Lifestyle and Environment Influence the Psychological Well-Being of Elderly Subjects in Italy.

Background/objective: Aging is associated with both cognitive and physical decline. Some factors, such as lifestyle and environment, can significantly contribute to accelerating or slowing down the decline processes. Our study aimed to evaluate the impact of lifestyle (active vs.

Foodborne Pathogens Across Different Food Matrices in Sicily (Southern Italy).

Foodborne diseases result from the consumption of foods contaminated with pathogens or their toxins and represent a serious public health problem worldwide. This study aimed to assess the presence of Rotavirus (RoV), Adenovirus (AdV), Norovirus (NoV), Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E viruses (HAV and HEV, respectively), , and spp. across various food matrices in Sicily.

Molecular and Serological Findings in Sheep During Two Outbreaks in Sicily (Southern Italy).

Q fever is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium , primarily transmitted through the inhalation of contaminated aerosols. This study aimed to detect in two Sicilian sheep flocks, with no better defined reproductive disorders reported by the farmers. Blood, individual and bulk milk, ticks, and conjunctival swabs were collected from both flocks (A and B).

Development of a revised version of the SCRAM questionnaire to evaluate sleep, circadian rhythms, and mood characteristics.

Sleep quality, chronotype, and mood may be closely interconnected processes. Typically, such constructs are measured independently, leaving out important information regarding their intrinsic relationships. The Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, and Mood (SCRAM) questionnaire is a promising tool for measuring sleep, chronotype, understood as diurnal preference, and depressive symptomatology, and the interrelationships between them.

Myostatin Changes in Females with UI after Magnetic Stimulation: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

: Urinary incontinence (UI) is the involuntary loss of urine caused by a weakness in the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) that affects urethral closure. Myostatin, which prevents the growth of muscles, is a protein expressed by human skeletal muscle cells. Indeed, it has been observed that myostatin concentration rises during skeletal muscle inactivity and that suppressing serum myostatin promotes muscle growth and strength.

Emotional atypical arousal ratings for unpleasant stimuli in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms, including alteration in emotional processing and recognition of emotions. We explored the effects of PD on the emotional behavioral ratings using a battery of affective visual stimuli selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS).

Methods: Twenty-two patients diagnosed with idiopathic PD and 22 healthy controls (HC), matched by age, gender, and education, were enrolled in the study.

Large-scale serological survey on subsp. infection in sheep and goat herds in Sicily, Southern Italy.

Introduction: Paratuberculosis (PTB) is a worldwide chronic, contagious enteric disease caused by subsp. (MAP) mainly affecting ruminant species. PTB is a WOAH-listed disease with direct and indirect economic losses in the livestock sector, negative impact on animal welfare and significant public health concerns.

Prodromal Cognitive Changes as a Prognostic Indicator of Forthcoming Huntington's Disease Severity: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study.

Background: Cognitive changes in Huntington's disease (HD) precede motor manifestations. ENROLL-HD platform includes four cognitive measures of information processing speed (IPS). Our group is eager to seek clinical markers in the life stage that is as close as possible to the age of onset (ie, the so called prodromal HD phase) because this is the best time for therapeutic interventions.

African Swine Fever and Its Control Measures in Wild Boar: A Analysis in the European Union.

Recently, the African swine fever (ASF) epizootic has been reported in domestic pigs and wild boars in several European Union Member States (EU MS) and epidemiological evidence has accumulated which indicates that wild boar play a key role in maintaining and spreading the disease. Thanks to the experience gained when managing ASF outbreaks in Sardinia (Italy) and Eastern Europe, Directive 2002/60 CE was issued. This directive represented an important step forward in controlling the disease, particularly the risk of spreading the virus to wild animals.

Validity, diagnostics and feasibility of the Italian version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in Huntington's disease.

Background: This study is aimed at assessing the clinimetric properties and feasibility of the Italian version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in patients with Huntington's disease (HD).

Methods: N = 39 motor-manifest HD patients, N = 74 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and N = 92 matched HCs were administered the MoCA. HD patients further underwent the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS), self-report questionnaires for anxiety and depression and a battery of first- and second-level cognitive tests.

Measuring cognitive impairment and monitoring cognitive decline in Huntington's disease: a comparison of assessment instruments.

Background: Progressive cognitive decline is an inevitable feature of Huntington's disease (HD) but specific criteria and instruments are still insufficiently developed to reliably classify patients into categories of cognitive severity and to monitor the progression of cognitive impairment.

Methods: We collected data from a cohort of 180 positive gene-carriers: 33 with premanifest HD and 147 with manifest HD. Using a specifically developed gold-standard for cognitive status we classified participants into those with normal cognition, those with mild cognitive impairment, and those with dementia.

The validation of the Italian version of multiple sclerosis neuropsychological screening questionnaire in Huntington's disease.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis neuropsychological questionnaire (MSNQ) is a brief questionnaire useful for screening patient's and informant's self-perception of cognitive dysfunctions in daily life activities. Our study aims to evaluate the MSNQ validity in Huntington's disease (HD) mutation carriers and to correlate MSNQ scores with neurological, cognitive, and behavioral variables.

Methods: The study was conducted on a sample of 107 subjects from presymptomatic to the middle stage of HD recruited at LIRH Foundation and C.

Preliminary Study on the Host Response to Bivalent and Monovalent Autogenous Vaccines against in Dairy Sheep.

In Italy, dairy sheep farming represents a vital agro-industry sector, but it is still challenged by contagious agalactia (CA), which is endemic there, and vaccination is the most economical and sustainable tool for control. This study aimed to evaluate the combined () vaccine ) against the monovalent vaccine in ewes. Twelve primiparous -free ewes were randomly grouped into three equal groups: first, the control group injected with placebo, second, the group vaccinated with the monovalent vaccine, and third, the group vaccinated with combined vaccine, with two S/C doses at 45-day intervals.

Semiology and determinants of apathy across neurodegenerative motor disorders: A comparison between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease.

Background: The semiology and determinants of apathy are largely unknown across amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Huntington's disease (HD), due to both motor and non-motor confounders. This study thus aimed at (1) profiling apathy in ALS, PD, and HD and (2) exploring its clinical determinants.

Materials: Consecutive ALS ( = 99), PD ( = 73), and HD ( = 25) patients underwent a motor-free assessment of apathy (Dimensional Apathy Scale, DAS), global cognition, anxiety and depression.

Alternative Molecular Tools for the Fight against Infectious Diseases of Small Ruminants: Native Sicilian Sheep Breeds and Maedi-Visna Genetic Susceptibility.

Maedi-visna (MV) is a disease caused by small ruminant lentiviruses. It is included in the list of notifiable terrestrial animal diseases due to economic losses and animal welfare harm in the sheep sector. To date, control programs remain the onliest approach to avoiding infection.

First Molecular Survey to Detect and in Poultry Farms in a Strategic Production District of Sicily (South-Italy).

Mycoplasmas are recognized as avian pathogens, which may cause both respiratory disease and synovial infections in poultry, resulting in severe economic losses. Our study aims to determine the occurrence of (MG) and (MS) among commercial and rural laying hens located in Ragusa province (South Italy), using a duplex real time PCR. Four hundred tracheal swabs were collected from seven commercial (200 swabs) and 25 rural (200 swabs) farms without any clinical disease history.