BACKGROUND Indigenous biocultural knowledge is a vital part of Nepalese environmental management strategies; however, much of it may soon be lost given Nepal's rapidly changing socio-ecological climate. This is particularly true for knowledge surrounding parasitic and mycoheterotrophic plant species, which are well represented throughout the Central-Eastern Himalayas but lack a collated record....

Numerous pathogenic or parasitic organisms attack plant roots to obtain nutrients, and the apoplast including the plant cell wall is where the plant cell meets such organisms. Root parasitic angiosperms and nematodes are two distinct types of plant root parasites but share some common features in their strategies for breaking into plant roots. Striga and Orobanche are obligate root parasitic an...

Coevolution is often invoked as an engine of biological diversity. Avian brood parasites and their hosts provide one of the best-known examples of coevolution. Brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other species, selecting for host defences and reciprocal counteradaptations in parasites. In theory, this arms race should promote increased rates of speciation and phenotypic evolution. He...

This paper presents an analysis of the effect of parasitic resistances on the performance of DC-DC Single Ended Primary Inductor Converter (SEPIC) in photovoltaic maximum power point tracking (MPPT) applications. The energy storage elements incorporated in the SEPIC converter possess parasitic resistances. Although ideal components significantly simplifies model development, but neglecting the ...

AIM The role of parasitic infestation in the cause of acute appendicitis has been long time discussed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of parasitic infestation in the etiology of acute appendicitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS This retrospective study includes 5.100 patients undergoing surgical therapy for acute appendicitis between 1996 and 2005. Patients were divided into two groups ...

BACKGROUND In Bulgaria, more than 20 autochthonous human parasitic infections have been described and some of them are widespread. Over 50 imported protozoan and helminthic infections represent diagnostic and therapeutic challenges and pose epidemiological risks due to the possibility of local transmission. AIMS To establish the distribution of autochthonous and imported parasitic diseases am...

Host-parasite systems have been useful in understanding coevolutionary patterns in sympatric species. Based on the exceptional interaction of the long-lived and highly host-specific freshwater pearl mussel (FPM; Margaritifera margaritifera) with its much shorter-lived host fish (Salmo trutta or Salmo salar), we tested the hypotheses that a longer duration of the parasitic phase increases fitnes...

Radiologists seldom encounter parasitic diseases in their daily practice in most of Europe, although the incidence of these diseases is increasing due to migration and tourism from/to endemic areas. Moreover, some parasitic diseases are still endemic in certain European regions, and immunocompromised individuals also pose a higher risk of developing these conditions. This article reviews and su...