[World Collections of Parasitic Worms].

This article provides information about the depositories of parasitic worms in the scientific institutes and museums in the United States, Japan, and Europe (the total number of samples and the availability of types of helminths from various classes), as well as information on the availability of electronic catalogues of the collections in the continental, national, and regional centers for collective use. The extent of this material has determined the necessity of creating digital collections and libraries that would represent a new form of storing, displaying, and exchanging information for scientific research. An analysis was performed of the current state of approaches and methods of development of the specialized information retrieval system (IRS) and databases (DBs) on the parasitic worms in Russia on the basis of a common conceptual data model, taking into account their local use (as desktop systems of database management) and access by scientists worldwide via the Internet.

[The role of different species of hunt game animals in formation of irradiation dose of population in territories polluted by 137Cs].

This article includes the data on 137Cs accumulation in different species of game animals studied in two regions of Bryansk area. Based on Hunting Commission data on numbers of bagging by hunters in these regions, a count of total hunting production polluted with 137Cs was obtained. It was shown that wild ungulates are the main dose-forming factor in risk group.

[Coccidies genus Eimeria as a bioindicator of radioactive pollution of the biocenose].

The data on coccidies of rodents were collected in Chernobil (1989-1991) and in the regions of radioactive pollution in the Bryansk region of Russia (1992-1999). The surface pollution of experimental plots was different and come from 0.11 to 11.

[Use of microwave ovens in the prevention of opisthorchiasis].

The studies were performed to evaluate the impact of microwave radiation on the larval stages of parasites and particularly on the survival of Opisthorchis metacercariae when fish was cooked in domestic microwave ovens. It was found to take less time to free fish and its products from Opisthorchis metacercariae in the microwave oven than that to cook the product completely. The performed experiments have shown that the use of microwave ovens to domestically prepare carps from unfavorable opisthorchiasis water reservoirs is an effective mean of freeing fishes from Opisthorchis metacercariae.

[The effect of ionizing radiation on various factors of natural immunity of hamsters under normal conditions and during invasion with the cestode, Hymenolepis diminuta].

Effect of single and chronic irradiation on factors of hamsters natural immunity such as complement, lysozyme and antibodies in norm and in the cestode invasion has been investigated. Significant phase changes in the complement activity level, lysozyme content and specific antibodies titre have been shown to occur in hamster blood under the influence of ionizing radiation. Cestode invasion in irradiated host organism increases the negative effect of ionizing radiation on the hamster immune system.