Immunohistochemistry for detection of avian infectious bronchitis virus strain M41 in the proventriculus and nervous system of experimentally infected chicken embryos

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infectious bronchitis virus primarily induces a disease of the respiratory system, different IBV strains may show variable tissue tropisms and also affect the oviduct and the kidneys. Proventriculitis was also associated with some new IBV strains. Aim of this study was to investigate by immunohistochemistry (IHC) the tissue tropism of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strain M41 in experimentally infected chicken embryos.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To this end chicken embryos were inoculated in the allantoic sac with 10³EID₅₀of IBV M41 at 10 days of age. At 48, 72, and 120 h postinoculation (PI), embryos and chorioallantoic membranes (CAM) were sampled, fixed, and paraffin-wax embedded. Allantoic fluid was also collected and titrated in chicken embryo kidney cells (CEK). The sensitivity of IHC in detecting IBV antigens in the CAM of inoculated eggs matched the virus reisolation and detection in CEK. Using IHC, antigens of IBV were detected in nasal epithelium, trachea, lung, spleen, myocardial vasculature, liver, gastrointestinal tract, kidney, skin, sclera of the eye, spinal cord, as well as in brain neurons of the inoculated embryos. These results were consistent with virus isolation and denote the wide tissue tropism of IBV M41 in the chicken embryo. Most importantly, we found infection of vasculature and smooth muscle of the proventriculus which has not seen before with IBV strain M41.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>IHC can be an additional useful tool for diagnosis of IBV infection in chickens and allows further studies to foster a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of infections with IBV strains of different virulence. Moreover, these results underline that embryonic tissues in addition to CAM could be also used as possible source to generate IBV antigens for diagnostic purposes.</p

A systematic review of attitudes, anxiety, acceptance, and trust towards social robots

As social robots become more common, there is a need to understand how people perceive and interact with such technology. This systematic review seeks to estimate people’s attitudes toward, trust in, anxiety associated with, and acceptance of social robots; as well as factors that are associated with these beliefs. Ninety-seven studies were identified with a combined sample of over 13,000 participants and a standardized score was computed for each in order to represent the valence (positive, negative, or neutral) and magnitude (on a scale from 1 to − 1) of people’s beliefs about robots. Potential moderating factors such as the robots’ domain of application and design, the type of exposure to the robot, and the characteristics of potential users were also investigated. The findings suggest that people generally have positive attitudes towards social robots and are willing to interact with them. This finding may challenge some of the existing doubt surrounding the adoption of robotics in social domains of application but more research is needed to fully understand the factors that influence attitudes