A 1-month-old brown wood owlet (Strix leptogrammica) purchased from a wholesaler and housed as a companion bird by an individual owner in Japan showed severe dehydration and anorexia following a week of vomiting and severe diarrhea. A great number of approximately 5 × 4-μm-sized Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in the feces by microscopy. The owlet was administered subcutaneous fluid and intragastric tube feeding for 2 weeks, resulting in improvement of the condition with a decreased number of oocysts in the feces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis report describes Ascaridia nymphii n. sp., a new species isolated from the alimentary tract of cockatiel Nymphicus hollandicus in Japan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfect Genet Evol
December 2012
Multilocus sequence analyses targeting small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA), elongation factor 1 alpha (ef1α), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), and beta giardin (β-giardin) were performed on Giardia psittaci isolates from three Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulates) and four Barred parakeets (Bolborhynchus lineola) kept in individual households or imported from overseas. Nucleotide differences and phylogenetic analyses at four loci indicate the distinction of G. psittaci from the other known Giardia species: Giardia muris, Giardia microti, Giardia ardeae, and Giardia duodenalis assemblages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the present study, Cryptosporidium oocysts were found, by light microscopy, in 37 fecal samples of peach-faced lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis). Cryptosporidium avian genotype III was isolated in 13 of the 37 infected birds by sequence analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA and the actin genes. All of the birds showed chronic vomiting and weight loss with enlargement of isthmi, narrowed proventricular lumens, and thickened proventricular walls radiographically.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCryptosporidium is a significant pathogen in humans and animals. Cases of infection by Cryptosporidium parvum, Cryptosporidium meleagridis, and Cryptosporidium baileyi with zoonotic potential have also been reported in domestic birds, and recent studies indicate the presence of new host-adapted species or genotypes in birds. It is generally difficult to discriminate accurately among Cryptosporidium species and genotypes by light microscopy because of the morphological similarity of their oocysts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain pericytes are known to embrace the abluminal endothelial surfaces of cerebral microvessels. The rich expression of contractile proteins in these cells suggests pericytal regulation of cerebral blood flow. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms by which an endothelium-derived relaxing factor, adrenomedullin, was able to induce the relaxation of rat primary cultured brain pericytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn automated liquid handling system for dispensing liquid samples of sub-microliter volume has been developed. The system has eight nozzles composed of glass capillaries connected to syringe-style pumps. The distance between the nozzles can be changed from 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine whether an amnioreduction via bulging membranes (AVBM) and cerclage could be useful in 17 women with singleton gestations demonstrating hourglass membranes bulging out of the cervix or vaginal orifice.
Methods: We used the following selection criteria for AVBM under ultrasonographic guidance using a peit needle because of undetectable cervical edges: (type 1) the bag of membranes protruded beyond the inlet of the vagina; (type 2) the bag of huge membranes completely occupied the vagina.
Results: Eight patients (three cases of type 1 and five of type 2) were successful in AVBM and cerclage at 22.
We investigated the plasma concentration of ghrelin peptide during pregnancy and lactation in rats. Plasma ghrelin levels on days 10 and 15 of pregnancy were significantly lower than those of the non-pregnant rats. Thereafter, the plasma ghrelin levels on day 20 of pregnancy sharply increased to levels comparable with those in non-pregnant rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA method for comparative analysis of gene expression was developed. It is based on competitive PCR amplification and real-time detection of PCR products and it uses module-shuffling sequences as "universal TaqMan probes". Namely, cDNA-tagged module-shuffling sequences, which derived from different sources, were amplified in one reaction tube by the same primer set.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdrenomedullin (AM) gains its bioactivity by amidation at its C-terminal, forming "mature AM." The mature AM and the expression of AM receptor component mRNAs, receptor activity-modifying protein 2 and calcitonin receptor-like receptor, from feto-maternal tissues of normal pregnant women and women with histologic chorioamnionitis were examined to clarify the pathophysiological features of this intrauterine infection. Samples of the placenta and fetal membranes were obtained from 10 normal pregnant women and eight women with histologic chorioamnionitis under informed consent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we used the animal model of preeclampsia. The blood pressure in animals receiving L-NAME at 25 mg/day were significantly higher compared to that of rats receiving saline solution only. In addition, L-NAME treated rats showed a high fetal mortality as compared with intact rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGhrelin, an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogues, was originally isolated from rat stomach. It stimulates the release of growth hormone from primary pituitary cell cultures. We investigated the plasma concentration of ghrelin peptide in 16 nonpregnant women, 18 normal pregnant women, 20 patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension, and 10 postpartum women.
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