Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are tick-borne pathogens, etiological agents of equine piroplasmosis that affect different species of Equidae causing relevantly important direct and indirect ...losses. A field study was conducted to evaluate the distribution of the equine piroplasms in an area of Central-Southern Italy and to identify correlated risk factors. Serum samples of 673 asymptomatic horses were collected during spring-summer of 2013 to estimate the seroprevalence of the parasites within the study area using T. equi and B. caballi Antibody test kit (VMRD(®), Inc, Pullman, WA, USA). The 273 seropositive samples were subsequently tested by real time PCR to verify the presence of the genome of the piroplasms, indicative of the carrier status of the subjects. The variables chosen to identify which were the risk factors associated with the serological and PCR-positivity for each of the equine piroplasms were the following: gender, age, breed, access to pasture, altitude, land cover, climatic zone, soil type and province location (coastal/inland). The resulting overall seroprevalence for T. equi was 39.8% (268/673) and for B. caballi was 8.9% (60/673) while 70.3% of the PCR tested samples (185/263) were positive for T. equi and 10.3% (27/263) for B. caballi. The univariate and multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the association of the risk factors with the different outcomes. The risk factors found to be associated with T. equi seropositivity were gender, age, breed, access to pasture, land cover, soil type and province location, while those associated with PCR-positivity were age, soil type and province location. As the number of B. caballi seropositive subjects was limited, the multiple logistic regression model was performed only for the PCR-positive status, identifying climatic zone and soil type as the sole risk factors. In the study area, a major diffusion of T. equi, in terms of seroprevalence and PCR-positivity was present when compared to that of B. caballi, probably related to the cumulative effect of the life-long infection of the former protozoan. The identification of risk factors relative to each piroplasm infection, specific to a study area, is important in the development and improvement of tailored control and prevention programmes aimed at containing health and economic consequences.
Inflammatory myopathy and perivasculitis have been recently described in horses with chronic equine piroplasmosis (EP). These alterations may be linked to poor performances. The aims of this study ...were to evaluate the prevalence for EP in clinically healthy Italian Standardbred (IS) racehorses and to compare laboratory parameters and performance metrics between positive and negative horses. Real-time PCR was applied for the detection of T. equi and B. caballi positivity. Haematology parameters, blood chemistry results, subjective muscle mass scores, and performance metrics were compared between PCR-positive and -negative horses.
This cross-sectional study included 120 well-trained IS racehorses and was performed over a two-years period. The prevalence of T. equi was 36.3%, whereas all samples were negative for B. caballi. Red blood cells count, haemoglobin concentration, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase activities were significantly higher in PCR-positive horses, whereas blood urea nitrogen, globulin concentration and globulin-to-albumin ratio were significantly lower in PCR-positive horses compared to PCR-negative ones. Nonetheless, all values fell within the physiological range. The best racing time, which was selected as the most representative of the performance metrics at the principal component analysis, was not affected by PCR positivity, the muscle mass score or the training yard. The best racing time was significantly better in horses with a mild or no signs of muscular atrophy, within the PCR-positive group. The muscle mass score was associated with the training yard in PCR-negative horses.
Prevalence of T. equi was high in IS racehorses in southern Italy. The absence of obvious changes in haematological and biochemical parameters, as well as performance metrics in positive horses, highlights the need for specific diagnostic tests to identify chronically infected horses.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Current equine helminth control strategies play a key role in strongyle epidemiology and anthelmintic resistance and have led to the recommendation for new treatment plans, which include diagnostic ...and efficacy surveillance. Assessing the equine strongyle distribution patterns would thus be useful and this study describes the strongyle prevalence in the equine population in Italy through coprological analysis and coproculture. In addition, individual data on each animal were collected in order to identify risk factors associated with strongyle egg shedding. Of the total number of stables investigated, 86.4% were found to have at least one positive animal and a 39.5% prevalence of strongyle egg shedding with a mean eggs per gram (EPG) of 245. A total of 80% of the total recorded EPG was shed from 12.8% of positive horses, thus confirming the need for new targeted intervention strategies. Significant differences in parasite prevalence were found based on season, sex, geographical distribution, management and rearing system, and breed. Significantly lower EPG values were found in horses that had received anthelmintic treatment, and macrocyclic lactones (MLs) were the most effective. Lastly, although large strongyles are more pathogenic, horses in Italy are mainly burdened by small strongyles, which pose an important animal health risk requiring continuous parasitological monitoring.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Predictive Maintenance (PdM) is the newest strategy for maintenance management in industrial contexts. It aims to predict the occurrence of a failure to minimize unexpected downtimes and maximize the ...useful life of components. In data-driven approaches, PdM makes use of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to extract relevant features from signals, identify and classify possible faults (diagnostics), and predict the components’ remaining useful life (prognostics). The major challenge lies in the high complexity of industrial plants, where both operational conditions change over time and a large number of unknown modes occur. A solution to this problem is offered by novelty detection, where a representation of the machinery normal operating state is learned and compared with online measurements to identify new operating conditions. In this paper, a systematic study of autoencoder-based methods for novelty detection is conducted. We introduce an architecture template, which includes a classification layer to detect and separate the operative conditions, and a localizer for identifying the most influencing signals. Four implementations, with different deep learning models, are described and used to evaluate the approach on data collected from a test rig. The evaluation shows the effectiveness of the architecture and that the autoencoders outperform the current baselines.
In this paper, a general formulation of entropy is proposed. It depends on two parameters and includes Shannon, Tsallis and fractional entropy, all as special cases. This measure of information is ...referred to as fractional Tsallis entropy and some of its properties are then studied. Furthermore, the corresponding entropy in the context of Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence is proposed and referred to as fractional version of Tsallis–Deng entropy. Finally, an application to two classification problems is presented.
•A new general formulation of entropy is proposed.•A new measure of discrimination in the context of Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence is defined.•An application to two classification problems is performed.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neem oil on caprine pediculosis and on kids' growth performances. The neem (
) belongs to the Meliaceae family, and in Eastern ...countries it is mainly considered for the insecticidal activities of the kernel oil. The neem seeds contain bioactive principles, such as azadirachtin A, salannin, nimbin, and nimbolide. The trial was carried out on 24 kids, 120 days old, maintained in open yards. Animals were divided in 4 homogeneous groups (
= 6 animals/group) based on age, louse count, body condition score (BCS) and live body weight: Control Group (C, saline NaCl, 0.9%), Neem Group 1 (NO-100, 100 mL of neem oil per 10 kg), Neem Group 2 (NO-200, 200 mL/10 kg), Neem Group 3 (NO-300, 300 mL/10 kg). The treatments were performed by spraying the insecticide on the goat's body. The study lasted 56 days, and weekly, the kids underwent louse count, BCS and body weight determination, and FAMACHA score. Data were analyzed by ANOVA for repeated measures. The species of lice identified was
. Kids belonging to NO-200 and NO-300 showed a stronger reduction of louse count throughout the study (>95%). The daily weight gain recorded was significantly higher (
< 0.05) in NO-300 than C. No differences were found for BCS and FAMACHA scores. The results of this trial showed that the administration of neem oil to control caprine pediculosis caused by sucking lice represents an alternative to synthetic compounds.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Paslahepevirus balayani (HEV) is an important emerging zoonotic virus in Europe. Although domestic pigs and wild boar are the main reservoirs of this pathogen, susceptibility to this virus has been ...confirmed in a growing number of animal species, including equines. However, their role in the epidemiology of this virus remains poorly understood. Our aim was to assess HEV circulation and identify potential risk factors associated with exposure in equid species in different European countries. A total of 596 equines, including 496 horses, 63 donkeys and 37 mules/hinnies bred in four European countries (Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Ireland) were sampled. Thirty-three animals (5.5%; 95%CI: 3.7–7.4) had anti-HEV antibodies. Seropositivity was found in 4.6% of horses, 11.1% of donkeys and 8.1% of mules/hinnies tested. By country, 6.3%, 5.4%, 5.0% and 4.0% of the equines sampled in Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Ireland, respectively, were seropositive, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that “species” and “drinking water from ponds and streams” were potential risk factors associated with HEV seropositivity in equines in Europe. HEV RNA was not detected in any (0.0%; 95%CI: 0.0–1.8) of the 202 equines tested. Our results provide evidence of a low, spatially homogeneous and widespread viral circulation that is not equal across species in equid populations in the European countries analyzed and indicate that these species appear to play a limited role in the epidemiology of this virus. Further studies are required to elucidate the differences in seroprevalence between donkeys, mules/hinnies and horses and to determine the risk of zoonotic transmission of this pathogen from equid species.
•Low, spatially homogeneous and widespread circulation were detected in equid populations in different European countries.•Species of equines and drinking water from ponds and streams were risk factors associated with HEV exposure in equines.•Equines seem to play a limited role in the epidemiology of this virus.
As a result of the increase of game meat intended for human consumption through Europe, a plethora of food-borne diseases, including trichinellosis, may occur in consumers, posing a relevant public ...health threat.
Thus, this study aims to a citizen science approach to monitor the occurrence of Trichinella spp. in wild boar meat intended for human consumption, evaluating the risk of infection for consumers.
Following the European Regulation 2015/1375 (laying down specific rules on official controls for Trichinella in meat), from 2015 to 2021, hunters (n = 478) were involved to collect diaphragm pillar samples of wild boars from mainland southern Italy, which were tested for Trichinella spp. L1 larvae via HCl-pepsin digestion and Multiplex PCR.
Overall, 139,160 animals were collected (average of 19,880 per year), being 14 (i.e., 0.01%) tested positive to Trichinella britovi by the combined biochemical and molecular approach. An average larval burden of 28.4 L1 per gram of meat was found (minimum 3.2 - maximum 132.6). A statistically significant difference was found in the prevalence according to hunting seasons (p < 0.01, with higher values in 2016 and 2021) and regions of the study area (p < 0.01). No statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of T. britovi throughout the study period was found (p = 0.51), except in Apulia region (p < 0.01).
These findings revealed a stable prevalence of T. britovi in wild boar meat intended for human consumption, suggesting a risk of infection for consumers, especially hunters and local markets users. Citizen science surveillance models could be promoted to improve trichinellosis control and prevention in a One Health perspective.
•The citizen science is technically sound for obtaining data of public health interest.•The occurrence of Trichinella britovi in boars of Italy poses a risk to consumers.•A high parasitic burden (i.e., 28.4 larvae per gram of meat) was found in wild boars.
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