Recent Articles

The most pathogenic species of Eimeria that infect chickens is Eimeria tenella. It is a major cause of coccidiosis, a self-limiting infectious disease of the digestive tract of chickens. In view of the resistance to the conventional anticoccidial drugs used in poultry, herbal extracts are often considered as safe alternatives. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of methanolic leaf extract of Lannea schimperi on histopathological changes in the intestines, liver and kidneys of chicken infected with Eimeria tenella. Seven groups of 4 broilers chickens were used for the experiment.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is also referred to as a steroid hormone with an active form that can bind to receptors. The main way to obtain vitamin D is its synthetization on the skin with the effect of ultraviolet light. It is activated in the body by two hydroxylation reactions in the liver and kidneys. Vitamin D is said to have other effects besides those on the bone metabolism. Vitamin D deficiency is a global social health problem. It is associated with cardiovascular diseases, obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, various types of cancer, immune deficiencies and increased mortality. It is frequently observed in obese individuals. A possible molecular mechanism of the relationship between obesity and vitamin D deficiency may be associated with the metabolism in mature adipocytes, oxidative stress, inflammation and the gene expression regulation capacity of vitamin D which is related to the adipogenesis process. Vitamin D may lead to an increase in insulin secretion and a decrease in insulin resistance by regulating the immune system. Inflammatory cytokine production is thought to be one of the mechanisms of action of vitamin D on insulin resistance. Inflammatory cytokines appear to be associated with obesity and insulin resistance. Low levels of vitamin D may cause disruption of insulin secretion. Vitamin D may be involved in β-cell secretion activity and changes in tissue response to insulin. There is a relationship between inadequate 25(OH)D levels and β-cell dysfunction. Vitamin D may have beneficial effects on β-cell function by suppressing the renin-angiotensin system. Based on all this information, it may be concluded that vitamin D is associated with obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes, and vitamin D deficiency may form the basis for these conditions.

Obesity has been linked to autonomic dysfunction, which is thought to be one of the main contributors for hypertension, cardiac remodelling and death. The aim of the present study was to investigate stress related changes in autonomous function in subjects at high risk for obesity (Restrained eaters). 33 healthy women aged 18-30 years were recruited through advertisement in local newspapers. Classification in restrained and unrestrained eaters was done according to norm tables from the German version of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire. Participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test, a standardized laboratory stressor. As an indicator of autonomous function the measurement of heart rate was performed. Restrained eaters did not respond with a significant increase in heart rate after stress. The results are interpreted with respect to consequences for nutritional intake and stress coping.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) requires prompt diagnosis as clinical indicators of GCA are non-specific. Temporal artery biopsy (TAB) can be inconclusive and difficult to arrange timely. MR imaging is accurate for showing vessel thickening. However, the availability of MRI remains an issue in many radiology departments.

Candida, a commensal of the oral and the vaginal cavity, sometimes turns invasive, in immunosuppressed individuals. The resultant lesion, known as invasive or aggressive candidiasis, can be extremely refractory to treatment. This is a case report of an ulcero proliferative lesion in the hard palate that mimicked an intra-oral neoplasm. The clinical picture was confused by the fact that the patient was a chain smoker, and also because the initial MRI images were strongly suggestive of an invasive malignancy. When clinical and radiological signs exactly mimic a malignancy, the picture is confusing.

Delirium is common in palliative care and often not diagnosed or mistaken for sedation or anxiety. There are multiple validated screening tools. The clock drawing test (CDT) is a rapid and patient centered screen for delirium which can be followed longitudinally. It also has the possibility of detecting the underlying neuroanatomical lesion. We present a patient with a right hemispheric subdural hematoma who had a reversal of the numbers on the clock face. This has been described with pathology of the right hemisphere. This patient experience illustrates the benefits of the CDT not only in detecting delirium but also revealing the neuroanatomical locus which generated the delirium episode and assisted the palliative care team in identifying patients with appropriate decision-making capacity

The pathogenesis and immune response to a chronic viral infection is multifaceted especially for HIV infection. The effect of HIV on the systemic immunoenvironment of the infected individual is profound and triggered by multiple stimuli. While replication competent viral infection induces a large spectrum of immune responses, such as cytokine release, we focused on what happens when cells are exposed to replication incompetent virions and their components.

The CIGB-552 peptide is a synthetic peptide that exerts cytotoxic effect on tumor cells. Thus, CIGB-552 peptide quantification in patient samples is crucial for assessing the treatment efficacy. Therefore, this study describes the generation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) directed against the CIGB-552 peptide to be used in a quantification assay in further pharmacokinetic studies in humans. In this sense, the CIGB.552-H294 mAb specificity was evidenced only against the CIGB-552 peptide and a metabolite of 17 amino acids resulting from the CIGB-552 peptide degradation detected in mouse sera.

Accepting one’s HIV sero-status is a critical first step in preventing mother to child transmission of HIV. HIV counseling and testing provides an entry point to PMTCT services for pregnant women.

One of the challenges and concerns of water industry experts and practitioners is to ensure that there is no bacterial contamination in water samples, especially drinking water samples. The second is to find out if there is a microbial biofilm layer in water resources such as wells, storage tanks, and even water distribution networks. The presence of biofilms in water resources and reservoirs reduces the quality of water.

The effect of an adequate fluid consumption is well-known and its relevance for the maintenance and promotion of health cannot be denied. Previous work indicates that daily demands and work exposures, i.e. related to stress, may have an impact on drinking patterns. To date, only few studies have investigated workers’ and students’ fluid consumption and drinking patterns, as well as their impact on different outcomes. However, a review that combines previous findings and current knowledge about workers’ and students’ likely fluid consumption has not been published yet. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review on drinking patterns in the settings workplace and university.

In today’s print and electronic media, terms like ‘forced migration’ and ‘refugee’ are some of the most frequently used words. Globally there have been an outrageously large number of forced migrations, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless and stateless. Starting with the Syrian war in 2011 to the latest round of military atrocity in Myanmar in August 2017, millions of people have sought refuge in neighboring countries. The Rohingya is a group of refugees from Myanmar who have been residing in Bangladesh since the 1970s. At present, there is no published information on health and nutritional status of refugee children in Bangladesh. This study was conducted to assess nutritional status of the Rohingya children aged 6 months to 5 years old (n=114). Children were measured for weight and height while their guardians were interviewed. About 86% of the Rohingya children were underweight, 64.9% stunted, 82.1% thin and 1.8% at risk of overweight. Severe acute malnutrition (MUAC

Calf morbidity and mortality are important causes of economic losses on dairy farms worldwide. A cross-sectional study and clinical observation was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 with the objective of determining calf morbidity and mortality and to investigate the potential risk factors for mortality and morbidity in Sululta and its environs. A total of 312 respondents engaged in market oriented small holder dairying were interviewed using a structured questionnaire survey about their farm and calf management practices and major calf health problems encountered and diseases that causes mortality. The overall magnitude of morbidity and mortality of calves were 31.0% and 58.37%, respectively. The major calf diseases found were diarrhea (69.34%), pneumonia (16.54%), liver fluke (2.4%), bloat (2.0%), joint ill (2.4%) and other cases (8.04%). Risk factors such as weaning age, breed and awareness of colostrums, feeding of calf and overall farm management were included. In this study 80.3% of calf mortality occurs under age 3 month and 19.42% is above 3 month. Based on laboratory examination, Salmonella and E.coli were detected from diarrheic calves. Salmonella found at rate of 2/29 (3.6%) and E.coli found at only genus level. In conclusion, the magnitude of calf morbidity and mortality found in this study were much higher than economically tolerable level and could greatly affect the productivity of the dairy farms through mainly decreasing the availability of replacement stock and production of milk. It is therefore, suggested that implementation of improved calf and farm management practices and proper environmental protection in the study areas would significantly reduce calf mortality and morbidity.

Different tick species and tick-borne diseases of cattle are present in Ethiopia and they induce huge production loss in livestock industry by creating serious animal health problems. The present study was conducted from November 2017 to April 2018 in Arsi Negele and Asasa districts of West Arsi Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. A cross sectional study design and purposive sampling technique were employed to select 384 study animals so as to identify ticks species and tick-haemoparasite species and also to identify risk factors that affect the prevalence and association of tick born diseases. Tick and haemoparasite identification were carried out by using drect stereomicroscopic and direct thin blood examination. The study identified two tick genera and four tick species. The tick species encountered were Rhipicephalus decoloratus (51.6%) Ambylomma variegatum (46.1%) Ambylomma gemma (20.1%) and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi (1.2%). Out of all 384 cattle examined for the presence of tick-born haemoparasites 11.4% (n=44) of them were positive. From this 6.2%, 3.6 %, 1.3% and 0.8% of them were positive for Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bigemina, Babesia bovis and Anaplasma marginale, respectively. Two cattle (0.5%) were found positive for both Anaplasma marginale and Babesia bigemina. The highest prevalence of total tick born haemoparasites (57.1%) was occurred in A. Variegatum, A. gemma and R. decoloratus mixed infestations. In conclusion ticks and tick born haemoparasitic infections were common problems in the study area. Thus, awareness creation for farmers about the impacts of ticks and tick born diseases on livestock production and productivity and also applying appropriate and timely strategic tick control methods by veterinary service providers were advisable.

Two hundred Archachatina marginata snails, one hundred each of A. marginata var. saturalis and A. marginata var. ovum with weights ranging from 33.10 – 349.00 g and 127.60 – 443.40 g, respectively sorted out of a base population were used for this study. Phenotypic traits measured on each of these snail varieties/strains included shell length, shell width, aperture length, aperture width, spiral length, spiral width, diagonal length, length between aperture and first spiral, number of whorls and body weight. Data collected were used to estimate phenotypic correlations between pairs of traits and to predict the relationship between body weight and other dimensional shell measurements (DSM). Results of phenotypic correlations between body weight and the DSM and between the DSM of the two A. marginata varieties showed that all the pairs of phenotypic traits investigated on A. marginata var. ovum expressed positive correlation values, while the pairs investigated on A. marginata var. saturalis showed both positive and negative correlation values. The regression estimates of parameters and coefficients of determination for the simple linear function of A. marginata var. ovum snails showed slightly high and very strong interrelationship between body weight and one phenotypic trait, while the multiple linear function for predicting body weight using four phenotypic traits showed highly significant and very strong interrelationship. In A. maginata var. saturalis snails, both the simple and multiple linear regression equations showed highly significant and very strong interrelationships between body weight and shell parameters. The range values of coefficient of determination showed that 78 to 100% of the variability in both snail strains body weights can be explained by changes in the considered dimensional shell parameters. Also, the linear functions with four and two parameters/traits best predicted the live weights of A. marginata var. saturalis and A. marginata var. ovum snails, respectively. Prediction results showed that explainable traits best predicted live weight when more than one phenotypic/shell trait were fitted into the regression functions.

Congenital heart disease is the most common congenital disorder in newborns represents a major cause of perinatal death. The prevalence of these malformations is still unrecognized in Tunisia because of the lack of a national register. The aim of this study was describe the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the heart diseases with neonatal diagnosis in Tunisia.

We aimed to assess the level of knowledge regarding food additives among medical and engineering students.This cross-sectional descriptive study included students from Inonu University Medicine and Engineering Faculty. The sample size was calculated considering the prevalence rate of food additive knowledge as 22.3%, with a 95% confidence interval, 80% power and 918 individuals. A questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic characteristics of the students and their knowledge regarding food additives. Scores for knowledge regarding food additives were created; eight questions were posed to the students, and each known correct answer was given a score of 1. Pearson’s chi-square test, Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used for data analysis.Mean age of the students was 21.74 ± 2.56 years, and 51.7% of them were males. Knowledge level regarding the definition of food additives was not different between genders (p > 0.05). Medical students had significantly higher knowledge levels (92.2%) about the definition of food additives compared to those of engineering students (80.4%) (p < 0.05). More males (52.8%) than females (49.3%) and more medical students (51.6%) than engineering students (50.7%) stated a significantly higher rate of daily consumption of processed foods containing additives (p < 0.05). The median scores of knowledge regarding food additives were not significantly different between gender and faculty (p > 0.05).The present study demonstrated that the rate of the participants who knew the definition of food additives as well as those who perceived food additives to be unsafe were high. Although the knowledge levels on FAs of the students were high in general, it was observed that the frequency of food consumed daily was high This suggests that further research and effective interventions are required to ensure that knowledge turns into behaviour.

Gonad removal has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of canine hemangiosarcoma. With gonad removal, there is a loss of negative feedback to the anterior pituitary, resulting in persistently elevated concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH). LH receptors can be found in gonadal and extragonadal tissues, including the bladder and skin. The aim of this study was to investigate if LH receptors were expressed in canine splenic hemangiosarcoma. Splenic tumor samples submitted to the Oregon State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory from referring veterinarians were with routine immunohistochemical methods. In addition, survival time following hemangiosarcoma diagnosis was obtained from the referring veterinarians. Five of the eight splenic hemangiosarcomas (62.5 %) were positive for LH receptor expression. LH receptor cellular localization in splenic hemangiosarcoma was cytoplasmic and granular, similar to the positive control canine skin sections (Figure 1C). There was no positive staining in the negative controls. LH receptor is expressed in a proportion of HSAs but further study need to be done to assess the significance of this finding.

Ectopic liver tissue is an uncommon finding and may be found in multiple abdominal sites, most commonly on the gall bladder. It is usually asymptomatic and is discovered incidentally during cholecystectomy, but there are potential complications. We present a case of an ectopic liver seen on the gallbladder serosa during laparoscopic cholecystectomy being performed for symptomatic cholelithiasis, and briefly review the literature.

We report a unique case of a male recipient who received a zero mismatch kidney with mild anatomical anomalies from his sister. This right kidney was malrotated, had an extra renal pelvis with moderately dilated ureter up to the iliac artery bifurcation. Immediate graft function was achieved on reperfusion, and the recipient was discharged on day 7 with a serum creatinine (SC) of 1.8mg/dl. The DJ stent was removed after 6 weeks, with a rapid increase in SC to 3.5mg/dl, and ultrasound showed mild hydronephrosis with delayed excretion on nuclear imaging. Mechanical obstruction was excluded by retrograde pyelography, and a 5F DJ stent was placed across the ureterovesical anastomosis with an immediate decrease in SC. The case is presented in detail and discussed in the light of the current literature.