Atypical presentation of cutaneous T-cell lymphosarcoma in a 19-month-old Holstein heifer

A 19-month-old Holstein heifer was presented with bilateral auricular masses. Multiple cutaneous masses and prefemoral lymphadenopathy were also found. On post-mortem, masses affecting internal viscera were observed. The heifer was seronegative for Bovine leukemia virus (BLV). The cutaneous form of sporadic juvenile lymphosarcoma was diagnosed and determined to be of T-cell origin.     

Dietary supplementation of Zingiber officinale and Zingiber zerumbet to heat‐stressed broiler chickens and its effect on heat shock protein 70 expression,blood parameters and body temperature

The present study was conducted to assess the effects of dietary supplementation of Zingiber officinale and Zingiber zerumbet and to heat‐stressed broiler chickens on heat shock protein (HSP) 70 density, plasma corticosterone concentration (CORT), heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (HLR) and body temperature. Beginning from day 28, chicks were divided into five dietary groups: (i) basal diet (control), (ii) basal diet +1%Z. zerumbet powder (ZZ1%), (iii) basal diet +2%Z. zerumbet powder (ZZ2%), (iv) basal diet +1%Z. officinale powder (ZO1%) and (v) basal diet +2%Z. officinale powder (ZO2%). From day 35–42, heat stress was induced by exposing birds to 38 ± 1 °C and 80% RH for 2 h/day. Irrespective of diet, heat challenge elevated HSP70 expression, CORT and HLR on day 42. On day 42, following heat challenge, the ZZ1% birds showed lower body temperatures than those of control, ZO1% and ZO2%. Neither CORT nor HLR was significantly affected by diet. The ZO2% and ZZ2% diets enhanced HSP70 expression when compared to the control groups. We concluded that dietary supplementation of Z. officinale and Z. zerumbet powder may induce HSP70 reaction in broiler chickens exposed to heat stress.     

Experimental infection of dogs (Canis familiaris) with sporulated oocysts of Neospora caninum

Neospora caninum is widely distributed in the world and this parasite is one of the major causes of abortion in cattle. Dogs and coyotes are definitive hosts of N. caninum and several species of domestic and wild animals are intermediate hosts. Dogs can become infected by the ingestion of tissues containing cysts and then excrete oocysts. It is not yet known whether sporulated oocysts are able to induce a patent infection in dogs, i.e. a shedding of N. caninum oocysts in feces. The objective of this study was to experimentally examine the infection of dogs by sporulated oocysts. The oocysts used in the experiment were obtained by feeding dogs with brain of buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) positive for anti-N. caninum antibodies by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT ≥200). Oocysts shed by these dogs were confirmed to be N. caninum by molecular methods and by bioassay in gerbils, and sporulated N. caninum oocysts were used for the oral infection of four dogs. The dogs were 8 weeks old and negative for antibodies to N. caninum and Toxoplasma gondii. Dogs 1 and 4 received an inoculum of 10,000 sporulated oocysts each; dog 2 an inoculum of 5000 sporulated oocysts and dog 3 received 1000 sporulated oocysts of N. caninum. The total feces excreted by these dogs were collected and examined daily for a period of 30 days. No oocysts were found in their feces. The dogs were monitored monthly for a 6-month period to observe a possible seroconversion and when this occurred the animals were eliminated from the experiment. Dogs 1 and 4 seroconverted 1 month after the infection with titer, in the IFAT, of 1600 and 800, respectively; the other two dogs presented no seroconvertion during the 6-month period. Dogs 1 and 2 were euthanized 180 days after infection and were examined for the detection of N. caninum in tissues (brain, muscle, lymph node, liver, lung, heart and bone marrow) by immunohistochemistry and PCR with negative results in both techniques. Bioassay in gerbils with brain of these dogs was also performed and again the results were negative. In conclusion, dogs infected with sporulated oocysts of N. caninum were not able to shed oocysts in feces. However, a higher dose of infection stimulated the production of antibodies against N. caninum in the dogs.     

Cover Image,Volume 15, Issue 3

The cover image, by M. E. Gray et al., is based on the Original Article Dual targeting of EGFR and ERBB2 pathways produces a synergistic effect on cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro, DOI: 10.1111/vco.12230 .

     

Effects of potential probiotic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactococcus lactis</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">lactis</Emphasis> on digestive enzymatic activities of live feed <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemia franciscana</Emphasis>

In the present study, cellulase, protease, lipase and amylase activities were performed to investigate the effects of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis CF4MRS bioencapsulation of Artemia franciscana. Our results show that cellulase activities (total cellulase—FPase activity, exoglucanase and endoglucanase—CMCase activity) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in A. franciscana tissue homogenates compared to those in the control group after 8 h of L. lactic bioencapsulation. Notably, an exception case was found in β-D-glucosidase activity, whereby the cellulase activity was not significantly different (P > 0.05) compared to the control group. Administrations of L. lactis at cell concentration of 10⁸ CFU mL^?1 showed considerable improvement of other important enzymatic activities such as amylase, protease and lipase in A. franciscana. The amylase/protease ratio in probiotic-treated A. franciscana was recorded at 0.343, approximately two times higher than those without probiotic administration (0.184). In contrary, amylase/lipase ratio showed half of a reduction (0.330) in L. lactis-administrated A. franciscana compared to the control (0.614). Our study suggests that important digestive enzymes, e.g., cellulase, amylase, protease and lipase, can be enhanced through bioencapsulation of A. franciscana with L. lactis subsp. lactis, which could in turn lead to further stimulation of endogenous enzymes in the fish and shrimp larvae.     

Molecular characterization of Trichoderma strains from West Sumatera,Indonesia and their beneficial effects on rice seedling growth

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - This study aims to elucidate the molecular characterization of Trichoderma strains isolated from rice soil rhizosphere from paddy cultivation in West...     

Development of a nitrocellulose-enzyme immunoassay for the detection of yellow-head virus from penaeid shrimp

A nitrocellulose-enzyme immunoassay (NC-EIA) employing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was developed for the detection of yellow-head virus in the tissues of infected penaeid shrimp. Two substrates, DAB (3,3¢-diaminobenzidine retrahydrochloride) and TMB (3,3¢5,5¢-tetramethylbenzidine) for HRP were evaluated. The TMB was found to produce a more distinct and easily recognizable colour product and provided enhanced sensitivity (0.4 ng for TMB versus 0.8 ng viral protein for DAB). Under the present format, the NC-EIA was capable of detecting as little as 100 TCID₅₀ of virus in infected tissues. Uninfected tissue homogenates yielded no significant background colouration.     

Correction to: Molecular characterization of Trichoderma strains from West Sumatera,Indonesia and their benefcial efects on rice seedling growth

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12892-021-00097-2     

Long-term trends in the abundance of Mediterranean wetland vertebrates: From global recovery to localized declines

Biodiversity loss is unevenly distributed in space and time. Species have reached critically low population sizes in some areas, and remain abundant in others. Similarly, some species may benefit from successful conservation plans, while others still experience severe population depletions driven by negative impacts of human activities. Although several indicators have been proposed to measure the fate of biodiversity, they are generally only implemented globally so their relevance for regional assessment is still unclear. Here, we calculated the first regional trend in the Living Planet Index for the Mediterranean wetlands (Med LPI), an indicator that summarizes the fate of global biological diversity based on the temporal trends in abundance of vertebrate populations. The Med LPI was based on 1641 vertebrate populations of 311 species recorded in Mediterranean wetlands from 1970–2008, in 27 different countries. We investigated whether trends in the Med LPI differed between eastern and western Mediterranean countries, which have different socio-economic contexts. Finally, we assessed whether and how the trend in the Med LPI was robust to changes in the number and identity of species considered. We found that, at the Mediterranean scale, the Med LPI increased steeply, which could be taken at first sight, as a general recovery of wetland biodiversity in this biogeographical region. However, we found highly contrasting spatial trends within the Mediterranean region: the average trend was positive for western and negative for eastern countries. Moreover, we showed that depending on the method used to estimate the trend in Med LPI, it can be sensitive to the number and identity of the species considered. We suggest that understanding the regional discrepancies of the trend in biodiversity indicators as well as their robustness to the species represented in the index will enhance progress assessment towards global and regional conservation strategies.