Seroprevalence of Babesia bigemina in smallholder dairy cattle in Tanzania and associated risk factors

Variations in the seroprevalence of antibody to Babesia bigemina infection by farm and animal level risk factors were investigated for 2 contrasting regions of Tanga and Iringa in Tanzania. Tanga is situated in the eastern part of the country and has typical tropical coast climate while Iringa is situated in the Southern Highlands and has a tropical highland climate. Two hundred farms from each region were selected using simple random sampling procedure and visited once between January 1999 and April 1999. Blood samples were collected from 1329 smallholder dairy animals on selected farms for harvesting serum which was subsequently used for serodiagnosis of B. bigemina using an indirect enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). Of the 1329 sera samples screened, 34.9 % were positive for B. bigemina. The prevalence was higher in Iringa Region [43%, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 39.5-47.3] than in Tanga Region (27%, CI = 23.6-30.5). Using a logistic binomial regression model as an analytical method for predicting the likelihood of animal seropositivity, we found (in both regions) that the risk of positive reaction varied with the animal's age, history of grazing and geographical location. Seroprevalence increased with age (beta = 0.01 and 0.01 per year of age, P < 0.005 in Tanga and Iringa, respectively). Animals located in Lushoto and Iringa urban district were associated with increased risk of seropositivity [Odds ratio (OR) = 4.24, P = 0.001, for Lushoto, and OR = 1.81, P = 0.040, for Iringa Urban, respectively). Animals grazed 3 months prior to sampling had higher odds for seropositivity than zero/semi-grazed, despite farmer-reported high frequency of tick control (OR = 2.71, P = 0.0087, for Tanga, and OR = 4.53, P = 0.001, for Iringa). Our study suggests that even though herd sizes are small, B. bigemina infection is widespread in many smallholder dairy farms and endemic stability with respect to this disease has not yet been attained, but the observed levels are sufficiently high to ensure that clinical disease would be a risk.     

Green tea flavan-3-ols and oligomeric proanthocyanidins inhibit the motility of infective larvae of Teladorsagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus colubriformis in vitro

The effects of a hot water infusion and an aqueous acetone extract of green tea (Camellia sinensis) on the motility of infective larvae of the sheep nematodes Teladorsagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus colubriformis were investigated under in vitro conditions. The infusion and extract dose-dependently inactivated the infective larvae as assessed by the larval migration inhibition (LMI) assay. To determine the components responsible for the inhibitory activity, the hot water infusion and aqueous acetone extract of green tea were fractionated on Sephadex LH-20 and the green tea extract fractions (GTE-I-VIII) characterised by mass spectrometry. The larvae were exposed to increasing concentrations of these GTE fractions. Fractions containing epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and proanthocyanidin oligomers were most effective. GTE fractions were more effective against T. circumcincta than T. colubriformis larvae as assessed by the LMI assay.     

Non-bioequivalence of various trademarks of enrofloxacin and Baytril in cows

Including Baytril, in various parts of the world many commercial preparations of enrofloxacin for parenteral administration are being employed for the treatment of bacterial diseases in cows. To optimize clinical responses and to minimize development of bacterial resistance to this agent, the copied pharmaceutical preparations must comply with some key pharmacokinetic features when bioequivalence studies are performed. To assess whether or not there was bioequivalence among nine commercial preparations of enrofloxacin and the original one, a controlled pharmacokinetic study was carried out. These was done utilizing the microbiological agar-diffusion test as quantitative/qualitative analytical method. A non-compartmental model defined kinetic variables. Results for Baytril revealed that maximal serum concentration (Csmax) was only matched by one preparation while area under the curve (AUC) of the serum concentration/activity of enrofloxacin and metabolites in time was not matched by any preparation. Time to Csmax (Tmax), elimination half-life, and shape of the time-serum concentrations of enrofloxacin profiles obtained for the nine generic preparations differ significantly somehow from the corresponding data obtained for the reference enrofloxacin. The need for studies to demonstrate bioequivalence becomes mandatory if similar preparations of enrofloxacin become commercially available. Enrofloxacin should be used selectively and cautiously to limit development of bacterial resistance. Non-bioequivalence of relevant pharmacokinetic values, such as Csmax and bioavailability (AUC) would facilitate development of bacterial resistance and limit the useful life span of this antibacterial agent.     

五种微卫星DNA标记在肉牛群体中的研究

选择了分布在牛的4条染色体上的5个微卫星DNA标记IDVGA-2,IDVGA-27,IDVGA-46,IDVGA-55及TGLA-44,分析其在所供牛群体中的多态分布情况。结果表明,每个位点的等位基因个数及多态信息含量值分别为12/0.82,5/0.58,8/0.70,6/0.57和11/0.86。全部标记经半同胞家系检验,均符合孟德尔遗传规律。     

Predicting quantitative host plant resistance against phoma black stem in sunflower

Phoma black stem is an important disease in sunflower, against which no specific management method is currently deployed in France. Relevant phenotyping methods for quantitative resistance are critical for integration of this trait into breeding programmes. Components of resistance associated with physiological resistance, and morphological traits associated with disease escape were measured on 21 sunflower genotypes under growth chamber (on seedlings), greenhouse (on adult plants), and field conditions, together with disease intensity in the field. Potential predictors were first selected for sensitivity and robustness from mixed model anova s. Analyses involving ranking tests and logistic regressions were then performed to identify predictors for field resistance. The identification of predictors for resistance involved analyses conducted in two broad steps: process‐oriented experiments, and epidemic‐oriented experiments. This stepwise approach departs from many studies aimed at identifying predictors for field resistance, which rely mainly on the computation of correlation coefficients between predictors and measured field disease variables. Predictors for quantitative resistance were identified: (i) lesion length and lesion expansion on stems of plants before flowering stage, and (ii) lesion length on first leaf petioles of seedlings. A high number of leaves and tall plants were associated with disease escape. Control genotypes for susceptibility and quantitative resistance were identified, and implications for breeding and improvements were derived from this work.     

Pythium yorkensis sp. nov., a potential soybean pathogen from southeastern Pennsylvania,USA

Biodiversity surveys of natural as well as agricultural ecosystems commonly reveal novel isolates. A new species, Pythium yorkensis sp. nov., is reported here, isolated from field soil during a survey of oomycete diversity in symptomless soybean across southeastern Pennsylvania. Molecular data from both mitochondrial and nuclear loci support a unique phylogenetic position for the isolates collected, and morphological features distinguish this new species from close relatives in Pythium clade J. Pathogenicity assays suggest that this new species may be a potential agricultural pathogen, as isolates were mildly aggressive on soybean. This study highlights the continued need for culture‐based surveys in collaboration with high‐throughput sequence‐based approaches for environmental sampling.     

翻压不同量紫云英配施减量化肥对土壤肥力和水稻产量的影响

在豫南稻区,通过田间试验研究了翻压不同量紫云英配施减量化肥对土壤肥力和水稻产量的影响。本研究在化肥减量20%和40%条件下,将紫云英翻压量设22.5、30、37.5、45 t/hm~24个水平,另设仅施用100%化肥处理作为对照。结果表明,与对照相比,减施20%和40%化肥配施紫云英可使土壤碱解氮分别增加14.4%~20.9%和13.5%~26.5%,有机质分别增加4.5%~10.8%和4.2%~8.2%,差异均达到显著水平。水稻产量随着紫云英翻压量的增加出现先升后降趋势,在减量20%化肥条件下,翻压30 t/hm~2紫云英时水稻产量最高,比对照增产16.7%,差异极显著;而在减量40%化肥条件下,翻压37.5 t/hm~2紫云英时水稻产量最高,比对照增产15.3%,差异极显著;与对照比较,翻压紫云英极显著提高了水稻有效穗,但每穗实粒数较对照有所降低。