Pathogenicity of an Indian isolate of bovine viral diarrhea virus 1b in experimentally infected calves

The aim of this study was to determine the pathogenicity of an Indian bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) 1b isolate in 7-9-months-old male calves. Infected (four) and control (two) calves were bled at three days interval for hematological, virological and serological studies until day 27. All infected calves developed respiratory illness, biphasic pyrexia, mild diarrhea, leucopenia and mild thrombocytopenia. Viraemia was demonstrated between 3 and 15dpi and the infected calves seroconverted by 15dpi. Prominent kidney lesions were endothelial cell swelling, proliferation of mesangial cells and podocytes leading to glomerular space obliteration. Degeneration and desquamation of cells lining seminiferous tubules were observed in two infected calves. Consolidation of lungs with interstitial pneumonia, mild gastroenteritis and systemic spread were also evident. It was concluded that Indian BVDV isolate induced moderate clinical disease in calves and glomerulonephritis resulting from acute BVDV infection was observed for the first time.     

Comparison of various deep convolutional neural network models to discriminate apple leaf diseases using transfer learning

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Plant diseases are the major factor behind production loss in agriculture. The traditional manual methods for disease detection in plants involve expert...     

Solarization for the control of Pueraria montana (kudzu)

The effects of translucent polyethylene sheeting as a thermal covering to eradicate Pueraria montana (kudzu) were investigated at Clemson, South Carolina on a clay loam. In 2005, the highest reduction of live root crowns was observed where P. montana was covered for the entire growing season (May–October) with a reduction of 42% of live root crowns compared with the control plots. Where P. montana was covered for alternate weeks throughout the growing season live root crowns were reduced by 35%. Covering P. montana for one week and then uncovering for four weeks repeatedly through the season killed 24% of root crowns. In 2006, the second year of treatment to the same plots, the three solarization treatments had similar efficacy of about 97%. The use of polyethylene sheeting appears not to be cost‐effective for general control of large P. montana infestations, but may be useful for small patches.     

Isolation and pathotyping of H9N2 avian influenza viruses in Indian poultry

A total of 1246 faecal and tissue samples collected/received from 119 farms located in various states of India were processed for isolation of avian influenza viruses (AIV) during 2003-2004 as part of a program to monitor AIV infection in Indian poultry population. Avian influenza virus was isolated for the first time in India from poultry farms with history of drop in egg production, respiratory illness and increased mortality in Haryana state. A total of 29 H9N2 AIV isolates were obtained from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Orissa and Union Territory Delhi. Subtyping was done by HI, RT-PCR and neuraminidase inhibition assay. Pathotyping of six representative isolates by intravenous pathogenicity index (0.0/3.0) in 6-8 weeks old chicken, trypsin dependency in cell culture and HA cleavage site analysis (335RSSR*GLF341) confirmed that these isolates are low pathogenic. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the HA gene showed that the Indian isolates are very closely related (95.0-99.6%) and shared a homology of 92-96% with H9N2 isolates from Germany and Asian regions other than that of mainland China. Deduced amino acid sequences showed the presence of L226 (234 in H9 numbering) which indicates a preference to binding of alpha (2-6) sialic acid receptors. Two of the six isolates had 7 glycosylation sites in the HA1 cleaved protein and the remaining four had 5 sites. Phylogenetic analysis showed that they share a common ancestor Qa/HK/G1/97 isolate which had contributed internal genes of H5N1 virus circulating in Vietnam. Further characterization of Indian H9N2 isolates is required to understand their nature and evolution.