Mapping Veterinary Curricula to Enhance World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Day 1 Competence of Veterinary Graduates

Curriculum mapping provides a systematic approach for analyzing the conformity of an educational program with a given set of standards. The Chiang Mai University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine joined together in an educational twinning project to map their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curricula against core competencies identified by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as critically important for Day 1 veterinary graduates to meet the needs for global public good services. Details of curriculum coverage for each specific and advanced competency were collected through a review of syllabi and course descriptions, followed by in-depth interviews of key faculty members. The depth of coverage of each competency was estimated by the tabulating the number of hours assigned. The teaching methods and levels of learning were also captured. While the overall design of the curricula conformed to the OIE Guidelines for Veterinary Education Core Curricula, the mapping process identified variability in the depth and breadth of coverage on individual competencies. Coverage of the Day 1 Specific Competencies was greater early in the curricula. More gaps existed in terms of the Advanced Competencies than the specific core competencies. Discussion of the identified gaps with faculty members led to opportunities for strengthening the curricula by adjustments of individual courses throughout the curricula. Documentation of teaching methods also led to professional development of new pedagogical skills and redesign of the teaching methods for particular subjects.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Streptococcus spp. isolated from tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) cultured in river-based cage and earthen ponds in Northern Thailand

Streptococcus spp. are major pathogenic bacteria associated with massive mortality in tilapia. This study investigated the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) and Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae) isolated from tilapia in river-based floating cage and earthen pond farms in northern Thailand. Isolates were identified by biochemical and molecular analyses. Capsular typing, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction and multilocus sequence typing were performed to investigate the genetic relatedness. Six and one isolates were confirmed as GBS and S. iniae, respectively. All Streptococcus spp. isolates were obtained from 4 river-based cage farms (4/33), while samples collected from earthen pond farms (N = 28) were negative for streptococcosis. All GBS with serotype Ⅲ and sequence type (ST) 283 was observed. The β-haemolytic GBS isolates were resistant to five antimicrobials, while the S. iniae was susceptible to all antimicrobials. This study indicates both GBS and S. iniae are the major bacterial pathogens responsible for streptococcosis infection in farmed tilapia of northern Thailand with GBS as dominant species. This survey highlights that the river-based cage farms seriously impact on the healthy development of the tilapia industry.

Prevalence of Salmonella in marketed Penaeus monodon shrimps in North Western Province, Sri Lanka

The examination of a total of 180 samples from both captured and cultured shrimps from Sri Lanka for the presence of Salmonella revealed an overall prevalence of 12.8%. The prevalence of Salmonella in captured shrimps and cultured shrimps was 14.4% and 11.1% respectively, but thedifference was not statistically significant (p = 0.66). The serovar most frequently isolated was S. Newport (47.8% of the isolates), followed by S. Weltevreden (8.7%).

Healing pattern of bone defects covered by different membrane types--a histologic study in the porcine mandible

Few investigations on guided bone regeneration (GBR) focus on the behaviour of tissues adjacent to barrier membranes. This study was conducted to (1) evaluate the barrier function potential of different resorbable and nonresorbable membranes for GBR, (2) investigate their structural changes after different intervals, and (3) characterize tissue composition and reaction adjacent to the barrier by qualitative histologic evaluation. Seven barriers for GBR were used per animal (made of dense or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (d/ePTFE), titanium, polyetherurethane, collagen and two polylactide-polyglycolide-/-trimethylenecarbonate-co-polymers (PLPG, LPGTC) in standardized defects not exceeding the critical size) without using bone substitution material or autogenous bone at the right inferior margin of the mandibles of six domestic pigs. Samples of the defect areas with membranes were harvested after 2 days (one animal), 4 and 8 (two animals, each) and 12 weeks (one animal), respectively. The healing of bone defects was completed in all animals after 12 weeks. Nonresorbable barriers prevented the soft tissue in-growth into standardized defects. Thinner layers of fibrous tissue were seen underneath the dense and rigid barriers (dPTFE, titanium) when compared with collagen and PLPG/LPGTC, in which soft-tissue plugs occupied the crestal defect portion. PLPG-/LPGTC-barriers underwent structural changes after 4 weeks and revealed blistered central layers, whereas structural changes were not evident in nonresorbable barriers. The degradation of PLPG-/LPGTC-membranes was present with in-growth of fibres, vessels, and cells. Using collagen or synthetic polymer barriers for GBR, the application of bone or bone substitutes to prevent membrane prolapse into the defect is suggested.

Cloning, expression and functional analysis of a novel-chemokine gene of Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, containing two additional cysteines and an extra fourth exon

A CC chemokine gene (JFCCL3) was cloned and sequenced from Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. The JFCCL3 cDNA contains an open reading frame of 288 nucleotides encoding 95 amino acid residues. The predicted amino acid sequence of JFCCL3 showed the conserved cysteine of the beta chemokine plus two additional cysteines. The genomic sequence consists of two isoforms: JFCCL3.1 and JFCCL3.2 with sizes of 1.8 and 1.2kb, respectively. Both isoforms contain three introns and four exons. RT-PCR showed that JFCCL3 is constitutively expressed in most tissues including lymphoid organs. Using quantitative real-time RT-PCR, the highest expression of JFCCL3 transcripts was observed in PBLs at 3h post-stimulation with Con A/PMA and at 1h post-stimulation with LPS. A phylogenetic analysis showed that JFCCL3 is more closely related to fractalkines than to other mammalian beta chemokines. A chemotaxis assay showed that recombinant JFCCL3 protein has bioactivity for Japanese flounder leukocyte attraction at concentrations from 0.01 to 10 microg/ml.

Identification of a novel Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) CC chemokine gene and an analysis of its function

A cDNA of Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) CC chemokine designated as Paol-SCYA104 was cloned and sequenced. The cDNA contains an opening reading frame of 315 nucleotides encoding 104 amino acid residues. The full gene was cloned and sequenced from a BAC library. It has a length of approximately 750 bp from the start codon to the stop codon and is composed of four exons and three introns. Four cysteine residues are conserved in the same positions as those of mammalian and fish CC chemokines. Paol-SCYA104 gene was expressed in several organs, including peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs), head kidney, trunk kidney, and spleen. The recombinant Paol-SCYA104 was expressed in Escherichia coli and the expressed protein was partially purified. The recombinant Paol-SCYA104 was able to attract Japanese flounder PBLs in a microchemotaxis chamber. On the other hand, a negative control, the fraction of the control cells carrying an expression vector lacking the Paol-SCYA104 cDNA, did not show chemotactic activity. These results indicate that Paol-SCYA104 probably acts as a CC chemokine.