A potential risk assessment tool to monitor pathogens circulation in coastal waters.

The present study reports data on a 20 months campaign monitoring enteric viruses (hepatitis A, norovirus, rotavirus, astrovirus, sapovirus, and aichivirus) and bacteria (Salmonella spp.) in seawater. The aim of this work was to assess the potential correlation among the presence of viruses/bacteria and different environmental factors like seasonality, water discharge sources (treated and untreated wastewater, mixed waters and raw water) as well as influence of the Italian lockdown measure against COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed different prevalence of the investigated viruses with values equal to 16 % for norovirus GI, 15.1 % for norovirus GII, followed by 13.8 % for astrovirus, and 13.3 % for sapovirus. Rotavirus was detected in the 8.4 % of samples and aichivirus was detected with the lowest prevalence of 3.5 %. Hepatitis A virus was never identified in the monitoring campaign. Salmonella spp. was detected with a prevalence of 36.6 %. Statistical analysis displayed a high correlation for the two noroviruses simultaneous detection (NGI and NGII) while a lower correlation was found for co-presence of noroviruses with astrovirus, sapovirus or Salmonella spp. A significant decrease of enteric pathogens in seawater was observed during the restrictions period. Results on seasonality highlighted a higher viral prevalence correlated to the wet season for all the pathogens but rotavirus and aichivirus, which instead showed an opposite trend and a higher incidence in the dry season. With respect to discharge typology, some viruses displayed a higher prevalence in treated waters (astrovirus, rotavirus, sapovirus and aichivirus) while the other investigated pathogens (noroviruses and Salmonella spp.) showed a higher prevalence in mixed waters. The main observations of this work were used to define a potential monitoring strategy that could be useful for sanitary Authorities to implement surveillance plans aimed at preventing possible sanitary outbreaks and/or environmental quality deterioration.

Evidence of new sequence types of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in Italy.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP) and methicillin-resistant SP (MRSP) is one of the most important veterinary pathogens in the dog. Herein, from a total of 126 S. pseudintermediusstrains, 23 MRSP (18%) were identified. Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) revealed that most of MRSP strains belonged to ST71 (26%), which have been already reported in Italy and other countries. Interestingly, nine new sequence types (39%), from 1053 up to 1061, were described for the first time. Moreover, the isolated MRSP strains showed relevant antibiotic resistance profiles. This report highlights the circulation of new sequence types of MRSP in Italy and underlines the need of a global epidemiological surveillance to limit the increasing spread of multidrug-resistant MRSPstrains worldwide, since they may represent a considerable concern for dog's health.

Left lower transverse incision versus Pfannenstiel-Kerr incision for specimen extraction in laparoscopic sigmoidectomy: a match pair analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The ideal location of specimen extraction in laparoscopic-assisted colorectal surgery is still debatable. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of incisional hernias and surgical site infections in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic resection for recurrent sigmoid diverticulitis by performing specimen extraction through left lower transverse incision or Pfannenstiel-Kerr incision. METHODS: A total of 269 patients operated between January 2014 and December 2017 were retrospectively screened for inclusion in the study. Patients with specimen extraction through left lower transverse incision (LLT) and patients with specimen extraction through Pfannenstiel-K incision (P-K) were matched in 1:1 proportion regarding age, sex, comorbidities, and previous abdominal surgery. The incidence of incisional hernias and surgical site infections were compared by using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: After matching 77 patients in the LLT group and 77 patients in the P-K group, they were found to be homogenous regarding the above mentioned descriptive characteristics. No patients in the P-K group developed an incisional hernia compared with 10 patients (13%) in the LLT group (p = 0.001). All these patients required hernia repair with mesh augmentation. The rate of surgical site infections was 1/77 in the P-K group and 0/77 in the LLT group (p = 1.0). In the P-K group, a wound protector was used in 86% of patients whereas in the LLT group, 39% of the wounds were protected during specimen extraction (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The Pfannenstiel-Kerr incision may be the preferred extraction site compared with the left lower transverse incision given the significant reduction of the risk of incisional hernias.

Molecular detection of Chlamydia abortus in a stranded Mediterranean striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba.

This study reports gross, histopathological, and molecular features of a Chlamydia abortus infection in a stranded female striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba from the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Italy. Post-mortem examination revealed liver congestion, splenic lymphoid depletion with capsular petechiae, and pneumonia. Histology revealed disseminated intravascular coagulation with vasculitis and congestion. Hepatocellular and acute myocardial degeneration were also observed. Basophilic, coccobacillary inclusions consistent with Chlamydia spp. were observed histologically in the type II pneumocytes, myocardial fibers, and hepatocytes, and in macrophages and plasma cells of liver, spleen, and prescapular lymph nodes. Chlamydial antigen was detected by immunofluorescence assay using genus-specific anti-Chlamydia antibodies. PCR assay revealed C. abortus in spleen, liver, heart, and lungs. C. abortus was the only pathogen detected. The main pathological changes suggest that Chlamydia infection may have been the cause of stranding and death of the striped dolphin. This case represents the first molecular detection of a member of the Chlamydiaceae in a marine mammal.

Helminth parasites of the dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima (Cetacea: Kogiidae) from the Mediterranean Sea, with implications on host ecology.

Limited data exist on the occurrence of the dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima in the Mediterranean Sea and its parasite fauna. Here, the occurrence of the anisakid species Anisakis physeteris and A. pegreffii in the stomach chambers of an adult female dwarf sperm whale, stranded in southern Italy, is reported. In addition, the occurrence of Phyllobothrium delphini larvae infecting the blubber of the caudal peduncle region was recorded. A. physeteris and A. pegreffii represent the 2 parasite species of the genus, mostly distributed in the Mediterranean Sea in fish and squids. The finding of A. pegreffii and A. physeteris in the dwarf sperm whale represents a new record in this host species for the Mediterranean Sea. The study of gastrointestinal content also revealed a massive presence of cephalopod beaks identified as belonging to pelagic squids including the umbrella squid Histioteuthis bonnellii, the reverse jewel squid H. reversa, the long-armed squid Chiroteuthis veranii, and the comb-finned squid Ctenopteryx sicula. The feeding habits of the dwarf sperm whale, as well as the occurrence of these squid residuals in the cetacean host, suggest that these squid species play a major role in maintaining the life cycle of anisakid parasite species and P. delphini.

Pathology and molecular analysis of Hapalotrema mistroides (Digenea: Spirorchiidae) infecting a Mediterranean loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta.

Turtle blood flukes belonging to the family Spirorchiidae (Digenea) represent a major threat for sea turtle health and are considered the most important parasitic cause of turtle stranding and mortality worldwide. Despite the large diversity of spirorchiid species found globally, there are only 2 records for free-ranging Mediterranean sea turtles that date back to the late 1800s involving just Hapalotrema mistroides Monticelli, 1896. This study describes the first fatal confirmed case of spirorchiidiasis in a free-ranging Mediterranean loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus) and, owing to the complexities of taxonomic identification of these parasites, provides the first molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of H. mistroides from the Mediterranean Sea. The loggerhead turtle showed cachexia and digestive disorders associated with severe damage to the pancreas and intestinal ganglia, caused by deposition of Hapalotrema eggs forming granulomas. Massive Hapalotrema egg emboli in several tissues and organs and encephalitis were the most probable contributions to the death of the turtle. The congruence between the phylogenetic analysis of both the ITS2 and 28S rDNA resolved the Italian and USA H. mistroides as the same species, confirming the parasite identification. The case here described clearly indicates that the blood flukes should be considered in the differential diagnosis of Mediterranean sea turtle diseases.

G theory and the reliability of psychophysiological measures: a tutorial.

For some years, the limits of classic reliability theory have been recognized in favor of the Generalizability Theory, which deals simultaneously with multiple sources of error. This measurement model can be particularly useful when applied to research in cognitive psychophysiology. Indeed, studies in this field often deal with estimated measures whose reliability is rarely taken into account. In this paper, we report two generalizability studies in order to investigate the usefulness of G theory in providing information about the reliability of experimental results. The first was carried out on P300 measured during an oddball task, and the second was carried out on ERPs recorded during a recognition memory task. As expected, results showed that P300 modulation was more reliable than ERP memory modulation. This suggests that G theory can be a useful tool to estimate the reliability of psychophysiological findings, complementing and extending results from conventional analyses.

Upper/lower visual field asymmetry on a spatial relocation memory task.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the lower visual field advantage reported on a number of visual tasks depends on the activity of neural systems which process information from different spaces. To this end, a double dissociation logic was followed by observing the effects of visual and spatial interference on a relocation memory task performed by 80 volunteers. Results showed that participants were better at relocating stimuli presented in the lower than in the upper visual field. Moreover, a concurrent spatial task, but not a concurrent visual task, disrupted the visual field vertical asymmetry. Those findings confirm that the vertical asymmetry of visual field depends on the spatial processing of incoming stimuli.

Piver's radical hysterectomy (type III): Endo-Gia 30 stapler versus traditional forcipressure for resection of the cardinal ligament.

OBJECTIVE: Morbidity and costs associated with Piver's radical hysterectomy (type III) are noteworthy. The Endo-Gia stapler method for resection of cardinal ligaments can reduce duration of surgery and hospitalization, blood loss, costs and postoperative infection rates. METHOD: Two groups of patients (homogeneous for age, weight and medical condition) were studied: one group was operated on using the Endo-Gia stapler method (n=52) and the other with the traditional forcipressure (n=13). The size of parametrial tissue removed, blood loss, duration of surgery, duration of hospitalization, cost of materials and postoperative fever were compared in the two groups. RESULT: Mean operative times were lower in the Endo-Stapler group than in the controls (mean 180 min versus 220 min). Mean blood loss was 300 cc in the stapler group versus 450 cc in the forcipressure group. Mean cost of surgery (considering costs of materials, hospital stay. duration of surgery), was lower in the stapler group (3,095 euros) than in the group who underwent traditional surgery (3,434 euros). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest the Endo-Gia stapler method significantly reduces blood loss, operative time and cost.

Resampling approach to statistical inference: bootstrapping from event-related potentials data.

We propose the use of the bootstrap resampling technique as a tool to assess the within-subject reliability of experimental modulation effects on event-related potentials (ERPs). The assessment of the within-subject reliability is relevant in all those cases when the subject score is obtained by some estimation procedure, such as averaging. In these cases, possible deviations from the assumptions on which the estimation procedure relies may lead to severely biased results and, consequently, to incorrect functional inferences. In this study, we applied bootstrap analysis to data from an experiment aimed at investigating the relationship between ERPs and memory processes. ERPs were recorded from two groups of subjects engaged in a recognition memory task. During the study phase, subjects in Group A were required to make an orthographic judgment on 160 visually presented words, whereas subjects in Group B were only required to pay attention to the words. During the test phase all subjects were presented with the 160 previously studied words along with 160 new words and were required to decide whether the current word was "old" or "new." To assess the effect of word imagery value, half of the words had a high imagery value and half a low imagery value. Analyses of variance performed on ERPs showed that an imagery-induced modulation of the old/new effect was evident only for subjects who were not engaged in the orthographic task during the study phase. This result supports the hypothesis that this modulation is due to some aspect of the recognition memory process and not to the stimulus encoding operations that occur during the recognition memory task. However, bootstrap analysis on the same data showed that the old/new effect on ERPs was not reliable for all the subjects. This result suggests that only a cautious inference can be made from these data.

[Socio-psychological aspects of voluntary abortion at the Obstetrical and Gynecological Clinic of Catania]. / Aspetti socio-psicologici dell'aborto volontario nella Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica di Catania.

PIP: At the Obstetrical and Gynecologic Clinic of the University of Catania, Italy, a questionnaire was prepared to be completed by patients seeking abortion. The purpose was to gather some knowledge of the psychosocial factors and attitudes leading to voluntary abortion. The questionnaire, which is included in the document, contains questions about medical history, sexual life, motivation for abortion, psychological reaction, and contraceptive knowledge and usage. Of 595 abortions performed between March and September 1979 only 151 (25.37%) questionnaires were completed. 47.01% of women were between 25-35, 84.10% were married, 70% came from the city of Catania or the neighboring suburbs, 52.31% of women had elementary school education, 45.01% had 1-2 children and 27.14% 2-4 children, 68.62% of women requesting abortion were in the age group 18-25 with 1-2 children, and 68.21% were housewives. Motivation for interruption of pregnancy was high parity (19.20%), too close pregnancies (17.21%), and psychological reasons (9.27%). While most women knew about modern contraceptive methods, only 47.01% used hormonal contraception, 78.14% relied on coitus interruptus, 37.08% on the condom, and 34.43% on periodic abstinence. Last conception was due to contraceptive failure in 53.98% of cases. In 1979 there were a total of 960 legal abortions; only 97 women requested contraception after the abortion, and 13 came back for a repeat intervention. These data clearly demonstrate the lack of correct information on contraception on the part of most women.^ieng