Mycotoxins in horse feed: Incidence of deoxynivalenol in oat samples from stud farms

Reports concerning mycotoxins in horse feed are very rare and are typically restricted to fumonisins. As a non-ruminant monogastric species, horses may be more sensitive to adverse effects of mycotoxins, but the most severe effect of fumonisin B1 (FB1) in equines is that it causes fatal leucoencephalomalacia. In recent years, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has evaluated several mycotoxins as “undesirable substances in animal feed” with the aim of establishing guidance values for the feed industry. In its evaluation of deoxynivalenol (DON), EFSA concluded that this toxin exhibited toxic effects in all species, but that horses were more tolerant towards this toxin than pigs. According to the available data, a systematic survey on mycotoxins in horse feed in Serbia has not been published. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of mycotoxins in horse feed in Vojvodina. Samples of oats for horse consumption, collected in 2010, were analyzed by enzyme immunoassays (ELISA) for deoxynivalenol contamination. Twelve samples of oats were taken from twelve horse studs, with sport, school and hobby horses

Karakteristike Trihineloze kod ljudi na teritoriji Vojvodine u periodu 2002-2011

Current data on the incidence of the disease and abundant research strongly indicate that Trichinellosis has been widely present throughout past few decades, and is endemic in some regions of Serbia. Unfavourable epidemiological situation is due to high prevalence of infection sources and inadequate control of home-processed meat and meat products. The aim of this article was to describe the features of recorded trichinellosis outbreaks in Vojvodina according to gender structure of patients, based on the records obtained from the Institute for Public Health of Vojvodina in Novi Sad. Analysis of the number of diseased and hospitalized patients from the territory of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the ten-year period (2002-2011) revealed a total number of 983 patients with trichinellosis. The highest incidence of the disease was recorded in 2005, when 277 people were diagnosed with trichinellosis. Unfavourable epidemiological situation was observed also in 2002, with 275 affected patients. It is to be emphasized that in 2002 and 2005 three lethal outcomes were recorded, as a direct consequence of intensive migration and abundant invasion of T. spiralis larvae. The lowest incidence of the disease was recorded in 2010, that is, only 10 diseased patients. Primary prevention implying appropriate animal husbandry is the crucial point for the disease control, while thorough and systematic inspection of meat of home-produced pigs, wild boars, horses and other animals that can be a potential source of infection. The major risk factor for the occurrence of the disease is consuming raw or undercooked meat that was not subjected to standard examination methods, i.e. examining the skeletal striated musculature from predilection sites by trichinoscopy or artificial digestion.Na osnovu aktuelnih podataka o pojavi ovog oboljenja i brojnih naučnih istraživanja, uočava se da je Trihineloza već nekoliko decenija naša stvarnost, a teritorija Srbije epidemiološko područje. Nepovoljna epidemiološka situacija je posledica raširenosti žarišta trihineloze i nesprovođenja validne kontrole infestiranosti mesa i mesnih produkata proizvedenih u domaćinstvima. Cilj ovog rada je da predstavi karakteristike registrovanih epidemija trihineloze u Vojvodini, po starosnoj i polnoj strukturi obolelih osoba na osnovu podataka Instituta za javno zdravlje Vojvodine u Novom Sadu. Analizom broja obolelih i hospitalizovanih ljudi na teritoriji Autonomne pokrajine Vojvodine u ispitivanom vremenskom intervalu od deset godina (od 2002. do 2011. godine), ustanovljeno je da je obolelo ukupno 983 osoba. Posmatrajući svaku godinu posebno ustanovljava se da je najveći broj obolelih ljudi od trihineloze bio 2005. godine. U toj godini obolelo je 277 lica, uz to, epidemiološka situacija je bila vrlo nepovoljna u 2002. godini kada je obolelo 275 ljudi. Važno je napomenuti, da je u ove dve godine (2002. i 2005. godina) bilo i tri smrtna ishoda koja su nastali kao direktna posledica migracije i velikog naseljavanja infektivnih larvi T. spiralis u organizmu obolelih. Sa druge strane, u analiziranom desetogodišnjem periodu najmanji broj obolelih ljudi (10) zabeležen je 2010. godine. U kontroli bolesti najvažnija je primarna prevencija koja podrazumeva odgovarajuće držanje životinja, a osnovna mera za sprečavanje obolevanja ljudi je pregled mesa domaćih svinja, divljih svinja, konja, ali i mesa drugih životinja koje mogu biti izvor infekcije. Glavni rizik za pojavu bolesti je konzumiranje sirovog i nedovoljno termički obrađenog mesa ukoliko uzorci poprečnoprugaste muskulature sa predilekcionih mesta nisu pregledani standardnim metodama, trihineloskopijom i veštačkom digestijom

Searching for an interstellar medium association for HESS J1534 - 571

The Galactic supernova remnant HESS J1534-571 (also known as G323.7-1.0) has a shell-like morphology in TeV gamma-ray emission and is a key object in the study of cosmic ray origin. Little is known about its distance and local environment. We examine Mopra 12CO/13CO(1-0) data, Australian Telescope Compact Array HI, and Parkes HI data towards HESS J1534-571. We trace molecular clouds in at least five velocity ranges, including clumpy interstellar medium structures near a dip in HI emission at a kinematic velocity consistent with the Scutum-Crux arm at ~3.5 kpc. This feature may be a cavity blown-out by the progenitor star, a scenario that suggests HESS J1534-571 resulted from a core-collapse event. By employing parametrizations fitted to a sample of supernova remnants of known distance, we find that the radio continuum brightness of HESS J1534-571 is consistent with the ~3.5 kpc kinematic distance of the Scutum-Crux arm HI dip. Modelling of the supernova evolution suggests a ~8-24 kyr age for HESS J1534-571 at this distance

Radio Observations of Supernova Remnant G1.9+0.3

We present 1–10 GHz radio continuum flux density, spectral index, polarization, and rotation measure (RM) images of the youngest known Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G1.9+0.3, using observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We have conducted an expansion study spanning eight epochs between 1984 and 2017, yielding results consistent with previous expansion studies of G1.9+0.3. We find a mean radio continuum expansion rate of (0.78 ± 0.09) per cent yr$^{−1}$ (or ∼8900 km s$^{−1}$ at an assumed distance of 8.5 kpc), although the expansion rate varies across the SNR perimetre. In the case of the most recent epoch between 2016 and 2017, we observe faster-than-expected expansion of the northern region. We find a global spectral index for G1.9+0.3 of −0.81 ± 0.02 (76 MHz–10 GHz). Towards the northern region, however, the radio spectrum is observed to steepen significantly (∼−1). Towards the two so-called (east and west) ‘ears’ of G1.9+0.3, we find very different RM values of 400–600 and 100–200 rad m$^2$, respectively. The fractional polarization of the radio continuum emission reaches (19 ± 2) per cent, consistent with other, slightly older, SNRs such as Cas A

New ASKAP Radio Supernova Remnants and Candidates in the Large Magellanic Cloud

International audienceWe present a new Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) sample of 14 radio Supernova Remnant (SNR) candidates in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This new sample is a significant increase to the known number of older, larger and low surface brightness LMC SNRs. We employ a multi-frequency search for each object and found possible traces of optical and occasionally X-ray emission in several of these 14 SNR candidates. One of these 14 SNR candidates (MCSNR J0522-6543) has multi-frequency properties that strongly indicate a bona fide SNR.We also investigate a sample of 20 previously suggested LMC SNR candidates and confirm the SNR nature of MCSNR J0506-6815. We detect lower surface brightness SNR candidates which were likely formed by a combination of shock waves and strong stellar winds from massive progenitors (and possibly surrounding OB stars). Some of our new SNR candidates are also found in a lower density environments in which SNe type Ia explode inside a previously excavated interstellar medium (ISM)

Mysterious Odd Radio Circle near the Large Magellanic Cloud – An Intergalactic Supernova Remnant?

International audienceAbstract We report the discovery of J0624–6948, a low-surface brightness radio ring, lying between the Galactic Plane and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). It was first detected at 888 MHz with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and with a diameter of ∼196 arcsec. This source has phenomenological similarities to Odd Radio Circles (ORCs). Significant differences to the known ORCs −− a flatter radio spectral index, the lack of a prominent central galaxy as a possible host, and larger apparent size −− suggest that J0624–6948 may be a different type of object. We argue that the most plausible explanation for J0624–6948 is an intergalactic supernova remnant due to a star that resided in the LMC outskirts that had undergone a single-degenerate type Ia supernova, and we are seeing its remnant expand into a rarefied, intergalactic environment. We also examine if a massive star or a white dwarf binary ejected from either galaxy could be the supernova progenitor. Finally, we consider several other hypotheses for the nature of the object, including the jets of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) or the remnant of a nearby stellar super-flare