Evaluation of the Feasibility of 2D-SWE to Measure Liver Stiffness in Healthy Dogs and Analysis of Possible Confounding Factors.

(1) Background: Two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) is a non-invasive method widely used in human medicine to assess the extent of liver fibrosis but only rarely applied to veterinary medicine. This study aimed to measure liver stiffness in healthy dogs and investigate the factors that impacted 2D-SWE measurement. (2) Methods: In total, 55 healthy dogs were enrolled and subjected to 2D-SWE measurements before and after anesthesia administration. Post-anesthesia 2D-SWE measurements and computerized tomography (CT) scans were obtained. (3) Results: The liver stiffness range in healthy dogs was 3.96 ± 0.53 kPa. In a stratified analysis based on confounding factors, liver stiffness was influenced by measurement site and anesthesia, but not by sex. No correlation was observed between liver stiffness and weight or liver CT attenuation. (4) Conclusions: 2D-SWE is feasible for liver stiffness measurement in dogs. Anesthesia and measurement site are sources of variability. Therefore, these factors should be considered while recording 2D-SWE measurements. Our data on liver stiffness in healthy dogs can serve as the basis for future studies on 2D-SWE to assess pathological conditions in dogs.

Enhanced treatment of low C/N ratio rural sewage by a modified multi-stage tidal flow constructed wetland at low temperature: Quantitative contributions of key functional genera.

Rural sewage treatment was traditionally faced contradiction between low-treatment rates and the need for low-cost development. To address this challenge, we explored the coupling of effluent circulation and step-feeding strategies in a multi-stage tidal flow constructed wetland (TFCW) to achieve stable nitrogen (N) removal performance under conditions of low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratios and low temperatures. The modified multi-stage TFCW demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce the concentrations of effluent NH4+-N and NO3--N by 33.9 % and 54.8 % respectively, resulting in values of 7.47 mg/L and 3.93 mg/L. Additionally, it achieved an average TN removal efficiency of 69.2 %. The improved N removal performance of rural sewage by the modified multi-stage TFCW at low temperatures was primarily attributed to autotrophic nitrification, heterotrophic nitrification, and autotrophic denitrification. Among the identified functional genera, Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira played key roles as autotrophic nitrification bacteria (ANB), contributing to 28.2 % of NH4+-N removal. The key heterotrophic nitrification bacteria (HNB) Acidovorax and Rudaea were mainly responsible for 71.3 % of NH4+-N removal via the two-step ammonia assimilation through the organic nitrogen pathway. Furthermore, Rhodanobacter and Acinetobacter emerged as key autotrophic denitrification bacteria (ADNB), accounting for 79.9 % of NO3--N conversion and removal. In summary, this study provides valuable theoretical insights and supports ongoing efforts in biological regulation to address the challenges associated with rural sewage treatment.

Experimental Study on Laminar Burning Characteristics of Premixed 2,5-Dimethylfuran/Air Mixtures at Elevated Pressures and Temperatures.

Experimental studies of laminar burning velocity and flame instabilities of 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) were conducted at different equivalence ratios (from 0.9 to 1.3), initial pressures (from 0.1 to 0.8 MPa), and initial temperatures (from 393 to 493 K) by the method of the schlieren and high-speed photography system in the constant-volume combustion bomb. The results showed that the laminar burning velocity of the DMF/air flame decreased with increasing initial pressure and increased with increasing initial temperature. The maximum laminar burning velocity occurred at φ = 1.1, regardless of the initial pressure and temperature conditions. The power law fitting of baric coefficients, thermal coefficients, and laminar burning velocity was obtained, and the laminar burning velocity of DMF/air flame can be predicted well in the study range. The diffusive-thermal instability of the DMF/air flame was more pronounced during rich combustion. Increasing the initial pressure increased both the diffusive-thermal instability and the hydrodynamic instability of the flame, while increasing the initial temperature increased the diffusive-thermal instability of the flame, which was mainly responsible for flame propagation. In addition, the Markstein length, density ratio, flame thickness, critical radius, acceleration index, and classification excess of the DMF/air flame were investigated. The results of this paper provide a theoretical support for the application of DMF in engineering.

Affecting factors for abdominal incisional tension in surgery of dogs and cats.

OBJECTIVE: Proper assessment of intraoperative abdominal incisional tension helps to select the appropriate sutures and suture method. Wound tension is usually thought to be associated with wound size, but few relevant articles have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the core factors influencing abdominal incisional tension and construct regression equations to judge incisional tension in clinical surgery. METHODS: Medical records were collected from clinical surgical cases at the Teaching Animal Hospital of Nanjing Agricultural University from March 2022 to June 2022. The data collected mainly included the body weight, and the incisional length, margin, and tension. The core factors affecting abdominal wall incisional tension were screened by correlation analysis, random forest analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Although correlation analysis showed that multiple same and deep layer abdominal incision parameters and body weight were significantly correlated with abdominal incisional tension. However, the same layer of abdominal incisional margin had the largest correlation coefficient. In random forest models, the abdominal incisional margin had the main contribution to the prediction of the same layer's abdominal incisional tension. In the multiple linear regression model, all incisional tension could be predicted by the same layer of abdominal incisional margin as the only independent variable, except for canine muscle and subcutaneous. The canine muscle and subcutaneous incisional tension were binary regressions with the same layer's abdominal incision margin and body weight. CONCLUSION: The same layer's abdominal incisional margin is the core factor positively related to the abdominal incisional tension intraoperatively.

Improving stability of mainstream Anammox in an innovative two-stage process for advanced nitrogen removal from mature landfill leachate.

This study presents an innovative mainstream Anammox based on multiple NO2--N supplement pathways to treat actual mature landfill leachate over 180 days. Desirable effluent quality of 11.8 mg/L total nitrogen (TN) and nitrogen removal efficiency of 98.8% were achieved despite fluctuation conditions of 1.5-fold influent substrates and 8.0-fold dissolved oxygen overload. Nitrogen mass balance confirmed Anammox was the dominant nitrogen removal pathway, contributing up to 87.9%. Functional genes of ammonia monooxygenase (amoA), hydrazine synthase (hzsB), and ratio of nitrate/nitrite reductase were highly detected. Anammox genera, Candidatus_Kuenenia (4.1%) and Candidatus_Brocadia (5.3%) were dominant in two functional systems, respectively, due to the different affinity of nitrite, oxygen, and organic carbon. As an economical and sustainable technology, the innovative process enabled a 95.1% decrease in organic carbon demand, a 61.5% reduction in aeration energy consumption, and 77.6% lower biomass production compared with traditional nitrification-denitrification process.

Development of a novel partial nitrification, fermentation-based double denitrification bioprocess (PN-F-Double/DN) to simultaneous treatment of mature landfill leachate and waste activated sludge.

Introducing fermentation technology into sewage treatment is a sustainable development concept, but future application still faces many challenges. A novel partial nitrification, fermentation-based double denitrification bioprocess (PN-F-Double/DN) was achieved in three separated SBR type reactors, simultaneously treating high ammonia (1766.6 mg/L) mature landfill leachate and external waste activated sludge (WAS, MLSS = 20.6 g/L). Firstly, NH4+-N was oxidized to NO2--N in partial nitrification reactor (PN-SBR), with nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) of 96.5%. Next, the PN-SBR effluent (NO2--N = 1529.8 mg/L) coupled with the WAS were introduced to an anoxic reactor for integrated fermentation-denitrification (IFD-SBR). The occurrence of fermentation was mainly attributed to free nitrous acid (FNA, nitrite protonate form) promoting the splitting decomposition of sludge spatial configuration and interfacial forces. The released volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were utilized in situ during the denitrification process (NO2--N→N2), obtaining 0.6 kg/m3•d nitrogen removal rate and 3.3 kg/m3•d sludge reduction rate. Finally, undesirable fermentation by-products from IFD-SBR (NH4+-N = 119.2 mg/L) were further removed in the endogenous post-denitrification reactor (EPD-SBR) through operational strategy of anaerobic/aerobic/anoxic by residual VFAs as the carbon source. In the EPD-SBR, Defluviicoccus (0.9%) and Candidatus Competibacter (5.8%) dominated carbon source storage and nitrogen removal, acting as a typical denitrifying glycogen-accumulating organism (DGAO), with an intracellular carbon storage efficiency of 83.1% and nitrogen removal contribution of 93.7%. After 200 days of operation, the PN-F-Double/DN process provided effluent containing, on average, 1.86 mg/L NH4+-N and 5.5 mg/L NOx--N, with 98.5% TN removal. Compared with traditional bioprocesses, PN-F-Double/DN allowed up to 25% saving in aeration energy consumption, 100% decrease in carbon source demand, and achieve 46.1% external WAS reduction.

Quantitative ecology associations between heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification, nitrogen-metabolism genes, and key bacteria in a tidal flow constructed wetland.

This study explored the quantitative mechanisms of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) in a pilot-scale two-stage tidal flow constructed wetland (TFCW). The TFCW packed shale ceramsite (SC) and activated alumina (AA) at each stage, respectively, and aimed to improve decentralized wastewater treatment efficiency. In start-up phases, AA-TFCW accelerated NH4+-N decline, reaching transformation rates of 6.68 mg NH4+-N/(L·h). In stable phases, SC-AA-TFCW resisted low-temperatures (<13 °C), achieving stable NH4+-N and TN removal with effluents ranging 6.36-8.13 mg/L and 9.43-14.7 mg/L, respectively. The dominant genus, Ferribacterium, was the core of HN-AD bacteria, simultaneously removing NH4+-N and NO3--N by nitrate assimilation and complete denitrification (NO3--N â†’ N2), respectively. The quantitative associations highlighted importance of nitrification, nitrate assimilation, and denitrification in nitrogen removal. HN-AD bacteria (e.g., Lactococcus, Thauera, and Aeromonas) carried high-weight genes in quantitative associations, including napAB, nasA and gltBD, implying that HN-AD bacteria have multiple roles in SC-AA-TFCW operation.

The synergy of porous substrates and functional genera for efficient nutrients removal at low temperature in a pilot-scale two-stage tidal flow constructed wetland.

A pilot-scale two-stage tidal flow constructed wetland (TFCW) with working volume of 0.46 m3/d packing with shale ceramsite (SC) and activated alumina (AA) was constructed (named as SC-AA-TFCW) for nutrients removal at low temperature (<15 °C). SC-AA-TFCW achieved stable removals of 78.1% nitrogen and 98.3% phosphorous. SC-TFCW contributed to 55.2% of organics and 85.6% of particulate phosphorous removal. Among 17 denitrifiers, the absolute abundance of aerobic denitrification bacteria (ADNB) was highest, followed by facultative anaerobic denitrification bacteria (FADNB) and autotrophic denitrification bacteria (AUDNB). Nitrogen assimilating into organic nitrogen, dissimilatory and assimilatory nitrate reduction and complete denitrification may be main nitrogen metabolic pathways. Some ADNB (e. g. Zoogloea, Pseudomonas and Acidovorax) showed positive interactions with various key functional genes related to nutrients removal. Dissolved oxygen and reducing elements were main environmental factors in changing ADNB compositions. This study highlights the importance of ADNB and their synergy to porous substrates in SC-AA-TFCW.

Response of bacterial regrowth, abundant and rare bacteria and potential pathogens to secondary chlorination in secondary water supply system.

This study investigated the effects of secondary chlorination on bacterial regrowth, microbial communities (abundant and rare taxa) and bacterial functions of pipe wall biofilm and bulk water in simulated secondary water supply system (SWSS). Continuous secondary chlorination was more effective than short-term secondary chlorination to control the bacterial regrowth in both biofilm and water samples. Bacterial diversity slightly reduced after continuous secondary chlorination, and 19.27% of the total operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were shared by biofilm and water samples, with Bacillus as the dominant genus. Abundant and rare taxa exhibited different community structures. Proteobacteria and candidate division WPS-1 predominated in abundant and rare phyla were sensitive to chlorine, while Firmicutes, Acidobacteria and Bacteroidetes, exhibited relative strong chlorine resistance. The abundant genera in control sample (e.g., Bosea, Sphingobium and Gemmata) exhibited poor tolerance to chlorine, while Bacillus in biofilm and Defluviimonas in water were the main chlorine-resistant genera. Moreover, the composition of rare genera in each sample was obviously different. Furthermore, a total of 18 potential pathogens were detected with Pseudomonas as the dominant genus, most of which were significantly reduced after disinfection. There were mainly positive interactions among potential pathogenic bacteria, with Enterococcus, Legionella and Vibrio as the hub genera as revealed by network analysis. Similar bacterial functions in both biofilm and water were observed with metabolism as the predominant bacterial function, while, human disease function only accounted for 1.07% of bacterial functions. These results highlighted the importance of continuous secondary chlorination for controlling biosafety of SWSS and identified the dissimilar responses of abundant and rare bacteria to the disinfection, as well as the co-occurrence patterns among potential pathogens, improving our understanding of bacterial communities in SWSS.

Intensified nitrogen removal by heterotrophic nitrification aerobic denitrification bacteria in two pilot-scale tidal flow constructed wetlands: Influence of influent C/N ratios and tidal strategies.

This study investigated the influence of C/N ratios and tidal strategies on nitrogen removal and bacterial communities in two pilot-scale tidal flow constructed wetlands (TFCWs) with simultaneous nitrification-denitrification process. Heterotrophic nitrification aerobic denitrification (HNAD) was the main nitrogen transformation pathway in both TFCWs. High C/N ratios and effluent circulation at low temperature promoted HNAD in TFCWs with high nitrogen removal efficiencies (72.6%-95.5% for NH4+-N and 70.9%~91.8% for TN). Effluent circulation had more influence on bacterial community structure and diversity than C/N ratios. Among 16 detected genera related to nitrogen removal, HNAD bacteria (HNADB) were abundant. Especially, some dominant HNADB (e.g. Aeromonas, Hydrogenophage and Gemmobacter) were core genera, showing positive interactions with other genera related to nitrogen removal. Tidal strategies had more contribution to the shifts in these genera than C/N ratios. This study highlights the importance of HNADB in pilot-scale TFCWs and their responses to C/N ratios and tidal strategies.

Double-layer substrate of shale ceramsite and active alumina tidal flow constructed wetland enhanced nitrogen removal from decentralized domestic sewage.

This study explored the application of shale ceramsite (SC) overlaid onto active alumina (AA) to function as a double-layer substrate in tidal flow constructed wetland (TFCW, SC-AA-TFCW) for decentralized domestic sewage treatment. This was compared to AA or SC substrate alone (AA-TFCW or SC-TFCW) for nitrogen removal, variation of dissolved oxygen and porosity in TFCWs, as well as structure of bacterial communities at varied hydraulic load (HL) of 0.204-2.448 m3/m2 d with time ratio of the wet and dry phase of 3:1. The results demonstrate that SC-AA-TFCW removed 86% NH4+-N and 79% total nitrogen at HL of 0.612 m3/m2 d, which was better than AA-TFCW(76%) or SC-TFCW(49%). The higher nitrogen removal performance in SC-AA-TFCW was mainly attributed to enhanced oxygen transportation due to non-uniform flow field and irregular gap distribution in layered structure, as well as less pore blockage during long-term operation. Denitrifying bacteria including Dechloromonas, Acidovorax, Chryseobacterium and Thermomonas species took up 32% of the microbiome in SC-AA-TFCW, which was higher than in AA-TFCW (17%) and SC-TFCW (7.7%). This study highlighted the importance of layered structures and determined an optimal HL of TFCW to achieve an efficient and stable nitrogen removal for domestic sewage treatment.

Enhanced simultaneous organics and nutrients removal in tidal flow constructed wetland using activated alumina as substrate treating domestic wastewater.

A tidal flow constructed wetland (TFCW), a commonly applied system to clean wastewater, contains a substrate to assist pollutants removal, while the choice of substrate affects the formation of bacterial biofilms. Herein, activated alumina-TFCW (A-TFCW) with hydraulic load of 1.35 m3/(m2·d) parallel with shale ceramisite (S-TFCW) was investigated for treating domestic wastewater, aiming to enhance simultaneous long-term removal of organics, nitrogen and phosphorus. A-TFCW achieved significantly higher COD, NH4+-N, TN and TP removal efficiency than S-TFCW, with the removal efficiency of 85.9% COD, 85.4% NH4+-N, 72.8% TN and 96.4% TP respectively. Denitrifying bacteria dominated in both formed biofilms, with higher relative abundance of nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria in A-TFCW. These results demonstrated that AA substrate was more suitable to be applied in enhancing the removal performance in TFCW for the treatment of domestic wastewater.

Organic Selenium Alleviated the Formation of Ethylene Glycol-Induced Calcium Oxalate Renal Calculi by Improving Osteopontin Expression and Antioxidant Capability in Dogs.

Twenty one-year-old local male dogs were randomly assigned into four groups (five dogs per group). The control and the ethylene glycol (EG) groups were fed basal diets without and with EG, and the EG+sodium selenite (EG+SS) and EG+selenium yeast (EG+SY) groups were fed basal diets with EG containing SS and SY, respectively. Blood, urine, and renal samples were taken after 18 weeks of feeding. The results showed that compared with the control group, the serum calcium levels and antioxidase activities significantly decreased in the EG group. Serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and urine calcium and oxalate levels significantly increased. Calcium oxalate crystal deposition and osteopontin (OPN) messenger RNA and protein expression in the renal tissues significantly increased. These changes above in the EG group were reversed within limits by adding selenium in the diets (both EG+SS and EG+SY groups). Further, compared with the EG+SS group, the EG+SY group showed better effects in decreasing the formation of EG-induced calcium oxalate renal calculi and OPN expression and improving antioxidant capability in dogs. It indicates that organic selenium has the potential value to alleviate the formation of EG-induced calcium oxalate renal calculi.

Production of N-acyl Homoserine Lactones and Virulence Factors of Waterborne Aeromonas hydrophila.

Aeromonads are inhabitants of aquatic ecosystems and are described as being involved in intestinal disturbances and other infections. The purpose of this study was to investigate the production of N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecules and some virulence factors, including hemolysins, proteases, extracellular nucleases production and cytotoxicity by waterborne Aeromonas hydrophila. A total of 24 strains isolated from fresh-water or diseased fish were used in the study. The majority A.hydrophila strains produce two AHL molecules (21/24), one is N-butanoyl homoserine lactone (BHL), and the other is N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone (HHL) according to thin-layer chromatography analysis. Among the virulence factors tested, more than 83 % of the isolates produced ß haemolysin when inoculated on sheep blood agar, only 50 % of the isolates displayed DNase activity, 75 % of the isolates shown proteolytic activity on skimmed milk plate, and cytotoxic activity was detected in 20 of 24 of the isolates. The strains producing AHLs possessed one or more virulence factors. In conclusion, the production of quorum sensing signal molecules is common among the strains that we examined, and there seems to some relationships between quorum sensing signal production and virulence factors in A. hydrophila.

Effect of two selenium sources on hepatocarcinogenesis and several angiogenic cytokines in diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinoma rats.

This experiment was designed to compare the effect of two selenium sources at the dosage of therapeutic level on hepatocarcinogenesis and angiogenic cytokines in DEN-induced hepatocarcinoma rats to further approach their possible anticancer's mechanism. One hundred and seventy-eight Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (average weight being 100-120g) were randomly divided into 5 groups (I-V). Animals in group I, group II and group III served as the negative control, sodium selenite control (SS) and positive controls respectively, and received 0.1, 3.0, and 0.1mg/kg selenium from sodium selenite supplemented diets during the whole experimental time. Rats in group IV and group V were fed with selenium from selenium-enriched malt (SEM) and sodium selenite (SS) supplemented diets (3mg/kg respectively). To balance the nutritional content among each group, normal malt which was not treated with selenium was added into the diets of the challenge groups. The nutrition contents, except the selenium of the diet in each group, were similar and in accordance with NRC standards. Rats in groups III-V were treated by aqueous diethylnitrosamine solution (100mg/L) at the dosage of 10mg/kg body weight every day for 16 weeks to induce hepatocarcinoma, and drank sterilized water for an additional two weeks. Rats in group I and group II drank sterilized water throughout the experiment. At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th week, five rats in each group were then sacrificed by cervical decapitation. At the termination of the study, at 18th week, the surplus rats were sacrificed by cervical decapitation. Feed was withheld from the rats for 12h before sampling. The number of hepatoma nodules in liver and mortality of rats were calculated. The values of the following items, including α-fetoprotein (AFP), gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), insulin-like growth factors-II (IGF-II), nitric oxide (NO) and total nitric oxide synthase (T-NOS) in plasma were determined. At the same time, the positive numbers of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and protein kinase C-α (PKCα) staining cells in tumor tissue were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using the Envision two step methods with a kit. The results indicated that SEM could significantly decrease the mortality of rats and the number of hepatoma nodules, values of GGT and AFP, and the levels of IGF-II, NO and NOS and lessen the positive numbers of VEGF and PKCα staining cells in tumor tissue. Moreover, SEM could increase the levels of TNF-α in the initiated time of hepatocarcinogenesis, whereas, decrease the levels of TNF-α in the progressive time of hepatocarcinogenesis. SS could only significantly inhibit the positive numbers of PKCα staining cells in tumor tissue, decrease the levels of GGT, AFP and TNF-α at minority sampling times, and increase the levels of NO. In conclusion, SEM could reduce the mortality. It might be related to deaden significantly the lesion of liver, delay the cause of hepatocarcinogenesis, and inhibit the progress of angiogenesis to increase the livability of DEN-induced hepatocarcinoma rats. SS at the same therapeutic dosage had less effect on the hepatocarcinogenesis by inhibiting angiogenesis and relative cytokines to some extent.

Oxalate-degrading capacities of lactic acid bacteria in canine feces.

In this study, lactic acid bacteria in canine feces were isolated and identified, and their oxalate-degrading capacities were evaluated. The oxalate-degrading capacities were determined for 24 of 47 (51.06%) lactic acid bacteria isolates. Of these, 8 isolates [Leuconostoc mesenteroides (RL75), Lactococcus garvieae (CD2), Lactococcus subsp. lactis (CS21), Enterococcus faecium (CL71 and CL72), and Enterococcus faecalis (CD14, CS62, and CD12)] degraded more than 5% of the oxalate present, while the others degraded less than 5% of the oxalate in vitro. Isolates that degraded more than 5% of the oxalate present were selected for further examination. The oxalate-degrading capacities of individual isolates, a mixture of Enterococcus, a mixture of Lactococcus, and a mixture of the eight isolates were evaluated in media containing different concentrations of glucose (sufficient, insufficient, or no glucose). In comparison with the control medium, all of the individual isolates and mixtures of isolates could degrade oxalate in all three groups (P<0.05). In most cases, the isolates growing in medium with 20 g/L of glucose had higher oxalate-degrading capacities than those growing in medium with 2.5 g/L of glucose or no glucose. The mixture of all isolates showed higher oxalate-degrading capacity than the individual isolates and other mixtures. The oxalate-degrading capacities of the isolates were isolate dependent.

The intravenous glucose tolerance test in water buffalo.

OBJECTIVE: The response to intravenous glucose loading in the buffalo using the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IGTT) was investigated to provide a reference for intravenous glucose injection in buffaloes. METHOD: Twelve healthy, fasted, male swamp buffaloes were divided into three groups. Group I: six buffaloes were given 50% glucose at a dosage of 1 g/kg body weight via the jugular vein. Group II: three buffaloes received normal saline. Group III: three buffaloes were not injected. Blood samples were taken from the opposite vein at 60 and 10 min pre-injection (pre60 and pre10), and at 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360 and 420 min post-glucose injection (PGI). Plasma glucose was analyzed by the oxidase method. Insulin and glucagon were soon determined with a human radioimmunoassay kit. The insulin (pmol/l)/glucose (mmol/l) ratios (IGR) were also calculated for each sampling time. RESULTS: Mean plasma glucose, insulin and glucagon concentrations of buffaloes in groups II and III were similar at all the sampling times (p > 0.05) and the curves of the IGR for group II and group III were flat throughout. Group I Buffaloes showed an immediate 20 times increase in the mean plasma glucose concentration PGI, over the pre60 and pre10. The peak plasma insulin concentration occurred at 30 min PGI. The mean plasma glucose and insulin concentrations remained above pre-administration levels until 420 min PGI (p < 0.05). However, the mean plasma glucagon concentrations were different only at 1 and 5 min PGI sampling times. The curve of the IGR for group I showed an initial decrease at 1 min PGI, and fluctuated from 10.18 to 25.55 for the remainder of the sampling period. The correlation analysis showed that the mean plasma glucose concentration was positively correlated with insulin level (r = 0.73, p < 0.005), and significantly negatively correlated with mean plasma glucagon (r = -0.58, p < 0.05). The mean plasma insulin level did not show significant correlation with the glucagon (r = 0.06, p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The hyperglycemia, high insulin, and protracted glucose and insulin curves, the initial decrease in the insulin/glucose ratio indicates that there was an unexpected glucose tolerance to acute intravenous glucose loading in water buffalo compared with other ruminants. The possibly suggested intravenous glucose load in buffaloes is about 5.09-8.28 mmol/l.