Gathering experience in trust-based interactions

As advances in mobile and embedded technologies coupled with progress in adhoc networking fuel the shift towards ubiquitous computing systems it is becoming increasingly clear that security is a major concern. While this is true of all computing paradigms, the characteristics of ubiquitous systems amplify this concern by promoting spontaneous interaction between diverse heterogeneous entities across administrative boundaries [5]. Entities cannot therefore rely on a specific control authority and will have no global view of the state of the system. To facilitate collaboration with unfamiliar counterparts therefore requires that an entity takes a proactive approach to self-protection. We conjecture that trust management is the best way to provide support for such self-protection measures

Insight into the epidemiology of leptospirosis: A review of leptospira isolations from “unconventional” hosts

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging worldwide zoonotic disease. Even though the primary serological test for diagnosis and surveying is the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), isolation remains the gold-standard test to detect Leptospira infections. The leptospirosis transmission is linked to maintenance and accidental hosts. In the epidemiology of Leptospira some serovar are strictly related to specific maintenance hosts; however, in recent years, the bacterium was isolated from an even wider spectrum of species. The aim of this review is to report the isolation of Leptospira strains in animals which could be recognized as “unconventional” hosts, analyzing studies from 1960 to 2020 that highlighted the Leptospira isolation. This scientific literature aimed to provide evidence of infection in several animal species including of the Carnivora, Didelphimorphia, Rodentia, Cetacea, Cingulata, Afrosoricida, Chiroptera and Primate orders, as well as in Reptilia and Amphibia classes. In conclusion, the spreading of Leptospira is attention-worthy because the infection could occur in all the animal species ranging in a specific area. Further screening and isolations are needed to collect all necessary data to gain a complete understanding of leptospirosis epidemiology and its modifications

Melitta schmiedeknechti (Hymenoptera Apoidea, Melittidae), a new species for the fauna of Italy

Melitta schmiedeknechti Friese 1899 is reported for the first time in Italy. The species was collected in two different localities, mainland Sicily and Lampedusa, expanding its known range. Localities and flora visited are reported and, in addition, barcoding of two specimens was carried out

Microbial profile of the ventriculum of honey bee (apis mellifera ligustica spinola, 1806) fed with veterinary drugs, dietary supplements and non-protein amino acids

The effects of veterinary drugs, dietary supplements and non-protein amino acids on the European honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola, 1806) ventriculum microbial profile were investigated. Total viable aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, staphylococci, Escherichia coli, lactic acid bacteria, Pseudomonas spp., aerobic bacterial endospores and Enterococcus spp. were determined using a culture-based method. Two veterinary drugs (Varromed® and Api-Bioxal®), two commercial dietary supplements (ApiHerb® and ApiGo®) and two non-protein amino acids (GABA and beta-alanine) were administered for one week to honey bee foragers reared in laboratory cages. After one week, E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. were significantly affected by the veterinary drugs (p < 0.001). Furthermore, dietary supplements and non-protein amino acids induced significant changes in Staphylococcus spp., E. coli and Pseudomonas spp. (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the results of this investigation showed that the administration of the veterinary drugs, dietary supplements and non-protein amino acids tested, affected the ventriculum microbiological profile of Apis mellifera ligustica

Antibacterial activity of honey samples from Ukraine

The employment of natural substances such as beehive products with a preventive and therapeutic purpose has been a widespread custom since ancient times. In this investigation, the antibacterial activity of 41 honey samples from different Ukraine regions has been evaluated. For each honey, melissopalynological and physico-chemical analysis were performed in order to determine botanical origin, pH, glucose and fructose contents and free acidity. So, antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus CCM 4223, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium CCM 3807 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 was assessed through the determination of MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) and MBC (Minimum Bactericidal Concentration) values by the microdilutions method. The results show that the most susceptible bacterial strain was L. monocytogenes. Its growth was inhibited at a honey concentration ranging from 0.094 to 0.188 g/mL. The most resistant bacterial strain was S. aureus. As concerns MBC values, L. monocytogenes was the most susceptible bacteria, while S. aureus was the most resistant. Helianthus spp. honeys was the most effective against all tested bacterial strains, followed by Robinia spp. and multifloral honeys. Promising results for MIC tests have been found for Brassica spp

Producción de semilla de cilantro (Coriandrum sativum L.) bajo la incidencia de malezas y Alternaria Nees

El daño causado por malezas, Alternaria e insectos plaga en la producción de semilla de cilantro fue el objeto de esta investigación. Se evaluaron atributos de la comunidad de malezas (especies, frecuencia, cobertura y densidad), incidencia y severidad de Alternaria, insectos plaga, masa seca y rendimiento en semilla de cilantro. Hubo diferencias significativas para las variables evaluadas entre intensidades (alto, medio, bajo y sin control) de manejo fitosanitario. La comunidad de malezas estuvo conformada por 15 especies, entre ellas, la de menor frecuencia fue Penisetum clandestinum (9%) y la de mayor frecuencia (91%) y densidad más alta (541 individuos/m2) fue Lolium temulentum. Las densidades de malezas monocotiledóneas y dicotiledóneas fueron entre uno y cuatro plantas/m2 a altas intensidades de manejo. Alternaria se presentó a los 50 días después de la siembra del cilantro y produjo daños severos al no controlarla, con valores mayores a un 65% de plantas infectadas y niveles de severidad con muerte total de plantas. Al implementar medidas de control intensas de Alternaria, los niveles de incidencia y severidad se aproximaron al 1,5% (daños muy leves). La masa seca del cilantro se redujo 82% cuando no se controló Alternaria y 92% bajo el tratamiento sin control de las malezas, respecto a controles altos. El rendimiento de semillas de cilantro fue entre 167,1 y 174,3 g m-2 con la mínima presencia de malezas, de Alternaria y ausencia de insectos plaga. Sin control de malezas no se obtuvo semilla de cilantro, y cuando no se controló Alternaria la cantidad de semilla de cilantro obtenida fue de 7,5 g m-2

Efecto del Herbicida Atrazina sobre la Población de Bacterias en un Suelo del Municipio de Saldaña, Tolima

The effect of atrazine inthe populstions dynamics of soil microorgsnism in Saldaña, Tolima was evaluated. The soil microorganism studied were bacteria in general, phosphatesolubilizing bacteria, desnitrificant, aminificants, nitrobacte and nitrosomonas. We used a completely randomnized design with five treatments and four repetitions. Results were analyzed using Analysis of variance Treatments consisted of (1) original soil, (2) sterilized soil, (3) soil with substrate of corn stubble, (4) soil treated with 1.5 kg i.a. atrazine/ha, (5) soil with substrate of corn stubble and atrazine. The null hypothesis has consisted that there are not significant differences between population. Differences in variance were compared to F distribution of 5% significance level. The Turkey's test was also used, with the same significance level. Results showed that, as time goes on, the atrazine herbicide has a detrimental effect on the amonificant bacteria populations, as well as on nitrosomonas, desnitrificant and nitrobacter populations. However , ther corn stubble substrate with atrazine has reduced the effect by increasing the number of colony-forming units per gram of soil (U.F.C./g of soil).Se evaluó el efecto de la atrazina en la dinámica de las poblaciones de microorganismos de un suelo de Saldaña, Tolima. Los grupos de microorganismos estudiados fueron bacteriales en general, solubilizadoraz de fósforo, desnitrificantes, amonificantes, nitrobacter y nitrosomonas. Se utilizó un diseño completamente al azar con cinco tratamientos y cuatro repeticiones. Los resultados se sometieron al análisis de varianza. Los tratamientos consistieron en: (1) Suelo original, (2) Suelo esterilizado, (3) Sueo con sustrato de bagazo de maiz, (4) Suelo tratado con atrazina en dosis de 1.5 kg i.a./ha, (5) Suelo con sustrato (bagazo de maiz) y atrazina. Se partió de la hipótesis nula según la cual, no existe diferencia entre las medias poblacionales. Como criterio de decisión, se utilizó la prueba F al 5% de significancia. Adicionalmente, se aplicó la prueba de Tukey al mismo nivel de significancia. Los resultados indicaron a lo largo del tiempo que el herbicida atrazina tiene un efecto detrimental sobre las poblaciones de bacterias amonificantes, nitrosomas, desnitrificantes y nitrobacter. Sin embargo, el sustrato (bagazo de maíz) con adición de atrazina atenuó el efecto, aumentando el número de unidades formadoras de colonia por gramo de suelo (U.F.C/g de suelo)

Prevalence, virulence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes in european wild boar (Sus scrofa) hunted in Tuscany (central Italy)

Wild boar is an animal the population of which constantly increases in Europe. This animal plays an important role as a reservoir for several pathogens, including three of the most important zoonoses: salmonellosis, yersiniosis and listeriosis. The aim of this investigation was to eval-uate the occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant and virulence factor genes of Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes isolated from wild boar in Tuscany (Central Italy). During two consequent hunting seasons (2018/2019 and 2019/2020), rectal swabs, spleens and livers were collected from 287 hunted wild boar to isolate strains. Each isolate was tested to investigate its an-timicrobial resistance and to detect virulence factor genes by PCR. Eighteen Salmonella strains (6.27%) were isolated. Of these, 66.7% were resistant to streptomycin, 13.4% to cephalothin, 6.67% to imipenem and one isolate (6.67%) was resistant simultaneously to five antimicrobials. Moreover, the most detected genes were sopE (73.4%), pipB (66.7%), sodCI (53.3%), spvR and spvC (46.7%). In total, 54 (17.8%) Yersinia enterocolitica were isolated; of them, 26 (48.1%), 9 (16.7%), 17 (31.5%), 1 (1.85%) and 1 (1.85%) belonged to biotypes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. All strains (100%) demon-strated resistance to cephalothin and 70.4% to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, 55.6% to ampicillin, and 37.0% to cefoxitin. Additionally, the most detected genes were ystA (25.9%), inv (24.1%), ail (22.2%), ystB (18.5%) and virF (14.8%). Finally, only one Listeria monocytogenes isolate (0.35%) was obtained, belonging to serogroup IVb, serovar 4b, and it was found to be resistant to cefoxitin, cefotaxime and nalidixic acid. The results highlighted the role of wild boar as a carrier for pathogenic and antimi-crobial-resistant Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogens, representing a possible reservoir for domestic animals and human pathogens

Presence and characterization of zoonotic bacterial pathogens in wild boar hunting dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in tuscany (italy)

Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) used for wild boar (Sus scrofa) hunting may represent incidental hosts for several zoonotic pathogens. This investigation aimed to evaluate the presence of anti-Leptospira antibodies and the occurrence, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence of Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, and Listeria monocytogenes in sera and rectal swabs collected from 42 domestic hunting dogs in the Tuscany region (Italy). Regarding Leptospira, 31 out of 42 serum samples (73.8%) were positive and serogroup Pomona was the most detected (71.4%) at titers between 1:100 and 1:400. Four Salmonella isolates (9.52%) were obtained, all belonging to serotype Infantis; two of them showed antimicrobial resistance to streptomycin, while pipB and sopE presence was assessed in all but one isolate. Concerning Yersinia enterocolitica, seven isolates (16.7%) were obtained, six belonging to biotype 1 and one to biotype 4. Resistance to amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, cephalothin, and ampicillin was detected. Biotype 4 presented three of the virulence genes searched (ystA, ystB, inv), while isolates of biotype 1 showed only one gene. No Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from dog rectal swabs. The results suggest that hunting dogs are exposed to different bacterial zoonotic agents, potentially linked to their work activity, and highlight the possible health risks for humans

Profile and anticoagulation outcomes of patients on warfarin therapy in an urban hospital in Cape Town, South Africa

Background: Warfarin is the most frequently used oral anticoagulant worldwide and it is the oral anticoagulant of choice in South Africa for reducing thrombosis-related morbidity and mortality. However, the safety and efficacy of warfarin therapy depends mainly on careful monitoring and maintenance of the international normalised ratio (INR) within an optimal therapeutic range. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the profile and the anticoagulation outcomes of patients on warfarin therapy in a major warfarin clinic in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Setting: Victoria Hospital - a district hospital in Cape Town. Methods: A cross sectional review of clinical records of patients on warfarin therapy who attended the INR clinic from 01 January 2014 to 30 June 2014 was done. Data analysis was done with STATA to generate appropriate descriptive data. Results: Our study showed that atrial fibrillation (AF) was the commonest indication for warfarin use in this study and hypertension was the commonest comorbidity among these patients. Only 48.5% achieved target therapeutic range; 51.5% were out-of-range. There was a significant association between alcohol consumption and poor anticoagulation outcomes (p-value < 0.022). Anticoagulation outcomes were better among the older age groups, male patients and in those with AF. The prevalence of thrombotic events while on warfarin treatment was 2.2%, while prevalence of haemorrhagic events was 14%. Most of the patients with bleeding events were on concurrent use of warfarin and other medications with potential drug interactions. Conclusion: In our study, patients who achieved target therapeutic control were less than the acceptable 60%. Keywords: Oral anticoagulant, anticoagulation outcomes, therapeutic control, percentage INR within target therapeutic range (%ITTR),Time in therapeutic range (TIR