BACKGROUND: The defects of the central nervous system caused by viruses are associated with tissue changes in certain areas of this system. OBJECTIVES: We conducted the current work to determine and categorize the pathologic pattern of central nervous system lesions in stillbirths and newborns small ruminants with neurological symptoms in Semnan province. METHODS: Primarily, we selected the affected animals and carried out systematic post mortem examination of lambs and kids. Subsequently, brain and spinal cords were completely removed. Processing, sectioning, and staining from different regions of the central nervous system was performed and 15 different regions of the brain and 10 different levels of the spinal cord were prepared. Subsequently, the histopathological study was performed and the observed lesions were arranged. RESULTS: This study was performed on 20 lambs and kids with nonsuppurative inflammatory lesions in the brain and spinal cord. In the gross examination of the brain and spinal cord, we observed 4 cases of arthrogryposis, 1 case of spinal cord hypoplasia, 2 cases of hydranencephaly, 2 cases of porencephaly, and 1 case of cerebellar hypoplasia. According to the presence of nonsuppurative inflammation in the brain and spinal cord, 20 positive cases were categorized into 4 groups. In the first 3 groups, the main lesion was nonsuppurative encephalomyelitis and the main lesion of the fourth group was nonsuppurative encephalitis. Accordingly, 6 cases in the first group had extensive and inclusive nonsuppurative inflammation in over 75%  of the brain and spinal cord sections; in the second group, five cases had multiple scattered nonsuppurative inflammation in 50% - 75% of the brain and spinal cord sections; in the third group, five cases had non-inclusive and focal nonsuppurative inflammation in less than 50% of the brain and spinal cord sections, and in the fourth group, 4 cases had nonsuppurative inflammation in the brain without lesion in the spinal cord. CONCLUSIONS: It seemed as though in each of the four pathological patterns, certain viral agents were responsible for the pathological changes.

BACKGROUND: Intensive aquaculture and commercialization production are believed to be needed for improving fish health status and probiotics are candidates to achieve this goal. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we utilized Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pentosus as autochthonous food supplementation for biochemical investigation in rainbow trout. METHODS: In the current study, 240 juvenile rainbow trout with an average weight of 15 ± 2 g were randomly divided into four groups with three replications. Group 1, 2, and 3 were fed with 108 CFU/g of L. plantarum, L. pentosus, and the combination of these two probiotics, respectively. The control group was fed with the normal diet, for 60 days (2 % of body weight, 3times per day). Samples were taken at days 0 and 60 and biochemical parameters and hepatic enzymes activity were then investigated. RESULTS: Most biochemical factors had positive changes in the fish fed with probiotics, particularly in L. plantarum group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the results exhibited a significant decrease in ALP level in the probiotic groups, particularly in L. pentosus group (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, AST enzyme activity in plantarum+pentosus group was higher than that in the other groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicated the effectiveness of food supplementation with probiotics in fish diet with the preference of probiotic to improve the biochemical factors and hepatic enzymes activity of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss.

BACKGROUND: Yersiniosis is known as one of the most prevalent bacterial diseases in fish, which causes high mortality and economic losses in cultured fish farms every year. OBJECTIVES: The present study was conducted to investigate the changes in hematological indices and gut histopathology in Caspian roach (Rutilus caspicus) exposed to Yersinia ruckeri. METHODS: 60 Caspian roach broodstock with an average weight of 63.4 ± 2.1 g were divided into three groups (with two replicates for each group), including one treatment, one positive control, and one negative control groups. The treatment group was intraperitoneally injected with Yersinia ruckeri bacterium at a dosage of 3.8 × 107 cell/fish. The positive group just received normal saline (0.9 % NaCl) via intraperitoneal injection. No injection was performed in the negative control group. RESULTS: Symptoms appeared on the fourth day after exposure and 20 % of the fish in the treatment group died 5 days after the challenge. Cumulative mortality reached 53 % on day 9 after the challenge.  According to hematological analysis, the challenge with Yersinia ruckeri led to a significant increase in white blood cell counts (WBC) compared to the control groups. Moreover, 10 days following exposure, the treatment group experienced hypochromic macrocytic anemia. Gut histopathology was characterized with necrosis and detachment of intestinal epithelial cell and inflammatory cells infiltration in the treatment group. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the obtained results herein, Yersinia rackeri can cause acute disease in Caspian roach; therefore, preventing and controlling this disease is essential for these fish in infected regions.

BACKGROUND: Peste des petitis (PPR) is a highly contagious viral disease with high incidence and mortality rate, which is endemic in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Africa. This disease has been causing economic losses in sheep and goat flocks in these areas. Studies have shown that environmental and host risk factors can influence the severity of PPR infection. OBJECTIVES: We conducted the present study to investigate the prevalence of PPR in small ruminants population of Garmsar city and its suburbs. Furthermore, the effect of host factors, including animal species, gender, and age, and environmental factors, such as sampling season, geographical area, and sampling location, were evaluated. METHODS: Blood samples of 180 sheep and goats were taken in spring, summer, and autumn and after centrifugation, serum samples were isolated. We measured antibody response using competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA). RESULTS: The apparent and true prevalence of contamination in small ruminants of Garmsar and its suburbs ware 24.44 % and 23.91 %, respectively. The results revealed non significant relationships between animal species (p < /em>= 0.08), gender (p < /em>= 0.14), and age (p < /em>= 0.98) with PPR serum prevalence. Meanwhile, there was a significant relationship between season (p < /em>= 0.03), geographical area (p < /em>= 0.0004), and sampling location (p < /em>= 0.0001). In addition, the odds ratio of PPRV infection in autumn was 2.62 (95% CI: 0.06 – 6.02; p < /em>< 0.05) times more than that of other season and in the south-eastern of Garmsar, it was 6.71 (95% CI: 3.01-17.60; p < /em>< 0.05) times more than that of other geographical regions. The odds ratio of PPRV infection in the Mahmood Abad village was 63.63 (95 % CI: 12.14 – 132.93; p < /em>< 0.05) times higher than that of other villages. CONCLUSIONS: According to the obtained findings, PPR was proven to be an endemic disease in Garmsar and its suburbs and the environmental risk factors have a greater impact on the seroprevalence of disease than host risk factors. Therefore, in order to control the disease in endemic areas, further attention should be paid to environmental risk factors and minimizing the risk of epidemics through vaccination at sensitive timescales and areas before high-risk environment changes.

BACKGROUND: Plasma lipoprotein profile is one of the effective mechanisms in testicular tissue development and spermatogenesis process in roosters. OBJECTIVES: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of l-carnitine during pre-pubertal period on testicular histology, spermatogenesis indexes and plasma lipoproteins of immature cockerels METHODS: A total of twelve Ross broiler breeder males (12 weeks) for 22 weeks in a completely randomized design with two treatments (0, and 250 mg/kg of L-carnitine in the diet) and six replications were used. Feeding program, and photoperiod regimen was performed based on ROSS 308 management handbook. To achieve the objectives of the study, at the age of 34 weeks, four birds were randomly selected from each treatment and after collecting blood samples from the veins under the wings, the birds were slaughtered. Finally, plasma cholesterol, LDL and HDL concentrations using a commercial kit and testicular parameters (number of seminiferous tubules, number of Sertoli cells, height of epithelium seminiferous tubules, seminiferous tubules diameter, spermatogenesis index, and tubular differentiation index) after preparation of 5-μm paraffin sections, were analyzed by SAS software. RESULTS: The results showed that the number of seminiferous tubules, and the number of Sertoli cells were significantly affected by l-carnitine (p < /em><0.05). L-carnitine supplementation in the diet of immature cockerels before sexual maturity significantly increased the spermatogenesis index (p < /em><0.003) and tubular differentiation index (p < /em><0.02). HDL levels were significantly affected by l-carnitine supplementation (p < /em><0.007). There was a significant tendency in LDL concentration (p < /em>=0.09) and LDL/HDL ratio (p < /em>=0.059) between treatments, but no significant differences were observed in cholesterol concentration between treatments. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, feeding immature cockerels before sexual maturity with 250 mg l-carnitine improves testicular tissue development and spermatogenesis process.

BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of effective conjugate vaccines, Haemophilus influenza (HI) and Haemophilus somnus (HS) still result in enormous global morbidity in both human and cattle. Vaccines failure to protect against different strains can lead to the spread of Hemophilus infections. The absence of various epitopes from Haemophilus strains in existing vaccines is one of their weaknesses. Therefore, selection of a conserved and common set of proteins in the invasive strains of HI and HS is essential for predicting epitopes as potential vaccine candidate. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to design an effective polyepitopic vaccine against invasive HI and HS strains using in silico approaches. METHODS: First, the protein sequences were retrieved from the databases and were aligned to determine the conserved areas with the Clustal omega software. Then, B and T cell epitopes identification was done for OapA, OMP6, PD, D15, IgA1 Protease and TbpA proteins using various immunoinformatic servers. The high ranked epitopes were selected from mentioned proteins. The selected epitopes were fused together by appropriate linkers. This designed construct was analyzed for physicochemical and structural characteristics using related servers. RESULTS: 6 TCD4+ and 3 B cell epitopes were selected to design the final construct from 6 common proteins. The immunoinformatics analysis revealed that the designed polyepitopic peptide is a safe, soluble, hydrophilic and thermostable antigen that could be a potential vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: The polyepitopic construct can be considered as a vaccine candidate against Haemophilus.

BACKGROUND: Full supply of the nutritional requirements of C57BL/6 mice plays an important role in preventing ulcerative dermatitis syndrome. OBJECTIVES: We conducted this work to asses ulcerative dermatitis in C57BL/6 mice colony and reduce it through dietary modification. METHODS: During a two-years period, a C57BL/6 mice colony in a laboratory animal breeding center was monitored for the presence of ulcerative dermatitis syndrome. In the first year, the animals were fed with outbred laboratory mice pellet and in the second year, the modified diet was used based on the nutritional requirements of this inbred mouse. RESULTS: The average numbers of litters per parturition were 3 and 6 in the first year and the second year, respectively. The litter's mortality rate in the first year was 75 % and zero in the second year. The total number of mice remaining in the colony was 220 in the first year, which increased to 1100 in the next year. Syndrome symptoms were observed in the adult mice in the first year. Alopecia was observed mainly in the back and neck and the severity of the symptoms was mild to severe. No mortality was observed in the mice, even in severe cases, and their recovery was spontaneous, yet very slow. In the necropsy, axillary lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly were observed. In histopathological samples taken from the skin lesions, the accumulation of inflammatory cells and the spongiosis of cornea cells were observed. In lymph nodes, spleen, and liver, pathological changes were observed from the accumulation of inflammatory cells to necrosis. In the second year, the number of cases reduced significantly to 2 %. The severity of the symptoms was mild and their recovery was faster than that in the previous year. CONCLUSIONS: By fully supplying the nutritional requirements of C57BL/6 mice, we could significantly prevent the occurrence of ulcerative dermatitis syndrome.

BACKGROUND: It is fundamental to find the safest food preservatives in order to acheive the maximum health and economic benefits. Salmonella enteritidis is the cause of Salmonellosis, one of the most important foodborn zoonoses in poultry. OBJECTIVES: The present study was conducted to comparatively evaluate the antimicrobial effects of Trachyspermum copticum, Thymus vulgaris, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oils and Formaldehyde against Salmonella Enteritidis. METHODS: In this study minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Trachyspermum copticum, and Thymus vulgaris essential oils against Salmonella enteritidis were determined using broth macro-dilution. The effects of essential oils on growth curve of Salmonella Enteritidis were also evaluated. RESULTS: In this study, MIC for the minimum inhibitory concentration level of Trachyspermum copticum, Thymus vulgaris, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and formaldehyde for Salmonella Enteritidis was determined as 500, 700, 500, and 70 ppm while MBC was calculated as 700, 900, 1000, and 200ppm, respectively. This study revealed that all the treatments increased lag phase. Bacterial growth speed was slower for Trachyspermum copticum of all the concentrations, yet a significant difference was observed only in 1 and 2 MIC of other treatments (p < /em><0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, Trachyspermum copticum (with less concentration), Thymus vulgaris, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum (with higher concentration) could be employed as a substitution of a proporation of formaldehyde to prevent bacterial development in food.

BACKGROUND: Abomasal ulcer is a disease of digestive system in ruminants. The clinical signs vary widely depending on the type of abomasal ulcer. The economic losses of this disease include decreased milk yield and mortality. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to determine the frequency, type of ulcer, pathological, hematological, and electrocardiographic indices in the slaughtered cattle in Sanandaj abattoir. METHODS: A total of 400 cattle were randomly selected with both sexes and 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, and ≥4 years of age. They were grouped during three seasons and the abomasal ulcer was evaluated. Blood sample was collected and electrocardiogram was recorded before they were slaughtered. Abomasal lesions were assessed macroscopically and histopathologically in the slaughtered cattle. RESULTS: Out of the 400 abomasom examined, 51 (12.75 %) were affected by abomasal ulcers, all of which were type-1 ulcer. Subtypes 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d. 35 cattle (68.7 %) had the types of arrhythmia. The most frequent of them was sinus arrhythmia and sinus tachycardia. Neutrophilia and reduction in MCHC were significantly more than the other hematological indices (p < /em>˂0.05). There was a significant relationship between the prevalence of abomasal ulcers and arrhythmia, gender, age, and season (p < /em>˂0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between electrocardiographic and hematological indices in the affected cattle (p < /em>˂0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study revealed a high prevalence of abomasal ulcer in the studied area. They also indicated that the electrocardiographic and hematological changes could be helpful in the diagnosis of abomasal ulcer.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic cell targeting is a novel non-invasive cellular delivery technique. It improves stem cell delivery to and retention in the injury site. Labeling cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) is one of the most important steps of this technique. Appropriate SPIONs selection is believed to be of vital importance. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to produce SPIONs which are capable of attaching to Mesenchymal stem cells surface (MSCs). METHODS: Dextran coated SPIONs were produced following co-precipitation method under N2 atmosphere. Bone marrow derived MSCs were isolated and cultured from rabbit humerus bone. Anti-rabbit CD44 monoclonal antibody was attached to the surface of SPIONs and MSCs and were labeled with this final product. SPIONs coating process, particle size, and antibody conjugation efficacy were evaluated using FT-IR, SEM, and Bradford protein measurement assay, respectively. Attachment of antibody-linked dextran coated SPIONs to MSCs was accessed utilizing Prussian blue staining, immunofluorescence analysis, and SEM analysis. RESULTS: Peaks of FT-IR at 3200 cm-1 and 2922 cm-1 are representative of dextran. The average particle size was 56.13±6.67. The average antibody-SPION conjugation ratio was 77.78±6.35%. The average percentage of the labeled cells in Prussian blue and IF analysis were 71.57±2.53 and 95.04±0.95, respectively. MSCs-SPIONs conjugation was also confirmed via SEM analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, it could be inferred that mesenchymal stem cells could successfully be labeled with dextran coated-anti CD44 antibody conjugated- superparamagnetic Iron oxide nanoparticles. This product could be used for further in-vitro and in-vivo evaluations.