The Bibliometric Analysis of the Postgraduate Theses Written on Medical Parasitology in Türkiye.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the theses prepared in the field of medical parasitology in Türkiye and to reveal the importance given to the science of parasitology in the groves of academe and to raise awareness in this field. Methods: Council of Higher Education's National Thesis Center database has been analyzed postgraduate these documents conducted in the field of medical parasitology from January 1985 to September 2022. Results: As a result of the examining, 393 theses made in the field of medical parasitology were detected. It was determined that 52.9% of the theses prepared were master, 28% of PhD and 19.1% were the thesis of medical specialty thesis and 61.3% of the theses prepared were related to protozoa, 16.5% of helminths, 8.6% arthropods and 12.2% of intestinal parasites (helminth and protozoa). The top five types of parasites in the theses were Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania spp., Echinococcus spp., Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium spp. respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, it was of the opinion that more importance should be given to the field of medical parasitology in Türkiye.

hsp70 PCR-RFLP as an alternative tool to identify Sauroleishmania species.

Sauroleishmania spp. comprises one of the four Leishmania subgenera, which has been historically considered a non-pathogenic protozoan of reptiles. However, some strains appear to be transiently infective to mammals, and recent findings have detected these parasites in dogs and humans in areas where leishmaniasis is endemic. Herein, the digestion pattern of PCR-RFLP of the 234 bp-hsp70 fragment was evaluated as a simpler and cheaper tool to distinguish the Sauroleishmania species from the other Leishmania subgenera. As a result, the digestion of the 234 bp-hsp70 fragments with HaeIII produced a banding pattern specific to the four Sauroleishmania strains assessed. This technique could contribute to the identification of Leishmania parasites isolated from sandflies, reptiles, or even mammals in fieldworks as an alternative to the use of laborious and expensive methodologies.

AI-powered microscopy image analysis for parasitology: integrating human expertise.

Microscopy image analysis plays a pivotal role in parasitology research. Deep learning (DL), a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), has garnered significant attention. However, traditional DL-based methods for general purposes are data-driven, often lacking explainability due to their black-box nature and sparse instructional resources. To address these challenges, this article presents a comprehensive review of recent advancements in knowledge-integrated DL models tailored for microscopy image analysis in parasitology. The massive amounts of human expert knowledge from parasitologists can enhance the accuracy and explainability of AI-driven decisions. It is expected that the adoption of knowledge-integrated DL models will open up a wide range of applications in the field of parasitology.

Curiosities take the stage - role-play in parasitology teaching.

Careful observation of parasites, masters of camouflage, reveals an ingenious and fascinating world. However, students often perceive parasitology as impenetrable. What if a flamboyant flea circus director passionately introduced the multidimensional contexts of this discipline? Will role-play capture the imagination of students and guide them in their future learning?

Staining blindly: an update on coloring techniques for fecal smears in parasitology: a scoping review.

Dye application for parasite highlighting in the Ova and Parasite exam is a common practice in parasitology diagnosis. Methods: A scoping review investigated how staining solutions interact with parasite structures. After screening 1334 papers, 35 met eligibility criteria. Results: Differentiating background from foreground in the fecal smear under light microscopy is the core of the research on this topic. Refractivity, unevenness of staining, size and temperature were explored to enhance staining protocols. Cryptosporidium spp. and Microsporidia were the main studied species. Conclusion: Studies on diagnostic efficacy outperform those that elucidate the physical-chemical interaction between dyes and parasites. An alternative approach involves technicians using computational tools to reduce subjectivity in fecal smear interpretation, deviating from conventional methods.

What is this article about? Coloring parasites during fecal exams has been widely used to find parasites in human feces. We searched for articles that could help us to answer the question: 'How do dyes give color to parasites?'. Then, we filtered the information from a total of 1334 articles to 35.What were the results? Cryptosporidium spp. and Microsporidia are microbes that can be seen only through a microscope. Researchers were interested in these two species in the last 40 years. Differentiating parasites from dirt on a glass slide is the main problem researchers are trying to solve. The way the light goes through parasites under a microscope, variation of staining, size and temperature of dyes have been explored to identify what gives better results in coloring protocols.What do the results of the study mean? Little is known about the chemical interaction between dyes and parasites. On the other hand, there are many studies on how good coloring methods are and comparing protocols. An alternative to the conventional approaches in staining parasites is the use of computational tools to reduce doubt in the exam interpretation by technicians.

ParSCo: celebrating 10 years of a unique parasitology summer course.

ParSCo (Parasitology Summer Course) is an intense, 1-week-long summer course organized by the Parasitology Unit of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Italy, with the support of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP), the European Veterinary Parasitology College (EVPC) and Parasites and Vectors. The course, which is conducted in southern Italy, is planned for parasitologists and post-graduate students working in the field of parasitology. The course consists of theoretical and practical lessons, which include the collection, identification and diagnosis of parasites of pets, livestock and wildlife. The participants in ParSCo are afforded the opportunity to be involved in clinical examination and sample collection for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases (e.g. leishmaniosis, thelaziosis and many tick-borne diseases) present in the Mediterranean Basin. The course is conducted at Casa di Caccia, a hunting lodge situated in the Gallipoli Cognato Forest near the Basento River in the Basilicata region in southern Italy. In addition to the training purpose, ParSCo is a great opportunity for sharing knowledge and expertise while becoming part of the parasitology community in a pleasant environment. In this editorial, we share some information and celebrate 10 years of ParSCo, looking forward to forthcoming sessions of this unique parasitology summer course.

Designing equity, diversity, and inclusion training for postgraduate parasitologists.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) have received increased attention in the sciences, with increasing expectation that students will receive formal training in this area. However, compared with other biosciences, little guidance has been produced for parasitology educators. Therefore, this article presents the contents and evaluation of pilot training designed for postgraduates.

Parasitological transitions: selected outcomes from the XXXII Congress of the Italian Society for Parasitology.

Founded in 1959, the Italian Society of Parasitology (SoIPa) includes nearly 200 researchers and professionals in the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine, biotechnology, epidemiology and environmental sciences. The diversity of its members, in a historical and continuous collaboration with other international scientific societies, embodies a broad and multidisciplinary field such as parasitology. Since 1959, SoIPa has organized a biennial congress, covering all aspects of general parasitology with participants from all over Italy, Europe and beyond, involved in a dynamic and multi-faceted scientific framework of contributions and symposia. The present Special Issue (SI) contains 6 review papers and 1 research article, focussed on emerging topics presented and discussed during some of the symposia organized within the XXXII SoIPa Congress, held in Naples from 27th June to 30th June 2022. These review papers reflect several emerging subjects (i.e. 'Italian network on Neglected Tropical Diseases', 'Wildlife parasites and citizen science', 'Comparing approaches to parasitological issues', 'Unusual perspectives on the role of parasites') with the aim to explore the new role that parasitologists can play in the future society, working together to promote dialogue on science-informed decisions to support the so-called 'twin green and digital transition'.

[Laveran, the Pasteurian researcher]. / Laveran, le pasteurien.

At the end of his professorial mandate at the Val de Grâce hospital, Alphonse Laveran, who was Chief Doctor, was appointed to Lille and then Nantes. These assignments however deprived him of a hospital service where he could carry on his research. In 1896, faced with the inflexibility of his military hierarchy, he applied for early retirement; he was then 50 years old. Dr Roux welcomed him to the Pasteur Institute as a honorary department head, where he started a second career as a volunteer. He would spend the following 25 years there, addressing the great protozoology issues. Together with Félix Mesnil, he undertook the study of trypanosomiasis and leishmaniases. In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine to honor "his work on the role of protozoa as pandemic vectors". He allocated a large part of his prize money to set up a parasitology laboratory at the Pasteur Institute, where all the discoveries and observations carried out in the colonies would converge. In 1908, he funded the Society of Exotic Pathology. He authored no less than 600 publications where his memorable research is recorded. Despite his somewhat outwardly rigid appearance, the man proved to be of amiable approach thanks to "the simplicity of his manners, his amenity and his great heart".

Collaborative parasitology: student partnerships in open education.

Student-faculty partnerships can drive innovation in parasitology education and outreach. We provide recommendations for building successful partnerships during the design, implementation, and impact assessment stages. We also introduce a new series of freely available educational and community outreach materials available on a platform that the parasitology community can contribute to.

Enteroparasitoses em uma região da Amazônia ocidental / Entero-parasitosis in a region of the western Amazon

Introdução: as parasitoses intestinais são doenças que apresentam um problema de saúde mundial, causando grandes problemas nutricionais, onde sua ocorrência varia de acordo com o clima de cada região e condições socioeconômicas. Regiões que apresentam climas trópicos com umidade, altos índices de chuvas e temperaturas elevadas associadas com a falta de informações sobre as enteroparasitoses merecem atenção. Objetivo: o presente trabalho buscou avaliar os tipos de enteroparasitoses entre os anos de 2018 a 2020 em uma parcela da população de um município da Amazônia Ocidental, mais especificamente, (i) avaliar os tipos de enteroparasitoses que acometem a população entre os períodos de inundação e estiagem; (ii) avaliar a influência das enteroparasitoses em indivíduos de acordo com o gênero e a faixa etária ao longo de três anos. Metodologia: as coletas de dados foram realizadas entre os anos de 2018 a 2020, por meio de análises de planilhas concedidas pelo laboratório de análises clinicas LABSUL. Resultados: foram avaliados 4236 exames de fezes, sendo que apenas 1396 foram positivos para enteroparasitoses. Dos quais a maior parte foi causada por protozoários (58,69%) que acometeram principalmente Mulheres, jovens e crianças nos períodos de inundação. Conclusão: diante disso, os dados demonstraram que as enteroparasitoses acometem com frequência uma parcela da população local. Além de trazer informações que podem reforçar a necessidade da implementação do sistema de saneamento básico, juntamente com campanhas de conscientização populacional a respeito das vias de contaminação e da forma de propagação dessas infecções.

Introduction: intestinal parasites are diseases that present a worldwide health problem, causing major nutritional problems, where their occurrence varies according to the climate of each region and socioeconomic conditions. Regions that have tropical climates with humidity, high levels of rainfall and high temperatures associated with a lack of information on entero-parasitosis deserve attention. Objective: the present work sought to evaluate the types of intestinal parasites between the years 2018 to 2020 in a portion of the population of a municipality in the Western Amazon, more specifically, (i) to evaluate the types of entero-parasitosis that affect the population between periods of flooding and drought; (ii) to evaluate the influence of entero-parasitosis in individuals according to gender and age group over three years. Methodology: data collection was carried out between the years 2018 to 2020, through analysis of spreadsheets provided by the clinical analysis laboratory LABSUL. Results: 4236 stool exams were evaluated, of which only 1396 were positive for entero-parasitosis. Most of which were caused by protozoa (58.69%) that mainly affected women, young people and children during flood periods. Conclusion: in view of this, the data showed that intestinal parasites frequently affect a portion of the local population. In addition to bringing information that can reinforce the need to implement the basic sanitation system, together with population awareness campaigns regarding the routes of contamination and the way in which these infections spread.

Selective whole-genome amplification reveals population genetics of Leishmania braziliensis directly from patient skin biopsies.

In Brazil, Leishmania braziliensis is the main causative agent of the neglected tropical disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). CL presents on a spectrum of disease severity with a high rate of treatment failure. Yet the parasite factors that contribute to disease presentation and treatment outcome are not well understood, in part because successfully isolating and culturing parasites from patient lesions remains a major technical challenge. Here we describe the development of selective whole genome amplification (SWGA) for Leishmania and show that this method enables culture-independent analysis of parasite genomes obtained directly from primary patient skin samples, allowing us to circumvent artifacts associated with adaptation to culture. We show that SWGA can be applied to multiple Leishmania species residing in different host species, suggesting that this method is broadly useful in both experimental infection models and clinical studies. SWGA carried out directly on skin biopsies collected from patients in Corte de Pedra, Bahia, Brazil, showed extensive genomic diversity. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated that SWGA data can be integrated with published whole genome data from cultured parasite isolates to identify variants unique to specific geographic regions in Brazil where treatment failure rates are known to be high. SWGA provides a relatively simple method to generate Leishmania genomes directly from patient samples, unlocking the potential to link parasite genetics with host clinical phenotypes.

mSphere of Influence: the Young Investigators in Parasitology Meeting-Investing in the Future of Our Scientific Community by Lifting Up and Connecting Junior Faculty.

Drs. Monica Mugnier and Chi-Min Ho work in the field of parasitology. In this mSphere of Influence article, they share their experience as cochairs of the Young Investigators in Parasitology (YIPs) meeting, a 2-day biennial meeting for new PIs in parasitology. Setting up a new lab can be a daunting task. YIPS is designed to make the transition a little easier. YIPs is both a crash course in the skills needed to run a successful research lab and a way to build community among new group leaders in parasitology. In this perspective, they describe YIPs and the benefit it has had on the molecular parasitology community. They also provide some tips for building and running a meeting like YIPs, in the hopes that other fields might replicate their model.