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In order to clarify the taxonomic status of the Taenia saginata-like tapeworm in East Asia, the morphological characteristics of the adult and cysticercus of classical T. saginata (American, Swiss and Poland strains) and the Taiwan Taenia were compared in the present study. The morphologic characteristics of these two parasites are very similar. The protoscolex of cysticercus of the Taiwan Taenia has a sunken rostellum while that of classical T. saginata has only an apical pit. In addition, the rostellum of the Taiwan Taenia cysticercus is usually surrounded by two rows of rudimentary hooklets. However, this structure is rarely found in classical T. saginata. Based on the results of molecular studies and morphological characteristics, the T. saginata-like tapeworm in East Asia represents a subspecies of T. saginata, named T. saginata asiatica

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We use 47 gravitational wave sources from the Third LIGO–Virgo–Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector Gravitational Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC–3) to estimate the Hubble parameter H(z), including its current value, the Hubble constant H 0. Each gravitational wave (GW) signal provides the luminosity distance to the source, and we estimate the corresponding redshift using two methods: the redshifted masses and a galaxy catalog. Using the binary black hole (BBH) redshifted masses, we simultaneously infer the source mass distribution and H(z). The source mass distribution displays a peak around 34 M ⊙, followed by a drop-off. Assuming this mass scale does not evolve with the redshift results in a H(z) measurement, yielding H 0 = 68 − 8 + 12 km s − 1 Mpc − 1 (68% credible interval) when combined with the H 0 measurement from GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart. This represents an improvement of 17% with respect to the H 0 estimate from GWTC–1. The second method associates each GW event with its probable host galaxy in the catalog GLADE+, statistically marginalizing over the redshifts of each event’s potential hosts. Assuming a fixed BBH population, we estimate a value of H 0 = 68 − 6 + 8 km s − 1 Mpc − 1 with the galaxy catalog method, an improvement of 42% with respect to our GWTC–1 result and 20% with respect to recent H 0 studies using GWTC–2 events. However, we show that this result is strongly impacted by assumptions about the BBH source mass distribution; the only event which is not strongly impacted by such assumptions (and is thus informative about H 0) is the well-localized event GW190814.

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The intermediate hosts for Taenia saginata and T. solium are cattle and pigs (and humans for the latter), respectively. In vitro-hatched (but not activated) oncospheres of both Asian Taenia (T. saginata asiatica, a new subspecies of T. saginata or T. asiatica, a new species) and T. solium injected subcutaneously into the backs of mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (scid) developed into fully matured cysticerci. Five-month-old metacestodes of Asian Taenia had no hooklets and were bigger in size than those previously reported and similar to those of T. saginata. Their morphology suggested that the cysticerci were more advanced than those in the intermediate host animals. It is suggested that scid mice are valuable experimental animal models for studying human taeniid cestode infections.

In order to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites among labourers from Thailand in Taiwan, the stool samples from 1364 Thai labourers were examined by the formalin-ether concentration method and 18·0% were found to be infected with one or more parasites. The infection rates of hookworm, Opisthorchis viverrini, Strongyloides stercoralis, Enterobius vermicularis, Ascaris lumbricoides, Hymenolepis nana, Capillaria philippinensis, Schistosoma japonicum, Echinostoma sp., Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia, and Entamoeba histolytica, were 7·6%, 7·0%, 3·2%, 0·5%, 0·3%, 0·1%, 0·1%, 0·l%,0·l%, 0·4%, 0·2%, and 0·1% respectively. The prevalence was highest among the 21–25 age group (24·8%). Among the 245 infected persons, 91% were infected with one parasite, 8% with two parasites and 1% with three parasites. The finding that parasitic infections are prevalent among Thai labourers demonstrates the need for control measures in foreign labourers in Taiwan and further studies to determine the susceptibility of O. viverrini to the snail hosts of Clonorchis sinensis.