The aim was to evaluate growing/finishing phase pigs presenting increased joint volume and/or lameness through microbiological, molecular and pathological aspects in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Macroscopic and microscopic examination of joints from 43 that presented an increase of joint volume and/or lameness and 15 without signs. Macroscopically, the major changes were: arthritis 39.53%, hypertrophy of the villi of the synovial membrane 37.21% and muscle abscess, ligaments and peri-articular tendons 32.56%. In the bone extremities, the erosion was the main alteration in the articular surface 44.19%. Osteochondrosis 88.37%, osteomyelitis, 27.90%, osteochondritis dissecans 13.95%. From the tissues submitted to bacterial isolation and PCR, 72.09% were positive for at least one infectious agent. 67.44% were positive for bacterial isolation, 41.86%, infectious arthritis and 25.58% arthritis contaminant. On the molecular evaluation of the 43 samples, only eight 18.60% were positive for at least on infectious agent. The degenerative cause was present in all pigs, infection was an element of increasing severity, mainly because of the association with typical agents of articulation and contaminants.

Significant amount of research is done to find novel drugs to control chronic viral hepatitis. HBV causes both acute and chronic viral hepatitis of which a greater proportion of patients with chronic disease lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently interferon therapy and lamivudine treatment are available however such treatments has been known for their inefficient recovery and elicitation of side effects. Marine resources are considered to be harboring many biologically active agents. Padina tetrastromatica (P. tetrastomatica) is a brown algae and found abundantly on the Indian coastal area especially on the east coast and knowledge on its bioactivities are poorly known. Methonolic extracts of P. tetrastomatica were tested for their anti HBV activity by HBsAg binding inhibition assay. 5 mg/ml concentration of the extract completely inhibited the binding efficiency and at this concentration there was cytotoxic effects observed by MTT assay. These findings are suggestive that P. tetrastomatica preparation are possessing a strong anti HBV activities and further experiments are warranted to fully explore the other properties of the marine algae, P. tetrastromatica.

Twenty-eight urothelial tumours of the urinary bladder were studied in 4-16-year-old cattle grazing on lands rich in bracken fern. Four primary adenocarcinomas, twelve papillary carcinomas, ten invasive carcinomas, two urothelial carcinomas with endophytic growth were examined. They were classified using morphological parameters which have been recently suggested in the report on the new histological classification of urothelial tumours of the urinary bladder of cattle. Furthermore, some incidental benign reactive processes such as cystitis glandularis and intestinal metaplasia, coexisting with urothelial tumours, were also investigated. E5 oncoprotein of bovine papillomavirus type 2 (BPV-2) was detected by immunoprecipitation in twenty-two tumours (79%). The remaining six tumours (21%) were E5-negative. Neuroendocrine differentiation was evident in fifteen tumours, four adenocarcinomas and eleven urothelial tumours; twelve of them, that is 80% (four adenocarcinomas and eight urothelial cancers) were E5-positive. Primary adenocarcinomas were composed of a number of multiple glands embedded in a loose stroma. Glandular lumina were lined by tall columnar cells which showed a marked immunoreactivity to chromogranin A, synaptophysin and serotonin. In eight papillary carcinomas containing varying degrees of a glandular or glandular-like differentiation, immunoreactivity was focally scattered among glandular structures. Two of them were E5-negative. Finally, immunoreactivity was also present in three invasive urothelial carcinomas. They were composed of glandular-like structures, cords and nests of neoplastic cells. Glandular-like structures showed a more marked immunoreactivity. A weak immunoreactivity was also seen in the cells at the edges of the nests. One of them appeared to be E5-negative. This study widens the spectrum of histological neoplastic urothelial lesions of cattle and affords further evidence that microscopic patterns of bovine urinary bladder tumours share striking morphological similarities with the human counterparts.

The toxicity of Evisect was studied in Nubian goat kids at oral dose rates of 500, 250, 50 and 25 mg / kg / day b.w. The clinical signs were profuse frothy salivation, abdominal pain, tremors of face and jaws muscles, erected tail, staggering, upward kink of the neck, backward movements, convulsions, recumbent and death occurred within 15 min. and 13 days. The pathological findings include satolytosis and slight gliosis in the cerebrum and cerebellar tissues, pulmonary emphysema and oedema, heart flabbiness, scattered foci of inflammatory cells infiltrating the liver tissue and gastrointestinal tract and slight renal tubular dilatation and necrosis. The serum glucose concentration was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased.