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.     

Genomic characterization of the first oral avian papillomavirus in a colony of breeding canaries (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Serinus canaria</Emphasis>)

Papillomaviruses are non-enveloped, DNA viruses that infect skin and mucosa of a wide variety of vertebrates, causing neoplasias or simply persisting asymptomatically. Avian papillomaviruses, with six fully sequenced genomes, are the second most studied group after mammalian papillomaviruses. In this study, we describe the first oral avian papillomavirus, detected in the tongue of a dead Yorkshire canary (Serinus canaria) and in oral swabs of the same bird and other two live canaries from an aviary in Madrid, Spain. Its genome is 8,071 bp and presents the canonical papillomavirus architecture with six early (E6, E7, E1, E9, E2, E4) and two late open reading frames (L1 and L2) and a long control region between L1 and E6. This new avian papillomavirus L1 gene shares a 64% pairwise identity with FcPV1 L1, so it has been classified as a new species (ScPV1) within the Ethapapillomavirus genus. Although the canary died after showing breathing problems, there is no evidence that the papillomavirus caused those symptoms so it could be part of the oral microbiota of the birds. Hence, future investigations are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of the virus.     

Knowledge,attitudes and practices towards <Emphasis Type="Italic">cystic echinococcosis</Emphasis> in livestock among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda

A cross-sectional study was done from March 2013 to May 2014 to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda. A structured questionnaire was administered to 381 respondents. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to find the relationship between knowledge about CE and factors such as age, sex, and level of education across all regions. The odds ratio and confidence interval were used to determine the difference in responses across regions. It was shown that age above 36 years was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with awareness about CE in livestock. Likewise, uneducated (p < 0.0001) and agro-pastoralists (p = 0.01) were significantly less knowledgeable than the educated and pastoralists across all regions. The overall knowledge towards CE in livestock was low 17.8% (95% CI = 14.0–21.6). Dog ownership was high and they never dewormed their freely roaming dogs. Dogs shared water with livestock. In conclusion, knowledge about CE in livestock was low across all regions. Therefore, public health education and formulation of policies towards its control by the relevant stakeholders should be done. Also, the true prevalence of CE in livestock needs to be done so that the magnitude and its public health significance are elucidated.     

微白黄链霉菌对红豆草壳二孢的拮抗效果评价

红豆草壳二孢叶斑黑茎病(Ascochyta onobrychidis)是红豆草(Onobrychis viciaefolia)最重要的病害之一,在分离此病菌的同时得到一种对此病菌具有较强抑制作用的微生物,为评价此拮抗菌的开发利用前景,本研究采用形态学、分子生物学和生物化学方法鉴定了其分类地位,并测定了其对红豆草壳二孢的抑菌效果。通过构建系统发育树并结合其形态特征和生理生化特性,将该拮抗菌鉴定为微白黄链霉菌(Streptomyces albidoflavu),在高氏一号培养基上菌落为黄白色,可产生黄白色水溶性色素,孢子丝钩状,顶端螺旋形;在平板对峙试验中该菌的菌落对红豆草壳二孢菌落的相对抑制率达74.33%,同时该菌发酵液对红豆草壳二孢菌丝生长和孢子萌发的抑制率分别为80.95%和93.87%。该菌具有生物防治红豆草壳二孢的开发和利用价值。     

砷胁迫对黑麦草根系形态及养分吸收的影响

黑麦草对重金属具有较强的耐性和富集能力,是一种良好的植物修复材料。为探究砷(As)胁迫下黑麦草的根系形态以及根系养分吸收特征,采用盆栽试验研究了100mg·kg~(-1) As胁迫下,多年生黑麦草(Lolium perenne)和一年生黑麦草(L.multiflorum)的根系形态和营养元素吸收情况,并分别对As吸收与根系形态和养分吸收做相关性分析。结果表明,多年生黑麦草总根长和总根表面积受抑制程度更加明显,分别降低47.6%和46.8%;多年生黑麦草根系As吸收能力是一年生黑麦草的1.2倍。As胁迫促进两种黑麦草根系对N、P、K、Mn元素的吸收,二者相比,多年生黑麦草根系吸收N、P、K三种大量元素受影响更大,而一年生黑麦草根系吸收微量元素Mn受影响更大。总体上看,多年生黑麦草的根系形态和养分吸收能力对As胁迫更加敏感。     

陕西省榆林市某鸡场家禽H7N9流感紧急流行病学调查

2017年5月21日,陕西省榆林市某养殖场的蛋鸡出现异常死亡。经国家参考实验室确诊,该起疫情为H7N9流感疫情。为找出引发疫情的可能原因,采用描述性流行病学方法,描述疫情的三间分布,分析发病的风险因素。调查结果显示:该场饲养规模较大,共有8栋鸡舍,饲养4.5万只蛋鸡;疫情暴发突然,病程仅为5 d;蛋鸡死亡2.2万只,死亡率为48.9%;疫情具有明显的场内传播规律,从靠近鸡场入口的鸡舍逐渐向内蔓延;产蛋高峰期蛋鸡的发病风险是雏鸡的37.458倍,差异显著(P0.05);所分离毒株的HA基因裂解位点有4个氨基酸插入,为变异株;该起疫情可能是通过运输淘汰蛋鸡的车辆、野鸟、饲料和饮水,以及调入雏鸡等途径引入的。疫情发生后,当地政府按照《高致病性禽流感防治技术规范》,发布了封锁令,划定了疫点、疫区和受威胁区;在疫区采取了扑杀、无害化处理、关闭疫区内所有禽类产品交易市场等控制措施。采取以上处置措施后,疫情得以快速有效控制。     

美国临床兽医博士（DVM）与执业兽医和官方兽医的关系

临床兽医博士(DVM)是美国特有的一种学位,主要侧重于临床技能操作和应用,对于促进美国执业兽医制度建设和兽医职业化发展发挥了重要作用。本文介绍了DVM学位获得过程,分析了DVM与执业兽医、官方兽医的关系。在美国,取得DVM学位仅是具备了参加北美兽医资格考试(NAVLE)和州执照考试的一种资格,并不能直接开展兽医执业工作。由兽医官、消费安全检验员、屠宰场食品检验员、州兽医、认证兽医等组成的美国官方兽医队伍中,既有取得DVM学位的,也有符合条件未取得DVM学位的人员。本文拟通过上述问题研究,以期为推进我国新型兽医制度建设提供参考。     

6种人兽共患病病原核酸液相芯片检测体系的建立

本研究通过设计、合成特异性引物和探针并对其进行修饰,将探针和特定荧光编码微球共价交联后,利用Luminex检测仪读取荧光信号,从而建立了针对布鲁氏菌、沙门氏菌、弓形虫,狂犬病病毒、巴氏通体、弯曲杆菌等6种病原的液相芯片检测方法。数据显示,本研究建立的液相芯片检测体系具有良好的特异性,检测灵敏度达50拷贝数,能同时检测6种重要人兽共患病病原,对于这6种人兽共患病的快速筛查和控制提供了技术支撑。     

2018年山东省诸城市小反刍兽疫免疫效果横断面调查

为掌握山东省诸城市小反刍兽疫的免疫效果,2018年6月采用横断面研究方法,对该市规模场和自然村（散养户）饲养羊只进行小反刍兽疫免疫效果评估。采用两阶段随机抽样方法,结合部分便利抽样,采集580份羊血清样品进行ELISA 抗体检测。结果显示：合格样品560份,合格率达96.5%;14个规模场均免疫合格,群体合格率达到100%;在抽检的16个自然村中,15个村免疫合格。结果表明,诸城市小反刍兽疫总体免疫效果良好。     

多代驯化对布氏田鼠非繁殖期性激素本底水平的影响

为阐明驯化过程对季节性繁殖的布氏田鼠Lasiopodomys brandtii性腺活性的影响,采用放射免疫技术从秋季(11月)至翌年春季(3月)对室内驯化1月、3年和10年的雌雄鼠粪便中的性激素水平进行监测。结果显示,在11—12月非繁殖季节,驯化10年组雄鼠睾酮水平分别达到3年组和1月组的3.5倍和13.3倍,驯化10年组雌鼠雌二醇水平分别达到3年组和1月组的2.0倍和3.7倍,且差异均达到显著水平;长期(3年和10年)驯化组雄鼠在繁殖初期(1—3月)的睾酮水平也较短期驯化组显示出更大幅度的提升。表明在经历长期驯化后布氏田鼠对稳定的室内环境逐渐适应,非繁殖期性腺活性抑制的程度逐渐减弱,呈现出随驯化时长增加而逐渐递增的趋势,从而导致鼠类繁殖表型发生了可塑性变化。