Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious disease of cloven-hoofed animals with a significant economic impact. Early diagnosis and effective prevention and control could reduce the spread of the disease which could possibly minimize economic losses. Epitope characterization based on monoclonal antibodies provide essential information for developing diagnostic assays and vaccine designs. In this study, monoclonal antibodies raised against FMD virus (FMDV) were produced. Sixty-six monoclonal antibodies demonstrated strong reactivity and specificity to FMDV. The purified monoclonal antibodies were further used for bio-panning to select phage expressing specific epitopes from phage-displayed 12 mer-peptide library. The phage peptide sequences were analyzed using multiple sequence alignment and evaluated by peptide ELISA. Two hybridoma clones secreted monoclonal antibodies recognizing linear epitopes on VP2 of FMDV serotype O. The non-neutralizing monoclonal antibody 6F4.D11.B6 recognized the residues 67–78 on antigenic site 2 resinding in VP2, while the neutralizing monoclonal antibody 8D6.B9.C3 recognized a novel linear epitope encompassing residues 115–126 on VP2. This information and the FMDV-specific monoclonal antibodies provide valuable sources for further study and application in diagnosis, therapeutics and vaccine designs to strengthen the disease prevention and control measures.

Context: Laboratory diagnosis of strongyloidiasis is most often based on the detection of antibodies against antigens in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Aims: The aim of the study was to validate the efficacy of the B-cell epitope peptide antigens of fatty acid and retinal binding protein in using antibodies against Strongyloides stercoralis. Settings and Design: Patient samples were identified by an anonymous code and collected from volunteers at Suranaree University of Technology Hospital, Thailand. Subjects and Methods: The synthesized peptides and cell lysate of Strongyloides ratti were used as antigens in an in-house ELISA format. A total of 78 serum samples were collected from patients infected with S. stercoralis, other parasites, and healthy persons. Statistical Analysis Used: The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to assess the diagnostic performance of peptide antigens and analysis of variance was utilized to examine differences in peptide reactivity between groups. Results: The peptide-1 and cell lysate of S. ratti could clearly differentiate serums among infected and noninfected groups. The peptide-1, peptide-2 of S. stercoralis, and lysate of S. ratti antigen had been measured to reveal sensitivities at about 75.00%, 50.00%, and 75.00% with 75.86%, 86.21%, and 89.66% specificities, respectively. Conclusions: These results could be useful for routine clinical laboratory diagnostic testing and possibly apply for surveillance investigations in the future.

Ingredients of food, especially sugar and starch at high-temperature cooking processes could lead to the formation of acrylamide (AA). This chemical is a harmful carcinogen, a neurotoxicant, a reproductive toxicant, and a carcinogen in animal species. However, the detection of acrylamide contamination in food goes unnoticed. In this work, the mouse monoclonal antibody in the form of a single chain variable fragment (scFv) specific to acrylamide was selected from the murine scfv (muscfv) phage-displayed library. Acrylamide (AA) was used as an antigen for bio-panning. The murine single-chain variable fragment (MuscFv) antibody specific to acrylamide in coffee was successfully constructed, which was determined by ELISA and HPLC. Currently, this is the first study, which describes the selection of antibodies against acrylamide from the muscfv phage-displayed library and could be used as a tool for the detection of acrylamide in coffee.

Plook-Fire-Thatu (PFT) is an ancient Thai herbal formulation traditionally believed to increase breast milk volume. However, clinical studies on the PFT's effectiveness for breast milk production are lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of PFT in increasing breast milk volume. A randomised controlled trial was conducted involving 60 postpartum women. The treatment group received standard care alongside 500 mg of PFT orally, three times daily for three days, while the control group received standard care alone. Serum prolactin levels, haematological parameters and blood chemistry were assessed on days 1 and 3. Breast milk volume was measured using an electronic pump on days 1, 2 and 3. Adverse drug reactions in mothers and infants were monitored on days 1, 2, 3, 7 and 30. Breast milk samples were analysed for macronutrient content using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Baseline characteristics were comparable between groups. The treatment group exhibited significantly greater breast milk volume on days 2 (p = 0.028) and 3 (p = 0.002) compared with the control group. Serum prolactin levels increased significantly in the treatment group (p = 0.002). No significant differences were observed in haematological or blood chemistry between groups. Glycogen and carbohydrate levels in breast milk were significantly higher in the treatment group. Two participants reported mild epigastric discomfort on the first day, with no further adverse events reported. By the third day, PFT significantly increased breast milk volume and serum prolactin levels. Increases in glycogen and carbohydrate content in breast milk were also observed. The formulation was well tolerated, with no significant adverse effects in mothers or infants.

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), causes porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) worldwide, especially among domestic pigs with enormous economic impact for the pig industry. Current vaccines confer limited effectiveness while no direct-acting anti-PRRS is available. Non-structural protein (NSP) 1β, a cysteine-like protease (CL^Pro) of PRRSV is pivotal for viral polyprotein processing, subgenomic RNA synthesis and evasion of host innate immunity. Therefore, agent that interferes with the NSP1β bioactivities should lead to the virus replication inhibition. In this study, a porcine scFv-phage display library was constructed and used as a tool for production of NSP1β-specific porcine scFvs (pscFvs). The pscFvs to NSP1β were linked to a cell-penetrating peptide to form cell-penetrating pscFvs (transbodies). The transbodies could internalize and inhibit PRRSV replication in the infected cells. Computerized-simulation indicated that the effective pscFvs used several residues in multiple complementarity determining regions (CDRs) to interact with many residues in the CL^Pro and C-terminal motifs, which might explain the mechanism of the pscFvs-mediated virus replication inhibition. Although experiments are needed to verify the anti-viral mechanism of the transbodies, current data provide evidence for developing the transbodies further for treatment and prevention of PRRSV infection.