Annual Research & Review in Biology

In this study, Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV) infection was searched serologically and pathologically in cattle (178 Holstein), sheep (160 native), goats (66 ordinary goats, 98 Honamli goats, 16 Saanen goats) with an abortion history and in unborn cattle (8), sheep (24) and goat (5) fetus. Samples were collected between July 2009 and September 2010. As a result of studying specific antibodies to RVFV by using the c-ELISA method in blood serum samples collected from cattle, sheep and goats suffering abortion, seropositivity was identified in 7 cattle (7/178; 3.93%), 4 sheep (4/160;2.50%) and 18 goats (18/180;10.0%). 18 seropositive goats were distributed according to race as 13 ordinary goats (19.70%), 2 Honamli goats (2.04%) and 3 Saanen goats (18.75%). When liver, spleen and brain samples of the unborn fetus of cattle, sheep and goats were studied histopathologically, no pathological findings on RVFV disease were obtained. Consequently, in this study, where RVFV infection in cattle, sheep and goats raised in Western Mediterranean Region of Turkey was serologically revealed, it was concluded that RVFV did not take place in the aetiology of abortion cases in relevant species. 

Aim: To investigate the effects of alcohol consumption on serum biochemistry and histomorphology of liver, kidneys and uterus of pregnant Albino Wistar rats.

Study Design: An experimental study which lasted for six weeks was conducted in the Animal house of the Department of Physiology, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus.

Methodology: Twenty (20) female albino Wistar rats were used in this study. They were divided into five groups (n=4): Three experimental groups (A - C) and two control groups (pregnant and non-pregnant). Groups A, B and C were treated with 0.3 g/kg, 0.8 g/kg and 2 g/kg Ethanol respectively via oral gavage, once daily for 30 days. Blood samples were collected from the female rats via retro orbital puncture and the sera obtained were used for the determination of serum Alanine transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate transaminase (AST), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Urea and Creatinine levels. Liver, kidney and uterus were excised after animal sacrifice for histopathological studies.

Results: A statistically significant increase in ALT, AST and ALP levels was observed only in rats treated with 0.3 g/kg/day of ethanol when compared with the controls (P=.000). Serum creatinine and urea levels in all groups showed no difference when compared with the controls. However, varying degrees of micro-architectural changes were observed in the liver, kidneys and uterus of rats in all treatment groups.

Conclusion: The present data suggest that alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes histological lesions that may be responsible for the tissue alterations observed in the experimental animals.

Background: Zoonotic parasite species are those parasites of animal origin that can be transferred to human. They possess the threat of high infection rate among both animals and human and should be monitored carefully.

Aims: The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of zoonotic parasite species in cats and dogs from a prominent pet market of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Methodology: A total of 60 animals (30 dogs and 30 cats) were selected from different pet shops in Katabon pet market, Nilkhet, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The hosts were dogs of foreign breed; German Spitz, German Shephed (Canis lupus familiaris) and cats of local breed (Felis catus). They were age matched: Puppies/Kittens (≥6 months - 1 year), young (>1- 2 years) and adults (>2 - 3 years) for both dogs and cats. Feces were collected and Formol Ether concentration technique was done prior to identify parasite’s egg, ova and larvae by microscopy.

Results: We were able to identify 17 different parasite species of zoonotic importance in total 60 animals. 8 species were common in both animals (Taenia spp., Hymenolepis diminuta, H. nana, Ancylostoma spp., Ascaris lumbricoides, Capillaria spp., Toxascaris leonina and Trichuris vulpis). Apart from 8 common species, 2 more species were exclusively identified in dogs and 7 species in cats. Capillaria spp. had the highest prevalence in both dogs (86.67%) and cats (90%) followed by Trichuris vulpis (83.33% in dogs, 90% in cats). Other highly prevalent parasites in dogs were A. lumbricoides and Toxocara canis (prevalence 76.67% for both); in cats were - T. leonina, Toxocara cati, Sarcocystis spp. and Toxoplasma spp. (prevalence 76.67%, 73.33%, 60% and 60%, respectively). According to the age group of hosts, in both dogs and cats, puppies or kittens and young hosts had higher prevalence of parasites compared to adults.

Conclusion: Proper training should be given to pet handlers when handling the food/feces of pets to reduce the risk of zoonotic infection and mass people should be aware about the risk of zoonotic parasite species to avoid potential health hazards.

Aim: The absorption of moisture and dimensional distortion are the major shortcomings of wood utilization as building and furniture materials. This study was aimed at determining the moisture content, swelling ability and dimension stability of five selected timber species.

Methods: The samples were collected with the help of the Forest Ranger from the Forestry Department of Enugu State, Nigeria, attached to the Nsukka timber market. The wood samples were evaluated for moisture content change, shrinkage or swelling (%) coefficient, amount of swelling and dimensional change.

Results: The change in moisture content across the five species was in the order of Gmelina aborea < Milicia excels < Daniellia oliveri < Alstonia bonnie < Antiaris toxicaria. At 12hrs, Gmelina aborea recorded significantly (P < 0.05) the highest dimension change (46 ± 0.70%) in the radial dimension (direction) as compared to the other species except for Antiaris toxicaria. The swelling coefficient and the amount of swelling were observed to have a strong positive correlation with the dimensional change in the sampled wood.

Conclusion: The lower swelling coefficient and the amount of swelling observed in Milicia excels among the five timber species, make it a more suitable species for industrial use.

Aims: The present study aimed to Searching Bovine Herpesvirus Types 1, 4 and Bovine Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 Infections in Milk of Cows with Clinical Mastitis Based in Dairy Cattle Managements.

Study Design: In 35 managements around Burdur region, milk of 123 cows with clinical mastitis was searched for Bovine Herpesvirus Types 1 (BHV-1), 4 (BHV-4) and Bovine Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 (BPIV-3) infections.

Results: In the study, the highest seropositivity was detected against BPIV-3. The highest seropositivity on infection distribution according to age was found against every four viruses in animals within the three-year-old group. The highest seropositivity in this group and other age groups was detected against BPIV-3. Seropositivity against these viruses was found in the highest right anterior one and the lowest left posterior one out of determined udder lobes. The highest seropositivity was found in semi-outdoor managements with concrete and dirty grounds where cleaning/disinfection of teats before and after milking was performed, mastitis treatment and viral vaccination was not applied, the ground of stable was cleaned monthly, only feces was collected from the grounds, water was used for cleaning of milking machines and hands and iodised disinfectant was used. During udder inspection evaluation of animals with clinical mastitis, the highest seropositivity was detected in the ones having normal udder, teat and skin appearance. Out of udder and teat skin lesions, the highest seropositivity was found in crushed ones. In the evaluation of udder palpation in animals with clinical mastitis, the highest seropositivity was detected in the ones with teat tissue thickening and with elastic teat sinuses and lobes. In the milk of these animals, the highest seropositivity was found in the ones showing coagulation.

Conclusion: It was stated that viruses took a vital part in clinical mastitis cases, the structure, practice, cleaning and disinfection of managements was really important, udder and teat skin lesions, tissue thickening, elastic teat sinuses and lobes and coagulation of milk was also crucial. Besides, the appearance of udder, teat and skin was not relevant.

Iron deficiency anaemia includes the highest incidence of nutritional deficiency diseases in the world. Red cell indices on full blood counts is regularly used to diagnose early anaemia. Currently strategies medicines of iron deficiency anaemia are belonged to preventif medicine as well as fortification of food and iron supplementation directly to the body. Recent studies show the effectiveness of treatment of iron deficiency anaemia in rats with squid ink. This study aim is to analyse the iron content of squid ink (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) and squid ink effects on haematological profile of male Wistar rat Rattus norvegicus. The measured iron content of squid ink (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) is 2,14 ± 0,46 mg/g. Rats were used in this study, are induced NaNO₂ (50 mg/kgbw (1 ml dosing volume)) at first, then divided into 4 groups experiment for 14 days experimental. The 1^st group is negative control (without any treatment), 2^nd group is positive control (with Sangobion^®), 3^rd group is given a low dosage of squid ink (10 mg/kgbw/day) and the last 4^thgroup is given a high dosage of squid ink (100 mg/kgbw/day). Based on the result, there was an effect of given squid ink to the haemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, mean haemoglobin content, red blood cell distribution width and red blood cell count of rats that showed by increasing numbers to the end of the experiment compared to the negative control (1^st group). The most significant effect is in haemoglobin, especially Hb of rats which appeared on the low dosage of squid ink group and positive control group to the negatif group (p<0,05).

West Nile Virus, whose natural life cycle continues between birds and mosquitoes, causes neuropathic diseases in horses, cats, dogs, humans and other mammal animals. Particularly in recent years, as a result of the fact that the number of dam reservoirs have increased and areas where irrigated farming is applied have become widespread, depending on the increase in the population of stinger flies, the increase in various human and animal infections transmitted by these has reached remarkable levels. In this study, the presence/prevalence of WNV in cats and dogs around Burdur province was serologically searched using C-ELISA method. For this purpose, blood samples from 82 cats and 246 dogs of different race, gender and age that were not vaccinated against the so-called disease were taken into coagulant tubes. Besides, if there were any animals showing symptoms of disease among the sampled ones, the kind of the clinical symptoms and the housing/life conditions of the animals was broadly questioned. In the study, WNV specific antibody presence was detected in 0.41% of the tested dog blood serum (1/246) and in 1.22% of the cat blood serum (1/82). From the research log, the cat detected as positive turned out to be a two-year old, female, non-vaccinated Tekir stray cat and the dog was an owned, four-year old, female, regularly vaccinated hound dog. Both positive animals showed no clinical findings. Consequently, in this study, WNV presence was revealed in cats and dogs the Burdur region even though it was at low rates.

In the last two decades the world had faced three respiratory syndrome outbreaks incurred by Coronavirus. Though the wild animals are the primary carriers of the virus, the human population managed to survive sacrificing more than 1,600 lives from 2002 to 2012. But the current virus outbreak has already taken more than 2,462 lives since 22 February 2020. In the first few days, when the cases were being introduced under light, there were no treatment for the infection and the unleashed spread demands to be analyzed to see the pattern of the outbreak. This manuscript aims to look into the growth map of the COVID-19 outbreak under mathematical growth functions and tries to understand which growth pattern assembles the scenario for the cases.

Aim: This research work aimed to determine the impact of industrial effluent discharge on the physicochemical properties of Aleto Stream, Eleme and Rivers State.

Study Design: Random sampling technique was applied in this study. The study area was divided into three sites; upstream, downstream all of Aleto Stream and Agbonchia Stream which serves for the control experiment. Water samples for eleven physical and six chemical parameters were collected in a Completely Randomized Design.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out on Aleto and Agbonchia streams at Eleme, Rivers State, Nigeria from 2017 to 2018.

Methodology: Two samples were collected; one sample at the Aleto stream where the industrial effluent is being channelled into the stream and the other sample was collected from Agbonchia stream, which was used as a control. In the Aleto Stream, sampling was made at two points; point A (upstream) point B (downstream) and each of these points had their Physico-chemical properties tested while only one sample was collected from the Agbonchia Stream. Physico-chemical properties were analyzed in the samples using pH meter for pH, Turbidity meter for turbidity, Conductivity meter for electrical conductivity, phosphate by colourimetric method, total dissolved solids (TDS) and total suspended solids (TSS) by gravimetric method, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) by standard method, chloride, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), calcium hardness, total hardness by titrimetric method, colour, odour and taste by sensory method.

Results: Results obtained on the Physico-chemical properties had varying concentrations of Temperature, Total hardness, Chloride, Alkalinity, DO and Phosphate that were within world health organization (24)  and Federal Ministry of Environment (1991) permissible limits on both upstream and downstream with values ranging from 29.0-23.7^oC, 360-125 mg/l, 120-100 mg/l, 36-30 mg/l, 4.9-4.4 mg/l, 1.92-1.2 mg/l respectively while Electrical conductivity, Turbidity, TSS, TDS, Calcium hardness, COD, BOD, Colour, Taste and Odour were above permissible limits on both upstream and downstream with values ranging from 1660-1700 mg/l, 83-112NTU, 82-80 mg/l, 910-914 mg/l, 1590-1900 mg/l, 100-165 mg/l, 4.36-3.88 mg/l respectively. The pH values ranged from 9.0-6.3 mg/l showing a result on the upstream to be alkaline while the downstream was slightly acidic. The increase in the above parameters above their permissible limits is as a result of the impact of industrial effluent discharges drained into the stream. This indicates that the stream is unfit for both human and aquatic inmates.

Conclusion: Therefore, proper management of this effluent should be ensured and an acute test with lethal concentration (LC₅₀₎ as the endpoint is recommended to determine the degree of toxicity of the effluent waste.

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe grisea is the major damaging disease in nearly all rice growing nations. Economically relevance with 60 percent of total population of world depending on rice as the main source of calories, may have destructive effects of the disease, however, this pathogen has developed into a pioneering model system for researching host-pathogen interactions. The disease outbreak depends on the weather and climatic conditions of the various regions. The disease's occurrence and symptoms vary from country to country. Susceptible cultivars cause huge rice production loss in yield. The principal cause of resistance breakdown in rice against rice blast disease is pathogenic variability. During sexual hybridization, pathogenic changes may provide evidence of pathogenic variation found at the asexual stage of the fungus. The virulent pathotypes cause severe disease incidence. Only through pathogenicity research the pathotypes can be determined using a collection of different rice varieties that are usually different carrying various resistance genes. Rice breeders now have a number of resistant genes however, most of the breeding programs emphasized upon monogenic resistance. Genetic heterogeneity of M. grisea should be taken into account when screening blast resistant rice genotypes through morphological analysis, pathogenicity and molecular characterization. Knowledge on the virulence of the rice blast and host resistant is essential for managing the disease. Cultivation of resistant varieties with chemical control is highly effective against blast pathogens.