114 research outputs found
Parastrongylus cantonensis in a Nonhuman Primate, Florida
Parastrongylus (= Angiostrongylus) cantonensis is a parasitic nematode of Norway rats throughout tropical regions. This parasite is neurotropic and causes disease and death in humans and other mammals. We report the first identification of P. cantonensis as the cause of a debilitating neurologic disease in a captive primate in Florida
Human Angiostrongyliasis Outbreak in Dali, China
Angiostrongyliasis, caused by the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is a potentially fatal food-borne disease. It is endemic in parts of Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and the Caribbean. Outbreaks have become increasingly common in China due to the spread of efficient intermediate host snails, most notably Pomacea canaliculata. However, infections are difficult to detect since the disease has a rather long incubation period and few diagnostic clinical symptoms. Reliable diagnostic tests are not widely available. The described angiostrongyliasis epidemic in Dali, China lasted for eight months. Only 11 of a total of 33 suspected patients were clinically confirmed based on a set of diagnostic criteria. Our results demonstrate that the rapid and correct diagnosis of the index patient is crucial to adequately respond to an epidemic, and a set of standardized diagnostic procedures is needed to guide clinicians. Integrated control and management measures including health education, clinical guidelines and a hospital-based surveillance system, should be implemented in areas where snails are a popular food item
Twenty two cases of canine neural angiostronglyosis in eastern Australia (2002-2005) and a review of the literature
Cases of canine neural angiostrongylosis (NA) with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evaluations in the peer-reviewed literature were tabulated. All cases were from Australia. A retrospective cohort of 59 dogs was contrasted with a series of 22 new cases where NA was diagnosed by the presence of both eosinophilic pleocytosis and anti-Angiostrongylus cantonensis immunloglobulins (IgG) in CSF, determined by ELISA or Western blot. Both cohorts were drawn from south east Queensland and Sydney. The retrospective cohort comprised mostly pups presented for hind limb weakness with hyperaesthesia, a mixture of upper motor neurone (UMN) and lower motor neurone (LMN) signs in the hind limbs and urinary incontinence. Signs were attributed to larval migration through peripheral nerves, nerve roots, spinal cord and brain associated with an ascending eosinophilic meningo-encephomyelitis. The contemporary cohort consisted of a mixture of pups, young adult and mature dogs, with a wider range of signs including (i) paraparesis/proprioceptive ataxia (ii) lumbar and tail base hyperaesthesia, (iii) multi-focal central nervous system dysfunction, or (iv) focal disease with neck pain, cranial neuropathy and altered mentation. Cases were seen throughout the year, most between April and July (inclusive). There was a preponderance of large breeds. Often littermates, or multiple animals from the same kennel, were affected simultaneously or sequentially. A presumptive diagnosis was based on consistent signs, proximity to rats, ingestion/chewing of slugs or snails and eosinophilic pleocytosis. NA was diagnosed by demonstrating anti-A. cantonensis IgG in CSF. Detecting anti-A. cantonensis IgG in serum was unhelpful because many normal dogs (20/21 lb dogs; 8/22 of a hospital population) had such antibodies, often at substantial titres. Most NA cases in the contemporary series (19/22) and many pups (16/38) in the retrospective cohort were managed successfully using high doses of prednisolone and opioids. Treatment often included antibiotics administered in case protozoan encephalomyelitis or translocated bacterial meningitis was present. Supportive measures included bladder care and physiotherapy. Several dogs were left with permanent neural deficits. Dogs are an important sentinel species for NA. Human cases and numerous cases in tawny frogmouths were reported from the same regions as affected dogs over the study period
Identification and characterisation of microRNAs in young adults of Angiostrongylus cantonensis via a deep-sequencing approach
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Analysis and enhancement of a branch and bound approach to facilities layout in continuous flow manufacturing systems
Today\u27s Continuous Flow Manufacturing (CFM) systems are the integration of several manufacturing components found in traditional manufacturing facilities. They contain groups of machines (facilities, work centers or cells) linked together by transport systems (material handlers, conveyors, etc.). Series of parts are transported from one facility to the next depending on operation sequences. Usually, a major problem encountered in the optimal design of a CFM system is the assignment of these manufacturing components onto appropriate locations in the layout to obtain efficient CFM configurations with preferable flow of products and resource utilization. In this research, optimal operation allocations to groups of machines in a facility is termed the Resource Assignment Subproblem or RAS. The task of locating facilities onto predefined locations in the layout, taking into consideration operation sequences, is termed the Location Assignment Subproblem or LAS. Both the RAS and LAS generally involve complicated discrete mathematical models, thus, many past researchers have chosen to investigate them separately. Recent research conducted by Ketcham (1992a) has led to a mathematical representation which integrates LAS and RAS into a single model, called the Configuration Problem (CP). The solution method, which is a heuristic called the Resource Assignment algorithm, is also found to provide acceptably good solutions for complex models using reasonable computational efforts. The current implementation of the Resource Assignment algorithm, however, becomes inadequate for today\u27s large-scale CFM facilities, where many products are produced at different sites. Thus, enhanced methodologies are developed in this research so that systems of various complexity and characteristics can be optimized more efficiently. The study of algorithm performance and solution characteristics has led to several enhancement techniques. The collection of these techniques, called the Meta-algorithm is a set of decision rules that suggests an optimization strategy, for the Resource Assignment algorithm, based on the characteristics of a given CFM system. The robustness of the Meta-algorithm is tested against a wide range of trial cases representing large-scale CFM systems found in industrial practice. Overall improved performance has been achieved by the Meta-algorithm, which is found most effective for segmenting and solving large-scale problems infeasible for the existing Resource Assignment algorithm
Gnathostomiasis acquired by British tourists in Botswana.
Infection with Gnathostoma spinigerum has been generally confined to Southeast Asia and Central and South America. However, gnathostomiasis was recently found in British tourists who had visited Botswana. Consequently, travel to Africa should now be considered a risk factor for gnathostomiasis
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