Knowledge,attitudes and practices towards <Emphasis Type="Italic">cystic echinococcosis</Emphasis> in livestock among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda

A cross-sectional study was done from March 2013 to May 2014 to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda. A structured questionnaire was administered to 381 respondents. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to find the relationship between knowledge about CE and factors such as age, sex, and level of education across all regions. The odds ratio and confidence interval were used to determine the difference in responses across regions. It was shown that age above 36 years was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with awareness about CE in livestock. Likewise, uneducated (p < 0.0001) and agro-pastoralists (p = 0.01) were significantly less knowledgeable than the educated and pastoralists across all regions. The overall knowledge towards CE in livestock was low 17.8% (95% CI = 14.0–21.6). Dog ownership was high and they never dewormed their freely roaming dogs. Dogs shared water with livestock. In conclusion, knowledge about CE in livestock was low across all regions. Therefore, public health education and formulation of policies towards its control by the relevant stakeholders should be done. Also, the true prevalence of CE in livestock needs to be done so that the magnitude and its public health significance are elucidated.     

Assessment of age-related morphological changes in the testes of post-hatch light ecotype Nigerian indigenous chicken

The age-related morphological changes of the testes in light ecotype Nigerian indigenous chicken were evaluated in this study using gross anatomical, histological and histomorphometric techniques. The results showed that the testes of 3- to 9-month-old birds were light pink while testes of sexually mature chicken were creamy white in colour. The left and right testicular weight, length, diameter, circumference and the organosomatic indices increased significantly (p < .05) with increasing age across the groups. Although the mean tubular diameter and epithelial height of the left and right seminiferous tubules increased significantly (p < .05) with age, the tubular diameter, epithelial height and luminal diameter did not vary significantly (p > .05) between the left and right testes of all the groups. The one-cell layer thick germinal epithelium of the left testes at 3 to 6 months old showed islands of cell proliferation that contained spermatogonia and spermatocytes. At 6 to 9 months, the left testes exhibited numerous early spermatids with occasional occurrence of late stage spermatids while the right testes showed scanty early stage spermatids. At 12 to 18 months, the germinal epithelia of both left and right testes were characterized by the presence of Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, numerous early and late stage spermatids as well as spermatozoa. In conclusion, the morphological features highlighted in the present study show that at pre-pubertal periods, the left testes may develop faster than the right testes. However, both left and right testes may participate actively in the production of spermatozoa during the post-pubertal life.     

Growth and Biochmical Studies of Mrigal Fish (Cirrhinus mrigala) Fed Graded Levels of Oil

A 45-day experiment was carried out to evaluate the growth performance,digestive enzymes activity and biochemical response of Cirrhinus mrigala fed graded levels of oil.Three isonitrogenous purified diets(6%,8%and 10%of oil)were formulated.A total of 108 juveniles of Cirrhinus mrigala(5.95±0.25)g were equally distributed in triplicate groups in nine plastic tanks of 100 L capacity and fed under natural light cycle.Growth performance of the fish significantly reflected the effect of inclusion levels of oil tested but the diet with 8%lipid had the best significant growth performance[%weight gain,Feed Conversion Ratio(FCR)and Specific Growth Rate(SGR)],across different experimental groups.Levels of secretion of digestive enzymes in the fish fed different experimental diets resulted in significant values of(p0.05)amylase and lipase,while Aspartate transaminase(AST),Alanine transaminase(ALT),Lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)and Malate dehydrogenase(MDH)values in the muscle and liver decreased significantly(p0.05)as the levels of oil in the diet increased.However,serum biochemical parameters did not record any significant difference(p0.05)with the exception of the total lipid across diets.The study confirmed the inclusion effect of graded levels of oil in juvenile Mrigal diet,but the inclusion should not be more than 8%to avert growth depression.     

Effects of embryonic exposure to α‐lipoic acid or ascorbic acid on hatching rate and development of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

This study investigates the effects of embryonic exposure to two different antioxidants on growth and development in fish. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos (100 per group) were exposed to lipoic acid (LA, 6–12 μM) or ascorbic acid (AA, 100–200 μM) and the hatching rate, standard lengths (SL) at hatching, development and growth post‐hatching monitored. The SLs at hatching were increased (P<0.05) in both antioxidant‐exposed groups relative to the controls, with no effect on yolk reserves. This enhanced development persisted up to 15 days post hatching. At hatching, cell proliferation rates (P<0.0005) and basic fibroblast growth factor (P<0.001), were greater in the antioxidant‐exposed fish than in the controls (0 μM antioxidant); no oxidative DNA damage was detected (P>0.05). Activity of the endogenous antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase was greater (P<0.001) in LA‐treated fish than in the controls. The results suggest that embryonic treatment of zebrafish with LA or AA during embryogenesis enhanced cell proliferation, leading to increased somatic growth in the larval stages, persisting into the juvenile stage. The findings support the treatment of embryonic fish with antioxidants for enhanced results in aquaculture.     

Production of Lectins from Marine Algae: Current Status,Challenges, and Opportunities for Non-Destructive Extraction

Marine algae are an excellent source of novel lectins. The isolation of lectins from marine algae expands the diversity in structure and carbohydrate specificities of lectins isolated from other sources. Marine algal lectins have been reported to have antiviral, antitumor, and antibacterial activity. Lectins are typically isolated from marine algae by grinding the algal tissue with liquid nitrogen and extracting with buffer and alcohol. While this method produces higher yields, it may not be sustainable for large-scale production, because a large amount of biomass is required to produce a minute amount of compound, and a significant amount of waste is generated during the extraction process. Therefore, non-destructive extraction using algal culture water could be used to ensure a continuous supply of lectins without exclusively disrupting the marine algae. This review discusses the traditional and recent advancements in algal lectin extraction methods over the last decade, as well as the steps required for large-scale production. The challenges and prospects of various extraction methods (destructive and non-destructive) are also discussed.     

Prevalence of virulence genes in Escherichia coli strains recently isolated from young pigs with diarrhea in the US

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)-associated post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) is economically one of the most important diseases for the swine industry. Porcine ETEC strains typically express K88 or F18 fimbria and heat-labile (LT) and/or heat-stable (STa, STb) enterotoxins. However, recent studies indicate that EAST1 toxin, adhesin involved in diffuse adherence (AIDA-I) and porcine attaching and effacing-associated factor (paa) may also be expressed by ETEC strains associated with diarrhea. To better understand the virulence factors of E. coli strains that cause PWD, we applied PCR to screen for K88, F18, F41, 987P and K99 fimbrial genes; LT, STa, STb, Stx2e and EAST1 toxic genes; and AIDA-I, paa and EAE adhesin genes in E. coli strains recently isolated from young pigs with PWD in the US. Of 304 E. coli isolates from diarrheic pigs submitted for testing, 175 (57.6%) strains possessed fimbrial genes: K88 (64.6%), F18 (34.3%), F41 (0.57%), K99 (0.57%), 987P (0); toxin genes: LT (57.7%), STb (72.6%), STa (27.4%), STx2e (17.4%), EAST1 (35%); and adhesin genes: AIDA-I (26.9%), paa (60%), EAE (1.1%). All toxin genes except the EAST1 toxin gene, were almost exclusively associated with K88+ or F18+ isolates, and most of these isolates carried multiple toxin genes. The non-fimbrial adhesin paa was found present in over half of the K88+ isolates. A total of 129 (42%) isolates carried no fimbrial genes, including 66 (21.7%) isolates that did not have any of the above virulence genes. These results suggest a broad array of virulence genes associated with PWD in pigs.