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The cored succession of the Acerno basin, a tectonic palaeolake located in the southern Apennines (Italy), represents a key point of the Italian tephrostratigraphic network for the Quaternary. Trace element and isotope (87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd) data have been acquired on bulk rock, glassy groundmass and separated minerals (feldspar and pyroxene phenocrysts) from twenty-one tephra layers, dated between ∼570 and 470 ka, embedded in the lacustrine sediments of the basin. The already available major element compositions have been here combined with the newly acquired data. The whole dataset provides a full geochemical characterization of the tephra that strengthens and improves previous attempts to identify their volcanic sources and potential correlatives. In this context, several previously proposed correlations among distal archives have been here confuted. The geochemical fingerprints highlight that the volcanic record preserved in the Acerno lacustrine succession can be attributed to the explosive activity of the Roccamonfina, Colli Albani, Sabatini, Pontian islands (Latium region, Central Italy) and the Neapolitan Volcanic Area (Campania region, South Italy), providing new insights to enhance the current knowledge on the Middle Pleistocene volcanic record in Italy. Moreover, tephra attributions suggest still unknown eruptive activity of such volcanoes during the Quaternary. From this perspective, our study testifies how difficult it is to precisely correlate different geological archives even in a very short time interval. Such a difficulty arises from a large number of volcanic events concentrated in a relatively short time span, with products of similar chemical composition, and from the incomplete characterization of the successions in proximal outcrops. A thorough reconstruction of the eruptive history of these volcanic complexes requires a wider and denser study of distal archives, alongside further investigations in proximal areas.

The entire manufacturing process of colatura di alici di Cetara, a fish product derived from anchovies, was monitored. Physico-chemical characteristics, TVN and TMA content and fatty acid profile was determined from raw anchovies to colatura ready to use. Results showed a high TVN level also at initial steps of ripening period. The fatty acid content showed a high presence of polunsatured acids also in finished product.

On 2008 there was a Community alert concerning the presence of Cadmium in crabs and on December 2009 there was a note from the Italian Ministry of Health concerning the control of cadmium in edible tissues of crabs caught in Italian territorial waters. This laboratory analyzed a total of 32 samples of crabs by atomic absorption spectroscopy graphite stove dividing the crustaceans in the following tissues: bright parts contained in claws, dark parts contained in the shell and red parts contained in the shell. The results showed that gastrointestinal shellfish tissues is at greatest risk, while the bright parts contained in claws are always below the limit set by European legislation (Reg. 1881/2006 and following). Furthermore it is clear that the crustaceans caught in the northern Adriatic present values of cadmium significantly lower compared to shellfish from France and UK.

Molecular techniques like metabarcoding, while promising for exploring diversity of communities, are often impeded by the lack of reference DNA sequences available for taxonomic annotation. Our study explores the benefits of combining targeted DNA barcoding and morphological taxonomy to improve metabarcoding efficiency, using beach meiofauna as a case study. Beaches are globally important ecosystems and are inhabited by meiofauna, microscopic animals living in the interstitial space between the sand grains, which play a key role in coastal biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics. However, research on meiofauna faces challenges due to limited taxonomic expertise and sparse sampling. We generated 775 new cytochrome c oxidase I DNA barcodes from meiofauna specimens collected along the Netherlands' west coast and combined them with the NCBI GenBank database. We analysed alpha and beta diversity in 561 metabarcoding samples from 24 North Sea beaches, a region extensively studied for meiofauna, using both the enriched reference database and the NCBI database without the additional reference barcodes. Our results show a 2.5‐fold increase in sequence annotation and a doubling of species‐level Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) identification when annotating the metabarcoding data with the enhanced database. Additionally, our analyses revealed a bell‐shaped curve of OTU richness across the intertidal zone, aligning more closely with morphological analysis patterns, and more defined community dissimilarity patterns between supralittoral and intertidal sites. Our research highlights the importance of expanding molecular reference databases and combining morphological taxonomy with molecular techniques for biodiversity assessments, ultimately improving our understanding of coastal ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chaetonotidae is the most diversified family of the entire phylum Gastrotricha; it comprises ~430 species distributed across 16 genera. The current classification, established mainly on morphological traits, has been challenged in recent years by phylogenetic studies, indicating that the cuticular ornamentations used to discriminate among species may be misleading when used to identify groupings, which has been the practice until now. Therefore, a consensus is developing toward implementing novel approaches to better define species identity and affiliation at a higher taxonomic ranking. Using an integrative morphological and molecular approach, including annotation of the mitogenome, we report on some freshwater gastrotrichs characterised by a mixture of two types of cuticular scales diagnostic of the genera Aspidiophorus and Heterolepidoderma. Our specimens' overall anatomical characteristics find no correspondence in the taxa of these two genera, calling for their affiliation to a new species. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequence of the ribosomal RNA genes of 96 taxa consistently found the new species unrelated to Aspidiophorus or Heterolepidoderma but allied with Chaetonotus aff. subtilis, as a subset of a larger clade, including mostly planktonic species. Morphological uniqueness and position along the non-monophyletic Chaetonotidae branch advocate erecting a new genus to accommodate the current specimens; consequently, the name Litigonotus ghinii gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The complete mitochondrial genome of the new taxon resulted in a single circular molecule 14,384 bp long, including 13 protein-coding genes, 17 tRNA genes and 2 rRNAs genes, showing a perfect synteny and collinearity with the only other gastrotrich mitogenome available, a possible hint of a high level of conservation in the mitochondria of Chaetonotidae. ZooBank: Gastrotricha (hairy-bellied worms) is a phylum of microscopic aquatic invertebrates whose traditional morphology-based classification has been challenged in recent years. We report a new genus and species found using an integrative morphological and molecular approach, which is unrelated to morphologically similar species in the genera Aspidiophorus and Heterolepidoderma. The mitochondrial genome of the new taxon has the same number of genes and gene order as the only other gastrotrich mitogenome available, suggesting the conservation of mitochondria at the family level. (Image credit: M. Antonio Todaro.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Participation in youth sport is often associated with a variety of positive development outcomes. In order to effectively utilize sport as a context of learning and development, the sport must be intentionally designed and programed. One often-used approach is known as sport-based positive youth development (PYD). Recently, to further enhance the intentionality of a sport-based PYD approach, several researchers have posited the potential benefits of applying experiential learning theory to youth sport programing. Through utilizing experiential learning within a sport-based PYD approach, it is believed youth sport can be designed to intentionally promote desired PYD outcomes. Purpose: Experiential learning theory offers a deep understanding and history of effective youth programing. However, within the field of experiential learning, many different pedagogical approaches exist. To date, sport-based PYD has yet to identify a specific pedagogical approach within experiential learning. In order to be accessible and applicable for youth sport leaders, a more definitive pedagogical approach is needed. One specific application of experiential learning which offers specific programing techniques that are compatible with a sport-based PYD approach is adventure pedagogy. Conclusions: Adventure pedagogy draws from adventure-based learning and adventure-based groupwork. Thus, adventure pedagogy is defined as a participant-centered approach consisting of intentionally designed and sequenced challenging group activities, which, when processed and debriefed, can lead to a shared opportunity for growth and development related to the intrapersonal development and interpersonal skills. Specifically, to enhance the programing and practices of the youth sport leader, this paper identifies key tenets of adventure pedagogy and highlights their applicability within a sport-based PYD approach. These tenets include the promotion of PYD outcomes, physical and emotional safety, intentionally designed activities, sequencing of prescribed activities, a novel learning experiences, intentional facilitation, challenging group activities, real and immediate consequences, and debriefing to transfer learning. Through the integration of adventure and sport-based PYD, youth sport leaders can effectively program and facilitate youth sport to promote desired PYD outcomes.

Specimens of the gastrotrich genus Musellifer are recorded for the first time from the Black Sea. These specimens, identified as M. profundus Vivier, 1974, were found in sediment samples collected at various depths (22−135 m) and from waters characterized by low salinity (17.3−18.62‰) and varying levels of oxygen (2.43−299.59 μM). Three specimens were found from the Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus) outlet area of the Black Sea (Turkey) and 2 were found along the southern and southeastern shelf of the Crimean Peninsula (Russia), from the Yalta Gulf and the Feodosiya Gulf.

Experiential learning has been used to inform programming and practices in a wide variety of contexts such as adventure therapy and outdoor education. Furthermore, experiential learning has been used to explain the learning process of individuals, groups, and teams. Its relationship with the context of youth sport, however, has yet to be fully explored. Within youth sport, especially sport-based positive youth development (PYD), experiential learning can be utilized to help guide programming and practices of the youth sport leader (YSL). The integration of sport-based PYD and experiential learning is important, as research has indicated that YSLs lack intentionality as they aim to facilitate sport toward youth development. To highlight the potential integration of sport-based PYD and experiential learning, one previously developed model is identified. Moreover, the utilization of experiential learning within sport-based PYD is discussed to help illuminate the potential impact of experiential learning in both research and practice.

The study falls within the framework of a wider research programme aimed at investigating the gastrotrich diversity of the Tropical North-Western Atlantic (TNWA). A new macrodasyidan gastrotrich is described from fine-medium sand collected at Duncans Bay, Jamaica. The description is based on observations carried out on living specimens using differential interference contrast microscopy. Paraturbanella xaymacana sp. n., the third gastrotrich taxon reported from Jamaica, is a mid-sized species, up to 564 μm long, with a feeble peribuccal swelling. The most obvious autapomorphic traits pertain to the testes and the male pore, both of which are located approximately at mid body, rather than at- or near the pharyngo-intestinal junction as occur in the other species of the genus. Additional differences with congeners are discussed and a key to the Paraturbanella species is provided, in the hope it will be useful to both gastrotrich experts and marine ecologists who discover these microscopic metazoans during their research.

Gastrotricha are microscopic benthic animals found in almost all water bodies. To date, over 890 species distributed in 71 genera, 18 families, and two orders are known. There are 376 freshwater species, and several are also found in Italy; however, a compendium of the studies carried out so far, and a georeferenced distribution of the species, still need to be provided. This project summarizes information about the diversity and geographic distribution of Italian gastrotrichs. Diversity data, acquired over 239 years, were reviewed and corrected based on taxonomic and nomenclatural updates and, in addition to distribution information, were organized into a data matrix valuable for statistical analysis. The data were fed into geographic information system software to understand the overall figures more easily. The results indicated that Italy is one of the best-known countries regarding freshwater gastrotrichs. With 92 species in 17 genera and three families from 61 investigated localities, Italy counts 17 type localities and 19 endemic species. Despite this high biodiversity, many Italian regions still need to be investigated, and should, therefore, be the focus of future research. The implementation of a web-mapping plugin enabled the creation of interactive maps for an easy and modern method for sharing the work done, and the information acquired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]