Carmen Dana Şandru

Human impact on the microbiological water quality of the rivers

Microbiological contamination is an important water-quality problem worldwide. Human impact on this category of contamination is significant and several human-related activities, and also the population explosion, have affected and are still affecting dramatically the aquatic environment. Extensive industrialization and agriculture have led to increased pollution and hydromorphological changes in many river basins. The Danube river is one of the most affected by these changes where human involvement is undeniable, and subsequently, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve became one of the most vulnerable ecosystems. This review is an attempt to analyse the microbiological contamination and to identify the major role human activities play in altering the water quality of the rivers.

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.