Fatal pulmonary acariasis in an aged indoor rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Pulmonary acariasis is a sporadic, incidental finding in colony‐raised rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Prophylactic treatment in indoor‐raised and indoor‐housed macaques is not routine due to low prevalence, lack of clinical significance, and potential risk of toxicosis. This case is an unusually severe infestation of Pneumonyssus simicola in an indoor‐housed rhesus macaque, which ultimately resulted in this animal's death.     

Freshwater crayfish invasions in South Africa: past,present and potential future

Freshwater crayfish invasions have been studied around the world, but less so in Africa, a continent devoid of native freshwater crayfish. The present study reviews historical and current information on alien freshwater crayfish species introduced into South Africa and aims to indicate which areas are at risk from invasion. As is the case elsewhere, South Africans have shown a keen interest in both farming and keeping freshwater crayfish as pets, which has resulted in Cherax cainii, Cherax destructor, Cherax quadricarinatus and Procambarus clarkii being introduced to the country. There is evidence of successful establishment in the wild for C. quadricarinatus and P. clarkii in different parts of the country. Species distribution models suggest that the eastern part of the country and parts of the Eastern and Western Cape are at higher risk of invasion. At present, illegal translocations represent the most likely pathway of crayfish spread in South Africa. A continued risk of invasion by freshwater crayfish species in South Africa is highlighted, which reinforces the need for more research, as well as for strong mitigation measures, such as stronger policing of existing regulations, management or eradication where feasible and public education.     

Dual role for nitric oxide in paracoccidioidomycosis: essential for resistance, but overproduction associated with susceptibility

Using a murine model of susceptibility and resistance to paracoccidioidomycosis, we have previously demonstrated that immunosuppression occurs in susceptible (B10.A), but not in resistant (A/Sn), mouse strains. Accumulating evidence shows that NO is involved in the induction of T cell immunosuppression during infection as well as in the killing of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. In the present work, we focused on NO and other macrophage products that could be associated with resistance or susceptibility to paracoccidioidomycosis. A striking difference was related to NO and TNF production. Macrophages from B10.A mice produced high and persistent NO levels, while in A/Sn animals, TNF production predominated. In in vitro cultures, P. brasiliensis-infected macrophages from A/Sn mice also produced large amounts of TNF, while B10.A macrophages only produced NO. TNF production by B10.A macrophages appeared to be suppressed by NO, because the addition of aminoguanidine sulfate, an inducible NO synthase (NOS2) inhibitor, resulted in TNF production. These results suggested that enhanced TNF or NO production is associated with resistance and susceptibility, respectively. However, regardless of the mouse strain, NOS2-deficient or aminoguanidine sulfate-treated mice presented extensive tissue lesions with increased fungal load in lungs and liver compared with their controls. We conclude that NOS2-derived NO is essential for resistance to paracoccidioidomycosis, but overproduction is associated with susceptibility.     

Global expression analysis of nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat-encoding and related genes in Arabidopsis

Background  

Nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat (NBS-LRR)-encoding genes comprise the largest class of plant disease resistance genes. The 149 NBS-LRR-encoding genes and the 58 related genes that do not encode LRRs represent approximately 0.8% of all ORFs so far annotated in Arabidopsis ecotype Col-0. Despite their prevalence in the genome and functional importance, there was little information regarding expression of these genes.     

Characterization of phosphorus fractions in the sediments of a tropical intertidal mangrove ecosystem

Solid phases of phosphorus fractions in the surface and core sediments were studied to understand the biogeochemical cycling and bioavailability of phosphorus in the Pichavaram intertidal mangrove sediments of India. Total P in surface and core sediments ranged between 451–552 and 459–736 μg g⁻¹ respectively and Fe bound P was the dominant fraction. Low levels of Fe bound P in the mangrove zone than the two estuarine zones may be because of high salinity inhibition of phosphate adsorption onto the Fe-oxides/hydroxides. Post-depositional reorganization of P was observed in surface sediments, converting organic P and Fe bound P into the authigenic P. High levels of organic P in the mangrove zone is primarily due to intensive cycling and degradation of organic matter and adsorption of phosphate on the organic molecules. The burial rates and regeneration efficiency of P in the intertidal mangrove ecosystem ranged from 5.41 to 7.27 μmol P cm⁻² year⁻¹ and 0.122 to 0.233 μmol P cm⁻² year⁻¹, respectively. High burial efficiency (≈99%) of P proves the earlier observation of limiting nature of P for the biological productivity. Further, bioavailable P (exchangeable P + Fe bound P + organic P) constituted a considerable proportion of sedimentary P pool of which an average accounted for 55 and 50% in surface and core sediments respectively. The results indicate that significant amount of P is locked in sediments in the form of authigenic P and detrital P which makes P as a limiting nutrient for the biological productivity.     

INCITE: A randomised trial comparing constraint induced movement therapy and bimanual training in children with congenital hemiplegia

Background  

Congenital hemiplegia is the most common form of cerebral palsy (CP) accounting for 1 in 1300 live births. These children have limitations in capacity to use the impaired upper limb and bimanual coordination deficits which impact on daily activities and participation in home, school and community life. There are currently two diverse intensive therapy approaches. Traditional therapy has adopted a bimanual approach (BIM training) and recently, constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) has emerged as a promising unimanual approach. Uncertainty remains about the efficacy of these interventions and characteristics of best responders. This study aims to compare the efficacy of CIMT to BIM training to improve outcomes across the ICF for school children with congenital hemiplegia.     

Linkage disequilibrium on chromosome 6 in Australian Holstein-Friesian cattle

We analysed linkage disequilibrium (LD) in Australian Holstein-Friesian cattle by genotyping a sample of 45 bulls for 15 closely-spaced microsatellites on two regions of BTA6 reported to carry important QTL for dairy traits. The order and distance of markers were based on the USDA-MARC linkage map. Frequencies of haplotypes were estimated using the E-M approach and a more computationally-intensive Bayesian approach as implemented in PHASE. LD was then estimated using the Hedrick multiallelic extension of Lewontin normalised coefficient D''. Estimates of D'' from the two approaches were in close agreement (r = 0.91). The mean estimates of D'' for marker pairs with an inter-marker distance of less than 5 cM (n = 13) are 0.57 and 0.51, and for distances more than 20 cM (n = 44) are 0.29 and 0.17, estimated from the E-M and Bayesian approaches, respectively. The Malecot model was fitted for the exponential decline of LD with map distance between markers. The swept radii (the distance at which LD has declined to 1/e (~37%) of its initial value) are 11.6 and 13.7 cM for the above two methods, respectively. The Malecot model was also fitted using map distance in Mb from the bovine integrated map (bovine location database, bLDB) in addition to cM from the MARC map. Overall, the results indicate a high level of LD on chromosome 6 in Australian dairy cattle.     

Toll-like receptors and fungal infections: the role of TLR2, TLR4 and MyD88 in paracoccidioidomycosis

The aim of this minireview is to present a concise view of the most important pattern recognition receptors used by the innate immune system to sense and control pathogen growth into host tissues. A brief review of the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in fungal infections followed by some recent results on the function of TLR4, TLR2 and the MyD88 adaptor molecule in the pathogenesis of paracoccidioidomycosis are presented.     

Technical and economic potentials of the unconventional extruded dried Arabic bread wastes in broilers diets

Food waste is one of the major global challenges that have adverse socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Therefore, studying food waste utilization potentials and minimizing its negative consequences becomes imperative. This study aims to assess the technical and economic potentials of substituting corn with unconventional extruded dried Arabic Bread waste (EDABW) in broilers’ diets, in terms of broilers’ performance, carcass characteristic, economic net returns, and income over feed cost (IOFC). One hundred eighty unsexed one-day-old broiler birds of Ross breed were distributed randomly in six treatments (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% EDABW group) of isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets in a completely randomized design with six replicated (5 chicks/replicate). The investigated traits were broilers’ performance (live body weight, total feed intake, total feed conversion ratio, and total weight gain. Other traits such as carcass weight, abdominal fat, edible offal (liver, heart, and gizzard), eviscerated (breast muscles, drum and thigh muscles, and wings) were weighed and expressed based on a live body weight. Results showed that the 20% replacement level of corn with EDABW generated the highest increase in the live body weight and the eviscerated carcass at about 4.24% g and 4.90%, respectively. On the other hand, the economic analysis showed potential reductions in the broilers’ diet cost and the total broilers' production cost as the levels of corn substitution with by unconventional EDABW increased. The reductions were estimated at 5.1%, 6.3%, 8.4%, 9.3%, and 9.9% at substitution levels of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%, respectively as compared to the control diet. The results also showed a potential increase in the net economic returns of broiler meat as the increase in substitution levels ranged between 3.5–06.8% and 4.3–8.3% as compared to the control diets using the average retail and wholesale prices of broiler meats, respectively. In addition, the maximum IOFC was estimated potentially at a 20% substitution level of corn with EDABW. Conclusively, the study results show promising technical and economic potentials for unconventional EDABW in broilers’ diets that could lead to a thriving industry of unconventional broilers’ diets with high net economic returns and maximum IOFC.     

A conformational switch‐based aptasensor for the chemiluminescence detection of microRNA

A simple microRNA (miRNA) aptasensor has been developed combining the conformational switch of a streptavidin aptamer and isothermal strand displacement amplification. In the presence of its target miRNA, the allosteric molecular beacon (aMB) probe immobilized on the plate can be ‘switched on' and release the streptavidin aptamer. At the same time, Klenow fragment (3′→5′ exo‐) is utilized to initiate DNA‐strand displacement, which starts the target recycling process. Based on the aptamer' high binding affinity and subsequent catalytic chemiluminescence (CL) detection, this CL strategy is highly specific in distinguishing mature miRNAs in same family. It exhibits a dynamic range of four orders of magnitude with a detection limit of 50 fM, and shows great potential for miRNA‐related clinical practices and biochemical research.