Oceanographic characteristics of the Adriatic Sea - Support to secondary HAOP spread through natural dispersal.

Vessels, specifically ballast water and hull fouling, are a major vector for the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) in European seas. The Mediterranean is one of the world's marine regions where their invasion is heaviest. The shallow Adriatic basin is a highly sensitive area that is already experiencing its consequences.

Early chemical and ecotoxicological responses of the Varano lagoon (SE Italy) to a flood event.

The effects on coastal lagoons of floods resulting from intense rainfall need to be assessed using a multidisciplinary approach, able to describe in real time the occurrence of changes in sediment quality, anticipating risk situations. In the present study the effectiveness as pre-screening tool of the MOT-test, an innovative bioassay that uses sperm motility as endpoint, has been evaluated; its response has been compared with the sediment chemical characterization, in order to determine the effects of a flood event occurred in the Varano lagoon, a poorly anthropized Mediterranean coastal lagoon. The MOT-test effect percentages ranged from 10% to 30%, fully reflecting data from chemical analyses.

A resilience intervention involving mindfulness training for transplant patients and their caregivers.

Solid organ and stem cell transplant patients and their caregivers report a substantial level of distress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been shown to alleviate distress associated with transplant, but there is limited experience in this population with other mindfulness-based interventions, or with combined transplant patient and caregiver interventions. We evaluated a novel, 6-week mindfulness-based resilience training (MBRT) class for transplant patients and their caregivers that incorporates mindfulness practice, yoga, and neuroscience of stress and resilience.