Adaptations of subpalpebral lavage systems used for llamas (Lama glama) and a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina).

Subpalpebral lavage systems (SPLSs) were adapted for use in zoo llamas (Lama glama) and a wild harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) during therapy for severe ulcerative keratitis or corneal perforation. One llama presented with a melting corneal ulcer caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which necessitated frequent application of a topical ophthalmic antibiotic. The lavage system was used routinely during the day and was connected to a balloon infusion system at night to allow for continuous medication administration. The ulcer healed soon after therapy was extended to include overnight treatment with the infusion system. A SPLS system was also combined with a balloon infusor during postoperative treatment of a second llama that had sustained a corneal perforation. Both llamas tolerated the infusor/lavage systems well and regained vision. One llama had minor conjunctival irritation from the SPLS that resolved quickly without treatment. Bilateral SPLS were placed in a wild harbor seal for treatment of severe ulcerative keratitis associated with Candida albicans infection. The seal tolerated the lavage systems well throughout 14 wk of their use in an aquatic environment with other seals. Partial detachment of the lavage systems from the skin of the seal occurred a few times during treatment and was easily corrected. Severe keratitis resolved with administration of antimicrobials through the lavage systems, and the seal was returned to the wild. The use of SPLSs alone or in ombination with balloon infusion systems warrants consideration for exotic, wild, and aquatic animals that cannot tolerate repetitive manual applications of topical ophthalmic medication.     

Growth and ripening season effects on antioxidant capacity of strawberry cultivar Selva

There is wide awareness on the importance of antioxidants in cell protection against free radicals constantly produced by the cell metabolism. In this work, carried out with strawberry cultivar “Selva”, the antioxidant capacity and content of the main accepted antioxidants – ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbic acid, total phenols and anthocyanins – were determined along 10 growth stages of the fruit. Strawberries were harvested in winter and summer. Minimum/maximum temperatures in the two seasons were 6.3 °C/14.9 °C and 14.5 °C/27.8 °C, respectively. Antioxidant capacity in the small green stage was 27 mmol DPPH/100 g fresh tissue, keeping noticeably high values in the large-green one. Towards the white stage, antioxidant capacity reduced, to remain mostly constant. The antioxidant capacity was higher in those stages where cell division was more important and this parameter correlated mostly with the contents of total phenols and ascorbic acid.     

Diagnosis and treatment of blastomycosis affecting the nose and nasopharynx of a dog

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 2-year-old 38.9-kg (85.58-lb) sexually intact male German Shepherd Dog was examined because of a 4-month history of severe nasal swelling and nasal mucosa congestion. The signs were slowly progressive. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Physical examination revealed that the dorsal aspect of the dog's nose was swollen and hard. Mucous membranes in both nostrils were hyperemic and edematous. Diagnostic investigation revealed severe nasal osteolysis and pyogranulomatous rhinitis and nasopharyngitis attributable to blastomycosis. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Oral administration of itraconazole was initiated (5 mg/kg [2.27 mg/lb], q 12 h for 5 days and then q 24 h). After a treatment period of 3 months, the nose had regained its normal appearance. After 5 months of treatment, the Blastomyces infection was eliminated as confirmed by results of rhinoscopy and biopsy specimen examination. No relapse was evident within 1 year after discontinuation of treatment. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In dogs, nasal and nasopharyngeal blastomycosis can result in severe osteolysis of the nasal bone. Resolution of disease can be achieved with oral administration of itraconazole for a period of at least 5 months.     

Uterine serpin (SERPINA 14) correlates negatively with cytokine production at the foetal–maternal interface but not in the corpus luteum in pregnant dairy heifers experimentally infected with Neospora caninum

This study examines gene expression patterns in dairy heifers experimentally infected with N. caninum during on Day 110 of pregnancy with live foetuses at euthanasia, 42 days later. The study population was constituted of four non‐infected controls and three infected dams. Gene expression was determined on gamma interferon (IFNγ), (Th1 pro‐inflammatory cytokine), interleukin‐4 (IL4) (Th2 pro‐gestation cytokine) or interleukin‐10 (IL10) (T regulatory cytokine) and the serine peptidase inhibitor SERPINA14 in intercaruncular, placental, uterine lymph node (UTLN) and luteal tissue samples. Intercaruncular SERPINA14 expression was negatively correlated with IFNγ expression in cotyledon samples and with IL4 expression in UTLN. No relationships were detected between cytokine gene expression at the foetal–maternal interface and SERPINA14 expression in the luteal samples. Our findings suggest that gene expression of the uterine serpin SERPINA14 correlates negatively with the expression of Th1 and Th2 cytokines at the foetal–maternal interface but not in the corpus luteum.     

Health status of the pear tree following the establishment of Fire blight in Northern Tunisia

ABSTRACT

Pears have great importance in Tunisia for their desirable taste and commercial value. Until 2012, the pear cultivation was protected against fire blight by the application of a rigorous quarantine system. Fire blight, caused by Erwinia amylovora, was outbreak in Tunisia in the spring of 2012 and has spread rapidly through the most important pear growing regions destroying several hundred hectares of pear plantations. Therefore, the total pear production has decreased from 60,000 metric tons in 2011 to less than 20,000 metric tons in 2016. In this study, collected data of pear culture and surveys were carried out during four years (2012–2016) in the main pear growing areas to evaluate the current situation of the disease in the country particularly in the damaged regions of the lower valley of Medjerda (Manouba, Ben Arous, Bizerte, and Beja). Samples collected from symptomatic trees were processed for the isolation and identification of the causal agent using microbiological and molecular techniques. The results indicate that the disease had destroyed more than 5500 hectares among a total of 8400 hectares of pear plantations area. Both provinces Manouba and Ben Arous were the most affected by fire blight disease resulting in the eradication of 350 and 325 hectares of pear plantations, i.e., 100% and 98% of the total infected area, respectively. All control attempts, including sanitary measures, the application of mineral oil and copper, growth regulators and biological control have failed to limit the spread of the disease. The presence of pathogen in the prospected regions was confirmed by pathogenicity and molecular tests, which are compatible with the symptoms observed throughout the surveys. The pear cultivation in Tunisia is threatened by fire blight due to the restriction tolerance of the available varieties and the climatic conditions favoring the staggered flowering of the species. Quarantine measures must be implemented to prevent the spread of this disease in a new disease-free areas.     

Characterization of circulating lymphocyte subpopulations in canine leishmaniasis throughout treatment with antimonials and allopurinol

Canine leishmaniasis (CL) is a systemic parasitic disease with a wide variability of response to specific therapy: the majority of patients apparently improve with treatment, some of them respond but later relapse, and few of them do not respond at all. It has been demonstrated that the immune response plays a key role in the development and outcome of Leishmania infection in the dog and in the response to the treatment, although this response is not well understood. Some authors have suggested that ill dogs show a reduction in the percentage of circulating CD4+ lymphocytes and in the CD4+/CD8+ ratio, both of which normalize after treatment and clinical recovery. The present paper discusses the variation of the different lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD21) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in 28 dogs diagnosed with CL and submitted to conventional treatment with meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) for 1 month and with allopurinol (Zyloric) for 1 year, in order to evaluate the usefulness of these parameters as indicators of the immunological condition of the ill animals and of the prognosis of their evolution during the treatment. It is concluded that circulating lymphocyte subpopulations are similar in dogs with leishmaniasis and in healthy dogs and that there is no correlation between the clinical status or response to therapy and the values of the counts of the different lymphocyte subpopulations. Therefore, the percentage of different lymphocyte subpopulations cannot be used as a parameter to predict the evolution of an individual patient in a clinical context.     

Regulation of protein metabolism by insulin: value of different approaches and animal models

Insulin induces protein accretion by stimulating protein synthesis and inhibiting proteolysis. However, the mechanisms of regulation of protein metabolism by insulin are complex and still not completely understood. The use of approaches combining hyperinsulinemic clamp and isotopic methods, or measurement of the activation of intracellular kinases involved in insulin signaling, in addition to the use of different animal models in a comparative physiology process, provide better understanding of the potential regulation of protein metabolism by insulin. Studies using the clamp technique in lactating goats have shown a clear inhibitory effect of insulin on proteolysis, with an interaction between the effects of insulin and amino acids. Such studies revealed that the insulin-inhibited proteolysis is improved in lactating goats, this adaptative process limiting the mobilization of body protein under the conditions of amino acid deficit which occurs during early lactation. Insulin signaling studies in growing chickens have also provided some interesting features of insulin regulation compared to mammals. Refeeding or insulin injection leads to the activation of the early steps of insulin receptor signaling in the liver but not in the muscle. Muscle p70 S6 kinase, a kinase involved in the insulin activation of protein synthesis, was found to be markedly activated in response to insulin and to refeeding, suggesting that other signaling pathways than those classically described in mammalian muscles may be involved in signal transduction. Finally, although the role of insulin has been doubtful and has long been considered to be minor in ruminants and in avian species, this hormone clearly regulates protein metabolism in both species.     

Gamma Interferon Production and Plasma Concentrations of Pregnancy‐Associated Glycoproteins 1 and 2 in Gestating Dairy Cows Naturally Infected With Neospora caninum

Gamma interferon (IFN‐γ) production and cross‐breed pregnancy have been attributed a role in protecting dairy cows infected with Neospora caninum against abortion. Plasma levels of pregnancy‐associated glycoproteins‐1 (PAG‐1) are a marker of placental/foetal well‐being and of PAG‐2 is an abortion risk indicator in chronically N. caninum‐infected animals. The present study examines, in cross‐breed pregnancies, interactions between IFN‐γ production and levels of PAG‐1 and PAG‐2 in non‐aborting naturally Neospora‐infected dairy cows. Data were obtained from 60 pregnant Holstein‐Friesian cows: 44 Neospora‐seropositive and 16 Neospora‐seronegative; 12 became pregnant using Holstein‐Friesian semen and 48 using Limousin semen. Blood samples were collected on Days 40, 90, 120, 150, 180 and 210 of gestation. Gamma interferon was only detected in the plasma of nine of the 44 Neospora‐seropositive cows, all of them became pregnant using Limousin semen. Through GLM procedures, in cows inseminated with Limousin semen and Neospora‐seropositive cows showing no IFN‐γ production, PAG‐1 concentrations were high and increased throughout gestation compared to the levels detected in cows inseminated with Holstein‐Friesian semen and Neospora‐seropositive cows producing IFN‐γ, respectively. In Neospora‐seronegative cows and in Neospora‐seropositive cows showing no IFN‐γ production, significantly increased PAG‐2 concentrations were observed on gestation Day 120. Our findings indicate that IFN‐γ production correlates negatively and the production of antibodies against N. caninum is uncorrelated with plasma PAG concentrations during gestation in Neospora‐infected dairy cows. Accordingly, IFN‐γ production could be linked to the transplacental migration of tachyzoites, which may cause a reduction in PAG levels.     

Honey bee nest thermoregulation: diversity promotes stability

A honey bee colony is characterized by high genetic diversity among its workers, generated by high levels of multiple mating by its queen. Few clear benefits of this genetic diversity are known. Here we show that brood nest temperatures in genetically diverse colonies (i.e., those sired by several males) tend to be more stable than in genetically uniform ones (i.e., those sired by one male). One reason this increased stability arises is because genetically determined diversity in workers' temperature response thresholds modulates the hive-ventilating behavior of individual workers, preventing excessive colony-level responses to temperature fluctuations.     

Laryngeal obstruction caused by lymphoma in an adult dairy cow

A Holstein cow was presented for inspiratory dyspnea. Endoscopic evaluation revealed swollen arytenoids and a presumptive diagnosis of bilateral arytenoidal chondritis was made. A partial arytenoidectomy was performed, the right arytenoid was submitted for histopathology, and a diagnosis of laryngeal lymphoma was made. Due to the poor prognosis, the cow was euthanized.