Two-hundred eight swine fecal samples from six Italian farms were tested using a kobuvirus-specific RT-PCR with primers that amplify a region within the 3D gene. All farms were kobuvirus positive, ...with prevalence rates ranging between 24 % and 84 %. Overall, 57.5 % of asymptomatic pigs and 49.7 % of animals with diarrhea were positive for kobuvirus. Sequence analysis showed a different predominant strain circulating on each farm and indicated that the strains detected were related to both European and Asiatic strains. A possible pathogenic role of kobuvirus should be investigated further, since infections with this virus occur frequently in pigs of different ages.
Viruses belonging to the genus Norovirus (NoV) of the family Caliciviridae are the major cause of acute viral gastroenteritis worldwide. NoVs are classified into 10 genogroups (GI-GX), and those ...belonging to the genogroup GV are able to infect several species of rodents. To evaluate the circulation of MNV among mice housed in an Italian facility, sampling was performed over two separate periods, in 2011, and 3 years later in 2014. During the two samplings, 75 fecal samples were collected from healthy mice housed in the animal facility and subjected to RT-PCR for viral detection. After the analysis, 41/75 animals (54.6%) resulted positive for the presence of MNV in feces. Nucleotide sequencing revealed the presence of two MNV variants co-circulating in both 2011 and 2014. One MNV strain was isolated on RAW264.7 cell line, and subjected to full genome sequencing. Our study showed that the murine noroviruses are widespread in the investigated animal facility, despite guidelines for animal care and maintenance. Full genome sequence analysis of the MNV strain described in this study showed a correlation with other strains circulating in Europe. Understanding the molecular epidemiology of this virus should give insight into its natural history and evolution in mice.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Poultry is the most likely source of livestock-associated Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) and plasmid-mediated AmpC (pAmpC)-producing E. coli (EC) for humans. We tested the hypothesis that ...farming methods have an impact on the load of ESBL/pAmpC-EC in the gut of broilers at slaughter. Isolates (n = 156) of antibiotic-free (AF), organic (O), and conventional (C) animals were characterized for antibiotic susceptibility and antibiotic resistance genes. Thirteen isolates were whole-genome sequenced. The average loads of ESBL/pAmpC-EC in cecal contents were 4.17 Log CFU/g for AF; 2.85 Log CFU/g for O; and 3.88 Log CFU/g for C type (p < 0.001). ESBL/pAmpC-EC isolates showed resistance to antibiotic classes historically used in poultry, including penicillins, tetracyclines, quinolones, and sulfonamides. Isolates from O and AF farms harbored a lower proportion of resistance to antibiotics than isolates from C farms. Among the determinants for ESBL/pAmpC, CTX-M-1 prevailed (42.7%), followed by TEM-type (29%) and SHV (19.8%). Avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), belonging to ST117 and ST349, were identified in the collection. These data confirm the possible role of a broiler as an ESBL/AmpC EC and APEC reservoir for humans. Overall, our study suggests that antibiotic-free and organic production may contribute to a reduced exposure to ESBL/AmpC EC for the consumer.
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the aetiological agent of postweaning diarrhoea (PWD) in piglets. The SNPs located on the Mucine 4 (MUC4) and Fucosyltransferase 1 (FUT1) genes have been ...associated with the susceptibility to ETEC F4 and ETEC F18, respectively. The interplay between the MUC4 and FUT1 genotypes to ETEC infection and the use of amoxicillin in modifying the intestinal microbiota during a natural infection by multiresistant ETEC strains have never been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the MUC4 and FUT1 genotypes and the administration of amoxicillin through different routes on the presence of diarrhoea and the faecal microbiota composition in piglets naturally infected with ETEC. Seventy‐one piglets were divided into three groups: two groups differing by amoxicillin administration routes—parenteral (P) or oral (O) and a control group without antibiotics (C). Faecal scores, body weight, presence of ETEC F4 and F18 were investigated 4 days after the arrival in the facility (T0), at the end of the amoxicillin administration (T1) and after the withdrawal period (T2). The faecal bacteria composition was assessed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. We described that MUC4 and FUT1 genotypes were associated with the presence of ETEC F4 and ETEC F18. The faecal microbiota was influenced by the MUC4 genotypes at T0. We found the oral administration to be associated with the presence of diarrhoea at T1 and T2. Furthermore, the exposure to amoxicillin resulted in significant alterations of the faecal microbiota. Overall, MUC4 and FUT1 were confirmed as genetic markers for the susceptibility to ETEC infections in pigs. Moreover, our data highlight that group amoxicillin treatment may produce adverse outcomes on pig health in course of multiresistant ETEC infection. Therefore, alternative control measures able to maintain a healthy faecal microbiota in weaners are recommended.
In September 2011, an acute gastroenteritis outbreak affected 33 children in Northern Italy. Patients had drunk river water during an excursion. Identical GI.4 norovirus genomes were detected from ...one patient's stools and from the river water. Improper discharge of human sewage into the river may have caused this waterborne outbreak.
A novel millimeter-wave design of a Fabry-Perot cavity leaky-wave antenna (LWA) is proposed here as a promising alternative to conventional configurations for improving the directivity at broadside ...of radiating elements. In order to prove our original idea, the radiation features of i) a substrate-superstrate LWA, ii) a grounded dielectric slab with a single homogenized metasurface above it, and iii) this novel layout, consisting of a substrate-superstrate LWA with interleaved metasurfaces, are evaluated through rigorous analytical methods and validated with reliable numerical techniques. It is seen that the presence of the two metasurfaces significantly improves the directivity of the conventional substrate-superstrate LWA and also leads to a quite higher directivity than the LWA with a single metasurface on top.
In this paper we report the detection of five strong Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) by the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-01) mounted on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01), ...operational since 2018 on a Sun-synchronous polar orbit at a \(\sim\) 507 km altitude and 97\(^\circ\) inclination. HEPD-01 was designed to detect high-energy electrons in the energy range 3 - 100 MeV, protons in the range 30 - 300 MeV, and light nuclei in the range 30 - 300 MeV/n. Nonetheless, Monte Carlo simulations have shown HEPD-01 is sensitive to gamma-ray photons in the energy range 300 keV - 50 MeV, even if with a moderate effective area above \(\sim\) 5 MeV. A dedicated time correlation analysis between GRBs reported in literature and signals from a set of HEPD-01 trigger configuration masks has confirmed the anticipated detector sensitivity to high-energy photons. A comparison between the simultaneous time profiles of HEPD-01 electron fluxes and photons from GRB190114C, GRB190305A, GRB190928A, GRB200826B and GRB211211A has shown a remarkable similarity, in spite of the different energy ranges. The high-energy response, with peak sensitivity at about 2 MeV, and moderate effective area of the detector in the actual flight configuration explain why these five GRBs, characterised by a fluence above \(\sim\) 3 \(\times\) 10\(^{-5}\) erg cm\(^{-2}\) in the energy interval 300 keV - 50 MeV, have been detected.
Polymeric zone plates for THz focusing Tofani, Silvia; Zografopoulos, Dimitrios C.; Missori, Mauro ...
2016 41st International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz waves (IRMMW-THz),
2016-Sept.
Conference Proceeding
A conventional binary zone plate for terahertz focusing is compared with a proposed new configuration in which two zone plates are stacked, showing an increased focusing efficiency. The field ...intensity in the focal spot is enhanced by employing a low-loss cyclo-olefin polymer instead of more conventional materials.
In this work, a design flow for leaky-wave antennas based on metasurfaces is proposed. In particular, the possibility to extract the surface impedance of partially reflecting surfaces (PRS) for which ...homogenization formulas are not yet available in the literature has been exploited by means of numerical tools. The knowledge of the surface impedance in a PRS-based Fabry-Perot cavity leaky-wave antenna (FPC-LWA) allows for accurately evaluating the radiating performance by means of simple analytical formulas. A fishnet-like metasurface is designed to validate the proposed approach and its implementation as a partially reflective sheet for a highly-directive FPC-LWA working at terahertz frequencies is discussed.
It has recently been shown that the relaxation time of a graphene sheet is the crucial parameter that governs the radiation performance in graphene THz antennas based on either plasmonic or ...nonplasmonic leaky waves. Moreover, the radiating properties of these devices have always been derived assuming an ideal dipole-like source, and no full-wave and experimental results on realistic feeders have been reported, yet. To this purpose, in this work we aim at bringing the designs of graphene-based Fabry-Perot cavity leaky-wave antennas (FPC-LWAs) towards an experimental stage. First, the antenna design is validated with full-wave simulations, by modeling not only the antenna structure, but also a realistic THz source, namely an open-ended waveguide. Another considerable difference with the previous designs is the use of a cylindrical geometry. As a result, the radiation patterns now exhibit a remarkable omnidirectionality over the azimuthal plane, as the beam is scannable from broadside up to 45°. Second, THz measurements are carried out to characterize graphene samples deposited over silicon substrates. The relaxation time is estimated by combining the transmittance measurements of a sample with well-established theoretical models for the graphene surface conductivity. These results shed several issues for the future developments of graphene-based FPC-LWAs.
PDF
