Province Of Verona Research Articles

On two syntopic species of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) in and nearby San Marco fortress (Veneto, Italy): a preliminary investigation

The author found syntopic specimens of Euscorpius italicus and E. tergestinus inside and nearby an abandoned fortress in Verona Province, Veneto, Italy. This discovery highlights a possibility of coexistence of congeneric species not only in the same territory, as already observed, but also in the same habitat and microhabitat, bringing some interesting questions about interspecific competition within the genus Euscorpius.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Intervention Measures and Vaccination for the Control of LPAI Epidemics in Verona Province (Veneto, Italy)

Meat-type turkey farms in Verona province (Veneto, Italy) have been affected by three low-pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) epidemics between 2000 and 2004. Control measures implemented ranged from stamping out to controlled marketing in conjunction with restocking bans and movement restriction on live poultry, vehicles, and personnel. These measures were complemented with two emergency vaccination programs (2000-01, 2002-03) started after the beginning of the epidemics, while 2004 outbreaks occurred in vaccinated farms. The three epidemics differed in the number of outbreaks, duration, and economic impact. The aim of the investigation was to estimate the risk of infection and the effect of vaccination on the LPAI epidemics affecting turkey farms in Verona province. Farm probability to avoid infection (Ps) was calculated by Kaplan-Meier for each epidemic. The vaccination effect was evaluated for the 2000-01 and 2002-03 epidemics considering different risk before or after the emergency vaccination. The epidemics and vaccination entered as predictors in a Cox regression model and hazard ratios (HR) were calculated. Ps values at the end of the epidemics were as follows: 2000-01 = 0.66, 2002-03 = 0.51, and 2004 = 0.91. Vaccination reduced dramatically the risk of infection. The measures implemented had different effects on the three epidemics. The lower probability of being infected during the 2004 epidemic was most likely related to the protection level of the vaccinated farms acquired before the beginning of the epidemic, which was also responsible for the reduced spread of infection.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Intervention Measures and Vaccination for the Control of LPAI Epidemics in Verona Province (Veneto, Italy)

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Intervention Measures and Vaccination for the Control of LPAI Epidemics in Verona Province (Veneto, Italy)

Evaluation of mycotoxins contamination in intensive beef cattle production system

Feed samples from 15 intensive beef cattle farms located in Northern Italy (provinces of Verona and Mantova) were checked for mycotoxin contamination [aflatoxins (AF), fumonisins (FB), ochratoxin A (OTA), deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenol (ZEN)]. Total mixed rations (TMR) resulted positive for AF and FB contamination. Among feedstuffs corn and corn gluten feed were the only responsible of TMR contamination. Level of contamination was positively related to corn moisture content.

Giazza, la foresta “creata” dai forestali un secolo fa

Abstract: The history of the Giazza forest in the Illasi valley (province of Verona, Northern Italy) is worth remembering. By the end of the 19th century, because of habitual unregulated cuttings and intensive grazing, no forest cover remained on the steep mountain slopes. Streams rushed unchecked through the valley, causing severe erosion and related environmental problems. In the first decade of the 20th century, a new forest was literally created by far-sighted foresters who, under difficult environmental conditions, did essential engineering for soil protection and site preparation for reforestation. We forget that the quality and vision of their work is the reason, a century later, hundreds of people each weekend can walk through a thriving forest.

Early Eocene amber from the “Pesciara di Bolca” (Lessini Mountains, Northern Italy)

The occurrence of amber from the world-famous fossil-lagerstätte of Pesciara di Bolca (Verona province) is here reported for the first time. This amber has been carefully analysed by means of infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTG), and elemental chemical analysis. Then, the amber from Bolca has been compared with other ambers of similar age. Among them, a sample from the Cava Rossi quarry (Monte di Malo, Vicenza province) shows striking similarities in all the physical–chemical characters. The fossil content of the amber levels of the Pesciara and Cava Rossi was examined with respect to the palynomorphs and larger foraminiferans. This permitted to ascertain that the two amber levels are substantially isochronous, within the resolution power of the larger foraminiferan biozones. According to the shallow benthic biozonation, the age is in both cases SBZ 11, or Middle Cuisian (Early Eocene). Moreover, the fossil assemblages allowed to reconstruct the palaeoenvironments, stressing they were in both case on a shallow carbonate platform, relatively close to the shoreline. The Pesciara palaeoenvironment was very close to the continental areas and with peculiar conditions allowing the exceptional preservation of the fishes. Instead, the Cava Rossi palaeoenvironment was more distal and open to marine influxes.

LATE ANTIQUE SETTLEMENT ON THE PLAIN OF VERONA

In recent years, late antique landscapes and settlement transformation have formed an important research area at the University of Padua. This paper presents the results and the preliminary conclusions of recent research on a low-lying area between the provinces of Verona and Mantua. Between the 2nd and 3rd c., this region saw the widespread abandonment of smaller sites. The landscape of the 4th c. and later was dominated by larger sites, some of which remained in use until the 6th c. The paper presents the evidence for this process and highlights both the difficulties inherent in defining general trends in regional change and the problems of understanding the specific reasons behind the transformations that occurred.

Avian Pneumovirus infection in turkey and broiler farms in Italy: a virological, molecular and serological field survey

Avian Pneumovirus (APV) is the casual agent of Turkey Rhinotracheitis (TRT), and also causes a respiratory infection in chickens, which can result in Swollen Head Syndrome. A survey of APV infection in Italian turkey and broiler farms, in a highly populated area of Northern Italy (Verona Province) is reported. Nine turkey farms and 6 broiler farms were sampled. Sixteen birds from each group were doubly swabbed from the choanal cleft for virus isolation on tracheal organ cultures (TOC) and RT nested PCR (A and B type specific) using extracted RNA. At the same time blood samples were collected for a blocking ELISA serological assay. The broiler samples for virological assays were treated with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) antiserum raised against serotypes prevalent in the areas sampled, thus avoiding competitive growth of IBV on TOC. Ciliostasis on TOC was taken as the indicator of the presence of the virus, and confirmation was by indirect immunofluorescence. APV was isolated and detected by RT-PCR in 19 day-old turkeys, and in 34, 42 and 48 day-old broilers. All APV strains were found to be type B. All turkeys of more than 4 weeks old were APV positive by ELISA. APV infection was found to be widely spread in the area sampled and the protocol used for virus isolation was shown to be effective. Turkey rhinotracheitis first appeared in Italy in the late 1980s, and the APV isolates involved were subsequently characterised as B types. Our results confirm APV B type to be present in Italy, but the limited findings to date need to be extended by further surveys of other Italian regions.

Low-pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) in Italy (2000-01): epidemiology and control.

In 1999-2000, Italy was affected by the most severe avian influenza (AI) epidemic that has ever occurred in Europe. The epidemic was caused by a type A influenza virus of the H7N1 subtype, which originated from the mutation of a low-pathogenicity (LP) AI virus of the same subtype. From August to November 2000, 4 months after the eradication of the highly pathogenic (HP) AI virus, the LPAI strain re-emerged and infected 55 poultry farms mainly located in the southern area of Verona province (Veneto region). To supplement disease control measures already in force, an emergency vaccination program against the disease was implemented in the area. Vaccination was carried out using an inactivated heterologous vaccine (A/chicken/Pakistan/1995-H7N3). In order to establish whether LPAI infection was circulating in the area, regular serological testing of sentinel birds in vaccinated flocks and a discriminatory test able to distinguish the different types of antineuraminidase antibodies (anti-N1 and anti-N3) were performed. Shortly after the beginning of the vaccination campaign (December 2000 to March 2001), the H7N1 LPAI virus emerged again, infecting 23 farms. Among these, only one vaccinated flock was affected, and infection did not spread further to other vaccinated farms. The data reported in the present paper indicate that the combination of biosecurity measures, official control, and vaccination can be considered successful for the control of LPAI infections in densely populated poultry areas.

Prevalence of Dementia and Apolipoprotein E Genotype Distribution in the Elderly of Buttapietra, Verona Province, Italy

We investigated the prevalence of dementia and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype distribution in the elderly of Buttapietra, a village near Verona, Italy. All residents over the age of 74 (n = 238), including those who were institutionalized, were studied using a direct-contact, single-phase design. The overall prevalence of dementia, clinically defined by DSM-III-R criteria, was 15.8 cases per 100 population, with age-specific figures increasing steeply with advancing age in both sexes. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was the most frequent dementing disorder (43%). APOE genotyping was determined after DNA amplification by restriction isotyping. We found that the Ε4 allele and the Ε3/Ε4 genotype were associated with all types of dementia, although only the association of Ε3/Ε4 with AD reached statistical significance (odds ratio 4.5, 95% confidence interval 1.3–16.1). However, as reported in other Mediterranean countries, the frequency of the Ε4 allele in our population was low (8.9%), suggesting that the population-attributable risk for AD, at least for elderly individuals (≧75 years), could be small.

Scleroderma and occupational exposure to hand-transmitted vibration.

To determine whether occupational exposure to hand-transmitted vibration is a risk factor for scleroderma (systemic sclerosis, SSc), two case-control studies were conducted in the provinces of Trento and Verona, northeastern Italy. In the Trento study, 21 patients with a diagnosis of either systemic or localised scleroderma were recruited from those admitted to all hospitals of the province from 1 January 1976 to 31 December 1991. For each case, two age- and gender-matched controls were selected. In the Verona study, cases included 55 patients diagnosed with SSc and clinically followed at the rheumatology clinic of the local university hospital between 1 January 1997 and 30 June 1999. The controls included 171 subjects frequency-matched by gender and age group. In both studies, all subjects were interviewed by structured questionnaire containing items on personal characteristics, smoking and drinking habits, use of medicines, occupational history and complete medical history. Women were also investigated about silicone implants and cosmetic surgery. Jobs and job tasks involving the use of vibratory tools, with or without concomitant exposure to silica dust in mining and non-mining occupations, were carefully investigated. A minimum criterion of 6 months was required for exposure duration. In the Trento study, men with scleroderma were more likely than controls to have had exposure to hand-transmitted vibration (odds ratio (OR) 1.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.1-74.1) or silica dust (OR 5.2, 95% Cl 0.5-74.1), but the association was not significant. The scleroderma patients were miners or stone workers who had operated jackhammers and rock drills. In the Verona study, a greater, although not statistically significant, odds of SSc was observed in men exposed to hand-transmitted vibration (OR 2.4, 95% CI 0.4-14.0) and in women exposed to silica (OR 2.4, 95% Cl 0.4-15.5). The SSc patients with vibration exposure were machinery operators or metal workers who had used grinders and impact wrenches. Our case-control studies did not show a significant association between scleroderma and hand-transmitted vibration, with or without concomitant exposure to silica dust. Owing to the rarity of the disease and the small number of cases in the present studies, a genetic susceptibility to connective tissue disorders in SSc patients with occupational exposure to hand-transmitted vibration and/or silica cannot be ruled out.

AMPLIFIED FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM FINGERPRINTING OF XANTHOMONAS ARBORICOLA PV. PRUNI

SUMMARY The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique was applied to 109 strains of pv. pruni and one strain of pv. juglandis of the species Xanthomonas arboricola and to five strains of other Xanthomonas species. Groups of 12 and 41 strains of pv. pruni were isolated at the same time from fruit lesions in two peach orchards in the province of Verona (Italy). The other strains of pv. pruni were from different geographic areas and/or host plants. The EcoRI/MseI and EOO/M02 pairs were used as restriction enzymes and selective amplification primers. Comparison of the AFLP profiles showed that the X. arboricola pv. pruni profile could be reliably distinguished from those of pv. juglandis and the other five species; 108 out of 109 strains of X. arboricola pv. pruni were included in the main cluster (S D = 0.93). This was divided into 3 subgroups: I (S D = 0.982; 73 strains); II (S D = 0.979; 32 strains); III (S D = 0.990; 3 strains). Another subgroup, IV, with just one strain clustered with the other 3 subgroups at S D = 0.89. Isolates from the same peach orchard fell within subgroups I and II, as did strains from other geographic areas or from different host plants. The technique used did not have sufficient resolution to distinguish homogeneous groups of pv. pruni of X. arboricola on the basis of locality, geographic area or host plant.

Nasal cancer in leather workers: an occupational disease

Nasal cancer has a number of causative agents; exposures to most of the established nasal carcinogens occur in the workplace. An increased risk of nasal cancer has been ascertained in shoe-making and shoe-repairing, but the results for leather goods manufacture and leather tanning don't provide adequate evidence of carcinogenicity. Findings from two epidemiological studies carried out in Italy (a case/control study and a case/series report) add further information on this issue. The case/control study was performed in the provinces of Siena (Tuscany), Verona and Vicenza (Venetia) including 96 cases and 378 controls. A significant increased risk (Odds Ratio: 6.8; 90% C.I. = 1.9-25) of sinonasal cancer was found for the employ in the whole leather industry; Odds Ratio of 8.3 (C.I. = 1.9-36) and 5.0 (C.I. = 0.92-28) were associated with shoe-making and leather tanning. The case/series report is based on 110 patients accepted in some Italian hospitals during last three years (1990-1993): 26 cases had worked in the leather industry; adenocarcinoma is the most frequent type observed. Chromium salts and natural tannins are indicated as possible aetiological agents.

A fossil Halobates from the Mediterranean and the origin of sea skaters (Hemiptera, Gerridae)

Five species of sea skaters, genus Halobates Eschscholtz, are the only insects to have successfully colonized the open ocean. In addition, 38 species are found in sheltered coastal waters throughout tropical Indo-Pacific. The taxonomy of the genus is relatively well known, and the phylogenetic relationships between extant species have recently been analysed (using cladistic methods). In the present paper, we describe the first fossil species of sea skaters, Halobates ruffoi sp. nov., from the Eocene deposit 'Pesciara di Bolca', in the province of Verona, northeastern Italy (geological age about 45 Myr). The significance of this fossil in setting the time scale for the reconstructed phylogeny and anagenesis of adaptive features of sea skaters, and in understanding the evolution and historical zoogeography of these marine insects is discussed.

A fossil Halobates from the Mediterranean and the origin of sea skaters (Hemiptera, Gerridae)

Five species of sea skaters, genus Halobates Eschscholtz, are the only insects to have successfully colonized the open ocean. In addition, 38 species are found in sheltered coastal waters throughout tropical Indo-Pacific. The taxonomy of the genus is relatively well known, and the phylogenetic relationships between extant species have recently been analysed (using cladistic methods). In the present paper, we describe the first fossil species of sea skaters, Halobates ruffoi sp. nov. , from the Eocene deposit 'Pesciara di Bolca', in the province of Verona, northeastern Italy (geological age about 45 Myr). The significance of this fossil in setting the time scale for the reconstructed phylogeny and anagenesis of adaptive features of sea skaters, and in understanding the evolution and historical zoogeography of these marine insects is discussed.

PTNM stage distribution in breast cancer: a population-based survey in northern Italy. Collaborative Group of Pathologists for Cancer Registration in Verona.

The role of distribution by stage at diagnosis in breast cancer has been considered in many studies, with particular regard to evaluation of prognosis, impact of screening programs and quality of care. Nevertheless, international comparisons of descriptive data can be hampered by lack of homogeneity in staging methods. The TNM is presently the most common staging system used all over the world, although some criticism have been raised recently against its pragmatic value. The present study reports a population-based survey of pathologic TNM distribution in incident cases of female breast cancer in the Verona province, a geographical area of northern Italy covered by cancer registration. All histologically proven incident cases of breast cancer were identified in the study period 1988-1990 and classified as for tumor size and nodal involvement according to the pathological TNM criteria. The type of surgical treatment was also registered for all cases diagnosed in 1990. one thousand two hundreds and fifty-four invasive and in situ breast cancers were observed and pT1 cases accounted for 44.4%. Nodal involvement was present in 41.5% of invasive cancers. A surgical treatment was performed in 1213 patients (96.7%). Axillary dissection was reported in 1080 cases, 820 of them (76.6%) having 10 or more lymph nodes examined. Radical mastectomy accounted for 74% of the 458 breast cancers diagnosed in 1990 and 31.6% of the eligible cases were conservatively treated. Cancer registries should be encouraged to report data on stage distribution in breast cancer (and in other malignancies). This practice could improve international comparisons and give an essential contribution to studies on survival, screening programs and quality of care.

The 1993 Italian foot-and-mouth disease epidemic: epidemiological features of the four outbreaks identified in Verona province (Veneto region)

Imported cattle gave rise to an epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Italy during 1993. Four outbreaks occurred in large housed beef herds in Verona province. Investigations revealed that there were no movements of livestock out of the infected premises and meteorological analyses suggested that the airborne spread of infectious particles had been limited by the anticyclonic conditions. Surveillance was therefore concentrated on the areas immediately surrounding the outbreaks and the infection was prevented from spreading.

Cancer registration: a feasibility study in northern Italy

A pilot study was carried out in the province of Verona, in the north-east of Italy, in order to assess the feasibility of establishing a population-based cancer registry in the area. The quality of routinely collected data, particularly histological diagnoses and hospital discharge codes, was evaluated for the year 1988. All the histologically confirmed incident cancers observed in the pathology departments of the study area were registered and compared to the expected cases. Moreover, computerised discharge codes were tested for accuracy in identifying hospitalised patients with cancer. Finally, the sensitivity of the two sources combined was measured (90.3%). This study could provide helpful information to cancer registries which intend to assess the quality of specific sources of data both for planning and periodical evaluation purposes.

A case-control study of cancer of the nose and paranasal sinuses and occupational exposures.

The association between nasal cancer and various occupations was investigated in a case-control study in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza (northeastern Italy) and Siena (central Italy). Cases of malignant epithelial neoplasm of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses diagnosed in the years 1982-1987 in the hospitals of Verona, Legnago, Bussolengo, Vicenza, and Siena comprised the study. Controls were patients admitted to the same hospitals as the cases, with any diagnosis except chronic rhino-sinusal disease and nasal bleeding. Age, gender, residency, and date of admission were taken into account by matching. Cases and controls, or their next of kin, were interviewed or required to fill in a mailed questionnaire; the overall response rate was 70%. Altogether, 78 cases and 254 controls provided information on occupational history. Significantly increased risks were associated (in males) with work in the wood industry (odds ratio [O.R.]: 5.8; 90% confidence interval [C.I.]: (2.2-16) and in the leather industry (6.8; 1.9-25). Textile workers, furnacemen, construction workers, and workers with possible exposure to organic dusts showed increased risks even if statistical significance was not reached.

Carabid and staphylinid beetles in two vineyards in the Province of Verona (Italy)

The carabid and staphylinid beetles in two vineyards at Villafranca and S. Floriano (Verona, Northern Italy) were collected by pitfall trapping and the results were analysed and discussed. The high diversity is referred to the closeness of reservoirs of diversity. The analysis of species/abundance graphs is considered more meaningful than the diversity indices for very unstable biotopes.