Parasitic Diseases Commons^™

The Role Of Unrealistic Optimism In Explaining Preventive Behaviors In High Versus Low Endemic Malaria Settings In Belize, Daniel G. Handysides

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Of all the diseases an individual can encounter in the world, malaria is one of the most destructive. Simple measures like sleeping under a bednet would greatly reduce the burden (Abeku, 2007). When people estimate their risk relative to others, they are most often unrealistically optimistic, which may explain why those at risk often fail to perform behaviors, such as using a bednet that will reduce their risk. However, one study showed that people at high risk for malaria held pessimistic perceptions of their risk for the disease, but the reasons for this finding are unclear (Morrison, Ager, & …

Effects Of Corticosteroids And Of Cyclosporin A On Trypanosoma Musculi In Mice And In Culture, Philip Stephen Schuyler

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The in vivo and in vitro effects of cyclosporin A and corticosteroids on Trypanosoma musculi were examined. Mice that received continuous administration of 6 mg/liter/day of dexamethasone in drinking water and 200 mg/kg hydrocortisone acetate as a single dose 24 hrs prior to injection with T. musculi had significantly higher and longer parasitemias, than controls. Body and spleen weights and B cell responsiveness were lower in test animals and there were some deaths. Mice injected with T. musculi that received 100 mg/kg/day cyclosporin A had longer, but not higher, parasitemias than controls. Corticosteroids appear to partially inactive antibody production (i.e. …

A Rapid Concentration And Identification Technique For Human Malaria Infections Using A Mouse Model, Donald D. Barton

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Red blood cells infected with malaria parasites experience a change in density making them lighter (less dense). This paper reports a new, rapid diagnostic technique using this change in density in the infected red blood cell. It is not only easy to use, but it is also compatible with the technological conditions found where the malaria problem is most acute - in many developing countries of the world. A small sample of blood drawn from a simple finger stick can be concentrated and examined microscopically for malaria parasites within 10 minutes. The thick film slide preparation, presently used, takes a …

Effects Of Trypanosoma Musculi Kendall, 1906 Immune Serum On The Reproduction Of Trichinella Spiralis (Owen, 1835) Railliet, 1896 In Mice, Samuel L. Chafin

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The possible effects of ablastin, a reproduction-inhibiting antibody which is produced during the infection of the blood parasite, Trypanosoma musculi in the mouse, were investigated by fractionating the parasite into a supernatant fraction (designated as Group A test mice) and a pellet fraction (Group B test mice). These groups A and B mice were injected with the respective fractions, plus Freund’s Complete Adjuvant (FCA). Control mice were injected with FCA only. Sera from these three groups of mice were removed after the Group A and Group B mice were shown to be negative to T. musculi challenge, and Group A …

Carbon Dioxide Fixation In Schistosoma Mansoni, Clint Earl Carter

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Adults of the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni were perfused from the hepatic portal system of CF1 female mice sixty to seventy days post infection. The worms were then incubated in Eagle’s minimal essential medium with glutamate and 0.03 mg/100 ml of nonlabelled aspartic acid. To this medium was added 10 μc of either NaH¹⁴0₃, glucose-UC¹⁴ or aspartate-4-C¹⁴. The worms were found to fix carbon from the NaH¹⁴0₃ and to incorporate the glucose and aspartate. The amount of activity recovered in five different chemical fractions after two hours incubation was determined …

Natural And Experimental Infections Of Thelazia Californiensis Price (1930, Nematoda: Thelaziidae) With Descriptions Of The Adult And Larval Parasites, Howard S. Burnett

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this work was to determine the extent and effects of infestation of the eye worm of mammals, Thelazia californiensis, and to elucidate through experimentation or observation the mode of transmission.

A survey of literature revealed that thelaziasie (infestation by Thelazia species) may cause serious pathological changes in the eye and its adnexa, sometimes resulting in blindness. It was found that reports of thelaziasis in the United States were (with two exceptions) of cases in California. It was further found that T. californiensis has been reported in a wider variety of host than has any of other …