Eprinomectin treatment of psoroptic mange in hunter/jumper and dressage horses: a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial

The purpose of this prospective, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was to investigate the efficacy of topical eprinomectin for the treatment of psoroptic mange infestation in horses. 24 privately owned hunter/jumper and dressage horses were diagnosed with psoroptic mange infestation based on physical findings and skin scraping results were enrolled and randomly assigned to either topical eprinomectin pour-on solution (at a dose of 500mug/kg body weight weekly once for four applications) treatment group or a placebo group (purified water). Clinical evaluations and skin scrapings were done by the same veterinary investigator at the beginning, during and at the end of the treatment. Both owners and veterinary investigator were blinded to the allocation to the groups. The efficacy of eprinomectin was assessed both clinically and parasitologically by the presence or absence of viable mites. Horses were scraped for psoroptic mites on days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 40 for follow-up. Fisher's exact test was used to assess differences between the eprinomectin treatment and placebo in the number of horses without mites (cure rates) on each assessment date. It was found that significantly fewer eprinomectin treated horses had P. equi mites detected on skin scrapings (p<0.01) than the placebo group. In conclusion, eprinomectin was effective and safe therapy against natural infestations of P. equi in the horses included in this study.     

Variability in Azolla sporulation in response to phosphorus application

 Phosphorus application decreased the sporulation frequency and number of sporocarps per plant in all the three Azolla species and 21 A. pinnata strains evaluated in this study. The number of megasporocarps tended to be more depressed than the number of microsporocarps. Nevertheless, the sporulation of A. caroliniana was less sensitive to P than that of A. pinnata and A. microphylla. Its sporulation frequency in the mineral medium did not decrease at 2.5 μg P ml^–1 and remained unaffected between 5 and 20 μg P ml^–1. The sporulation frequency and sporocarp number in this species in the soil culture also were not significantly affected by an increase in the dose of P from 10.7 to 21.4 or 21.4 to 32.1 mg pot^–1. Large variations in the degree of inhibition of sporulation due to the application of P (21.4 mg pot^–1) also occurred among the A. pinnata strains tested. Received: 20 October 1999     

Water use efficiency and crop coefficients of dry season oilseed crops

Eastern India receives higher average annual rainfall (1000–2000 mm) but 80% of it occurs within the June–September (rainy season), whereas the winter season (November–March) is dry. Due to a shortage of soil moisture, most rainfed areas of the region remain fallow during the winter season and cultivation (mainly rice) is confined to the rainy season only (June–September). To explore the possibility of double cropping in the rainfed rice areas, three oilseed crops, viz., linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.), safflower (Carthamous tinctorious L.), mustard (Brassica juncea L.), were grown in a representative rainfed area of eastern India, i.e. Dhenkanal, Orissa, during the dry/winter season by applying irrigation water at phonological stages. Study revealed that with three supplemental irrigations, the highest WUE was achieved by safflower followed by linseed with the mean values being 3.04 and 2.59 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹, respectively. Whereas, with one irrigation, the highest water use efficiency (WUE) was achieved for safflower (1.23 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹) followed by linseed (0.93 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹). Of the three crops studied, safflower withdrew maximum water followed by mustard and crops were shown to use 90–105 mm more water than linseed. With three irrigations, average maximum rooting depths were 1.66, 1.17 and 0.67 m for safflower, mustard and linseed, respectively, which were 13.5, 10.6 and 11.4% higher than for single irrigated crops because of more wet sub soils and decrease of soil strength. The crop growth parameters like leaf area, dry biomass were also recorded with different levels of irrigation. The research work amply revealed the potential of growing these low water requiring oilseed crops in rice fallow during dry/winter season utilizing limited irrigation from harvested rainwater of rainy season. Crop coefficients (K_c) of three winter season oilseed crops were derived using field water balance approach. Study showed that LAI was significantly correlated with K_c values with the R² values of 0.91, 0.89 and 0.94 in linseed, safflower and mustard, respectively. When LAI exceeded 3.0, the K_c value was 1 in safflower and mustard whereas in linseed corresponding LAI was 2.5. Study revealed that the K_c values for the development and mid season stage were slightly higher to that obtained by the procedure proposed by FAO, which might be due to local advection.     

Saltwater crocodile attacks on man

All instances of attacks on humans by large saltwater crocodiles Crocodylus porosus over a ten-year period are reported. Despite daily human intrusions into the crocodile's aquatic environment and the presence of extremely large male crocodiles (the usual offenders), only four instances of attack occurred in 10 years. Hence, saltwater crocodiles in Orissa, India, cannot be considered a serious threat to human life and actively avoid preying on man—an easy victim.     

Quantitative comparison of different purification and detection methods for Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts

Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) is the causal agent of cryptosporidiosis in many animals, mainly cattle, and possesses a high zoonotic potential. It occurs worldwide and ubiquitously. Detection of C. parvum is mainly performed directly but purification of the oocysts is useful to increase sensitivity and to obtain oocyst material for further use. The study was designed to compare (a) three different direct diagnostic methods, namely modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining, carbol fuchsin staining and conventional PCR, and (b) three routine oocyst purification methods, in particular flotation with saturated sodium chloride solution, Sheather's sucrose solution and a Percoll(?) gradient. During comparison of purification methods, special regard was paid to the ability to separate morphologically intact oocysts from the morphologically degenerated fraction or viable from non-viable oocysts, respectively. Results: (a) Diagnostic methods: Most effective in C. parvum oocysts detection in calf faeces was PCR; carbol fuchsin and modified Ziehl-Neelsen stainings achieved comparable results. (b) Purification methods: Oocyst flotation using sodium chloride solution showed to be superior to Percoll(?) gradient centrifugation and sugar flotation in terms of purification quality, recovery efficacy (yield) and reduction of the proportion of degenerated or non-viable oocysts.     

Protective Role of Three Vegetable Peels in Alloxan Induced Diabetes Mellitus in Male Mice

The hitherto unknown glucose regulating role of three vegetable peels from cucurbitaceae family was evaluated. In a preliminary study, effects of ethanolic extracts of Cucurbita pepo, Cucumis sativus and Praecitrullus fistulosus peels were studied at 250 and 500 mg kg⁻¹ d⁻¹ for 15 days in the alterations in serum glucose and in hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO) in male mice. In the pilot experiment, the effective and safe concentration of each peel was administered (p.o.) for 10 consecutive days and then on 11th and 12th days alloxan was administered along with peel extracts. The treatment was continued up to 15th day. At the end, alterations in serum glucose, insulin, triiodothyronine, thyroxine, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein, hepatic lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase and catalase were studied. All the three peel extracts nearly reversed most of these changes induced by alloxan suggesting their possible role in ameliorating diabetes mellitus and related changes in serum lipids. However, Cucurbita pepo peel was found to be the most effective. Total polyphenols, flavonoids and ascorbic acid contents of the test peels were also estimated, which appear to be associated with the observed antidiabetic and antioxidative potentials.     

Antidiarrhoeal activity of carbazole alkaloids from Murraya koenigii Spreng (Rutaceae) seeds

The bioassay guided fractionation of the n-hexane extract of the seeds of Murraya koenigii Spreng (Rutaceae) resulted in the isolation of three bioactive carbazole alkaloids, kurryam (I), koenimbine (II) and koenine (III). The structures of the compounds were confirmed from their ¹H-, ¹³C-, and 2D-NMR spectral data. Of the three compounds (I) and (II) exhibited significant inhibitory activity against castor oil-induced diarrhoea and PGE₂-induced enteropooling in rats. The compounds also produced a significant reduction in gastrointestinal motility in the charcoal meal test in Wister rats.     

The immune response in rohu,Labeo rohita (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) to Argulus siamensis (Branchiura: Argulidae) infection: kinetics of immune gene expression and innate immune response

Argulus siamensis is a major pathogen in freshwater aquaculture. The immune responses of Indian major carp, Labeo rohita to experimental infection of A. siamensis was evaluated by quantitation of immune‐relevant gene expression in head kidney and skin, and serum innate immune parameters through the course of infection. In skin of infected fish, antioxidant genes like natural killer cell enhancing factor (NKEF‐B) and superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) were significantly up‐regulated in addition to lysozyme G and β₂ microglobulin (β₂M). Both tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) and toll‐like receptor 22 (TLR22) genes were significantly down‐regulated in skin during early phases of the infection. Most of the genes exhibited significant down‐regulation in head kidney; immunoglobulin (IgM) and β₂M genes being the exceptions which were significantly up‐regulated at 12 h and 3 days post infection. Most of the innate immune parameters like serum complement activity and ceruloplasmin levels showed significant reduction in infected fish. The observed results are indicative of A. siamensis modulating the immune response of rohu by down‐regulation of many immune factors which may explain the susceptibility of rohu to A. siamensis infection. The interaction of this parasite with the host need to be further explored to understand its pathogenesis.     

Weed species composition of conventional soyabean crops in Hungary is determined by environmental,cultural, weed management and site variables

The goal of this study was to identify factors determining weed species composition in soyabean crops in Hungary, where its expanding production faces difficult weed problems. The abundance of weed flora was measured in 262 fields across the country, along with 38 background variables. Using a minimal adequate model containing 24 terms with significant net effects, 21.6% of the total variation in weed species data could be explained. Plot location (edge vs core position, the single site variable in our analysis) was found to be the most important explanatory variable that was followed by a set of environmental (temperature, precipitation, altitude, soil texture, pH, Ca, K, Na and humus content), cultural (cultivar maturity, organic manure, fertiliser P and N, row spacing) and weed management (flumioxazin, pendimethalin, dimethenamid, propaquizafop, bentazone, quizalofop‐p‐ethyl, quizalofop‐p‐tefuril, linuron, thifensulfuron) factors. Variation partitioning revealed that environmental variables accounted for about four times more variance than cultural and about two and half times more than weed management variables. Chenopodium album, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Hibiscus trionum, Echinochloa crus‐galli and Convolvulus arvensis were the most dominant and frequent weeds, but their abundance was influenced by different factors. The responses of weed species to the studied variables provide new information about their ecological behaviour, and our findings also can be used to develop better weed management strategies.