This essay analyses the opera project 7 Deaths of Maria Callas by Marina Abramović, premiered in Munich in September, 2020. The first section reconstructs the role that the Greek soprano played in ...the life of the Serbian performer, bringing the latter to a gradual sense of self-identification. Then, the thirty-years-long development of the original concept of the video piece How to Die into the actual project through its various stages is taken into account, and the stage realisation of the work is described in detail. The third section focuses on the representation of death in Marina Abramović’s performances, while section four compares Callas and Abramović’s works and lives, and their status as iconic women. The last section retraces Abramović’s artistic path which has led her from her extreme and essential performances of the 1970s to her recent experimentations with other media and to her meditation on immaterial art.
•Monitoring biodiversity changes in intensive agroecosystems needs bioindicators.•Biodiversity in intensive agroecosystems is linked with natural vegetation.•Habitat diversity could be detrimental to ...biodiversity in intensive agroecosystems.•Birds and reptiles might be used as biodiversity indicators in agroecosystems.•Specialist and generalist species are bioindicators in intensive agroecosystems.
Nowadays, the loss of biodiversity in agroecosystems due to the intensification of farming practices is happening very fast, and therefore, stopping or slowing it down should be a priority for conservation. To detect changes in these environmental contexts, one approach contemplates focusing on a limited set of indicator species that can alert us to ongoing changes in progress. In this research, we aimed to measure the biodiversity of vertebrates using a multi-taxa approach in an intensively cultivated and highly inhabited area located in northern Italy. We investigated the relationships between biodiversity and environmental characteristics and we identified the taxonomic groups that can be used as indicators of biodiversity. Data collection was carried out in 2016 with different methods depending on the taxonomic group, in 131 sampling units chosen using a Tessellation Stratified Sampling. Then we calculated for each sampling unit a standardized Biodiversity Index, which was related to environmental variables concerning the land use and the landscape configuration using Multiple Linear Regression Analysis and Information-Theoretic approach. We used correlation analyses and the Indicator Species Analysis (IndVal) to identify the taxonomic groups and species that can be used as indicators of biodiversity. Biodiversity was positively related to the number of patches of natural vegetation, whereas it was negatively affected by the number of patches of artificial surfaces and by habitat diversity. Our findings agree with those obtained by many other researchers, which pointed out that agroecosystems provide adequate shelters, suitable foraging habitats and nesting sites. The negative effect of habitat diversity was explained by the area-heterogeneity trade-off. Therefore, sites with high heterogeneity will not contain enough cover of residual natural vegetation, essential to maintain high biodiversity, because increasing compositional heterogeneity within a fixed area simultaneously reduces the surface of each cover type. The analyses showed that birds and reptiles might be used as biodiversity indicators of vertebrates. Eurasian Magpie and Green Whip Snake, both generalist species, were associated with sites of low biodiversity, whereas seven birds, both generalists and farmland specialists, were associated with sites of medium biodiversity. In high biodiversity sites there were not indicator species. To conclude, in less natural environments, such as urban and agricultural landscapes, a combination of specialist and generalist indicator species seems adequate to monitor biodiversity changes. Our findings increase the knowledge of these very dynamic ecosystems, being important both to plan strategies for biodiversity conservation and to guarantee ecosystems services useful for humans.
In this work, we present molecular barcoding results obtained in 69 processed fish products belonging to 27 teleost species traded in Italian commercial markets during 2008. DNA barcoding using ...direct sequencing of about 900
bp of mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase subunit I (
COI) and cytochrome
b (
Cyt b) revealed uncorrect labelling in 22 samples (32%). Among substituted species, 18 (26%) were serious frauds under both economic and nutritional points of view. In some cases, frauds concerned species of major conservation regard and reported in the IUCN and CITES directories. Results add further concern on the trading of processed fish products in Italy from both health and conservation points of view.
Acquiring up-to-date information on the distribution of a species is an issue of paramount importance to set up proper conservation strategies and to assess its conservation status over time. The ...European wildcat has recently expanded its distribution in different parts of its range in Italy, including the Northern Apennines area. The current study represents the first wildcat systematic monitoring in the central part of Northern Apennines. Non-invasive genetic sampling—based both on valerian and catnip lures—was applied, integrated with camera trapping within two Regional Parks. This approach is needed in order to obtain hair samples to be genetically analyzed, since cross-breeding with domestic cats can make wildcat identification based only on coat characteristics misleading. Videos obtained from camera traps allowed the identification of several individuals (image capture rate of 1.04/100 trap-nights), including at least one female. Hair samples were only collected in April–May using catnip as an attractant, whereas the valerian-based solution used did not yield the expected results (i.e., attracting wildcats and stimulating their rubbing behavior to allow hair collection). These results allowed for the first time the genetic confirmation of a pure wildcat in the study area. Domestic cat presence (image capture rate of 1.4/100 trap-nights) was also assessed in the same locations, posing a possible threat for wildcat conservation at the expanding margin of its distribution. Our findings confirm the effectiveness of the integration of multiple monitoring techniques for wildcat detection and highlight the need for a continued monitoring of the species, especially in newly colonized areas.
The biodiversity protection and monitorning is one of main goals of natural history musems worldwide. Conservation issues are particularly important for freshwater fish which are one of the most ...threatened taxa for the consequences of climate change and human activies. In Mozambique freshwater rivers are poorly explored and the impact of aquaculture and human activities on local biodiversity in almost unknown. Here we propose the barcoding analysis of cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) mitochrondrial DNA of 41 frehswater fishes catched in four rivers of southern Mozambique and 53 from a museum collection. As evidence of previous knowledge gaps, barcoding results revealed twenty new haplotypes described for the first time in the taxa Cichlidae and Amphilidae. From a methodological point of view, the barcoding approach demonstrated a critical point connected to the requested 650 bp length of amplified sequences. In fact, high weight genomic DNA is unattainable from museum samples and also in wildlife samples collected in pristine rivers. For this reason we furtherly tested the efficiency of DNA mini-barcoding analysis for 53 fish from a museum collection. The Mini-barcode method retrieved 56.6% of sequences successfully analyzed versus 3% of barcoding. The high performance of this thecniques is discussed in relation to biodiversity monitoring and to fill the taxonomy gaps in museum collections.
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) still represents an important burden of neonatal care. The definition of the disease is currently undergoing several revisions, and, to date, BPD is actually defined ...by its treatment rather than diagnostic or clinic criteria. BPD is associated with many prenatal and postnatal risk factors, such as maternal smoking, chorioamnionitis, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), parenteral nutrition, sepsis, and mechanical ventilation. Various experimental models have shown how these factors cause distorted alveolar and vascular growth, as well as alterations in the composition and differentiation of the mesenchymal cells of a newborn's lungs, demonstrating a multifactorial pathogenesis of the disease. In addition, inflammation and oxidative stress are the common denominators of the mechanisms that contribute to BPD development. Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGFA) constitutes the most prominent and best studied candidate for vascular development. Animal models have confirmed the important regulatory roles of epithelial-expressed VEGF in lung development and function. This educational review aims to discuss the inflammatory pathways in BPD onset for preterm newborns, focusing on the role of VEGFA and providing a summary of current and emerging evidence.
The best hypothesis to explain Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) pathogenesis is offered by the “triple risk model”, which suggests that an interaction of different variables related to exogenous ...stressors and infant vulnerability may lead to the syndrome. Environmental factors are triggers that act during a particular sensible period, modulated by intrinsic genetic characteristics. Although literature data show that one of the major SIDS risk factors is smoking exposure, a specific involvement of molecular components has never been highlighted. Starting from these observations and considering the role of GSTT1 and GSTM1 genes functional polymorphisms in the detoxification process, we analyzed GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotype frequencies in 47 SIDS exposed to tobacco smoke and 75 healthy individuals.
A significant association (p < .0001) between the GSTM1 null genotype and SIDS exposed to smoke was found. On the contrary, no association between GSTT1 polymorphism and SIDS was determined. Results indicated the contribution of the GSTM1 −/− genotype resulting in null detoxification activity in SIDS cases, and led to a better comprehension of the triple risk model, highlighting smoking exposure as a real SIDS risk factor on a biochemical basis.
•GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were analyzed in SIDS cases exposed to cigarette smoke.•A GSTM1 gene deletion was found more frequent in SIDS than in controls.•Loss of GSTM1 detoxification activity combined with smoke may contribute to SIDS.•Experimental assessment of biochemical factors interacting within the “Triple Risk Model”
Seahorses are considered a flagship species for conservation efforts and due to their conservation status, improving knowledge on their dietary composition while applying a non-invasive approach, ...could be useful. Using Hippocampus guttulatus as a case study, the present study represents pioneering research into investigating the diet of seahorses by NGS-based DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples. The study developed and tested the protocol for fecal DNA metabarcoding during the feeding trials where captive seahorses were fed on a diet of known composition; the process was subsequently applied on fecal samples collected from wild individuals. The analysis of samples collected during the feeding trials indicated the reliability of the applied molecular approach by allowing the characterization of the effectively ingested prey. In the field study, among detected prey species, results revealed that the majority of the seahorse samples contained taxa such as Amphipoda, Decapoda, Isopoda, and Calanoida, while less common prey taxa were Gastropoda and Polyplacophora. As only a small amount of starting fecal material is needed and the sampling procedure is neither invasive nor lethal. The present study indicates DNA metabarcoding as useful for investigating seahorse diet and could help define management and conservation actions.
Alien invasive species represent a major threat in Italian freshwaters. Despite national and European regulations aimed at the control and prevention of new invasive species, the number of ...allochthonous species is increasing and so is the rate of spread. One of the most widespread invasive animals in coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea is the blue crab Callinectes sapidus, a native of the Western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina. The species is euryhaline, and besides coastal waters, it is also commonly recorded in upper estuaries and lower reaches of rivers. Considering its fast adaptability and invasiveness, the main purpose of this work is to assess whether its biological plasticity and invasive capability may represent, in addition to marine and coastal habitats, also a potential threat for inland waters. Samples were collected in seven sites distributed between Southern and Central Italy. The new records are herein presented, starting from the original introduction by ballast waters and the actual westward migration in inland waters of Latium and Tuscany. In addition, the threat to biodiversity is also discussed, considering the blue crab aggressiveness toward both vertebrates and invertebrates, which may limit the distribution of native freshwater fish and macrofauna.
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