Mast cell responses to Hymenolepis microstoma infection in mice

Murine mast cells (MC) responded strongly to Hymenolepis microstoma infection. Starting day 7 postinfection (PI) and continuing until the end of the experiment (35 days PI), significantly larger numbers of MC were present in both the duodenum and bile duct of infected mice than in uninfected controls. In animals challenged with 5 cysticercoids 2 wk after primary infection, the MC response in the duodenum, but not in the bile duct, was of even greater degree than in naive hosts. The majority of MC in the duodenum of infected and challenged mice were intraepithelial mucosal MC, whereas in the bile duct the majority were connective tissue MC. Hypertrophy of the duodenal submucosa and of the bile duct wall was noticeable in all infected and challenged hosts. Worms in primary infections were not affected by the host response, but none of the worms in the challenge dose became established. It is postulated that the type of MC involved in specific immune response of the host is the intraepithelial MC, whereas the cell type participating in general inflammatory events is the connective tissue MC.     

Charcot-Leyden crystals in pleural fluids

Charcot-Leyden crystals have rarely been reported in serous fluids. We present eight examples of Charcot-Leyden crystals, all found in eosinophilic pleural effusions. The crystals were found in toluidine blue-stained wet films of pleural fluid after either the fluid or the wet film had stood for at least 24 hours at 4 C.     

Morphologic aspects in primary cryptococcosis of the skin

Two cases of cryptococcus infection of the skin were presented. Both — of the mammary and of the lower lip region — were admitted as probable cancers. The right diagnosis has been proved by biopsy, Alcian-Blue stain and fungus culture. The morphologic investigation showed the following characteristic features: a granuloma with dispersed proliferation of foam, epithelioid and giant cells, and with suppuration. In the cells ‘empty holes’ with sharp borders and some minute unstained particles are present, that in Alcian-Blue stain give a positive reaction.     

H and 13C n.m.r. studies of serum from normal and Echinococcus multilocularis infected jirds

The major components of the 13C and high field region of the 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (n.m.r.) spectra of normal and Echinococcus multilocularis infected jirds were identified and compared. Substantial depletion of the glucose and fatty acid chains from lower density lipoproteins was detected in sera from infected animals. In addition, this proliferating metacestode markedly changed the appearance of the spectral region recently assigned to N-acetyl protons of carbohydrate side chains of N-acetylated glycoproteins.     

Modelling the longitudinal distribution,abundance, and habitat use of the giant freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium spinipes) in a large intermittent,tropical Australian river to inform water resource policy

1. Water development threatens rivers and their biodiversity. Amphidromous shrimp are particularly vulnerable as they require migration between freshwater and estuaries to complete their life cycle. The Fitzroy River is a large tropical intermittent river undergoing water development that is home to the amphidromous shrimp Macrobrachium spinipes (cherabin), yet little is known about its habitat use and flow-ecology making it difficult to inform sustainable water-take.
2. We investigated habitat associations, distributional patterns suggestive of amphidromy, and the influence of water availability by sampling main channel and floodplain pools along a 350-km river length during 2 contrasting flow years. Applying a size-specific abundance model, we estimated abundance per size class, site, and year. We then predicted abundance at the landscape scale with remotely sensed water to reveal the impact of water availability on the meta-population.
3. Our model revealed that juveniles were in greatest abundance in downstream main channel pools, whereas adults were in greatest abundance in upstream floodplain pools. Abundance varied by year with lower numbers predicted in the low-flow year. Longitudinal and habitat patterns remained when our pool-level results were scaled to the landscape, and the positive relationship of abundance to wet-season flow was strengthened. The predominance of smaller cherabin in the lower reaches of the river provides indirect support for an estuarine nursery and amphidromous life history; however, small individuals observed in landlocked pools, during late dry season suggests possible within-river recruitment.
4. The importance of water development policies that protect wet-season flow and passage along the Fitzroy River is supported by this work. These types of policies are likely to be important for this and other amphidromous shrimp species across Australia, Southeast Asia and further afield. Further research detailing the species life history and describing flow–recruitment relationships will be important contributions to understanding this important taxonomic group and refining policies for current and future water resource development.

     

Effect of mebendazole on the larval development of three Hymenolepidid cestodes.

Mebendazole or Telmin (which contains 16.7% mebendazole) markedly retarded the development of Hymenolepis diminuta and H. nana when their intermediate hosts Tribolium confusum were fed on flour mixed with it from day 1 to day 10 p.i. Though retardation also occurred with H. microstoma, the effect of the drug on this parasite was noticeably less pronounced than with the other 2 species of this genus.     

Proliferation-differentiation pathways of murine haemopoiesis: correlation of lineage fluxes

Abstract. A quantitative analysis of literature data on muiine bone marrow haemopoiesis was performed in order to determine how the haemolpoietic system fulfils requirements of cell turnover in the normal steady state. In particular, the production rates (fluxes) of erythrocytes, megakaryocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils and mast cells have been calculated and normalized. Subsequently, based on available data on relationships of various lineages, a working model of the developmental schema of haemopoiesis was derived. Since, according to the principle of conservation, the effluxes of all lineages from bone marrow in the steady state must be equal to effluxes from the compartments of respective precursors divided by the coefficient of multiplication, the correlation of lineage fluxes was used to determine the position of branching points. It was concluded that all the quantita.tive data on lineage proliferation in the normal steady state in vivo, available for analysis, are fully consistent with a simple binary model of the sequential type, similar to that suggested by Brown and coworkers (Brown G., Jones NA, Bunce CM, Owen PJ, IPatton WN. (1988) Haemopoiesis: a lottery or determinism?Differentiation, 39 , 83).     

Adjustments and adaptations to indoor and outdoor environments: Continuity and change in young adult rhesus monkeys

Optimal environments for captive primates are assumed to be those which simulate certain ecological features and elicit a wide range of species-typical behavior patterns. Outdoor environments are often thought to be more suitable than indoor environments in that they provide more space and potentially higher levels of stimulation. The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term behavioral responses of several groups of animals that had been reared identically during the first two years of life and then exposed to different environments. Two groups were moved into separate “enriched” indoor pens while one group was moved to an outdoor area covering approximately 5 acres. The monkeys were observed during the first year of life and again in these different environments between the ages of 6 and 10. Although behaviorally similar during the first year of life, monkeys developed different response patterns to indoor and outdoor environments. Contrary to commonly held views, indoor monkeys were not more aggressive, nor did they show higher levels of stereotypical behavior. Instead, indoor monkeys exhibited higher levels of grooming, sexual posturing, tactile/oral exploration, and passive visual behavior than their outdoor counterparts. These differences are consistent with the reconciliation model of de Waal. Individual monkeys also showed remarkable stability in certain traits over the 5-year period. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.