Boar hunt or Manhunt? fatality during a wild boar hunting expedition. Need for a multidisciplinary forensic approach.

Hunting is commonly regarded as a prevalent leisure activity in many Western countries. Moreover, hunting-related shooting injuries and fatalities are an important issue in the forensic world. However, there is limited research investigating the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to provide a thorough analysis of these deaths.

Morphometrical and Immunohistochemical Evaluation of Kidney as an Indirect Parameter to Estimate Age in Puppies in Veterinary Forensic Pathology.

Estimation of age represents a central focus in the veterinary forensic pathology field. Currently, the visual examination of the dentition and the skeletal age are the main methods to estimate the age of puppies. Nevertheless, these methods are affected by a broad range of variables.

Threats to the Reintroduction Program of the Northern Bald Ibis () in Italy: A Forensic Investigation.

The Northern Bald Ibis is an endangered species, and recently it was reintroduced in Europe by the Waldrappteam. The reintroduction program has been strongly threatened by several sudden deaths, mainly in Italy. The present study used a forensic approach to analyze all of the 27 Northern Bald Ibises found dead in Italy between 2016 and 2022, which were suspected to have been victims of poaching, and it followed the veterinary forensic guidelines.

Diagnosis of Drowning and the Value of the Diatom Test in Veterinary Forensic Pathology.

The detection of diatoms into the organs is considered an important "biological marker" for the diagnosis of drowning in human pathology, but it still has a high possibility for false positive results. The aims of this study were: (1) to evaluate the contribution of pathological examination in drowning cases and (2) to investigate the differences in the number and location of diatoms between animals who died in drowning and non-drowning conditions. For these purposes, 30 dead adult dogs were selected for the study and subdivided into five groups.

A combined morphological and molecular approach for hair identification to comply with the European ban on dog and cat fur trade.

Animal furs are encountering more and more the detriment of public opinion, that is increasingly sensitive to animals, their welfare and protection. The feeling of outrage against animal suffering is particularly intense when cats and dogs are involved, since these are the most popular pets in Western countries. However, in some Asian countries breeding of dogs and cats for the fur industry is a common practice.

Systemic tuberculosis by MYCOBACTERIUM BOVIS in a free-ranging MARSICAN brown bear (URSUS ARCTOS MARSICANUS): a Case report.

Background: Mycobacterium bovis is known to have a wide host range and has been isolated from numerous free-ranging wildlife species, carnivores included. In bears, M. bovis has been previously reported only from a culture of pooled lymph nodes of a black bear (Ursus americanus) in the absence of lesions.

Urinary capillariosis in a free-ranging Marsican brown bear ().

Extraintestinal nematodes have been seldom investigated in the brown bear (). In this study, a case of urinary capillariosis and bladder associated lesions is reported in a deceased free-ranging Marsican brown bear () from Central Italy. Gross lesions in the urinary bladder consisted of scattered foci of mucosal hyperemia, while at histological examination mild cystitis was observed.

Assessment of Google Glass for Photographic Documentation in Veterinary Forensic Pathology: Usability Study.

Background: Google Glass is a head-mounted device designed in the shape of a pair of eyeglasses equipped with a 5.0-megapixel integrated camera and capable of taking pictures with simple voice commands.

Objective: The objective of our study was to determine whether Google Glass is fit for veterinary forensic pathology purposes.

Cardiac laceration following non-penetrating chest trauma in dog and cat.

Cardiac laceration with non-penetrating chest trauma is reported as a common cause of death in human following rapid deceleration in high-speed vehicular accident. In contrast, in veterinary medicine, traumatic rupture of heart and great-vessel structures appears to be an uncommon cause of death. Here we report three cases of cardiac laceration following non-penetrating chest trauma in a one cat and two dogs.

Veterinary forensic sciences to solve a fatal case of predation on flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus).

The present case study concerns a case of predation of 4 individuals of captive pink flamingo in Emilia Romagna Region, Northeastern Italy. The pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is a species included in the Red List of Threatened Species established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which lists species in danger of extinction. During the Winter of 2013, 4 flamingos (2 in the Comacchio area, and 2 from Argenta and Codigoro oases - Ferrara province) were found dead some of them headless, with their bodies severely bitten.

Hindering the illegal trade in dog and cat furs through a DNA-based protocol for species identification.

In Western countries dogs and cats are the most popular pets, and people are increasingly opposed to their rearing for the fur industry. In 2007, a Regulation of the European Union (EU) banned the use and trade of dog and cat furs, but an official analytical protocol to identify them as source species was not provided, and violations of law are still frequent in all Member States. In this paper we report on the development and validation of a simple and affordable DNA method for species detection in furs to use as an effective tool to combat illegal trade in fur products.

A pathological Late Pleistocene canid from San Sidero (Italy): implications for social- and feeding-behaviour.

Evidence of diseases on vertebrate fossil bones can provide detailed information on many aspects of extinct animals. This study focused on pathological craniodental remains (left maxilla and dentary) referred to the canid Cuon alpinus unearthed from a Late Pleistocene karst filling deposit at San Sidero (Apulia, southern Italy). These fossils show clear evidence of a chronic periodontitis that caused the animal's death.

First notification in Italy of cardiopulmonary filariosis (heartworm disease) in a wolf (Canis lupus).

The authors report on the first notification of filariosis (heartworm disease) caused by Dirofilaria immitis in a wolf (Canis lupus) in Italy. On account of this exceptional finding, the parasite was typed not only using traditional methods, such as stereomicroscopic examination, but also using highly innovative diagnostic methods, such as scanning electron microscope and molecular identification with the application of various recently developed methods (polymerase chain reaction and sequencing). Certain aspects regarding the epidemiology of the disease are discussed in the light of this first case in Italy that occurred in an area in which cardiopulmonary filiariasis had not previously been reported in wild or domestic carnivores.

Environmental radioactivity in four national parks of the Abruzzo region (central Italy).

Since 1998, the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise 'G. Caporale' in Teramo is conducting radioecological surveys in the Abruzzo region (Central Italy), to acquire knowledge on the geochemical and biological mobility of radionuclides derived from the Chernobyl accident. To this end, samples of grasses, fungi, mosses and soils were collected in four national parks (Sirente-Velino, Abruzzo Lazio and Molise, the Gran Sasso and the park of Monti della Laga and Maiella).

Mechanisms of exchange modulation in trimethylenemethane-type biradicals: the roles of conformation and spin density.

The molecular structures and magnetic properties of six dinitroxide biradicals are described. Five of the dinitroxides are trimethylenemethane-type (TMM-type) biradicals; that is, the intramolecular exchange parameter, J, is modulated by a carbon-carbon double bond. However, the efficacy of the carbon-carbon double bond as an exchange coupler is determined by the molecular conformation.

Trends in exchange coupling for trimethylenemethane-type Bis(semiquinone) biradicals and correlation of magnetic exchange with mixed valency for cross-conjugated systems.

A magnetostructural correlation (conformational electron spin exchange modulation) within an isostructural series of biradical complexes is presented. X-ray crystal structures, variable-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, zero-field splitting parameters, and variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements were used to evaluate molecular conformation and electron spin exchange coupling in this series of molecules. Our combined results indicate that the ferromagnetic portion of the exchange couplings occurs via the cross-conjugated pi-systems, while the antiferromagnetic portion occurs through space and is equivalent to incipient bond formation.

Trichinella pseudospiralis in sedentary night-birds of prey from Central Italy.

Trichinella pseudospiralis has been isolated from carnivorous and carrion-feeding mammals and birds in Eastern Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, suggesting its cosmopolitan distribution. We conducted a survey to detect this parasite in raptorial and carrion-feeding birds in Italy, examining muscles from 205 animals by artificial digestion. We isolated from the breast muscle 1 larva from a tawny owl (Strix aluco) and 2 larvae from a little owl (Athene noctua).

Isolation and characterisation of an Aujeszky's disease virus naturally infecting a wild boar (Sus scrofa).

Isolation of Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) from an injured, female wild boar (Sus scrofa), shot dead by hunters, in an area adjacent to the Abruzzo National Park is reported. The brain was submitted for attempted virus isolation following episodes of mortality in several dogs and cats fed with meat from the wild boar. Virus was isolated on first passage from the brain of the wild boar.

Ciliary abnormalities in the tracheal epithelium of normal fallow deer (Dama dama).

Specimens of tracheal mucosa were obtained from seven 2- to 5-year-old healthy fallow deer by an Olympus GIF P20 fibroscope. Biopsies were performed in two selected areas in the upper and lower third, respectively. Ultrastructurally, a total of 50,000 cilia were examined.

The impact of predators on livestock in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

Free-living populations of wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) and brown bears (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) regularly cause damage to livestock in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The laws of the region provide for compensation payments to owners for losses caused by predators. In the present paper, 4,993 validated claims made between 1980 and 1988 are examined.

Survival of Trichinella muscle larvae in frozen wolf tissue in Italy.

Living larvae were collected in central Italy from the masseters of a wolf frozen for 6 mo. These parasites were identified as a southern Palearctic species (Trichinella sp. 3) through gene-enzyme analysis.

Performance evaluation of the Abbott HTLV III EIA, a test for antibody to HTLV III in donor blood.

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA), designed to detect antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV III), was evaluated. The antibody test was found to be highly sensitive; serum from 221 of 223 (99.1%) patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was positive for antibodies to HTLV III.