Low occurrence of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica in pig tonsils at slaughter in Southern Brazil

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Yersinia enterocolitica is a foodborne pathogen and pigs are the main reservoir of it in their tonsils. As Brazil is a large producer and exporter of pork...     

First report and molecular characterization of Trypanosoma vivax in cattle from state of Pernambuco, Brazil

This paper describes an outbreak of Trypanosoma vivax for the first time in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, affecting dairy cattle in the municipality of Itambé in the northern coastal zone of the state. Clinical signs compatible with infection by blood protozoa and epidemic miscarriages were observed. The diagnosis of T. vivax was confirmed through biometric microscopy and molecular analysis with PCR and DNA sequencing. The T. vivax isolate detected in the present study proved to be genetically very close to other Brazilian isolates of the protozoan despite being geographically distant.     

Chickens treated with a nitric oxide inhibitor became more resistant to Plasmodium gallinaceum infection due to reduced anemia,thrombocytopenia and inflammation

Malaria is a serious infectious disease caused by parasites of the Plasmodium genus that affect different vertebrate hosts. Severe malaria leads to host death and involves different pathophysiological phenomena such as anemia, thrombocytopenia and inflammation. Nitric oxide (NO) is an important effector molecule in this disease, but little is known about its role in avian malaria models. Plasmodium gallinaceum- infected chickens were treated with aminoguanidine (AG), an inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase, to observe the role of NO in the pathogenesis of this avian model. AG increased the survival of chickens, but also induced higher parasitemia. Treated chickens demonstrated reduced anemia and thrombocytopenia. Moreover, erythrocytes at different stages of maturation, heterophils, monocytes and thrombocytes were infected by Plasmodium gallinaceum and animals presented a generalized leucopenia. Activated leukocytes and thrombocytes with elongated double nuclei were observed in chickens with higher parasitemia; however, eosinophils were not involved in the infection. AG reduced levels of hemozoin in the spleen and liver, indicating lower inflammation. Taken together, the results suggest that AG reduced anemia, thrombocytopenia and inflammation, explaining the greater survival rate of the treated chickens.     

Use of bispectral index to monitor depth of anesthesia in isoflurane-anesthetized dogs

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between the bispectral index (BIS) and end-tidal isoflurane (ET(ISO)) concentration and compare the use of 3 BIS sensor positions in dogs. ANIMALS: 6 adult dogs. PROCEDURES: Mechanically ventilated dogs received pancuronium, and depth of anesthesia was altered by increasing ET(ISO) concentration from 1.5% to 2.3% and 3.0%. The BIS, suppression ratio (relative percentage of isoelectric electroencephalographic waveforms), and signal quality index (SQI) were recorded at each ET(ISO) concentration for each of 3 BIS sensor positions (frontal-occipital, bifrontal, and frontal-temporal positions). RESULTS: The BIS and ET(ISO) concentration were poorly correlated; regardless of sensor positioning, mean BIS values did not change significantly as ET(ISO) was increased. At 3% isoflurane, regardless of sensor positioning, there was an increase in suppression ratio coincident with BIS < 40 in some dogs, whereas paradoxic increases in BIS (> 60) were recorded in others. Furthermore, at 3.0% isoflurane, the SQI was significantly lower for the bifrontal sensor position (compared with values for the other positions), but low SQI values prevented recording of BIS values from the frontal-occipital sensor position in 2 dogs. Overall, BIS values derived from the 3 sensor positions did not differ. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In dogs, BIS values may not reflect changes in depth of isoflurane anesthesia in the absence of noxious stimulation. Of the 3 sensor positions, frontal-temporal positioning provided better correlation with changes in depth of anesthesia induced via changes in isoflurane concentrations. However, the sensor placements yielded similar results at SQI values > 50.     

Hepatic profile of Gallus gallus Linnaeus, 1758 experimentally infected by Plasmodium juxtanucleare Versiani & Gomes, 1941

One of the species that causes avian malaria is Plasmodium juxtanucleare. It is commonly found in poultry, especially when the birds receive food free of coccidiostats. Since industrial and organic poultry breeding is increasing in the world and few studies have been conducted examining the clinical parameters of both healthy and infected birds, this work evaluated whether the infection caused by P. juxtanucleare in Gallus gallus provokes alterations in the birds' hepatic profile. We analyzed the activity of ALT and AST and carried out histological analyses of liver sections of infected fowls by intracelomic inoculation with infected blood from a donor fowl with a parasite load of around 7%. The infected birds' parasite load was evaluated during 45 days by means of blood smears. There was a positive correlation between the increase in parasite load and higher ALT activity in the infected fowls, but there was no significant variation of the AST activity between the control and infected groups, possibly because of the non-specificity of this enzyme as an indicator of hepatic lesion. The results show that infection caused by P. juxtanucleare in G. gallus provokes hepatic alterations, indicated by the increase in the ALT enzyme activity and by the inflammatory infiltrates found in the liver sections of the infected fowls.     

A new species of Trichuris from Thrichomys apereoides (Rodentia: Echimyidae) in Brazil: Morphological and histological studies

Trichuris thrichomysi n. sp., recovered from the cecum of the wild rodent Thrichomys apereoides from a transition zone between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado morfoclimatic domains, and its life cycle observed under experimental conditions are described. This new species is closely related to Trichuris travassosi, Trichuris chiliensis and Trichuris fulvi, but can be distinguished from them mainly by differences in the posterior end of males. Details of the surface such as the bacillary gland, cuticular inflations and several morphological details obtained by scanning electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy confirmed the characteristics that differentiate the new species. The histopathology of the intestinal wall of naturally infected rodents is also reported. The present study extends the geographical distribution of T. thrichomysi n. sp to the Pantanal ecosystem and reports a new host, Thrichomys pachiurus.     

Broad-sense heritability in mixed models for grapevine initial selection trials

This work addresses to the genetic analysis and selection in populations where the whole genotypic value is transmitted through generations, using grapevine yield data as a case study. Several models were applied to different types of data sets. The individual and mean year yield and the balanced and unbalanced data resulting from various experimental designs (completely randomized, randomized complete block and row–column) were used. The aims of present work were to study: (1) the applicability of a generalised measure of broad-sense heritability to evaluate the success of the genotypic selection and compare it with the classical approach; and (2) the effect of different models on the accuracy and precision of the genotypic variance component and on the generalised broad-sense heritability estimates. The results showed that the computation of a measure of generalised broad-sense heritability is very feasible and useful for evaluating the efficiency of genotypic selection. In this study, 88 % of the fitted models did not comply with the standards for applying the classical concept of heritability. The differences between both the classical and generalised broad-sense heritability estimates increased with the complexity of the model. Higher broad-sense heritability estimates were consistently obtained with the mean years. The most accurate and precise estimates of the genetic parameters were obtained with the spatial models. Finally, the genotypic variance component of yield and the generalised broad-sense heritability were consistently significant for all grapevine varieties.     

Antioxidant Compounds Recovery from Juçara Residue by Thermal Assisted Extraction

This study aimed to recover bioactive compounds by solid-liquid extraction from the agro-industrial residue obtained during juçara fruits processing into pulp. A preliminary study using different solvents (methanol, ethanol and water) indicated ethanol in aqueous solution as the best solvent for antioxidants recovery. Then, a Box-Behnken design was applied considering as independent variables the solvent composition (30–70% ethanol in water), temperature (30–70 °C) and time (30–60 min), in order to evaluate the effects of these factors on antioxidant activity in juçara extract. Results showed that the extracts with higher antioxidant activity were obtained using 30% ethanol at 70 °C for 60 min; measurements included ABTS and DPPH assays, determination of total phenolic content and total monomeric anthocyanins. Furthermore, the effect of pH in antioxidants recovery was evaluated. For this purpose, the 30% ethanol solution was acidified to pH 1 and 2 with HCl. Principal component analysis showed the formation of three distinct groups: one characterized by high bioactive compounds content (pH 1.0), another with superior antioxidant activity (pH 5.75, non-acidified), and finally the group at pH 2 presenting the worst concentrations in the evaluated responses. HPLC analysis showed the presence of cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in the extracts. Therefore, the conventional solid-liquid extraction using renewable solvent can be successfully applied to recover bioactive compounds from juçara residue, which can be used by different food industries.