Iranian Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology
Volume:8 Issue: 1, Winter and Spring 2016

Although preliminary studies have shown the anticoccidial effects of Artemisinin in broiler chickens, there are no proofs of its pharmacokinetics. The objective of this study was to determine the serum concentration of Artemisinin after single and multiple oral administration in broiler chickens. A total of 390 one-day-old healthy Ross 308 chickens were divided randomly into two groups. In the first group, single oral doses of 0, 1, 5, 25, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg Artemisinin were given on day 44, and in the second group 0, 17, 34, 68 and 136 ppm of Artemisinin were given chronically in the diet over a 36-day period. An HPLC system with UV detector was used to determine serum level of Artemisinin. Data were presented as Mean ± SE and analyzed using the linear mixed model (p

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of eCG, PGF2α, and combination of eCG and PGF2α early postpartum on reproductive performance in high producing dairy cows. Three hundred sixty eight postpartal Holstein dairy cows were divided in 4 groups. Cows in groups 1 and 2 received 500 IU eCG on day 8 ± 2 and cows in groups 3 and 4 received saline. Cows in groups 1 and 3 received injections of 500 µg cloprostenol twice 8 hours apart between days 20 to 25 postpartum, and cows in group 2 and 4 received saline. Presentation of a functional CL was assessed by ultrasonography of ovaries and serum progesterone concentration in groups 1 and 3. None of the treatments could improve fertility, and reproductive indices including 120 days in milk pregnancy rate, pregnancy loss, first service pregnancy rate and calving to conception interval was not different among the various different groups. Only days to first service in eCG treated cows was marginally lower than that of control cows. Treatment with eCG in cows in group 2 (eCG놩抝) had no effect on the initiation of ovarian cyclical activity by day 30 ± 1 postpartum. Resumption of ovarian cyclical activity by day 30 ±1 postpartum did not affect reproductive performance in dairy cows. Additionally, treatment with eCG, PGF2α and combination of eCG and PGF2α had no effect on the prevalence of clinical endometritis, anovulatory anestrus, and follicular cyst. In conclusion, early treatment of high producing dairy cows after parturition with eCG and PGF2α had no effect on reproductive performance of lactating dairy cows.

For many years it was believed that extremely lowfrequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) do not have any significant biological effects. In this study, the influence of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields on the growth performance, serum antioxidant power and gastrointestinal structure of rainbow trout were evaluated. Rainbow trout (17-18 g) were exposed to electromagnetic fields (15 Hz) at the range of 1 h daily and 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 5 and 50 µT, for a period of 60 days. Growth performance of the trout improved in different treatment groups especially at 0.1, 0.5, 5 and 50 µT. Serum total antioxidant activity was significantly enhanced with different doses of electromagnetic induction at 0.5, 5 and 50 µT. Meanwhile, higher density of goblet cells per villus in fish intestines and pyloric caeca at 0.5 µT induction was observed. These results indicate that application of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields with a frequency of 15 Hz and induction of more than 0.5 µT might improve the growth performance, total antioxidant power and gastrointestinal structure in rainbow trout.

Poultry spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) have the potential to serve as a model for studying the basic biology of SSC and they can also be used for biotechnological purposes. However, the small number of SSCs and the presence of the testicular somatic cells with SSCs have limited their applications. Therefore, this study was undertaken for the first time to investigate the effect of a serum-free medium supplemented with a combination of specific growth factors and B27 on the proliferation and enrichment of newborn chicken SSCs in vitro. Newborn chicken testicular cells were cultured in a serum-free DMEM, supplemented with GDNF, bFGF, LIF, and EGF growth factors and also B27 as an alternative for FBS. Presence and maintenance of the SSCs in the enriched cultures were evaluated by detection of alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and ASZ1, POU5F1, CVH and GPR125 gene expression. A small number of clusters and colonies were emerged in testicular cell cultures before treatment with the enriched cell culture medium. Enrichment of the DMEM with the above indicated factors strongly promoted the proliferation of the chicken SSCs. Moreover, this culture condition declined attachment and maintenance of the testicular somatic cells and thus they decreased gradually in the cultures. The enriched SSCs were positive for AP activity and with detectable levels of ASZ1, POU5F1, CVH and GPR125 gene expression. This study shows that serum-free medium supplemented with a combination of B27 and the above indicated growth factors induces proliferation and enrichment of chicken SSCs in vitro in a short period of time.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of treatment using Kirschner wires and tensioning bands for tarsocrural luxation with malleolus fractures resulting from trauma in dogs. Eight dogs with tarsocrural luxation due to malleolus fracture were selected. Following intrathecal anesthesia, the malleolus bone was returned to its normal position using two Kirschner wires and tension bands. Polyester fishing line was used as an artificial band for reconstruction of the ruptured lateral and medial collateral ligaments. These cases were able to walk and run smoothly. Consequently, it can be preferred to the tensioning band with Kirschner wires for malleolus fracture since an artificial band can be created using fishing line to replace the lateral and medial collateral ligament as was observed in our cases.

Microbial activity and spoilage of chicken meat from the market in Mashhad, Iran, stored in air at 0, 4, 10 and 15°C was assessed. Microbial spoilage population, Total VolatileBase Nitrogen (TVB-N), pH and organoleptic changes were determined. Based on the results of sensory analysis, shelf-life of chicken meat stored at 0, 4, 10 and 15°C was 72, 120, 220 and 320 h, respectively. TVB-N that serves as an important indicator increased with storage time and TVB-N values were more than 28 mg/100g at the time of unacceptable sensory analysis. Both of them showed a high correlation coefficient with microbial growth, especially, Pseudomonas spp. However, pH cannot be used as a good indicator of chicken spoilage under aerobic conditions and there was relatively low correlation between this parameter and the sensory analysis. The results from microbiological behavior analysis, organoleptic quality and TVB-N values
identified pseudomonas spp. as special spoilage organisms (SSO) of poultry meat stored at 0-15°C and Pseudomonas spp. population level was 7.5 CFU/g at the end of shelf life. The microbial growth under dynamic temperature condition followed the same pattern and the results showed that temperature abuse affects the surviving population of Pseudomonas spp. and it leads to reduction of shelf life.

The present study is conducted in order to investigate the antioxidant capacity of Echinophora platyloba DC (Duncan) essential oil (EO), growing wild in west Azerbaijan, Iran, with four different assays. The aerial parts of Echinophora platyloba DC were provided from Maraghe city district, northwest of Iran and its phytochemicals were determined using GC-MS analysis. In order to evaluate and compare the antioxidant activity of the EO, various concentrations (1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg.ml-1) of the oil and reference antioxidants (ascorbic acid and BHT) were analyzed by four different assays such as 2,2’-azinobis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and β-carotene bleaching test (BCBT). The oil exhibited moderate antioxidant activity with a dose-response in DPPH and ABTS assays and it exhibited strong antioxidant activity in FRAP and BCBT assays. It is concluded that FRAP and BCBT assays are more suitable spectrometric assays for antioxidant capacity evaluation of Echinophora platyloba.

Various techniques and culture media were developed for rapid identification of Salmonella serovars. However, there are still problems with their sensitivity and specificity. In an attempt to reduce the time spent to obtain a result and to minimize the problems associated with rapid detection systems such as interference from food ingredients debris, micro flora in feces, and lack of sensitivity, there has been a lot of interest in the development of separation and concentration techniques prior to detection of pathogenic organisms. Various techniques have been utilized for this purpose including: filtration, centrifugation, and lectin-based biosorbents. However, the most successful of the approaches for separation and concentration of target organisms has been the use of Immunomagnetic Separation (IMS). This study was conducted with the objective of comparing the conventional microbiological methods to detect salmonella in diarrheic samples with Immunomagnetic separation combined with chromagar salmonellae medium (IMS-CAS). Of the 400 fecal samples tested by the conventional microbiological and IMS-CAS methods, 33 (8.25%) was culture positive for Salmonella serotypes. The IMS-CAS method gave better results than the conventional microbiological method with less false-positive colonies. Sensitivities for the conventional microbiological method and the IMS-CAS were 100%. The specificity of the IMS-CAS method (99.73%) was significantly higher than that of the conventional microbiological method (94.55%). The use of plating IMS on CAS medium demonstrated high levels of sensitivity and specificity and reduced the time to final identification of Salmonella spp., resulting in substantial cost savings. It can be recommended for the primary isolation of Salmonella spp. from stool specimens.

Giardia duodenalis is an important zoonotic protozoon, found in the small intestine of humans and mammals. There is very little information available regarding rabbits infected with Giardia in Iran. The objective of the present study is to detect Giardia duodenalis antigen in companion rabbits of the Ahvaz district, South-West of Iran. A total of 58 fecal samples of companion rabbits that had been collected during January 2011 to December 2014 were submitted to the parasitology laboratory of the Veterinary Faculty for Giardia duodenalis testing by two techniques: centrifugation-flotation and a commercial Giardia Antigen Test Kit (BVT Co., Ltd, Lion, France) by immunochromatography assay (ICA). The studied rabbits were categorized into two age groups (less than 1 year old and above or equal to 1 year old), four season. In addition, they were categorized into two other groups based on the stool sample status (diarrheic and non-diarrheic). Five out of fifty eight fecal samples (8.62%) were positive for antigen of Giardia duodenalis by ICA. Prevalence was
significantly higher in diarrheic rabbits (45.45%; 5 out of 11) than non-diarrheic rabbits (0%; 0 out of 47) (P=0.002). The infection had more prevalence in rabbits older than 1 year (9.09%; 3 out of 33) compared with young rabbits that were less than 1 year old (8%; 2 out of 25). Nevertheless, the difference was not significant. Prevalence was higher in male rabbits (9.52%; 2 out of 21) compared with female rabbits (8.11%; 3 out of 37) and in the season of autumn (15.38%; 2 out of 13), but without a significant difference between the prevalence of infection relative to host gender and season. Microscopy examination on fecal samples showed that 5.17% (3 out of 58) were positive. For greater certainty, three stool samples were collected from each animal at 48 hour intervals. The results indicated that the Giardia antigen was present as a zoonotic disease in rabbits of the Ahvaz district. The obtained data showed that more sensitive techniques such as ICA may be necessary and yield more reliable results in the detection of low levels of Giardia in fecal samples.

Infection by Macrorhabdus ornithogaster (MO) formerly called Megabacteriosis has been diagnosed as the cause of depression, wasting, regurgitation, fluffed feathers, lethargy, and soft watery bulky feces and also the cause of mortality in a flock of breeding canaries over a long period of time (3 months) in Mashhad, Iran. Large numbers of Macrorhabdus ornithogaster were detected in wetmount fecal preparations of the feces and direct smears from mucosal scrapings of proventrilculus of one bird under light microscopy. The diagnosis was confirmed by demonstrating a chronic proventriculitis histologically which was associated with MO organisms along with molecular tests.