Suppression of influenza virus infection by the orf virus isolated in Taiwan.

Orf virus (ORFV), a member of parapoxvirus, is an enveloped virus with genome of double-stranded DNA. ORFV causes contagious pustular dermatitis or contagious ecthyma in sheep and goats worldwide. In general, detection of viral DNA and observing ORFV virion in tissues of afflicted animals are two methods commonly used for diagnosis of orf infection; however, isolation of the ORFV in cell culture using virus-containing tissue as inoculum is known to be difficult. In this work, the ORFV (Hoping strain) isolated in central Taiwan was successfully grown in cell culture. We further examined the biochemical characteristic of our isolate, including viral genotyping, viral mRNA and protein expression. By electron microscopy, one unique form of viral particle from ORFV infected cellular lysate was demonstrated in the negative-stained field. Moreover, immunomodulating and anti-influenza virus properties of this ORFV were investigated. ORFV stimulated human monocytes (THP-1) secreting proinflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNF-α. And, pre-treatment of ORFV-infected cell medium prevents A549 cells from subsequent type A influenza virus (IAV) infection. Similarly, mice infected with ORFV via both intramuscular and subcutaneous routes at two days prior to IAV infection significantly decreased the replication of IAV. In summary, the results of a current study indicated our Hoping strain harbors the immune modulator property; with such a bio-adjuvanticity, we further proved that pre-exposure of ORFV protects animals from subsequent IAV infection.

Generalized synchronization with uncertain parameters of nonlinear dynamic system via adaptive control.

An adaptive control scheme is developed to study the generalized adaptive chaos synchronization with uncertain chaotic parameters behavior between two identical chaotic dynamic systems. This generalized adaptive chaos synchronization controller is designed based on Lyapunov stability theory and an analytic expression of the adaptive controller with its update laws of uncertain chaotic parameters is shown. The generalized adaptive synchronization with uncertain parameters between two identical new Lorenz-Stenflo systems is taken as three examples to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The numerical simulations are shown to verify the results.

Investigation of gastrointestinal parasites of dairy cattle around Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Parasitic nematodes are one of the most important causes of production losses in most cattle-producing countries of the world. The aim of the present study is to make a through estimate of helminth and protozoan infection prevalence in dairy cattle around Taiwan. METHODS: Coprological techniques, including direct fecal smear, simple flotation, and simple sedimentation, were used to detect gastrointestinal helminths and protozoan in dairy cattle. A total of 1259 rectal fecal samples were collected from Holstein dairy cattle at 94 farms in 13 counties in Taiwan. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic infection was 86.9%. The infection rates of protozoa, nematodes, trematodes, and cestodes were 81.3%, 7.9%, 1.6%, and 0.6%, respectively. Among all parasites, Buxtonella sulcata (61.7%) was the most predominant one, followed with Cryptosporidium spp. (32.6%) and Eimeria spp. (11.8%). There were significant differences in the prevalence of protozoa and nematodes between different age groups and distributional area groups. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that gastrointestinal parasitic infections occur frequently in dairy cattle around Taiwan, especially protozoan infections. The results indicated that a superior management system and regular anthelmintic treatment should be used for the control of parasitic infections in dairy cattle farms.

Study of the endoparasitic fauna of commensal rats and shrews caught in traditional wet markets in Taichung City, Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Rats live in close proximity to human populations. Feral rodents are known to transmit diseases and act as reservoir hosts to many zoonotic parasites that pose health risks to humans. The aim of this study is to investigate endoparasitic infections in commensal rats and shrews caught in traditional wet markets in Taichung City, Taiwan. METHODS: A total of 51 commensal wild rodents and shrews were caught in traditional wet markets in Taichung City, including 32 Rattus norvegicus, 11 R. rattus, and eight Suncus murinus. All tissues, organs, and intestinal contents were carefully examined after euthanasia for the detection of parasites. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of infection was 94.1%, and the infection rates in R. norvegicus, R. rattus, and S. murinus were 93.8%, 90.9%, and 100.0%, respectively. Four cestodes (Taenia taeniaeformis, Hymenolepis diminuta, H. nana, and Raillietina celebensis), seven nematodes (Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Capillaria hepatica, Heterakis spumosa, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Strongyloides ratti, Syphacia muris, and Trichosomoides crassicauda), and one protozoan (Sarcocystis spp.) were detected. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that commensal rodents and shrews found in the traditional wet markets of Taichung City are hosts to various zoonotic parasites and, therefore, pose a serious health risk to humans and domestic animals in Taiwan.

Differential diagnosis of orf viruses by a single-step PCR.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the A32L gene (named after vaccinia virus, corresponding with open reading frame 108 of the orf virus and encoding an ATPase) of the orf virus was studied using samples of orf virus from infected goats, which were collected from six outbreaks in central Taiwan. DNA sequence analysis of the A32L genes of these and isolates from other countries showed sequence heterogeneity (base pair variation and deletion) in the 3'-terminal regions. This finding led to the development of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the rapid differential diagnosis of orf virus infections, and the results demonstrated that this was an easy and reliable method for genotyping of orf viruses.

Surveillance of endoparasitic infections and the first report of Physaloptera sp. and Sarcocystis spp. in farm rodents and shrews in central Taiwan.

A total of 95 rodents and shrews including 82 Rattus norvegicus, 7 Rattus rattus, and 6 Suncus murinus were trapped from different localities of Taichung, Taiwan. The overall prevalence of parasites was 93.7%. The infection rates for R. norvegicus, R. rattus, and S. murinus were 93.9%, 85.7%, and 100%, respectively. The rats were infected with four cestodes, Taenia taeniaeformis (48.4%), Hymenolepis diminuta (38.9%), Hymenolepis nana (5.3%), and Raillietina celebensis (45.3%); ten nematodes, Angiostrongylus cantonensis (16.8%), Capillaria hepatica (49.5%), Gongylonema neoplasticum (1.1%), Heterakis spumosa (35.8%), Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (57.9%), Physaloptera sp. (1.1%), Strongyloides ratti (81.1%), Syphacia muris (2.1%), Trichosomoides crassicauda (29.5%), and Trichurus sp. (1.1%), and one protozoan, Sarcocystis spp. (33.7%). Physaloptera sp. from S. murinus and Sarcocystis spp. from both R. norvegicus and R. rattus were reported for the first time in Taiwan. The importances of zoonotic species were discussed.

Phylogenetic analysis of parapoxviruses and the C-terminal heterogeneity of viral ATPase proteins.

Two outbreaks of orf virus (a parapoxvirus) infection in goats found in Nantou and Taiping of central Taiwan were investigated. The nucleotide and the amino acid sequences of viral B2L, E3L and A32L genes in these two outbreaks were analyzed, and each of their phylogenetic trees were also constructed. In the A32L gene, an unexpected deletion of 24 nucleotides was found in the Taiping strain. The A32L gene can encode an ATPase and is supposed to be involved in virion DNA packaging. The 24 nucleotides correspond to 8 amino acids residues of the viral ATPase, which are located near the C-terminal region of the enzyme. Moreover, two copies of the RGD sequence at C-terminal region of ATPase were found in the Nantou strain. The 24-nucleotide difference in the A32L gene indicated that the Nantou strain and the Taiping strain were two separate strains, and it can be used in differential molecular diagnosis. Moreover, the C-terminal heterogeneity was found to be a general feature of the viral ATPase. Lastly, similar functional motifs of the ATPase and the Ras proto-oncoprotein (a GTPase) are discussed.

Synchronization of chaotic systems with uncertain chaotic parameters by linear coupling and pragmatical adaptive tracking.

We study the synchronization of general chaotic systems which satisfy the Lipschitz condition only, with uncertain chaotic parameters by linear coupling and pragmatical adaptive tracking. The uncertain parameters of a system vary with time due to aging, environment, and disturbances. A sufficient condition is given for the asymptotical stability of common zero solution of error dynamics and parameter update dynamics by the Ge-Yu-Chen pragmatical asymptotical stability theorem based on equal probability assumption. Numerical results are studied for a Lorenz system and a quantum cellular neural network oscillator to show the effectiveness of the proposed synchronization strategy.

Cryptosporidium infection in livestock and first identification of Cryptosporidium parvum genotype in cattle feces in Taiwan.

Fecal survey by modified Ziehl-Neelsen (MZN) method and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle and goats in Taiwan showed a prevalence of 37.6% (173/460) and 35.8% (44/123), respectively. In addition to the calves, adult cattle were also found to be shedding Cryptosporidium oocyst. No significant difference was observed between diarrheic and non-diarrheic cattle feces with regard to the presence of Cryptosporidium oocyst. Two groups of oocysts with different diameter sizes, possibly indicating two different species, were observed in the cattle feces. By PCR analysis using primers directed against the 18S rRNA gene, followed by sequencing of the amplicon, we were able to confirm that one of the oocyst species belong to that of the bovine genotype of Cryptosporidium parvum. This is the first identification of a genotype of C. parvum oocyst in the feces of cattle in Taiwan.

Detection of Cryptosporidium sp. Oocyst and Giardia sp. cyst in faucet water samples from cattle and goat farms in Taiwan.

A survey on the presence of Cryptosporidium oocyst and Giardia cyst in livestock drinking water as well as the urban tap water throughout Taiwan was carried out. Water examination for the presence of the protozoa was conducted by filtering through a PTFE membrane followed by immunomagnetic separation (IMS) and immunostaining the sediment with commercially available monoclonal antibody against Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Of the 55 different water samples from various sources examined, 2 were found to contain both of Cryptosporidium oocyst and Giardia cyst, 1 was found to contain Cryptosporidium oocyst only. These protozoa-positive water samples, originating from underground well and from the mountain spring, were also used as drinking water for livestock. However, no Cryptosporidium oocyst was found in the city tap water. This is the first report of Cryptosporidium oocyst and Giardia cyst being found in the drinking water for livestock.