Assessment of longitudinal systolic function using tissue motion annular displacement in healthy dogs

Introduction

Left ventricular systolic function is one of the main parameters studied in echocardiography. Longitudinal systolic function, however, is less commonly evaluated in routine examinations but may provide early information on systolic dysfunction. The movement of the mitral annulus toward the apex has already been determined as a method for evaluation of longitudinal systolic function in dogs, but the study of this movement by speckle tracking with the tissue motion annular displacement (TMAD) technique has not yet been evaluated.

Antimicrobial ent-pimarane diterpenes from Viguiera arenaria against Gram-positive bacteria

The dichloromethane crude extract from the roots of Viguiera arenaria (VaDRE) has been employed in an antimicrobial screening against several bacteria responsible for human pathologies. The main diterpenes isolated from this extract, as well as two semi-synthetic pimarane derivatives, were also investigated for the pathogens that were significantly inhibited by the extract (MIC values lower than 100 μg mL^− 1). The VaDRE extract was significantly active only against Gram-positive microorganisms. The compounds ent-pimara-8(14),15-dien-19-oic acid (PA); PA sodium salt; ent-8(14),15-pimaradien-3β-ol; ent-15-pimarene-8β,19-diol; and ent-8(14),15-pimaradien-3β-acetoxy displayed the highest antibacterial activities (MIC values lower than 10 μg mL^− 1 for most pathogens). In conclusion, our results suggest that pimaranes are an important class of natural products for further investigations in the search of new antibacterial agents.     

Hepatic capillariasis in captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)

A female ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and her two cubs held in a zoo in Chile exhibited signs of severe hepatic insufficiency. In spite of supportive treatment, the three animals died a few days after the onset of signs. Postmortem examination revealed ascites and fibrotic lesions in the liver of all the individuals. Histologically, the liver of two of them showed a severe parasitic ova infection and lipidosis, the morphologic characteristics of the parasitic ovas were consistent with Capillaria hepatica (syn. Calodium hepatica) eggs. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first clinical case report of hepatic capillariasis in prosimians, and its implications are discussed.     

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in feral cats (Felis silvestris catus) in Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

Cryptosporidium spp. are common intestinal protozoan parasites that infect a wide range of hosts, including humans and livestock, worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in dairy calves in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the potential for transmission of this parasite between dairy calves and humans. Fecal samples were collected from 183 dairy calves from 11 farms in Prince Edward Island. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. infections in these animals was determined by examining for the presence of oocysts in the fecal samples, using immunofluorescence microscopy. Molecular characterization was done using a nested-PCR protocol to amplify fragments of the Cryptosporidium heat-shock protein 70 gene, followed by DNA sequencing. Ten calves (6.2%), representing 4 out of 11 farms tested, were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. DNA sequence analysis on five PCR positive samples demonstrated that Cryptosporidium parvum was the only species present in the calves tested, suggesting that there is a potential risk of zoonotic transmission between dairy calves and humans in this region.     

Evaluation of three immunoserological techniques in the detection of porcine trichinellosis

Three immunoserological tests (IST) used for the detection of porcine trichinellosis, immunofluorescence (IF), enzyme-inmunoanalysis (EIA), and Western blot (WB), were compared. Three groups of animals were analyzed: Group 1, animals naturally infected with parasite burdens (PB) of <1 muscle larvae (ML)/g (n = 18); Group 2, animals naturally infected with PB of ≥2 ML/g (n = 23); Group 3, animals raised and home-slaughtered on farms in Argentina (n = 59). Animals from Groups 1 and 2 were identified in outbreaks and were analyzed by individual artificial digestion (AD) of ≥30 g of muscle. Animals in Group 3 were subjected to AD of 5 g of muscle.The detection percentages in sera of swine with the lower PB were 100% for IF, 72% for EIA, and 50% for WB. Eighty-three percent of the animals were serologically positive by two or three techniques. In pigs with the higher PB, the detection percentage was similar for IF and EIA (100% vs. 91%, respectively), and was lower for the WB (61%). Ninety-six percent of the animals were serologically positive by two or three techniques. Group 3 animals had similar detection percentages for the three techniques (IF, 30%; EIA, 29%; WB, 42%). Twenty-five percent of the animals were serologically positive by two or three techniques. Two animals were positive by AD with PB of 0.33 and 2.4 ML/g, and were positive for IF and WB, or IF, EIA, and WB. Results indicate that the sensitivity of each technique depends on the PB, and always ranked in sensitivity as IF > EIA > WB. For the lower PB, the decrease in the sensitivity is more pronounced for the EIA. Although the WB has a low sensitivity, the detection of the specific bands for Trichinella spiralis makes it a useful confirmatory tool. Considering that more than 83% of the parasitologically positive animals had 2 or 3 positive serological results using the techniques tested here, for the diagnosis of porcine trichinellosis, pigs positive by two of these serological techniques must be regarded as truly infected pigs.     

Rapid methodology for antigenic profiling of FMDV field strains and for the control of identity, purity and viral integrity in commercial virus vaccines using monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) developed against different foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccine strains were extensively used to study any possible antigenic variations during vaccine production in Argentine facilities. Additionally, a typing ELISA using strain specific MAbs was developed to detect potential cross contaminations among FMDV strains in master and working seeds with high specificity and sensitivity and to confirm strains identity in formulated vaccines. This assay was carried out for the South American strains currently in use in production facilities in Argentina (A24/Cruzeiro, A/Argentina/01, O1/Campos and C3/Indaial) and for the strain O/Taiwan, produced only for export to Asia. These non-cross reactive MAbs were also used to analyze the integrity of viral particles belonging to each one of the individual strains, following isolation of 140S virions by means of sucrose density gradients from the aqueous phase of commercial polyvalent vaccines. Antigenic profiles were defined for FMDV reference strains using panels of MAbs, and a coefficient of correlation of reactivity with these panels was calculated to establish consistent identity upon serial passages of master and production seeds. A comparison of vaccine and field strain antigenic profiles performed using coefficients of correlation allowed the rapid identification of two main groups of serotype A viruses collected during the last FMD epidemic in Argentina, whose reactivity matched closely to A/Argentina/2000 and A/Argentina/2001 strains.