The Biology of Echinostomes : From the Molecule to the Community

The Biology of Echinostomes presents the echinostomes in the context of modern parasitology and shows applications of new methodologies and concepts to a group of trematodes that may be useful to obtain information of great value in both parasitology and general biology. Several chapters cover the research and literature on such echinostome-like trematodes as Ribeiroia spp. Emphasis is placed on recent advances and gaps in knowledge that must be filled to determine the importance of this group of digeneans as experimental models. This is critical to gain a full understanding of the potential role of echinostomes in the field of experimental parasitology. All chapters are covered from a modern point of view, considering matters such as the applications of novel techniques and analysis of data in the context of host-parasite interactions. __The Biology of Echinostomes__ is an ideal volume for researchers and advanced students concentrating on echinostomes as experimental models.

Echinostomes are medically- and veterinary-important parasitic flatworms that invade humans, domestic animals and wildlife and also parasitize in their larval stages numerous invertebrate and cold-blooded vertebrate hosts. The interest in echinostomes in parasitology and general biology comes from several areas:

• Human infections
• Experimental models
• Animal infections
• Systematics

The application of novel techniques is moving the echinostomes to the frontline of parasitology in fields such as systematics, immunobiology in vertebrate and invertebrate organisms and proteomics among others. The Biology of Echinostomes demonstrates the application of new techniques to a group of trematodes that may serve to obtain information of great value in parasitology and general biology. The book includes basic topics, such as biology and systematics, as well as more novel topics, such as immunobiology, proteomics, and genomics of echinostomes. The authors of each chapter emphasize their content with: (i) the most novel information obtained; (ii) analysis of this information in a more general context (i.e. general parasitology); and (iii) future perspectives in view of the information presented. The subjects are analyzed from a modern point of view, considering aspects such as applications of novel techniques and an analysis of host-parasite interactions.

About the Editors:

Dr. Bernard Fried is Kreider Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biology at Lafayette College, Easton, PA, USA. Dr. Rafael Toledo is Assistant Professor in the Department of Parasitology at the University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

Echinostomes are medically- and veterinary-important parasitic flatworms that invade humans, domestic animals and wildlife and also parasitize in their larval stages numerous invertebrate and cold-blooded vertebrate hosts. The interest in echinostomes in parasitology and general biology comes from several areas: (1) Human infections; (2) Experimental models; (3) Animal infections; (4) Systematics. The application of novel techniques is moving the echinostomes to the frontline of parasitology in fields such as systematics, immunobiology in vertebrate and invertebrate organisms and proteomics among others. The Biology of Echinostomes demonstrates the application of new techniques to a group of trematodes that may serve to obtain information of great value in parasitology and general biology. The book includes basic topics, such as biology and systematics, as well as more novel topics, such as immunobiology, proteomics, and genomics of echinostomes. The authors of each chapter emphasize their content with: (i) the most novel information obtained; (ii) analysis of this information in a more general context (i.e. general parasitology); and (iii) future perspectives in view of the information presented. The subjects are analyzed from a modern point of view, considering aspects such as applications of novel techniques and an analysis of host-parasite interactions. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Echinostomes: systematics and life cycles....Pages 1-34 Echinostomes and snails: exploring complex interactions.....Pages 35-59 Echinostomes in the second intermediate host....Pages 61-87 Echinostomes in the definitive host: a model for the study of host-parasite relationships.....Pages 89-109 Maintenance, cultivation, and excystation of echinostomes: 2000-2007....Pages 111-128 Echinostomes in the wild....Pages 129-145 Echinostomes in humans....Pages 147-183 Immunology and pathology of echinostome infections in the definitive host.....Pages 185-206 Echinostomes: genomics and proteomics....Pages 207-228 Studies of echinostomes using chromatography and atomic spectrometry.....Pages 229-248 Effects of environmental change on helminth infections in amphibians: exploring the emergence of Ribeiroia and Echinostoma infections in North America.....Pages 249-280 Concurrent infections of echinostomes with helminths and protozoans....Pages 281-293 Use of Echinostoma spp. in studies on chemotherapy and metabolic profiling.....Pages 295-324 Back Matter....Pages 325-333 This convenient source of reference analyzes spectro-physical properties in activated insulating laser crystals and systematizes mechanisms for obtaining stimulated emission based on these properties. Tabulations of the most important spectroscopic and pumping parameter data for insulating laser materials and the wavelengths of stimulated emission from activated insulating laser crystals permit selection of the active medium for a specific application. In addition, the book discusses the fundamental properties responsible for laser phenomena in activated crystals and a number of spectroscopic methods devised to investigate these processes. Thus it can also serve as an introduction to the physics of laser crystals and to the stimulated emission spectroscopy of activated crystals. The second edition contains updated data in the tables and more recent literature references.