Assessing stool quantities generated by three specific Kato-Katz thick smear templates employed in different settings.

BACKGROUND The Kato-Katz technique is recommended for the diagnosis of helminth infections in epidemiological surveys, drug efficacy studies and monitoring of control interventions. We assessed the comparability of the average amount of faeces generated by three Kato-Katz templates included in test kits from two different providers. METHODS Nine hundred Kato-Katz thick smear preparations were done; 300 per kit. Empty slides, slides plus Kato-Katz template filled with stool and slides plus stool after careful removal of the template were weighed to the nearest 0.1 mg. The average amount of stool that was generated on the slide was calculated for each template, stratified by standard categories of stool consistency (i.e. mushy, soft, sausage-shaped, hard and clumpy). RESULTS The average amount of stool generated on slides was 40.7 mg (95 % confidence interval (CI): 40.0-41.4 mg), 40.3 mg (95 % CI: 39.7-40.9 mg) and 42.8 mg (95 % CI: 42.2-43.3 mg) for the standard Vestergaard Frandsen template, and two different templates from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), respectively. Mushy stool resulted in considerably lower average weights when the Vestergaard Frandsen (37.0 mg; 95 % CI: 34.9-39.0 mg) or new China CDC templates (37.4 mg; 95 % CI: 35.9-38.9 mg) were used, compared to the old China CDC template (42.2 mg; 95 % CI: 40.7-43.7 mg) and compared to other stool consistency categories. CONCLUSION The average amount of stool generated by three specific Kato-Katz templates was similar (40.3-42.8 mg). Since the multiplication factor is somewhat arbitrary and small changes only have little effect on infection intensity categories, it is suggested that the standard multiplication factor of 24 should be kept for the calculation of eggs per gram of faeces for all investigated templates.

Dinoflagellate cyst accumulation rates of ODP Hole 146-893A from Santa Barbara Basin

The dinoflagellate cyst record from Ocean Drilling Program Hole 893A, Santa Barbara Basin, southern California, is examined at millennial-scale resolution for the past 40 kyr. Changes in cyst abundance, composition of cyst assemblages, and their diversity reflect major shifts in climate and ocean circulation in the region over this time interval. Throughout the sequence, dinoflagellate cyst assemblages are dominated by heterotrophic dinoflagellates. Brigantedinium spp. and other upwelling-related taxa such as Echinidinium and Protoperidinium americanum are abundant, indicating the continued influence of coastal upwelling on the basin during the late Quaternary. A significant increase in cyst accumulation rates is seen during the Holocene and, to a lesser extent, during shorter warming events such as Bolling/Allerod and Dansgaard-Oeschger interstadials, implying enhanced marine productivity during these periods. Cyst diversity is high during the Holocene. An increase in abundance of cysts produced by autotrophic dinoflagellates in the late Holocene suggests enhanced input of warm, nutrient-rich waters. In contrast, cyst assemblages from the Last Glacial Maximum exhibit a relatively low diversity and an increase in the cysts of heterotrophic dinoflagellates, in particular Selenopemphix nephroides. The presence of this taxon in association with Brigantedinium spp. implies substantial cooling of surface waters in the Santa Barbara Basin at that time.

Leyenda barbara

Cover-title.

Istorii͡a Bokhary ili Transoksanii s drevni͡eĭshikh vremen do nastoi͡ashchago : po vostochnym obnarodovannym i neobnarodovannym rukopisnym istoricheskim istochnikam /

Includes index.

School desegregation in Santa Barbara, California : a staff report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Includes bibliographical references.

Barbara Holzer : Schauspiel in drei Akten /

Mode of access: Internet.

Upplandsmaalet : eit lite uppkast til ei overgansform aat landsmaalet.

Cover-title.

Het hoen : de lichaamsbouw, inwendige organen en de ontwikkeling van het kuiken in het ei /

Mode of access: Internet.