Myiasis is an infestation caused by larvae of Diptera in humans and other vertebrates. In domestic cats, Felis silvestris catus L. (Carnivora: Felidae), four dipteran families have been reported as ...agents of obligatory and facultative myiasis: Oestridae, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae and Muscidae. Among agents of obligatory myiasis, the most frequent genus is Cuterebra Clark (Oestridae) and the most frequent species is Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Calliphoridae). Among the agents of facultative myiasis, the most frequent species is Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Calliphoridae). A survey of myiasis in cats reported in literature shows that the cases are distributed worldwide and linked to the geographical range of the dipteran species. Factors favouring the occurrence of myiasis in cats are prowling in infested areas, poor hygiene conditions due to diseases and/or neglect, and wounds inflicted during territorial or reproductive competition. The aim of the review is to provide an extended survey of literature on myiasis in cats, as general information and possible development of guidelines for veterinarians, entomologists and other researchers interested in the field.
Fusarium proliferatum is considered to be a pathogen of many economically important plants, including garlic. The objective of this research was to apply near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to rapidly ...determine fungal concentration in intact garlic cloves, avoiding the laborious and time-consuming procedures of traditional assays. Preventive detection of infection before seeding is of great interest for farmers, because it could avoid serious losses of yield during harvesting and storage. Spectra were collected on 95 garlic cloves, divided in five classes of infection (from 1-healthy to 5-very highly infected) in the range of fungal concentration 0.34-7231.15 ppb. Calibration and cross validation models were developed with partial least squares regression (PLSR) on pretreated spectra (standard normal variate, SNV, and derivatives), providing good accuracy in prediction, with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.829 and 0.774, respectively, a standard error of calibration (SEC) of 615.17 ppb, and a standard error of cross validation (SECV) of 717.41 ppb. The calibration model was then used to predict fungal concentration in unknown samples, peeled and unpeeled. The results showed that NIRS could be used as a reliable tool to directly detect and quantify F. proliferatum infection in peeled intact garlic cloves, but the presence of the external peel strongly affected the prediction reliability.
Two cases of cutaneous myiasis diagnosed in 2018 in Emilia‐Romagna region (northern Italy) were reported. The first one, described in a domestic cat Felis silvestris catus L. (Carnivora: Felidae) and ...caused by Calliphora vicina Robineau‐Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae), was the first one of this type ever reported in Italy in cats. The second one was described in a domestic dog Canis lupus familiaris L. (Carnivora: Canidae) and caused by Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and was unusual because it occurred in absence of lesions. An extensive literature search on cutaneous myiasis in these two domestic animal species was performed in order to draw attention to predisposing conditions and risk factors.
The first case of cutaneous myiasis by Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in a domestic cat Felis silvestris catus (Carnivora: Felidae) in Italy was reported. An unusual case of cutaneous myiasis in a domestic dog Canis lupus familiaris (Carnivora: Canidae) caused by Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) was also reported. The predisposing conditions and risk factors of the cutaneous myiasis in cats and dogs were also discussed.
Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PO) has a strong genetic component. Presently, the published evidence on the association between the main single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the receptor activator ...of nuclear factor-kb ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) and bone mass density (BMD) are scarce, mostly considering Italian population. This study sought to determine whether OPG (rs2073618), RANKL (rs9525641) and the VDR (rs2228570) SNPs were associated with BMD in a sample of 139 North-Italian postmenopausal women. The allelic distribution of rs9525641 in women with PO or osteopenia (OP + OPE group) differed from controls (p < 0.05), suggesting that this allele might confer a greater susceptibility to bone resorption. Concerning rs2228570, CC genotype was associated with OP + OPE women, with a worst total hip BMD. Notably, the combined genotype RANK (CT)-VDR (TT) was significantly associated to spine BMD (p < 0.05). In conclusion, this pilot study showed that rs9525641 and rs2228570 polymorphisms might contribute, separately or in combination, in determining BMD phenotype in selected postmenopausal populations.
Aim: The purpose of the present study was to assess the association of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐A) and lymphotoxin alpha (LT‐A) gene polymorphisms with the clinical ...parameters of gingivitis in a large experimental gingivitis trial and with each of two subgroups, “high responder” (HR, n=24) and “low responder” (LR, n=24), with distinct susceptibility to gingivitis.
Material and Methods: Ninety‐six systemically and periodontally healthy non‐smokers, 46 males (mean age: 23.9±1.7) and 50 females (mean age: 23.3±1.6), were included in a randomized split‐mouth localized 21‐day experimental gingivitis trial. Plaque index, gingival index, gingival crevicular fluid volume and angulated bleeding score were recorded. HR and LR subgroups were characterized by substantially different severities of gingival inflammation despite a similar plaque accumulation rate. All subjects were genetically characterized for IL‐6−174, IL‐6−597, TNF‐A−308 and LT‐A+252 polymorphisms.
Results: None of the variants analysed, either as single polymorphisms or as a combined genotype, was associated with the clinical parameters in the overall population. For the polymorphisms studied, genotypic distributions in HR and LR subjects were not significantly different.
Conclusions: The present results suggest an absence of association between IL‐6, TNF‐A and LT‐A polymorphisms and subject‐based clinical behaviour of the gingiva in response to de novo plaque accumulation.
The haematophagous females of the cleg fly
Haematopota pandazisi
(Kröber) (Diptera: Tabanidae) are a common pest in areas inhabited by wild and domestic ungulates in southern Europe, North Africa and ...Anatolia. A morphological investigation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was carried out for the first time on the antennae of females of
H. pandazisi
, with special attention to the type and distribution of sensilla and microtrichia. The typical brachyceran antenna is divided into three regions: the scape, the pedicel and the flagellum, which is the longest of the three and is composed of four flagellomeres. The scape and pedicel are characterized by only one type of microtrichium and chaetic sensillum, whereas five types of microtrichia and sensilla were identified on the flagellum and classified according to shape and distribution. The sensilla are of the chaetic, clavate, basiconic, trichoid and coeloconic types; the latter with either a basiconic or grooved peg inside. The results obtained in this study were compared to those found in other species in the family Tabanidae and other Diptera, with special attention to haematophagous species.
Summary
In this work, we investigated surname distribution in 4,348,021 Honduran electors with the aim of detecting population structure through the study of isonymy in three administrative levels: ...the whole nation, the 18 departments, and the 298 municipalities. For each administrative level, we studied the surname effective number, α, the total inbreeding, FIT, the random inbreeding, FST, and the local inbreeding, FIS. Principal components analysis, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis were performed on Lasker's distance matrix to detect the direction of surname diffusion and for a graphic representation of the surname relationship between different locations. The values of FIT, FST, and FIS display a variation of random inbreeding between the administrative levels in the Honduras population, which is attributed to the “Prefecture effect.” Multivariate analyses of department data identified two main clusters, one south‐western and the second north‐eastern, with the Bay Islands and the eastern Gracias a Dios out of the main clusters.
The results suggest that currently the population structure of this country is the result of the joint action of short‐range directional migration and drift, with drift dominating over migration, and that population diffusion may have taken place mainly in the NW‐SE direction.
We studied the isonymic structure of Western Europe using the distributions of 26.2 million surnames in 8 countries, 125 regions and 2094 towns of the Subcontinent. We found that, for the whole of ...Western Europe, Nei's distance was correlated with geographic distance (
r
=
0.610
±
0.009
). It was observed that at long geographic distances the isonymyc distance stays below linearity and tends to become asymptotic, and this was attributed to long distance migration. A dendrogram of the125 regions was built and the clusters identified by the dendrogram are almost exactly coincident with the nations of the Subcontinent. Random inbreeding calculated from isonymy,
F
ST, was highest in Spanish regions, and lowest in France. The geographical distribution of
α in 2094 towns, high in the Center and East of the Subcontinent and lower in Spain, is compatible with the settlement of subsequent waves of migrants moving from the West and from the South toward the centre of the Continent. The present surname structure of Western Europe is strictly linked to local languages.
Summary
In order to describe the isonymic structure of Albania, the distribution of 3,068,447 surnames was studied in the 12 prefectures and their administrative subdivisions: the 36 districts and ...321 communes. The number of different surnames found was 37,184. Effective surname number for the entire country was 1327, the average for prefectures was 653.3 ± 84.3, for districts 365.9 ± 42.0 and for communes 122.6 ± 8.7. These values display a variation of inbreeding between administrative levels in the Albanian population, which can be attributed to the previously published “Prefecture effect”.
Matrices of isonymic distances between units within administrative levels were tested for correlation with geographic distances. The correlations were highest for prefectures (r = 0.71 ± 0.06 for Euclidean distance) and lowest for communes (r = 0.37 ± 0.011 for Nei's distance).
The multivariate analyses (Principal component analysis and Multidimensional Scaling) of prefectures identify three main clusters, one toward the North, the second in Central Albania, and the third in the South. This pattern is consistent with important subclusters from districts and communes, which point out that the country may have been colonised by diffusion of groups in the North‐South direction, and from Macedonia in the East, over a pre‐existing Illiryan population.
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