The mouse bile duct tapeworm, Hymenolepis microstoma in free-living small mammals in Slovakia. Occurrence and genetic analysis

The mouse bile duct tapeworm Hymenolepis microstoma, is a potentially zoonotic species with a wide variety of reported definitive hosts of rodent genera. In the present study the occurrence of H. microstoma in free-living small mammals in selected areas of Slovakia and the retrospective analysis of epidemiological data published in Slovakia were performed. Hymenolepis microstoma was detected in two animal species, the common shrew (Sorex araneus) and the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) of 186 small mammals examined from two ecosystems, urban and natural ecosystem of national park. No mention about the presence of this parasite in Slovakia in the past was found following a bibliographical search. Partial sequences of the nuclear paramyosin gene showed the shrew isolate placed in a subclade together with H. microstoma from Portugal, with high bootstrap value for its differentiation from the sister species Hymenolepis nana. Similarly, the analysis of the nuclear ribosomal ITS region placed the hamster isolate in the cluster composed of H. microstoma from Australia, Spain and Portugal. The Slovak isolate was the most distinctive sample among available H. microstoma, differing in 1.4 – 1.9% of nucleotides from the remaining isolates. The difference (seven of 17 nucleotide positions) was partially due to indel polymorphisms associated with two and five nucleotides. To our knowledge, these are the first reports of H. microstoma in Central Europe and also the first record of infection in the common shrew. A recently indicated zoonotic potential of H. microstoma along with a possibility of its direct transmission between animals and/or humans without the need of intermediate hosts pose a public health concern in contaminated areas of Slovakia. The use of molecular techniques may substantially facilitate more thorough understanding of the epidemiological situation of H. microstoma and related tapeworms in various ecosystems of the country

TA treatment of depression : a hermeneutic single-case efficacy design study - ‘Anna’

This study is the first of a series of seven, and belongs to the second Italian systematic replication of findings from two previous series (Widdowson 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2013; Benelli, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c) that investigated the effectiveness of a manualised transactional analysis treatment for depression through Hermeneutic Single- Case Efficacy Design (HSCED). The therapist was a white Italian woman with 8 years of clinical experience and the client, Anna, was a 33-year old white Italian woman who attended 16 sessions of transactional analysis psychotherapy. Anna satisfied DSM-5 criteria for mild persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) with anxious distress. The conclusion of the judges was that this was a good-outcome case: the dysthymic symptoms improved over the course of the therapy and were maintained in the ‘healthy’ range at the 6-month followup, the client reported a positive experience of the therapy and described important changes in intrapsychic and interpersonal patterns. In this case study, transactional analysis treatment for depression has proven its efficacy in treating persistent depressive disorder

Nuclear and mitochondrial data on Trichuris from Macaca fuscata support evidence of host specificity

Whipworms are parasitic intestinal nematodes infecting mammals, and traditionally humans and other primates that have so far been considered infected by Trichuris trichiura. Recent molecular studies report a more complex scenario suggesting the presence of a species complex with several Trichuris taxa specifically infecting only one primate species as well as taxa able to infect a range of primate species. The systematics of the group is important for taxonomic inference, to estimate the relative zoonotic potential, and for conservation purposes. In fact, captive animals living in zoological gardens are usually infected by persistent monoxenous intestinal parasites. Here, two Japanese macaques living in the Bioparco Zoological Garden of Rome were found infected by Trichuris sp. Nematodes were characterized at the molecular level using nuclear (btub and 18S) and mitochondrial (16S and cytb) markers and then compared to Trichuris collected previously in the same location, and to other Trichuris infecting primates. Evidences from mitochondrial and nuclear markers allowed for the identification of Trichuris sp. specific to Macaca fuscata. Results obtained here also described a uniform taxonomic unit of Trichuris, separated but closely related to Trichuris trichiura, thus, emphasizing its zoonotic potential for workers and visitors

Test of the photon detection system for the LHCb RICH Upgrade in a charged particle beam

The LHCb detector will be upgraded to make more efficient use of the available luminosity at the LHC in Run III and extend its potential for discovery. The Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors are key components of the LHCb detector for particle identification. In this paper we describe the setup and the results of tests in a charged particle beam, carried out to assess prototypes of the upgraded opto-electronic chain from the Multi-Anode PMT photosensor to the readout and data acquisition system.Comment: 25 pages, 22 figure

Observation of an Excited Bc+ State

Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date

Measurement of the mass and lifetime of the Ωb−\Omega_b^- baryon

A proton-proton collision data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$ collected by LHCb at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV, is used to reconstruct $63\pm9$ $\Omega_b^-\to\Omega_c^0\pi^-$, $\Omega_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decays. Using the $\Xi_b^-\to\Xi_c^0\pi^-$, $\Xi_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decay mode for calibration, the lifetime ratio and absolute lifetime of the $\Omega_b^-$ baryon are measured to be \begin{align*} \frac{\tau_{\Omega_b^-}}{\tau_{\Xi_b^-}} &= 1.11\pm0.16\pm0.03, \\ \tau_{\Omega_b^-} &= 1.78\pm0.26\pm0.05\pm0.06~{\rm ps}, \end{align*} where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from the calibration mode (for $\tau_{\Omega_b^-}$ only). A measurement is also made of the mass difference, $m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-}$, and the corresponding $\Omega_b^-$ mass, which yields \begin{align*} m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-} &= 247.4\pm3.2\pm0.5~{\rm MeV}/c^2, \\ m_{\Omega_b^-} &= 6045.1\pm3.2\pm 0.5\pm0.6~{\rm MeV}/c^2. \end{align*} These results are consistent with previous measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-008.htm