Twelve left camel forelimbs were collected, and ultrasonography was performed at five different levels around the metacarpal region. Limbs were then cut in the transverse plane at levels corresponding to the ultrasound images. Transverse and sagittal plane images were taken at each of the five levels, keeping all ultrasound imaging factors constant. Echogenicity, diameter, width and cross sectional area of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) and suspensory ligament (SL) were evaluated. Characteristics of echogenicity and different tendon and ligament sizes were measured and discussed

Pelecaniformes are large water birds feeding by hunting fish and living usually in the sea and in fresh water. Ectoparasitic lice of the genus Piagetiella are interesting from an ecological standpoint as they are found in the pouches of pelicans. Unlike chewing lice, which live on the body surface of the host, P. titan lives in the oral cavity of white pelicans (Pelecanus nocrotalus, L.). This study aimed to determine the infestation of white pelicans with P. titan in Urmia Lake, Northwest Iran, between June and August from 2004 to 2006. Sixty-two juvenile white pelicans at three different age groups of < 1 (n = 8), 1-2 (n = 23) and 3-7 (n = 31) weeks were investigated and 59 birds were found infested with lice. A total of 1637 lice were collected from the oral cavity and body of the birds, with the number of lice ranging from one to 112 per bird. P. titan were identified according to the criteria described by Price (1970), including the number of setae in various parts of body, the structures of prosternal, mesosternal and metasternal plates, the structures of female and male genitalia, presence of two ventral stout subapical setae on tibia II-III and the number of the ctenidia on femur III. This report describes P. titan on pelicans for the first time from Iran.

As lactating cows in severe negative energy balance have poor reproductive performance, the effect of dietary fat supplementation (fish oil, soybean oil) on PGFM secretion, ovarian function and blood metabolites is investigated. In this experiment, the effects of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma metabolites, ovarian function and prostaglandin secretion of 20 primiparous Holstein cows was studied. The cows were randomly allocated to one of four groups that were fed either: 1) a control diet; 2) a diet with 3% (Feed dry matter basis) fish oil; 3) a diet with 3% soybean oil; or 4) a diet with 1.5% fish oil and 1.5% soybean oil. Groups were synchronized using the heat-synch method and were fed their respective diets for 35 days, allowing 14 days for dietary adaptation and 21 days for data collection. Concentration of plasma glucose, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were not affected by the treatments, but plasma total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in cows that consumed the oil-containing diets (p < 0.05).The number of follicles, corpus luteum size and plasma estradiol, progesterone and prostaglandin F2? metabolite (PGFM) concentrations were similar across all treatments. However, the size of the largest follicle was significantly greater in cows that consumed a diet containing fish oil or soybean oil (p < 0.05). These results suggest that polyunsaturated fatty acids can influence both ovarian and uterine function in cows, but further studies are required to test their effects on dairy cow reproduction.

Samples of water, sediment and shrimp obtained from hatcheries and culture ponds were collected over a period of four months and were analyzed for Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Samples included the following: two samples of shrimp larva from two hatchery ponds (WLH); 14 samples of water, sediment and shrimp from 14 culture ponds supplied with shrimp larvae from the same hatchery ponds that were obtained one month after farm stocking (WC1, SeC1, and SC1, respectively); 14 samples of water, sediment and shrimp from the same 14 culture ponds, obtained 3 months after farm stocking (WC3, SeC3, and SC3, respectively); and 14 shrimp samples, from the same 14 culture ponds, collected from market (SM). Twelve samples of Persian Gulf Shrimp (SPM) were also obtained from the market and analyzed. V. parahaemolyticus was detected in 21.4% (3/14) WC1, 7.1% (1/14) SeC1, 35.7% (5/14) SC1, 42.8% (6 out of 14, of which one was Kanagawa-positive) WC3, 14.3% (2/14) SC3, 35.7% (5/14) SM, and 12% (3/12) SPM. No instance of WLH and SeC3 was detected. The isolation of V. parahaemolyticus, especially if Kanagawa positive, suggests a probable health risk for people wishing to consume raw or under-cooked shrimp.

Fatty liver is a metabolic disorder of dairy cows in early lactation, and approximately half of multi-parous dairy cows experience a moderate to severe fatty liver at calving. Since the occurrence of fatty liver in buffalo is not known, the aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatic content of triacylglycerols (TAG) and total lipids (TL), and the serum content of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) in native buffalo at different stages of productivity. The relationship between body condition score (BCS), age, serum NEFA content and hepatic TAG and TL content was also considered. A total of 119 blood and liver samples were randomly collected from indigenous buffalo immediately after slaughter. Buffalo were divided into six groups: male, heifer, non-pregnant lactating, 1-8 months pregnant lactating, late pregnant and immediately post parturient. Serum NEFA concentration in late pregnant and recently calved buffalo was significantly higher than that of males and heifers. Liver TAG content rose significantly in the first months after parturition, but liver TL content was not affected by the physiological status of the animals. Serum NEFA concentration was not associated with liver TAG or TL content. BCS had no significant correlation with either serum NEFA concentration or age of the animals. The results showed that an increase in liver TAG and serum NEFA was seen in late pregnancy and after parturition in buffalo, similar to results in cows. However, TAG and NEFA levels were much lower than in dairy cattle and it can therefore be concluded that there is no indication of fatty liver in buffalo.

Bacillus spp. are Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria used commercially as probiotics in the larviculture of fish. Bacillus spp. can act positively on cultured organisms by enhancing their survival and growth, stimulating their digestive and immune systems, and improving water quality. In this present study, grass carp larvae were fed on Artemia urmiana, Artemia fransiscana and Artemia parthenogenetica nauplii. In probiotic trials, the combination of Bacillus circulans and Bacillus licheniformis was also added to rearing tanks of grass carp at 1×106 CFU/L. Final body weight, specific growth rate, thermal growth coefficient, daily growth coefficient and relative gain rate were all affected by the addition of probiotic Bacillus spp. (P

In this study, the effect of chamomile extract on the ability of neonatal calves to absorb immunoglobulin G (IgG) was evaluated. An ethanolic extract of chamomile was obtained with the concentration of 111 mg/ml. Calves were randomly divided into four groups, each receiving one of four chamomile treatments; 1: low dose (LC; 5.5 mg/kg body weight; 2: moderate dose (MC; 11 mg/kg); 3: high dose (HC; 22 mg/kg); 4: a control (CO; normal saline). Chamomile extract was injected intravenously into the jugular vein 1 h after birth and before colostrum intake. There was no significant difference in concentration of serum IgG between LC and CO calves (P = 0.792). MC calves had a significantly higher serum IgG concentration at 48 h compared with LC and CO calves (P = 0.002, P = 0.003, respectively). There was no statistical difference between MC and HC calves at 48 h (P = 0.264). These results show that chamomile extract could promote colostral IgG absorption in neonatal calves if a suitable dose is given immediately after birth.

Ghrelin, a peptide hormone, has several functions, of which the best known is its growth hormone (GH)-releasing effect in the pituitary. It also increases appetite and feeding behavior. Recent studies have implicated ghrelin in the regulation of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and immune function, and suggest a role for ghrelin in bone physiology. In this study, the effect of chronically administered ghrelin on the histomorphometrical properties of stomach and different parts of intestinal mucosa were evaluated in a rat model. Significant differences between control and ghrelin-treated groups were observed in gastrointestinal mucosa, stomach gland length, and duodenal mucosal thickness, villus length and crypt depth (P

The purpose of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of citric and tartaric acids on experimental dermatophytosis in guinea pigs. In this study, the susceptibility of Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. mentagrophytes to citric and tartaric acids was assessed using the macrodilution broth method. In the animal experiments, a cream consisting of the mixed acids was topically applied once per day for ten consecutive days, beginning five days following infection. Animals in a positive control group were treated with 1% clotrimazole cream. The results of this study showed that application of the mixed acid cream led to a significant improvement in guinea pigs suffering from dermatophytosis (P < 0.05). A similar improvement in local symptoms was achieved in the animals treated with 1% clotrimazole cream. These results indicate that organic acids such as citric and tartaric acids can potentially act as topical antifungal agents and may represent a valuable new approach in dermatophytosis.

Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) is a Pestivirus of the Flaviviviridaefamily that infects cattle, and its widespread distribution can cause substantial economic losses worldwide. The aims of this study were: (1) to estimate the prevalence of animals persistently infected (PI) with BVDV in industrial dairy cattle herds in suburb of Mashhad- Iran; and (2) to compare the occurrence of persistently infected (PI) animals in industrial dairy cattle herds where BVDV animals had been either removed from or retained in the herds. In total, 157 blood samples were taken from individual cows from 18 Holstein dairy cattle herds each containing 250-3000 cows in suburb of Mashhad. The blood samples were analyzed for the presence of BVDV using Pestivirus antigen-capture ELISA. Positive animals were retested after three weeks and animals those tested positive again weredefined as PI. We found that only 3/18 herds (16.7%) containedantigen-positive cows, and that only 5/157 animals tested (3.2%) wereantigen positive. All of the positive animals were confirmed as PI, andall of PI cows were less than 17 months old. The true prevalence ofantigen-positive cows was calculated to be 3.31%. A significantproportion (p