Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are the most common and widely distributed wild carnivore worldwide. These predators harbour a wide range of parasites, many of which may have important conservation, agricultural and zoonotic repercussions. This project investigated the occurrence of helminth parasites from the intestines of 147 red foxes across 14 sampling localities of southwest Western Australia. H...

stray dogs are considered as an important health problem in societies because they can carry dangerous diseases such as hydatidosis, toxocariasis and coenurus cerebralis to humans and animals. therefore, the study of helminthes infections in all parts of iran for evaluation of infection state, and provision of the infection control programs is essential. the aim of this study, was to determine ...

It has been suggested that papaverine relaxes the smooth muscle through inhibition of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) and subsequent accumulation of cellular cyclic AMP (1-4). On the other hand, our previous study indicated that the relaxant effect of papaverine on the smooth muscle is partially due to a mechanism which is only activated in the presence of external sodium ion (5). Therefore,...

In Indonesia, taeniasis is endemic on the islands of Bali, Irian Jaya and Sumatra. The Balinese eat pork or beef raw in a dish called "lawar". Natives of Irian Jaya also have a custom of preparing and consuming raw pork. On Samosir Island in North Sumatra, undercooked pork is consumed in traditional ceremonies. In Bali, the local people defecate into cages (called "teba") of domestic animals. I...

To explore the possible role of heat shock protein 20 (HSP20) -linked regulation of actin-myosin interaction in living vascular smooth muscle contraction, we studied the effects of HSP20p and TnIp, synthetic peptides originating from an actin tropomyosin binding region of human heat shock protein 20 [residues 110-121; GFVAREFHRRYR] and that of rabbit cardiac troponin I [residues 136-147; GKFKRP...

Information concerning TLR-mediated antigen recognition and regulation of immune responses during helminth infections is scarce. TLR2 is a key molecule required for innate immunity and is involved in the recognition of a wide range of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Here, we evaluated the role of TLR2 in a Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis model. We compared the course of T. crassiceps in...

INTRODUCTION Human serofrequency of antibodies against Taenia solium antigens was determined and risk factors for cysticercosis transmission were identified. METHODS Individuals (n=878) from periurban and rural locations of Lages, SC, were interviewed to gather demographic, sanitary and health information. Interviews and blood sample collections by finger prick on Whatman filter paper were pe...

The aim of this study was to identify the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoform expressed in freshly dispersed rabbit gastric smooth muscle cells and in cultured rabbit gastric, human intestinal, and guinea pig taenia coli smooth muscle cells. RT-PCR products of the predicted size (354 bp) were obtained with endothelial NOS (eNOS)-specific primers, but not neuronal NOS (nNOS)- or inducible NOS (i...