bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reaginic antibodies and immunity toNippostrongylus brasiliensisin the rat
Authors: Ogilvie Bridget M. , Jones Valerie E.
Published: June 2009

Rats thymectomized at birth were infected withNippostrongylus brasiliensisat 6 weeks of age. In some, but not all, rats egg production was greatly prolonged after the primary infection. Thymectomized rats were less resistant than controls to second infections.

In rats infected at birth the development of resistance was significantly delayed. Neonatally infected rats, when they were 6 weeks old, were less resistant to reinfection than adult controls. Rats infected three times in the neonatal period were more resistant to challenge at 6 weeks of age than rats infected once at birth, but less resistant than adult controls. The degree of immunity induced by a single neonatal infection was variable; some rats showed little or no resistance to reinfection 6 weeks later.

Antibody formation, measured by the occurrence of reagins, was altered in the same way by both neonatal thymectomy and neonatal infection. In the thymectomized (immunologically deficient) and newborn (immunologically immature) rats, reagin formation following initial infection was delayed; there was a reduced anamnestic response after challenge; mean titres were lower and more variable than in control animals; and in some rats circulating reagins were never detected.

In thymectomized rats the capacity to demonstrate anaphylaxis was as variable as in control rats, but in the few thymectomized rats in which egg production was prolonged, anaphylaxis was slight at a time when most intact rats had developed the capacity to show anaphylaxis. Rats infected at birth and adult rats infected at the same time were equally susceptible to systemic anaphylaxis 6 weeks later, although by this time there was a marked difference in the degree of resistance to the parasite developed by the two groups.

In adult rats splenectomy before, during or after initial infection had no effect either on the rate of development, or the degree of immunity induced by primary or secondary infections, or on antibody formation.

We would like to thank Miss W. Griffiths and A. J. Edwards for their willing technical assistance. This work was done whilst one of us (B.M.O.) was the holder of a Wellcome Fellowship of the Animal Health Trust.
The structure and possible function of the signum ofGlossina tabaniformisWestwood
Authors: Jordan A. M.
Published: June 2009

1. In all species of thefuscagroup of tsetse flies (Glossina), exceptG. brevipalpisNewstead, a gelatinous structure, the genital fossa, is present at the anterior end of the uterus. On the surface of the genital fossa is a toughened structure known as the signum.

2. Probably chitin and certainly calcium are present in the substance of the signum ofG. tabaniformisWestwood. An opaque concretion develops on the signum after the female has been fertilized. The concretions may be caused by a reaction between sperms or secretions from the male accessory glands and materials in the substance of the genital fossa; the possibility that the concretions are ‘mating scars’ produced by pressure of the harpes of the male on the signum is considered unlikely. Concretions are not present on the signa of all species.

3. A possible mechanism of fertilization inG. tabaniformisis discussed, and it is suggested that the signum may act as a protective shield for the anterior part of the uterus and common oviduct of the female from the harpes of the male which are inserted into the uterus during coitus. The views of Machado (1959) are discussed and it is agreed that the signum probably acts as a protective shield in all species in which it occurs and differences in the form of the signum between species may be related to differences in the form of the harpes of the male.

I wish to thank Dr J. Williamson for chromatography, Dr L. E. Stephen and Mr K. E. Broomfield for advice and assistance with the sectioning of the signa, Dr F. Peers for operating the Flame Photometer, Dr D. G. Godfrey for suggesting that the signa should be examined for calcium, and Mr W. Petana for taking the photomicrographs.

I am indebted to Dr K. C. Willett, Director of the West African Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research, for criticism of the manuscript.
The tegument and associated structures of Haplometra cylindracea
Authors: Threadgold L. T.
Published: June 2009

The tegument of Haplometra cylindracea is protoplasmic. It is organized on two levels, a surface syncytium (‘cuticle’ of the light microscopists) and tegumental cells which lie among the parenchymal cells below the muscle layers. The surface syncytium and tegumental cells are joined together by protoplasmic, tube-like, processes.

The surface syncytium is covered apically and basally by a unit plasma membrane. It contains mitochondria, vacuoles, lipid bodies, spines with a crystalline structure and dense secretory bodies. This syncytium lies on a basement membrane and a thick, fibrous, interstitial layer. The connecting protoplasmic processes, which originate from the base of the syncytium, are vacuolated and have few inclusions but, as they approach the tegumental cells, they become progressively filled with cytoplasm, cell inclusions and dense bodies.

The tegumental cells consist of individual areas of nucleated protoplasm, usually lying in groups. These cells contain dense secretory bodies, mitochondria, a few lipid droplets, crystalline inclusions, and Golgi complexes. The Golgi complexes and granular endoplasmic reticulum are jointly involved in the production of a dense, probably proteinaceous, secretory body. Some qualitative regional differences in tegumental ultrastructure are described.

The tegument of Haplometra is compared with that of other species so far described and like them must be considered both a protective and a secretory epithelium.

I should like to express my sincere thanks to the following: The Wellcome Trust and Science Research Council for grants to purchase an Akashi TRS 50 and and A.E.I. EM6B electron microscope respectively; the Royal Society for a personal grant to purchase a Reichert Ultramicrotome and a vacuum coating unit; the Wellcome Trust for a grant to employ a Research Associate.
Epidemiology of canine leishmaniasis: prevalence, incidence and basic reproduction number calculated from a cross-sectional serological survey on the island of Gozo, Malta
Authors: Dye C. , Killick-Kendrick R. , Vitutia M. M. , Walton R. , Killick-Kendrick M. , Harith A. E. , Guy M. W. , Cañavate M.-C. , Hasibeder G.
Published: June 2009

Assessment of the resilience of canine leishmaniasis to control or, more ambitiously, the effort needed to eradicate infection, requires an estimate of the basic case reproduction number (R0). This paper applies the theoretical results of Hasibeder, Dye & Carpenter (1992) to data from a cross-sectional survey on the Maltese island of Gozo in which dogs of known age, sex and occupation (pet, guard etc) were subjected to three different serological tests for the presence of specific antibody (IFAT, DAT and ELISA). Difficulties in interpreting these test results, and hence of determining the proportion of dogs infected, present the main obstacle to estimatingR0: estimates are critically dependent on the choice of threshold separating seropositives from seronegatives. The data do, however, allow a robust comparative analysis of risk which shows that the force of infection experienced by working dogs is about three times higher than that of pet dogs, a degree of non-homogeneous contact which actually has little effect on estimates ofR0. We suggest a cautious point estimate ofR0≃ 11, and comment briefly on its significance for leishmaniasis control.
Hymenolepis calumnacantha sp.nov. from Wilson's Snipe, Capella gallinago delicata (Ord.) in Colorado
Authors: Schmidt Gerald D.
Published: June 2009

Between January 1961 and March 1962 the writer made a parasite survey of twenty-three Wilson's Snipe, collected in Northern Colorado. Eleven birds were found to be infected with a previously undescribed species of hymenolepid cestode. The following description of a new species is based upon twenty-seven complete specimens recovered from the small intestines and caeca of these snipe.
Rapid and sensitive detection of Leishmania kinetoplast DNA from spleen and blood samples of kala-azar patients
Authors: Smyth A. J. , Ghosh A. , Hassan Md. Q. , Basu D. , De Bruijn M. H. L. , Adhya S. , Mallik K. K. , Barker D. C.
Published: June 2009

Following sequence analysis of a Leishmania donovani kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) minicircle, we have developed synthetic oligonucleotides for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). With these primers, we have amplified L. donovani kDNA from splenic aspirates and blood samples taken from kala-azar patients. Treatment of the samples for PCR requires only limited DNA purification by lysis in SDS, digestion with proteinase K, phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation of the resulting nucleic acid. We have obtained amplified product routinely with DNA prepared from the equivalent of 2·5–25 µl of splenic aspirate or of 50–500 µl of blood from infected patients. In dilution experiments a visible product has been obtained on amplification of DNA from the equivalent of 2·5 × 10−7 µl of splenic material. We therefore propose the amplification of L. donovani kDNA by PCR as a rapid and highly sensitive method for the diagnosis of kala-azar.
Studies on phosphatase systems in hepatopancreatic cells of the molluscan host of Echinoparyphium sp. and in the rediae and cercariae of this trematode
Authors: Cheng Thomas C.
Published: June 2009

1. The distribution of acid and alkaline phosphatases in the hepatopancreatic cells of the molluscan host of Echinoparyphium sp. and in the redia and cercaria of this trematode has been studied.

2. There is a heavier concentration of acid phosphatase in the hepatopancreas of infected snails than in uninfected snails.

3. No acid phosphatase is present in the bodies of the rediae or cercariae but this enzyme is present in the contents of the redial caeca.

4. Alkaline phosphatase activity is greater in the hepatopancreas of infected snails than in uninfected snails.

5. Alkaline phosphatase is present in the tissues of the rediae and the cercariae, especially in the fully developed cercariae.

6. It is suspected that the increase in acid and alkaline phosphatases in Helisoma trivolvis infected with Echinoparyphium redia is correlated with the breakdown of glycogen by the parasite.

This research was made possible by Grants E-3443, E-3443C1, and AI 3443–03 from the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service. The author is grateful to Mr Randall W. Snyder, Jr., School of Medicine, The University of Virginia, for technical assistance.
Effects of irradiation on surface carbohydrates of larvae ofSchistosoma mansoni
Authors: Wales A. , Fukumoto S.-I. , Otieno M. F. , Kusel J. R.
Published: June 2009

Ultra-violet irradiated larvae ofSchistosoma mansonistimulate high levels of resistance to challenge infection in experimental animals. In the experiments presented here, the binding patterns of antisera specific for the cercarial glycocalyx, and of various lectins, demonstrate that u.v. irradiation causes a pronounced modification of the carbohydrate antigens expressed at the surface of cercariae and newly transformed schistosomula.These alterations were dependent on the irradiation dose, and on the batch of cercariae used in each experiment. Our results strongly suggest that the changes in carbohydrate antigens consequent upon u.v. irradiation may be important in generating the enhanced immunogenicity of irradiated cercariae.
Chairman's opening remarks
Authors: Raadt P. De
Published: June 2009

I wish to thank the British Society for Parasitologv for the privilege of being your Chairman this morning and for assembling such a promising series of papers for this Autumn Symposium.
Chairman's concluding remarks
Authors: Warren K. S.
Published: June 2009

Having been trained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, I am a tropical medicine man in the tradition of Sir Patrick Manson, that is, a parasitologist. In his address inaugurating the London School of Tropical Medicine in 1899, entitled The Need for Special Training in Tropical Medicine, Manson stated that ‘the peculiar dis tribution of a large class of tropical diseases depends, in the first place, on the fact that they are entozoal diseases, in the second place, that the entozoa concerned require intermediate and definitive hosts, and, in the third, that one or other of these hosts requires a high atmospheric temperature, in other words are native to warm climates.’ He went on, ‘today the protozoan and the helminth, as regards tropical pathology, are in the ascendant.’ This belief still holds sway, as the great British and American tropical medical journals remain largely devoted to parasitic infections.
The role of the lipophosphoglycan ofLeishmaniain vector competence
Authors: Sacks D. L. , Saraiva E. M. , Rowton E. , Turco S. J. , Pimenta P. F.
Published: June 2009

The surface lipophosphoglycans (LPG) ofLeishmaniapromastigotes express stage- and species-specific polymorphisms that are defined by variations in the type and number of phosphorylated oligosaccharide repeats. We have studied how these polymorphic structures control the development of transmissible infections in the sandfly vector as well as the species-specificity of vectorial competence. Procyclic promastigotes displayed an inherent capacity to bind to midgut epithelial cells of a competent vector. This capacity was lost during their transformation to metacyclic promastigotes, permitting the selective release and anterior migration of infective-stage parasites for subsequent transmission by bite. Midgut attachment and release were found to be controlled by developmental modifications in terminally exposed saccharides on LPG, which, depending on the species ofLeishmania, involved either substitution or capping of terminal side-chain sugars, loss of terminal side-chain sugars, substitution or loss of neutral capping sugars. The stage-specific terminal sugars involved in midgut adhesion are, in some cases, also species-specific, and the extent to which these differences affect midgut attachment, forcefully predicted vectorial competence.
Infection dynamics of larval Bothriocephalus claviceps in Cyclops vicinus
Authors: Nie P. , Kennedy C. R.
Published: June 2009

The infection dynamics of Cyclops vicinus by the larvae of Bothriocephalus claviceps were studied experimentally. The mean number of procercoids/copepod rose to a plateau of approximately 14 as the density of eggs increased, whilst the number of copepods surviving decreased correspondingly. Copepods exposed to eggs of B. claviceps survived less well than controls, and those exposed to a higher density of eggs survived less well than those to a lower density. The mean number of parasites/copepod and the mortality of copepods were found to increase with the increasing time of exposure to eggs even when egg density was constant. These two parameters were also found to differ between gravid female copepods and unsexed young copepods. Young copepods suffered a higher parasite burden and thus a higher mortality, indicating that there are age or developmental-stage related differences in susceptibility of copepods to infection.
The hatching of Hymenolepis diminuta eggs and penetration of the hexacanths in Tenebrio molitor beetles
Authors: Lethbridge R. C.
Published: June 2009

The hatching of Hymenolepis diminuta eggs and penetration of the emergent hexacanths in adult and larval Tenebrio molitor beetles had been described. Hatching was shown to be a two-stage process involving rupture of the eggshell by the insect's mandibles and digestion of the remaining egg-layers in the midgut lumen. Penetration of hatched embryos was examined by histological methods that demonstrated the rate of migration and the route taken by hexacanths entering the haemocoel of adult beetles. Differences in the arrangement of the midgut tissues in adult and larval T. molitor were detected and shown to account for the failure of hexacanths to complete migration in the larvae. The role of the embryonic hooks and penetration gland secretions during hatching and penetration has also been discussed.

I should like to thank Professor T. R. E. Southwood for providing generous research facilities, Dr June Mahon for her advice and encouragement, and in particular, Dr W. Mordue for his continuous interest and many useful criticisms. This work was conducted during the tenure of a Science Research Council Studentship at Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, S.W. 7.
Locomotion of the cercaria ofParorchis acanthus,Nicoll and the ultrastructure of the tail
Authors: Rees Gwendolen
Published: June 2009

The cercaria ofParorchis acanthusswims by a series of spasmodic ventral flexions of the body moving with the dorsal surface of the body foremost. The wave of contraction continues along the tail which therefore moves dorso-ventrally. Creeping movements precede cyst formation. The structure of the tail is admirably suited to swimming movements and to rapid shortening and lengthening. The wall is provided with circular and longitudinal muscles and abundant mitochondria. The centre of the tail contains fluid in which is a network of large myoblasts the processes of which overlap and probably slide over one another during the tail movements. Glands opening into the terminal tail invagination secrete an adhesive substance consisting of mucoprotein and glycoprotein which together with the vesicular secretion around the aperture enables the tail tip to attach itself to the substratum.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr I. ap Gwynn of this department for invaluable help in the preparation of the electron-micrographs and Mr R. A. Moore and Mr M. C. Bibby for technical assistance.
Surface antigens ofLitomosoides cariniimicrofilariae: agglutinating antibodies react with sheath components of 40 and 120 kiloDalton molecular mass
Authors: Schares G. , Schützle B. , Zahner H. , Conraths F. J.
Published: June 2009

This study was conducted to identify surface antigens of the microfilarial sheath ofLitomosoides cariniiwhich are accessible to antibodies. Rabbit antisera were raised against the soluble and insoluble fractions of purified sheaths by extracting them with a buffer containing 2-mercaptoethanol and sodium dodecylsulphate. These sera and rabbit hyperimmune sera directed against homogenates of total microfilariae, mature (i.e. microfilariae liberating) female parasites and excretory–secretory products of adult females were able to agglutinate live and formaldehyde-fixed microfilariae. When the antisera directed against sheath constituents were administered to patently infectedMastomys coucha, the microfilaraemia of these animals was rapidly reduced and remained low for a period of 2–3 weeks. Antibodies specifically binding to the microfilarial surface were immunoaffinity-purified on formaldehyde-fixed microfilariae. The antibodies react with sheath antigens of 40 and 120 kDa molecular mass which are produced by the epithelium of the distal uterus of the mature female, secreted and attached to the surface of the sheaths. A 120 kDa antigen recognized by anti-sheath surface antibodies was also detected in the excretory–secretory products ofin Vitro-cultured immature femaleL. cariniifrom day 30 post-infection onwards. In the excretory–secretory products of mature adult female parasites recovered on day 130 post-infection, this 120 kDa molecule was absent. However, material reacting with the antibody was detected in the stacking gel of SDS-polyacrylamide gels. This finding may indicate that the basic units forming the 120 kDa antigen of immature adults or microfilarial sheath surface antigens occur in a highly polymerized form in the excretory–secretory products of mature female parasites.
A middle-repetitive DNA sequence element in the sheep parasitic nematode, Trichostrongylus colubriformis
Authors: Callaghan M. J. , Beh K. J.
Published: June 2009

A novel repetitive DNA sequence in the sheep parasitic nematode Trichostrongylus colubriformis was cloned and sequenced. A l·1 kb repetitive sequence (Tc15) which hybridized with DNA from T. colubriformis but not with DNA from two other parasitic nematodes, Haemonchus contortus and Ostertagia circumcincta, or sheep was further characterized. Southern blot analysis showed that the repeat hybridized to a range of fragments in restriction digested T. colubriformis DNA and existed in multiple copy number tandem arrays. However, to define clearly the repetitive monomeric unit further screening of phagemid libraries containing BamH I restriction fragments using a subclone of Tc15 as a probe was carried out. Restriction map and sequence data were compiled for 3 clones containing a 145 bp highly repetitive sequence (designated TcREP) which shared homology with the original pTc15 clone. TcREP hybridized to a tandemly repeating sequence monomer of 145 bp in T. colubriformis DNA which was cloned from various genetic environments in the T. colubriformis genome. TcREP homologous sequences were also found in the genomes of two other species of the same genus (Trichostrongylus axei and Trichostrongylus vitrinus) but not in a fourth species (Trichostrongylus rugatus).
Heligmosomoides polygyrus and Trypanosoma congolense infections in mice: a laboratory model for concurrent gastrointestinal nematode and trypanosome infections
Authors: Fakae B. B. , Harrison L. J. S. , Ross C. A. , Sewell M. M. H.
Published: June 2009

A murine model using Heligmosomoides polygyrus and Trypanosoma congolense has been developed for studying the effects of concurrent chronic gastrointestinal nematode and trypanosome infections. Female outbred mice were infected either with 500 infective larvae (L3) of H. polygyrus or with 104 bloodstream forms of T congolense or both. In concurrent infections, animals were dosed with both parasites simultaneously or the trypanosomes were injected 5 or 10 days after the mice were infected with the nematode. The course of infection was monitored by routine parasitological and immunological techniques for 30 days after the H. polygyrus infection. Concurrently infected mice were severely compromised, except when T. congolense was superimposed on a 10-day-old (adult) H. polygyrus infection. In H. polygyrus-infected mice, simultaneous or subsequent infection with trypanosomes did not markedly influence worm establishment or fecundity, but the female worms were slightly stunted. Surviving mice displayed a markedly reduced antibody response to H. polygyrus antigens and a slightly reduced antibody response to T. congolense antigens.
Population heterogeneity among clones of New World Leishmania species
Authors: Pacheco R. S. , Grimaldi G. , Momen H. , Morel C. M.
Published: June 2009

Cell cloning techniques and schizodeme analysis were used to detect mixtures of subpopulations in Leishmania parasites, isolated from humans and a reservoir host. Clones were obtained by plating promastigotes, at limited dilution, on solid medium. The resultant colonies were analysed by the restriction profile of kinetoplast DNA minicircles (schizodeme analysis). The efficiency of plating was around 40–60%, and subpopulations of different schizodemes, in stocks of Leishmania isolated from 2 cases of human cutaneous leishmaniasis were detected. The presence of different schizodemes in one isolate from a sylvatic animal suggested the possibility of a mixed natural infection.
Schistosoma haematobium infection in Mauritania: two years of follow-up after a targeted chemotherapy — a life-table approach of the risk of reinfection
Authors: Etard J. F. , Borel E. , Segala C.
Published: June 2009

Reinfection pattern among 6- to 20-year-old subjects was studied over 24 months in two Mauritanian villages of intenseSchistosoma haematobium infection after a targeted chemotherapy with praziquantel involving the whole community. Subjects received treatment according to the presence of haematuria/proteinuria and this indirect screening technique was able to identify 98–100% of the heavily infected subjects (50 + eggs/10 ml). The two villages differed with respect to their characteristics, quality of follow-up and reinfection pattern. The post-treatment 6-month cumulative incidence during the two transmission periods following the chemotherapy, estimated from a subset of 116 subjects, was 18·0% and 20·5%. Reinfection rates were higher among males (Cox-Mantel: P = 0·0015), among children 6–10 years of age than older (P = 0·0078) and among subjects with more than 50 eggs/10 ml of urine before treatment than subjects with a lower egg output (P = 0·009). A Cox proportional hazard regression model was fitted and confirmed that gender, age and pretreatment level of infection were predictors of the rate of reinfection but that there was no interaction between these predictors.
Molecular characterization of the surface and cyst fluid components of Taenia crassiceps
Authors: Lamsam S. , McManus D. P.
Published: June 2009

Information relating to the characterization of cestode surface macromolecules is limited. This is especially the case with Taenia crassiceps, a well-recognized model for the study of larval cestodiasis. Here, the protein and glycoprotein composition of the tegumental surface and cyst fluid of the metacestode have been investigated using radio-isotope labelling, immunoprecipitation, SDS–PAGE and lectin affinity chromatography. A restricted number of surface proteins was labelled with the 125I/Iodogen method although the majority were immunogenic; in contrast an array of cyst fluid antigens were labelled. Host serum proteins, including immunoglobulins, were identified on the surface and in the cyst fluid. Some of the 125I-labelled surface proteins, including a 37 kDa molecule, have been shown to be glycoproteins and probably contain-D-mannose and/or D-glucose; there is limited or no N-acetylglucosamine and no terminal galactose present on these components. A 37 kDa surface molecule, possibly the same glycoprotein, was also precipitated by infection sera and this may endorse the theory that highly immunogenic carbohydrates are continuously shed by T. crassiceps as a mechanism for diverting the immune response of the host. Radio-iodinated and biosynthetically labelled T. crassiceps antigens were highly cross-reactive with antibody raised to other cestodes and not one antigen was identified as a possible candidate for use in specific immunodiagnosis of any of the important taeniid infections.
Effect of Ascaris suum on growth and expulsion of Hymenolepis diminuta in mice
Authors: Bindseil Erling , Andreassen Jørn
Published: June 2009

Mice inoculated with 2000 Ascaris suum eggs 7 days before an infection with 2 cysticercoids of Hymenolepis diminuta harboured significantly fewer and/or smaller tapeworms than control mice by day 7 post-infection. When the interval between the infections was increased, the effect on H. diminuta decreased and no effect was found 21 days after the A. suum infection or if the infections were given simultaneously in ńaive or in mice immune to A. suum. Two possible explanations for the rejection and/or stunting of H. diminuta in mice infected 7 days earlier with A. suum are suggested; either a host reaction in the small intestine stimulated by the returning larvae of A. suum after their hepato–pulmonary migration or an indirect effect of decreased food intake of the host caused by this migration. It is concluded that experiments on possible immunodepressive or immunostimulating effects of parasites ought to include studies on living agents and that they should not rely on measurements of immune responses only.
Blood loss during Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection in the rat
Authors: Cummins A. G. , Bolin T. D. , Duncombe V. M. , Davis A. E.
Published: June 2009

Faecal blood loss was measured during Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection in the DA rat using 51Cr-labelled red blood cells (r.b.c.s). In an initial study, faecal blood loss was measured on day 7 of primary infection with 3000 larvae administered subcutaneously (s.c), and found to be 0·03 ml/24 h in uninfected animals and 0·14 ml/24 h in infected animals. In a further experiment, blood loss was measured on the day before infection and for 13 days after primary s.c. infection with 5000 larvae. Faecal blood loss was 0·05 ml/24 h or less until day 3, began to rise from day 5, reached a peak of 0·51 ml/24 h on day 8, and fell until day 13. This was closely associated with the rise and fall of the pooled faecal egg count. Direct worm count confirmed a high worm burden on day 7 and expulsion by day 14. The effect of the worm burden on the haemoglobin concentration (Hb) was measured in a further experiment and showed a fall in Hb with a mean worm burden of 726 compared to that of 47 or 284 worms. The study concluded that there is minimal background blood loss in uninfected rats but that infection with N. brasiliensis is a cause of intestinal blood loss and this is associated with a fall in Hb concentration that is dependent on the worm burden.
Glucose absorption in vitro by the enteric stages of Trichinella spiralis
Authors: Stewart G. L. , Raines Karen M. , Kilgore M. W.
Published: June 2009

Absorption of glucose in vitro by enteric stages of Trichinella spiralis was examined in worms isolated at different times following infection. Glucose absorption by 6-h-old worms was similar to that seen during moulting (24 h post-infection (p.i.)). As embryogenesis began (48 h p.i.) glucose absorption in vitro by the parasite rose dramatically to a peak in 72-h-old worms. Absorption of glucose in vitro remained high in 96-h-old worms but as larviposition began (120 h p.i.) glucose uptake by T. spiralis dropped significantly. Glucose absorption by worms isolated from the host during the primary immune response was unaffected. Glucose absorption in vitro remained at similar levels in worms isolated between 120 and 312 h p.i. The percentage of absorbed label incorporated into parasite tissues was greatest in 48- and 312-h-old worms. Glucose uptake in vitro by pre-adult and adult worms changed with time and these changes accompanied specific events in the biology of the parasite.
The serum immune response of young lambs to a primary infection with Nematodirus battus
Authors: Winter M. D. , Wright C. , Wakelin D. , Lee D. L.
Published: June 2009

Young lambs (6–8 weeks of age) were infected with 50000 infective stage larvae of the trichostrongyle nematode Nematodirus battus. Initial mean adult worm burdens of 23884±1678 (S.E.M.) at day 14 post-infection (p.i.) were reduced significantly (P < 0·01) to a mean burden of 5383±1397 by day 21 p.i. Blood samples were taken and serum analysed using ELISA and Western blotting techniques for IgG antibodies specific for N. battus. Pre-infection serum from young naive animals showed IgG recognition of adult and larval N. battus whole worm homogenate. Recognition of adult antigens became reduced during the first 14 days after infection, followed by a subsequent increase beginning between days 14 and 18 p.i. and peaking at day 28 p.i. IgM recognition of N. battus antigens showed a single response peak, starting between days 14 and 18 p.i., without the pre-infection elevated titre as observed with IgG. These results show that young lambs can mount a significant serum response to a primary infection with N. battus during rejection of adult worms and that lambs receive from their dams IgG antibodies that are capable of recognizing adult and larval N. battus during the first few weeks of life.
Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-like and peptide histidine isoleucine-like proteins excreted/secreted by Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Nematodirus battus and Ascaridia galli
Authors: Foster N. , Lee D. L.
Published: June 2009

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-Hke protein was detected by dot blot analysis in the excretions/secretions (E/S) of Nematodirus battus and Ascaridia galli and was confirmed in the E/S of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. ELISA analysis showed that N. brasiliensis E/S contained the highest proportion of VIP-like protein (28·04 pmoles/mg of total E/S protein) and A. galli E/S contained the lowest (10·89 pmoles/mg of total E/S protein). Peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI)- like protein was detected by dot blot analysis in the E/S products of N. brasiliensis, N. battus and A. galli. ELISA analysis suggested that A. galli E/S contained the highest proportion of PHI (20·77 nmoles/mg of total E/S protein) and N. battus E/S contained the lowest (0·67 nmoles/mg of total E/S protein). The possible significance of VIP-like and PHI-like substances in the E/S of gastrointestinal nematodes is discussed.
A revision of the subfamily Haplorchinae Looss, 1899 (Trematoda: Heterophyidae): I. The Haplorchis group
Authors: Pearson J. C.
Published: June 2009

Earlier schemes of classification of the family Heterophyidae have been based in large part on such features as shape of body, presence of oral spines, number and position of testes, and distribution of vitellaria (Witenberg, 1929; Ciurea, 1933; Mueller & Van Cleave, 1932). Price (1940a) was the first to make extensive use of features of the ventrogenital complex (ventral sucker, gonotyl, genital pore, terminal male duct) and excretory bladder, and produced the first reasonable classification of both the family Heterophyidae and the superfamily Opisthorchioidea. In despite of the obvious significance of the rationale of Price's approach, later authors (Morozov, 1952, 1955; Yamaguti, 1958) have largely ignored the ventrogenital complex and recently discovered life-history data, and have used much the same sorts of features as earlier authors.
Effects of Spirometra erinacei plerocercoids on the growth of Snell dwarf mice
Authors: Shiwaku K. , Hirai K. , Torii M. , Tsuboi T.
Published: June 2009

Snell normal and dwarf mice were infected with Spirometra erinacei plerocercoids collected in Japan, to investigate the relationship between the growth-promoting effects of plerocercoids and the growth hormone releasing factor and the somatostatin – growth hormone – somatomedin axis in the host. Infection with plerocercoids caused increases in body weight and weights of muscle, liver, spleen and heart in the normal male mice, and increases in the head–body length, body weight and weights of muscle, liver, spleen, kidney and heart in the normal female mice, but did not increase the weight of the fat pad. Infection with plerocercoids caused increases in body weights and weights of muscle, liver and spleen in the male dwarf mice, and increases in the head–body length, body weight and weights of muscle, liver, spleen and kidney in the female dwarf mice. These observations suggest that plerocercoids promote the growth of dwarf mice as well as normal mice. As the dwarfism of Snell mice is due to a defective anterior pituitary gland, it seems that plerocercoids do not stimulate secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary. Accordingly, it seems to be more probable that the larvae secrete a growth hormone-like substance.
The ecology of immature phases of Trichostrongyle nematodes: I. The vertical distribution of infective larvae of Trichostrongylus retortaeformis in relation to their habitat
Authors: Crofton H. D.
Published: June 2009

1. The number of third stage larvae of Trichostrongylus retortaeformis on different portions of herbage was studied. Three plant-types were used: Festuca sp., Clover, and Carex sp.

2. On Festuca spp., 5·5 in. in height, 90% of the total number of larvae occurred on the lower 3 in. of the blades; 50% occurred on the basal 1·5 in. On the same species, 3 in. high, 90% were found on the lower inch. This showed that the distribution on the blades was not limited by the total distance the larvae were able to travel. Nor was it limited by the rate of movement, because the form of the distribution was not altered after 3 days.

3. Larvae were found to be evenly distributed vertically over the stems and leaves of clover.

4. On Carex vulgaris 10 in. high the larvae were limited to the lower 2 in.

5. The distribution of larvae in the soil, ‘mat’ and herbage was recorded monthly throughout the year. During the warmer months of June, July and August the majority of larvae were found on the grass blades, and more larvae occurred in the soil than in the ‘mat’. During September, October, April and May more larvae were found in the ‘mat’ and fewer were found on the blades and in the soil. From November to March nearly all the larvae occurred in the ‘mat’. From December to January no larvae were found on the grass blades or in the soil.

6. Climatic conditions in the herbage were studied.

7. It was shown that the temperature below the top of grass blades may differ considerably from the air temperature. Differences of 10° F. were recorded between the tips and bases of grass blades. In general, there was a gradient of temperature established between the upper and lower parts of the grass.

8. High humidities occurred in the lower parts of the grass, even when atmospheric humidity was low. The relative humidity at the tips was never higher than that at the base of the blades.

9. The rate of evaporation decreased towards the base of the blades.

10. The light intensity decreased towards the soil. Midway between the top of the grass and the soil the light intensity fell rapidly.

11. The height, density and type of herbage modified the effect of the climatic factors.

12. It was concluded that the vertical distribution of larvae could be explained without reference to geotropism and that most of the larvae occurred in that portion of the herbage in which there was least climatic change.

The writer wishes to thank Prof. A. D. Hobson for advice and criticism and Mr W. Lyle Stewart, M.R.C.V.S., for encouragement and the provision of facilities, and Dr G. Lapage for helpful criticism and advice in the preparation of the MS. Thanks are also due to King's College, University of Durham, for a grant from the College Post-Graduate Research Fund.
Drug-resistance in Plasmodium gallinaceum, and the persistence of paludrine-resistance after mosquito transmission
Authors: Bishop Ann , Birkett Betty
Published: June 2009

1. Attempts, made over a period of more than 6 months, to produce a strain of Plasmodium gallinaceum resistant to mepacrine failed.

2. A strain of P. gallinaceum resistant to daily doses of 0·08 mg./20 g. of pamaquin was obtained after approximately 8 months' treatment with the drug.

3. A strain of P. gallinaceum resistant to the maximum dose of paludrine which the chicks would tolerate (1·0 mg./20 g. twice daily) was obtained after 4½ months' treatment with gradually increasing doses of the drug.

4. The exo-erythrocytic parasites of P. gallinaceum formed in chicks infected with a paludrine-resistant strain are themselves resistant to the drug. It is not, however, considered probable that the development of resistance is due to the action of the drugs upon the exo-erythrocytic parasites, as the technique used was one which reduced their number to a minimum.

5. A strain of P. gallinaceum resistant to paludrine showed a normal sensitivity to mepacrine and pamaquin, but was resistant to 4430, the methyl homologue of paludrine.

6. Chicks carrying a latent infection of the normal strain of P. gallinaceum were immune to infection with the paludrine-resistant strain; and conversely chicks carrying a latent infection of the paludrine-resistant strain were immune to infection with the normal parasite.

7. A paludrine-resistant strain of P. gallinaceum retained its resistance to this drug after five cyclical passages through mosquitoes without intervening drug treatment.
On Ornithodorus graingeri n.sp., a tick from caves in Kenya
Authors: Heisch R. B. , Guggisberg C. A. W.
Published: June 2009

In April 1950, numerous ticks of the genus Ornithodoros were found in two coral caves, several hundred yards from the sea, near Diani about 20 miles south of Mombasa. Most of the ticks were found in the larger cave, which was irregular in shape, about 42 ft. long, and from 2 to 7 ft. high. Some of the ticks were crawling on the fine brown earth which covered the floors and others were just below the surface; none were seen on the walls.
On the Dignity of Man in Kant
Authors: von der Pfordten Dietmar
Published: June 2009

The contribution starts with the observation that Kant mentioned Human Dignity in his main works with great variety in emphasis. In the ‘Grundlegung’ from 1785 we find a significant treatment and again in the ‘Tugendlehre’ from 1798 but none in the ‘Kritik der Praktischen Vernunft’ from 1788 and in the ‘Rechtslehre’ from 1797. This needs an explanation. In the ‘Grundlegung’ human dignity is not attached to the second formula of the categorical imperative, the formula of self-purposefulness, as it is often assumed, but to the third formula of a kingdom of ends. It is there explained as self-legislation. This placement needs also an explanation, which is attempted by the article. In the ‘Tugendlehre’ human dignity is then explained as self-purposefulness. So Kant changed his understanding of human dignity from the ‘Grundlegung’ to the ‘Tugendlehre’. But the question is: why?
A Speech Delivered by the Right Hon. Sir M. E. Grant Duff, G.C.S.I, Pres. Roy. Hist. Soc, Chairman of the Gibbon Commemoration Meeting, November 15, 1894
Authors: Duff M. E. Grant
Published: June 2009

It has been said with perhaps too much truth—Earth plays the step-dame to her poets ever, Then grieves and gives them fame, As if they cared to hear by God's great river The echo of their name.
A New Optical-Geometrical Illusion
Authors: Bressanelli Daniela , Massironi Manfredo
Published: June 2009

We describe and attempt to explain a new and unusual optical-geometrical illusion with three levels of distortion. The illusory figure is made up of three juxtaposed bands of the same width, which, when appropriately juxtaposed, appear to be of different widths. We hypothesised that the effect would depend on the combined action of various factors: (i) the band shapes and their reciprocal spatial position; (ii) the degree of coincidence of the sides of the juxtaposed bands; and (iii) the inability of the perceptual system to account for all the projective transformations. An experiment was conducted in which the shape of three stimuli was manipulated through affine transformation as well as variation of side lengths. The participants' task was to evaluate the width of the bands. The results revealed a robust and stable illusory effect; the factors that seem to influence the illusion most are band shape and conjoining side lengths.
Consulting consumers to develop marketing and recruitment strategies for a diabetes prevention program
Authors: Berryman Dianne , Gill Marie , Pietsch Jonathan , Halloran Hannah
Published: June 2009

Recruitment of participants to health education programs is a challenge often encountered in community health care settings. This paper outlines the process used to identify what strategies, approaches and messages raise community awareness of risk factors for type 2 diabetes and elicit action on the part of individuals to address risk factors. Consumer focus groups were conducted to explore people’s concerns, knowledge and beliefs around prevention of diabetes and with an aim to identify marketing messages and strategies for engaging participants in a diabetes prevention program. Findings from the focus groups were used to develop marketing messages that were then tested in further consumer consultations. They identified commonalities and differences between cultural groups. The key common point in relation to the marketing messages was the need to emphasise the consequences of type 2 diabetes and the individual relevance of risk factors. The importance of receiving information from trusted health professionals and the need to personalise messages of risk and encourage individual action was also highlighted in the research and incorporated into marketing and recruitment strategies.
Dual effect of a Tn917 insertion into the Bacillus subtilis sacX gene
Authors: Le Coqd Dominique , Aymerich Stéphane , Steinmetz Michel
Published: June 2009

Summary: The most common effect of transposon insertion is the inactivation of genes. However, in some cases, transposons can activate in cis the expression of genes in the neighbourhood of their integration site. We previously described an insertion of the transposon Tn917 into the Bacillus subtilis sacXY locus. sacX and sacY encode respectively a negative and a positive regulator involved in induction by sucrose of the exoenzyme levansucrase. Data in this paper show that the Tn917 insertion had two effects: it inactivated sacX and it increased the transcription of sacY. The latter effect involved one or several elements internal to the transposon.
Physiological and biochemical changes accompanying the loss of mucoidy by Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Williams Steven G. , Greenwood Jacqueline A. , Jones Colin W.
Published: June 2009

Pseudomonas aeruginosa M60, a mucoid strain, was grown in continuous culture (D 0-05 h−1) under ammonia limitation with glucose as the carbon source. Steady-state alginate production occurred for only 1-2 d under these conditions [q
alginate 0.097 g alginate h−1 (g dry wt cells)−1], after which time the percentage of mucoid cells and the alginate concentration in the culture decreased in parallel and approached zero after approximately 10 d. These changes were accompanied by similar decreases in the activities of the alginate biosynthetic enzymes (represented by phosphomannomutase and GDP-mannose dehydrogenase) and by a large increase in the activity of the first enzyme of the ‘external’ non-phosphorylative pathway of glucose metabolism, glucose dehydrogenase. In contrast, the activities of other enzymes associated with this pathway (gluconate dehydrogenase, 2-ketogluconate kinase plus 2-ketogluconate-6-phosphate reductase) or with the ‘internal’ phosphorylative pathway of glucose metabolism (glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) remained essentially unchanged. The loss of mucoidy and alginate production was accompanied by the appearance of low concentrations of intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and of extracellular gluconate and 2-ketogluconate (partly at the expense of alginate production and partly as a result of increased glucose consumption). It is suggested that ammonia-limited, glucose-excess cultures of P. aeruginosa growing at low dilution rate are unable fully to regulate the rate at which glucose and/or its ‘external’ pathway metabolites are taken up by the cell, and therefore form copious amounts of alginate in order both to overcome the potentially deleterious osmotic effects of accumulating surplus intracellular metabolites and to consume the surplus ATP generated by the further oxidation of these metabolites. The loss of mucoidy invokes the use of an alternative, but analogous, strategy via which non-mucoid cells produce an osmotically inactive intracellular product (PHA) plus increased amounts of the extracellular metabolites gluconate and 2-ketogluconate via the low-energy-yielding and, under these conditions, largely dead-end ‘external’ metabolic pathway.