Comparison of ELISA and IFAT for Leishmania infantum by European and Middle Eastern diagnostic laboratories.

Background: Visceral leishmaniosis (VL) is the most severe form of human leishmaniosis, with an estimated 95% case fatality if left untreated. Dogs act as peridomestic reservoir hosts for the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, a causative agent for human leishmaniosis, endemic throughout the Mediterranean basin. To assure consistent and accurate surveillance of canine infection and prevent transmission to people, consistent diagnosis of canine L.

Emergency Department Patients Presenting after Oral versus Inhaled Cannabinoid use: A Retrospective Analysis.

Introduction: Cannabinoid-related emergency department (ED) visits are increasing, yet little has been published about how the route of cannabinoid use (inhaled versus oral) affects ED presentations. We sought to compare ED visits from inhaled versus oral cannabinoid use.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using ED patients with a cannabinoid related diagnosis from January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2023 from a single hospital system in Florida.

Replacing sulfate with hydroxychloride sources of trace minerals modulated the growth performance and plasma indicators of inflammation and energy metabolism in beef heifers during periods of feed restriction and adaptation to a high-starch diet.

This study evaluated the effects of different sources (sulfate vs. hydroxychloride) of Cu, Mn, and Zn during feed restriction and a high-starch diet on heifer growth performance. On day 0, Nelore heifers (n = 40) were stratified by body weight (BW = 238 ± 38 kg) and age (21 ± 1 mo), and individually allocated into 1 of the 40 drylot pens.

Dogs as Reservoirs for Leishmania donovani, Bihar, India, 2018-2022.

Visceral leishmaniasis derived from Leishmania donovani is transmitted by sand flies (Phlebotomus argentipes) throughout the Indian subcontinent. Although considered anthroponotic, L. donovani infects other mammals susceptible to sand fly bites, including dogs.

Antibiotic resistance in urban soils: Dynamics and mitigation strategies.

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a critical global health issue with significant clinical and economic implications. AR occurs when microorganisms develop mechanisms to withstand the effects of antibiotics, reducing treatment efficacy and increasing the risk of mortality and healthcare costs. While the connection between antibiotic use in clinical and agricultural settings and the emergence of AR is well-established, the role of urban soils as reservoirs and spreaders of AR is underexplored.

Cognitive reserve in the recovery and rehabilitation of stroke and traumatic brain injury: A systematic review.

Cognitive reserve (CR) is the brain's ability to cope with changes related to aging and/or disease. Originally introduced to explain individual differences in the clinical manifestations of dementia, CR has recently emerged as a relevant construct in stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). This systematic review aims to investigate whether CR could predict post-stroke and TBI clinical recovery and rehabilitation outcomes, and how different variables used to estimate CR (i.

Design of an Electronic Interface for Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes.

Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) belong to a family of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) with single-photon detection capability that operate above the breakdown voltage (i.e., Geiger mode).

Development of Broad-Range Microbial Minimal Culture Medium for Lanthanide Studies.

Rare Earth Elements (REE), also known as Lanthanides (Ln), are a group of 17 elements showing peculiar physical and chemical properties. Unlike technological applications, very little is known about the physiological role and toxicity of Ln on biological systems, in particular on microorganisms (e.g.

Morphologic predictors of mandibular changes induced by Sander's Bite Jumping Appliance.

Aim: This study aimed to identify pretreatment cephalometric variables as possible predictors of the mandibular length increase in Class II patients with mandibular retrusion, treated by means of the Bite Jumping Appliance (BJA).

Materials And Methods: Forty-three subjects (22 males and 21 females) with Class II malocclusion, treated with a BJA, were selected on the basis of the following inclusion criteria: full Class II molar relationship, Overjet (OVJ) ≥ 6 mm and a skeletal Class II malocclusion with mandibular retrusion at the start of the treatment (T0); cervical vertebral maturation stage 2 or 3 at time 0 (T0). The following mandibular structural features were measured on lateral cephalograms at time 0 and time 1 (15 months of treatment): the width and height of the mandibular symphysis and its width/height ratio, the width and height of the mandibular ramus and its width/height ratio, the antegonial notch depth and the Condilion-Gonion-Menton (Co-Go-Me) angle.

Median Nerve Measurement and Steroid Injection for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Case Report.

Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome is an entrapment neuropathy that affects 3% of adults in the United States. The current techniques used for diagnosis have limited specificity/sensitivity, and the techniques used for treatment have limited efficacy.

Case Report: A 34-year-old female presented to the emergency department with two months of worsening painful paresthesias in her right thenar eminence.

First detection of Leishmania major in dogs living in an endemic area of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Tunisia.

Background: Dogs are considered the main domestic animals that may be a reservoir for Leishmania infantum, the agent of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) in several countries of the world. The dog may host other Leishmania species, but its epidemiological role in the maintenance and spreading of these parasites is not completely elucidated. Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), caused by Leishmania major, affects thousands of people every year and is particularly diffused in many countries of North Africa and Middle East Asia.

Unforeseen plant phenotypic diversity in a dry and grazed world.

Earth harbours an extraordinary plant phenotypic diversity that is at risk from ongoing global changes. However, it remains unknown how increasing aridity and livestock grazing pressure-two major drivers of global change-shape the trait covariation that underlies plant phenotypic diversity. Here we assessed how covariation among 20 chemical and morphological traits responds to aridity and grazing pressure within global drylands.

The GA-Hecate Peptide inhibits the ZIKV Replicative Cycle in Different Steps and can Inhibit the Flavivirus NS2B-NS3 Protease after Cell Infection.

Background: Peptide drugs are advantageous because they are subject to rational design and exhibit highly diverse structures and broad biological activities. The NS2B-NS3 protein is a particularly promising flavivirus therapeutic target, with extensive research on the development of inhibitors as therapeutic candidates, and was used as a model in this work to determine the mechanism by which GA-Hecate inhibits ZIKV replication.

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the potential of GA-Hecate, a new antiviral developed by our group, against the Brazilian Zika virus and to evaluate the mechanism of action of this compound on the flavivirus NS2B-NS3 protein.

Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) solutions: Assessing environmental, economic, and social impacts using a new integrated methodology.

Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) technologies play a significant role in climate change mitigation, as these platforms aim to capture and convert CO that would be otherwise emitted into the atmosphere. Effective and economically sustainable technologies are crucial to support the transition to renewable and low-carbon energy sources by 2030 and beyond. Currently, studies exploring the financial viability of CCU technologies besides the joint analyses of life-cycle costs and environmental and social impacts are still limited.

Micro(nano)plastics from synthetic oligomers persisting in Mediterranean seawater: Comprehensive NMR analysis, concerns and origins.

The presence in seawater of low-molecular-weight polyethylene (PE) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), synthetic polymers with high chemical resistance, has been demonstrated in this study for the first time by developing a novel methodology for their recovery and quantification from surface seawater. These synthetic polymer debris (SPD) with very low molecular weights and sizes in the nano- and micro-metre range have escaped conventional analytical methods. SPD have been easily recovered from water samples (2 L) through filtration with a nitrocellulose membrane filter with a pore size of 0.

Splitter-Based Sensors Realized via POFs Coupled by a Micro-Trench Filled with a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer.

An optical-chemical sensor based on two modified plastic optical fibers (POFs) and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is realized and tested for the detection of 2-furaldehyde (2-FAL). The 2-FAL measurement is a scientific topic of great interest in different application fields, such as human health and life status monitoring in power transformers. The proposed sensor is realized by using two POFs as segmented waveguides (SW) coupled through a micro-trench milled between the fibers and then filled with a specific MIP for the 2-FAL detection.

Application and internal validation of lung ultrasound score in COVID-19 setting: The ECOVITA observational study.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronarovirus-2 associated still causes a significant number of deaths and hospitalizations mainly by the development of respiratory failure. We aim to validate lung ultrasound score in order to predict mortality and the severity of the clinical course related to the need of respiratory support.

Methods: In this prospective multicenter hospital-based cohort study, all adult patients with diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, performed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were included.

Cognitive impairment following breast cancer treatments: an umbrella review.

Objectives: Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) refers to a cognitive decline associated with cancer or its treatments. While research into CRCI is expanding, evidence remains scattered due to differences in study designs, methodologies, and definitions. The present umbrella review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current evidence regarding the impact of different breast cancer therapies on cognitive functioning, with a particular focus on the interplay among objective cognitive deficits (ie, measured with standardized tests), subjective cognitive concerns, (ie, self-reported), and other mediating psycho-physical factors.

Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands.

Perennial plants create productive and biodiverse hotspots, known as fertile islands, beneath their canopies. These hotspots largely determine the structure and functioning of drylands worldwide. Despite their ubiquity, the factors controlling fertile islands under conditions of contrasting grazing by livestock, the most prevalent land use in drylands, remain virtually unknown.

Microalgae to biodiesel: A novel green conversion method for high-quality lipids recovery and in-situ transesterification to fatty acid methyl esters.

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions due to increasing energy demand have raised the need to identify effective solutions to produce clean and renewable energy. Biotechnologies are an effective platform to attain green transition objectives, especially when synergically integrated to promote health and environmental protection. In this context, microalgae-based biotechnologies are considered among the most effective tools for treating gaseous effluents and simultaneously capturing carbon sources for further biomass valorisation.

Carbon neutrality in wastewater treatment plants: An integrated biotechnological-based solution for nutrients recovery, odour abatement and CO conversion in alternative energy drivers.

Wastewater treatment plants play a crucial role in water security and sanitation, ensuring ecosystems balance and avoiding significant negative effects on humans and environment. However, they determine also negative pressures, including greenhouse gas and odourous emissions, which should be minimized to mitigate climate changes besides avoiding complaints. The research has been focused on the validation of an innovative integrated biological system for the sustainable treatment of complex gaseous emissions from wastewater treatment plants.