Fleas as parasites of the family Canidae

Historically, flea-borne diseases are among the most important medical diseases of humans. Plague and murine typhus are known for centuries while the last years brought some new flea-transmitted pathogens, like R. felis and Bartonella henselae. Dogs may play an essential or an accidental role in the natural transmission cycle of flea-borne pathogens. They support the growth of some of the pathogens or they serve as transport vehicles for infected fleas between their natural reservoirs and humans. More than 15 different flea species have been described in domestic dogs thus far. Several other species have been found to be associated with wild canids. Fleas found on dogs originate from rodents, birds, insectivores and from other Carnivora. Dogs therefore may serve as ideal bridging hosts for the introduction of flea-borne diseases from nature to home. In addition to their role as ectoparasites they cause nuisance for humans and animals and may be the cause for severe allergic reactions

Handwriting and drawing features for detecting negative moods

In order to provide support to the implementation of on-line and remote systems for the early detection of interactional disorders, this paper reports on the exploitation of handwriting and drawing features for detecting negative moods. The features are collected from depressed, stressed, and anxious subjects, assessed with DASS-42, and matched by age and gender with handwriting and drawing features of typically ones. Mixed ANOVA analyses, based on a binary categorization of the groups, reveal significant differences among features collected from subjects with negative moods with respect to the control group depending on the involved exercises and features categories (in time or frequency of the considered events). In addition, the paper reports the description of a large database of handwriting and drawing features collected from 240 subjects

Immunogenicity after six months of BNT162b2 vaccination in frail or disabled nursing home residents: the COVID-A Study

BACKGROUND: There is incomplete information regarding evolution of antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 after a two-dose strategy vaccination with BNT162b2, in older adults in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) with frailty, disability or cognitive impairment. We aimed to determine IgG antibody titer loss in old adults in LTCFs. METHODS: Multicenter longitudinal cohort study including 127 residents (90 females, 37 males) with a mean age of 82.7 years (range 65-99) with different frailty and disability profiles in two LTCFs in Albacete, Spain. Residents received 2 doses of BNT162b2 as per label, and antibody levels were determined 1 and 6 months after the second dose. Age, sex, previous history of COVID-19, comorbidity (Charlson index), performance in activities of daily living (Barthel index), frailty (FRAIL instrument), and cognitive status were assessed. RESULTS: The mean antibody titers 1 and 6 months after the second vaccine dose were 32,145 AU/mL (SD 41,206) and 6,182 AU/mL (SD 13,316) respectively. Across all participants, the median antibody titer loss measured 77.6% (IQR 23.8%). Notably, the decline of titers in individuals with pre-vaccination COVID-19 infection was significantly lower than in those without history of SARS-CoV-2 infection (72.2% vs 85.3%; p<.001). The median titer decrease per follow-up day was 0.47% (IQR 0.14%) and only pre-vaccination COVID-19 was associated with lower rate of antibody decline at 6 months (HR 0.17; 95% CI 0.07-0.41; p<.001). Frailty, disability, older age, cognitive impairment, or comorbidity were not associated with the extent of antibody loss. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults in LTCFs experience a rapid loss of antibodies between over the first six months after the second dose of BNT162b2 vaccine. Only pre-vaccination COVID-19 is associated with a slower rate of antibodies decrease. Our data support immunization with a third dose in this vulnerable, high-risk population. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved