Nalaz protutijela za protozoon Toxoplasma gondii u ovaca u Istanbulu u Turskoj.

This study was carried out in order to determine the occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sheep in five districts of Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 181 sera taken from sheep were examined for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Of the 181 samples tested 56 (31%) were determined as seropositive. The prevalence of Toxoplasma antibodies was significantly higher in adult sheep (P0.05). These results indicate that ovine toxoplasmosis is widespread in Istanbul. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the status of T. gondii infection in sheep in Istanbul.Istraživanje je provedeno sa svrhom da se ustanovi nalaz protutijela za protoozon Toxoplasma gondii u ovaca s pet područja Istanbula u Turskoj. Ukupno je bilo pretražen 181 uzorak seruma imunoenzimnim testom. Specifična protutijela bila su dokazana u 56 (31%). Prevalencija protutijela bila je značajno veća u odraslih ovaca (P0,05). Rezultati potvrđuju veću proširenost ovčje toksoplazmoze i ujedno predstavljaju i prvo izvješće o stanju bolesti u Istanbulu

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in dairy cattle herds in Central Anatolia, Turkey

A total of 3287 sera collected from cows in thirty-two herds in the eight provinces of Central Anatolia of Turkey were tested for presence of Neospora caninum antibodies by using commercial ELISA kit. The overall seroprevalence of Neospora caninum was 13.96% (95% CI 13.78 to 16.22). On a provincial basis, N. caninum infection was present in all provinces while cows sampled in Kirikkale had the highest rate (P<0.05). Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 34 (23.61%) of 144 aborted cows. The prevalence of N. caninum was significantly higher in the aborted cows than in non-aborted cows (P<0.001). However, the odds ratio was 1.97, suggesting an association between abortion and seropositivity. This is the first report on serological prevalence of Neospora caninum in cows in Central Anatolia, and neosporosis in dairy cattle seems to be widespread in some provinces of this region

Efficacy of novel albendazole salt formulations against secondary cystic echinococcosis in experimentally infected mice

8 páginas, 5 figuras, 1 tablaIn this study, we evaluated the efficacy, expressed as a mean weight decrease of the whole echinococcal cyst mass, of novel benzimidazole salt formulations in a murine Echinococcus granulosus infection model. BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally infected with protoscoleces of E. granulosus (genotype G1). At 9 months post-infection, treatment with albendazole (ABZ), ricobendazole (RBZ) salt formulations, and RBZ enantiomer salts (R)-(+)-RBZ-Na and (S)-(−)-RBZ-Na formulations were initiated. Drugs were orally applied by gavage at 10 mg kg−1 body weight per day during 30 days. Experimental treatments with benzimidazole sodium salts resulted in a significant reduction of the weight of cysts compared to conventional ABZ treatment, except for the (S)-(−)-RBZ-Na enantiomer formulation. Scanning electron microscopy and histological inspection revealed that treatments impacted not only the structural integrity of the parasite tissue in the germinal layer, but also induced alterations in the laminated layer. Overall, these results demonstrate the improved efficacy of benzimidazole salt formulations compared to conventional ABZ treatment in experimental murine cystic echinococcosis.The research leading to these results received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under the project HERACLES (http://www.heracles-fp7.eu/), grant agreement no. 602051. The funder of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation or writing of the report.Peer reviewe

Determining the Appropriateness of the "What If" Situations Test (WIST) with Turkish Pre-Schoolers

WOS: 000432169500005PubMed ID: 29488835Measurement instruments are needed to assess the child's sexual abuse prevention program. The purpose of the study was to determine the reliability and validity of the WIST (What If Situations Test) for Turkish culture. Participants were children of the 3-6 age group attending pre-school education institutions and the sample size was identified by means of a power analysis. Seventy children were identified as the sample with 0.85 power and 0.05 type I error according to the power analysis. Language validity, content validity, internal validity coefficient (Cronbach alpha coefficient), and test-retest analyses were conducted in terms of validity and reliability in the scope of efforts for adaptation to Turkish culture. Firstly, Kendall W=0.83 was the score for the expert opinions concerning the content validity of the language validity scale. It was found that the Cronbach alpha coefficients were between 0.68 and 0.90 for the scale sub-dimensions of appropriate and inappropriate recognition, saying, doing, telling, and reporting. The test-retest reliability of the scale was found to be r=0.89 and the test-retest reliabilities for the sub-dimensions (appropriate recognition, inappropriate recognition, say skills, do skills, tell skills, and reporting skills) were between r=0.48 and r=0.92. The test-retest reliability for the Personal Safety Questionnaire (PSQ), as having complimentary items to the WIST, was found to be r=0.82. The reliability and validity analysis of the What If' Situations Test (WIST), used to evaluate pre-schoolers' skills regarding self-protection against sexual abuse, showed that the Test's adaptation to Turkish culture was reliable and valid.Uludag University Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Management Unit [KUAP SYO 2014/60, IRB00004769]This study was supported by the Uludag University Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Management Unit [(KUAP SYO 2014/60), IRB00004769]

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Body Safety Training for Young Children in Turkey

WOS: 000436082200002PubMed ID: 29856274The Body Safety Training Program is an education program aimed at ensuring children are informed about their body and acquire self-protection skills. In this study, a total of 83 preschoolers were divided into experimental and control groups; based on a power analysis, 40 children comprised the experimental group, while 43 children comprised the control group. The Body Safety Training Programme was translated into Turkish and content validity was determined regarding the language and cultural appropriateness. The What If Situations Test (WIST) was administered to both groups before and after the training. Mann-Whitney U Test, Kruskal-Wallis Variance Analysis, and the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test were used to compare between the groups and the Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the strength of the relationship between the dependent and independent variable. The differences between the pretest and posttest scores for the subscales (appropriate recognition, inappropriate recognition, say, do, tell, and reporting skills), and the personal safety questionnaire (PSQ) score means for the children in the experimental group were found to be statistically significant (p<.001). The posttest-pretest difference score means of the experimental group children for WIST saying, doing, telling and reporting, total skills, and PSQ were found to be statistically significant as compared to that of the control group (p<.05). The Body Safety Training programme is effective in increasing the child sexual abuse prevention and self-protection skills in Turkish young children.Uludag University Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Management Unit [KUAP SYO 2014/60, IRB00004769]This study was supported by the Uludag University Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Management Unit [(KUAP SYO 2014/60), IRB00004769]

SUBCHRONIC EXPOSURE TO 2,4-D-INDUCED BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN RATS

Today, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is a widely used herbicide and is has been the subject of many studies related to carcinogenicity, chronic toxicity, genetic toxicity and reproductive toxicity. In this study,the effects on rats exposed to the acidic form of 2,4-D were evaluated with histopathological and plasmatic parameters. Rats were orally exposed to 25 and 50 ppm of 2,4-D in drinking water daily, and 50 and 100 ppm dietary feed for a period of 45 days. At the end of the study, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) values were examined from rat blood samples, and also tissue samples from rat brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidney, thymus and testis were histopathologically examined. Extensive parenchymal degeneration in the liver, mid-grade parenchymal degeneration in kidneys, and cortical hyperplasia in the thymus were observed in the group exposed to a maximum dosage (100 ppm) and, in one of the rats, lymphoidal cell increase in the cortex and significant follicle formation with epithelial cells creating starry sky patterns between the lymphocytes were observed histopathologically. Rats with liver injuries were also observed to have increased serum GOT values. Consequently, our findings supported that 2,4-D is a toxic agent, possibly causing lymphoid tumors

Brachial Diparesis Due To Motor Neuronopathy As One of the Predominant Presenting Signs of Occult Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Sensory neuronopathy is a well-established presentation in paraneoplastic neurological syndromes that is mostly associated with small cell lung cancer and anti-Hu antibodies. Motor neuronopathy, on the other hand, is an extremely rare observation in this syndrome. A 56-year-old man presented with asymmetric brachial diparesis and sensory ataxia. Electrophysiological studies revealed sensory ganglionopathy and progressive anterior horn degeneration in cervical segments. Small cell lung carcinoma with associated anti-Hu antibodies was later diagnosed. The patient did not improve despite the administration of steroids and chemotherapy. Paraneoplastic syndromes may exceptionally present with a bilateral arm weakness. Cases accompanied by sensory ganglionopathy should therefore be promptly investigated for any underlying malignancy.WoSScopu

Achievements of the HERACLES Project on Cystic Echinococcosis

4 páginas, 2 figuras y 1 cuadroThe FP7 project ’Human Cystic Echinococcosis ReseArch in CentraL and Eastern Societies’ (HERACLES), developed between 2013 and 2018 by nine partners in five countries, is one of the largest projects on cystic echinococcosis. Here we present the core HERACLES achievements, which should help to foster the translation of scientific investigations on health policies.This work was supported by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) under the HERACLES project (grant agreement number 602051).Peer reviewe

Echinococcus granulosus: variability of the host-protective EG95 vaccine antigen in G6 and G7 genotypic variants

Fil: Chow, Conan. University of Melbourne. Veterinary Clinical Centre; Australia.Fil: Gauci, Charles G. University of Melbourne. Veterinary Clinical Centre; Australia.Fil: Vural, Gulay. Veterinary Control and Research Institute; Turquía.Fil: Jenkins, David J. Hydatid Epidemiology and Control Program; Australia.Fil: Heath, David D. Wallaceville Animal Research Centre; Nueva Zelanda.Fil: Rosenzvit, Mara C. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Harandi, Majid Fasihi. Kerman University of Medical Sciences. School of Medicine. Department of Parasitology; Iran.Fil: Lightowlers, Marshall W. University of Melbourne. Veterinary Clinical Centre; Australia.Cystic hydatid disease in humans is caused by the zoonotic parasite Echinococcus granulosus. As an aid to control transmission of the parasite, a vaccine has been produced for prevention of infection in the parasite's natural animal intermediate hosts. The vaccine utilizes the recombinant oncosphere protein, EG95. An investigation into the genetic variability of EG95 was undertaken in this study to assess potential antigenic variability in E. granulosus with respect to this host-protective protein. Gene-specific PCR conditions were first established to preferentially amplify the EG95 vaccine-encoding gene (designated eg95-1) from the E. granulosus genome that also contains several other EG95-related genes. The optimized PCR conditions were used to amplify eg95-1 from several parasite isolates in order to determine the protein-coding sequence of the gene. An identical eg95-1 gene was amplified from parasites showing a G1 or G2 genotype of E. granulosus. However, from isolates having a G6 or G7 genotype, a gene was amplified which had substantial nucleotide substitutions (encoding amino acid substitutions) compared with the eg95 gene family members. The amino acid substitutions of EG95 in the G6/G7 genotypes may affect the antigenicity/efficacy of the EG95 recombinant antigen against parasites of these genotypes. These findings indicate that characterization of eg95 gene family members in other strains/isolates of E. granulosus may provide valuable information about the potential for the EG95 hydatid vaccine to be effective against E. granulosus strains other than the G1 genotype