OBJECTIVE To measure incidence and estimate temporal and spatial dynamics of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection in US sow herds. ANIMALS 371 sow herds in the United States from 14 production companies. PROCEDURES The exponentially weighted moving average was used to monitor incident PRRSV infections for onset of an epidemic. The spatial scan statistic was used to identify areas at significantly high risk of PRRS epidemics. A χ2 test was used to estimate whether there were significant differences in the quarterly and annual PRRS incidence among time periods, and a bivariable logistic regression model was used to estimate whether PRRSV infection during a given year increased the odds of that herd being infected in the following year. RESULTS During the 4-year period of this study, 29% (91/319; 2009 to 2010), 33% (106/325; 2010 to 2011), 38% (135/355; 2011 to 2012), and 32% (117/371; 2012 to 2013) of the herds reported new infections. Weekly incidence was low during spring and summer and high during fall and winter. The exponentially weighted moving average signaled the onset of a PRRSV epidemic during the middle 2 weeks of October each year. Disease incidence was spatially clustered. Infection in the previous year increased the odds of infection in 2010 to 2011 and 2011 to 2012. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated a striking repeatability in annual PRRSV temporal and spatial patterns across 4 years of data among herds from 14 production companies, which suggested that efforts to control PRRSV at a regional level should continue to be supported.

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a major diarrhea-causing agent in puppies. Since CPV type 2 (CPV-2) emerged in 1978, new antigenic variants including CPV-2a, CPV-2b, and CPV-2c have been identified in many countries. Two puppies died suddenly at a veterinary clinic in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. Two viruses were isolated in A72 cells, confirmed as CPV strains based on a CPV rapid kit and an indirect fluorescence test and designated QIACP1403 and QIACP1404. The nucleotide sequences of complete VP2 genes of QIACP1403 and QIACP1404 were determined, and the corresponding amino acid sequences were deduced. Molecular analyses revealed that the QIACP1403 and QIACP1404 isolates were type CPV-2b. Several mutated amino acids were detected on VP2 gene residues of the two isolates. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the two isolates were most closely related to strain CPV-BM11, which was isolated from Chinese dogs in 2011. Our results suggest that these isolates may be a candidate for a vaccine to prevent CPV infection in dogs after conducting passages of the isolates in an in vitro culture system.

The Formosan sika deer (Cervus nippon taiouanus) is an endemic subspecies in Taiwan. The original wild deer has been extinct since the late 1960s. The largest captive population is located at the Taipei Zoo. Except for infectious disease outbreaks, no systemic medical research has been reported for this subspecies. This study was conducted to analyze the medical status of the captive Formosan sika deer population, including the hematological and serum chemistry characteristics. To accomplish this, medical records for 34 Formosan sika deer from January 2003 to January 2014 were acquired and analyzed. The most common illness and cause of death was trauma, followed by gastrointestinal and respiratory disease, respectively. The hematologic and serum chemical values of healthy adults were quite different from those of sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis). This study provides a closer medical understanding of this subspecies and the results will facilitate its management.

Ciliary rootlet coiled coil protein (CROCC), the structural component that originates from the basal body at the proximal end of the ciliary rootlet, plays a crucial role in maintaining the cellular integrity of ciliated cells. In the current study, we cloned Xenopus CROCC and performed the expression analysis. The amino acid sequence of Xenopus laevis was related to those of Drosophila, cow, goat, horse, chicken, mouse and human. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that CROCC mRNA encoding a coiled coil protein was present maternally, as well as throughout early development. In situ hybridization indicated that CROCC mRNA occurred in the animal pole of embryo during gastrulation and subsequently in the presumptive neuroectoderm at the end of gastrulation. At tailbud stages, CROCC mRNA expression was localized in the anterior roof plate of the developing brain, pharyngeal epithelium connected to gills, esophagus, olfactory placode, intestine and nephrostomes of the pronephric kidney. Our study suggests that CROCC may be responsible for control of the development of various ciliated organs.

Bovine parainfluenza virus type 5 (bPIV5) was isolated from cattle with downer cow syndrome in 2012, and included both respiratory and neurotropic pathogens from a variety of animals. In the current study, we conducted serosurveillance using sera obtained from seven Korean farms and optimized a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay to detect bPIV5. The overall seropositive rate for Korean cattle was 21.4% (163/760). A farm located near the city of Milyang in Gyeoungnam province had a markedly elevated seropositive rate for bPIV5 compared to that of the other six farms. The regional seropositive rates were 4.2% (8/192) for Haman, 19.5% (18/ 55) for Hwasung, 73.9% (65/88) for Milyang, 26.0% (50/192) for Namwon, 1.0% (1/96) for Uljin, 13.5% (13/96) for Yeongju, and 32.7% (8/41) for Yongin. The sensitivity and specificity of three RT-PCR primer sets used to amplify the conserved fusion gene of bPIV5 were also evaluated. An RT-PCR assay using the bPIVFR3 primer set was 10- fold more sensitive than the assays using the two other primer sets and did not result in non-specific amplification. These results demonstrated that the bPIFR3 primer set can be used to detect bPIV5.

Escherichia (E.) coli is commensal bacteria found in the intestine; however, some pathogenic strains cause diseases in animals and humans. Although E. coli does not typically produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S), H2S-producing strains of E. coli have been identified worldwide. The relationship between virulence and H2S production has not yet been determined. Therefore, characteristics of H2S-producing isolates obtained from swine feces were evaluated including antibiotic resistance patterns, virulence gene expression, and genetic relatedness. Rates of antibiotic resistance of the H2Sproducing E. coli varied according to antibiotic. Only the EAST1 gene was detected as a virulence gene in five H2S-producing E. coli strains. Genes conferring H2S production were not transmissible although the sseA gene encoding 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase was detected in all H2S-producing E. coli strains. Sequences of the sseA gene motif CGSVTA around Cys238 were also identical in all H2S- producing E. coli strains. Diverse genetic relatedness among the isolates was observed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis. These results suggested that H2S-producing E. coli strains were not derived from a specific clone and H2S production in E. coli is not associated with virulence genes.

4 , 4 - diaminodiphenyl sulfone (dapsone) is a sulfone drug that has antibacterial effects on a variety of bacteria, especially Mycobacterium leprae ; thus, it has been used to treat leprosy. Previous studies demonstrated that dapsone inhibits integrin-mediated adherence of neutrophils and production of prostaglandin E2 by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Hence, dapsone may act in immune cells and regulate cell-mediated inflammation processes. However, its antiinflammatory effects remain unclear. The present study demonstrated that dapsone modulates the production of inflammation-related cytokines in immune cells. We employed the spleen cells of mice, which are major immune cells, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a causative agent of inflammation for experiments. Dapsone induced a proportional change in splenocyte subsets and the apoptosis of spleen cells. Interestingly, dapsone decreased the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin (IL)-10, but not IL-6, in LPS-treated spleen cells. In other assays, we measured the dapsone-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of activation markers of spleen cells. Dapsone decreased NO production in LPS-treated spleen cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate that dapsone has antiinflammatory effects in immune cells and provide new insight into the potential uses of this agent.

Although the effects of the rice bran have recently been investigated, there is no information regarding platelet physiology available. However, it is well known that fermented natural plants have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate whether fermented rice bran extract (FRBE) with several plants (Artemisia princeps, Angelica Gigantis Radix, Cnidium officinale, and Camellia sinensis) affected agonist - induced platelet aggregation, and if so, what the underlying mechanism of its activity was. We performed several experiments, including in vitro platelet aggregation, intracellular calcium concentration and adenosine triphosphate release. In addition, the activation of integrin alpha IIb beta3 was determined using fibrinogen binding. Thrombus formation was also evaluated in vivo using an arterio-venous shunt model. The FRBE inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation in a concentrationdependent manner. FRBE significantly and dose dependently attenuated thrombus formation using rat arterio-venous shunt. FRBE suppressed the intracellular calcium mobilization in collagen-stimulated platelets. We also found that FRBE inhibited extracellular stimuli-responsive kinase 1/2, p38-mitogen - activated protein kinases and c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation. These results suggested that FRBE inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation, which was mediated by modulation of downstream signaling molecules. In conclusion, FRBE could be developed as a functional food against aberrant platelet activation-related cardiovascular diseases.

To develop a live vaccine strain against fowl typhoid and paratyphoid caused by Salmonella serovar Gallinarum biovar Gallinarum (Salmonella Gallinarum) and Salmonella serovar Enteritidis (Salmonella Enteritidis), respectively, several nalidixic acid resistant mutants were selected from lipopolysaccharide (LPS) rough strains of Salmonella Gallinarum that escaped from fatal infection of a LPS - binding lytic bacteriophage. A non - virulent and immunogenic vaccine strain of Salmonella Gallinarum, SR2 - N6, was established through in vivo pathogenicity and protection efficacy tests. SR2 - N6 was highly protective against Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella Enteritidis and safer than Salmonella Gallinarum vaccine strain SG 9R in the condition of protein-energy malnutrition. Thus, SR2 - N6 may be a safe and efficacious vaccine strain to prevent both fowl typhoid and paratyphoid.