A. Uricaru

Seasonal Evolution of Total Antioxidative Status in Two Species of Semi-aquatic Turtles

The intention of this study it was to monitoring the seasonally evolution of Total Antioxidative Status in two semi aquatic turtle species: Trachemys scripta elegans and Emys orbicularis. In both studied tortoise species the total antioxidant status was maximum during hibernation, realized a delicate balance between hibernal stress and protective antioxidant system. The reference values of Total Antioxidative Status for active human population in Europe are between 1.30 - 1.77 mmol/l, thus we can consider that in semi aquatic turtles the antioxidant system is very efficient and this directs us to formulate the next question: Is the operational efficiency of the antioxidant system the reason that makes it possible for these animals to reach high ages? To our knowledge this is the first time when the total antioxidant status was monitored in semi aquatic turtles.

Some Aspects of the Humoral Immune Response in IBR Vaccinated Cows

Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) is an acute respiratory disease with major economic consequences in cattle, caused by bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1). Despite complex control and eradication strategies, the BoHV-1 infection continues to persist mainly due to the latently infected animals and also to its high contagiousity. Also, the efficacy of vaccines in prevention of infection has been questioned by some authors. The present study carried out on 941 bovine divided on three experimental groups (I: 0-8 months female calves, II: 8-18 months male calves and III: adult cattle), was intended to evaluate some aspects regarding the specific and non- specific humoral immune status in young and adult bovine IBR vaccinated with a live attenuated marker vaccine. In order to detect the presence of specific antibodies, a blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) HerdCheck - IDDEX was performed on 941 serum samples (95, 72% of the farm population) collected from Limousine bovines with age ranged from 2 weeks to 7 years old. This method allows the detection and differentiation of infected cattle (positive results) from vaccinated cattle with a gE - negative vaccine (marker vaccine) (negative results). To monitor two nonspecific immune parameters: total immunoglobulins level and circulating immune complexes (CIC), bovine serum samples were submitted to the following nephelometric tests: zinc sulphate turbidity assay for the total protein concentration (Haskova modified method) and the 4,2% polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation technique in order to estimate the level of CIC.