• Title/Summary/Keyword: Humans and animals

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Seroprevalence and Spatial Distribution of Toxoplasmosis in Sheep and Goats in North-Eastern Region of Pakistan

  • Ahmed, Haroon;Malik, Ayesha;Mustafa, Irfan;Arshad, Muhammad;Khan, Mobushir Riaz;Afzal, Sohail;Ali, Shahzad;Hashmi, M. Mobeen;Simsek, Sami
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.54 no.4
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    • pp.439-446
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    • 2016
  • Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan disease that is caused by Toxoplasma gondii in livestock and humans. Due to its medical and veterinary importance, it is essential to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among humans and animals in various parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants (sheep and goats) of north-eastern region, Pakistan. A total of 1,000 animals comprising of sheep (n=470) and goats (n=530) were examined for T. gondii infection by using ELISA. An epidemiological data was collected in the form of questionnaire. A surface has been generated by using method of interpolation in Arc GIS with the help of IDW (inverse distance weight). The results showed higher seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats (42.8%) as compared to sheep (26.2%). The seroprevalence was higher in females as compared to males in all examined ruminants. Similarly, there is a wide variation in the seroprevalence of T. gondii in different breeds of sheep and goats showing higher seroprevalence in Teddy (52.8%) and Damani breed (34.5%) of goat and sheep's, respectively. The geographical and spatial distribution of T. gondii shows that it is widely distributed in different parts of the north-eastern region of Pakistan. Our results suggest widespread environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts and that small ruminants could be a potentially important source of T. gondii infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked.

Characterization of Campylobacters Newly Isolated from Swine Gastric Mucosa

  • Lee, Yeon-Hee;Lee, Jin-Hui;Cho, Hyun-Joo;Shin, En-Joo;Park, Jong-Hwan;Park, Jae-Hak
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.9 no.6
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    • pp.778-783
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    • 1999
  • Campylobacter is a pathogen for both humans and animals that can be transferred from animals to humans. Four isolates, which grew under 5-10% $CO_2$ and had small and translucent colonies, were obtained from swine gastric mucosa and characterized using various methods. These bacteria were gram negative, spirally shaped with round ends. One or two non-sheathed polar flagella were observed under electron microscopy. A PCR with species-specific protein (SSP) primers for 16S rRNA gene in Campylobacter produced a typical 462 bp fragment. The isolates had various biochemical and molecular characteristics which differentiated them from other Campylobacters. The isolates were catalase and oxidase positive, urease (rapid) negative, nitrate reduction positive, indoxyl acetate hydrolysis positive, y-glutamyl transpeptidase negative, and alkaline phosphatase negative. All four isolates showed growth at $37^{\circ}C{\;}and{\;}42^{\circ}C{\;}but{\;}not{\;}at{\;}25^{\circ}C$, were resistant to cephalotin and cefoperazone, and susceptible to carbenicillin. The isolates showed various results in the reduction of chloride to triphenyl tetrazolium (TTC) and a susceptibility to nalidixic acid. Western blot analysis of these isolates with antiserum raised against one isolate showed different patterns from those of reference strains. A dendrogram drawn with the RAPD results showed that these isolates belonged to a new Campylobacter spp. group different from those of C. jejuni, C. doylei, C. lari, and C. coli.

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Genome analysis of Yucatan miniature pigs to assess their potential as biomedical model animals

  • Kwon, Dae-Jin;Lee, Yeong-Sup;Shin, Donghyun;Won, Kyeong-Hye;Song, Ki-Duk
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.32 no.2
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    • pp.290-296
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    • 2019
  • Objective: Pigs share many physiological, anatomical and genomic similarities with humans, which make them suitable models for biomedical researches. Understanding the genetic status of Yucatan miniature pigs (YMPs) and their association with human diseases will help to assess their potential as biomedical model animals. This study was performed to identify non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in selective sweep regions of the genome of YMPs and present the genetic nsSNP distributions that are potentially associated with disease occurrence in humans. Methods: nsSNPs in whole genome resequencing data from 12 YMPs were identified and annotated to predict their possible effects on protein function. Sorting intolerant from tolerant (SIFT) and polymorphism phenotyping v2 analyses were used, and gene ontology (GO) network and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed. Results: The results showed that 8,462 genes, encompassing 72,067 nsSNPs were identified, and 118 nsSNPs in 46 genes were predicted as deleterious. GO network analysis classified 13 genes into 5 GO terms (p<0.05) that were associated with kidney development and metabolic processes. Seven genes encompassing nsSNPs were classified into the term associated with Alzheimer's disease by referencing the genetic association database. The KEGG pathway analysis identified only one significantly enriched pathway (p<0.05), hsa04080: Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, among the transcripts. Conclusion: The number of deleterious nsSNPs in YMPs was identified and then these variants-containing genes in YMPs data were adopted as the putative human diseases-related genes. The results revealed that many genes encompassing nsSNPs in YMPs were related to the various human genes which are potentially associated with kidney development and metabolic processes as well as human disease occurrence.

Faces of the Face

  • Choi, Jeongho
    • Archives of Plastic Surgery
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    • v.44 no.3
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    • pp.251-256
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    • 2017
  • The most important environment of human being is the human being itself. So we have been sensitive to the appearance of ours and others at the same time. This writing aims for locating origins of the face and discerning differences [1] between the face of humans and those of other animals [2]. The face assumes a substantial significance not merely as a body function, but, above all, a means of expressions and features being looked at. The face is an important means of communication to humans as social animals. Knowledges about the various faces of the face are useful to become a efficient specialist as an extensive generalist because the face is a regular patron to the plastic surgery. The face in Korean consists of two elements of eol (the soul or the mind) and gul a residing place). When Wittgenstein says "the face is the soul of the body," his semantics corresponds to the Korean meaning. The meaning of the face in Korean is summed up in five ways. (1) the head or the front of the face with the eye, the nose and the mouth, (2) reputation or honor, (3) the general description of the psychological state, such as "the face of sadness", (4) a figure person representing a particular area, such as "Sun Dong-yul is the face of the Korean baseball community," (5) the primary imagery of the things and the event, such as "He is the face of the 4.19 Revolution." As such, the word "face", referring to a body part, extends its usages in a wide variety of contexts. What image do you convoke when you think of a person? With rare exceptions, you are most likely to invoke the face of the person. The face has come to be a byword for one's reputation or honor, and a pronoun for an expression of the essence of the thing and the event. This is presumably true of other languages. That is because human beings are equipped with the universal rule of language. A comprehensive understanding of the face is a must for cosmetic surgeons whose main responsibility is to sculpt and repair the face (Fig. 1).

Biocontrol of Maize Diseases by Microorganisms (미생물을 활용한 옥수수병의 생물학적 방제)

  • Jung-Ae, Kim;Jeong-Sup, Song;Min-Hye, Jeong;Sook-Young, Park;Yangseon, Kim
    • Research in Plant Disease
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    • v.28 no.4
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    • pp.195-203
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    • 2022
  • Zea mays, known as maize or corn, is a major staple crop and an important source of energy for humans and animals, thus ensuring global food security. Approximately 9.4% of the loss of total annual corn production is caused by pathogens including fungi, bacteria, and viruses, resulting in economic losses. Although the use of fungicides is one of the most common strategies to control corn diseases, the frequent use of fungicides causes various health problems in humans and animals. In order to overcome this problem, an eco-friendly control strategy has recently emerged as an alternative way. One such eco-friendly control strategy is the use of beneficial microorganisms in the control of plant pathogens. The beneficial microorganisms can control the plant pathogens in various ways, such as spatial competition with plant pathogens, inhibition of fungal or bacterial growth via the production of secondary metabolites or antibiotics, and direct attack to plant pathogens via enzyme activity. Here, we reviewed microorganisms as biocontrol agents against corn diseases.

AIDS-related Zoonotic Pathogen, Enterocytozoon bieneusi

  • Lee John Hwa
    • Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2001.11a
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    • pp.77-81
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    • 2001
  • Microsporidia in humans emerged with the AIDS epidemic. Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most significant species' and causes chronic diarrhea, wasting, papillary stenosis, acaculous cholecystitis, bile duct dilatation and sclerosing cholangitis and is responsible for $30-50\%$ of all cases of in people with AIDS. Microsporidiosis has been reported in immunosuppressed, and in immunologically normal individuals. Variety of study has revealed the mode of transmission and possible reservoir of E. bieneusi. Its sites of infection suggest that transmission occurs by ingestion. Transmission has been speculated to occur via infected animals to human, person to person. There is evidence that E. bieneusi occurs in pigs, monkeys, and possibly other animals such as cattle, dogs, cats, llamas and rabbits. E. bieneusi from infected humans has been transmitted experimentally to macaques and to pigs. These observations reflect indirectly the zoonotic nature of E. bieneusi and indicate that cross species transmission is a real possibility. Meanwhile, In recent report, thirty-two percent of the pigs were found to be positive with rates higher over the summer months in US.

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Effect of PG102, a Water-soluble Extract from Actinidia aguta on Canine Atopic Dermatitis (개의 아토피성 피부염에 대한 다래(Actinidia aguta) 열매의 열수 추출물, PG 102의 치료효과)

  • Ho, Seong-Hyun;Park, Eun-Jin;Choi, Jae-Hyek;Eo, Hae-Kwan;Hong, Eun-Sil;Kim, Sun-Young;Kim, Seon-Hee
    • Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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    • v.40 no.1
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    • pp.59-64
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    • 2009
  • Atopic dermatitis, caused by immune hyper-responsiveness, is wide spread in humans as well as in the dogs, especially in industrialized condition. Pet dogs are generally exposed to the same environment as their owners, and a significant portion of these animals are also known to suffer from this allergic disease. However, diagnosis and treatment methods of atopic dermatitis in animals have not been well established. We explored the possibility of using recently developed PG102 for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in the canine population. PG102 is a water soluble extract prepared from Actinidia arguta, and has been shown to produce significant therapeutic effect in variable allergy animal models. After oral administration of PG102 at a dose of 12.5 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks, severity of disease was greatly improved. IgE is one of representative members used to diagnose allergic diseases in humans. However, it is not well established whether there is any correlation between the serum level of IgE and atopic dermatitis. Our data indicated that dogs diagnosed to have atopic dermatitis contained higher level of serum IgE than the normal dogs and that treatment of dogs with PG102 significantly lowered the serum level of IgE. Taken together, this study demonstrated that PG102 treatment yielded significant amelioration of canine atopic dermatitis and down-regulation of serum IgE and that the serum level of IgE can be used as a convenient member for diagnosis of atopic dermatitis in dogs.

A Transcendental Pragmatic Interpretation on the Notion of 'Injon' in Daesoon Thought (대순사상의 인존(人尊)에 대한 화용론적(話用論的) 해석)

  • Baek, Choon-hyoun
    • Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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    • v.39
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    • pp.33-67
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    • 2021
  • This paper aims at revealing the core concept of Injon (Human Nobility). The concept of Injon is one of the salient fundamental ideas which makes Daesoon Jinrihoe recognizable as Daesoon Jinrihoe. The concept of Injon has the basic meaning of 'human nobility,' but within the context wherein the nobility of humankind is considered to be greater than the nobility of Heaven and Earth. Although the religious and ideological interpretations of Injon (human nobility) that have developed over time have been quite diverse and abundant, these interpretations are all limited in that they generally assume the relationship between 'Heaven and Earth' and 'Humanity' to be antagonistic. However, if human nobility is relativized in that manner, it can reduce the potential broader meanings of mutual beneficence and the earthly paradise of the later world. These interpretations are grounded in the view of semiotic interpretation. Such interpretations have composed their view point via the semiotic meaning of the words. The semiotic point of view suggests that meanings of words consist in the relation of the word and the object to which it denotes. We will introduce a new view point which can be termed the transcendental view point. This view focuses on how the exact interpretation of words and sentences depends on the comprehension of the triad of systematic relations among the word, object, and speaker. In the Daesoon Thought, the Former World is considered to be the world wherein all creations unfolded according to the principle of mutual contention. This led to the accumulation of grievances and grudges which condensed and filled the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. The Former World was dominated by Western material civilization, selfishness, and exclusivism. It was also a world where humans suffered from various natural disasters such as floods, droughts, plagues, and wildfires. The Former World lost the constant Dao and was overwhelmed with all kinds of disasters and calamities. That world fell into various kinds of wretchedness. The causes which made the Former World so cruel came from humans misunderstanding their relation to nature and life in general; including human life. The anthropocentric modern cosmology insisted that the human race was the only one to have the powers and rights to exercise dominion over nature. On the other hand, there is the Later World, which means the ideal and perfect, immanent eternal world for all humankind in Daesoon Thought. This world consists of life, peace, and equality and is also characterized by three typical attributes: goodness, peace, and all kinds of life. All living beings previously struggled for survival, but in the Later World, those lifeforms will embrace each other; even across different realms. In Daesoon Thought, the world and cosmos contain diverse forms of life, and human have both an earthly life and life in the after world should they die before the Later World. There are also the lives of divine beings and animals, and other such living entities. Daesoon Thought subsumes pan-vitalism, which allows they acknowledgement of myriad possible lifeforms. The concept of the Later World in Daesoon Thought, which mainly revealed in The Canonical Scripture and the words of Sangje (Kang Jeungsan), suggests that all kinds of life, including humans, animals, and even spirits in the afterworld, can live together in a perfect coming earthly paradise which is immanent. The concept of Injon can be interpreted though the view of transcendental pragmatics as an alternative to the typical views discussed in Daesoon Thought. Thinkers should attempt to improve current discourse on Injon in Daesoon Thought by focusing on the point that all kinds the original teachings demonstrate a value of all lifeforms. Therein, Injon would indicate not only the human nobility and dignity but also the nobility and dignity of divine beings, divine humans, and all other forms of life that have existed across time. The dimension of time allows for recognition of lifeforms from the Former World, the afterworld, and the Later World. This revised appraisal of Injon could further accommodate denizens of the afterworld, animals, ghosts and spirits, the earth and cloud souls of humans, and other lifeforms held to exist in the cosmology of Daesoon Thought.

Genotype analysis of Cryptosporidium spp. prevalent in a rural village in Hwasun-gun, Republic of Korea

  • PARK Jae-Hwan;GUK Sang-Mee;HAN Eun-Taek;SHIN Eun-Hee;KIM Jae-Lip;CHAI Jong-Yil
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.44 no.1 s.137
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    • pp.27-33
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    • 2006
  • Two species of Cryptosporidium are known to infect man; C. hominis which shows anthroponotic transmission between humans, and C. parvum which shows zoonotic transmission between animals or between animals and man. In this study, we focused on identifying genotypes of Cryptosporidium prevalent among inhabitants and domestic animals (cattle and goats), to elucidate transmittal routes in a known endemic area in Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea. The existence of Cryptosporidium oocysts was confirmed using a modified ZiehlNeelsen stain. Human infections were found in 7 $(25.9\%)$ of 27 people examined. Cattle cryptosporidiosis cases constituted 7 $(41.2\%)$ of 17 examined, and goat cases 3 $(42.9\%)$ of 7 examined. Species characterizations were performed on the small subunit of the rRNA gene using both PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis. Most of the human isolates were mixtures of C. hominis and C. parvum genotypes and similar PCR-RFLP patterns were observed in cattle and goat isolates. However, sequence analyses identified only C. hominis in all isolates examined. The natural infection of cattle and goats with C. hominis is a new and unique finding in the present study. It is suggested that human cryptosporidiosis in the studied area is caused by mixtures of C. hominis and C. parvum oocysts originating from both inhabitants and domestic animals.

Identification and Molecular Analysis of Ixodid Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Infesting Domestic Animals and Tick-Borne Pathogens at the Tarim Basin of Southern Xinjiang, China

  • Zhao, Li;Lv, Jizhou;Li, Fei;Li, Kairui;He, Bo;Zhang, Luyao;Han, Xueqing;Wang, Huiyu;Johnson, Nicholas;Lin, Xiangmei;Wu, Shaoqiang;Liu, Yonghong
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.58 no.1
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    • pp.37-46
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    • 2020
  • Livestock husbandry is vital to economy of the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China. However, there have been few surveys of the distribution of ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and tick-borne pathogens affecting domestic animals at these locations. In this study, 3,916 adult ixodid ticks infesting domestic animals were collected from 23 sampling sites during 2012-2016. Ticks were identified to species based on morphology, and the identification was confirmed based on mitochondrial 16S and 12S rRNA sequences. Ten tick species belonging to 4 genera were identified, including Rhipicephalus turanicus, Hyalomma anatolicum, Rh. bursa, H. asiaticum asiaticum, and Rh. sanguineus. DNA sequences of Rickettsia spp. (spotted fever group) and Anaplasma spp. were detected in these ticks. Phylogenetic analyses revealed possible existence of undescribed Babesia spp. and Borrelia spp. This study illustrates potential threat to domestic animals and humans from tick-borne pathogens.