Estimation of stray dog and cat populations in metropolitan Ankara, Turkey

Stray dogs and cats contribute to serious health problems in human societies around the world. Before any necessary interventions to control the stray dogs and cats, an accurate estimate of their populations should be attained. Yet, there is a very limited number of methods for an estimation. Some of them depend on the identification of marked or counted animals. However, problems arise when it is not possible to identify a previously captured animal. In this paper, we used a different approach to estimate the lower bound for the total number of dogs and cats in consecutively visited settlements that might be useful for future studies internationally. It was estimated that there were 17,839 (95% CI: 14,862-20,816) stray dogs and 10,191 (95% CI: 8439-11,942) stray cats in Ankara, Turkey. The results highlight the need for a science-based policy to control and manage the stray dog and cat populations in Ankara

Transplantation of limbal derived MSCs grown on contact lenses in dogs with dry eye syndrome - can stem cells help

Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS), also known as “dry eye syndrome”, is a common ocular disease in dogs, caused by inflammation of the lacrimal gland, resulting in decreased tear production. Efforts are being made to develop alternative therapies in order to prevent lifelong use of drugs for patients with KCS. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to be effective in the treatment of many immune-mediated diseases in human and animal models due to their immunoregulatory properties. The aim of this study was to transplant limbal mesenchymal stem cells (LMSCs) to the ocular surface on contact lenses and to evaluate the therapeutic effects of the LMSCs by clinical examination findings. The animals were randomly divided into study and control groups. The LMSC group (n = 10) received LMSCs (at least 2×106 cells) cultured on contact lenses. The conventional treatment group (n = 10) received artificial tears, topical 0.05% Cs A, and antibiotic eye drops, 3 times a day for 4 weeks. The Schirmer test, tear break-up time, impression cytology, Rose Bengal staining, and tear osmolarity were measured in all patients. The findings of the pre-treatment, two weeks and four weeks after the treatment, were evaluated statistically. In both groups, significant improvement was present compared to the pre-treatment findings. However, there was no significant difference between the groups. KCS treatment using LMSCs produced on contact lenses is promising, with its ease of application, non-immunogenic properties and single dose administration

Comparative evaluations of tear secretion in healthy and infectious keratoconjunctivitis Romanov sheep with Schirmer tear test and phenol red thread tear test

The aim of this study is to determine the amount of tear secretion in sheep with infectious keratoconjunctivitis and healthy ones in the Siirt region by Schirmer tear test and phenol red thread tear test. A total of 47 Romanov sheep, consisting of sheep with infectious keratoconjunctivitis (n = 6) and healthy sheep (n = 41), constituted the study material. Phenol red thread tear test followed by Schirmer tear test was performed on both eyes of the animals, properly taken at a control visit on their feet. The Schirmer tear test and phenol red thread tear test values were measured as 18.83 ± 5.29 mm/min and 22.22 ± 6.09 mm/s in the right eyes and 18.41 ± 7.15 mm/ min and 20.83 ± 5.72 mm/s in the left eyes, respectively, in healthy animals. The Schirmer tear test and phenol red thread tear test values were measured as 17.33 ± 4.27 mm/min and 18.83 ± 4.36 mm/s in the right eyes and 17.33 ± 7.55 mm/min and 20.17 ± 4.58 mm/s in the left eyes, respectively, in animals with infectious keratoconjunctivitis. The phenol red thread tear test measurement averages were found to be significantly higher than the Schirmer tear test measurement averages (P > 0.05). The amount of normal tear secretion was determined in Romanov breed sheep by the phenol red thread tear test and Schirmer tear test and there was no statistically significant difference in animals with infectious keratoconjunctivitis (P > 0.05)

Comparison of serum procalcitonin, haptoglobin and C-reactive protein levels in goats with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis

This study was conducted to investigate the response of acute phase proteins, mainly Haptoglobin, C-reactive protein, Procalcitonin and the negative acute phase response, especially albumin in goats suffering from C. pseudotuberculosis. A total of 19 Turkish hair goats between the ages of 1.5 and 2 years in a special dairy farm was selected for the study, consisting of 9 healthy animals and 10 with C. pseudotuberculosis. There was a statistically significant difference in serum haptoglobin, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin and albumin levels in goats with C. pseudotuberculosis, compared to the control group (p<0.05). The results showed that Haptoglobin, C-reactive protein and Procalcitonin produce a higher, and Alb a lower, response in goats with C. pseudotuberculosis compared to the control. The presented study suggests that C. pseudotuberculosis can influence the level of acute phase proteins in goats. These results indicate that monitoring a number of acute phase proteins can increase the diagnostic information available for this disease

Evaluation of the cardiopulmonary consultation requests in 88 dogs with heart disease

Haydardedeoğlu, Ali Evren (Aksaray, Yazar)Çalışmada edinsel ya da konjenital kalp hastalıklı 88 köpekten oluşan olgular incelendi. Hastaların; anamnez ve fiziksel muayene bilgileri, toraks röntgenleri, elektrokardiyografik ve ekokardiyografik muayene bulguları ve tedavi girişimlerini kapsayan medikal kayıtları değerlendirildi. Köpeklerde kalp hastalıklarının tanısal süreçlerinde; klinik muayene, elektrokardiyografi, toraks radyografisi ve ekokardiyografi bulgularının birlikte değerlendirilmesinin gerektiği ve geriatrik hastalarda rutin kardiyak kontrollerin önemli olduğu ortaya konuldu.In the study, 88 dogs with acquired or congenital heart disease were assessed. Medical records including anamnesis, physical examination, thorax radiography, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic exams and treatment options of cases were also evaluated. The current study reflects the clinical and diagnostic applications including electrocardiography, thorax radiography and echocardiography in cases with heart disease and the significance of routine cardiac exams in geriatric cases during the diagnostic process

Seroprevalance of Brucellosis, Listeriosis and Toxoplasmosis in cattle in Adana province of Turkey

Amaç: Bu çalışma, Nisan 2008-Eylül 2008 tarihleri arasında Adana'da farklı yaş ve cinsiyetteki sağlıklı Holstein melezi sığırlarda zoonoz karakterde olan ve abort yapan hastalıklardan toksoplazmozis, listeriozis ve brusellozis'in seroprevalansının belirlenmesi amacı ile yapıldı.Yöntemler: Bu amaçla,132 sığıra ait kan serumu Toxoplasma gondii, Listeria monocytogenes ve Brucella abortus antikorları yönünden incelendi. Serumlarda T. gondii antikorları standart Sabin-Feldman Dye Testi (SFDT), L. monocytogenes ''O'' antikorları Osebold yöntemi, B. abortus antikorları ise Mikrotüp Aglutinasyon Testi (MAT) ile tespit edildi.Bulgular: Test edilen 132 kan serum örneğinden %56,06'sının T. gondii, %40,9'unun L. monocytogenes ve %3,03'ünün B. abortus antikorları yönünden seropozitif olduğu saptandı. Toxoplasma gondii, L. monocytogenes ve B. abortus antikorlarının seropozitiflik yönünden yaş gruplarına göre dağılımında istatistiki bir farkın olmadığı belirlendi (p>0,05). Sonuç: Bu çalışma ile Adana yöresinde sığırlarda ilk kez serolojik yöntemlerle L. monocytogenes varlığı ortaya konuldu. Toksoplazmozis seropozitifliği, listeriozis ve brucellozise göre yüksek bulundu. Ayrıca, bu hastalıkların aynı hayvanda birlikte görülme sıklığı en yüksek oranda T. gondii ve L. monocytogenes için tespit edildi.Objective: This study was conducted to identify the seroprevalance of diseases which are zoonotic and responsible from abortion such as toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and brucellosis in Holstein crossbred cattle of different age and sex in Adana province, between 2008 April-September.Methods: For this purpose, blood serum samples were collected from 132 cattle and analyzed for Toxoplasma gondii, Listeria monocytogenes and Brucella abortus antibodies. T. gondii, L. monocytogenes and Brucella abortus antibodies were determined by the standard Sabin- Feldman Dye Test (SFDT), Osebold method and Microtube Agglutination Test (MAT) respectively, from the blood serum samples.Results: 132 serum tested 56.06% samples of T. gondii, 40.9% and 3.03% of L. monocytogenes and defined the B.abortus antibodies were found to be seropositive terms. There were no statistically significant difference between seropositive T. gondii, L. monocytogenes and B.abortus antibodies among age groups (p&gt;0.05).Conclusion: In this study, for the first time in cattle in the region of Adana serological methods revealed the presence L. monocytogenes, toxoplasmosis and listeriosis were higher than brucellosis seropositivity. Moreover, the prevalence of these diseases in the same animal at the highest rate was determined for T. gondii and L. monocytogenes

Erkek Sprague-Dawley ratlarda doksorubisin nefropatisinde fetal rat böbreği kökenli mezenkimal kök hücre uygulamasının etkilerinin araştırılması

The potential protective effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on some kidney diseases have been reported. However, the effect of the fetal kidney–derived (FKD)MSCs on doxorubicin-induced nephropathy has not been studied yet. This study aimed to treat rats with doxorubicin-induced kidney injuries by transplantation of –FKD-MSCs. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups as control, doxorubicin nephropathy (Sham), and doxorubicin + MSC treated group. Serum biochemistry analysis was performed at the beginning and the end of the study. Functional changes in kidneys were evaluated by scintigraphy. In the doxorubicin nephropathy group, histopathological findings such as mesangial cell proliferation, tubular cast, and glomerular hypertrophy were observed, whereas in the MSC group these findings were significantly reduced. CD133 and CD24 positive immunoreactions were the most severe and frequently observed in the MSC group. While positive staining was detected in the tubular epithelium, there was no immunostaining observed in the glomerulus. The results showed that both functional and histological improvements were achieved in the MSC group compared to the Sham group. In conclusion, transplantation of fetal kidney - derived MSCs into patients with renal damage is thought to contribute to the healing of the renal tissue.Mezenkimal kök hücrelerin (MKH) bazı böbrek hastalıklarındaki potansiyel koruyucu etkileri bildirilmiştir. Bununla birlikte, fetal böbrek kaynaklı (FBK) MKH'ların doksorubisin ile indüklenmiş nefropati üzerindeki etkisi henüz araştırılmamıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, doksorubisin kaynaklı böbrek hasarı olan ratlara FBK-MKH'ların transplantasyonu yapılarak hasarın tedavi edilmesidir. Çalışmada yirmi dört adet Sprague–Dawley ırkı rat üç gruba ayrılmıştır. Bunlar: kontrol grubu, doksorubisin nefropatisi (Sham) grubu ve doksorubisin + MKH ile tedavi edilen gruptur. Çalışmanın başında ve sonunda serum biyokimya analizleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Böbreklerdeki fonksiyonel değişiklikler sintigrafi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Doksorubisin nefropatisi grubunda mezanjiyal hücre proliferasyonu, tübül içi kast birikimi ve glomerüler hipertrofi gibi histopatolojik bulgular gözlenirken, MKH grubunda bu bulgular anlamlı olarak azalmıştır. CD133 ve CD24 pozitif immünreaksiyonlar, en şiddetli ve en sık olarak MKH grubunda gözlenmiştir. Tübüler epitelde pozitif boyanma tespit edilirken glomerulusta immün boyanma gözlenmemiştir. Sonuçlar, Sham grubuna kıyasla MKH grubunda hem fonksiyonel hem de histolojik iyileşmelerin sağlandığını göstermiştir. Sonuç olarak, böbrek hasarı olan hastalara fetal böbrek kaynaklı MKH transplantasyonunun böbrek dokusunun iyileşmesine katkıda bulunduğu düşünülmektedir

The effect of intra-amniotic and posthatch dietary synbiotic administration on the performance, intestinal histomorphology, cecal microbial population, and short-chain fatty acid composition of broiler chickens.

This study evaluated the effect of intra-amniotic synbiotic inclusion and continued synbiotic supplementation in the diet on the performance, intestinal epithelium integrity, and cecal microflora of broiler chickens. In Experiment 1, 510 eggs containing viable embryos were divided into 3 groups of 170 eggs each. The first group was not injected and served as a negative control ( NC: ). The next group was injected with 0.9% NaCl and was the positive control ( PC: ). The synbiotic-injected group ( S: ) was injected with a 0.5% inulin and 1 × 106 Enterococcus faecium solution. The non-injected and synbiotic injected groups were further divided into 2 sets for Experiment 2 and the birds were offered either a basal or synbiotic supplemented diet (1% inulin and 2 × 109 E. faecium cfu/kg feed). One hundred ninety-six broiler hatchlings were randomly allocated in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement that included an intra-amniotic treatment (non-injected or synbiotic injected) and a dietary treatment (basal or synbiotic supplemented diet). The results showed that the administration of an intra-amniotic synbiotic to embryonated eggs on d 17 of incubation did not affect the hatchability or hatching weight of the birds. However, intra-amniotic synbiotic inclusion had a positive effect on FCR at d 0 to 42 (P = 0.041) and d 22 to 42 (P = 0.036). There was no significant interaction effect on the growth performance of the birds between the intra-amniotic and dietary synbiotic treatment during different or entire experimental periods. Villus height and goblet and proliferating cell nuclear antigen ( PCNA: ) positive cell counts were positively influenced by intra-amniotic and dietary synbiotic treatments. Our results also indicated that intra-amniotic synbiotic injection followed by dietary supplementation with a synbiotic significantly increased Lactobacillus colonization and decreased coliform population in the broiler cecum. Cecal butyric acid concentration increased proportionally to the cecal Lactobacillus count with dietary synbiotic supplementation on d 42. In summary, combined intra-amniotic and dietary synbiotic treatments improved broiler intestinal integrity and increased cecal beneficial bacteria populations