Marriage and Health: Selection, Protection, and Assortative Mating.

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), we analyze the health gap between married and unmarried individuals of working-age. Controlling for observables, we find a gap that peaks at 10 percentage points at ages 55-59 years. The marriage health gap is similar for men and women.

The inflammatory cytokine effect of Pam3CSK4 TLR2 agonist alone or in combination with Leishmania infantum antigen on ex-vivo whole blood from sick and resistant dogs.

Background: A wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and immune responses exist in canine L. infantum infection. Ibizan hounds are more "resistant" to disease than other dog breeds.

Histological and parasitological distinctive findings in clinically-lesioned and normal-looking skin of dogs with different clinical stages of leishmaniosis.

Background: Normal-looking skin of dogs with leishmaniosis frequently shows microscopic lesions along with the presence of Leishmania amastigotes. However, histological lesions with or without detection of amastigotes might not occur in less severe clinical cases. In addition, comparative studies between paired clinically-lesioned and normal-looking skin samples from dogs with different disease severity are lacking.

Serological and molecular evidence of exposure to arthropod-borne organisms in cats from northeastern Spain.

One hundred sixty-eight cat sera from Spain were tested for IgG antibodies to Rickettsia conorii (Rc), Ehrlichia canis (Ec), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Ap) and Bartonella henselae (Bh) antigens using IFA and for FeLV antigen and FIV antibody by ELISA. For 47 whole blood samples, PCR testing was performed for Rickettsia, Ehrlichia and Bartonella. Seroprevalences were: Bh (71.

A serological study of exposure to arthropod-borne pathogens in dogs from northeastern Spain.

There is limited information regarding the prevalence of many vector borne pathogens in Europe and especially in Spanish dogs. We investigated 206 sick and 260 clinically healthy dogs from three different regions in northeastern Spain for antibodies to Rickettsia conorii (Rc), Ehrlichia canis (Ec), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Ap), Bartonella henselae (Bh), Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (Bvb), Leishmania infantum (Li) and Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) and for antigen of Dirofilaria immitis (Di).

Longitudinal study of dogs living in an area of Spain highly endemic for leishmaniasis by serologic analysis and the leishmanin skin test.

The literature contains few longitudinal studies that have assessed areas endemic for canine leishmaniasis and over the same time interval Leishmania-specific cellular and humoral immunity in healthy dogs. Fourteen dogs, three mixed breed and 11 Ibizian hounds, living in an area of Spain that was highly endemic for leishmaniasis were followed-up over a three-year period by serologic analysis and the leishmanin skin test (LST). All but one of these dogs remained clinically healthy during the study period.