CoulArray electrochemical evaluation of tocopherol and tocotrienol isomers in barley, oat and spelt grains.

Hexane extracts obtained from Hordeum vulgare L. (barley), Avena sativa L. (oat), Triticum spelta Schrank and Triticum dicoccum Schrank ex Schübler (spelt or emmer) whole grains, were examined for their tocochromanol (tocopherol and tocotrienol) content. The analyses were carried out on fatty extracts by means of HPLC coupled with a coulometric array electrochemical detector (ECD). Due to the specific high selectivity of the detector, the sample can be directly injected without any preliminary treatment (e.g. saponification). Eight tocochromanol isomers have been detected in barley grains. Different barley cultivars examined showed a tocochromanol content ranging from 1620 to 1852 ng/g caryopses. Oat grains contained ca. 45 ng/g caryopses and Triticum species ca. 1070 ng/g caryopses. The results are considered in view of a potential use of vitamin E derivatives as human health enhancer and as sources of antioxidants for food lipid preservation

Impact of emergency oral rabies vaccination of foxes in northeastern Italy, 28 December 2009-20 January 2010: preliminary evaluation.

Fox rabies re-emerged in northeastern Italy in 2008, in an area bordering Slovenia. In 2009, the infection spread westward to Veneto region and in 2010 to the provinces of Trento and Bolzano. Aerial emergency oral fox vaccination was implemented in the winter 2009-10. Since this vaccination was performed at altitudes below the freezing level, a statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate its impact. Of the foxes sampled following the vaccination campaign, 77% showed a rabies antibody titre of ≥0.5 IU/ml

IFAT and ELISA phase I/phase II as tools for the identification of Q fever chronic milk shedders in cattle

Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. In cattle the bacterial shedding can persist without symptoms for several months and the shedders identification is a critical issue in the control of the infection at herd level. Following the example of the human protocols for the assessment of Q fever infection status, the aim of this study was the evaluation of the antibody response dynamics to phase I and phase II antigens in C. burnetii shedder dairy cows by means of a phase-specific serology, to verify the suitability of the investigated tools in recognising milk shedders. A total of 99 cows were monitored during time and classified on the basis of serological and PCR results in five groups identifying different shedding patterns. The 297 sera collected in three sampling times were tested by means of ELISA IgG for differential phase I and phase II antibodies detection, while a selection of 107 sera were tested by means of phase specific IgM and IgG IFAT. Both ELISA IgG and IFAT IgG highlighted a low reactivity in non-shedder seropositive animals compared to chronic milk shedder animals. ELISA IgG seemed to perform better than IFAT IgG-IgM, showing significant serological differences among groups that allowed recognising specific serological group patterns, in particular for chronic and occasional milk shedders. These results supported the hypothesis that an animal classification based on phase patterns is reasonable, although it needs to be further investigated

IFAT and ELISA phase I/phase II as tools for the identification of Q fever chronic milk shedders in cattle

Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. In cattle the bacterial shedding can persist without symptoms for several months and the shedders identification is a critical issue in the control of the infection at herd level. Following the example of the human protocols for the assessment of Q fever infection status, the aim of this study was the evaluation of the antibody response dynamics to phase I and phase II antigens in C. burnetii shedder dairy cows by means of a phase-specific serology, to verify the suitability of the investigated tools in recognising milk shedders. A total of 99 cows were monitored during time and classified on the basis of serological and PCR results in five groups identifying different shedding patterns. The 297 sera collected in three sampling times were tested by means of ELISA IgG for differential phase I and phase II antibodies detection, while a selection of 107 sera were tested by means of phase specific IgM and IgG IFAT. Both ELISA IgG and IFAT IgG highlighted a low reactivity in non-shedder seropositive animals compared to chronic milk shedder animals. ELISA IgG seemed to perform better than IFAT IgG-IgM, showing significant serological differences among groups that allowed recognising specific serological group patterns, in particular for chronic and occasional milk shedders. These results supported the hypothesis that an animal classification based on phase patterns is reasonable, although it needs to be further investigated

Additional file 1: of Productive and reproductive performances of dairy cattle herds in Treviso province, Italy (2009–2012): an assessment of the potential impact of Schmallenberg virus epidemic

Correlation matrix of the continuous productive and reproductive performance indicators of dairy cattle herds. (DOCX 18 kb

IFAT and ELISA phase I/phase II as tools for the identification of Q fever chronic milk shedders in cattle

Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. In cattle the bacterial shedding can persist without symptoms for several months and the shedders identification is a critical issue in the control of the infection at herd level. Following the example of the human protocols for the assessment of Q fever infection status, the aim of this study was the evaluation of the antibody response dynamics to phase I and phase II antigens in C. burnetii shedder dairy cows by means of a phase-specific serology, to verify the suitability of the investigated tools in recognising milk shedders. A total of 99 cows were monitored during time and classified on the basis of serological and PCR results in five groups identifying different shedding patterns. The 297 sera collected in three sampling times were tested by means of ELISA IgG for differential phase I and phase II antibodies detection, while a selection of 107 sera were tested by means of phase specific IgM and IgG IFAT. Both ELISA IgG and IFAT IgG highlighted a low reactivity in non-shedder seropositive animals compared to chronic milk shedder animals. ELISA IgG seemed to perform better than IFAT IgG-IgM, showing significant serological differences among groups that allowed recognising specific serological group patterns, in particular for chronic and occasional milk shedders. These results supported the hypothesis that an animal classification based on phase patterns is reasonable, although it needs to be further investigated

A multi-element psychosocial intervention for early psychosis (GET UP PIANO TRIAL) conducted in a catchment area of 10 million inhabitants: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

Multi-element interventions for first-episode psychosis (FEP) are promising, but have mostly been conducted in non-epidemiologically representative samples, thereby raising the risk of underestimating the complexities involved in treating FEP in 'real-world' services