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Epidemiological monitoring of lungworms in cats from the Mediterranean basin: preliminary results
No full textAelurostrongylus abstrusus, Troglostrongylus brevior, and Capillaria aerophila are the main feline lungworms and represent a primary cause of respiratory disease in cats. Over the years, they have significantly expanded in the Mediterranean region and are still continuously spread1. Therefore, ongoing epidemiological monitoring is essential to understand their actual distribution and prevalence and thus determine the risk to which domestic cats are exposed.
Methods. Between September 2024 and April 2025, 263 cat faecal samples were examined in Italy in Abruzzo, Marche, Puglia and Umbria regions, and 78 in Greece on the island of Mykonos. Of these, 203 were collected from Abruzzo, 31 from Puglia, 7 from Marche and 22 from Umbria. A total of 211 flotations were performed to detect C. aerophila and 298 Baermann tests for A. abstrusus and T. brevior detection. Twenty of the Baermann sediments were subjected to PCR for confirmation of A. abstrusus and T. brevior positivity.
Results. In Italy, 6 cats tested positive for C. aerophila, all originating from Abruzzo. Nineteen tested positives for A. abstrusus, with 12 from Abruzzo, 3 from Puglia, and 4 from Marche. Eleven tested positives for T. brevior, with 10 in Abruzzo and one in Puglia. In Greece only the Baermann method was performed, and 3 positives for A. abstrusus and 3 for T. brevior were found. The prevalence in Italy was 2.5% for C. aerophila, 7.9% for A. abstrusus, and 4.6% for T. brevior. In Greece, the observed prevalence was 3.9% for both A. abstrusus and T. brevior.
Conclusions. These results demonstrate that feline lungworm infections continue to be widespread among cat populations in central Italy and the Greek island of Mykonos, representing a problem that should not be overlooked. However, it is necessary to expand the sampling, including both endemic areas and areas not previously considered endemic, to fully understand the current distribution and prevalence of these parasites. Furthermore, it is important to simultaneously initiate monitoring that also includes emerging feline lungworm infections, particularly Oslerus rostratus, given their recent detection with high prevalence rates in the Canary Islands
Analysis of AEC and AFMSC mechanisms in maintaining fertility in induced Varicocele rat model
No full textObjectives: Amniotic membrane and amniotic fluid derived cells are regarded as a promising stem cell
source for developing regenerative medicine techniques (1,2), although they have never been tested on
male infertility diseases such as varicocele (VAR). Despite the encouraging paracrine, antiinflammatory,
and immune regulatory therapeutic role of these stem cell source (1,2,4), no evidence on
male fertility has been collected to date. The current study aimed to examine the effects of two distinct
cell sources, human Amniotic Fluid Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (hAFMSCs) and amniotic epithelial cells
(hAECs), on male fertility outcomes in a validated rat induced VAR model (3) selected for its high
translational value due to its capability of replicating several aspects of the human pathology.
Methods: hAEC and hAFMSC were marked with PKH26 vital cell membrane dye for in vivo cell tracking
and then transplanted in left testis with intratesticular injection in VAR rats groups: +hAEC, +hAFMSC,
respectively. Healthy (CTR) and VAR rats (+vehicle alone) groups were considered. The influence of
cells transplantation was first assessed considering the long-term impact on rat fertility by recording the
newborn number after two sequential mating carried out 120 days from surgical procedures. Then,
insights on testis morphology, endocannabinoid system (ECS) expression and inflammatory tissue
response have been carried out alongside cell homing assessment upon transplantation.
Results: Both cell types survived 120 days post-transplantation by modulating the ECS main
components, promoting proregenerative M2 macrophages recruitment and a favorable antiinflammatory
IL10 expression pattern. Of note, hAECs resulted to be more effective in restoring rat
fertility rate by enhancing both structural and immunoresponse mechanisms. Moreover,
immunofluorescence analysis revealed that hAECs contributed to CYP11A1 expression after
transplantation, whereas hAFMSCs moved towards the expression of Sertoli cell marker, SOX9,
confirming a different contribution into the mechanisms leading to testis homeostasis.
Conclusions: These findings highlight, for the first time, a distinct role of amniotic membrane and
amniotic fluid derived cells in male reproduction, thus proposing innovative targeted stem-based
regenerative medicine protocols for remedying high-prevalence male infertility conditions such as VAR
Simultaneous Presence of Mycotoxins in Feed Intended for Food-Producing Animals
No full textThis study aimed to verify the simultaneous presence of mycotoxins in feed intended for food-producing animals. A validated liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analytical method was used for the determination and quantification of aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2), deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A, fumonisins, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, and zearalenone. The correlation coefficient indicated a good fit for all analytes, ranging from 0.991 to 0.999, while the mean recoveries were between 76 and 108%. The occurrence of one or more mycotoxins was detected in 42% of all feed samples investigated, at concentrations ranging between 0.0030 and 0.042 mg/kg for AFB1 and 0.16 and 0.95 and 0.016 and 1.5 mg/kg for deoxynivalenol and zearalenone, respectively. The sum of T-2 and HT-2 toxins ranged from 0.011 to 0.088 mg/kg, while the sum of fumonisins was between 0.010 and 14 mg/kg. Twenty-four positive samples (28%) showed the co-presence of ZEA and/or DON with FB1 and FB2, six of which were also contaminated with T-2 and HT-2 toxins. The need for continuous monitoring is particularly emphasized to ensure the health of both animals and humans
The management of foot health as a tool to improve the sustainability of a dairy farm
No full textOne of the greatest challenges for the next years is the sustainable development of the livestock sector.
In this context, integrating animal health and welfare parameters through a Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) approach is key to reaching this goal. Among the mitigation strategies, one specific action is
the implementation of targeted management protocols regarding the most important diseases detected
in dairy farms, such as lameness. About 90% of lameness cases are associated with several foot
lesions such as digital dermatitis, interdigital phlegmon, and sole ulcers. It was widely demonstrated
that foot lesions not only compromise animal welfare but also reduce milk yield, reproductive
performance, and overall herd longevity.
The study was conducted on a herd of 320 dairy cows raised on a farm located in northern Italy,
where a foot health management protocol was implemented. The protocol included a weekly routine
of hoof trimming and data collection with a specific recording system. Data collection included
lameness, disease recording and milk production records. The aim of the study was to evaluate the
effects of the foot health management protocol on foot lesions, herd performance, and environmental
outcomes. Data collected before and after protocol implementation were analyzed over a two-year
period.
The results showed that the occurrence of severe foot diseases decreased significantly; particularly
there were differences (p<0.05) in the percentages of sole ulcers and abscesses before and after
implementation. The incidence of laminitis also had a significant difference between the years
showing the benefits of earlier detection and intervention. The percentage of healthy animals
increased significantly over the two years (p<0.05). The farm’s environmental impact also improved
in parallel with herd health and productivity.
These findings are consistent with previous research indicating that proper foot health management
is essential for improving both economic and sustainability outcomes in dairy farming
Edge artificial intelligence and super-resolution for enhanced weapon detection in video surveillance
No full textThe prevalence of crimes involving handguns and knives underscores the importance of early weapon detection. This, along with the spread of video surveillance systems, boosted the development of automatic approaches for weapon detection from surveillance cameras. Despite the advancements from classical computer vision to Deep Learning (DL) techniques, accurately detecting weapons in real-time remains challenging due to their small size. Current DL methods, which attempt to mitigate this issue using complex detection architectures, are resource-intensive, resulting in high costs and energy usage, and hindering their deployment on efficient edge devices. This creates challenges in resource-limited environments, making these methods impractical for edge and real-time applications. To address these shortcomings, our work proposes YOLOSR, which integrates a You Only Look Once (YOLO) v8-small model with an Enhanced Deep Super Resolution (EDSR)-based network using a shared backbone. During training, the auxiliary Super Resolution (SR) helps in learning better features, which could benefit the weapon detection task. During inference, the SR branch is removed, keeping the detector's computational complexity unchanged. The YOLOSR's accuracy and efficiency were validated on our WeaponSense dataset and on a NVIDIA Jetson Nano, against other weapon detectors. The results exhibited that YOLOSR, compared to the state-of-the-art YOLOv8-small model, maintained the same computational complexity with 28.8 billion floating point operations and on-device latency of 101 ms per image, while increasing the Average Precision by 10.2 percentage points. Thus, the YOLOSR emerges as an effective solution for real-time weapon detection in resource-constrained environments, achieving an optimal trade-off between efficiency and accuracy
A new generation of biological debittered olive paté enriched with beneficial Lactiplantibacillus plantarum
No full textDental Pulp Stem Cell-Derived Organoids: Advancing the Development of 3D Structures.
No full textTwo-dimensional cell cultures are crucial research tools, and they have been widely used, although they are not completely representative of biological processes in vivo due to the lack of tissue architecture and complexity. Recent advances in organoid technology have addressed these limitations and are revolutionizing the tools available for in vitro culture. Although there are no unified protocols for generating organoids, they can be obtained with various techniques, leading to cell aggregation by promoting cell adhesion. This work aims to generate and characterise organoid models of dental pulp from dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), a type of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells known for their high regenerative potential and ease of accessibility, to establish a model for translational studies. The organoids were subjected to osteogenic differentiation conditions. Cell viability was evaluated using a CCK-8 assay, while osteogenic morphology and mineralization were confirmed by Alizarin red analysis, Raman microspectroscopy, and by immunofluorescence for the lineage markers expression. The Alizarin red analysis indicated a higher presence of calcium phosphate deposits in the differentiated organoids than in the control group (CTR). These results were confirmed by spectral profiles obtained using Raman microspectroscopy, which were attributable to a hydroxyapatite-based biomaterial. Immunofluorescence analysis also revealed increased expression of odonto/osteogenic markers (RUNX and OSX), alongside reduced expression of stemness markers. In conclusion, the organoids appeared to have successfully differentiated into an osteogenic lineage, forming a mineralized matrix containing hydroxyapatite and showing increased expression of relevant lineage markers
