Assessment of swine farms in Greece in relation to the risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella

Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2075/2005 of 5 December 2005 lays down detailed conditions for Trichinella-free farms. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to assess the current state of swine farms in Greece in relation to the risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella as a first step towards certification of Trichinella-free farms in Greece and (2) to identify a profile and characteristics of swine farms and farmers which can be used to formulate appropriate measures to promote good production practices for reducing risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella. A total of 70 swine farms were inspected using audit components similar to those used by the U.S. Trichinae Certification Programme. Only four farms (6%) complied with all the criteria used for assessing the good production practices for reducing risk of exposure of pigs to Trichinella. A common characteristic of these four farms was that they had a large size (>300 sows) and produced their own feed. The most common issues among the farms that did not meet audit criteria in the present study were related to proper rodent control and accessibility of other animals in the feed storage area and the facility. In addition, the predominant significant differentiating characteristic for the farms not meeting the criteria was their small (<150 sows) size, while for the farmers it was their low educational level. These characteristics, which are linked to poor infrastructure and reluctance for improvements, respectively, will be difficulties that must be dealt with in the promotion of good production practices for Trichinella-free farms in Greece.     

Leukocyte counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained from normal and Maedi–Visna‐infected sheep

Background: Bronchoalveolar lavage has proven helpful for the diagnosis of certain ovine diseases of the lungs. There is insufficient data concerning the leukocyte profile of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from MaediVisna infected sheep. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the differential leukocyte profile of BALF associated with Maedi virus infection in sheep and to determine whether cytologic examination of BALF is an effective way to diagnose Maedi or determine the severity of lung lesions. Methods: BALF and serum samples were analyzed from 400 sheep. Sediment smears of bronchoalveolar lavage were stained with Diff‐Quik and examined microscopically to obtain a 200‐cell differential cell count. Serum was tested using a commercial kit for Maedi–Visna virus antibodies. Lung samples obtained at the time of slaughter were weighed and examined histologically. Results: Maedi‐infected sheep (n=267; seropositive with lung lesions) had a significantly higher percentage of lymphocytes and lower percentage of macrophages in BALF than normal sheep (n=133; seronegative and no lung lesions). These differences were significantly more severe in animals with advanced vs moderate lung lesions. Using classification trees, a cut‐off of 13.5% lymphocytes was predictive of Maedi infection and a cut‐off of 24.5% lymphocytes was predictive of advanced lung lesions. Conclusions: Cytologic examination of BALF is useful for the clinical diagnosis of Maedi in sheep and provides important information about the severity of the lung lesions.     

Evaluation of Greek grapevine cultivars for resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaeomoniella chlamydospora</Emphasis>

In the present study, four Greek (Agiorgitiko, Asyrtiko, Roditis and Xinomavro) and one international (Soultanina) grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) were screened for their resistance to Phaeomoniella chlamydospora. Artificial inoculation was carried out by drilling a hole into the trunk and injecting a concentrated conidial suspension into the vessels. Disease reactions were evaluated in an 87-day assessment period, on the basis of external symptoms (disease incidence, disease severity and mortality) and by calculating the relative areas under disease progress curves (relative AUDPC). The extension of vascular browning as well as the isolation ratio along the inoculated vine trunks were also taken into account as additional parameters for evaluating resistance. The results indicated that the resistance of grapevine cultivars to P. chlamydospora varied significantly. ‘Agiorgitiko’ and ‘Soultanina’ were susceptible, whereas ‘Asyrtiko’ and ‘Xinomavro’ were resistant; ‘Roditis’ showed an intermediate level of resistance. Cultivars’ resistance was mostly distinguished in terms of the extension of vascular browning and pathogen isolation ratio. On the contrary, the disease incidence, final disease severity, mortality and relative AUDPC provided less distinctive efficiency in resistance evaluation. The robust methodology presented here could be useful in rapid evaluation experiments for future screening programs to search and recognize natural resistant sources within grapevine genotypes against P. chlamydospora.     

Formation of chlamydospores and microsclerotia in Alternaria dauci

Alternaria dauci (Kühn) Groves and Skolko, the cause of leaf blight of carrot, was observed to produce chlamydospores and microsclerotia in vitro. Four different isolates produced chlamydospores on potato dextrose agar, V8 agar and Czapek-Dox agar at 10, 18 and 28°C, from neighbouring cells of hyphae of the submerged mycelium, forming long chains. Formation of chlamydospores was completed in a multiple stage process, including swelling of cells, development of secondary septa, rounding up of cells and cell wall thickening. Mature chlamydospores were released from the mycelium mostly in clusters and in short or long chains, and sometimes in pairs. They were globose to ellipsoid, smooth or verrucose, pale brown in colour, and averaged 13.87?×?11.37 μm, (length × width). Microsclerotia were formed on PDA, by only one isolate, at 28°C first at the edges of the colony, by close contact of hyphae that exhibited extensive branching and intermingling. In their final form microsclerotia were multi-celled, closely attached masses of short and broad dark grey cells, less compact woven at the edges of the microsclerotium. This is the first illustration of chlamydospore and microsclerotia formation in Alternaria dauci.     

Response of maize (Zea mays L.) to post-emergence applications of topramezone

Topramezone is a new herbicide for post-emergence control of broadleaf and grass weeds in maize. Two field experiments were conducted in northern Greece in 2008 and 2009 to determine the response of grain maize to topramezone applied with the adjuvant DASH at 2–4, 4–6 and 6–8 maize leaf stage. In both years, plant height, cob number and yield were not differently affected with the use of herbicide at these growth stages, indicating no difference in selectivity and a similar response of maize to the three post-emergence applications of topramezone. Slight injury symptoms of leaf bleaching were observed in the second year, however, they were transient with no lasting injury on maize growth.     

Expression of chicken LEAP-2 in the reproductive organs and embryos and in response to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella enterica</Emphasis> infection

In recent years host antimicrobial peptides and proteins have been recognised as key mediators of the innate immune response in many vertebrate species, providing the first line of defense against potential pathogens. In chickens a number of cationic antimicrobial peptides have been recently identified. However, although these peptides have been studied extensively in the avian gastrointestinal tract, little is known about their function in the chicken reproductive organs and embryos. Chicken Liver Expressed Antimicrobial Peptide-2 (cLEAP-2) has been previously reported to function in protecting birds against microbial attack. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of cLEAP-2 gene in the chicken reproductive organs, as well as in chicken embryos during embryonic development, and to determine whether cLEAP-2 expression in the chicken reproductive organs was constitutive or induced as a response to Salmonella enteritidis infection. RNA was extracted from ovary, oviduct, testis and epididymis of sexually mature healthy and Salmonella infected birds, as well as from chicken embryos until day ten of embryonic development. Expression analysis data revealed that cLEAP-2 was expressed in the chicken ovary, testis and epididymis as well as in embryos during early embryonic development. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that cLEAP-2 expression was constitutive in the chicken epididymis, but was significantly up regulated in the chicken gonads, following Salmonella infection. In addition, expression of cLEAP-2 during chicken embryogenesis appeared to be developmentally regulated. These data provide evidence to suggest a key role of cLEAP-2 in the protection of the chicken reproductive organs and the developing embryos from Salmonella colonization.     

Soil Degradation Due to Vicinal Intensive Hog Farming Operation Located in East Mediterranean

One of the main environmental impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations is the soil degradation in vicinity with the livestock breeding facilities due to substances such as ammonia emitted from the various stages of the process. Owing to the high temperatures of the Mediterranean ecosystems, the evolution of gasses is more extensive and the soil degradation is consequently more severe than those obtained in northern Europe. In this research, the soil degradation effects of a large meat-producing, processing, and packaging unit have been investigated. The investigated intensive hog farming operation (IHFO) is located at a limestone soil coastal area with sea to the north and hills to the south. Soil samples of the upper mineral soil were taken in various distances and directions from the IHFO boundaries. Thirteen experimental cycles were carried out in the duration of 1.5 years starting in March 2009 until October 2010. The soil samples were analyzed on pH and electrical conductivity (EC) values as well as NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ⁻ concentrations. Significantly higher concentrations of the two nitrogen forms were observed on samples at increasing proximity downwind from the farm (south). Southern soil average NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ⁻ concentrations ranged between 0.4–118 μg NH₄ ⁺-N g⁻¹ soil and 6.1–88.4 μg NO₃ ⁻-N g⁻¹ soil, respectively. The variation of emitted gasses depositions was clearly reflected in the average pH and EC values. Average pH and EC values downwind from IHFO boundaries varied between 7.1–8.2 and 140–268 μS/cm, respectively.     

Vermiculite in Fluidized Bed as Decontaminating Agent for Liquid Phases

Over the last decades, removal of potentially toxic and hazardous materials has received a great deal of attention in the field of environmental pollution. Problems associated with the disposal of the wastes of different kinds of industries led to studies of the sorption?Cuptake properties of clay minerals and zeolites. In the present research, the behavior of vermiculite particles ranging between 425 and 500???m in a laboratory-scale fluidized bed column for uptake of Cs, Hg, and Mn ions from aqueous solutions and wastes in the presence of competing cations has been studied in order to investigate techniques for decontamination of liquid phases. Vermiculite selectively removed high percentages of Cs even from low concentrations in the presence of competing cations. Also removed were up to 60?% of added Hg²⁺ at concentrations of 5?ppm from drinking water and about 84?% from seawater, and furthermore, Mn²⁺ was selectively removed from low-concentration (ca 10?ppm) industrial wastes even when the ratio of Mn²⁺ to competing cations was 1:94. The results suggest the potential use of vermiculite as decontaminating agent in well-designed fluidized bed columns.     

Ulcerative gingival granuloma: a condition for bone biopsy

Osteomyelitis as a medical term defining a specific type of infection may be classified in acute and chronic form. In our case an acute mandibular osteomyelitis is reported with evaluation of the clinical and histological examination. The biological course of the disease determined on that basis. The significance of this report focused on the early diagnosis and the possible need for bone biopsy.