Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine
Volume:14 Issue: 3, Summer 2020

Buffalo is one of the most important animals for the source of milk and meat, and it is also used for draught purposes in Bangladesh. Gastrointestinal parasites in the buffalo calves lead to reduced growth and hinder the development of buffalo industry in Bangladesh.

The study was conducted to identify the gastrointestinal parasitic load in the buffalo calves at Sylhet district, Bangladesh.

Fecal samples were collected from one hundred seventy (170) buffalo calves from different areas of Sylhet district and samples were examined using sedimentation, and floatation techniques. A morphological examination of parasitic eggs was performed to identify the parasitic species.

Among the 170 calves examined in the present study, 62 (36.47%) were found positive with different parasites. Two species of gastro-intestinal parasites were identified, among them 26.47% positive with Neoascarisvitulorum, 5.88% with Strongyloides sp .and 4.12% with Strongyle type. The prevalence of gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites in males (44.12%) was lower than in female (55.88%) calves. A relatively higher worm load was observed in summer (58.82%) than rainy (41.18%) season. The prevalence of Gastrointestinal parasitic infections was significantly higher (p ≤0.05) in calves aged 6 months of age (44.12%) than calves of 6-12 months of age (32.35%) followed by 13-18 months of age (23.53%). EPG (egg per gr of feces) ranged from 50-1950.

The present study showed that the prevalence of GI parasites in buffalo calves in Sylhet is relatively higher regardless of age, sex, and seasons. Data generated through this study will help to adopt necessary measures to control the GI parasitic infections in buffalo calves in developing countries like Bangladesh.

reducing production and death. The disease in endemic areas would be mild or subclinical in indigenous cattle and clinically acute in exotics.

This study was conducted to evaluate the resistance of indigenous cattle in comparison with Holstein and crossbred cattle against Theileria annulata through assessment of clinical signs and response to treatment.

For this purpose, the data history and clinical examination were observed on 51 naturally affected cattle with T. annulata (17 Holstein, 17 crossbred and 17 indigenous cows). Examination of blood smears was used for diagnosis. Detection of schizonts in lymph node punctured smears confirmed validity of the suspect samples. All three groups of cows were treated with buparvaquone along with oxytetracycline. Their clinical signs and the results of blood smear examinations were recorded before and 48 hours after treatment. The severity of clinical signs, parasitemia rates and response to treatment were compared among the groups.

The results showed significant difference (p <0.05) in severity of fever, intense and abnormal lung sounds, mucosal changes (pallor, jaundice, petechiae) and ruminal hypomotility among the groups. There was no significant difference in parasitemia rate and response to treatment among the groups.

This study indicated that Iranian indigenous cattle in comparison with Holsteins and crossbreeds had milder clinical manifestations and no significant difference in response to treatment for tropical theileriosis.

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases in human societies and ani- mal populations, particularly pregnant women and domestic animals. This life-threatening infection may cause severe consequences in the fetus.

This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of anti-parasite antibodies in pregnant wom- en and sheep and goat populations of Zabol city, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Southeast Iran.

Ninety serum samples of pregnant women and 184 serum samples of sheep and goats were collected and anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies were examined using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Subsequently, the correlation between the seroprevalence of infection and socio-de- mographic data was statistically calculated.

Among pregnant women, 13/90 (14%) samples were IgG positive and seroprevalence was signifi- cantly correlated to history of abortion (p <0.05). Among examined sheep and goats, 34 sheep (24.6%) and 3 goats (6.5%) out of 184 (138 sheep and 46 goats) serum samples were positive for parasite-specific IgG. Also, the seroprevalence of infection was significantly associated with animal species (p <0.05), history of abortion (p <0.05) and parity (p <0.05).

According to the findings of this study, despite the relatively low prevalence of infection in pregnant women in Sistan, given the high prevalence of infection in the small ruminant population of the region, more careful monitoring and control of transmission of infection from small ruminants along with other common vectors of the disease are essential. However, more precise investigations are needed to reveal the epidemiological aspects of the parasite in Sistan.

Microbial quality of drinking water is very important in animal health.

The present survey was conducted to evaluate the microbial quality of cows' drinking water in dairy farms in Mashhad suburb, Iran, to find out defects in this field.

Water samples were taken from 30 farms and 4 sites including: Water tanks,  inlet and outlet  of bovine drinking troughs and calves’ water buckets in fall, 2018. The samples were put in sterile falcons, with keeping of the cold chain and immediately sent to the microbiological laboratory. Counting of fecal Streptococcus and Coliform in the specimens were performed by using pour plate and most probable number (MPN) methods, respectively.The contamination frequency of the samples to fecal Coliform and Escherichia coli were determined by using specific biochemical tests. The positive specimens in terms of E. coli were also detected for the presence of serotype O157: H7 by using PCR technique.

According to the sampling sites, the contamination frequency with fecal Coliform and Strepto- coccus were recorded 30-100% and 20- 96.67%, respectively. The most frequency of contamination were observed in outlet of bovine drinking troughs. In 3.33% of samples, serotype O157 : H7 and in 6.67% of samples, undefined H7 serotype were diagnosed. There was no statistical significant difference in the level of bacterial contamination of drinking water due to the geographical location of farms (p > 0.05).

It was concluded that except for a limited number of farms, water tanks are relatively safe, while it is necessary to pay particular attention to the high contamination of outlet of bovine drinking troughs and water buckets of calves.

Post-partum depression is the most prevalent form of mental illness and herbal therapies are potential alternatives and adjuncts for its treatment. Hesperidin is the major flavonoid isolated from cit- rus fruits which has neuroprotective, antioxidant and antidepressant activity.

We studied the effect of exposure to Hesperidin during pregnancy on postpartum antide- pressant-like effects in mice.

Twelve male and 40 female mice (28-30 gr) were randomly selected and after determina- tion of the pregnancy using vaginal plaque, allocated into 4 experimental groups. Group 1 was kept as control and groups 2-4 were i.p. injected with 0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg of hesperidin on days of 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17 of pregnancy. The control group received i.p. injection of the saline on the same days. Following postpartum, forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and open field tests were used to eval- uate depressive-like antidepressant activity of hesperidin. At the end of the study, serum Malondialde- hyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were determined.

According to the results, administration of the different levels of the hesperidin (0.5 and 1 mg/ kg) at GD 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17 significantly decreased immobility time (S) in TST and FST on postpartum mice compared to control group (p ≤0.05). Pre-partum administration of hesperidin (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) had no significant effect on OFT of control group (p >0.05). Administration of the hesperidin (0.5 and 1 mg/ kg) during the GD significantly decreased MDA levels on postpartum compared to control group (p ≤0.05). Also, pre-partum administration of the hesperidin (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/kg) significantly increased SOD and GPx levels on postpartum mice compared to control group (p ≤0.05).

These results suggested pre-partum administration of hesperidin has antidepressant and antioxidant effect in postpartum mice.

Fat-tailed sheep breeds have a  unique  ability  to  tolerate  periods  of  negative  energy  balance  due to seasonal changes in feed availability. This ability is attributed to presence  of  fat-tail  as  a  body  energy  reserve, however the exact underlying  mechanisms  controlling  the  response  of adipose  tissue  depots  to variations in energy balance in fat-tailed breeds are not well understood.

As definition of a set of stable reference gene is an absolute prerequisite of any gene  expression study, therefore the current research was conducted to define the most  stable  reference  genes  in  adipose  tissue  depots and muscle of fat-tailed Lori-Bakhtiari lambs during periods of negative and positive energy balances.

Eighteen fat-tailed Lori-Bakhtiari male lambs were divided into 3 groups according to their  body- weight. The experiment was consisted of an adaptation  period  (2  weeks),  negative  energy  balance  period  (3  weeks), followed by positive energy balance  period  (3  weeks).  The  3  groups  of  lambs  were  randomly  selected and slaughtered at the  beginning  and  end  of negative  energy  balance  and  at the end of positive energy balance to collect samples of muscle and adipose tissue depots.

The stability of the reference genes  differed  among  different  tissues  and also between  various  depots  of adipose tissue. Average of ranking by different software programs showed that glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH),  B-actin  and  peptidylprolyl  isomerase  A  (PPIA)  were  the  3  most  stable  reference genes in mesenteric adipose tissue, whereas in fat-tail adipose tissue, PPIA, tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein, zeta polypeptide (YWHAZ) and RNA polymerase  II  subunit  A  (POLR2A) were considered as genes with least expression variability during periods of negative and positive energy balance. B-actin, YWHAZ and phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) were defined as the most stable reference genes in longissimus dorsi muscle tissue of Lori-Bakhtiari lambs.

The results of the current study demonstrate that the stability of the reference  genes  varied  between mesenteric and fat-tail adipose tissues and the level  of energy  balance  affects  the  stability  of the  refer-  ence genes. In addition,  ranking  of  the  reference  genes  differs  among  different  software  programs  possibly  due to different mathematical algorithms used by different programs.

Animal breeds are often recognized through their specific characteristics, nevertheless, the breeds' anatomical and biochemical characteristics have not considered yet in many of the researches done on one-humped camels. There are some particular differences in camel breeds due to different climate conditions and rearing necessity.

The aim of the current study was to compare differences in anatomical and plasma biochem- ical parameters of two Iranian one-humped camels, the Jammaz (racing) and Balouchi (dual-purpose) breeds.

Anatomical parameters were body length (BL), neck length (NL), chest girth (CG), barrel girth (BG), hump circumference (HC), fore limb length (FLL), hind limb length (HLL), height at hump (HH), fore limbs interval (FLI), hind limbs interval (HLI), fore hoof circumference (FHC), hind hoof circumference (HHC), abdominal circumference (AC), shank circumference (SC) and leg circumference (LC). Moreover, concentra- tions of Glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, cholesterol, total bilirubin (Bili-T), direct bilirubin (Bi- li-D), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total protein (TP), albumin (Alb), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were measured as plasma biochemical parameters. Data analysis was conducted through t-test statistics.

Results revealed significant differences between body type traits of breeds, especially in organs related to running ability, while the Jammaz breed has more height and longer limbs than the Balouchi breed. Some blood parameters (glucose, LDH, BUN, cortisol and T4) are considerably higher in Jammaz breed, too.

Results of the current study suggest some anatomical (especially fore and hind limb lengths, neck length and body height at hump) and physiological characteristics (lactate dehydrogenase, blood urea nitrogen, cortisol, glucose and T4) of Iranian racing and dual purpose camels as breed markers.

Mongooses are small carnivores residing in different regions from Africa to southeast Asia. The Indian gray mongoose (Herpestes Edwardsii) is one of the mongoose species that is mostly found in southern Asia particularly India and the south of Iran. Anatomical studies on the animal's brain have always been of interest to the scientist due to its high importance in various branches of biology, such as zoology, veterinary medicine and ethology.

Our study aimed to enrich the current data pool by providing a histological description of the mongoose’s brain. The present study was conducted to investigate the histomorphologic and histomorphomet- ric aspects of cerebrum and cerebellum of the Indian grey mongoose.

For this purpose, eight adult mongooses were considered, which were in an end-stage disease or the status of approaching death. In the following, after removing the skull, the brain structure was accurately dissected and placed in 10% buffered formalin. The samples were embedded in paraffin, cut into serial sections and stained using standard Hematoxylin and Eosin protocol.

In this study, the thickness of the white matter and cortex layers in the cerebrum and cerebellum, the number of neurons and neuroglia cells per unit area, and morphological features of tissue of the organs were measured and recorded. The results of cell count showed that the cell density of neurons in female and neuroglia in male were higher, significantly (P ≤ 0.05). Also in the cerebellum, the Purkinje cells were oval to round and were very close to the granular layer.

Despite minor differences, it could be concluded that the general morphologic and mor- phometric characteristics of cerebrum and cerebellum for mongoose are similar to the other animals. Although the study of these features has not been done in a wild carnivore so far, these features can be considered as an intermediate between rodents and human.

Hemolytic anemia is a disorder characterized by the premature erythrocytes destruction. Phenylhydrazine (PHZ) induces oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, which causes hemolytic anemia. Cynara scolymus due to its antioxidant compounds, has been used for various therapeutic purposes in traditional medicine.

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of Cynara scolymus extract on PHZ -induced anemia in male rats.

Hemolytic anemia was induced by intraperitoneal injection of PHZ (40 mg/kg) for 2 days. Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into five groups. Group 1 (normal control). Group 2 (anemic control) received only PHZ. The groups 3 to 5 were injected with 100, 200, 400 mg/kg of the Cynara scolymus by gavage, respectively, daily from day 2 to day 15 after PHZ administration. At the end of the treatment period, blood samples were collected to assess hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) level and antioxidant enzymes activity, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in the serum and erythrocytes.

In anemic rats, serum and erythrocytes MDA level increased, but SOD and TAC activity de- creased significantly when compared with control group (p ≤ 0.05). These changes were ameliorated by treat- ment with Cynara scolymus at different doses (p ≤ 0.05). Also, improvement in several hematological param- eters was observed in anemic rats after administration of Cynara scolymus (p ≤ 0.05).

Cynara scolymus extract exhibits protective property against PHZ-induced oxidative stress presumably due to antioxidative activity.

Canine mammary gland cancers are the most prevalent malignancies in dogs. There are different challenges regarding management of these cancers in dogs and human, one hypothesis is related to small cellular subset of tumor mass called cancer stem cell. These cells are therapy resistant and cause metastasis and relapse even after primary successful treatment. The well-identified phenotypes for detecting this population are ALDH1+/CD44+/CD24-/Low biomarkers.

A study to evaluate existence of cancer stem cells in canine malignant mammary glands tumor and assess effects of these cells on clinicopathological parameters of tumors were designed.

In this study forty cases of canine mammary glands tumors were collected. All cases were tested via H&E and then Immunohistochemistry (IHC) methods. All samples were evaluated immunohis- tochemically for common markers of these tumor-initiating cells. Monoclonal antibodies against ALDH1, CD44 and CD24 were used. Some tumor aggressiveness-related parameters, including lymphovascular in- vasion, tumor grades and histotypes were assessed.

The present study revealed that 17.5% of cases were enriched with cancer stem cells and all  of them were diagnosed as grade II and III (P ≤ 0.05). Other findings showed all cancer stem cell-positive cases were significantly lymphovascular invasion positive (P ≤ 0.05). The most common histotypes in this research were tubular, tubulopapillary and intraductal carcinomas.

Our results illustrated that cancer stem cells can be considered as reliable prognostic factors to predict severity of malignant behavior of canine malignant mammary glands cancer, which is  comparable with human breast cancer.