Farmers' Biosecurity Awareness in Small-Scale Alpine Dairy Farms and the Crucial Role of Veterinarians.

Background: Biosecurity measures are essential to improve animal health and welfare, tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), minimize the burden of infectious diseases, and enhance the safety, security, and quality of sustainable agricultural products. However, the implementation of these measures in small mountain farms can be influenced by several factors, which probably differ from the main variables that affect intensive farming systems.

Methods: This study investigated the awareness among farmers regarding the implementation of biosecurity measures at the local level in small dairy farms located in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen (Italy).

Impacts of Biosynthesized Manganese Dioxide Nanoparticles on Antioxidant Capacity, Hematological Parameters, and Antioxidant Protein Docking in Broilers.

Using green tomato extract, a green approach was used to synthesize manganese oxide nanoparticles (MnONPs). The synthesis of MnONPs was (20.93-36.

Nodular gill disease in Northeastern Italy: An investigation on the prevalence of the disease and the risks of introduction in rainbow trout farms.

Nodular Gill Disease (NGD) is an emerging pathogenic condition that causes gill damage and mainly affects farmed freshwater fish, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in particular, and this inevitably generates noticeable economic losses for the industry. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of NGD in the Autonomous Province of Trento, a highly productive area located in Northeastern Italy, traditionally suited to rainbow trout production, and to identify possible risk factors for the introduction of this disease in trout farms. The necessary data were obtained through a questionnaire and the collection of fish samples.

Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire.

The Italian beekeeping industry has grown steadily during the last decade, according to data from the national beekeeping registry, which came into existence in February 2015. Winter colony losses remain a matter of concern for beekeepers in Italy, and administration of the questionnaire defined by the Coloss Association could contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon. To evaluate the percentage trends over time in honeybee colony losses arising from various causes, we used the quasi-binomial generalized linear modelling (GzLM) approach, taking the year as an independent variable.

Pathogenicity of Different Betanodavirus RGNNV/SJNNV Reassortant Strains in European Sea Bass.

European sea bass () is an important farmed marine species for Mediterranean aquaculture. Outbreaks of betanodavirus represent one of the main infectious threats for this species. The red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus genotype (RGNNV) is the most widely spread in Southern Europe, while the striped jack nervous necrosis virus genotype (SJNNV) has been rarely detected.

Entrepreneurial management technology for nursing professionals.

Objectives: to validate entrepreneurial management technology for the nursing practice.

Methods: methodological study, carried out based on the development of an entrepreneurial management technology, based on literature review and, later, content validation by 11 experts, recognized by their peers as entrepreneurs. The validation process took place through Delphi conferences, between June and September 2018.

Equine-Assisted Interventions (EAIs) for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Behavioural and Physiological Indices of Stress in Domestic Horses () during Riding Sessions.

Equine-assisted interventions (EAIs) are well-known complementary practices combining physical activity with emotional/cognitive stimulation. They are especially suited for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who need a high degree of physical and psychological enrichment. Even though EAIs have become a common practice, stress responses in horses interacting with individuals that can manifest inappropriate behaviours, such as ASD children, have not been thoroughly investigated.

Fast and simultaneous analysis of carbamate pesticides and anticoagulant rodenticides used in suspected cases of animal poisoning.

Carbamate pesticides (CBs) are reported as one of the main causes of intentional or accidental poisoning of animals. Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) form the main class of poisons implicated in analyzed poisoned baits. These two groups of pesticide compounds include multiple substances, and thus, the development of a simple and rapid multiclass/multiresidue analytical method for simultaneous identification of both toxicant classes should be a useful strategy for analytical laboratories to reduce analysis time and cost.

Donkey assisted interventions: A pilot survey on service providers in North-Eastern Italy.

Context: Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI), which are generally defined as 'pet therapy', focus on the improvement of human health and wellbeing through a multidisciplinary approach and the involvement of domestic animals. An Italian survey conducted in 2017 revealed that donkeys were the third most involved species in AAI. Nevertheless, data on the main features of the providers of Donkey Assisted Interventions (DAI), especially in Italy, and their organisational models are scarce.

Contributions of Florence Nightingale as a social entrepreneur: from modern to contemporary nursing.

Objective: To reflect on the transformations of modern and contemporary nursing as well as on Florence Nightingale's social entrepreneurship.

Method: This is a logical-reflective exhibition, with an emphasis on the theoretical assumptions of social entrepreneurship and the legacy of Florence Nightingale, from modern to contemporary nursing, based on readings of texts extracted from electronic databases, especially periodicals, books and theses.

Results: The logical-reflective exhibition focuses on two fundamental aspects: 1) Florence Nightingale's legacy as a social entrepreneur; 2) The evolution of Brazilian nursing: from modernity to contemporaneity.

Canine leishmaniosis in the Italian northeastern Alps: A survey to assess serological prevalence in dogs and distribution of phlebotomine sand flies in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano - South Tyrol, Italy.

The Autonomous Province of Bolzano-South Tyrol (APB), located in the northernmost territory of the Italian eastern Alps, is still considered non-endemic for canine leishmaniosis (CanL) despite clinical cases being observed and a competent Leishmania infantum vector (Phlebotomus perniciosus) having been recorded since 2008. A serological survey of leishmaniosis among a randomly-selected subpopulation of registered owned dogs was carried in 2018, followed by entomological investigations performed in 2019 and driven by canine survey results. A total of 457 resident dogs from all over the APB territory were examined through IFAT for antibodies against L.

Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus, Linnaeus) is susceptible to viral nervous necrosis: Result of an experimental infection with different genotypes of Betanodavirus.

In recent years, the use of cleaner fish for biological control of sea lice has increased considerably. Along with this, a number of infectious diseases have emerged. The aim of this study was to investigate the susceptibility of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) to Betanodavirus since it was detected in asymptomatic wild wrasses in Norway and Sweden.

Animal assisted interventions in practice: mapping Italian providers.

Animal assisted interventions (AAI) have become increasingly popular in Western countries during the last fifty years, attracting a lot of attention both from the general public and the scientific community. In Italy, similarly to other countries, this evolution has been accompanied by the diffusion of associations delivering AAI. What is the current state of AAI in Italy? How many realities are dealing with AAI? What professionals and animals are involved? The results of the questionnaire here reported have the objective to answer these questions, outlining a snapshot of the distribution and the main features of AAI within Italian territory.

Equine Assisted Interventions (EAIs): Methodological Considerations for Stress Assessment in Horses.

Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) are recently facing an increasing popularity, and are characterized by a wide diversity of practices. However, information on the welfare of animals involved in this kind of activity is often lacking. Horses are highly susceptible to work stressors related to physical constraints and/or to the need to control emotions while interacting with humans.

Lack of in vivo cross-protection of two different betanodavirus species RGNNV and SJNNV in European sea bass Dicentrachus labrax.

Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER) is a severe infective disease characterized by neuropathological changes in several fish species associated with high mortality. The etiological agent is a virus belonging to the Nodaviridae family, genus Betanodavirus. To date, four different betanodavirus species have been officially recognized by International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), namely the red-spotted grouper- (RGNNV), the striped jack- (SJNNV), the barfin flounder- (BFNNV) and the tiger puffer nervous necrosis virus (TPNNV).

A formalin-inactivated immunogen against viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER) disease in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax): immunological and protection effects.

The European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is an important farmed fish species in the Mediterranean area, very sensitive to the infection by encephalopathy and retinopathy virus (VERv), or Betanodavirus, which causes massive mortalities. Effective vaccines to fight the pathology are not yet available and in this work we describe a promising intraperitoneal immunization route against VERv of sea bass juveniles. We performed intraperitoneal and immersion immunization trials with a VERv (isolate 283.

Epidemiology of animal poisoning: An overview on the features and spatio-temporal distribution of the phenomenon in the north-eastern Italian regions.

In the present paper we analyze and discuss about the records referring to animal poisonings and poisoned baits cases covering the period between 2007 and 2013 and submitted for diagnostic investigations to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), which is the public veterinary health institute competent for the north eastern Italian regions. All data were gathered by a passive surveillance system based on voluntary reporting, which became mandatory in 2009 after a decree of the Italian Ministry of Health had come into force. This prohibited the use and detention of poisoned baits and ordered to selected institutions and professionals to carry out standardized surveys to assess suspect and/or confirmed reported cases; all the necessary anatomopathological and toxicological investigations to confirm the reported cases were then performed for free by public veterinary health institutes whenever a veterinarian diagnosis or clinical suspicion were provided.

Water temperature affects pathogenicity of different betanodavirus genotypes in experimentally challenged Dicentrarchus labrax.

Betanodaviruses are the causative agents of a highly infectious disease of fish known as viral nervous necrosis (VNN). To date, 4 different nervous necrosis virus (NNV) genotypes have been described, but natural reassortant viruses have also been detected, which further increase viral variability. Water temperature plays an important role in determining the appearance and the severity of VNN disease.

Occurrence and molecular characterisation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in crustaceans commercialised in Venice area, Italy.

Infections due to the pathogenic human vibrios, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio vulnificus, are mainly associated with consumption of raw or partially cooked bivalve molluscs. At present, little is known about the presence of Vibrio species in crustaceans and the risk of vibriosis associated with the consumption of these products. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and concentration of the main pathogenic Vibrio spp.

Betanodavirus ability to infect juvenile European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, at different water salinity.

Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER) is one of the most devastating and economically relevant diseases for marine aquaculture. The presence of betanodavirus in freshwater fish is recorded, but very little is known about VER outbreaks in marine species reared in freshwater. Our study investigated the ability of betanodavirus to cause disease in European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, reared at different salinity levels.

Productive and reproductive performances of dairy cattle herds in Treviso province, Italy (2009-2012): an assessment of the potential impact of Schmallenberg virus epidemic.

Background: Schmallenberg virus (SBV) has spread across Europe since mid-2011, causing unspecific and transitory symptoms in ruminants and congenital malformations in their offspring. Evidence for the impact of SBV on cattle (re)productive performance is limited. Using a comprehensive data set from a SBV-affected province in North-East Italy, this study aimed at assessing the potential impact of SBV emergence on 11 productive and reproductive performance indicators of dairy cattle herds, accounting for weather conditions and other herd-level factors that could also influence these indicators.

Lesions caused by animals in the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol in 2010: fact-finding for prevention.

Lesions caused by animals, in particular by dogs, are a health issue to which public opinion often reacts sensitively. To effectively manage and prevent these events, it is therefore essential to evaluate the public health impact of this phenomenon and to identify the main connected risk factors. The aim of the present survey in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano was to collect various epidemiological variables helpful in understanding the problem at local level.

Experimental infection of poults and guinea fowl with genetically distinct avian astroviruses.

Avian astroviruses, of the genus Avastrovirus, are recognized as being the cause of enteritis in different bird species worldwide. In particular, turkeys are very susceptible and can be severely affected by this viral agent. More recently, astroviruses were detected in diseased guinea fowl in Italy but whether or not they were the causative agents of the clinical disease was not established.

Improving heat stability of haemagglutinating antigens for avian influenza.

The increasing demand for avian influenza diagnostic reagents worldwide, has included requests for significant supplies of product to developing countries. Difficulties in dispatching to remote areas and tropical countries are a major concern to suppliers, international organisations and donors as delays in forwarding parcels often result in storage at non-optimal or inadequate temperatures results in loss in titre and thus wastage of resources. In this study we demonstrate that the heat stability of avian influenza haemagglutination inhibition antigens of the H5, H7 and H9 subtype following 14 days of exposure to 37°C and 45°C is significantly increased by adding D-(+)-Trehalose to the freshly prepared antigen.