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Background: Brucellosis is a major threat to livestock economy and an important zoonotic disease. A rapid and accurate diagnosis is a necessity to curb the spread and progress of the disease. The current study aimed to evaluate sensitivity of Immunocytochemistry and Immunohistochemistry methods for detection of Brucella spp. Methods: A total of 50 samples comprising of fetal stomach content, vaginal discharges and placenta were collected from cattle and buffaloes suffering from abortions and other reproductive disorders in and around Ludhiana, Punjab during the period 2017-2018. All the samples were processed for isolation and confirmed with biochemical analysis and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The isolates obtained and 43 clinical samples excluding placental samples were subjected to Immunocytochemistry (ICC). Immunohistochemistry (ICH) was performed on placental samples. Result: A total of four isolates were recovered from the screened samples. The four isolates also yielded positive results in Immunocytochemistry. Among the 43 clinical samples screened by immunocytochemistry, five were positive, however only 3 isolates were recovered on isolation. A total of seven placental tissue samples were processed and subjected to immunohistochemistry. Of the three placental samples positive by immunohistochemistry, only one sample was isolated on culture. The results suggest that both immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry are sensitive diagnostic techniques in comparison to isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to study the effect of sun dried whole bulb garlic powder (GP) as phytogenic alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in broilers. Day-old broiler chicks (210) were distributed to five treatments with three replicates. Dietary treatments comprised of basal diet as control (C), antibiotic group receiving 0.1g/kg oxytetracycline (AB), 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% of garlic powder (GP) added to basal diet as GPL (low), GPM (medium) and GPH (high). A metabolism trail was conducted at the end of fifth week to study nutrient utilization pattern. Blood sample of one bird/replicate on 35th day was collected from jugular vein. Small representative pieces of duodenum were collected from each sacrificed bird to study structural changes in the duodenum morphology. Fresh faecal material was collected and same was used to study viable bacterial cell counting. Results revealed that inclusion of GP did not significantly effected the dry matter metabolizability, ether extract digestibility, per cent nitrogen and phosphorus retention. Higher level of garlic supplementation significantly lowered the serum glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol level. Largest villus height in duodenum and improved villus height/crypt depth ratio were observed in 1.5% GP supplemented group. Total bacterial count in 1.5 and 2.0% GP supplemented groups and E. coli count in all the garlic supplemented treatments were statistically comparable with antibiotic fed group. It can be concluded that 1.5% sun dried GP can be used as alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in broilers as well as for producing designer chicken for the consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study on the protective potential of the outer membrane protein (OMP) fractions of the standard P52 vaccine strain of Pasteurella multocida in mice. Immune response was determined through enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Results indicated that mice injected with whole OMPs showed 100 percent protection. However, it was noted that those injected with purified protein fractions had no protection.

Background: Brucellosis is an important neglected zoonosis. Effective cattle vaccines are available but are infrequently used in India, where rural households commonly own one or two cattle as sources of protein and income. We assessed the prevalence of infection and risk factors in humans., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional sero-survey in randomly selected individuals in 60 villages in Punjab. Infection prevalence was assessed by positive Rose Bengal testing or immunoglobulin G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Risk factors were adjusted for potential confounding using multivariable analyses., Results: Of the 1927 subjects who were approached, 93% agreed to participate. Age-standardised prevalence for Brucella infection was 2.24% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.61 to 3.11). More than 60% of households kept cattle and 10% assisted with calving or abortions. Nearly all individuals consumed boiled cow/buffalo milk from their own or neighbours' cattle and 3.3% consumed goat's milk. There was a 2.18 times increased odds (95% CI 0.96 to 4.95) of infection with calving/abortions and a 4.26 times increased odds (95% CI 1.33 to 13.6) with goat's milk but not bovine milk consumption., Conclusions: An association with calving/abortions and goat's milk consumption was seen. Brucella vaccination of household livestock would reduce the risk to humans in such settings. Additional measures include biosecurity training around calving/abortions, education to boil all milk and for healthcare workers to test for brucellosis., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States. Almost 90% of the patients diagnosed with CRC die due to metastases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are evolutionarily conserved molecules that modulate the expression of their target genes post-transcriptionally, and they may participate in various physiological and pathological processes including CRC metastasis by influencing various factors in the human body. Recently, the role miRNAs play throughout the CRC metastatic cascade has gain attention. Many studies have been published to link them with CRC metastasis. In this review, we will briefly discuss metastatic steps in the light of miRNAs, along with their target genes. We will discuss how the aberration in the expression of miRNAs leads to the formation of CRC by effecting the regulation of their target genes. As miRNAs are being exploited for diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer and other diseases, their high tissue specificity and critical role in oncogenesis make them new biomarkers for the diagnosis and classification of cancer as well as for predicting patients' outcome. MiRNA signatures have been identified for many human tumors including CRC, and miRNA-based therapies to treat cancer have been emphasized lately. These will also be discussed in this review.