Microbiological insights into respiratory infections and the opportunities for inhaled therapy

Respiratory infections represent the fourth most common cause of all deaths across age groups and countries. Treating these infections appropriately is a clear clinical priority and here we outline the types of therapy that are in current use for some of these infections. It is important that treatments are further improved and the potential of inhaled delivery to fulfil this need is considered. We describe novel methodologies that are being applied for the identification and enumeration of microorganisms in the respiratory tract, and propose that ways of improving therapy may arise from understanding better the etiology of respiratory infection and the impact of inhaled drug therapies. The potential for translational benefits for patients are also discussed.

Effect of fall-grazed sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) on gastrointestinal nematode infections of growing goats

High prevalence of anthelmintic-resistant gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) in goats has increased pressure to find effective, alternative non-synthetic control methods, one of which is adding forage of the high condensed tannin (CT) legume sericea lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneata) to the animal's diet. Previous work has demonstrated good efficacy of dried SL (hay, pellets) against small ruminant GIN, but information is lacking on consumption of fresh SL, particularly during the late summer–autumn period in the southern USA when perennial warm-season grass pastures are often low in quality. A study was designed to determine the effects of autumn (September–November) consumption of fresh SL forage, grass pasture (predominantly bermudagrass, BG; Cynodon dactylon), or a combination of SL + BG forage by young goats [intact male Spanish kids, 9 months old (20.7 ± 1.1 kg), n = 10/treatment group] on their GIN infection status. Three forage paddocks (0.40 ha) were set up at the Fort Valley State University Agricultural Research Station (Fort Valley, GA) for an 8-week trial. The goats in each paddock were supplemented with a commercial feed pellet at 0.45 kg/head/d for the first 4 weeks of the trial, and 0.27 kg/head/d for the final 4 weeks. Forage samples taken at the start of the trial were analyzed for crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) content, and a separate set of SL samples was analyzed for CT in leaves, stems, and whole plant using the benzyl mercaptan thiolysis method. Animal weights were taken at the start and end of the trial, and fecal and blood samples were collected weekly for determination of fecal egg counts (FEC) and packed cell volume (PCV), respectively. Adult GIN was recovered from the abomasum and small intestines of all goats at the end of the experiment for counting and speciation. The CP levels were highest for SL forage, intermediate for SL + BG, and lowest for BG forage samples, while NDF and ADF values were the opposite, with highest levels in BG and lowest in SL forage samples. Sericea lespedeza leaves had more CT than stems (16.0 g vs. 3.3 g/100 g dry weight), a slightly higher percentage of PDs (98% vs. 94%, respectively) and polymers of larger mean degrees of polymerization (42 vs. 18, respectively). There were no differences in average daily gain or blood PCV between the treatment groups, but SL goats had lower FEC (P < 0.05) than the BG or SL + BG forage goats throughout most of the trial. The SL + BG goats had lower FEC than the BG forage animals by the end of the trial (week 8, P < 0.05). The SL goats had lower numbers (P < 0.05) of male Haemonchus contortus and tended to have fewer female (P < 0.10) and total (P < 0.07) H. contortus compared with the BG goats. The predominant GIN in all the goats was Trichostrongylus colubriformis (73% of total GIN). As a low-input forage with activity against pathogenic GIN (H. contortus), SL has a potential to reduce producers’ dependence upon synthetic anthelmintics and also to fill the autumn ‘window’ in good-quality fresh forages for goat grazing in the southern USA.

Second Strike and you are (finally) out? The Quashing of the Prevention of Infiltration Law (Amendment no. 4)

The blog-post critically analyses the Israeli Supreme Court judgment (HCJ 8425/13 Anon v. Knesset et al) quashing the Prevention of Infiltration Law (Amendment no. 4), offering themes of comparative constitutional interest.