Treatment of canine otitis externa using video otoscopy

Otitis externa in 27 toy poodles and 40 miniature dachshunds was treated using a video otoscope. A distinct concavity (external tympanic concavity) was observed at the junction between the ventral part of the external surface of the tympanum and the ear canal to which a considerable amount of hair and debris had adhered. All hair and debris adhering to the external tympanic concavity were removed, and systemic antibiotic and antifungal agents were administered, after which all of the dogs recovered. The pattern of hair growth observed in the external tympanic concavity could be characterized according to the breed of dog. All of the toy poodles presented with curly hairs, while the miniature dachshunds had upright or flat-lying hairs.     

β 1-4 mannobiose enhances Salmonella-killing activity and activates innate immune responses in chicken macrophages

Salmonella spp. is one of the major causes of food-borne illness in humans, and Salmonella enteritidis (SE) infection in commercial poultry is a world-wide problem. Here we have investigated the in vitro immune-modulating effects of β 1-4 mannobiose (MNB), which was previously found to prevent SE infection in vivo in chickens, using chicken macrophage (MQ-MCSU) cells. Treatment of MQ-NCSU cells with MNB dose-dependently increased both phagocytic activity and Salmonella-killing activity of macrophages, with the highest reduction in SE viability observed at a concentration of 40 μg/ml at 48 h post-infection. Likewise, both hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and nitric oxide (NO) production were increased in a dose-dependent manner by MNB. Gene expression analysis of MNB-treated macrophages revealed significant increases in the expression of iNOS, NOX-1, IFN-γ, NRAMP1, and LITAF, genes critical for host defense and antimicrobial activity, when compared to untreated cells. This data confirms that MNB possesses potent innate immune-modulating activities and can up-regulate antibacterial defenses in chicken macrophages.     

Pyogenic meningitis and trigeminal neuritis secondary to periodontogenic paranasal sinusitis in a red deer (Cervus elaphus)

An adult female red deer died of a severe seizure and dysbasia. Postmortem computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed. On CT, deciduous right maxillary second and third premolar teeth were observed, and the right infraorbital canal was disrupted. MRI showed that the right trigeminal nerve was enlarged and the right subarachnoid cavity was occupied by fluid and gas. On gross examination, the right paranasal sinus, swollen muscles of the orbit and tonsils, right trigeminal nerve, and right cerebrum surface contained a yellowish-white, cheese-like pus. Based on these findings, the deer was believed to have developed pyogenic meningitis caused by a neuropathic infection secondary to periodontogenic paranasal sinusitis.     

Raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) are the new natural definitive hosts of Metagonimus hakubaensis

The definitive hosts of Metagonimus hakubaensis are reported to be hamsters, rats, mice, dogs, cats, chickens, and quails in experimental infection and Japanese water shrews in natural infection. Here we report that raccoon dogs are new natural definitive hosts of M. hakubaensis, based on morphological and molecular analyses of Metagonimus flukes collected from the host species from Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Moreover, M. hakubaensis recovered from raccoon dogs showed higher fecundity than those recovered from Japanese water shrews. Therefore, raccoon dogs were considered as a more suitable natural definitive host of M. hakubaensis than Japanese water shrews.     

Induction of Soil Suppressiveness Against Rhizoctonia solani by Incorporation of Dried Plant Residues into Soil

ABSTRACT Suppressive effects of soil amendment with residues of 12 cultivars of Brassica rapa on damping-off of sugar beet were evaluated in soils infested with Rhizoctonia solani. Residues of clover and peanut were tested as noncruciferous controls. The incidence of damping-off was significantly and consistently suppressed in the soils amended with residues of clover, peanut, and B. rapa subsp. rapifera 'Saori', but only the volatile substance produced from water-imbibed residue of cv. Saori exhibited a distinct inhibitory effect on mycelial growth of R. solani. Nonetheless, disease suppression in such residue-amended soils was diminished or nullified when antibacterial antibiotics were applied to the soils, suggesting that proliferation of antagonistic bacteria resident to the soils were responsible for disease suppression. When the seed (pericarps) colonized by R. solani in the infested soil without residues were replanted into the soils amended with such residues, damping-off was suppressed in all cases. In contrast, when seed that had been colonized by microorganisms in the soils containing the residues were replanted into the infested soil, damping-off was not suppressed. The evidence indicates that the laimosphere, but not the spermosphere, is the site for the antagonistic microbial interaction, which is the chief principle of soil suppressiveness against Rhizoctonia damping-off.     

Heterogeneity of Hanganutziu-Deicher antigen glycoproteins in different species animal sera.

A heterophilic Hanganutziu-Deicher (HD) antigen is present in many animal sera except human and chicken sera. To visualize the antigenic molecules, nine species animal and human sera were analyzed by SDS-PAGE, followed by Western blotting and immunostaining with avain anti-N-glycolylneuraminyl-lactosyl ceramide antibody which recognizes the terminal N-glycolylneuraminic acid moiety of glycoconjugates as an epitope of the HD antigen. Several HD antigen-active glycoprotein bands were detected in the sera of fetal calf, calf, horse, goat, monkey, rabbit, guinea pig, rat and mouse, except for human serum. The HD antigenic proteins showed heterogeneities in their molecular weights and were not identical with any major band visualized with silver-staining, indicating that they are minor components of serum proteins in each animal. Neuraminidase treatment destroyed the antigenicity of all proteins, confirming that N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc) at the non-reducing terminal of carbohydrate chains is the antigenic epitope in serum glycoprotein molecules as already confirmed in glycosphingolipid (GSL) antigens. The finding of HD-antigenic glycoproteins in animal sera suggests that they also stimulate HD antibody production in patients who received animal antiserum for therapeutic aim.     

Effects of sera and steroid hormones on development of bovine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro and co-cultured with bovine oviduct epithelial cells

The present experiment was designed to identify possible effects of sera and steroid hormones added to a co-culture with bovine oviduct epithelial cells on embryonic development in vitro. Bovine oocytes were matured in vitro for 24 h and then fertilized in vitro using swim-up and heparin-treated, frozen-thawed spermatozoa. At 18 and 20 h after insemination, oocytes were cultured for 3 or 7 d in a co-culture system with bovine oviduct epithelial cells containing either fetal calf serum (FCS) or estrous cow serum (ECS) and one of six hormonal additions (none, 1 or 10 micrograms/ml estradiol [E]; 1 microgram/ml progesterone [P]; 1 microgram/ml E + P; and 10 micrograms/ml E + P). A total of 2,666 oocytes were cultured for 3 d and examined for cleavage. Of those, 2,280 oocytes were cultured up to 7 d for development to the late morula or blastocyst stage. Greatest cleavage rates for 2- to 8-cell and 8-cell stages were observed in FCS (71 and 24%) and ECS (66 and 23%) without steroid addition. For development into blastocysts, no serum effect was observed. Greatest rates for development into blastocysts were observed in FCS (14%) and ECS (16%) without steroid addition. These results indicate that addition of E and P at the doses and combinations tested did not enhance developmental capacity of in vitro fertilized bovine oocytes. Compared with FCS, ECS tended to increase cleavage rates and development into blastocysts.     

Correction to: Precocious maturation in male tiger pufferfish Takifugu rubripes: genetics and endocrinology

Fisheries Science - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-021-01505-w