"Household Wealth Distribution in Italy in the 1990s"

This paper describes the composition and distribution of household wealth in Italy. First, the evolution of household portfolios over the last 40 years is described on the basis of newly reconstructed aggregate balance sheets. Second, the characteristics and quality of the main statistical source on wealth distribution, the Bank of Italy’s Survey of Household Income and Wealth, are examined together with the statistical procedures used to adjust for nonresponse, nonreporting and underreporting. The distribution of household net worth is then studied using both adjusted and unadjusted data. Wealth inequality is found to have risen steadily during the 1990s. The increased concentration of financial wealth was an important factor in determining this path.

IRAC Observations of Taurus Pre-Main Sequence Stars

We present infrared photometry obtained with the IRAC camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope of a sample of 82 pre-main sequence stars and brown dwarfs in the Taurus star-forming region. We find a clear separation in some IRAC color-color diagrams between objects with and without disks. A few ``transition'' objects are noted, which correspond to systems in which the inner disk has been evacuated of small dust. Separating pure disk systems from objects with remnant protostellar envelopes is more difficult at IRAC wavelengths, especially for objects with infall at low rates and large angular momenta. Our results generally confirm the IRAC color classification scheme used in previous papers by Allen et al. and Megeath et al. to distinguish between protostars, T Tauri stars with disks, and young stars without (inner) disks. The observed IRAC colors are in good agreement with recent improved disk models, and in general accord with models for protostellar envelopes derived from analyzing a larger wavelength region. We also comment on a few Taurus objects of special interest. Our results should be useful for interpreting IRAC results in other, less well-studied star-forming regions.Comment: 29 pages 10 figures, to appear in Ap

Lice (Haematopinus tuberculatus) in water buffalo farms from central Italy

The aim of the present study was to obtain information about the presence and distribution of the suckling louse Haematopinus tuberculatus in water buffalo farms in central Italy. The survey was carried out on 127 farms (epidemiological units), selected using a grid approach within a Geographical Information System, followed by proportional allocation. In each farm 6 buffaloes were examined in order to detect the louse presence. Parasitological examinations were performed on each buffalo at predilection sites. A total of 762 water buffaloes were examined. H. tuberculatus was found in the 11.0% (14/127) of the farms and in the 4.5% (34/762) of the animals. The presence H. tuberculatus should be routinely considered because it is a cause of serious health, production and economic damages in intensive breeding buffaloes

First detection of zoonotic tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato genotype G7 in continental Italy.

The larval stage of the species complex Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) is the cause of a widespread zoonotic disease known as cystic echinococcosis (CE). The disease is highly prevalent in southern Italy and represents a serious public health issue. The main aim of this study was to characterize E. granulosus s.l. genotypes from wild boar on a continental area of Italy (Campania region), using recently developed mtDNA markers of nad2 and nad5 for reliable identification of different genotypes. Here, nad5 (680 bp) allowed for a clear identification of G1 and G3, whereas a combination of nad2 (714 bp) and nad5 (1394 bp in total) did the same for genotype G7 and its haplogroups G7a and G7b. The results of this study revealed for the first time the presence of genotype G7 in continental Italy. While haplogroup G7b was previously shown to be restricted to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, here we demonstrate that haplogroup G7b is also present on the mainland of Italy. This work has implications in designing future strategies to reduce CE in Italy

Esiste la possibilità di ipotizzare un blocco dei recettori HER con immunoagenti senza effetti cardiotossici?

Herceptin, la versione umanizzata di un anticorpo murino anti-ErbB2, rappresenta oggi un farmaco prezioso per l'immunoterapia del carcinoma mammario. Tuttavia, il 7% delle pazienti trattate con Herceptin sviluppa cardiomiopatie; tale percentuale aumenta in maniera considerevole (28%) quando Herceptin è somministrato in combinazione con le antracicline. Recentemente, sono stati da noi prodotti nuovi immunoagenti anti-ErbB2 umani: 1. Erbicin, un frammento di anticorpo anti-ErbB2 a catena singola (scFv) umano; 2. Erb-hRNasi, una immunoRNasi completamente umana, ottenuta per fusione di Erbicin con una RNasi umana; 3. Erb-hcAb, un anticorpo anti-ErbB2 compatto (di ridotte dimensioni molecolari) interamente umano, ottenuto per fusione di Erbicin con il dominio Fc di una IgG umana (1-4). I due immunoagenti derivati da Erbicin, definiti EDIA, sono le prime molecole di natura interamente umana capaci di legare selettivamente e con elevata affinità cellule di carcinoma ErbB2-positive, e di inibirne la crescita sia in vitro sia in vivo. Risultati recenti hanno indicato che i due EDIA legano un epitopo del recettore ErbB2 diverso da quello riconosciuto da Herceptin o dagli altri anticorpi anti-ErbB2 finora noti (5) e sono efficaci anche su cellule di carcinoma resistenti a Herceptin (6). Poichè gli effetti cardiotossici di Herceptin non sono facilmente riconducibili ai bassi livelli di ErbB2 presenti sui cardiomiociti, abbiamo verificato se i due nuovi immunoagenti anti-ErbB2 presentassero gli stessi effetti. I risultati ottenuti in vitro su cardiomiociti di ratto e umani indicano che, al contrario di Herceptin, gli EDIA non manifestano effetti cardiotossici. E’ stato possibile dimostrare che alla base delle differente tossicità degli anticorpi vi è una differente capacità di indurre apoptosi nelle cellule cardiache. In particolare, Herceptin attiva in cellule cardiache segnali pro-apoptotici e inibisce quelli anti-apoptotici, mentre Erb-hcAb mostra effetti contrari. Inoltre, i due EDIA non alterano la funzionalità cardiaca in vivo, come dimostrato da analisi di ecocardiografia Color Doppler con analisi speckle tracking di topi trattati con Erb-hcAb e con Erb-hRNasi; al contrario, il trattamento con Herceptin riduce significativamente lo strain radiale già dopo 3 giorni di trattamento e la frazione di accorciamento (% FS, fractional shortening) del ventricolo sinistro dopo 6 giorni di trattamento con effetti molto simili a quelli della doxorubicina. Inoltre, la fibrosi cardiaca, un indice dell’accumulo di collagene, espressione del danno cardiaco, è significativamente ridotta nei topi trattati con gli EDIA rispetto a quella dei topi trattati con Herceptin o Doxorubicina (7). Questi risultati suggeriscono che gli EDIA sono immunoagenti che potrebbero soddisfare l’esigenza terapeutica di pazienti che non possono essere trattate con Herceptin a causa di disfunzionalità cardiache. Referenze 1. De Lorenzo C., et al. (2002) Clin. Cancer Res. 8: 1710-1719. 2. De Lorenzo C., et al. (2004) Cancer Res. 64: 4870-4874. 3. De Lorenzo C., et al. (2004) Brit. J.Cancer, 91: 1200-1204. 4. De Lorenzo, C., et al. (2005) Carcinogenesis, 26: 1890-1895. 5. De Lorenzo C,. et al. (2007) Br. J. Cancer, 97: 1354-60. 6. Gelardi, T., Damiano, V., Rosa, R., Bianco, R., Cozzolino, R., Tortora, G., Laccetti, P., D'Alessio, G., De Lorenzo, C. (2010) Brit. J.Cancer, 102: 513-519 7. Riccio G., Esposito G., Leoncini E., Contu R., Condorelli G., Chiariello M., Laccetti P., Hrelia S., D'Alessio G., De Lorenzo C. (2009) FASEB J., 23: 3171-3178

Massive Taenia hydatigena Cysticercosis in a Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) from Italy.

Purpose Taenia hydatigena cysticercosis, due to Cysticercus tenuicollis, is a parasitic disease infecting domestic and wild animals worldwide causing economic and productive losses. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to the role of the wild ungulates in the epidemiology of this disease. In the last years, the increasing population of wild boars in Europe has raised the attention of researchers on their role in the spreading of several infections, including those caused by cestodes. Herein, we report the description of a massive infection due to T. hydatigena cysticercosis in a wild boar from southern Italy. Methods An adult female boar was examined during the hunting season 2018 within the regional project “Piano Emergenza Cinghiali in Campania”. A complete necropsy was performed on the boar carcass and all viscera were examined to determine number and location of the cysts. Morphological and molecular analyses of the cysts were performed to confirm the C. tenuicollis identity. Results The boar examined has revealed an impressive massive infection with 265 cysts. Measurements of the large and small larval hooks showed a mean of length as 200.3 µm and 136.8 µm, respectively. Molecular analysis of Cox1 and ND1 mitochondrial genes confirmed the C. tenuicollis identity. Conclusions Our findings suggest that wild boar could be involved in the epidemiology of T. hydatigena, due to the significant amount of boar raw offal available to definitive hosts (i.e., hunting dogs, foxes and wolves), during the hunting seasons

Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma spp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and D. immitis in hunting dogs from southern Italy

Canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) are caused by a range of pathogens transmitted to dogs by arthropods. The present study investigates Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma spp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and Dirofilaria immitis seroprevalences in hunting dogs from southern Italy. Dogs (no. 1335) were tested using a commercial in-clinic enzymelinked immunosorbent assay kit. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors. Overall, 138/1335 dogs (10.3%) were seroreactive to at least one CVBD pathogen. E. canis, Anaplasma spp., B. burgdorferi s.l., and D. immitis seroprevalences were 7.6, 4.4, 0.3, and 0.2%, respectively. E. canis and Anaplasma spp. co-exposures were found in 30 dogs (2.2%), compared with Anaplasma spp. and B. burgdorferi s.l. co-exposures in 2 dogs (0.1%). Adult age was a risk factor for E. canis (OR 2.35) seroreactivity whereas hunting fur-bearing animals for E. canis (OR 4.75) and Anaplasma spp. (OR 1.87), respectively. The historical presence of tick infestation was identified as a risk factor for positivity to E. canis (OR 2.08) and Anaplasma spp. (OR 2.15). Finally, larger dog pack size was significantly associated with E. canis (OR 1.85) and Anaplasma spp. (OR 2.42) exposures. The results of thepresent survey indicated that hunting dog populations are at relative risk of CVBDs in southern Italy. Further studies are needed to evaluate the role of hunting dogs in the epidemiology of vector-borne organisms due to sharing common environments with wild, sympatric animal populations