First highly sensitive and specific competitive ELISA for detection of bovine besnoitiosis with potential as a multi-species test.

Serological cross-reactions represent a serious problem in some currently available tests to diagnose Besnoitia infections in many species including cattle, caribou and donkeys. False-positive results are due to the low positive-predictive value of these serological tests for besnoitiosis. These tests therefore have clear limitations if large herds are screened in areas with low prevalence, since increased numbers of false-positive reactions require confirmatory testing by alternative serological methods, e.g. immunoblotting, which are time-consuming and create extra costs. To overcome this problem, we aimed to develop a highly sensitive and specific competitive ELISA (cELISA) using a panel of 12 monoclonal antibodies raised against the tachyzoite stage of Besnoitia besnoiti. A cELISA set up with one of these antibodies (Bb-cELISA1) was screened with a large panel of B. besnoiti-positive bovine sera to estimate the diagnostic sensitivity of the test. Sera from herds with Neospora caninum- or Sarcocystis spp.-infected cattle were used to estimate its diagnostic specificity. Relative to a reference standard, which combined the results obtained in a previously established highly sensitive and specific ELISA, in the immunofluorescence antibody test and in B. besnoiti tachyzoite and bradyzoite immunoblots, the new Bb-cELISA1 revealed a diagnostic sensitivity of 99.2% (95% confidence interval: 97.1-99.9%) and a diagnostic specificity of 99.9% (95% confidence interval: 97.7-100%). This novel assay was tested on a variety of proven Besnoitia-positive sera from other species, including B. besnoiti-infected cats, rabbits or Besnoitia bennetti-infected donkeys or Besnoitia tarandi-infected caribou. The results obtained with the new Besnoitia-cELISA for these animal species also corresponded almost perfectly with those of the reference tests, which included immunoblot and immunofluorescence antibody tests. In conclusion, the novel Besnoitia-cELISA represents a valuable tool for the diagnosis and control of bovine besnoitiosis and for studies on the epidemiology of Besnoitia infections in a variety of host species, including naturally exposed wildlife and experimental hosts.

[Kitchen and schizophrenia: a crossroad activity of an ecological, occupational and neuropsychological assessment]. / Cuisine et schizophrénie: activité carrefour d'une évaluation écologique, ergothérapique et neuropsychologique.

In this exploratory study, the authors examine the various occupational and neuropsychological assessments used to analyze deficits qualitatively and quantitatively in patients with schizophrenia. Considering that it is necessary to further explore their repercussion on the performance of activity of daily living (ADL) and domestic activities (DA), they thus attempt to verify if the distinction between two levels of functional autonomy could translate at the cognitive and clinical levels in (25) 23 patients included in a program destined to young adults (schizophrenia spectrum DSM-IV criteria) in Montréal. These patients had the opportunity, within the clinical program, to submit to neuropsychological evaluations as well as evaluations offered by the occupational therapy service thanks to a tool frequently used by occupational therapists entitled Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). The objective of this article is to conjugate two possible perspectives, drawn from two different disciplines, on a very current human activity such as "preparing meals" in people suffering from schizophrenia and which functioning of daily life is disturbed.