Serological survey and risk factors for brucellosis in water buffaloes in the state of Pará, Brazil

To evaluate the prevalence and possible risk factors for brucellosis caused by Brucella abortus in water buffaloes in the state of Pará, Brazil, 3,917 female buffalo serum samples from pregnant and non-pregnant animals were examined: 2,809 from Marajó Island and 1,108 from the mainland. The buffered acidified plate antigen (BAPA) screening test positively diagnosed 4.8 % (188/3,917) of the animals with brucellosis, and the 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) confirmatory test affirmed 95.7 % (180/188) of the results. The brucellosis prevalence was 4.17 times greater in mainland animals than on Marajó Island, with the highest prevalence in Tailândia (11.30 %) and Paragominas (12.38 %). Brucellosis seroprevalence was significantly influenced (p?<?0.05) by reproductive status, with pregnant females being most vulnerable. These results demonstrate that brucellosis infection is active in the Brazilian region containing the largest buffalo population and that this disease poses a threat to public health and buffalo production in Pará.     

Autoregressive model for genetic evaluation of longitudinal reproductive traits in Brazilian Holstein cattle

Reproductive efficiency is major determinant of the dairy herd profitability. Thus, reproductive traits have been widely used as selection objectives in the current dairy cattle breeding programs. We aimed to evaluate strategies to model days open (DO), calving interval (CI) and daughter pregnancy rate (DPR) in Brazilian Holstein cattle. These reproductive traits were analysed by the autoregressive (AR) model and compared with classical repeatability (REP) model using 127,280, 173,092 and 127,280 phenotypic records, respectively. The first three calving orders of cows from 1,469 Holstein herds were used here. The AR model reported lower values for Akaike Information Criteria and Mean Square Errors, as well as larger model probabilities, for all evaluated traits. Similarly, larger additive genetic and lower residual variances were estimated from AR model. Heritability and repeatability estimates were similar for both models. Heritabilities for DO, CI and DPR were 0.04, 0.07 and 0.04; and 0.05, 0.06 and 0.04 for AR and REP models, respectively. Individual EBV reliabilities estimated from AR for DO, CI and DPR were, in average, 0.29, 0.30 and 0.29 units higher than those obtained from REP model. Rank correlation between EBVs obtained from AR and REP models considering the top 10 bulls ranged from 0.72 to 0.76; and increased from 0.98 to 0.99 for the top 100 bulls. The percentage of coincidence between selected bulls from both methods increased over the number of bulls included in the top groups. Overall, the results of model-fitting criteria, genetic parameters estimates and EBV predictions were favourable to the AR model, indicating that it may be applied for genetic evaluation of longitudinal reproductive traits in Brazilian Holstein cattle.     

Dietary protein sources and their effects on faecal odour and the composition of volatile organic compounds in faeces of French Bulldogs

The strong odour of faeces and excessive production of gases in some dog breeds have long been a concern of owners. The pet food industry uses nutritional alternatives, such as high-quality ingredients and additives, to improve the odour of faeces. However, there are still some dog breeds, such as the French Bulldog, that present this problem due to the presence into the large intestine of indigested protein. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the volatile compounds that influence the odour of dog faeces is important. This study aimed to identify changes of faecal odour compounds that are most prevalent in French Bulldogs based on food containing different high-quality protein sources and their effect in sensory analysis. Four maintenance foods with different protein sources were formulated: P, poultry meal food; W, wheat gluten food; PW, poultry meal and wheat gluten food; and PWH, poultry meal, wheat gluten, and hydrolysed protein food. Eight adult French Bulldogs were arranged in a 4x4 Latin square design and adapted to foods for 28 days. Fresh faeces were collected for analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sensory analysis. The means were compared by SAS, and statistical significance was indicated by p ≤ 0.05. No adverse effects were observed in the animals regarding VOCs, and a significant difference was observed in two of the 68 compounds identified. The animals fed a P food had higher concentrations of phenol in the faeces, whereas the indole compound was present at higher concentrations in animals fed the W food. P food was associated with higher odour perception during sensory evaluation. In summary, the source of protein in the foods had little impact on the composition of VOCs, and a greater perception of the odour was determined by sensory analysis when foods containing animal protein were administered.     

Survival and early growth of mixed forest stands installed in a Mediterranean Region: Effects of site preparation intensity

In Mediterranean environments, availability of water and nutrients are the main factors limiting the success of afforestation. As part of a wider project, an experiment was established in Northeast Portugal, aiming at testing the effect of several site preparation techniques on plant survival and growth (height and diameter) in a newly installed mixed forest stand. Results presented regard plant response during 42 months after plantation. The experimental protocol consisted in seven treatments described by mechanical operations that rank soil disturbance intensity from none to high, set in plots of 375 m², randomly distributed in three blocks, in different topographic positions (gentle slope plateau, moderate slope shoulder, and steep mid-slope). Pseudotsuga menziesii (PM) and Castanea sativa (CS) forest species were planted in a 4 m × 2 m scheme and in alternate rows with 12 plants on each row per plot, summing up 72 plant per specie and treatment at start of the experiment. The results show that: (i) the highest mortality was observed immediately after the plantation and before the dry season, on the lowest intensity treatments; (ii) after the dry season, the highest mortality was also observed in treatments with the lowest intensity of soil disturbance, while the lowest values were found on the intermediate intensity treatments; (iii) during the experimental period, the effect of treatments on plant growth (height and diameter) was statistically significant; however, experimental results do not lead yet to a clear quantitative relationship between soil disturbance intensity due to site preparation and plant response under the conditions tested.     

Heritability of agronomic traits correlated with reduced stink bug damage in an F2:3 soybean population derived from IAC-100

In Brazil, some of the most important insect pests causing damage to soybean (Glycine max) are stink bugs. Soybean production would increase if varieties with enhanced resistance were developed. The aim of this work was to examine different traits associated with plant development, and yield-related traits, in an F_2:3 soybean population in a stink bug-infested field and to evaluate genetic parameters and correlations among those traits. The parents and progeny from 229 F₂ plants developed by crossing a resistant cultivar (IAC-100) with a susceptible cultivar (CD-215) were evaluated in three replications in a single environment. Seven agronomic traits and eight indicators of insect resistance were measured. Genotypes showed significant differences for all traits except lodging. The grain-filling period exhibited a positive genotypic correlation of 0.66 with hundred-seed weight, whereas a negative genotypic correlation of ?0.53 was found between pod damage index (%) and weight of healthy seeds. In general, a shorter pod-filling period, lower weight of hundred-seeds, lower indices of pod damage, and higher seed-yield per plant were phenotypic traits of genotypes resistant to these insects.     

Evaluation of the global DNA methylation in canine mast cell tumour samples by immunostaining of 5‐methyl cytosine

Cutaneous mast cell tumours (MCT) are the most common skin tumour in dogs, and to our knowledge, there are no previous studies regarding the global methylation of these tumours. DNA hypomethylation and hypermethylation have been described in several tumours and both mechanisms can lead to carcinogenesis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the global DNA methylation in canine MCT. A total of 48 MCT samples were classified in grades 1, 2 and 3 or high‐grade or low‐grade. Monoclonal antibodies were used for the immunohistochemical detection of the 5‐methylcytosine. The immunostained nuclei were classified in strong, weak or negative pattern, and these were quantified in five distinct microscopic fields (40× objective) in each slide. The results showed that global DNA hypomethylation was predominant in grade 3, high‐grade, less differentiated MCT. These epigenetic changes in neoplastic mast cells warrant further detailed investigation aiming the establishment of tumour epigenetic therapies.     

Arterial pulse wave propagation velocity in healthy dogs by pulse wave Doppler ultrasound

The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) values in healthy dogs using pulse wave Doppler ultrasound. A secondary aim was to determine the feasibility of this method and to report the intra- and interobserver reproducibilities of the PWV in conscious dogs. The data were studied in 30 healthy, adult, male (n?=?15) and female (n?=?15) dogs. The time interval marked between the R wave peak of the electrocardiogram and the intersection of the blood flow wave upstroke of the Doppler spectrum with the baseline of zero frequency was determined for the carotid (T₁) and for the femoral (T₂) arteries. The distance covered by the pulse wave (L) was determined. The PWV was then calculated using the following formula: L/T₂ - T₁. The mean values of PWV calculated from the total sample (n?=?30) evaluated were 13.41?±?2.20 m/s. No significant statistical difference was observed for the PWV measurements between males (14.82?±?3.18 m/s) and females (12.64?±?2.45 m/s). The analysis revealed no intra nor interobserver differences. A reasonable reproducibility of the PWV measurements was showed by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and the coefficients of variation (CV). These data demonstrate that noninvasive vascular Doppler analysis is a feasible and reproducible method to determine the carotid-femoral PWV in dogs.     

Control of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Haemonchus contortus</Emphasis> in sheep using basidiocarps of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agaricus blazei</Emphasis> Murril

Objective

This study evaluated the effects in vitro and in vivo of Agaricus blazei against Haemonchus contortus in sheep.

Methods

The in vitro efficacy of aqueous extract on egg hatching inhibition (EHI) was investigated and after 72 h incubation with varying concentrations the effects on, blastomeres, embryonated eggs, and first stage larvae (L1) were evaluated. Larval development inhibition (LDI) for dry powder and the aqueous extract were evaluated in fecal cultures of sheep infected with H. contortus. In vivo efficacy was determined by reduction in fecal egg count (FEC). Lambs were treated with powder A. blazei (11.4 g/kg pc) or trichlorfon, or were untreated and the possible toxicity of this fungus was monitored by plasmatic enzyme analysis.

Results

Concentrations equal to and higher than 3.62 mg/mL and of aqueous extract were 100% effective in the EHI test. In the LDI test, LC90 was estimated for 5.66 and 106.0 mg/g fecal culture for aqueous extract and powder, respectively. The mean FEC in lambs 14 days post-treatment with A. blazei powder was significantly lower than observed for the negative control, and the serum levels of aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase were normal.

Conclusion

The fungi supplementation promotes, respectively, high and moderate anthelmintic efficacy with in vitro and in vivo tests, respectively, suggesting it as an alternative or complementary treatment for haemonchosis in sheep.