Control of Fusarium head blight and accumulation of deoxynivalenol in durum wheat grain, semolina and bran

To verify the effects of E.B.I. fungicides on Fusarium head blight and to determine the deoxynivalenol (DON) content in grain, semolina and bran, three separate trials were carried out in fields near Bologna (Italy) on susceptible durum wheat varieties artificially inoculated with F. graminearum and F. culmorum, responsible of this disease. Treatments with bromuconazole, prochloraz, tebuconazole applied in the field had significantly reduced the FHB disease incidence and severity by 56% and 73% respectively and the numbers of kernels infected by F. graminearum and F. culmorum by 66.6%. These products reduced also DON content in kernels, semolina and bran, compared to the non treated samples. The correlation (r) between DON and the incidence of F. graminearum and F. culmorum infected kernels was in the Original Sample (OS) 0.90

Evans Syndrome in Childhood: Long Term Follow-Up and the Evolution in Primary Immunodeficiency or Rheumatological Disease

Evans syndrome (ES) is a rare but challenging condition, characterized by recurrent and refractory cytopenia episodes. Recent discoveries highlighted that an appropriate diagnostic workup is fundamental to identify an underlying immune dysregulation such as primary immunodeficiencies or a rheumatological disease. We hereby describe clinical features and laboratory results of 12 pediatric patients affected by ES referred to the Pediatric Onco-Hematology Unit of Bologna. Patients experienced a median of four acute episodes of cytopenia with 9 years as median age at the onset of symptoms. In 8/12 (67%) patients an underlying etiology, primary immunodeficiencies, or rheumatological disease was identified. In 4/12 children, other immune manifestations were associated (Thyroiditis, Celiac disease, Psoriasis, Vitiligo, Myositis, Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis). ES remained the primary diagnosis in four patients (33%). At a median follow-up time of 4 years, 5/12 (42%) patients revealed a chronic ITP, partially responsive to second line therapy. Immunoglobulin Replacement Therapy (IRT) was effective with a good hematological values control in three patients with a secondary ES (ALPS, CVID, and a patient with Rubinstein Taybi Syndrome and a progressive severe B cell deficiency with hypogammaglobulinemia). Our experience highlights that, in pediatric patients, ES is often only the first manifestation of an immunological or rheumatological disease, especially when cytopenias are persistent or resistant to therapy, with an early-onset or when are associated with lymphadenopathy

Ultrafast amplification and non-linear magneto-elastic coupling of coherent magnon modes in an antiferromagnet

We study the magnon dynamics of an antiferromagnetic NiO single crystal in a pump-probe experiment with variable pump photon energy. Analysing the amplitude of the energy-dependent photo-induced ultrafast spin dynamics, we detect a yet unreported coupling between the material's characteristic THz- and a GHz-magnon modes. We explain this unexpected coupling between two orthogonal eigenstates of the corresponding Hamiltonian by modelling the magneto-elastic interaction between spins in different domains. We find that such interaction, in the non-linear regime, couples the two different magnon modes via the domain walls and it can be optically exploited via the exciton-magnon resonance.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Screening for sickle cell disease: Focus on newborn investigations

Drepanocytosis is a genetic disease relevant for its epidemiological, clinical and socio-economic aspects. In our country the prevalence is highly uneven with peaks in former malaria areas, but migration flows in recent years have led to significant changes. In this document we review the screening programs currently existing in Italy with particular emphasis on newborn screening, which in other countries around the world, including within Europe, is at most universal and mandatory. The essential laboratory issues are reviewed, from sampling aspects (cord blood or peripheral), to the analytical (analytical methods dedicated to neonatal screening and adult carrier detection) and post analytical (reporting, informative) ones. An economic analysis based on data collected in the province of Modena is also proposed, clearly showing that neonatal screening is also beneficial from an economic point of view

Determination of deoxynivalenol and nivalenol producing chemotypes of Fusarium graminearum isolated from durum wheat in different Italian regions

Durum wheat production in Italy is economically of great importance. Fusarium graminearum is the main fusarium head blight (FHB) causal agent in wheat, reducing both yield and grain quality. F. graminearum produces several mycotoxins and, among trichothecenes, deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) are the most studied for their toxicity towards humans and animals. DON-producing isolates can be further distinguished on the basis of the predominant acetyl-DON derivative in 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON) or 15acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON). In order to evaluate possible mycotoxin contamination risks in food, it is very important to know which chemotype is the prevalent in a F. graminearum population. F. graminearum sensu stricto strains were collected from symptomatic durum wheat heads and grains of several naturally infected fields located mostly in Emilia – Romagna, The Marche, Lazio, Tuscany and Umbria. A multiplex PCR in the region of genes Tri12, located in the terminal gene cluster of trichothecenes, was used to characterize 187 single-spore isolates of F. graminearum as NIV, 3-ADON and 15-ADON chemotypes. All the three chemotypes were present in the F. graminearum population studied. The most frequent chemotype was 15-ADON (83.4%), followed by 3-ADON (10.7%) and NIV (5.9%). NIV-producing isolates were found only in Emilia-Romagna (3.5%), Umbria (33.3%) and The Marche (5.7%)

Non-fermentative gram-negative bloodstream infection in northern Italy: a multicenter cohort study

Background: The management of non-fermentative gram-negative bloodstream infection (NFGN-BSI) offers numerous challenges. In this study the aim is to analyse a large cohort of patients with NFGN-BSI recruited in the northern Italy to describe epidemiology, etiological and susceptibility pattern, therapeutic management and outcome. Methods: Multicentre retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalised at three large teaching hospitals in northern Italy in a fourth year period. Results: 355 BSI episodes were analyzed, due to P. aeruginosa (72.7%), A. baumannii (16.6%), and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (10.7%). Overall, 21.4% of isolates were defined as DTR, highest rate among A. baumannii (64.4%). All-cause 30-day mortality rate was 17.5%. Rates of XDR or DTR A. baumannii isolation were significantly higher in non-surviving patients. Independent risk factors for 30-day mortality were: age (HR 1.03, 95%CI 1.00–1.04, p = 0.003), septic shock (HR 2.84, 95%CI 1.67–4.82, p < 0.001) and BSI due to Acinetobacter baumannii (HR 2.23, 95%CI 1.27–3.94, p = 0.005). Conclusion: The overall prevalence of DTR was high in the NFGN BSI cohort analyzied, mainly among Acinetobacter baumannii episodes (64.4%). Acinetobacter baumannii is showed to be an independent predictor of mortality. These evidences marked the urgent need of new therapeutic options against this pathogen. Trial registration number: 79/2017/O/OssN. Approved: March14th, 2017

Local terahertz field enhancement for time-resolved x-ray diffraction

We report local field strength enhancement of single-cycle terahertz (THz) pulses in an ultrafast time-resolved x-ray diffraction experiment. We show that patterning the sample with gold microstructures increases the THz field without changing the THz pulse shape or drastically affecting the quality of the x-ray diffraction pattern. We find a five-fold increase in THz-induced x-ray diffraction intensity change in the presence of microstructures on a SrTiO3 thin-film sample

Non-fermentative gram-negative bloodstream infection in northern Italy: a multicenter cohort study

BACKGROUND: The management of non-fermentative gram-negative bloodstream infection (NFGN-BSI) offers numerous challenges. In this study the aim is to analyse a large cohort of patients with NFGN-BSI recruited in the northern Italy to describe epidemiology, etiological and susceptibility pattern, therapeutic management and outcome. METHODS: Multicentre retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalised at three large teaching hospitals in northern Italy in a fourth year period. RESULTS: 355 BSI episodes were analyzed, due to P. aeruginosa (72.7%), A. baumannii (16.6%), and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (10.7%). Overall, 21.4% of isolates were defined as DTR, highest rate among A. baumannii (64.4%). All-cause 30-day mortality rate was 17.5%. Rates of XDR or DTR A. baumannii isolation were significantly higher in non-surviving patients. Independent risk factors for 30-day mortality were: age (HR 1.03, 95%CI 1.00–1.04, p = 0.003), septic shock (HR 2.84, 95%CI 1.67–4.82, p < 0.001) and BSI due to Acinetobacter baumannii (HR 2.23, 95%CI 1.27–3.94, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of DTR was high in the NFGN BSI cohort analyzied, mainly among Acinetobacter baumannii episodes (64.4%). Acinetobacter baumannii is showed to be an independent predictor of mortality. These evidences marked the urgent need of new therapeutic options against this pathogen. Trial registration number: 79/2017/O/OssN. Approved: March14th, 2017. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-021-06496-8

Degradation dynamics and dissipation kinetics of an imidazole fungicide (Prochloraz) in aqueous medium of varying pH

Laboratory degradation studies were performed in water at pH 4.0, 7.0 and 9.2 using Prochloraz (450 EC) formulation at the concentration of 1.0 (T1) and 2.0 (T2) µg/mL. Water samples collected on 0 (2 h), 3, 7, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 days after treatments were processed for residue analysis of Prochloraz by HPLC-UV detector. In 60 days, dissipation was 89.1–90.5% at pH 4.0, 84.1–88.2% at pH 7.0, and 92.4–93.8% at pH 9.2 in both treatments. The results indicate that at pH 7.0 the degradation of Prochloraz was much slower as compared to other two. Between pH 4.0 and 9.2 the degradation of compound is little faster at pH 9.2. The half-life periods observed were 18.35 and 19.17 days at pH 4.0, 22.6 and 25.1 days at pH 7.0 and 15.8 and 16.6 days at pH 9.2 at T1 and T2 doses respectively