Pure cystine and urate calculi can be clearly visible using survey digital radiography

Cystine and urate calculi are considered nonradiopaque to faintly radiopaque. Two canine cases in which these types of calculi are radiopaque and clearly apparent in vivo on survey digital radiography are described. The densities of cystine and urate calculi, as determined in vitro with computed tomography, are compared to other pure calculi and mixed or compound calculi to further explore the relative attenuation characteristics.     

Bacteriological water quality of recirculating aquatic systems for maintenance of yellowtail amberjack Seriola lalandi

The bacteriological water quality associated with marine fish farming systems can be a determining factor in the development of disease, and understanding this quality is fundamental for the prevention and control of possible disease outbreaks. In the present study, the bacteriological water quality of a yellowtail amberjack Seriola lalandi broodstock maintenance system, composed of two units of a recirculation aquaculture system (RAS 1 and RAS 2), was determined. From February 2016 to January 2017, monthly samples of surface water were taken at six points in the two RAS systems: (a) from the water reception tank and (b) from filter 1 and (c) tank 1 (in RAS 1) and (d) filter 2 and (e) tank 2 (in RAS 2) and from a joint (f) discharge point. The bacteriological quality was determined by counting total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) and by molecular identification (16S rRNA gene). The number of THB showed a tendency to decrease in filters 1 and 2, to increase in tanks 1 and 2, and again increase in the discharge. The fluctuation of THB, in general, was from 1.0 × 10³ to 2.9 × 10⁵ CFU/mL. In total, 102 colonies were isolated, corresponding to nine orders and 52 species, and Vibrionales and Alteromonadales were the most abundant orders. The bacterium Vibrio harveyi, a pathogen of S. lalandi, was identified, as were other bacterial species that are known pathogens; however, no signs of disease or mortality events were recorded during the study. These results suggest that the bacterial community contributed to the maintenance of a balance in the RAS, which prevented the development of infectious diseases. Furthermore, the physicochemical parameters (temperature, oxygen, nitrogen compounds, and alkalinity) were maintained within the optimum range required by S. lalandi. Some zoonotic bacteria were found, as well as bacteria with probiotic and industrial uses. These results represent the first report on bacteriological quality in RAS for S. lalandi.     

Infection of cattle in Kenya with Brucella abortus biovar 3 and Brucella melitensis biovar 1 genotypes

Brucella melitensis biovar 1 was isolated from bovine milk samples from a herd in central Kenya, and Brucella abortus biovar 3 was isolated from aborted fetus materials and vaginal discharge fluids from cattle in central and eastern provinces of Kenya. All infections including those with B. melitensis were in cattle with reproductive problems kept in mixed herds indicating that cross infection occurs from small ruminants. Multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis genotyping revealed a close molecular homology of the B. melitensis isolates with an isolate from Israel and a close homology of the B. abortus isolates with an isolate from Uganda indicating that these genotypes have a wide geographic distribution. Infection of cattle with B. melitensis may complicate the control of brucellosis in this country.     

Low prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in Somali pastoral livestock, southeast Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) detected by the comparative intradermal tuberculin test (CIDT) was conducted in livestock of the Somali region in southeast Ethiopia??in four pastoral associations from January to August 2009. In 94 herds, each of 15 cattle, camels, and goats was tested per herd leading to a total of 1,418 CIDT tested animals, with 421 cattle, 479 camels, and 518 goats. A herd was considered positive if it had at least one reactor. Prevalence per animal species was calculated using a xtgee model for each species. The individual animal prevalence was 2.0% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.5?C8.4], 0.4% (95% CI, 0.1?C3%), and 0.2% (95% CI, 0.03?C1.3) in cattle, camels, and goats, respectively. Prevalence of avian mycobacterium purified protein derivative (PPD) reactors in cattle, camels, and goats was 0.7% (95% CI, 0.2?C2.0%), 10.0% (95% CI, 7.0?C14.0%), and 1.9 (95% CI, 0.9?C4.0%), respectively, whereby camels had an odds ratio of 16.5 (95% CI, 5.0?C55.0) when compared to cattle. There was no significant difference between livestock species in BTB positivity. In the present study, the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis was low in Somali pastoral livestock in general and in camels and goats in particular. The high proportion of camel reactors to avian PPD needs further investigation of its impact on camel production.     

Serological evidence for brucellosis in Bos indicus in Nigeria

Purpose  

Nigeria is the largest cattle-rearing nation in Africa with most animals kept under traditional husbandry practices. While bovine brucellosis does not receive much attention, a relatively high seroprevalence is found in samples submitted for laboratory testing. The aim of the study was to provide serological evidence of brucellosis in cattle from some of the main cattle-rearing states of the country and to validate a simple and rapid field test for the serodiagnosis of bovine brucellosis.     

Optical detection of DNA conformational polymorphism on single-walled carbon nanotubes

The transition of DNA secondary structure from an analogous B to Z conformation modulates the dielectric environment of the single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) around which it is adsorbed. The SWNT band-gap fluorescence undergoes a red shift when an encapsulating 30-nucleotide oligomer is exposed to counter ions that screen the charged backbone. The transition is thermodynamically identical for DNA on and off the nanotube, except that the propagation length of the former is shorter by five-sixths. The magnitude of the energy shift is described by using an effective medium model and the DNA geometry on the nanotube sidewall. We demonstrate the detection of the B-Z change in whole blood, tissue, and from within living mammalian cells.     

Kinetic analysis of the psychrophilic anaerobic digestion of wastewater derived from the production of proteins from extracted sunflower flour

A kinetic analysis of the anaerobic digestion process of wastewater derived from the production of protein isolates from extracted sunflower flour was carried out. The digestion was conducted in a laboratory-scale fluidized bed reactor with saponite (magnesium silicate) as support for the mediating bacteria at psychrophilic temperature (15-19 degrees C). Soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD(s)) removal efficiencies in the range of 95.9-69.0% were achieved in the reactor at organic loading rates (OLR) of between 0.57 and 2.49 g total COD (COD(t))/L d, hydraulic retention times (HRT) of between 20.0 and 4.5 days, and average feed total COD concentration of 11.3 g/L. The yield coefficient of methane production was 0.32 L of methane (at STP) per gram of COD(t) removed. The total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) levels and the TVFA/alkalinity ratio were lower than the suggested limits for digester failure for OLR and HRT up to 2.26 g COD(t)/L d and 5.0 days, respectively. The specific rate of substrate uptake, r (g COD(s)/g VSS d), correlated with the concentration of biodegradable substrate, S (g COD(s)/L), through an equation of the Michaelis-Menten type. The maximum substrate utilization rate, k, and the Michaelis constant, K(s)(), were found to be 0.125 g COD(s)/g VSS d and 124 mg COD(s)/L, respectively. This proposed model predicted the behavior of the reactor very accurately showing deviations lower than 10% between the experimental and theoretical values of substrate uptake rates. A mass (COD(t)) balance around the reactor allowed the COD equivalent of methane volume (W(CH)4) to be obtained, which gave a value of 2.89 g COD(t)/L CH(4), which was virtually coincident with the theoretical value of 2.86 g COD(t)/L CH(4).     

Decomposition of microcystin-LR, microcystin-RR, and microcystin-YR in water samples submitted to in vitro dissolution tests

The presence of cyanobacterial toxins (microcystins) in waters and food increases the risk of toxicity to animal and human health. These toxins can degrade in the human gastrointestinal tract before they are absorbed. To evaluate this possible degradation, water samples spiked with known concentrations of microcystins MC-LR, MC-RR, and MC-YR, which are the toxins most commonly produced by such toxic cyanobacteria as Microcystis aeruginosa, Oscillatoria spp., and Nostoc spp., were submitted to a dissolution test that used gastric and intestinal fluids according to U.S. Pharmacopeia conditions. HPLC with UV detection was used to determine the toxins before and after treatments. This study revealed enzymatic alterations in gastric conditions for all the toxins assayed. MC-RR was the toxin most affected: its range of inactivation was 49-64%. The percentage of degradation for MC-YR and MC-LR was around 30%. However, none was degraded by intestinal digestion.