BACKGROUND: Storing semen at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius reduces its motility and quality.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the effect of adding calcium compounds, including calcimaphor (CMP), calcium gluconate (CG), and calcium chloride (CaCl2), on the motility and progressive motility of rooster sperm kept at refrigerator temperature.METHODS: This research used five pieces of 45-week-old Lari breed roosters. The liquid diluent added different calcium compounds at 0.56, 0.056, and 0.0056 mM concentrations. After treatment, the diluted seminal samples were cooled at the storage temperature to avoid thermal doubt and then transferred to the refrigerator at 4 degrees Celsius. Parametric factors that were more important such as the percentage of laterality and progressive mobility, were measured visually using the lens of a 40-light microscope, survival was checked using the eosin-nigrosin staining method, acrosome health percentage by formalin citrate method, cell membrane health with hypoosmotic test, lipid peroxidation level, fertility was evaluated using perivitelline membrane sperm reaction 72 hours after storing at 4 degrees Celsius.RESULTS: Based on the results, different calcium compounds in most concentrations could significantly affect the parameters of survival, mobility, and progressive mobility (P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Most of the sperm-related parameters in the control group decreased after this period of storage in the refrigerator, but the addition of calcium gluconate (0.56, 0.056, and 0.0056), Calcimaphor (0.56, 0.056, and 0.0056) and calcium chloride (0.56, 0.056 and 0.0056) to the semen thinner maintained the quality indicators of rooster sperm.

BACKGROUND: The pollution of environment with heavy metals following the increase in the industrial production has created problems in the lives of living organisms. Lead can penetrate the soft organs of body, and by depositing in them can cause disorders their function. Lead can cross the blood-placental barrier and transfer to the fetus. It is also possible to pass lead through milk to the newborn.OBJECTIVES: The stereology approach was used in rats as animal models to examine the impact of low dosage lead contamination in the mother on the average volume of follicular oocytes and the average volume of mature follicles.METHODS: Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups, which included a control group and four experimental groups of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, lactation and pre-pregnancy-pregnancy-lactation. The control group had access to drinking water with 0.5 ml of glacial acetic acid. Experimental groups administered lead acetate at a rate of 0.2 percentage + 0.5 ml of glacial acetic acid through drinking water in different periods (pre-pregnancy group 30 days before mating, pregnancy group 21 days of pregnancy, lactation group. They received 21 days of lactation and the pre-pregnancy-pregnancy-lactation group 30 days before mating until the end of lactation). On the 65th day after birth, all infants were killed in the laboratory and left ovary specimens were collected for stereological studies.RESULTS: The results showed that the average volume of oocytes in the primordial, monolayer primary, multilayer primary, and antral follicles increased in the lactation group compared to the control group and other experimental groups (P<0.05). Furthermore, the mean volume of primordial and monolayer primary follicles in lactation group increased compared to the control and experimental groups (P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS: This study's results showed that maternal exposure to low doses of lead during lactation increases the average volume of oocytes and increases the average volume of growing follicles.

BACKGROUND: Stenotic nares and malocclusion are common congenital disorders in the brachycephalic breeds of cats which cause respiratory and oral problems in these breeds, respectively.OBJECTIVES: In this study, the prevalence of two congenital disorders, stenotic nares, and malocclusion, the correlation among them in brachycephalic breeds of cats referred to several private veterinary clinics in Tehran were evaluated.METHODS: 90 brachycephalic cats were evaluated for stenotic nares, and malocclusion and indices was checked, then determined the prevalence percentage and correlation with the statistical data between stenotic nares and malocclusion in brachycephalic breeds of cats were referred to several private veterinary clinics in Tehran.RESULTS: Malocclusion was diagnosed in 35 cats (38.9 %), stenotic nares were detected in 31 cats (34.4 %), and two diseases were diagnosed in 17 cats (18.9 %) concurrently in 90 brachycephalic cats. According to a statistical test, the probabilities of identifying the second disease are 2.7 times higher if one of the two disorders is identified.CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of stenotic nares and malocclusion in brachycephalic cats is very high and there is a significant correlation between two disorders so clinicians should have great attention in their clinical examination of these two disorders in these breeds.

BACKGROUND: Over the recent years, Neospora caninum has been one of the most important causes of abortion in dairy cattle. OBJECTIVES: We conducted the present study in order to investigate the seroprevalence of N. caninum in dairy cattle in Semnan province and its effect on abortion. METHODS: 237 blood samples were obtained from various Semnan dairy farms and 104 bulk dairy samples from four milk collection centers in Semnan, Garmsar, Damghan, and Shahrood were tested for sera and milk utilizing ELISA (Svanova Biotech AB) test kits. RESULTS: The results revealed that 87.27 % of bovine serum was positive. The percentage of opacity density (OD) of positive sample (PP) ranged from 72.17 to 137.3 (114.21±24.65). In addition, the average rate of milk seroprevalence to the parasite was 95.23 % in Semnan province. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of Neospora caninum infection in blood and milk was high in Semnan, yet no significant relationships were observed with abortion (p < /em>>0.05).

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: The use of additives, such as medicinal plants, may result in improved digestion and fermentation and consequently, animal production. OBJECTIVES: The present experiment was conducted to determine the most appropriate amount of Ziziphora cliniopodiodes plant to be utilized in lamb diet and its effect on digestibility, fermentation, growth performance, blood, and quality of carcass and meat. METHODS: Different amounts of Ziziphora cliniopodiodes (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1 %) were added to diet of lambs. The best diet was selected based on gas production method and fed to male lambs with an average weight of 41 ± 2 kg in a completely randomized design with three treatments and six replications. The selected diets for feeding lambs included: control diet (Ziziphora cliniopodiodes) and control diet supplemented with 0.2 or 0.4 % Ziziphora cliniopodiodes. Feed intake, digestibility of nutrients, fattening performance, blood and rumen fermentation parameters, protozoan population, and certain meat quality indexes were measured. At the end of the experiment, the carcass traits were studied. RESULTS: The obtained results herein revealed that the potential of gas production, partitioning factor, truly degradable organic matter, dry matter intake, apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, blood urea nitrogen, and protozoa population were not affected by the experimental diets. There was a significant difference among the experimental diets for daily weight gain, the total weight gain of lambs, and microbial biomass production. The highest records belonged to the diet containing 0.2 % Ziziphora cliniopodiodes. Antioxidant characteristics, colorimetric indices, and pH of meat were not affected by the applied treatments. CONCLUSIONS: In general, according to livestock experiments, the best amount of Ziziphora cliniopodiodes to be employed was 0.2 %, which improved certain fermentative and performance traits.

BACKGROUND: There have been many reports on spinal cord injuries in humans and animals, which is  a major medical and veterinary concern; therefore, the present research project was carried out to devise an appropriate treatment approach. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to apply the modified Allen’s test and Royan Impactor Devicein order to 1) induce spinal cord injury on rhesus monkeys and 2) gain the ultimate confirmation by clinical examinations and MR imaging for application in human and veterinary medicine. METHODS: Royan Impactor Device  was used to induce spinal cord injury on rhesus monkeys. Five rhesus monkeys were anesthetized with ketamine, xylazine, and isoflurane. Laminectomy  was done at the level of T9-T10, and a 50 g weight was then dropped from a 12 cm height through a guide tube onto a 10 mm2 impact plate on the exposed spinal cord. RESULTS: The results of the present study showed signal changes with decreasing the trend in the T2W of spinal cord in sagittal and axial areas due to hematoma, inflammation, pressure on spinal cord, and tissue destruction after spinal cord injury. In the clinical examination of all samples, spinal cord shock symptoms, marked by bladder distention, disappeared 3-5 days post spinal cord injury. Not all measurable factors related to the severity of the injury  were restored to the normal condition until the end of the study although their severities were reduced to some extend. CONCLUSIONS: Modified Allen’s test and the instrument that we designed for this study were able to satisfy the needs of the researchers in treating the spinal cord injury.

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: Cystic echinococosis (CE) is known to be one of the most important zoonotic diseases in different parts of Iran. Even though it causes major health problems, there is limited information regarding its transmission cycles and strain of this infection in eastern Iran. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to characterize the strain of Echinococcus granulosus cysts in the slaughtered sheep and goats in Birjand area using morphological and molecular criteria. METHODS: Isolates of E. granulosus were collected from sheep (30) and goats (30) from Birjand slaughterhouse and characterized employing both DNA (PCR-RFLP of ITS1) and morphological criteria (metacestode rostellar hook dimensions). In addition, the fragments of the genes coding for ITS-1 were sequenced. RESULTS: Among the two different identified strains/genotypes (sheep and camel), the sheep strain appeared to be the most common genotype of E. granulosus affecting sheep and goats. All of the 30 sheep samples and 20 out of 30 goat samples were infected with sheep strain. However, the camel genotype was only observed in the goats and 10 out of 30 goat isolates were infected with the camel genotype. The camel genotypes had RFLP patterns, which were different from the RFLP patterns of the rest of isolates (sheep strain). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study revealed that the ‘sheep’ strain was the most prevalent strain in sheep and goats in this area. Moreover, the camel genotype (G6) was confirmed to trigger infection in the slaughtered goats of Birjand area.

BACKGROUND: Toxocaiasis is an important zoonotic disease caused by the second stage larvae of Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati. Toxocariasis is the most common worm infection in several temperate countries and causes severe complications. C-type lectin is one of the larval stage products of this parasite. It is involved in immune responses, including cellular signals in vertebrate immunity, activation of innate immunity in vertebrates and non-vertebrates, and induction of homeostasis.  OBJECTIVES: The current research aimed to optimize the production of recombinant C-type lectin of Toxocara canis and investigate its antigenic properties. METHODS: Reference nucleotide sequence of lectin type C (CTL) of Toxocara canis (T. canis) was extracted from Genbank. Recombinant Plasmid, pET32a, including the desired sequence was then constructed by GENERAY. The recombinant plasmid was transformed to Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3). The expression of the recombinant protein was investigated using SDS-PAGE and dot blot methods and approved with human T. canis positive serum. RESULTS: The findings of the present study showed that optimization and high level production of recombinant protein expression was achieved by selecting Escherichia coli (BL21 (DE3), 37 °C temperature for 4 hours after induction and 1 mM IPTG concentration. After optimization, the recombinant protein was obtained at a concentration of 1160±0.6 µg/mL. The molecular weight of the resulting recombinant protein was 42 kDa. Recombinant plasmid passage in Escherichia coli DH5α strain caused a significant increase in recombinant protein expression. The results of condition optimization evaluation, with SDS-PAGE and Dot blot methods, showed that the highest production of recombinant C type lectin protein of T. canis was obtained under optimized conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, to produce reasonable amounts of specific C-type lectin recombinant protein, further studies are needed to evaluate its immunogenicity and protection against Toxocara canis infection.