P‐20 Clinical,cytopathological and histopathological evaluation of sporotrichosis in experimentally infected cats

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological aspects of experimental sporotrichosis in cats and compare the sensitivity of cytopathology, histopathology and culture as diagnostic tools in different phases of the infection. Twenty adult, mixed‐breed cats (10 males and 10 females) were inoculated subcutaneously with 10⁶ fungal microorganisms. Clinical examination was performed weekly. Cytopathologic, histopathologic and culture examinations were performed at 15, 30 and 60 days postinoculation. Culture of multiple organs was performed after euthanasia at 30 (10 cats) and 60 (10 cats) days postinoculation. Friedman parametric and nonparametric statistical analysis were applied to the results. The nodular, tumoral and necrotic lesionsprogressed significantly until day 30 postinoculation, and partial spontaneous regression occurred at day 60, particularly in males. An intense inflammatory pyogranulatomous and lymphocytic infiltrate with rare giant cells and sparse fibrosis associated with numerous, pleomorphic, intra‐ and extracellular fungal cells were observed on day 30. These findings gradually decreased by day 60. Despite the inflammatory granuloma associated with feline sporotrichosis, a tendency for dissemination was observed, with fungal isolation in the lymph nodes, spleen and liver at the 30 and 60 days postinoculation. No significant differences were observed between cytopathology, histopathology and fungal culture during the different phases of the disease. Therefore, cytological examination was considered a simple, rapid and inexpensive diagnostic method at all stages of this disease. Funding: Self‐funded.     

Gastrointestinal parasitism reduces the plasma availability of doramectin in lambs

A study was undertaken to investigate the effect of parasitism on plasma availability and pharmacokinetic behaviour of doramectin (DRM) in lambs. Fourteen parasitised grey face Suffolk lambs (26.9 ± 1.5 kg bodyweight) were selected for the study. Seven pairs of lambs were allocated to two groups to obtain an approximately even weight distribution. Group I (non-parasitised) was pre-treated with three repeated administrations of 5 mg/kg fenbendazole to maintain a parasite free condition. In group II (parasitised), the lambs did not receive any anthelmintic treatment. After the 85-day pre-treatment period, both groups of animals were treated with DRM by subcutaneous (SC) injection in the shoulder area at 200 μg/kg. Throughout the experimental period, both groups were maintained together under similar feeding and management conditions. Blood samples were collected by jugular venepuncture at different set times between 0.5 h and 60 days post-treatment. After plasma extraction and derivatisation, samples were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. A computerised kinetic analysis was performed and the data were compared using the Student’s paired t test.The parent molecule was detected in plasma between 30 min and either day 20 (parasitised) or day 35 (non-parasitised) post-DRM treatment. The AUC values of the parasitised group (143.0 ± 18 ng d/mL) were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those observed in the parasitically naïve animals (229.6 ± 21.7 ng d/mL). The mean residence time (MRT) in the parasitised group (3.4 ± 0.3 days) was significantly shorter (P < 0.05) than in the healthy group (6.6 ± 0.6 days). Study results have shown that parasitic disease, through alteration in the body condition, can produce significant changes in the plasma disposition of DRM when administered SC to parasitised lambs.     

Anti-enteropathogenic Escherichia coli immunoglobulin Y isolated from eggs laid by immunised Leghorn chickens

IgY, the egg yolk immunoglobulin, equivalent to the IgG from mammals, has been used in veterinary practice for passive immunisation against bacterial or viral infectious diseases. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is the main etiological agent of infantile diarrhoea in Brazil and other developing countries. Our aims were to isolate immunoglobulin IgY from egg yolk laid by EPEC -immunised Leghorn chickens and to study its reactivity to the antigens from this pathogen, including some virulence factors. Leghorn chickens were immunised with a bacterial suspension intramuscularly (three hens) or intravenously (three hens) or with PBS (two hens). Eggs were collected over a period of 17 weeks. IgY isolation procedures were carried out by salt precipitation (ammonium sulphate, in solid form) followed by centrifugations and dialysis. Final preparations were submitted to sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS - PAGE), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting. All immunised animals developed good levels of antibodies reactive to whole bacteria or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in contrast to the control ones. Immunoblottings allowed the recognition of several antigenic fractions of bacterial antigens, some of which had a molecular weight compatible with bacterial virulence factors, confirming the efficacy of the immunisation and the adequacy of the method.     

Synthesis of some new ether derivatives of hydroquinone and their ovicidal activity against the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch)

A new class of compounds derived from hydroquinone ethers showed high and predominantly ovicidal activity against the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch. The sequence of compounds synthesised and the factors which appeared to have contributed most to the discovery of these promising acaricides are presented.     

Zinc phosphate protects tomato plants against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The purpose of this study was to determine whether zinc phosphate treatments of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) can attenuate bacterial speck...     

Ameliorative effects of nurse shrubs on soil chemical characteristics are driven by plant size in the Monte desert

In deserts, shrubs determine landscape structure and influence plant productivity by creating nutrient-enriched environments. Attributes vary among shrub species, thus their contribution to soil characteristics is expected to vary as well, and nutrient input under shrub cover will depend on species attributes. We propose that plant size determines the contribution to soil chemical characteristics. Therefore, the contribution of larger species will be higher than smaller ones. Also, each species will contribute differentially for each chemical parameter. To corroborate these premises, we measured six soil chemical characteristics in areas covered by shrubs and in bare soil, as well as among five nurse species, in four sites of the Monte desert (La Rioja, Argentina). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated significant variation between cover conditions and locations. Supporting previous studies, the presence of shrubs improved soil properties. Chemical concentration between soils under shrubs and bare soils, respectively, showed as mean and (SD) were: carbon(%): 0.82 (0,47), 0.52 (0.22); nitrates (ppm): 33,33 (67,36), 2.63 (0.56); phosphorous(ppm): 16.76 (25.02), 6.56 (1.92); electrical conductivity (dS m^?1): 0.24 (0,43), 0.03 (0,02); pH: 6.93 (0.56), 7.62 (0.53); and water content (%): 3,17 (8.94), 2.47 (9.15). Chemical characteristics also varied according to the nurse species. Larger nurse species affected the ensemble of chemical characteristics, after controlling for cover condition and site. Larger plant species (Bulnesia retama, Prosopis torquata, and Zuccagnia punctata) were significantly associated with higher carbon and higher nitrates concentration. These results suggest that soil properties are enhanced by the size of nurse plant species.     

Multiply-primed rolling-circle amplification (MPRCA) of PCV2 genomes: Applications on detection, sequencing and virus isolation

Multiply-primed rolling-circle amplification (MPRCA) was used to amplify porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) genomes isolated from tissues of pigs with signs of post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). Two of the amplified PCV2 genomes were cloned in prokaryotic plasmids and sequenced. Both were nearly identical (1767 nt) except for one silent substitution in the region coding for the capsid protein (ORF2). In addition, they showed high nucleotide sequence similarity with PCV2 isolates from others countries (93–99%). To investigate whether the MPRCA amplified PCV2 genomes could be used to produce infectious virus, the cloned genomes were isolated from the plasmids, recircularized and used for transfection in PK-15 cells. This procedure led to the production of infectious virus to titres up to 10^5.55 TCID₅₀/mL. It was concluded that MPRCA is a useful tool to amplify PCV2 genomes aiming at sequencing and virus isolation strategies, where particularly useful is the fact that it allows straightforward construction of PCV2 infectious clones from amplified genomes. However, it was less sensitive than PCR for diagnostic purposes.     

Phenotypic differences may limit the potential for habitat restoration involving species translocation: a case study of shape ecophenotypes in different populations of Modiolus modiolus (Mollusca: Bivalvia)

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