The occurrence of Echinococcus multilocularis in the Poland–Slovak frontier zone of the East Carpathian region was assessed, for comparison with that in adjacent regions in both countries. A total of 392 red foxes from Poland and 427 red foxes from the Slovak Republic were examined from 2001 to 2004. Significant differences in prevalences were observed in foxes captured from the borderland and adjacent zones in both countries. The mean prevalence of E. multilocularis in the Polish borderland reached 45.7±18.6% and in the Slovak border 35.0±10.7%. In both countries, the prevalence of E. multilocularis in red foxes from adjacent districts, outside the frontier Carpathian region, was considerably lower (18.9±9.2% in Poland and 20.8±9.0% in Slovakia). These differences are probably due to geomorphological and ecological factors, which contribute to the survival of the tapeworm eggs and the subsequent spread of infection. The Carpathian regions of northeast Slovakia and southeast Poland are characterized by specific climatic conditions such as low mean annual air temperatures, low temperatures in active soil surfaces, high soil humidities and a high mean annual rainfall.

Five complimentary studies were undertaken with the overall aim to examine the ability of free-living stages of Haemonchus contortus to over-winter and tolerate cold stress. Two studies deal with the development and long-term survival of eggs and infective larvae of two geographically different isolates (Kenya and Sweden). Eggs and larvae were monitored in climatic chambers at temperatures that fluctuated daily between −1°C and 15°C, or at constant temperatures of 5°C and 15°C. The development from egg to larvae was dependent on temperatures over 5°C. The long time survival was favoured at lower temperatures. Furthermore, the overwintering capacity of the free-living stages of these isolates was estimated under Swedish field conditions. Two groups of lambs were experimentally infected with different isolates, and kept separated on previously ungrazed plots. In early May the following year, two parasite-naive tracer lambs were turned out on each of the plots to estimate the pick up of overwintered larvae. This experiment was replicated in central and southern Sweden. In addition, two experiments were performed in 2003 on pasture previously grazed by naturally infected sheep. One trial was on a pasture in southern Sweden grazed by a commercial flock, where extreme numbers of H. contortus were found towards the end of the grazing season 2002. The other study was on a pasture plot in central Sweden grazed by a hobby flock in 2002, where three of six lambs died due to haemonchiasis. Overwintered H. contortus was recorded on three of four experimental sites. Worm burdens were in all instances extremely low. No differences in development and survival were found between the isolates. Consequently, overwintering on pasture is of no practical significance in the transmission of H. contortus between grazing-seasons in Sweden.

The infection by Opecoeloides furcatus and Poracanthium furcatum (Opecoeliidae) was studied in 121 Mullus barbatus and 113 M. surmuletus collected from the Spanish south-eastern Mediterranean. The prevalence of infection was most frequent in M. surmuletus with values of 81.42% for O. furcatus and 38.05% for P. furcatum. In M. barbatus the prevalences of O. furcatus and P. furcatum were 54.54% and 14.88% respectively. Statistically significant differences were found between the infection of the two hosts with P. furcatum. No significant differences in worm burdens could be attributable to host size or to seasonal changes, although a lower infection of M. barbatus by O. furcatus occurred in the autumn. Furthermore, the electrophoretic mobility of the enzyme malic dehydrogenase (MDH) was also studied and both digeneans presented different patterns, corresponding in both cases to homozygotic genotypes.

A 24-kDa collagenase was localized in the Gymnorhynchus gigas plerocercoid immunohistochemically by peroxidase complex staining using polyclonal antibodies from NMRI mouse sera immunized with purified enzyme. Immunoreactivity was determined at different parts of the body (scolex, vesicle and caudal region) and mainly localized in microtriches and parenchymal tissues of the scolex and vesicle. These results, along with the absence of the enzyme in the plerocercoid excretion–secretion products, suggest that the 24-kDa collagenase is produced by parenchymal cells in the anterior region and transported to the outer regions of the worm It is possible that the enzyme plays an important role in degrading parasite tissues during the moulting process.

The excretory/secretory (ES) metabolic products released by Gastrothylax crumenifer (Trematoda: Digenea) during in vitro incubations and the somatic extract of the adult parasite were analysed using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Immunogenicity of ES and somatic extracts were evaluated by immunoblotting and ELISA using sera raised against ES and somatic antigens in rabbits. The electropherograms of ES and somatic extracts have been resolved into 38 and 41 polypeptides, respectively. The apparent molecular weights of these polypeptides range from < 29 to > 205 kDa. A total of 14 polypeptides were found to be common to both of the samples. The analysis of immunoblot results revealed 22 and 27 antigenic polypeptides in ES and somatic extracts respectively. Only 11 and 13 antigenic polypeptides were found specific to ES and tissue extract respectively. The molecular weights of these specific polypeptides were calculated to be < 14.4, 16, 20, 25, 33, 42, 119, 125 and > 205 kDa for metabolic products and < 14.4, 25, 30, 35, 78, 84 and > 205 kDa for the tissue extracts, respectively. Analysis of ELISA results revealed that a dilution of up to 1:3200 of the test sera could react with the ES product. Further, when the ES antigens were allowed to react with antisomatic extracts in hyperimmune sera the titre of IgG increased up to a dilution of 1:12800. The potential importance of these antigens in the immunodiagnosis of amphistomiasis is discussed.

Medication non-adherence remains a significant challenge for adolescent heart transplant recipients. Building on the success of a pilot intervention study, herein we describe the protocol for a follow-up randomised control trial using mobile video directly observed therapy, featuring several innovations, to promote medication adherence in a multi-centre sample of adolescent heart transplant patients.

The helminth community of the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, in the Sierra Espuña was characterized after a complete analysis of its helminth community component and infracommunity structure relative to host age, sex and year of capture. The helminth community comprised 13 species: one trematode, four cestodes and eight nematodes. The cestode Pseudocatenotaenia matovi and the nematode Syphacia frederici were the most prevalent and abundant helminth species, respectively. Sixty four percent of mice analysed presented helminths with a direct cycle and 42% presented helminths with an indirect cycle. The helminth community presents a low diversity with infracommunities usually made up of only one or two helminth species. Host age and year of capture seem to play a major role in determining species richness and helminth diversity, but not in determining the abundance of helminths. Host sex does not seem to affect the infection rate nor the diversity. Further studies on more samples of wood mice and other small mammal species in this regional park are needed to explore any possible interactions between helminth communities in the host populations.

Unusual non-human parasitic nematodes and eggs were detected in the faeces of an 8-year-old Japanese female suffering from Henoch-Schönlein purpura. The worms were adult female rhabditiform nematodes measuring 325.6–441.2 μm in length and 18.3–26.5 μm in width. One pair of the labia oris was notched with many spiny projections, while the other pair was strongly curved outwards. The worms were identified using light and scanning electron microscopy as the free-living nematode Diploscapter coronata (Cobb) based on their characteristic morphology. The patient's faeces containing worms and eggs were cultured using a filter-paper culture technique and after 7 days of culture, male as well as female worms were recovered. Worm survival time and hatchability of the eggs were examined in vitro after treatment with an artificial gastric or intestinal fluid. Although adult worms survived for less than one minute, eggs hatched after treatment with artificial gastric fluid. This suggests that eggs accidentally ingested or produced by adult D. coronata could develop in the human gastro-intestinal tract. Some morphological features of male D. coronata are also described.

Chalcides ocellatus, a scincid lizard, sampled during October 1998 to December 1999 from Benina (farmland) and Al-Kueffia (a rocky area) in Benghazi, Libya, was found to harbour three intestinal nematodes, Pharyngodon mamillatus, Thelandros alatus and Parapharyngodon micipsae, and an intestinal cestode, Oochoristica tuberculata. Thelandros alatus, P. micipsae and O. tuberculata were recorded for the first time in C. ocellatus. Parapharyngodon micipsae was detected in C. ocellatus from Benina and O. tuberculata from lizards in Al-Kueffia. The majority (87.6%) of C. ocellatus were infected with helminth parasites and the levels of infection were higher in males than in females but this difference was not significant. Pharyngodon mamillatus recorded the highest number of nematode parasites in C. ocellatus, although there was no relationship between the number of nematode parasites recovered and host density. In lizards infected with the cestode O. tuberculata, males had shorter snout–vent lengths than females. From a total of 153 C. ocellatus, 120 (78.4%) showed single and 14 (9.2%) showed mixed parasitic infections. Mixed infections between different species of nematodes were not observed.

The water rat Nectomys squamipes is endemic in Brazil and found naturally infected with Schistosoma mansoni. Helminth communities, their prevalences, intensity of infection and abundance in N. squamipes in an endemic area of schistosomiasis in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were studied. Four species of nematodes (Physaloptera bispiculata, Syphacia venteli, Hassalstrongylus epsilon and Litomosoides chagasfilhoi) were recovered in 85.3%, two trematodes (Schistosoma mansoni and Echinostoma paraensei) in 38.8% and one cestode species (Raillietina sp.) in 1.7% of rats examined. Rats were infected with up to five helminth species each, and these were highly aggregated in distribution. For H. epsilon and S. venteli, intensities and abundances were higher in adult male and subadult female hosts, respectively. Hassaltrongylus epsilon, P. bispiculata, S. venteli and S. mansoni were classified as dominant species, L. chagasfilhoi and E. paraensei as co-dominant and Raillietina sp. as subordinated. No significant correlation was found in the intensity of infecton between each pair of helminth species. Schistosoma mansoni was not related to any other helminth species according to their infection rates, althougth S. mansoni was well established in the natural helminth comunity of the water rat.

Eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis is endemic to the Pacific area of Asia, especially Taiwan, Thailand, and Japan. Although eosinophilia is an important clinical manifestation of A. cantonensis infection, the role of eosinophils in the progress of the infection remains to be elucidated. In this experiment, we show that A. cantonensis-induced eosinophilia and inflammation might lead to the induction of IAP/NF-κB, JAK/STAT1 and MEKK1/JNK signals. The phosphorylation levels of JAK and JNK, STAT1, IAP, NF-κB and MEKK1 protein products were significantly increased after 12 days or 15 days of A. cantonensis infection. However, no significant differences in MAPKs such as Raf, MEK-1, ERK1/2 and p38 expression were found between control and infected mice. The activation potency of JAK/STAT1, IAP/NF-κB and MEKK1/JNK started increasing on day 3, with significant induction on day 12 or day 15 after A. cantonensis infection. Consistent results were noted in the pathological observations, including eosinophilia, leukocyte infiltration, granulomatous reactions, and time responses in the brain tissues of infected mice. These data suggest that the development of brain injury by eosinophilia of A. cantonensis infection is associated with activation of JAK/STAT1 signals by cytokines, and/or activation of MEKK1/JNK by oxidant stress, and/or activation of NF-κB by increasing IAP expression.

We consider K-theoretic Gromov-Witten theory of root constructions. We calculate some genus $0$ K-theoretic Gromov-Witten invariants of a root gerbe. We also obtain a K-theoretic relative/orbifold correspondence in genus $0$.

A molecular phylogeographic study of Paragonimus mexicanus collected from Guatemala and Ecuador was performed. Genomic DNA was extracted from individual metacercariae, and two gene regions (partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and the second internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear ribosomal gene repeat (ITS2)) were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequences segregated in a phylogenetic tree according to their geographic origins. ITS2 sequences from Ecuador and Guatemala differed at only one site. Pairwise distances among CO1 sequences within a country were always lower than between countries. Nevertheless, genetic distances between countries were less than between geographical forms of P. westermani that have been suggested to be distinct species. This result suggests that populations from Guatemala and Ecuador are genetically differentiated perhaps at the level of subspecies.

To determine the role of interleukin-5 (IL-5) and eosinophils in protection against Strongyloides ratti, mice treated with anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibody (mAb) were infected with S. ratti larvae. Strongyloides ratti egg numbers in faeces (EPG) in mAb treated mice were higher than those in control mice on days 6 and 7 after inoculation. The numbers of migrating worms in mAb treated mice 36h after inoculation were higher than those observed in control mice. Intestinal worm numbers in mAb treated mice 5 days after inoculation were higher than those in control mice. These results show that eosinophils effectively protected the host against S. ratti infection by mainly the larval stage in primary infections. The involvement of eosinophils in protection against secondary infection was also examined. Before secondary infection, mice were treated with anti-IL-5 mAb and infected with S. ratti. Patent infections were not observed in either mAb treated or control Ab treated mice. The numbers of migrating worms in the head and lungs of mAb treated mice increased to 60% of that in primary infected mice. Intestinal worms were not found in mAb treated mice or in contcrol mice after oral implantation of adult worms. Eosinophils were therefore mainly involved in protection against tissue migrating worms in secondary infections.

An analysis was undertaken of intestinal helminth communities in flounder Platichthys flesus from two sites on the River Thames. A comparison was made between helminth community richness and diversity from these sites at the component and infracommunity levels. At the component community level, a richer and more diverse parasite community was found in flounder from the Tilbury location (marine influence) than that from the Lots Road location (freshwater influence). At the infracommunity level, more parasite species and parasite individuals per host were found at Lots Road and the percentage of similarity values were low at both locations. Helminth species with high prevalence values in the parasite communities of the flounder are the dominant species in any individual fish, harbouring multi-specific infections. The presence of more invertebrate species, which are intermediate hosts in the helminth life cycle in the Thames, fish vagility and the high prevalence and abundance values of Pomphorhynchus laevis in the flounder, may explain the differences between the two locations.

A protoscoleces/vesicles in vitro maintenance test with assessment of viability by eosin exclusion was used to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative activities of isoprinosine, its active component inosine and the dipeptide methylester L-Phe-Phe-OMe on isolated protoscoleces of Echinococcus multilocularis for 24 and 48 h. Isoprinosine and inosine showed dose- and time-dependent activity, the latter displaying a more rapid effect than the former. A high activity was shown with L-Phe-Phe-OMe, when compared to praziquantel. Ultrastructural alterations were much more striking with L-Phe-Phe-OMe, with an effect similar to that of praziquantel, whereas the chemotherapeutic activity of inosine and isoprinosine appeared to be directed against a metabolic target, with a lethal effect not immediately visible at the ultrastructural level. Thus, the previously reported in vivo activities of these drugs result largely from a direct effect on the parasite.

The prevalence of helminths in pigs was investigated in five rural communities situated on the embankment of Dongting Lake in Zhiyang County, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China, in an area known to be endemic for Schistosoma japonicum. The helminth prevalences identified on the basis of faecal egg count analysis were: Oesophagostomum spp. (86.7%), Ascaris suum (36.7%), Metastrongylus spp. (25.8%), Strongyloides spp. (25.8%), Trichuris suis (15.8%), Globocephalus spp. (6.7%), Gnathostoma spp. (4.2%), Schistosoma japonicum (5.0%) and Fasciola spp. (1.3%). Post mortem examinations of a small number of pigs depositing eggs of different helminth species revealed the presence of Oesophagostomum dentatum, O. quadrispinulatum, A. suum, Metastrongylus apri, M. pudendotectus, T. suis, G. hispidum and Ascarops dentata. Prevalences of all helminths, with the exception of Oesophagostomum spp., were higher in young pigs (< 8 months old) compared with adult pigs. Prevalences of trematodes were very low, especially for S. japonicum which had decreased dramatically compared with previous reports from this area of P.R. China, whereas prevalences of nematodes were generally in agreement with those reported from other Yangtze River Provinces. Results from helminth prevalence studies in pigs, conducted in other provinces of P.R. China between 1987 and 1997, are presented and discussed. It was concluded that a government helminth control programme, implemented in 1995 to control S. japonicum infection in pigs in Hunan Province, may have resulted in a greatly reduced prevalence of S. japonicum in pigs in this region.