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Since 2012, a new pathogenic syndrome has frequently been observed in many areas of kiwifruit cultivation in Italy. The main symptoms include an initial withering of the leaves followed by a total and sudden collapse of plants, mainly occurring during summer. The withered leaves fall and the main and secondary feeder roots appear rotten, sometimes showing a reddish‐brown discoloration. The disease, that affects both the green and yellow‐fleshed cultivars, has been called kiwifruit vine decline and is locally known as moria. The syndrome has been found consistently associated with soil waterlogging, which frequently occurs either after the traditional agronomical practice of irrigating orchards through surface irrigation or after very heavy rainfall. So far, the role played by bacteria in this syndrome has not been investigated. In the present study, Clostridium spp. were isolated from both rotten roots and soils obtained from Italian kiwifruit orchards affected by the syndrome, indicating for the first time that anaerobic bacteria are able to cause damage to woody crops. C. bifermentans and C. subterminale incited symptoms in kiwifruit in both in vivo and in vitro pathogenicity tests. Soil waterlogging seems to potentially favour colonization of kiwifruit roots by anaerobic bacteria, probably because saturation of the soil can facilitate proliferation and persistence of these bacteria during long periods of the vegetative growth of the crop. The occurrence of anaerobic bacteria does not exclude the possibility that other microorganisms can play additional/synergic role(s) in causing the kiwifruit vine decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Multicentre, retrospective cohort study with multivariable Cox proportional-hazards modelling and survival-time inverse-probability-weighting, evaluating the impact of different treatments on survival of proven COVID-19 patients admitted to two Hospitals in the province of Piacenza, Italy. Use of tocilizumab and of high doses of low molecular weight heparin, but not of antivirals (either alone or in combination), azithromycin, and any corticosteroid, was independently associated with lower mortality. Our results support further clinical evaluation of high doses of low molecular weight heparin and tocilizumab as COVID-19 therapeutics., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Piacenza is the closest city to the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cluster in Italy and has the highest national COVID-19 death rates per population. The objective of this study is to present characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to medical departments of the Hospital of Piacenza during the first wave of the epidemic., Methods: A total of 218 patients with confirmed or suspect COVID-19 and severe pneumonia were included from February 21st to May 15th, 2020. Routinely-collected clinical and laboratory data were retrospectively retrieved from electronic medical files. A Cox proportional-hazards model was fit to assess the association of treatment and other variables with death., Results: Median age of patients was 68 years; 150 patients (69%) had comorbidities, mainly hypertension (107, 49%). Overall, 185 (85%) patients had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) on admission, including 103 (47%) with moderate or severe ARDS. Chest computed tomography scan showed bilateral disease in 201 (98%) and extensive lung involvement in 79 (50%) patients. Most patients received antiviral treatment (187, 86%) and corticosteroids (134, 61%). All patients received respiratory support and 64 (29%) were admitted to intensive care unit. As of June 30th, 100 patients (46%) died, 109 patients (50%) were discharged, and 9 patients (4%) were still hospitalized. In multivariable Cox analysis, age above 65 years, having more than one comorbidity, severe ARDS, low platelet counts, and high LDH levels at admission were associated with mortality, while having diarrhea at admission was associated with survival. The use of antivirals or corticosteroids was not associated with survival., Conclusions: Overall case fatality rates were high and associated with comorbidities, extensive lung involvement, ARDS at admission, and advanced age. The use of antivirals was not associated with increased survival., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) is the causal agent of bacterial canker of kiwifruit. In the last years, it has caused severe economic losses to Actinidia spp. cultivations, mainly in Italy and New Zealand. Conventional strategies adopted did not provide adequate control of infection. Phage therapy may be a realistic and safe answer to the urgent need for novel antibacterial agents aiming to control this bacterial pathogen. In this study, we described the isolation and characterization of two bacteriophages able to specifically infect Psa. φPSA1, a member of the Siphoviridae family, is a temperate phage with a narrow host range, a long latency, and a burst size of 178; φPSA2 is a lytic phage of Podoviridae family with a broader host range, a short latency, a burst size of 92 and a higher bactericidal activity as determined by the TOD value. The genomic sequence of φPSA1 has a length of 51,090 bp and a low sequence homology with the other siphophages, whereas φPSA2 has a length of 40 472 bp with a 98% homology with Pseudomonas putida bacteriophage gh-1. Of the two phages examined, φPSA2 may be considered as a candidate for phage therapy of kiwifruit disease, while φPSA1 seems specific toward the recent outbreak's isolates and could be useful for Psa typing., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)