Serological Survey of \u3ci\u3eLeptospira\u3c/i\u3e Infection in Arabian Horses in Poland

Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections worldwide, including in most livestock, some companion animals, horses, wildlife, and humans. Epidemiological estimation of its prevalence in all species is difficult due to the variety of clinical presentations and challenges regarding laboratory diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to measure the seroprevalence of leptospiral infection in Arabian horses kept in the largest breeding farms in Poland, representing over 15% of the Polish Arabian horse population. Leptospira antibodies were detected by MAT (cut-off 1:100) in 33.2% of serum samples (204 of 615 animals) (CI 95%: 29.6–37.0%), most frequently reacting with the serovar Grippotyphosa, similar to previous reports in populations of randomly selected horses. These results indicated high Leptospira seropositivity, thus, although any form of clinical leptospirosis is rare, it may be postulated that the leptospiral exposure is widespread

Obróbka wybuchowa i cieplno-chemiczna wielowarstwowych kompozytów metalicznych

W pracy opisano sposoby wybuchowego umacniania metali, które wykonywano w celu uzyskania wzrostu twardości otrzymanych wcześniej kompozytów, a także dla zdefektowania ich warstw wierzchnich, aby zwiększyć skuteczność dalszej obróbki cieplno-chemicznej. Omówiono typowe układy do wybuchowego umacniania metali oraz konstrukcję układu stosowanego w praktyce. Uzyskane efekty wybuchowego umacniania zilustrowano wykresami rozkładów mikrotwardości, w przekrojach poprzecznych obrabianych kompozytów, przed i po umacnianiu wybuchowym. W dalszym etapie obróbki badane próbki kompozytów poddano jarzeniowemu azotowaniu. W wyniku tego procesu, oprócz typowego wzrostu twardości poszczególnych warstw, zaobserwowano występowanie w strefie złącza fazy pośredniej o wyraźnie wyższej twardości. Wstępna analiza zdjęć i wyników ze scaningowego mikroskopu elektronowego z przystawką EDS pozwala przypuszczać, że jest to warstwa międzymetaliczna., której obecność nadaje kompozytom szczególnie korzystne właściwości

The prevalence of ocular diseases in polish Arabian horses

Abstract Background Equine ocular diseases pose a medical challenge due to long-lasting and cost-consuming therapies as well as economic issues associated with potential decrease in value of affected horses. The scale of the problem is significant but difficult to precisely define because epidemiological data is limited and lacks consistency in presentation. To date, no retrospective studies specifically investigating Arabian horses have been published. Results The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the prevalence of ocular lesions and define the ocular diseases present in Arabian horses from breeding farms in Poland. Clinical and ophthalmic examination of 615 Arabian horses at Polish breeding farms (15% of Arabian population in Poland) were performed and medical history from the previous 5 years was analyzed. Data was obtained from review of veterinary archives and epidemiological interview of the resident veterinarian at each farm. The prevalence of ocular diseases was 9.75%. The following pathologies were diagnosed (with their respective prevalence): equine recurrent uveitis (ERU; 5.5%); cataract not related to ERU (3.3%); non-visual eyes (1.13%); posttraumatic lesions (0.8%); glaucoma (0.16%). Conclusions In this study, ERU was the most common ocular disease identified in Arabian horses in Poland. Its prevalence was lower than usually reported in Europe and the United States. There was no sex or farm predisposition but ocular disease prevalence increased with age. Other severe ocular pathologies were also observed, confirming that ocular diseases remain an important clinical problem

Serological Survey of Leptospira Infection in Arabian Horses in Poland

Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections worldwide, including in most livestock, some companion animals, horses, wildlife, and humans. Epidemiological estimation of its prevalence in all species is difficult due to the variety of clinical presentations and challenges regarding laboratory diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to measure the seroprevalence of leptospiral infection in Arabian horses kept in the largest breeding farms in Poland, representing over 15% of the Polish Arabian horse population. Leptospira antibodies were detected by MAT (cut-off 1:100) in 33.2% of serum samples (204 of 615 animals) (CI 95%: 29.6–37.0%), most frequently reacting with the serovar Grippotyphosa, similar to previous reports in populations of randomly selected horses. These results indicated high Leptospira seropositivity, thus, although any form of clinical leptospirosis is rare, it may be postulated that the leptospiral exposure is widespread

The Zn1−xPbxCr2Se4—Single Crystals Obtained by Chemical Vapour Transport—Structure and Magnetic, Electrical, and Thermal Properties

Monocrystalline chalcogenide spinels ZnCr2Se4 are antiferromagnetic and semiconductor materials. They can be used to dope or alloy with related semiconducting spinels. Therefore, their Pb-doped display is expected to have unique properties and new potential applications. This paper presents the results of dc and ac magnetic measurements, including the critical fields visible on the magnetisation isotherms, electrical conductivity, and specific heat of the ZnCr2S4:Pb single crystals. These studies showed that substituting the diamagnetic Pb ion with a large ion radius for the Zn one leads to strong short-range ferromagnetic interactions in the entire temperature range and spin fluctuations in the paramagnetic region at Hdc = 50 kOe

Additional file 1: of The prevalence of ocular diseases in polish Arabian horses

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Molecular characterization of Rhodococcus equi isolates from horses in Poland: pVapA characteristics and plasmid new variant, 85-kb type V

Abstract Background Rhodococcus equi is one of the most significant bacterial pathogens affecting foals up to 6\ua0months of age worldwide. Rhodococcosis is present in Poland however information about molecular characterization of R. equi isolates is scarce. This study describes molecular characterization of Rhodococcus equi infection on 13 horse breeding farms in Poland between 2001 and 2012. Samples were collected by tracheobronchial aspiration from pneumonic foals or during necropsy. The R. equi isolates were genotyped by plasmid profiling and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Results Totally, 58 R. equi isolates were investigated. One isolate lost its plasmid. Among the 57 VapA-positive isolates, 48 contained 85-kb type I plasmid (82.8%), 8 contained 87-kb type I plasmid (13.8%). One isolate (1.7%) had a unique restriction cleavage pattern and the 2nd fragment of Eco RI digests of this plasmid DNA was about 2600 bases smaller than that of the 85\ua0kb type I. This new plasmid variant was designated as the \u201c85-kb type V\u201d. Among the 58 isolates typeable with Vsp I-PFGE, ten PFGE clusters were detected. The majority of foals were infected mostly with isolates of low genetic diversity. Conclusions Most of clinical isolates of R. equi from foals in Poland contain pVapA 85-kb type I and 87-kb type I similarly to the other European countries and the United States. However, the new variant of pVapA 85-kb type V was identified. The chromosomal variability was detected among some of the investigated isolates and the presence of farm-specific isolates might be possible

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