Recycling of water for irrigation: Persistence of enteroviruses in sewage effluent and natural waters receiving the effluent

A virological analyses of a sewage treatment plant which provided chlorinated, activated sludge treated sewage effluent to irrigate a complete two-year crop of sugarcane was made. The raw, the activated sludge treated and the chlorinated sewage effluent, as well as streams and a harbor receiving sewage effluents were concentrated by either the polymer two-phase, PE-60, Al(OH)₃, protamine sulfate, or cellulose membrane method and assayed for human enteric viruses. Viruses were recovered from 100% (11/11) of the raw sewages tested at concentrations ranging from 27 to 19 000 PFU l^?1 while 76% (13/17) of the activated sludge treated effluent was positive at concentrations ranging from 7 to 5222 PFU l^?1. After chlorination, 58% (31/53) of the samples was positive for virus at concentrations ranging from 2 to 750 PFU l^?1. Human enteroviruses were also isolated from shallow flowing streams at distances up to 3 mi (5 km) from the closest known sewage effluent discharge point and from a harbor approximately 0.5 mi (0.8 km) from the point of sewage discharge entering the harbor. The viruses most often isolated were echovirus 7, coxsackievirus B-4, B-5 and poliovirus 1, 2, and 3. These results indicate that although activated sludge treatment plus chlorination remove approximately 90% of the virus from the raw sewage, the final treated sewage effluent, which is normally discharged into a stream and in this experimental study to irrigate sugarcane, still contains a significant concentration of infectious viruses. Furthermore, the recovery of enteroviruses from waterways at points distant from the sewage treatment plants indicates that sewage-borne viruses persist in natural water environment. The significance of enteric viruses in waters accessible to the public and used for irrigation purposes remains to be determined.     

Cover Image,Volume 15, Issue 3

The cover image, by M. E. Gray et al., is based on the Original Article Dual targeting of EGFR and ERBB2 pathways produces a synergistic effect on cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro, DOI: 10.1111/vco.12230 .

     

Ameliorative Effects of Melatonin against Hydrogen Peroxide‐Induced Oxidative Stress on Boar Sperm Characteristics and Subsequent In Vitro Embryo Development

Melatonin, the major secretory product of the pineal gland, scavenges a variety of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in vivo and in vitro, indicating that melatonin is a potent function as an antioxidant. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of melatonin in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) on sperm characteristics (motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and mitochondria activity) and also to examine the developmental rates to the blastocysts stage of porcine oocytes fertilized in vitro with semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nm ) in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ (250 μm ). The sperm were treated with melatonin in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ for 3, 6, 9 and 12 h at 37°C and then analysed for the sperm characteristics. The porcine embryos were produced by in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization (IVM/IVF) using semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nm ) in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ (250 μm ) for 6 h. The semen characteristics, including motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity and mitochondria activity, were higher in the groups that were treated with melatonin in comparison to other groups, irrespective of incubation periods. Malondialdehyde levels in control, melatonin and melatonin + H₂O₂ groups were lower than H₂O₂ only group. A positive correlation was shown among motility, viability, survival rate and membrane integrity, but a negative correlation was observed between LPO and the other evaluation methods. The developmental rates to blastocysts of IVM/IVF porcine oocytes fertilized by semen treated with melatonin were significantly increased compared with any other groups, with the cell number of blastocysts shown to have a similar trend to the developmental rates. These results demonstrate that melatonin can improve the semen characteristics during in vitro storage and support the developmental ability of IVM/IVF embryos in pigs.     

Antioxidative Effects of Astaxanthin against Nitric Oxide‐Induced Oxidative Stress on Cell Viability and Gene Expression in Bovine Oviduct Epithelial Cell and the Developmental Competence of Bovine IVM/IVF Embryos

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the fundamental mechanism of bovine oviduct epithelial cell (BOEC) co‐culture on developmental capacity of bovine in vitro oocyte maturation/in vitro fertilization (IVM/IVF) embryos. We examined the effects of astaxanthin against nitric oxide‐induced oxidative stress on cell viability by MTT assay, lipid peroxidation (LPO) by using thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reaction for malondialdehyde (MDA) and the expression of antioxidant genes (CuZnSOD, MnSOD and Catalase) or apoptosis genes (Bcl‐2, Caspase‐3 and Bax) by RT‐PCR in BOEC. We also evaluated the developmental rates of bovine IVM/IVF embryos co‐cultured with BOEC pre‐treated with astaxanthin (500 μm ) in the presence or absence of sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1000 μm ) for 24 h. Cell viability in BOEC treated with SNP (50–2000 μm ) lowered, while astaxanthin addition (50–500 μm ) increased it in a dose‐dependent manner. Cell viability in astaxanthin plus SNP (1000 μm ) gradually recovered according to the increase in astaxanthin additions (100–500 mm ). The LPO in astaxanthin group (50–500 μM) gradually decreased in a dose dependent manner and among SNP or astaxanthin plus SNP group, SNP alone and astaxanthin (50 μM) plus SNP shown a significant increase than other groups (p < 0.05). Expression of apoptosis or antioxidant genes was detected by RT‐PCR. Bcl‐2 and antioxidant genes were detected in astaxanthin or astaxanthin plus SNP group, and Caspase‐3 and Bax genes were only found in SNP group. When bovine IVM/IVF embryos were cultured for 6–7 days under co‐culture system such as BOEC treated with astaxanthin in the presence or absence of SNP, the developmental ability to blastocysts in 500 μm astaxanthin group was the highest of all groups. These results suggest that astaxanthin has a antioxidative effect on cell viability and LPO of BOEC, and development of bovine IVM/IVF embryos due to the induction of antioxidant genes and suppression of apoptosis genes.     

Effects of potential probiotic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactococcus lactis</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">lactis</Emphasis> on digestive enzymatic activities of live feed <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemia franciscana</Emphasis>

In the present study, cellulase, protease, lipase and amylase activities were performed to investigate the effects of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis CF4MRS bioencapsulation of Artemia franciscana. Our results show that cellulase activities (total cellulase—FPase activity, exoglucanase and endoglucanase—CMCase activity) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in A. franciscana tissue homogenates compared to those in the control group after 8 h of L. lactic bioencapsulation. Notably, an exception case was found in β-D-glucosidase activity, whereby the cellulase activity was not significantly different (P > 0.05) compared to the control group. Administrations of L. lactis at cell concentration of 10⁸ CFU mL^?1 showed considerable improvement of other important enzymatic activities such as amylase, protease and lipase in A. franciscana. The amylase/protease ratio in probiotic-treated A. franciscana was recorded at 0.343, approximately two times higher than those without probiotic administration (0.184). In contrary, amylase/lipase ratio showed half of a reduction (0.330) in L. lactis-administrated A. franciscana compared to the control (0.614). Our study suggests that important digestive enzymes, e.g., cellulase, amylase, protease and lipase, can be enhanced through bioencapsulation of A. franciscana with L. lactis subsp. lactis, which could in turn lead to further stimulation of endogenous enzymes in the fish and shrimp larvae.     

州市级动物疫控机构兽用生物制品储运管理应注意的问题

[编者按] 从实际工作需要出发,以保山市动物疫病预防控制中心的工作实践为基础,本文较系统地分析总结了州市级动物疫控机构兽用生物制品储运管理应注意的问题.它具有较强的可操作性和实用性,对保证疫苗质量、提高免疫效果至关重要,为州市级动物疫控机构加强兽用生物制品储运管理和从事该项工作但缺乏工作经验的专业人员提供了可操作的参考意见.     

海南油棕果腐病的病原鉴定及发病条件的研究

三年来作者对于幼龄結果油棕的果穗和果实腐烂的症状、分布、蔓延为害,其发生条件和栽培管理的关系进行了詳細的調查和观察,并进行了病原分离、培养、田间人工接种和試探性化学保护等試驗。同时对果实离层組織的形成进行了切片检查。 結果指出海南十二个地区的幼龄结实棕园普遍出現的花、果、穗腐与环境条件和栽培管理有密切关系。果腐是果实离体后从蒂部組織开始的。从腐果組織中經常可以分离到細菌、炭疽菌和鐮刀菌。多次田間接种証明这些菌对健康果实和果穗均无致病能力。大田喷药无效。看来,油棕果腐病是由于环境坏、管理差的条件下,未成熟或接近成熟的果实产生离层而与果柄分离,再由外界杂菌腐食脫果而致腐烂。可見,本病是屬于非侵染性的生理病害。     

Can treatment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachiaria decumbens</Emphasis> (signal grass) improve its utilisation in the diet in small ruminants?—a review

Brachiaria decumbens is an extremely productive tropical grass due to its aggressive growth habit and its adaptation to a varied range of soil types and environments. As a result of the vast availability, treated B. decumbens demonstrates as a promising local material that could be utilised as an improved diet for sheep and goats. Despite the fact that the grass significantly increases weight gains in grazing farm animals, there were many reports of general ill-thrift and sporadic outbreaks of photosensitivity in livestock due to the toxic compound of steroidal saponin found in B. decumbens. Ensiling and haymaking were found to be effective in removing toxin and undesirable compounds in the grass. Biological treatments using urea, activated charcoal, polyethylene glycol, and effective microorganisms were found to be useful in anti-nutritional factor deactivation and improving the nutritive values of feedstuffs. Besides, oral administration of phenobarbitone showed some degree of protection in sheep that fed on B. decumbens pasture. In this review, we aim to determine the effect of B. decumbens toxicity and possible treatment methods on the grass to be used as an improved diet for small ruminant.