflammatory activity in polar benthic invertebrates, in two different geographical areas: deep-bottoms of the Eastern Weddell Sea and shallow-waters of the South Shetland Islands. A total of 36 benthic algae and invertebrate species were selected to perform solubility tests in order to obtain extracts that were soluble at an innocuous ethanol concentration (0.2%) for cell culture, and further test them for anti-inflammatory activity. From these, ethanol extracts of ten species from five different phyla resulted suitable to be studied in cell macrophage cultures (RAW 264.7). Cytotoxicity (MTT method) and production of inflammatory mediator…
Building on 150 Years of Knowledge : The Freshwater Isopod Asellus aquaticus as an Integrative Eco-Evolutionary Model System
2021
Interactions between organisms and their environments are central to how biological diversity arises and how natural populations and ecosystems respond to environmental change. These interactions involve processes by which phenotypes are affected by or respond to external conditions (e.g., via phenotypic plasticity or natural selection) as well as processes by which organisms reciprocally interact with the environment (e.g., via eco-evolutionary feedbacks). Organism-environment interactions can be highly dynamic and operate on different hierarchical levels, from genes and phenotypes to populations, communities, and ecosystems. Therefore, the study of organism-environment interactions requir…
A luminal glycoprotein drives dose-dependent diameter expansion of the Drosophila melanogaster hindgut tube
2012
An important step in epithelial organ development is size maturation of the organ lumen to attain correct dimensions. Here we show that the regulated expression of Tenectin (Tnc) is critical to shape the Drosophila melanogaster hindgut tube. Tnc is a secreted protein that fills the embryonic hindgut lumen during tube diameter expansion. Inside the lumen, Tnc contributes to detectable O-Glycans and forms a dense striated matrix. Loss of tnc causes a narrow hindgut tube, while Tnc over-expression drives tube dilation in a dose-dependent manner. Cellular analyses show that luminal accumulation of Tnc causes an increase in inner and outer tube diameter, and cell flattening within the tube wall,…
Implementation of A Year-Long Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in A 227-Bed Community Hospital in Southern Italy
2023
Background: Healthcare-Acquired Infections (HAIs) are serious healthcare complications affecting hospital stay, in-hospital mortality, and costs. Root cause analysis has identified the inappropriate use of antibiotics as the main causative factor in the expansion of multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in our hospital. An Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) program was implemented to optimize antibiotic use, limit the development of resistance, improve therapeutic efficacy and clinical outcomes, and reduce costs. Methods: The stewardship strategies were: antimicrobial oversight on “critical” antibiotics; the development of hospital guidelines on antibiotic selection with the production of a co…
Innovative and Applied Research in Biology: Proceedings, Vol. 3/2021
2021
The collection contains SCIENTIFIC articles on the topics of the LU 79 conference reports. The main focus is on innovative and applied research in biology and interdisciplinary fields.
Effect of cadmium pre-exposure in cadmium accumulation by brine shrimp Artemia: Involvement of low-molecular-weight cadmium-binding ligands
1993
Abstract Cadmium is a ubiquitous non-essential element that possesses high toxicity and is easily accumulated from the environment by aquatic organisms. It is known that pre-exposure to cadmium increases the resistance of animals to a subsequent exposure. In this work, we report studies of the effect of pre-exposure to cadmium on the accumulation of this metal from seawater by brine shrimp Artemia, as well as the involvement of low-molecular-weight cadmium-binding ligands in this process. During the pre-exposure experiments, animals were kept in seawater containing 20 mg/litre Cd for 24 h and then transferred to clean seawater for 48 h. Afterwards, pre-exposed and control animals were expos…