Molecular and morphological characterization of Echinococcus granulosus of human and animal origin in Iran

Iran is an important endemic focus of cystic hydatid disease (CHD) where several species of intermediate host are commonly infected with Echinococcus granulosus. Isolates of E. granulosus were collected from humans and other animals from different geographical areas of Iran and characterized using both DNA (PCR-RFLP of ITS1) and morphological criteria (metacestode rostellar hook dimensions). The sheep and camel strains/genotypes were shown to occur in Iran. The sheep strain was shown to be the most common genotype of E. granulosus affecting sheep, cattle, goats and occasionally camels. The majority of camels were infected with the camel genotype as were 3 of 33 human cases. This is the first time that cases of CHD in humans have been identified in an area where a transmission cycle for the camel genotype exists. In addition, the camel genotype was found to cause infection in both sheep and cattle. Results also demonstrated that both sheep and camel strains can be readily differentiated on the basis of hook morphology alone

Controlling plastic flow in brittle structures

In most oxidation resistant materials, the predominant obstacle to dislocation motion is due to the changes in misfit energy as a dislocation moves, causing them to be brittle. However, at present, there is little understanding of how to design crystal structures to give easy plastic flow. Surprisingly, some hard materials deform readily, but only on a limited number of crystal planes, including ternary carbides and nitrides, such as Ti3SiC2, and compounds such as Nb2Co7, W2B5 and ζ-Ta4C3-x. Using ternary carbides as an example, it is shown that electronegativity differences within a crystal\u27s unit cell enable dislocation line defects to move much more easily, consistent with observations in other structures. Substantial changes appear possible, suggesting that such an approach might be used as a general way of to tailoring plasticity in crystals

Chloramidine/Bisindolylmaleimide-I-Mediated Inhibition of Exosome and Microvesicle Release and Enhanced Efficacy of Cancer Chemotherapy

Microvesicle (MV) release from tumour cells influences drug retention, contributing to cancer drug resistance. Strategically regulating MV release may increase drug retention within cancer cells and allow for lower doses of chemotherapeutic drugs. The contribution of exosomes to drug retention still remains unknown. Potential exosome and MV (EMV) biogenesis inhibitors, tested on human prostate cancer (PC3) cells for their capacity to inhibit EMV release, were also tested on PC3 and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cells for improving chemotherapy. Agents inhibiting EMV release most significantly, whilst maintaining cell viability, were chloramidine (Cl-amidine; 50 µM) and bisindolylmaleimide-I (10 µM). Apoptosis mediated by the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was significantly enhanced in PC3 cells in the presence of both these EMV inhibitors, resulting in a 62% (Cl-amidine + 5-FU) and 59% (bisindolylmaleimide-I + 5-FU) decrease in numbers of viable PC3 cells compared to 5-FU alone after 24 h. For MCF-7 cells, there were similar increased reductions of viable cells compared to 5-FU treatment alone ranging from 67% (Cl-amidine + 5-FU) to 58% (bisindolylmaleimide-I + 5-FU). Using combinatory treatment, the two EMV inhibitors further reduced the number of viable cancer cells tested. Neither inhibitor affected cell viability. Combining selected EMV inhibitors may pose as a novel strategy to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drug-mediated apoptosis

A case of mistaken identity – reappraisal of the species of canid and felid hookworms (Ancylostoma) present in Australia and India

This study serves to clarify the current status of canid and felid Ancylostoma species present in Australia. The morphological identification of A. ceylanicum from cats for the first time in Townsville, Australia, appears to be in error, together with the genetic markers provided for the species. Morphological and genetic data presented herein provide strong evidence that the hookworms from cats in Towsville are not A. ceylanicum as previously identified (i.e. the first report of this species in Australia), but are A. braziliense. Therefore the subsequent genetic markers established for A. ceylanicum in subsequent molecular studies based on these Townsville specimens should also be attributed to A. braziliense. Based on this information, a study of canine hookworm species present in northern India is also in error and it is apparent that the hookworms found in this region are those of A. ceylanicum. The distribution of A. braziliense and A. ceylanicum in the Americas and Asia Pacific region is discussed together with the importance of combining parasite morphology with genetic data for parasite diagnosis in epidemiological studies

Relationships Between Sulcal Asymmetries and Corpus Callosum Size: Gender and Handedness Effects

Magnetic resonance imaging was used to establish the presence and nature of relationships between sulcal asymmetries and mid-sagittal callosal size in neurologically intact subjects, and to determine the influences of sex and handedness. Against a background of long-standing disputes, effects of gender and handedness on callosal size, shape, and variability were additionally examined. Both positive and negative correlations between sulcal asymmetry and callosal size were observed, with effects influenced by sex and handedness. The direction of relationships, however, were dependent on the regional asymmetry measured and on whether real or absolute values were used to quantify sulcal asymmetries. Callosal measurements showed no significant effects of sex or handedness, although subtle differences in callosal shape were observed in anterior and posterior regions between males and females and surface variability was increased in males. Individual variations in callosal size appear to outrange any detectable divergences in size between groups. Relationships between sulcal asymmetries and callosal size, however, are influenced by both sex and handedness. Whether magnitudes of asymmetry are related to increases or decreases in callosal size appears dependent on the chosen indicators of asymmetry. It is an oversimplification, therefore, to assume a single relationship exists between cerebral asymmetries and callosal connection

A case of mistaken identity – reappraisal of the species of canid and felid hookworms (Ancylostoma) present in Australia and India

This study serves to clarify the current status of canid and felid Ancylostoma species present in Australia. The morphological identification of A. ceylanicum from cats for the first time in Townsville, Australia, appears to be in error, together with the genetic markers provided for the species. Morphological and genetic data presented herein provide strong evidence that the hookworms from cats in Towsville are not A. ceylanicum as previously identified (i.e. the first report of this species in Australia), but are A. braziliense. Therefore the subsequent genetic markers established for A. ceylanicum in subsequent molecular studies based on these Townsville specimens should also be attributed to A. braziliense. Based on this information, a study of canine hookworm species present in northern India is also in error and it is apparent that the hookworms found in this region are those of A. ceylanicum. The distribution of A. braziliense and A. ceylanicum in the Americas and Asia Pacific region is discussed together with the importance of combining parasite morphology with genetic data for parasite diagnosis in epidemiological studies

Sibling Relationship and Behavioral Adjustment in Families of Disabled Children: Cross-Lagged Associations

Abstract Cross-lagged panel designs were used to examine longitudinal and potential (bi)directional relationships between primary caregiver reported sibling relationship quality and the behaviors of children with intellectual disability (n = 297) and their closest in age siblings. The behavioral and emotional problems of the child with intellectual disability positively predicted sibling conflict over time. When accounting for control variables, this relationship was no longer present. Sibling warmth positively predicted the prosocial behaviors of the child with intellectual disability over time. When accounting for control variables, both sibling warmth and sibling conflict positively predicted the prosocial behaviors of the child with intellectual disability over time. Future research directions and clinical implications are discussed.</jats:p

Nuclear Effects on Bremsstrahlung Neutrino Rates of Astrophysical Interest

We calculate in this work the rates for the neutrino pair production by nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung taking into account the full contribution from a nuclear one-pion-exchange potential. It is shown that if the temperatures are low enough ($T \leq 20 MeV$), the integration over the nuclear part can be done for the general case, ranging from the completely degenerate (D) to the non-degenerate (ND) regime. We find that the inclusion of the full nuclear contribution enhances the neutrino pair production by $nn$ and $pp$ bremsstrahlung by a factor of about two in both the D and ND limits when compared with previous calculations. This result may be relevant for the physical conditions of interest in the semitransparent regions near the neutrinosphere in type II supernovae, cooling of neutron stars and other astrophysical situations.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, LaTex file. submitted to PR

Measurement of conditional phase shifts for quantum logic

Measurements of the birefringence of a single atom strongly coupled to a high-finesse optical resonator are reported, with nonlinear phase shifts observed for intracavity photon number much less than one. A proposal to utilize the measured conditional phase shifts for implementing quantum logic via a quantum-phase gate (QPG) is considered. Within the context of a simple model for the field transformation, the parameters of the "truth table" for the QPG are determined.Comment: 4 pages in Postscript format, including 4 figures (attached as uuencoded version of a gzip-file

Metabolite changes in blood predict the onset of tuberculosis

Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease