A great deal of attention has been focused on adverse effects of tobacco smoking on conception, pregnancy, fetal, and child health. The aim of this paper is to discuss the current evidence regarding ...short and long-term health effects on child health of parental smoking during pregnancy and lactation and the potential underlying mechanisms. Studies were searched on MEDLINE(®) and Cochrane database inserting, individually and using the Boolean ANDs and ORs, 'pregnancy', 'human lactation', 'fetal growth', 'metabolic outcomes', 'obesity', 'cardiovascular outcomes', 'blood pressure', 'brain development', 'respiratory outcomes', 'maternal or paternal or parental tobacco smoking', 'nicotine'. Publications coming from the reference list of studies were also considered from MEDLINE. All sources were retrieved between 2015-01-03 and 2015-31-05. There is overall consistency in literature about negative effects of fetal and postnatal exposure to parental tobacco smoking on several outcomes: preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, neurodevelopmental and behavioral problems, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, impaired lung function, asthma and wheezing. While maternal smoking during pregnancy plays a major role on adverse postnatal outcomes, it may also cumulate negatively with smoking during lactation and with second-hand smoking exposure. Although this review was not strictly designed as a systematic review and the PRISMA Statement was not fully applied it may benefit the reader with a promptly and friendly readable update of the matter. This review strengthens the need to plan population health policies aimed to implement educational programs to hopefully minimize tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy and lactation.
ABSTRACT
Biofluorescence, the ability to exploit light with short wavelengths, such as ultraviolet (UV) and blue, and re-emit it with lower energy and longer wavelengths, is considered a widespread ...phenomenon among marine animals and has many ecological roles in intra- and interspecific communication. Heterobranch sea slugs are believed to rely almost exclusively on their colour patterns for survival, with coloration serving as camouflage or as a warning to predators of heterobranch toxicity (aposematic coloration). Since solar light is progressively absorbed by seawater with a constant loss of longer wavelengths, it is unclear how heterobranch coloration can maintain its ecological role below the water surface. The present study investigates, for the first time, in situ biofluorescence in 53 species of Mediterranean Heterobranchia to determine whether these animals rely on light emission to enhance the visibility of their colour patterns. The ability to fluoresce when illuminated by UV and blue light (wavelengths <470 nm) appeared to be quite widespread among nudibranchs (i.e. found in c. one-third of the encountered species), while no evidence of light emission was found in non-nudibranch heterobranchs. The majority of fluorescent species were Cladobranchia belonging to the superfamilies Fionoidea and Aeolidioidea. Nudibranchs fluoresced in four different colours, with green being the most common. Light emission was often restricted to particular body regions, such as the cerata of Cladobranchia. These preliminary data might indicate that fluorescence plays an essential role in the enhancement of nudibranch aposematic coloration.
Cnidarians are known for their simple body plan and their complex life cycles, involving high regenerative and asexual-reproduction potential. In particular, several asexual reproductive strategies ...are known for anthozoans, including fragmentation, carried out by tentacles, by groups of polyps or by portions of colonies. Here, we report the first observation of an extensive event of fragmentation in the Mediterranean black coral species
Antipathella subpinnata
(Antipatharia: Myriopathidae) in rearing conditions. Once detached, fragments lose their polarity and new anchorages are rapidly created with polyps and cnidocysts participating in the adhesion phases. Multiple attachments are frequently observed, with new skeletal plates produced through the expansion of spines. Dendritic spines gradually arise on these new plates. Fragments start to generate numerous new branchlets orientating upward and with a fixed arrangement. In 7 months of monitoring, fragments revealed fast growth rates, up to 1.85 and 1.58 cm month
−1
, for the whole fragments and new branchlets, respectively. Attachment of black coral fragments has never been recorded in the field; nevertheless, frequent adhesions observed in aquaria suggest that fragmentation could be a successful reproductive strategy in these anthozoans.
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which differs anatomically and biochemically from hyaline cartilage-covered joints, is an under-recognized joint in arthritic disease, even though TMJ damage can ...have deleterious effects on physical appearance, pain and function. Here, we analyzed the effect of IL-1β, a cytokine highly expressed in arthritic joints, on TMJ fibrocartilage-derived cells, and we investigated the modulatory effect of mechanical loading on IL-1β-induced expression of catabolic enzymes. TMJ cartilage degradation was analyzed in 8-11-week-old mice deficient for IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA
) and wild-type controls. Cells were isolated from the juvenile porcine condyle, fossa, and disc, grown in agarose gels, and subjected to IL-1β (0.1-10 ng/mL) for 6 or 24 h. Expression of catabolic enzymes (ADAMTS and MMPs) was quantified by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Porcine condylar cells were stimulated with IL-1β for 12 h with IL-1β, followed by 8 h of 6% dynamic mechanical (tensile) strain, and gene expression of MMPs was quantified. Early signs of condylar cartilage damage were apparent in IL-1RA
mice. In porcine cells, IL-1β strongly increased expression of the aggrecanases ADAMTS4 and ADAMTS5 by fibrochondrocytes from the fossa (13-fold and 7-fold) and enhanced the number of MMP-13 protein-expressing condylar cells (8-fold). Mechanical loading significantly lowered (3-fold) IL-1β-induced MMP-13 gene expression by condylar fibrochondrocytes. IL-1β induces TMJ condylar cartilage damage, possibly by enhancing MMP-13 production. Mechanical loading reduces IL-1β-induced MMP-13 gene expression, suggesting that mechanical stimuli may prevent cartilage damage of the TMJ in arthritic patients.
During an extensive survey by scuba diving of the benthic communities of the Puyuhuapi Fjord (Chilean Patagonia), on a detritic bottom at around 10-m depth (WGS-84 coordinates: 44° 43′17″ S; 072° 48′ ...39″ W), a juvenile specimen of the horsefish Congiopodus peruvianus (Cuvier, 1829), the only shallow water Congiopodidae (Scorpaeniformes) of South America, was found: it was about 8 cm long, extremely compressed, with a high dorsal fin, and mottled yellow in colour. ...being the maximum size of C. peruvianus of about 27 cm (Menni et al. 1984), the resemblance is limited to the juvenile stage. Crabs in cold water regions: biology, management, and economics, p 115-134
The occurrence, relative abundance and bathymetric distribution of the deep Mediterranean heterobranch fauna were evaluated as a result of an extensive visual census down to 1825 m depth, carried out ...along the western Italian coasts, covering a latitudinal range of about 600 nautical miles. Observations were conducted using Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) in 551 sites, focusing on the deepest part of the continental shelf, the shelf edge and the upper bathyal zone. The analysis of over 508 hours of video footage and more than 27,000 high-resolution photographs allowed to explore about 594,000 m
2
of rocky outcrops and nearby soft seafloors in four main coastal areas (Ligurian Sea, north-central Tyrrhenian Sea, southern Tyrrhenian Sea, and Sicily Channel) and twelve offshore seamounts. Thirty-six species of heterobranchs, for a total of 559 records, were identified. Sixteen were only sporadically spotted (< 1% of the total observations), while three (Paraflabellina ischitana, Tritoniidae nd and Peltodoris atromaculata) contributed each for more than 10% of the records. An extension of the known Mediterranean bathymetric distribution was reported for 80% of the observed species, with many typically shallow-water taxa being also found in mesophotic environments (40-200 m). The observed marked decrease in diversity and abundance suggested that Mediterranean heterobranchs are mainly a coastal benthic group. From the geographical point of view, the heterobranch fauna present in the Ligurian Sea appeared significantly different from that observed in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Sicily Channel, and this latitudinal pattern was discussed. Particular attention was given to single out the bathymetric distribution of the food sources of the most frequently observed species, supporting stenophagy as a limiting factor for their colonisation of the deep sea.
A rapid temperature increase in the 1980-90s has been accompanied by dramatic and unprecedented changes in the biota and communities of the Ligurian Sea. This review uses existing historical series ...(a few of which have been purposely updated) to assess extent and consequences of such changes. A number of warm-water species, previously absent or occasional in the comparatively cold Ligurian Sea, has recently established thanks to warmer winters. Occurrence among them of invasive alien species is causing concern because of their capacity of outcompeting autochthonous species. Summer heatwaves, on the other hand, caused mass mortalities in marine organisms, some of which found refuge at depth. New marine diseases appeared, as well as other dysfunctions such as the formation of mucilage aggregates that suffocated and entangled benthic organisms. Human pressures have combined with climate change to cause phase shifts (i.e., abrupt variations in species composition and community structure) in different habitats, such as the pelagic environment, seagrass meadows, rocky reefs, and marine caves. These phase shifts implied biotic homogenization, reduction of diversity, and dominance by invasive aliens, and may be detrimental to the resilience of Ligurian Sea ecosystems. Another phase of rapid warming has possibly started in the 2010s and there are clues pointing to a further series of biological changes, but data are too scarce to date for proper assessment. Only well addressed long-term studies will help understanding the future dynamics of Ligurian Sea ecosystems and their possibilities of recovery.
Velella velella, the so-called by-the-wind sailor, is a common member of the open-ocean pleustonic fauna, worldwide distributed in tropical and temperate regions. Thanks to their sail protruding ...above the sea surface, floating polymorphic colonies of this hydrozoan are carried by winds, and tend to aggregate in large swarms, that often get stranded along the shores. Although these events are commonly observed in springtime along the Ligurian coasts (North-western Mediterranean Sea), no quantitative characterization was ever made. The aim of this study was to characterize the stranding events that occurred in spring 2016 along the Ligurian coast, by evaluating the influence of the local sea conditions and by quantifying the abundance of the stranded colonies in each event. Their size-frequency distribution and biomass were examined, and the associated mollusc fauna identified and counted. The magnitude of these episodes was so relevant that, along the Ligurian coasts, the V. velella strandings constitute one of the most important biological deposition of organic matter; nevertheless, the ecological role of these remarkable and stochastic accumulations of chitin along the coast is still unexplored.
PDF
