Search results for "Cuba"
showing 10 items of 340 documents
Parasite population delay model of malaria type with stochastic perturbation and environmental criterion for limitation of disease
2009
AbstractWe present a stochastic delay model of an infectious disease (malaria) transmitted by a vectors (mosquitoes) after an incubation time. A criterion for limitation of disease is found.
Littoral Demosponges from the Banks of the Strait of Sicily and the Alboran Sea
1987
The material of this study has been collected from the South-Western Mediterranean in the course of two expeditions by the Italian Research Vessel “Bannock”. The primary collection method employed was SCUBA diving. The sampled area is affected by an important inflow of water from the Atlantic. Fifty-nine species have been studied. One of them, Stylostichon equiosculatus, is new to science. Some ecological considerations are also discussed.
Trace and minor element records in aragonitic bivalve shells as environmental proxies
2019
Abstract Investigation of the geochemical composition of bivalve shells can provide information on changes in the marine environment occurring during the lifespan of an organism. Three species, locally abundant in the Adriatic Sea, were chosen in this study, namely Glycymeris pilosa, Callista chione, and Venus verrucosa. Of these, G. pilosa has the longest lifespan, exceeding 50 years, and therefore presents a potential archive of decadal climate variability. The other two species, C. chione and V. verrucosa, are commercially important. Samples were collected alive by SCUBA diving in the North Adriatic Sea, near Barbariga, Istria. Major growth increments in these shells form on an annual ba…
Shallow-water benthic hydroids from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)
2013
Forty species of benthic hydroids, belonging to 15 families and 21 genera, were found in a collection, obtained by SCUBA diving, from the Maltese Islands. Paradoxically for the well studied Mediterranean region, the hydroid fauna of these islands is virtually unexplored. Of 40 species, 33 were identified to species level, with 28 of them reported for the first time for the study area. Hydractinia monocarpa is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, and a presumed new species of the genus Clytia has been found. The most speciose families are Campanulariidae with 10 species (25%), Aglaopheniidae with six species (15%) and Sertulariidae with five species (12%). Aglaophenia and Cl…
Can recreational scuba divers alter natural gross sedimentation rate? A case study from a Mediterranean deep cave
2010
Abstract Di Franco, A., Ferruzza, G., Baiata, P., Chemello, R., and Milazzo, M. 2010. Can recreational scuba divers alter natural gross sedimentation rate? A case study from a Mediterranean deep cave. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 871–874. Submarine caves are environments with features distinguishing them from other littoral habitats but, despite their ecological importance, their response to anthropogenic disturbance has been seldom verified. One potential threat affecting natural communities within caves is represented by recreational scuba diving. Divers' disturbance within marine caves is mainly related to physical contacts and increased sediment resuspension potentially affecti…
Effects of recreational scuba diving on Mediterranean fishes: evidence of involuntary feeding?
2013
Despite a large body of literature assessing the impacts of recreational scuba diving on marine habitats, little attention has been paid to the potentially harmful effects this has on fishes. The aim of this study was the assessment of the immediate response of different fish species to divers’ activities. A decrease of fishes’ natural diffidence towards divers is shown, probably due to an enhanced availability of their prey as a result of divers’ contacts with the substrate.
Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in stored barley grain in Spain and impact of PCR-based strategies to assess the occurrence of aflatoxigenic and ochratox…
2011
Contamination of barley by moulds and mycotoxins results in quality and nutritional losses and represents a significant hazard to the food chain. The presence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1) and G2 (AFG2) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in stored barley in Spain has been studied. Species-specific PCR assays were used for detection of Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. ochraceus, A. steynii, A. westerdijkiae, A. carbonarius and A. niger aggregate in mycotoxin-positive barley samples at different incubation times (0, 1 and 2 days). Classical enumeration techniques (CFU/g) in different culture media for evaluation of Aspergillus in sections Flavi, Circumdati and Nigri were also used. O…
Physiological engineering of Pseudomonas aurantiaca antimicrobial activity: effects of sodium chloride treatment
2012
The influence of sodium chloride (NaCl) treatment on the antifungal activity of the bacterium Pseudomonas aurantiaca, a producer of biopesticide for vegetable plants, was investigated. It was shown that an increase in the NaCl concentration in incubation solutions from 1 M to 3 M led to a significant increase in the antifungal activity of this bacterium. Antifungal activity continued to increase with prolonged treatment of bacteria in fresh nutrient medium from 72 h to 96 h. These findings could be very important for the further development of biotechnological processes directed not only to the production of new active biopesticides but also of other valuable resources.
Antibiotrophy: Key Function for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Colonize Soils—Case of Sulfamethazine-Degrading Microbacterium sp. C448
2021
Chronic and repeated exposure of environmental bacterial communities to anthropogenic antibiotics have recently driven some antibiotic-resistant bacteria to acquire catabolic functions, enabling them to use antibiotics as nutritive sources (antibiotrophy). Antibiotrophy might confer a selective advantage facilitating the implantation and dispersion of antibiotrophs in contaminated environments. A microcosm experiment was conducted to test this hypothesis in an agroecosystem context. The sulfonamide-degrading and resistant bacterium Microbacterium sp. C448 was inoculated in four different soil types with and without added sulfamethazine and/or swine manure. After 1 month of incubation, Micro…
Effect of apical root-end filling materials on gingival fibroblasts
2003
AIM To determine the influence of root-end filling materials on specific cellular responses of gingival fibroblasts (GF). METHODOLOGY The reactions of cells in contact with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), amalgam and a chemically inert titanium alloy were determined based on the assessment of prostaglandin (PGE2) release with and without arachidonic acid stimulation, protein and lactate synthesis, and cell proliferation. Cells cultured without test materials served as controls (100%). RESULTS The fibroblasts showed a highly significant decrease in protein synthesis when in contact with amalgam (61.8 +/- 13.6%); MTA (91.2 +/- 5.9%) and titanium (92.4 +/- 4.7%) had little effect on this par…