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Sonie economic aspects related to vetermary parasitology. Parasitic diseases have an enormous economic impact, particularly in Third World countries. They are also co-responsible for misery, hunger and even death among people. Ticks and tick-born-diseases are encountered everywhere in the world ; they constitute a major problem in the Tropics. East Africa is particularly handicaped by these parasites. Trypanosomiasis in another calamity of the african continent.

We apply the analytic method of exponential series expansion to empirical frequency distributions obtained from measurements of Track Misregistration (TMR) phenomena in magnetic storage Head-Disk-Assembly (HDA) devices.

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ABSTRACT- A new ultrastructural cytoplasmic marker designated as type 2, and distinct from type 1 previously associated with NA-NB hepatitis in chimpanzees, was found in hepatocytes of two patients and of one experimentally infected chimpanzee. These cases represent a minority of all cases we studied as presumed NA-NB viral hepatitis. Type 2 marker consists of tubular structures composed of an assembly of ring-like units coated with smaller uniform fragments, accumulated in different patterns in dilated cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum. Preliminary data using immunofluorescence with NA-NB hepatitis convalescent serum and antiserum against fibrinogen are reported. Type 2 marker may represent a different agent or a different reaction pattern to one agent of NA-NB viral hepatitis. Its features are compared with those of hepatitis B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, a design for detecting harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS) was developed in the framework of the LifeWatch project using Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) loggers. In 2018, the network of deployments fully matured, and eight locations across the BPNS are presently housed with a C-POD (Chelonia Ltd., UK), a PAM logger moored on the seafloor using a multi-use platform. The PAM logger continuously listens for harbor porpoise click trains, but only stores the click parameters. This paper presents the generated data series of harbor porpoise click trains at a minute-resolution and the details on the individual click trains. The field recordings, methodology and processing are described, along with its data curation, integration and quality control. The data are annually published online in a standardized format, accompanied with the metadata description, and labelled with a digital object identifier for traceability. Data are published under a CC-BY license, allowing the use of data under the condition of providing reference to the original source., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Seasonal fluctuations profoundly affect marine microeukaryotic plankton composition and metabolism, but accurately tracking these changes has been a long-standing challenge. In this study, we present a year-long metatranscriptomic data set from the Southern Bight of the North Sea, shedding light on the seasonal dynamics in temperate plankton ecosystems. We observe distinct shifts in active plankton species and their metabolic processes in response to seasonal changes. We characterized the metabolic signatures of different seasonal phases in detail, thereby revealing the metabolic versatility of dinoflagellates, the heterotrophic dietary strategy of Phaeocystis during its late-stage blooms, and stark variations in summer and fall diatom abundance and metabolic activity across nearby sampling stations. Our data illuminate the varied contributions of microeukaryotic taxa to biomass production and nutrient cycling at different times of the year and allow delineation of their ecological niches., Importance: Ecosystem composition and metabolic functions of temperate marine microeukaryote plankton are strongly influenced by seasonal dynamics. Although monitoring of species composition of microeukaryotes has expanded recently, few methods also contain seasonally resolved information on ecosystem functioning. We generated a year-long spatially resolved metatranscriptomic data set to assess seasonal dynamics of microeukaryote species and their associated metabolic functions in the Southern Bight of the North Sea. Our study underscores the potential of metatranscriptomics as a powerful tool for advancing our understanding of marine ecosystem functionality and resilience in response to environmental changes, emphasizing its potential in continuous marine ecosystem monitoring to enhance our ecological understanding of the ocean's eukaryotic microbiome., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Time-series are crucial to understand the status of zooplankton communities and to anticipate changes that might affect the entire food web. Long-term time series allow us to understand impacts of multiple environmental and anthropogenic stressors, such as chemical pollution and ocean warming, on the marine ecosystems. Here, a recent time series (2018-2022) of abundance data of four dominant calanoid and one harpacticoid copepod species from the Belgian Part of the North Sea was combined with previously collected (2009-2010, 2015-2016) datasets for the same study area. The time series reveals a significant decrease (up to two orders of magnitude) in calanoid copepod abundance (Temora longicornis, Acartia clausi, Centropages spp., Calanus helgolandicus), while this was not the case for the harpacticoid Euterpina acutifrons. We applied generalized additive models to quantify the relative contribution of temperature, nutrients, salinity, primary production, turbidity and pollution (anthropogenic chemicals, i.e., polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) to the population dynamics of these species. Temperature, turbidity and chlorophyll a concentrations were the only variables consistently showing a relative high contribution in all models predicting the abundances of the selected species. The observed heat waves which occurred during the summer periods of the investigated years coincided with population collapses (versus population densities in non-heatwave years) and are considered the most likely cause for the observed copepod abundance decreases. Moreover, the recorded water temperatures during these heatwaves correspond to the physiological thermal limit of some of the studied species. As far as we know, this is the first study to observe ocean warming and marine heat waves having such a dramatic impact (population collapse) on the dominant zooplankton species in shallow coastal areas., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Seven species in the genus Medetera (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) are described here: Medetera aglaops sp. nov., Medetera corsicana sp. nov., Medetera gibbosipyga sp. nov., Medetera hispanica sp. nov., Medetera lusitana sp. nov., Medetera parva sp. nov., and Medetera rectipyga sp. nov. They all originate from the wider Mediterranean region in southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Corsica, Sardinia). The most striking feature in most of the species is the bi- or multicolour pattern of the eyes, most conspicuous in Medetera aglaops sp. nov. and Medetera lusitana sp. nov. This character is shared by the male and female sex and is thus not regarded as Male Secondary Sexual Character. All species belong to the Medetera apicalis species group sensu Bickel and are closely related based on shared characters in the hypandrium and cercus. Interestingly, three species with and four species without the basal pair of anterodorsal and posterodorsal bristles on the mid tibia are represented. This suggests that this diagnostic character has less phylogenetic relevance than previously anticipated. Unlike most Palaearctic Medetera , at least five of the new species are mostly found on rocky substrates in dry biotopes with a sclerophyllous vegetation. This further supports their relationship with species of the Medetera muralis subclade sensu Pollet, Germann and Bernasconi., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no content-related role in any phase of this study.

Background: This paper describes a phytoplankton data series generated through systematic observations in the Belgian Part of the North Sea (BPNS). Phytoplankton samples were collected during multidisciplinary sampling campaigns, visiting nine nearshore stations with monthly frequency and an additional eight offshore stations on a seasonal basis., New Information: The data series contain taxon-specific phytoplankton densities determined by analysis with the Flow Cytometer And Microscope (FlowCAM®) and associated image-based classification. The classification is performed by two separate semi-automated classification systems, followed by manual validation by taxonomic experts. To date, 637,819 biological particles have been collected and identified, yielding a large dataset of validated phytoplankton images. The collection and processing of the 2017-2018 dataset are described, along with its data curation, quality control and data storage. In addition, the classification of images using image classification algorithms, based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) from 2019 onwards, is also described. Data are published in a standardised format together with environmental parameters, accompanied by extensive metadata descriptions and finally labelled with digital identifiers for traceability. The data are published under a CC-BY 4.0 licence, allowing the use of the data under the condition of providing the reference to the source., (Luz Amadei Martínez, Jonas Mortelmans, Nick Dillen, Elisabeth Debusschere, Klaas Deneudt.)

We review and summarize the present knowledge of the Neotropical genus Euthycerina Malloch, 1933. Habitus and male terminalia are described and figured in detail for the first time. Euthycerina uachi sp. nov. is described, based on two males and four females from two locations in the province of Valdivia, Chile. An illustrated key is given for the three described species of Euthycerina, together with maps, phenology plots, and a summary of diagnostic characters that will enable researchers to confidently identify all species of Euthycerina.

Pherbellia jalili Mortelmans Kazerani sp. nov. is described based on 5 males and 4 females. The new species is associated with old deciduous forest and is found only in the Hyrcanean forest in Iran. It is compared with its sister species, P. annulipes (Zetterstedt, 1846), and a comprehensive distribution map for both species is given. The key to species of this group of Pherbellia is updated including the Japanese Pherbellia tricolor Sueyoshi, 2001. Barcodes are generated for P. jalili sp. nov., P. annulipes, and P. nana nana (Fallén, 1820).

Through regular sampling surveys, the Flanders Marine Institute is generating long term data series for the Belgian coastal water and sand bank systems, a designated site in the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. The data series is built on sampling activities initiated in 2002, but gradually upgraded and extended in the framework of the LifeWatch marine observatory and the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) participation. Nine nearshore stations are sampled monthly, with additional seasonal sampling of eight offshore stations. This paper presents the generated data series for nutrients, pigments, suspended matter and turbidity. The collection, methodology and processing of the 2002-2018 dataset is described, along with its data curation, integration and quality control. Yearly versions of the data are published online in a standardized format, accompanied with extensive metadata description and labelled with digital identifiers for traceability. Data is published under a CC-BY license, allowing use of the data under the condition of providing reference to the original source.

Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world's oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits.

Organic waste streams can be valorized and reduced in volume with anaerobic digestion (AD). An often-encountered key issue however is the high ammonium (NH4(+)) content of certain waste streams. Ammonia (NH3), in equilibrium with NH4(+), is a toxic compound to the methanogenic community, which limits the organic loading rate and endangers process stability. An electrochemical system (ES) linked to a digester could, besides recovering this nutrient, decrease NH3 toxicity through electrochemical extraction. Therefore, two digesters with and without ES attached in the recirculation loop were operated to test whether the ES could control NH3 toxicity. During periods of high ammonium loading rates, the methane (CH4) production of the ES-coupled reactor was up to 4.5 times higher compared to the control, which could be explained through simultaneous NH4(+) extraction and electrochemical pH control. A nitrogen flux of 47 g N m(–2) membrane d(–1) could be obtained in the ES-coupled reactor, resulting in a current and removal efficiency of 38 ± 5% and 28 ± 2%, respectively, at an electrochemical power input of 17 ± 2 kWh kg(–1) N. The anode also oxidized sulfide, resulting in a significantly lower H2S emission via the biogas. Lastly, limited methanogenic community dynamics pointed to a nonselective influence of the different operational conditions.

Paraphamartania marvaoensis sp. nov. is described based on three male and one female specimens from Marvão, Portugal. The discovery of this new species of Paraphamartania is of great significance since it shows the occurrence of a second species of Paraphamartania in the western Mediterranean. High resolution pictures of type material of all three species of Paraphamartania are provided together with a key to these three species. DNA barcodes of this new species are provided, so future workers are able to study relationships of Paraphamartania.

Empidoidea is one of the largest extant lineages of flies, but phylogenetic relationships among species of this group are poorly investigated and global diversity remains scarcely assessed. In this context, one of the most enigmatic empidoid families is Hybotidae. Within the framework of a pilot study, we barcoded 339 specimens of Old World hybotids belonging to 164 species and 22 genera (plus two Empis as outgroups) and attempted to evaluate whether patterns of intra- and interspecific divergences match the current taxonomy. We used a large sampling of diverse Hybotidae. The material came from the Palaearctic (Belgium, France, Portugal and Russian Caucasus), the Afrotropic (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the Oriental realms (Singapore and Thailand). Thereby, we optimized lab protocols for barcoding hybotids. Although DNA barcodes generally well distinguished recognized taxa, the study also revealed a number of unexpected phenomena: e.g., undescribed taxa found within morphologically very similar or identical specimens, especially when geographic distance was large; some morphologically distinct species showed no genetic divergence; or different pattern of intraspecific divergence between populations or closely related species. Using COI sequences and simple Neighbour-Joining tree reconstructions, the monophyly of many species- and genus-level taxa was well supported, but more inclusive taxonomical levels did not receive significant bootstrap support. We conclude that in hybotids DNA barcoding might be well used to identify species, when two main constraints are considered. First, incomplete barcoding libraries hinder efficient (correct) identification. Therefore, extra efforts are needed to increase the representation of hybotids in these databases. Second, the spatial scale of sampling has to be taken into account, and especially for widespread species or species complexes with unclear taxonomy, an integrative approach has to be used to clarify species boundaries and identities.

The long-term (2 year) safety and efficacy of barnidipine was assessed in an open-label, dose-titration, multicentre study of 236 patients aged > or = 75 years with a sitting diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > or = 95 mmHg. All eligible patients started treatment with barnidipine 10 mg once daily. After at least 4 weeks treatment, the dose of barnidipine was titrated upwards to 20 mg daily in patients who did not achieve normalisation of blood pressure (sitting DBP < 90 mmHg). After at least another 4 weeks of treatment an ACE inhibitor or diuretic was added if necessary. Barnidipine monotherapy was the final treatment in 74% of patients in the ITT population (50% barnidipine 10 mg, 24% barnidipine 20 mg). The overall response rate was 84.1% at endpoint. Overall mean sitting DBP decreased by 18.4 mmHg from 102.1 mmHg at baseline to 83.7 mmHg at endpoint. Although a total of 82.2% of patients reported at least one adverse event, only 37.4% of patients experienced an adverse event that was possibly or probably related to the study medication. Many patients experienced adverse events associated with co-existing diseases common in older people. It can be concluded that barnidipine as monotherapy or in combination with ACE inhibitors or diuretics is safe and effective in older patients with essential hypertension.

In order to study sensitivity or resistance of T.b. gambiense to baboon serum, two species of baboons, P. hamadryas and P. papio were inoculated with T.b. gambiense clone LiTat 1.1. Both species were receptive to infection but, parasitological and immunological parameters showed that P. papio was more trypanotolerant than P. hamadryas. The VAT-specific trypanolysis test and the ELISA, using MoAb for circulating antigen detection may be appropriate for the diagnosis of human trypanosomiasis due to T.b. gambiense.

An isolate of Trichinella of polar bear origin was studied by isoenzymatic typing. It was found referable to Trichinella nativa. While the Wistar rats proved nearly refractory to this isolate, the Swiss albino mice were highly susceptible. Ninety-one per cent of the cystic lesions in the diaphragm of the polar bear contained viable larvae after over 20 years of acquisition of the infection by the host which is a case of extreme adaptability of the parasite to its host. The anatomo-pathological aspects of these lesions are studied and the zoonotic significance of this isolate examined.

Lungworm infection of Canada lynx, Felis (Lynx) canadensis, presumably due to Troglostrongylus wilsoni (Nematoda: Metastrongylidae), was successfully cured with the use of Mebendazole.

The sensitivity and specificity of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of Taenia saginata cysticercosis was studied among laboratory reared experimentally infected calves and conventionally raised naturally infected cattle by using a T crassiceps metacestode antigen. The intensity of the metacestode burden in experimentally infected animals had a direct effect on the first appreciable rise in the spectrophotometric extinction values and also on the progressive elevation of these values during the later stages of infection. The animals harbouring less than 100 metacestodes were the most difficult to detect by ELISA. Serum from sheep infected with Cysticercus tenuicollis showed cross-reaction. Among the naturally infected cattle the sensitivity of ELISA was poor; only 37.5 per cent of the 24 proven cases could be diagnosed. One of the nine cattle harbouring natural infection of Fasciola hepatica showed cross-reaction. Of the 69 animals 4.3 per cent showed false positive reactions.

Experimental Trypanosoma brucei-infection progressing clinically peak-wise, induces intense proteinleakage in the anterior chamber of cats' and dogs' eyes, with a cyclitislike symptomatology, preceded by hypersensitivity of conjunctiva and respiratory mucosae, together with lacrimation, and facial oedema. The pherogram of aqueous humor is the replica of the serumpherogram at the endstage of the disease and is identical to secondary aqueous. Absence of any significant changes in serumproteins, immunoglobulins and the poor cellular reaction at tissue-level point towards immune unresponsiveness subsequent to experimental protozoal infection. Light-microscopy reveals at the level of the ciliary processes two kinds of cystic formation, the walls of which are formed by ciliary epithelium. One type contains amorphous material next to trypanosomes, macrophages and plasmocyte-like cells; the second type contains also fibrillar structures possibly reminding collagen. Ultramicroscopy suggests these cystic formation to be enlarged ciliary channels. The fenestrated capillary wall showing no changes neither after withdrawal of aqueous, nor after toxic parasite-action, the presence of large proteinmolecules and trypanosomes in the anterior chamber are due to damage to the ciliary epithelium.

Radioactive (3H) uridine was incorporated into RNA isolated from the HBsAg of a chimpanzee carrier. HBsAg was purified by precipitation as an immune complex with the IgG fraction of chimpanzee anti-HBs. RNA was extracted from the washed complex with buffered phenol precipitated with alcohol and four nucleotides were identified by thin layer chromatography after alkali degradation.