Synthesis, Modification and Characterization of Antimicrobial Textile Surface Containing ZnO Nanoparticles.

In this research, a textile surface was modified by the sol-gel methodology with a new antimicrobial coating containing nanoparticles active against bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The effect of ultrasonic irradiation power (40 to 90 kHz), the concentration of reagents (nanoparticles, precursor and acids) and time (15 to 72 min) were investigated in relation to the structure, morphology and antimicrobial activity of coatings with zinc oxide nanoparticles. The relationship between the sonocatalytic performance and structure of the resultant modification was established by using various techniques, such as FTIR spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with an EDX detector (SEM-EDX), thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and antimicrobial effects were determined on selected model microorganisms. The homogeneity of layers with ZnO nanoparticles on samples was increased by increasing the ultrasonic irradiation power and time. The ultrasonic irradiation unify did not only unify both the structure and the morphology of samples, it also prevented the agglomeration of the nanoparticles. Moreover, under optimal conditions, an antimicrobial coating with ZnO nanoparticles, active against bacterial species S. aureus and E. coli was efficiently prepared. Results of the Time-kill methodology revieled excellent results starting after 6 hours of exposal to antimicrobialy functionalized cellulose polymer.

Over-dose insulin and stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Attenuated gastric ulcers, seizures, brain lesions, hepatomegaly, fatty liver, breakdown of liver glycogen, profound hypoglycemia and calcification in rats.

We focused on over-dose insulin (250 IU/kg i.p.) induced gastric ulcers and then on other disturbances that were concomitantly induced in rats, seizures (eventually fatal), severely damaged neurons in cerebral cortex and hippocampus, hepatomegaly, fatty liver, increased AST, ALT and amylase serum values, breakdown of liver glycogen with profound hypoglycemia and calcification development. Calcium deposits were present in the blood vessel walls, hepatocytes surrounding blood vessels and sometimes even in parenchyma of the liver mainly as linear and only occasionally as granular accumulation. As an antidote after insulin, we applied the stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (10 microg/kg) given (i) intraperitoneally or (ii) intragastrically immediately after insulin. Controls received simultaneously an equivolume of saline (5 ml/kg). Those rats that survived till the 180 minutes after over-dose application were further assessed. Interestingly, pentadecapeptide BPC 157, as an antiulcer peptide, may besides stomach ulcer consistently counteract all insulin disturbances and fatal outcome. BPC 157 rats showed no fatal outcome, they were mostly without hypoglycemic seizures with apparently higher blood glucose levels (glycogen was still present in hepatocytes), less liver pathology (i.e., normal liver weight, less fatty liver), decreased ALT, AST and amylase serum values, markedly less damaged neurons in brain and they only occasionally had small gastric lesions. BPC 157 rats exhibited mostly only dot-like calcium presentation. In conclusion, the success of BPC 157 therapy may indicate a likely role of BPC 157 in insulin controlling and BPC 157 may influence one or more causative process(es) after excessive insulin application.

Levamisole mucosal adjuvant activity for a live attenuated Escherichia coli oral vaccine in weaned pigs.

The present study tested the hypothesis that levamisole exerts its immunopotentiating activity in weaned pigs vaccinated against colibacillosis by priming the lymphocytes and macrophages in the mesenteric lymph node (MLN). Ten weaned piglets were used and allocated into two equal groups. The experimental group was intramuscularly primed with levamisole at an immunostimulatory dose of 2.5 mg/kg given daily, in three consecutive days, and controls received saline according to the same schedule. Both groups were orally vaccinated with the vaccinal Escherichia coli strain on day 0 and challenged with the virulent E. coli strain 7 days later. All pigs were killed on postchallenge day 6. Upon virulent challenge the health status of the two groups was evaluated by clinical observations, and expression of CD25, SWC7 and SWC9 activation antigens by MLN and spleen T and B cells and macrophages, respectively, was tested using flow cytometry. Priming by levamisole significantly contributed to the effectiveness of a live attenuated oral vaccine against porcine postweaning colibacillosis, as evidenced by a good health status of primed vaccinated vs. un-primed vaccinated pigs. The CD3+, CD25+ and SWC9+ MLN but not spleen T cells and macrophages increased in experimental vs. control pigs, implying that levamisole exerts its potentiating activity in the MLN by augmenting both recruitment and activation of cells that participate in cell-mediated immunity.

Distribution of airborne bacteria in swine housing facilities and their immediate environment.

This paper describes a bacteriological analysis of air samples taken from swine housing facilities and the immediate environment. The air volume of the samples was pre-programmed by a standard air sampler (MAS-100, Merck) and was directly impacted onto the bacteriologic agar surface (Petri dishes, standard diameter of 90 mm). The bacterial contamination in forty-eight samples was 2.59 x 10(5) CFU/m3 (ranging from 8.46 x 10(4) to 5.30 x 10(5) CFU/m3). Potentially pathogenic bacterial agents predominated in all samples (100%), while primarily pathogenic bacteria were isolated in a minor proportion of samples (33%-66%). Airborne bacterial contamination in samples (N = 16) obtained from emptied facilities ranged from 1.8 x 10(3) CFU/m3 (that is, after coarse mechanical washing) to 0.8 x 10(2) CFU/m3 (upon completion of disinfection). Control measurements at different locations and distance from the farm (N = 32) pointed to the presence of non-pathogenic airborne bacteria, ranging from 1.55 x 10(2) to 3.70 x 10(2) CFU/m3. The results of this preliminary study showed that the emission of potentially pathogenic bacteria from animal housing facilities to the immediate farm environment via aerosol was very low.

Comparison of ELISA and 2-META assays used in serological diagnosis of infection with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 2 and 4-7 in breeding pigs in Croatia.

The aim of the study was to compare the results of ELISA and 2-META assays in serological diagnosis of swine pleuropneumonia in breeding pigs of different ages. A total of 874 sera were examined for the presence of antibodies against Actinobacillus (A.) pleuropneumoniae serotype 2. The sera had been taken from 437 gilts (aged approximately 6 months), 334 sows (> 2 years of age) and 104 boars (1-2 years). Sixty-nine sera of the gilts and sows, and 46 sera of the boars were also examined for the presence of antibodies against A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 4-7. Sera from the youngest age group (gilts) showed the highest agreement between the results obtained by the two assays, with a kappa value of 0.633 and 0.437 for detection of antibodies against A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 2 and 4-7, respectively. The lowest agreement of the two assays was recorded in the oldest age group (sows), with a kappa value of 0.128 and 0.199 for detection of antibodies against A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 2 and 4-7, respectively. Boars were older than gilts and younger than sows. In this group of animals, agreement between the results of the two assays was inferior to that found in gilts and superior to that recorded in sows.

The projection questionnaire: design, use and utility.

UNLABELLED: Projection is a widespread mechanism of defence. It is an important issue in a number of anthropological researches. To estimate changes in intensity and flexibility of the projection a measuring instrument is unavoidable. MATERIAL: To standardise the questionnaire answers of 250 examinees were used. They were divided in two independent groups. Group 1 consisted of 125 patients treated at Clinic for Psychological Medicine and Group 2 of 125 students in the third year of the Medical Faculty in Zagreb. METHODS: To process the results a statistical package SPSS was used. A chi 2 test was employed and tables of contingency were made. A factor analysis of "The Projection Questionnaire" was employed and varimax rotation separated five factors which characteristic roots were greater than one. RESULTS: A new instrument for measuring the projection, "The Projection Questionnaire", is developed and standardised. A considerable use of the projection by normal population is confirmed.

Mycoplasmal pneumonia in pigs in Croatia: first evaluation of a vaccine in fattening pigs.

The immunoprophylaxis of mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) caused by Mycoplasma hypopneumoniae was investigated for the first time in fattening pigs in Croatia. The incidence of MPS was monitored in pigs weighing on average 27.5 kg (12 weeks old) after immunization with a M. hyopneumoniae vaccine. Of 350 pigs in each group, in the nonvaccinated group 55 animals (15.7%) were affected by pneumonia and 11 (3.1%) died of consequences of pneumonia, whereas in the vaccinated group 20 pigs (5.7%) were affected by pneumonia without any death due to the infection. In the nonvaccinated group 44% more pigs were individually treated with antibiotic, and these animals received in-feed therapy for more than 1/4 of the fattening period. Vaccinated pigs gained weight faster, at the rate of 0.745 kg/day (or 82 g/day more) than control animals. The mean score of lung lesions due to M. hyopneumoniae was 10.51 in the control pigs and only 0.54 in the vaccinated animals. The total tissue alterations on lungs due to M. hyopneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida and/or Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae expressed as the mean-score were 13.21 in the control group and 2.98 in the vaccinated group. According to the results of evaluation of the M. hyopneumoniae vaccine in the field, the vaccine appeared to provide an adequate immunity in fattening pigs but was less effective when administered to younger pigs at 1-3 weeks of age.

Ecological features of the tularemia natural focus in central Posavina (Croatia).

A five-year ecological study of the largest tularemia natural focus in Croatia (Yugoslavia) has revealed that the focus is of a meadow-field type and that the common vole is the crucial member of the local tularemia pathobiocenosis. The occurrence of epizootics and of concomitant epidemics is associated with the bionomy of the latter which, in its turn, is strongly influenced by environmental factors. It was possible therefore to link tularemia outbreaks with special meteorological and hydrological conditions, i.e. with warm and dry spring-summer seasons and the Sava river floods. The proper understanding of the underlying ecological laws furnishes a sound basis for the forecasts of future epidemiological events.