Radiographic,MRI, and CT findings in a young dog with Becker-like muscular dystrophy     

Giulia Costanzo  Sergio Minei  Eric Zini  Margherita Gracis  Giuseppe Lacava 《Veterinary radiology & ultrasound》2023,64(2):E19-E22

An 8-month-old, male, crossbreed dog was presented for macroglossia, reduced mandibular extension, ptyalism, dysphagia, and regurgitation. Serum creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase activity were markedly increased. Thoracic radiographs showed an axial gastro-esophageal hiatal hernia, diaphragmatic thickening, and asymmetry. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head showed a severely enlarged tongue, symmetric increase in size of the geniohyoid and mylohyoid muscles, and diffuse masticatory hypomyotrophy. Whole-body CT ruled out other musculoskeletal abnormalities and further characterized the radiographic and MRI findings. Muscular histopathology was consistent with Becker muscular dystrophy.  相似文献   

Giardia duodenalis in colony stray cats from Italy     

Isabel Guadano Procesi  Azzurra Carnio  Federica Berrilli  Margherita Montalbano Di Filippo  Alessia Scarito  Cristina Amoruso  Marco Barni  Marco Ruffini  Giulia Barlozzari  Manuela Scarpulla  Claudio De Liberato 《Zoonoses and public health》2022,69(1):46-54

Giardia duodenalis is the most common intestinal protozoan in humans and animals worldwide, including eight morphologically identical assemblages, infecting pets, livestock, wildlife and human beings. Assemblages A and B are those with the higher zoonotic potential, and they have been detected in several mammals other than humans; the others (C to H) show a higher host specificity. Cats can harbour both the specific Assemblage F and the zoonotic ones A and B. Several studies have been carried out on G. duodenalis genotypes in cats; however, the role of this species in the epidemiology of giardiasis is still poorly understood. In this scenario, the present study carried out the detection and genetic characterization at sub-assemblage level of G. duodenalis from colony stray cats in central Italy. In the period 2018–2019, 133 cat faecal samples were analysed for the presence of G. duodenalis cysts by a direct immunofluorescence assay. Positive samples were subsequently subjected to molecular analyses for assemblage/sub-assemblage identification. Forty-seven samples (35.3%) were positive for G. duodenalis cysts by immunofluorescence. G. duodenalis DNA was amplified at SSU-rDNA locus from 39 isolates: 37 were positive for zoonotic Assemblage A and 2 showed a mixed infection (A + B). Positive results for the β-giardin gene were achieved for 25 isolates. Sequence analysis revealed 16 isolates belonging to Sub-assemblage AII and 8 to Sub-assemblage AIII. One isolate resulted as ambiguous AI/AIII. Large sequence variability at the sub-assemblage level was detected, with several double peaks and mutations, making complex a proper isolate allocation. When compared with previous studies, the 35.3% prevalence of G. duodenalis in cats reported in the present article was surprisingly high. Moreover, all positive cats resulted to be infected with zoonotic assemblages/sub-assemblages, thus indicating stray cats as a possible source of human giardiasis and highlighting the sanitary relevance of cat colonies in the study area.  相似文献   

You cannot conserve a species that has not been found: The case of the marine sponge Axinella polypoides in Liguria,Italy     

Annalisa Azzola  Giorgio Bavestrello  Marco Bertolino  Carlo Nike Bianchi  Marzia Bo  Francesco Enrichetti  Carla Morri  Alice Oprandi  Margherita Toma  Monica Montefalcone 《水产资源保护:海洋与淡水生态系统》2021,31(4):737-747

1. Detailed knowledge about the distribution of species in need of protection is required for the management of Marine Protected Areas, a major tool to reduce marine biodiversity loss. Such knowledge is deficient for most marine invertebrates.
2. Axinella polypoides is a marine sponge included on the list of protected species by the Barcelona Convention (1976) and the Bern Convention (1987). This large and erect species has an important ecological role in habitat forming and benthic–pelagic coupling.
3. Bathymetrical, geographical and ecological data over the last 60 years were collated from publications and reports, together with new surveys to assess the distribution and protection status in Liguria of A. polypoides. It identified a more widespread distribution than previously thought, which points at a general need for dedicated investigations on the occurrence of species that require protection.
4. Bathymetrical distribution was trimodal, with peaks corresponding to different geomorphological settings: coastal cliff bases (around 38 m depth), inner shelf shoals (52 m) and rocks amidst coarse sediment on the outer shelf (79 m). Density was significantly greater at the shallowest depths. The species was mostly found in the coralligenous biocoenosis, in association with other characteristic species or forming a monospecific facies.
5. On (sub)vertical cliffs, A. polypoides often exhibited an unusual cane shape, rather than the typical bushy morphology, thus causing confusion with the congeneric A. cannabina, a more southern species. Records of the latter in the Ligurian Sea therefore need confirmation.
6. Only a minority (22.6%) of A. polypoides records were in Marine Protected Areas, the remainder being located in areas with no current environmental protection plans in place. While the occurrence of this species in MPAs remained stable over the decades, the only quantitative historical data available indicated that populations in non-protected areas were declining owing to anthropogenic impacts (fishing and anchoring).

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Laser-induced selectivity for dimerization versus polymerization of butadiene under pressure     

Citroni M  Ceppatelli M  Bini R  Schettino V 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2002,295(5562):2058-2060

The pressure-induced chemical reaction of liquid butadiene was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in a diamond anvil cell. Dimerization was found to occur above 0.7 gigapascal, giving vinylcyclohexene according to a cyclo-addiction reaction and only a trace amount of polybutadiene forms. By irradiating the high-pressure sample with a few milliwatts of the 488-nanometer argon+ laser line, the dimerization was completely inhibited, and the rapid formation of pure trans-polybutadiene was observed. The use of different excitation wavelength allows us to emphasize the selectivity of the process and to identify the active role of the 2(1)Ag state in this pressure- and laser-induced chemical reaction.  相似文献   

Genotoxic activity of dichlorvos,trichlorfon and dichloroacetaldehyde     

Gabriele Aquilina  Romualdo Benigni  Margherita Bignami  Angelo Calcagnile  Eugenia Dogliotti  Emiliana Falcone  Angelo Carere 《Pest management science》1984,15(5):439-442

Two structurally related organophosphorous insecticides, dichlorvos and trichlorfon, and their main metabolite dichloroacetaldehyde, were assayed for their ability to induce DNA repair, detected as unscheduled DNA synthesis in human epithelial-like cell (EUE) cultures in vitro. A dose-response relationship was found for treatment with the two pesticides, but negative results were obtained with dichloroacetaldehyde. Tests for induction of gene mutation, as ouabain resistance in Chinese hamster cells (V79), failed to show any mutagenic activity by these compounds.  相似文献   

Sensitivity of Tru-cut and fine needle aspiration biopsies of liver and kidney for diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis     

Giordano A  Paltrinieri S  Bertazzolo W  Milesi E  Parodi M 《Veterinary clinical pathology / American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology》2005,34(4):368-374

BACKGROUND: The detection of typical lesions and feline coronavirus (FCoV) antigen in tissues is the only conclusive method for making a diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). A positive result using Tru-cut biopsy (TCB) and fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) has high diagnostic specificity, but information about the capacity of these techniques to correctly identify cats with FIP lesions is not available. OBJECTIVES: The diagnostic sensitivity of TCB and FNAB for detecting liver and kidney histologic lesions caused by FIP was evaluated. METHODS: TCB and FNAB specimens collected mainly at necropsy from 25 cats with FIP were analyzed. Diagnostic sensitivity was calculated on the basis of the number of false-negative and true-positive specimens, compared with the number of organs bearing histologic lesions of FIP. RESULTS: Diagnostic sensitivity was higher for hepatic TCB (64%) and FNAB (82%) than for renal (39% and 42%, respectively) procedures. A high percentage of renal cytologic and TCB specimens were inadequate. Combined analysis of TCB and FNAB specimens collected from the same organ increased the diagnostic sensitivity for liver (86%) and kidney (48%). The sensitivity of immunohistochemical/cytochemical analysis was low (11-38% depending on the technique), probably due to variable distribution of feline coronavirus in the lesions. CONCLUSION: Biopsy of liver and kidney can correctly identify FIP lesions. However, false-negative results or inadequate samples occur with moderate frequency, especially for immunochemical analysis. Diagnostic sensitivity may be increased when both TCB and FNAB specimens from the same organ are examined.  相似文献   

Snow gliding and loading under two different forest stands: a case study in the north-western Italian Alps     

Davide Viglietti  Margherita Maggioni  Enrico Bruno  Ermanno Zanini  Michele Freppaz 《林业研究》2013,24(4):633-642

The presence of a thick snowpack could interfere with forest stability, especially on steep slopes with potential damages for young and old stands. The study of snow gliding in forests is rather comple...  相似文献   

Chemical markers for the evaluation of raw material hygienic quality in egg products     

Hidalgo A  Franzetti L  Rossi M  Pompei C 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2008,56(4):1289-1297

The aim of this research was to study uracil and lactic and acetic acids as chemical markers for hygienic quality evaluation of raw material in liquid pasteurized egg products. Uracil, absent in sound whole eggs, was formed in raw and pasteurized egg products as a consequence of high microbial contamination (>10(6) cfu/g) after a sufficient lag time, remaining stable at 4 degrees C but disappearing after 7 days of storage at 25 degrees C. Both lactic and acetic acids, starting from initial values of 1-7 mg/kg dry matter, presented trends similar to that of uracil; however, acetic acid never decreased during the storage of raw egg products. With few exceptions, all three metabolites were produced by Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Morganella morganii, Serratia liquefaciens, Aeromonas hydrophyla, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Enterococcus avium, and Enterococcus faecalis, separately inoculated in whole egg samples. Uracil seems to be the most sensible marker, with a suggested limit corresponding to the detectable level.  相似文献   

Changes in the chemical composition of reduced cooked musts during the heating process     

Cocchi M  Consonni R  Durante C  Grandi M  Manzini S  Marchetti A  Sighinolfi S 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2008,56(15):6397-6407

Cooked must is the starting raw material in Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (ABTM) production, and the cooking process is a crucial step to ensure quality and safety standards. In particular, the furfural content has to be strictly monitored. In this study, we followed, directly at the production plant, nine cooking processes, differing for grape type and process conditions in order to monitor the actual variability in cooked must reduction. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and furfural contents were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique and glucose, fructose, and tartaric and malic acids by gas chromatography (GC) technique. Furthermore, some bulk properties, such as the water content, refractive index, density, and total acidity, were also measured. The obtained results show that the product undergoes, in the worse operating conditions, remarkable degradation, leading to extremely high levels of furfurals (5-HMF and furfural), corresponding to a water content lower than 40%. On the basis of these results, a first draft of an optimal heating protocol may be suggested in order to guarantee the safety and quality of the final product.  相似文献   

Prevalence of the polycystic kidney disease and renal and urinary bladder ultrasonographic abnormalities in Persian and Exotic Shorthair cats in Italy     

Bonazzi M  Volta A  Gnudi G  Bottarelli E  Gazzola M  Bertoni G 《Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery》2007,9(5):387-391

The ultrasonographic findings of kidneys, liver and urinary bladder of 288 Persian and 44 Exotic Shorthair clinically normal cats that underwent screening for polycystic kidney disease (PKD) between July 2003 and December 2005 were reviewed. Cats were divided into two groups, one including cats aged <9 months (group 1) and one cats aged >/=9 months (group 2). Cats were classified as PKD-positive when at least one renal cyst was found. One hundred and thirty-six cats (41.0%) had more than one cyst in at least one kidney. The prevalence of PKD was similar in both groups. Eight PKD-positive cats had cystic livers (5.9%). Other renal abnormalities included a pelvic calculus and a medullary rim sign (MRS). The difference in prevalence of an MRS in group 2 compared to group 1 and the difference between PKD-positive and -negative cats in group 2 were not significant. There was no difference in mean kidney length between PKD-positive and -negative cats in group 2. Urinary bladder anomalies were principally represented by urinary sediment, with prevalence significantly higher in group 2. No difference was detected in group 2 between PKD-positive and -negative cats. In conclusion feline PKD is common in Italy. The ultrasonographic findings of MRS and urinary bladder sediment did not correlate with feline PKD. Urinary bladder sediment is common in Persians and Exotic Shorthairs and more likely in adults.  相似文献