The life history of Hepatozoon leptodactyli (Lesage, 1908) Pessoa, 1970: a parasite of the common laboratory animal: the frog of the genus Leptodactylus

The main object of the present paper is to furnish a brief account to the knowledgement of Protozoa parasitic in common Brazilian frog of the genus Leptodactylus for general students in Zoology and for investigators that use this frog as a laboratory animal. Hepatozoon leptodactyli (Haemogregarina leptodactyli) was found in two species of frogs - Leptodactylus ocellatus and L. pentadactylus - in which develop schizogony whereas sporogony occurs in the leech Haementeria lutzi as was obtainded in experimental conditions. Intracellular forms have been found in peripheral circulation, chiefly in erythrocytes, but we have found them in leukocytes too. Tissue stages were found in frog, liver, lungs, spleen, gut, brain and heart. The occurence of hemogregarine in the Central Nervous System was recorded by Costa & al,(13) and Ball (2). Some cytochemical methods were employed in attempt to differentiate gametocytes from trophozoites in the peripheral blood and to characterize the cystic membrane as well. The speorogonic cycle was developed in only one specie of leech. A brief description of the parasite is given.

Mitochondrial ultrastructural and atpase changes during the life cycle of Ascaris Suum

Ultrastructural morphology and ATPase specific activities of mitochondria isolated from 1-celled fertilized egg, 10-day embryo, 21-day infective larvae and adult body wall muscle of Ascaris suum and rat liver were determined and compared. Although cristae of both muscle and egg mitochondria contained numerous elementary particles with head pieces of conventional diameter (85 A), each muscle mitochondrion contained relatively few, short cristae with a diminished frequency of elementary particles and associated ATPase activity. These morphological relationships are related to the previous conclusion that the transition from an aerobic to an essentially anaerobic metabolism is intimately associated with the mitochondrion and is a normal and mandatory feature of development.

The life cycle of Dendritobilharzia anatinarum cheatum, 1941 (Trematoda, Schistosomatidae)

The life cycle of Dendritobilharzia anatinarum was completed experimentally in the laboratory. Cairina moschata domestica (domestic duck) and Biomphalaria straminea served respectively as definitive and intermediate hosts. Eggs passed in duck faeces hatch miracidia in 10 minutes when placed in water. Eight days after the snail infection, the mother sporocyst contains daughter sporocysts ready to migrate. Cercariae are present within the daughter sporocysts 23 days after infection and emerge from the snail on the 25th day. They actively penetrate the skin of the duck and after a prepatent of 39 days, sexually mature trematodes are present in the blood vessels of the bird. The adult parasite is predominantly in the renal-portal system and to a lesser degree in the lungs and mesentery. A detailed morphological description of the egg. miracidium, sporocyst and cercaria is presented.

Using life strategies to explore the vulnerability of ecosystem services to invasion by alien plants

Invasive plants can have different effects of ecosystem functioning and on the provision of ecosystem services, from strongly deleterious impacts to positive effects. The nature and intensity of such effects will depend on the service and ecosystem being considered, but also on features of life strategies of invaders that influence their invasiveness as well as their influence of key processes of receiving ecosystems. To address the combined effect of these various factors we developed a robust and efficient methodological framework that allows to identify areas of possible conflict between ecosystem services and alien invasive plants, considering interactions between landscape invasibility and species invasiveness. Our framework combines the statistical robustness of multi-model inference, efficient techniques to map ecosystem services, and life strategies as a functional link between invasion, functional changes and potential provision of services by invaded ecosystems. The framework was applied to a test region in Portugal, for which we could successfully predict the current patterns of plant invasion, of ecosystem service provision, and finally of probable conflict (expressing concern for negative impacts, and value for positive impacts on services) between alien species richness (total and per plant life strategy) and the potential provision of selected services. Potential conflicts were identified for all combinations of plant strategy and ecosystem service, with an emphasis for those concerning conflicts with carbon sequestration, water regulation and wood production. Lower levels of conflict were obtained between invasive plant strategies and the habitat for biodiversity supporting service. The added value of the proposed framework in the context of landscape management and planning is discussed in perspective of anticipation of conflicts, mitigation of negative impacts, and potentiation of positive effects of plant invasions on ecosystems and their services.

Challenge of transition in the socio-professional insertion of youngsters with neurodisabilities

Patients with neurodisabilities require early management, continuing into adulthood. Thus, transition services were implemented in hospitals. To have a better support when they enter into adult life, it is useful to know the problems that they could face. The aim of this study is to evaluate their activities and to assess their insertion problems in the professional world. It is based on medical records of patients, aged 16 to 25 years, followed in the transition clinic of young adults in the Neurorehabilitation services of a tertiary centre. From 387 patients of the paediatric consultation, there are 267 patients (69%), included 224 with neurodevelopmental diseases and 43 with neuromuscular diseases. Nearly half of them (46.8%) were in a protected environment, 37.08% studied and 3.4% worked. Paradoxically, only 29.2% reported work problems. These results highlight the need to increase the integration of young adults with neuromotor disorders in the labor market.

Validation of the IMPACT-III quality of life questionnaire in Swiss children with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) frequently manifests during childhood and adolescence. For providing and understanding a comprehensive picture of a patients' health status, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments are an essential complement to clinical symptoms and functional limitations. Currently, the IMPACT-III questionnaire is one of the most frequently used disease-specific HRQoL instrument among patients with IBD. However, there is a lack of studies examining the validation and reliability of this instrument. METHODS: 146 paediatric IBD patients from the multicenter Swiss IBD paediatric cohort study database were included in the study. Medical and laboratory data were extracted from the hospital records. HRQoL data were assessed by means of standardized questionnaires filled out by the patients in a face-to-face interview. RESULTS: The original six IMPACT-III domain scales could not be replicated in the current sample. A principal component analysis with the extraction of four factor scores revealed the most robust solution. The four factors indicated good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha=.64-.86), good concurrent validity measured by correlations with the generic KIDSCREEN-27 scales and excellent discriminant validity for the dimension of physical functioning measured by HRQoL differences for active and inactive severity groups (p<.001, d=1.04). CONCLUSIONS: This study with Swiss children with IBD indicates good validity and reliability for the IMPACT-III questionnaire. However, our findings suggest a slightly different factor structure than originally proposed. The IMPACT-III questionnaire can be recommended for its use in clinical practice. The factor structure should be further examined in other samples.

From a mono to a digenetic life-cycle: how was the jump for flagellates of the family trypanosomatidae?

It has been found that species of the digenetic genus Trypanosoma as well as species of monogenetic trypanosomatids of insects can grow in the lumen of the scent glands of opossums reproducing the cycle they perform in the intestinal tract of their insect hosts. Based on these findings, speculations are made on the incompletely known cycles of many mammalian trypanosomes and on the evolution of the family Trypanosomatidae.

The life cycle of MetaCutereba apicalis (Diptera: Cuterebidae)

The development of Metacuterebra apicalis in laboratory conditions is described. The natural host, Oryzomys subflavus, and laboratory white rats were used as experimental hosts. The life cycle, from oviposition to the deaths of adults, was completed in about 73 days. The incubation period of eggs was about 10 days; the parasitic larval phase lasted 23 days in the natural host and 26 days in white rats; pupa lived for 32 days and adults survived for six days.

Immuno-reactive proteins from Mycobacterium immunogenum useful for serodiagnosis of metalworking fluid hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Metalworking fluid-associated hypersensitivity pneumonitis (MWF-HP) is a pulmonary disease caused by inhaling microorganisms present in the metalworking fluids used in the industrial sector. Mycobacterium immunogenum is the main etiological agent. Among the clinical, radiological and biological tools used for diagnosis, serological tests are important. The aim of this study was to identify immunogenic proteins in M. immunogenum and to use recombinant antigens for serological diagnosis of MWF-HP. Immunogenic proteins were detected by two-dimensional Western blot and candidate proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. Recombinant antigens were expressed in Escherichia coli and tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the sera of 14 subjects with MWF-HP and 12 asymptomatic controls exposed to M. immunogenum. From the 350 spots visualized by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with M. immunogenum extract, 6 immunogenic proteins were selected to be expressed as recombinant antigens. Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase antigen allowed for the best discrimination of MWF-HP cases against controls with an area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve of 0.930 (95% CI=0.820-1), a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 83% for the optimum threshold. Other recombinant antigens correspond to acyl-CoA dehydrogenase FadE, cytosol aminopeptidase, dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, serine hydroxymethyltransferase and superoxide dismutase. This is the first time that recombinant antigens have been used for the serodiagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The availability of recombinant antigens makes it possible to develop standardized serological tests which in turn could simplify diagnosis, thus making it less invasive.

Le Q-sort, un outil pour la recherche en soins le cas des représentations chez les infirmiers en psychiatrie de l'âge avancé [Q-sort, a useful research method in care in cases of psychiatric nursing of the aged]

Q-sort is a research method which allows defining profiles of attitudes toward a set of statements, ordered in relation to each other. Pertaining to the Q Methodology, the qualitative analysis of the Q-sorts is based on quantitative techniques. This method is of particular interest for research in health professions, a field in which attitudes of patients and professionals are very important. The method is presented in this article, along with an example of application in nursing in old age psychiatry.

Firms in Scottish High Technology Clusters: software, life sciences, microelectronics, optoelectronics and digital media – preliminary evidence and analysis on firm size, growth and optimality

This paper reports on: (a) new primary source evidence on; and (b) statistical and econometric analysis of high technology clusters in Scotland. It focuses on the following sectors: software, life sciences, microelectronics, optoelectronics, and digital media. Evidence on a postal and e-mailed questionnaire is presented and discussed under the headings of: performance, resources, collaboration & cooperation, embeddedness, and innovation. The sampled firms are characterised as being small (viz. micro-firms and SMEs), knowledge intensive (largely graduate staff), research intensive (mean spend on R&D GBP 842k), and internationalised (mainly selling to markets beyond Europe). Preliminary statistical evidence is presented on Gibrat’s Law (independence of growth and size) and the Schumpeterian Hypothesis (scale economies in R&D). Estimates suggest a short-run equilibrium size of just 100 employees, but a long-run equilibrium size of 1000 employees. Further, to achieve the Schumpeterian effect (of marked scale economies in R&D), estimates suggest that firms have to grow to very much larger sizes of beyond 3,000 employees. We argue that the principal way of achieving the latter scale may need to be by takeovers and mergers, rather than by internally driven growth.