Detection of Candida species by nested PCR method in one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Systemic fungal diseases are the infections caused by false treatment protocols and generally are not taken into consideration especially in the veterinary...     

Mammary fibroadenoma in a lamb

A fibroadenoma was diagnosed in the left udder of a 3-month-old female Chios lamb. No recurrence was observed after surgery. Grossly, the tumor had a whitish-gray lobular appearance, and the lobules were interlaced with thin septa. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of proliferating fibroepithelial tissue, including differentiated ducts lined by whorls and interlacing bundles of abundant loose fibrovascular stroma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the ductal epithelium to be positive for pancytokeratin (AE1/AE3) and loose fibrovascular stroma was positive for vimentin and basal cells covering the ductal epithelium of alpha-smooth-muscle actin. Immunostaining for the estrogen and progesterone receptors was negative. A diagnosis of mammary fibroadenoma was made based on the histological and immunohistochemical findings.     

Confirmation of reduced toxicity of deoxynivalenol in extrusion-processed corn grits by the MTT bioassay

The objective of this study was to determine the loss of toxicity of deoxynivalenol in extruded cereal-based products by the tetrazolium salt (MTT) bioassay using a sensitive Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cell line and to compare the results to chemical (high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC) and biochemical (enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay, ELISA) methods of analysis. A split-split plot design was used for the extrusion process experiments at temperatures of 150, 175, and 200 degrees C and screw speeds of 70 and 140 rpm. The initial mean deoxynivalenol concentration in the corn grits artificially contaminated with Fusarium graminearum was found to be 23.5 mug/g as measured by HPLC. The percent reductions of deoxynivalenol in the contaminated corn grits upon extrusion processing ranged from 22 to 35%, from 21 to 34%, and from 21 to 37% as measured by HPLC, ELISA, and MTT bioassay, respectively. The MTT bioassay results were more closely correlated with HPLC (r = 0.90) results than with ELISA results (r = 0.78). The MTT bioassay, using a sensitive mammalian cell line, was demonstrated to be a useful method for quantification of deoxynivalenol as well as a potential toxicity screening method for contaminated extruded cereal-based products.     

Immunohistochemical evaluation of inflammatory infiltrate in the skin and lung of lambs naturally infected with sheeppox virus

The present study describes immunophenotypic characteristics of inflammatory infiltrate in the skin and lung of lambs naturally infected with sheeppox virus (SPV). Three lambs revealed typical cutaneous and pulmonary lesions of sheeppox. Histologically, cutaneous and pulmonary lesions consisted of hyperplastic and/or degenerative changes in the epithelium with mononuclear cells, neutrophils, and typical sheeppox cells (SPCs), which had a vacuolated nucleus and marginated chromatin with occasional granular intracytoplasmic inclusions. The inflammatory infiltrate in pox lesions in both skin and lung was characterized by the presence of MHC II+ dendritic cells, CD4+, CD8+, gammadelta+ T cells, IgM+ cells, and CD21+ cells. Loss of expression of MHC I and MHC II antigens was observed in the affected areas of skin and lung. SPCs, stained with anti-SPV antibody, were also positive for CD14 and CD172A, antigens expressed on monocytes and macrophages. CD14 and CD172A negative SPCs were considered to be SPV infected degenerated epithelial cells or fibroblasts.     

Angiokeratomatous papilloma associated with papillomavirus in a calf

A female 8-month-old Simmental calf was presented with a history of a gradually enlarging mass in the ventral abdominal skin since 4 months of age. The mass was well circumscribed, lightly pigmented, and rough surfaced with many fine fissures and was attached to the skin by a relatively broad pedicle. On cut section, there was a border between the reddish-black stroma and overlying epithelium, including hemorrhagic foci of variable sizes. Histologically, the tumor was papillomatous with angiokeratomatous features and irregular hyperplasia with epidermal rete ridges and dilated vascular channels filled with blood in the superficial dermis. In the epidermis, orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis, variably sized keratohyalin granules, and many koilocytes, some of which had papillomavirus (PV) genus-specific structural antigen-positive nuclei, were also observed. Cells lining the dilated vascular spaces were positive for vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin but negative for factor VIII-related antigen, desmin, and PV. The lesion was regarded as an angiokeratomatous papilloma and was similar to other angiomatous lesions.     

Genetic variation among cotton (G. hirsutum L.) cultivars for motes,seed-coat fragments and loading force

Seed quality is one of the important objectives in cotton production and breeding. Seed-coat fragments (SCFs) and motes are the main impurities in lint cotton and are major concerns in the textile industry. A 2-year study was conducted to compare 10 cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivars for the number of SCFs, motes, and resistance to loading force (RL).     

Volatilization of organic chemicals from water

Liquid-phase transfer coefficients of ten selected organic pollutants were measured simultaneously with the O₂ reaeration coefficient in a 2L reactor. The contents of the reactor were stirred in the laboratory by a 0.15 m diameter propeller attached to a constant speed motor. The ratio of the mass transfer coefficient of the chemical to that of O₂ is found to vary between 0.43 and 0.60 for eight of the chemicals tested. This result is in good agreement with the literature concerning high volatility chemicals. The value of this ratio for the other two chemicals was found to be 0.10 for nitrobenzene and 0.01 for phenol, confirming the predominance of gas phase resistances in the transport process for these two compounds.     

Evaluation of reduced toxicity of zearalenone by extrusion processing as measured by the MTT cell proliferation assay

The objective of this study was to determine loss of toxicity of zearalenone in extruded cereal-based products by the MTT (tetrazolium salt) cell proliferation assay using a sensitive MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line and to compare the results to chemical (high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC) and biochemical (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA) methods of analysis. A split-split plot design was used for the extrusion process experiments at temperatures of 150, 175, and 200 degrees C and screw speeds of 70 and 140 rpm. The initial zearalenone concentration in the artificially contaminated corn grits with Fusarium graminearum was found at a mean concentration of 37.88 microg/g as measured by HPLC. The percent reductions of zearalenone in the contaminated corn grits upon extrusion processing were in the ranges of 67-81, 60-72, and 66-78% as measured by HPLC, ELISA, and the MTT cell proliferation assay, respectively. The MTT cell proliferation assay results were more closely correlated with HPLC results (r = 0.96) than ELISA results (r = 0.83). The MTT cell proliferation assay was demonstrated to be a useful method for quantification of zearalenone as well as a potential toxicity screening method for contaminated extruded cereal-based products.     

Breeding progress for yield in winter wheat genotypes targeted to irrigated environments of the CWANA region

The international winter wheat improvement program (IWWIP), an alliance between Turkey–CIMMYT–ICARDA, has distributed improved germplasm to different National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) partners through international nurseries and yield trials for the last 25 years. This study was carried out in order to determine the rate of breeding progress for yield and yield related traits at IWWIP using data of the international winter wheat yield trials (IWWYT), IWWYT 1–13, collected from 1997 to 2010 in irrigated environments across different countries. The relative grain yield of the best line expressed as percent of the best check (Kinaci-97), widely grown cultivar (Bezostaya) and trial mean (TM) increased at a rate of 0.6, 1.6 and 0.2 %/year, each non-significant (P > 0.05), respectively. Regression analysis indicated that TM has increased at a rate of 91.9 kg/ha/year (P = 0.007). The net realized breeding progress was estimated by accounting the variability due to management and weather conditions using surrogate variables such as integrated biological indices taken as means of common checks. The net realized gain for the BL was 66.2 ± 19.7 kg/ha/year (P = 0.01). Success rate of the BL, per cent of sites where the BL exceeds the local check in grain yield, ranged from 50 to 87 % across trials. To date, more than 55 varieties of IWWIP origin have been released in 10 countries of Central and West Asia including Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Some varieties, such as Solh and Kinaci-97, have been released under different names in different countries indicating their broad adaptation. Cluster analysis of IWWYT sites indicated that IWWIP sites in Turkey and Syria are associated with most of the testing sites in Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region. The recently identified high yielding genotypes are recommended for direct release and/or parental purposes by the respective NARS.