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BackgroundThe presence of animal reservoirs in Schistosoma japonicum infection has been a major obstacle in the control of schistosomiasis. Previous studies have proven that the inclusion of control measures on animal reservoir hosts for schistosomiasis contributed to the decrease of human cases. Animal surveillance should therefore be included to strengthen and improve the capabilities of current serological tests.Methodology/Principal FindingsThioredoxin peroxidase-1 (SjTPx-1) and four tandem repeat proteins (Sj1TR, Sj2TR, Sj4TR, Sj7TR) were initially evaluated against human sera. The previous test showed high sensitivity and specificity for antibody detection against SjTPx-1 and Sj7TR. In this study, the immunodiagnostic potential of these recombinant proteins was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunoassay on 50 water buffalo serum samples collected in Cagayan, the Philippines as compared with the soluble egg antigen (SEA). For specificity, 3 goat serum samples positive with Fasciola hepatica were used and among the antigens used, only SEA showed cross-reaction. Stool PCR targeting the S. japonicum 82 bp mitochondrial NAD 1 gene was done to confirm the true positives and served as the standard test. Twenty three samples were positive for stool PCR. SjTPx-1 and Sj1TR gave the highest sensitivity among the recombinant proteins tested for water buffalo samples with 82.61% and 78.26% respectively which were higher than that of SEA (69.57%).Conclusions/SignificanceThese results prove that SjTPx-1 works both for humans and water buffaloes making it a good candidate antigen for zoonotic diagnosis. Sj1TR showed good results for water buffaloes and therefore can also be used as a possible candidate for detecting animal schistosome infection.

Estimation of turbulence intensity with a fast-response thermistor is examined by comparing the energy dissipation rate from a Fastip Probe, model 07 (FP07), thermistor with from a shear probe, both of which are attached to a free-fall microstructure profiler with the fall rate of 0.6–0.7 m s−1. Temperature gradient spectra corrected with previously introduced frequency response functions represented by a single-pole low-pass filter yields with a bias that strongly depends on turbulence intensity. Meanwhile, the correction with the form of a double-pole low-pass filter derives less bias than of single-pole low-pass filter. The rate is compatible with when the double-pole correction with the time constant of 3 × 10−3 s is applied, and 68% of data are within a factor of 2.8 of in the wide range of = 10−10–3 × 10−7 W kg−1. The rate is still compatible with even in the anisotropy range, where the buoyancy Reynolds number is 20–100. Turbulence estimation from the fast-response thermistor is thus confirmed to be valid in this range by applying the appropriate correction to temperature gradient spectra. Measurements with fast-response thermistors, which have not been common because of their poor frequency response, are less sensitive to the vibration of profilers than those with shear probes. Hence, measurements could be available when a fast-response thermistor is attached to a CTD frame or a float, which extends the possibility of obtaining much more turbulence data in deep and wide oceans.