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Abstract Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients can be classified in tremor-dominant (TD) and postural-instability-and-gait-disorder (PIGD) motor subtypes. PIGD represents a more aggressive form of the disease that TD patients have a potentiality of converting into. This study investigated functional alterations within the cerebro-cerebellar system in PD-TD and PD-PIGD patients using stepwise functional connectivity (SFC) analysis and identified neuroimaging features that predict TD to PIGD conversion. Thirty-two PD-TD, 26 PD-PIGD patients and 60 healthy controls performed clinical/cognitive evaluations and resting-state functional MRI (fMRI). Four-year clinical follow-up data were available for 28 PD-TD patients, who were classified in 10 converters (cTD-PD) and 18 non-converters (ncTD-PD) to PIGD. The cerebellar seed-region was identified using a fMRI motor task. SFC analysis, characterizing regions that connect brain areas to the cerebellar seed at different levels of link-step distances, evaluated similar and divergent alterations in PD-TD and PD-PIGD. The discriminatory power of clinical data and/or SFC in distinguishing cPD-TD from ncPD-TD patients was assessed using ROC curve analysis. Compared to PD-TD, PD-PIGD patients showed decreased SFC in temporal lobe and occipital lobes and increased SFC in cerebellar cortex and ponto-medullary junction. Considering the subtype-conversion analysis, cPD-TD patients were characterized by increased SFC in temporal and occipital lobes and in cerebellum and ponto-medullary junction relative to ncPD-TD group. Combining clinical and SFC data, ROC curves provided the highest classification power to identify conversion to PIGD. These findings provide novel insights into the pathophysiology underlying different PD motor phenotypes and a potential tool for early characterization of PD-TD patients at risk of conversion to PIGD.

We demonstrate that combining standing wave (SW) excitation with resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) can lead to depth resolution and interface sensitivity for studying orbital and magnetic excitations in correlated oxide heterostructures. SW-RIXS has been applied to multilayer heterostructures consisting of a superconductor La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (LSCO) and a half-metallic ferromagnet La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO). Easily observable SW effects on the RIXS excitations were found in these LSCO/LSMO multilayers. In addition, we observe different depth distribution of the RIXS excitations. The magnetic excitations are found to arise from the LSCO/LSMO interfaces, and there is also a suggestion that one of the dd excitations comes from the interfaces. SW-RIXS measurements of correlated-oxide and other multilayer heterostructures should provide unique layer-resolved insights concerning their orbital and magnetic excitations, as well as a challenge for RIXS theory to specifically deal with interface effects.

Simple Summary: Aedes albopictus mosquitoes spread arboviruses like dengue, Zika, or chikungunya. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) can be used as a prevention and control tool against Ae. albopictus populations. Mark–release–recapture (MRR) trials are fundamental to estimate the size of the wild population in target areas and to determine the dispersal capacity and survival of sterile males in open field conditions. Environmental conditions can affect the MRR trial's results; thus, the influence of climatic factors on the first MRR trial with Ae. albopictus marked sterile males conducted in Portugal was analyzed. In October 2022, for three consecutive weeks at two different release points, 84,000 sterile males were released over 50 ha of the study area, in the municipality of Faro, Southern Portugal, and mosquitoes were recaptured by human landing collection (HLC) one, two, four, and six days after release. Distance travelled, daily survival, and life expectancy in the field were estimated for the released sterile males and the influence of climatic factors was analyzed. Despite no statistically significant association being found with humidity, temperature, and precipitation, it is crucial to plan MRRs, considering weather conditions for a more efficient application of the SIT in an integrated vector management program. Aedes albopictus is considered one of the major invasive species in the world and can transmit viruses such as dengue, Zika, or chikungunya. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) can be used to suppress the native populations of Ae. albopictus. Mark–release–recapture (MRR) studies are crucial to support the development of the release strategy during the SIT application. Meanwhile, weather conditions can affect the MRR trial's results and it is critical to understand the influence of climatic factors on the results. In October 2022, 84,000 irradiated sterile males were released for three consecutive weeks in Faro, Southern Portugal. Mosquitoes were recaptured by human landing collection (HLC) one, two, four, and six days after release. Generalized linear models with a negative binomial family and log function were used to estimate the factors associated with the number of recaptured mosquitoes, prevalence ratios, and the 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 84,000 sterile male mosquitoes were released, with 528 recaptured (0.8%) by HLC. The prevalence of recaptured mosquitoes was 23% lower when the wind intensity was moderate. Marked sterile males had an average median distance travelled of 88.7 m. The median probability of daily survival and the average life expectancy were 61.6% and 2.1 days, respectively. The wild male population estimate was 443.33 males/ha. Despite no statistically significant association being found with humidity, temperature, and precipitation, it is important to consider weather conditions during MRR trial analyses to obtain the best determinant estimation and a more efficient application of the SIT in an integrated vector management program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companion animals are increasingly being recognised as important contributors to the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The present work aimed to measure the antimicrobial drug prescribing in dogs and cats in the Campania Region, Italy by analysing the Veterinary Electronic Prescriptions (VEPs) between 2019 and 2020. The medical records associated with antimicrobial drug prescriptions were collected according to the drug administration (systemic or topical) and the rationale for the treatment chosen. In the period under investigation, 166,879 drugs were prescribed of which 129,116 (73.4%) were antimicrobial. A total of 83,965 (65%) antibiotics were prescribed to dogs, 40,477 (31.4%) to cats, and 4674 (3.6%) to other companion animals. In dogs, 90.5% of VEPs prescribed for systemic treatment included an antimicrobial Critically Important or Highly Important or Important for human medicine (WHO, 2018). The most widely prescribed class was fluoroquinolones. The antimicrobials prescribed were mainly metronidazole–spiramycin (29.7%), amoxicillin–clavulanic (19.6%), enrofloxacin and cephalexin in dogs (16.5%) and enrofloxacin (22.6%) and amoxicillin–clavulanic acid (21.4%) in cats. Based on the results, the widespread use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials and the use of molecules for which limitations should be observed according to the EMA guidelines has emerged.

This article aims at investigating two narratives about historical moments of sociopolitical, economic, and cultural crisis represented through literary descriptions of epidemics. I will focus on the subtext of the plague in one of the foundational texts of the Western canon, the Decameron, paying particular attention to the metaphor of contagion as a phenomenon allowing for the renegotiations of biopolitical borders in the Florentine society of the Trecento. Building on images of contamination as vehicles of contagion, I am interested in interrogating the roots and scope of the reconsideration of traditional norms and accustomed practices that Giovanni Bocaccio frames in biopolitical terms in the description of the 1348 plague in Florence. I will also take into consideration Philip Roth’s 2010 novel Nemesis, which is set against the background of the polio outbreak in Newark in 1944. Nemesis depicts a prophylactic measure identical to the country retreat that famously frames the main narrative in the Decameron, yet in Roth’s novel it represents a failed attempt to escape contagion. Another narrative trait that Nemesis shares with the Decameron is the context: a society on the verge of essential transformations in the political, cultural, and economic realm. Indeed, mercantile Florence of the Trecento was on the brink of a new era, the Early Modern period, likewise 1944 USA was involved in WWII, fighting for the geopolitical supremacy over a new world order (the Cold War) and shaping a new socio-economic model: neoliberalism.