Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Choleraesuis is rarely detected in Europe, but the clinical disease has been reported in wild boars. We describe here the clinical findings, pathologic ...changes, and microbiologic features of swine salmonellosis caused by S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis in weaned piglets in Serbia. In April 2019, on a large farrow-to-finish pig farm, increased mortality was reported in weaned piglets, marked by lethargy, anorexia, pyrexia, and respiratory distress. Gross pathology revealed dermal cyanosis, mesenteric lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, interstitial pneumonia, and colitis. By direct culturing of lung, liver, spleen, and lymph nodes, S. enterica ser. Choleraesuis variant Kunzendorf was isolated after years of absence of the disease in pig farms in Europe. The source of this salmonellosis outbreak caused by S. enterica ser. Choleraesuis remains unknown.
Global freshwater fish production in aquaculture has grown rapidly in recent decades. This constant growth, involving novel forms of intensive aquaculture, has increased global movements of fish and ...boosted various anthropogenic stresses to aquatic ecosystems, so rainbow trout aquaculture has encountered the emergence and outbreaks of many bacterial diseases. Due to the need to effectively prevent and control disease outbreaks, vaccines have become an important technology in intensive trout aquaculture. In this review, the applications of specific vaccines against important bacterial diseases of rainbow trout in Serbian aquaculture are summarized.
The battle against mastitis remains an enduring challenge in contemporary animal farming. This paper presents the frequency of bacterial pathogens isolated from milk samples collected on 3 farms with ...a previous history of clinical mastitis in the Mačva region during the year 2022. A total of 77 Simmental cows were enrolled in the study, ranging from the first to sixth lactation and managed in a tie-stall system. The results obtained indicate that the frequency of clinical mastitis in the animals considered was 16.9%. Of a total of 13 pathogenic isolates with clinically present mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus was recorded in 5 (38.4%), Streptococcus uberis in 3 (23.1%), Escherichia coli in 2 (15.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae in 2 (15.4%), and Streptococcus dysagalactiae in 1 (7.7%). Notably, the largest number of clinical mastitis cases (namely 8, or 61.5%) was recorded during the winter period. Both cases of mastitis caused by K. pneumoniae were detected in the summer, the occurrence of which was implicated in changes in the bedding straw. According to the stage of lactation, the highest frequency of mastitis was found in the early stage of lactation totaling 8 cases (61.5%), followed by 4 (30.8%) in the middle phase of lactation, and only 1 (7.7%) in the late stage of lactation. The causative agents of the Streptococcus genus showed susceptibility to β lactamates in all the cases, whereas all of the E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates were found resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin with clavulanic acid.
Small scale dairy producers, who are often also the sellers of dairy products, are the ones responsible for ensuring food safety conditions all throughout the food distribution chain. Food ...contamination may appear in any part of the food chain including sale, due to cross-contamination that can occur caused by wide varieties of food offered at open markets, improper food handling, contaminated equipment, and poor personal hygiene. An observational study was conducted to determine the hygienic conditions of artisan dairy products' selling places at open markets. In addition, dairy products' sellers were interviewed to obtain complementary data regarding hygiene conditions at the households, as well as during transportation and sale at the open market. The research included 293 selling places and 279 dairy products’ sellers from 43 open markets located in different parts of the Republic of Serbia. Based on a total hygiene assessment score (HAS) calculated for each selling place, acceptable, marginal acceptable and unacceptable group of selling places were identified. A two-step cluster analysis was performed to identify a group of potentially more risky selling places, and resulted in two identified clusters. The differences between hygiene conditions among clusters were mainly influenced by their position at the open market. The establishment and maintenance of a cold chain needs to be improved as one of the most important prerequisites of food safety, especially for those selling places located at an open place. The obtained results suggest the need for additional training and raising awareness of small dairy producers regarding the importance of hygiene during production, distribution and sale of dairy products.
•55% of dairy products selling places operate at acceptable hygiene.•23.2% of selling places do not have refrigeration units at a point of sale.•75% of dairy products' sellers spend up to 8 h at the open market.•The position of selling place has a significant effect on hygienic conditions.•Significant hygiene improvements are needed for selling places located outside.
Psoriasis vulgaris (PV) is a chronic skin disease with unclear pathogenesis. In the present study we investigated the effect of systemic photochemotherapy (PUVA therapy- psoralen and UVA therapy) on ...the expression of IFN-γ, IL-12p40 and IL-23p19 in lesional psoriatic skin. Fifteen patients with chronic plaque type psoriasis selected to be treated with PUVA therapy were recruited for this study. Expression of IFN-γ, IL-12p40 and IL-23p19 in psoriatic lesions before and after twenty PUVA treatments was established by using immunohistochemistry (IHC). A significant decrease in expression (p < 0.05) of IFN-γ, IL-12p40 and IL-23p19 in epidermis and dermis of psoriatic lesions was observed. The immunosuppressive effect of PUVA therapy presented with decreased expression of biologically active IL-23 (IL-12/IL-23p40 + IL-23p19) as a part of the Th17 pathway, and IFN-γ (Th1 pathway) led, in our patients, to a marked clinical improvement as shown by PASI (before therapy 20.55 and after therapy 3.33).
Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is a genus of small biting midges (also known as "no-see ums") that currently includes 1368 described species. They are proven or suspected vectors for important ...pathogens affecting animals such as bluetongue virus (BTV) and Schmallenberg virus (SBV). Currently little information is available on the species of Culicoides present in Serbia. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine species diversity, host preference and the presence of BTV and SBV RNA in Culicoides from the Stara Planina Nature Park in south-eastern Serbia.
In total 19,887 individual Culicoides were collected during three nights of trapping at two farm sites and pooled into six groups (Obsoletus group, Pulicaris group, "Others" group and further each group according to the blood-feeding status to freshly engorged and non-engorged). Species identification was done on subsamples of 592 individual Culicoides specimens by morphological and molecular methods (MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and PCR/sequencing). At least 22 Culicoides species were detected. Four animal species (cow, sheep, goat and common blackbird) as well as humans were identified as hosts of Culicoides biting midges. The screening of 8291 Culicoides specimens in 99 pools for the presence of BTV and SBV RNA by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR were negative.
The biodiversity of Culicoides species in the natural reserve Stara Planina was high with at least 22 species present. The presence of C. imicola Kieffer was not recorded in this area. Culicoides showed opportunistic feeding behaviour as determined by host preference. The absence of SBV and BTV viral RNA correlates with the absence of clinical disease in the field during the time of sampling. These data are the direct outcome of a training programme within the Institutional Partnership Project "AMSAR: Arbovirus monitoring, research and surveillance-capacity building on mosquitoes and biting midges" funded by the programme SCOPES of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
In this paper, we discuss the multi-depot vehicle routing problem with regard to mobile beekeeping. Considering that beekeepers usually do not have their own land plots rarely rely on external ...transporters and often rely on external land plots, we present a fully functional platform to pair beekeepers, transporters, and land plot owners. Two algorithms for calculating optimal mobile beekeeping routes are developed in order to increase honey yield and minimize transport costs. We show that the first algorithm, based on the mathematical model, creates optimal routes in order to transport and distribute beehives by a distributor, while minimizing transport costs. In addition, we consider an option for the case when beekeepers themselves want to handle the transport and use a single external land plot. We show that, for this case, the application of the second algorithm creates a "good enough" solution. This iterative algorithm routes beekeepers to the closest land plot that can handle their beehives. Furthermore, we present a fully functional Web platform that applies these algorithms, enabling beekeepers, transporters and land owners to register and use the platform in Serbia.
In this paper, the outage probability of a noise-limited decode-and-forward wireless cooperative network cluster, subject to the Nakagami-m multipath fading and Gamma shadowing is investigated. The ...closed-form expression for outage probability, when the network fusion center selects the stronger received transmission out of the maximal ratio combined signal, arriving from the nodes acting as relays, and a repeated signal from the originating node, is derived. Moreover, special cases, in which the generalized fading and shadowing channel is reduced to several familiar propagation environments, are observed. The derived analytical expressions for outage probability are furthermore confirmed by running independent Monte-Carlo simulations. The effects of multipath fading severity and shadowing sharpness, average signal-to-noise ratio values, and network dimension on outage performance are discussed.
A new approach to the protection against infections caused by bacteria and
various viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 is described. In concrete example,
protective filters and ALBO nanosilver masks showed ...extraordinary efficiency
in protection against Staphylococcus aureus. These results show that it
highly overcomes the efficiency of ordinary surgical masks. Besides,
systematic meta-analysis given for ordinary surgical masks and filters N95
for masks and respirators, showed no statistical difference between them in
the case of SARS-CoV-2. On the base our experimental data and systemic
meta-analysis given in this paper, it can be concluded that ALBO nanosilver
masks have significant advantages, and show a very perspective concept of
developing new protective gear.
nema
Background/Aim. Available face masks, used to protect the respiratory system from various types of pathogens, show unsatisfactory efficiency because the size of viruses like severe acute respiratory ...syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is much smaller than the void spaces in these masks. Difficult breathing through some masks quickly tires out, which makes ordinary people avoid wearing them. These facts suggest that a new strategy is desirable for designing protective face masks. The aim of the study was to present new filters for face masks to protect people exposed to high concentrations of bacteria and viruses, particularly SARS-CoV-2. Methods. Filters for these masks were manufactured of dense cotton fabric impregnated with silver quantum dots. The filters were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and ion-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Wettability properties were determined by measuring contact angles with water, and a color fastness test was performed. Antibacterial assay was performed using Staphylococcus (S.) aureus. Viability quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for virus integrity assay and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) assay were used for antiviral activity assessment. Results. In vitro assays showed extremely high efficiency of these filters in destroying S. aureus and SARS-CoV-2 virus. The filters also showed high safety and easy breathing possibilities. Conclusion. The high efficiency of these masks against SARS-CoV-2 has been demonstrated through numerous tests, and they have been approved as anti-SARS-CoV-2 masks for the first time in the world. In the meantime, this solution has been applied in practice, and the data obtained about that are very encouraging.
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