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A new procedure has been developed to concentrate the phosphofructokinase from muscle of Ascaris suum with minimum loss of activity. By utilizing this method, 50 ml fraction was concentrated to a final volume of 3 ml in about 1.5 h without loss in enzyme activity. The concentrated enzyme had a specific activity of 64 units per mg. Ascaris muscle-cuticle was incubated in 50 1M solutions of either acetylcholine, serotonin, y-aminobutyric acid, levamisole, or saline alone. Phosphate analysis of the isolated phosphofructokinase from each incubation revealed that the enzyme contained the following moles of phosphate per subunit: 2.9 (acetylcholine), 2.2 (serotonin), 2.0 (y-aminobutyric acid), 1.5 (levamisole), and 3.4 (salne alone). The present study did not establish a direct correlation between degree of phosphorylation and phosphofructokinase activity. Phosphofructokinase from muscle of Ascaris suum appears to contain several phosphorylation sites, and one of these sites is required to be phosphorylated in order for the enzyme to exhibit maximum activity under physiological conditions.

A procedure for the isolation of malic enzyme from muscle tissue of the roundworm Ascaris suum is described. The fractionation method yields relatively large quantities of the enzyme,with a specific activity of fifteen moles of malate converted to pyruvate and carbon dioxide per min per mg at 25º. Homogeneity was established with analytical ultracentrifugation, zone electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, and rechromatography. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 250,000, and it is dissociated under several conditions into four identical monomers of 64,000 daltons. The enzyme exists as a single electrophoretic form and prefers manganous and NAD over other cations and NADP. Ammonium sulfate competes with manganous for the active site and titration with DTNB yields eight thiol groups per mole. Titration of the first four thiol groups is accompanied by a complete loss in enzyme activity. Equilibrium dialysis, product inhibition, and initial velocity studies suggest a rapid-equilibrium random sequential mechanism for the Ascaris suum malic enzyme. The presence of 1.3 binding sites per subunits was determined for L-ma late. Antisera prepared against A. suum malic enzyme reacted to a small extent with the NAD malic enzymes from two free-living nematodes, Panarellus redivivus and Turbatrix aceti. A correlation coefficient of 0.911 was obtained upon comparing the amino acid composition of A. suum and E. coli malic enzymes. Some sequence homology is predicted between these malic enzymes. The physiological interpretation favors the binding of malate initially, with the subsequent addition of NAD to the enzyme.

The aim of this thesis is to evaluate dogs introduced into the Arctic as a source of intestinal parasites infection both for wildlife and humans. To that aim coprological examination of faeces sampled in Svalbard and Greenland was performed. Microscopical and molecular detection of cryptosporidia, giardiae, microsporidia, roundworms and tapeworms in faeces was carried out. One sample from Svalbard was positive for Toxocara canis eggs and four samples from Svalbard were positive for unusual genotype of Enterocytozoon bieneusi.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T13:10:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tatiana Damasceno Grincevicius.pdf: 3306492 bytes, checksum: bb9e0a8c15f06fd56f08558c4cffb761 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-10 / The standard teaching method is based on the transmission of knowledge. Here, the teacher serves as subject matter expert and the student as an observer. However, this method no longer fits well with the current training needs of health professionals. A significant improvement can be realized when the teacher encourages maximum student motivation to awakening in them the quest for knowledge during the development of new skills and abilities. In this context, educational software should be included with the improved learning strategy. Interaction between science, technology and social knowledge are an essential aspect of preventing the transmission of human parasitic infections in school. Object: The main objective of this project is to evaluate and develop educational software utilizing Helminth parasitological images to interactively illustrate the passive transmission of roundworms. This can be useful to teachers, professionals and graduate students from various health disciplines to understand and identify these worms as well as for use by professionals in their practice. Methodology: The software was built using Multimedia Flash and a database of images. This enabled the creation of animations and simulations in vector language, resulting in smaller files that can be made available through the web or provided on other storage media. The final product was evaluated by medical students. Results: The software has been completed and has been favorably evaluated by students of medicine (n = 97) of the Faculty of Ciências Médicas e da Saúde da PUC/SP. Their tests compared results before use of the software with results obtained after using the software. A consistent growth of knowledge was demonstrated either by self-assessment or closed objective questions. Conclusion: The results obtained allow us to conclude that the software is of great educational interest and should be useful to students, teachers and professionals in the health field / O ensino baseado na transmissão de conhecimentos, no qual o professor se enquadra como especialista no assunto e o estudante como um observador já não mais se adéqua às necessidades de formação de profissionais de saúde. Dessa forma, o professor deve estimular ao máximo a motivação dos alunos, despertando nelesa busca pelo conhecimento, além do desenvolvimento de competências e habilidades. Nesse contexto, softwareseducativos são muito utilizados como estratégias de aprendizagem.As interações entre o conhecimento científico, tecnologia e social representam umaspecto essencial no ensino das parasitoses humanas, se queremos evitar a transmissão de uma visão de ciência descontextualizada.Objetivo principal deste projeto foi desenvolver e avaliar um software educacional, a partir de imagens parasitológicas de helmintos, abordando de forma ilustrativa e interativa os nematelmintos de transmissão passiva, que poderá ser útil a professores, profissionais e alunos de graduação das diferentes profissões da saúde na compreensão e identificação dessas verminoses, aproximando-os também da prática profissional. Metodologia: O software foi construído a partir de um banco de imagens do próprio autor utilizando o multimídia Flash, que permite a elaboração de animações e simulações em linguagem vetorial, resultando em arquivos pequenos que podem ser disponibilizados através da Web ou em mídias ópticas e magnéticas. A avaliação do produto final foi feita por estudantes de medicina. Resultados: O software foi concluído e bem avaliado pelos estudantes do curso de medicina (n=97) da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas e da Saúde da PUC/SP, cujos testes realizados pré-utilização e pós-utilização do material, mostrou consistente crescimento do conhecimento, seja por auto-avaliação ou por questões objetivas fechadas. Conclusão Discussão: Os resultados atuais nos permitem concluir que o software é de grande interesse educacional e poderá ser útil a estudantes, profissionais e docentes da área da saúde

One of the major constraints limiting the efficiency of sheep production is the control of gastrointestinal nematode parasites. Parasite control by strategic use of anthelmintics is threatened by the emergence of nematode populations that are resistant to the drugs available. It is therefore increasingly apparent that steps toward maintaining sustainable productivity in the growing face of anthelmintic resistance (AR) is required by farmers. To facilitate the uptake of sustainable approaches to parasite management, a comprehensive understanding of the various factors that may influence farmers’ decision-making processes is required. In order to establish which factors are influential, and determine their impact on farmers’ roundworm control behaviours, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used including focus groups as well as attitudinal and behavioural questionnaires. A retrospective analysis was initially conducted of historical surveys designed to identify farm specific characteristics and parasite management practices including anthelmintic usage. The objectives of the analysis were to identify factors associated with uptake of best practice advice including farm characteristics and information sourcing. In addition, the implementation of sustainable roundworm control practices was investigated using two surveys conducted in 2000 and 2010. Logistic regression models were applied for univariable and multivariable analysis of dependent and independent variables. The next step was to conduct a series of focus groups in different geographic regions of Scotland. The main purposes were to explore sheep farmers’ attitudes towards different aspects of roundworm management, as well as to identify potential motivators and barriers to uptake of sustainable parasite control practices. The findings aided in the development of an attitudinal questionnaire used to canvass opinions representative on a national level. The concluding study involved a telephone survey of 400 Scottish sheep farmers, designed to elicit attitudes regarding roundworm control, AR and sustainable roundworm control practices. A quantitative statistical analysis technique (Structural Equation Modelling) was then used to test the relationships between socio-psychological factors and the uptake of sustainable roundworm control practices. The analysis of historical questionnaire data demonstrated evidence of a shift towards the use of practices to reduce the rate of AR development, most notably a decline in the practice of ‘dose and move’ as well as an overall reduction in treatment frequency. Statistical analysis identified significant associations between farm characteristics and specific treatment strategies. For example, larger farms were more likely to adopt a set treatment regimen (P=0.036), compared with smaller farms, which were more likely to treat based on clinical signs of infection (P=0.021). Sourcing of roundworm control information primarily from veterinarians was most associated with treatment timings with no parallels between time points. From the qualitative focus group studies conducted we identified four overarching themes impacting on sheep producers’ attitudes to roundworm control and best practice advice. These themes comprised: a lack of perceived need to change, the complexity of advice, the ease of implementation of recommended practices and the effectiveness of extension approaches. Additionally, the most important and implementable guidelines identified by sheep farmers were: ‘working out a roundworm control strategy with an advisor’ and ‘administering anthelmintics effectively’ with regard to correct drenching practice i.e. appropriate dosing, administration and drug storage procedures. These findings exhibited similarities with veterinarians’ rankings with also, ‘testing for AR’, ‘preserving susceptible parasites’ and ‘reducing dependence on anthelmintics’ receiving the lowest rankings for importance and implementability. The quantitative analysis from the attitudinal/behavioural questionnaire identified eleven factors with significant influences on the adoption of sustainable roundworm control practices. The key influences on overall adoption were farmers’ baseline understanding about roundworm control and self-reported confirmation of anthelmintic resistance in their flock. Additional positive influences included, positive attitudes to veterinary services, enterprise type and perceived risk of AR. Factors that were shown to have the greatest relative effects on individual parasite control practices included; the perceived resource requirements for implementing a quarantine strategy, farmers’ AR suspicions for instigating AR testing and the confirmation of AR for adopting faecal egg count monitoring. The findings have highlighted several factors which can influence sheep farmers’ decisions to reject or adopt recommended roundworm control practices. It is evident that the perceived complexity, lack of need and practicality of the current recommendations necessitates changes to how extension is designed and disseminated to farmers. The findings also suggest that improving farmers’ acceptance and uptake of diagnostic testing and improving underlying knowledge and awareness about nematode control is a significant target to influencing adoption of best practice behaviours. The importance of veterinarians as highly-trusted information resources validates the need for further engagement with veterinarians concerning sustainable parasite control approaches, to facilitate collaboration with farmers. The need for interaction between farmers and their advisors is key to resolving the issues raised to enable the necessary explanation, justification and execution of recommended practices to suit farmers’ needs and farming conditions.