Passive immunity stimulated by vaccination of dry cows with a trivalent vaccine against neonatal calf diarrhea

Passive transfer of colostrum immunoglobulins from cow to newborn is extremely important because calves under 5 weeks of age do not have active immunity and colostrum antibodies are the only source of immunoglobulins to protect calves from infectious diseases immediately after birth. One of the most common causes of calf death is acute neonatal diarrhea caused by pathogens such as rotavirus, coronavirus and Escherichia coli. In the first weeks of life, calves acquire maternal antibodies from colostrum and milk can have a local protective effect against intestinal enteropathogens. Vaccination of pregnant cows reduces the morbidity and mortality rates of the calf. Vaccination of cows even in the early stages of pregnancy (6 months before calving) can provide passive protection in newborn calves against etiological agents such as enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. Previous studies have shown that continuous administration of colostrum from immunized cows prevents severe diarrhea and mortality in calves. In North America and Europe, various vaccines against neonatal calf diarrhea have been developed to increase antibody titers in colostrum and cow's milk. However, there are not many studies on maternal vaccination to protect against diarrhea in calves in Romania. In this article we have detailed the results of a field study on improving passive immunity in calves by administering a multipurpose maternal vaccine available in Europe

The influence of colostrum consumption on serum lactoferrin in newborn calves

Lactoferrin is a glycoprotein from the transferrin family, proteins capable of binding and transferring Fe3+ ions. Lactoferrin from bovine colostrum and milk has become increasingly important due to its wide range of biological properties. Colostrum intake leads to increased serum lactoferrin levels in calves [11], foals [2] and piglets [5]. Together with IgG, it is transferred from the intestinal tract into the systemic circulation through passive absorption in the case of newborns. Fewer studies have been performed in animals, but it has been shown to reduce morbidity and improve the growth rate of calves [9]. Studies have also indicated that lactoferrin can lead to the elimination of pathogens and therefore to the reduction of the incidence of neonatal diseases through the mechanism of iron binding, inhibition of bacterial growth and proteolytic activity [1]

Preliminary Serological Investigation on Caprine Arthritis and Encephalitis Virus Infection in a Goat Farm from North-Eastern Romanian Region

Caprine arthritis encephalitis is an important disease of dairy goats with a worldwide distribution. Despite the eradication programs, this disease is still prevalent and causing huge financial losses due to reduced lactation performance and culling. The aim of this study was to reveal the presence of CAEV antibodies among a goat population from the North-Eastern of Romania. During 2014-2016, a total of 295 blood samples were collected from healthy or diseased animals. The serum samples were tested for CAEV antibodies detection, using the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test. Within the 295 serum samples tested by AGID technique, 31.86% were confirmed as being positive. All positive samples came from subjects without clinical signs of disease. The results obtained in this preliminary study; show that CAEV is present in French Alpine goats breed within a farm in North-Eastern of Romania

Phytocomplex with Zingiber officinale extract, Piper nigrum and Piper cubeba oil - in vitro antimicrobial effect

Vegetal compounds are known for their therapeutic actions in correlation with their antioxidant activity so that in recent times the interest in their properties has greatly increased. The phytocomplex obtained by combining the Zingiber officinale extract, Piper nigrum and Piper cubeba oil is distributed and recommended in European space as a multi-benefit nutritional supplement for swine, poultry, cattle, horses and others. As the individual properties of the three compounds are known, we aimed to test the antimicrobial activity of the phytocomplex on various Gram negative pathogens. In the time-kill assay, in vitro inhibitory effects were visible after 15 minutes of contact and total inhibition of the species Samonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was obtained after 24 hours. The results obtained in vitro showed a very good antimicrobial activity which clearly contributes to the overall beneficial effects of the Zingiber officinale extract, Piper nigrum and Piper cubeba oil phytocomplex

Correlations between the adaptive capacity in Bucovina of Limousine cows and the nutritional quality of the milk

The Limousine breed is spread on all continents in 64 countries, and Romania will be the 65th country in which it is trying to adapt this breed of cattle. Limousine is currently ranked No. 1 in England and is highly regarded in other countries, including France, No. 2, Canada, No. 2, Italy, and the United States. 3rd place. The main objective of this project is to observe the adaptability of the Limousine breed to the geo-meteorological conditions recorded in northern Romania, the Bukovina region. The aim of the paper is to evaluate from a nutritional qualitative point of view the raw milk obtained from this breed. The investigations were carried out to establish the degree of freshness, integrity and we monitored some physical-chemical and hygienic parameters of the raw material milk. Sampling was done directly from the collection vessels after milking and filtration mainly in the hot season, and their processing was done in the Food Control Laboratory of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Iasi, where a number of 38 milk samples were processed. Following the analysis of the samples, a number of 8 samples were inadequate in terms of organoleptic examination and integrity. Deviations from the organoleptic characteristics of the parameters of appearance, color, smell, and taste represented a percentage of 21.05%. The determinations of the Physico-chemical parameters were classified as inappropriate a number of 10 samples which represents a percentage of 26.31% of the total samples collected

Cortisol and Oxytocin Could Predict Covert Aggression in Some Psychotic Patients

Background: The covert or indirect type of aggression has a risk of converting in violent acts and, considering that, it is very important to identify it in order to apply effective preventive measures. In cases of psychotic patients, the risk of becoming violent is harder to predict, as even neuter stimuli may be perceived as threat and trigger aggression. Treating all the psychiatric patients as potential aggressive subjects is not the best preventive measure as only a few of them are aggressive and this measure may further enhance the stigma on mentally ill patients. There is a current need for better understanding of covert aggression and to find objective measures, such as biological markers, that could be indicative of potential violent behavior. In this work, we try to investigate the role of cortisol and oxytocin as potential biomarkers of aggression in patients with psychosis. Material and Methods: We analyzed the level of peripheral oxytocin (pg/mL) and cortisol level (ng/mL) in 28 psychotic patients (they were not on psychotropic treatment at the moment of admission and those with substance abuse or personality disorder were excluded from the study) and correlated it with the intensity of aggression reported by the patient (overt and covert type) using the Overt Covert Aggression Inventory and the level of observed aggression of the patient in the past 7 days (rated by the health care provider) using the Modified Overt Aggression Scale. Results: We found that psychotic patients with a higher level of covert aggression had a lower level of cortisol (61.05 ± 8.04 ng/mL vs. 216.33 ± 12.6.9 ng/mL, p ˂ 0.01) and a higher level of oxytocin (102.87 ± 39.26 vs. 70.01 ± 25.07, p = 0.01) when compared with patients with a lower level of covert aggression. Furthermore, we observed significant negative correlation between cortisol and covert aggression (r = −0.676, p < 0.001) and between oxytocin and covert type of aggression (r = 0.382, p = 0.04). Moreover, we found that a lower level of cortisol together with a higher level of oxytocin are significant predictors of a style of internalized manifestation of aggression, with the predictive model explaining 55% of the variant of the internalized manifestation of aggression (F (2.25) = 17.6, p < 0.001, β = 0.35, R2 = 55.2). We did not find significant correlations between cortisol and overt aggression, and neither between oxytocin and overt aggression. Positive correlations were also found between the overt type of self-reported aggression and overt aggression reported by the rater (r = 0.459, p = 0.01). Conclusions: The importance of a predictive model in understanding covert aggression is imperative and the results of our study show that oxytocin and cortisol warrant to be further investigated in establishing a definitive predictive model for covert aggression

Prenylated phenolics as promising candidates for combination antibacterial therapy: morusin and kuwanon G

Combination of antibiotics with natural products is a promising strategy for potentiating antibiotic activity and overcoming antibiotic resistance. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether morusin and kuwanon G, prenylated phenolics in Morus species, have the ability to enhance antibiotic activity and reverse antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Commonly used antibiotics (oxacillin, erythromycin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, clindamycin) were selected for the combination studies. Checkerboard and time-kill assays were used to investigate potential bacteriostatic and bactericidal synergistic interactions, respectively between morusin or kuwanon G and antibiotics. According to both fractional inhibitory concentration index and response surface models, twenty combinations (14 morusin-antibiotic combinations, six kuwanon G-antibiotic combinations) displaying bacteriostatic synergy were identified, with 4–512-fold reduction in the minimum inhibitory concentration values of antibiotics in combination. Both morusin and kuwanon G reversed oxacillin resistance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, morusin reversed tetracycline resistance of Staphylococcus epidermidis. At half of the minimum inhibitory concentrations, combinations of morusin with oxacillin or gentamicin showed bactericidal synergy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Fluorescence and differential interference contrast microscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed an increase in the membrane permeability and massive leakage of cellular content in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus exposed to morusin or kuwanon G. Overall, our findings strongly indicate that both prenylated compounds are good candidates for the development of novel antibacterial combination therapies

Phyto-Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles Derived from Conifer Bark Extracts and Evaluation of Their Antimicrobial and Cytogenotoxic Effects

Silver nanoparticles synthesized using plant extracts as reducing and capping agents showed various biological activities. In the present study, colloidal silver nanoparticle solutions were produced from the aqueous extracts of Picea abies and Pinus nigra bark. The phenolic profile of bark extracts was analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles was monitored using UV-Vis spectroscopy by measuring the Surface Plasmon Resonance band. Silver nanoparticles were characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray and transmission electron microscopy analyses. The antimicrobial and cytogenotoxic effects of silver nanoparticles were evaluated by disk diffusion and Allium cepa assays, respectively. Picea abies and Pinus nigra bark extract derived silver nanoparticles were spherical (mean hydrodynamic diameters of 78.48 and 77.66 nm, respectively) and well dispersed, having a narrow particle size distribution (polydispersity index values of 0.334 and 0.224, respectively) and good stability (zeta potential values of −10.8 and −14.6 mV, respectively). Silver nanoparticles showed stronger antibacterial, antifungal, and antimitotic effects than the bark extracts used for their synthesis. Silver nanoparticles obtained in the present study are promising candidates for the development of novel formulations with various therapeutic applications

Cortisol and Oxytocin Could Predict Covert Aggression in Some Psychotic Patients

Background: The covert or indirect type of aggression has a risk of converting in violent acts and, considering that, it is very important to identify it in order to apply effective preventive measures. In cases of psychotic patients, the risk of becoming violent is harder to predict, as even neuter stimuli may be perceived as threat and trigger aggression. Treating all the psychiatric patients as potential aggressive subjects is not the best preventive measure as only a few of them are aggressive and this measure may further enhance the stigma on mentally ill patients. There is a current need for better understanding of covert aggression and to find objective measures, such as biological markers, that could be indicative of potential violent behavior. In this work, we try to investigate the role of cortisol and oxytocin as potential biomarkers of aggression in patients with psychosis. Material and Methods: We analyzed the level of peripheral oxytocin (pg/mL) and cortisol level (ng/mL) in 28 psychotic patients (they were not on psychotropic treatment at the moment of admission and those with substance abuse or personality disorder were excluded from the study) and correlated it with the intensity of aggression reported by the patient (overt and covert type) using the Overt Covert Aggression Inventory and the level of observed aggression of the patient in the past 7 days (rated by the health care provider) using the Modified Overt Aggression Scale. Results: We found that psychotic patients with a higher level of covert aggression had a lower level of cortisol (61.05 ± 8.04 ng/mL vs. 216.33 ± 12.6.9 ng/mL, p ˂ 0.01) and a higher level of oxytocin (102.87 ± 39.26 vs. 70.01 ± 25.07, p = 0.01) when compared with patients with a lower level of covert aggression. Furthermore, we observed significant negative correlation between cortisol and covert aggression (r = −0.676, p &lt; 0.001) and between oxytocin and covert type of aggression (r = 0.382, p = 0.04). Moreover, we found that a lower level of cortisol together with a higher level of oxytocin are significant predictors of a style of internalized manifestation of aggression, with the predictive model explaining 55% of the variant of the internalized manifestation of aggression (F (2.25) = 17.6, p &lt; 0.001, β = 0.35, R2 = 55.2). We did not find significant correlations between cortisol and overt aggression, and neither between oxytocin and overt aggression. Positive correlations were also found between the overt type of self-reported aggression and overt aggression reported by the rater (r = 0.459, p = 0.01). Conclusions: The importance of a predictive model in understanding covert aggression is imperative and the results of our study show that oxytocin and cortisol warrant to be further investigated in establishing a definitive predictive model for covert aggression