1,225 research outputs found
Evidence of Dirofilaria immitis in Felids in North-Eastern Italy
No full textDirofilaria immitis is a mosquito-borne nematode, causing heartworm (HW) disease in wild and domestic canids. HW can also affect felids with different clinical patterns from asymptomatic pictures to sudden death, making the monitoring and diagnosis complicated. Canine HW is endemic in North-eastern Italy; however, very little information has been recorded for felids. This study aims to provide new information on HW in felids in North-eastern Italy. Two hundred and six domestic cats from Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto-Adige regions (North-eastern Italy), nine captive felids from zoological parks from Veneto, and nineteen European wildcats from Friuli Venezia Giulia were recruited. Sera/plasma was analysed for the detection of anti-HW antibodies (Ab) and HW antigens (Ag); positive blood samples were molecularly analysed, targeting the HW DNA (5S-rRNA gene). Twelve out of two hundred and six (5.8%) cats presented with Ab, and three out of two hundred and six (1.5%) presented with Ag, mainly those from the Veneto region, already known as a canine HW-endemic area. Among Ab-positive cats, two were from Belluno, a mountain province previously considered free, suggesting the expansion of HW into the northern areas. No cats were positive for both Ab and Ag. Three out of nineteen (15.8%) wildcats were Ag-positive, constituting the first HW report in Italy. No captive felids were positive. Dirofilaria immitis DNA was not amplified in positive samples, suggesting the low sensitivity of PCR on blood. This study provides new data on the occurrence of HW in domestic cats and wildcats in North-eastern Italy
A case study on Toxascaris leonine in big felids: inessicacy of a single-dose treatment with pyrantel pamoate
No full textElimination of helminthiasis from zoological collections is a challenging issue and often the eradication of the infection is not completely and definitely achieved. Maintenance of ascaridiosis in a facility is helped by the great resistance of the parasite's eggs, the wide host spectrum and a non-strictly monoxenous life cycle. In this case study, copromicroscopic examinations carried out in a facility hosting large felids in Northeastern Italy showed that 14/29 animals were positive for Toxascaris leonina. Following AZA manual recommendations, all positive animals were treated with pyrantel pamoate at 5 mg/kg PO for one or three consecutive days depending on the species and the efficacy of the treatment was proved by the complete absence of eggs in stool samples after 10 days. Nevertheless, faecal egg shedding reoccurred after 60 days, an insufficient period for the development of reinfection from environmental contamination. We hypothesize that two consequential treatments with Pyrantel pamoate are thus to be considered essential to eliminate larval stages of the parasite lodging in the gut walls. These larvae could indeed give origin to new patent infection after 60 days, making the single treatment ineffective in reducing the parasitic environmental burden
Molecular survey of Cytauxzoon spp. and Hepatozoon spp. in felids using a novel real-time PCR approach
No full textTick-transmitted apicomplexans of the genera Cytauxzoon and Hepatozoon affect
a wide range of felids worldwide, but little is known about them. Recently, several
studies addressed the species circulating in Europe, their distribution, and their
hosts. Molecular assays are the method of choice for their detection. Unfortunately,
conventional PCRs already described are time- and cost-consuming and specific
for either Hepatozoon or Cytauxzoon detection. This study was developed to
evaluate (i) the occurrence of Cytauxzoon and Hepatozoon in felids using a fast
and cost-saving real-time PCR capable of detecting both protozoa simultaneously,
(ii) the distribution of Cytauxzoon and Hepatozoon species in north-eastern Italy,
and (iii) the involvement of other susceptible felid hosts in the same area. An
SYBR® Green-based real-time PCR with primers targeting the 18S-rRNA was
validated and applied to 237 felid samples, i.e., whole blood from 206 domestic
cats and 12 captive exotic felids, and tissues from 19 wildcats. Positive results were
obtained by melting temperature curve analysis due to the specific melting peak
(i.e., 81°C Cytauxzoon spp.; 78–78.5°C Hepatozoon spp.). Positive samples were
subjected to conventional PCR, followed by sequencing for species identification.
Phylogenetic analyses were performed to assess relatedness among European
isolates. Data on domestic cats (age class, sex, origin, management, and lifestyle)
were recorded, and statistical analyses were performed to identify potential risk
factors. A total of 31 (15%) domestic cats were positive for Hepatozoon spp. (i.e.,
12 for H. felis, 19 for H. silvestris), while six (2.9%) for C. europaeus. The prevalence
of Hepatozoon felis was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in domestic cats, while H.
silvestris was higher in strays and animals from the Eastern region (i.e., Friuli-
Venezia Giulia). Cytauxzoon europaeus was detected only in stray cats from
Friuli-Venezia Giulia (province of Trieste). Among captive felids, one tiger was
infected with H. felis and another with H. silvestris; eight out of 19 (42%) wildcats
were positive for Hepatozoon spp. (i.e., six with H. felis, two with H. silvestris) and
four out of 19 (21%) for Cytauxzoon europaeus. Outdoor lifestyle and origin (i.e.,
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region) were the most relevant risk factors for H. silvestris
and C. europeus infections. Conversely, H. felis was most frequently isolated from
domestic cats, suggesting different modes of transmission
Giulia Veronica Varisco
No full textThe headword explains the biography and the contribution of the author Giulia Varisco to the children's literatur
Human Control of Simulated Modular Soft Robots May Predict the Performance of Optimized AI-Based Controllers
No full textRobots with a modular body permit a wide range of physical configurations, which can be obtained by arranging the composing modules differently. While this freedom makes modular robots capable of performing different tasks, finding the optimal physical configuration for a given task is not trivial. In fact, practitioners attempt to jointly optimize the body and the controller of the robot for a given task, but the result is not always satisfactory. More broadly, it is not clear what factors make a physical configuration more or less successful. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap and verify if humans can be predictive with respect to the performance of an optimized controller for a given robot body. We consider the case of Voxel-based Soft Robots (VSRs), whose rich dynamic induced by the softness of the modules makes the body particularly relevant for the robot ability to perform a task. We instantiate a number of (simulated) VSR bodies, differing in shape and actuation mechanism, and let a panel of humans control them, by means of online interaction with the simulator, while performing the task of locomotion. We use the same bodies with controllers obtained with evolutionary optimization, for the same task. We compare the ranking of human- and optimized AI-based VSRs, finding them very similar. We believe that our results strengthen the hypothesis that intrinsic factors in the body of modular robots determine their success
Evaluation of ageing dynamics in the northeastern Italy white wines: studies approaches and winemaking strategies
No full textIn the world of winemaking, the concept of shelf life takes on a dynamic meaning as it relates to the intrinsic and unstoppable evolving capacities of the chemical system specific to each wine. Manifestations of product transformations are also influenced by the closing system and by the physical demands of the commercial and environmental supply chain to which the product is subjected.
Bottled wine evolves and its ability to preserve and change its pleasant qualities over time determines its value and commercial success.
In the global market, renewed health requirements relating to a reduction in alcohol content and chemical preservatives, new logistical needs and a strategic vision to increase the production values, require bottled wine to have a longer shelf life and to be able to withstand greater physical stress in relation to transportation and storage.
The semiotic extension of the concept of homeostasis, i.e. the natural tendency to achieve relative internal stability, sought after by winemakers is in contrast with the congenital oxidative chemical dynamism that each wine possesses due to its compositional characteristics and external actions.
The progressive sensory transformation that takes place from the time of bottling does not generate a trend of normal stability followed by a linear hedonistic decay proportional to oxidation, but rather produces a curve of evolution with an initial positive trend varying in duration from a few months to many years, before reaching a stage of settlement, also of a variable duration, before declining to a state of extreme evolution attributable to the irreversible oxidisation of the medium.
This research involves the study of the management of the oxidative processes, or better, of the holistic consideration of all those substances and conditions that interfere and interact with the redox concatenations of complex mineral and organic systems in hydro-alcoholic solution.
A research project was designed as a consequence of the demands of the current world market where the growth of white wine is particularly significant in the world of sparkling wines and considering the strategic importance of the production environment studied in the wine sector of the entire northeast of Italy, specifically the three regions of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige, strongly characterised by the production of white wines. This project aims at increasing the knowledge of the evolutionary dynamics of these wines.
Extensive experience in managing the production and preservation of white wines of the territory with respect to the time variable will allow addressing and developing with greater safety the world market in the coming years by following the national strategic development objectives of the wine industry proposed by MIPAAF.
Producing wines able to evolve positively over time allows increasing the credibility, reputation and ultimately the value of the product, as well as the work needed for its production and the territories of origin.
An analysis of the processes characterising the ageing process of white wines, market trends and legal standards has led to the development of three sections: the first is dedicated to describing successful case histories, the second aims at investigating the evolutionary processes of sparkling wines in bottles and the third is dedicated to the technological restructuring of the wine-making processes and outlook for future areas of research.
The study on representative samples of white wines evolved in North-eastern Italy has shown that there is a possibility to investigate the evolutionary conditions through the SIMCA modelling of voltammetry phenomena correlated to the technological variables applied in wine making.
The redox state plays a key role in the ageing of white wines and depends on a multitude of compositional and environmental factors such as the closing system.
The redox potential is a parameter useful for studying winemaking applications and innovative applications in predictive oenological strategies, and the voltammetry method has proven to be a useful analytical tool.
All the wines studied have shown behaviour in line with the time variable. The multivariate analysis has produced correlations with the extraction techniques, with the type of vinification and ageing, as well as the sulphur and ascorbic acid content and type of closing system. The latter being a very important field, which however was not examined in this study.
The use of fermentation in bottles as a process to preserve the wine can substantially reduce the use of chemical additives, such as sulphur. The extensive presence of secondary esters of fermentation characterise the aromatic profile of sparkling wine re-fermented in the bottle and stored on yeast lees.
Autolysis of yeast occurs during the ageing of wine fermented in-bottle. This factor leads to a number of chemical and sensory effects.
It was noted that a higher amount of lees present in the bottle corresponds to a greater supply of polysaccharides in the medium and that a greater presence of lees in the bottle does not correspond to a higher presence of thiol groups. Second fermentation in the bottle can promote the often spontaneous malolactic fermentation that could produce biogenic amines in quantities above the threshold. This field was only partially addressed and did not produce significant results.
The indigenous yeasts have characterised, due to the apple descriptor, the sparkling wines with statistically significant differences in the territory of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG. The protocol proposed has therefore opened an interesting path of development for the organoleptic characterisation of the territory of Prosecco Superiore DOCG. Further investigations on the reducing capacity of the faces obtained by indigenous starters must be implemented in order to better understand the microbiological results on the evolutionary dynamics of white wines.
Observation of the evolutionary dynamics of thiol compounds interfering on the redox state in the white wines analysed and observed leads to the conclusion that there are technological differences between the various ageing processes. The use of barrels influences the decrease of the –SH groups in the medium term of ageing, most likely due to the oxygen that leaks from the bunghole. In fact, these containers show better performances of resuspension of the lees than stainless steel tanks, probably due to a geometry more suited to the batonnage process.
Further investigations such as tests of maceration-fermentation in closed barrels of white grapes, full vinification with fermentation on the skins and development of a new grape ripening index based on the absolute chemical reactivity of grapes during harvest could be interesting areas of research, which have in part already begun
Ytterbium Disilicate/Monosilicate Multilayer Environmental Barrier Coatings: Influence of Atmospheric Plasma Spray Parameters on Composition and Microstructure
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Open AccessArticle
Ytterbium Disilicate/Monosilicate Multilayer Environmental Barrier Coatings: Influence of Atmospheric Plasma Spray Parameters on Composition and Microstructure
by Giulia Di Iorio,Laura Paglia *ORCID,Giulia PedrizzettiORCID,Virgilio GenovaORCID,Francesco MarraORCID,Cecilia BartuliORCID andGiovanni PulciORCID
INSTM Reference Laboratory for Materials and Surface Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Coatings 2023, 13(9), 1602; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13091602
Original submission received: 10 August 2023 / Revised: 31 August 2023 / Accepted: 11 September 2023 / Published: 13 September 2023
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Abstract
SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites (SiCf/SiC CMCs) are regarded as the new materials for the hot-section components of aircraft gas turbine engines, since they have one-third of the density of metallic superalloys, a higher temperature capability, good mechanical strength, and excellent thermal shock resistance. However, high-temperature water-vapor-rich combustion gases can induce severe surface recession phenomena in SiC/SiC leading to component failure. For this reason, it is necessary to design protective coatings, i.e., environmental barrier coatings (EBCs), able to protect the SiC/SiC surface in combustion environments. In the present work, ytterbium monosilicate (Yb2SiO5), stable when exposed to water vapor at high temperatures, and ytterbium disilicate (Yb2Si2O7), characterized by a thermal expansion coefficient closer to that of the substrate, were selected for a multilayer EBC system. EBCs were processed using the atmospheric plasma spray (APS) technique. A set of deposition parameters were tested, varying the power of the torch, and the composition and microstructure of the deposited coatings were studied in terms of porosity, crack density, and post-deposition phase retention by performing SEM, EDS, and XRD analysis. The results allow for the definition of the influence of deposition parameters on the final properties of multilayer EBC coatings
Carbon-dots-conjugated semiconductors for enhanced solar-driven photocatalysis
No full textIn the last decades, the rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere have been increasingly attributed to the global warming effect. Photocatalysis, which exploits the energy of light and abundant semiconductor materials, may represent a promising method to enable more sustainable catalytic reactions. However, the current applicability is mainly hindered by the design of materials capable of efficiently harvesting solar light to conduct photo-catalytic reactions. In this context, the conjugation of carbon dots with semiconductor materials was studied as tool to increase the visible-light sensitivity of titanium oxide (TiO2) and barium titanate (BaTiO3). The hybrid materials were tested for their photo-activity in two distinct reactions and upon the irradiation of either UV or solar light. Two different deposition methods were studied as to provide a scalable strategy to the design of versatile photocatalyst. As results, although all the prepared materials were found to be active in both UV and visible-light irradiating conditions, only carbon-modified semiconductors were able to convert CO2 into methane upon solar light excitation. In addition, carbon-dots-BaTiO3 conjugates were proposed for the first time as valid alternative to TiO2-based photocatalysts, especially in the CO2 photo-reduction reactions. If properly designed, carbon dots may represent a way to overcome some of the current limitations to the application of photocatalytic processes for the development solar-powered technologies
Correction to: Safety and Psychological Outcomes of Tandem t:Slim X2 Insulin Pump with Control-IQ Technology in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: A Systematic Review
No full textThe second author name was incorrectly published as Giula Maria Smylie. The correct name is Giulia Marie Smylie. The original article has been corrected
Does residence time affect responses of alien species richness to environmental and spatial processes?
No full textOne of the most robust emerging generalisations in invasion biology is that the probability of invasion increases with the time since introduction (residence time). We analysed the spatial distribution of alien vascular plant species in a region of north-eastern Italy to understand the influence of residence time on patterns of alien species richness. Neophytes were grouped according to three periods of arrival in the study region (1500–1800, 1800–1900, and > 1900). We applied multiple regression (spatial and nonspatial) with hierarchical partitioning to determine the influence of climate and human pressure on species richness within the groups. We also applied variation partitioning to evaluate the relative importance of environmental and spatial processes. Temperature mainly influenced groups with species having a longer residence time, while human pressure influenced the more recently introduced species, although its influence remained significant in all groups. Partial regression analyses showed that most of the variation explained by the models is attributable to spatially structured environmental variation, while environment and space had small independent effects. However, effects independent of environment decreased, and spatially independent effects increased, from older to the more recent neophytes. Our data illustrate that the distribution of alien species richness for species that arrived recently is related to propagule pressure, availability of novel niches created by human activity, and neutral-based (dispersal limitation) processes, while climate filtering plays a key role in the distribution of species that arrived earlier. This study highlights the importance of residence time, spatial structure, and environmental conditions in the patterns of alien species richness and for a better understanding of its geographical variation
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