Effect of natural neosporosis on bull sperm quality

Neospora is one of the protozoans that can infect the male and female’s reproduction system. Despite the existence of N. caninum in the genitalia, its effect on sperm characteristics was not studied yet. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of natural neosporosis on the sperm parameters of bulls. Using 30 bulls with neosporosis diagnosed by modified agglutination test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and 15 healthy bulls, some sperm parameters such as sperm concentration, viability, motility, and morphology were studied and compared. Also, the activity of super oxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and malondialdehyde (MDA) level as the biomarker of lipid peroxidation was investigated. Results showed that sperm concentration, viability, and motility were significantly lower in bulls with neosporosis in the present study. There were no significant differences in activities of SOD and MDA level but GPX activity was significantly increased in infected bulls.     

Immunogenicity of a Fusion Protein Comprising Coli Surface Antigen 3 and Labile B Subunit of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Background: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains are the major causes of diarrheal disease in humans and animals. Colonization factors and enterotoxins are the major virulence factors in ETEC pathogenesis. For the broad-spectrum protection against ETEC, one could focus on colonization factors and non-toxic heat labile as a vaccine candidate. Methods: A fusion protein is composed of a major fimbrial subunit of coli surface antigen 3, and the heat-labile B subunit (LTB) was constructed as a chimeric immunogen. For optimum level expression of protein, the gene was synthesized with codon bias of E. coli. Also, recombinant protein was expressed in E. coli BL21DE3. ELISA and Western tests were carried out for determination of antigen and specificity of antibody raised against recombinant protein in animals. The anti-toxicity and anti-adherence properties of the immune sera against ETEC were also evaluated. Results: Immunological analyses showed the production of high titer of specific antibody in immunized mice. The built-in LTB retains native toxin properties which were approved by GM₁ binding assay. Pre-treatment of the ETEC cells with anti-sera significantly decreased their adhesion to Caco-2 cells. Conclusion: The results indicated the efficacy of the recombinant chimeric protein as an effective immunogen inducing strong humoral response. The designated chimer would be an interesting prototype for a vaccine and worthy of further investigation. Key Words: Recombinant vaccine, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), cstH, eltB     

Genetic diversity and population structure of diverse Iranian Nepeta L. taxa

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - In the present study, we utilized ISSR molecular markers to investigate infraspecific and infrageneric genetic variations in 34 populations from 25 Nepeta L....     

Phosphorus Fractionation Affected by Root Induced Changes of Two Canola Cultivars

Eurasian Soil Science - In order to study the root-induced changes on behavior of phosphorus in the rhizosphere of two canola cultivars in order to better management of P fertilization this...     

Evaluating two multistrain probiotics on growth performance,intestinal morphology,lipid oxidation and ileal microflora in chickens

An experiment was conducted to investigate the supplementation of two commercially available multistrain probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics on growth performance, intestinal morphology, lipid oxidation and ileal microflora in broiler chickens. A total of 280‐day‐old ROSS 308 mixed‐sex broiler chickens with an average initial body weight of 42 ± 0.5 g were randomly divided into four treatments with five replicate cages of 14 birds each cage in a completely randomized design and fed with the following diets for 42 day: (a) control (CON) (antibiotic‐free diet), (b) antibiotic (ANT) (CON + Avilamycin 150 g/ton feed), (c) probiotic A (CON + Protexin^® 150 g/ton feed) and (d) probiotic B (CON + Bio‐Poul^® 200 g/ton feed). The results showed the broilers fed the ANT diet had greater average daily gain than broilers fed the CON diet during day 1–14 (p < 0.05). At day 42, two birds were randomly selected per replicate for evaluation intestinal morphology, lipid oxidation and ileal microflora. birds fed diet supplemented with probiotic A and probiotic B increased villus height and goblet cells numbers in the jejunum and villus height to crypt depth ratio and villus height in the ileum as compared to birds fed CON diet (p < 0.05). The malondialdehyde value was reduced (p < 0.05) in the ANT, probiotic B and probiotic A groups compared with the CON group. The Lactobacillus population was increased and Clostridium spp. population decreased in the ileum of broilers fed diets containing the probiotic B and probiotic A compared with those fed CON diet (p < 0.05). The results from this study indicate that the probiotic A (Protexin^®) and probiotic B (Bio‐Poul^®) used in this trial may serve as alternatives to ANT.     

Seroprevalence of camel brucellosis (Camelus dromedarius) in Somaliland

The present study was delineated to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of camel brucellosis in Northern Somalia (Somaliland). The study was carried out at three main districts of camel-rearing regions of Somaliland (Awdal, Waqoyi Galbed and Togdheer) in the period from July to November, 2008. A total of 1246 camel blood sera were randomly collected from 42 sporadic small scale camel herds. Two serological tests were used to screen all serum samples, Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and indirect ELISA (I-ELISA). Multivariate logistic regression was constructed to study the risk factors associated with Brucella seropositive cases. The overall prevalence of camel brucellosis in districts under investigation was 3.9% by RBPT and 3.1% by (I-ELISA). Multivariate logistic regression on animal level showed that locality (P < 0.05; OR: 6.254; CI, 1.186–32.976), herd size (P < 0.001; OR: 5.493; CI, 2.956-10–207), rearing with other ruminants (P < 0.001; OR: 12.433; CI, 3.957–39.060), and contact with other camels (P < 0.05; OR: 5.311; CI, 1.093–25.800) were the potential risk factors. However, herd size (P < 0.05; OR: 5.425; CI, 1.181–24.932), and rearing with other ruminants (P < 0.05; OR: 20.466; CI, 1.456–28.638) were recorded as risk factors on the herd level. The results of the present investigation indicate that the Brucella spp. exists within the camel herds in Somaliland. Further studies need to be done on Brucella infection in the other ruminants to determine which measure should be followed for control of brucellosis.     

Runoff and sediment concentration of different parts of a road in Hyrcanian forests

Road prisms, such as cutslopes, fillslopes and road surfaces, can be important contributors of sediment to streams in forested watersheds. In this study rainfall simulations were carried out on cutslopes, fillslopes, road surfaces and forest grounds in hardwood forests of Lolet and Lat Talar, Iran. Water at intensity of 32.4 mm·h 1 was sprayed from a nozzle onto a square area of 0.48 m 2 . Runoff was collected by water gauge every 4 min and then runoff and sediment parameters were measured in each plot. Results indicated that on road surfaces, the runoff coefficient was 63.28%. On the cutslopes and fillslopes, the runoff coefficients were 35.14% and 10.23%, respectively. On the forest ground as a control, the runoff coefficient was 5.90%. Runoff volume was 2.73 mL·s-1 on the road surfaces and 1.52 mL·s-1 on cutslopes. On fillslopes the runoff volume was 0.44 mL·s-1 and on the forest ground 0.25 mL·s-1 . The greatest rate of soil loss was found on the cutslope (280.79 g·m-2·h-1). The total soil loss from the cutslopes was two times higher than that from the road surfaces and six times higher than that from the fillslopes. We conclude that cutslopes can be considered the main source of sediments in our study sites, but the function of road surface as a source of runoff generation is more important.     

Prevalence of antibodies to Neospora caninum in the serum of camels (Camelus dromedarius) from central Punjab,Pakistan

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Infection with the Apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum occurs in domestic and wild animals worldwide. This parasite causes significant economic losses in...     

Leaf macro- and micro-morphological altitudinal variability of Carpinus betulus in the Hyrcanian forest (Iran)

We investigated the altitudinal variation of Carpinus betulus L. in the Hyrcanian forest using leaf macro-morphological and micro-morphological traits. We collected a total of 1600 leaves from two locations. In each location, we sampled six populations along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 100 m to 1,150 m. We found that trees in the higher elevations have smaller leaf lamina than those in the lower elevations. In contrast, leaf mass per area was high at low altitudes and increased newly at the higher ones. Stomatal dimension was negatively correlated with elevation, while stomatal density was positively correlated with elevation. We also found that two transects showed the same plasticity trend. Leaf area showed the highest plasticity, while the number of veins showed the lowest plasticity. This study shows that altitude, and related temperature and rainfall, represents an important driving force in Carpinus betulus leaf morphological variation. Moreover, our results suggest that leaf area, leaf mass per area and stomatal density could influence the species responses to different ecological conditions.