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2. Cooperative defence of colonial breeding house martins (Delichon urbicum) against nest-usurping house sparrows (Passer domesticus)
- Creator:
- Savvas , Ieziekel and Reuven, Yosef
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- Cyprus, colonial defence, and nest construction
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- The usurpation of house martin nests by house sparrows has previously been reported. However, our study demonstrates how neighbouring house martins cooperatively defended against nest-usurping attempts by house sparrows. House martins collectively helped a conspecific pair build their nest at a much faster pace than would be possible for the breeding pair alone, within several hours as compared to a couple of days, in order to overcome the continued attempts of house sparrows to usurp the partially built nest. In our study, between the two breeding seasons of 2018 and 2019, the number of breeding house martins at the study site decreased by almost 63% while in contrast the number of house sparrow breeding pairs increased almost sixfold. The number of usurped nests by house sparrows was comparatively higher in 2019 as compared to 2018.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
3. Detection and molecular characterisation of intestinal parasites in the South China tiger Panthera tigris amoyensis (Hilzheimer)
- Creator:
- Chiu, Hung-chuan, Fan, Kewei, Sun, Xiaoshuang, Lin, Kaixiong, Chen, Tengteng, Yang, Fei, Qiu, Yunfei, Wei, Dongxia, and Huang, Cuiqin
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- Mini-FLOTAC, Toxascaris leonina, Cystoisospora sp., Felidae, Meihua, mountain, and China
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Parasitic infections of the South China tigers in the Meihua Mountains have not been explored previously. Faeces of 22 South China tigers from the China Tiger Park in the Meihua Mountains were examined. Eggs of ascaridoid nematodes and oocysts of coccidia were detected by Mini-FLOTAC assay. Morphological observation and molecular characterisation of the oocysts were carried out. The prevalence of Toxascaris leonina (von Linstow, 1902) was 18% (4/22), and the highest egg per gram (EPG) count in the faeces was 27,150. The prevalence of Cystoisospora sp. was 45% (1 0/22) and the highest oocysts per gram (OPG) in the faeces was 6,000. In addition, we found one ascaridoid nematode in the South China tiger's faeces and was molecularly and morphologically identified as T. leonina. The oocysts in the faeces were sporulated in vitro and identified as Cystoisospora sp. Amplification of full-length internal transcribed spacers (ITS) resulted in sequences 1,622 bp long. Using the sequences, Cystoisospora sp. of the South China tiger was closest to Isospora belli (Wenyon, 1923) and Cystoisospora suis (Biester, 1934).
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
4. Diagnostic accuracy of adjusted low IgG avidity index to predict acute Toxoplasma gondii infection in the first trimester of pregnancy
- Creator:
- Skvarč, Miha
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- congenital toxoplasmosis, serology, ROC curve, and infection in pregnancy
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Congenital toxoplasmosis is reportable disease in Europe. To prevent it antibody serological tests were introduced in several European countries as a part of screening programmes. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity index testing is one of these tests for diagnosing acute infection with Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) in pregnant women. However, a low or moderate IgG avidity index can give inconclusive results for predicting woman's status. From June 2012 until the end of 2014, 17,990 women were included in the national screening program to prevent congenital toxoplasmosis. One hundred and twenty-six women were consecutively included in the study because they had low or moderate IgG avidity. Every woman with possible acute toxoplasmosis was followed up every month till delivery. Fifty-eight of 126 (46%) women got infected in months before current pregnancy, 39 women (31%) were infected early in pregnancy. Twenty-nine pregnant women of 126 (23%) got infected in the second/third trimester of pregnancy. New cut off for IgG avidity index was 0.11. With this cut off, we were able to exclude T. gondii acute infection in the first trimester with very good diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.95, 95% confidence Interval (CI) 0.91-0.99, sensitivity 0.95, specificity 0.86). If an IgG avidity index above 0.11 is measured in a woman's serum and she is in the first trimester of pregnancy, then a odds ratio (OR) for acute infection with T. gondii is below 1 (OR 0.11, 95% CI 0.05-0.25, P < 0.0001). If we measure IgG avidity index that is ≥ 0.11 in the first trimester of pregnancy, we can exclude infection with T. gondii with good diagnostic accuracy in our cohort of women. With a new cut off we could reduce number of invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and put less pregnant women in distress.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
5. Does the fish-infecting Trypanosoma micropteri belong to Trypanosoma carassii?
- Creator:
- Zhang, Peng, Chen, Ke, Svobodová, Michaela, Yang, Ting-Bao, Lukeš, Julius, Zhang, Jinyong, Lun, Zhao-Rong, and Lai, De-Hua
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- trypanosomes, 18S rRNA gene, morphological data, host ranges, fish, classification, and synonymy
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Recently, based on a limited morphological characterisation and partial 18S rRNA gene sequence, Jiang et al. (2019) described Trypanosoma micropteri Jiang, Lu, Du, Wang, Hu, Su et Li, 2019 as a new pathogen of farmed fish. Here we provide evidence based on the expanded sequence dataset, morphology and experimental infections that this trypanosome does not warrant the establishment as a new species, because it is conspecific with the long-term known Trypanosoma carassii Mitrophanow, 1883, a common haemoflagellate parasite of freshwater fish. The former taxon thus becomes a new junior synonym of T. carassii.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
6. Further data on the distribution of Dirofilaria spp. in the Czech Republic in dogs
- Creator:
- Juránková, Jana, Šenkyříková Mitková, Barbora, Novotná, Marcela, Hofmannová, Lada, Červená, Barbora, Bowman, Dwight D., and Modrý, David
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- dirofilariosis, Central Europe, autochthonous infection, and COI
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Based on previously published data, the Czech Republic is regarded an endemic country of the onchocercid nematodes Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856) and Dirofilaria repens Railliet et Henry, 1911. Nevertheless, while cases of D. repens are commonly reported from dogs in South Moravia, no recent records of D. immitis are available. Therefore, the present study was performed to clarify the occurrence of both species of Dirofilaria Railliet et Henry, 1910. Blood samples of 551 dogs sampled during 2015 and 2016 were analysed microscopically for presence of microfilariae and blood sera were examined by IDEXX SNAP® 4Dx® test (IDEXX, USA). DNA from blood of microscopically positive dogs was extracted and PCR protocol amplifying fragment of cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene was performed; PCR products were then sequenced. All dogs from the Bohemian part of the Czech Republic were negative. The prevalence of D. repens in the Moravian region was 5.7 % (27/476). BLAST analyses of obtained sequences confirmed the presence of D. repens (99-100% identical to KX265049). All sampled animals showed a negative result for D. immitis antigen in IDEXX SNAP® 4Dx® test. Our study confirmed the previously reported occurrence of D. repens in South Moravia and revealed its spreading from the epicentre to the north and west. PCR with subsequent sequencing together with negative results for D. immitis antigen in IDEXX SNAP® 4Dx® test revealed only D. repens infection. A previously published autochthonous infection of dogs with D. immitis in South Moravia was not confirmed.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
7. Genotype diversity, phylogenetic analysis and seasonality of isolates of Acanthamoeba spp. in swimming pools in Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
- Creator:
- El-Wakil, Eman S., El-Kholy, Hanan S., El-Araby, Rady E., and Ghallab, Marwa M. I.
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- Acanthamoebidae, sequence analysis, phylogenetic analysis, and seasonal variation
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Species of Acanthamoeba Volkonsky, 1931 are the commonest among free-living amoebae that are widespread in different water resources but with lacking phylogenetic data. This study aims at detecting molecular prevalence and genetic diversity of Acanthamoeba isolates in Kafrelsheikh Governorate, Egypt. Forty-eight water samples were collected from 12 swimming pools; four samples during each season over one year. Samples were filtered, cultivated on non-nutrient agar plates and examined microscopically. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence analysis of positive samples targeting diagnostic fragment 3 (DF3) of the small subunit rRNA gene were done. Cultivation succeeded to detect 14 (29%) positive samples while PCR missed three positive samples. The obtained sequences were phylogenetically analysed. The phylogenetic tree was constructed for them with sequences of reference species from the NCBI database. The identified species were Acanthamoeba castellanii Douglas, 1930 (T4), A. astronyxis (Ray et Hayes, 1954) (T9) and A. hatchetti Sawyer, Visvesvara et Harke, 1977 (T11). The prevalence of species of Acanthamoeba was higher during summer and fall. Therefore, the control of the presence of Acanthmoeba spp. in swimming pools needs immediate, effective and practical measures to prevent and control infection with species of Acanthamoeba.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
8. Intraspecific morphological variation in myxosporeans: high pleomorphic myxospores in the same plasmodium of Myxobolus drjagini (Akhmerov, 1954)
- Creator:
- Liu, Yang, Yao, Jiayun, Yao, Xin, Zhang, Kaijie, Wang, Qingyong, Pan, Xiaoyi, and Zhang, Jinyong
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- morphology, pleomorphy, cranial cavity, silver carp, and SSU rDNA
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- The taxonomy of myxosporeans was traditionally dependent solely upon the spore morphological and morphometric data. Intensive reports of intraspecific morphological variation, however, are increasingly challenging the taxonomic approaches for myxosporeans. In the present work, the morphological pleomorphism of myxospores of Myxobolus drjagini (Akhmerov, 1954) was observed. More interestingly, all of these pleomorphic myxospores occurred in the same plasmodium of M. drjagini, which refutes the previous hypothesis that morphological variation of M. drjagini was derived from its responses to differences in nutrition and immunological responses associated with different host tissues. Bearing the intraspecific morphometric and morphotype variation in mind, the combination of morphological, ecological and molecular data should be applied to the species identification and delimitation for myxosporeans. This is the first reported myxobolid species with high pleomorphic myxospores which are present in the same plasmodium.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
9. Invasion with Toxoplasma gondii can promote pneumocystis pneumonia in individuals with HIV/AIDS
- Creator:
- Hryzhak, Ihor H.
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- toxoplasmosis, pulmonary diseases, and immunodeficiency
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Pulmonary pathology is common in HIV-infected individuals, but the possible role of the parasitic protist Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) is not completely known. The present account reports result of a retrospective cohort study. Medical cards of 907 HIV-positive people, which included 120 deceased patients, were analysed. During a three-year follow-up, the pulmonary pathology was diagnosed in 306 patients (33.7 ± 1.6%): pneumocystis pneumonia in 124 (13.7 ± 1.1%), primary pulmonary tuberculosis in 113 (12.5 ± 1.1%), bacterial pneumonia in 58 (6.4 ± 0.8%) toxoplasmosis pneumonia in two (0.2 ± 0.2%), and others. All patients were divided into two cohorts: 531 individuals seropositive for T. gondii and 376 seronegative ones. It has been found out that general lung pathology is more common in patients with seropositivity to T. gondii than in seronegative ones (43.3 ± 2.2% vs. 20.1 ± 2.0%, p < 0.001). The diagnosis of pneumocystis pneumonia was made ten times more often in the cohort of seropositive patients than in the cohort of seronegative ones (21.9 ± 1.8% vs. 2.1 ± 0.7%, respectively, p < 0.001) and in deceased patients of these cohorts it was 5.5 times more (45.1 ± 5.9% vs. 8.2 ± 3.9, respectively, p < 0.001). In patients with fatal outcome and seropositivity to T. gondii, the incidences of pneumocystis pneumonia increased by 23.2% (p < 0.001) and bacterial pneumonia by 12.4% (p < 0.05), whereas in seronegative individuals only pulmonary tuberculosis increased by 13.1% (p < 0.05) сompared with corresponding whole cohorts. Pearson's contingency coefficient showed the mean strength association between infection with T. gondii and incidence of pneumocystis pneumonia both in whole cohort (C = 0.272) and in patients with fatal outcomes (C = 0.368). In сonclusion, significantly increasing rate of pneumocystis pneumonia in patients with HIV/AIDS and T. gondii infection can be caused by certain synergism between T. gondii and Pneumocystis jirovecii and in some cases overdiagnosis pneumocystis pneumonia due to undiagnosed toxoplasmosis pneumonia.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
10. Synopsis of tailed Myxobolidae (Cnidaria, Myxozoa, Myxosporea) infecting Indian fishes
- Creator:
- Barman, Gyan Deb, Chanda, Sukanya, Panigrahi, Ashis Kumar, and Eiras, J. C.
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- fish parasites, species diversity, taxonomy, and identification key
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- A synopsis of 43 nominal species from five genera of tailed Myxobolidae infecting Indian freshwater and marine fishes is presented. The main characteristic of this group is the presence of at least one tail-like caudal process. For each species, relevant morphological and morphometric data are provided, such as the host(s), site(s) of infection within the host and sampling state. A key for the identification of 13 genera of tailed Myxobolidae is also included.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public