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.

Implementation of a novel PCR based method for detecting malaria parasites from naturally infected mosquitoes in Papua New Guinea.

Background: Detection of Plasmodium species in mosquitoes is important for designing vector control studies. However, most of the PCR-based detection methods show some potential limitations. The objective of this study was to introduce an effective PCR-based method for detecting Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum from the field-caught mosquitoes of Papua New Guinea.

Molecular phylogeography of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes in central Bangladesh.

Mosquitoes in the Culex pipiens complex are a major vector of numerous parasitic and arboviral diseases. Here we report the phylogeography of a prevalent Culex mosquito, Cx. quinquefasciatus, from three locations in Bangladesh: Dhaka, Savar and Mymensingh.

Genetic diversity in two sibling species of the Anopheles punctulatus group of mosquitoes on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

Background: The mosquito Anopheles irenicus, a member of the Anopheles punctulatus group, is geographically restricted to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. It shows remarkable morphological similarities to one of its sibling species, An. farauti sensu stricto (An.

Identification of an eosinophil chemotactic factor from anopheline mosquitoes as a chitinase family protein.

Anopheline mosquitoes play an essential role in malaria transmission. The mosquito salivates copiously when probing for the location of a blood vessel. We found that the saliva of anopheline mosquitoes has chemotactic activity for naive eosinophils or neutrophils.

Intertidal snail-trematode communities on the southern Thailand before and after the South Asia tsunami.

Intertidal snail-trematode communities in southern Thailand were examined before and after the South Asia tsunami. Infection rates and species diversity of cercaria in the host snail Cerithidea in tidal zones did not change significantly from one year before to one month after the tsunami. However, the host snails C.

Mosquito salivary gland extracts induce EBV-infected NK cell oncogenesis via CD4 T cells in patients with hypersensitivity to mosquito bites.

Severe hypersensitivity to mosquito bites (HMB) is characterized by intense local skin reactions and systemic symptoms such as high fever, lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. Patients with HMB often have natural killer (NK) cell lymphocytosis associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Here we investigated whether mosquito bites have any influence on the oncogenesis of EBV-infected NK cells.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of the distribution of flame cells in a trematode cercaria.

In order to reveal the vertical distribution of flame cells in a trematode cercaria, horizontal serial semi-thin sections were reconstructed by an image analyzer and a manual procedure. The ascending main excretory tubes extended forward, meandering up and down at the digestive system level from the excretory bladder. At the posterior end of the ventral sucker, they curved dorsally, passed through the dorsal side, returning to the mid level at the anterior end of the ventral sucker.

CD4+ T-lymphocyte-induced Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in a patient with severe hypersensitivity to mosquito bites and Epstein-Barr virus-infected NK cell lymphocytosis.

Background: Natural killer (NK) cell lymphocytosis associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection often shows severe hypersensitivity to mosquito bites (HMB) characterized by intense local skin reactions and systemic symptoms such as high fever, lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. However, the induction mechanism of HMB is still unclear.

Observations: We investigated a typical case of HMB with EBV-positive NK cell lymphocytosis.

A mathematical model for the transmission of Plasmodium vivax malaria.

We have proposed a mathematical model for the transmission of Plasmodium vivax malaria quantitatively, which is adjusted to the infected region, Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands. The simulation of a transmission model will be instrumental in planning the malaria control strategy. A characteristic of the life cycle of P.

Unique phylogenetic relationships of glucokinase and glucosephosphate isomerase of the amitochondriate eukaryotes Giardia intestinalis, Spironucleus barkhanus and Trichomonas vaginalis.

Glucokinase (GK) and glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI), the first two enzymes of the glycolytic pathway of the diplomonads Giardia intestinalis and Spironucleus barkhanus, Type I amitochondriate eukaryotes, were sequenced. GPI of the parabasalid Trichomonas vaginalis was also sequenced. The diplomonad GKs belong to a family of specific GKs present in cyanobacteria, in some proteobacteria and also in T.

Superoxide-dependent and -independent pathways are involved in the transmission blocking of malaria.

Superoxide plays a crucial role in innate immunity to various pathogens. We examined the role of superoxides in the transmission of malaria using gp91phox knockout (X-CGD) mice that lack the ability to produce superoxide. Mosquitoes that fed on X-CGD mice infected intraperitoneally with Plasmodium berghei NK65 ANKA formed more oocysts than did those that fed on control mice at any day after infection.

Archaebacterial relationships of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene reveal mosaicism of Giardia intestinalis core metabolism.

A gene encoding a putative GTP-specific phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase has been cloned and sequenced from the type I amitochondriate protist Giardia intestinalis. The deduced amino acid sequence is related most closely to homologs from hyperthermophilic archaebacteria and only more distantly to homologs from Eubacteria and Metazoa. Most enzymes of Giardia core metabolism, however, are related more closely to eubacterial and metazoan homologs.

A histochemical study of the secretory gland cells of Cercaria shikokuensis and their role during development from cercaria to metacercaria.

The roles of secretory glands during the developmental process from an immature cercaria to a metacercaria in Cercaria shikokuensis were studied. Four types of secretory cells were identified in this species. On maturation of the cercaria in redia, the products of ventral gland cells and mucoid gland cells formed a thick surface coat on the mature cercaria, and the products of cephalic gland cells also formed a thin cover on the surface coat.

The role of saliva of Anopheles stephensi in inflammatory response: identification of a high molecular weight neutrophil chemotactic factor.

Mosquito bites can elicit dermal hypersensitivity reactions, but little is known about the chemotactic factors for host leukocytes in mosquito saliva. In this study, we determined that saliva from a malarial vector mosquito, Anopheles stephensi, possesses intense neutrophil chemotactic activity. In contrast, the midgut extract had only marginal neutrophil chemotactic activity.

Estimation of the sporozoite rate of malaria vectors using the polymerase chain reaction and a mathematical model.

We developed a sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum DNA from mosquitoes collected in the field. Plasmodium falciparum was detected from 15.2% of 1-parous mosquitoes, Anopheles farauti, in the Solomon Islands through use of the PCR method.

Detection of Pneumocystis carinii sequences in serum by polymerase chain reaction.

The clinical significance of the detection of Pneumocystis carinii DNA was evaluated, as well as the detection of circulating P. carinii antigen from serum using previously collected samples. Fourteen serum samples from 13 patients were diagnosed positively for P.

Acanthamoeba-specific human T-cell clones isolated from healthy individuals.

T-cell responses to pathogenic free-living amoebae, Acanthamoeba sp., were analyzed in healthy Japanese individuals. Of 20 healthy subjects, 10 (50%) showed significant proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to the soluble amoebic antigens in vitro.

Identification of human blood in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) using nonradioactive DNA dot blot hybridization.

A dot blot hybridization procedure was developed to detect human blood meals in engorged mosquitoes. A biotinylated DNA probe allowed the detection of 10-100 ng of human DNA, discriminated well between human and nonhuman sources of blood, and cross-reacted only with monkey DNA. Results showed that this method was a specific and sensitive technique for the identification of blood meals up to 100 h after ingestion.

Vector mosquitoes of Wuchereria bancrofti at Bicol region in the Philippines. 1. Transmission capability.

Mosquitoes were surveyed for the capability of filaria transmission at Sitio Bacolod and Barrio Salvacion, in Bicol region, Luzon, Philippines. The results of indoor collections and experimental infections showed that the infective rates and the median density of infective larvae per infected mosquito were significantly higher in Aedes poicilius than in Culex quinquefasciatus. Aedes poicilius was found to be the principal vector of bancroftian filariasis in this region.

An epidemiological study of filariasis in Sorsogon province, Republic of the Philippines, with notes on experimental mosquito infection.

An epidemiological survey was conducted on Bancroftian filariasis in Sorsogon province, the Philippines, with special regard to low density microfilaremia (LDF). Filtration technique using nuclepore membrane examining 1 ml blood revealed 31% positive rate for microfilaria out of 262 volunteers. Out of 82 positives 21 (25.

[Ultrastructural changes of the tegument on Diphyllobothrium erinacei and Hymenolepis nana treated with paromomycin sulfate in vitro].

The effects of paromomycin sulfate on Diphyllobothrium erinacei and Hymenolepis nana in vitro were examined morphologically with a scanning and a transmission electron microscope. D. erinacei was incubated for 3 and 6 hours at 37 degrees C in a culture medium, 0.