This paper investigates a computational study on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow, exploring solution structure and unsteady nature of thermal flows, in a rotating curved rectangular duct (CRD) incorporating the effects of Hall and ion-slip currents, motivated by the board range of engineering applications involving magnetic flow control, thermomagnetic devices, filtration systems and thermal transport in a rotating system. The spectral method serves as the main computational approach, supported by Chebyshev polynomials, Collocation techniques, and Fourier series expansions, to study non-isothermal flow behavior across varying magnetic field strengths (M). Steady curves are obtained and linear stability of the flows is examined. The findings indicate that the asymmetry in the flow structure becomes weaker, eventually transitioning to a symmetrical state as M increases. The flux decreases, the intensity of the axial velocity reduces and moves to the middle of the duct as M is increased, while the linearly stable zone gradually expands. Furthermore, the linearly stable flow regime expands significantly with the increase of the magnetic field strength. The results further identify a magnetic parameter Mc = 10.15 as a critical value beyond which the flow transitions to a fully stable state. In the unsteady regime, oscillatory and chaotic flow behaviors are progressively weakened, and the steady-state region becomes dominant for higher values of M. The Hall parameter (m) is found to enhance both flux and axial velocity intensity, whereas the ion-slip parameter (alpha) shows minimal impact on secondary and axial flows. Heat transfer effects remain relatively unchanged within the curved channel under MHD influence. Overall, the findings provide valuable findings on MHD flow dynamics, with potential relevance to various industrial and engineering applications.
Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are mosquito-borne filarioid nematodes of veterinary and public health importance whose distribution is expanding across Europe. This study developed an integrated One Health surveillance framework combining mosquito monitoring, molecular xenomonitoring, blood-meal analysis, and veterinary epidemiological data to assess Dirofilaria circulation and transmission dynamics. During the 2025 transmission season, mosquitoes were collected by the University of Parma in urban and peri-urban areas and by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia-Romagna (IZSLER) in rural areas. Female mosquitoes were morphologically identified and analysed in pools by Real-time PCR for D. immitis and D. repens DNA. Positive pools were screened for West Nile virus, Usutu virus, and insect-specific flaviviruses in order to detect possible co-infection parasite-virus. Blood-fed mosquitoes were individually analysed by mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA sequencing to identify vertebrate hosts. Veterinary practices across Emilia-Romagna were surveyed for canine and feline dirofilariosis during 2024–2025. Overall, 11,225 females belonging to eight species were collected and 181 pools analysed. D. immitis predominated in urban collections, whereas D. repens was more frequent in peri-urban and rural areas. Aedes albopictus was the principal positive species in urban environments, while Aedes caspius predominated in rural settings. Humans were the predominant blood-meal host, followed by dogs, horses, cattle, and birds. Veterinary and vector surveillance showed poor agreement, indicating complementary epidemiological information. These findings highlight complex transmission patterns and support integrated One Health surveillance to improve risk assessment and guide evidence-based prevention and control strategies for Dirofilaria and other vector-borne zoonoses.
The invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus generates substantial carapace-rich side streams which disposal represents an environmental and economic burden in Mediterranean coastal areas. This study investigated whether lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation could promote the biotransformation of blue crab carapace and yield bioactive extracts of potential relevance for food preservation and metabolic modulation. Carapace powder was inoculated with six LAB strains, and the resulting hydroethanolic extracts were assessed for antimicrobial activity in vitro against major foodborne pathogens and in a ready-to-eat fish soup challenge test. Metabolic effects were evaluated in zebrafish larvae, while untargeted LC-MS/MS metabolomics and feature-based molecular networking were used to investigate extract composition. Limited bacterial growth was observed although most strains remained viable and produced mild pH changes, indicating persistence and LAB-driven biotransformation rather than intense acidification. All extracts showed antimicrobial activity in vitro against Salmonella enterica. The extracts obtained with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus UPCCO 1473 and Lacticaseibacillus casei UPCCO 2240 were tested in situ in a fish soup model, where the inhibition was mainly observed at the highest tested concentration (40 mg/mL), particularly under temperature-abuse conditions. At 25 mu g/mL, both fermented and non-fermented extracts reduced lipid accumulation in zebrafish larvae, with strain-dependent differences among fermented samples. Selected extracts also increased glucose uptake, while one reduced appetite. Metabolomic analysis revealed distinct but partially overlapping chemical profiles, including putatively annotated fatty acyls, carboxylic acid derivatives, bile-acid-related compounds, and saponin-or triterpenoid-like compounds. These findings provide proof-of-concept that LAB biotransformation can modulate the functional properties of blue crab carapace in a strain-dependent manner. However, compound identification, dose-response assessment, safety evaluation, and validation under realistic exposure and food-application conditions are required before practical use can be proposed.
Introducing minor and novel cereal species into cropping and food systems requires the evaluation of their safety traits, including grain contamination with mycotoxins and acrylamide (AA) formation potential. This study has examined commercial varieties of tritordeum, bread wheat, spelt, emmer, durum wheat, barley, triticale, and rye grown under similar agronomic conditions over three consecutive growing seasons at one location in Northern Italy. Whole-meal and refined biscuits of sixteen genotypes were investigated for their grain contamination with Fusarium spp. mycotoxins, free asparagine (ASN) content, and AA formation. Deoxynivalenol (DON) was the predominant mycotoxin, with contamination being significantly influenced by the growing season. Tritordeum consistently accumulated DON at comparable levels with those of durum wheat and susceptible bread wheat genotypes. ASN accumulation was influenced by the genotype and the growing season, with rye genotypes showing the highest concentrations and high-protein bread wheat the lowest. ASN was significantly associated with AA formation in the whole-meal and refined biscuits, although differences in the AA/ASN molar ratio among and within the cereal species indicated that the flour composition also affected AA formation. Refining reduced ASN by around 70% and decreased AA formation. GGE analysis revealed that genotype effects predominated over genotype & times; year-location environment interactions for DON and ASN. Overall, tritordeum showed comparable food safety characteristics with durum wheat for DON contamination and an intermediate ASN accumulation and AA formation potential. These findings highlight the importance of integrating field and processing contaminants when evaluating novel cereals and of including food safety traits in breeding and cultivar selection programs.
Chronic wounds represent a major clinical challenge due to persistent inflammation, impaired healing, and susceptibility to bacterial infection. Advanced wound dressings able to manage wound exudate while providing a protective environment and localized drug delivery are therefore of considerable interest for wound care. In this study, a crosslinked polymeric film composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and xanthan gum (XG) was developed as a potential wound dressing platform, incorporating D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) micelles to solubilize and deliver mupirocin (MUP), a lipophilic antibiotic primarily effective against Grampositive pathogens. Two strategies, gamma irradiation and autoclaving, were investigated as dual-purpose processes capable of inducing both sterilization and polymer crosslinking, and their impact on physicochemical, mechanical, and functional properties was evaluated. Gamma irradiation produced porous films with high swelling capacity and sustained release of both TPGS and MUP, while autoclaving led to denser films, with limited swelling and release capabilities. The gamma-irradiated formulation achieved the best compromise between mechanical performance, swelling and controlled release, demonstrating good biocompatibility in HETCAM and hemocompatibility assays, as well as in vitro bacterial growth-inhibitory activity (approximately 60-70%) against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Cytotoxicity testing confirmed that the films are cytocompatible at relevant exposure levels. Overall, the results show that the choice of sterilization/crosslinking method significantly affects the functional properties of drug-loaded polymeric dressings, demonstrating the importance of considering sterilization not as a late-stage process, but as an integral part of formulation development.
