Species-specific differences of the avian oesophagus: Histological and Ultrastructural study

The oesophagus is a muscular tube comprised of cervical and thoracic regions. Several studies have clarified the histological structure of the oesophagus. However, its histoarchitecture in relation to variable dietary habits of each species is still unclear. In the current study, 21 pigeons, cattle egrets and ducks, n = 7, each was used. Macroscopically, the oesophagus of cattle egrets either the cervical or thoracic parts was the longest among the pigeons and ducks. Histologically, the oesophagus comprised of four distinct tunicae: mucosa, propria submucosa, musculosa and adventitia or serosa. A great structural variation in these layers among the three investigated species was recorded. In the cervical oesophagus of pigeons, the superficial squamous cells showed perinuclear halo zone, the propria submucosa was characteristically lacked any gland. Moreover, its musculosa was very thick. On the other hand, the intraepithelial glands were characteristically distributed along the whole length of the cattle egret’s oesophagus. Interestingly, the cervical esophagus of the ducks showed submucosal associated lymphatic tissue; diffuse and nodular Ultrastructurally, the oesophageal glands showed secretory granules of variable electron densities, electron - lucent in the pigeons and ducks and electron - dense in the cattle egrets.     

A molecular approach for identification of paramphistomes from Africa and Asia

Paramphistomiasis is a disease of domestic and wild ruminants caused by some digenetic trematodes of the superfamily Paramphistomoidea. Human infections with certain species of paramphistomes have been reported. Given their ubiquity and their abundance within hosts, it seems likely that the importance of these worms is underestimated globally. Based on the reported difficulties of morphological identification of paramphistomes, the development of alternative approaches to better delineate species is needed. Paramphistome samples examined during this study were cercariae, rediae from snail hosts and adult flukes obtained from slaughterhouses from Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt and Nepal. The results confirm that ITS2 is a good molecular marker for paramphistome identification and can be used to determine the affiliation of samples among the different taxa of Paramphistomoidea. Our 22 samples include eight species of paramphistomes. Ten samples of paramphistome larvae (cercariae or rediae) yielded seven species and the 12 samples of adult flukes from bovines yielded four, only one of which was not also represented among the larvae. We found three cases in which the sequences for adult worms and larvae matched, thus revealing the hosts involved locally in those particular life cycles. We interpret our specimens to include five species from Kenya, two from Nepal, two from Tanzania and one from Egypt. Bulinus forskalii was found infected with three species of paramphistomes. The results of the present study will help construct a framework to facilitate identification and eventually control of this underestimated cosmopolitan group of digeneans.     

Investigation of selected biochemical indicators of Equine Rhabdomyolysis in Arabian horses: pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers

A total of 30 horses were divided into two groups, one served as a control whereas other was rhabdomyolysis diseased horses. After blood collection, the resulted sera were used for estimation of the activities of creatin kinase (CK), aspartate transaminase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), lactic acid, triacylglycerol (TAG), glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea, creatinine, Triiodothyronine (T₃), calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chloride, vitamin E, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis-α (TNF-α). In addition, whole blood was used for determination of selenium, reduced glutathione (G-SH) and prostaglandin F2-α (PGF2α). The erythrocyte hemolysates were used for the determination of the activities of super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA). The present findings revealed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in the values of CK, AST, LDH, glucose, lactate, TAG, urea, creatinine, phosphorus, MDA, TNF- α, IL6 and PGF2- α in diseased horses when compared with the control. Furthermore, the values of calcium, SOD, CAT, TAC, NO and GSH in diseased horses were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower than the control. The other examined parameters were not statistically significant. In conclusion, the examined pro-inflammatory cytokines were useful biomarkers for the diagnosis of Equine rhabdomyolysis (ER) in Arabian horses beside the old examined biomarkers. In the future, efforts should be made to confirm this in other breed. If this could be achieved, it would open up new perspectives in research fields dealing with ER.     

A Novel Pretreatment Method of Lignocellulosic Material as Adsorbent and Kinetic Study of Dye Waste Adsorption

Sulphuric acid-modified bagasse has been used as low-cost adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solution. In order to remove organic compounds that contribute to chemical oxygen demand (COD), pretreatment with thorough washing of adsorbent using boiling distilled water was performed instead of conventional washing using distilled water at room temperature only. This has resulted in the highest efficiency of color removal of 99.45% and COD reduction of 99.36% for MB dye solution at pH 9. Effects of initial pH, dye concentration, adsorbent dosage, temperature, and contact time have been studied. The adsorption of MB dye was pH dependent. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were tested on the adsorption data. The kinetic experimental data were analyzed using pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and the intraparticle diffusion model in order to examine the adsorption mechanisms. The adsorption process followed the Langmuir isotherm as well as the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The process was found to be endothermic in nature.     

Occurrence of on-farm risk factors and health effects of mycotoxins in dairy farms in Jordan

The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of on-farm risk factors and health effects associated with contamination of dairy feeds with aflatoxins (AFs), zearalenone (ZEN), trichothecenes (T-2), deoxynivalenol (DON), and fumonisins (FB) in Jordan. A pre-tested and validated questionnaire was used to determine on-farm practices and health effects associated with high levels of mycotoxins. A total of 88 feed samples were collected from the 37 farms participating in the study and analyzed using commercially available ELISA kits. The mean total AF concentration exceeded the European Union (EU) limit in alfalfa (4%) and total mixed ration (TMR) (3%) samples. Similarly, levels exceeding EU limits were observed for T-2 in alfalfa (29%), TMR (30%), and corn silage (4%). The average concentrations of ZEN and FB were 300 ppb and 11,638 ppb, respectively, which were below the EU maximum limits in all feed samples examined. Intensive management system (OR?=?7.70), imported feed (OR?=?3.40), feed storage on the farm for more than 1-month duration (OR?=?7.90), and not using antitoxins (OR?=?2.30) were significantly (P?<?0.05) associated with high levels of mycotoxins in feed samples. A significant correlation (P?<?0.05) was evident between the presence of mycotoxins in dairy feed and feed refusal (R?=?0.70), low milk production (R?=?0.50), diarrhea problems (R?=?0.60), infertility (R?=?0.50), and repeated breeder problems (R?=?0.80). Results show that mycotoxin contamination in dairy feeds is a problem in Jordan, and appropriate measures need to be undertaken to reduce risks to human and animal health and improve production.

     

Ascorbic Acid Enhances Growth and Yield of Sweet Peppers (Capsicum annum) by Mitigating Salinity Stress

Salinity is a crucial problem which has affected crop productivity globally. Ascorbic acid is considered helpful against abiotic stresses due to its powerful antioxidant potential. In the pot experiment, salinity stress (0, 35, 70, and 105?mM) was applied to sweet peppers in split doses after 20 days of transplantation. To mitigate the adverse effects of salinity, ascorbic acid (0, 0.40, 0.80, and 1.20?mM) was applied as foliar spray after a 6-day interval during vegetative growth. Sweet pepper plants sprayed with distilled water (control) recorded maximum plant height (cm), leaf area (cm²), number of branches, stem diameter (mm), number of fruit plant^?1, fruit diameter (cm), yield plant^?1 (g), and chlorophyll content (mg 100?g^?1), while the maximum polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity (unit mg protein^?1 min^?1) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity (unit mg protein^?1 min^?1) were recorded in plants treated with 70?mM NaCl application. Salinity stress beyond 70?mM significantly reduced all the studied parameters. An ascorbic acid concentration of 1.20?mM significantly mitigated the negative effects of salt stress and recorded maximum plant height (cm), number of leaves plant^?1, leaf area (cm²), number of branches plant^?1, stem diameter (mm), number of fruit plant^?1, fruit diameter (cm), yield plant^?1 (g), chlorophyll content (mg 100?g^?1), PPO activity (unit mg protein^?1 min^?1), and APX activity (unit mg protein^?1 min^?1). Hence, a 1.20?mM concentration of foliar ascorbic acid could be used in saline conditions up to 70?mM of sodium chloride (NaCl) for better growth, productivity, and enzymatic activity of sweet peppers.

     

Natural bee-honey based biostimulants confer salt tolerance in onion via modulation of the antioxidant defence system

Plant biostimulants are an emerging trend of crop management products which can enhance nutrient uptake, plant growth and productivity under various abiotic stresses. The ability of diluted bee-honey extract (DHE) to enhance the tolerance of onion plants to salinity stress has been investigated. Two-season field experiments were consecutively conducted in 2015/16 and 2016/17 to study the effect of 25–50 g/L DHE foliar application on growth, yield, physio-biochemical attributes, and antioxidative defence of two onion cultivars (i.e. Giza^Red and Giza-20) grown on a saline soil (EC = 8.81 dS m^?1). Results exhibited that DHE significantly increased biomass production, bulb yield and water use efficiency, leaf photosynthetic and pigments contents. Additionally, DHE applicati\on also improves osmoprotectants, membrane stability index (MSI) and relative water content (RWC), and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants of both onion cultivars in comparison with untreated control plants. In general, both cultivars showed a similar response to the DHE. Results of this study highlighted the potential impact of DHE as a promising plant bio-stimulant for overcoming the harmful effects of soil salinity stress by increasing the activity of plant antioxidative defence systems     

The effects of irrigation methods with effluent and irrigation scheduling on water use efficiency and corn yields in an arid region

A great challenge for the agricultural sector is to produce more food from less water, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions which suffer from water scarcity. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of three irrigation methods, using effluent versus fresh water, on water savings, yields and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). The irrigation scheduling was based on soil moisture and rooting depth monitoring. The experimental design was a split plot with three main treatments, namely subsurface drip (SSD), surface drip (SD) and furrow irrigation (FI) and two sub-treatments effluent and fresh water, which were applied with three replications. The experiment was conducted at the Marvdasht city (Southern Iran) wastewater treatment plant during 2005 and 2006. The experimental results indicated that the average water applied in the irrigation treatments with monitoring was much less than that using the conventional irrigation method (using furrows but based on a constant irrigation interval, without moisture monitoring). The maximum water saving was obtained using SSD with 5907 m³ ha⁻¹ water applied, and the minimum water saving was obtained using FI with 6822 m³ ha⁻¹. The predicted irrigation water requirements using the Penman-Monteith equation (considering 85% irrigation efficiency for the FI method) was 10,743 m³ ha⁻¹. The pressure irrigation systems (SSD and SD) led to a greater yield compared to the surface method (FI). The highest yield (12.11 × 10³ kg ha⁻¹) was obtained with SSD and the lowest was obtained with the FI method (9.75 × 10³ kg ha⁻¹). The irrigation methods indicated a highly significant difference in irrigation water use efficiency. The maximum IWUE was obtained with the SSD (2.12 kg m⁻³) and the minimum was obtained with the FI method (1.43 kg m⁻³). Irrigation with effluent led to a greater IWUE compared to fresh water, but the difference was not statistically significant.     

A protective role of resveratrol against the effects of immobilization stress in corpora lutea of mice in early pregnancy

In the present study, we aimed to investigate a protective role for resveratrol against the effects of immobilization stress on corpora lutea(CL) of mice in early pregnancy. A total of 45 early-pregnant mice were divided into no immobilization stress(NIS) group, immobilization stress(IS) group, and immobilization and resveratrol treatment(IS+RES) group(n=15). Mice were immobilized in plastic tubes(50 mL) for 3 h per day during day 1 to 7 of pregnancy. In the IS+RES group, 5 mg kg–1 d–1 of resveratrol was administered just prior to application of stress. We analyzed apoptotic activity in CL by Western blotting analysis(WB), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and immunohistochemistry(IHC). Serum progesterone levels were examined with radioimmunoassay(RIA). IHC results showed that the intensity of positive staining for Bax was increased, and for Bcl-2 was decreased in CL after IS, while resveratrol treatment reversed the positive staining for Bax and Bcl-2. WB revealed that immobilization stress up-regulated the expression of Bax and caspase-9, and downregulated Bcl-2 expression, while resveratrol treatment attenuated the effects of immobilization stress on the expression of Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-9. According to our TEM results, apoptosis as defined by chromatin condensation was found in CL after immobilization stress, while resveratrol inhibited the apoptosis. We also demonstrated that immobilization stress decreased progesterone concentrations and ovarian expression of StAR, while resveratrol restored the concentrations of progesterone and expression of StAR back to normal. These results indicated that immobilization stress induced luteal regression while resveratrol inhibited luteal regression, suggesting that resveratrol plays a protective role on corpora lutea of mice during early pregnancy.