Validation of a questionnaire about knowledge and perception of biological risk among biomedical students of Sapienza University of Rome

Background and aim. Healthcare workers and Biomedical students are continuously exposed to biological risk in their clinical practice. The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of an Italian questionnaire on the knowledge and perception of biological risk in Biomedical students at the beginning of their professional training. Material and methods.An electronic questionnaire was administered to students attending the second semester of the first year of Biomedical Courses at Sapienza University of Rome. The questionnaire consists of 40 questions divided into five sections collecting sociodemographic data, health status and level of knowledge and perception of biological risk. The statistical analysis was performed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results. A total of 309 individuals answered the online questionnaire, with a response rate of 83.5%. The analysis of internal consistency was performed by two dichotomous variables that measured the knowledge level on hygiene behaviour and gloves use. The analysis showed a standardized Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0.765, corresponding to a good reliability. A better reliability was found out among physiotherapy and medical students, with a Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0.944 and 0.881, respectively. Regarding vaccines, 97.7% of the sample was given a Hepatitis B vaccination and 98.7% of students consider vaccinations essential for healthcare workers. Conclusion. Results of Cronbach’s alpha showed a good reliability of the questionnaire. First-year Biomedical students may be exposed to occupational biological risk mainly because of their inexperience. A training educational path should be implemented in order to acquire competences, knowledge, attitudes and practical skills, correct behaviors and a personal and professional responsibility

A new Aculodes species (Prostigmata: Eriophyoidea: Eriophyidae) associated with medusahead, Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski (Poaceae)

A new species of plant mite (Acari: Eriophyidae) was discovered on medusahead (Taeniatherum caputmedusae), an annual grass that is native to central Asia and the Mediterranean Basin. It is invasive in western North America. Aculodes altamurgiensis sp. nov., is described here and differentiated from other Aculodes spp., on the basis of morphology. Its DNA fingerprinting was reported and compared with Aculodes mckenziei collected from Elymus repens and Bromus inermis. Pairwise comparison of MT-001 sequences between A. altamurgiensis sp. nov., and A. mckenziei revealed 20.2-21.5% genetic divergence between these congeneric species. First collected in Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia in Apulia, Italy in 2014,A. altamurgiensis sp. nov., has been subsequently collected from medusahead in Serbia, Bulgaria, Iran and Turkey. Based on these data and on preliminary observations on the effects of the mite on plant growth, A. altamurgiensis sp. nov., is currently being investigated as a candidate biological control agent of medusahead

Eriophyid mites as biological control agents of two invasive alien plants in Europe : Ailanthus altissima and Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Invasive alien plant species may have a strong impact on indigenous biodiversity and this is the case of Ailanthus altissima and Ambrosia artemisiifolia, whose control in the Euro-Mediterranean areas is required.peer-reviewe

Integrative Taxonomy and Synonymization of Aculus mosoniensis (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Potential Biological Control Agent for Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

The taxonomy of Aculus mosoniensis appears to be an unresolved question and its clarification is required, owing to the potential relevance of this mite species as a biological control agent of the tree of heaven. This paper is aimed at giving accurate details on a previously and shortly announced synonymization with Aculops taihangensis, using a morphological and molecular approach. A fusiform morph of A. mosoniensis was distinguished from a vermiform morph and this latter was recognized as deutogyne, which was herein documented. Phylogenetic relationships between Chinese Ac. taihangensis and all A. mosoniensis mites collected in twenty localities in Europe were examined through the analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c subunit I (CO1) protein and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 region (ITS1). CO1 sequences of Ac. taihangensis from the Shandong province in China and those from mites collected in Austria and Slovenia were 100% identical; the ITS1 sequence of an Ac. taihangensis paratype matched for 99.8% with those obtained from protogynes and deutogynes of A. mosoniensis collected in Italy. All these data supported the announced synonymization of A. mosoniensis with Ac. taihangensis. Aculus mosoniensis was found genetically variable, with five CO1 haplotypes in Europe (becoming eight along with those of Ac. taihangensis) clustering in two highly supported maternal lineages and eight ITS1 haplotypes (becoming nine along with those of Ac. taihangensis) distributed in four supported clades. No overlap between intra- and interspecies distances was observed for both markers and all studied A. mosoniensis populations clustered in one monophyletic mitochondrial clade, suggesting that only one single species might occur in Europe. However, more mite clades may be related to more tree of heaven biotypes with potential ecological differences, which might have potential effects on the biological control and should be investigated

Eriofidne grinje kao potencijalni agensi biološke kontrole invazivne vrste Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae)

Kiselo drvo, Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, je listopadna vrsta autohtona u Kini, uneta kao ukrasna biljka u Severnu Ameriku i Evropu gde postaje invazivna i predstavlja ozbiljnu pretnju u narušavanju ekosistema. Eriofidne grinje, poznate po visokoj specifičnosti i po negativnom uticaju na biljke domaćine, mogu imati veliki potencijal kao agensi za biološku kontrolu invazivnih biljaka. Na kiselom drvetu u Evropi registrovane su eriofidne grinje koje dovode do uvijanja, deformisanja, žućenja i preranog opadanja lišća, ali su primećeni i simptomi nekroze apikalnih delova stabljike. Predmet ovog rada je prikaz rezultata istraživanja eriofidnih grinja kao potencijalnih agenasa za biološku kontrolu kiselog drveta. Kako bi se utvrdilo da li je neki agens pogodan za biološku kontrolu nephodna je njegova pouzdana identifikacija, testiranje specifičnosti prema biljci domaćinu kao i utvrđivanje uticaja na ciljanu biljku. Na A. altissima su bile poznate četiri vrste eriofida: Aculops ailanthi Lin, Jin & Kuang 1997, Aculops taihangensis Hong & Xue 2005, Aculus altissimae Xue & Hong 2005, opisane u Kini, i Aculus mosoniensis Ripka 2014, opisana sa kiselog drveta iz Mađarske. Vrste Ac. ailanthi i A. mosoniensis su jedine koje su registrovane izvan nativnog područja biljke domaćina: Ac. ailanthi je registrovana u SAD-u, a A. mosoniensis u više evropskih zemalja. Na osnovu morfoloških analiza A. taihangensis je preimenovan u rod Aculus (De Lillo et al., 2022). Analizirani su filogenetski odnosi između kineskih populacija A. taihangensis i evropskih A. mosoniensis korišćenjem COI i ITS1 regiona i utvrđeno je da je A. mosoniensis junior sinonim od A. taihangensis, tako da se sada sa sigurnošću može tvrditi da je A. taihangensis jedina vrsta registrovana u 14 evropskih zemalja. Tokom tri godine istraživanja urađeni su testovi specifičnosti prema biljci domaćinu. Testirano je 17 biljaka iz 7 familija reda Sapindales Bercht. & J. Presl. Izabrane su vrste iz familija srodnih familiji Simaroubaceae kojoj pripada A. altissima. Rezultati ovih testiranja su pokazali da se nakon dva meseca od početka testa (inokulacije biljaka sa eriofidama) juvenilni stadijumi A. taihangensis nalaze samo na biljkama kiselog drveta, što sugeriše da se A. taihangensis može razvijati i reprodukovati samo na kiselom drvetu, čime se potvrđuje već poznata činjenica o izuzetnoj monofagnosti eriofidnih grinja. 16 Testovi o uticaju ishrane A. taihangensis na kiselo drvo, rađeni tokom dve godine na mladim biljkama ili sadnicama starim dva meseca, pokazali su da se usled ishrane ove eriofide biomasa infestirane biljke redukuje oko 80% u odnosu na neinfestiranu biljku. Imajući u vidu da je A. taihangensis već prisutna u Evropi, dalja istraživanja bi trebalo usmeriti ka pronalaženju mogućnosti za upotrebu ove eriofide kao agensa za biološku kontrolu kiselog drveta augmentativnim pristupom

The COVID-19 Assessment for Survival at Admission (CASA) Index: A 12 Months Observational Study

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease with a high rate of progression to critical illness. However, the stratification of patients at risk of mortality is not well defined. In this study, we aimed to define a mortality risk index to allocate patients to the appropriate intensity of care. Methods: This is a 12 months observational longitudinal study designed to develop and validate a pragmatic mortality risk score to stratify COVID-19 patients aged ≥18 years and admitted to hospital between March 2020 and March 2021. Main outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: 244 patients were included in the study (mortality rate 29.9%). The Covid-19 Assessment for Survival at Admission (CASA) index included seven variables readily available at admission: respiratory rate, troponin, albumin, CKD-EPI, white blood cell count, D-dimer, Pa02/Fi02. The CASA index showed high discrimination for mortality with an AUC of 0.91 (sensitivity 98.6%; specificity 69%) and a better performance compared to SOFA (AUC = 0.76), age (AUC = 0.76) and 4C mortality (AUC = 0.82). The cut-off identified (11.994) for CASA index showed a negative predictive value of 99.16% and a positive predictive value of 57.58%. Conclusions: A quick and readily available index has been identified to help clinicians stratify COVID-19 patients according to the appropriate intensity of care and minimize hospital admission to patients at high risk of mortality

Field Assessment of the Host Range of Aculus mosoniensis (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Biological Control Agent of the Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is a fast-growing deciduous tree native to China, considered a serious invasive species worldwide, with several socio-economic and ecological impacts attributed to it. Chemical and mechanical methods have limited efficacy in its management, and biological controls may offer a suitable and sustainable option. Aculus mosoniensis (Ripka) is an eriophyid mite that has been recorded to attack tree of heaven in 13 European countries. This study aims to explore the host range of this mite by exposing 13 plant species, selected either for their phylogenetic and ecological similarity to the target weed or their economic importance. Shortly after inoculation with the mite, we recorded a quick decrease in mite number on all nontarget species and no sign of mite reproduction. Whereas, after just one month, the population of mites on tree of heaven numbered in the thousands, irrespective of the starting population, and included both adults and juveniles. Significantly, we observed evidence of damage due to the mite only on target plants. Due to the specificity, strong impact on the target, and the ability to increase its population to high levels in a relatively short amount of time, we find A. mosoniensis to be a very promising candidate for the biological control of tree of heaven

Time to Switch to Second-line Antiretroviral Therapy in Children With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Europe and Thailand.

Background: Data on durability of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are limited. We assessed time to switch to second-line therapy in 16 European countries and Thailand. Methods: Children aged <18 years initiating combination ART (≥2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NRTIs] plus nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI] or boosted protease inhibitor [PI]) were included. Switch to second-line was defined as (i) change across drug class (PI to NNRTI or vice versa) or within PI class plus change of ≥1 NRTI; (ii) change from single to dual PI; or (iii) addition of a new drug class. Cumulative incidence of switch was calculated with death and loss to follow-up as competing risks. Results: Of 3668 children included, median age at ART initiation was 6.1 (interquartile range (IQR), 1.7-10.5) years. Initial regimens were 32% PI based, 34% nevirapine (NVP) based, and 33% efavirenz based. Median duration of follow-up was 5.4 (IQR, 2.9-8.3) years. Cumulative incidence of switch at 5 years was 21% (95% confidence interval, 20%-23%), with significant regional variations. Median time to switch was 30 (IQR, 16-58) months; two-thirds of switches were related to treatment failure. In multivariable analysis, older age, severe immunosuppression and higher viral load (VL) at ART start, and NVP-based initial regimens were associated with increased risk of switch. Conclusions: One in 5 children switched to a second-line regimen by 5 years of ART, with two-thirds failure related. Advanced HIV, older age, and NVP-based regimens were associated with increased risk of switch

Modelling human choices: MADeM and decision‑making

Research supported by FAPESP 2015/50122-0 and DFG-GRTK 1740/2. RP and AR are also part of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics FAPESP grant (2013/07699-0). RP is supported by a FAPESP scholarship (2013/25667-8). ACR is partially supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)