Epizootiological observations on canine microfilaremia in Gujarat state, India.

AIM: The present investigation was conducted to study the prevalence of microfilaremia in dogs in Gujarat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 418 adult dogs aged between 2 and 14 years with signs of weakness and non-specified complaints, presented at TVCC, Deesa (North Gujarat), Nandini Veterinary Hospital, Surat (South Gujarat), and Private Clinics, Ahmedabad (Central Gujarat), were included in the present investigation for studying the prevalence of microfilaremia from July 2016 to May 2017. RESULTS: A total of 418 dogs were screened, of which 33 were found positive for circulating microfilariae with the prevalence rate of 7.89% in the population. Among microfilaremic dogs, the finding of microfilariae of Dipetalonema (Acanthocheilonema) reconditum was more common (23 cases; 69.69%) than Dirofilaria immitis (10 cases; 30.30%) making their prevalence in the population of 418 dogs as 5.50% and 2.39%, respectively. Breed-wise distribution of microfilaremic dogs revealed that 12 (36.36%), 8 (24.24%), 5 (15.15%), 4 (12.12%), 2 (6.06%), 1 (3.03%), and 1 (3.03%) cases were observed in Pomeranian, non-descript, German Shepherd, Labrador, Great Dane, Lhasa Apso, and Pug dogs, respectively. Of 10 cases of D. immitis, 5, 2, 2, and 1 were observed in Pomeranian, Labrador, non-descript, and Great Dane dogs, respectively. Cases of Dipetalonema reconditum were highest in Pomeranian (7), followed by non-descript (6), German Shepherd (5), Labrador (2), Great Dane (1), Lhasa Apso (1), and Pug (1). Age-wise distribution recorded significantly (p≤0.01) higher number of cases in adult dogs (4-14 years) for D. immitis (30.30%) and D. reconditum (39.39%). Sex-wise distribution of microfilaremic dogs showed that male (22/33, 66.66%) was more predisposed to microfilaremia rather than females (11/33, 33.34%). It is apparent from the study that the number of dogs with microfilaremia due to D. reconditum was significantly (p≤0.01) higher than that of D. immitis. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that microfilaremia due to D. immitis and D. reconditum is prevalent in the state of Gujarat. The infection with D. immitis was associated with severe lung and cardiac pathological manifestations.

A comparative analysis of the effect of three types of denture adhesives on the retention of maxillary denture bases: an in vivo study.

There are many factors involved in the success of a good quality complete dentures, one of them is retention. There are some forcing situations where providing optimal retention may be a problem, in which use of denture adhesives is recommended. In the present study, primary and secondary impressions were made on 20 completely edentulous patients, master cast was fabricated. Master cast was duplicated; heat-cured denture base was fabricated. The retention test for control group, powder group, wafer group, paste group was done using a customized force sensor device. Readings was subjected to ANOVA followed by post hoc test. Results show that the retention force value of the paste group was the maximum, followed by powder group, wafer group and the least retention force value was observed with control group. Within the limitations of the study it can be concluded that the paste form of denture adhesive has the best retentive property compared to the powder and wafer.

A Comparative Evaluation of the Effect of Resin based Sealers on Retention of Crown Cemented with Three Types of Cement - An In Vitro Study.

AIM: In an effort to control postoperative sensitivity, dentin sealers are being applied following crown preparations, with little knowledge of how crown retention might be affected. A previous study demonstrated no adverse effect when using a gluteraldehyde-based sealer, and existing studies have shown conflicting results for resin-based products. This study determined the retention of the casting cemented with three types of cement, with and without use of resin sealers and it determined the mode of failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Extracted human molars (n=60) were prepared with a flat occlusal, 20-degree taper, and 4-mm axial length. The axial surface area of each preparation was determined and specimens were distributed equally among groups (n=10). A single-bottle adhesive system (one step single bottle adhesive system) was used to seal dentin, following tooth preparation. Sealers were not used on the control specimens. The test castings were prepared by using Ni-Cr alloy for each specimen and they were cemented with a seating force of 20 Kg by using either Zinc Phosphate (Harvard Cement), Glass Ionomer (GC luting and lining cement,GC America Inc.) and modified-resin cement (RelyXTMLuting2). Specimens were thermocycled for one month and were then removed along the path of insertion by using a Universal Testing Machine at 0.5 mm/min. A single-factor ANOVA was used with a p value of .05. The nature of failure was recorded and the data was analyzed by using Chi-square test. RESULTS: Mean dislodgement stress for Zinc phosphate (Group A) was 24.55±1.0 KgF and that for zinc phosphate with sealer (Group D) was 14.65±0.8 KgF. For glass ionomer (Group B) without sealer, the mean value was 32.0±1.0 KgF and mean value for glass ionomer with sealer (Group E) was 37.90±1.0 KgF. The mean value for modified resin cement (Group C) was 44.3±1.0KgF and that for modified resins with sealer (Group F) was 57.2±1.2 KgF. The tooth failed before casting dislodgement in 8 to 10 specimens cemented with modified-resin cement. CONCLUSION: Resin sealer decreased casting retentive stress by 46% when it was used with Zinc phosphate. However, sealer use resulted in 60% increased retention when it was used with Glass ionomer cement. The modified-resin cement produced the highest mean dislodgement stress, which nearly always exceeded the strength of the tooth.

Influenza A virus nucleoprotein induces apoptosis in human airway epithelial cells: implications of a novel interaction between nucleoprotein and host protein Clusterin.

Apoptosis induction is an antiviral host response, however, influenza A virus (IAV) infection promotes host cell death. The nucleoprotein (NP) of IAV is known to contribute to viral pathogenesis, but its role in virus-induced host cell death was hitherto unknown. We observed that NP contributes to IAV infection induced cell death and heterologous expression of NP alone can induce apoptosis in human airway epithelial cells. The apoptotic effect of IAV NP was significant when compared with other known proapoptotic proteins of IAV. The cell death induced by IAV NP was executed through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. We screened host cellular factors for those that may be targeted by NP for inducing apoptosis and identified human antiapoptotic protein Clusterin (CLU) as a novel interacting partner. The interaction between IAV NP and CLU was highly conserved and mediated through ß-chain of the CLU protein. Also CLU was found to interact specifically with IAV NP and not with any other known apoptosis modulatory protein of IAV. CLU prevents induction of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway by binding to Bax and inhibiting its movement into the mitochondria. We found that the expression of IAV NP reduced the association between CLU and Bax in mammalian cells. Further, we observed that CLU overexpression attenuated NP-induced cell death and had a negative effect on IAV replication. Collectively, these findings indicate a new function for IAV NP in inducing host cell death and suggest a role for the host antiapoptotic protein CLU in this process.

Coronomaxillary space and its significance in complete denture retention--case reports.

The coronomaxillary space defines the distal-most extension of the maxillary denture border, and it usually is tightened during mouth opening. It has been reported that its adequate filling or overfilling is helpful in prosthesis retention. Two types of individual anatomical variations can affect the size of this space: vertical or lateral. With vertical variations, the space increases or does not vary when the mouth is opened; therefore, the prosthesis border must be thicker to obtain adequate retention. With lateral variations, the coronomaxillary space is reduced when the mouth is opened; therefore, the prosthesis border must be thin. The case reports presented here show how complete denture retention can be augmented by the careful recording of the coronomaxillary space dimensions.

Important mammalian veterinary viral immunodiseases and their control.

This paper offers an overview of important veterinary viral diseases of mammals stemming from aberrant immune response. Diseases reviewed comprise those due to lentiviruses of equine infectious anaemia, visna/maedi and caprine arthritis encephalitis and feline immunodeficiency. Diseases caused by viruses of feline infectious peritonitis, feline leukaemia, canine distemper and aquatic counterparts, Aleutian disease and malignant catarrhal fever. We also consider prospects of immunoprophylaxis for the diseases and briefly other control measures. It should be realised that the outlook for effective vaccines for many of the diseases is remote. This paper describes the current status of vaccine research and the difficulties encountered during their development.

Anti-inflammatory activity of Abutilon indicum extract.

Abutilon indicum Linn. had been broadly used for its reported biological activities in indigenous system of medicine. The ethanolic extract of the whole plant of A. indicum Linn. was evaluated for its anti-inflammatory activity at doses 250, 500 and 750 mg kg⁻¹ using the carrageenan-induced paw oedema in healthy Wistar albino rats. Results of in vivo activity led to the conclusion that the ethanolic extract of A. indicum showed predominantly significant activity in a dose-dependent manner, which is comparable to the reference standard ibuprofen. The results prove the traditional use of plant in the treatment of inflammation.

Intestinal permeability of Lamivudine using single pass intestinal perfusion.

The intestinal transport of lamivudine, a nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor, was investigated using the single pass intestinal perfusion technique in male Wistar rats. Single pass intestinal perfusion was performed in small intestine at a flow rate of 0.20 ml/min. Lamivudine exhibits a high intestinal permeability over the length of the small intestine indicative of compounds that are well absorbed. The P eff of lamivudine is in the range of drugs with high intestinal permeability and high fraction of dose absorbed indicating that lamivudine readily crosses the intestine. This also suggests that lamivudine belongs to biopharmaceutics classification system class I and is a good candidate for biopharmaceutics classification system based biowaiver. The permeability values obtained from this study may be useful in models of exposure assessment.

Use of zero-valent iron biosand filters to reduce Escherichia coli O157:H12 in irrigation water applied to spinach plants in a field setting.

AIMS: Zero-valent iron (ZVI) filters may provide an efficient method to mitigate the contamination of produce crops through irrigation water. METHODS: A field-scale system was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of a biosand filter (S), a biosand filter with ZVI incorporated (ZVI) and a control (C, no treatment) in decontaminating irrigation water. An inoculum of c.8·5log CFU100ml(-1) of Escherichia coli O157:H12 was introduced to all three column treatments in 20-l doses. Filtered waters were subsequently overhead irrigated to 'Tyee' spinach plants. Water, spinach plant and soil samples were obtained on days 0, 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13 and 15 and analysed for E. coli O157:H12 populations. RESULTS: ZVI filters inactivated c.6logCFU100ml(-1) E. coli O157:H12 during filtration on day 0, significantly (P<0·05) more than S filter (0·49CFU100ml(-1)) when compared to control on day 0 (8·3log CFU100ml(-1)). On day 0, spinach plants irrigated with ZVI-filtered water had significantly lower E. coli O157 counts (0·13logCFUg(-1)) than spinach irrigated with either S-filtered (4·37logCFUg(-1)) or control (5·23logCFUg(-1)) water. Soils irrigated with ZVI-filtered water contained E. coli O157:H12 populations below the detection limit (2logCFUg(-1)), while those irrigated with S-filtered water (3·56logCFUg(-1)) were significantly lower than those irrigated with control (4·64logCFUg(-1)). CONCLUSIONS: ZVI biosand filters were more effective in reducing E. coli O157:H12 populations in irrigation water than sand filters. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Zero-valent ion treatment may be a cost-effective mitigation step to help small farmers reduce risk of foodborne E. coli infections associated with contamination of leafy greens.

A comparative evaluation of effect of upper lip length, age and sex on amount of exposure of maxillary anterior teeth.

AIM: The aim was to evaluate the relationship of age, sex and lip length to the amount of exposure of maxillary incisors and canine teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two-hundred subjects were enrolled in the study. All subjects were grouped according to the lip length and age. The exposure of maxillary central incisor and canines was measured with flexible millimeter ruler. Teeth exposure beyond the lower border of the upper lip was considered as positive exposure and the unexposed teeth were considered as negative exposure. RESULT: In females of age group 20 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and 50 to 59 years, the mean exposure of central incisor was 2.16, 2.1, 2.18 mm and that of canine was 0.04, -0.36, -0.44 mm. For male of age group 20 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49 and 50 to 59 years exposed 2.04, 2.04, 1.84, 1.76 mm of central incisor respectively and 0.08, -0.52, -0.4 and -0.4 mm exposure of canine. Female subjects with lip length 10 to 15, 15 to 20, 21 to 25, 25 to 30 and 31 to 35 mm showed 3.7, 3.4, 2.3, 0.9, 0.25 mm exposure of central incisor and 0.35, -0.15, -0.7, -0.8, -0.6 mm exposure of canine, respectively. Male subjects exposed 3.4, 3.3, 2.05, 0.7, 0.15 mm of central incisor and 0.4, 0.3, -0.6, -0.95, -0.7 mm of canine respective to lip length. CONCLUSION: The range of exposure of maxillary central incisors was wider than that of canine. The average dimensions for maxillary canines relating to age and sex were closer to the extremes of the range. The canine position relative to the maxillary lip appeared to be a more predictable determinant. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The result of the study can be used as a reference according to the age, sex and the lip length of the patient to correctly place maxillary anterior teeth in prosthesis.

Immunoprophylaxis against important virus disease of horses, farm animals and birds.

Since the refinement of tissue culture techniques for virus isolation and propagation from the mid 1960s onwards, veterinary virology has received much academic and industrial interest, and has now become a major global industry largely centred on vaccine development against economically important virus diseases of food animals. Bio-tech approaches have been widely used for improved vaccines development. While many viral diseases are controlled through vaccination, many still lack safe and efficacious vaccines. Additional challenges faced by academia, industry and governments are likely to come from viruses jumping species and also from the emergence of virulent variants of established viruses due to natural mutations. Also viral ecology is changing as the respective vectors adapt to new habitats as has been shown in the recent incursion by bluetongue virus into Europe. In this paper the current vaccines for livestock, horses and birds are described in a species by species order. The new promising bio-tech approaches using reverse genetics, non-replicating viral vectors, alpha virus vectors and genetic vaccines in conjunction with better adjuvants and better ways of vaccine delivery are discussed as well

Review of companion animal viral diseases and immunoprophylaxis.

In this article we review important established, newly emergent and potential viral diseases of cats, dogs and rabbits. Topics covered include virus epidemiology, disease pathogenesis, existing and prospective immunoprophylaxis against the viruses. For some feline viruses, notably the immunodeficiency virus, leukaemia virus and peritonitis virus, available vaccines are poorly efficacious but there are good prospects for this. A further challenge for the industry is likely to be due to viruses jumping species and the emergence of more virulent variants of established viruses resulting from mutations as has been the case for the canine parvovirus, coronaviruses and feline calicivirus.

Effect of a reactive oxygen species-generating system for control of airborne microorganisms in a meat-processing environment.

The effectiveness of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating AirOcare equipment on the reduction of airborne bacteria in a meat-processing environment was determined. Serratia marcescens and lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactobacillus plantarum) were used to artificially contaminate the air via a six-jet Collison nebulizer. Air in the meat-processing room was sampled immediately after aerosol generation and at various predetermined times at multiple locations by using a Staplex 6 stage air sampler. Approximately a 4-log reduction of the aerial S. marcescens population was observed within 2 h of treatment (P < 0.05) compared to a 1-log reduction in control samples. The S. marcescens populations reduced further by approximately 4.5 log after 24 h of exposure to ROS treatment. Approximately 3-log CFU/m3 reductions in lactic acid bacteria were observed following 2-h ROS exposure. Further ROS exposure reduced lactic acid bacteria in the air; however, the difference in their survival after 24 h of exposure was not significantly different from that observed with the control treatment. S. marcescens bacteria were more sensitive to ROS treatment than the lactic acid bacteria. These findings reveal that ROS treatment using the AirOcare unit significantly reduces airborne S. marcescens and lactic acid bacteria in meat-processing environments within 2 h.

Epidemiology, disease and control of infections in ruminants by herpesviruses--an overview.

There are at least 16 recognised herpesviruses that naturally infect cattle, sheep, goats and various species of deer and antelopes. Six of the viruses are recognised as distinct alphaherpesviruses and 9 as gammaherpesviruses. Buffalo herpesvirus (BflHV) and ovine herpesvirus-1 (OvHV-1) remain officially unclassified. The prevalence of ruminant herpesviruses varies from worldwide to geographically restricted in distribution. Viruses in both subfamilies Alphaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae cause mild to moderate and severe disease in respective natural or secondary ruminant hosts. Accordingly, the economic and ecological impact of the viruses is also variable. The molecular characteristics of some members have been investigated in detail. This has led to the identification of virulence-associated genes and construction of deletion mutants and recombinant viruses. Some of the latter have been developed as commercial vaccines. This paper aims to give an overview of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of infection by these viruses, immuno-prophylaxis and mechanisms of recovery from infection. Since there are 128 ruminant species in the family Bovidae, it is likely that some herpesviruses remain undiscovered. We conclude that currently known ruminant alphaherpesviruses occur only in their natural hosts and do not cross stably into other ruminant species. By contrast, gammaherpesviruses have a much broader host range as evidenced by the fact that antibodies reactive to alcelaphine herpesvirus type 1 have been detected in 4 subfamilies in the family Bovidae, namely Alcelaphinae, Hippotraginae, Ovibovinae and Caprinae. New gammaherpesviruses within these subfamilies are likely to be discovered in the future.

Veterinary vaccine development from an industrial perspective.

Veterinary vaccines currently available in Europe and in other parts of the world are developed by the veterinary pharmaceutical industry. The development of a vaccine for veterinary use is an economic endeavour that takes many years. There are many obstacles along the path to the successful development and launch of a vaccine. The industrial development of a vaccine for veterinary use usually starts after the proof of concept that is based on robust academic research. A vaccine can only be made available to the veterinary community once marketing authorisation has been granted by the veterinary authorities. This review gives a brief description of the regulatory requirements which have to be fulfilled before a vaccine can be admitted to the market. Vaccines have to be produced in a quality controlled environment to guarantee delivery of a product of consistent quality with well defined animal and consumer safety and efficacy characteristics. The regulatory and manufacturing legislative framework in which the development takes place is described, as well as the trend in developments in production systems. Recent developments in bacterial, viral and parasite vaccine research and development are also addressed and the development of novel adjuvants that use the expanding knowledge of immunology and disease pathology are described.

WITHDRAWN: Immunoprophylaxis against important virus diseases of horses, farm animals and birds.

This article has been withdrawn consistent with Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.

Rapid detection of Salmonella from hydrodynamic pressure-treated poultry using molecular beacon real-time PCR.

A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was evaluated to detect Salmonella in hydrodynamic pressure (HDP)-treated chicken using molecular beacon probes available as a commercial kit (iQ-Check, Bio-Rad Laboratories). The sensitivity and accuracy of the assay were compared with the conventional USDA microbiological procedure using artificially contaminated minced chicken. Chicken fillets were irradiated at 10 kGy to completely destroy any naturally occurring Salmonella. These fillets were minced and inoculated with as low as 2+/-1 cfu of S. typhimurium per 25 g chicken. The minced chicken samples were vacuum packed in multi-layer barrier bags, heat shrunk, and treated with HDP. Results showed that all inoculated samples (n=36) were detected by the PCR assay and conventional USDA procedure. Similarly, all uninoculated controls (n=11) were negative by both PCR assay and USDA procedure. As few as 2+/-1 cfu could be detected from 25 g HDP-treated chicken following 16-18 h enrichment in buffered peptone water. Real-time PCR proved to be an effective method for Salmonella detection in HDP-treated chicken with high sensitivity and more importantly, a rapid and high-throughput detection in 18 h, compared to 3-8 days for the conventional microbiological methods. HDP treatment, which has been reported to reduce spoilage bacteria in various meats, was unable to kill pathogenic Salmonella in minced chicken.

Sorting for beef tenderness using high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis: A research note.

This study utilized two sampling methods to examine changes in sarcoplasmic proteins during aging of beef and their relation to tenderness. Water-soluble proteins either obtained by manually expressing exudates from the meat (drip) or by an extraction procedure using homogenization and centrifugation (ext) were analyzed for longissimus lumborum muscle using HPLC and capillary electrophoresis (CE) on days 2, 7, 10 and 14 postmortem. A peak that consistently increased with aging was identified using HPLC. Among nine peaks detected in the CE analysis, peak 9 (100kDa) that increased and peak 4 (30kDa) that decreased with aging were correlated (P<0.05) to tenderness as determined by Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). For pooled data of all aging periods, drip sample explained the most variability (49%) in shear force compared to ext sample (25%) using HPLC analyses. At 2 days postmortem, a multiple linear regression model explained 83% of the variation in WBSF using CE-ext or HPLC-drip samples. Sixty percent of the variability in shear force was explained by CE-ext samples for day 7 data. The variability in shear force as explained by either drip or ext sample was less than 51 percent for 10 and 14 days postmortem data. The drip samples were comparable to ext samples in predicting WBSF values for both tough (>46N WBSF on day 2) and tender (<46N WBSF on day 2) strip loins using CE and HPLC procedure. Results suggest that a simple drip sampling may have a potential for use with either HPLC or CE analyses on day 2 postmortem for sorting carcasses into tenderness groups.

Equine herpesviruses 1 (EHV-1) and 4 (EHV-4)--epidemiology, disease and immunoprophylaxis: a brief review.

This review concentrates on the epidemiology, latency and pathogenesis of, and the approaches taken to control infection of horses by equine herpesvirus types 1 (EHV-1) and 4 (EHV-4). Although both viruses may cause febrile rhinopneumonitis, EHV-1 is the main cause of abortions, paresis and neonatal foal deaths. The lesion central to these three conditions is necrotising vasculitis and thrombosis resulting from lytic infection of endothelial cells lining blood capillaries. The initiation of infection in these lesions is likely to be by reactivated EHV-1 from latently infected leukocytes. However, host factors responsible for reactivation remain poorly understood. While vaccine development against these important viruses of equines involving classical and modern approaches has been ongoing for over five decades, progress, compared to other alpha herpesviruses of veterinary importance affecting cattle and pigs, has been slow. However recent data with a live temperature sensitive EHV-1 vaccine show promise.