In order to determine the involvement of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of coccidiosis induced by Eimeria, 30 chickens were challenged with mixed sporulated oocysts of four species of Eimeria (E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. necatrix, and E. tenella) at 26 days of age. There was an increasing of oocyst shedding in the infected birds at 6, 10 and 14 days post-infection. Histopathological examination revealed a loss of epithelial tissue, congestion of blood vessels, severe muscular edema and necrosis of submucosa. The sum total of nitrite and nitrate was increased in the serum at 6, 10 and 14 days post-infection progressively, but was only significant (P < 0.05) at 10 and 14 days post-infection compared to earlier days. The nitrate amounts were also significantly higher at days 10 and 14. It can be concluded that infection by four species of Eimeria stimulated NO production after infection. It is therefore possible that NO is involved in the pathogenesis of coccidiosis

This present study is the first to report the presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in buffaloes in Iran. A total of 360 fecal samples were collected from buffaloes from different regions in the west Azerbaijan province of Iran and cultured for the isolation of E. coli using routine biochemical tests. From the fecal samples, 340 E. coli were isolated and, of these, 26 STEC isolates were identified. The STEC isolates were further analyzed for the presence of specific virulence genes. Among the STEC isolates, 11 (42.3%) isolates were positive for the stx1 gene, nine (34.6%) were positive for the stx2 gene and six (23%) were positive for both of these genes. Six (23%) STEC isolates harbored the hly gene and two (7.6%) isolates were positive for the eae gene. Based on serotyping, only one (3.8%) isolate was of the O157 serotype, while the other 25 (96.1%) belonged to non-O157 serotypes. The results of the present study provide the first evidence that buffaloes could be a reservoir for STEC in Iran, especially those belonging to non-0157 serotypes.

Permethrin and Cypermethrin are synthetic pyrethroids, belonging to a group of insecticides with low mammalian toxicity and high insecticidal activity. The present study evaluated sub-acute toxicity of dermally administrated permethrin and cypermethrin in mice. Behavioral examination included assessments of lethality, weight gain, grooming, analgesymetry, anxiety, grasping, motor activity, and despair in response to inescapable swim stress. The study was conducted on 70 adult male mice, which were exposed dermally via the whole tail zone for 10 s once daily for 28 consecutive days at concentrations of 0%, 0.1%, 1% and 10% of each compound. No significant changes were observed in body weight gain, grooming behavior or pain sensation among the treated and control groups. However, the following effects were observed in the experimental groups: a tendency towards increased motor activity compared to controls (47% in P0.1% group, P = 0.025), a tendency to lose grasping faster than controls (48% and 40% decreased in P10% and C1% groups, respectively, (P < 0.05), shorter stay in the long arms and longer stay in the short arms on the elevated plus maze task compared to controls (up to 84% difference , P < 0.05), and failure in terms of floating on the inescapable swim stress task (500% and 900% increase in interruption times in the P10% and C10% groups, respectively, P < 0.05). In conclusion, upon long-term dermal exposure, synthetic pyrethroids may lead to increased motor activity, decreased grasping tendency and/or ability, increased apathy, and increased despair in the mouse animal model.

The correlation between the bacteriological agent of buffalo pneumonia and its pathologic characteristics were investigated. In the present study, 333 samples of buffalo lungs in Iran were studied for pneumonial lesions and evidence of bacterial and viral infection. The type of pneumonia was classified as interstitial, fibrinous or purulent bronchopneumonia and the anatomical location of lesions was also recorded. In 201 samples with interstitial pneumonia, the lungs were found to be noticeably elastic, edematous and pale. Microscopically, thickening of the alveoli walls, hyperplasia and increased numbers of monocytes was seen. Lesions were mostly found in the right and left diaphragmatic lobes. The 55 samples with fibrinous bronchopneumonia were macroscopically bright and marbled and firm in texture. Thickening of the alveoli walls and large numbers of neutrophils were evident at the microscopic level, and the majority of lesions were located in the diaphragmatic lobes. Microscopically, a large number of neutrophils but few macrophages were seen. Of the 24 samples with purulent bronchopneumonia, most lesions were found in the left diaphragmatic lobe. The main bacteria that were isolated were: Pasturella spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas cuosis, Acinetobacter spp, Arcanobacterium pyogenes, Escherichia coli and Proteus spp. Given the importance of buffalo in milk and meat production for Khuzestan province, this study could be considered as a basis for future attempts to reduce buffalo mortality due to respiratory diseases.

Salmonellosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases worldwide. Salmonella infections in wild birds are reported frequently. The objectives of this study were to isolate Salmonella serovars from a large collection of samples obtained from pet birds in Tehran, Iran, and then to determine the serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the isolates. Between October 2007 and August 2008, 668 samples from 24 different species were collected from birds kept in parks and pet shops of Tehran. Samples contained cloacal swabs from large birds, freshly-dropped feces from small birds and, infrequently, carcasses. Multiple samples from the same bird were pooled and considered as an individual sample. All samples were cultured for the isolation and identification of Salmonella serovars according to standard procedures. Serotyping was performed by slide agglutination test to determine the O and H antigens of the isolates. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was determined to a panel of 30 antimicrobial agents using the agar disc diffusion method. In total, 19 Salmonella isolates (2.8%) were identified. Samples that were positive for Salmonella originated from canaries (10 out of 62, 16.1%), pigeons (5 out of 139, 3.6%), psittacines (3 out of 130, 2.3%), and eagles (1 out of 2, 50%). All Salmonella isolates were susceptible to danofloxacin, norfloxacin, levofloxacin, amikacin, gentamicin, and tobramycin. Resistance to other antibacterial agents was variable and ranged from 0-57.9%. There were 17 resistance patterns among the isolates. Serotyping identified nine isolates (47.3%) as serogroup B, six isolates (31.5%) as serogroup C, and four isolates (21%) as serogroup D. The findings of this study showed the presence of Salmonella infection among captive birds. Due to the close contact between these type of birds and humans, these findings present an important risk for public health.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of supplemented selenium (Se) on plasma cortisol, red blood cell glutathione peroxidase activity (RBC GSH-PX-1), concentration of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and body weight in pneumonic suckling calves. Ten Holstein suckling male calves were randomly allocated to two groups and fed either unsupplemented milk (control) or with milk supplemented with 0.3 mg/kg DM Se (Sel-Plex) for two months. Sel-Plex had no significant effect on cortisol plasma concentration. A significant increase in red blood cell GSH-PX-1, body weight and serum concentration of IgG was observed in the treated group, along with a non-significant increase in body weight. The results indicate that Sel-Plex supplementation of suckling calves with a marginal selenium status increases GSH-PX-1, serum concentration of IgG and body weight of calves.The objective of this study was to determine the effects of supplemented selenium (Se) on plasma cortisol, red blood cell glutathione peroxidase activity (RBC GSH-PX-1), concentration of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and body weight in pneumonic suckling calves. Ten Holstein suckling male calves were randomly allocated to two groups and fed either unsupplemented milk (control) or with milk supplemented with 0.3 mg/kg DM Se (Sel-Plex) for two months. Sel-Plex had no significant effect on cortisol plasma concentration. A significant increase in red blood cell GSH-PX-1, body weight and serum concentration of IgG was observed in the treated group, along with a non-significant increase in body weight. The results indicate that Sel-Plex supplementation of suckling calves with a marginal selenium status increases GSH-PX-1, serum concentration of IgG and body weight of calves.

Chronic ethanol consumption leads to oxidative stress in the heart and erythrocytes of rats. As Ziziphus jujuba fruit has been shown to have potent antioxidants, such as flavonoids, we conducted this study to evaluate the effects of aqueous fruit extracts from Z. jujuba on rat hearts and erythrocytes following chronic ethanol consumption. Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the following groups: control, Z. jujuba fruit extract treated (200 mg/kg, p.o.), ethanol (4 g/kg, p.o.) and Z. jujuba plus ethanol. The animals were treated orally for consecutive 8 weeks. At the end of experiment, catalase (CAT) activity and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) concentration (an indicator of lipid peroxidation) were measured in the heart and erythrocytes of rats. The results showed that the concentration of TBARS was significantly lower, and CAT activity higher in erythrocyte homogenates of ethanol-treated rats that were pretreated with fruit extract, compared with rats treated with ethanol alone. However, the fruit extract had no effect on TBARS concentration or CAT activity in rat heart tissue. This finding indicates that the antioxidant properties of Z. jujuba fruit extract protect erythrocytes against ethanol-induced oxidative stress, but are not sufficient to protect the heart.

The aim of the present study was to assess the immunogenicity of under 30kDa molecular weight proteins of hydatid cyst fluid and protoscoleces in dogs experimentaly Infected with Echinococcus granulosus. Isolation of under 30 kDa proteins performed using Millipore filter. Six dogs were used in three groups: 2 dogs with under 30 kDa proteins of hydatid cyst fluid (Group I); 2 dogs with proteins of protoscoleces (Group II); and, 2 dogs were used as control groups (Group III). Two weeks later approximately 8,000 protoscoleces, with the viability of 80%, were given to each dog. On day 35 post infection adult worms were recovered from the intestines and the rate of infection determined by counting the total worms. The recovered worms in Group I were 197; in Group II were 207; and, in Group III were 382. The minimum number of adult worms (197) belonged to the dogs exposed to under 30 kDa molecular weight proteins of hydatid cysts fluid. This demonstrated significantly higher immunogenicity effects(p

Numerous species of insects have been recorded from various types of manure in commercially reared birds from different parts of the world. This study was carried out to determine parasitic beetle populations in commercial rearing house litter from different regions of the West Azerbaijan province in Iran. Atotal of 60 samples of litter were collected from June 2008 to November 2009 from 20 poultry farms. The samples were examined parasitologically to detect and identify species of beetles (Coleoptera). Collected beetles belonged to three different species, of which Alphitobius diaperinus was the dominant species, with larvae and adults collected from 27 of the litter samples (45.0%). Dermestes maculatus larvae were found in 10 of the samples (16.6%), while Carcinops pumilio was collected from two samples (3.3%). Significant differences (p

Background: Many compounds are known as estrogen contaminants. Estrogenic components may enter the body through food consumption. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to determine various estrogens contaminants, the foods that are primarily contaminated with these compounds, and their common detection methods. Methods: The relevant studies with the keywords “estrogen,” “detection,” and “food” were systematically searched in PubMed and Scopus databases. Science Direct and Google Scholar were also searched.Results: A total of 221 studies were initially found regardless of publication time. The preliminary screening was based on the exclusion and inclusion criteria. Then, the qualitative evaluation of the articles was done, and finally, 9 articles were selected. Among different foods, most estrogenic compounds were identified in seafood. This finding indicates that estrogenic compounds have entered the waters. The most reported compound was bisphenol A. Cell culture was used for bioassay evaluation, and liquid chromatography methods were used for analysis. Conclusion: Both analytical and bioassay methods were used to evaluate estrogenic compounds. Most studies found that the bioassay method was also valid.