Zoological Research Articles

Inhibitory Effect of Aqueous Extract of Sacoglottis gabonensis on Weight Gain in Swiss Mice Exposed to Aspartame

Aim: To evaluate the Inhibitory effect of aqueous extracts of Sacoglottis gabonensis on weight gain in Swiss mice exposed to aspartame. Study Design: The study was a completely randomized design employing relevant statistical tools for analysis and interpretation. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University. The experiment lasted for 90 days between April and June 2022. Methodology: A total of 30 adult male Swiss mice (mean weight 23.07±0.12g) were divided into six groups of five animals each. Group A was the negative control which received neither Sacoglottis gabonensis nor Aspartame, group B was the positive control which received 50mg/kg/bw/day of Aspartame only, group C received 50mg/kg/bw/day of Aspartame with 250mg/kg/bw/day of aqueous bark extract of S. gabonensis, group D received 50mg/kg/bw/day of Aspartame with 250mg/kg/bw/day of aqueous leaf extract of S. gabonensis, while groups E and F received 50mg/kg/bw/day of Aspartame with a combination of 250mg/kg/bw/day and 500mg/kg/bw/day of extracts of S. gabonensis bark and leaf extracts respectively. The experimental animals were weighed twice weekly for 30, 60 and 90 days duration and recorded to the nearest 0.01g. Mean weight from each duration was taken and subjected to statistical analysis using Statistical Analyses System SAS 9.4 Results: There was significant increase (p<0.05) in weight in the 30, 60 and 90-days exposure periods in group B. The groups that received the combination of aspartame and S. gabonensis particularly at higher doses showed a significant decrease in weight across the exposure periods when compared to the group that received aspartame only and the control group. Conclusion: This result suggests that S. gabonensis reduced aspartame-induced weight gain, indicating its potential benefits for weight management. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and health implications.

Pathogenicity potential of enterococci isolated from a Veterinary Biological Isolation and Containment Unit.

Enterococcus are considered an important genus in terms of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs), which means that their characterization regarding resistance and virulence profiles in the hospital environment is of extreme importance. This article addresses this issue through the characterization of enterococci collected from a Veterinary Biological Isolation and Containment Unit (BICU). A total of 73 isolates, collected from different surfaces of a Veterinary BICU, were identified as Enterococcus through PCR at species level, after which 34 isolates were selected as representatives using (GTG)5 fingerprinting. These isolates were further characterized phenotypically in terms of antimicrobial resistance through disk diffusion and of virulence factors' expression. The majority of the enterococci isolated presented resistance to erythromycin (79.4%), ampicillin (73.5%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (70.6%), tetracycline (67.6%), ciprofloxacin (58.8%) and levofloxacin (50.0%), and were able to produce hemolysin (88.2%) and biofilm (82.3%). Furthermore, in terms of pathogenicity, three isolates (8.8%) were classified as high threats and two (5.9%) as moderate threats. The degree of resistance, production of virulence factors and the percentage of isolates classified as moderate or high threat means that a constant vigilance of such strains in veterinary units, but also in clinics and hospitals in general, is an important tool in terms of infection prevention and consequent reduction of HAIs.

Evaluation and comparison of performances of six commercial NSP ELISA assays for foot and mouth disease virus in Thailand

ELISA kits that detect antibodies to the non-structural protein (NSP) of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), commonly referred to as NSP-ELISA, can distinguish between vaccinated and naturally infected animals. They can play an essential role in demonstrating ‘proof-of-freedom’ during the control of FMD. Although various NSP-ELISA kits are available in Thailand, information regarding their performance is lacking. To select the most appropriate NSP-ELISA kit for our specific purpose, we must compare their performance using carefully characterized sera. This will ensure that we maximize the benefits of our testing. In this study, six NSP-ELISA kits sold in Thailand―Biovet, ID Screen, VDPro, IDEXX, PrioCHECK, and KUcheck-F―were evaluated and compared. A total of 800 serum samples were examined, including samples from 357 cattle and 29 buffaloes in outbreak areas, as well as 14 swine serum samples from the Vaccine Quality Control Unit of the Bureau of Veterinary Biologics, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, Thailand. Four hundred samples were confirmed to originate from animals infected with FMDV through ELISA typing (n = 11, tested as representative samples in each farm) and/or RT-PCR (n = 400, all samples), serving as positive control sera. Additionally, 400 negative control sera were obtained from Japan (97 cattle and 300 pigs) and Australia (3 goats), certified by the World Organisation for Animal Health as ‘free of FMD’. The sensitivity and specificity of the six tests were determined based on the results obtained from two-by-two tables. Cohen’s kappa statistics were calculated for the six tests to assess their concordance, and the diagnostic accuracy of the assays was also determined. For all six NSP-ELISA kits, the sensitivity ranged from 97.75 to 99.50%, and the specificity ranged from 97.25 to 100%. Cohen’s kappa statistics ranged from 0.96 to 1.00, and diagnostic accuracy ranged from 98.13 to 99.75%. The study results indicated that the test kits have statistically similar sensitivity, specificity, concordance, and diagnostic accuracy, suggesting they can be used interchangeably. However, ID Screen demonstrated the highest sensitivity and specificity among all kits tested. Therefore, if a single kit were to be selected from the six evaluated, ID Screen would be the most appropriate choice. These findings can aid in selecting the most suitable test kit. Therefore, it is recommended to consider purchasing a diverse range of effective test kits. Furthermore, these findings can provide guidance for expanding the use of test kits, particularly with the growing availability of NSP-ELISA kits in the market.

Evaluation of Synthetic GnRH-Analog Peforelin with Regard to Oocyte Differentiation and Follicular Development in C57BL/6J Mice.

In biomedical research, ovulation induction is a critical step in the reproductive biology of laboratory animals. This study evaluates the efficacy of peforelin, a synthetic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog, in comparison to pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG, synonym: eCG), traditionally used for ovulation induction in mice. PMSG is derived from the serum of pregnant horses, and its production is becoming increasingly problematic due to animal welfare concerns and regulatory restrictions. The aim of this study was, therefore, to evaluate an ethically acceptable and less invasive alternative to PMSG. Female C57BL/6J mice, aged 3-4 weeks, were divided into two groups to receive either peforelin at three different concentrations or PMSG, followed by an injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to induce ovulation. Key outcomes included the number and quality of oocytes collected, fertilization rates, ovary morphology, and follicular differentiation. Although the number of oocytes was significantly lower in the peforelin cohort, the fertilization rate was high. Ovarian morphology was not significantly altered compared to the PMSG cohort. This study showed that peforelin is suitable for superovulation in mice. These results suggest that peforelin could be an ethically acceptable alternative to PMSG stimulation for inducing superovulation in mice.

Recommendations on bioacoustical metrics relevant for regulating exposure to anthropogenic underwater sounda).

Metrics to be used in noise impact assessment must integrate the physical acoustic characteristics of the sound field with relevant biology of animals. Several metrics have been established to determine and regulate underwater noise exposure to aquatic fauna. However, recent advances in understanding cause-effect relationships indicate that additional metrics are needed to fully describe and quantify the impact of sound fields on aquatic fauna. Existing regulations have primarily focused on marine mammals and are based on the dichotomy of sound types as being either impulsive or non-impulsive. This classification of sound types, however, is overly simplistic and insufficient for adequate impact assessments of sound on animals. It is recommended that the definition of impulsiveness be refined by incorporating kurtosis as an additional parameter and applying an appropriate conversion factor. Auditory frequency weighting functions, which scale the importance of particular sound frequencies to account for an animal's sensitivity to those frequencies, should be applied. Minimum phase filters are recommended for calculating weighted sound pressure. Temporal observation windows should be reported as signal duration influences its detectability by animals. Acknowledging that auditory integration time differs across species and is frequency dependent, standardized temporal integration windows are proposed for various signal types.

Effects of Aqueous Extracts of Costus afer and Vit. C Supplement on Renal Damage in Male Mice Subjected to Sub-chronic Exposure of Dichlorvos

Aim: To evaluate effects of aqueous extracts of Costus afer and Vit. C supplement on renal damage in male mice subjected to sub-chronic exposure of dichlorvos. Study Design: The study was a completely randomized design employing relevant statistical tools for analysis and interpretation. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University. The experiment lasted for 35 days between April and June 2023. Methodology: A total of 30 male mice were randomly selected into 6 groups (n=5). Group A was the control, B received Dichlorvos@25mg/kg/bw/day, C & D received 100% vitamin C and Costus afer at 250mg/kg/bw/day only. Groups E & F were coadministered Dichlorvos with Vitamin C and 100% extract of Costusaferat 250mg/kg/bw/day respectively. At the end of the treatment period, blood samples were collected for analysis. Total protein was analyzed using the spectrophotometric method of biuret, Bradford and erythrosine – b, albumin was estimated, creatinine and urea was done using enzymatic method.Histological sections of the kidney were mounted on slides, stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Photomicrographs were generated. Results: All kidney biomarkers examined increased significantly (p=0.05) in group B administered Dichlorvos only but decreased in groups administered the vit C and Costusafer respectively. Histopathological analysis of the kidney shows the regular structure of the kidney architecture in group A. Glomeruli shrinkage, necrosis and degeneration of nephrons were observed in group B, while less pronounced changes were observed in groups C-F co-administered with Vit C and Costus afer. However, group E shows fully regenerated nephrons while few depleted nephronic cells were still observed in group F despite coadministration of Costus afer. Conclusion: Based on the results, Vit C supplement shows more potent, therapeutic properties against kidney damage in male mice subjected to sub-chronic exposure of Dichlorvos compared toCostusafer.

Volumetric versus Element-scaling Mass Estimation and Its Application to Permo-Triassic Tetrapods.

Size has an impact on various aspects of an animal's biology, including physiology, biomechanics, and ecology. Accurately and precisely estimating size, in particular body mass, is therefore a core objective of paleobiologists. Two approaches for estimating body mass are common: whole-body volumetric models and individual element-scaling (e.g., bones, teeth). The latter has been argued to be more accurate, while the former more precise. Here, we use minimum convex hulls (MCHs) to generate a predictive volumetric model for estimating body mass across a broad taxonomic and size range (127 g - 2735 kg). We compare our MCH model to stylopodial-scaling, incorporating data from the literature, and find that MCH body mass estimation is both more accurate and more precise than stylopodial estimation. An explanation for the difference between methods is that reptile and mammal stylopod circumference and length dimensions scale differentially (slope 1.179±0.102 vs. 1.038±0.031, respectively), such that reptiles have more robust bones for a given size. Consequently, a mammalian-weighted stylopodial-scaling sample overestimates the body mass of larger reptiles, and this error increases with size. We apply both estimation equations to a sample of 12 Permo-Triassic tetrapods and find that stylopodial-scaling consistently estimates a higher body mass than MCH estimation, due to even more robust bones in extinct species (slope=1.319±0.213). Finally, we take advantage of our MCH models to explore constraints regarding the position of the center of mass (CoM) and find that relative body proportions (i.e., skull:tail ratio) influence CoM position differently in mammals, crocodylians, and Permo-Triassic tetrapods. Further, we find that clade-specific body segment expansion factors do not affect group comparisons but may be important for individual specimens with rather disproportionate bodies (e.g., the small-headed and large-tailed Edaphosaurus). Our findings suggest that the whole-body volumetric approach is better suited for estimating body mass than element-scaling when anatomies are beyond the scope of the sample used to generate the scaling equations and provides added benefits such as the ability to measure inertial properties.

Anatomy of the Right and Left Ventricular Subvalvular Apparatus of the Horse (Equus caballus).

Due to the growing interest among veterinarians and the increasing market demands, the development of equine cardiology is necessary. Currently, veterinary medicine for companion animals needs to catch up to human medicine-equine medicine included. A common condition in older horses is aortic valve regurgitation resulting from fibrosis, while its more severe form occurs in younger horses or develops due to a bacterial infection. Mitral valve regurgitation, especially dangerous due to the possibility of sudden death, has a better prognosis if the horse has valve prolapse. Tricuspid valve regurgitation usually does not pose a clinical problem, although its severe cases may lead to heart failure. Some pathologies can be treated surgically, which requires excellent knowledge of anatomy. The object of this study consisted of twenty domestic horse hearts. The focus was on the normal and comparative anatomy of the left and right subvalvular apparatus. The number of muscular bellies of the papillary muscles and the type of connection of the muscles were analysed. Moreover, the height of muscle originating from the ventricle wall was determined, the morphological regularity of the papillary muscle was assessed, and the chordae tendineae originating from the papillary muscles were examined. The conducted research allowed for comparing domestic horses with different species through other studies, the authors of which described this particular aspect. Interspecies similarities which may be correlated with the evolutionary relatedness, as well as differences that could reflect adaptation to different lifestyles, environmental conditions, or metabolic requirements of the animals, have been found. This study expands the knowledge of animals' normal and comparative anatomy, and contributes to the development of veterinary surgery, internal medicine, and biology.

Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Poultry Chicken Slaughtered and Sold in Uyo Metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) are important biological enemies causing poor health in poultry, thereby causing significant reduction in harvest. This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of poultry chickens slaughtered in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. One hundred and fifty (150) intestinal contents of poultry chickens slaughtered were collected from poultry dressing units in market within Uyo metropolis and kept in polythene bags, and then transported to the Animal and Environmental Biology laboratory of the University of Uyo for analysis. The gizzard, small and large intestine and caeca were assessed for GIP. The method employed in this assessment was Direct Wet Mount following other standard methods. The parasites were analyses by microscopic examination of the fecal smears, thereafter identification of parasite. Five species were encountered in this study: Ascaris galli (32.76%) had the highest, followed by of Eimeria tenella (25.86%), Raillietina tetragona (16.39%) and Histomonas meleagridisis (16.39%). The least was recorded in Heterakis gallinarum (10.34%). Among the 67 (male) and 83 (female) samples, 34.38% and 65.62% respectively recorded positive. Ascaris galli, being the most prevalent was seen in 38 samples and Histomonas meleagridisis (the lowest) was seen in only 12 samples. > 12 weeks age group recorded lowest prevalence (9.3%) while 8-12 weeks had highest (19.30%). This study reveals that 39.12% had single parasitic infection, while mixed had 60.94%. Based on these results, poultry in Uyo farms are affected with gastrointestinal parasitic infection. Therefore, it is recommended that farmer should improve upon their management skills and issues concerning hygiene.

Multi-Omics Integrative Analysis to Reveal the Impacts of Shewanella algae on the Development and Lifespan of Marine Nematode Litoditis marina.

Understanding how habitat bacteria affect animal development, reproduction, and aging is essential for deciphering animal biology. Our recent study showed that Shewanella algae impaired Litoditis marina development and lifespan, compared with Escherichia coli OP50 feeding; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, multi-omics approaches, including the transcriptome of both L. marina and bacteria, as well as the comparative bacterial metabolome, were utilized to investigate how bacterial food affects animal fitness and physiology. We found that genes related to iron ion binding and oxidoreductase activity pathways, such as agmo-1, cdo-1, haao-1, and tdo-2, were significantly upregulated in L. marina grown on S. algae, while extracellular structural components-related genes were significantly downregulated. Next, we observed that bacterial genes belonging to amino acid metabolism and ubiquinol-8 biosynthesis were repressed, while virulence genes were significantly elevated in S. algae. Furthermore, metabolomic analysis revealed that several toxic metabolites, such as puromycin, were enriched in S. algae, while many nucleotides were significantly enriched in OP50. Moreover, we found that the "two-component system" was enriched in S. algae, whereas "purine metabolism" and "one-carbon pool by folate" were significantly enriched in E. coli OP50. Collectively, our data provide new insights to decipher how diet modulates animal fitness and biology.

Future of Immune Modulation in Animal Agriculture.

Immune modulation in animal agriculture has been of research interest for several decades, yet only a few immunomodulators have received regulatory approval in the United States and around the world. In this review, we summarize market and regulatory environments impacting commercial development of immunomodulators for use in livestock and poultry. In the United States, very few immunomodulators have received regulatory approval for use in livestock by either the US Department of Agriculture Center for Veterinary Biologics or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To date, only one immunomodulator has received FDA approval, and an extensive body of peer-reviewed literature is available regarding the basis for its use and health benefits. We present a more thorough review of the history and impact of this immune restorative. Finally, we discuss the interaction of immunomodulators on health, metabolism, and other factors impacting the future of immune modulation in livestock.

HEALTH EDUCATION: INFORMATION TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS WITH SCORPIONS

We aimed to describe an experience of developing and applying a Didactic Sequence (DS), which included an educational game designed to study scorpion sting prevention. We developed a didactic game titled "Journey against Scorpionism." The DS unfolded in three stages: firstly, we conducted a dialogued expository class to address the topic of scorpionism. In the second stage, we showcased specimens of scorpions to the students. The third stage involved the application of the didactic game. The project was implemented in five public schools in the city of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil, involving both primary and secondary school students. Approximately 150 students took part in the activities, with an average of 30 students per class. We observed a keen interest among the students regarding the topic, with active participation as they shared stories related to scorpion stings or sought clarification on the subject. This engagement fostered a moment of significant interaction. When we presented the scorpions, there was a palpable enthusiasm for learning about the animal's biology. As the students engaged with the didactic game, we noted that it effectively reinforced the knowledge they had acquired. We believe that these educational initiatives have the potential to contribute to the prevention of scorpionism and, consequently, to reduce mortality resulting from such incidents.

The La Voulte-sur-Rhône Konservat-Lagerstätte reveals the male and female internal anatomy of the Middle Jurassic clawed lobster Eryma ventrosum

The biology of extinct animals is usually reconstructed from external morphological characters and comparison with present-day analogues. Internal soft organs are very rarely preserved in fossils and require high-tech approaches for visualization. Here, we report the internal anatomy of a female and male of the ~ 162 Myr-old lobster Eryma ventrosum from the Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Konservat-Lagerstätte in France using X-ray synchrotron tomography. The Erymidae is an extinct, species-rich, widespread and ecologically important Mesozoic family of decapod crustaceans. Our investigation revealed the anatomy of the locomotory, respiratory, circulatory, excretory, digestive, nervous and sensory, and reproductive systems at a resolution resembling low-magnification histology. Particularly notable is the detailed preservation of the small brain and the fragile hepatopancreas, the main metabolic organ of decapods that decays rapidly post-mortem. The remarkable preservation shows that the internal anatomy of Eryma ventrosum is closer to that of Nephropidae (clawed lobsters) than Astacidae (freshwater crayfish), their closest living relatives based on skeletal morphology. The microanatomy of the gonads and hepatopancreas indicates that the two specimens investigated were a young, well-nourished female and male prior to sexual maturity. The analysis of the soft anatomy reveals remarkable conservatism over 160 Myr and offers new insights into feeding, reproduction, life history and lifestyle of an important component of the macrozoobenthos of Middle Jurassic seas.

The Utility of the Koala Scat: A Scoping Review.

The use of samples or scats to provide important ecological, genetic, disease and physiology details on free-range populations is gaining popularity as an alternative non-invasive methodology. Koala populations in SE Queensland and NSW have recently been listed as endangered and continue to face anthropomorphic and stochastic environmental impacts that could potentially lead to their extinction. This scoping review examines the current and potential utility of the koala scat to contribute data relevant to the assessment of koala conservation status and decision making. Although we demonstrate that there is great potential for this methodology in providing details for both individual wild animal and population biology (distribution, abundance, sex ratio, immigration/emigration, genetic diversity, evolutionary significant unit, disease epidemiology, nutrition, reproductive status and stress physiology), the calibre of this information is likely to be a function of the quality of the scat that is sampled.

Lizard Body Temperature Acquisition and Lizard Recognition Using Artificial Intelligence.

The acquisition of the body temperature of animals kept in captivity in biology laboratories is crucial for several studies in the field of animal biology. Traditionally, the acquisition process was carried out manually, which does not guarantee much accuracy or consistency in the acquired data and was painful for the animal. The process was then switched to a semi-manual process using a thermal camera, but it still involved manually clicking on each part of the animal's body every 20 s of the video to obtain temperature values, making it a time-consuming, non-automatic, and difficult process. This project aims to automate this acquisition process through the automatic recognition of parts of a lizard's body, reading the temperature in these parts based on a video taken with two cameras simultaneously: an RGB camera and a thermal camera. The first camera detects the location of the lizard's various body parts using artificial intelligence techniques, and the second camera allows reading of the respective temperature of each part. Due to the lack of lizard datasets, either in the biology laboratory or online, a dataset had to be created from scratch, containing the identification of the lizard and six of its body parts. YOLOv5 was used to detect the lizard and its body parts in RGB images, achieving a precision of 90.00% and a recall of 98.80%. After initial calibration, the RGB and thermal camera images are properly localised, making it possible to know the lizard's position, even when the lizard is at the same temperature as its surrounding environment, through a coordinate conversion from the RGB image to the thermal image. The thermal image has a colour temperature scale with the respective maximum and minimum temperature values, which is used to read each pixel of the thermal image, thus allowing the correct temperature to be read in each part of the lizard.

Individual and group behavioral responses to nutritional state and context in a social fish

Understanding how animal collectives and societies form and function is a fundamental goal in animal biology. To date, research examining fish shoaling behavior has focused mostly on the general principles and ecological relevance of the phenomeon, while the ways in which physiological state (e.g., nutrition) affects collective behavior remain overlooked. Here, we investigated the shoaling behavior of common minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) with three different nutritional states (control treatment: fasting for 24 h, fasting treatment: fasting for 7 days, and digestion treatment: 1 h after satiation feeding) across two ecological contexts (i.e., without and with food). No effects of either nutritional state or context were found on swimming speed, but the acceleration was greater in the digestion group than in the control group, with that in the fasting group being intermediate. Similar to change tendency in group length and group width of shoals, both interindividual distance and nearest neighbor distance were also greater in the fasting group than in the digestion group, suggesting that fasting and digestion may exert opposite driving forces on group cohesion. However, neither nutritional state nor context influenced the group area, group speed, group percent time moving, or group polarization. Both the foraging efficiency and the percentage of food items consumed by the fish shoals were greater in the fasting and control groups than in the digestion group. Our study suggested that one week of hunger and the energetically demanding stage of food digestion tend to have opposite influences on group shape, while the social foraging context does not influence the individual and group behavior of fish.

Unveiling the power of proteomics in advancing tropical animal health and production.

Proteomics, the large-scale study of proteins in biological systems has emerged as a pivotal tool in the field of animal and veterinary sciences, mainly for investigating local and rustic breeds. Proteomics provides valuable insights into biological processes underlying animal growth, reproduction, health, and disease. In this review, we highlight the key proteomics technologies, methodologies, and their applications in domestic animals, particularly in the tropical context. We also discuss advances in proteomics research, including integration of multi-omics data, single-cell proteomics, and proteogenomics, all of which are promising for improving animal health, adaptation, welfare, and productivity. However, proteomics research in domestic animals faces challenges, such as sample preparation variation, data quality control, privacy and ethical considerations relating to animal welfare. We also provide recommendations for overcoming these challenges, emphasizing the importance of following best practices in sample preparation, data quality control, and ethical compliance. We therefore aim for this review to harness the full potential of proteomics in advancing our understanding of animal biology and ultimately improve animal health and productivity in local breeds of diverse animal species in a tropical context.

Ecogeographic rules in a common Neotropical treefrog: No clinal variation along a mountain range

AbstractBody and limb size are associated with many aspects of the biology of animals. Geographic variation in morphological traits has often been investigated through ecogeographical rules. Bergmann's rule posits an inverse relationship between body size and temperature in homeotherms, while Allen's rule posits that endothermic animals inhabiting colder climates have relatively shorter protruding parts (e.g., limbs) in comparison to populations from warmer climates. However, the applicability and validity of these rules in poikilotherms are currently contentious. In this study, we aimed to test predictions of Bergmann's and Allen's rules in populations of the Neotropical frog Boana platanera. We analysed 142 adult male museum specimens from 17 localities along a mountain range in western Venezuela. We obtained six external morphological measurements and assessed the correlation of body size and limb size with temperature data for each locality. Our results were contrary to the expectations but consistent with previous studies. All this together indicates that exceptions to the Bergmann's and Allen's rules are frequent and idiosyncratic in anurans. We discuss alternative hypotheses that could explain geographic variation of body and limb size in future studies.

Prescription platform and autogenous vaccines – what are they and what is the difference?

Autogenous vaccines – farm- and ranch-specific – have been used for decades to prevent and control diseases where com­mercial vaccines have not been effective. Since the 1970s, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) has regulated the production of autogenous vaccines that are produced for interstate and intrastate use. In 2018, CVB extended this “autogenous” production to platform technology which allows an opportunity for a wider number of agents to have “prescription” vaccines developed. These “pre­scription” platform (RxP) vaccines can express the important immunizing antigens rather than the whole organism in tradi­tional inactivated autogenous vaccines There is a difference in the specificity and safety of autogenous and RxP vaccines, but both need to be administered with an adjuvant. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. These vaccines are tested for safety and purity, but there is no guarantee of efficacy.

Investigation of Parasites and Microbial Load in Local Beverages Sold by Vendors in the Port Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria

Aim: To determine the prevalence and distribution of gastrointestinal parasites and microbes in Fura da Nono, Gbagaba (Washing and setting), Agbo-iba (Malaria) and Agbo-jedi jedi sold by street vendors in Rivers State. Study Design: A total of 216 samples were procured randomly from eight different locations. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Animal and Environmental Biology [parasitology unit), University of Port Harcourt, from March - July 2022. Methodology: The 216 samples were examined for gastrointestinal parasites using the Concentration method, while 120 of the samples selected based on type and location were examined for bacteria and fungi using standard microbial techniques. Results: out of the 216 samples examined, 105(48.61%) local made drinks were contaminated with parasites as follows; Gbagagba (washing & setting) 48(81.3%), Agbo jedi-jedi 24(44.4%), Agbo Iba 22(40.7%) and Fura da Nono 11(20.4%) with the following species of parasites; Hookworm 48(22.2%), Ascaris lumbricoides 34(15.7%), and Trichuris trichiura 23(10.6%) p=.05. Of the120 local drinks subjected to bacterial evaluation, 92(76.67%) were positive for bacteria as follows; Fura da Nono 26(86.7%), Agbo jedi-jedi 24(80%), Gbagagba 22(73.3%), and Agbo jedi jedi 20(66.7%), with the following species of bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus 49(40.83%), Escherichia coli 16(13.3%) and Klebsiella spp 27(22.5%) p=.05. while 73(60.8%) was positive for fungi as follows; Fura da Nono 22(73.3%), Agbo Jedi-Jedi 21(70%), Gbagagba 12(56.7%) and Ago-Iba 13(43.2%). Candida species were the only fungi observed in the drinks. This study has shown various microorganisms present in locally made drinks which could have resulted from contaminated soils or poor hygiene during preparation processes. Conclusion: Street vendors who produce these drinks should be regularly trained on safe handling of their products and send them to approved laboratories for quality assessment before marketing.