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This paper focuses on the use of gypsum as a binder in stucco artworks made between the 16th and 17th centuries in canton Ticino (Switzerland). As far as the artistic technique is concerned, a stucco statue is made of composite materials: metal, brick or wood for the supporting structure, lime and/or gypsum mortar with aggregate for the ground and finishing layers. The gypsum addition to the lime binder, found mainly in the ground layer, helps accelerate the setting of the three-dimensional stucco elements and prevents cracks from shrinkage, but a real understanding of the technology of its preparation, as well as the proportion of the mix for the stucco production, has yet to be established. The samples of stucco (167) taken from artworks in the region were analysed in stratigraphy, identifying their chemical and mineralogical composition. The results from these investigations were compared with the information provided by the historical sources and archival documents recording the artistic technique. Results showed that the quantity of gypsum varies greatly depending on the requirements of the stucco masters and that it was a fundamental addition to attain the effects desired by the different artists.

•The stuccoes by B. Fontana at the Gallery of Angels, Uherčice Castle were studied.•Detached portions of the vault allowed to study the internal structure and anchorage.•Stuccoes were prepared by successive layers of mortar with variable gypsum content.•Water infiltration in the past has caused severe deterioration to the vault stuccoes.

Among a set of wild-type strains of Euplotes nobilii, every one derived asexually from one specimen isolated from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica), two were found to be representative of different mating types mutually capable of inducing each other to form mating pairs through pheromones constitutively secreted into the extracellular environment. Pheromones of strain AC-1 were purified to homogeneity and shown to be represented by two distinct proteins, that were denoted En-1 and En-2. En-1, secreted in amounts three-fold greater than En-2, was determined to have a molecular weight of 5617 and an asparagine at the N-ter-minus of its amino acid sequence, while En-2 has a molecular weight of 6290 and bears an asparctic acid at its N-terminus. The fact that En-1 and En-2 are coreleased by genetically identical cells of the same strain was taken to imply that they carry a het-erozygotic combination of allelic pheromone genes and that these genes are regulated by relationships of co-dominance.

AbstractGrowth performances of sunshine bass (initial m.b.w.=200±50 g) were examined in 3 different rearing conditions: concrete square basins (HSB-1); raceways (HSB-2); natural ponds (HSB-3). Fish received the same extruded feed (prot. 48.8%; lip. 17.8%). The trial lasted 16 months in HSB-1 and HSB-2 and only 12 months in HSB-3 due to unfavourable welfare status and low growth performances. At harvest (after 16 months), sunshine bass reached a satisfactory mean weight without significant differences between groups. HSB-2 fish were longer with a smaller circumference, probably due to different hydrodynamics of the raceway. Glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, protein, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatine kinase (CK), glycogen of plasma or tissue were not affected by rearing conditions as well as the proximate composition and the fatty acid profile of the fillet.