Publications by authors named "Valerio Sora"

Economic, social, and environmental sustainability are the results of efforts aiming to improve all aspects of milk production, respecting animal welfare and improving herd health. An epidemiological study was designed to assess the role of contagious pathogens ( and ) in a cohort of 120 dairy herds located in the southern regions of Italy. Milk quality was assessed using certified methods, and the prevalence of mastitis pathogens in bulk tank milk was determined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

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Automatic milking systems (AMSs) are revolutionizing the dairy industry by boosting herd efficiency, primarily through an increased milk yield per cow and reduced labor costs. The performance of milking machines, whether traditional or automated, can be evaluated using advanced vacuum meters through dynamic testing. This process involves scrutinizing the system and milking routine to identify critical points, utilizing the VaDia™ logger (BioControl AS, Rakkestad, Norway).

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  • The study aimed to explore how serum vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels affect the resorption of alveolar bone and the regeneration of the alveolar space after tooth extraction in 14 adults.
  • Patients underwent tooth extraction and guided bone regeneration using porcine graft material, followed by bone volume assessments using digital models and CT scans over four months.
  • Results indicated that while all patients experienced bone volumetric changes post-extraction, those with lower vitamin D levels had disorganized bone regeneration, though the overall influence of serum vitamin D on bone volume changes was not significant.
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Several pathotypes of enteric have been identified. The group represented by Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) is of particular interest. Raw milk and raw milk products are significant sources of STEC infection in humans; therefore, identifying pathogens at the herd level is crucial for public health.

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  • Commensal bacteria are commonly found in food, water, and on the skin of humans and animals, but they can also act as significant pathogens causing various illnesses and are considered highly resistant to antibiotics.
  • The CDC identifies these bacteria as some of the most dangerous due to their virulence and contribution to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threats.
  • Research using a large collection of bacterial isolates reveals variations in antibiotic resistance patterns based on source and geographic location, emphasizing the need for a One Health approach to better understand and manage these infections across human and animal populations.
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Contagious pathogens are very costly to dairy herds, and they may have zoonotic and reverse-zoonotic potentials and may contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. One of the most important risk factors for spreading these infections is milking, when liner contamination may transfer the pathogens from infected to healthy cows. There is no effective protocol to prevent the transmission of infection without the segregation of infected cows.

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  • The text discusses a prevalent bacterial pathogen that affects both humans and animals, causing various illnesses like food poisoning and respiratory infections, in addition to animal health issues like mastitis and dermatitis.
  • It highlights the emergence of virulent and drug-resistant strains, particularly methicillin-resistant varieties (MRSA), which pose serious health risks due to high mortality and hospitalization rates.
  • The study utilized a global database to analyze antibiotic resistance genes, revealing alarming patterns of resistance in both humans and animals, and identifying specific clusters related to different sources of infection.
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Mastitis is a major cause of antimicrobial treatments either during lactation or at drying off. From a One Health perspective, there should be a balance between the risk of IMI that may impair cow health and welfare and the reduction of antimicrobial usage to decrease antimicrobial resistance, as may happen when applying selective dry-cow therapy. This reduction may be achieved by an early and accurate diagnosis followed by prudent and rationale therapeutical protocols.

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is a well-known pathogen in humans and food-producing animals. Therefore, this bacterium is a paradigmatic example of a pathogen to be controlled by a One Health approach. Indeed, the zoonotic and reverse-zoonotic potential of the bacteria, the prevalence of Group B Streptococci (GBS) diseases in both human and animal domains, and the threatening global situation on GBS antibiotic resistance make these bacteria an important target for control programs.

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Mastitis is one of the major diseases of dairy cows that affects milk quality and quantity and increases the potential risk for the presence of antimicrobial residues (AR) in milk, which could lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among human pathogens. Even if the presence of AR in milk and milk products is low in many countries, the threat is not negligible and cannot be ignored. These problems may be investigated by applying a One Health approach, and this prevalence study aimed to estimate the risks for human health related to milk production applied to dairy herds in Lombardy.

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A collection of nature-inspired lipophilic phenolic esters have been prepared by an enzymatic synthesis under flow conditions, using the immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica (Novozyme 435®) as a catalyst in cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), a non-conventional and green solvent. Their antimicrobial activity against four selected bacterial strains together with their efficiency as radical scavengers were evaluated. The obtained compounds were characterized by enhanced lipophilicity in comparison with the parent non-esterified compounds, which increased the possibility of their use as additives in the food industry.

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A series of vanillamides were easily synthesized, exploiting an acyltransferase from (MsAcT). After their evaluation as antimicrobial agents against a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, three compounds were demonstrated to be 9-fold more effective toward than the vanillic acid precursor. Taking into consideration the scarce permeability of the Gram-negative bacteria cell envelope when compared to Gram-positive strains or yeasts, these molecules can be considered the basis for the generation of new nature-inspired antimicrobials.

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The One Health approach emphasizes the importance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a major concern both in public health and in food animal production systems. As a general classification, can be distinguished based on the ability to cause infection of the gastrointestinal system (IPEC) or outside of it (ExPEC). Among the different pathogens, are becoming of great importance, and it has been suggested that ExPEC may harbor resistance genes that may be transferred to pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria.

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Milk differential somatic cells count (DSCC), made possible under field conditions by the recent availability of a high-throughput milk analyzer may represent an improvement in mastitis diagnosis. While an increasing number of studies reports data on DSCC on individual cow samples, very few concerns DSCC from quarter milk samples. This paper reports for the first time the results of a retrospective study aiming to assess the performance of total (SCC), DSCC, and a novel calculated marker (PLCC) measured on quarter milk samples as a method to identify cows at risk for intramammary infection (IMI) in the first 30 days after calving.

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