Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) is a vector-transmitted zoonosis caused

by the parasitic protozoan Leishmania infantum. Bloodsucking sand flies of the subfamily Phlebotominae are the obligatory insect hosts, and the dog is the only domestic reservoir.

This study reports data from a survey of canine infection and sand fly phlebotomine monitoring in Selleck CYT387 the province of Perugia in central Italy. The overall seroprevalence in a total of 100 dogs tested was 8% (95% confidence interval: 3.8-15.6%). Data analysis revealed that serological positivity was statistically associated with age (p-value = 0.03) and the area where dogs lived. Standard blacklight traps employed for sampling Culicoides midges in bluetongue

disease surveillance were used in phlebotomine monitoring. A total of 5698 sand flies were collected and the two species, Leishmania competent vectors, were identified, Phlebotomus perfiliewi (50%) and Phlebotomus perniciosus (30%). (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Purpose: To establish the role of ultrasound (US) in the assessment of cervical and abdominal lymph node metastases and its impact on making decision about surgical strategy in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus.

Material/Methods: The TH-302 results of US lymph node assessment before and after a neoadjuvant treatment in 83 patients were compared with the results of histopathological evaluation of lymph nodes harvested during surgery (transthoracic esophagectomy and 2-field extended or 3-field lymph node dissection). A diagnostic value of cervical and abdominal US in terms buy GSK3235025 of sensitivity,

specificity, positive and negative predictive value after a neoadjuvant treatment were determined.

Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of the US assessment of cervical lymph node metastases were 100%, 96%, 81% and 100%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of the US assessment of abdominal lymph node metastases were 82%, 94%, 91.5% and 87%, respectively.

Conclusions: The high sensitivity and specificity of cervical US make this investigational method sufficient in the assessment of cervical nodal involvement. In esophageal cancer patients with negative cervical lymph nodes on US, three-field lymph node dissection could be avoided. In patients with positive cervical lymph nodes on US one should consider to extend lymph node dissection about lymph nodes of the neck to achieve a curative resection. In patients with negative abdominal US this investigation should be supplemented by more detailed diagnostic methods.”
“Objective: Notch receptors determine cell fate by regulating transcription, an event mediated by the Notch intracellular domain (NICD), which is generated by proteolysis brought about by Notch ligand interactions.