I . The three kinds of globules that can be recognized in the living neurone of Helix aspersa are sharply distinguishable from one another by histochemical tests. 2. One kind of globule contains phospholipid; another appears to consist of triglyceride; the third is complex chemically, containing mixed lipids with some protein and carbohydrate. 3. When osmium techniques for the 'Golgi apparatus'...

Snail extracts have been increasingly used in numerous dermatologic conditions and recent literature attributes healing, soothing and anti-aging properties to them. This study evaluates the efficacy of Helix aspersa extract in an open wound management protocol for deep partial thickness (PT) facial burns and compares it to moist exposure burn ointment(MEBO). A total of 27 adult patients with de...

ZnO nanocrystalline powder was successfully synthesized via co-precipitation method coupled with high annealing treatment. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the NPs have a pure hexagonal wurtzite structure mean crystallite size of approximately 59 nm. FESEM observations along EDS indicated formation fine particles in nanoscale regime, shape and purity. Both Raman photoluminescence charac...

Hibernating snails (Helix aspersa) were activated by placing them in environmental chambers under either long-day (LD 18:6) or short-day (LD 8:16) lighting conditions. One day after activation all the snails were injected with (3H-thymidine (5 microCi/g wet weight) in order to estimate the duration of spermatogenic phases under long and short-day cycles. Our histological and autoradiographic ob...

The function of the love dart in certain species of terrestrial snails is unknown. In Helix aspersa, the dart is a sharp calcareous structure that is used to pierce the partner's skin during courtship. When expelled, the dart is covered with a thick mucus. The hypothesis tested here is that the mucus contains a biologically active substance. Extracts of the digitiform glands that produce this m...

The dart apparatus, used during courtship in some groups of hermaphroditic land snails, has long been assumed to have a “stimulatory” effect on the mating partner, though how stimulation occurs and exactly what function it serves has never been determined. In this study, extracts of the mucous glands of the dart apparatus of the land snail Helix aspersa were injected into conspecifics and into ...

With this study, 28 pools of snails of the genus Helix, respectively Helix aspersa (n=24) and Helix vermiculata (n=4) were analysed. They were taken from snail farming and stores. The snails were from Sardinia, other regions of Italy, and from abroad. All the samples were examined as pool looking for these microbiological target: Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157, C...