Strongyloides stercoralis infection: an underlying cause of invasive bacterial infections of enteric origin. Results from a prospective cross-sectional study of a northern Italian tertiary hospital.

Purpose Of The Study: We assessed the prevalence of S. stercoralis in a cohort of inpatients with invasive bacterial infections of enteric origin to investigate whether the parasite may facilitate these bacterial infections even in the absence of larval hyperproliferation.

Methods: We performed a prospective cross-sectional study in a hospital in northern Italy.

Ivermectin Plasma Concentration in Iberian Ibex () Following Oral Administration: A Pilot Study.

Sarcoptic mange is considered the main driver of demographic declines occurred in the last decades in Iberian ibex () populations. Mass treatment campaigns by administration of in-feed acaricides are used as a measure to mitigate the impact of mange in the affected populations. However, there are no data on ivermectin (IVM) pharmacokinetics in this wild caprine, and the treatment through medicated feed is not endorsed by evidence on its effectiveness.

Induction by Phenobarbital of Phase I and II Xenobiotic-Metabolizing Enzymes in Bovine Liver: An Overall Catalytic and Immunochemical Characterization.

In cattle, phenobarbital (PB) upregulates target drug-metabolizing enzyme (DME) mRNA levels. However, few data about PB's post-transcriptional effects are actually available. This work provides the first, and an almost complete, characterization of PB-dependent changes in DME catalytic activities in bovine liver using common probe substrates and confirmatory immunoblotting investigations.

Artesunate monotherapy versus artesunate plus quinine combination therapy for treatment of imported severe malaria: a TropNet retrospective cohort study.

Background: The addition of intravenous quinine (IVQ) to intravenous artesunate (IVA) has been recently suggested by World Health Organization  in areas where artemisinin resistance is highly prevalent. Since IVA is not yet widely available as "Good Manufacturing Practices" product, for several years combination treatment with IVA and IVQ was used in some Italian centers to mitigate the legal risks in using an unlicensed drug.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was designed to compare IVA + IVQ and IVA treatment for imported severe malaria.

Mycobacterial skin infection.

Purpose Of Review: The aim of this article is to review the most recent evidences concerning mycobacterial skin infections, limiting the period of literature research to 2020--2021.

Recent Findings: Mycobacterial skin infections include a heterogeneous group of cutaneous diseases.Cutaneous tuberculosis is usually the result of hematogenous dissemination or spread from underlying foci and it must be distinguished from tuberculids, resulting from the immunological reaction to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens.

Disseminated Kaposi sarcoma following COVID-19 in a 61-year-old Albanian immunocompetent man: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: COVID-19 and its related anti-inflammatory treatment (steroids, immunomodulators) may induce the reactivation of latent bacterial, parasitic, and viral infections. According to our knowledge, no case of disseminated HHV-8-related Kaposi sarcoma (KS) after COVID-19 and its treatment has been described so far. Only one case of cutaneous KS concurrently with COVID-19 has been previously reported.

Effects of Compost-Bedded Pack Barn on Circulating Cortisol and Beta-Endorphins in Dairy Cows: A Case Study.

The up-to-date literature suggests that the compost-bedded pack barn housing system is capable of remarkably improving productive and reproductive performance, as well as health status and welfare, in dairy cattle. However, there is currently limited knowledge available on the endocrine and biochemical changes in animals housed in such alternative systems. Therefore, this study aimed to measure blood cortisol (COR) and beta-endorphins (BE) in 22 two-year-old primiparae Fleckvieh cows, who were randomly allotted to the following two different housing systems: CB ( = 11) and FB ( = 11).

Pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infections and environmental factors: A review of the literature.

Background: Pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial (pNTM) infection is mainly acquired through the inhalation of bioaerosols. Nevertheless, behavioural restrictions are rarely given by clinicians to susceptible populations, in part because the available guidelines for pNTM management emphasize more diagnosis and treatment than prevention. Aim of this review is to clarify if pNTM prevention should routinely include recommendations about risk reducing behaviors.

Decrease in new diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in the two years period 2019-2020: impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

The emergence SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 and early 2020 has caused a pandemic of unprecedented proportions. Management of COVID-19 became emergent public health priorities, and the impact on other public health initiatives, such as expanded HIV screening and linkage to care, remain largely unknown. In this Single-Center retrospective observational study, we describe the characteristics and circumstance of the new HIV cases during 2020 compared to 2019.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on HIV viremia: a single-center cohort study in northern Italy.

Background: Brescia Province, northern Italy, was one of the worst epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. The division of infectious diseases of ASST (Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale) Spedali Civili Hospital of Brescia had to face a great number of inpatients with severe COVID-19 infection and to ensure the continuum of care for almost 4000 outpatients with HIV infection actively followed by us. In a recent manuscript we described the impact of the pandemic on continuum of care in our HIV cohort expressed as number of missed visits, number of new HIV diagnosis, drop in ART (antiretroviral therapy) dispensation and number of hospitalized HIV patients due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Emergency department admission and hospitalization for COPD exacerbation and particulate matter short-term exposure in Brescia, a highly polluted town in northern Italy.

Background: Short-term exposure to high Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations worsens several respiratory conditions.

Objectives: We evaluated the relationship between short-term exposure to Particulate Matter and fine Particulate Matter (PM10 - PM2.5) and Emergency Department (ED) admissions and hospitalizations for COPD exacerbation observed at the University Hospital, Spedali Civili of Brescia, a city with some of the highest yearly levels of air pollution in Italy.

Abacavir adverse reactions related with HLA-B*57: 01 haplotype in a large cohort of patients infected with HIV.

Objective: Carriage of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*57:01 allele increases the risk of abacavir hypersensitivity reaction. Therefore, since 2008 HIV treatment guidelines recommend HLA-B*57:01 screening before abacavir administration, greatly reducing hypersensitivity reaction rate. However, clinically suspected abacavir-related hypersensitivity reactions are described in allele non-carriers.

Behavioral Therapy and Fluoxetine Treatment in Aggressive Dogs: A Case Study.

Canine aggression is a major concern, affecting millions of people worldwide, and treatment can be challenging even for skilled veterinarians. Empiric use of fluoxetine is sometimes attempted, although few data regarding long-term effects in aggressive dogs are available. The aim of the study was to investigate clinical effectiveness of fluoxetine (1.

Parasitic skin infections: neglected diseases or just challenging for diagnosis?

Purpose Of Review: The aim of the article is to review the most recent evidence concerning parasitic skin infections.

Recent Findings: Parasitic skin infections are increasingly reported worldwide. Special at-risk categories are migrants, returning travelers, and immunocompromised individuals, who are at higher risk to present disseminated disease.

Non-typhoidal Salmonella aortitis.

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) spp. causes about 40% of all infective aortitis and it is characterized by high morbidity and mortality. Human infection occurs by fecal-oral transmission through ingestion of contaminated food, milk, or water (inter-human or zoonotic transmission).

Open-label clinical trial of rectally administered levetiracetam as supplemental treatment in dogs with cluster seizures.

Background: Treatment options for at-home management of cluster seizures (CS) and status epilepticus (SE) are limited. The pharmacokinetics of levetiracetam (LEV) after rectal administration in both healthy and epileptic dogs has been investigated recently.

Hypothesis/objectives: To investigate the clinical efficacy of rectally administered LEV in preventing additional seizures in dogs presented for CS and SE.

Correction to: Acute epididymo-orchitis due to Salmonella Typhi in a young man from Bangladesh.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. Arnaldo Caruso was not listed among the authors.

Acute epididymo-orchitis due to Salmonella Typhi in a young man from Bangladesh.

S. typhi infection rarely involves the genitourinary system. We report the first described case of acute epididymo-orchitis due to S.

Pharmacokinetics of rectal levetiracetam as add-on treatment in dogs affected by cluster seizures or status epilepticus.

Background: Levetiracetam can be used for seizure control alone or in combination with other antiepileptic medications. A previous study achieved the minimum targeted serum drug concentration after rectal administration of levetiracetam in healthy dogs. The purpose of the present study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of rectal LEV in dogs presented for cluster seizures or status epilepticus and potentially in treatment with other anti-epileptic drugs.

Set-up of a multivariate approach based on serum biomarkers as an alternative strategy for the screening evaluation of the potential abuse of growth promoters in veal calves.

A chemometric class modelling strategy (unequal dispersed classes - UNEQ) was applied for the first time as a possible screening method to monitor the abuse of growth promoters in veal calves. Five serum biomarkers, known to reflect the exposure to classes of compounds illegally used as growth promoters, were determined from 50 untreated animals in order to design a model of controls, representing veal calves reared under good, safe and highly standardised breeding conditions. The class modelling was applied to 421 commercially bred veal calves to separate them into 'compliant' and 'non-compliant' with respect to the modelled controls.

Study of dexamethasone urinary excretion profile in cattle by LC-MS/MS: comparison between therapeutic and growth-promoting administration.

Dexamethasone is a potent synthetic corticosteroid widely employed as a therapeutic agent in cattle. Besides this legal use, corticosteroids are also administered at low dosages as growth-promoters either alone or in combination with other steroids or with beta-agonists. For this reason, appropriate control plans are established to survey corticosteroid misuse, using liver or urine as biological matrices.

Time-dependent acetylsalicylic acid effects on liver CYP1A and antioxidant enzymes in a rat model of 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary carcinogenesis.

7,12-Dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) is an abundant environmental contaminant, which undergoes bioactivation, primarily by the CYP1 family, both in liver and extra-hepatic tissues. Dietary acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) has been recently reported to inhibit DMBA-mediated mammary tumour formation in rats. Chemopreventive substances may reduce the risk of developing cancer by decreasing metabolic enzymes responsible for generating reactive species (phase I enzymes) and/or increasing phase II enzymes that can deactivate radicals and electrophiles.

Cytochrome P450 inhibition profile in liver of veal calves administered a combination of 17beta-estradiol, clenbuterol, and dexamethasone for growth-promoting purposes.

The effects of the administration of a combination of 17beta-estradiol (10mg i.m. for three times at 17 days intervals), dexamethasone (4 mg/day for 6 days and 5mg/day for further 6 days, dissolved in milk), and clenbuterol (20 microg/kg b.

Proteomic investigation in the detection of the illicit treatment of calves with growth-promoting agents.

The use of beta-agonists, sexual steroids, and corticosteroids as growth-promoting agents (GPAs) in veal calves is forbidden in the European Union (EU) and subjected to restrictions in the US because it may be potentially noxious for both treated animals and the consumer. Although official controls performed in the EU have revealed a limited number of positive samples, the analysis of seized preparations indicate that the use of illegal GPAs is far from being abandoned. The presence of these compounds in matrixes of biological origin often goes unnoticed because of the use of very low dosages and/or of molecules of unknown chemical structure.