Artificial feeding of Ornithodoros fonsecai (Acari: Argasidae) with the anticoagulant Alsever

Ornithodoros fonsecai is a species of argasid tick endemic to Brazil, described in the “São Miguel” cave located in the municipality of Bonito, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, central-western region of Brazil. The artificial feeding technique makes it possible to study the biology of hematophagous arthropods using artificial or natural membranes, as well as different types of blood and anticoagulants. Thus, the aim of the present study was to feed artificially O. fonsecai second instar (N2) nymphs with rabbit blood using parafilm membrane and the anticoagulant Alsever. Ninety percent of the total N2 nymphs engorged and molted to N3 nymphs between 27 and 30 days after feeding, indicating that the use of this anticoagulant is efficient for artificially feeding O. fonsecai N2 nymphs under laboratory conditions.

Evaluation of the hemogram of Oryctolagus cuniculus envenomus

The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the hemolysing action of Naja nigricollis venom on rabbit blood. To carry out this study, three batches of three rabbits were formed with two control batches and one experimental batch. Each control lot is composed of three rabbits (males or females) while the experimental lot is composed of two males and one female. Each rabbit from the control lots was separately collected in the purple tube (EDTA) and transported to the laboratory for analysis. The rabbits from the experimental batch were also collected distinctly a few minutes after the injection of the venom of Naja nigricollis for the analysis of haematological parameters. However, before the analysis of the hematological parameters of the rabbits from the control and experimental batches, an in vitro hemolysis test of Naja nigricollis venom was performed to verify its hemolysing power. The results showed that Naja nigricollis venom has a dose-dependent in vitro hemolysing power. As for the haemogram, it revealed that the venom of Naja nigricollis has a decreasing effect on blood cells (red and white blood cells), on haemoglobin and on haematocrit, and an elevation on MGVs thus promoting anaemia.

Prevention of mineral metabolism of disorders in lactating rabbits

Considerable damage to rabbit breeding is caused by the loss of production by eating or trampling newborn rabbits by their mothers. The main reason is the weakening of the organism due to deficiency of nutrients (high quality protein) and of biologically active substances in the diet. It is relevant today to search for non-toxic and highly effective complex preventive drugs, which have a positive effect on the mineral metabolism in animal organism. The research was carried out on the farm of Kyiv region. We studied the morphological parameters of blood by standard methods and the biochemical parameters of blood using semi-automatic biochemical analyzer with standard reagent kits. The content of chemical elements in blood plasma was investigated by the method of atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma using Optima 2100 DV device. The paper presents the research on determining the biochemical status of an organism of lactating rabbits at the prevention of microelementosis using a new experimental eco-friendly drug. The content of total protein, albumin, glucose, total calcium, inorganic phosphorus, total bilirubin, urea, creatinine, TBA-active products, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, cobalt and activity of ALT, AST, ALP, GGT and Catalase in rabbits blood in the first,15th and 30th day for the use of the biologically active additive “Huminorm plus” is determined. In rabbit blood at the use of the “Huminorm plus” with water for watering for 15th days of the experiment, the content of hemoglobin was 1,2 times higher, phosphorus inorganic was 2.2 times higher, urea was 1.3 times higher, manganese was 3.6 times higher, cobalt was 2.6 times higher, cooper was 1.2 times higher and zinc was 1.6 times higher, compared to the first day of the experiment. In rabbit blood at the use of the “Huminorm plus” with feed for 30th days of the experiment, the number of red blood cells was determined to be 7 % higher, content of hemoglobin was 1.4 times higher, total protein was 1.2 times higher, urea was 1.3 times higher, calcium was 1.4 times higher, manganese was 3.1 times higher, zinc was twice higher, iron was 2.5 times higher, cobalt was 2.5 times higher, cooper was 1.7 times higher and alkaline phosphatase activity was 1.7 times lower, compared with the first day of experience. We defined the positive influence of the prophylactic drug on the indicators of hematopoiesis, metabolism of proteins and minerals in lactating rabbits. The development of ecofriendly, non-toxic substances for the prevention of mineral disbolism among rabbits is a promising area of research.

Effects of preservation duration at 4 °C on the quality of RNA in rabbit blood specimens

A prolonged preservation duration of blood specimens at 4 °C may occur due to the distance from collection points to storage facilities in many biobanks, especially for multicenter studies. This could lead to RNA degradation, affecting downstream analyses. However, effects of preservation durations at 4 °C on RNA quality in blood specimens need to be studied. We collected rabbit blood using EDTA tubes and stored them at 4 °C for different preservation durations. Then, we examined the quality of RNA from whole blood and leukocytes isolated from rabbit blood. Our results show that the purity of whole blood RNA and leukocyte RNA does not indicate significant change after rabbit blood is stored at 4 °C for different preservation durations (from 1 h to 7 days). The integrity of leukocyte RNA indicates the same result as above, but the integrity of whole blood RNA is significantly decreased after rabbit blood is stored at 4 °C for over 3 days. Moreover, expression of SMAD7, MKI67, FOS, TGFβ1 and HIF1α of whole blood RNA and leukocyte RNA remains basically stable, but PCNA expression of whole blood RNA or leukocyte RNA is significantly decreased after rabbit blood is stored at 4 °C for over 24 h or 7 days. Therefore, these results suggest that high-quality RNA is obtained from the fresher blood specimens and if blood specimens are stored for over 3 days at 4 °C, the quality of leukocyte RNA is more stable and of better quality than that of whole blood RNA.