Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences

The aim of this research was to analyze ompA molecular gene of Pasteurella multocida buffalo isolate and bovine isolate from Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia and Katha strain isolate from hemorrhagic septicemia vaccine. Determinant of P. multocida local isolates ompA gene amplification sequencing PCR then conducted to see the sequence of nucleotide sequences of ompA gene. The results of PCR amplification showed an amplicon of 559 bp of all isolates. The homology analysis result of the isolates ranged from 93 - 100% with 13 P. multocida isolates from GenBank, and phylogenetic tree analysis shows that buffalo isolate was closely related to Katha strain, Iran, India and China isolate. Whereas bovine isolate far enough with buffalo and Katha strain isolate. Nucleotide sequences were compared to amino acids then by the method of Kolaskar and Tongaonkar antigenicity predicted antigens in P. multocida. B cell epitope predictions from local isolates and Katha strain were found in five peptides QVSPVFAG, IPELALRVEYQ, GQSVYVPEVVSKT, LKSASVAVAG, and ANYLVAKG.

This study aimed to determine the effect of Nitrobacter bacteria on specific growth rate (SGR), survival rate (SR), and feed convertion ratio (FCR) of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in aquaponics systems. The sample used was African catfish with a size of 5-7 cm as many as 720 individuals. The research method used was experimental design in the form of Completely Randomized Design (CRD). This study used 5 types of treatments with 4 repetitions. The P0 and P1 contain of 30 fish in each aquarium; 35 fish in P2; 40 fish in P3; and 45 fish in P4. The control group (P0) were treated without Nitrobacter administration and the other 4 intervention groups were given Nitrobacter 1 ml with a density of 1x10⁸ CFU ml^-1. The main parameters studied were SGR, SR and FCR of African catfish in different aquarium with different stocking densities. This research also studied the growth of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) also water quality conditions in aquaponics systems. The administration of Nitrobacter in aquaponics systems gave a significant effect on the SGR, SR, and FCR of catfish. The administration of Nitrobacter in an aquaponics system can give maximum effect if there are 45 fish stocking densities and 1 ml Nitrobacter with a concentration of 1x10⁸ CFU ml^-1.

The objective of this study is to determine the histological effects experimentally induced by injection of alloxan 100 mg/kg B.w. on the histopathological structure of reproductive organs of male and female albino rats. The results showed that treatment with alloxan cause alteration in testis include irregular shape and size of seminiferous tubules, irregular division of spermatid cells, degeneration and necrosis of Sertoli cells and paucity of sperms in the lumen of tubules. While histological examination of epididymis showed the lumen of it free from sperms, thickening of muscular layer and interstitial tissue between the epididymis canal. The histological alteration of female reproductive organs includes disturbances in development of primary follicles of ovaries, hemorrhage in the interstitial tissue as well as atrophy in the uterine glands with hyperplasia of the epithelial cells of uterus. The conclusion of this study showed that alloxan cause histological alteration in reproductive organs of male and female rats.

The present study was aimed to record and analyze the prevalence of obstructive urolithiasis in domestic animals like cattle, buffalo, horse, goat, sheep, dog and cat presented at RVP-TVCC, Indian Veterinary Research Institute. A total of 777 cases were reported during the academic session starting from April 2018 to March 2019 from Bareilly and its surrounding regions. Incidence were highest among ruminants 92.92% comparing to other domestic animals 7.08%. Among the different animal species, caprine were found to be the most affected, followed by buffalo and canine. A positive correlation was noted between the occurrence of obstructive urolithiasis and the season with maximum number of cases being reported during the winter season December - February. The female to male ratios in urolithiasis affected animals were 1:81, 1:75 and 1:22 for buffalo, goat, and dog, respectively indicating higher occurrence in male animals. Majority of the goat 67.89% and buffalo 84.80% presented with obstructive urolithiasis were also found to be fed exclusively with a grain rich diet that are excess in phosphorous thereby contributing to urolith formation. The role played by behavioral changes associated with different seasons and the dietary status of the animal plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of urolithiasis. Such an interplay between the season and the dietary imbalance will lead to higher incidence of obstructive urolithiasis in domestic animals.

Lysostaphin is a protein zinc metalloproteinase, extracted from Staphylococcus simulans, which disrupting peptide layer of S. aureus. In this study, Lysostaphin gene was detected in the S. simulans isolates. The molecular weight of the Lysostaphin gene is 750 bp. We were used the pET-32a(+) plasmid to cloning lysostaphin gene which transformed to competent rubidium chloride E. coli DH5α for producing the lysostaphin protein. The lysostaphin protein from this gene which isolated from S. simulans, then used the expression of used to killed S. aureus, which has the thick layer of wall that is the very difficult bacteria response to treatment. The result was reported succeeded pET-32a (+) plasmid to expressed lysostaphin gene and gave lysostaphin protein with high quality and quantity. As well as the result was appeared the high accuracy of his tag method in protein extraction and purification, and the quality and quantity more than other studies.

This study was conducted to isolate and identify the chewing lice from some raptors in Basrah, Thi-Qar, and Missan provinces located in south of Iraq. Samples of birds were collected from January to December 2018. The survey was accomplished with a total of 87 raptors belonging to five species, sparrow hawk Accipiter nisus, marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus, lesser kestrel Falco naumani, kestrel Falco tinnuculus, and black kite Milvus migrans. Totally 58 of 87 birds were infested with chewing lice, the overall prevalence was 66.67%. Five chewing lice species were identified: Craspedorrhynchus platystomus, Degeeriella fulva, Degeeriella fusca, Degeeriella rufa, and Laemobothrion maximum. All these specieswere identified in Iraq for the first time. D. rufa was recorded the highest prevalence in all raptors with 28.74%, whereas C. platystomus was the lowest 10.34%. As for the prevalence of bird’s species, the highest percentage was recorded in kestrels and black kite with 71.43%, while sparrow hawk was the lowest 53.85%. Some notes about ecology and occurrence of the chewing lice were reported.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the contamination status of Iraqi rivers in the north of the Tigris river (Tikrit city) and the middle region of Euphrates (Babylon Governorate). In this study As, Zn, Fe, Pb, and Cu in the muscle tissue of carp fish were measured. The results show that the concentration of arsenic in the fish muscles in the middle region was 425.05 ppm higher than its concentration of about 192.25 ppm in fish muscle in the Tigris river with statistical significance (p < 0.05). Which it causes histopathological changes characterized by Zenker necrosis in skeletal muscle and infiltration of inflammatory cells with edema additional to edematous dermatitis. Other heavy metals in fish muscle were less than in fish muscles which agreement with the international legislation limits. Also, there were positive correlation ships between Zn and Pb and between Cu and Zn. While negative correlation has been detected between arsenic and both (Pb) and(Zn). This study is concluded that the accumulation of heavy metals causes histological changes in fish muscle provides an opportunity to assess fish health as well as information on possible health hazards coming from their environment.

The goal of this study was to modify three steps method for measuring protection rate of amino acids which has smaller size than nylon bag pores. To prepare the protected amino acids by the Schiff base method, each of the essential amino acids (methionine and lysine) in the aqueous solvent were brought to isoelectric pH and then reacted with the same molar ratio of aldehydes the reaction was refluxed for 30 minutes to 6 days (depending on the type of aldehyde used). The three-step in vitro method was used to estimate rumen insoluble protein in the rumen. In the manufacture of protected amino acid ligands, compounds with methionine amino acid had higher efficiency than lysine compounds and also glutaraldehyde ligands showed higher production efficiency compared to benzaldehydes. The glutaraldehyde lysine ligand showed the lowest release after 2 h of incubation in the rumen medium. At time 4 the methionine benzaldehyde ligand had the lowest release. Benzaldehyde had the lowest release at time 6 and 8. According to the results of this table, Lysine benzaldehyde had better resistance to different phases and methionine benzaldehyde had the lowest release rate compared to the other ligands. Based on this study, it can be concluded that the use of chemical methods to protect amino acids can be applied.

Globally, Border disease virus (BDV) has caused substantial economic losses among small ruminants (sheep and goats). This is the first molecular study carried out in Mosul city, Iraq. To determine the prevalence of Border Disease Virus and to examine problem of persistent infection (PI) using Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction technique (RT-PCR) in female local breed of small ruminants. During the period between November 2018 to June 2019, 364 blood samples were collected from 264 local Awassi sheep and 100 local cross breed goats secure provided by private breeders. The animals were of ≥1.5 years old and the samples were obtained from various locations in Mosul city, with varying rearing methods and had not been vaccinated against BDV. This investigation indicated that the prevalence of BDV infection in sheep and goats were 15.9% (42/264) and 3% (3/100) respectively, whereas the occurrence of PI in sheep was 2.38% and in goats was 0%. Hence it was concluded that Border disease was circulating in small ruminants in Mosul city. This calls for a need to design programs to monitor and control the disease and eventually eradicate it is prevalence in Mosul city.

Caseous lymphadenitis is a chronic infection caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis that affects the lymphatic system, resulting in abscesses in the lymph nodes and internal organs. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate of caseous lymphadenitis among slaughtered sheep in Duhok abattoirs, Duhok, Iraq and to investigate to what extend rabbits can develop caseous lymphadenitis just like that in sheep. A total of 1052 carcasses of sheep were randomly selected (939 males and 113 females) and carefully inspected for detection any suspected caseous lymph adenitis. The isolated Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis from lymph nodes of sheep carcasses were identified by PCR before used in in vivo infection in rabbits. Data revealed that the prevalence rate of caseous lymphadenitis was at 1.9% among the slaughtered sheep and the prevalence rates were higher in females and older ages than that of males and younger ages, respectively. Experimentally infected rabbits developed various clinical signs were ranging from in inappetence to sudden death, mainly during first week of infection. Histopathologically, the infected rabbits developed caseous lymphadenitis and pyogranuloma after a time point of 10 days post-infection. Liver, spleen and lymph nodes of infected rabbits showed caseo-necrotic foci with multiple micro-granulomas with presence of thick pyogenic membrane infiltrated with leukocytic cells; these findings are strictly resemblance to that reported in sheep. The obtained preliminary data of using rabbits as an animal model is promising which will enhance a better understanding the pathogenesis of caseous lymphadenitis in animals.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Chlorella and germinated barley powder on the hematological and biochemical parameters of (Cyprinus carpio L.). An experiment was designed with five treatments; Groups included T1: Diet without any supplement (Control), T2: adding 5 % Chlorella/ kg diet, T3: adding 10 % Chlorella / kg diet, T4: adding 10 % germinated barely / kg diet, T5: adding 20 % germinated barely/ kg diet. At the end of the experiment, the hematological and Immunological parameters were measured. The results revealed that supplementation of Chlorella and germinated barley in diets in which T4 were higher significantly in each of hemoglobin and red blood corpuscles. T1 was significantly higher in the control. A different significance observed in each of Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), and Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH). Significant variants observed in differential WBC count in T2 and T4 and Monocytes %, a significant difference seen among the treatments in each of Lymphocytes % and Granulocytes %. Significant differences occurred by adding the Chlorella and germinated barely in each Total protein, Alanine aminotransferase activity (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase activity (AST), Albumin and Globulin among treatments. A significant difference observed in the Hepatosomatic index and Gillsomatic index, T5 with 20 % germinated barely was differ significantly in each of Spleensomatic and Kidneysomatic Index. Based on the results, supplementation of Chlorella and germinated barley in diet can play a role in effecting on some blood and biochemical parameters.





This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Chlorella and germinated barley powder on the hematological and biochemical parameters of (Cyprinus carpio L.). An experiment was designed with five treatments; Groups included T1: Diet without any supplement (Control), T2: adding 5 % Chlorella/ kg diet, T3: adding 10 % Chlorella / kg diet, T4: adding 10 % germinated barely / kg diet, T5: adding 20 % germinatedbarely/ kg diet. At the end of the experiment, the hematological and Immunological parameters were measured. The results revealed that supplementation of Chlorellaand germinated barley in diets in which T4 were higher significantly in each of hemoglobin and red blood corpuscles. T1 was significantly higher in the control. A different significance observed in each of Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), and Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH). Significant variants observed in differential WBC count in T2 and T4 and Monocytes %, a significant difference seen among the treatments in each of Lymphocytes % and Granulocytes %. Significant differences occurred by adding the Chlorella and germinated barely in each Total protein, Alanine aminotransferase activity (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase activity (AST), Albumin and Globulin among treatments. A significant difference observed in the Hepatosomatic index and Gillsomatic index, T5 with 20 % germinatedbarely was differ significantly in each of Spleensomatic and Kidneysomatic Index. Based on the results, supplementation of Chlorellaand germinated barley in diet can play a role in effecting on some blood and biochemical parameters.





 

Exposure to LTE 2600 MHz microwaves is increasing very fast as new technologies and become accessible worldwide, and the smartphones being the main source of these waves. The aim of this study is to assess the thermal effect of 4G signals on rats. Forty adult Albino rats were used throughout the study, assigned as control and exposed groups, equally. Rats were kept in Plexiglas cages with intermittent exposure to LTE mobile-phone like signals at an average of 2h/day for up to 30 continuous days with SAR value of 0.982 W/kg. Infrared images were snapped immediately after the end of the exposure time, then one hour, two hours, and four hours later at a rate one collection/week during the study. IR images were analyzed by FLIR Tools software. The results exhibited variation in reflected skin temperatures in the exposed group compared to control images. Furthermore, the analysis of collected data revealed significant variations over the course of the study compared to the first week. The rise in skin temperature observed in response to exposure in the first week, which decreased gradually increased exposure and this drop in reflected skin temperature was significantly related to amount of exposure. The study concludes that the LTE 2600 MHz exposure under controlled laboratory conditions has a thermal effect on the rats.

The current study was conducted on the detection of Tritrichomonas foetus in vaginal mucus of infected cows using conventional polymerase chain reaction technique (cPCR) in Nineveh province, Iraq. A total of 87 vaginal mucus samples were collected randomly from the vagina of Heifer cows of different ages (2-4, >4-6, >6 years old) and stages of pregnancy with different clinical status (early embryonic death, pyometra, abortion and healthy animals once) by washing cow’s vagina using artificial insemination pipette, DNA extraction of T. foetus was done from vaginal mucus samples, cPCR was attempt using TFR3 and TFR4 primers, Results indicated that 11 cows (12.6 %) were positive for T. foetus. The clinical status of cows demonstrated statistically significant (P<0.05) a higher percentage of Early Embryonic Death at (6.9%) compared to pyometra, abortion, and healthy cows. Furthermore, the percentage of T. foetusinfection was significantly (P<0.05) elevated among cows (>2-4 years old) at (8%) compared to (>4-6 years old) and (>6 years old) cows. This study concluded that T. foetusinfection was an elevated percentage of infection in cows with early embryonic death and in cows (>2-4) years old. This study is the first detected T. foetus in cattle in Nineveh province.

The current study was done to investigate the effects of two doses 3and 6 mg/kg B.w. of the Platinum drug on the structure of the liver and kidney of pregnant mice, and embryos in addition to the weight of the mothers', embryos ,'maternal liver and kidneys, as well as some biochemical parameters, were established. For this study, thirty pregnant mice were used, divided into three groups (10 mice/group) as follows; group I (control group); animals were injected intraperitoneally (IP) with distilled water on the days 7^th, 12^th, and 17^th of gestation. The other both groups II, and III were injected intraperitoneally (IP) with the selected doses above of the Platinum at the days 7^th, 12^th, and 17^th of gestation, respectively. Microscopically, maternal and fetal' liver sections of group II revealed vacuolation, swelling, apoptosis, infiltration of inflammatory cells, congestion, degeneration, and presence of the extramedullary hematopoietic cells, respectively. Previous lesions were increased in group III. Maternal and, fetal kidney sections of group II revealed degeneration, expansion of Bowman's space, inflammatory cells infiltration into interstitial tissue, and blood capillaries congestion. However, the previous lesions showed more severity in group III. The drug caused a reduction in the body weight of the mothers, selected organs, and embryos. Biochemical assessment of the maternal serum AST, ALT, and ALP levels showed an increase in both experimental groups II and III, but to varying degrees. Moreover, both groups II and III showed an increase in the levels of the maternal BUN and, urea. Whist, group III showed a significant increase of the creatinine compared to the control group. In conclusion, using anticancer drugs during pregnancy will harm both mothers and fetal organs. The risk of these medications represents their ability to cross the placenta and enters the fetal body. Therefore, the drug may affect the formation of the fetal organs. The drug also alters the regulatory antioxidant mechanism in the maternal body during the treatment duration. The drug should be used under medical follow up.

The aim of this was to elucidate the effects of deltamethrin dipping on acetylcholine activity in serum and some blood parameters of sheep. The study was conducted on forty adult sheep dipped in deltamethrin in concentration of 1:1000L of water. Venous blood samples were collected from each animal before and after dipped. There was significant inhibition in the acetylcholine esterase in all subjected animals after dipping. Mean values of hematological investigations showed a significant rise in the number of total leucocytes (leukocytosis) with significant decline in hemoglobin concentration and Red cell indices in all dipped animals after dipping in deltamethrin when compared with mean values obtained from the same animals before dipping. Conclusion of our results revealed that poisoning with deltamethrin affects blood parameters through the inhibition of acetylcholine esterase.

The current study was conducted to investigate the role of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) against testicular toxicity- induced by lead acetate (PbAc) in rats. Four groups of adult Wistar albino rats (8 for each) were intubated daily for 56 days as follows; control (C)received dislled water; lead acetate at dose of 5mg/kg b.w (T1); ALA at dose of 60mg/kg b.w (T2) and and group T3 received both of PbAc + ALA at the same doses of above. Blood samples were collected at 0, 28 and 56 day of the experiment, then the sera were collected for determination of testosterone(T) and follicular stimulating hormone (FSH). At the end of the experiment, body weight, testes weight and epididymal sperm parameters was studied. Furthermore, histo-morphometric and histopathological study changes were examined. The results revealed a significant decrease in testes weight to body weight ratio, serum testosterone, sperm concentration and motility, diameters of seminiferous tubules, height of seminiferous epithelia and number of Leydig cells, moreover the results showed a significant increase in serum FSH, dead sperm and abnormal sperm morphology in group T1 when compared with the other groups. Comparing to lead acetate treated rats, group T3 showed an improvement at the level of the studied parameters, accompanied with mild congestion in the interstitial tissue with a marked developing proliferation of spermatogenic cells, as well as presence of mature spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules. In conclusion, subchronic exposure of rats to lead acetate showed an amelioration of all reproductive parameters near to normal values due to the antioxidant effects of ALA and the histological changes of the testes confirmed such change in serum parameters and the beneficial role of ALA.

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of various postpartum disorders on subsequent reproductive performance in Iraqi cow buffaloes. The data were collected from 172 buffaloes within private dairy buffaloes herd. In this study, the diagnosis and treatment of the affected cases with postpartum disorders (Retained placenta, puerperal metritis, uterine prolapse and vaginal prolapse) contributed in the data collection based on the parity, calving time and reproductive parameters (days to first estrus, open days, service per conception, intervals between estrus and calving interval). Cow buffaloes were divided according to their postpartum disorders into 5 groups: first group (healthy), second group (retained placenta), third group (puerperal metritis), forth group (uterine prolapse) and fifth (vaginal prolapse). The results of this study showed that a total of 74.42% of the cow buffaloes had normal post-partum and open days 121.9 days with resumed ovarian cyclic activity within 77.41 days, increased incidence of G2, G3, G4 and G5 were 9.88, 6.97, 6.97, 5.23 and 3.48%, respectively. Open days were significantly longer in buffaloes in groups 2, 3, 4 and 5 compared to healthy group. In conclusions, early postpartum disorders manifested by increased days to first estrus, calving interval, days open and service per conception were longer than healthy cases in the Iraqi cow- buffaloes.

Toxoplasmosis is an important worldwide foodborne zoonotic disease. Infected cattle meats is considered a serous cause of human toxoplasmosis. Here, this study assesses the infection with Toxoplasma gonddi (T. gondii) in cattle using meat juice samples from diaphragmatic muscles collected at the slaughter. An in house indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and commercial latex agglutination test (LAT) followed by immunoblotting were developed on the meat juice (fluids) using tachyzoites of locally isolated T. gondii strain. The comparative analysis of the results of the tested juice samples showed an excellent agreement between the in-house indirect ELISA and LAT test in the positive and negative of meat juice. Relative sensitivity was higher for ELISA on diaphragms fluids random samples 80.39%, for the LAT test was 68.6%. Immune-reactive bands of T. gondii local strain Ag with naturally infected meat juice were 116, 83, 65, 30 and 23 KDa. The obtained results concluded that the development of an effective ELISA test to be used in for detection of toxoplasmosis infection of slaughtered cattle in large-scale would be exactly valuable, since the important role that beef plays in epidemiology of T. gondii, in particular the hazard of transmission to human and food safety.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is considered as an important pathogen of diarrhea in adult dogs and puppies because it contains virulence genes. The study objective was to the molecular detection of the rfbO157 encoding the O-antigen specific for E. coli O157: H7,shiga toxins and hemolysin genes of E.coli O157:H7 in feces of dogs that collected from different regions in Tikrit and Mosul cities, Iraq. One hundred fecal swabs were collected from pet and K9 dogs including (72 dogs with diarrhea, and 28 without diarrhea). All the Collected swabs were cultured in the nutrient and MacConkey agars, Then the suspected colonies were cultured in the EMB agar. Metallic sheen colonies were cultured by using the chrome agar. All bacteriological identified isolates were enrolled by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The results of this study showed that 7(9.7%) of 72 dogs suffered from diarrhea were positive for E. coli O157:H7 that contained the rfbO157 gene (n= 6), carry stx1 gene (n= 3), carry stx2 gene (n= 3), and hlyA gene (n= 1). On the other hand, 2 (7.1%) of 28 dogs without diarrhea were positive for E. coli O157:H7 that contained the rfbO157 gene (n= 1), stx2 gene (n= 1), and hlyA gene (n= 1). In conclusion, dogs can be a significant reservoir for pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, particularly dogs with diarrhea.

Neospora caninum was identified as a coccidian parasite as in 1988, before that date it was misclassified as Toxoplasma gondii based on structural similarities. The aim of this study was to determine theseroprevalence of N. caninum in cattle in Kirkuk Province. A total of 185 cattle serum samples were collected randomly. Data about ages, gender and abortion history of females were recorded. Serum samples were examined by using ELISA as a screening test for the detection of anti- N. caninum IgG antibodies of past infection. Results showed that 53 (28.6%) cattle were seropositive infected, with significantly higher seropositive infection of age group >2 years in comparison to other age groups 94.3%. The distribution of N. caninum of total infected cattle showed that the seropositive infection in females were 47(88.7%), which was more than males 6 (11.3%) with a highly significant difference. There were 22(48.8%) aborted cattle out of 47 infected cattle with N. caninum with no significant difference in comparison with the healthy group.

Abalone is one of aquaculture commodity that has a high value including in Indonesia due to its price, taste and nutrition content. Unfortunately there is problem in abalone’s transportation process which caused stress and even death. Clove oil can be used as anesthetic agent for abalone to obtain a high survival rate because of its eugenol content. This research tried to evaluate the the effect of clove oil as anesthesia agent to determined induction time, survival rate and oxygen cosumption in H squamata. This study used an experimental method and used a completely randomized design with treatment concentration of clove oil solution were 0.5 ml/L (A), 0.7 ml/L (B), 0.9 ml/L (C), and 1.1 ml/L (D) which each treatment was repeated three times, and calculated the value of the abalone (H. Squamata) survival rate after maintenance for 14 days. The results of the study showed that the survival rate of abalone seeds obtained in the treatment with the concentration of 1.1 ml/L (D). In the treatment also showed the fastest induction time with 96.67 seconds. The lowest oxygen comsumption rate in this study was treatment D with concentration of 1,1 ml/L. It could be concluded that using clove oil with concentration of 1.1 ml/L as anasthesic compound for abalone showed effectiveness in induction time, survival rate, and oxygen consumption rate.

Clinical and subclinical mastitis regarded as important diseases causes a reduction in reproductive performance in dairy cows in the UK during the last decade. This study was aimed to assess the association between clinical mastitis, subclinical mastitis and the reproductive performance of cows. Data from 184 multiparous Holstein dairy cows were collected. Binomial logistic regression used to determine the incidence rate of clinical mastitis and subclinical mastitis between parity, calving year and seasons of the year. Linear mixed model used to determine the effect of clinical and subclinical mastitis on reproductive performance. The association between clinical or subclinical mastitis and the probability of a cow to get pregnant at 1st, 2nd or 3rd service was evaluated using binomial logistic regression. The same model used to illustrate the probability of a cow getting pregnant from 30-60 days postpartum or 61-90 days postpartum. The incidence of clinical mastitis was different between calving years (P<0.01). Cow with clinical mastitis or subclinical mastitis had longer calving to first service interval, calving to conception interval (P<0.05). Cows clinical mastitis had a lower rate to get pregnant within 20-30 days postpartum compared to healthy cows (P<0.05). Cows with higher somatic cells count, (especially cows with greater than 399,000 cells/mL of milk), had a higher number of services compared to cows with a lower number of individual cow somatic cell counts. The study concluded that both clinical and subclinical mastitis have a relationship with a reduction in reproductive performance in high yielding dairy cows.

A cross-sectional study was carried out from November, 2015 to April, 2018 to determine the prevalence and identify the risk factors of BTB using the comparative intradermal tuberculin (CIDT) test on 5327 dairy cattle in 16 dairy herds in mid-delta, Alexandria Road and Upper Egypt districts. Questionnaires used to collect data on herd size and management. The herd and individual animal prevalence at cut-off ≥4mm were 68.75% (95%, CI: 46 to 91.4) and1.67% (95%, CI: 1.3to 2.1) respectively. The individual prevalence was significantly associated with age, breed and different location of farms and density of cattle in yard. On herd level, history of BTB in the farm, management practices, raising of different species in the same facility and newly purchased cattle are important risk factors for BTB. The postmortem examination of positive reactors revealed 66 (85.71%) out of 77slaughtered cattle with visible lesions and 11(14.29%) with non-visible lesions. Bacteriological examination revealed 74.24% (49/66) from visible lesions and 9.09% (1/11) from non-visible lesions were Mycobacterium bovis. The indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (IELISA) results revealed 31(40.26%) showed positive result including 29 (93.6%) visible lesions and 2(6.4%) nonvisible lesions. In conclusion, the prevalence high in herds with poor management condition, raised different species in the same facility, had previous history of BTB infection and purchased new animals. At animal level Holstein breed, 3-6 years age, kept in high density and located in mid- delta district were at higher risk to be reactor to comparative intradermal tuberculin (CIDT) test.

In the present research, mosquito fish Gambusia affinis have been exposed to lead chloride during 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours in order to evaluate the lead chloride lethal 50 (LC₅₀) concentration and the Its residue in certain organs of fish. Usage of the EPA computer software based on Finney Probit Analysis method has been statistically tested for the data collected LC₅₀ values of G. affinis if 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours were found to be 59.4, 55.9, 51.1 and 49. 0 mg/L, respectively. LC₅₀ decreased as mean exposure times. 20 fish were placed in each concentration of four sublethal concentrations 20 and 25 mg/L for two acute periods 24 and 96 hours as well as 10 and 5 mg/l for chronic periods 15 and 30 hours. The testes were carried out as three replications, the accumulation of lead in various fish organs was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The finding revealed that the accumulation of PbCl₂ on different organs of G. affinis be time dependent fashion and Pb-content in organs increased significantly time dependent at chronic exposure as compared as acute- exposure.

The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the high level of thyroxine affects on each of the luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) of rats and to estimate the potential effect of the administration of aqueous rosemary extract and propylthiouracil against testicular toxicity induced by levothyroxine in male rats. Negative control group rats were treated with distilled water. Three groups of male rats were treated subcutaneously with 0.5 mg/kg levothyroxine for 12 days: Since day 13^th to the 24^th day of the experiment first group was regarded as a positive control group that received distilled water, the second group was given propylthiouracil at a dose level of 10 mg/kg b.wt, and the third was given aqueous extracts of rosemary 10 mg/kg b.wt. The results revealed that treatment with aqueous extract of rosemary lead to a significant decrease in the levels of serum testosterone while a highly significant decrease in testosterone, FSH, and LH levels in serum revealed after treatment with propylthiouracil. Thus, it can be concluded that the effect of propylthiouracil and rosemary aqueous extract resulted in dialectical hormonal results in which the favor was to propylthiouracil.

The significance of Aeromonas hydrophila concerning hemorrhagic septicemia in aquaculture farms production in Duhok province, Iraq was investigated. Antibiotic-resistant profiles of isolates were also investigated with 8 antibiotics. Bacterial isolates were identified by using morphological and biochemical tests and confirmed molecularly by amplification of gcat gene. Out of 25 examined fish, only 19 fish were harbored A. hydrophila. Twenty-four A. hydrophila strains were isolates from 100 organ samples. Ninety-six percentages of the isolates were resistant to each of the imipenem and gentamicin, followed by doxycycline 92%, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 88%, norfloxacin 58% and ceftriaxone 33%. None were resistant to levofloxacin. Eighty-eight percentages were multiple antibiotics resistant. The high isolation rate of A. hydrophila in our study indicates that this species was the major cause of the outbreak in hemorrhagic septicemia’s cases in our area affecting carp farms and the high rate of resistance should be considered as these isolates can serve as a resistance source for human being during food series and make a great challenge for their therapeutic opportunity.

Fresh semen from fifty bulls was evaluated for ejaculate volume, individual motility, concentration, lives sperm and abnormalities as well as acrosome integrity. Bulls were classified according to semen motility into two groups; good and poor. DNA was extracted from semen of both groups, then the PCR followed by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) techniques were performed for mutation detection in gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR) gene through multiple sequence alignment. The results showed that the percentages of sperm motility, sperm concentration and live sperm, were significantly higher in good than poor semen quality bulls. However, semen volume, percentage of acrosome integrity and abnormalities did not differ between good and poor. The PCR amplification of 240-bp fragment and the results of SSCP appeared a genetic polymorphism with two patterns. Pattern I was seen in all good bulls, with incidence of 100%. Pattern II appeared only in poor semen quality bulls with a frequency of 31.25%. The sequence analysis of the PCR product for the two patterns showed two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as a transversion base substitution mutation at positions 20 (T/A) and 193 (A/T). The GnRHR gene could be used as a genetic marker related to semen quality in buffalo due to the good semen bulls had a unique pattern.

Baclofen has a central acting effect, so clinicians have been utilized it chiefly for treating the spasticity of spinal origin. Nowadays, off-labeling use of baclofen with high doses is frequently increased. Despite of the extensive research studies on the effectiveness of baclofen, the reports on its histological effects on testes and on sperm parameters we insufficient. This work aims to assess the histological influences of baclofen on rats' testes and on several sperm characteristics after administration for 8 weeks. Twenty-two male rats at age of peripuberty (8weks) that were categorized into two groups. Group I (control group) includes 10 rats which were gavaged with 1 ml/day of distilled water daily. Group II (baclofen's group) includes 12 rats which were received baclofen 14.5 mg/kg for 8 weeks via gavage. At the end of the designed work, euthenization was done and the testes were excised from each rat, the epididymis samples were obtained and prepared for examination under light microscope. This study revealed that rats that were administered with 14.5mg/kg/day of baclofen for 8 weeks showed changes in the sperms parameters with several testicular histological alterations in their sections in comparison with those of controls. The percentage of the live sperms of rats (baclofen's group was lower than that of control group). Features of sloughing inside seminiferous tubules' lumen are frequently seen among these sections with mild decrease in the diameter of seminiferous tubules. Evidence of decreased Johnsen's scores (spermatogenic index -SI) was noticed in some sections, and decreasing of the frequency of seminiferous tubules that possess spermatozoa was obviously noticed. Moreover, disorganization of seminiferous tubules is shown in these sections. In addition, sections of rats of baclofen group revealed features of necrosis of seminiferous tubules, presence of degenerated spermatogenic layer, features of apoptosis, and presence of gaps in the seminiferous epithelium of degenerated tubules. Different alterations of sertoli cells as vacuolation, and detachment sertoli cells are noticed in sections of rats that were administered with baclofen. The chronic administration of rats with 14.5 mg/kg with baclofen induced effects on sperm parameters and testicular histology. however, the testicular histological alterations were more obvious. Further works are needed to clarify mechanism that stands behind these effects.

Extended spectrum β-lactamases producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) have emerged recently as the main cause that facilitates the spreading of antibiotic resistance worldwide. Due to its composition and nutritive values, raw cow milk is vulnerable to bacterial contamination from different sources, especially ESBL-E. Accordingly, present study aimed to detect the ESBL-E in the raw milk of healthy cows. 80 raw cow milk samples were collected from unorganized farms and cows belong to individual owners and investigated for the presence of ESBL-E with the main focusing on CTX-M type. The bacterial isolation was performed using selective MacConkey agar plus cefotaxime (MC⁺), while PCR was used to confirm the species of the isolated bacteria and presence of CTX-M gene. The results showed that 28.75%(23/80) samples were ESBL-E positive and distributed as following, 82.61%(19/23) were pure E. coli isolates, 4.35%(1/23) was pure K. pneumoniae isolate and finally, 13.04%(3/23) were mixed of both E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates. Moreover, the total number of positive ESBL-E was 26 isolates with the majority of them were belong to E. coli and recorded 84.61%(22/26), while K. pneumoniae was recorded less 15.39%(4/26). Additionally, the CTX-M gene was successfully identified in all ESBL-E positive isolates by using PCR, including E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates. The results of this study assert the importance of raw cow milk as a potential source of ESBL-E that might be transmitted to humans.

This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of rotaviruses in Karbala and Basrah provinces, the genetic reassortment of human and animal rotavirus strains and the novel strains. Rotaviruses were detected by Immunochromatography Test (ICT) then the positive samples were tested by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) using specific primers to VP7 gene, this gene is responsible for VP7 antigen which is responsible for stimulation the immune system to produce neutralizing antibodies. The VP7 gene was implemented in rotavirus vaccine of Iraqi immunization program. The RT PCR results showed that 56.3% (27/48) of samples positive in children under five years of age in Karbala province while Basrah province revealed 58.5% (31/53) positive samples in children whereas samples taken from calves revealed 43.1% (22/51) and 45.5% (25/55) positive samples in Karbala and Basrah provinces respectively. The sequencing of human and animal samples revealed that there was genetic reassortment between human and animal strains while in comparing with international strains there was closely related with Indian and Pakistani human strains. Necessarily for further bioinformatics studies are needed to study the genetic alterations with viral proteins analysis of rotavirus.