34 research outputs found
Molecular detection of Cyclospora in water, soil, vegetables and humans in southern Italy signals a need for improved monitoring by health authorities
To date, in Europe, there is scant information on the occurrence of Cyclospora in water from treatment plants and
in humans, and no data are available on soil or fresh plant products. Here, we undertook the first molecular survey
of Cyclospora in multiple biological matrices collected from the Apulia region of southern Italy. Samples of irrigation
water from four municipal treatment plants, eight different types of vegetables or fruit (cucumber,
lettuce, fennel, celery, tomato, melon, endive and chicory) and soil from the same farms on which these plants
were grown, as well as faecal samples from humans living in the same region were tested by qPCR-coupled
single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and DNA sequencing. Cyclospora was detected in
15.5% of all 213 samples tested. Specifically, this protist was detected in (i) treated water (21.3% of 94 samples),
well water (6.2% of 16), but not drinking water (0% of 3); (ii) soil (11.8% of 51 samples) and vegetables (12.2% of
49),with the highest prevalence (18.7%) on fennel; and (iii) human stools (27.5% of 40 samples). In environmental
and food samples, Cyclosporawas detectedmainly in autumn and was significantly more prevalent in the faeces
from humans of 40â50 years of age. This is the first comprehensive molecular survey of Cyclospora in
environmental, food and human faecal samples in Europe. These data suggest that irrigation water, soil and vegetables
might be contaminated by Cyclospora cayetanensis, which might represent a source of infection to
humans in the study area and calls for monitoring by health authorities
A long-term decline in the abundance of endangered leatherback turtles, \u3cem\u3eDermochelys coriacea\u3c/em\u3e, at a foraging ground in the California Current Ecosystem
Pacific leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are critically endangered, and declines have been documented at multiple nesting sites throughout the Pacific. The western Pacific leatherback forages in temperate and tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, and about 38â57% of summer-nesting females from the largest remaining nesting population in Papua Barat (Indonesia) migrate to distant foraging grounds off the U.S. West Coast, including neritic waters off central California. In this study, we examined the trend in leatherback abundance off central California from 28 years of aerial survey data from coast-wide and adaptive fine-scale surveys. We used a Bayesian hierarchical analysis framework, including a process model of leatherback population density and an observation model relating leatherback observations to distance sampling methods. We also used time-depth data from biologgers deployed on 21 foraging leatherback turtles in the study area to account for detection biases associated with diving animals. Our results indicate that leatherback abundance has declined at an annual rate of â5.6% (95% credible interval â9.8% to â1.5%), without any marked changes in ocean conditions or prey availability. These results are similar to the nesting population trends of â5.9% and â6.1% per year estimated at Indonesian index beaches, which comprise 75% of western Pacific nesting activity. Combined, the declining trends underscore the need for coordinated international conservation efforts and long-term population monitoring to avoid extirpation of western Pacific leatherback turtles
Giardia and Cryptosporidium in inflowing water and harvested shellfish in a Lagoon in Southern Italy
Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. are important enteric protozoan pathogens for humans and animals, and have been found to contaminate water as well as edible shellfish all over the world. This is the first study to simultaneously investigate the presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in inflowing water and harvested shellfish in a geographically closed environment (Varano Lagoon, Southern Italy). Samples of treated wastewater were collected each month - at the outlet from the treatment plant, and downstream at the inlet into the lagoon - from the channels flowing into the Lagoon, together with specimens of Ruditapes decussatus and Mytilus galloprovincialis from shellfish-farms on the same lagoon. Giardia cysts were found by immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy in 16 out of 21 samples of treated wastewater and in 7 out of 21 samples from downstream water channels, and viable cysts were also detected by a beta-giardin RT-PCR. G. duodenalis Assemblages A and B were identified by small ribosomal Subunit (18S-rDNA) and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi)-PCR, followed by sequencing. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found by IF in 5 out of 21 wastewater samples, and in 8 out of 21 samples from water channels. Molecular analysis identified the zoonotic species Cryptosporidium parvum by oocyst wall protein (COWP)-PCR and sequencing. Higher concentrations of Giardia cysts than Cryptosporidium oocysts were registered in almost all wastewater and water samples. IF and molecular testing of shellfish gave negative results for both protozoa. Wastewaters carrying Giardia and Cryptosporidium (oo)cysts are discharged into the Lagoon; however, the shellfish harvested in the same environment were found to be unaffected, thus suggesting that physical, ecological and climatic conditions may prevent contamination of harvested shellfish. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd
Structured reporting of computed tomography in the staging of colon cancer: a Delphi consensus proposal
Background: Structured reporting (SR) in radiology is becoming increasingly necessary and has been recognized recently by major scientific societies. This study aims to build structured CT-based reports in colon cancer during the staging phase in order to improve communication between the radiologist, members of multidisciplinary teams and patients. Materials and methods: A panel of expert radiologists, members of the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology, was established. A modified Delphi process was used to develop the SR and to assess a level of agreement for all report sections. Cronbachâs alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was used to assess internal consistency for each section and to measure quality analysis according to the average inter-item correlation. Results: The final SR version was built by including n = 18 items in the âPatient Clinical Dataâ section, n = 7 items in the âClinical Evaluationâ section, n = 9 items in the âImaging Protocolâ section and n = 29 items in the âReportâ section. Overall, 63 items were included in the final version of the SR. Both in the first and second round, all sections received a higher than good rating: a mean value of 4.6 and range 3.6â4.9 in the first round; a mean value of 5.0 and range 4.9â5 in the second round. In the first round, Cronbachâs alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was a questionable 0.61. In the first round, the overall mean score of the experts and the sum of scores for the structured report were 4.6 (range 1â5) and 1111 (mean value 74.07, STD 4.85), respectively. In the second round, Cronbachâs alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient was an acceptable 0.70. In the second round, the overall mean score of the experts and the sum of score for structured report were 4.9 (range 4â5) and 1108 (mean value 79.14, STD 1.83), respectively. The overall mean score obtained by the experts in the second round was higher than the overall mean score of the first round, with a lower standard deviation value to underline greater agreement among the experts for the structured report reached in this round. Conclusions: A wide implementation of SR is of critical importance in order to offer referring physicians and patients optimum quality of service and to provide researchers with the best quality data in the context of big data exploitation of available clinical data. Implementation is a complex procedure, requiring mature technology to successfully address the multiple challenges of user-friendliness, organization and interoperability