Search Results (653)

Parasitic skin mites associated with wild birds are understudied members of host–parasite systems in Europe despite their ecological importance, potential role as disease vectors, and effects on host fitness. Using a multidisciplinary approach combining faunistic, ecological, and molecular methods, this study investigated two mite species that parasitize passerine birds in Hungary, Harpirhynchus dusbabeki and Blankaartia acuscutellaris. Birds were examined during field sampling conducted between 2022 and 2024 at bird ringing stations and through a nationwide volunteer bird-ringing network. Parasites were identified morphologically, prevalence patterns were analyzed statistically, and mitochondrial genetic data were used to assess phylogenetic relationships. The occurrence of H dusbabeki was recorded in Hungary for the first time, and its host spectrum was found to extend to multiple host species beyond its previously known primary host, the Bearded Reedling. Blankaartia acuscutellaris infested several passerine species, with a significantly elevated prevalence in Bearded Reedlings and markedly higher prevalence among juveniles. Genetic analyses revealed close relatedness between the Hungarian and Slovakian populations of B. acuscutellaris, but showed distinct genetic separation from morphologically identified conspecifics from Laos, Asia. These findings improve the understanding of mite–passerine associations in Central–Eastern Europe and highlight the value of integrating ecological and molecular approaches to reveal the patterns of host exploitation and geographic differentiation in parasitic mites. Full article

With the increasing demand for miniaturization, multi-channel RF transceiver capability, and high-speed digital processing in unmanned aerial vehicles, satellite remote sensing, and anti-jamming communication systems, conventional board-level discrete integration schemes face significant limitations in terms of interconnect length, parasitic effects, volume and weight, and electromagnetic compatibility. This paper proposes a high-density integrated RF microsystem packaging scheme based on a 12-layer ABF organic substrate. Within a package size of 37.5 mm × 37.5 mm, the microsystem integrates a digital processing chip, two DDR3 memories, two Flash memories, two broadband RF transceiver chips, and passive components, thereby realizing a 4-receiver/4-transmitter MIMO architecture. Compared with a conventional discrete PCB-based integration scheme, the proposed microsystem reduces the board-level occupied area by approximately 70% and decreases the weight by more than 30%. To address the non-reworkable nature of the in-package DDR3 address/command/clock links and their sensitivity to high-speed signal integrity, a field-circuit co-simulation method combining three-dimensional electromagnetic S-parameter extraction with IBIS models is adopted to optimize the transmission-line impedance and termination parameters under a fly-by topology. The results show that by optimizing the DDR3 clock-line impedance from the conventional 100 Ω differential impedance to 80 Ω differential impedance, and the address/control-line impedance from the conventional 50 Ω single-ended impedance to 40 Ω single-ended impedance, together with 40 Ω and 120 Ω terminations, respectively, overshoot and ringing can be effectively suppressed. The DDR3 eye width is improved from 0.89 ns to 0.92 ns. To address impedance discontinuities in the vertical interconnects of RF channels, a refined structure combining enlarged antipads and accompanying ground vias is proposed. As a result, the worst-case return loss of the RF channel is improved from below 16 dB to 19.69 dB, the maximum insertion loss is reduced from above 0.5 dB to 0.35 dB, and the worst-case inter-channel isolation is improved from below 60 dB to 73.42 dB. To mitigate thermal coupling and localized thermal isolation caused by thickness differences among multiple chips, a locally recessed copper heat spreader is designed, reducing the junction-to-case thermal resistance of the RF chip from 1.25 °C/W to 0.50 °C/W, corresponding to a reduction of approximately 60%. Preliminary hardware-in-the-loop frequency-hopping tests based on the proposed microsystem demonstrate that the system can achieve an analog frequency-hopping rate exceeding 4000 hops/s and a hybrid frequency-hopping rate exceeding 10,000 hops/s. The results indicate that the proposed packaging scheme provides a feasible engineering implementation path for high-density, multi-channel RF microsystem design. Full article

Strongyloidiasis is a neglected, potentially lifelong disease caused by Strongyloides stercoralis that can lead to a high mortality rate in immunocompromised hosts; therefore, it is necessary to increase the accuracy of infection diagnosis. In the current study, we used Wistar rats experimentally infected with different burdens of Strongyloides venezuelensis to characterize circulating leukocytes and IgM, IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgA reactivity before and after anthelmintic treatment or immunosuppression. Infection, especially with 500 L3, induced an increase in circulating leukocytes, particularly during the acute phase. Animals treated with ivermectin showed complete elimination of the parasite and an early reduction in circulating eosinophils. The production of IgM, IgG, and IgG1 anti-L3 (infective larvae) and anti-Sv (adult worm) antigens was significantly elevated in all infected groups but did not allow differentiation between cured and infected animals. Treatment with dexamethasone delayed worm elimination and temporarily reduced cellular response and parasite-specific IgG production but did not alter IgM reactivity. IgG2a anti-L3 and anti-Sv reactivity showed a progressive reduction, returning to baseline levels in ivermectin-treated rats. IgA anti-ES/L3 (excretory and secretory larval antigens) reactivity significantly decreased in intestinal wash after parasitological cure. These data would help the development of more efficient immunodiagnostic alternatives for human strongyloidiasis based on antibody isotype reactivity. Full article

This case report highlights how neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) may remain underdiagnosed in high-resource settings despite advanced healthcare systems. We describe an 18-year-old woman from Equatorial Guinea living in Spain who presented with chronic pruritus and episodic ocular symptoms and was ultimately diagnosed with ocular loiasis after the incidental extraction of a conjunctival filaria. Diagnostic evaluation included microscopy, serology, and molecular techniques, confirming Loa loa and Mansonella perstans co-infection alongside evidence of exposure to other parasitic infections. Management involved staged antiparasitic therapy with albendazole, ivermectin, praziquantel, and diethylcarbamazine, combined with corticosteroids to mitigate treatment-related reactions. The patient showed clinical improvement, although follow-up was irregular and microfilaremia persisted. This case illustrates key challenges in non-endemic settings, including low clinical suspicion, fragmented care pathways, and barriers to healthcare access among migrant populations. Despite the availability of sensitive diagnostic tools, delayed recognition remains common when tropical diseases are not considered in the differential diagnosis. Comprehensive, multidisciplinary approaches are essential, particularly in patients from endemic regions who may harbor multiple co-infections. Strengthening clinical awareness, referral pathways, and appropriate screening for NTDs may help reduce diagnostic delays and improve patient outcomes in increasingly globalized healthcare settings. Full article

Though a number of Eimeria species have been described in geese, the host responses to these parasites at the molecular level have yet to be explored. In the present study, fresh fecal samples were collected for single-oocyst isolation. The recovered oocysts were identified based on molecular analysis using PCR and sequencing. Subsequently, we examined the transcriptional response of the Landes goose cecum following infection with the isolated Eimeria strain. Molecular analysis showed that the isolated Eimeria strain was Eimeria stigmosa, which was named the E. stigmosa SX-01 strain. Transcriptomic profiling identified 3806 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 2238 genes with increased expression and 1568 genes with decreased expression. The results obtained from the quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis confirmed that the RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data were reliable. According to pathway enrichment analysis for the obtained DEGs, 24 pathways were significantly affected following infection with the E. stigmosa SX-01 strain, such as cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, intestinal immune network for IgA production, cell adhesion molecules, gap junction, arachidonic acid metabolism, alpha-Linolenic acid metabolism, retinol metabolism, and PPAR signaling pathway. These transcriptional alterations were observed in E. stigmosa-infected geese without obvious clinical signs, indicating that E. stigmosa infection may trigger a strong subclinical host response related to metabolism, immune and inflammatory responses, and intercellular junctional complex-associated processes. Collectively, these findings have implications for better understanding the E. stigmosa–goose interactions at the molecular level and provide a foundation for future functional and comparative studies to dissect the pathogenic mechanisms and molecular markers associated with disease resistance, which are expected to inform the design of effective control strategies. Full article

Background: The movement of endemic diseases from tropical and disadvantaged areas is gradually spreading to developed countries as well. Amoebiasis, in particular, represents a significant threat to public health, amplified by globalization and increasing contact between humans and animals or vectors. In this way, atypical diseases may emerge in our country, also through an unusual mode of transmission—likely sexual, as “sexually transmitted enteric (STE) diseases”. Objective: We report and discuss the clinic approach to a rare case of dual human infestations by ecto- and endo-parasites with multiple liver abscesses presentation in a young truck driver residing in Northern Italy. Methods: The patient underwent a comprehensive screening with laboratory and microbiological tests, and CT images. Results: In July, the patient was admitted to our hepatology unit following the ultrasound identification of two hypoechoic lesions in the right lobe of the liver. In his medical history, in April, after a seemingly harmless infestation of body lice, effectively treated, he suffered from a prolonged and debilitating episode of acute diarrhea, lasting a month. This status was also accompanied by intestinal cramps, weight loss, and recurring fever episodes. Afterwards also appeared a Quincke’s-like angioedema involving the lips and mouth mucosa, with evening time exacerbation. Conclusions: The differential diagnosis of this complex and unusual clinical picture, together with the temporal evolution of the patient’s signs and symptoms, led us to hypothesize the presence of concomitant infections. These were most likely borreliosis and a STE disease, the latter ultimately diagnosed as amebiasis with hepatic invasion, allowing appropriate treatment and a favorable clinical outcome. Full article

Vairimorpha ceranae, an obligate intracellular parasitic fungus, infects the midgut of worker Apis cerana cerana, disrupts nutritional metabolism and immune homeostasis of hosts, and poses severe threats to honeybee health and the sustainable development of apiculture. To date, the expression dynamics of circular RNAs (circRNAs) during pathogen infection and their regulatory functions as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) remain poorly characterized. In this study, circRNA sequencing was performed on purified V. ceranae spores (VcCK), as well as the midguts of A. cerana cerana worker bees at 7 days post-infection (VcT1) and 10 days post-infection (VcT2). A total of 8,986,470 and 315 circRNAs were identified from the three groups, with their lengths predominantly ranging from 200 to 600 nt. Differential expression analysis screened 575 and 594 differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) from the VcCK vs. VcT1 and VcCK vs. VcT2 comparison groups, respectively. The host genes generating these DEcircRNAs were annotated to 316 and 310 GO terms, alongside 167 KEGG pathways. CeRNA network analysis revealed that DEcircRNAs including novel_circ_006653 target multiple miRNAs, and their downstream target mRNAs are significantly enriched in energy metabolism pathways such as carbon metabolism and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. RT-qPCR validation exhibited high consistency with transcriptome sequencing data. Further analyses demonstrated that V. ceranae infection drastically remodels the circRNA expression landscape: the total number of circRNAs was sharply reduced, and the dominant circRNA subtype shifted from antisense circRNAs to single-exon circRNAs. Several DEcircRNAs (novel_circ_006653, novel_circ_004839, novel_circ_005596, etc.) may participate in pathogen infection progression via the ceRNA regulatory axis by modulating host energy metabolism, immune responses and cellular biological processes. This study provides novel insights into the molecular interaction mechanisms between microsporidian parasites and their honeybee hosts, and identifies potential molecular targets for the prevention and control of microsporidiosis. Full article

Background: Adult Schistosoma mansoni parasites inhabit the hepatic portal system of the vertebrate host, their deposited eggs causing granulomatous pathology in both the intestines and liver. In the intestines, egg secretions drive inflammatory processes involved in extravasation to the gut lumen. Methods: Here, we investigate parasite-host interactions in a mouse model during the acute phase of a patent infection at 5 and 7 weeks, using parallel histological and proteomic analysis of paraffin-embedded ileal tissues. Results: Histology at week 7 showed infected animals had more inflammation and longer villi than at week 5, as well as more Goblet cells reflecting enhanced mucus production. LC-MS/MS analysis of deparaffinized ileal sections, subjected to in-solution tryptic digestion, revealed a total of 1615 protein groups. Differentially abundant proteins were found early at week 5, coinciding with the onset of egg deposition. A contrasting scenario, dominated by upregulation of protein components from the innate and adaptive immune systems, was seen at week 7; at this point, egg migration and excretion are underway. Among the proteins were mast cell proteases, fibrinogens, arginase-1, and molecules associated with extracellular matrix remodeling. Conclusions: Our findings reflect intestinal proteome changes likely participating in S. mansoni egg passage from the vascular bed to the intestinal lumen. Full article

Background: Accurate and timely malaria diagnosis with species-level identification of Plasmodium parasites is critical for guiding effective treatment and disease management. Although light microscopy remains the diagnostic gold standard, its dependence on highly trained personnel limits accessibility, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Recent advances in deep learning have enabled automated image-based diagnosis with promising performance; however, reliable differentiation among Plasmodium species continues to pose a major challenge. This study aims to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of different deep learning architectures for automated species identification from microscopy images. Methods: Three deep learning architectures were systematically assessed: a convolutional backbone (ResNet50), a Vision Transformer (ViT), and a hybrid ResNetViT model. All models were trained from scratch, without using pretrained weights, on a dataset comprising real-world thick blood smear images augmented with publicly available microscopy data from Kaggle. In the hybrid architecture, the ResNet module was used to extract robust local morphological features, while the ViT component captured long-range dependencies and contextual relationships within images. Results: In cross-validation experiments, all three architectures consistently achieved high diagnostic performance. ResNet50 attained the highest accuracy (96.9%), an F1-score of 96.3%, and an ROC-AUC of 0.997. The Vision Transformer achieved 93.1% accuracy, 91.7% F1-score, and an ROC-AUC of 0.989. The hybrid ResNetViT reached 95.2% accuracy, 94.2% F1-score, and an ROC-AUC of 0.995. These results confirm that all architectures can reliably distinguish among Plasmodium species. Although ResNet50 achieved the highest raw accuracy, the hybrid model showed the most stable calibration and the closest qualitative agreement between its attention maps and expert-annotated parasite locations. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that convolutional, transformer-based, and hybrid deep learning architectures can be successfully trained on real microscopy data for species-level malaria diagnosis. These results support the feasibility of deploying scalable, automated diagnostic systems to improve both accuracy and accessibility of malaria detection, particularly in resource-limited healthcare settings. Full article

Bumped kinase inhibitors are safe with promising efficacy against apicomplexan parasites. The 5-aminopyrazole-4-carboxamide BKI-1708 effectively inhibited vertical transmission of Toxoplasma gondii and significantly reduced the cerebral parasite loads in experimentally infected pregnant mice. In vitro experiments revealed that exposure of T. gondii tachyzoites to BKI-1708 induces the formation of intracellular multinucleated complexes called “baryzoites”, exhibiting increased expression of bradyzoite-stage proteins while still displaying classical tachyzoite markers. Differential affinity chromatography of T. gondii extracts identified numerous BKI-1708-binding proteins involved in invasion/egress, redox homeostasis, and RNA processing. To understand the transcriptional implications of BKI-1708 treatment on T. gondii tachyzoites and human foreskin fibroblast host cells, T. gondii-infected host cells, either treated with BKI-1708 or untreated, were subjected to dual RNA-seq analysis. BKI-1708 induced a significant transcriptional remodeling in the parasite, with an enrichment in pathways related to translation, RNA metabolism, and stress responses. In contrast, host–cell transcriptional changes were more limited, with transcripts related to metabolic and detoxification programs upregulated in uninfected fibroblasts, and increased transcription of immune, lysosomal, and glycan degradation pathways in infected fibroblasts. These findings suggest that BKI-1708 modulates the transcriptome in a predominantly parasite-specific manner, disrupting essential biological processes in T. gondii while largely preserving host cell function. Full article

Litter and understory are key components of forest ecosystems, playing vital roles in soil carbon inputs and microhabitat regulation. Their removal is a common forest management practice: litter removal (L) reduces fire and pest risks while promoting nutrient cycling, whereas understory removal (U) alleviates nutrient competition between understory plants and trees. However, the combined effects and underlying mechanisms of litter removal (L) and understory removal (U) on soil nematode communities remain unclear. This study investigated the individual and interactive effects of L and U on soil nematode communities in a coniferous–broadleaved mixed forest in a subtropical–warm temperate transition zone. The results showed that L significantly reduced soil nematode abundance by 18.1%, increased the relative abundance of bacterivores and omnivores-predators by 21.1% and 103.3%, respectively. U significantly elevated the relative abundance of fungivores by 30.8%, while both L and U reduced the relative abundance of plant-parasitic nematodes. Significant interactive effects between L and U were observed on soil nematode abundance, relative abundances of fungivores, plant-parasites, maturity index, and plant parasite index. Litter plus understory removal (LU) alleviated soil nematode resource limitation through synergistic regulation of resource pulses and microhabitat modification. Faunal analysis based on structure and enrichment indices indicated that LU enhanced food web structural complexity and resource-use efficiency. Redundancy analysis identified microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen, and soil total carbon as key drivers of nematode community differentiation. This study reveals the synergistic regulatory patterns of litter and understory vegetation on soil nematode communities, providing a theoretical reference for understanding the responses of soil nematodes to understory disturbance during the growing season in climate transitional forests, and offering basic data for long-term monitoring and forest soil management. Full article

Rhizosphere microecology plays a key hub role in resource competition between parasitic plants and their hosts; however, the niche differentiation characteristics of the two within the parasitic interaction network remain poorly understood. In this study, the hemiparasitic plant Monochasma savatieri Franch. ex Maxim and its host plant blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) were used as research subjects to systematically analyze the differentiation characteristics of soil environmental factors and rhizosphere microorganisms within the parasitic system. The results showed that the parasitic relationship did not lead to convergence of the rhizosphere microenvironments between the two plants. The rhizosphere nutrient content of M. savatieri was significantly lower than that of its host blueberry, while soil urease (S-UE) and nitrate reductase (S-NR) activities were significantly higher. Furthermore, significant differentiation was observed in the community structure and function of rhizosphere microorganisms at the genus level. The rhizosphere of M. savatieri directionally recruited specific microbial taxa, including Pseudonocardia and Nitrospira–F, which enhanced soil nitrogen turnover. Meanwhile, pathways related to the bacterial secretion system and biofilm formation were significantly upregulated, facilitating haustorium formation and infection. In contrast, the rhizosphere of the host blueberry directionally enriched taxa such as Bradyrhizobium and Colletotrichum, activating complex pathways involved in xenobiotic degradation, energy compensation, and chemical defense. This study preliminarily elucidates the adaptive symbiotic mechanisms between M. savatieri and its host blueberry, providing a microecological basis for optimizing the artificial cultivation of M. savatieri. Full article

Traditional interferometric optical hydrophones typically employ narrow-linewidth lasers. Although their long coherence length facilitates interference, it also makes the system highly susceptible to spurious interference and phase noise. Low-coherence sources can effectively suppress such parasitic noise; however, their extremely short coherence length imposes stringent stability requirements on the optical path difference (OPD). In underwater environments, ambient disturbances easily cause OPD drift beyond the coherence length, resulting in loss of interference. To address this issue, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a closed-loop hydrophone system that combines low-coherence interferometry with dynamic OPD compensation using a programmable fiber delay line (FDL). Numerical simulations and experiments confirm that the closed-loop compensation algorithm maintains the OPD within the coherence length under environmental perturbations, thereby ensuring long-term stable interference. The prototype achieves a sensitivity of −117.82 dB re rad/µPa at 171 Hz, a noise-equivalent sound pressure spectral density of 8.69 dB re 1 µPa/√Hz, a measured peak phase amplitude of 130 rad, a minimum detectable phase of 14 µrad, and a corresponding logarithmic dynamic range of 139 dB. These results verify the feasibility of integrating low-coherence interferometry with active OPD compensation for low-frequency underwater acoustic detection, under laboratory quasi-static environmental conditions, the proposed closed-loop compensation maintained stable interference throughout a continuous 1.5-h experiment, presenting a differentiated and worthy-of-further-engineering-exploration technical path for high-sensitivity and low-noise optical hydrophones. Full article

Background: Metastatic liver tumors (MLT) and parasitic liver cysts (PLC) are common liver conditions that often exhibit similar imaging characteristics, making accurate diagnosis challenging using imaging alone. This overlap can result in diagnostic errors and delayed treatment, particularly in resource-limited settings or when invasive procedures such as biopsies are not feasible due to risk or unavailability. This study aimed to develop a reliable and transparent machine learning approach to distinguish MLT from PLC using radiomic features derived from computed tomography (CT). Methods: We propose an explainable radiomics-based machine learning framework for the non-invasive, accurate, and interpretable discrimination of MLT and PLC, designed to assist radiologists in reducing diagnostic ambiguity and expediting patient management. This retrospective study included 30 adult patients, comprising 15 with liver metastases and 15 with pathologic hepatic cysts. Radiomic features were extracted from pre-treatment CT scans using PyRadiomics. Feature selection was performed using three complementary methods: Mutual Information, Lasso regression, and LightGBM importance ranking. HistGradientBoosting classifiers were then trained on each selected feature set. Results: Model performance was evaluated using 5-fold cross-validation and assessed with ROC AUC, accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. SHAP analysis was applied to interpret the models and identify key radiomic biomarkers. Statistical comparisons were performed using DeLong’s test for AUCs, McNemar’s test for classification agreement, and paired t-tests for metrics such as accuracy and F1-score. The Mutual Information-based model achieved the highest mean AUC (0.9717 ± 0.0267), significantly outperforming the other models (p < 0.035). Key features contributing to classification included texture entropy, interquartile range, and gray level non-uniformity. Conclusion: We developed a robust and interpretable machine learning framework for differentiating metastatic liver tumors from parasitic liver cysts using CT-derived radiomic features. The integration of Mutual Information feature selection, ensemble learning, and SHAP explainability ensured high diagnostic accuracy, strong calibration, and transparency. The proposed framework demonstrates substantial clinical relevance and holds promise for real-world implementation. Full article

Clonorchiasis is a parasitic infection caused by the trematode Clonorchis sinensis, which is endemic to East Asia but increasingly observed in non-endemic regions due to global migration. Chronic infection can lead to recurrent pyogenic cholangitis (RPC) and other hepatobiliary complications including cholangiocarcinoma. We herein review clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis as potential contributory drivers of RPC in migrants from Southeast Asia through framing with a case of a Filipino woman residing in Canada who presented with a two-year history of intermittent right upper quadrant pain, liver enzyme derangement, and imaging features consistent with RPC. Despite negative stool ova and parasite (O&P) testing, empirical treatment with praziquantel (1800 mg three times daily for two days) led to clinical and biochemical improvement. Hepatobiliary trematodiasis, including clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis, can be challenging to diagnose, and clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis cannot be distinguished on clinical or radiographic grounds alone. Clonorchiasis can be challenging to diagnose in non-endemic areas due to low parasitologic test sensitivity and non-specific clinical features. Imaging findings and epidemiologic context are critical for raising clinical suspicion and guiding management. Healthcare providers in non-endemic regions should include clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis in the differential diagnosis of unexplained cholestasis, particularly in migrants from areas endemic for clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis. Negative stool tests do not exclude infection, and early empirical treatment may prevent irreversible hepatobiliary damage and reduce long-term malignancy risk. Full article