The objective of this study was to compare the presence on goats and cattle of adult ticks that usually infest cattle. To this end ticks collected from sets of five goats were compared with those collected from sets of five cattle at 72 communal dip-tanks in the eastern region of the Eastern Cape Province. Amblyomma hebraeum was present on goats at 25 and on cattle at 39 dip-tanks, and a total of 61 goats and 138 cattle were infested. Adult Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus was present on goats at 48 and on cattle at 69 dip-tanks, and a total of 113 goats and 242 cattle were infested. The lengths of 84 of 148 female R. (Boophilus) microplus collected from the goats exceeded 5 mm or more, indicating that they could successfully engorge on these animals. The differences between the proportions of dip-tanks at which A. hebraeum or R. (Boophilus) microplus was present on goats and cattle and also between the proportions of goats and cattle that were infested were significant (Chi square test, P < 0.01). Adult Rhipicephalus appendiculatus was present on goats at 70 and on cattle at 67 dip-tanks, and a total of 296 goats and 271 cattle were infested. The proportion of dip-tanks at which cattle were infested did not differ significantly from the proportion of tanks at which goats were infested (Fischer's exact probability test, P = 0.44), but the proportion of infested cattle was significantly lower than the proportion of infested goats (Chi-square test, P < 0.05). Adult Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi was present on goats and cattle at all 72 sampling localities, and a total of 334 goats and 316 cattle were infested. The proportion of infested cattle was significantly lower than the proportion of infested goats (Chi-square test, P < 0.05). These results underscore the necessity of including goats in any tick control programme designed for cattle at the same locality.

The sensitivity of LAMP, PCR and microscopy to detect Theileria spp. and Trypanosoma congolense in field-derived bovine blood samples from Tanzania was evaluated and compared. No parasites were detected by microscopy. Furthermore, no bovine Theileria spp. were detected by LAMP and PCR from all the 24 samples collected from Arusha. Four and one out of 24 samples were positive for Theileria congolense infection by LAMP and PCR respectively while, 18 and nine out of 40 samples from Dar es Salaam were positive by LAMP and PCR for Theileria spp. Infection, respectively. Although all samples from Dar es Salaam were negative for Trypanosoma congolense infections by PCR, 12 out of 40 samples were LAMP positive. Whilst PCR is an established gene amplification method for the detection of Theileria and trypanosome parasites, this study introduces LAMP as an alternative molecular diagnostic tool that could be used in large-scale epidemiological surveys.

In order to evaluate the present epidemiological situation of Trichinella infection in wild animals in Hokkaido, Japan, red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), brown bears (Ursus arctos), martens (Martes melampus), rodents and insectivores captured in Hokkaido were examined for muscle larvae by the artificial digestion method from 2000 to 2006. Foxes (44/319, 13.8%), raccoon dogs(6/77, 7.8%) and brown bears (4/126, 3.2%) were found to be infected with Trichinella larvae and all other animal species evaluated were negative. Multiplex PCR and DNA sequencing revealed that larvae from a fox captured in Otofuke, in south-eastern Hokkaido, were T. nativa, and larvae from 27 animals including 21 foxes, 2 raccoon dogs and 4 brown bears captured in western Hokkaido were Trichinella T9.

We examined the effect of stroma-derived factors, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and leptin, on morphological differentiation of bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMEC) in collagen gel three-dimensional culture in vitro. BMEC treated with HGF, but not leptin, formed duct-like organoids. The formation of organoids by HGF was enhanced by treatment with a mixture of insulin, cortisol and prolactin, while BMEC treated with the mixture alone did not produce the organoid. In contrast, the formation of organoids by HGF was dose-dependently inhibited by simultaneous addition of leptin, regardless of the presence or absence of the hormone mixture. These results suggest that stroma-derived factors intricately regulate mammary epithelial morphogenesis.

An R664X nonsense mutant AE1 is responsible for dominant hereditary spherocytosis in cattle and is degraded by the proteasomal endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation. The present study demonstrated that R664X AE1 translated in vitro had the trypsin-sensitve site identical to that of the wild-type AE1. The P661S/R664X mutant containing a possible N-glycosylation site at Asnsup(660) showed an increase in size by 3 kDa both in the cell-free translation system and in transfected HEK293 cells. Moreover, steady state levels of R664X and P661S/R664X in HEK293 cells were markedly increased in the presence of a proteasome inhibitior. These findings indicate that the truncated C-terminal region of R664X AE1 has lumenal localization in the endoplasmic reticulum and is not accessible to proteasomal machineries in the cytosol.

Hantaviruses are causative agents of some severe human illnesses, including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). The viruses are maintained by rodent hosts, and humans acquire infection by inhaling virus-contaminated excreta from infected animals. To examine the epidemiology of hantavirus infections in Japan and Far East Russia, we conducted epidemiological surveys in these regions. In Japan, anti-hantavirus antibodies were found in four rodent species, Clethrionomys rufocanus, Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus, and Apodemus speciosus. Although no new HFRS cases have been officially reported over the past 20 years in Japan, one member of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force did test positive for hantavirus antibody. Repeated surveys in Far East Russia have revealed that two distinct hantavirus types cause severe HFRS in this region. Hantavirus sequences identified from A. peninsulae, fetal HFRS cases in Vladivostok, and Amur virus are highly similar to each other (92% identity) , but they are less similar (-84% identity) to the prototypical Hantaan virus, which is carried by A. agrarius. Phylogenetic analysis also indicates that Amur and A. peninsulae -associated viruses are distinct from Hantaan virus, suggesting that A. peninsulae is the reservoir animal for Amur virus, which causes severe HFRS. From HFRS patients in the Khabarovsk region, we identified viruses with nucleotide sequences that are more similar to Far East virus (96%identity) than to the Hantaan (88-89%identity) or Amur (81-83% identity) viruses. Phylogenetic analysis also indicates that the viruses from Khabarovsk HFRS patients are closely related to the Far East virus, and distinct from Amur virus.

This article summarizes the different types of free radicals, antioxidants and the effect of oxidative stress on the activities of glutathione peroxidase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase in bovine liver diseases. A growing body of evidence suggests that the formation of reactive oxygen species is a common occurrence associated with most if not all disease processes. The overall importance of reactive oxygen species to the progression and severity of various disease states varies greatly depending on the conditions and whether the disease is acute or chronic. Free radical researches in animals are in progress and further investigations are needed to establish the involvement of reactive oxygen species in diseases affecting different animal species and the pathology they produce.

In our previous study, it was demonstrated that the administration of anion salts, which slightly lower the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD), in the prepartum period is safe and effective for preventing milk fever in multiparous cows. In the present study, several clinico-pathological constituents in serum and urine, which might be related to milk fever, were analyzed using stored samples from the previous study to identify clinico-pathological parameters for easily evaluating the efficacy of lowering DCAD and to further investigate the mechanism by which lowering DCAD prevents milk fever. Among the parameters analyzed in the present study, inorganic phosphorus (iP) was involved in milk fever because the serum concentration and urinary excretion of iP were significantly higher in the group of primiparous cows (heifer group), which did not develop hypocalcemia, than those in other groups of multiparous cows. Serum chloride concentrations in the heifer group and the group of multiparous cows fed anion salts (anion group) tended to remain higher than those in other control groups of multiparous cows suggesting that serum chloride concentration may be utilized for evaluating the status of metabolic acidosis and the efficacy of lowerng DCAD in dairy cows fed anion salts. In addition, plasma estradiol-17beta concentration in the heifer group tended to be lower at parturition compared with that in other multiparous groups suggesting that estrogen known as a potent inhibitor of bone resorption may be involved in developing milk fever.

The nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIs) inhibit the synthesis of prostaglandins, with subsequent reduction of mucus and bicarbonate secretion by the gastric epithelium, reduction of the hydrophobicity of the epithelial layer, impairment of cellular restitution, reduction of the blood flow and increase of neutrophils adhesive properties. It has been known that the gastric lesions secondary to NSAIDs use are more often located in the antral piloric and lesser curvature regions of the stomach. The higher susceptibility of these regions can be explained by their microvascular anatomy, which presents capillaries that are narrower and more contorted than those observed in other regions of the stomach; they also are more separated one from the other and they have fewer anastomosis between the ascending capillaries, becoming more predisposed to thrombosis, and consequently to gastric injury. | Os Antiinflamatórios Não Esteróides (AINEs) inibem a síntese de prostaglandinas, com subseqüente diminuição da secreção de muco e bicarbonato pelo epitélio gástrico, redução da hidrofobicidade da camada epitelial, comprometimento da reposição celular, redução do fluxo sanguíneo e aumento da aderência de neutrófilos. Ao longo dos anos, notou-se que as lesões gástricas provocadas pelo uso de AINEs se localizam com maior freqüência nas regiões do antro pilórico e curvatura menor do estômago. A maior susceptibilidade destas regiões pode ser explicada por sua anatomia microvascular, a qual apresenta capilares estreitos, tortuosos e com menor diâmetro que em outras regiões do estômago; estes são mais separados entre si e há menos anastomoses entre os capilares ascendentes, tornando-os mais predispostos à trombose e conseqüente lesão gástrica.

Dog's head dimentions show consistent variability for their dimentions, such as length, width (biparietal diameter) and height, according to anatomical classification in: braquicephalic, mesaticephalic and dolicocephalic. Since there are attempts to standardize values that characterize canine pregnancy, those architectonic features must be considered. The aim of this study is to use ultrasonography scanning examinations to correlate the fetal's head dimentions and gestational age in order to contribute to the intra uterine development comparative study of the dog' head. Serial ultrasonographic examinations were performed in 10 pregnant Boxers biches, 2 or 3 times per week from 18º day of gestation until the whelping, the used device was a portable GE®, Logic 100 MP, equipped with a sectorial transducer 5,0 MHz and another linear one of 7,5 MHz. Biparietal diameter (DBP), length (CC) and width (HC) of the fetal head had been measured since the opportunity that was possible to distinguish fetal head from fetal body, until the end of gestation. Such informations had been located in graphics of dispertion of the mensuration in function of the number of days before parturition. It was concluded that the mensurations of selected parameters were consistent among studied gestations and hightly correlated among them and with the parturition day. The parameter DBP was the most technically easier to be gauged. | A cabeça dos cães apresenta uma considerável variabilidade quanto suas dimensões, tais como comprimento, largura (diâmetro biparietal) e altura, segundo sua classificação anatômica em braquicefálicos, mesaticefálicos e dolicocefálicos. Tais aspectos arquitetônicos devem ser considerados ao tentar padronizar valores que caracterizem a gestação canina, em geral por meio de ultra-som. O objetivo deste estudo foi o de utilizar a ultra-sonografia para correlacionar as dimensões do crânio fetal e a idade gestacional com a finalidade de contribuir para o estudo comparativo do desenvolvimento intra-uterino do crânio dos cães. Examinou-se 10 cadelas da raça boxer com um aparelho portátil da marca GE®, modelo Logic á 100 MP, equipado com um transdutor convexo 5,0 MHz e outro linear de 7,5 MHz, de 2 a 3 vezes por semana a partir do 18º dia de gestação até o parto. As variáveis HC, CC e DBC foram aferidos a partir de quando foi possível distinguir a cabeça do corpo fetal, até o fim da gestação. As informações obtidas foram plotadas em gráficos de dispersão das mensurações em função do número de dias antes do parto. Concluiu-se que as variáveis estudadas são consistentes entre as gestações estudadas, apresentaram-se altamente correlacionadas entre si e com a idade gestacional e que a variável DBP é a mais tecnicamente fácil de ser aferida.