Effects of live and dead (heat-killed) infective juveniles (IJs) of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae on nematodes associated with boxwood Buxus spp. were evaluated in field experiments during 1999 and 2000. Both living and dead IJs of S. carpocapsae were equally effective, causing more than 50% reduction in total populations of plant-parasitic nematodes relative to the cont...

When modelling metapopulation dynamics, the influence of a single patch on the metapopulation depends on the number of individuals in the patch. Since there is usually no obvious natural upper limit on the number of individuals in a patch, this leads to systems in which there are countably infinitely many possible types of entity. Analogous considerations apply in the transmission of parasitic ...

Host genetic resistance is a key component of integrated pest management. The present authors and others are investigating the use of RNA interference (RNAi) as a genetic tool for engineering host resistance against parasitic weeds. The general approach is to transform a host plant with a plasmid encoding a double stranded hairpin RNA (hpRNA) targeted against one or more vital parasite genes. W...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is common in countries where chronic parasitic infestations are endemic. However, the relationship between parasitic infection and IBS is not clear. The aim of this study was to examine whether chronic parasitic infection is accompanied by gut dysfunction and whether the continued presence of the parasite is required for the maintenance of the dysfunction. We used...

BACKGROUND There is scant information available on the prevalence of parasitic infections in Gujarat, a state in Western India. The present community-based study was undertaken in the urban slums of a city in Gujarat to determine the following parameters: (a) the prevalence and type of pathogenic intestinal parasites and (b) the availability of sanitary facilities in the study population. MAT...

BACKGROUND Successful embryogenesis is a critical rate limiting step for the survival and transmission of parasitic worms as well as pathology mediated by them. Hence, blockage of this important process through therapeutic induction of apoptosis in their embryonic stages offers promise for developing effective anti-parasitic measures against these extra cellular parasites. However, unlike in th...

Whether parasitic diseases-and in particular helminth infections because they are extensive and widespread-have an effect on mental functions and educational attainment is by no mean a new question. Concern about the possibility was evident in the early decades of the century, and the results of investigations designed to discover whether the effects of parasite infections had consequences on s...