Maintaining mineral homeostasis as well as the secretion and metabolism of mineralotropic hormones is important for healthy of periparturient dairy cows. To increase the activity of mineralotropic hormones, blood pH can be adjusted. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in blood pH and the mechanism of action of this change in induced hypercalcaemic cows.

Maintaining mineral homeostasis as well as the secretion and metabolism of mineralotropic hormones is important for healthy of periparturient dairy cows. To increase the activity of mineralotropic hormones, blood pH can be adjusted. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in blood pH and the mechanism of action of this change in induced hypercalcaemic cows. Six non-lactating Holstein cows were used in a 2 × 2 crossover design. To induce hypercalcaemia, calcium borogluconate was administered subcutaneously to experimental cows and normal saline was administered subcutaneously to control cows. Blood and urine samples were collected serially after administration. Whole blood without any anticoagulant was processed with a portable blood gas analyser. Plasma concentration and urinary excretion of calcium were measured. In hypercalcaemic cows, both blood and urine calcium levels were significantly increased at 8 h compared to those at 0 h (P < 0.05), and a spontaneous increase in blood pH was also observed. The calcium concentration in plasma was highest at 2 h after administration (3.02 ± 0.27 mmol/L). The change in pH correlated with that in bicarbonate (r = 0.781, P < 0.001) rather than that in partial pressure of CO₂ (r = 0.085, P = 0.424). Hypercalcaemia induced a spontaneous change in blood pH through the bicarbonate buffer system and this system may be a maintainer of calcium homeostasis.

Q fever in dairy cattle has been investigated in Latvia since 2012. In 2015, 10.7% of farms tested positive for the DNA of C. burnetii, its aetiological agent, in bulk tank milk. The presence of C. burnetii DNA and infectious bacteria in dairy products has been assessed in several countries, and because Latvian milk may contain them, parallel assessment in this country is recommended. Accordingly, the present study tested shop and farm retail dairy products from Latvia and included foreign products for comparison.

Q fever in dairy cattle has been investigated in Latvia since 2012. In 2015, 10.7% of farms tested positive for the DNA of C. burnetii, its aetiological agent, in bulk tank milk. The presence of C. burnetii DNA and infectious bacteria in dairy products has been assessed in several countries, and because Latvian milk may contain them, parallel assessment in this country is recommended. Accordingly, the present study tested shop and farm retail dairy products from Latvia and included foreign products for comparison. Investigation was carried out of 187 samples of a diverse range of dairy products from 41 Latvian milk producers. Twenty-six comparable samples pooled from Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain were also included. The all-countries total number of fermented milk products was 160. Special attention was paid to products that could be more attractive to children because of their added chocolate, cacao, berry and fruit content. DNA was extracted and amplification of C. burnetii IS1111 was performed using a commercial PCR kit. Overall positivity was 60.56%. Domestic products were positive more often (60.96%) than foreign ones (57.69%). Only 26.67% of unpasteurised Latvian cow’s milk samples were positive whereas 76.47% of pasteurised equivalents and 63.13% of fermented milk products were. Sweetened and fruit-containing samples were 71.43% positive. The shedding of C. burnetii via milk should be monitored and only milk from healthy animals allowed for sale for direct human consumption without pasteurisation. Raw milk quality and the effectiveness of industrial heat treatment and pasteurisation methods in Latvia and other countries should be carefully assessed to ensure adequate consumer health protection.

The aim of our study was to optimise an existing staining procedure: haematoxylin-eosin saffron (HES). The method follows the classical haematoxylin and eosin protocol with the addition of a staining step using natural saffron to better identify the collagen fibres.

The aim of our study was to optimise an existing staining procedure: haematoxylin-eosin saffron (HES). The method follows the classical haematoxylin and eosin protocol with the addition of a staining step using natural saffron to better identify the collagen fibres. The saffron solution was obtained by dissolving ground saffron stigmas in absolute alcohol. In order to test the HES method for its staining ability on four main types of collagen (I, II, III, and IV), specific tissues (skin, tooth, cartilage, aorta, spleen, and penis) were chosen. The procedure showed a sharp differentiation between muscle, stained red or pink, and connective tissue, stained bright yellow or orange. HES allows the diagnosis of reticulin fibrosis undetected in HE and in previous saffron staining procedures. HES represents an advantageous alternative to HE staining giving highly reproducible results with high diagnostic value.

Foot rot in small ruminants is highly contagious, causes severe lameness, and impairs fertility and wool and meat production. It is usually treated with parenteral antibiotics, with attendant antibiotic resistance risk, and with bactericidal footbaths, potentially harmful to humans and the environment. An alternative treatment in sheep is proposed based on repeated topical ozonated ointment application. Its effectiveness and safety were evaluated by estimation of acute-phase response, biochemical indicators of organic damage, and antioxidant/oxidant balance (AOB).

Foot rot in small ruminants is highly contagious, causes severe lameness, and impairs fertility and wool and meat production. It is usually treated with parenteral antibiotics, with attendant antibiotic resistance risk, and with bactericidal footbaths, potentially harmful to humans and the environment. An alternative treatment in sheep is proposed based on repeated topical ozonated ointment application. Its effectiveness and safety were evaluated by estimation of acute-phase response, biochemical indicators of organic damage, and antioxidant/oxidant balance (AOB). The study was conducted on ten sheep with Egerton scale 2–3 lesions. Ozone application was repeated every day for seven days. Blood was drawn first (T0) after foot cleaning and before ozonation, then (T1) seven days after the first ozone application, and finally (T2) four days after the last application. High clinical effectiveness was observed, with total recovery by 28 days from the start of treatment. A significant increase in antiradical activity was noted on the basis of a 2,2ʹ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) assay from 1.16 ± 0.04 μmolTe/mL at T0 to 1.23 ± 0.03 μmolTe/mL at T1, with a slight decrease in oxidative stress. Calculated on the basis of antiradical capacity, AOB was higher at T1 (130 ± 19%) and decreased to 110 ± 16% at T2. Calculated on the basis of reducing power, it was 169 ± 22% at T1 and 131 ± 17% at T2. These results indicated that the AOB is efficient enough to prevent oxidative organ injury and the applied doses of ozone are safe for animals.

Proper conformational arrangement of the E2 molecules of bovine viral diarrhoea-mucosal disease virus (BVD-MDV) is crucial to obtain an effective recombinant vaccine candidate against the disease. In this study, we characterised a new molecule composed of two distinct sequences of the E2 glycoprotein of BVD-MDV and the Fc fragment of human immunoglobulin (BVDE2Fc). The chimaeric protein was expressed in mammalian cell lines of different species by adenoviral transduction and purified by immobilised metal-affinity chromatography. The N-glycans were profiled by HPLC, and the BVDE2Fc immunogenicity was assessed in male mice. The antigen-antibody reactions were evaluated by ELISA. The MDBK cell line was selected from among five for the final production of BVDE2Fc. After purification to over 90%, the N-glycan profile showed neutral and complex oligosaccharides. The mouse immunisation induced a strong humoral response, which produced antibodies able to attach to conformational epitopes on E2 molecules, while the Fc fragment barely contributed to the immune response. Additionally, BVDE2Fc attached to antibodies from bovine sera positive to distinct BVD-MDV subtypes, whereas the loss of BVDE2Fc structure during the deglycosylation process considerably diminished those interactions. These results demonstrate that the structure of E2 molecules arranged in tandem and attached to an Fc fragment could represent a viable design for future vaccine candidates against BVD-MD.

Proper conformational arrangement of the E2 molecules of bovine viral diarrhoea-mucosal disease virus (BVD-MDV) is crucial to obtain an effective recombinant vaccine candidate against the disease. In this study, we characterised a new molecule composed of two distinct sequences of the E2 glycoprotein of BVD-MDV and the Fc fragment of human immunoglobulin (BVDE2Fc).

Globally, genetically modified (GM) crops were grown on 191.7 million hectares in 2018, which were mostly sown with soybean, maize, cotton, oilseed rape, and rice. The most popular traits introduced through genetic modification include herbicide and pest insect resistance. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify genetically modified soybean used in animal feed in Poland. This research was based on the real-time PCR technique. All methods for GM soybean events were adopted from the EURL GMFF database of methods and previously verified to meet the minimum criteria of acceptance. Over 15 years of research, 665 samples were examined in total. The most common GM soybean event was MON40-3-2, tested for from the beginning of the investigation. Next, in decreasing order of frequency, were MON89788, MON87701, and A2704-12. In the majority of samples (606; 91%) GM soybeans were identified at a content level above the 0.9% GM content threshold for mandatory labelling. Only 59 soybean samples (9%) were identified as GM negative. GM negative results were mainly identified during the analyses in the last three years of the study, from 2017 to 2019. Our data clearly indicate that the majority of soybean used in Poland for animal feeding was genetically modified.

Globally, genetically modified (GM) crops were grown on 191.7 million hectares in 2018, which were mostly sown with soybean, maize, cotton, oilseed rape, and rice. The most popular traits introduced through genetic modification include herbicide and pest insect resistance. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify genetically modified soybean used in animal feed in Poland.

The aim of the study was to determine how the spread of contagious agalactia in sheep and goats in the Odesa region depended on the age of the animals and the season. From January 2016 to December 2018, 1,964 ewes and 1,484 nanny goats of different age groups were studied by ELISA for antibodies to Mycoplasma agalactiae. The highest incidence of contagious agalactia was registered in one-year-old animals and was 59.7‒83.0%, two-year-old ruminants showed 17.0‒40.3% prevalence, in livestock at the age of 3–4 years no serological evidence of the disease was registered and in ewes and nanny goats older than 5–6 years 1.5–3.6% were infected. The most susceptible were young animals at the age of one-month (11.6‒14.5%). The first peak of the disease was recorded in March‒April (21.0‒26.1%), in the lambing period, which coincided with the beginning of lactation and the suckling period, and the second peak occurred in June–July (28.9‒34.2%), the period of maximum lactation and of manual milking of sheep and goats. The results of serological investigations indicate the circulation of M. agalactiae in small ruminants in the south of Ukraine. To avoid greater dissemination of the pathogen, appropriate measures should be applied and strategies for its control need to be drawn up.

The aim of the study was to determine how the spread of contagious agalactia in sheep and goats in the Odesa region depended on the age of the animals and the season.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of negative energy balance (NEB) on the final growth of the dominant ovarian follicle in Holstein cows. Cows at 14 to 21 d postpartum from an intensive dairy farm were randomly selected and allocated into a positive energy balance group (PEB, with β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) level < 1.2 mmol/L, n = 15) and an NEB group (BHBA > 1.2 mmol/L, n = 15). Plasma samples were collected at 21, 50 and 55 d postpartum to assess the concentrations of energy metabolites, minerals, hormones and cytokines. Ovaries were examined by transrectal ultrasound on days 50 and 55 (120 hours later) to evaluate the diameter of the largest follicle. Compared with PEB cows, there were a more severe body condition loss and a lower milk yield in NEB cows (P < 0.05) and these had greater concentrations of plasma BHBA, non-esterified fatty acids, triglycerides, urea nitrogen, growth hormone, interleukin 6, and fibroblast growth factor 21 and lesser concentrations of plasma glucose, total cholesterol, insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3, leptin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and angiopoietin-like protein 8 on d 21 (P < 0.05), while plasma minerals were not affected by energy status (P > 0.05). These changes persisted until the end of the study period (50–55 days postpartum) resulting in a lower follicular growth rate for cows in the NEB than the PEB group. These observations indicate that follicular growth rate is associated with measurable changes in energy metabolite, hormone and cytokine concentrations caused by early postpartum NEB.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of negative energy balance (NEB) on the final growth of the dominant ovarian follicle in Holstein cows.

Apocrine sweat gland carcinomas (ASGCs) are rare malignant skin tumours in dogs and humans. The literature published so far focuses mostly on the clinico-epidemiological aspect of these tumours, but little is known about their pathogenesis. In this study we aimed to determine whether the p53 gene is involved in the carcinogenesis of the apocrine sweat gland in dogs and whether ultraviolet radiation (UV) is related to it. Forty canine ASGCs were submitted to laser capture microdissection to isolate neoplastic cells, from which DNA was subsequently extracted. PCR amplification and sequencing of p53 exons 2–8 was then performed, followed by computer analysis of the obtained sequences. Sixteen mutations within the p53 gene were found in 13 tumours. The mutations involved C → T, T → C, G → A, and CC → TT transitions, C → G transversion and adenine deletion, which are gene alteration types known to be related to UV radiation in the process of skin carcinogenesis in humans. Six of the thirteen tumour cases displayed the C → T transitions in the same location in exon 4 and three of the thirteen cases displayed T → C in the same location in exon 5. The results of the present study indicate both the participation of the p53 gene and the influence of UV radiation in the formation of ASGCs in dogs.

Apocrine sweat gland carcinomas (ASGCs) are rare malignant skin tumours in dogs and humans. The literature published so far focuses mostly on the clinico-epidemiological aspect of these tumours, but little is known about their pathogenesis. In this study we aimed to determine whether the p53 gene is involved in the carcinogenesis of the apocrine sweat gland in dogs and whether ultraviolet radiation (UV) is related to it.