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Words and Language on the Web
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Words and Language on the Web Mosquito Discussion Group ([email protected]) Medical use of mosquito anti-coagulant? Avery Williams (Louisiana State University at Eunice, USA) thought heparin good enough. Jerry McLaughlin (Purdue University, Indiana, USA) said he knew of a company owning a patent concerned with hookworm salivary anticoagulant, and thought that pain killers from arthropod salivary secretions might be put to medical use. As to other benefits, Andy McClelland (University of California at Davis, USA) remembered a proposal that ‘bloodsucking arthropods might be medically beneficial by stimulating the immune system … about the only (non-traumatic) source of [foreign] antigens entering the blood stream’ (E. Van Handel, The obese mosquito. J. Physiol. 181, 278–486, 1965). ‘Thus apart from medical injections we are mostly not constantly assaulted by saliva of fleas, lice, mosquitoes, bedbugs etc. Might not the constant exposure to antigens maintain the immune system in a more active state? Having adapted over millions of years to arthropod saliva might the recent lessening of exposure have a negative impact? … I never use insect repellent and gladly share my blood with mosquitoes, simuliids and ceratopogonids – at least … in areas with a very low incidence of arbo disease.’ [A similar view about the importance of keeping one’s immune system stimulated, but by ‘benevolent’ mycobacteria, was recently expressed by G.A.W. Rook and J.L. Stanford, Give us this day our daily germs. Immunol. Today 19, 113–116, 1998.] However, Derek Charlwood (São Tomé Principe) objected to any suggestion that ‘we’ enjoy less exposure to bloodsuckers. ‘Most of the humans on this planet are still exposed’ to that saliva. But he wondered if ‘mosquito saliva can act as a stimulant for gametocyte production in long-lasting malaria infections … a signal in areas of seasonal transmission that the vector had arrived and that transmission might be possible.’ This idea was supported by Rob Anderson (Simon Fraser University, Canada): ‘a parasite that responds directly to the likely presence of vectors indicated by some immune signal is likely to do better than a parasite that commits to gametocytes at the same time each year.’ Etymology of the word mosquito? The question was ‘How did the name “mosquito” come about and is [the word] universal?’ E-mails flew in: the Latin musca the fly, seemed the most plausible root, leading to mosca in Spanish, the diminutive mosquito thus describing the smaller Dipteran, moustique in French, also mosquitero in Spanish, but oddly zanzara in Italian, the Romance language closest to Latin. Eduardo Rebollar-Tellez (Keele University, UK) gave a reference [S.R. Christophers, ‘Aedes aegypti (L.) the Yellow fever Mosquito’. Cambridge University Press, 1960] which proposed that the name mosquito comes from the Italian word ‘moschetto’, a kind of arrow thrown by a crossbow. One idea also mentioned was that the early Spanish colonists popularized the word mosquito in places like tropical America and the Philippines and the word was later picked up by the other Europeans who followed them. The following names were also sent in: moskito, mucke and schnaken (German), muskiet (Dutch), myg (Danish), namoose (Arabic), macchar (Hindi), kosu (Tamil), mogi (Korean), WenZhi (Chinese), komap (pronounced commar) (Russian), ka (Japanese), wuj (Papua New Guinea) (also used for blood) and mbu (KiSwahili). Parasitology Today, vol. 14, no. 11, 1998
Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis ([email protected]) Two full papers were circulated on this list in June and various people submitted long and careful critiques. The first by Brent Swallow (International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya), entitled ‘Impacts of trypanosomosis on African agriculture’, concentrated on animal trypanosomiasis and its constraint on agricultural production. The second, by S. Geerts (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium) and P.H. Holmes (University of Glasgow, UK), entitled ‘Drug Management and Parasite Resistance in Animal Trypanosomiasis in Africa’ gave an overview of drug resistance, stressing the lack of reliable data and the need for better standardization of methods of detection, and presenting guidelines to delay and control its development. In brief, Burkhard Bauer, who thought that work from West Africa had not received fair recognition, believes that fewer than 10% of treatments are based on a proper diagnosis and that one problem to consider is that 70–90% of the income of private vets comes from trypanocidal drugs. Francis Oloo (Ministry of Agriculture, Nairobi, Kenya) wanted better training of farmers on correct drug usage and a contributor from the Regional Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Control Programme, Harare, Zimbabwe, felt that a better understanding of the ways that farmers and veterinary assistants use trypanocides is indeed the first step that should be vigorously promoted, though as C. Okali (University of East Anglia, UK) pointed out ‘who will pay, who will collect the data and who will complete the analysis?’ Peter Stevenson (Oxford University, UK) thought that drug management of camels infected with T. evansi needed attention and wanted evidence and field studies to support the statement that intensive drug treatment schedules ‘must lead to increased levels of drug resistance’. He believes that an increase in diminazene resistant infections reported in one study was probably due to an increase in tsetse numbers. Gerrit Uilenberg (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, France) was intrigued as to the actual mechanism of resistance to a trypanocide. Is it really due to a mutation and then selection, as in the case of bacterial resistance to an antibiotic? Mark Eisler (University of Glasgow, UK) drew attention to investigations currently under way in a number of sub-Saharan African countries and to plans for a workshop to be held next year on the subject of ‘Drug Delivery and Resistance in the Context of Integrated Disease Management.’
Parasitology in General (bionet.parasitology mail newsgroup) Nemata or Nematoda: language again Both seem to be used as phylum names: the Journal of Nematology accepts Nemata, for example, and Nature accepts Nematoda. Jie Liu (Oregon State University, USA) asked ‘do we have a consensus on this?’ Michal Brzeski (Instytut Warzywnictwa, Poland) replied ‘But do we really need consensus? Do we need to wear the same kind of suit? Language serves to communicate and as long as we understand each other it is perfectly OK. Very fortunately European journals do not have restriction and accept both Nemata and Nematoda.’
ParaSite was compiled, from the Internet, by Janice Taverne ( [email protected])
Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved 0169–4758/98/$19.00 PII: S0169-4758(98)01327-1
445
Words and Language on the Web Mosquito Discussion Group ([email protected]) Medical use of mosquito anti-coagulant? Avery Williams (Louisiana State University at Eunice, USA) thought heparin good enough. Jerry McLaughlin (Purdue University, Indiana, USA) said he knew of a company owning a patent concerned with hookworm salivary anticoagulant, and thought that pain killers from arthropod salivary secretions might be put to medical use. As to other benefits, Andy McClelland (University of California at Davis, USA) remembered a proposal that ‘bloodsucking arthropods might be medically beneficial by stimulating the immune system … about the only (non-traumatic) source of [foreign] antigens entering the blood stream’ (E. Van Handel, The obese mosquito. J. Physiol. 181, 278–486, 1965). ‘Thus apart from medical injections we are mostly not constantly assaulted by saliva of fleas, lice, mosquitoes, bedbugs etc. Might not the constant exposure to antigens maintain the immune system in a more active state? Having adapted over millions of years to arthropod saliva might the recent lessening of exposure have a negative impact? … I never use insect repellent and gladly share my blood with mosquitoes, simuliids and ceratopogonids – at least … in areas with a very low incidence of arbo disease.’ [A similar view about the importance of keeping one’s immune system stimulated, but by ‘benevolent’ mycobacteria, was recently expressed by G.A.W. Rook and J.L. Stanford, Give us this day our daily germs. Immunol. Today 19, 113–116, 1998.] However, Derek Charlwood (São Tomé Principe) objected to any suggestion that ‘we’ enjoy less exposure to bloodsuckers. ‘Most of the humans on this planet are still exposed’ to that saliva. But he wondered if ‘mosquito saliva can act as a stimulant for gametocyte production in long-lasting malaria infections … a signal in areas of seasonal transmission that the vector had arrived and that transmission might be possible.’ This idea was supported by Rob Anderson (Simon Fraser University, Canada): ‘a parasite that responds directly to the likely presence of vectors indicated by some immune signal is likely to do better than a parasite that commits to gametocytes at the same time each year.’ Etymology of the word mosquito? The question was ‘How did the name “mosquito” come about and is [the word] universal?’ E-mails flew in: the Latin musca the fly, seemed the most plausible root, leading to mosca in Spanish, the diminutive mosquito thus describing the smaller Dipteran, moustique in French, also mosquitero in Spanish, but oddly zanzara in Italian, the Romance language closest to Latin. Eduardo Rebollar-Tellez (Keele University, UK) gave a reference [S.R. Christophers, ‘Aedes aegypti (L.) the Yellow fever Mosquito’. Cambridge University Press, 1960] which proposed that the name mosquito comes from the Italian word ‘moschetto’, a kind of arrow thrown by a crossbow. One idea also mentioned was that the early Spanish colonists popularized the word mosquito in places like tropical America and the Philippines and the word was later picked up by the other Europeans who followed them. The following names were also sent in: moskito, mucke and schnaken (German), muskiet (Dutch), myg (Danish), namoose (Arabic), macchar (Hindi), kosu (Tamil), mogi (Korean), WenZhi (Chinese), komap (pronounced commar) (Russian), ka (Japanese), wuj (Papua New Guinea) (also used for blood) and mbu (KiSwahili). Parasitology Today, vol. 14, no. 11, 1998
Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis ([email protected]) Two full papers were circulated on this list in June and various people submitted long and careful critiques. The first by Brent Swallow (International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya), entitled ‘Impacts of trypanosomosis on African agriculture’, concentrated on animal trypanosomiasis and its constraint on agricultural production. The second, by S. Geerts (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium) and P.H. Holmes (University of Glasgow, UK), entitled ‘Drug Management and Parasite Resistance in Animal Trypanosomiasis in Africa’ gave an overview of drug resistance, stressing the lack of reliable data and the need for better standardization of methods of detection, and presenting guidelines to delay and control its development. In brief, Burkhard Bauer, who thought that work from West Africa had not received fair recognition, believes that fewer than 10% of treatments are based on a proper diagnosis and that one problem to consider is that 70–90% of the income of private vets comes from trypanocidal drugs. Francis Oloo (Ministry of Agriculture, Nairobi, Kenya) wanted better training of farmers on correct drug usage and a contributor from the Regional Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Control Programme, Harare, Zimbabwe, felt that a better understanding of the ways that farmers and veterinary assistants use trypanocides is indeed the first step that should be vigorously promoted, though as C. Okali (University of East Anglia, UK) pointed out ‘who will pay, who will collect the data and who will complete the analysis?’ Peter Stevenson (Oxford University, UK) thought that drug management of camels infected with T. evansi needed attention and wanted evidence and field studies to support the statement that intensive drug treatment schedules ‘must lead to increased levels of drug resistance’. He believes that an increase in diminazene resistant infections reported in one study was probably due to an increase in tsetse numbers. Gerrit Uilenberg (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, France) was intrigued as to the actual mechanism of resistance to a trypanocide. Is it really due to a mutation and then selection, as in the case of bacterial resistance to an antibiotic? Mark Eisler (University of Glasgow, UK) drew attention to investigations currently under way in a number of sub-Saharan African countries and to plans for a workshop to be held next year on the subject of ‘Drug Delivery and Resistance in the Context of Integrated Disease Management.’
Parasitology in General (bionet.parasitology mail newsgroup) Nemata or Nematoda: language again Both seem to be used as phylum names: the Journal of Nematology accepts Nemata, for example, and Nature accepts Nematoda. Jie Liu (Oregon State University, USA) asked ‘do we have a consensus on this?’ Michal Brzeski (Instytut Warzywnictwa, Poland) replied ‘But do we really need consensus? Do we need to wear the same kind of suit? Language serves to communicate and as long as we understand each other it is perfectly OK. Very fortunately European journals do not have restriction and accept both Nemata and Nematoda.’
ParaSite was compiled, from the Internet, by Janice Taverne ( [email protected])
Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved 0169–4758/98/$19.00 PII: S0169-4758(98)01327-1
445