Search results for "host"
showing 10 items of 1982 documents
Composition and structure of the parasite faunas of cod, Gadus morhua L. (Teleostei: Gadidae), in the North East Atlantic.
2008
Abstract Background Although numerous studies on parasites of the Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L. have been conducted in the North Atlantic, comparative analyses on local cod parasite faunas are virtually lacking. The present study is based on examination of large samples of cod from six geographical areas of the North East Atlantic which yielded abundant baseline data on parasite distribution and abundance. Materials and Methods A total of 826 fish was sampled in the Baltic, Celtic, Irish and North seas, Icelandic waters and Trondheimsfjord (Norway) in 2002 (spring and autumn) and 2003 (spring). The gills and internal organs (oesophagus, stomach, intestine, pyloric caeca, liver, heart, splee…
The parasite's long arm: a tapeworm parasite induces behavioural changes in uninfected group members of its social host.
2015
Parasites can induce alterations in host phenotypes in order to enhance their own survival and transmission. Parasites of social insects might not only benefit from altering their individual hosts, but also from inducing changes in uninfected group members. Temnothorax nylanderi ant workers infected with the tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis are known to be chemically distinct from nest-mates and do not contribute to colony fitness, but are tolerated in their colonies and well cared for. Here, we investigated how tapeworm- infected workers affect colony aggression by manipulating their presence in ant colonies and analysing whether their absence or presence resulted in behavioural alterations in…
Geographic Variation in Social Parasite Pressure Predicts Intraspecific but not Interspecific Aggressive Responses in Hosts of a Slavemaking Ant
2015
Variation in community composition over a species' geographic range leads to divergent selection pressures, resulting in interpopulation variation in trait expression. One of the most pervasive selective forces stems from antagonists such as parasites. Whereas hosts of microparasites developed sophisticated immune systems, social parasites select for behavioural host defences. Here, we investigated the link between parasite pressure exerted by the socially parasitic slavemaking ant Protomognathus americanus and colony-level aggression in Temnothorax ants from 17 populations. We studied almost the entire geographic range of two host species, including unparasitized populations. As previous s…
Continuous Microfiber Wire Mandrel‐Less Biofabrication for Soft Tissue Engineering Applications
2022
Suture materials are the most common bioimplants in surgical and clinical practice, playing a crucial role in wound healing and tendon and ligament repair. Despite the assortment available on the market, sutures are still affected by significant disadvantages, including failure in mimicking the mechanical properties of the tissue, excessive fibrosis, and inflammation. This study introduces a mandrel-less electrodeposition apparatus to fabricate continuous microfiber wires of indefinite length. The mandrel-less biofabrication produces wires, potentially used as medical fibers, with different microfiber bundles, that imitate the hierarchical organization of native tissues, and tailored mechan…
Intermediate hosts of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Tenerife, Spain.
2015
The nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the causative agent of human angiostrongy- liasis, the main clinical manifestation of which is eosinophilic meningitis. Although this para- site has been found recently in its definitive rat host in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), showing a widespread distribution over the north-east part of the island, there are no avail- able data regarding which snail and/or slug species are acting as intermediate hosts on this island. Consequently, the objective of this work was to determine the possible role of three mollusc species, Plutonia lamarckii , Cornu aspersum and Theba pisana , as intermediate hosts of A . cantonensis in Tenerife. Between 2011 and…
Modulation of intracellular calcium concentrations and T cell activation by prickly pear polyphenols.
2004
Opuntia ficus indica (prickly pear) polyphenolic compounds (OFPC) triggered an increase in [Ca2+]i in human Jurkat T-cell lines. Furthermore, OFPC-induced rise in [Ca2+]i was significantly curtailed in calcium-free buffer (0% Ca2+) as compared to that in 100% Ca2+ medium. Preincubation of cells with tyrphostin A9, an inhibitor of Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels, significantly diminished the OFPC-induced sustained response on the increases in [Ca2+]i. Lanthanum and nifedipine, the respective inhibitors of voltage-dependent and L-type calcium channels, failed to curtail significantly the OFPC-induced calcium response. As OFPC still stimulated increases in [Ca2+]i in 0% Ca2+ medium…
An inconvenient influence of iridium(III) isomer on OLED efficiency.
2010
The recently reported heteroleptic cyclometallated iridium(III) complex [Ir(2-phenylpyridine)(2)(2-carboxy-4-dimethylaminopyridine)] N984 and its isomer N984b have been studied more in detail. While photo- and electrochemical properties are very similar, DFT/TDDFT calculations show that the two isomers have different HOMO orbital characteristics. As a consequence, solution processed OLEDs made using a mixture of N984 and isomer N984b similar to vacuum processed devices show that the isomer has a dramatic detrimental effect on the performances of the device. In addition, commonly used thermogravimetric analysis is not suitable for showing the isomerization process. The isomer could impact pe…
Coordination Driven Capture of Nicotine Inside a Mesoporous MOF.
2017
Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are a wide class of crystalline porous polymers studied in many fields, ranging from catalysis to gas storage. In the past few years, MOFs have been studied for the encapsulation of organic or organometallic molecules and for the development of potential drug carriers. Here, we report on the study of two structurally-related mesoporous Cu-MOFs, namely PCN-6 and PCN-6′ (PCN stands for Porous Coordination Network), for nicotine trapping. Nicotine is a well-known alkaloid liquid molecule at room temperature, whose crystalline structure is still unknown. In this work, the loading process was monitored by electron ionization mass spectrometry by using a direct ins…
Follow-up trends of parasite community alteration in a marine fish after the Prestige oil-spill: shifting baselines?
2008
This study evaluates the follow-up trends in the composition and structure of the parasite communities in the marine sparid Boops boops after the Prestige oil-spill. A total of 400 fish comprising 11 seasonal samples was analyzed from three impacted localities on the Atlantic coast of Spain. A large number of parasite species was recovered only after the spill thus suggesting a substantial alteration of the marine food webs. Post-spill communities exhibited higher richness and abundance due to the significant changes in the abundance of the common species, the latter indicating accelerated parasite transmission rates. Multivariate analyses at two nested scales detected a directional trend i…
Host specificity of Argulus coregoni (Crustacea: Branchiura) increases at maturation.
2007
SUMMARYWe tested the hypothesis that host specificity in ectoparasites does not depend exclusively on the features of the host but also on surrounding habitats, using 2 fish ectoparasites, Argulus coregoni and A. foliaceus (Crustacea: Branchiura), occurring sympatrically in Finnish lakes. Although these parasites are considered to be of low specificity, we found that the larger of the 2 species, A. coregoni developed a pronounced preference for salmonid hosts at the beginning of maturation (defined by the presence of copulating specimens). Argulus foliaceus infects a much wider range of fish hosts. We showed that specialization of A. coregoni on salmonids does not necessarily result from in…