Used as a hardening agent in lead bullets, antimony (Sb) has become a major contaminant in shooting range soils of some countries including Switzerland. Soil contamination by Sb is also an environmental problem in countries with Sb-mining activities such as China and Bolivia. Because of its toxicity and relatively high mobility, there is concern over the risk of Sb transfer from contaminated so...

thirty eight patients with visceral leishmaniasis were reviewed, age ranged from 2 months to 10 years, 74% above 3.5 y, with 24% affection in infants (7 to 12 m), with slight male predilection. all the patients had weight loss, splenomegaly and hepatomegaly, 97% with fever, 92% had positive serology and 63% had positive bone marrow findings. a few patients presented with atypical clinical findi...

OBJECTIVE To explore the knowledge, beliefs, and practices (KBPs) regarding cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) treatment held by an endemic population in Ecuador. METHODS A follow-up to research done several years before, this study used random cluster sampling to select 529 adults who lived in rural northwestern Ecuador. Data were collected over a 24-month period using in-depth interviews suppleme...

In the immunocompetent host, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a fatal disease if untreated. In immunosuppressed patients, VL is an opportunistic infection for which there is no effective treatment for relapses. Here we report on the long-term activity of orally administered hexadecylphosphocholine (HDPC) against established Leishmania infantum infection in BALB/c mice. HDPC is a synthetic phospho...

The mechanism of the diseases caused by the necrotroph plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is not well understood. To investigate the role of oxalic acid during infection high resolution, light-, scanning-, transmission electron microscopy and various histochemical staining methods were used. Our inoculation method allowed us to follow degradation of host plant tissue around single hyphae a...