A cerumenolomic approach to bovine trypanosomosis diagnosis.

Introduction: Trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma vivax (T. vivax, subgenus Duttonella) is a burden disease in bovines that induces losses of billions of dollars in livestock activity worldwide. To control the disease, the first step is identifying the infected animals at early stages.

Hepatic ultrasonography in three breeds of healthy calves: Nellore, Curraleiro Pe-duro and Pantaneiro.

An ultrasonography was performed in 21 healthy male calves of Nellore (n = 8), Curraleiro Pe-duro (n = 7) and Pantaneiro (n = 6) breeds, between 8 and 12 months, with the objective to display information about size, position and ultrasonographic parenchymal patterns of the liver, in addition to the topography of the gallbladder, right kidney and major vessels. The measurements used were dorsal margin distance (DMD) and ventral margin distance (VMD) of the liver, viewable extension (VE) of the liver, the caudal vena cava (CVC), width (CVCW) and depth (CVCD) and the portal vein (PV), width (PVW) and depth (PVD). The measures DMD, VMD and VE were similar, and the organ's longest visible extension was in 11th ICS.

Immunoconjugates to increase photoinactivation of bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 in semen.

Artificial insemination and in vitro embryo production are increasingly used to improve the reproductive efficiency of herds, however success of these techniques depends on the sanitary quality of the semen. Insemination centers commonly use antibiotics in their routine procedure, but they are not able against viruses. In this paper, we demonstrate a new approach for disinfecting virus in bovine semen using photoimmunoinactivation, an adaptation of the photodynamic inactivation (PDI) methodology.

Spontaneous poisoning by Palicourea marcgravii (Rubiaceae) in a sheep herd in southeastern Brazil.

Palicourea marcgravii (Rubiaceae) is considered the most important toxic plant affecting livestock farming in Brazil. This study describes an outbreak of spontaneous poisoning by P. marcgravii in sheep.

Earwax metabolomics: An innovative pilot metabolic profiling study for assessing metabolic changes in ewes during periparturition period.

Important metabolic changes occur during transition period of late pregnancy and early lactation to meet increasing energy demands of the growing fetus and for milk production. The aim of this investigation is to present an innovative and non-invasive tool using ewe earwax sample analysis to assess the metabolic profile in ewes during late pregnancy and early lactation. In this work, earwax samples were collected from 28 healthy Brazilian Santa Inês ewes divided into 3 sub-groups: 9 non-pregnant ewes, 6 pregnant ewes in the last 30 days of gestation, and 13 lactating ewes ≤ 30 days postpartum.

Earwax: A clue to discover fluoroacetate intoxication in cattle.

An innovative method was developed to detect fluoroacetate poisoning in cattle by headspace/gas chromatographic analysis of earwax samples of intoxicated cattle. Samples were collected from 2 groups of cattle subjected to induced fluoroacetate intoxication, each group receiving a different dose of acetamide (antidote). Monofluoroacetic acid was detected in samples of intoxicated cattle in concentrations inversely proportional to the dose of acetamide.

Lipopolysaccharide infusion up-regulates hepcidin mRNA expression in equine liver.

Hepcidin has been found to be the key regulator of iron metabolism that leads to hypoferremia during inflammation. Recent work has shown that equine hepcidin is predominantly expressed in the liver of horses. In this study, hepcidin gene expression was determined in the liver and bone marrow of six healthy horses after iv infusion of Escherichia coli O55:B5 LPS.

Influence of experimental inflammatory response on hepatic hepcidin gene expression and plasma iron concentration in sheep.

Hepcidin is a highly conserved disulfide-bonded peptide that plays a central role in iron homeostasis. During systemic inflammation, hepcidin up-regulation is responsible for hypoferremia. This study aimed to analyze the influence of the inflammatory process induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the liver expression of hepcidin mRNA transcripts and plasma iron concentration of sheep.

Effect of biotin supplementation on claw horn growth in young, clinically healthy cattle.

The effects of orally administered biotin supplementation on the growth of claw horn in young, clinically healthy cattle were analyzed. Twelve, 1-year-old Girolando cattle were randomly assigned to receive either 12.5 mg of diluted powdered biotin (GI) or a control treatment (GII) for 40 consecutive days.

Identification, characterization and expression analysis of hepcidin gene in sheep.

Hepcidin is part of the innate immune system, and it plays a central role in the regulation of iron homeostasis. This peptide has been previously characterized in man, non-human primates, rat, mouse, dog, swine, cattle, horse, fishes, reptiles and birds but until now not in sheep. The aim of this study was to sequence, characterize and perform hepcidin expression analysis in different tissues collected from healthy sheep.

Cloning, sequencing and expression analysis of the equine hepcidin gene by real-time PCR.

Equine serum or plasma iron concentration drops quickly during inflammation. Accumulation of iron inside macrophages and reduction of the intestinal absorption of this element cause hypoferremia during systemic inflammatory processes. These mechanisms are mediated by hepcidin, a 25 amino acids peptide synthesized mainly in the liver in response to iron stores and inflammation.