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Background: The primary objective of the study is to describe the cellular characteristics of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of COVID-19 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation; the secondary outcome is to describe BALF findings between survivors vs non-survivors., Materials and Methods: Patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 RT PCR, admitted to ICU between March and April 2020 were enrolled. At ICU admission, BALF were analyzed by flow cytometry. Univariate, multivariate and Spearman correlation analyses were performed., Results: Sixty-four patients were enrolled, median age of 64 years (IQR 58-69). The majority cells in the BALF were neutrophils (70%, IQR 37.5-90.5) and macrophages (27%, IQR 7-49) while a minority were lymphocytes, 1%, TCD3+ 92% (IQR 82-95). The ICU mortality was 32.8%. Non-survivors had a significantly older age (p = 0.033) and peripheral lymphocytes (p = 0.012) were lower compared to the survivors. At multivariate analysis the percentage of macrophages in the BALF correlated with poor outcome (OR 1.336, CI95% 1.014-1.759, p = 0.039)., Conclusions: In critically ill patients, BALF cellularity is mainly composed of neutrophils and macrophages. The macrophages percentage in the BALF at ICU admittance correlated with higher ICU mortality. The lack of lymphocytes in BALF could partly explain a reduced anti-viral response.

The present case study concerns a case of predation of 4 individuals of captive pink flamingo in Emilia Romagna Region, Northeastern Italy. The pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is a species included in the Red List of Threatened Species established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which lists species in danger of extinction. During the Winter of 2013, 4 flamingos (2 in the Comacchio area, and 2 from Argenta and Codigoro oases - Ferrara province) were found dead some of them headless, with their bodies severely bitten. At first, a fox (Vulpes vulpes) was suspected to be the predator responsible for the killing and the birds were taken to the laboratory for further investigations. The investigations included: field observations, study of the predator behaviour, necropsy examinations, assessment of the intercanine distance, and genetic analysis on the predator's traces. The intercanine distance indicated that the predator could not have been a fox. The analysis of salivary DNA samples enabled us to establish that the predator was in fact a dog. This case highlights the importance of co-operation among the various branches of forensic sciences and the great usefulness of the roles filled by other veterinary forensic experts involved in solving crime.