During the course of an experiment on marine fish cultivation conducted from 1942-44 in Loch Craiglin, Argyllshire, some attention was paid to the feeding of fish as deduced from gut analyses. Most of the fish examined were flatfish and some account of their feeding has already been given (Raymont, 1947). A few round fish were also taken from time to time and a small number of these were gutted for food content.

For two years, from June, 1927, the writer held a Research Scholarship in Sanitary Science from the Grocers' Company, the terms of reference including a biological study of the fauna of sewage-treatment plants. Special attention was paid to the free-living nematodes since in mere quantity they form an important section of the fauna in many treatment units, and they have been much neglected as a group in comparison with the protozoa and bacteria.

Intestinal helminth infections constitute a major health problem in low socio-economic communities worldwide. A cross-sectional study was conducted in children aged between 12 and 60 months. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and stool samples were subjected to direct smear, stained with Lugol's iodine, and formaldehyde–ether concentration techniques to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminth infections. The circumference of each child's left mid upper arm (MUAC) was measured using standard procedures. Two hundred and six children with a mean MUAC of 14.7 cm (SD ± 1.1) were assessed from September to December 2014. The prevalence of acute energy undernutrition was 6.3% (13/206). All of them had moderate acute undernutrition and no cases of severe acute undernutrition. Paternal occupation was significantly associated with MUAC. Intestinal helminth infections were detected in 12.6% of children. Four species of parasites were identified; Ascaris lumbricoides (9.7%) followed by Enterobius vermicularis (1.5%), Trichuris trichiura (1.0%) and hookworms (1.0%). Uninfected children aged between 1 and 2 years showed significantly higher MUAC than infected children. No statistically significant association was detected between the severity of intestinal helminth infections and MUAC. Although intestinal helminth infections are a major public health problem in this community, they are not related to MUAC. Future research, providing more insight into the nutritional impact of intestinal helminth infections, is required to determine the association between parasitic infections and physical growth in this community.

A study of larval development of Schistosoma haematobium in the snail Planorbarius metidjensis infected by transplanted sporocysts showed that some embryos in daughter sporocysts have characters intermediate between cercariae and sporocysts. These embryos are interpreted to be nearly mature cercariae that have partially reverted to be secondary sporocysts. If this explanation is correct, it would mean that the embryos which develop within trematode daughter sporocysts can differentiate either into cercariae or into a new generation of sporocysts, but originate from a single type of germinal cell.

Excretory–secretory (ES) products of nematodes and other helminths are the first molecules to interact with cell surfaces and soluble proteins within the host. In the present study, ES products of the filarial nematode Onchocerca ochengi were investigated as a model for Onchocerca volvulus, the causative agent of river blindness. These products were collected from adult and larval stages in vitro over a period of 7 days, to compare their immunological recognition in cattle and human sera, infected with species of Onchocerca. From the 156 sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) ES products or extracts, protein bands showed different patterns between female and male products. A comparison of antibody recognition of the different ES products by sera from infected cattle and humans, when analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), revealed a relatively higher reactivity of the female somatic extract to human and cattle sera compared to ES products of both genders. Nevertheless, similar reactivity of the O. ochengi male and female ES products to human and cattle sera was noticed. As a result, the interaction of ES products with the surface of the host and immune system often led to host responses, including the generation of antibodies. The O. ochengi ES products are therefore good sources of potential immunogenic proteins. The identification of these ES products is in progress, with the aim of developing vaccine candidates against human onchocerciasis.

Among the forms of anthropogenic disturbance, agricultural land use is one of the main threats to biodiversity. Understanding how interactions between parasites and hosts are affected by agricultural land use allows predictions of how these anthropogenic impacts affect parasites. Although parasitism patterns are affected by agricultural land use, it is noteworthy that different groups of parasites can respond differently to these environmental alterations. While heteroxenous species need more than one host to complete their life cycle and tend to be more harmed by anthropization, monoxenous species, which need only one host to complete their life cycle, tend to be less harmed. In this work, we evaluate how agricultural land use affects the abundance and prevalence of parasitism for monoxenous and heteroxenous helminths in the generalist lizard Tropidurus hispidus in Caatinga Domain, Brazil. We recorded differences in abundance and prevalence of heteroxeneous (higher in conserved areas) and monoxenous helminths (higher in agricultural areas). Heteroxenous helminths that have lizards as definitive hosts are mainly obtained through diet. Tropidurus hispidus predominantly consumes insects, so it is possible that the lower abundance and prevalence of heteroxenous parasites in agricultural areas, beyond habitat simplification, is related to the decrease in the insect population. As monoxenous species do not need an intermediate host, it is possible that this aspect has influenced their greater success in anthropogenic environments than heteroxenous species. This contrasting result reinforces the need for a separate assessment between these groups when evaluating effects of land use.

Gould (1970) stated that “asyet,roentgenographic technics cannot demonstrate trichinae in skeletal muscle”. We have found no report of X-ray film demonstration of Trichinella cysts in muscle in the literature to date. Rogers et al. (1975) used the technique of xeroradiography to show living and calcified filarial worms (Brugia pahangi) in the infected lymphatics of cats and we have had an opportunity to use this method to examine calcified Trichinella cysts in infected muscle.

In the following article is described an interesting parasitic condition which is difficult to interpret. The small intestine of an Hadada, Geronticus hagedash, was brought back from the West Coast of Africa by Major T. A. Cockburn, M.D., R.A.M.C, who kindly passed it to me for further examination. The bird is a member of the family Plataleidae, living in wooded districts in West Africa in the neighbourhood of water and feeding on invertebrates, mainly annelids and small crustaceans which it finds at the bottom of ponds and streams in the mud.

One male and four females were recovered from the anterior part of the intestine of the house rat, Rattus rattus kijabius in Kenya. They were found to belong to an undescribed species of trichostrongyloid for which the name Longistriata (Brevispiculoides) kenyae is proposed. I wish to thank my friend Mr. W. F. J. McClelland for the material, and Professor J. J. C. Buckley for his interest in the work.

In a recent survey of nematodes associated with tobacco in Shandong, China, the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus coffeae was identified using a combination of morphology and molecular techniques. This nematode species is a serious parasite that damages a variety of plant species. The model plant benthi, Nicotiana benthamiana, is frequently used to study plant-disease interactions. However, it is not known whether this plant species is a host of P. coffeae. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the parasitism and pathogenicity of five populations of the root-lesion nematode P. coffeae on N. benthamiana. N. benthamiana seedlings with the same growth status were chosen and inoculated with 1,000 nematodes per pot. At 60 days after inoculation, the reproductive factors (Rf = final population densities (Pf)/initial population densities (Pi)) for P. coffeae in the rhizosphere of N. benthamiana were all more than 1, suggesting that N. benthamiana was a good host plant for P. coffeae. Nicotiana. benthamiana infected by P. coffeae showed weak growth, decreased tillering, high root reduction, and noticeable brown spots on the roots. Thus, we determined that the model plant N. benthamiana can be used to study plant-P. coffeae interactions.

The plant-parasitic cyst nematode Heterodera glycines requires a host plant to complete its life cycle, which involves hatching of infective juveniles that parasitize through root entry. A laboratory population of H. glycines grown on soybean, Glycine max, undergoes a sharp increase in maturity between 5 and 6 weeks in culture, as measured by the proportion of eggs containing well developed pre-hatch juveniles (late development eggs) versus eggs without visible juveniles (early development eggs). The median percent of eggs classified as late development, representing all samples taken from 4 to 7 weeks in culture, was 61%. For all samples taken up to 5 weeks, 80% scored below the median. In samples taken after 5 weeks, 15% scored below the median. This shift in population maturity was accompanied by a significant increase (P < 0.01) in the number of hatched juveniles present in each sample. There was also a significant increase (P < 0.02) in amount of FaRP-like peptide detected by specific ELISA. Total FaRP levels increased from 0.18 ± 0.07 fMol FLRFamide equivalents per ng protein in early development eggs to 0.40 ± 0.17 in late development eggs. The level remained high in hatched juveniles. HPLC/ELISA detected as many as nine potential FaRPs in H. glycines, two of which were specifically increased (P < 0.005) in hatched juveniles. The association of FaRPs with maturing eggs and the possible involvement of these neuropeptides with juvenile hatching and motility are discussed.

Kapsulotaenia tidswelli is a proteocephalidean cestode that utilizes varanid lizards as definitive hosts. Fresh specimens of this cestode were observed with endogenous red pigmentation in the neck region that disappeared rapidly if specimens were not preserved in glutaraldehyde. The ultrastructural characteristics of the red pigment, which are described, suggest it is a carotenoid. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed a close relationship between K. tidswelli and other species of Kapsulotaenia for which sequence information is available. There is thus no reason to consider that the red pigmentation is because K. tidswelli is atypical, and it is proposed the carotenoids are likely to be associated with the diet of its varanid host.

Natural selection should favour parasite genotypes that manipulate hosts in ways that enhance parasite fitness. However, it is also possible that the effects of infection are not adaptive. Here we experimentally examined the phenotypic effects of infection in a snail–trematode system. These trematodes (Atriophallophorus winterbourni) produce larval cysts within the snail's shell (Potamopyrgus antipodarum); hence the internal shell volume determines the total number of parasite cysts produced. Infected snails in the field tend to be larger than uninfected snails, suggesting the hypothesis that parasites manipulate host growth so as to increase the space available for trematode reproduction. To test the hypothesis, we exposed juvenile snails to trematode eggs. Snails were then left to grow for about one year in 800-l outdoor mesocosms. We found that uninfected males were smaller than uninfected females (sexual dimorphism). We also found that infection did not affect the shell dimensions of males. However, infected females were smaller than uninfected females. Hence, infection stunts the growth of females, and (contrary to the hypothesis) it results in a smaller internal volume for larval cysts. Finally, infected females resembled males in size and shape, suggesting the possibility that parasitic castration prevents the normal development of females. These results thus indicate that the parasite is not manipulating the growth of infected hosts so as to increase the number of larval cysts, although alternative adaptive explanations are possible.

Little is known about helminth parasites of the Bismarck Archipelago, in either archaeological or modern contexts. This study presents a parasitological analysis of soil samples from Early Lapita habitation layers at Kamgot (3300–3000 BP). Evidence for the presence of pigs and dogs and the timing of their arrival in Early Lapita contexts have been contested in the literature. The finding of parasite eggs in samples from Kamgot supports the presence of pigs and dogs at the site. Six types of helminth eggs were identified: pig nematode Trichuris suis, dog nematode Toxocara canis, and cestode Dipylidium caninum, as well as two unknown trematodes and a possible anoplocephalid cestode, thereby indicating the local presence of other mammals or birds. This study represents the first confirmed record of ancient helminth parasites in tropical Oceania.