Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation of both ocular and auricular thermographic temperatures with rectal temperatures and to determine the advantage of infrared thermography in clinical practice due to its ease of measurement. Animals. This study was designed as a pilot study and conducted on 6 mongrel male dogs during routine castration surgeries at the Kastamonu Municipality Temporary Animal Care Center.
Methods: Rectal temperatures and ocular-auricular thermographic images were taken from 6 dogs anesthetized (xylazine HCl 1 mg/kg and ketamine HCl 15 mg/kg) during routine neutering surgeries. Data were analyzed by Bland-Altman for correlation between rectal-ocular and rectal-auricular temperatures.
Results: Rectal temperatures were significantly higher than orbital and auricular temperatures. In the correlation test, no significant difference and correlation were found between the measurements.
Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was determined that the use of thermography was more advantageous than the waiting times of the digital thermometer used to record rectal temperatures. In addition, the noninvasive nature of thermography increased its acceptability in all dogs. The findings from this pilot study were considered to be at a level that could provide a basis for future studies.
Taenia saginata is a zoonotic tapeworm that causes diseases in cattle and humans. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between June and July 2021 in Kajiado County, Kenya, to estimate the seroprevalence of Taenia saginata cysts in cattle presented for slaughter in Kitengela, Kiserian, and Keekonyokie slaughterhouses; determine the annual hospital reported cases of T. saginata in humans that visited all level 4 hospitals in Kajiado County between 2015 and 2021; and assess the risk factors for Taenia saginata in humans. Analyzed data in this study revealed that the seroprevalence of Taenia saginata cysts in cattle in the selected slaughterhouses was 2.67% (4/150). The meat inspectors recorded no cysts during the study period, confirming that antibody ELISA is three times as sensitive as meat inspection. Data from hospital records showed that a total of 1,487,687 patients visited different facilities in Kajiado County between 2015 and 2021. During the same period, 29 patients were diagnosed with human taeniasis. From the risk factors assessed, uninspected home slaughter (75%), consumption of raw/improperly cooked beef (100%), and open defecation by herders (11%) still pose a risk to humans getting infected by Taenia saginata, while the presence and use of latrines (89%) and availability, accessibility, and use of taenicides (89%) seem to have significantly contributed to the reduction of Taenia saginata prevalence in this region. It is recommended that control of the infection should be centered towards continuous focused education coupled with regular deworming of the herders and school going children. This will gradually result in behavior and culture change that will ultimately reduce the prevalence and lead to the elimination of the disease.
A total of 60 isolates of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from Jordanian camel colostrum using biochemical and molecular methods. Two dominant species were identified, and they were Lactobacillus salivarius and Enterococcus faecium. The entire 60 isolated LAB were tested for their acidity and bile tolerance, antimicrobial activity, and antibiotic sensitivity to test their potential probiotic activity. All 60 isolates were tolerant to different pH concentrations (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) with different survival rates (%). The entire isolates were also tolerant to different bile salt concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 2, and 3) with different bile resistance (%). All isolates have a different range of antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, and Salmonella typhimurium. The 60 isolates were almost sensitive to ampicillin, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin when different concentrations were used except some isolates of intermediate resistance. Only 6% of the isolates were resistant to clarithromycin at a concentration of 15 µg per disc.
This study was conducted to describe the stages of seminiferous epithelium (SE), determine the relative frequency of the stages, and identify the steps of spermatid development during spermatogenesis in the testicular tissue of Aceh bull. Seven pairs of the testicular organs of Aceh bull (Bos indicus) were used and then processed in a histological manner for staining using haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and periodic acid-Schiff-haematoxylin (PAS-H). The stages of seminiferous tubules were examined using a tubular morphology method while spermatid development was observed based on the acrosome formation during spermatid development. Eight stages (stages I to VIII) of SE were found in the testicular seminiferous tubules of Aceh bull. Furthermore, the percentage of the relative frequency of each stage was 25.48, 15.38, 12.92, 4.74, 14.97, 10.69, 10.74, and 5.08%, respectively, with the relative frequency of premeiotic, meiotic, and postmeiotic phases being 53.78, 4.74, and 41.48%, respectively. Spermatid development from round to elongated spermatids occurred in 14 steps. Steps 1 to 7 were observed in stage I, steps 8 and 9 in stage II, steps 10 and 11 in stage III, step 12 in stage IV, step 13 in stages V and VI, and step 14 in stages VII and VIII. These findings can be used as a basis for further studies, particularly in evaluating the abnormality of the cellular composition of the seminiferous tubule in each stage of spermatogenesis and also in determining daily sperm production in Aceh bull.
Corticosterone concentrations have been measured in amphibians by collecting blood or urine samples. However, blood sampling is invasive, and urine can be difficult to collect. A novel method of swabbing the skin of an amphibian has been utilized in numerous species but has not been verified in marine toads (Rhinella marina). This pilot study tested dermal swabs as a noninvasive method for collecting and measuring dermal corticosterone secretions. Swabs were used to collect dermal secretion samples from sixty-six free-ranging marine toads collected on Zoo Miami grounds. The subsequent day the toads were shipped to the North Carolina Zoo where dermal samples were collected again. Additional dermal and urine samples were collected on days 9, 15, 32, and 62 under human care to measure corticosterone concentrations. There was no significant correlation (P ≥ 0.05) noted between corticosterone concentrations reported in dermal swabs and those in urine samples at all four of the euthanasia time points or between the corticosterone concentrations reported in either urine or dermal swabs and the weight of the toads. Dermal swab concentrations (ng/mL) were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) on the day of capture (0.64 ± 0.03) and the day of arrival (0.67 ± 0.03) than on day 15 (0.47 ± 0.03). The urine corticosterone concentrations decreased while the toads were in human care with a significant decrease (P ≤ 0.05) between days 9 (0.45 ± 0.07) and 32 (0.21 ± 0.06). This study demonstrated that dermal swabs can be used to collect marine toad corticosterone concentration samples.
Uterine involution, ovarian activity, and incidence of postpartum uterine disease (PUD) were assessed in forty-eight dairy cows from calving until the 10th postpartum week. Postpartum follow-up included evaluation of uterine involution and ovarian structures by B-mode, Doppler color, and Doppler spectral ultrasound of the right uterine artery in cows with no calving or postpartum uterine problems (healthy cows). Data from cows that developed PUD (PUD cows) were compared with healthy cows matched by herd and days in milk (DIM). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, simple regression, one-way ANOVA, or repeated ANOVA measures, and in data analysis of healthy cows, uterine horn diameter assessed by B-mode ultrasound ranged from 22.9 ± 2.4 to 19.4 ± 1.4 mm and 19.9 ± 2.2 to 20.5 ± 2.3 mm from the fourth to the seventh postpartum week in the left and right uterine horns, respectively (P > 0.05). During the study, 15 and 7 cows had corpus luteum in the left and right ovaries, respectively. The mean time for the first postpartum CL was 30.1 ± 3.2 DIM (min 8, max 67 DIM). In data analysis of PUD cows, uterine blood flow assessed by color Doppler ranged from 7.4 ± 4.0 to 43.75 ± 10.3% in cows that developed PUD compared to 16.7 ± 11.0% in healthy cows (P > 0.05). No statistically significant changes were found in resistance index, pulsatility index, time-averaged maximum velocity, time-averaged mean velocity, or diastole/systole ratio (D/S) in cows that developed PUD compared to healthy cows (P > 0.05). Finally, no correlation was found between Doppler spectral parameters and uterine involution (P > 0.05). Our data suggest that cows receiving transition diets and exhibiting normal calving undergo a rapid macroscopic uterine involution and ovarian follicular dynamics resumption. Complete ultrasound evaluation provides valuable data for assessing uterine involution in postpartum dairy cows.
Continuous exposure to high ambient temperatures brings about a number of oxidative damages in chickens. Copper (Cu), an active component of a number of antioxidative defence components, should arrest these changes to take place although that may not be possible under the standard dosing regimen followed by the industry. To ascertain the optimum dose response that may be beneficial in sustaining the performance of chickens under heat stress (HS), broiler chickens (n = 400) were exposed to high ambient temperature (between 27.2°C and 35.3°C) during 1-35 d. Copper (Cu) as Cu proteinate (Cu-P) at concentrations of 37.5, 75, 112.5, and 150 mg/kg was supplemented to the diet. The negative control (NC) diet did not contain any supplemental Cu. Increasing dietary Cu improved (P < 0.001) body weight, feed intake, and conversion ratio. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol at 21 d (P = 0.009), HDL cholesterol at 35 d (P = 0.008), LDL cholesterol at 21 d (P = 0.015), and triacylglycerol at both 21 d (P = 0.033) and 35 d (P = 0.001) decreased as Cu in the diet increased. As Cu in the diet increased, hemoglobin increased (P = 0.003) at 21 d, and the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio decreased both at 21 d (P = 0.047) and 35 d (P = 0.001). Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities increased when dietary Cu increased to 150 mg/kg (P < 0.01). Liver Cu at 35 d increased linearly with the dose of Cu in the diet (P = 0.0001). Selected bacteria were enumerated in the digesta to ascertain if Cu super-dosing affected their population in any way in the absence of any enteric challenge. Escherichia coli and total Salmonella numbers decreased (P = 0.0001), and total Lactobacillus increased (P = 0.0001) proportionately with dietary Cu. Interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α gene expression increased linearly (P = 0.0001) as Cu in the diet increased though the response plateaued at 112.5 mg/kg. It was concluded from the present experiment that during conditions of impending HS, dietary supplementation of 112.5 to 150 mg Cu/kg diet as Cu-P may be a novel strategy to alleviate the negative effects of HS without involving any apparent risk of Cu toxicity.
This study assessed the influence of supplementing the rabbit semen extender with various concentrations of glutathione (GSH) and taurine at 24, 48, and 72 h postchilling at 5°C. Semen samples were collected from 20 New Zealand bucks, and ejaculates with standard color, motility (>85%), about 0.5 mL volume, and ∼400 × 106/mL concentration were used and diluted with extenders supplemented with 0.5, 1, and 2 mM of GSH and 1, 5, and 10 mM of taurine and chilled at 5°C. Nonsupplemented samples were used as a control. Sperm's progressive motility, acrosome reaction, and extracellular oxidative stress biomarkers such as MDA contents and GPx, SOD, and CAT concentrations and intracellular transcriptomic levels of SOD and CAT genes were assessed. GSH and taurine supplementation improved the sperm's kinetics by reducing cooling-associated stress, which was ascertained by lowering MDA concentration and increasing SOD, CAT, and GPx concentrations (P < 0.05). Increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes in the extender was due to the increasing mRNA copies of the SOD and CAT genes (P < 0.05). Furthermore, GSH and taurine maintained the fructose levels in the extender and lowered the GPT levels, which implies sperm membrane stability is maintained through GSH and taurine supplementation. GSH and taurine supplementation to the extender had protective influences on the in vitro rabbit semen quality during chilled storage for up to 72 h, which were remarkable with increasing supplementation dose and cooling time at 5°C.