A combination of plant oils promotes adequate growth of the freshwater catfish Rhamdia quelen (Quoy & Gaimard 1824)

Essential fatty acids should be included in the diet to ensure adequate fish growth. Despite the great number of studies on fatty acid nutrition of fish, there are still several unknowns. The aim of the present study was to investigate fatty acid nutrition of jundiá, a Latin American freshwater catfish. Four diets were formulated containing (i) coconut oil (?C, negative control), (ii) coconut oil + high‐docosahexaenoic‐acid‐fish oil (+C, positive control) and coconut + sunflower + linseed oils at different ratios, producing either (iii) a diet rich in linoleic acid (LA) (HighLA) or 4) a diet low in LA (LowLA). All diets contained significant amounts of saturated fatty acids (at least 57.5% total fatty acids in HighLA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (at least 19.1% total fatty acids in ?C). Diets were fed to jundiá fingerlings (1.5 g) for 70 days; growth, body composition and liver histology were evaluated. The ?C diet, without essential fatty acids, promoted significantly lower fish growth, body fat accumulation and hepatic lipidosis. Fish fed HighLA and LowLA diets presented similar growth as fish fed +C diet. These findings suggest that diet formulations for jundiá catfish fingerlings can include only plant oils without negative effect on growth, survival, body composition, fish health or parameters of feed utilization (ingestion rate and protein utilization).     

Frequency of BCoV detection by a semi-nested PCR assay in faeces of calves from Brazilian cattle herds

Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) is one of the main causes of neonatal calf diarrhoea. Several diagnostic assays have been employed to detect the presence of the virus in stool samples from calves. Despite this, the frequency of BCoV infection among Brazilian and even South American cattle herds has yet to be well characterised. This study describes the occurrence of BCoV infection among calves from dairy and beef herds in four Brazilian states. A total of 282 stool samples from 1 to 60-day-old calves were evaluated for the presence of BCoV by a semi-nested (SN) PCR assay. The animals were from herds (n = 23) located in three geographical regions in Brazil (south, southeast, and center-west). The specific BCoV amplicon was detected in 15.6% (44/282) of the faecal specimens examined, of which 95.4% (42/44) were from diarrhoeic and 4.6% (2/44) from asymptomatic calves. The specificity of the SN-PCR amplicons was evaluated by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The results show that the BCoV is widespread, mainly among calves from 16 to 30-days-old (p = 0.0023), and verify the association between BCoV infection and clinical signs of diarrhoea (p = 0.005). These findings emphasise the importance of this virus in enteric infections of Brazilian cattle herds.     

Differences in phagocytosis susceptibility in Haemophilus parasuis strains

Haemophilus parasuis is a colonizer of the upper respiratory tract of healthy pigs, but virulent strains can cause a systemic infection characterized by fibrinous polyserositis, commonly known as Glässer’s disease. The variability in virulence that is observed among H. parasuis strains is not completely understood, since the virulence mechanisms of H. parasuis are largely unknown. In the course of infection, H. parasuis has to survive the host pulmonary defences, which include alveolar macrophages, to produce disease. Using strains from different clinical backgrounds, we were able to detect clear differences in susceptibility to phagocytosis. Strains isolated from the nose of healthy animals were efficiently phagocytosed by porcine alveolar macrophages (PAM), while strains isolated from systemic lesions were resistant to this interaction. Phagocytosis of susceptible strains proceeded through mechanisms independent of a specific receptor, which involved actin filaments and microtubules. In all the systemic strains tested in this study, we observed a distinct capsule after interaction with PAM, indicating a role of this surface structure in phagocytosis resistance. However, additional mechanisms of resistance to phagocytosis should be explored, since we detected different effects of microtubule inhibition among systemic strains.     

Establishment of a proteomic reference map for the gastrocnemius muscle in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

In several laboratory and production species, the establishment of a proteome reference map of a specific tissue has been accomplished. The rabbit is widely used as both a production and experimental animal. A lot of physiology research involving the gastrocnemius muscle of rabbit is described, although no reference proteome map is available. In this work, the first reference map of the rabbit’s gastrocnemius muscle using 2D gel electrophoresis and the identification of proteins through peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) was established. A total of 45 proteins were localized and identified with three major roles: cell structure and contractile apparatus; metabolic and cell defense proteins. A reference map of major proteins expressed is described enabling possible comparisons with other physiological studies.     

Different isolates from Leishmania braziliensis complex induce distinct histopathological features in a murine model of infection

The aim of this study was to evaluate the histopathological features in tissues of mice infected by human isolates (I, II, and III) or the reference M2903 strain of Leishmania braziliensis complex. BALB/c and C57Bl/6 mice were infected in the hind footpad with 10⁶ stationary-phase promastigotes of L. braziliensis complex. The evolution of lesions was observed for 10 weeks and the animals were then euthanized and liver, spleen and popliteal lymph nodes were collected. Tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and analyzed by immunohistochemistry assay. Increased thickness of infected footpads was observed in all animals, lesions were nodular and non-ulcerated. Mice infected with isolate I presented inflammatory infiltrates consisting predominantly of mononuclear cells in all tissues examined, and also a great number of megakaryocytes, compared with other isolates. Infection with isolate II led to an infected footpad enlargement not seen in other isolates. In addition, mononuclear infiltrates in the liver and hemosiderin in spleen were noted. Conversely, mice infected with either isolate III or M2903 strain only showed an increased number of megakaryocytes in spleen. All tissues examined had detectable amastigote forms of Leishmania by immunohistochemistry in all groups. Taking together, our results showed an unforeseen behavior of different isolates of L. braziliensis complex that led to diverse pathological findings.     

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on nitrogen dynamics in oilseed rape using 15N‐labeling field experiment

In order to optimize nitrogen (N) fertilization and to reduce the environmental impact of oilseed rape without decreasing yield, a clearer understanding of N dynamics inside the plant is crucial. The present investigation therefore aimed to study the effects of different N‐application rates on the dynamics of N uptake, partitioning, and remobilization. The experiment was conducted on winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. cv. Capitol) under three levels of N input (0, 100, and 200 kg N ha^–1) from stem elongation to maturity using ¹⁵N‐labeling technique to distinguish between N uptake and N retranslocation in the plant. Nitrogen fertilization affected the time‐course of N uptake and also the allocation of N taken up from flowering to maturity. Most pod N came from N remobilization, and leaves accounted for the largest source of remobilized N regardless the N‐application rate. However, the contribution of leaves to the remobilized N pool increased with the N dose whereas the one of taproot decreased. Stems were the main sink for remobilized N from stem elongation to flowering. Leaves remained longer on N200 than on N0 and N100 plants, and N concentration in fallen leaves increased with the N treatment and in N100 plants along an axial gradient from the basal to the upper leaves. Overall, these results show that the timing of N supply is more crucial than the N amount to attain a high N efficiency.     

Antiproliferative Activity of Fucan Nanogel

Sulfated fucans comprise families of polydisperse natural polysaccharides based on sulfated L-fucose. Our aim was to investigate whether fucan nanogel induces cell-specific responses. To that end, a non toxic fucan extracted from Spatoglossum schröederi was chemically modified by grafting hexadecylamine to the polymer hydrophilic backbone. The resulting modified material (SNFuc) formed nanosized particles. The degree of substitution with hydrophobic chains was close to 100%, as estimated by elemental analysis. SNFfuc in aqueous media had a mean diameter of 123 nm and zeta potential of −38.3 ± 0.74 mV, as measured by dynamic light scattering. Nanoparticles conserved their size for up to 70 days. SNFuc cytotoxicity was determined using the MTT assay after culturing different cell lines for 24 h. Tumor-cell (HepG2, 786, H-S5) proliferation was inhibited by 2.0%–43.7% at nanogel concentrations of 0.05–0.5 mg/mL and rabbit aorta endothelial cells (RAEC) non-tumor cell line proliferation displayed inhibition of 8.0%–22.0%. On the other hand, nanogel improved Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and monocyte macrophage cell (RAW) non-tumor cell line proliferation in the same concentration range. The antiproliferative effect against tumor cells was also confirmed using the BrdU test. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the fucan nanogel inhibited 786 cell proliferation through caspase and caspase-independent mechanisms. In addition, SNFuc blocks 786 cell passages in the S and G2-M phases of the cell cycle.     

The fatty acid profiles and energetic substrates of two Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus,Linnaeus) strains,Red‐Stirling and Chitralada,and their hybrid

Protein and lipid content as well as the fatty acid (FA) composition of storage tissues were analysed in two varieties of Oreochromis niloticus (Red‐Stirling and Chitralada) and their hybrid. The animals were maintained in cages for 11 months. The samples were taken when the animals weighed 10, 50, 100, 250 and 500 g. The results showed that changes in the metabolic processes occur during an increase in body mass in both varieties of tilapia and also their hybrid, but that these differences are not found in animals collected at the commercial weight. The protein content of the fillet and liver decreased with growth and the same protein content associated with growth was found for fillet lipid content. The genetic variety did not influence the FA profile of the fillet, but different genotypes had different hepatic FA compositions. Even with the same lipid content, the hepatocytes of Chitralada accumulated higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) n6 in triglycerides and increased C22:6n3 in the hepatocyte membranes. The higher n6PUFA content was compensated by a lower fraction of saturated FA in the hepatocyte triglycerides. The skin of Chitralada also had higher n6PUFA and C22:6n3 contents, suggesting a higher ability to deposit PUFA in the skin due to alterations in the liver synthetic pathway.     

Tendonitis of branches of the superficial digital flexor tendon in Standardbred racehorses: 15 cases

This case report describes the clinical and ultrasonographic findings and performance outcome of distal tendonitis of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) in Standardbred racehorses. Cases with distal tendonitis of the SDFT in isolation (not associated with a metacarpal lesion) were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical and ultrasonographic findings and performance outcome were reviewed. The injury was located on the left forelimb in 67% (10/15) of horses and on the right forelimb in 33% (5/15). None of the horses were affected bilaterally. The lateral branch was involved in 80% of the cases (12/15) and medial branch in 20% (3/15). None of the horses were affected biaxially. Mean time between injury and first start ± s.d. was 302 ± 142 days. Returning to racing was observed in 93% of the horses (14/15), with a reinjury rate of 22% (2/9). For horses which raced after the injury, the number of starts, shows and wins was not significantly different before and after injury, regardless of the location of the lesion. Tendonitis of branches of the SDFT in isolation carries a good prognosis in Standardbred racehorses. A higher return to racing and a lower reinjury rate may be expected compared to lesions in the metacarpal region.