Palladio, an Index of Trace Element Alteration for the River Bacchiglione Based on Rhynchostegium riparioides Moss Bags

The concentration of Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, V and Zn was measured in the aquatic bryophyte Rhynchostegium riparioides after a 4-week transplantation at 83 stations in seven main watercourses and three smaller tributaries of the basin of the River Bacchiglione (NE Italy). The study, carried out in 9 months, aimed at establishing a database for statistical analyses to define a novel index of water quality, specifically calibrated for moss bags, and suitable for bio-monitoring purposes where autochthonous bryophytes are not available. The background level was estimated for each element, the ratio between sample and background concentration was adopted as measure of environmental alteration and a five-class interpretation scale was defined. The 73.8% of measured concentrations reflected a condition of naturality, 16.6% suspect of alteration, 7.6% sure alteration, 1.6% severe alteration and <0.5% extreme alteration. The condition of global environmental alteration (all contaminants) at each station was also defined. Forty-four stations presented absence or suspect of alteration, 39 sure alteration for one or more elements. Bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed (1) highly significant correlations (p?<?0.001) between the concentrations of Co–Mn, Sb–Zn, and Fe–V, depending on both natural and human factors, (2) chemical patterns leading to galvanic industries, metallurgy or urban sewages, in some case with a geographical distribution and (3) a gradient of environmental alteration from the Pre-Alps to the lowland. Coloured maps indicate both point sources and widespread environmental alteration, highlighting not only industrial–urban areas but also some apparently undisturbed sites.     

Common variable immunodeficiency in a horse with chronic peritonitis

This report describes the clinical progression of a Quarter Horse filly with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). Equine CVID is a primary immunodeficiency in which affected animals are unable to mount an appropriate antibody response and suffer recurrent bacterial infections. The filly in this report had a history of chronic respiratory tract infections but presented for assessment of poor weight gain and was diagnosed with Actinobacillus equuli peritonitis.     

Serum IgM concentrations in normal,fit horses and horses with lymphoma or other medical conditions

The purposes of this study were to (1) prospectively establish serum IgM and IgG concentrations in normal, fit, adult horses over time and (2) determine the accuracy of serum IgM concentrations for diagnosing lymphoma. Serial IgM and IgG concentrations were measured with a radial immunodiffusion assay in 25 regularly exercised horses at 6-week intervals. Horses had serum IgM concentrations ranging from 50 to 242 mg/dL over 5 months, with 20% of horses having IgM < or = 60 mg/dL. The normal range for IgM in fit horses should be considered 103 +/- 40 mg/dL and a cut-point for an IgM deficiency, < or = 23 mg/dL. IgG concentrations ranged from 1,372 to 3,032 mg/dL. Retrospectively, medical records of adult horses (n = 103) admitted to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals for which serum IgM was measured were examined. Horses were categorized as "lymphoma negative" (n = 34) or "lymphoma positive" (n = 18). The sensitivity and specificity of a serum IgM concentration (< or = 60 mg/dL) for detecting equine lymphoma was 50 and 35%, respectively. At the new cut-point (< or = 23 mg/dL), the sensitivity was low at 28% and the specificity improved to 88%. The negative predictive values at various population prevalences indicate that a horse with a high serum IgM (> 23 mg/dL) is unlikely to have lymphoma, whereas the positive predictive value (70%) does not allow for reliable determination of lymphoma in a horse with serum IgM < or = 23 mg/dL. Therefore, serum IgM concentrations should not be used as a screening test for equine lymphoma.     

Cryptococcosis in seven horses

The clinical, radiographic and post-mortem findings in 6 horses with cryptococcal pneumonia and one horse with an abdominal cryptococcal granuloma are described. In pulmonary cryptococcosis, the lesions were either diffuse and multiple, with bilateral lung involvement, or localised mainly to the dorsocaudal region of one lung. The cases of diffuse multiple cryptococcosis were thought to be associated with haematogenous spread of the fungus after gastrointestinal infection and dissemination from regional lymph nodes. The localised form of the disease was thought to have been associated with inhalation of cryptococci. In all cases of pulmonary cryptococcosis, encapsulated yeast-like organisms were demonstrated in Wright's-stained sediment of tracheal washes. In the horse with the abdominal granuloma, cryptococci were present in a fine needle aspirate sample. Isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var gattii were recovered from 2 of the 5 horses in which cultures were attempted. In addition to a history of previous illness that may have predisposed to infection, most horses in this report had been in areas in which Eucalyptus camaldulensis, or the closely related E rudis, were growing. In humans, an epidemiological relationship between E camaldulensis and infection with C neoformans var gattii has been suggested. Cases of equine cryptococcosis carry a poor prognosis and treatment was not attempted in any of these cases.     

Monoclonal antibodies to equine interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha): new tools to neutralize IFN-activity and to detect secreted IFN-alpha

Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) is a type I interferon that is secreted during the early stages of the innate immune response and is often induced upon infection with viral pathogens. IFN-alpha production affects multiple downstream events influencing both innate and adaptive immune responses. Here, we describe the expression of an equine rIFN-alpha/IgG4 fusion protein in mammalian cells. The anti-viral activity of rIFN-alpha/IgG4 was found to be 70-fold higher than that of a previously described IFN-gamma/IgG1 as tested by bioassay. The purified rIFN-alpha was subsequently used for the generation of six monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to equine IFN-alpha. Four of these mAbs inhibited the protective anti-viral effect of equine leukocyte IFN in bioassays. One mAb (clone 240-2) showed a high-neutralizing capacity. An ELISA was established using two anti-equine IFN-alpha mAbs (clones 29B and 240-2) and its analytical sensitivity for was found to be around 800 pg/ml and 3 U/ml for rIFN-alpha and equine leukocyte IFN, respectively. When analyzing samples with a likely dominance of IFN-alpha among type I IFNs, such as supernatants from equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with CpG-oligodeoxyribonucleotides, the results obtained by ELISA and IFN bioassay showed a high agreement (r(2)(sp)=0.98). When analyzing samples likely containing a mixture of type I IFNs, such as serum and nasal secretions from virally infected horses, the ELISA only detected some of the IFN-activity recorded in the bioassay. Overall, the data showed that the new anti-equine IFN-alpha mAbs are valuable tools to detect native IFN-alpha for further characterization of the early innate immune response and anti-viral immunity in horses.     

Pre-parturition staphylococcal mastitis in primiparous replacement goats: persistence over lactation and sources of infection

This investigation reported for the first time the occurrence of intramammary infections caused by Staphylococcus in primiparous replacement goats before parturition and the persistence of clinical Staphylococcus aureus infection during the lactation period. Subclinical infections, mainly caused by coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS), did not persist during lactation. Genotyping analysis indicated that environment seems to play a moderate role as source of intramammary infections to goats before parturition, but causative agents of mastitis in lactating animals are not genotypically related to environmental staphylococci. The occurrence and persistence of intramammary infections in replacement goats demonstrate the need to consider those animals as potential sources of infections in dairy goat herds.