Cells respond to environmental stress in multiple ways. In the germ line, heat shock and nutritive stress trigger the assembly of large ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). The RNP granules are hypothesized to maintain the quality of oocytes during stress. The goal of this study was to investigate the cellular response to glucose in the germ line and determine if it is an osmotic stress response. We found that exposure to 500 mM glucose induces the assembly of RNP granules in the germ line within 1 h. Interestingly, the RNP granules are maintained for up to 3 h; however, they dissociate after longer periods of stress. The RNP granules include processing body and stress granule proteins, suggesting shared functions. Based on several lines of evidence, the germ line response to glucose largely appears to be an osmotic stress response, thus identifying osmotic stress as a trigger of LLPS. Although RNP granules are not maintained beyond 3 h of osmotic stress, the quality of oocytes does not appear to decrease after longer periods of stress, suggesting a secondary adaptation in the germ line. We used an indirect marker of glycerol and observed high levels after 5 and 20 h of glucose exposure. Moreover, in germ lines, glycerol levels are reduced concomitant with RNP granules being maintained for an extended period. We speculate that increased glycerol levels may function as a secondary osmoregulatory adaptive response in the germ line, following a primary response of RNP granule assembly.

Silent myocardial infarction or unrecognized myocardial infarction has increased prevalence in elderly population with increased cardiovascular risk factors. However, its prevalence in COVID-19 patients is not well-known. A 77-year-old Caucasian male with COVID-19 pneumonia, presented with silent ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, diabetic ketoacidosis and multiorgan failure. He underwent cardiac catheterization and drug eluting stent placement in the ostial right coronary artery with safety protocol. He was discharged to extended-care-facility in stable condition. This is a first case report of silent ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in a patient presenting with COVID-19. In patients with COVID-19, acute myocardial infarction should be ruled out even when asymptomatic, especially in older patients. Prompt intervention using safety protocol is life-saving.

This article presents the result of an experimental meteorological buoy designed by the Department of Engineering of the University of Palermo, characterized by low costs and great versatility, and equipped with industrially certified measuring and detection instruments. This buoy can measure the parameters of the water column and continuously transmit the data to a remote acquisition centre. Maintenance requirements are very limited.

The University of Palermo is currently investigating the possibility of sea wave energy harvesting in the Mediterranean Sea, since this energy sources could have important applications, especially in small islands. With this purpose, the paper propones an innovative technology for the sea wave exploitation in onshore areas. A prototypical device is firstly described. Some improvements are introduced in comparison with a previous version of the device. In this manuscript the Life Cycle Assessment is performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of this technology.

Molecular tools increasingly refine and improve the identification of zooplankton organisms based on phenotypic features, providing a more robust and comprehensive species description. Integration of data helps revealing the hidden diversity of zooplankton and facilitating the detection of rare and non‐indigenous species. This approach, merging morphological characters and a diagnostic marker for specific identification, such as the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI), is here used to characterize key taxa from the zooplankton assemblage of the Gulf of Naples at the Long‐Term Ecological Research site MareChiara (LTER‐MC) (Central Tyrrhenian Sea, Western Mediterranean Sea). Zooplankton biodiversity assessment using integrated taxonomy was focused on selected crustacean groups: cyclopod copepods (Agetus typicus, Oithona plumifera, Oncaea mediterranea, Oncaea scottodicarloi); newly records of cladocerans (Evadne nordmanni), euphausiids (Euphausia krohnii, Nematoscelis megalops, Nyctiphanes spp.) and sergestids (Lucifer typus), with the aim to boost the knowledge of real zooplankton biodiversity. The results of our investigation provide new high‐quality molecular references of the analysed taxa and contribute to unveiling the genetic diversification of zooplankton species and their relevant ecological significance for Mediterranean coastal waters.