Wohlfahrtiosis in Italy: a case in a puppy and overview of geographical distribution

The report describes a case of urogenital myiasis in a puppy,Canis lupus familiaris(Carnivora: Canidae) caused byWohlfahrtia magnifica(Diptera: Sarcophagidae) in Calabria, southern Italy. This species is an obligatory agent of myiasis in human and other warm-blooded vertebrates. The puppy was healthy and was not living near farm animals, usual hosts of this flesh fly. An overview of cases of human and animal myiasis caused byW. magnificain Italy and of data and specimens documented in entomology museum collections is also reported

Sparing effects of selenium and ascorbic acid on vitamin C and E in guinea pig tissues

BACKGROUND: Selenium (Se), vitamin C and vitamin E function as antioxidants within the body. In this study, we investigated the effects of reduced dietary Se and L-ascorbic acid (AA) on vitamin C and α-tocopherol (AT) status in guinea pig tissues. METHODS: Male Hartley guinea pigs were orally dosed with a marginal amount of AA and fed a diet deficient (Se-D/MC), marginal (Se-M/MC) or normal (Se-N/MC) in Se. An additional diet group (Se-N/NC) was fed normal Se and dosed with a normal amount of AA. Guinea pigs were killed after 5 or 12 weeks on the experimental diets at 24 and 48 hours post AA dosing. RESULTS: Liver Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity was decreased (P < 0.05) in guinea pigs fed Se or AA restricted diets. Plasma total glutathione concentrations were unaffected (P > 0.05) by reduction in dietary Se or AA. All tissues examined showed a decrease (P < 0.05) in AA content in Se-N/MC compared to Se-N/NC guinea pigs. Kidney, testis, muscle and spleen showed a decreasing trend (P < 0.05) in AA content with decreasing Se in the diet. Dehydroascorbic acid concentrations were decreased (P < 0.05) in several tissues with reduction in dietary Se (heart and spleen) or AA (liver, heart, kidney, muscle and spleen). At week 12, combined dietary restriction of Se and AA decreased AT concentrations in most tissues. In addition, restriction of Se (liver, heart and spleen) and AA (liver, kidney and spleen) separately also reduced AT in tissues. CONCLUSION: Together, these data demonstrate sparing effects of Se and AA on vitamin C and AT in guinea pig tissues

Changing climate both increases and decreases European river floods

Climate change has led to concerns about increasing river floods resulting from the greater water-holding capacity of a warmer atmosphere. These concerns are reinforced by evidence of increasing economic losses associated with flooding in many parts of the world, including Europe. Any changes in river floods would have lasting implications for the design of flood protection measures and flood risk zoning. However, existing studies have been unable to identify a consistent continental-scale climatic-change signal in flood discharge observations in Europe, because of the limited spatial coverage and number of hydrometric stations. Here we demonstrate clear regional patterns of both increases and decreases in observed river flood discharges in the past five decades in Europe, which are manifestations of a changing climate. Our results—arising from the most complete database of European flooding so far—suggest that: increasing autumn and winter rainfall has resulted in increasing floods in northwestern Europe; decreasing precipitation and increasing evaporation have led to decreasing floods in medium and large catchments in southern Europe; and decreasing snow cover and snowmelt, resulting from warmer temperatures, have led to decreasing floods in eastern Europe. Regional flood discharge trends in Europe range from an increase of about 11 per cent per decade to a decrease of 23 per cent. Notwithstanding the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the observational record, the flood changes identified here are broadly consistent with climate model projections for the next century, suggesting that climate-driven changes are already happening and supporting calls for the consideration of climate change in flood risk management

Changing climate shifts timing of European floods

A warming climate is expected to have an impact on the magnitude and timing of river floods; however, no consistent large-scale climate change signal in observed flood magnitudes has been identified so far. We analyzed the timing of river floods in Europe over the past five decades, using a pan-European database from 4262 observational hydrometric stations, and found clear patterns of change in flood timing. Warmer temperatures have led to earlier spring snowmelt floods throughout northeastern Europe; delayed winter storms associated with polar warming have led to later winter floods around the North Sea and some sectors of the Mediterranean coast; and earlier soil moisture maxima have led to earlier winter floods in western Europe. Our results highlight the existence of a clear climate signal in flood observations at the continental scale

Megafloods in Europe can be anticipated from observations in hydrologically similar catchments

Megafloods that far exceed previously observed records often take citizens and experts by surprise, resulting in extremely severe damage and loss of life. Existing methods based on local and regional information rarely go beyond national borders and cannot predict these floods well because of limited data on megafloods, and because flood generation processes of extremes differ from those of smaller, more frequently observed events. Here we analyse river discharge observations from over 8,000 gauging stations across Europe and show that recent megafloods could have been anticipated from those previously observed in other places in Europe. Almost all observed megafloods (95.5%) fall within the envelope values estimated from previous floods in other similar places on the continent, implying that local surprises are not surprising at the continental scale. This holds also for older events, indicating that megafloods have not changed much in time relative to their spatial variability. The underlying concept of the study is that catchments with similar flood generation processes produce similar outliers. It is thus essential to transcend national boundaries and learn from other places across the continent to avoid surprises and save lives

Low Represented Mutation Clustering in SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Sublineage Group with Synonymous Mutations in the E Gene

Starting in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic is a global threat that is difficult to monitor. SARS-CoV-2 is known to undergo frequent mutations, including SNPs and deletions, which seem to be transmitted together, forming clusters that define specific lineages. Reverse-Transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) has been used for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and is still considered the gold standard method. Our Eukaryotic Host Pathogens Interaction (EHPI) laboratory received six SARS-CoV-2-positive samples from a Sicilian private analysis laboratory, four of which showed a dropout of the E gene. Our sequencing data revealed the presence of a synonymous mutation (c.26415 C &gt; T, TAC &gt; TAT) in the E gene of all four samples showing the dropout in RT-qPCR. Interestingly, these samples also harbored three other mutations (S137L&mdash;Orf1ab; N439K&mdash;S gene; A156S&mdash;N gene), which had a very low diffusion rate worldwide. This combination suggested that these mutations may be linked to each other and more common in a specific area than in the rest of the world. Thus, we decided to analyze the 103 sequences in our internal database in order to confirm or disprove our &ldquo;mutation cluster hypothesis&rdquo;. Within our database, one sample showed the synonymous mutation (c.26415 C &gt; T, TAC &gt; TAT) in the E gene. This work underlines the importance of territorial epidemiological surveillance by means of NGS and the sequencing of samples with clinical and or technical particularities, e.g., post-vaccine infections or RT-qPCR amplification failures, to allow for the early identification of these SNPs. This approach may be an effective method to detect new mutational clusters and thus to predict new emerging SARS-CoV-2 lineages before they spread globally

Investigations on Arthropods Associated with Decay Stages of Buried Animals in Italy

Burial could be used by criminals to conceal the bodies of victims, interfering with the succession of sarcosaprophagous fauna and with the evaluation of post-mortem interval. In Italy, no experimental investigation on arthropods associated with buried remains has been conducted to date. A first experimental study on arthropods associated with buried carcasses was carried out in a rural area of Arcavacata di Rende (Cosenza), Southern Italy, from November 2017 to May 2018. Six pig carcasses (Susscrofa Linnaeus) were used, five of which were buried in 60-cm deep pits, leaving about 25-cm of soil above each carcass, and one was left above ground. One of the buried carcasses was periodically exhumed to evaluate the effects of disturbance on decay processes and on arthropod fauna. The other four carcasses were exhumed only once, respectively after 43, 82, 133, and 171 days. As expected, the decay rate was different among carcasses. Differences in taxa and colonization of arthropod fauna were also detected in the above ground and periodically exhumed carcasses. In carcasses exhumed only once, no arthropod colonization was detected. The results showed that a burial at about 25 cm depth could be sufficient to prevent colonization by sarcosaprophagous taxa and these data could be relevant in forensic cases involving buried corpses

Metodi e tecniche di rilevamento delle rocce caotiche appenniniche

La ricerca si propone di definire i criteri di rilevamento (principi) ed i metodi pratici (tecniche) utilizzabili nella cartografia di rocce sedimentarie prive di una coerenza interna a causa dell’assenza di superfici di stratificazione lateralmente continue. Questo è stato possibile tramite l’esperienza maturata nel rilevamento di vasti settori dell’Appennino Settentrionale e attraverso lo studio di tre aree campione ubicate in differenti contesti geotettonici dell’Appennino (Toscana meridionale, Appennino vogherese e Abruzzo meridionale). Nello studio delle rocce caotiche deve essere tenuto distinto il problema che riguarda la genesi della loro struttura/tessitura da quello che riguarda la loro attuale giacitura. Devono essere individuati, pertanto, dei criteri utili a riconoscere in modo oggettivo i meccanismi responsabili della struttura/tessitura caotica, e dei criteri che permettano di ricavare le modalità con le quali la stessa roccia ha acquisito la sua attuale giacitura.Alla scala dell’affioramento i caratteri oggettivi che permettono di attribuire la genesi di una roccia caotica a meccanismi sedimentari o tettonici sono: l’associazione litologica, la tessitura e la struttura mesoscopica.Gli elementi diagnostici utili a riconoscere i meccanismi che hanno portato una roccia ad acquisire una giacitura caotica sono: l’estensione e lo spessore; la natura dei contatti; le relazioni con le rocce circostanti; il fatto che rappresenti un corpo che include altri corpi stratigraficamente incompatibili o che costituisca un corpo estraneo dal punto di vista stratigrafico; l’esistenza di stili strutturali contrastanti; la presenza di collocazioni stratigrafiche anomale; l’esistenza di caratteristiche paleoambientale incongruenti.L’insieme dei criteri e degli elementi diagnostici elencati permette di distinguere i seguenti tipi di rocce caotiche: brecce sedimentarie (depositi di debris e mud flow); tettoniti in situ o primarie; associazioni di tettoniti e brecce sedimentarie; tettoniti dislocate da meccanismi sedimentari o tettoniti secondarie.Le tecniche ed i criteri individuati hanno dimostrato una validità generale, applicabile nei vari domini geotettonici dell’Appennino, indipendentemente dall’entità delle deformazioni tettoniche. Essi rappresentano quindi uno strumento fondamentale non solo per migliorare la qualità della rappresentazione cartografica ma anche per ottenere informazioni di carattere stratigrafico e strutturale, indispensabili a descrivere la storia geologica di una regione caratterizzata dalla presenza di rocce sedimentarie stratigraficamente incoerenti

Interactions of Gram-Positive Bacterial Membrane Vesicles and Hosts: Updates and Future Directions

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayers derived from cell membranes, released by both eukaryotic cells and bacteria into the extracellular environment. During production, EVs carry proteins, nucleic acids, and various compounds, which are then released. While Gram-positive bacteria were traditionally thought incapable of producing EVs due to their thick peptidoglycan cell walls, recent studies on membrane vesicles (MVs) in Gram-positive bacteria have revealed their significant role in bacterial physiology and disease progression. This review explores the current understanding of MVs in Gram-positive bacteria, including the characterization of their content and functions, as well as their interactions with host and bacterial cells. It offers a fresh perspective to enhance our comprehension of Gram-positive bacterial EVs