Leishmania infantum causes human and canine leishmaniosis. The parasite, transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies, infects species other than dogs and people, including wildlife, although their role as reservoirs of infection remains unknown for most species. Molecular typing of parasites to investigate genetic variability and evolutionary proximity can help understand transmission cycles and designing control strategies. We investigated Leishmania DNA variability in kinetoplast (kDNA) and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences in asymptomatically infected wildlife (n = 58) and symptomatically and asymptomatically infected humans (n = 38) and dogs (n = 15) from south‐east Spain, using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and in silico restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses. All ITS2 sequences (n = 76) displayed a 99%–100% nucleotide identity with a L. infantum reference sequence, except one with a 98% identity to a reference Leishmania panamensis sequence, from an Ecuadorian patient. No heterogeneity was recorded in the 73 L. infantum ITS2 sequences except for one SNP in a human parasite sequence. In contrast, kDNA analysis of 44 L. infantum sequences revealed 11 SNP genotypes (nucleotide variability up to 4.3%) and four RFLP genotypes including B, F and newly described S and T genotypes. Genotype frequency was significantly greater in symptomatic compared to asymptomatic individuals. Both methods similarly grouped parasites as predominantly or exclusively found in humans, in dogs, in wildlife or in all three of them. Accordingly, the phylogenetic analysis of kDNA sequences revealed three main clusters, two as a paraphyletic human parasites clade and a third including dogs, people and wildlife parasites. Results suggest that Leishmania infantum genetics is complex even in small geographical areas and that, probably, several independent transmission cycles take place simultaneously including some connecting animals and humans. Investigating these transmission networks may be useful in understanding the transmission dynamics, infection risk and therefore in planning L. infantum control strategies.

Hepatozoon spp., Babesia spp. and Leishmania infantum are common parasites of dogs in Mediterranean countries and are less frequent in cats, particularly Babesia spp. and L. infantum. Moreover, there is limited information on coinfections between these parasites and on L. infantum’s distribution in blood, skin and lymphoid tissue in cats. We used PCR and DNA sequencing to investigate the prevalence of these parasites and the aetiology of Hepatozoon spp. and Babesia spp., in blood, skin, spleen and lymph node samples from up to 212 stray cats and 82 abandoned dogs in southeast Spain. All except 2 dogs were healthy; instead, 112 cats had clinical signs. The estimated PCR prevalences (95% confidence interval) were 25% (19–31%) Hepatozoon felis in cats, 13% (6–21%) Hepatozoon canis in dogs, 1% (0–4%) Babesia vogeli in dogs, 0% Babesia spp. in cats and 21% (15–26%) and 44% (33–55%) L. infantum in cats and dogs, respectively, and infections were not associated with each other. Leishmania infantum prevalence in lymphoid tissue was significantly higher in dogs than in cats (p < 0.001), and dogs had higher parasite loads than cats (p = 0.012). Moreover, L. infantum prevalence was significantly higher in the skin and lymphoid tissue compared to blood in infected, asymptomatic animals but it was similar in cats with clinical signs, which also had higher parasite loads compared to infected, asymptomatic cats (p < 0.05). The study highlights significant differences between sympatric dogs and cats with respect to the parasite infections investigated, as well as the need to examine both lymphoid tissue and skin samples to maximise the sensitivity of L. infantum infection diagnosis.

ResumenIntroducción. Este trabajo aborda la cuestión sobre la naturaleza de la creatividad como una habilidad general o específica de cada dominio concreto. Se exponen, en primer lugar, las principales definiciones y modelos del constructo; y en segundo lugar, el debate sobre la naturaleza generalista o específica de las habilidades creativas, tema que está siendo fuente de investigación para muchos autores. Resultados. Los resultados nos indican la especificidad de ambos constructos, es más, dada las correlaciones entre la tarea "Manzanas" del TPCC y el juego 1 del TTCT, se podría hablar de una especificidad de tarea. Método Discusión y conclusiones.El debate sobre la generalidad versus especificidad de la creatividad tiene una repercusión directa en la práctica educativa. Concretamente, esta repercusión se da en dos aspectos muy importantes: a) en el tipo de evaluación necesaria para identificar el potencial creativo, y por tanto, a los alumnos susceptibles de entrar en los programas específi-cos de atención a la diversidad de las altas habilidades; y b) en cuanto a la trascendencia en cómo enseñar y entrenar el pensamiento divergente y la creatividad de los estudiantes. AbstractIntroduction. This work tackles the question about the nature of creativity as a general vs.

Leishmaniosis es un conjunto de enfermedades zoonóticas causadas por protozoos del género Leishmania sp. Desde tiempo atrás se vienen registrando numerosas infecciones en caninos y en los últimos años ocurrieron casos aislados en felinos. Algunos gatos que cohabitaron en áreas endémicas de leishmaniosis canina contrajeron la enfermedad. Es probable que el sistema inmunitario del felino sea capaz de controlar la contaminación del parásito, ya sea eliminándolo o bien manteniéndolo en un estado crónico subclínico. Se reporta un caso de leishmaniosis en un felino adulto joven, residente en Asunción (Paraguay), cuya sintomatología clínica era inespecífica. Los estudios de laboratorio permitieron identificar la presencia de amastigotes de Leishmania infantum. El paciente fue sometido a tratamiento con respuesta favorable y remisión total de signos clínicos. La identificación del protozooario es determinante para el diagnóstico de esta enfermedad. Si bien la leishmaniosis es menos frecuente en felinos que en caninos, debe incluirse en el diagnóstico diferencial, especialmente en áreas endémicas.