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Abstract Zoonotic pathogens are among the most important causes of ill health all over the world. The presence of these pathogens in free ranging baboons may have significant implications for humans. In Kenya, the encroachment of wildlife habitats has led to increased interaction between humans and wildlife especially non‐human primates. The current study therefore aimed at investigating any possible zoonotic gastrointestinal helminths of olive baboons (Papio anubis) at the human–wildlife interface in two park borders and a ranch in Kenya, namely, Tsavo West National Park, Tana River Primate Reserve and Mutara Ranch, Laikipia, Kenya. One hundred and forty‐seven baboons were used in the study. They were trapped in the wild, sampled for stool marked and then released back to the wild. Gastrointestinal (GIT) helminths identified were Strongyloides, Oesophagostomum, Enterobius spp and Trichuris Trichiura from all the three sites while Schistosoma mansoni was only detected from Tsavo baboons and with very low incidence (2.1%). The prevalence of these parasites varied among the sites but significant difference in prevalence was only noted in Strongyloides and Oesophagostomum (p

This article uses Marx's concept of alienation in theorising the everyday estrangement encountered by people living in areas adjoining Tsavo and Chyulu Hills National Parks, in eastern Kenya. It focuses on how colonial and post-colonial conservation initiatives served to expropriate and alienate people from indigenous land that once provided livelihoods and lifeways that were central to people's spiritual wellbeing. Ethnographic fieldwork shows that those living at the edge of the parks and of their subsistence strategies, endeavoured to reconstitute their lives and eke out a living, but conservationists saw most activities as incompatible with conservation, and branded the residents aberrant and lawless. This heightened conflict between residents and wildlife, and between residents and wildlife managers, increasingly making the residents feel like aliens in their own land. The context allows us to see alienation not just as proletarianisation, but as a process through which people are estranged from their land, cultural heritage and the socioeconomic gains that parks produce, and subsequently from their own humanity. This alienation includes non-human beings and should be considered a more-than-human process.

The purpose of the paper is to contribute towards providing a methodology which researchers in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for development can use to design result-oriented programs. In this paper CAS theory is presented as the underlying theory for ICT for economic development. Complex Adaptive System (CAS) theory has been used to assist in understanding and managing complexity (Holland 1992; Fuller and Moran 2001] in many fields. The paper presents a conceptual model for ICT for economic development, a theoretical model, emanating from complexity science that treats economic development in firms or communities of practice as CASs offering an inter-disciplinary approach that is holistic as opposed to reductionist. This conceptual model is a convergence of theories in development. The convergence and integration is not a mere aggregation or addition of the theories, but the model provides a framework within which the variables identified by the different theories interrelate dynamically, influence each other and display a new ontology within which to analyze ICT for economic development. The theoretical model conceptualizes ICTs as interventions at influence points in a CAS (Parsons and Hargreaves 2009] and captures their role in structural transformation. The theoretical model is a convergence, reconciliation and integration point for theories in development. The implication of developing the ICT for economic development conceptual model means that the operationalization of the variables emanating from many theories used and the influence of specific ICTs on the model components needs to be addressed in further research. The conceptual ICT for economic development model contributes to the wide search for appropriate methodologies by researchers in ICT for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study bacterial populations were identified in the rumen of zebu cattle fed various diets and classified taxonomically with metagenomic sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Twenty-four (24) heifers were used in a completely randomized experimental design to test the effect of the diets. Treatment 1 consisted of range grass hay. Treatment 2 was composed of the hay diet augmented with sun-dried cassava leaves. Treatment 3 comprised hay plus sun-dried azolla. Treatments 4 to 6 were similar to treatments 1 to 3. but with a basal diet of Brachiaria Mulato II hay. Rumen liquor samples were collected from the heifers, from which a total of 192 DNA samples were amplified and the resulting 16S rRNA sequences were compared with those in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information BLAST database using MetagenAssist. Bioinformatics analyses indicated that 17 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were present at phylum level, of which 43.3% were Firmicutes, 27.2% Bacteroidetes, 22.8% Proteobacteria and 1.7% Euryarchaeota. The remaining OTUs were Cyanobacteria (1.4%) and Chloroflexi (1%) with Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Spirochaetes, Tenericutes, Planctomycetes, Elusimicrobia, Lentisphaerae, Armatimonadetes, Fibrobacteres, Synergistetes and Arthropoda all below 1% of the organisms present. Time and diet both affected (P <0.05) the abundance of microbes, but not their diversity in the rumen. Thus, these diets could affect the performance of animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are prime therapeutic targets due to their pro-tumorigenic functions, but varying efficacy of macrophage-targeting therapies highlights our incomplete understanding of how macrophages are regulated within the tumor microenvironment (TME). The circadian clock is a key regulator of macrophage function, but how circadian rhythms of macrophages are influenced by the TME remains unknown. Here, we show that conditions associated with the TME such as polarizing stimuli, acidic pH, and lactate can alter circadian rhythms in macrophages. While cyclic AMP (cAMP) has been reported to play a role in macrophage response to acidic pH, our results indicate pH-driven changes in circadian rhythms are not mediated solely by cAMP signaling. Remarkably, circadian disorder of TAMs was revealed by clock correlation distance analysis. Our data suggest that heterogeneity in circadian rhythms within the TAM population level may underlie this circadian disorder. Finally, we report that circadian regulation of macrophages suppresses tumor growth in a murine model of pancreatic cancer. Our work demonstrates a novel mechanism by which the TME influences macrophage biology through modulation of circadian rhythms., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Macrophages are prime therapeutic targets due to their pro-tumorigenic and immunosuppressive functions in tumors, but the varying efficacy of therapeutic approaches targeting macrophages highlights our incomplete understanding of how the tumor microenvironment (TME) can influence regulation of macrophages. The circadian clock is a key internal regulator of macrophage function, but how circadian rhythms of macrophages may be influenced by the tumor microenvironment remains unknown. We found that conditions associated with the TME such as polarizing stimuli, acidic pH, and elevated lactate concentrations can each alter circadian rhythms in macrophages. Circadian rhythms were enhanced in pro-resolution macrophages but suppressed in pro-inflammatory macrophages, and acidic pH had divergent effects on circadian rhythms depending on macrophage phenotype. While cyclic AMP (cAMP) has been reported to play a role in macrophage response to acidic pH, our results indicate that pH-driven changes in circadian rhythms are not mediated solely by the cAMP signaling pathway. Remarkably, clock correlation distance analysis of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) revealed evidence of circadian disorder in TAMs. This is the first report providing evidence that circadian rhythms of macrophages are altered within the TME. Our data further suggest that heterogeneity in circadian rhythms at the population level may underlie this circadian disorder. Finally, we sought to determine how circadian regulation of macrophages impacts tumorigenesis, and found that tumor growth was suppressed when macrophages had a functional circadian clock. Our work demonstrates a novel mechanism by which the tumor microenvironment can influence macrophage biology through altering circadian rhythms, and the contribution of circadian rhythms in macrophages to suppressing tumor growth.

Introduction: Delivery of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is being scaled up in Africa, but clinic-level barriers including lengthy clinic visits may threaten client continuation on PrEP., Methods: Between January 2020 and January 2022, we conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation of differentiated direct-to-pharmacy PrEP refill visits at four public health HIV clinics in Kenya. Two clinics implemented the intervention package, which included direct-to-pharmacy for PrEP refill, client HIV self-testing (HIVST), client navigator, and pharmacist-led rapid risk assessment and dispensing. Two other clinics with comparable size and client volume served as contemporaneous controls with the usual clinic flow. PrEP continuation was evaluated by visit attendance and pharmacy refill records, and time and motion studies were conducted to determine time spent in the clinics. Dried blood spots were collected to test for tenofovir-diphosphate (TFV-DP) at random visits. We used logistic regression to assess the intervention effect on PrEP continuation and the Wilcoxon rank sum test to assess the effect on clinic time., Results: Overall, 746 clients were enrolled, 366 at control clinics (76 during pre-implementation and 290 during implementation phase), and 380 at direct-to-pharmacy clinics (116 during pre-implementation and 264 during implementation phase). Prior to implementation, the intervention and control clinics were comparable on client characteristics (female: 51% vs. 47%; median age: 33 vs. 33 years) and PrEP continuation (35% vs. 37% at 1 month, and 37% vs. 39% at 3 months). The intervention reduced total time spent at the clinic by 35% (median of 51 minutes at control vs. 33 minutes at intervention clinics; p<0.001), while time spent on HIV testing (20 vs. 20 minutes; p = 0.50) and pharmacy (8 vs. 8 minutes; p = 0.8) was unchanged. PrEP continuation was higher at intervention versus the control clinics: 45% versus 33% at month 1, 34% versus 25% at month 3 and 23% versus 16% at month 6. TFV-DP was detected in 85% (61/72) of samples, similar by the study group (83% vs. 85%)., Conclusions: A client-centred PrEP delivery approach with direct-to-pharmacy PrEP refill visits plus client HIVST significantly reduced clinic visit time by more than one-third and improved PrEP continuation in public health HIV clinics in Kenya., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of the International AIDS Society published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International AIDS Society.)

HIV self-testing (HIVST) has the potential to reduce barriers associated with clinic-based preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery. We conducted a substudy nested in a prospective, pilot implementation study evaluating patient-centered differentiated care services. Clients chose either a blood-based or oral fluid HIVST kit at the first refill visit. Data were abstracted from program files and surveys were administered to clients. We purposively sampled a subset of PrEP clients and their providers to participate in in-depth interviews. We surveyed ( n  = 285). A majority (269/285, 94%) reported HIV risk. Blood-based HIVST was perceived as easy to use (76/140, 54%), and (41/140, 29%) perceived it to be more accurate. Oral fluid-based HIVST was perceived to be easy to use (95/107, 89%), but almost all (106/107, 99%) perceived it as less accurate. HIVST improved privacy, reduced workload, and saved time. HIVST demonstrates the potential to streamline facility-based PrEP care in busy African public health facilities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The molecular circadian clock, which controls rhythmic 24-hour oscillation of genes, proteins, and metabolites in healthy tissues, is disrupted across many human cancers. Deregulated expression of the MYC oncoprotein has been shown to alter expression of molecular clock genes, leading to a disruption of molecular clock oscillation across cancer types. It remains unclear what benefit cancer cells gain from suppressing clock oscillation, and how this loss of molecular clock oscillation impacts global gene expression and metabolism in cancer. We hypothesized that MYC or its paralog N-MYC (collectively termed MYC herein) suppress oscillation of gene expression and metabolism to upregulate pathways involved in biosynthesis in a static, non-oscillatory fashion. To test this, cells from distinct cancer types with inducible MYC were examined, using time-series RNA-sequencing and metabolomics, to determine the extent to which MYC activation disrupts global oscillation of genes, gene expression pathways, and metabolites. We focused our analyses on genes, pathways, and metabolites that changed in common across multiple cancer cell line models. We report here that MYC disrupted over 85% of oscillating genes, while instead promoting enhanced ribosomal and mitochondrial biogenesis and suppressed cell attachment pathways. Notably, when MYC is activated, biosynthetic programs that were formerly circadian flipped to being upregulated in an oscillation-free manner. Further, activation of MYC ablates the oscillation of nutrient transporter proteins while greatly upregulating transporter expression, cell surface localization, and intracellular amino acid pools. Finally, we report that MYC disrupts metabolite oscillations and the temporal segregation of amino acid metabolism from nucleotide metabolism. Our results demonstrate that MYC disruption of the molecular circadian clock releases metabolic and biosynthetic processes from circadian control, which may provide a distinct advantage to cancer cells., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Cazarin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Lokivetmab (Cytopoint®, Zoetis) is a canine monoclonal antibody that specifically binds and neutralizes interleukin (IL)-31. Lokivetmab is approved for use in dogs for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) and allergic dermatitis. The laboratory safety of lokivetmab was evaluated in 2 studies by adapting the science-based, case-by-case approach used for preclinical and early clinical safety evaluation of human biopharmaceuticals. The main objectives were to demonstrate the safety of lokivetmab in healthy laboratory Beagle dogs by using integrated clinical, morphologic, and functional evaluations. In Study 1, dogs were treated s.c. with saline or lokivetmab at 3.3 mg/kg (1X, label dose) or 10 mg/kg (3X intended dose) for 7 consecutive monthly doses, with terminal pathology and histology assessments. In Study 2, the functional immune response was demonstrated in naïve dogs using the T-cell dependent antibody response (TDAR) test with 2 different dose levels of unadjuvanted keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) as the model immunogen. The primary endpoint was anti-KLH IgG antibody titer, and secondary endpoints were ex vivo IL-2 enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) and peripheral blood mononuclear cell lymphoproliferation assays. Both studies included monitoring general health, periodic veterinary clinical evaluations, serial clinical pathology and toxicokinetics, and monitoring for anti-drug antibodies. In both studies, the health of dogs receiving lokivetmab was similar to controls, with no treatment-related changes uncovered. Extensive pathology evaluations of immune tissues (Study 1) revealed no lokivetmab-related morphologic changes, and in dogs treated at 10 mg/kg lokivetmab, immunization with the model antigen KLH did not impair the functional antibody or T-cell recall responses. There were no immunogenicity-related or hypersensitivity-related responses observed in either study. These studies in healthy laboratory dogs showed that lokivetmab was well-tolerated, did not produce any treatment-related effects, and had no effect on immune system morphology or its functional response. These studies also demonstrated the utility of a science-based case-by-case approach to the safety evaluation of a veterinary biopharmaceutical product., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Matthew J Krautmann reports a relationship with Zoetis Inc that includes: employment and equity or stocks. Rodney R. Walters, Vickie L. King, Kevin Esch, Sean P. Mahabir, Andrea Gonzales, Paul J. Dominowski, Laurel Sly, Duncan Mwangi, Dennis L. Foss, Sharath Rai, James E. Messamore, Genevieve Gagnon, Adam Schoell, Steven A. Dunham, Olivier M. Martinon reports a relationship with Zoetis Inc that includes: employment and equity or stocks. Steven A. Dunham has patent #US20140286958A1 issued to Zoetis Services LLC., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Desert locust outbreak in East Africa is threatening livelihoods, food security, environment, and economic development in the region. The current magnitude of the desert locust invasion in East Africa is unprecedented and has not been witnessed for more than 70 years. Identifying the potential breeding sites of the pest is essential to carry out cost-effective and timely preventive measures before it inflicts significant damage. We accessed 9,134 desert locust occurrence records and applied a machine-learning algorithm to predict potential desert locust breeding sites in East Africa using key bio-climatic (temperature and rainfall) and edaphic (sand and moisture contents) factors. Ten days greenness maps from February 2020 to April 2020 were overlaid in model outputs to illustrate the temporal evolution of breeding site locations. This study demonstrated that vast areas of Kenya and Sudan, north eastern regions of Uganda, and south eastern and northern regions of South Sudan are at high risk of providing a conducive breeding environment for the desert locust. Our prediction results suggest that there is need to target these high-risk areas and strengthen ground surveillance to manage the pest in a timely, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly manner.

PRRs are sentinels of the innate immune system, with TLRs being the most important. Assays for TLR ligand interactions have been used to gain insights into their function and signaling pathways. As significant differences exist between species with regard to ligand recognition, it is necessary to adapt these tools for TLRs of other species. In the present work, we describe a species-specific cell-based assay adapted for the analysis of single PRRs. Human embryonic kidney 293T cells were stably transfected with the NF-κB-inducible reporter gene secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) together with bovine TLR2. We compared the SEAP response with an existing luciferase NF-κB reporter assay for correlation with IL-8 production. A dose-dependent response was detected upon stimulation using both methods with good correlation to IL-8 secretion. Lower stimulant concentrations were detected by SEAP assay than IL-8 secretion. The luciferase assay produced high non-specific background for all ligand concentrations. Of all assays tested, we found the bovine-specific SEAP reporter assay to be the most convenient and delivered results in the shortest time. The developed reporter cell line would lend well to rapid, high-throughput TLR ligand screening for cattle.

Lack of safe and effective adjuvants is a major hindrance to the development of efficacious vaccines. Signaling via CD40 pathway leads to enhanced antigen processing and presentation, nitric oxide expression, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression by antigen presenting cells, and stimulation of B-cells to undergo somatic hypermutation, immunoglobulin class switching, and proliferation. Agonistic anti-CD40 antibodies have shown promising adjuvant qualities in human and mouse vaccine studies. An anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody (mAb), designated 2E4E4, was identified and shown to have strong agonistic effects on primary cells from multiple livestock species. The mAb recognize swine, bovine, caprine, and ovine CD40, and evoked 25-fold or greater proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from these species relative to cells incubated with an isotype control (p<0.001). In addition, the mAb induced significant nitric oxide (p<0.0001) release by bovine macrophages. Furthermore, the mAb upregulated the expression of MHC-II by PBMCs, and stimulated significant (p<0.0001) IL-1α, IL6, IL-8, and TNF-α expression by PBMCs. These results suggest that the mAb 2E4E4 can target and stimulate cells from multiple livestock species and thus, it is a potential candidate for adjuvant development. This is the first study to report an anti-swine CD40 agonistic mAb that is also broadly reactive against multiple species., Competing Interests: The mAb described in this manuscript was generated by our lab. A provisional patent titled 'Potent broad spectrum agonist for enhancing vaccine efficacy in livestock' has been filed. Zoetis has a licensing agreement with Texas A&M University for the exclusive right. We confirm that all interested researchers will be able to access the data necessary to replicate the findings of our study following publication.

The African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes a fatal hemorrhagic disease in domestic swine, and at present no treatment or vaccine is available. Natural and gene-deleted, live attenuated strains protect against closely related virulent strains; however, they are yet to be deployed and evaluated in the field to rule out chronic persistence and a potential for reversion to virulence. Previous studies suggest that antibodies play a role in protection, but induction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) could be the key to complete protection. Hence, generation of an efficacious subunit vaccine depends on identification of CTL targets along with a suitable delivery method that will elicit effector CTLs capable of eliminating ASFV-infected host cells and confer long-term protection. To this end, we evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of an adenovirus-vectored ASFV (Ad-ASFV) multiantigen cocktail formulated in two different adjuvants and at two immunizing doses in swine. Immunization with the cocktail rapidly induced unprecedented ASFV antigen-specific antibody and cellular immune responses against all of the antigens. The robust antibody responses underwent rapid isotype switching within 1 week postpriming, steadily increased over a 2-month period, and underwent rapid recall upon boost. Importantly, the primed antibodies strongly recognized the parental ASFV (Georgia 2007/1) by indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) assay and Western blotting. Significant antigen-specific gamma interferon-positive (IFN-γ + ) responses were detected postpriming and postboosting. Furthermore, this study is the first to demonstrate induction of ASFV antigen-specific CTL responses in commercial swine using Ad-ASFV multiantigens. The relevance of the induced immune responses in regard to protection needs to be evaluated in a challenge study., (Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are members of the genus Henipavirus, within the family Paramyxoviridae. Nipah virus has caused outbreaks of human disease in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Philippines, in addition to a large outbreak in swine in Malaysia in 1998/1999. Recently, NiV was suspected to be a causative agent of an outbreak in horses in 2014 in the Philippines, while HeV has caused multiple human and equine outbreaks in Australia since 1994. A swine vaccine able to prevent shedding of infectious virus is of veterinary and human health importance, and correlates of protection against henipavirus infection in swine need to be better understood. In the present study, three groups of animals were employed. Pigs vaccinated with adjuvanted recombinant soluble HeV G protein (sGHEV) and challenged with HeV, developed antibody levels considered to be protective prior to the challenge (titers of 320). However, activation of the cell-mediated immune response was not detected, and the animals were only partially protected against challenge with 5×10(5) PFU of HeV per animal. In the second group, cross-neutralizing antibody levels against NiV in the sGHEV vaccinated animals did not reach protective levels, and with no activation of cellular immune memory, these animals were not protected against NiV. Only pigs orally infected with 5×10(4) PFU of NiV per animal were protected against nasal challenge with 5×10(5) PFU of NiV per animal. This group of pigs developed protective antibody levels, as well as cell-mediated immune memory. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells restimulated with UV-inactivated NiV upregulated IFN-gamma, IL-10 and the CD25 activation marker on CD4(+)CD8(+) T memory helper cells and to lesser extent on CD4(-)CD8(+) T cells. In conclusion, both humoral and cellular immune responses were required for protection of swine against henipaviruses., (Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Flagellin potently induces inflammatory responses in mammalian cells by activating Toll-like receptor (TLR) 5. Recently, we were able to show that stimulation of bovine TLR5 resulted in neither NFκB signalling nor CXCL8 production. Like other TLRs, TLR5 recruits signalling molecules to its intracellular TIR domain, leading to inflammatory responses. Analysis of available TLR5 sequences revealed substitutions in all artiodactyl sequences at amo acid (AA) position 798 and 799. Interestingly, a putative binding site for PI3K was identified at tyrosine 798 in the human TLR5 TIR domain, analogous to the PI3K recruitment domain in the IL-1 receptor. Mutation of the artiodactyl residues at position 798, 799 or both with their corresponding human counterparts partially restored the response of bovine (bo)TLR5 to flagellin as well as phosphorylation of PI3K. Together, our results suggest a potential lack of phosphorylation of F798 and H799 in boTLR5 partially explains the lack in observed response., (Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Kenya has experienced multiple cholera outbreaks since 1971. Cholera remains an issue of major public health importance and one of the 35 priority diseases under Kenya's updated Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response strategy., Methods: We reviewed the cholera surveillance data reported to the World Health Organization and the Kenya Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation from 1997 through 2010 to determine trends in cholera disease for the 14-year period., Results: A total of 68 522 clinically suspected cases of cholera and 2641 deaths were reported (overall case-fatality rate [CFR], 3.9%), affecting all regions of the country. Kenya's largest outbreak occurred during 1997-1999, resulting in 26 901 cases and 1362 deaths (CFR, 5.1%). Following a decline in disease occurrence, the country experienced a resurgence of epidemic cholera during 2007-2009 (16 616 cases and 454 deaths; CFR, 2.7%), which declined rapidly to 0 cases. Cases were reported through July 2010, with no cases reported during the second half of the year. About 42% of cases occurred in children aged <15 years. Vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Inaba, was the predominant strain recorded from 2007 through 2010, although serotype Ogawa was also isolated. Recurrent outbreaks have most frequently affected Nairobi, Nyanza, and Coast provinces, as well as remote arid and semiarid regions and refugee camps., Discussion: Kenya has experienced substantial amounts of reported cases of cholera during the past 14 years. Recent decreases in cholera case counts may reflect cholera control measures put in place by the National Ministry of Health; confirmation of this theory will require ongoing surveillance.

Hydrocortisone is widely accepted as an anti-inflammatory agent and there are many products available containing hydrocortisone as an active ingredient. Surprisingly, there is little data available specifically on the immunological effects of hydrocortisone in large animals. Glucocorticoids are well-characterized for their ability to repress inflammation via a wide variety of mechanisms including suppression of cytokine production. In this study the effects of hydrocortisone on IFN-γ production by equine, bovine, and ovine PBMCs were assessed using flow cytometric or ELISpot analysis. Hydrocortisone suppressed mitogen-driven IFN-γ production by PBMCs from all three species of animals, confirming that this agent mediates anti-inflammatory effects in large animals. Although the results from this study were expected based on the precedence set in murine and human systems, it is important to understand the effects of administration of a compound or product in the species of interest as species-specific indications are not always available., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine early signs of renal injury due to occupational silica exposure., Design: Cross-sectional analytical research., Settings: Kenyatta National Hospital for the referent population and Clayworks ceramics, bricks and tiles factory for the assessment of occupational silica exposure., Subjects: Thirty three non-smoking silica-exposed male industrial workers and 38 non-smoking male referents participated in this study., Results: Silica-exposed males excreted significantly increased levels of U.TP, U.Malb, U.ALP, U.y-GT and U.LDH compared to referent males. Among the silica-exposed males, U.Si negatively correlated significantly with age, U.TP correlated significantly to each of U.ALP and U.LDH. However, no correlation was observed between work duration and U.Si., Conclusion: The present study shows that there is associated glomerular and proximal tubular damage among silica exposed workers which is not duration related and is seemingly subclinical and nonprogressive and urinary silica levels appears to be similar in all groups and are not affected by exposure and work duration: the reason for which is unclear.

The potential of reed beds to act as biofilters of pathogenic and environmental mycobacteria was investigated through examination of the fate of mycobacteria in a constructed reed bed filtering effluent from a large captive wildfowl collection. Particular emphasis was placed on the presence and location of Mycobacterium avium--the causal agent of avian tuberculosis (ATB)--in an effort to clarify the potential role of reed beds in the control of this disease. Water, sediment, and stems and roots of common reed (Phragmites australis) and greater reedmace (Typha latifolia) were taken from 15 locations within the reed bed plus sites upstream and downstream. Samples were analysed for mycobacteria using PCR and specifically for M. avium using nested PCR. Environmental mycobacteria were found throughout the entire reed bed but M. avium was not found downstream of the first vegetation growth. The reed bed was found to effectively remove M. avium from the water through a combination of sedimentation and adsorption onto vegetation stems. The results of this study show that constructed reed beds composed of a settlement lagoon and one or more vegetation beds can act as valuable and ecologically friendly tools in the environmental control of ATB.

The pecten oculi is a structure peculiar to the avian eye. Three morphological types of pecten oculi are recognized: conical type, vaned type and pleated type. The pleated type has been well studied. However, there exists only scanty data on the morphology of the latter two types of pectens. The structure of the vaned type of pecten of the ostrich, Struthio camelus was investigated with light and electron microscope. The pecten of this species consists of a vertical primary lamella that arises from the optic disc and supports 16-19 laterally located secondary lamellae, which run from the base and confluence at the apex. Some of the secondary lamellae give rise to 2 or 3 tertiary lamellae. The lamellae provide a wide surface, which supports 2-3 Layers of blood capillaries. Pigmentation is highest at the distal ends of the secondary and tertiary Lamella where blood capillaries are concentrated and very scanty on the primary and the proximal ends of the secondary lamella where the presence of capillaries is much reduced. In contrast to the capillaries of the pleated pecten, the endothelium of the capillaries in the pecten of the ostrich exhibits very few microvilli. These observations suggest that the morphology of the pecten of the ostrich, a flightless ratite bird is unique to the pleated pecten and is designed to meet the balance between optimal vision and large surface area for blood supply and yet ensuring it is kept firmly erect within the vitreous.

Objective: To investigate and quantify structural parameters in the developing cerebellum during hypothyroidism in pre and postnatal stages in 15 day old rat pups in comparison with 5 and 24 day old., Methods: Propylthiouracil (PTU) was fed to rat dams during mating, pregnancy and nursing and their pups in drinking water. Consequently hypothyroxinemia was induced in the dams and the developing foeti during prenatal period and maintained in the dams and pups. The number of treated and control dams was five in each group. The treated and control pups were eight and eleven respectively. The whole cerebellum was dissected out and routinely processed for histological and morphometric analysis. Structural changes in cerebellum were estimated using "design based" stereological methods. The total volume of cerebellum, intracerebellar nuclei and cerebellar compartments were estimated using Cavalieri Principle. Numerical density of cells was estimated using the disector method and the total cell number was then calculated., Results: In the 15 day pups there was significant reduction (P<0.05) in the mean volumes of cerebellum, internal granular layer, molecular layer, cerebellar cortex, mean ratio of the total volume of intracerebellar nuclei to the cerebellar volume and increased mean volume of external granular layer in treated pup group compared with control. The mean volumes of intracerebellar nuclei and white matter and the mean numerical densities and total numbers of neurons and Purkinje cells in intracerebellar nuclei and cerebellum respectively were nearly equal in control and treated groups. Significant increase (P<0.05) in the mean numerical density and total number of glial cells in treated pups compared with control was observed. There was significant decrease (P<0.05) in the mean neuron/neuroglia ratio in the intracerebellar nuclei, mean numerical density and mean total number of granule cells and reduction in the mean ratio of total number of granule/Purkinje cells in the treated group compared with control. The linear regression comparison for the total volume of the intracerebellar nuclei to total volume of the cerebellum in 5, 15 and 24 day control and treated pups and for the total number of glial cells on the total volume of intracerebellar nuclei in the same were significantly different (P<0.05). Total numbers of neurons and glial cells in the intracerebellar nuclei showed peak values in 15 day pups., Conclusion: Thus PTU-induced hypothyroidism causes variation in quantitative structural parameters in developing cerebellum and disrupts progressive cellular developmental processes. Maintenance of normal T4 and T3 levels during growth and maturation of cerebellum is absolutely essential.