New alien in town: first record of Parakontikia ventrolineata (Platyhelminthes: Geoplanidae) in Italy.

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Ecological niche modelling of Culicoides imicola and future range shifts under climate change scenarios in Italy.

Culicoides imicola is the main vector of viral diseases of livestock in Europe such as bluetongue (BT), African horse sickness and epizootic haemorrhagic disease. Climatic factors are the main drivers of C. imicola occurrence and its distribution might be subject to rapid shifts due to climate change.

Periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans JP2 correlates with colonic leukocytes decrease and gut microbiome imbalance in mice.

Aim: Evidence suggests that translocation of oral pathogens through the oral-gut axis may induce intestinal dysbiosis. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a highly leukotoxic Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) strain on the gut microbiota, intestinal mucosal integrity and immune system in healthy mice.

Methods: Eight-week-old male C57BL6 mice were divided into control (n = 16) and JP2 groups (n = 19), which received intragastric gavage with PBS and with a suspension of Aa JP2 (HK921), respectively, twice a week for 4 weeks.

A user-friendly system for identifying the optimal insertion direction and to choose the best pedicle screws for patient-specific spine surgery.

Background And Objective: Many diseases of the spine require surgical treatments that are currently performed based on the experience of the surgeon. The basis of this study is to deliver an automatic and patient-specific algorithm able to come to the aid of the surgeons in pedicle arthrodesis operations, by finding the optimal direction of the screw insertion, the maximum screw diameter and the maximum screw length.

Results: The paper introduce an algorithm based on the reconstructed geometry of a vertebra by 3D-scan that is able to identify the best introduction direction for screw and to select, from commercial and/or personalised databases, the best screws in order to maximize the occupation of the bone while not intersecting each other and not going through the walls of the pedicle and the bounds of the vertebral body.

Quality of life analysis in bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis: implications for a multimodal integrated treatment.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a higher prevalence of anxiety-depressive disorders in women with BPS/IC (bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis) than in women with chronic non-neoplastic pain with or without fibromyalgia, to examine possible correlations between urological and psychiatric symptoms.

Methods: The patients included in the study were divided into two groups: 1) group 0: patients with an existing diagnosis of BPS/IC. BPS/IC was confirmed by reviewing medical record; group 1+2: patients with chronic non-neoplastic pain, suffering from fibromyalgia or other types of chronic pain (chronic arthralgia or lower back pain).

Is Asian tiger mosquito () going to become homodynamic in Southern Europe in the next decades due to climate change?

The Asian tiger mosquito, , competent vector of several arboviruses, poses significant impact on human health worldwide. Although global warming is a driver of range expansion, few studies focused on its effects on homodynamicity (i.e.

Blackflies (Simulium spp.) attacks on humans and animals in Rome and surrounding areas (Central Italy).

Background: Due to their abundance in some environments, the blood-sucking habit and the involvement in the transmission of several diseases, blackflies of the genus Simulium (Diptera: Simuliidae) can be considered among the most annoying biting arthropods.

Methods: Following repeated attacks to humans and animals, entomological investigations were carried out in green areas of Rome and surroundings. Site and period of attacks were reported, together with the human and animal reactions to the bites.

Delusional parasitosis: an entomological perspective after a 20-years-experience in two public medical and veterinary entomology laboratories.

Delusional parasitosis (DP) is psychiatric disorder characterized by the unshakeable belief of being infested by endo- or ectoparasites, without any evidence of infestations. Hence, DP sufferers often consult medical entomologists or dermatologists, rather than seeking help from a mental health practitioner. Here we present 39 cases of suspected DP occurred in twenty years in two Italian public medical entomology laboratories, to highlight their common features and peculiarities, based on the interviews and material brought to our laboratories.

Supplementation of diet with Brazil nut modulates body composition, bone parameters, and lipid peroxidation in Wistar rats.

Oxidative stress, adipose tissue, and bone compartments can be disturbed in chronic diseases. Non-pharmacological strategies, such as Brazil nuts (BNs), can improve these parameters. This study evaluated the effects of BN supplementation at different concentrations on body composition, lipid profile, and peroxidation in healthy rats.

Aedes albopictus abundance and phenology along an altitudinal gradient in Lazio region (central Italy).

Background: The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse 1894), which is native to Southeast Asia, is among the top 100 invasive species worldwide and one of the most troubling vector species. It has become established in more than 20 European countries. Since its arrival in Italy in the 1990s, the species has colonized all the regions of the country, up to an altitude of 600 m.

First Report of Culicoides Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Attacking People in Italy, With the Description of Extreme Larval Breeding Sites and Diurnal Activity of Culicoides riethi.

Biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) play a paramount role in medical and veterinary entomology worldwide, particularly as vectors of pathogens which cause animal diseases. Biting midges are also infamous for the nuisance they provoke to people involved in outdoor activities. Nonetheless, attacks to man by midges from any Culicoides species have not been reported in Italy.

Risk of Malignant Transformation in 3173 Subjects with Histopathologically Confirmed Oral Lichen Planus: A 33-Year Cohort Study in Northern Italy.

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is considered an oral potentially malignant disorder. The aim of our study was to estimate the risk for oral cancer in patients diagnosed with OLP.

Methods: A population-based cohort study between January 1988 and December 2020 at one hospital in Northern Italy was performed.

West Nile and Usutu viruses co-circulation in central Italy: outcomes of the 2018 integrated surveillance.

Background: West Nile (WNV) and Usutu (USUV) are emerging vector-borne zoonotic flaviviruses. They are antigenically very similar, sharing the same life cycle with birds as amplification host, Culicidae as vector, and man/horse as dead-end host. They can co-circulate in an overlapping geographic range.

First evidence of blaNDM-1 and blaOXA-23 carbapenemase genes in human body lice infesting a second-hand T-shirt in a street market in Italy.

Background: The spread of carbapenems resistance is a public health concern. The main group of carbapenemases encoding the β-lactamases activity (bla genes) is the Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs).

Methods: The presence of carbapenemase blaOXA-23-like, blaOXA-40-like, blaOXA-51-like, blaOXA-58-like, and blaNDM-1 genes was screened by real time PCR in 26 Pediculus humanus insects identified from second-hand clothes in a local market in Central Italy.

Transmitted by as a Cause of Avian Malaria in Captive African Penguins () in Italy.

Avian malaria is a parasitic disease of birds caused by protozoa belonging to the genus , within the order Haemosporida. Penguins are considered particularly susceptible, and outbreaks in captive populations can lead to high mortality. We used a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the death due to avian malaria, occurred between 2015 and 2019, in eight African penguins () kept in two Italian zoos located in central Italy, and situated about 30 km apart.

Scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy by Rickettsia slovaca after Dermacentor marginatus tick bite case report: multidisciplinary approach to a tick-borne disease.

Background: Scalp Eschar and Neck LymphAdenopathy after Tick bite is a zoonotic non-pathogen-specific disease most commonly due to Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii. Diagnosis is mostly based only on epidemiological and clinical findings, without serological or molecular corroboration. We presented a clinical case in which diagnosis was supported by entomological identification and by R.

Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Monitoring in the Lazio Region (Central Italy).

The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse 1894) is assuming an ever-increasing importance as invasive species in Europe and consequently as human health and nuisance concern. In Central Italy, the species has been recently involved in a chikungunya outbreak. A 3 yr Ae.

Investigation of Ixodid ticks as vectors of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) in central Italy.

Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are widely recognized as causative agents of equine pirolasmosis (EP), an acute, sub-acute, and chronic disease of equines, with relevant economic impact on horse trade worldwide. Although several studies on EP prevalence from central Italy have been published, data on ticks responsible for its transmission are still lacking. In this study, we identified a potential competent vector, investigating main features of its ecology together with EP infection rates.

Radon concentration in self-bottled mineral spring waters as a possible public health issue.

Since 2013, the Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom has been regulating the content of radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption. However, mineral waters are exempted from this regulation, including self-bottled springs waters, where higher radon concentration are expected. Therefore, a systematic survey has been conducted on all the 33 mineral spring waters of Lazio (a region of Central Italy) in order to assess if such waters, when self-bottled, may be of concern for public health.

Coupled molecular-dynamics and finite-element-method simulations for the kinetics of particles subjected to field-mediated forces.

A computational approach that couples molecular-dynamics (MD) and the-finite-element-method (FEM) technique is here proposed for the theoretical study of the dynamics of particles subjected to electromechanical forces. The system consists of spherical particles (modeled as micrometric rigid bodies with proper densities and dielectric functions) suspended in a colloidal solution, which flows in a microfluidic channel in the presence of a generic nonuniform variable electric field generated by electrodes. The particles are subjected to external forces (e.

Report of the human body louse (Pediculus humanus) from clothes sold in a market in central Italy.

Background: Pediculus humanus, the human body louse, is widespread where overcrowding and lack of hygiene are present, in areas of the world affected by poverty, war, famine and presence of refugees. It has recently been considered re-emerging among homeless populations in developed countries. In Italy, it was last reported in 1945.

Outbreak of swimmer's itch in Central Italy: Description, causative agent and preventive measures.

Swimmer's itch is caused by the penetration of free-swimming larvae of trematodes of the family Schistosomatidae in human skin. It is usually reported in people engaged in recreational water activities in freshwater bodies and in most of cases, it is provoked by bird schistosomes of the genus Trichobilharzia. In the summer 2017, many cases of dermatitis were recorded in people bathing in the waters of the Albano Lake (Rome, Italy) and a parasitological investigation was carried out in order to ascertain the causative agent of these cases.

Seasonal succession of tabanid species in equine infectious anaemia endemic areas of Italy.

Equine infectious anaemia (EIA) is a disease with an almost worldwide distribution, with several outbreaks having been reported recently in European countries. In Italy, two regions, Lazio and Abruzzo, are considered as endemic areas for this disease. In nature, the EIA virus is mechanically transmitted by biting flies such as tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae), although few studies have investigated the epidemiological implications.

Short, parallel-walled, conical-connection implants for a broad range of indications in the maxilla and mandible: Retrospective multicenter study with up to 33 months of follow-up.

Objective: To evaluate the survival and complication rate of 7-mm short, parallel-walled, conical-connection implants in daily practice.

Method And Materials: This multicenter retrospective study included 219 consecutive patients who received 323 implants. Indication was limited vertical bone height preventing placement of implants longer than 7 mm.

Monitoring for the possible introduction of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in Italy based on tick sampling on migratory birds and serological survey of sheep flocks.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), endemic in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, is caused by a tibovirus (CCHFV) transmitted in particular by the Hyalomma genus of the Ixodidae family that can remain attached to the host for up to 26days, which in case of migratory birds allows long distance carriage. Although CCHF in domestic ruminants is usually subclinical, they may become reservoirs and act as sentinels for the introduction and/or circulation of CCHFV. In this study, possible CCHFV introduction and circulation in Italy were monitored by tick sampling on migratory birds and by a serosurvey conducted on sheep.