Sarcoptic mange and other ectoparasitic infections in a red fox (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>) population from central Italy.

Fifty red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from the district of Pisa (central Italy) were examined for ectoparasites. Sarcoptic mange was diagnosed on the presence of clearly visible skin lesions with confirmatory demonstration of Sarcoptes scabiei at parasitological and histopathological analysis. Ticks and fleas were collected directly from the carcases during post mortem examination, fixed and identified by morphological examination. For the detection of ear Malassezia and mite infections, cytological and parasitological examinations of ear wax samples were performed. All data were statistically analysed using a χ2 test with the Yates correction. An overall prevalence of 84% for ectoparasitic infections was found in examined subjects. In regard to isolated ectoparasites, 38%, 8%, 82%, 6% and 8% of foxes resulted positive for S. scabiei, Otodectes cynotis, Malassezia spp., fleas (Archaeopsylla erinacei, Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides canis) and ticks (Ixodes ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus), respectively. Malassezia ear infection was significantly more prevalent in animals older than 1 year (P Sarcoptes-infected animals indicate that sarcoptic mange should be considered the most important ectoparasitic infection of red foxes in the examined area

The eta-prime propagator in quenched QCD

The calculation of the eta-prime hairpin diagram is carried out in the modified quenched approximation (MQA) in which the lattice artifact which causes exceptional configurations is removed by shifting observed poles at kappa<kappa_c in the quark propagators to the critical value of hop ping parameter. By this method, the eta-prime propagator can be accurately calculated even for very light quark mass. A determination of the topological susceptibility for quenched QCD is also obtained, using the fermionic method of Smit and Vink to calculate winding numbers.Comment: 3 pages, 3 postscript figure

In Vitro Anthelmintic Activity of Saponins from Medicago spp. against Sheep Gastrointestinal Nematodes

Gastrointestinal strongyle nematodes (GIS) are included among the most important parasites of small ruminants. The widespread drug resistance and drug residues in products of animal origin have increased the interest in the search for natural compounds with anthelmintic activity as a valid alternative to current synthetic drugs. The aim of the present investigation was to test the \u2018in vitro\u2019 anthelmintic activity of saponins and prosapogenins from different Medicago species, selected for their importance as a forage crop worldwide for animal feeding. From these plants, saponin mixtures were extracted, purified and used at scalar concentrations to evaluate their anthelmintic activities against sheep gastrointestinal strongyles (GISs), by the egg hatch test. Treated and untreated controls were used as the comparison. Data were statistically analyzed, and EC50 and EC90 were also calculated. All saponins and prosapogenins showed inhibiting effects on GIS eggs in a concentration-dependent manner. At higher concentrations, most of them showed an efficacy comparable to the reference drug (Thiabendazole 3 \u3bcg/mL) (P &lt; 0.001). With 1.72 mg/mL EC50 and 3.84 mg/mL EC90, saponin from M. polymorpha cultivars Anglona was the most active. Obtained results encourage further studies aimed at evaluating the efficacy \u2018in vivo\u2019 of saponins which resulted as most effective \u2018in vitro\u2019 in this study

Serological survey on the occurrence of Rickettsia spp., Neospora caninum, Bartonella henselae and Toxoplasma gondii in cats from Tuscany (central Italy)

Asymptomatic cats often harbor pathogens, some of which have not been largely investigated in feline populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of antibodies against Rickettsia conorii, Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia typhi, Neospora caninum, Bartonella henselae and Tox-oplasma gondii in cats from Tuscany. Ninety-five blood serum samples, previously collected, were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Fifty-six (58.94%) cats had antibodies to at least one investigated pathogen: 28 (29.47%) cats were positive for B. henselae, 17 (17.89%) for R. felis, 14 (14.73%) for R. conorii, 14 (14.73%) for T. gondii, 2 (2.1%) for N. caninum. No cats were positive for R. typhi. Positive reactions to two or more pathogens were detected in 18 (18.94%) cats. The occurrence of antibodies against these microorganisms suggests that cats, even though asymptomatic, may be infected by pathogens, often zoonotic, and thus may be a source of infections for other animals and humans

Apicomplexan protozoa responsible for reproductive disorders: Occurrence of dna in blood and milk of donkeys (equus asinus) and minireview of the related literature

Donkeys may be susceptible to many pathological agents and may act as carriers of pathogens for other animal species and humans. This study evaluated the occurrence of potentially abortifacient apicomplexan protozoa DNA in blood and milk samples collected at different time periods during lactation (1, 6, and 10 months) from 33 healthy dairy jennies. A total of 73 blood and 73 milk samples were used for DNA extraction and analysis. Blood specimens from 11/33 (33%) jennies scored positive for Theileria equi, while milk samples scored negative. Blood and milk of 3/33 jennies yielded DNA of Toxoplasma gondii at 6 months (n. 1) and 10 months (n. 2) after parturition. Neospora caninum DNA was found in four milk and in five blood samples only at one month after parturition. This study is the first report about the presence of N. caninum DNA in milk of naturally infected jennies. Moreover, the excretion of N. caninum DNA in some of these jennies at 30 days from the parturition may suggest a possible occurrence of an endogenous cycle, while the presence of T. gondii DNA in the milk collected at 6 and 10 months after parturition may be suggestive of a discontinuous excretion

Fatal pulmonary hypertension and right-sided congestive heart failure in a kitten infected with Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Aelurostrongylus abstrusus is considered the most important respiratory nematode of domestic cats worldwide. This parasite inhabits the alveoli, alveolar ducts, and bronchioles and causes a subacute to chronic respiratory clinical disease. Clinical signs may occur in domestic cats of any age, though they aremore oftendescribedin young animals. Physical examination, echocardiography, thoracic radiography, pulmonary and cardiac pathological findings, classical, and molecular parasitological analysis of a six-month-old kitten referred at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Pisa (Italy) led to a diagnosis of parasitic bronchopneumonia caused by A. abstrusus, which was complicated by severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) and right-sided congestive heart failure (R-CHF) that caused the death of the animal. Cases of reversible PH associated with A. abstrusus infection have been seldom reported in cats. This is the first report of fatal PH and R-CHF in a kitten with clinical aelurostrongylosis

Survey on the presence of bacterial and parasitic zoonotic agents in the feces of wild birds

Wild avifauna may act as fecal source of bacterial and parasitic pathogens for other birds and mammals. Most of these pathogens have a relevant impact on human and livestock health which may cause severe disease and economic loss. In the present study, the fecal samples collected from 121 wild birds belonging to 15 species of the genera Anas, Tadorna, Fulica, Arddea, Larus, Falco, Athene, Accipiter, and Columba were submitted to bacteriological and molecular analyses to detect Brucella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Mycobacterium spp., Salmonella spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and microsporidia. Four (3.3%) animals were positive for one pathogen: one Anas penelope for C. burnetii, one Larus michahellis for S. enterica serovar Coeln, and two Columba livia for Encephalitozoon hellem. Although the prevalence rates found in the present survey were quite low, the obtained re-sults confirm that wild birds would be the a potential fecal source of bacterial and parasitic zoonotic pathogens which sometimes can also represent a severe threat for farm animals

Hollow core waveguide for simultaneous laser plastic welding

Welding of plastics is a very important process in many industrial fields such as electronic packaging, medical applications, textile joining and automotive. It is often used when finished structure is too large to mold, for cost effectiveness or when dissimilar materials have to be joined. It is also employed in MEMs and Bio-MEMs applications, for example for microfluidic devices, where joint areas are very small, and need an amount of precision that other techniques can’t provide. This work focuses on description of transparent laser plastic welding technique, comparing simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous welding, and the development of an experimental setup for an automotive application. There are different laser welding methods, like simultaneous welding, where all the joining interface is irradiated at the same time and often includes a hollow guide to direct laser beam, and quasi-simultaneous welding, for example contour welding or scanning welding, where the laser spot is driven on joining interface via movement of the source or changing the path of the laser beam. An innovative tool end experimental setup was made to evaluate the simultaneous versus quasi-simultaneous welding to join polymeric material for an automotive application. A DFSS design of experiment was used. A LIMO laser bar diode @808nm with a maximum output power of 50 Watts, was coupled to a multi-mode 400 μm glass core optical fiber (Boscottica) with a numerical aperture of 0.22, by a LIMO Beam Transformation System HOC 150/500 (1401.612). The beam at the output of the fiber was guided through two different optical systems to the welding joint to test the two methods. A SANYO stepper motor was used for the quasi-simultaneous welding. Different kind of plastic materials were joined, Hostacom TRC 787N and THERMORUN TT875NE/BE. We performed static pull tests and dynamic pull test, and found optimum and baseline configuration

Endoparasite infections of the european hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in central Italy

The European hedgehog is a synanthropic mammal, widely distributed in Europe. This species usually inhabits the edges of deciduous or mixed woods, but it is also very common in private gardens and public parks. Despite its popularity and frequency of contacts both with humans and with wild and domestic animals, few studies have examined the endoparasitic fauna of the hedgehog in Italy. In the present study, endoparasites of naturally deceased hedgehogs (n = 40) from central Italy (Latium and Tuscany regions) were investigated, along with concurrent gross and histopathological lesions. The most prevalent identified endoparasites were Crenosoma striatum (45%), Capillaria erinacei (42.5%) and Brachylaemus erinacei (22.5%), in accordance with previous reports from hedgehogs in southern Italy. In few subjects, Physaloptera clausa, Acanthocephalans and Cystoisospora rastegaeivae coccidia were also identified. The infection by the lungworm C. striatum was found to be significantly associated (p &lt; 0.01) with bronchial hyperplasia and peribronchiolitis upon histopathological examination. Awareness of the most common parasitic infections in the hedgehog and of their effects on the health of these animals is extremely important, especially in wildlife rescue centers, where European hedgehog represents the most frequently hospitalized mammal species