Primjena poluugniježđene lančane reakcije polimerazom za dokaz larvi oblića Spirocerca lupi u vrtnog guštera (Calotes versicolor).

The study reveals the usefulness of semi-nested PCR as a tool to identify larval stages of Spirocerca lupi in garden lizards (Calotes versicolor), the paratenic host for the parasite. Creamy white cysts present in the superficial muscles of seven out of thirteen garden lizards on the veterinary college campus, Pookode, were recovered and observed for the presence of live larvae. DNA isolated from these cysts and S. lupi worms recovered during postmortem examination of an infected dog were used for semi-nested PCR for amplifying an internal region of the S. lupi Cox-I gene, producing a specific 400 bp fragment. Thus the semi-nested PCR may be utilized for specific detection of larval stages of S. lupi in a paratenic host.Istraživanje je provedeno u svrhu provjere učinkovitosti primjene poluugniježđene lančane reakcije polimerazom za identifikaciju ličinaka oblića S. lupi u vrtnog guštera (Calotes versicolor). Žućkasto bijele ciste bile su izdvojene iz površinskih mišića sedam od 13 vrtnih guštera ulovljenih na području kampusa veterinarskog koledža Pookovode i pretražene na prisutnost živih ličinaka. DNA izdvojena iz tih cista i DNA iz oblića S. lupi izdvojenih tijekom razudbe invadiranoga psa rabljene su u poluugniježđenoj lančanoj reakciji polimerazom za umnožavanje unutarnjeg područja gena Cox-I i prepoznavanje specifičnog fragmenta od 400 bp. Zaključeno je da se poluugniježđena PCR može upotrijebiti za dokaz ličinaka oblića S. lupi u parateničnih domaćina

Effect of probiotics and rice on ileal microbial count and intestinal morphometry in broiler chicken

An experiment was conducted in the Department of Poultry Science, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy to find out the effect of probiotics and rice on ileal microbial count and intestinal morphometry in broiler chicken for a period of 42 days. A total of 144, day-old Ven Cobb 430 Y broiler chicks were allotted randomly to six dietary treatment groups with three replicates of eight birds each. The treatment groups were T1-standard broiler ration (SBR1), T2- SBR1 with 0.05 per cent probiotic mixture, T3- SBR1 with 0.1 per cent probiotic mixture, T4- 50 per cent of maize from SBR1 replaced by rice (SBR2), T5- SBR2 with 0.05 per cent probiotic mixture and T6- SBR2 with 0.1 per cent probiotic mixture. The dietary inclusion of rice did not affect the E. coli count and ileal pH. However the coliform count was significantly (p<0.01) lower in group fed rice based diet supplemented with 0.1 per cent probiotics and the E. faecalis count was significantly (p<0.01) higher in rice fed group without probiotic supplementation than corn fed group without probiotic supplementation. The probiotic supplementation at 0.1 per cent level significantly (p<0.01) reduced the E. coli and coliform counts in both rice and corn based diets. The E. faecalis count and ileal pH was significantly (p<0.01) reduced by probiotics at 0.05 and 0.1 per cent levels in corn based as well as rice based diets. The dietary inclusion of rice in broiler diet significantly increased (p<0.01) the ileal villi height in the non-supplemented group. The ileal VH:CD ratio was significantly (p<0.01) increased in rice fed groups compared to corn fed groups. The supplementation of probiotics in both rice and corn based diets significantly (p<0.01) increased the villi height of duodenum, jejunum and ileum and VH: CD ratio in jejunum and ileum. It could be concluded that the dietary supplementation of probiotics at 0.1 per cent level was effective in reducing the intestinal E. coli, coliform count, E. faecalis count, ileal pH and improving the intestinal histo-morphometry. Dietary replacement of 50 per cent corn by rice had no significant effect on these parameters

Effects on blood gas and haematological parameters during butorphanoldexmedetomidine- tiletamine-zolazepam anaesthesia in cats

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of butorphanol, dexmedetomidine, tiletamine and zolazepam anaesthesia on blood gas and haematological parameters in cats. These parameters were monitored before anaesthetic induction and 10 minutes following anaesthetic induction. Statistical analysis revealed that no significant changes exist and the parameters were within the normal reference range for cats. Therefore, this anaesthetic technique could be employed safely for elective surgery in cats

Expedient Synthesis of Phenanthro-Imidazo-Pyridine Fused Heteropolynuclear Framework via CDC coupling: A New Class of Luminophores

All the reagents and solvents used in this study, were purchased from Sigma Aldrich, Thermo Fischer Scientific and TCI chemicals respectively. Open capillary was used to measure all the melting points. IR spectrum of the solid sample was recorded in the range 500 to 3500 cm-1 in an FT-IR spectrometer in KBr cell. Bruker 600 MHz spectrometer was used to record all 1H and 13C NMR spectra. EI mass spectral analysis was done using JEOL The Mstation JMS-700 instrument. All the UV & Fluorescence data were collected using Jasco & Cary Eclipse spectrophotometer respectively. Bruker Kappa Apex II X-raycrystallography machine was used to solve the crystal structure. Singlet (s), doublet (d), triplet (t) & multiplet (m) were designated as 1H NMR multiplicity patterns. Silica gel (60-120 mesh) and (100-200 mesh) were used for column chromatographic separations

Ixodid Tick Vectors of Wild Mammals and Reptiles of Southern India

Background: We aimed to focus on the ixodid ticks parasitizing wild mammals and reptiles from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghat, southern India. Methods: The taxonomic identification of ticks collected from wild mammals and reptiles was performed based on the morphology of adults. Results: We revealed eight species of ticks including, Amblyomma integrum, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, Haemaphysalis (Kaiseriana) spinigera, H. (K.) shimoga, H. (K.) bispinosa, H. (Rhipistoma) indica, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides and R. sanguineus  s.l. collected from nine species of wild mammals while four tick species Ablyomma kraneveldi, A. pattoni, A. gervaisi and A. javanense parasitizing on four species of reptiles. The highest host rich­ness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphysaloides parasitizing six and five different host species, re­spectively.  Reports of R. (B.) annulatus on sambar deer, A. javanense and A. kraneveldi on python as well as A. pat­toni on Indian rat snake are the new host records from this region. Conclusion: Eight species of ticks parasitizing on nine species of wild mammals and four species of parasitizing on four species of reptiles were identified. The highest host richness was shown by H. (K.) bispinosa and R. haemaphy­saloides. H. spinigera as the vector of KFD was also identified in this study

Ultrastructural Studies of Involuting Bursa and Thymus of Giriraja Birds (Gallus domesticus)

Abstract: The ultra structural changes of involuting cells of bursa of fabricius and thymus could be classified as nuclear and cytoplasmic changes. Major cytoplasmic changes include arrangement of cytoskeletal filaments in parallel arrays, cytoplasmic membrane blebbing and dilatation of endoplasmic reticulum. Nuclear changes included clumping of chromatin, elongation and appearance of convolutions of the nuclear membrane with karyorrhexis, karyolysis and nucleolar disintegration. There is consequent cell volume reduction, detachment of cell from surroundings, formation of several membrane bound apoptotic bodies and its ingestion by neighboring cells

Histoarchitecture of the Ovary of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus

The present communication describes the detailed day wise study of histological changes of the ovary of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus in the postengorgement period together with the systematic classification of their oocytes. The ovary of R. (B.) annulatus is panoistic type with an asynchronous development of oocytes. All the stages (II, III, IV, and V) of oocytes except stage I were similar to R. (B.) microplus. The stage I oocytes showed basophilia, which was not reported earlier in other species of ticks. Day wise changes were in the form of presence of oogonia in partially fed and day one engorged adults, considerable degeneration of oocytes on day two, emergence of new wave of oocytes on day three, presence of mature oocytes up to day eight, and complete degeneration of ovarian tissue from day eight onwards. The degenerative changes in the ovary appeared initially in the oocytes followed by germinal epithelium

A high-throughput real-time in vitro assay using mitochondrial targeted roGFP for screening of drugs targeting mitochondria

Most toxic compounds including cancer drugs target mitochondria culminating in its permeabilization. Cancer drug-screening and toxicological testing of compounds require cost-effective and sensitive high-throughput methods to detect mitochondrial damage. Real-time methods for detection of mitochondrial damage are less toxic, allow kinetic measurements with good spatial resolution and are preferred over end-stage assays.Cancer cell lines stably expressing genetically encoded mitochondrial-targeted redox-GFP2 (mt-roGFP) were developed and validated for its suitability as a mitochondrial damage sensor. Diverse imaging platforms and flow-cytometry were utilized for ratiometric analysis of redox changes with known toxic and cancer drugs. Key events of cell death and mitochondrial damage were studied at single-cell level coupled with mt-roGFP. Cells stably expressing mt-roGFP and H2B-mCherry were developed for high-throughput screening (HTS) application.Most cancer drugs while inducing mitochondrial permeabilization trigger mitochondrial-oxidation that can be detected at single-cell level with mt-roGFP. The image-based assay using mt-roGFP outperformed other quantitative methods of apoptosis in ease of screening. Incorporation of H2B-mCherry ensures accurate and complete automated segmentation with excellent Z value. The results substantiate that most cancer drugs and known plant-derived antioxidants trigger cell-death through mitochondrial redox alterations with pronounced ratio change in the mt-roGFP probe.Real-time analysis of mitochondrial oxidation and mitochondrial permeabilization reveal a biphasic ratio change in dying cells, with an initial redox surge before mitochondrial permeabilization followed by a drastic increase in ratio after complete mitochondrial permeabilization. Overall, the results prove that mitochondrial oxidation is a reliable indicator of mitochondrial damage, which can be readily determined in live cells using mt-roGFP employing diverse imaging techniques. The assay described is highly sensitive, easy to adapt to HTS platforms and is a valuable resource for identifying cytotoxic agents that target mitochondria and also for dissecting cell signaling events relevant to redox biology. Keywords: Mitochondria, Mitochondrial oxidation, roGFP, Apoptosis, Drug screenin

Canine Filarial Infections in a Human Brugia malayi Endemic Area of India

A very high prevalence of microfilaremia of 42.68 per cent out of 164 canine blood samples examined was observed in Cherthala (of Alappuzha district of Kerala state), a known human Brugia malayi endemic area of south India. The species of canine microfilariae were identified as Dirofilaria repens, Brugia malayi, and Acanthocheilonema reconditum. D. repens was the most commonly detected species followed by B. pahangi. D. immitis was not detected in any of the samples examined. Based on molecular techniques, microfilariae with histochemical staining pattern of “local staining at anal pore and diffuse staining at central body” was identified as D. repens in addition to those showing acid phosphatase activity only at the anal pore. Even though B. malayi like acid phosphatase activity was observed in few dogs examined, they were identified as genetically closer to B. pahangi. Hence, the possibility of dogs acting as reservoirs of human B. malayi in this area was ruled out