Implications of zoonotic and vector-borne parasites to free-roaming cats in central Spain.

Cats are definitive hosts and reservoirs for several parasites, some of which are responsible for serious zoonotic diseases. We conducted a case-control study of data from a trap-neuter-return (TNR) programme (years 2014-2017) designed to examine the prevalence of zoonotic parasites in free-roaming cats living in urban areas of central Spain. In the animal population tested (n = 263), we detected a 29.2% prevalence of endoparasites, including high rates of cestodes (12.9%) and Toxocara cati (11.7%). While faecal samples showed no Toxoplasma gondii oocysts, the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was 24.2%. Antibodies to Leishmania infantum were detected in 4.8% of the animals, though all skin and blood samples analyzed were PCR negative for this parasite. Ectoparasites (ticks and fleas) were found in 4.6% of the cat population, and 10.6% of the cats were detected with Otodectes cynotis. Finally, 6.3% and 7.9% cats tested positive for feline leukaemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus, respectively. Our study provides useful information for animal-welfare and public-health, as the parasites detected can affect native wild animals through predation, competition and disease transmission. Our detection of zoonotic parasites such as L. infantum, T. gondii, T. cati, Giardia duodenalis and several ectoparasites prompts an urgent need for health control measures in stray cats.

Self-association of beta-lactoglobulin c in acetate buffers.

The self-association of beta-lactoglobulin C at pH 4.65 (23 degrees C) in acetate buffer has been studied at various temperatures, 10, 16, 20 and 25 degrees C, by a series of sedimentation equilibrium experiments. Two different buffers were used. Buffer I with an ionic strength of 0.1 consisted of 0.1M acetic acid and 0.1M sodium acetate; buffer II had 0.1M KCl in addiation so that its ionic strength was 0.2. The variation of the apparent weight average molecular weight, Mwa, with the total solute concentration, c, was characteristic of a self-association. In contrast to the behavior of beta-lactoglobulin A in acetate buffer, the association of beta-lactoglobulin C did not proceed beyond dimer. Furthermore, within the experimental error, the self-association of beta-lactoglobulin C was independent of temperature and ionic strength; all experimental data could be put on the same Mwa (or M1/Mwa) vs. c plot! Several models were used to test the self-association, and a monomer--dimer association with K2 = 2.10 X 10(3) dl/g and BM1 =- 1.2 X 10(-2) dl/g seemed to give a good description of the M1/Mwa vs. c curve.

[Pseudo acute pancreatitis: a syndrome mimicked by a multiple parasitic duodenitis. Analysis of 7 case]. / Pseudo-Pancreatitis Aguda Edematosa: síndrome mimetizado por una duodenitis parasitaria múltiple. Análisis de 7 casos.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this presentation was to analyze a clinical syndrome characterized by repeated episodes of upper abdominal pain, markedly increased levels of both total amylase and lipase, but with normal values of pancreatic isoamylase. Besides, with the lack of morphologic changes of the pancreatic gland, either by ultrasound, abdominal tomography, or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. MATERIAL, METHODS AND RESULTS: Five female and two male patients, with an average age of 51 +/- 3 were studied. All had been diagnosed as having acute edematous pancreatitis (ranson score < 3). Laboratory tests had disclosed eosinophilia (5-30%); total amylasemia (1547 +/- 398 UA/l); lipasemia (857 +/- 499 UBL/L); normal pancreatic isoamylase (72 +/- 18 UA/L). Upper endoscopy showed nonspecific signs of duodenitis sometimes with duodenal erosions. Collection studies, pre and post Sorbitol, disclosed an unexpected multiple parasitic infestation, e.g.: giardias, ascaris, amoeba, hymenolepis nana. This finding was always suggestively associated with abundant sludge (bilirrubinate cholesterol and oxalate crystals). All patients, after having been submitted to the appropriate antiparasitic medication, were rapidly relieved of their symptoms and remained free of episodes of abdominal pain. CONCLUSIONS: When the fact that all our patients had normal pancreatic isoamylase levels and lack of any morphologic distortion of the pancreatic parenchyma is associated to the notion that total amylase and lipase may have as a source the gastrointestinal mucosa, it appears as a logical inference that the clinical syndrome here discussed is indeed primarily a reflection of an extrapancreatic disease, essentially of parasitic duodenitis.

Effect of atmospheric pressure on maize root growth and ethylene production.

Maize (Zea mays) seedlings were exposed to elevated atmospheric pressures while growing in moist sand in open plastic envelopes to evaluate the effects of directly applied atmospheric pressure on ethylene production and root growth. Effects were evaluated after 24 h. The threshold pressures necessary to promote ethylene production and decrease root elongation were about 600 and 400 kPa, respectively. Direct atmospheric pressure, at levels up to 300 kPa, mimicked the control decrease in root diameter and increased diameter only slightly at 500 to 1200 kPa. In contrast, in previous work it was shown that physical impedance resulting from compression of the growth medium by external application of 100 kPa increased the ethylene production rate 4-fold and the root diameter 7-fold while reducing elongation 75% in 10 h. The relative insensitivity of roots to direct atmospheric pressure suggests that they perceive physical impedance, achieved experimentally by compressing the growth medium, via a surface mechanism rather than via a pressure-sensing mechanism.

Metabolism of 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylic Acid in Etiolated Maize Seedlings Grown under Mechanical Impedance.

We investigated the metabolism of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in etiolated maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings subjected to mechanical impedance by applying pressure to the growing medium. Total concentrations of ACC varied little in unimpeded seedlings, but impeded organs accumulated ACC. Roots had consistently higher concentrations of ACC than shoots or seeds, regardless of treatment. The concentration of ACC in the roots increased more than 100% during the first hour of treatment irrespective of the pressure applied; in shoots, total ACC concentration increased 46% at either low or high pressure during the first hour of treatment. The bulk of ACC synthesized under impeded and unimpeded conditions was present in a conjugated form, presumably, 1-(malonylamino)-cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid. However, 1-(malonylamino)-cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid increased 73% over controls after 10 hours at 25 kilopascals of pressure. Unimpeded tissue had about 77% ACC as the conjugate and 17% as free ACC, and less than 6% was used in ethylene production. Increased amounts of ACC were converted into ethylene under stress. In vivo ACC synthase activity in roots became six and seven times higher only 1 hour after initiation of treatment at 25 and 100 kilopascals of pressure, respectively, and remained high for at least 6 hours. However, the immediate and massive conjugation of mechanically induced ACC suggests that ACC N-malonyltransferase may play an important role in the regulation of mechanically induced ethylene production. After 8 hours, in vivo activity of the ethylene-forming enzyme complex increased 100 and 50% above normal level at 100 and 25 kilopascals, respectively. Furthermore, ethylene-forming enzyme complex activity was significantly greater at 100 kilopascals than in controls as early as 1 hour after treatment initiation. These data suggest that regulation of ethylene production under mechanical impedance involves the concerted action of ACC synthase, the ethylene-forming enzyme complex, and ACC N-malonyltransferase.

Ethylene Evolution from Maize (Zea mays L.) Seedling Roots and Shoots in Response to Mechanical Impedance.

The effect of mechanical impedance on ethylene evolution and growth of preemergent maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings was investigated by pressurizing the growth medium in triaxial cells in a controlled environment. Pressure increased the bulk density of the medium and thus the resistance to growth. The elongation of maize primary roots and preemergent shoots was severely hindered by applied pressures as low as 10 kilopascals. Following a steep decline in elongation at low pressures, both shoots and roots responded to additional pressure in a linear manner, but shoots were more severely affected than roots at higher pressures. Radial expansion was promoted in both organs by mechanical impedance. Primary roots typically became thinner during the experimental period when grown unimpeded. In contrast, pressures as low as 25 kilopascals caused a 25% increase in root tip diameter. Shoots showed a slight enhancement of radial expansion; however, in contrast to roots, the shoots increased in diameter even when growing unimpeded. Such morphological changes were not evident until at least 3 hours after initiation of treatment. All levels of applied pressure promoted ethylene evolution as early as 1 hour after application of pressure. After 1 hour, ethylene evolution rates had increased 10, 32, 70, and 255% at 25, 50, 75, and 100 kilopascals respectively, and continued to increase linearly for at least 10 hours. When intact corn seedlings were subjected to a series of hourly cycles of pressure, followed by relaxation, ethylene production rates increased or decreased rapidly, illustrating tight coupling between mechanical impedance and tissue response. Seedlings exposed to 1 microliter of ethylene per liter showed symptoms similar to those shown by plants grown under mechanical impedance. Root diameter increased 5 times as much as the shoot diameter. Pretreatment with 10 micromolar aminoethoxyvinyl glycine plus 1 micromolar silver thiosulfate maintained ethylene production rates of impeded seedlings at basal levels and restored shoot and root extension to 84 and 90% of unimpeded values, respectively. Our results support the hypothesis that ethylene plays a pivotal role in the regulation of plant tissue response to mechanical impedance.

Pseudo-Pancreatitis Aguda Edematosa: sindrome mimetizado por una duodenitis parasitaria multiple. Analisis de 7 casos / Pseudo acute pancreatitis: a syndrome mimicked by a multiple parasitic duodenitis. Analysis of 7 case

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this presentation was to analyze a clinical syndrome characterized by repeated episodes of upper abdominal pain, markedly increased levels of both total amylase and lipase, but with normal values of pancreatic isoamylase. Besides, with the lack of morphologic changes of the pancreatic gland, either by ultrasound, abdominal tomography, or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. MATERIAL, METHODS AND RESULTS: Five female and two male patients, with an average age of 51 +/- 3 were studied. All had been diagnosed as having acute edematous pancreatitis (ranson score < 3). Laboratory tests had disclosed eosinophilia (5-30 percent); total amylasemia (1547 +/- 398 UA/l); lipasemia (857 +/- 499 UBL/L); normal pancreatic isoamylase (72 +/- 18 UA/L). Upper endoscopy showed nonspecific signs of duodenitis sometimes with duodenal erosions. Collection studies, pre and post Sorbitol, disclosed an unexpected multiple parasitic infestation, e.g.: giardias, ascaris, amoeba, hymenolepis nana. This finding was always suggestively associated with abundant sludge (bilirrubinate cholesterol and oxalate crystals). All patients, after having been submitted to the appropriate antiparasitic medication, were rapidly relieved of their symptoms and remained free of episodes of abdominal pain. CONCLUSIONS: When the fact that all our patients had normal pancreatic isoamylase levels and lack of any morphologic distortion of the pancreatic parenchyma is associated to the notion that total amylase and lipase may have as a source the gastrointestinal mucosa, it appears as a logical inference that the clinical syndrome here discussed is indeed primarily a reflection of an extrapancreatic disease, essentially of parasitic duodenitis.