Trematodes and their snail hosts have developed intimate parasite-host associations, with snails supporting a diverse and often species-specific trematode fauna. In the faucet snail, (Caenogastropoda, Littorinimorpha), a unique trematode fauna has been recorded recently. However, knowledge of the exact species identity, phylogenetic relationships, and geographical distribution remains limited as many of the species belong to groups with unclear or controversial taxonomical assignment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It has been suggested that alexithymia plays a significant role in substance and behavioral addictions. However, only a handful of studies investigated this construct in relation to gaming addiction, and no study analyzed its differential effect on gaming engagement and addiction.
Methods: A total of u adult gamers (M = 26.
Data on MP in aquatic environments have low resolution in space and time. Scaling up sampling and increasing analysis throughput are the main bottlenecks. We combined two approaches: an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) and near infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) for sampling and analysis of MP > 300 μm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiodivers Data J
January 2024
Background: In the present study, we aim to provide an inventory of digenetic trematodes (Platyhelminthes, Trematoda, Digenea) from Georgia including records from the freshwater, marine and terrestrial realms. The checklist is based on a critical review of data from 109 papers, 11 monographs and four Ph.D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe analysis of microplastics (MP) is time-consuming which limits our capacity to monitor and mitigate plastic pollution. Here, near infrared (1000-2500 nm) hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) offers an advantage over other spectroscopic techniques because it can rapidly image large areas relative to other systems. While NIR-HSI can successfully detect MP, accuracy and limitations of the method have not been fully explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Problematic internet and smartphone use are significant health challenges for contemporary adolescents. However, their mutual relationship is unclear because studies investigating these phenomena are scarce. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological risks and protective factors associated with problematic internet and smartphone use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCercariae, the free-living larval stages of trematodes, have adopted an amazing variety of transmission strategies. One of them is prey-mimetism, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2014-2015 and 2019-2021, teleost fishes off Galindez Island (Antarctic Peninsula) were examined for trematodes. Combined morphological and molecular analyses revealed the presence of eight trematode species of four families (Hemiuridae, Lecithasteridae, Opecoelidae, Lepidapedidae) from five fish species. Only adult trematodes were found and all of them are Antarctic endemics with their congeners occurring on other continents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDNA sequence data became an integral part of species characterization and identification. Still, specimens associated with a particular DNA sequence must be identified by the use of traditional morphology-based analysis and correct linking of sequence and identification must be ensured. Only a small part of DNA sequences of the genus Diplostomum (Diplostomidae) is based on adult isolates which are essential for accurate identification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough sexual activity has been found to be both important and challenging for people aged 50+, relatively little is known about the concerns that they have with respect to their sexual lives and how help-seeking behavior manifests on counseling platforms. A sample of 293 sex-related queries that Czechs aged 50+ posted on professional counseling websites were subjected to a quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The majority of posts were written by men and their dominant issues were erectile difficulties, partner's lack of interest in sex, and drug use/interaction when treating sexual difficulties and other ailments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems globally still leaves much to be discovered, not least in the trematode parasite fauna they support. Echinostome trematode parasites have complex, multiple-host life-cycles, often involving migratory bird definitive hosts, thus leading to widespread distributions. Here, we examined the echinostome diversity in freshwater ecosystems at high latitude locations in Iceland, Finland, Ireland and Alaska (USA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The Antarctic dragonfish, Parachaenichthys charcoti is a notothenioid teleost fish endemic to the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. It is a relatively rare fish species; therefore, published data on the parasite communities of P. charcoti are limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2018 and 2019, salmonid fishes, Salmo trutta L. and Salvelinus alpinus (L.) from lakes in Iceland were assessed for trematodes during a parasitological examination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
March 2020
This study examined the relationship between Excessive Internet Use (EIU) in adolescents and their family environment, namely the family type, the family economic status, the effect of parental care, the level of parental control, the amount of parental monitoring, the quality of communication, and the time spent together. The study was based on data from an international survey, Health Behaviour in School Aged Children (HBSC), conducted in Slovakia. The sample representative for adolescents included 2547 participants (51% boys) aged 13-15.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFactors that drive parasite specificity and differences in infection dynamics among alternative host species are important for ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions, but still often poorly known in natural systems. Here, we investigated spatiotemporal dynamics of infection, host susceptibility and parasite-induced changes in host phenotype in a rarely explored host-parasite system, the Australapatemon sp. trematode infecting two sympatric species of freshwater leeches, Erpobdella octoculata and Helobdella stagnalis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe analysed two novel databases containing 2,380 and 8,202 host-parasite-locality records for trematode parasites of molluscs and fishes, respectively, to assess the biodiversity of trematodes in their intermediate mollusc and fish hosts in the freshwater environment in Europe. The "mollusc" dataset covers large numbers of pulmonate (29 spp.), "prosobranch" (15 spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper, we review, continent by continent, the trematode fauna of freshwater fishes of the 'Old World', a vast area consisting of the Palaearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental and Australasian zoogeographical regions. Knowledge of this fauna is highly uneven and clearly incomplete for almost all regions, sometimes dramatically so. Although the biggest problem remains the completion of the 'first pass' of alpha taxonomy, there are in addition great problems relating to biogeography and elucidation of life-cycles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The cutaneous monostome trematode Collyriclum faba (Bremser in Schmalz, 1831) is a bird parasite with a hitherto unknown life cycle and highly focal occurrence across the Holarctic and Neotropic ecozones.
Methods: Representative specimens of benthic organisms were sampled at multiple sites and dates within the known foci of C. faba occurrence in Slovakia.
We investigated for the first time the digenean parasites of Austrolittorina unifasciata Gray (Gastropoda: Littorinidae), a periwinkle snail inhabiting the rocky shores of Australia. Here we present detailed morphological descriptions and molecular data (sequences for the mitochondrial cox1 and the nuclear 28S rRNA gene) for the cercariae and intramolluscan stages of the digenean parasites found. Five species, one each of the families Notocotylidae Lühe, 1909, Gorgocephalidae Manter, 1966 and Philophthalmidae Looss, 1899, and two of the family Renicolidae Dollfus, 1939, were recorded and characterised molecularly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpecies of Echinostoma Rudolphi, 1809 (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) belonging to the 'revolutum' species complex were re-examined based on material gathered in an extensive sampling programme in eight countries in Europe. The morphology of the life-cycle stages was studied in naturally and experimentally infected snail and bird hosts. A review, with an updated synonymy, is presented for six European species, including one new to science, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The systematics of echinostomes within the so-called 'revolutum' group of the genus Echinostoma, which encompasses the type-species E. revolutum and a number of morphologically similar species, has long been controversial. Recent molecular studies indicate the existence of more species than previously considered valid, thus stressing the need for wider taxon sampling from natural host populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrequent infections with Diplostomum spp. (Digenea: Diplostomidae) were found in the freshwater snail Radix peregra (Müller) and three fish species, the salmonids Salmo trutta fario L., Salvelinus alpinus (L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLittorinid snails are one particular group of gastropods identified as important intermediate hosts for a wide range of digenean parasite species, at least throughout the Northern Hemisphere. However nothing is known of trematode species infecting these snails in the Southern Hemisphere. This study is the first attempt at cataloguing the digenean parasites infecting littorinids in New Zealand.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHost-parasite systems at high latitudes are promising model systems for detecting and predicting the impact of accelerated environmental change. A major challenge is the lack of baselines for the diversity and distribution of parasites in Arctic wildlife, especially in the freshwater environment. Here we present the first known estimates of the species diversity and host associations of Diplostomum spp.
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