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Introduction
ex-Member of the Bioethical Committee (CEISA) of the University of Chieti-Pescara, Teramo, L'Aquila, and IZS of Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale": http://www.unite.it/UniTE/Engine/RAServePG.php/P/95061UTE0310
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Publications
Publications (51)
Biodiversity studies are essential for evaluating environmental quality and ecosystem integrity [...]
The Trabocchi Coast in the Chieti district of the mid-Adriatic (Italy) is one of the few rocky areas within the General Fisheries Commission GSA 17, alongside Mount Conero (Ancona 43°00′01″ N 13°52′13″ E) and the small San Nicola Rock (Ascoli Piceno; 43°32′0″ N 13°36′0″ E). This coastline is known for its biodiversity-rich bays, inlets, and submerg...
So far, little has been done on the motor and perceptual asymmetry in the genus Spheniscus, which on the contrary, has been the target of much research in the wild due to its vulnerable ecological condition. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of lateralization on different asymmetry dimensions in Humboldt penguins by studying fourt...
Species conservation requires a clear understanding of habitat use. The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a coastal species subjected to various anthropogenic threats. In this research, we use a combination of behavioral observations and GIS analysis to identify core hotspots for bottlenose dolphins around the Islands of Ischia and Procida...
Raptors are some of the most at-risk groups of birds in the world and saving these top predators is essential for maintaining the health of many ecosystems. After hospitalization, raptors are often released when muscular recovery is still unfitting when they are unable to hunt efficiently and are at risk of dying from starvation within a few days....
Ecotourism is a responsible form of tourism to natural areas aiming to protect the environments and its resources, promote environmental awareness, and bring economic benefits to the hosting communities. Despite its potential, critics to ecotourism debate whether this represents a preferable alternative or not to other form of tourism, both in term...
The overpopulation of shelters and the increase of homeless dogs have become serious problems in many countries. One contributor to the number of both sheltered and homeless dogs is the abandonment and relinquishment of pet dogs by their owners for different reasons – in many cases depending on dogs’ undesirable or problematic behaviors. Luckily, t...
The study of animal cognition can no longer ignore the close relation between mind, body and social context, without sounding anachronistic. This assumption is particularly true when considering horses’ cognitive abilities. Despite their nature – as social and lazily dynamic animals – domestic horses are often forced to live at the limit of their m...
I cavalli scelgono da quale elemento del branco imparare nuovi comportamenti, i pesci sanno contare
e persino i moscerini della frutta sanno orientarsi in distese desertiche.
ThinkAnimal utilizza un linguaggio semplice ma competente per introdurre il lettore al concetto
di cognizione e mente animale. Per cognizione si intende la capacità di rappre...
The effect of the actin polymerization inhibitor cytochalasin D during in vitro capacitation of boar spermatozoa was assessed. In particular, the acquisition of fertilizing ability and the main intracellular signaling pathways were analyzed. It was found that treated spermatozoa were unable to carry out capacitation, even if the biochemical analyse...
The conflicting results regarding the study of motor laterality in horses may indicate that there does not exist a proper method to assess the degree and the direction of motor bias in these animals. Unfortunately, even less is known about the development of laterality in horses, and to what extent early manipulations can still exert their effects...
In Italy, Law no. 189/2004 (enforced by law n. 201/2010) on safeguarding animal welfare estab-lishes penalties for anyone keeping animals in conditions that are incompatible with their phy-siological or ethological needs. Thus, in order to recognize the condition of poor welfare or mis-treatment, the training of a veterinarian needs to adopt a new...
The endangered Mexican fish, Zoogoneticus tequila Webb & Miller, 1998, represents a newchallenge for scientists: its biology, quite unknown, could perhaps explain the reason for its extremelylow consistency in natural environments. An experimental setting was prepared where four pairs ofyoung Z. tequila from the only Italian colony were bred in two...
The signalling cascades involved in many biological processes require the coordination of different subcellular districts. It is the case of the pathways involved in spermatozoa acquisition of fertilizing ability (the so called "capacitation"). In the present work the coordination of subcellular signalling, during the boar sperm capacitation, was s...
The phenomenon of dogs' relinquishment in Italy has become a social evil, although many laws exist to regulate animal protection and lately, the act of abandonment has become criminalised (law n.189/2004, enforced by law n.201/2010). Adoption from shelters seems to be the only way to have a controlled, microchipped population of dogs, as well as li...
The analysis of fecal hormones allows a close but non-invasive monitoring of animals avoidingthe stress of restraint/capture, which in turn can upset animals’ hormonal profile. Steroid hormoneprogesterone was analysed in three singleton, female grey wolves of different age, belonging to theendangered species of the Apennines’ Canis lupus. The analy...
INTRODUZIONE Una fetta sempre maggiore di mercato all'interno del variegato mon-do degli animali da compagnia, è stata negli ultimi anni conquistata dal settore acquariofilo: infatti la disponibilità dei moderni prodotti di impiantistica ha facilitato notevolmente anche chi, con scarse o nulle competenze specifiche, difficilmente avrebbe avuto la p...
As a growing sector in the pet field, the aquarium trade is little controlled by regulation in Italy; for this reason, buyers can sometime find on free sale ornamental fishes that could be potentially harmful to them if not appropriately managed. Among those fishes, one of the most appreciated reef specie is Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1775), that...
Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the most appreciated fish in the common reef aquariology but, unfortunately, a potentially dangerous subject due to its venom glands, which cancause injuries and envenomations. This study relays on the recording of injuries in Italian hobbyists/caretakers/retailers, enabling us to evaluate the most danger...
The endangered Mexican fish Zoogoneticus tequila (Webb & Miller, 1998) represents a new challenge for scientists: its biology, still unknown, could perhaps explain the reason for its extremely low consistency in natural environments. An experimental setting was prepared where four pairs of young Z. tequila from the only Italian colony were breed in...
Parole chiave: capacità cognitive, lateralizzazione cerebrale, mente e benessere animale SUMMARY -People frequently think that intelligence is not widely distributed in the animal kingdom. Some species like dolphins, dogs, primates or parrots are considered to be quite in-telligent while the remnant animals are considered to be more similar to inst...
Anandamide (AEA) is the endogenous ligand of cannabinoid (CB) receptors, and as such it plays several central and peripheral activities. Regulation of female fertility by AEA has attracted growing interest, yet a role for this endocannabinoid in controlling sperm function and male fertility in mammals has been scarcely investigated. In this study w...
Introduzione Il modo in cui il mondo appare agli animali non è semplicemente legato alle loro capacità sensoriali. Esiste il problema di come i vari input sensoriali vengono combinati assieme per dare luogo ad un più complesso livello di percezione concettuale. Il comportamento di detour o di aggiramento degli ostacoli è di particolare interesse pe...
The paucity of dogs dedicated to animal-assisted therapy (AAT) for disabled people creates long waiting lists worldwide and compromises the health of the few certified animals by demanding too much work from them at times, thus jeopardizing their future as service dogs. In an attempt to obviate this situation, a mathematical model has been conceive...
The authors have investigated in the different classes of ovarian follicles the vascular area, the blood vessel distribution, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression and the VEGF secretion during equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) induced follicle growth in prepubertal gilts fed ad libitum or fasted. Immunohistochemistry stai...
The possibility to predict the ability of a germ cell to properly sustain embryo development in vitro or in vivo as early as possible is undoubtedly the main problem of reproductive technologies. To date, only the achievement of nuclear maturation and cumulus expansion is feasible, as all the studies on cytoplasmic maturation are too invasive and h...
Previous investigations showed that VLA-6 integrin present on boar sperm membrane can induce acrosome reaction upon exposure to laminin accumulated in expanded cumuli (Mattioli et al., 1998). To further investigate this novel sperm egg-recognition system, the authors studied the distribution of VLA-6 integrin on the membrane of boar sperm throughou...
Ram effect, defined as shortening of seasonal anestrus in ewes by exposure to the ram, is now well recognized but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Little information also exists whether the ram is able to influence the estrus cycle and ovulation. Three experiments were conducted to investigate endocrine response, time of ovulation and p...
Despite their continuous turnover, sheep antral follicles are always regularly innervated. The local production of neurotrophins is probably involved in the control of ovarian innervation. In this context the present investigation was designed to evaluate the ability of sheep antral follicles to produce neurotrophic factors. In the first part of th...
The authors investigated acrosomal changes occurring in boar sperm that interact with the expanded cumulus matrix surrounding ovulated pig oocytes. Samples of washed boar sperm obtained from six donors were incubated for 4 hr under capacitating conditions and exposed either to solubilized zonae pellucidae (ZP) or solubilized expanded pig cumuli (SE...
The functional status of boar spermatozoa undergoing capacitation in vitro was investigated. Two fluorescent stains were used: chlortetracycline (CTC) and a FITC-conjugated lectin (FITC-PSA). The first has been used for the direct identification of the capacitated boar spermatozoa, while the second, based on the identification of capacitated sperma...
The authors review the clinical, macro- and microscopical features, and pathogenesis of viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD) of rabbits and the European brown hare syndrome (EBHS). The two diseases share similar clinical and pathological manifestations involving an acute syndrome, sometimes accompanied by nervous and respiratory symptoms and epistaxis,...
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Question (1)
If you own a horse or you horseride, will you please answer to some questions about horses by filling in the questionnaire? Thanks. For any problem you can mail me at plucidi@unite.it