Ricerc@Sapienza

This study describes the potential of solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers as nano-formulations to administer to the central nervous system poorly water soluble drugs. Different neuroactive drugs, i.e. dimethylfumarate, retinyl palmitate, progesterone and the endocannabinoid hydrolysis inhibitor URB597 have been studied. Lipid nanoparticles constituted of tristearin or tristearin in association with gliceryl monoolein were produced.

Cleaning interactions between the wrasse Symphodus melanocercus and brown meagre Sciaena umbra are documented from observations whilst free diving on a shallow rocky reef in the central Mediterranean Sea. Cleaning events occurred at cleaning stations mainly during the morning and gradually decreased in the evening. The body parts mostly cleaned were the opercular region and the fins, possibly as gnathiid isopods preferentially attach to these areas.

The genetics underlying autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is complex and heterogeneous, and de novo variants are found in genes converging in functional biological processes. Neuronal communication, including trans-synaptic signaling involving two families of cell-adhesion proteins, the presynaptic neurexins and the postsynaptic neuroligins, is one of the most recurrently affected pathways in ASD. Given the role of these proteins in determining synaptic function, abnormal synaptic plasticity and failure to establish proper synaptic contacts might represent mechanisms underlying risk of ASD.

Anthropic activities are causing severe damages on the natural environment from climate change to habitat destruction. The animal’s first response to natural and anthropic environmental changes is behavioural and therefore behaviour can be considered a link between physiological and ecological processes. Water temperature is an important environmental parameter influencing the distribution and the health of fish and it plays acentral role in ectothermic animals affecting their physiology andbehaviour.

Water temperature is an important environmental parameter influencing the distribution and the health of fishes and it plays a central role in ectothermic animals. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of environmental temperature on the brain proteome and the behavioural responses in zebrafish, a widely used animal model for environmental “omics” studies. Adult specimens of wild-type zebrafish were kept at 18 °C, 34 °C and 26 °C (control) for 21 days.

Environmental temperature variations affect many properties and functions of biomolecules and structural components at the cellular level, and influence the animal physiology and behavior at the organism level. It is well accepted that the biochemical changes induced by temperature stress are attributed to gene expression modulations. The aim of this work was to understand the molecular mechanism and the behavioural responses correlated to temperature stress in zebrafish (Danio rerio), which is a widely used animal model for environmental genomics researches.

The short-beaked common dolphin is a highly vocal species, with a wide distribution in all oceans, including the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. In the Mediterranean Sea, the short-beaked common dolphin inhabits both pelagic and neritic waters. Osteological collections and the literature show that short-beaked common dolphins were widespread and abundant in much of the Mediterranean Sea until the late 1960s. During recent decades the species has declined in the whole basin, and, in 2003, it was listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List.