Animals ; Materia Medica ; Rats ; Turtles

The space-time acupuncture is a new needling method, summarized by professor on the base of the inheritance of four time-acupuncture method in ancient time and the absorption of the European medical culture idea, aiming to the application of the combination of time acupoints and space acupoints. Through constructing the internal and external field, the field effect of human body self-healing function is mobilized. The space-time acupuncture of the eightfold method of the sacred tortoise is one of the four methods, on the base of the acquired eight diagrams and the night numbers of diagrams, and in match with the eight confluent points. It is a special structure of "number, diagram and acupoint". The authors explain systematically the space-time acupuncture of the eightfold method of the sacred tortoise in the aspects of the opening of time acupoints and composition of space acupoints as well as the characteristics of its clinical operation so as to elaborate the essential composition and the feature of clinical application of such method. Moreover, professor 's innovation is introduced besides inheriting the ancient experience and the theoretic connotation is explored on the spatial acupoint corresponding to the time acupuncture of ancient eightfold method of the sacred tortoise.
Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Humans ; Meridians ; Turtles

Turmeric residue (TR), containing residual levels of curcumin, is a solid by-product waste generated after the extraction and separation of curcumin from turmeric root. A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of TR on the survival of Chinese soft-shelled turtles (SSTs), Pelodiscus sinensis, under a high ambient temperature. A total of 320 female SSTs were assigned randomly to two diets: basal diet (the control group, n=160) and an interventional diet supplemented with 10% TR (the TR group, n=160). Our results demonstrated that supplementation of TR increased the SST survival rate by 135.5%, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of SST liver by 112.8%, and decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of SST liver by 36.4%, compared to the control group. The skin of the SST fed TR showed a golden color. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated that the concentrations of curcumin in TR and the skin of the SST fed TR were (1.69±0.30) and (0.14±0.03) μg/g, respectively. Our observation suggests that supplementation of TR increased the survival rate of SST under high ambient temperatures. We speculated that the increased survival rate and tolerance at the high ambient temperature were associated with the anti-oxidation activity of curcumin from TR. Moreover, curcumin in TR could be deposited in SST skin, which made it more favored in the market of China. Our findings provide new knowledge and evidence to effectively reuse TR as a feed additive in animal and aquatic farming.
Animal Feed ; Animals ; Antioxidants/pharmacology* ; Body Weight/drug effects* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Curcuma ; Curcumin/analysis* ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Hot Temperature ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism* ; Survival Rate ; Turtles/physiology*

Pet turtles are well-known to harbor an array of bacterial pathogens which can cause zoonotic infections in humans as well as opportunistic infections in the turtles itself. Essential oils are the natural plant extracts which have been traditionally used for disease treatment. In the present study, the essential oil of lavender (EOL) was examined for its antibacterial activity against thirty-eight strains of turtle-borne pathogenic bacteria belonging to seven species; Aeromonas hydrophila, A. caviae, A. dhakensis, Citrobacter freundii, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antibacterial activity of EOL was tested by means of disk diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests. In addition, the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of 11 commonly used antimicrobials was examined and the multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index was calculated. The results revealed that EOL was active against all tested turtle-borne pathogenic bacteria except P. aeruginosa. The range of MIC and MBC values of EOL against isolates except P. aeruginosa were recorded as 0.5-1% (V/V) and 0.5-2% (V/V), respectively. The MBC/MIC ratio was detected as <4, revealing that the tested EOL was bactericidal. Besides, most of the isolates were resistant to different antimicrobials in antimicrobial disk diffusion test. MAR index values of the tested strains were ranging from 0.27 to 0.91. The outcomes indicate that EOL has a potential to be used as an antibacterial agent against pathogenic bacteria isolated from pet turtles.
Aeromonas hydrophila ; Animals ; Bacteria* ; Citrobacter freundii ; Diffusion ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Guinea Pigs ; Humans ; Lavandula* ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Oils, Volatile ; Opportunistic Infections ; Plant Extracts ; Proteus mirabilis ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Salmonella enterica ; Turtles ; Zoonoses

The usage of essential oils as antimicrobial agents is gaining attention. Besides, pet turtles were known to harbor a range of pathogenic bacteria while the turtle keeping is a growing trend worldwide.The current study examined the antimicrobial activity of lemon grass oil (LGO) against seven species of Gram negative bacteria namely; Aeromonas hydrophila, A. caviae, Citrobacter freundii, Salmonella enterica, Edwardsiella tarda, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus mirabilis isolated from three popular species of pet turtles. Along with the results of disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentration (MIC and MBC) tests, LGO was detected as effective against 6 species of bacteria excluding P. aeruginosa. MIC of LGO for the strains except P. aeruginosa ranged from 0.016 to 0.5% (V/V). The lowest MIC recorded in the E. tarda strain followed by A. hydrophilla, C. freundii, P. mirabilis, and S. enterica. Interestingly, all the bacterial species except E. tarda were showing high multiple antimicrobial resistance (MAR) index values ranging from 0.36 to 0.91 upon the 11 antibiotics tested although they were sensitive to LGO.
Aeromonas hydrophila ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Bacteria* ; Citrobacter freundii ; Cymbopogon* ; Diffusion ; Edwardsiella tarda ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Guinea Pigs ; Mirabilis ; Oils, Volatile ; Proteus mirabilis ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Salmonella enterica ; Turtles*

Turtle-borne Salmonella enterica owns significance as a leading cause in human salmonellosis. The current study aimed to determine the quinolone susceptibility and the genetic characteristics of 21 strains of S. enterica subsp. enterica isolated from pet turtles. Susceptibility of four antimicrobials including nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin was examined in disk diffusion and MIC tests where the majority of the isolates were susceptible to all tested quinolones. In genetic characterization, none of the isolates were positive for qnr or aac(6')-Ib genes and no any target site mutations could be detected in gyrA, gyrB, and parC quinolone resistance determining regions (QRDR). In addition, neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree derived using gyrA gene sequences exhibited two distinct clads comprising; first, current study isolates, and second, quinolone-resistant isolates of human and animal origin. All results suggest that studied strains of S. enterica subsp. enterica isolated from pet turtles are susceptible to quinolones and genetically more conserved with regards to gyrA gene region.
Animals ; Ciprofloxacin ; Diffusion ; Humans ; Levofloxacin ; Nalidixic Acid ; Ofloxacin ; Quinolones ; Salmonella enterica* ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella* ; Trees ; Turtles*

Pet turtles are known as a source of Salmonella infection to humans when handled in captivity. Thirty four turtles purchased from pet shops and online markets in Korea were examined to determine whether the turtles and their environment were contaminated with Salmonella spp. Salmonella spp. were isolated from fecal samples of 17 turtles. These isolates were identified as S. enterica through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The isolation rate of Salmonella spp. from the soil and water samples increased over time. We concluded that a high percentage of turtles being sold in pet shops were infected with Salmonella spp., and their environments tend to become contaminated over time unless they are maintained properly. These results indicate that pet turtles could be a potential risk of salmonellosis in Korea.
Genes, rRNA ; Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence* ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella* ; Soil ; Turtles* ; Water

Recently, research on collagen attracts more interests due to its good biological compatibility. The present study attempted to establish a fast and efficient method to purify collagen from soft-shelled turtle and to explore its application in biological materials. The structure and type of collagen fiber in calipash were determined by van Gieson staining and Picrosirius red staining, which could contribute to the isolation of collagen from soft-shelled turtle Calipash (STCC). Collagen fibers were in high content and the main collagen fiber was type I in STCC. The crude STCC solution was purified by dialysis with different cut-off molecular weight. SDS-PAGE demonstrated that the best purification was in applying 100 kDa dialysis bags after 48 h. The water absorbing capacity and holding capacity of STCC were up to 12.06 g/g and 98.21%, respectively. STCC can be degraded by collagenase in vitro entirely after 72 h. The hemolysis, skin sensitization, hemostatic and wound healing of STCC were determined by using SD rat model, and the collagen cross-linked by glutaric dialdehyde was set as a comparison. STCC and STCC cross-linked did not result in destructed red blood cell, inflamed and sensitized skin. Both materials exhibited good hemostatic effect. Thus, STCC improved the wound healing efficiently. This study implies a potential of STCC in the field of biomaterial.
Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Biotechnology ; Collagen ; isolation & purification ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Molecular Weight ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin ; drug effects ; Turtles ; Wound Healing

A dead dove was found on the road and submitted for diagnosis. The bird was severely emaciated, with deformation in its facial area. Grossly, white coalescing nodules were seen on the cut surface of the nasal cavity. Histopathologically, epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract were markedly proliferated, with ballooning degeneration, down growth of the rete ridge, and large eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies. Parakeratotic hyperkeratosis and focal necrotic focus was present in the proliferative area. The facial bones showed partial bone resorption. Transmission electron microscopy revealed numerous viral particles in epithelial cells with dumbbell-shaped bodies, consistent with poxvirus.
Birds ; Bone Resorption ; Columbidae* ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophils ; Epithelial Cells ; Facial Bones ; Inclusion Bodies ; Microscopy, Electron ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Nasal Cavity ; Respiratory System ; Turtles* ; Virion

Our research sought to characterize the phylogeny of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from pet Chinese stripe-necked turtles (Ocadia sinensis) to better understand its evolutionary relation to other isolates and increase understanding of a potential zoonotic pathogen transmitted through direct contact with pet turtles. Thirty-one Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were obtained from both immature and adult turtles sold in pet shops in Korea. To characterize the phylogenic position of Chinese stripe-necked turtle-borne P. aeruginosa relative to other strains, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis was performed due to the accessibility and breadth of MLST databases. Seven housekeeping genes (acsA, aroE, guaA, mutL, nuoD, ppsA, and trpE) were sequenced and the results were compared with data from the MLST database. The genes were further used for phylogenetic analysis of P. aeruginosa using concatenated gene fragments. Both rooted and unrooted phylogenetic trees were generated. Eleven distinct sequence types were present within the isolates among which seven were new. Expanding an unrooted phylogenetic tree to include P. aeruginosa MLST sequences isolated from various other geographic locations and sources revealed a divergent cluster containing the majority of isolates obtained from turtles. This suggests that P. aeruginosa strains particularly well-adapted for inhabiting turtles occupy a distinct phylogenetic position.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Genes, Essential ; Geographic Locations ; Humans ; Korea ; Multilocus Sequence Typing* ; Phylogeny ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa* ; Pseudomonas* ; Trees ; Turtles*