Phototactic responses of cercariae of the echinostome Echinoparyphium recurvatum (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) were investigated during phases of sub-maximal and maximal infectivity using a simple light/dark choice chamber. The phototactic responses of a total of 400 cercariae were examined in 20 replicate experiments during their sub-maxinal infectivity dispersal phase (0.5 h post-emergence from the first intermediate host Lymnaea peregra) and during their maximal infectivity phase (2.5 h post-emergence). Cercariae in the sub-maximal infectivity dispersal phase were found to be positively phototactic, significantly larger numbers of them occurring on the light side of a light/dark choice chamber P < 0.001. Cercariae in the maximal infectivity phase were found to be negatively phototactic, significantly larger numbers of them being found on the dark side of the choice chamber, P < 0.001. This report of ‘phototactic switching’ demonstrated by the cercariae of E. recurvatum from a positively phototactic dispersal phase to a negatively phototactic infection phase constitutes the first record of such behaviour in the cercaria of an echinostome.

This editorial comments on the paper by Martin McBride and the UK REACH team (published in 2023) investigating financial concerns in UK healthcare workers and depressive symptoms. The research concludes that reporting future financial concerns at baseline increased the odds of depressive symptoms at follow-up around 18 months later. We discuss these findings in the context of the cost-of-living crisis and pay disputes within the NHS, important policy implications and directions for future research.

The composition of the parasite fauna of the flounder, Platichthys flesus, retrieved from two locations in the tidal Thames is described in detail for the first time. The combined parasite species list of the flounders from Lots Road in the upper tideway and West Thurrock in the middle tideway consisted of one protozoan (Glugea stephani), one monogenean (Gyrodactylus sp.), four larval digeneans (Cryptocotyle concava, Timoniella imbutiforme, T. praeterita, and Labratrema minimus), five adult digeneans (Derogenes varicus, Lecithaster gibbosus, Podocotyle sp., Plagioporus varius, and Zoogonoides viviparus), one larval cestode (unidentified tetraphyllidean), one or possibly more larval nematodes (unidentified) plus five adult nematodes (Capillaria sp., Cucullanus heterochrous, C. minutus, Contracaecum sp. and Goezia sp.), two acanthocephalans (Pomphorhynchus laevis and Acanthocephalus anguillae), three copepods (Lepeophtheirus pectoralis, Acanthochondria sp. and Lernaeocera branchialis), and one mollusc (unidentified glochidia). The overall parasite community of flounders from Lots Road and West Thurrock were compared in terms of species richness and diversity. The parasite community in flounders from the former location in the upper tideway was found to be less diverse than that of its counterpart at West Thurrock in the middle estuary. The component community of Lots Road flounders was dominated by the acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus laevis.

Hegel's Eurocentrism has become something of an elephant in the room, too obvious to merit discussion. The secondary literature on Hegel often concedes that many of Hegel's comments about the Orient are misguided and uninformed, and then declares that such remarks are of no consequence to his philosophy. However, recently, some scholars have contended that Hegel's view of freedom is fundamentally connected to his negative vision of the Orient and Africa. For example, Alison Stone asserts that Hegel's idea of freedom is premised on his Eurocentrism and colonialism. Drawing on Peter Sahota's essay on Hegel and Hinduism, she argues that Hegel's idea of freedom as liberation from nature tends to exclude non-Western conceptions of freedom. If Stone's contention is true, there would be no way to, as she puts it, save Hegel from himself. I argue that we can move some way towards rescuing Hegel by noting how scholars from modern Asia incorporated some of Hegel's ideas to struggle against Eurocentrism. This essay will read Hegel's comments on the Orient in light of his larger philosophy and then examine how Japanese scholars, specifically Okakura Tenshin (1863–1913) construct what could be called a Hegel-inspired defense of the concept of Asia or the Orient. I claim that if one understands the excesses of Western life to be linked to a vision of freedom based merely on self-interest and pleasure, when scholars and activists from Asia question Western culture, they actually follow Hegel's insights. Okakura, who studied Hegel in college, rethought Asia as overcoming the abstract individualist freedom of the West and replacing it a more holistic, and partially, Hegelian form of freedom.

Dynamic simulations of the cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs) with cable models closer to reality can predict the motions of moving platforms more accurately than those with idealisations. Hence, the present work proposes an efficient and modular computational framework for this purpose. The primary focus is on the developments required in the context of CDPRs actuated by moving the exit points of cables while the lengths are held constant. Subsequently, the framework is extended to those cases where simultaneous changes in the lengths of cables are employed. Also, the effects due to the inertia, stiffness and damping properties of the cables undergoing 3D motions are included in their dynamic models. The efficient recursive forward dynamics algorithms from the prior works are utilised to minimise the computational effort. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed framework and the need for such an inclusive dynamic model are illustrated by applying it to different application scenarios using the spatial $4$-$4$ CDPR as an example.

The aim of this study was to determine if the plerocercoid larvae of Gymnorhynchus gigas, a common cestode of the ray’s bream (Brama raii), possess antigenic compounds potentially capable of provoking anaphylactic episodes. A murine experimental model, using BALB/c mice, was developed to study the humoral immune response induced by G. gigas extracts. A highly specific humoral immune response was detected and cross-reactions were not observed between parasite and host antigens. The presence of IgM and IgG3 levels suggest the presence of thymus-independent antigens in the parasitic extract. The IgG antibody class showed the highest levels, with the IgG1 the predominant subclass. These IgG1 levels are in accordance with the supposed presence of a type I allergic reaction after the ingestion of G. gigas plerocercoids parasitizing fish, as well as inducing anaphylaxia in fish. These results indicate that somatic products released from ingested larvae of G. gigas could induce the development of a Th2 response capable of causing allergic disorders.