Acanthocephalan infection and sparganosis in a green tree snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata)

Acanthocephalan and spargana parasites were identified within a body wall mass during exploratory surgery in a wild green tree snake. Acanthocephalan parasites have not previously been reported in this species. Surgical excision, the treatment of choice, could not be achieved because of the extensive infiltration of the coelomic cavity.     

Multiple striate keratotomy: a treatment for corneal erosions caused by epithelial basement membrane disease

Objective To study the efficacy of multiple striate keratotomy for the treatment of persistent corneal erosions suspected to be caused by primary corneal epithelial basement membrane disease.
Design A retrospective study.
Animals 16 dogs, three cats and one Australian dingo.
Procedure A technique called multiple striate keratotomy was used to treat twenty animals suffering from persistent corneal erosions.
Results All persistent corneal erosions healed with only one treatment. Most cases healed within 2 weeks. One case developed a second erosion in the same eye but in a different position to the original erosion.
Conclusions Multiple striate keratotomy is a safe, effective and well tolerated technique for the treatment of persistent corneal erosions thought to be caused by corneal epithelial basement membrane disease.     

Observations on a heard of beef cattle maintained in a tsetse area

Summary Three groups of Boran cattle were maintained under different trypanocidal drug regimes for 29 months in an area of “medium” tsetse challenge. The development of immunity to trypanosomiasis in the cattle was assessed on the basis of changes in trypanocidal drug requirement, development of parasitaemia, ability to maintain normal blood values, growth and response to challenge after the withdrawal of the drugs. Observations were also made on serum antibody content by immunofluorescence and on serum immunoglobulin levels. Cattle treated with Berenil on the development of clinical disease developed a partial immunity to trypanosomiasis after two years. Cattle treated as a group with Berenil on the development of patent parasitaemia in any one animal of the group did not develop immunity. Cattle treated as a group with Samorin using the same criterion for treatment developed a degree of immunity to the disease. It was concluded that group treatment with Samorin was the most suitable of the three regimes examined for the maintenance of beef cattle in a tsetse infested area.

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Resumen Se mantuvieron tres grupos de ganado Boran durante 29 meses bajo differentes regímenes terapéuticos en un área donde la concentración de moscas tsetse era mediana. Se llevó a cabo la evaluación del desarrollo de la inmunidad contra la tripanosomiasis teniendo como base los diferentes cambios en el requerimiento de drogas, desarrollo de parasitemia, abilidad para mantener los valores sanguíneos normales, crecimiento y respuestas a la descarga de parásitos después del retiro de la terápia. Se hicieron también observaciones del nivel de anticuerpos séricos por inmunofluorescencia y se determinó el nivel de inmunoglobulinas. Los animales tratados con Berenil cuando mostraban signos clínicos de la enfermedad, desarrollaron una inmunidad parcial a la tripanosomiasis después de dos a?os. Los animales tratados en grupo con Berenil cuando se detectó parasitemia en cualquier animal del grupo no desarrollaron inmunidad. El ganado tratado con Samorin en base de grupo siguiendo el mismo criterio para el tratamiento, desarrolló cierto grado de resistencia a la enfermedad. Se concluye que el tratamiento de grupo utilizando Samorin fue el mejor de los tres regímenes estudiados para el mantenimiento de ganado de carne en un área infestada de moscas tstse.

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Résumé Trois groupes de bovins Boran ont été maintenus vingt neuf mois, sous différents traitements trypanocides, dans une zone “moyennement” infestée de tsé-tsé. Le développement de l'immunité à la trypanosomiase a été évalué à partir des changements dans les besoins en trypanocides, du développement de la parasitémie, de l'aptitude à maintenir les valuers normales du sang, de la croissance et de la réaction à l'infection après la suppression des médicaments. Des observations ont aussi été faites sur la présence d'anticorps sériques par immunofluorescence et sur les teneurs en immunoglobines sériques. Le bétail traité au Berenil à l'apparition de signes cliniques a été partiellement immunisé au bout de deux ans. Dans le groupe du bétail traité au Berenil à l'apparition d'une parasitémie évidente, aucun animal n'a présenté d'immunité. Le groupe de bovins traité au Samorin, selon les nêmes critères a été bien immunisé.

     

Detection of antibodies in Trypanosome-infected cattle by means of a microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Summary A micromodification of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was evaluated for its potential application in the immunodiagnosis of bovine trypanosomiasis. Serum samples from infected and non-infected Zebu cattle and samples from Friesian cattle with experimental infections were examined for the presence of trypanosomal antibodies. There were significant differences between the microELISA values obtained with samples from infected and non-infected cattle. During the course of infection microELISA values were found to fluctuate and the antibody response varied in individual animals. The test did not distinguish between infections withTrypanosoma brucei, T. vivax andT. congolense. There were no cross-reactions between trypanosome antigens and serum samples from cattle infected withT. theileri, Theileria parva, Th. mutans, Th. annulata, Babesia divergens andAnaplasma marginale.     

Vacuum Squeezing of Solids: Macroscopic Quantum States Driven by Light Pulses

Femtosecond laser pulses and coherent two-phonon Raman scattering were used to excite KTaO3 into a squeezed state, nearly periodic in time, in which the variance of the atomic displacements dips below the standard quantum limit for half of a cycle. This nonclassical state involves a continuum of transverse acoustic modes that leads to oscillations in the refractive index associated with the frequency of a van Hove singularity in the phonon density of states.     

Photoemission evidence for a remnant fermi surface and a d-wave-like dispersion in insulating Ca2CuO2Cl2

An angle-resolved photoemission study is reported on Ca2CuO2Cl2, a parent compound of high-Tc superconductors. Analysis of the electron occupation probability, n(k), from the spectra shows a steep drop in spectral intensity across a contour that is close to the Fermi surface predicted by the band calculation. This analysis reveals a Fermi surface remnant, even though Ca2CuO2Cl2 is a Mott insulator. The lowest energy peak exhibits a dispersion with approximately the &cjs3539;coskxa - coskya&cjs3539; form along this remnant Fermi surface. Together with the data from Dy-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta, these results suggest that this d-wave-like dispersion of the insulator is the underlying reason for the pseudo gap in the underdoped regime.