46 research outputs found
Pathogenetical mechanism and development of a new diagnostic kit for the parrot proventricular dilatation disease
PDD is a progressive disease often fatal, that occurs in several parrot species but a common susceptibility of all parrots is suspected. It also may occur in non psittacine bird like, gooses, hawks, doves tucans and flamingos. The ill birds develop gastrointestinal or central nervous system signs. These presentation can be occur like a combination of both or alone. The clinical signs are caused by histological nervous lesions, characterized by a\ud
non suppurative encephalomyelitis and/or perineural lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates around peripheral nerves. The intramural neural plexa of digestive tract were constanctly involved.\ud
The diagnosis is characterized by inconsistent clinical laboratory findings. A presumptive diagnosis of PDD is often based on anamnestic information, contrast radiographs,\ud
fluoroscopy in PDD suspect birds. Until now the only specific and reliable method used for the diagnosis is the crop biopsy. The presence of characteristic histological perineural infiltrates are strongly suggestive of the disease and necessary for a definitive diagnosis.\ud
Until now the etiology and the pathogenesis are unclear, even if, many Authors suppose the potential role of unclear virus as the causative agent of PDD.\ud
The different aspects of this disease show a lot of analogies with the human Guillain Barrè syndrome, so we have focalised the our study to clarify the pathogenesis. To do this, we investigated if the PDD can be an autoimmune disease and if a possible presence of the blood antiganglioside antibodies can be the starter of this autoimmune pathological mechanism, like was observed in more than 50% of the GBS’s cases
Stay home, stay safe? High habitat suitability and environmental connectivity increases road mortality in a colonizing mesocarnivore
Context Anthropogenic structures have considerable effects on ecosystems, disrupting natural population processes and representing a serious risk in terms of vehicle collisions. The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a mesocarnivore species whose range is expanding in Europe. Roadkills are one of the main human-induced mortalities in Italy to the species.
Objectives Identify road-related characteristics and ecological factors related to golden jackal roadkill risk in Italy.
Methods We used habitat suitability (Maxent) and connectivity (Circuit theory) models to derive 15 metrics potentially affecting roadkill risk. We tested their influence using Bayesian generalized linear models and generalized linear models comparing golden jackal roadkill locations to random locations. Furthermore, we tested if there were significant sex, age-related and seasonal differences among roadkilled individuals.
Results We found that roadkill risk was higher in areas characterized by higher values of habitat suitability and connectivity, habitat fragmentation and along highways. It was lower with increasing distance to the source population and in the presence of guardrails. No significant differences were detected in terms of roadkill risk between sexes, age classes and season.
Conclusions The identified factors affecting road mortality of golden jackals in Italy provide insights on how to mitigate wildlife-vehicle collisions. Crossing areas, and visual and acoustic warnings for wildlife, as well as the importance of managing fences along high traffic volume roads could help mitigate further damage. Finally, there is a need to further investigate the effectiveness of mitigation measures in the light of the golden jackal’s ongoing expansion in a human-modified landscape
First telemetry data on golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Italy: insights on the species’ spatial ecology
Setaria tundra, an emerging filarioid nematode in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in northeast Italy.
Coincidental with decades of warming (high temperature and humidity) in the sub-Arctic region of
Europe, the mosquito-borne filarioid nematode Setaria tundra is now associated with emerging
epidemic disease, resulting in morbidity and mortality for reindeer and moose. Similarly, roe deer is
also target of this nematode, as documented in Denmark, Germany and Bulgary. In the early 2000s,
S. tundra was first described in roe deer in Piedmont (north Italy). Aedes spp. mosquitoes seem to
be the most competent vectors for S. tundra and little is known about its pathogenicity in roe deer.
After a first report in 2013 of S. tundra in Friuli Venezia Giulia-FVG (northeast Italy) roe deers,
during 2014-2016 an investigation was undertaken to evaluate the its presence in road-killed roe
deer from the Gorizia province. Currently, parasitological dissections of 17 roe deer were
performed. During the necropsy, nematode specimens (1 to 58 per host) were found in the
abdominal cavity. Based on their morphology and biometrics, the nematodes recovered were
identified as Setaria tundra and preserved in alcohol or cryopreserved for further analysis
Moreover, pathological lesions were described, documented and damaged tissue samples were
collected for histological evaluation. The prevalence of S. tundra in FVG roe deer population is
47.1%, mean intensity 11 (range 1-58) and mean abundance 5. The adult worms were located free
in the abdominal cavity where tracks left by worm migration were also seen. Macroscopical lesions
were polysierositis with thickening spleen and liver serosa with fibrinous deposition on surface of
the abdominal organs. Whereas, histological lesions were diffuse serositis, granulomatous reactivity
with Muller's giant cells and calcifications. In our study in FVG, this the first recognition of S.
tundra and the alarming aspect has been that some road killed roe deers showed some significant
pathological peritoneal changes
I’m coming home! Evidence of homing capabilities within a highly anthropized landscape by the brown bear (Ursus arctos)
Technical proposals to reduce the brown bear depredation on livestock in the Eastern Alps and to promote the establishment of bear Alpine-Dinaric-Pindos metapopulation
Camera trapping as a tool for studying the brown bear behaviour and as support for genetic sampling
Understanding the Pathogenesis of Red Mark Syndrome in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) through an Integrated Morphological and Molecular Approach
Red mark syndrome is a non-lethal widespread skin disease mainly reported in rainbow trout and caused by a Midichloria-like organism. Despite extensive research, its etiology and pathogenesis are still uncertain. In the present study, the authors used an integrated morphological and molecular approach, including gene expression, to elucidate the immune response and the complex immune interaction between the host and Midichloria-like organism. The results lead to the conclusions that the most severe skin lesions were characterized by a high level of inflammatory cytokines sustaining and modulating the severe inflammatory process. In contrast, in the moderate form, the response was driven to produce immunoglobulins and IL-10 to control the severity of the disease. Humoral immunity elicited during MLO infection appeared to have a fundamental role in controlling the severity of the skin disease, possibly through bactericidal antibody-mediated mechanisms
Functional and morphological adaptations of the digestive system induced by domestication in cats.
Several studies have showed the macroscopic difference in the gastrointestinal tract
between the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) and the domestic cat (Felis
silvestris catus). Digestive system in the wildcat is shorter than in domestic species and
this feature is considered distinctive in the taxonomic classification of subjects
(Schauenberg et al. 1977). This study is a part of a large investigation regarding the
microscopic anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract of European wildcat, associated to the
study of intestinal microbiome. Its main purpose was to enhance knowledge about this
species, to get a comparison with domestic cat, and to evaluate if and how domestication
has influenced the functional and morphological development of this apparatus, also
n n t ut\u2018s m roflor
To this aim we collected, weighted and measured the gastrointestinal tract of twenty
European wildcats. Afterwards, intestinal sections were sampled, treated and observed at
the microscope in order to evaluate histological characteristics as the villi height and
width, crypts depth and wall thickness. Moreover, we wanted to study the intestinal
production of an apolipoprotein that is believed directly related to the development of
hepatic steatosis, decreasing the amount of lipids deposited in the liver. For this
purpose, liver specimens were collected and treated to study histologically the degree of
vacuolar degeneration of hepatocytes. Data were analyzed and compared with those of
the domestic cats coming from our database. In attempt to evaluate the microbiome,
feces and rectal ampulla were collected and sent to the Texas A&M University for
pyrosequencing analysis (data not shown).
Results demonstrated significant differences in intestinal structure between F. catus and
F. s. silvestris. Villi coming from domestic cats were significantly shorter (p<0.0001) and
wider (p<0.0142) than in wildcats that showed crypts deeper (p<0.0009).
Domestication has led to significant changes in adaptation regarding both behavior and
diet. Several studies showed the correlation between diet changes (protein,
carbohydrates, and fiber concentration) and morphological adaptation in the gut of
different species (Altmann, 1972; Hampson, 1983; Goodlad et al., 1988; Pluske et al.,
1996; Sritiawthai et al., 2013).
Moreover, data from liver study showed that domestic cat has higher levels of
apolipoprotein compared to the wild cat and that the percentage of lipids in the liver was
lower in F. catus than in F. s. silvestris. Despite these results, the liver of domestic cat
revealed a rate of steatosis higher than in wild cat. Indeed, this pathology proved to be
almost absent in wild cats and can be explained by the different nature of the two
species diet and microbiome composition.
This study revealed that transition from a strictly-carnivorous diet (typical of the wild cat)
to an omnivorous type, has modified the nutritional intake considerably and influenced
the evolution of the digestive apparatus in domestic cat
Prime osservazioni italiane di attivit\ue0 predatoria da parte dello sciacallo dorato (Canis aureus) su ovini domestici nel Carso goriziano
La presenza della specie sciacallo dorato Canis aureus moreoticus (I. Geoffrey, 1835) documentata per il Friuli Venezia-Giulia
a partire dagli anni 80 \ue8 in continua espansione ed incremento con un particolare riferimento all\u2019area carsica. Nel territorio
preso in esame, una porzione di landa e boscaglia carsica in cui \ue8 ubicato un parco rurale di circa 100 ha con annesso allevamento
ovino, la presenza di sciacallo dorato, documentata anche con l\u2019uso di foto trappole, \ue8 passata da casi sporadici ad un numero
certo di 7 esemplari che frequentano l\u2019area. Congiuntamente all\u2019aumento di presenza si sono avuti casi di predazione su
ovini adulti mantenuti allo stato semibrado senza ricovero notturno. Sono state esaminate tre carcasse di ovini trovati morti in
giornate successive. Le pecore appartenevano tutte alla classe adulta ed in particolare superavano gli 8 anni di et\ue0.
Le valutazioni anatomopatologiche delle carcasse, a diversi stadi di decomposizione, hanno messo in evidenza lesioni di carattere
lacero contuso dei diversi piani tissutali nella regione del collo e nei garretti causate da morsi, con un consumo, costituito prevalentemente
dai tessuti molli delle cavit\ue0 toraciche ed addominali, variabile in base al tempo intercorso tra il ritrovamento
ed il decesso. Dall\u2019esame dei morsi ed in particolare dalla misurazione della distanza tra i canini, unite alle caratteristiche della
predazione hanno permesso di riferirla a sciacallo dorato. Tale ipotesi \ue8 stata successivamente confermata con il fototrappolaggio.
Dopo tali episodi, gli ovini sono stati ricoverati ogni notte in ovile chiuso e protetto. Tale metodologia gestionale \ue8 stata
sufficiente a ridurre notevolmente l\u2019impatto della predazione da sciacallo dorato sugli animali allevati