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Cutaneous leishmaniasis successfully treated with miltefosine.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease with notable worldwide burden and increasing prevalence in the United States due to globalization. We describe 2 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in New England, United States, both caused by the New World subgenus Viannia, in adults returning from Central America. Both patients underutilized preventive measures against bites from phlebotomine sand flies while abroad. They were successfully treated with oral miltefosine, which was well tolerated. Avoidance of vector transmission is the most important preventive measure. Prompt identification and tr…

Distribution and risk analysis of heavy metals in sediments from the Yangtze River Estuary, China.

Sediments core within the Yangtze River Estuary was collected for metal and grain size analysis. The vertical distribution characteristics of eight metals along the core were investigated based on 137Cs and 210Pb radionuclide dating. The sediment was mainly composed of sand and silt. The metals concentrations were Al, 4.67-6.83; Fe, 2.3-3.94; Mn, 0.046-0.07; Cr, 69.5-103; Cu, 14.3-32.1; Zn, 47.3-96.7; Cd, 0.037-0.212; Pb, 13.7-23; Ni, 18.8-38.9 (mg·kg-1, except Al, Fe, and Mn as %), respectively. Geoaccumulation indexes (Igeo) indicated that Cu, Zn, and Pb were of pollution-free level; Cd, Cr,…

Neglected vector-borne bacterial diseases and arboviruses in the Mediterranean area.

Arthropod vectors can transmit pathogenic microorganisms from one vertebrate to another during their blood meal. Although some vector-borne … here it frequently cocirculates with a large number of newly described phleboviruses transmitted by sand flies.

Antileishmanial Activity of Compounds Derived from the Medicines for Malaria Venture Open Access Box Against Intracellular Leishmania major Amastigotes.

Leishmaniasis is a complex tropical disease caused by kinetoplastid parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by the sand fly insect vector. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common form of this disease, and CL infections often result in serious skin lesions and scars. CL remains a public health problem in many endemic countries worldwide because of the absence of effective, safe, and cost-effective drugs for treatment. One of the strategies we chose to use to find novel chemical entities worthy of further development as antileishmanials involved screening synthetic …

Recent updates and perspectives on leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected vector-borne tropical infection considered to be a disease of the poor. Concentrated in poverty-stricken countr … ities, and available treatment options. Therefore, travelers and other people who may be exposed to sand flies in endemic areas should receive counseling regarding leishmaniasis and appropriate protective measures. Serological diagnosis is rarely used for cutaneous and mucocutaneous diseases, but it is the most commonly used technique for visceral leis …

Ethical and epidemiological dilemmas in the treatment of dogs for visceral leishmaniasis in Latin America.

In the Americas there are between 4,500 and 6,800 annual cases of severe visceral leishmaniasis, and mortality is estimated to range between 7 and 10%. However, underreporting and subclinical infections mask the real epidemiological importance of visceral leishmaniasis. Control efforts, which have typically focused on insecticide spraying of sand fly vectors and dog culling, have yielded disparate results. Nevertheless, thousands of dogs are sacrificed each year in countries endemic for visceral leishmaniasis. Additionally, current guidelines of leishmaniasis control programs have banned dog t…

Leishmania infantum chagasi: a genome-based approach to identification of excreted/secreted proteins.

The parasitic protozoan, Leishmania, survives in harsh environments within its mammalian and sand fly hosts. Secreted proteins likely play critical roles in the parasite's interactions with its environment. As a preliminary identification of the spectrum of potential excreted/secreted (ES) proteins of Leishmania infantum chagasi (Lic), a causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis, we used standard algorithms to screen the annotated L. infantum genome for genes whose predicted protein products have an N-terminal signal peptide and lack transmembrane domains and membrane anchors. A suite of 181 c…

Identification of the sex pheromone of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva, 1912) (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Asunción, Paraguay.

The sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis is the main vector of Leishmania (L.) infantum (Nicolle), the causative agent of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in the New World. Male Lu. longipalpis have secretory glands which produce sex pheromones in either abdominal tergites 4 or 3 and 4. These glands are sites of sex pheromone production and each pheromone type may represent true sibling species. In Latin America, apart from Lu. pseudolongipalpis Arrivillaga and Feliciangeli from Venezuela, populations of Lu. longipalpis s.l. can be identified by their male-produced sex pheromones: (S)-9-methylg…

First report of Leishmania tropica from a classical focus of L. major in North-Sinai, Egypt.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is prevalent in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and previous research has consistently documented the etiologic ag … ld-caught rodents (Gerbillus pyramidum floweri) were infected with L. tropica. Phlebotomus papatasi sand flies were found harboring L. major, however only non-infected individuals of Phlebotomus sergenti, a vector for L. tropica, were caught. Patients with L. tropica had not traveled from the region in over a year, suggesting these cases are autochthon …

Triticum aestivum shows a greater biomass response to a supply of aluminium phosphate than Lupinus albus, despite releasing fewer carboxylates into the rhizosphere.

The relationship between carboxylate release and the ability of plants to access phosphorus from AlPO4 and to detoxify aluminium was studied by comparing species with a low and high rate of carboxylate release, Triticum aestivum (wheat) and Lupinus albus (white lupin), respectively. Species were supplied with P at 10, 20, 40 or 100 mg P kg-1 sand in the form of sparingly soluble AlPO4 or soluble KH2PO4; control plants did not receive any P. Triticum aestivum was significantly better than L. albus at accessing P from AlPO4, despite accumulating fewer carboxylates in its rhizosphere. Rhizosphere…

Bionomics of Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) in an endemic focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in central Iran.

Following an epidemiological survey of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in several villages of Badrood, a rural district north of the city of Natanz, central Iran, Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) papatasi Scopoli were found to be naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) major zymodeme MON-26. Sand flies were collected and dissected biweekly from rodent burrows from May to October 2001. Leptomonad infection rates varied between 6.7% and 22.0%, being greatest in September, coinciding with peak activity of P. papatasi, two-three months before the highest incidence of ZCL human cases in Nov…

Parameters of Leishmania braziliensis transmission by indoor Lutzomyia ovallesi in Venezuela.

We developed a mathematical model of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) transmission predicting CL incidence based on field data of number of positive sand flies, new CL cases, and number of susceptible people. We estimated the following parameters: a CL incubation period of one month, the overall susceptibility (Phi = 0.793), the serologic force of infection (lambda(m) = 0.108 /person/year, SD = 0.014), the clinical force of infection (lambda(l)= 0.114/year), the proportion of infections that result in skin lesions (alpha = 1.056), and the instantaneous reversal rate of Montenegro skin test-positiv…

The effects of ethanol on spatial and nonspatial memory in adolescent and adult rats studied using an appetitive paradigm.

Adolescent rats have been reported to be less sensitive than adults to many acute ethanol effects, including ethanol-induced sedation and motor impairment, but conversely more sensitive to ethanol-induced disruptions in spatial memory in a Morris water maze (Markwiese et al., 1998). The present study examined adolescent and adult rats trained for 6 days under spatial or nonspatial versions of a presumably less stressful sand box maze. Moderately food-deprived animals were given 0, 0.5, or 1.5 g/kg ethanol intraperitoneally 30 min before training each day, but were tested without ethanol or rei…

Biliary complications of large Echinococcus granulosus cysts: report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

Hydatid cysts are often incidentally found and remain clinically silent. However complications can occur. We present 2 patients who developed biliary complications due to a large hydatid cyst. In the first patient compression on the intrahepatic bile ducts and cystic duct by the cyst, caused cholangitis and cholecystitis. Moreover the cyst had ruptured into the right intrahepatic bile ducts. A sphincterotomy was performed with extraction of hydatid sand. A pericystectomy was necessary because of infectious deterioration of the patient. Albendazole was continued for 8 weeks after surgery. The s…

Kinetic study of the reaction between sulfur dioxide and calcium hydroxide at low temperature in a fixed-bed reactor.

A quantitative study of the influence of inlet sulfur dioxide concentration (600-3000 ppm), relative humidity (20-60%), reactor temperature (56-86 degrees C) and different amounts (0-30 wt.%) of inorganic additives (NaCl, CaCl(2) and NaOH) on gas desulfurization has been carried out in a continuous downflow fixed-bed reactor containing calcium hydroxide diluted with silica sand. Results show that the reaction rate does not depend on sulfur dioxide partial pressure (zero-order kinetics) and that the temperature and the relative humidity have a positive influence on reaction rate. An apparent ac…

Epidemiologic aspects of American visceral leishmaniasis in an endemic focus in Eastern Venezuela.

An endemic focus of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in eastern Venezuela has been evaluated in terms of patients (n = 48), immunologic reactivity to Leishmania in household contacts (n = 187) and neighborhood controls (n = 170), detection of Leishmania (L. donovani complex) in dogs and wild animals by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and characteristics of the sandfly population. The male:female ratio of patients was 1.18:1; 89.6% were < or =12 years old. Serologic reactivity was significantly higher in household contacts than in controls (P = 0.0008), as was the size of leishmanin re…

Характеристика восьми новых фалеботомусных серогрупповых арбовирусов (Bunyaviridae: flebovirus) из Амазонского региона Бразилии.

Описано восемь новых членов серогруппы fhlebotomus arbovirus (семья Bunyaviridae; род Флебовирус) из региона Амазонки Бразилии. Один серотип был извлечен из фебриального пациента, три — из маленьких диких животных и четыре — из песчаных мух. Маленькое исследование сыворотки, проведенное с помощью вируса Аленкера, показывает, что он редко заражает человека. Были проведены испытания на нейтрализацию с целью дополнительного фиксации и сокращения дозировки, в ходе которых были сопоставлены восемь новых вирусов с другими членами серогруппы феботомус. Была продемонстрирована тесная антигенная связь

Совпадение в аннотации оригинала
Eight new members of the phlebotomus fever arbovirus serogroup (family Bunyaviridae; genus Phlebovirus) from the Amazon region of Brazil are described. One serotype was recovered from a febrile patient, three from small wild animals and four from sand flies. A small serum survey carried out with the human isolate, Alenquer virus, suggests that it rarely infe…

Assessment of leached heavy metals from construction and demolition waste.

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a substantial environmental concern due to the presence of heavy metals that leach into soils and groundwater. This study investigates the concentrations and spatial migration patterns of heavy metals leached from CDW at a construction site in Kumasi, Ghana. Samples of CDW and underlying soil were collected and analyzed for heavy metals, including lead (Pb), arsenic (As), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and cadmium (Cd). The findings of the study indicate that the CDW largely consists of sand, which helps leachate move easily. Inverse distance…

Leishmania plasma membrane - general composition, structure and biological functions.

The plasma membrane (PM) of Leishmania spp. is a highly specialized structure that plays a crucial role in the parasite's survival and adapt … es, which exhibit distinct surface molecule profiles and membrane adaptations suited to life in the sand fly vector and the mammalian host. Key molecules, such as ergosterol, GPI-anchored lipophosphoglycan (LPG), metalloprotease GP63, and other PM molecules, are discussed in the context of immune evasion, host cell entry, intracellular survival, and va …

Use of sarolaner in the treatment of tungiasis in naturally infested dogs.

Tungiasis is an endemic dermatological parasitic zoonosis in Latin America, caused by the sand flea Tunga spp. (Siphonaptera, Tungidae), which promotes intense discomfort, swelling, erythema, itching, pain, secondary bacterial infection, cellulitis and necrosis. Sarolaner has been used to control different ectoparasites, but there is no record of its use for the treatment of tungiasis in dogs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sarolaner for the treatment dogs naturally infested by Tunga spp. kept in the same infested environment. Three of four animals were medica…