Toltrazuril and sulphonamide treatment against naturally Isospora suis infected suckling piglets: Is there an actual profit?

A study was carried out to assess the efficacy and the economic profit of prophylactic treatment against Isopsora suis with toltrazuril or with a sulfamethazine/trimethoprim combination in piglets from an intensive pig farm. Thirty-one litters were included in study. Eight litters were treated once with toltrazuril (20 mg/kg b.w.) at 3 days of age (Toltra group); 8 litters were treated with the sulphonamide combination (sodium sulfamethazine 35 mg and trimethoprim 7 mg/kg b.w.) for 3 consecutive days starting at 3 days of age (Sulfa group), and 15 litters were untreated (control group). Counts of oocyst per gram on pooled feces sampled from each litter were carried out on Days 7, 14, 21 and 28 and diarrhea was registered daily from pooled samples. Piglets were weighed on Days 1, 7 and 28 and mean weight gain (WG) and daily weight gain (DWG) were evaluated. The economic profit of treatment was evaluated comparing the WG of piglets of each treatment group from the day of birth to Day 28. On Days 14, 21 and 28, toltrazuril showed a better efficacy in controlling fecal oocyst output, diarrhea and weight gain compared with sulphamidic treatment (P < 0.001). The budgeting analysis showed a return of economic benefit of € 0.915 per toltrazuril-treated piglets and an additional cost of € 1.155 per sulphonamide-treated piglets.     

The emerging significance of bioacoustics in animal species conservation

This review reports on the effects of human activities on animal acoustic signals published in the literature from 1970 to 2009. Almost 5% of the studies on variation in animal communication tested or hypothesised on human impacts, and showed that habitat fragmentation, direct human disturbance, introduced diseases, urbanization, hunting, chemical and noise pollution may challenge animal acoustic behaviour. Although acoustic adaptations to anthropogenic habitats have been documented, human impacts have most often generated neutral variation or potential maladaptive responses. Negative impacts have been postulated in the sexual signals of fishes, amphibians, birds, and mammals; these are concerning as any maladaptive alteration of sexual behaviour may have direct bearings on breeding success and ultimately population growth rate. Acoustic communication also facilitates other vital behaviours influenced by human-driven perturbations. Bat and cetacean echolocation, for instance, is disrupted by noise pollution, whereas bird and mammal alarming is also affected by introduced diseases and hunting. Mammal social signals are sensitive to noise pollution and hunting, and birds selecting habitats by means of acoustic cues are especially vulnerable to habitat loss. Anthropogenic intervention in these cases may have a negative impact on individual survival, recruitment and group cohesion, limiting rescue-effects and triggering Allee effects. Published evidence shows that acoustic variation may be used as an early-warning indicator of perturbations even when not directly affecting individual fitness. Acoustic signalling can be studied in a broad range of ecosystems, can be recorded, analyzed, synthesised and played back with relative ease and limited economic budget, and is sensitive to many types of impacts, thus can have great conservation significance.     

Flavonol glucoside profile of southern Italian red onion (Allium cepa L.)

High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) coupled with electron spray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS-MS) was used to determine the flavonol profile in southern Italian red onions (Allium cepa L.). This on-line technique allowed the identification of seven flavonols in southern Italian red onion, quercetin 4'-glucoside and quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside being the most abundant components. Five minor flavonols have been recognized, offering a characteristic profile of such compounds in red onions under study. Quercetin 3-glucoside, quercetin 7,4'-diglucoside, quercetin 3,7,4'-triglucoside, and isorhamnetin 4'-glucoside have been previously reported as minor flavonoid components in Allium cepa, while isorhamnetin 3,4'-diglucoside was previously found in Allium ascalonicum. Traces of isorhamnetin 3-glucoside and free quercetin were also detected.     

Detection of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides SC in bovine lung and lymph node tissues by culture, sandwich ELISA and polymerase chain reaction systems

Cattle from Northern Portugal, many with pulmonary lesions typical of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, were investigated for the presence of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony (MmmSC), which is the causative agent of CBPP, with several detection tests. Sandwich ELISA that included a culture enrichment stage, and 2 different PCR diagnostic systems were used to detect MmmSC in lung and mediastinal lymph node tissues from these animals. The comparison of typical CBPP pathology with the results of detection revealed that no single one of these methods provided a perfect match to the pathological data. Best performing tests were the PCR with laser induced fluorescence and PCR with pleuroTRAP kit (Chemicon, Australia), which are diagnostic systems based on amplification of genomic MmmSC DNA followed by sensitive detection of the amplified products. These were followed by the broth-enriched sandwich ELISA, which uses a monoclonal antibody specific to the M. mycoides cluster, to capture the antigen.     

Evidence for cytoskeletal changes secondary to plasma membrane functional alterations in the in vitro cell response to Clostridium perfringens epsilon-toxin

To investigate the mode of action of Clostridium perfringens epsilon-toxin, MDCK cells were treated with purified toxin and incubated at 37 degrees C for up to 24h. Exposure to epsilon-toxin caused a time-dependent decrease in cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions. After 30min of treatment retraction of the cell body and the emission of filopodia were detectable in a number of cells. Longer exposure resulted in cell rounding and cell blebbing which reached a maximum after 5h of toxin treatment. A parallel modification in the cytoskeleton was also detected. Actin marginalization and the entanglement of microtubules and intermediate filaments were observed by fluorescence microscopy after 30min of toxin exposure. Functional alterations of the plasma membrane of MDCK cells were assessed by flow cytometry. After 10 or 30min of intoxication an increase in cell volume was detected, indicating an alteration in plasma membrane permeability. These findings provide evidence for cytoskeletal changes and plasma membrane functional alterations in the in vitro cell response to C. perfringens epsilon-toxin.     

Clinicopathological evidence of pseudomyxoma peritonei in a dog with intestinal mucinous adenocarcinoma

An 11-year-old, intact female Pekingese dog was presented because of chronic vomiting. Clinical examination and diagnostic imaging suggested the presence of an intestinal mass. Laparotomy was performed, and a gelatinous effusion associated with a suspected jejunal neoplasm was found. Accumulation of gelatinous material was grossly evident in several abdominal organs and parietal peritoneum. Cytopathological smears from this material showed macrophages, reactive mesothelial cells, and spindle cells embedded in a mucinous basophilic background. After spontaneous death, necropsy and histopathology were performed and showed the presence of an invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma with visceral and peritoneal metastases. The clinicopathological findings of this case report closely resemble those reported in human cases of pseudomyxoma peritonei.     

Prevalence and distribution of the insertion element ISMag1 in Mycoplasma agalactiae

In characterising Mycoplasma agalactiae strains from various European countries and from Africa, a new insertion sequence (IS), ISMag1, which is related to IS of the family of IS30 insertion elements, has been identified by DNA sequence analysis and Southern blot hybridisation. ISMag1 has a size of 1515bp, and contains inverted repeats of 3bp and a gene encoding the putative transposase on a single open reading frame. ISMag1 is present only in the rarely isolated serotypes E, F, G and H of M. agalactiae, where it is found in 1 to approximately 30 copies. The different patterns obtained by hybridisation of a labelled probe of ISMag1 to genomic DNA cut with various restriction enzymes correlate to some extent to the different serotypes and to variations of the nucleotide sequences of the uvrC genes of the different strains. Based on uvrC sequences, the strains of M. agalactiae carrying ISMag1 form a cluster, separate from the other strains. IS patterns obtained with ISMag1 allow a fine subtyping of the serotypes E, F, G and H of M. agalactiae for epidemiological studies. The potential role of ISMag1 and of its copy numbers on virulence and persistence of the respective strains requests further studies.     

Diagnosis of three <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tospovirus</Emphasis> species by rapid immunofilter paper assay

The rapid immunofilter paper assay (RIPA) was developed to detect Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV), and Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV) using antisera against recombinant nucleocapsid (N) proteins of each tospovirus. The two-step RIPA was sensitive enough to detect each pecies specifically in only 30min. This technique is proposed as an excellent tool for routine Tospovirus diagnosis and field epidemiological studies.     

Induction of Systemic Acquired Resistance in Pepper Plants by Acibenzolar-S-methyl against Bacterial Spot Disease

The ability of acibenzolar-S-methyl to induce resistance in pepper plants against Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria was investigated in both growth chamber and open field conditions. Growth chamber experiments showed that acibenzolar-S-methyl (300M) treatment protects pepper plants systemically and locally against X. campestris pv. vesicatoria. Evidence for this was a reduction in the number and diameter of bacterial spots and bacterial growth in planta. Systemic protection was also exerted by the acibenzolar-S-methyl acid derivative, CGA 210007, which may be produced by hydrolysis in the plant. The efficacy of acibenzolar-S-methyl was also found in open field conditions, where both leaves and fruit were protected from the disease. The highest efficacy (about 67%) was obtained by spraying the plants 6–7 times every 8–12 days with a mixture of acibenzolar-S-methyl and copper hydroxide (2.5 + 40ghl^–1 active ingredient). Persistence and translocation data obtained from the growth chamber experiments revealed a persistence of acibenzolar-S-methyl lasting five days after treatment with rapid translocation and negligible levels of acid derivative formation. Since the protection exerted by acibenzolar-S-methyl against bacterial spot disease was observed when the inducer was completely degraded, it would appear to be due to SAR activation.