• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.287-293
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• 2011

Analysing companion species from unrelated taxa concentrated so far mainly on identifying biosurrogacy in terms of conservation biology. No study has investigated companion bird and plant species to predict breeding and migrant habitats of a bird genus. In this study we recorded and analysed companion bird and plant species of the breeding bird Cyprus Wheatear Oenanthe cypriaca and four migranting Oenanthe species on Cyprus. We found characteristic companion species in Cyprus Wheatear's, Wheatear migrant's and in control habitats where no Wheatears were present. We show that plant and bird companion species can be used as discriminating factors to predict breeding and migrant habitats of the genus Oenanthe on Cyprus. Furthermore, habitat preferences of Cyprus Wheatear's companion species indicate bushy and vegetation rich habitats avoiding woodland on the one hand and managed farmland on the other hand. In comparison, migrant Wheatear and control habitats were characterised by companion species pointing to a high openness. These results support former habitat descriptions of Cyprus Wheatear and migrant Wheatears. In more general, this study shows that companion species from unrelated taxa can be used to predict breeding and migrant habitats of a bird genus.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.17.1-17.13
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• 2021

Background: Klebsiella spp. is an important conditional pathogen in humans and animals. However, due to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, the incidence of antimicrobial resistance has increased. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate antimicrobial resistance in strains of Klebsiella strains and the phylogenetic relatedness of extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistance among Klebsiella strains isolated from clinically ill companion animals. Methods: A total of 336 clinical specimens were collected from animal hospitals. Identification of Klebsiella species, determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations, detection of ESC resistance genes, polymerase chain reaction-based replicon typing of plasmids by conjugation, and multilocus sequence typing were performed. Results: Forty-three Klebsiella strains were isolated and, subsequently, 28 were identified as K. pneumoniae, 11 as K. oxytoca, and 4 as K. aerogenes. Eleven strains were isolated from feces, followed by 10 from ear, 7 from the nasal cavity, 6 from urine, 5 from genitals, and 4 from skin. Klebsiella isolates showed more than 40% resistance to penicillin, cephalosporin, fluoroquinolone, and aminoglycoside. ESCresistance genes, CTX-M groups (CTX-M-3, CTX-M-15, and CTX-M-65), and AmpC (CMY-2 and DHA-1) were most common in the K. pneumoniae strains. Some K. pneumoniae carrying CTX-M or AmpC were transferred via IncFII plasmids. Two sequence types, ST709 and ST307, from K. pneumoniae were most common. Conclusions: In conclusion, this is the first report on the prevalence, ESCresistance genotypes, and sequence types of Klebsiella strains isolated from clinically ill companion animals. The combination of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance by Klebsiella in companion animals suggest that, in clinical veterinary, antibiotic selection should be made carefully and in conjunction with the disease diagnosis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.281-285
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• 2018

Cryptosporidium is the most common protozoan that can infect a wide range of animals, including mammals and birds. Avian Cryptosporidium spp. can cause enteric and respiratory diseases which can be fatal in birds and some species are zoonotic. Companion birds have the potential as reservoir due to their close contact with humans. Pet shops are the major source of companion birds. However, few reports are available regarding Cryptosporidium spp. infection among companion birds kept in pet shops. The present study reports the prevalence and molecular characteristics of Cryptosporidium spp. among companion birds kept in pet shops in Japan. A total of 265 fresh fecal samples were obtained from birds kept in 4 pet shops; these birds belonged to 41 species in 3 bird orders. A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting the small subunit rRNA gene was employed for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. A total of 24 samples (9.1%) were positive, and Cryptosporidium spp. were detected from all pet shops. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in each of the bird orders was 6.5% (10/153) in Psittaciformes, 14.4% (13/90) in Passeriformes, and 4.5% (1/22) in Galliformes. Based on sequence analysis, 13 (54.2%) isolates were classified to C. galli, 8 (33.3%) were avian genotype III, and the remaining 3 (12.5%) were C. baileyi. No infection with zoonotic C. meleagridis and no coinfection with multiple Cryptosporidium spp. and/or genotypes were observed. The zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium spp. infecting companion birds kept in pet shops in Japan is likely to be low.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.609-624
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• 2022

Tenebrio molitor larvae, as known as edible insects, has advantages of being rich in protein, and has been recognized as a suitable alternate protein source for broiler and pig feed. Moreover, given their ability to biodegrade polystyrene, a major pollutant, Tenebrio molitor larvae has been proposed as an innovative solution to environmental problems. In the present study, we investigated the toxicity of Tenebrio molitor larvae powder (TMlp) ingested with expanded-polystyrene (W/ eps) through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The objective of this study was to determine whether TMlp W/ eps can be applied as livestock alternative protein source. For in vitro experiments, cytotoxicity test was performed to investigate the effects of TMlp-extract on the viability of estrogen-dependent MCF-7 cells. The possibility of estrogen response was investigated in two groups: Expanded-polystyrene-fed (W/ eps) TMlp group and without expanded-polystyrene-fed (W/o eps) TMlp group. For in vivo experiments, The male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided based on the dosage of TMlp administered and oral administration was performed to every day for 5 weeks. A toxicological assessments were performed, which included clinical signs, food consumption, body and organ weights, hematology, serum chemistry, and hematoxylin and eosin staining of liver and kidney. There were no specific adverse effect of TMlp W/ eps-related findings under the experimental conditions of this study, but further studies on both sexes and animal species differences should be investigated. In conclusion, TMlp W/ eps was considered non-toxic and observed to be applicable as an alternative protein source for livestock feed.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.973-978
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• 2023

This study determined the mechanisms of selection of companion plants that will increase natural enemies and compared and analyzed the effect of suppression of pest density and changes in pest and natural enemy density and spatial distribution, aiming to select suitable companion plants to control major pests that are problematic in organic tomato facility cultivation. As a result of the companion plant selection, 13.5 days were identified in the area with daily flowers among five species of flowering plants. In the experiment to determine the timing of natural enemies, the best results were found in the treatment group introduced two weeks before the pest occurred. As a result of the actual package test, farmers could see that the density of greenhouse pollen decreased significantly (100-500% for adults and 11-67% for larvae compared to no treatment) in the treatment with companion plants. Based on the results of this study, we expect that ecological pest management using companion plants that attract natural enemies will help to increase biodiversity through vegetation management, secure the safe production of organic products and improve the sustainability of agriculture.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.613-621
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• 2011

Bog bean (Menyanthes trifoliata L.) is an endangered species in Korea, inhabiting in montane wetlands. Its' habitats are decreasing due to artificial disturbances and climate change in Korea. Interspecies competitions determine the distribution of a species and it is important to examine the effects of companion species on the growth of a species. To reveal the effects of habitat substrate and companion species on the growth of bog bean, we compared the growth parameters of bog bean at three substrate conditions where plant communities were formed: water column, Sphagnum mat, and paddy soil. Bog bean had the highest relative coverage at Sphagnum mat condition and there are few species whose height were higher than it. In contrast, there were many species larger than bog bean at paddy soil condition. The maximum coverage of bog bean was the largest at water column condition, and the lowest at paddy soil condition. Our results indicate that the growth of bog bean was more restricted by interspecific competition at paddy soil condition than at Sphagnum mat condition. Those results suggest that bog bean avoid competitions by expansion of rhizome rather than elongation of its height. For conservation or creation of bog bean habitats, it is necessary to offer the environment where other species cannot survive well.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.7-12
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• 2016

The health of the companion animal is one of the most important factors for the owners. However, many owners are not aware of their companion's obesity condition. Data shows that 40% of dogs are suffering from obesity. This application is designed for and compatible with high-volume-user devices such as Android-based devices. The size of the application is reduced keeping standard data such as weight and vaccination date of species on servers and analyzing and fetching these data when user inquires about. Finally, the application has an added component of community space in order to share the knowledge among the number of users.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.197-205
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• 2020

With the purpose of designing companion planting of groundcover plants for ornamental uses, this study identified the yearly growth characteristics of nine species of different life forms, analyzed the coverage characteristics of individual plants, and suggested combinations of plants suitable for each life form. Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum, Liriope platyphylla and Hosta capitata, as short-grained plants that can grow to more than 20 cm, tended to grow for 60 days after planting in April and maintain their shape thereafter. Their aerial parts started to wither and enter dormancy after September. Saxifraga stolonifera, Dianthus chinensis and Sedum middendorffianum tended to continuously grow until September after planting in April and their growth declined after September. Lysimachia nummularia, as a creeping plant that grows creeping on the ground, started to show a rapid growth three months after planting. Sedum sarmentosum grew slowly until August and the aerial parts started to wither from September when the temperature decreases. The coverage characteristics of these nine species that grow differently after companion planting were surveyed and the growth of Sedum sarmentosum showed the highest number of companions. It was found that Hosta capitata can be companion planted with Sedum middendorffianum, Saxifraga stolonifera, and Lysimachia nummularia. These results indicate that among different shoot growth types species propagated with their stems creeping on the ground or those that can grow vegetatively with non-rhizome parts are more suitable for companion planting with others than those of which rhizomes branch.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.289-294
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• 2012

Mycoplasmas are highly fastidious bacteria, difficult to culture and slow growing. Infections with Mycoplasma species can cause a variety of problems in living organisms and in vitro cell cultures. In this study, we investigated the usefulness of a genus-specific consensus PCR analysis method to detect Mycoplasma species. The developed consensus primer pairs MycoF and MycoR were designed specifically to amplify the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rRNA) of Mycoplasma species by the optimized PCR system. The developed consensus PCR system effectively amplified 215 bp of Mycoplasma genus-specific region of 16S rRNA. In conclusion, we recommend this consensus PCR for monitoring Mycoplasma species in animals, human and cell culture system.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.67-71
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• 2013

Neonatal infection caused by Cronobacter species can result in serious illnesses such as bacteremia, septicemia, meningitis, and death in at-risk infants who are orally fed contaminated reconstituted powdered infant formulas. The objective of this study was to compare the virulence among three Cronobacter species strains by using an animal model for human neonatal Cronobacter species infections. We acquired timed-pregnant ICR mice and all owed them to give birth naturally. On postnatal day 3, each pup was administered orally a total dose of $1{\times}10^7$ CFU Cronobacter species strain 3439, CDC 1123-79, and 3231. Mice were observed twice daily for morbidity and mortality. At postnatal day 10, the remaining pups were euthanized, and brain, liver, and cecum were excised and analyzed for the presence of Cronobacter species. Cronobacter species were isolated from cecum and other tissues in inoculated mice. In the tissues of Cronobacter species infected mice, meningitis and gliosis were detected in the brain. In this study, we identified the virulence among Cronobacter species strains by using a neonatal mice model which was a very effective animal model for human neonatal Cronobacter species infections.