Pot greenhouse experiments were carried out to attempt to increase the salinity tolerance of one of the most popular legume of the world; cowpea; by using dual inoculation of an Am fungus Glomus clarum and a nitrogen-fixer Azospirillum brasilense. The effect of these beneficial microbes, as single- or dual inoculation-treatments, was assessed in sterilized loamy sand soil at five NaCl levels (0.0~7.2 ds/m) in irrigating water. The results of this study revealed that percentage of mycorrhizal infection, plant height, dry weight, nodule number, protein content, nitrogenase and phosphatase activities, as well as nutrient elements N, P, K, Ca, Mg were significantly decreased by increasing salinity level in non-mycorrhized plants in absence of NFB. Plants inoculated with NFB showed higher nodule numbers, protein content, nitrogen concentration and nitrogenase activities than those of non-inoculated at all salinity levels. Mycorrhized plants exhibited better improvement in all measurements than that of non-mycorrhized ones at all salinity levels, especially, in the presence of NFB. The concentration of Na+ was significantly accumulated in cowpea plants by rising salinity except in shoots of mycorrhizal plants which had K+/Na+ ratios higher than other treatments. This study indicated that dual inoculation with Am fungi and N-fixer Azospirillum can support both needs for N and P, excess of NaCl and will be useful in terms of soil recovery in saline area.

Three members of Funariaceae are recorded for the first time from vicinities of Taif city; namely Entosthodon attenuatus (Dicks.) Bryhn., E. muhlenbergii (Turner) Fife and E. pulchellus (H.Philib.) Brugués. A key, descriptions, photos, distributional data, comments and maps indicating sites of collections are given.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to confirm observations on the concomitant immunity to Schistosoma mansoni in mice and assess its effects on the resistance of mice to a challenge infection. Methods: Cercariae from infected Biomphalaria glabrata were used to infect mice. Twenty mice were infected with a single dose of S. mansoni cercariae. The animals were randomly divided into two groups: experimental group (Group A) and control group (Group B). Group A mice were challenged with the same number of cercariae six weeks after the primary infection. Perfusion of all mice was done 9 weeks after infection in order to obtain worm burdens in relation to their initial cercarial dose. The livers of all mice were obtained for parasitological and pathological assessments. Results: Our results showed that all the exposed animals became infected with S. mansoni. After a challenge infection, Group A mice had a 54.66% worm reduction rate, 41.45% liver egg reduction rate, and 51.76% granuloma size reduction rate compared to their respective controls. This study shows that mice with persistent adult S. mansoni infection are able to mount a very strong regulatory response to a challenge infection. It is concluded that concomitant immunity does occur in mice. Conclusion: These results describe novel imaging methods that permit visualization of live schistosomes within their living hosts and may help to elucidate mechanisms of infection and also be of value not only for epidemiological investigations, but also in designing government control programs for schistosomiasis. (Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2013; 37: 19-22) . Grup A fareleri birincil enfeksiyondan altı hafta sonra aynı sayıda serkarya ile sınandı. Başlangıç serkarya dozlarıyla ilişkili kurtçuk yükünü elde etmek için tüm farelere enfeksiyondan 9 hafta sonra perfüzyon yapıldı. Bütün farelerin karaciğerleri parazitolojik ve patolojik değerlendirmeler için alındı. Bulgular: Sonuçlarımız maruz kalan tüm hayvanların S. mansoni ile enfekte olduğunu gösterdi. Karşılaşılan bir enfeksiyondan sonra ilgili kontrolleriyle kıyaslandığında, Grup A farelerde kurtçuk azalma oranı %54.66, karaciğerdeki yumurta azalma oranı %41.45, granülom boyutundaki azalma oranı %51.76 idi. Bu çalışma göstermektedir ki persistant yetişkin S. mansoni enfeksiyonu olan fareler, meydan okuyan bir enfeksiyona çok güçlü bir düzenleyici cevap oluşturabilmektedir. Farelerde konkomitant bağışık oluştuğuna karar verilmiştir. Sonuç: Bu bulgular canlı şistozomların yaşayan konaklarında görüntülenmesini sağlayan yeni görüntüleme metotlarını tanımlamaktadır ve enfeksiyon mekanizmalarını açıklamaya yardımcı olabilir. Ayrıca bu bulgular, sadece epidemiyolojik araştırmalar için değil, şistozomiyaz için devlet kontrol programları tasarlamak için de önemlidir. (Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2013; 37: 19-22)

Brucellosis, especially caused by Brucella melitensis, is considered the most-widespread zoonosis in the world, particularly in developing countries. This study was planned to develop an accurate test for diagnosis of ovine brucellosis using a specific hot saline extracted soluble Brucella melitensis periplasmic proteins (SBPPs). The efficacy of the latex agglutination test (LAT) using SBPPs compared to the Rose Bengal test (RBT), buffered plate agglutination test (BPAT), serum agglutination test (SAT), and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (i-ELISA) was evaluated in the field diagnosis of ovine brucellosis. The test performance was evaluated by estimating sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), disease prevalence (DP), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) using test agreement and bacteriological culture in 1777 samples. The false-positive result was significantly (P ⩽0.05) lower in LAT than RBT, BPAT, SAT, and i-ELISA. With reference to test agreement, the Se, Sp, PPV, and PLR were highest (P ⩽0.05) in LAT 99.33%, 99.88%, 98.68%, and 827.25%, respectively. With reference to bacteriological culture, the LAT and i-ELISA tests showed a significant difference in Se with SAT. However, no significant difference in specificity was detected. The DP was 8.44% in the five tests. In conclusion, LAT using SBPPs of B. melitensis could be a suitable serodiagnostic field test for ovine brucellosis, with high sensitivity and specificity.