Publications by authors named "Amanda F Amaral"

() causes the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted disease leading to ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Swine not only have many similarities to humans, but they are also susceptible to . Despite these benefits and the ease of access to primary tissue from this food animal, in vitro research in swine has been underutilized.

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The humoral immune response plays a crucial role in the combat and protection against many pathogens including the economically most important, highly prevalent, and diverse pig pathogen PRRSV - the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus. In addition to viremia and viral shedding analyses, this study followed the local and systemic humoral immune response of pigs for 63 days upon inoculation with one of three types of Type-2 PRRSV (PRRSV-2) strains - one modified live virus (MLV) vaccine strain, and two lineage 1 PRRSV-2 strains, NC134 and NC174. The local response was analyzed by quantifying immunoglobulin (Ig)A in nasal swabs.

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Maternal-derived immunity is a critical component for the survival and success of offspring in pigs to protect from circulating pathogens such as Type 2 Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV-2). The purpose of this study is to investigate the transfer of anti-PRRSV immunity to piglets from gilts that received modified-live virus (MLV) alone (treatment (TRT) 0), or in combination with one of two autogenous inactivated vaccines (AIVs, TRT 1+2). Piglets from these gilts were challenged with the autogenous PRRSV-2 strain at two weeks of age and their adaptive immune response (IR) was evaluated until 4 weeks post inoculation (wpi).

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() infections are the most frequent bacterial sexually transmitted disease, and they can lead to ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Despite these detrimental long-term sequelae, a vaccine is not available. Success in preclinical animal studies is essential for vaccines to move to human clinical trials.

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Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) continues to cause severe reproductive and respiratory pathologies resulting in immense monetary and welfare costs for the swine industry. The vaccines against PRRSV are available; but they struggle with providing protection against the plethora of heterologous PRRSV strains. To improve PRRSV vaccine development, the aim of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of the crucial heterologous T-cell response to type-2 PRRSV.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and determine the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the essential oils derived from Origanum vulgare (oregano), Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree), Cinnamomum cassia (cassia), and Thymus vulgaris (white thyme) against Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis. The study also investigated the ability of these different bacterial strains to develop adaptation after repetitive exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of these essential oils. The MBC of the essential oils studied was determined by disc diffusion and broth dilution methods.

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