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Aim: This study aims to investigate any modification of serological FSCN1 in prostate cancer patients compared with patients without neoplasia., Material & Methods: Clinical data and blood specimens from patients with and without prostate cancer were obtained. A quantitative sandwich ELISA method was used to determine serological values of FSCN1., Results: Although serum values of FSCN1 were dissimilar in the two cohorts of patients (6.90 vs 7.33 ng/ml), the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.20). Serum values of FSCN1 stratified for Gleason score groups were not significantly distinguishable (p = 0.65). A negative correlation (rho = -0.331; p = 0.009) was reported between FSCN1 and age., Conclusion: Further studies are required to evaluate a possible diagnostic role of FSCN1 in prostate cancer., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure This report was supported by George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, Romania, with funds from an internal competition. ‘Fascin an eventual new biomarker in prostate cancer’, is specified with a reference number (9/17800 of 22 December 2015). C Buonerba is a member of the Future Science OA Editorial Board. They were not involved in any editorial decisions related to the publication of this article, and all author details were blinded to the article’s peer reviewers as per the journal’s double-blind peer review policy. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 The Authors.)

In this retrospective study, a cohort of 67 subjects vaccinated with AZD1222 was retrospectively observed. Consistently with published findings, no serious adverse event was reported, and all adverse events reported (fever, muscle ache and/or pain in the site of injection) had resolved by day 8. Of note, some citizens were prescribed low-dose aspirin and even heparin for thrombosis prevention. We also found variations in laboratory test results (full blood count and chemistry) on day 1 compared with day 8. Physicians should be aware that no prevention therapy for thrombosis is currently recommended, given the very low incidence of this side effect. Additional studies are warranted to interpret our findings., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliationsor financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 The Authors.)

The Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Southern Italy (Istitituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, IZSM) is a public health institution operating within the Italian National Health Service. Over the past 5 years [IZSM] has promoted several research studies and interventions in an effort to tackle the 'Land of Fires' phenomenon, caused by the continued trafficking and uncontrolled incineration of waste that has affected some areas of Campania for decades. In this article, a mathematical model that generates a municipality index of environmental pressure is presented. The model was developed by a multidisciplinary team led by an environmental engineer and included researchers in the fields of veterinary and human medicine, biology and computer science. This model may serve as a geostratification tool useful for the design of human biomonitoring studies, although it may also be employed for strategic planning of remediation programs and public health interventions., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure Translation services were supplied by Translated S.r.l., funding of which was supported by Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No further writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 Carlo Buonerba.)

Aim: To assess the value of bone scintigraphy and 18 F-fluorocholine PET/computed tomography (CT) in predicting outcome in patients with prostate cancer and bone metastases treated with 223 radium., Materials & Methods: Retrospective analysis of 48 patients that underwent 223 radium therapy. End points were pain relief and overall survival., Results: After therapy, pain relief was observed in 27 patients. Patients without pain relief had more bone lesions at PET/CT than at bone scintigraphy (pretherapy imaging mismatch). In 39 patients who completed treatment protocol, post-therapy alkaline phosphatase and pretherapy imaging mismatch were independent predictors of poor overall survival., Conclusion: Patients with more lesions at 18 F-fluorocholine PET/CT than at bone scintigraphy had a poor prognosis. The combined imaging approach could be useful to predict outcome after 223 radium therapy., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 Alberto Cuocolo.)

Aim: To investigate the prognostic role of neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio (NPAR) in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and radical cystectomy (RC)., Patients & Methods: 213 patients were included., Inclusion Criteria: Nonmetastatic, MIBC (cT2-T4aN0M0), at least three cycles of NAC, undergone RC and with blood count within 30 days before NAC., Results: Five-years overall survival (OS) with NPAR >18 was 34.06% (95% CI: 18.3-50.5) and 65.37% (95% CI: 52.4-75.6) with NPAR <18. Five years cancer-specific survival (CSS) with NPAR >18 was 42.9% (95% CI: 23.9-60.7) and 74.5% (95% CI: 62.6-83.1) with NPAR <18 (p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, NPAR increased OS of 1.3 points and CSS of 4.37 points., Conclusion: High NPAR prior to NAC seems to be a strong predictor of OS and CSS in MIBC patients treated with NAC and RC., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, CNCS - UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2019-0085 within PNCDI III. Theauthors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 Matteo Ferro.)

SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, has rarely been associated with transmission from humans to animals (reverse zoonotic transmission). In this retrospective study, the authors reviewed data obtained from 236 animals, including buffaloes, goats/sheep, horses, carrier pigeons, rabbits, hens, snakes, pigs and cows that were screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection because they had been in contact with their SARS-CoV-2-positive breeder for at least 2 weeks. None of the tested animals were found to be positive. The authors' findings suggest that the risk of reverse zoonotic transmission among bred animals and SARS-CoV-2-positive breeders is very low or nonexistent. Additional studies are warranted., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 Carlo Buonerba.)

The Italian municipality of Ariano Irpino (Avellino, Campania, Italy) was locked down by the regional authorities from March until April 2020 after several citizens tested positive for SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A serological mass screening campaign targeting the Ariano Irpino population using the Roche Cobas Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay was organized by the Zoo-Prophylactic Institute of Southern Italy (Portici, Italy) and conducted in cooperation with the Local Health Unit (Azienda Sanitaria Locale - ASL - Avellino, Avellino, Italy), the Department of Public Health of University Federico II (Naples, Italy) and Department of Health Services of Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli-Cotugno and Monaldi Hospital (Naples, Italy) in May 2020. A total of 13,218 asymptomatic individuals were reviewed in this analysis. A total of 738 citizens tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (398 females, 340 males). The overall prevalence in the sample was 5.6% (95% CI: 5.2-6.0). Among seropositive citizens, 101 cases tested positive on RT-PCR (0.76% of the overall population). Among citizens aged 14-18, 18-65 and >65 years, the seroprevalence was equal to 6.1 (95% CI: 4.1-8.7), 5.6 (95% CI: 5.1-6.1) and 4% (95% CI: 3.3-4.8), respectively. In the pediatric cohort (<14 years old), seroprevalence was 13% (95% CI: 10.2-16.2). A serological-based screening strategy could be a cost-effective public health intervention to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure C Buonerba is a member of the editorial board of Future Science OA. The authors recognize the following funding: POR FESR CAMPANIA 2014-2020- O.S. 1.3 - AZIONE 1.3.1. DG 10. – PROGETTO “Studio di Sorveglianza Sanitaria del virus SARS-CoV-2 responsabile della pandemia da COVID-19 nella popolazione ad alto rischio o esposta a contatto diretto con pazienti positivi” –CUP C75I20000060002, approved by the Federico II Ethics Committee (n. 141/20) - “GENCOVID – Studio di Sorveglianza Sanitaria del virus SARS-CoV-2 responsabile della pandemia da COVID-19 nella popolazione ad alto rischio o esposta a contatto diretto con pazienti positivi” – Protocollo Studio Clinico Studio SPEM – Covid19 – GENCOVID. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 Carlo Buonerba.)

Background: Since prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels can be influenced by some routinely available clinical factors, a retrospective study was conducted to explore the influence of obesity, smoking habit, heavy drinking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on PSA levels in men with histologically confirmed prostate cancer., Patients & Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 833 prostate cancer patients undergoing radical prostatectomy., Results: Serum PSA levels at the time of surgery were not associated with either BMI or history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or heavy drinking. Conversely, PSA levels were associated with smoking status., Conclusion: Among the clinical factors explored in this homogeneous population, only tobacco use was associated with PSA levels, which should be considered when using PSA-based screening in male smokers., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2021 Felice Crocetto.)

Aim: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) represents the diagnostic gold standard. We explored the value of chest ultrasonography to predict positivity to SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR in suspected COVID-19 cases., Patients & Methods: Consecutive patients with suspect COVID-19 were included if they had fever and/or history of cough and/or dyspnea. Lung ultrasound score (LUSS) was computed according to published methods., Results: A total of 76 patients were included. A 3-variable model based on aspartate transaminase (AST) > upper limit of normal, LUSS >12 and body temperature >37.5°C yielded an overall accuracy of 91%., Conclusion: A simple LUSS-based model may represent a powerful tool for initial assessment in suspected cases of COVID-19., Competing Interests: Financial & competing interests disclosure C Buonerba is a member of the Future Science OA Editorial Board. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript., (© 2020 Enrico Allegorico.)