Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soil amended with biosolid or vermicompost in the presence of earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

Earthworms burrow through the soil thereby accumulating many lipophilic organic pollutants from the surrounding environment, so they could be used to remove polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from soil. Sterilized and unsterilized soil was contaminated with phenanthrene (Phen), anthracene (Anth) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), with or without added Eisenia fetida and biosolid or vermicompost. Concentrations of PAHs were monitored in soil and earthworms for 70 days. Removal of PAHs increased in soil with earthworms added as 91% of Anth, 16% BaP and 99% Phen was dissipated compared to 42%, 3% and 95% in unamended soil. The microorganisms in the gut of the earthworm contributed to PAHs removal and 100% of Phen, 63% of Anth and 58% of BaP was removed from sterilized soil with E. fetida added. Biosolid and to lesser extent vermicompost accelerated removal of PAHs from soil. Applying earthworms to a contaminated site might be an environmentally friendly way to remove hydrocarbons from soil. However, a limitation might be the cost of the large amounts of earthworms required to remove PAHs from soil and the necessity to supply them with sufficient substrate while maintaining the water content of the soil high enough for their normal functioning.     

Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of coprological and serological techniques for the diagnosis of fasciolosis in cattle

The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate available coprological and serological tests for detection of Fasciola hepatica infection in field conditions, (2) to investigate if the season when samples were collected affects the interpretation of the test results, and (3) to evaluate if the test results are associated with the level of infection. During weekly visits to an abattoir, the whole liver, a rectal faecal sample and a blood sample were collected from 100 cows in two seasons each ("spring"=February-May 2006 and "autumn"=October-December 2006). A sedimentation-flotation technique on 4g (SF 4g) or 10g (SF 10g) of faeces, a copro-antigen ELISA and two indirect serum F. hepatica ELISAs (excretory-secretory (ES) and Pourquier ELISA) were performed and the test results were compared with the presence of infection and worm counts at liver necropsy. Over both seasons the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) were for the SF 4g 43% and 100%, for the SF 10g 64% and 93%, for the copro-antigen ELISA 94% and 93%, for the ES ELISA 87% and 90% and for the Pourquier ELISA 88% and 84%. Significant between-season differences (P<0.05) were observed in the sensitivities of the two serological ELISAs: whereas the Pourquier ELISA had a higher sensitivity in spring than in autumn, the opposite was true for the ES ELISA. There were no significant between-season differences in the specificity for any of the tests. The test results of the SF 4g, copro-antigen ELISA and ES ELISA were associated with the level of infection of the animal. Given a positive test result of the SF 4g it is at least 11 times more likely that the animal is carrying a heavy infection (>10 flukes) than that is free of infection or lightly infected (< or = 10 flukes). Weak ( approximately 0.3) and moderate ( approximately 0.6) correlations were observed within infected animals of level of infection with ES and copro-antigen ELISA results, respectively.     

A proposal of clinical breakpoints for amoxicillin applicable to porcine respiratory tract pathogens

In the present position paper, an attempt was made to establish clinical breakpoints of amoxicillin to classify porcine respiratory tract pathogens as susceptible, intermediate or resistant based on their minimum inhibitory concentrations of amoxicillin. For this, a thorough review of the published literature with regard to swine-specific pharmacological data (including dosages of amoxicillin applied and routes of administration used), clinical efficacy, and in vitro susceptibility of the target pathogens was performed. Based on the comparative analysis of the results, the working group "Antibiotic Resistance" of the German Veterinary Medical Society (DVG) proposed to classify porcine respiratory tract pathogens that show MIC values of amoxicillin of < or =0.5microg/ml as "susceptible", those with MICs of 1microg/ml as "intermediate", and those with MICs of > or =2microg/ml as "resistant".     

Persistence and molecular evolution of Mycobacterium bovis population from cattle and wildlife in Doñana National Park revealed by genotype variation

The role of wildlife in tuberculosis epidemiology is being widely studied since it can affect the effectiveness of eradication campaigns in cattle. The health problem is enhanced when it concerns also wildlife welfare and biodiversity conservation. This study was performed to understand the epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis population affecting livestock and wild animals in the Do?ana National Park using bacteriology and molecular characterisation techniques. Tuberculosis research was performed on 1209 cattle and wild animals (artiodactyla and carnivore) collected over 6 years in the Park. One hundred and sixty-three animals were found to be infected with M. bovis, comprising 7.96% of the cattle and 20.53% of the wild animals tested. Spoligotyping revealed nine patterns, being SB1232 and SB1230 the most prevalent (77.30% and 15.34% of infected animals, respectively). MIRU-VNTR analysis of a selected panel of 92 isolates showed eight different profiles, including several spoligotypes within the same MIRU-VNTR profile. The discriminatory capacity of both techniques in this panel was similar. The results obtained by combination of both techniques corroborate that wildlife species are infected with the M. bovis strains which are more prevalent in cattle and reveal their persistence. Genotype variation between isolates strongly suggests micro-evolutionary events in the M. bovis population in the same area. This study in the Do?ana National Park exposes the risk of introduction of domestic animals into wildlife areas when there is not a warranty of disease freedom, appropriate diagnostic techniques and control measures.     

Genotyping of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC by multilocus sequence analysis allows molecular epidemiology of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia

Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC (MmmSC) is the etiological agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP). Although eradicated in most developed countries, the disease reappeared in Europe in the 1990s. This reappearance may have been caused either by importation from sub-Saharan Africa, where CBPP is still endemic, or by the reemergence of virulent strains in Europe, as suggested by earlier studies. A multilocus sequence analysis scheme has been developed to address this issue and, most importantly, to be able to monitor new epidemics. The alignment of the full genome sequence of the reference strain PG1 and the partial genome sequence of a pathogenic strain allowed the identification of polymorphic sites. Nineteen initial loci were selected within housekeeping genes, genes of unknown function and non coding sequences. The suitability of these loci for genotyping MmmSC strains was first tested on six strains of diverse geographic origin. The analyses showed that the published PG1 sequence contained a number of specific polymorphisms that were therefore of no use for molecular typing. Among the eight informative polymorphic loci finally selected, only one (ftsY) was positioned within a housekeeping gene. Three main groups and 31 different allelic profiles were identified among 51 strains and strain variants examined. Cluster analysis confirmed that European strains from the 1990s did not originate from Africa. It also showed a genetic link between a European strain isolated in 1967 and those found in southern Africa and Australia. This was in agreement with historical data showing that CBPP was introduced in these regions during colonisation in the 19th century.     

Phage display selection and characterization of single-chain recombinant antibodies against Eimeria tenella sporozoites

A single-chain antibody library against Eimeria tenella sporozoites was constructed by phage display. Antibody-displaying phage was selected in five panning rounds against cryopreserved E. tenella sporozoites. A 1000-fold increase in phage output and a 3000-fold enrichment were obtained after three rounds of panning, as the binding clones became the dominant population in the library. Ten clones were randomly selected from the last selection round, and their nucleotide sequences were aligned and compared to chicken germ-line sequences. Analysis of the light chain variable regions revealed possible donor pseudogenes which act as donors in gene conversion events, and contribute to the diversification of the V(L) immune repertoire. Possible somatic hypermutation events, a consequence of affinity maturation, were also identified. Soluble antibody was produced in a non-suppressor E. coli strain, purified by nickel affinity chromatography, and characterized by immunoblotting. In an immunofluorescence assay, this recombinant antibody showed specific binding to E. tenella sporozoites.     

Growth performance,carcass quality characteristics and colonic microbiota profiles in finishing pigs fed diets with different inclusion levels of rice distillers’ by‐product

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diets containing rice distillers’ by‐product (RDP) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and gut microbiota of fattening pigs. Twenty‐four crossbred finishing pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire), 56.9 ± 3.1 kg initial body weight, were randomly allocated to three groups. For 56 days, pigs were fed one of three diets including RDP0 (control), RDP15 (15% RDP in DM), and RDP30 (30% RDP in DM). With RDP level in diet, average daily gain and backfat thickness linearly increased (p < 0.05), and drip loss tended to increase (p ≤ 0.08). In addition, 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon profiling showed that RDP was associated with modulation of colonic microbiota composition, especially at family and genus levels. Relative abundance of Porphyromonadaceae and Erysipelotrichaceae families in colonic digesta increased with inclusion of RDP, while that of Enterobacteriaceae decreased. The proportion of genera unclassified Erysipelotrichaceae, and Butyrivibrio increased as inclusion of RDP. These results indicate that up to 30% inclusion in diet of finishing pigs, RDP can modulate colonic microbiota composition, and induces an improvement of animal growth and fat deposition.     

Sward characteristics, grass dry matter intake and milk production performance is affected by timing of spring grazing and subsequent stocking rate

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of contrasting spring grazing dates (GD) and stocking rate (SR) on sward characteristics, grass dry matter intake and milk production performance of autumn calving dairy cows during the spring period. Two swards were created by grazing in March (early grazing; E) or by delaying first grazing until mid-April (late grazing; L). Two stocking rates, high (H; 5.5) and medium (M; 4.5) were applied across each sward. Forty eight autumn calving Holstein cows (160 ± 35 days in milk) were assigned to one of four (n = 12) different grazing treatments. The experiment began on April 17th and finished after 2 grazing rotations on June 20th. Later spring grazing significantly increased herbage mass (kg DM/ha) above ground level (+ 933, P < 0.05) and > 50 mm (+ 738, P < 0.05). Compressed sward height (+ 22.1 mm, P < 0.05), extended tiller height (+ 73 mm, P < 0.001) and pseudostem height (+ 35 mm, P < 0.001) were also significantly higher for later grazed swards. In the grazing horizon (> 80 mm— extended tiller height), later grazed swards had significantly lower leaf proportion (− 0.09, P < 0.05) and higher dead material (+ 0.05, P < 0.001). Daily herbage allowance (> 50 mm) was on average 12.7, 15.9, 18.2 and 21.9 kg DM/cow for EH, EM, LH and LM, respectively. Daily leaf allowance (> 80 mm) was 10.1, 12.3, 13.3 and 14.5 kg DM/cow for EH, EM, LH and LM, respectively. The EM (16.2 kg DM/cow), LH (+ 0.1 kg) and LM (0.8 kg) treatments all had similar grass DM intake, however there was evidence of an interaction (P < 0.10) between GD and SR, this was due to the low grass DM intake of the EH (13.9 kg DM/cow) treatment. When expressed as UFL (Fill unit) intake the EM treatment recorded the highest value. There was a significant interaction between GD and SR (P < 0.01) for milk, protein yield, 4% fat corrected milk yield (P < 0.05) and protein concentration (P < 0.001). Cows grazing the EM treatment produced 23.9 kg of milk, 876 and 685 g of fat and protein yield. The difference in milk production (cow/day) between EM and EH treatments was + 3.6 kg milk, + 98 g fat and + 107 g protein. The production yield difference between LM and LH treatments was + 1.1 kg milk, + 27 g fat and + 29 g protein in favour of the LM treatment (23.9 kg of milk, 877 and 687 g fat and protein yield). Herbage quality and morphological characteristics are clearly improved with early spring grazing as herbage mass is reduced on subsequent rotations. Swards grazed in early spring allow higher grass utilisation and high milk production performance when grazed at a medium stocking rate. Improved milk production from herbage can be achieved provided herbage mass and allowance are maintained at levels where herbage quality decreases are minimised.     

Cardiorespiratory effects of a 7° reverse Trendelenburg position in anaesthetized horses: a randomized clinical trial

Objective

To evaluate the cardiorespiratory effects of a 7° reverse Trendelenburg position (RTP) in anaesthetized horses.