Evaluación de la situación socio-económica de los tambos bovinos en el departamento Chapaleufú

El Departamento Chapaleufú, perteneciente a la cuenca lechera norte de la provincia de La Pampa, ha sufrido en los últimos años el cierre de muchos tambos, lo que generó un alto desempleo en el sector involucrando directa e indirectamente a la producción lechera. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue determinar que cantidad de tambos lecheros bovinos cerraron desde el año 2002 al 2019, las variables que influyeron en el cierre de los mismos y establecer que sucedió con los empleados que tenían los establecimientos. Se determinó a que se dedicó la empresa post cierre del tambo y se analizó el impacto social que sufrieron las localidades aledañas como consecuencia de ello. La metodología utilizada fue a través de una encuesta realizada a productores y cooperativas lecheras del departamento Chapaleufú, provincia de La Pampa. Se encuestaron todos los tambos que figuran en el Censo Agropecuario 2018 en dicho departamento. Para la elaboración de la encuesta se utilizó la metodología propuesta por la Organización para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO 1990). La misma fue llevada a cabo durante los años 2020/2021. Las variables provenientes de la encuesta se analizaron con el programa InfoStat versión 2018, se trabajó con las Económicas y Técnicas tal como se expresa en la encuesta. El impacto social que produjo el cierre de los tambos, se midió a través de variables como: desempleo (seguimiento de los empleados), disminución de la actividad comercial (insumos, transporte, servicios) y migración campo - ciudad. Los resultados del análisis de todas ellas indicaron que los tambos cerraron por tener bajos ingresos, altos costos de producción, pero sobre todo por el alto ingreso que dejaba a los pooles de siembra, la siembra de soja o el alquiler de los establecimientos para este fin. Los empleados que trabajaban en los tambos en algunos casos se quedaban en el establecimiento haciendo otras actividades (29%), otros se volvieron a la ciudad o localidad  más cercana (58%). Del 13 % restante no se obtuvieron datos. La conclusión del presente trabajo demuestra la importancia de la implementación del cultivo de soja, bajo el método de siembra directa y cómo éste desplazó a la actividad ganadera hacia zonas más marginales y provocó el cierre de establecimientos lecheros en el departamento Chapaleufú. Todo esto se da por  los altos márgenes económicos que dejaba la soja

Is avian influenza virus A(H5N1) a real threat to human health?

The A(H5N1) influenza remains a disease of birds with a significant species barrier: in the presence of some tens million cases of infection in poultry - with a wide geographical spread -, only a few hundreds cases have occurred in humans. To date, human cases have been reported in 15 countries - mainly in Asia - and all were related to the onset of outbreaks in poultry. A peak of H5N1 human cases was recorded in 2006, then decreasing in subsequent years. Despite this trend, the H5N1 virus still represents a possible threat to human health, considering that more than half of human cases of H5N1 have been fatal. Moreover, despite the drop in the number of cases, the risk of a novel pandemic cannot be excluded, since H5N1 continues to circulate in poultry in countries with elevated human population density and where monitoring systems are not fully appropriate. In addition, there is a major global concern about the potential occurrence of a reassortment between the 2009 pandemic H1N1 and the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses following a co-infection in a susceptible host. Therefore, the implementation of appropriate surveillance and containment measures is crucial in order to minimize such risk. In conclusion, H5N1 avian influenza is still a rare disease in humans but its clinical severe outcome requires a careful monitoring of the virus?s ability to evolve and to trigger a new pandemic

Relative effectiveness of the adjuvanted vs non-adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccines against severe laboratory-confirmed influenza among hospitalized Italian older adults

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of the MF59-adjuvanted trivalent (aTIV) and non-adjuvanted quadrivalent (QIVe) egg-based standard-dose vaccines against severe laboratory-confirmed influenza. Methods: This test-negative case-control study was conducted in a hospital setting during four recent Italian influenza seasons (from 2018/19 to 2021/22). The clinical outcome was severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) with laboratory confirmation diagnosed among subjects aged ≥65 years. rVE of aTIV versus QIVe was estimated through propensity score matching followed by logistic regression. Results: The influenza virus circulated to a significant extent only during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. The final population included 512 vaccinated older adults, of which 83 were cases and 429 were test-negative controls. aTIV and QIVe users differed substantially from the point of view of several baseline characteristics. The propensity score adjusted rVE of aTIV vs QIVe was 59.2% (95% CI: 14.6%, 80.5%), 54.7% (95% CI: -28.7%, 84.0%) and 56.9% (95% CI: -7.8%, 82.8%) against any influenza, A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2), respectively. Conclusion: aTIV was more effective than QIVe in preventing laboratory-confirmed SARI. The benefits of aTIV may be obscured by confounding indication

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of human influenza A viruses in three consecutive seasons with different epidemiological profiles

INTRODUCTION: Influenza activity and influenza virus circulation were observed in Lombardy (northern Italy) during three consecutive seasons and the molecular characteristics of circulating viruses analysed to control for introduction of new variants. METHODS: The molecular characterization of 38 isolates, namely 20 A/H3N2 and 18 A/H1N1 influenza strains from the 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons, was performed by sequence analysis of the globular head region of the HA protein (HA1 subunit), specific for influenza virus A/H3 and A/H1. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The last three influenza seasons in the study region were characterized by medium-low activity. A typical co-circulation of several variants was shown for A/H3 viruses for approximately two years and were subsequently almost entirely substituted by new emerging variants. Vice versa, A/H1 viruses had a more homogeneous circulation with a single lineage clearly dominating each season. The HA sequences of the A/H3 and the A/H1 viruses isolated in the last three seasons fell into 4 and 3 principal phylogenetic groups, respectively. No evidence of positive or negative selection in the sequence alignments was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular characterization of the influenza viruses in three consecutive seasons highlighted considerable heterogeneity in their HA sequences. A careful surveillance of genetic changes in the HA1 domain during seasonal influenza epidemics may reveal immune escape and provide early information on newly emerging strains with epidemiologic inference

Contribution of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among patients <15 years hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in Milan, 2014-2017

Aim: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections may range from cold to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and are responsible for substantial pediatric morbidity. We describe the results of RSV molecular detection in respiratory samples collected from children <15 years hospitalized with SARI in Milan (Italy) during four consecutive years. Method: From January 1st, 2014, to December 31st, 2017, 3013 respiratory samples (2826 upper-respiratory-tract [UTR] and 187 lower-respiratory-tract [LTR] specimens) collected from as many children <15 years hospitalized with SARI at an University hospital in Milan were analysed. After DNA/RNA extraction, samples were tested by a multiplex real-time PCR to detect RSV and other respiratory viruses. Results: 571 (19%) respiratory samples tested RSV-positive. RSV-positivity rate by sample type was similar (URT vs LRT: 19.2% vs 14.4%; p=0.09). The median age of RSV-positive cases was 6.6 months (inter-quartile range: 17.2 months); 52.2% were males. 62.2% (355/571) of RSV-positive samples were identified in children <1 year and 12.4% (71/571) in those <1 month. RSV was detected throughout the study period; 59.2% (338/571) cases were identified during seasonal peaks (December-February). In 49.9% (285/571) of RSV-positive samples at least another virus (mainly Rhinovirus: 45.9%) was detected, particularly (60%; 171/285) in samples collected from children >1 year. Conclusions: Accordingly to other studies, RSV was detected in 19% of hospitalized-SARI cases <15 years, mainly in children <1 year and in December-February. Sampling of upper or lower airways resulted in similar RSV-positivity rate. Routine molecular testing to detect RSV is warranted to improve clinical management of pediatric patients

Epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HPEV infection in children<6 months hospitalized with symptoms of sepsie-like illness, northen Italy, 2015-2018

BACKGROUND. Human parechoviruses (HPeVs) are widespread pathogens belonging to the Picornaviridae family and currently divided into 19 genotypes. HPeV infections can be associated with severe clinical manifestations, such as sepsis-like illness, particularly in youngest children. The epidemiological and molecular characteristics of HPeV infections observed in children <6 months hospitalized with symptoms of sepsis-like illness were investigated. METHODS. From January 1st, 2015, to December 31st, 2018, clinical samples (cerebrospinal fluid samples and/or blood samples) were collected for diagnosis of HPeV infection from 193 patients (median age: 21 days, range: 1 day - 6 months) hospitalized with symptoms of sepsis-like illness, in two hospitals of Northern Italy. HPeV-RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR (target 5\u2019UTR) and a portion of HPeV VP3/VP1 junction (nt. 2159\u20132458) was sequenced for typing and molecular characterization. RESULTS. 14% (27/193) of patients with symptoms of sepsis-like illness tested HPeV-positive. 26/27 (96.3%) HPeV-cases were <3 months and 20/27 (74.1%) <1 month. HPeV-positive cases were detected throughout the study period, mainly (12/27; 44.4%) during the summertime (June-August). 17/27 (63%) HPeV-positive samples were molecularly characterized: 16 resulted HPeV-3 and 1 HPeV-5. CONCLUSIONS. HPeV infection was identified in 14% of children <6 months with symptoms of sepsis-like illness. Almost all HPeV infections were detected in children <3 months and mainly during the summertime; almost all molecularly characterized HPeV belonged to type 3. Including HPeV molecular detection in routine diagnostic tests would allow estimating the burden of HPeV infection and improving clinical management of pediatric patients

Early co-circulation of different clades of influenza A/H1N1v pandemic virus in Northern Italy

Introduction. The spatial diffusion over time of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 virus (A/H1N1v) was surveyed in Northern Italy (nearly 10 million inhabitants) from April to December 2009, and the molecular characteristics of circulating viruses were analyzed to identify the appearance of drift variants. About 45% of analyzed samples were laboratory-confirmed cases of A/H1N1v. Sporadic cases occurred until the middle of June 2009, then, case numbers began to increase delineating distinct epidemiological phases of viral circulation. Methods. RNA was extracted using RNeasy Mini kit (QIAGEN GmbH, Germany). Virological diagnosis of A/H1N1v infection was carried out by real-time RT-PCR assay. Sequence analysis of hemagglutinin (HA) gene was performed through a RT-PCR assay specific for a 995 bp fragment (nt. 64-1,058) in the HA1 domain. The nucleotide sequences were obtained by automated DNA sequencing. The HA1 sequences were aligned with other sequences collected from GenBank database by ClustalX software. The multiple sequence alignment was used to perform a basic phylogenetic analysis and a phylogenetic tree from HA sequences was constructed. Results. The HA gene sequences of A/H1N1v analyzed segregated into three genetically distinct clades and were characterized by the appearance of amino acid variations that were progressively fixed in the field viral population under scrutiny. Conclusions. These data suggest an early co-circulation of genetically distinct A/H1N1v variants and emphasize the importance of a close molecular surveillance to detect rapidly the spread of new viral variants and to define their epidemiological impact

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of human influenza A viruses in three consecutive seasons with different epidemiological profiles

Introduction. Influenza activity and influenza virus circulation were observed in Lombardy (northern Italy) during three con- secutive seasons and the molecular characteristics of circulating viruses analysed to control for introduction of new variants. Methods. The molecular characterization of 38 isolates, namely 20 A/H3N2 and 18 A/H1N1 influenza strains from the 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons, was performed by sequence analy- sis of the globular head region of the HA protein (HA1 subunit), specific for influenza virus A/H3 and A/H1. Results and discussion. The last three influenza seasons in the study region were characterized by medium-low activity. A typical co-circulation of several variants was shown for A/H3 viruses for approximately two years and were subsequently almost entirely substituted by new emerging variants. Vice versa, A/H1 viruses had a more homogeneous circulation with a single lineage clearly dominating each season. The HA sequences of the A/H3 and the A/H1 viruses isolated in the last three seasons fell into 4 and 3 principal phylogenetic groups, respectively. No evidence of positive or negative selection in the sequence align- ments was observed. Conclusions. Molecular characterization of the influenza viruses in three consecutive seasons highlighted considerable heteroge- neity in their HA sequences. A careful surveillance of genetic changes in the HA1 domain during seasonal influenza epidemics may reveal immune escape and provide early information on newly emerging strains with epidemiologic inference

Analysis of phase patterns in photochromic polyurethanes by a holographic approach

Photochromic polyurethanes based on diarylethene units show a large reversible modulation of refractive index in the Vis-NIR spectral region. The change of refractive index in the material is easily induced by visible laser illumination, without any optical or chemical post-process. In this paper, patterns at the micron scale range have been written by a suitable direct laser writing machine and characterized at 1550 nm by means of a digital holographic approach. The refractive index profile has been retrieved, its dependence on the film thickness and writing speed was shown. The writing process has also been modelled by means of a kinetic model, showing theoretically the dependence of the pattern width and profile on the writing conditions. It is demonstrated that the photochromic films are suitable for developing a reconfigurable platform for complex phase patterns working in the NIR. © 2015 Optical Society of America