Ecology and Management of a Large Outbreak of Avian Botulism in Wild Waterbirds in Northeastern Italy (2019-2022).

Avian botulism is a paralytic disease due to the ingestion of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) produced by anaerobic, sporigenic bacteria (notably, Clostridium botulinum). Wild waterbirds worldwide are affected with variable recurrence and severity, and organic material decaying in wetland habitats may constitute a suitable substrate for the replication of clostridia strains producing BoNT in conditions of high temperatures and the absence of oxygen. Here, we describe a large outbreak of avian botulism that occurred in the Valle Mandriole protected area of northeastern Italy (VM). After the recovery in late summer of a few duck carcasses that molecularly tested positive for BoNT-producing clostridia, in October 2019, the avian botulism escalation led to a total of 2367 birds being recovered (2158 carcasses and 209 sick birds). Among these, 2365/2367 were waterbirds, with ducks accounting for 91.8% of the total (2173/2367) and green-winged teals representing 93.5% of the ducks. After the quick collection of dead and sick birds (from 4 to 11 October 2019) and the flooding of the VM wetland (from 5 to 12 October 2019), the 2019 botulism emergency apparently ended. Following two water inputs in May and July 2020, only one pooled sample obtained from 16 bird carcasses found that year in VM tested positive for clostridia type C by real-time PCR, whereas, after to the implementation of measures deterring the bird's presence, new avian botulism cases-due to clostridia type C and C/D, according to molecular and animal-model tests of confirmation-led to the collection of 176 waterbirds (82 carcasses and 94 sick ducks) and 16 waterbirds (9 carcasses and 7 sick ducks) in the summers 2021 and 2022, respectively. In conclusion, the prevention, management, and control of the disease rely on habitat management, the quick and careful collection/removal of animal carcasses, and the regular monitoring and surveillance of live and dead birds.

Accuracy of Fibula Reconstruction Using Patient-Specific Cad/Cam Plates: A Multicenter Study on 47 Patients.

OBJECTIVES: This prospective study evaluated the accuracy of mandibular reconstruction using free fibular flaps (by comparing virtual plans to the three-dimensional postoperative results), and the extent of bone-to-bone contact after computer-assisted surgery. METHODS: We included 65 patients who underwent partial-continuity mandibular resections from February 2013 to January 2017, and evaluated virtual planning, surgical techniques, and accuracy. RESULTS: Forty-seven patients were analysed. A total of 112 fibular segments received 54 implants. We measured 227 distances between landmarks to assess the accuracy of reconstruction. Postoperative reconstruction accuracy ranged from 0.5 to 3 mm. CONCLUSION: Virtual surgical planning very accurately translated simulation into reality, particularly in patients requiring large, complex mandibular reconstructions using multiple fibular segments. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E2169-E2175, 2021.

Pott's Puffy Tumor and Intranasal Cocaine Abuse.

Pott's puffy tumor (PPT) is a rare subperiosteal abscess of the frontal bone with osteomyelitis, which most commonly affects adolescents as a complication of frontal sinusitis or head trauma. The Authors describe a case of development of a PPT in a woman who abused of cocaine for at least five years and presented with a gradually enlarging mass of the forehead. The patient was treated surgically through combined endoscopic and open approach and medically with antibiotic therapy. The PPT, as rare complication of intranasal cocaine abuse, was described until now in four patients. Even rare it can be a fearsome complication, making of fundamental importance an early diagnosis and a correct management.

Reconstruction of Full-Thickness Defects of the Lower Lip With a Double Overlying Cervical Flap.

Reconstruction of full-thickness total or subtotal lower lip defects represents a challenge for the reconstructive surgeon because of the difficulty to create a functional and aesthetically good lip. Many surgical techniques, going from local to free flaps, have been reported, each of them having its own advantages and disadvantages. In particular, the free fascio-cutaneous flaps in most cases are the first reconstructive option, even though several disadvantages such as the complexity of the procedure, longer operative times, morbidity, longer hospitalization, and conspicuous donor-site scar. To avoid these problems, especially in aged patients and in presence of low compliance and/or comorbidities, the Authors propose a single stage reconstruction with a double overlying cervical flap.

MEN1 gene mutation with parathyroid carcinoma: first report of a familial case.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of parathyroid carcinoma in multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MENI) is rare and the 15 cases of malignant parathyroid tumor reported so far have been associated with MENI in individuals and not with multiple members within a family. METHODS: We report on a 61-year-old male, operated for a 7.3 cm parathyroid carcinoma infiltrating the esophagus. In his brother, a 4.6 cm parathyroid carcinoma was diagnosed histologically, while in the daughter, neck ultrasonography revealed 2 extrathyroidal nodules, yet to be excised. RESULTS: Screening of the MEN1 gene identified a known germline heterozygous missense mutation (c.1252G>A; p.D418N) in exon 9, in all affected subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of parathyroid carcinoma in more than one affected member of a single MEN1 family represents the first reported familial case. This suggests that additional constitutional genetic mutations may contribute to the variation in malignant potential and clinical behavior of parathyroid tumors in MEN1.

Systemic Human ILC Precursors Provide a Substrate for Tissue ILC Differentiation.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) represent innate versions of T helper and cytotoxic T cells that differentiate from committed ILC precursors (ILCPs). How ILCPs give rise to mature tissue-resident ILCs remains unclear. Here, we identify circulating and tissue ILCPs in humans that fail to express the transcription factors and cytokine outputs of mature ILCs but have these signature loci in an epigenetically poised configuration. Human ILCPs robustly generate all ILC subsets in vitro and in vivo. While human ILCPs express low levels of retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-related orphan receptor C (RORC) transcripts, these cells are found in RORC-deficient patients and retain potential for EOMES+ natural killer (NK) cells, interferon gamma-positive (IFN-γ+) ILC1s, interleukin (IL)-13+ ILC2s, and for IL-22+, but not for IL-17A+ ILC3s. Our results support a model of tissue ILC differentiation ("ILC-poiesis"), whereby diverse ILC subsets are generated in situ from systemically distributed ILCPs in response to local environmental signals.

Putative TMPRSS3/GJB2 digenic inheritance of hearing loss detected by targeted resequencing.

The paper describes a putative digenic form of deafness in two siblings affected by non-syndromic hereditary hearing loss, detected by a Targeted resequencing approach. Given that a previous paper suggested TMPRSS3 and GJB2 genes as responsible for a digenic form of hearing loss, our data support and reinforce this hypothesis.

Novel possibilities in the study of the salivary proteomic profile using SELDI-TOF/MS technology.

There is currently an increasing interest in exploring human saliva to identify salivary diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, since the collection of saliva is rapid, non-invasive and stress-free. Diagnostic tests on saliva are common and cost-effective, particularly for patients who need to monitor their hormone levels or the effectiveness of undergoing therapies. Furthermore, salivary diagnostics is ideal for surveillance studies and in situations where fast results and inexpensive technologies are required. The most important constituents of saliva are proteins, the expression levels of which may be modified due to variations of the cellular conditions. Therefore, the different profile of proteins detected in saliva, including their absence, presence or altered levels, is a potential biomarker of certain physiological and/or pathological conditions. A promising novel approach to study saliva is the global analysis of salivary proteins using proteomic techniques. In the present study, surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF/MS), one of the most recent proteomic tools for the identification of novel biomarkers, is reviewed. In addition, the possible use of this technique in salivary proteomic studies is discussed, since SELDI technology combines the precision of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-TOF/MS proteomic analysis and the high-throughput nature of protein array analysis.

Orofacial granulomatosis: clinical signs of different pathologies.

Orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) is an uncommon disease characterized by persistent or recurrent soft tissue enlargement, oral ulceration and a variety of other orofacial features. It could be an oral manifestation of a systemic disease. For a correct differential diagnosis, local and systemic conditions characterized by granulomatous inflammation should be excluded using appropriate clinical and laboratory investigations. In fact, the diagnosis of OFG may be confirmed only by histopathological identification of noncaseating granulomas. The literature from 1943 to 2014 was reviewed with emphasis on the etiology of OFG and on clinical manifestations of systemic pathologies associated with OFG. The precise cause of OFG is still unknown, although several theories have been suggested, such as infection, hereditary factors and allergy. OFG is a disease that has a wide spectrum of presentation, which may include the oral manifestation of a systemic condition such as Crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis and Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome.

Genetic relationship between multiple squamous cell carcinomas arising in the oral cavity.

BACKGROUND: Histological and clinical criteria are generally used to differentiate second primary tumors (SPTs) from local recurrences. The purpose of the present study was to apply mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop analysis to differentiate SPTs from local recurrences and to validate the clinical classification. METHODS: The study population consisted of 20 consecutive patients presenting multiple oral neoplastic lesions for a total of 25 paired lesions. The mtDNA D-loop analysis was performed by direct sequencing and phylogenetic clusterization. RESULTS: Agreement between mtDNA analysis and clinical classification was found in 19 cases. Discrepancies arose in 6 cases in which the clinical criteria based only on the spatial or temporal distance of the second lesion from the index tumor had led to a diagnosis of SPT (2 cases) or local recurrence (4 cases). CONCLUSION: The present data highlight the value of mtDNA analysis in establishing the clonal relationship between the index tumor and the second neoplastic lesion.

Podoplanin and E-cadherin expression in preoperative incisional biopsies of oral squamous cell carcinoma is related to lymph node metastases.

Metastases to cervical lymph nodes (LNs) are an important independent adverse indicator in the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). An accurate evaluation of molecular patterns favoring the metastatic process can be helpful in predicting cases of OSCC with elevated probability of early or late metastases and, moreover, in planning the proper therapeutic procedures before surgery. To this end, immunohistochemical expressions of both E-cadherin and podoplanin were evaluated on preoperative incisional biopsies of OSCC from 102 patients. The probability to have or develop metastases was very low when high E-cadherin expression was found in a preoperative sample or when a low podoplanin expression was found. Therefore, because of the strong association with LN metastases, high E-cadherin/low podoplanin immunohistochemical expression should also be assessed on preoperative incisional biopsies as a useful tool for evaluating the probability of early or late LN metastases of OSCCs.

Signet ring cell tumor of the minor salivary gland exhibiting benign behavior.

Signet ring cell (SRC) carcinomas are usually aggressive malignancies, arising most frequently in the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, but also, although less often, in other organs such as the breast, bladder, and lungs. They are particularly unusual in the salivary glands, and the aim of the present study is to report a case of a tumor of the minor salivary glands of the lower lip composed largely of SRCs but which displayed benign clinical behavior.

Genetic markers of oral malignant melanoma analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH).

Oral malignant melanoma (OMM) is a rare condition, and our knowledge about morphological and genetic modifications is scanty and incomplete. The aim of this study is to report morphological and fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) data obtained in four cases of OMM. FISH results were also compared with those of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM, three cases), desmoplastic cutaneous melanoma (DMM, four cases) and spindle cells cutaneous melanoma (SCCM, one case). All the OMM cases showed a combined radial and vertical growth pattern, with the invasive component characterised by malignant spindle cells intermingled among collagen bundles. Two cases of OMM resulted positively stained with p16, in contrast with frequent loss of immunoreactivity in CMM. Three OMM were suitable for FISH analysis: 9p21 locus was deleted in 1/3, 1p36 resulted deleted 3/3, while EGFR gene showed a relative deletion. Similar genetic alterations were found in DMM and SCMM, but not in CMM. Ultrastructural findings further enhanced differences between OMM and CMM; OMM displayed, mature-staged melanosomes only within in situ component. In conclusion, OMM presents a morphological and genetic profile similar to DMM; and SCCM, however, displays some differences from CMM.

Cancerization of cutaneous flap reconstruction for oral squamous cell carcinoma: report of three cases studied with the mtDNA D-loop sequence analysis.

AIMS: Tissue defects, resulting from surgical resection of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), are reconstructed routinely with skin grafts. OSCC arising from the grafted skin has been described; however, it is still unclear whether primary and second tumours have a common clonal origin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clonal relationship between the primary OSCC and secondary neoplastic changes appearing in the skin graft in three patients, by screening the mitochondrial DNA D-loop region (mtDNA). METHODS AND RESULTS: In all three cases, the neoplastic lesions arising in the skin graft showed a clonal relationship with the previous OSCC and, on the basis of the results obtained by mtDNA analysis, could be considered to be a recurrence of the primary OSCC rather than a second primary OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: Starting from a field of genetically altered cells in the oral mucosa, the spread of the clonal cell population to the cutaneous flap might be stimulated by cytokines produced by the grafted skin. More studies are needed to evaluate the molecular relationship between primary and second OSCC to identify patients at higher risk of developing a second tumour in the skin graft.

Immunohistochemical expression of p16(INK4A) protein as a helpful marker of a subset of potentially malignant oral epithelial lesions: study on a series with long-term follow-up.

AIM: To examine a group of lesions that progressed to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) to determine whether p16(INK4A) expression is an early finding during malignant transformation, and whether immunohistochemical evaluation of p16(INK4A) is an appropriate prognostic marker. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty cases of OSCC were investigated. All cases had had a biopsy on the same site as OSCC performed at least 1year before OSCC (range 1-11years; mean 3.15±3.1years). Twenty specimens from normal oral mucosa served as controls. p16(INK4A) expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis and cases showing >5% of stained cells were defined as 'positive'. All 20 control cases were negative for p16(INK4A) . Oral lesions were p16(INK4A) -positive in nine cases and negative in 11. No significant relationship was found between p16(INK4A) positivity and the presence/absence of dysplasia. Among OSCC, nine tumours showed p16(INK4A) positivity and 11 showed negativity. A significant relationship (χ(2)=7.1; P<0.01) was found between the presence/absence of p16(INK4A) staining in OSCC and the presence/absence of p16(INK4A) staining in lesions preceding OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: p16(INK4A) immunohistochemistry has a potential role in detecting a subset of p16(INK4A) -positive lesions with malignant potential.

E-cadherin loss and Delta Np73L expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas showing aggressive behavior.

BACKGROUND: This article sought to investigate the existence of parameters useful for predicting lymph node metastases in cases of surgically resected oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). METHODS: Fifty-eight cases were studied for E-cadherin and the truncated dominant-negative isoform of p63 (Delta Np63) with immunohistochemistry. In addition, the p63 gene expression profile was evaluated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to disclose the presence of the truncated variant Delta Np73L. RESULTS: E-cadherin expression was the most powerful parameter related to the presence of lymph node metastases at presentation. Twenty-four of 38 (63%) cases showing low E-cadherin expression had lymph node metastases at presentation compared with 5 of 20 (25%) (p <.01) cases showing high E-cadherin expression. The high predictive value was also maintained when a low expression of E-cadherin was associated with immunohistochemical high expression of DeltaNp63. The association between low E-cadherin expression and Delta Np73L (as seen with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) was highly predictive for developing lymph node metastases, especially in small tumors (T1\T2). When this association occurred, metastases developed in 62.5% of cases during the follow-up compared with 16.1% in those which did not show low E-cadherin expression and presence of Delta Np73L. CONCLUSION: This study shows that low E-cadherin expression is useful for predicting lymph node metastases in cases of OSCC. The predictive value is enhanced when low E-cadherin positivity is associated with DeltaNp63 and Delta Np73L expression.

Analysis of the factors conditioning the diffusion of peritoneal dialysis in Italy.

BACKGROUND: The diffusion of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in Italy is lower than expected on the basis of indications and contraindications reported in literature. METHODS: To analyse the factors influencing the use of PD in Italy, we used data from the first National Census of the Italian Society of Nephrology relating to 9773 incident patients (Incid(HD + PD)) in 2004 and 43 293 prevalent patients dialysed in 658 centres at 31/12/2004 (337 public centres, 286 private centres, 12 paediatric centres, 15 research or religious institutions and 8 unspecified). RESULTS: The percentages on PD of total incident (Inc(PD)%) and prevalent dialysis patients (Prev(PD)%) were 15.9% and 10.3%, respectively with considerable variations from region to region and from centre to centre. The Inc(PD)% was higher in regions with fewer patients on dialysis in private centres. In the private centres, the Inc(PD)% was 0.4%. Of the 325 non-paediatric public centres, 116 (35.7%) do not use PD: compared with the 209 centres which do, these centres have a lower mean Inc(HD + PD) and Prev(HD + PD) per centre (13.0 +/- 12.3 vs 28.6 +/- 18.0 - 51.8 +/- 35.7 vs 117.3 +/- 66.4 patients, P < 0.0001), and more haemodialysis (HD) stations available (3.0 vs 3.5 patients per HD station, P < 0.0001). However, the significant influence of cultural and motivational factors on the use of this method is demonstrated by the fact that it is used by 34% of the smaller non-paediatric public centres, and is not used by 19% of the larger non-pediatric public centres.

p63 expression in salivary gland tumors: role of DeltaNp73L in neoplastic transformation.

To illustrate the role of p63 and its truncated variants in salivary gland tumors, 23 consecutive tumors and 6 normal salivary glands were studied immunohistochemically with anti-p63 antibody and by reverse transcriptase (RT) and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect p63 isoform expression. Normal salivary glands: p63 antibody-stained basal and myoepithelial cells; by RT and nested PCR, the 2 main isoforms were present, whereas DeltaNp73L was absent. Tumors: p63 antibody was positive in the following: Warthin tumor (WT) (3/3), oncocytoma (OC) (1/1), pleomorphic adenoma (PA) (7/7), polymorphous-low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA) (3/3), adenoid-cystic carcinoma (ADCC)(3/4), epithelial-myoepithelial-cell carcinoma (EMC) (1/1), and myoepithelial-cell carcinoma (MCC) (1/1). By RT and nested PCR all tumors expressed p63 irrespective of their morphologic differentiation. The DeltaNp73L isoform was present in tumoral tissue but absent in normal salivary gland. These data suggest that p63, particularly its splice variant DeltaNp73L, is involved in the neoplastic transformation of salivary glands.