A light and electron microscopic study on abomasal globidiosis in Somali goats

Abomasum from apparently healthy Somali goats with globidiosis showed pin-head sized nodules embedded in the mucosa. The nodules consisted of encapsulated cysts, containing mature or immature schizonts. Glandular atrophy and lymphohistiocytic cell reaction were often found in the vicinity of these cysts. The fine structure of immature and mature cysts is described in details. The mature cysts contained elongated, spindle shaped merozoites (type I) or shorter, ovoidal merozoites (type II). Some mature cysts also had basophilic granular bodies among the merozoites. Type I and type II merozoites were morphologically different from those earlier described in goats.     

Comparison of the mucosal immune response in dogs vaccinated with either an intranasal avirulent live culture or a subcutaneous antigen extract vaccine of Bordetella bronchiseptica

Healthy dogs with low antibody titer to Bordetella bronchiseptica were vaccinated intranasally with an avirulent live vaccine, subcutaneously with an antigen extract vaccine, or subcutaneously and intranasally with a placebo. Intranasally vaccinated dogs developed B. bronchiseptica-specific IgA titers in nasal secretions that remained at high levels until the end of the study; dogs vaccinated subcutaneously with the antigen extract or placebo did not develop measurable antigen-specific IgA titers in nasal secretions. Dogs were challenged with virulent live B. bronchiseptica 63 days after vaccination. Intranasally vaccinated dogs had significantly lower cough scores (P < or =.0058) and shed significantly fewer challenge organisms (P <.0001) than dogs in either of the other groups. Cough scores of subcutaneously vaccinated dogs were not significantly different from placebo-vaccinated dogs.     

Characterisation of genotype VII Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolated from NDV vaccinated chickens,and the efficacy of LaSota and recombinant genotype VII vaccines against challenge with velogenic NDV

A Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolate designated IBS002 was isolated from a commercial broiler farm in Malaysia. The virus was characterised as a virulent strain based on the multiple basic amino acid motif of the fusion (F) cleavage site ¹¹²RRRKGF¹¹⁷ and length of the C-terminus extension of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) gene. Furthermore, IBS002 was classified as a velogenic NDV with mean death time (MDT) of 51.2 h and intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) of 1.76. A genetic distance analysis based on the full-length F and HN genes showed that both velogenic viruses used in this study, genotype VII NDV isolate IBS002 and genotype VIII NDV isolate AF2240-I, had high genetic variations with genotype II LaSota vaccine. In this study, the protection efficacy of the recombinant genotype VII NDV inactivated vaccine was also evaluated when added to an existing commercial vaccination program against challenge with velogenic NDV IBS002 and NDV AF2240-I in commercial broilers. The results indicated that both LaSota and recombinant genotype VII vaccines offered full protection against challenge with AF2240-I. However, the LaSota vaccine only conferred partial protection against IBS002. In addition, significantly reduced viral shedding was observed in the recombinant genotype VII-vaccinated chickens compared to LaSota-vaccinated chickens.     

Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Anemopsis californica leaf oil

Isolation and characterization of leaf volatiles in Anemopsis californica (Nutt.) Hook. and Arn. (A. californica) was performed using steam distillation, solid-phase microextraction, and supercritical fluid extraction. Thirty-eight compounds were detected and identified by gas chromatography; elemicin was the major component of the leaf volatiles. While the composition of the leaf volatiles varied with method of extraction, alpha-pinene, sabinene, beta-phellandrene, 1,8-cineole, piperitone, methyl eugenol, (E)-caryophyllene, and elemicin were usually present in readily detectable amounts. Greenhouse-reared clones of a wild population of A. californica had an identical leaf volatile composition with the parent plants. Steam-distilled oil had antimicrobial properties against 3 (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Geotrichim candidum) of 11 microbial species tested. Some of this bioactivity could be accounted for by the alpha-pinene in the oil.     

Comparison of nutritional and antinutritional factors in soybean and fababean seeds with or without cortex

The composition and contents of nutritional factors such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, fibers, amino acids, and antinutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, and tannins were compared in soybean and fababean seeds with emphasis placed on the nutritional improvement of the seeds by cortex removal. Protein hydrolysis analysis for both whole seeds and seed with cortex removed revealed the presence of a large amount of lysine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, and leucine while these seeds contained a low level of tryptophan, cystine, and methionine. Some antinutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, and tannins were detected in soybean and fababean seeds: phytic acid content and trypsin inhibitor activity were higher in soybean seeds than in fababean seeds while the difference in the tannin content was less pronounced. It was found that most of the tannins occurred in the cortex of the soybean and fababean seeds. Tannins are polyphenolic compounds that readily form indigestible complexes with proteins and other macromolecules under specific environmental conditions. By removal of the cortex, tannins were almost completely eliminated without changes in the protein composition and amino acids. From these results, it is assumed that since soybean and fababean seeds contained a high concentration of antinutritional factors in the cortex such as tannins, the utilization of the legume seeds after removal of all of the cortex is suitable for human diet or industrial products.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal root colonization and soil P availability are positively related to agrodiversity in Mexican maize polycultures

In Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, the local Popoluca people maintain the traditional management of their maize agroecosystems. However, it is not known whether the loss of agrodiversity over recent decades has affected mycorrhizal populations, nutrient availability, and crop productivity. This study utilized linear mixed effect models to analyze the relationship between agrodiversity (three, six, and greater than or equal to eight cultivated species) and (a) arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculum potential, measured as the most probable number (MPN) of propagules and colonization level, (b) nutrient availability, and (c) aboveground maize productivity. We also investigated the relationship between soil nutrient content and inoculum potential. Soil samples were taken before planting, and during flowering, in the 2009 maize cycle. We found that AMF colonization level of maize roots and P availability increased with planted species richness, but that this effect only occurred at the flowering sampling date. Plots with a higher MPN of propagules presented increased C and NO ₃ ^? contents and lower C/N ratio than those with lower MPN of propagules, regardless of agrodiversity. Soils that produced the highest maize root colonization level also featured high P availability and N content. We conclude that decreased agrodiversity in these traditional systems does not significantly affect the soil MPN of propagules, but may have a negative impact on the ability of the mycorrhizal community to colonize maize roots, as well as reducing the availability of P, which is often the most limiting nutrient in tropical soils.     

Absorption, disposition, metabolism, and excretion of [3-(14)C]caffeic acid in rats

Male Sprague-Dawley rats ingested 140 × 10(6) dpm of [3-(14)C]trans-caffeic acid, and over the ensuing 72 h period, body tissues, plasma, urine, and feces were collected and the overall levels of radioactivity determined. Where sufficient radioactivity had accumulated, samples were analyzed by HPLC with online radioactivity and tandem mass spectrometric detection. Nine labeled compounds were identified, the substrate and its cis isomer, 3'-O- and 4'-O-sulfates and glucuronides of caffeic acid, 4'-O-sulfates and glucuronides of ferulic acid, and isoferulic acid-4'-O-sulfate. Four unidentified metabolites were also detected. After passing down the gastrointestinal tract, the majority of the radiolabeled metabolites were excreted in urine with minimal accumulation in plasma. Only relatively small amounts of an unidentified (14)C-labeled metabolite were expelled in feces. There was little or no accumulation of radioactivity in body tissues, including the brain. The overall recovery of radioactivity 72 h after ingestion of [3-(14)C]caffeic acid was ～80% of intake.     

Characterization of wild plum (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ximenia americana</Emphasis> L. var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">americana</Emphasis>; Olacaceae) fruit growing at Tepexi de Rodríguez,Puebla, Mexico

As a country, Mexico presents an especially wide range of fruit germplasm diversity. Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, Mexico, belongs to The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, which is an arid zone recognized to have a flora diversity. In that place, wild plum (Ximenia americana L. var. americana; Olacaceae), locally named “tihuixocote” grows mainly in backyards, the fruit of this species is appreciated by native people due to its taste, which is reported to be a mixture between sweet and sour. Fruit from 15 trees were characterized by measuring bio-physical and bio-chemical parameters, including weight, diameter (equatorial and polar), relationship equatorial/polar diameters, total sugar, soluble solid content and phenolic compounds. The results of this study indicate variability for these various wild plum fruit characteristics among trees growing in a reduced territorial space.