Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in the Frugivorous and the Insectivorous Bats in Southcentral Nepal

Bats are the only active flying placental mammals and are traditionally classified into mega- and microbats, which are, respectively, herbivorous and insectivorous in feeding habit. Though deforestation, habitat destruction, natural calamities, illegal hunting, and climate changes are the challenging threats for bats, the role of existing gastrointestinal (GI) parasites have not been evaluated yet in Nepal. Thus, the current study aims to determine the prevalence of GI parasites in bats from the Shaktikhor area at the Chitwan district of Southcentral Nepal. From July 2018 to February 2019, a total of 60 fecal samples of bats (30 from frugivorous bats and 30 from the insectivorous bats) were collected. These samples were preserved at 2.5% potassium dichromate solution. The fecal examination was carried out by the direct wet mount, concentrations, acid-fast staining, and sporulation techniques. Overall results showed the prevalence rate of 80% GI parasites. The parasites detected in the insectivorous bats were Ascarid spp., Capillarid sp., Cryptosporidium sp., Eimeria spp., Entamoeba sp., Giardia sp., Hymenolepis spp., Isospora sp., Oxyurid sp., Strongyle, and Strongyloides sp. In contrast, Eimeria sp., Entamoeba sp., and Hymenolepis sp. were detected in the frugivorous bats. Based on a wide diversity of parasite richness and parasitic concurrency measured by the prevalence rates, we suggest that GI parasitism might be a threatening factor in the insectivorous bats in the current study area.

In vitro anticoccidial activity of Vitis vinifera extract on oocysts of different Eimeria species of Broiler Chicken

In the current experiment, the in vitro anticoccidial effect of Vitis venifera (grape seed) extract was evaluated. For this purpose, an in vitro sporulation inhbition assay was used. Collected oocysts of four Eimeria species (E. tenella, E. necatrix, E. brunetti and E. mitis) were exposed to six different concentrations (w/v) of Vitis vinifera extract (VVE) in 10% Dimethylsulphoxide solution (DMSO), while Dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) and Potassium dichromate solution (K2Cr2O7) served as control groups. The results of the present study revealed that V. vinifera extract showed inhibitory effect on sporulation (%) and damage (%) of Eimeria oocysts in a dose dependent manner as compared to both control groups. V. vinifera extract also damaged the morhology of oocysts in terms of shape, size and number of sporocysts.

2024 ALUMINUM OXIDE FILMS PREPARED BY THE INNOVATIVE AND ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY OXIDATION TECHNOLOGY

A kind of environment-friendly anodic oxidation technology was used to oxidize 2024 aluminum alloys from mixed acid solutions to effectively improve the anticorrosion and mechanical performances. The influences of anode oxidation method on surface morphology, microstructure, composition, electrochemistry parameter, anticorrosion property were studied. Aluminum alloy oxidation is actually a dynamic equilibrium process of the formation and dissolution of oxide film which is composed of porous and non-porous layer. With the treatment of anodic oxidation, [Formula: see text]-Al2O3 and [Formula: see text]-Al2O3 structures were obtained on the surface of aluminum alloys, which contributed directly to the increase of anticorrosion performance. The potassium dichromate solution was used to seal the surface of oxide films to further improve the anticorrosion property. The oxide films sealed with potassium dichromate were covered with leaf-like structures resulting in larger corrosion resistance that attributed directly to the decrease of corrosion current.

Diversity and prevalence of gut parasites in urban macaques

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are commonly found to inhabit various religious sites and cities in Nepal. Similar to other nonhuman primates, they are also the natural or reservoir host of several gut parasites. However, the status of gut parasitism, particularly in the urban dweller macaques, remains largely unexplored in the country. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and diversity of gut parasites in the monkeys inhabiting Bajrabarahee, an urban temple area in Lalitpur District, Nepal. A total of 42 fresh fecal samples of macaques belonging to five different troops, were collected and preserved in 2.5% (w/v) potassium dichromate solution. The fecal samples were processed by direct wet mount, concentration, and acid-fast techniques and examined under an optical microscope. All the fecal samples were positive with gut parasites. The parasites detected were Ascarid spp., Balantidium coli, Cryptosporidium sp., Eimeria sp., Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba spp., Giardia sp., hookworm, Strongyloides sp., Strongylid spp., Trichomonas sp., and Trichuris sp. Cent percent prevalence rate and high species richness with 12 parasites may indicate that they have impact on the gut health of these monkeys. This suggests the need of deworming the macaque population and enhancing public awareness for pro-active control of parasitic infection as well as of adopting the preventive measures to lessen the zoonotic transmission of the pathogenic parasites.

Green Synthesis of Chromium Nanoparticles by Aqueous Extract of Melia azedarach, Artemisia herba-alba and Bacteria Fragments against Erwinia amylovora

This study was carried out at the Tissue Culture and Germplasm Conservation Research Laboratory, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt. in cooperation with Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University, Egypt. from 2016 to 2020. Medicinal plants contain many reduction substances e.g. terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, and glycosides. Melia azedarach and Artemisia herba-alba are rich in these compounds that are able to reduce chromium metal (VI) to chromium nanoparticles (Cr2O3). Chromium oxide nanoparticles were green synthesized by the reduction of potassium dichromate solution with Melia azedarach and Artemisia herba-alba plant extract. In biological methods, Cr2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized by two biological agents of Erwinia amylovora dry matter and extraction. The resulting Cr2O3 nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy. The antibacterial effect of Cr2O3 nanoparticles against E. amylovora gave the highest inhibition zone for Cr2O3 nanoparticles reduction by Artemisia followed by Melia (31.0 and 25.0 mm respectively). These particles were shown to have an effective bactericide on contaminated callus pear cells by Erwinia bacteria which gave survival 75% and 50% and 0.0% contamination.

Anticoccidial Activity of Aloe debrana and Aloe pulcherrima Leaf Gel against Eimeria Oocysts

Avian coccidiosis is one of the serious infectious diseases that pose huge impact on the health and production of poultry, hence mainly controlled by regular use of prophylactic and therapeutic chemical drugs. Frequent use of anticoccidial drugs, however, has resulted in the development of resistance in the Eimeria species and concerns about drug residues which have stimulated the efforts to search for alternative. Aloe pulcherrima and Aloe debrana are some of the endemic Aloe species of Ethiopia which are traditionally used for the treatment of various infectious diseases. In this study, an in vitro trial was undertaken to evaluate the effect of Aloe debrana and A. pulcherrima leaf gel infusions on the inhibition of the sporulation of oocysts of mixed Eimeria species isolated from naturally infected chickens. In this assay, petri dishes containing unsporulated coccidian oocysts at a dose of 1500 oocysts/ml of fecal solution were randomly assigned to 10, 15, 25, and 30% w/v crude gel infusion of both aloe species in 1% potassium dichromate solution while Amprolium and distilled water served as control groups. The results of this study show that 10, 15, 25, and 3 0% w/v gel infusions at the tested concentrations have anticoccidial activity as evidenced by their ability to decrease significantly (P<0.05) the sporulation of Eimeria oocysts relative to the control incubation. The efficacy of A. debrana was found significantly better (P<0.05) than A. pulcherrima at different concentrations. However, A. debrana at 30% concentration showed significantly higher (P<0.05) sporulation inhibition efficacy of 79.35% (CI: 75.99-83.21) compared to A. pulcherrima (69.17%, CI: 64.65-73.92) at similar concentration in relation to the control incubation, though this could not be compared to Amprolium which was more effective (P<0.05) with an inhibition percentage of 90.54% (CI: 89.16-92.21). This study has shown that there is potential for use of Aloe debrana leaf gel for the control of avian coccidiosis and as a chemotherapeutic, though much research is needed to determine absolute concentration which will make it comparable to commercially available drugs in terms of efficacy.

Prevalence of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites of Rhesus Macaque (Macaca Mulatta Zimmermann, 1780) and Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecus Entellus Dufresne, 1797) In Devghat, Chitwan, Nepal

The present investigation was undertaken to study the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in Rhesus Macaque and Hanuman Langur at Devghat, Chitwan. Altogether 93 fresh faecal samples were collected from Rhesus Macaque belonging to five troops and Hanuman Langur of two troops. About 10 gm of faecal material was collected in sterile vials with 2.5% potassium dichromate solution. These samples were examined microscopically by faecal concentration methods viz. floatation technique and sedimentation technique. Out of 93 samples, 69 (74.20%) were found positive for at least one parasite. Prevalence of helminth and protozoan parasites was 52.68% and 40.86% respectively. Altogether, 10 species of parasites including seven helminth and three protozoa were identified based on morphological characteristics of their eggs and cysts under light microscopy. The most commonly detected parasites were Balantidium coli (27.95%) followed by Eimeria sp. (16.12%), Entamoeba sp. (13.97%), Trichuris sp. (23.65%), Ascaris sp. (11.82%), Strongyloides sp. (10.75%), Oesophagostomum sp. (5.37%), Hookworm sp. (3.22%), Trichostrongylus sp. (3.22%) and Hymenolepis sp. (1.07%). Unidentified larvae of nematode which account for 6.45% of total samples were also recorded. Single, double, triple and multiple species of parasites were found in 36.55%, 29.03%, 6.45% and 2.15% samples respectively. Journal of Institute of Science and TechnologyVolume 22, Issue 2, January 2018, Page: 12-18