The TiO2 NPs are widely used in many commercial products, nanomedicine, agriculture, personal care products, different industries, and pharmaceutical preparations with potential risks to human health and the environment. The present study investigated the effects of different doses of TiO2 NPs on the liver, small intestine, and kidney tissues in the rat. The TiO2 NPs were administrated daily through gavage at the doses of 10, 20, and 50 mg/kg BW for 2 months. A total of 32 male rats were divided into four groups. After 60 days, rats were euthanized with CO2 gas (Code of Ethics: IR UM.REC.1400.327). Histopathological examination of the kidney, small intestine, and hepatic tissues treated with  TiO2 NPs showed toxic changes compared to the control group. Histopathological examination revealed hemorrhage in the liver, swelling in the kidney glomerulus, as well as inflammation and damage to the mitochondria in enterocytes. Further evaluations are needed to understand the impact of different doses of NPs on human health.

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is the causative agent of Johne's disease in wild and domestic ruminants. Clinically, infected cattle show emaciation symptoms, diarrhea, and death. Asymptomatic subclinical cases can intermittently shed MAP through feces and milk and infect other cattle animals, thus increasing the risk of infection. The purpose of the present study was to detect the prevalence of this disease in dairy cattle. For this purpose, 348 samples were randomly collected from 15 cattle farms. All fecal samples were subjected to ZN staining and PCR of nucleotide sequences related to specific MAP gene fragments (IS900, F57) and were cultured in Harold's egg yolk culture medium after being disinfected with solution (0.0% HPC75). PCR testing of 116 fecal samples (33.3%, CI:95% 28.3-38.2), ZN staining of 23 samples (6.6%, CI: 95% 4-9.2), and fecal sample culture of only 15 samples (4.3%, CI:95% 2.3-6.3,) were infected with MAP. Comparison of test results showed poor agreement (kappa statistic: 0.19) between ZN staining and PCR results and poor agreement (kappa statistic: 0.13) between PCR test and fecal culture. This study highlights the advantages of PCR for detecting MAP in subclinically infected cattle compared to ZN staining and fecal culture. Therefore, it can be used for early detection and control of MAP in cattle and at-risk populations.

The current study radiographically and histologically evaluated the effects of meloxicam and flunixin meglumine on the repair of radial bone defects in a rabbit model. Ninety New Zealand White rabbits (10-12 months, 1.5-2.6 kg) were randomly assigned into three groups. Following anesthesia, defects were created on the medial surface of the radius bone of the left forelimb with a diameter and depth of 3 mm. The animals were administrated meloxicam, flunixin meglumine, and physiological serum (positive control) subcutaneously each day for 10 days. Hematoxylin and Eosin and Goldner’s trichrome stainings, along with radiograph images were prepared to investigate the effects of the administered agents. The results did not show callus formation in bone defects on days 3 and 7. Defects were filled in meloxicam and positive control groups on day 14, while they were filled on day 21 in the flunixin meglumine group. On days 14 and 21, the meloxicam group outperformed the flunixin meglumine group in terms of callus formation, but it was higher in the flunixin meglumine group on day 28. It could be concluded that the administration of meloxicam is less effective in delaying the bone healing process.

Mastitis is a global disease occurring in dairy cows, causing notable economic losses. Extensive use of antibiotics could allow the emergence of mobile antimicrobial resistance genes in mastitis-causing pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and characterization of colistin resistance genes in E. coli recovered from bovine mastitic milk. A total of 74 E. coli isolates were investigated for antimicrobial resistance. The presence of mcr-1, mcr-2, mcr-3, mcr-4, and mcr-5 plasmid-mediated resistance genes, as the most crucial contributors to resistance to colistin, was examined by Multiplex PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of all isolates to the seven most common antibiotics applied in dairy herds, including colistin, ceftriaxone, ampicillin, tetracycline, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were determined by the DD test. Among all samples, 70 isolates (94.6%) were resistant to colistin. In the MIC test, all isolates were also resistant to colistin, which was in agreement with the DD test. None of the E. coli isolates carried plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mcr-1 to 5 genes in Multiplex PCR. Despite the important role of food-producing animals in the transfer of antibiotic resistance, mastitis-causing E. coli isolates were not the source of mcr 1 to 5 genes in this study. The present research showed a high level of phenotypic resistance to colistin, while there was no agreement with their genotypic resistance. Consumption of polymyxins in dairy calves and the probable existence of other more effective resistance genes could be the reason for this high rate of phenotypic resistance.

There are few reports of ectopic fasciolosis in the lungs of ruminants. Here, we report a rare case of ectopic pulmonary migration of Fasciola sp. in a water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). In October 2021, during the routine veterinary inspection of the carcass and edible offal of a 3-year-old female buffalo in Tabriz industrial slaughterhouse, Iran, a severe liver infection with Fasciola parasites was observed. They were diagnosed as Fasciola hepatica based on size and gross morphology. One 3-cm fluke was recovered from the caudal lobe of the buffalo’s right lung. Histopathologically, chronic active pneumonia, along with mild interstitial fibrosis, alveolar septa and pleura thickening, and necrosis associated with severe mixed inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in the affected lung. This case was observed for the first time in over 15 years of buffalo carcass inspection in the study area, indicating that pulmonary fasciolosis is rare in Bubalus bubalis.

In living organisms, the central control of nutrition is a highly complex and vital mechanism. Central control of nutrition occurs in various regions of the brain, with the hypothalamus being the most important of which is the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus controls feeding behaviors through neural circuits, specialized nuclei, and central neurotransmitters. Different hypothalamic nuclei involved in regulating food intake include ARC, PVN, LHA, VMH, and DMH. The DMH influences feeding behavior by modulating the activity of different neurotransmitters in the brain. This nucleus receives both orexigenic and anorexic inputs through neural connections with the ARC and other regions of the brain. Due to its location in the brain, the ARC has access to nutritional inputs from the circulation. Within this nucleus, there exist two distinct neuronal populations, namely NPY and POMC. Different inputs from circulation affect two neuronal populations in the ARC. These inputs are related to second-order neurons, including DMH. The DMH integrates these inputs and sends the final output to PVN and LHA. Therefore, DMH affects the central control of feeding regulation through these neural pathways.

The Iranian Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology publishes corrections when they are of significance to patient care, scientific data or record-keeping, or authorship, whether that error was made by an author, editor, or staff during processing of the article. Errata also appear in the online version and are attached to files downloaded from ijvst.um.ac.ir. (More information on: https://publicationethics.org/case/corrigendum-or-erratum)In the article entitled “Therapeutic Effects of ADU-S100 as STING Agonist and CpG ODN1826 as TLR9 Agonist in CT-26 Model of Colon Carcinoma” by Sare Hajiabadi; Soodeh Alidadi; Mohammad Mehdi Ghahramani Senoo; Zohreh Montakhab Farahi; Hamid Reza Farzin; Alireza Haghparast, which had appeared in Vol.15. No.2, 2023/ doi:10.22067/ijvst.2023.80505.1223, there was an error on page 36. Specifically, in the acknowledgement section, the sentence that had been read “Financial support was also received from the Iranian Biotechnology Initiative Council” should have been read “Financial support was also received from Iran National Science Foundation (INSF)”.

CCH, resulting from multiple cerebrovascular diseases, has been considered the primary cause of cognitive impairment in recent years. In this process, oxidative stress plays a critical role and damages hippocampal neurons. Research has shown that Salvia verticillata has a significant antioxidant and free radical-scavenging activity due to its polyphenolic compounds. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Salvia verticillata on a rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. A total of 24 rats were subjected to Salvia verticillata or vehicle orally from one week before 2VO surgery for 14 days. Cerebral hypoperfusion was induced by the bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries (2VO, n = 12 and sham, n = 12). The cognition of rats was evaluated 1 week after surgery in the MWM. In the MWM test, 2VO rats showed longer escape latency time and swimming distance and spent a shorter time in the target quadrant (p < 0.05). Moreover, we observed that Salvia verticillata treatment significantly reduced escape latency time, shortened the swimming distance, and increased target quadrant time (p > 0.05). Our results indicated that Salvia verticillata treatment significantly improved cognitive deficits in cerebral ischemic rats, probably by reducing oxidative stress damage.

The zoonotic disease brucellosis is a serious public health and livestock industry concern. In the present study, we used bacteriological culture, RBT, and qPCR to determine the prevalence of brucellosis in the serum and milk samples of sheep with a history of abortion. Serum and milk samples were obtained from 100 sheep aged 3-5 years. In order to determine the prevalence of brucellosis, a modified RBT was performed on serum samples, Brucella was isolated from milk by bacteriological culture, and qPCR was applied to detect bacterial DNA in milk. The prevalence of brucellosis using modified RBT, bacteriological culture, and qPCR was 32%, 42%, and 44%, respectively. By considering qPCR as the standard, modified RBT showed a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 100%, an accuracy of 98%, a PV+ of 100%, and a PV- of 97%. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PV+, and PV- for bacteriological culture were 77%, 100%, 90%, 100%, and 85%, respectively. The agreement between qPCR and modified RBT was 0.959 (95% CI: 0.896-1), between qPCR and bacteriological culture was 0.792 (95% CI: 0.667-0.897), and between modified RBT and bacteriological culture was 0.831 (95% CI: 0.709-0.38). Based on the results, bacterial isolation from sheep milk is not recommended except in specific cases due to its low sensitivity, as well as its time-consuming and hazardous nature. However, the modified RBT can be used as a routine method because of its cost-effectiveness, higher sensitivity, and higher accuracy compared to bacterial isolation. Moreover, qPCR is recommended as the gold standard test for detecting brucellosis in sheep milk, especially in those with a history of abortion.

Coxiellosis, also known as Q fever, is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetti and has become a significant cause of small ruminant abortion globally. Q fever is endemic in Iran, but there is a dearth of epidemiological data regarding the true prevalence of C. burnetii in some areas of Iran. Small ruminants, mainly goats and sheep, are considered the primary reservoir for human infection, posing a considerable threat to human health. Theses reservoirs can shed the bacterium into vaginal mucus.The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of coxiellosis through the detection of the IS1111 gene of C. burnetii using Real-time PCR and also to identify the related risk factors (such as the location of livestock, age, species, and parity) associated with the disease in the vaginal discharge of small ruminants residing in Kerman province, located in the southeast of Iran. During the winter of 2019 and autumn of 2020, a total of 134 vaginal samples from aborted small ruminants (70 samples from sheep and 64 from goats) were gathered from 32 herds located in different areas of Kerman province. The results showed that 26 samples, comprising 14 from goats (21.88 %) and 12 from sheep (17.14 %), were positive for coxiellosis. According to the findings of our study, the detection of C. burnetii showed that coxiellosis is circulating in the studied area. Additionally, our analysis revealed no statistically significant association between the prevalence of Q fever and small ruminants'' location, number of parturition,  and age that were examined as potential risk factors.