Effects of kefir on coccidial oocysts excretion and performance of dairy goat kids following weaning

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of kefir, a traditional source of probiotic, on coccidial oocysts excretion and on the performance of dairy goat kids following weaning. Twin kids were randomly allocated to one of two groups at weaning. Kids of the first group received 20 ml of kefir daily for 6 weeks (KEF), while kids in the control group were given a placebo (CON). Individual faecal samples were regularly (n = 18 per kid) taken to quantify the number of coccidial oocysts per gram of faeces (OpG). There were no differences between the groups in terms of body weight development (P > 0.05) and feed consumption. Kids of both groups were not able to consume enough feed to meet their nutrient requirements during the first 3 weeks following weaning. KEF had a lower frequency of OpG positive samples than CON (P = 0.043). Kefir did not affect the maximum oocyst excretion and age of the kids at the highest oocyst excretion (P > 0.05). KEF shed numerically 35% lower coccidial oocysts than the controls, which corresponded to a statistical tendency (P = 0.074) in lowering Log-OpG in comparison to CON. While KEF had a lower frequency of OpG positive samples and tended to shed lower OPG by around one-third, the frequency of diarrhea, level of highest oocyst excretion, and performance of the kids remained unaffected. Therefore, it is concluded that overall effects of kefir do not have a significant impact on sub-clinical infection and performance in weaned kids under relatively high-hygienic farming conditions

Inhibitory effects of Lactobacilli on enteropathogenic Salmonella

The major source of human salmonellosis are farm animals, which may frequently be intestinal carriers of the organism. Lactobacilli isolated from the intestinal tract with efficiency adhesion were selected and studied in assay competitions with different Salmonella serotypes. The growth and lectin production of lactobacilli remained unchanged in several mixed and single culture studies. However, in mixed cultures, the inhibition (bacteriostatic) of viable bacteria of salmonella strains was observed. The adhesion ratio showed significant values for L. animalis, L. fermentum, S. Gallinarum and S. Pullorum. These results indicate the remarkable importance of a specific host interaction in the colonization process by microorganisms. L. animalis was effective in reducing the attachment of S. Gallinarum, S. Pullorum and S. Enteritidis to host-specific epithelial cells, while L. fermentum was able to reduce the attachment of S. Pullorum and S. Gallinarum. Therefore, we suggest that chicken lactobacilli included in this work may be considered potential probiotic microorganisms, and used in the preparation of a probiotic food.Fil: Gusils Leon, Carlos Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ross, Gloria Romina. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia. Instituto de Farmacia. Cátedra de Salud Publica; ArgentinaFil: Draksler, Diana. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, C. Dirección Nacional de Institutos de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; ArgentinaFil: Tous, M. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; Argentin

Spatially-selective cooling by liquid jet impinging orthogonally on a wettability-patterned surface

Jet impingement finds application in high-rate cooling because of its numerous merits, which, however, do not include selective directionality. The present study introduces a new configuration employing a wettability-patterning approach to divert an orthogonally-impinging laminar water jet onto a pre-determined portion of the target surface. Diverging wettable tracks on a superhydrophobic background provide the means to re-direct the impinging jet and enable spatially-selective cooling on the heated surface. An open-surface heat exchanger is constructed using this approach, and its heat transfer performance is characterized. Sensible heat transfer is quantified in terms of the extracted cooling flux and the heat transfer coefficient. Since this approach facilitates prolonged liquid contact with the underlying heated surface through thin-film spreading, evaporative cooling is also promoted. Thus, phase-change heat transfer is also facilitated, and results in the extraction of 12.4 W/cm2 at water flow rate of ∼1.5 mL/min. By comparing with other jet-impingement cooling approaches, the present method provides roughly four times more efficient cooling by using less amount of coolant. The reduced coolant use, combined with the gravity-independent character of this technique, offer a new paradigm for compact heat transfer devices designed to operate in reduced- or zero-gravity environments. Multiple hot spot cooling is also demonstrated using a single jet to feed two different tracks by minimally displacing or splitting the impinging je

Cats and clouds: how a citizen camera-trapping project boosts wildcat (Felis silvestris) conservation

The European wildcat is an elusive small carnivore species whose distribution, behavioural ecology and interactions with domestic cats are scantly known. However, the use of camera-trapping is steadily increasing in wildlife studies as well as citizen science, with the latter setting the basis for a large source of robust data. Here we provide an overview of our efforts to create an independent network, named Piccoli Fototrappolatori Indipendenti (Little Independent Camera-trappers, hereafter PFI), of citizen scientists who are contributing with the goal of a deeper understanding of wildcat ecology. We engaged 31 volunteers who collected domestic cats, putative hybrids (hereafter hybrids) and wildcats' detections at 503 locations throughout Italy from 11/04/2006 to 24/10/2022. So far, this dataset hosts 312 images and 1015 videos (1327 detections) which were morphological examined and standardised, leading to 123, 137 and 1016 detections of domestic cats, hybrids and wildcats, respectively. We documented the expansion of the wildcat towards Northern Italy, with the first camera-trapping records from the Western Alps (Val D'Aosta) and from the Northern Apennines (Liguria), as well as the detection of kink-tailed wildcats in new regions. Moreover, we observed behavioural differences among cat types, with domestic cats marking at a lower rate and with hybrids being less elusive than wildcats at night. Further research and efforts are needed to better explore the conservation consequences of our findings, as well as to investigate the full potential of citizen science combined with camera trapping which are promising tools in wildcat conservation