Infant gastrointestinal canthariasis caused by cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne).

Diseases caused by beetle larvae infestation are known as intestinal canthariasis. Canthariasis from the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne, is quite rare; however, with the accumulation of genetic references, such cases of accidental pseudo-parasitism have been increasingly recognized. Here, we describe a case of asymptomatic gastrointestinal passage of L.

A rare sugar, allose, inhibits the development of parasites in the mosquito independently of midgut microbiota.

A rare sugar, allose, was reported to inhibit the development of parasites in mosquitoes; however, the mechanism remains unknown. The present study addressed the inhibitory mechanism of allose on the development of the parasite by connecting it with bacteria involvement in the midgut. In addition, further inhibitory sugars against infection in mosquitoes were explored.

Visualization of Malaria Parasites in the Skin Using the Luciferase Transgenic Parasite, Plasmodium berghei.

We produced a transgenic rodent malaria parasite (Plasmodium berghei) that contained the luciferase gene under a promoter region of elongation factor-1α. These transgenic (TG) parasites expressed luciferase in all stages of their life cycle, as previously reported. However, we were the first to succeed in observing sporozoites as a mass in mouse skin following their deposition by the probing of infective mosquitoes.

D-allose and D-psicose reinforce the action of metronidazole on trichomonad.

The effects of D-allose and D-psicose on Tritrichomonas foetus were examined. They were cultured in F-bouillon medium including glucose, but had never increased when glucose was substituted to those sugars. When cultured in a medium including a dose of ED(50) metronidazole and those sugars, trichomonad density was significantly less than that in a medium with metronidazole only.

Suppressive effect of azithromycin on Plasmodium berghei mosquito stage development and apicoplast replication.

Background: Azithromycin (AZM) is a macrolide antibiotic that displays an excellent safety profile even in children and pregnant women and has been shown to have anti-malarial activity against blood stage Plasmodium falciparum. This study evaluated the transmission-blocking effect of AZM using a rodent malaria model.

Methods: AZM-treated mice infected with Plasmodium berghei were exposed to Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, followed by the observation of parasite development at different phases in the mosquito, i.

[Effectiveness of learning of nursing-work as early exposure by the 1st year medical students at a university hospital].

We conducted a half day program included in the subject of "nursing and care" as early exposure at clinical sites for the 1st year medical students at a university hospital. This program aimed at understanding what nursing is through visit for study and what patients expect through doctor-patient communication. In order to evaluate the program and to clarify problems to be solved, comments and impressions reported by the medical students were analyzed qualitatively and inductively.

Nine different glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) variants in a Malaysian population with Malay, Chinese, Indian and Orang Asli (aboriginal Malaysian) backgrounds.

The Malaysian people consist of several ethnic groups including the Malay, the Chinese, the Indian and the Orang Asli (aboriginal Malaysians). We collected blood samples from outpatients of 2 hospitals in the State of Selangor and identified 27 glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)-deficient subjects among these ethnic groups. In the Malay, G6PD Viangchan (871GA, 1311CT, IVS11 nt93TC) and G6PD Mahidol (487GA) types, which are common in Cambodia and Myanmar, respectively, were detected.

PbSR is synthesized in macrogametocytes and involved in formation of the malaria crystalloids.

Crystalloids are transient organelles that form in developing malaria ookinetes and disappear after ookinete-to-oocyst transition. Their origins and functions remain poorly understood. The Plasmodium berghei scavenger receptor-like protein PbSR is essential for mosquito-to-host transmission of the parasite: PbSR knockout parasites produce normal numbers of oocysts that fail to form sporozoites, pointing to a role for PbSR in the oocyst during sporogony.

Disruption of the Plasmodium berghei 2-Cys peroxiredoxin TPx-1 gene hinders the sporozoite development in the vector mosquito.

To investigate the physiologic role of cytosolic 2-Cys peroxiredoxin of Plasmodium berghei (PbTPx-1), we infected the vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi with a parasite carrying a targeted knockout of pbtpx-1 (Prx-KO). The number of Prx-KO midgut oocysts at 14-15 days post-feeding (pf) was comparable to that of the parent strain (WT); however, the numbers of sporozoites that formed in midgut oocysts and accumulated in the salivary gland of Prx-KO-infected mosquitoes by 21 days pf were decreased to 10-20% and 3-10%, respectively, of those values in WT-infected mosquitoes. A higher frequency of DNA strand breaks was detected in Prx-KO oocysts than in WT oocysts.

Male fertility of malaria parasites is determined by GCS1, a plant-type reproduction factor.

Malaria, which is caused by Plasmodium parasites, is transmitted by anopheline mosquitoes. When gametocytes, the precursor cells of Plasmodium gametes, are transferred to a mosquito, they fertilize and proliferate, which render the mosquito infectious to the next vertebrate host. Although the fertilization of malaria parasites has been considered as a rational target for transmission-blocking vaccines, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood.

Seven different glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase variants including a new variant distributed in Lam Dong Province in southern Vietnam.

We conducted a survey for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency using blood samples from male outpatients of a local hospital in southern Vietnam. Most of the samples were from the Kinh (88.9%), the largest ethnic group in Vietnam, with a small number (11.

Phylogeny and evolution of the SERA multigene family in the genus Plasmodium.

The serine repeat antigen gene family of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf-SERA) consists of nine gene members. By sequence similarity search, 45 genes were identified to be homologous to the Pf-SERA genes in the ongoing seven Plasmodium genome sequencing project databases for the species: P. reichenowi, P.

PbGCbeta is essential for Plasmodium ookinete motility to invade midgut cell and for successful completion of parasite life cycle in mosquitoes.

When malaria parasites enter to mosquitoes, they fertilize and differentiate to zygotes and ookinetes. The motile ookinetes cross the midgut cells and arrive to the basement membranes where they differentiate into oocysts. The midgut epithelium is thus a barrier for ookinetes to complete their life cycle in the mosquitoes.

Reactivity of blood samples spotted onto filter papers in the WST-8 method for screening of G6PD deficiency.

Deficiency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) causes acute hemolytic anemia triggered by oxidative drugs such as primaquine. It is therefore essential in malaria-endemic areas for malaria patients to be confirmed for their G6PD activity before taking primaquine. The WST-8 method, a newly established screening method for G6PD deficiency, has been demonstrated to be suitable for field conditions, particularly for on-site malaria surveys.

The effects of blood feeding and exogenous supply of tryptophan on the quantities of xanthurenic acid in the salivary glands of Anopheles stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae).

Xanthurenic acid (XA), produced as a byproduct during the biosynthesis of insect eye pigment (ommochromes), is a strong inducer of Plasmodium gametogenesis at very low concentrations. In previous studies, it was shown that XA is present in Anopheles stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquito salivary glands and that during blood feeding the mosquitoes ingested their own saliva into the midgut. Considering these two facts together, it is therefore likely that XA is discharged with saliva during blood feeding and is swallowed into the midgut where it exerts its effect on Plasmodium gametocytes.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) mutations in Cambodia: G6PD Viangchan (871G>A) is the most common variant in the Cambodian population.

We conducted a survey of malaria diagnoses and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) testing in remote areas of Cambodia. Blood specimens from 670 people were collected by the finger-prick method. Of these people, 24.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) mutations in Myanmar: G6PD Mahidol (487G>A) is the most common variant in the Myanmar population.

We conducted a survey of malaria diagnoses and treatments in remote areas of Myanmar. Blood specimens from more than 1,000 people were collected by the finger-prick method, and 121 (11%) of these people were found to be glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient. Of these 121, 50 consented to analysis of the G6PD genome.

Isonicotinic acid hydrazide: an anti-tuberculosis drug inhibits malarial transmission in the mosquito gut.

We studied the transmission-blocking effect of isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH), a widely used anti-tuberculosis drug, against Plasmodium gallinaceum and Plasmodium berghei. INH-treatment of infected animals did not inhibit parasite development in the blood of the vertebrate host, but did inhibit exflagellation, ookinete formation, and oocyst development in the mosquito. Oocyst development was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner.

Laboratory evaluation of the ict malaria P.f./P.v. immunochromatographic test for detecting the panmalarial antigen using a rodent malaria model.

We evaluated the ICT Malaria P.f./P.

Five different glucose-6-phophate [correction phosphate]dehydrogenase (G6PD) variants found among 11 G6PD-deficient persons in Flores Island, Indonesia.

We conducted a survey for malaria diagnosis and treatment in four primary schools in Flores Island, one of the Indonesian Islands with an area of 17000 km(2) and a population of 1.8 million. Of those examined, 24.

Two cases of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient Nepalese belonging to the G6PD Mediterranean-type, not India-Pakistan sub-type but Mediterranean-Middle East sub-type.

In Nepal, we tested 300 males for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity. Two subjects were G6PD deficient (0.67%).

A malaria scavenger receptor-like protein essential for parasite development.

Malaria parasites suffer severe losses in the mosquito as they cross the midgut, haemolymph and salivary gland tissues, in part caused by immune responses of the insect. The parasite compensates for these losses by multiplying during the oocyst stage to form the infectious sporozoites. Upon human infection, malaria parasites are again attenuated by sustained immune attack.