The study analyzed the histomorphometry of the mature female Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) stomach with the aid of ImageJ software. The different histological parts were identified using a compound microscope. Five mature laying female Japanese quail were collected and necropsied. The digestive organs, particularly proventriculus and gizzard, were collected and processed for tissue staining. Histological identification and measurement of thickness and depth of various structures were subsequently performed. Comparable to other avian species, the proventriculus was comprised of four layers: thin tunica serosa (22.69 µm), tunica muscularis (235.07 µm) with outer longitudinal and inner circular smooth muscle layers, thick tunica submucosa (2,164.37 µm) containing glands, and innermost tunica mucosa (553.42 µm) with papillae. The gizzard was characterized by four tunics: thin tunica serosa (60.44 µm), thick tunica muscularis (1,480.07 µm), tunica submucosa (112.25 µm), and tunica mucosa (456.15 µm) where the glands, crypts, and koilin can be found. The findings suggest that the histology of proventriculus and gizzard of the Japanese quail have no remarkable difference compared to other poultry species. However, the histomorphometry of the organs examined had remarkable variations as compared to other avians.

Sepsis is the main mortality factor in patients undergoing surgery and its treatment currently includes cardiac resuscitation and reducing the immediate risk of infection. Troxerutin is a common compound in vegetables, fruits, and seeds and has several biological activities, including anti-platelet, anti-serotonin, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Accordingly, we hypothesized that it can decrease interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) levels in the serum of rats with sepsis. Twenty-four adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The rats were equally and randomly divided into 3 groups: sham operation group, control group, and treatment group. Both the control and treatment groups underwent surgical cecal ligation and perforation. Troxerutin (130 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously twice a day to the animals of the treatment group for 3 days or until the animals’ death. Surviving rats were euthanized after 1.5 ml of blood samples were taken 3 days after the cecal ligation and perforation. IL-1 and TNF-a were measured by the blood serum ELISA assay. The differences in mortality rates were significant between the control group and the other two groups (p = 0.008). The results showed a significant increase in IL-1 and TNF-a in the control group compared to the sham group (p < 0.05). In addition, the levels in the treatment group significantly decreased compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our results indicate that troxerutin could increase survival in rats developing septic shock by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1 and TNF-a.

Aptamers are oligonucleotides that can be easily synthesized and bind to their targets with high affinity and specificity. Several aptamers specific to soluble factors of coagulation cascade have been produced, however, aptamers specific to platelet cell membrane molecules have not been reported yet. We aimed to discover DNA aptamers that specifically bind to human platelets. The cell-SELEX method was used for aptamer discovery. Synthetic 79 nucleotides length single-strand oligonucleotides were used as a library. Ultra-pure platelets were prepared using differential centrifugation steps and magnetic-bead-assisted removal of contaminating cells. The FITC-labeled forward primer was used for amplification of the selected oligonucleotides by PCR, and Lambda exonuclease was used for digestion of the lagging strand. After 12 rounds of cell-SELEX, selected oligos were amplified and cloned to pTG19-T vector, transfected into E. coli  (TOP10) and sequenced. Sequences of aptamers from 200 individual positive colonies were aligned and seven clusters were identified. Representative aptamers were amplified and their affinity, specificity, and digestibility of their targets were evaluated. Interferences of the aptamers to two platelet function tests were also investigated. Affinity (KD) of the representative aptamers were between 109 and 340 nM. Trypsin exposure of the platelets completely abolished the binding of the 7 aptamers to the targets. The binding of the four aptamers fully protected their target molecules from digestion. No one of the aptamers changed the parameters of the platelet function tests. Seven aptamers specific to platelets were identified and characterized. These aptamers may have potentially diverse applications in the diagnosis or treatment of platelet disorders.

Several species of ectoparasites infect birds. These parasites that are considered arthropods include: mites, ticks, lice, bugs, fleas, mosquitoes, and flies. This study aimed to identify the ectoparasites species on ornamental birds and determine their prevalence in Zabol and Zahedan in the northern part of Sistan and Baluchestan. A total of 318 birds were examined and inspected for ectoparasites. Parasites were collected by forceps and stored in 70% ethanol. In parallel to the identification of their species, the samples were cleared in 10% KOH following which light microscopy was used to identify the parasites according to their morphological characteristics and the descriptive keys proposed for each species. The overall prevalence of ectoparasites in birds was 21.7%. The ectoparasites were identified as Menopon gallinae, Menacanthus stramineus, Columbicola columbae, Goniodes pavonis, Myrsidea fasciata, an unknown species from philopetrus genus Argas reflexus, Pseudolinchya, and Culicoides. So far few studies have been performed on parasites in birds in Sistan and Baluchestan. Identification of parasites (such as lice in birds) in any region of the country helps us to improve our knowledge about parasitic fauna in this area.

This research was performed on uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates and established the genes of resistance to ciprofloxacin between the isolates. A total of one hundred and three urine samples were tested for uropathogenic E. coli which were obtained from dogs with urinary tract infections (UTIs) using cultural isolation, antimicrobial susceptibility test, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results revealed that genes associated with ciprofloxacin resistance are 24.3% positive for E. coli. The E. coli isolates were resistant to both ciprofloxacin and ampicillin (100%), highly susceptible to chloramphenicol (84.0%), and less susceptible to gentamycin (44.0%) and amikacin (40.0%). The PCR tests showed the presence of the ParC (in 25 samples; 100%), GyrA (in 25 samples; 100%), and GyrB (in 4 samples; 16.0%) genes. The findings of the present study showed an upsetting rate of ciprofloxacin and ampicillin resistance among the E. coli isolates from dogs with UTIs.

Pseudomonas infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality and saprophytic fungi are now increasingly being recognized as serious pathogens in immunocompromised patients.To investigate the effect of using bio-materials on mammalian tissues,two experiments were designed;the first one was feeding of Balb/c mice with irrigated lettuce with bio-fungicide (mutant and wild)and bio-fertilizers prepared with Pseudomonas (p) fluorescens, p. putida, p. aeruginosa, and the second was the usage of drinking water containing (Trichoderma (T) spores (mutant and wild) or P.fluorescens, P.putida, P.aeruginosa suspensions). Then, blood factors and inflammation of tissues (liver, kidney, spleen and large intestine) in all mice were analyzed after two months. Blood samples were taken from the mice to examine some of the hematological (RBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC) (data not shown) and biochemical (AST, ALT, ALP) factors, and also observed under a microscope. The study of tumor marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in all treatments showed that the strains in these bio-fertilizers did not stimulate carcinogenic indices.The results from the other blood factors were normal for all strains (data not shown).Only P.putida showed no adverse effect on the increase in alkaline phosphatase (ALP).The results also showed that the effect of bio-fungicide on mammalian tissues (spleen and large intestine) was normal. But a small number of mild liver necrosis was seen in the treatment groups with wild Trichoderma, and moderate necrosis in the the liver tissue after treatment with mutant Trichoderma isolates.More investigation should be made to determine the impact of these biotic factors on the mammalian tissues before commercialization.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) is the main regulator in energy metabolism. Training stimulates many processes like mitochondrial biogenesis, glucose metabolism, and fatty acids metabolism. It also increases the capacity of fat oxidation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of eight-week aerobic training of different intensities on PGC-1α, interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), and atherogenic index in obese male Wistar rats. Twenty-four obese male rats induced by a high-fat diet (weight: 250 to 300 gr, BMI >30g/cm2) were divided into three groups: aerobic training of moderate intensity (MI), aerobic training of high intensity (HI), and the control group (C). The MI and HI training groups carried out exercise training by eight weeks of walking on a treadmill for five sessions/week, 60 min per session, and at a speed of 28 m/min and 34 m/min, respectively. The levels of PGC-1a in the MI and HI groups significantly increased compared to the C group (p < 0.05). Moreover, there was no significant differences between IRF4 levels of MI and HI groups (p > 0.05). The serum HDL-C levels increased only in the MI group compared to the C group (p  < 0.05). The LDL-C, TG, TC, and atherogenic index levels reduced more significantly in MI and HI groups than in the C group (p  < 0.05). The results show that eight-week aerobic training of two moderate and high intensities may be the signaling pathways to the activation of the PGC-1a protein (i.e., a key regulator of energy metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis) in skeletal muscle.

The present study was conducted on 42 dogs with a histopathological diagnosis of skin neoplasia presented in the Shiraz University Veterinary Clinic from April 2012 to December 2017. All cases were reviewed, excluding the mammary gland neoplasms. The histopathological type, prevalence, sex, age, breed and site distribution of the neoplasms were described. In addition, previous studies on canine skin tumors from other geographic regions were evaluated and compared with the results of the present study. Fifteen different histopathological types of tumor were diagnosed. The prevalence of epithelial, mesenchymal, melanocytic and lymphohistiocytic tumors was 61.9%, 35.7%, 2.4% and 0%, respectively. Th e three most common tumors were sebaceous gland adenoma (21.42%), squamous cell carcinoma (11.9%), and lipoma (11.9%). The incidences of these tumors were more than other researches. Although there is no obvious explanation for these geographical differences, the possible reasons may be the geographical locations, environmental infl uences, and the study population and breed. Terriers were the most common type of the dogs in this study (34.4%). The present findings about the dogs age and various skin tumors and the anatomical locations indicates that there is no signifi cant variation in these important parameters among the Iranian dogs and dogs from other parts of the world.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing glycerol with erythritol on cryopreservation of ram spermatozoa. Semen samples (n=24) were collected from four rams in six times. In each session, the collected ejaculates (n=4) were pooled and split into 12 equal parts. The amount of 0.032 M glycerol (G32E0, equal to 3% glycerol), 0.016 M glycerol and 0.016 M erythritol (G16E16), 0.008 M glycerol and 0.024 M erythritol (G8E24), 0.032 M erythritol (G0E32), 0.054 M glycerol (G54E0, equal to 5% glycerol), 0.027 M glycerol and 0.027 M erythritol (G27E27), 0.013 M glycerol and 0.041 M erythritol (G13E41), 0.054 M erythritol (G0E54), 0.076 M glycerol (G76E0, equal to 7% glycerol ), 0.038 M glycerol and 0.038 M erythritol (G38E38), 0.019 M glycerol and 0.057 M erythritol (G19E57) and 0.076 M erythritol (G0E76) were added. The diluted samples were frozen using standard protocol. After thawing, the samples were incubated at 37°C for 6 h. Results showed that progressive sperm motility and acrosome integrity were higher in G13E41 (18.85 % and 27.41 %, respectively) than treatments that contained only glycerol at 6 h (p < 0.05). At the level of 0.032 and 0.054 M cryoprotectant, the highest of total sperm motility was observed in G8E24 (19.16 %) and G13E41 (18.85 %) at 6 h, respectively (p < 0.05). Therefore, the quality of frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa can be improved by using the mixture of 0.013 M glycerol plus 0.041 M erythritol or 0.008 M glycerol plus 0.024 M erythritol.

The effects of indigenous probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pentosus alone, and in combination with β-1,3-glucan in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were investigated. Eight groups were defined: control (G1), 1% β-1,3-glucan (G2), L. plantarum (G3), L. pentosus (G4), L. plantarum + L. pentosus (G5), L. plantarum with 1% β-1,3-glucan (G6), L. pentosus with 1% β-1,3-glucan (G7) and L. plantarum + L. pentosus with 1% β-1,3-glucan (G8). After eight weeks, the innate immune responses were elevated in all treated groups; however, synergistic effects were observed for anti-trypsin, bactericidal activity and respiratory burst activity in groups 7 and 8. Although the other immune responses were higher in treated groups, they did not make statistically significant differences. Checking microbiota showed that β-1,3-glucan improved conditions of indigenous probiotics. The diet 8 caused significant alterations in the intestinal microbiota by significantly decreasing the proportion of total count bacteria to lactic acid bacteria, which were demonstrated by reducing the total number of bacteria in Group 8 compared to the control group.