Annual Research & Review in Biology

Citrus blackfly, Aleurocanthus woglumi is a serious citrus insect pest. The objective of this study was to determine the population dynamic of the CBF in a commercial citrus orchard in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a commercial orchard of Tahiti acid lime (Citrus latifolia Tanaka). Twenty-six evaluations of the A. woglumi population were conducted in 10 randomly selected plants from 23 Aug 2011 to 15 Aug 2012. Data from population dynamics originated in total collection of 200 leaves per collection, and the infestation rate calculated per leaf. In total, 15.87% of the leaves were infested by eggs, showing 0.45 clutch per leaf, and 2.82 clutches per infested leaf. The acme of egg population occurred in August 2011 (52.92 eggs/leaf), and the lowest egg population was in July 2012 (1.84 egg/leaf). We counted 44,420 eggs, with a mean of 22.16 eggs per clutch. The lowest and highest number of eggs per egg mass were 7 and 53, respectively. The western quadrant showed significantly more A. woglumi egg masses than the northern. From total leaves, 22.63% were infested by nymphs, with an average of 22.41 nymphs per infested leaf. The quantities of A. woglumi nymphs in the western and eastern quadrants were similar, and higher, than the other quadrants.

This study aimed to investigate the different pathological conditions reported in livers of slaughtered camels leading to their total or partial condemnation at abattoir in the present study, 80 liver samples collected randomly from Sudanese camels at Tampool slaughter-house. Gezira State, Sudan. This area is known to be heavily populated with camels (Camelus dromedarius) come from different parts of the Sudan. Placed in 10% formalin for histopathological studies. 16 out of 80 (20%) camel livers examined histopathologically, were infected with hydatid cyst the larval stage of Echinoccocus granulosus characterized by presence of distinct rostellar hook. microscopic studies of cysts were done. No doubt, hydatidosis is a public health problem that affects also the human welfare and economy. It is concluded that records from slaughterhouse are very important monitors for animals’ prevailing diseases and their control plan. Liver is one of the important organs found to be affected by different pathogens which are of much concern to human public health authorities and economist the preventive and control measures for man and animal were recommended.

Introduction: Sustained remission from substance abuse is often difficult to achieve. However, there are certain factors that may predict the remission from substance dependence during drug withdrawal period. The aim of this study was to assess the possible predictors and patterns associated with drug abuse remission.

Methods and Materials: Fifty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups 1) socialized group 2) isolated group 3) withdrawal-socialized group 4) withdrawal-isolated group. Rats first received morphine for 7 days and then, were withdrawn from it. BrdU (5-bromo-2’- deoxyuridine) was injected from day 1 to day 14 of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, BDNF, MDA and zinc levels were assessed. We used Open-Field Test (OFT) to study drug sensitization and anxiety levels. Furthermore, citrate and KCl consumption, mood state, and neurogenesis were also evaluated.

Results: Zinc and BDNF levels were markedly higher is withdrawal-socialized group. Furthermore, withdrawal-isolated group consumed more citrate and KCl and demonstrated more drug sensitization than the withdrawal-socialized group. In addition, anxiety, MDA, and corticosterone levels were significantly elevated in withdrawal-isolated rats. Both socialized groups had more BrdU-positive cells as compared to isolated groups.

Conclusion: Socialization during the withdrawal period may facilitate remission from drug abuse and improve neurogenesis.

The present study was carried out to investigate histological changes in cuticle structure of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii and number of layers of carapace cuticle during different molting stages. The crayfish samples were collected alive from the River Nile tributaries at Al-Kanater Al- Khairiya, Qalyoubiya Governorate during the period from spring 2010 to autumn 2011. These specimens were transported to the laboratory in the Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo. From the collected samples 10 individuals were selected according to molting stages morphologically, they were sexually mature and varied from 6.0 to 10.5 cm in standard length, 6.5 to 11.5 cm in total length and from 9.1 to 48.25 g in total body weight. These specimens were classified into five molting stages to study cuticle structure histologically. During intermolt stage, carapace integument is composed of four distinctive layers. These layers arranged from the outer surface to inner side as: epicuticle, exocuticle, endocuticle and membranous layer, respectively. During this stage, the epidermal layer composes of cuboidal epithelium. At the onset of premolt, a new endocuticle was arose above the membranous layer represents the new carapace. It was characterized externally by a clear separation called an apolysis occurred between an old endocuticle and new one. During an ecdysis, both of pre-ecdysal cuticle and postecdysal one were distinct, pre-ecdysal cuticle comprises epi-, exo-, and endocuticle; while the postecdysal composed of epi- and endocuticle only (without exocuticle), in addition to membranous layer, the epidermis was composed of elongated columnar epithelial cells. All these results indicated that the cuticle structure changes obviously during the course of molting cycle in fresh water crayfish P. clarkii.

Aim: The research was carried out to determine the role of renal function in susceptibility to anemia in rats infected with Trypanosoma congolense.

Study Design: The study utilized a total of twenty-four (24) male albino rats, divided into two groups of eight (8) albino rats as control group and 16 albino rats to serve as infected group, inoculated intraperitoneally with T. congolense (1×10³ parasites).

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Methodology: The study involved determination of parasitaemia, post infection derangements in hematology and serum urea and creatinine levels of rats.

Results: T. congolense precipitated an acute, severe and fatal infection in rats characterized by,   anemia, and renal dysfunction, leading to death.  At the end of 2 weeks post infection (PI), anemia characterized by drop in the packed cell volume (PCV), was found to be significantly higher in rats infected with T. congolense, compared to the rats in the control group. The PCV of control rats fluctuated within normal range.

Serum biochemical changes included elevation in levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine. The anemia was severer in rats with higher increases in BUN and creatinine levels.

Conclusion: The study points to early development of renal pathology and subnormal erythropoietin production as some of the important factors behind dyserythropoiesis and crippling effect of anemia in T. congolense infections. Early renal pathology may be an important antigenic property that determines severity of anemia and tolerance in Trypanosoma congolense infections.

The reproductive biology of the common Coots (Fulica atra). Variation in dimension of nests (external diameter, internal diameter and height), water depth and vegetation height on nest size, clutch sizes, egg sizes and hatching success were investigated. The study was carried in 2015 on a shallow freshwater marsh, Mékhada, part of the Numidian wetland complex situated in Northeast Algeria. The total number of built nests was (n=111). Coot nests are mainly made of The Common club-rush (Scirpus lacustris, 45%). Coot nests are characterized by an average internal diameter of 14.58 ± 2.48 cm, an average external diameter of 31.61 ± 2.29 cm and an average height of 21.32 ± 2.45 cm. The average water depth in zones of Coot nesting is 86.55± 8.35 cm. There was no correlation between water depth and nest height; however, there was a strong correlation between water depth and nest diameter. The first coot egg was laid on 12 March, the last one on the 29 June 2015.  A total 180 eggs from 111 clutches were measured during nesting sea- sons. Mean clutch size was 4,26 ±3,12. However, the average values of the egg dimensions are as follows: Egg length 50.80 ± 0.83 mm, egg breadth 32.40 ± 0.53 mm and egg volume 41.58 ± 1.03 mm³. The correlation between length and breadth was highly significant. Hatching success for complete clutches was high (80%), coots (Fulica atra) bred at Mékhada Marsh at a high nest density and reproductive performances were influenced by adverse weather and more markedly by both predation and anthropogenic activities.

Studies related to the impact of the climate changes in plants have increased in recent decades, especially those related to carbon flux in different ecosystems. Brazilian savanna (Cerrado) is the second largest biome in the country, and supports different types of vegetation such as fields, savannas and forests. The exclusive phytophysiognomies of this biome comprise of a forest (Woodland Cerrado), savannas (Typical, Dense, Sparse and Rupestrian), and fields (Dirty, Clean, Moist and Rupestrian) and also the Swampy Plains (Veredas), which provide ecosystems able to sink/stock/source different amounts of carbon. Looking forward to providing strategies to subsidize the conservation and management of the Brazilian Cerrado, we searched and synthetized the information on carbon storage in its different phytophysiognomies. Even though several data on carbon storage have been generated, the quantitative and estimated values differ in different aspects. We found substantial data to the managed ecosystems located in the savanna phytophysiognomies, contrastingly, there is a lack of information about the undisturbed and native areas. We herein suggest methods to be applied in future complementary studies on carbon storage of the already studied areas, and also of the undisturbed, but threatened native phytophysiognomies of the Brazilian Cerrado.