Preoccupano le infestazioni della cimice asiatica

2015-Anno caldo delle cimici. Nel corso dell’estate le infestazioni di Halyomorpha halys hanno investito un territorio sempre più ampio, con gravi percentuali di danno su numerose colture. A esse si sono sovrapposti gli attacchi di altri pentatomidi, accomunati anch’essi dalla caratteristica di pungere e deprezzare i frutti. Il malessere degli agricoltori è crescente e la situazione in alcuni contesti ha assunto le dimensioni di un’autentica emergenza

Halyomorpha halys in Emilia, prime risposte dal monitoraggio

OSSERVAZIONI IN CAMPO CONDOTTE NEL 2013-2014. Dopo la sua comparsa in Italia, accertata nel 2012, è stato attivato nella zona di ritrovamento un programma di monitoraggio teso a studiare l’insetto e il suo comportamento nell’ambiente. La specie desta maggiori preoccupazioni nel settore frutticolo, dove il danno rappresentato dalle tipiche deformazioni può giungere al 100

Halyomorpha halys in Italy: first results of field monitoring in fruit orchards

The invasive pest Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae) was detected for the first time in Italy in September 2012 in Modena province (Northern Italy) during an insect collection for educational purposes. A survey performed in 2013 allowed to detect its presence in Emilia Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont regions. In 2014, in the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Bologna a periodical active field monitoring was performed using tree beating, sweep-net and visual observations in selected orchards and vineyards, recording numbers of BMSB adults and nymphs, and of other Heteroptera. Besides, fruit injury and crop loss were recorded at harvest. Partial results from field data obtained between April and July 2014 are presented, indicating that BMSB is already becoming an important pest of fruit orchards and that special attention should be deserved to monitor its spread all over the region and the whole Italian country

A cross-sectional study to estimate high-risk human papillomavirus prevalence and type distribution in Italian women aged 18–26 years

BACKGROUND: Pre-vaccination information on HPV type-specific prevalence in target populations is essential for designing and monitoring immunization strategies for cervical cancer (CC) prevention. Data on HPV prevalence in Italy are available for women over the age of 24 years, target of the population-based CC screening programmes; while data of HPV prevalence in younger ages are very limited. The present study enrolled Italian women aged 18–26 years in order to assess the prevalence and distribution of high-risk (HR) HPV types. Risk-factors correlated with HR-HPV positivity were also described. METHODS: A sample of 2,289 women was randomly selected from the resident population lists of ten Local Health Units (LHUs) located in six Italian Regions scattered across the country; both rural and urban LHUs were involved. Women aged between 18 and 26 years and living in the selected LHUs were included in the study; pregnant women and women who did not speak Italian were excluded. A total of 1,102 women met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate. Participants were offered pap test and Hybrid-Capture 2 (HC2) test for HR-HPV types and genotyping was performed on positive smears. RESULTS: Out of 1,094 valid samples, 205 (18.7%) were HR-HPV positive. Women with 2–4 (OR(adj) = 4.15, 95%CI: 2.56-6.72) and ≥5 lifetime partners (OR(adj) = 10.63, 95%CI: 6.16-18.36) and women who have used any contraceptive in the last six months (OR(adj) = 1.67, 95%CI: 1.09-2.54) had a higher risk to be infected; women living with their partner had a lower risk (OR(adj) = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.34-0.92) to acquire infection than women living with parents/friends/alone. Among HC2 positive women, HPV16 was the most prevalent type (30.9%), followed by 31 (19.6%), 66 (12.9%), 51 (11.3%), 18 (8.8%), 56 (8.8%). Co-infections of HR-HC2 targeted types were found in 20.4% of positive samples. The HR-HPV prevalence in women with abnormal cytology (52.4%) was significantly higher than in women with normal cytology (14.6%); however 33.0% of HR-HPV infected women had an abnormal cytology. CONCLUSION: HR-HPV prevalence in Italian women aged 18–26 years was 19%, higher than what detected for older women, by other studies using the same molecular method and laboratory network; this result supports the choice of electing girls before the sexual debut as the primary target of HPV vaccination. The HPV type distribution found in this study may represent a baseline picture; an accurate post-vaccine surveillance is necessary to early detect a possible genotype replacement. The high prevalence of viral types other than vaccine-HPV types supports the necessity to guarantee the progression of CC screening programmes in vaccinated women

Argentine Intersociety Consensus on Urinary Infection 2018-2019

La Sociedad Argentina de Infectología y otras sociedades científicas han actualizado estas recomendaciones utilizando, además de información internacional, la de un estudio multicéntrico prospectivo sobre infecciones del tracto urinario del adulto realizado en Argentina durante 2016-2017. La bacteriuria asintomática debe ser tratada solo en embarazadas, a quienes también se las debe investigar sistemáticamente; los antibióticos de elección son nitrofurantoína, amoxicilina, amoxicilina-clavulánico, cefalexina y trimetoprimasulfametoxazol. Ante procedimientos que impliquen lesión con sangrado del tracto urinario se recomienda solicitar urocultivo para pesquisar bacteriuria asintomática, y, si resultara positivo, administrar antimicrobianos según sensibilidad desde inmediatamente antes hasta 24 horas luego de la intervención. En mujeres, la cistitis puede ser tratada con nitrofurantoina, cefalexina, o fosfomicina y no se recomienda usar trimetoprima-sulfametoxazol o fluoroquinolonas; en pielonefritis puede emplearse ciprofloxacina, cefixima o cefalexina si el tratamiento es ambulatorio o ceftriaxona, cefazolina o amikacina si es hospitalario. En los hombres, las infecciones del tracto urinario se consideran siempre complicadas. Se recomienda tratamiento con nitrofurantoina o cefalexina por 7 días, o bien monodosis con fosfomicina. Para la pielonefritis en hombres se sugiere ciprofloxacina, ceftriaxona o cefixima si el tratamiento es ambulatorio y ceftriaxona o amikacina si es hospitalario. Se sugiere tratar las prostatitis bacterianas agudas con ceftriaxona o gentamicina. En cuanto a las prostatitis bacterianas crónicas, si bien su tratamiento de elección hasta hace poco fueron las fluoroquinolonas, la creciente resistencia y ciertasdudas sobre la seguridad de estas drogas obligan a considerar el uso de alternativas como fosfomicina.The Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases and other scientific societies have updated these recommendations based on data on urinary tract infections in adults obtained from a prospective multicenter study conducted in Argentina during 2016-2017. Asymptomatic bacteriuria should be treated only in pregnant women, who should also be systematically investigated; the antibiotics of choice are nitrofurantoin, amoxicillin, clavulanic/amoxicillin, cephalexin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. In procedures involving injury to the urinary tract with bleeding, it is recommended to request urine culture and, in the presence of bacteriuria, antimicrobial treatment according to sensitivity should be prescribed from immediately before up to 24 hours after the intervention. In women, cystitis can be treated with nitrofurantoin, cephalexin or fosfomycin, while trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and fluoroquinolones are not recommended; pyelonephritis can be treated with ciprofloxacin, cefixime or cephalexin in ambulatory women or ceftriaxone, cefazolin or amikacin in those who are hospitalized. In men, urinary tract infections are always considered complicated; nitrofurantoin or cephalexin are recommended for 7 days, alternatively fosfomycin should be given in a single dose. In men, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone or cefixime are suggested for pyelonephritis on ambulatory treatment whereas ceftriaxone or amikacin are recommended for hospitalized patients. Acute bacterial prostatitis can be treated with ceftriaxone or gentamicin. Fluoroquinolones were the choice treatment for chronic bacterial prostatitis until recently; they are no longer recommended due to the increasing resistance and recent concerns regarding the safety of these drugs; alternative antibiotics such as fosfomycin are to be considered.Fil: Nemirovsky, Corina. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Furst, María José. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: Pryluka, Daniel. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: de Vedia, Lautaro. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: Scapellato, Pablo. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: Colque, Angel. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: Barcelona, Laura. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: Desse, Javier. Sociedad Argentina de Infectologia; ArgentinaFil: Caradont, Matías. Sociedad Argentina de Urología; ArgentinaFil: Varcasia, Daniel. Sociedad Argentina de Urología; ArgentinaFil: Ipohorski,Gabriel. Federación Argentina de Urología; ArgentinaFil: Votta, Roberto. Federación Argentina de Sociedades de Ginecología y Obstetricia; ArgentinaFil: Zylberman, Marcelo. Sociedad Argentina de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Romani, Adriana de Fátima. Sociedad Argentina de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Valdez, Pascual. Sociedad Argentina de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Penini, Magdalena. Sociedad Argentina de Bacteriología, Micología y Parasitología Clínica; ArgentinaFil: De Paulis, Adriana. Sociedad Argentina de Bacteriología, Micología y Parasitología Clínica; ArgentinaFil: Lucero, Celeste. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación.Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"; ArgentinaFil: Sandor, Andres. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Contreras, Rosita. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Nannini, Esteban. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Inmunología Clinica y Experimental de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Inmunología Clinica y Experimental de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Gañete, Marcelo. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Ralli, Hector. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Lopardo, Gustavo. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Mykietiuk, Analia. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Aronson, Sandra. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Laus, Adriana. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Garces, Alejandro. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, Claudia. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Chattas, Ana. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Farina, Javier. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Clara, Liliana. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Nuccetelli, Yanina. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; ArgentinaFil: Amalfa, Flavia. Sociedad Argentina de Infectología; Argentin

Lifetime measurement after direct transfer reactions with AGATA at LNL

Lifetimes of nuclear excited states are important observables in nuclear structure studies, since they can directly be related to electromagnetic transition matrix elements. The determination of transition probabilities between nuclear states provides information on their microscopic structure and represents an important benchmark for nuclear structure models. In recent experiments at INFN Legnaro National Laboratories, we coupled the newly installed γ-ray tracking spectrometer AGATA with light charged-particle detection systems to perform lifetime measurements after one- and two-nucleon direct transfer reactions at 5-10AMeV. In this contribution, we will present two cases, related to the measurement of lifetimes in the femtosecond and picosecond range in 37S and 56Ni, on the basis of which the possibilities offered by this kind of set-up and some preliminary results will be discussed

Von Brunn’s Nests in the Ureter of Two Cats

The aim of this work is to emphasize the importance of a differential diagnosis of von Brunn’s nests in cats from other urothelial neoplastic disorders, as transitional cell carcinoma, for a subsequent optimal care. Von Brunn’s nests and cysts are submucosal benign urothelial processes, related to irritative stimuli (calculi and urinary infections), characterized by an invagination with buds and clusters of normal urothelium in the lamina propria. They are common findings in the urinary bladder of human beings, but few cases have been described in dogs and cats. We report macroscopic, histopathological and, in one case, immunohistochemical features of these rare forms in the left ureters of two cats. Macroscopic evidence during surgery of ureteral nodules in two cats was accompanied by histopathological diagnosis and, in one case, by immunohistochemical assessment. Histopathology was coherent with a rare condition characterized by nests and islands of normal urothelium in the lamina propria and submucosa, with formation of cysts and moderate focal subacute inflammation. In one case epithelial cells of the nests showed well differentiated urothelial cells with an intense immunoreactivity to pan-cytokeratin (CK AE1/AE3), CK19 in the first outer layers, a slight immunoreactivity to CK20 and a low proliferative activity using MIB-1 (Ki67)