Search results for "Effects"
showing 10 items of 2634 documents
Ecological impacts of global warming and water abstraction on lakes and reservoirs due to changes in water level and related changes in salinity
2015
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released in September 2014, unprecedented changes in temperature and precipitation patterns have been recorded globally in recent decades and further change is predicted to occur in the near future, mainly as the result of human activity. In particular, projections show that the Mediterranean climate zone will be markedly affected with significant implications for lake water levels and salinity. This may be exacerbated by increased demands for irrigation water. Based on long-term data from seven lakes and reservoirs covering a geographical gradient of 52 of latitudes and a literature review, we discuss how changes in water le…
Estimation of dynamic energy budget parameters for the Mediterranean toothcarp (Aphanius fasciatus)
2014
Organisms adopt different sets of physiological, behavioural and morphological trade-offs in order to cope with natural environmental fluctuations. This has consequential rebounds on ecological processes and population dynamics. Such aspects become crucial for sex-dimorphic species, where sex-specific growth variation could mirror different tactics both in energy acquisition and investment between maximum female and male body size with cascading effects on population demography. To date, different approaches have been used in order to understand the causes of individual growth rate changes in ectotherm indeterminate growers, most of which failed. Here, we propose the use of a mechanistic mo…
EFFECT OF Bacillus thuringiensis ON RESPIRATION RATES OF MARINE INTERTIDAL MYTILASTER INTERTIDAL, MYTILASTER MINIMUS (MOLLUSCA, BIVALVIA)
2010
Increasing body of research deals with the impact of agricultural products marine environment. Indeed it is expected to detect insecticides, including the ones for biocontrol, in nearshore marine waters and thus predicting where, when and with what magnitude these impacts are most likely to occur is imperative if we are effectively interested in understanding the role of biological products as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) on marine biodiversity. Bivalves are important elements of marine biodiversity and very often they play a role of ecosystem engineers in that many other species structurally depend on their presence. Oxygen consumption through respiration in these organisms varies with natu…
Algal assemblages response to fish-farm biodeposition in a Southern Mediterranean area (Gulf of Castellammare, Sicily): preliminary data
2005
This study, carried out in the Gulf of Castellammare (northern coast of Sicily), concerns the effects of fish-farm nutrient enrichment on the algal assemblage growing on artificial substrata of cages. A total of 51 taxa were identified (3 Cyanophyceae, 3 Phaeophyceae, 5 Bacillariophyceae, 3 Chlorophyceae, 6 Ulvophyceae and 31 Rhodophyceae). A dominance of opportunistic species was highlighted, following a gradient from impact areas to controls.
Stable isotopes and trophic positions of littoral fishes from a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area
2008
Stable isotope analyses were employed to explore feeding and foraging habitats and trophic levels of littoral fishes in a western Mediterranean Marine Protected Area (Egadi Islands, Sicily, Italy). Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were measured in primary producers, invertebrates and fishes collected in December 2001 and January 2002. Fishes of the littoral region of the Egadi Islands had isotopic signatures that fell into a wider range for δ13C (about 6‰) than for δ15N (about 3‰). Carbon isotope ratios were consistent with a food web based on mixed sources and two trophic pathways leading to different fish species. Differences in the isotopic composition between islands were highe…
Fruit Juices: Technology, Chemistry, and Nutrition 2.0
2022
In recent years, the food industry has increased its interest in the development of functional foods, including fruit juices, due to the increased demand among consumers for foods and beverages that benefit and improve our health [...]
Chemical composition, cytotoxic effects, antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of Artemisia arborescens (Vaill.) L. growing wild in the province of …
2022
Artemisia arborescens (Vaill.) L. is a perennial shrubby plant growing along the coastal strips of the Mediterranean region. It is used in traditional medicine. Its essential oil and solvent extracts exhibit a very interesting chemotherapeutic potential, which makes this plant useful in maintaining human health. The goal of this study was to determine the phytochemical composition of the petroleum ether and methanol extracts, as well as to evaluate anticancer activities and antimicrobial and biofilm formation reduction. Thirty-nine phytochemical compounds in negative ion mode, and 25 in positive ion mode were identified by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS. All four extracts reduced the viability of human M…
ELABORATION OF CURCUMIN INTO DIKETONE MODIFIED ANALOGUES DEVOID OF NUCLEOPHILIC ADDITION CAPABILITY; IMPLICATIONS FOR THEIR ANTITUMOR AND CHEMOSENSIT…
2009
Curcumin (CUR), a polyphenolic compound extracted from Curcuma longa L.,can beconsidered as a good lead compound for the design of new drugs for the treatment of cancer and other therapeutic purposes. CUR is endowed with a diketone function, which appears to be important for its antitumor activity: also depending on the dose, the compound may show complex either pro-oxidant or anti-oxidant effects, which both may, at least in part, be linked to this structural moiety. In the lower concentration, "chemopreventive", range, CUR behaves mainly as an antioxidant; at higher concentrations, the a, b-unsaturated 1,3-diketone, as a Michael acceptor, can form adducts with the –SH groups and generate …
Anti-cancer effects of Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii: an in vitro and in vivo models focusing on Heat Shock Proteins
2017
Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are highly expressed in a variety of cancer cells and are essential to their survival contributing to tumor cell propagation, metastasis, and protection against apoptosis]. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. The current anti-cancer drugs available in market are not target specific and pose several side-effects and complications in clinical management of various forms of cancer, which highlights the urgent need for novel effective and less-toxic therapeutic approaches. Medicinal mushrooms have emerged as wonderful source of nutraceuticals, anti-oxidants, anticancer, prebiotic, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, anti-microbial, and anti-diabetic. The ongo…
Flavonoids against the SARS-CoV-2 induced inflammatory storm
2021
The disease severity of COVID-19, especially in the elderly and patients with co-morbidities, is characterized by hypercytokinemia, an exaggerated immune response associated with an uncontrolled and excessive release of proinflammatory cytokine mediators (cytokine storm). Flavonoids, important secondary metabolites of plants, have long been studied as therapeutic interventions in inflammatory diseases due to their cytokine-modulatory effects. In this review, we discuss the potential role of flavonoids in the modulation of signaling pathways that are crucial for COVID-19 disease, particularly those related to inflammation and immunity. The immunomodulatory ability of flavonoids, carried out …