Distribution of the members of Anopheles gambiae and pyrethroid knock-down resistance gene (kdr) in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa

Une étude entomologique a été réalisée en 2002 dans quatre localités couvrant différents faciès écologiques de la Guinée Bissau : Buba Tombao (forêt), Gabu (savane), Cacheu (mangrove) et Bissau (urbain) afin i) d'étudier la distribution des membres du complexe Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) ii) d'évaluer le statut de résistance de ces vecteurs du paludisme aux insecticides (perméthrine 0.75%, DDT 4%) et enfin iii) de rechercher la présence et la distribution de la mutation kdr au sein de ces populations. Les femelles de moustiques adultes issues de captures matinales à l'intérieur des maisons ont été testées suivant les procédures OMS (kit de bio essai et papier imprégné) afin d'évaluer leur statut de résistance aux insecticides. Les spécimens testés ont été identifiés et caractérisés pour la présence de la mutation kdr par PCR. En Guinée Bissau, dans les localités étudiées, le complexe An. gambiae est dominé par An. gambiae s.s. (avec les deux formes moléculaires S et M représentées) vivant en sympatrie sur le littoral avec une faible proportion d'An. melas. Les populations d'An. gambiae s.s. exposées aux deux insecticides se sont révélées sensibles quelle que soit leur provenance. La mutation kdr Leu-Phe a été détectée en de très faibles fréquences seulement dans deux localités situées respectivement en zone urbaine (Bissau) et en savane (Gabu). Cette mutation est présente uniquement dans la forme moléculaire S à Gabu (avec une fréquence allélique de 0.14) et dans les deux formes moléculaires M et S à Bissau avec des fréquences alléliques respectives de 0.06 et de 0.02. Ces résultats suggèrent que les populations d'An. gambiae s.s., vecteur le plus fréquent du paludisme en Guinée Bissau, demeurent encore sensibles aux pyréthrinoides et au DDT 4%. Ce statut de sensibilité ainsi que la fréquence des gènes de résistance tel que le kdr doivent être surveillés dans le futur particulièrement dans les zones urbaine et de savane soumises à une utilisation intensive d'insecticides. (Résumé d'auteur

Implantação e ativação de viveiro na comunidade Água Boa 2, município de Rio Pardo de Minas, MG.

Resumo - A evasão sazonal de filhos de agricultores é um evento frequente na comunidade de Água Boa 2 na busca de trabalho fora do município de Rio Pardo de Minas, como colhedores de café no Sul de Minas e no Estado de São Paulo ou em eucaliptais na própria região. Tendo uma área de cultivo de cerca de três hectares, a agricultura não é mais suficiente para gerar alimento e sustento da família, obrigando a busca de outras fontes de renda. O extrativismo de fibras, frutos, artesanato, além do carvão vegetal é também uma alternativa de renda. Algumas mulheres preferem não ter entes da família afastados por meses para trabalhar, enquanto outras acompanham os maridos com seus filhos para o trabalho em outras regiões a fim de reforçar a renda familiar, no período de maio a agosto. A renda certa é ensejada por jovens também, para aquisição de bens como celular, eletro-portátil ou moto, notando que oportunidades são restritas quando permanecem na comunidade, comercializando os produtos da roça ou do extrativismo ou como assalariado local. Este relato trata do início da construção do segundo viveiro em março de 2012 e de sua ativação em janeiro de 2014 como uma alternativa de emprego e renda que a comunidade vislumbrou, planejou e se capacitou a partir de 2007. O primeiro viveiro construído com recurso de doação de bazares, com o objetivo de obter renda, produzir mudas para reflorestar nascentes e obter mudas para plantio nos quintais, foi inativado devido insegurança, falta de registro e de responsável técnico. As dificuldades de instalação de um sistema de abastecimento de água para irrigação foi, dentre outras, a causa do atraso na ativação do segundo viveiro e do grupo de jovens. Por outro lado, em meio às dificuldades e entraves, a comunidade vem crescendo e sendo fortalecido pelo movimento de união em defesa da nascente. Abstract - The seasonal evasion of farmers? sons is a frequent event within the Community of Agua Boa 2, seeking for job outside the municipality of Rio Pardo de Minas, as, coffee harvesters in the South of Minas Gerais and São Paulo State or eucalyptus plantation. Having about three hectares for cultivation area, agriculture is not enough for feeding and supporting the family, forcing to search for other means for their income. The extraction of fiber, fruits, handicrafts, besides charcoal from native vegetation is also an alternative for survival. Some women prefer not to have ones from the family away for months to work, while others follow their husbands with their children to work in other regions to reinforce family income during the period May to August. An assured income is also desired by young people to purchase goods such as mobile phones, portable devices or motorcycles, noting that opportunities are scarce by staying in the community, selling the products from the country or extractivism, or as a local employee. This report deals with the start of construction of the second nursery in March 2012 and its activation in January 2014 as an alternative employment and income that the community glimpsed, planned and trained since 2007. The first nursery built using donations of bazaars, with the aim to earn an income, produce seedlings for reforestation springs and get seedlings for planting in backyards, was inactivated due to insecurity, lack of registration and technical officer. The problem of installing a system of water supply for irrigation was, among others, the cause of the delay in the activation of the second nursery and the youth group. On the other hand, in the midst of difficulties and obstacles, the community is growing and being strengthened by the union movement in defense of the springs

Assessment of hydrocarbon pollution in NW Iberian Peninsula using bioaccumulation and molecular biomarkers in Mytilus galloprovincialis

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry - SETAC Europe 15th Annual Meeting, Lille, France, May 2005.Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH´s) are ubiquitous contaminants in marine environment as a result of uncontrolled spills, river transport, surface runoff and atmospheric deposition. A significant amount of industrial activity including shipping and oil refining is located along the NW Iberian Peninsula coast. The use of exposure biomarkers holds out promise due to the incipient state of the cost-effective methodologies for diagnosis and monitoring of oil pollution. This work presents the preliminary results concerning the identification of a set of biomarkers for an early warning detection of PAH toxicity. The bivalve Mytillus galloprovincialis was selected due to its ubiquitous distribution along coastline, being used as sentinels in pollution monitoring. This species has also an important value. Four locations in the vicinity of industrial wastewater discharges along the NW Iberian coast were selected and compared with a nearby (reference) site for (i) measurements of PAH body burdens and (ii) levels of enzyme activity: catalase (CAT), superoxide-dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), gluthathione S-transferase (GST) and Na+/K+ATPase (ATPase). The results will be discussed on the basis of their potential in providing additional evidence for discriminate between well known polluted and unpolluted sites

Preclinical pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of anticancer dinuclear Palladium(II)-Spermine Complex (Pd2Spm) in mice

Palladium-based compounds are regarded as potential analogs to platinum anticancer drugs with improved properties. The present study assessed the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of a dinuclear palladium(II)-spermine chelate (Pd2Spm), which has previously been shown to possess promising in vitro activity against several therapy-resistant cancers. Using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, the kinetic profiles of palladium/platinum in serum, serum ultrafiltrate and tissues (kidney, liver, brain, heart, lungs, ovaries, adipose tissue and mammary glands) were studied in healthy female Balb/c mice after a single intraperitoneal bolus injection of Pd2Spm (3 mg/kg bw) or cisplatin (3.5 mg/kg bw) between 0.5 and 48 h post-injection. Palladium in serum exhibited biphasic kinetics with a terminal half-life of 20.7 h, while the free palladium in serum ultrafiltrate showed a higher terminal half-life than platinum (35.5 versus 31.5 h). Palladium was distributed throughout most of the tissues except for the brain, with the highest values in the kidney, followed by the liver, lungs, ovaries, adipose tissue and mammary glands. The in vitro cellular accumulation was also evaluated in breast cancer cells, evidencing a passive diffusion as a mechanism of Pd2Spm’s cellular entry. This study reports, for the first time, the favorable pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of Pd2Spm, which may become a promising pharmacological agent for cancer treatmentinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutritional characterization of Strychnos madagascariensis fruit flour produced by Mozambican communities and evaluation of Its contribution to nutrient adequacy

The indigenous fruit Strychnos madagascariensis is usually processed to flour, called nfuma, being highly consumed during staple food shortage. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional composition of nfuma and its nutrient adequacy. Flours from four districts of Mozambique were analyzed using AOAC methods for proximate composition, HPLC for sugar, amino acids (AA), vitamin E and carotenoids and ICP-MS and FAAS for minerals. The results showed that nfuma stands out for its high content of fat (26.3–27.8%), mainly oleic acid, fiber (>6%), vitamin E (6.7 to 8.0 mg/100 g) and carotenes (2.2 to 2.6 mg/100 g). The main amino acids of nfuma protein were Arg, Asp and Glu, and Lys was the limiting one. The mineral composition reveals K (~1200 to 1700 mg/100 g) as the main macromineral followed by Mg > Ca > Na. The main trace element was Mn (~4 mg/100 g) followed by Fe > Zn > Cu > Cr > Co. Aluminum (~3 mg/100 g) was the main non-essential element and Rb, Ni, Sr, Ba, V, Cd were also quantified. Assuming the daily consumption of 50 g, nfuma provides 82% of Vitamin A dietary reference value for toddlers, while the consumption of 100 g contributes to 132% and 60% of Mn and vitamin A DRV for adults, respectively. Despite the nutritional advantages of nfuma, this flour can be a source of Ni, highlighting the importance of the study of good practices in its preparation to decrease the exposure to non-essential elements.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Intercâmbio de experiências e levantamento de demandas ergonômicas em unidades de beneficiamento de frutos do cerrado, mandioca e café em comunidades do Norte de Minas Gerais.

Este relato descreve a experiência realizada por meio de uma parceria entre o Projeto Rio Pardo, da Embrapa Cerrados e a Escola Politécnica/USP, visando inserir a questão do trabalho agrícola familiar nas ações desenvolvidas junto aos agricultores de três comunidades de Rio Pardo de Minas/MG, produtoras de frutos do cerrado, goma/farinha de mandioca e café sombreado. O objetivo foi levantar possíveis demandas ergonômicas existentes nestas unidades de produção, que estão implantando agroindústrias familiares para realizar o beneficiamento da produção. As demandas relacionam-se a problemas com a produção, a organização do trabalho e a saúde dos trabalhadores. Percebe-se a coexistência do saber tradicional, transmitido entre gerações, com a inovação em termos de maquinário e instalações. Há diversos arranjos produtivos presentes, fruto da criatividade e sabedoria aplicada dos agricultores. Estas inovações podem ser o embrião de projetos futuros de novos maquinários e arranjos produtivos. Trata-se de fazer comunicar dois saberes, dos projetistas e dos usuários, contribuindo para que estes últimos possam ser empoderados no papel de criadores de inovações, contribuindo para a incorporação de aspectos ergonômicos na evolução dos equipamentos e instalações. Abstract: This report describes the experience carried out through a partnership between Project ? Rio Pardo ?, Embrapa Cerrados/DF and the Polytechnic School of USP, in order to put the issue of family farm labor in the actions developed by farmers in three communities of Rio Pardo de Minas, north of Minas Gerais. The main products are fruits of the cerrado, cassava starch and manioc flour and shaded coffee. The initial goal was to raise possible these existing ergonomic demands of family farming units, which are in the process of implementation of family agri-industries to undertake the processing and beneficiation production. The ergonomic demands are related to production problems with the organization of work and the health of farm workers. In preliminary analyzes, it was possible to perceive the coexistence of traditional knowledge transmitted between generations, with innovation in terms of machinery and facilities. There are several productive arrangements, result of creativity and knowledge of farmers. These innovations, developed by who performs the work, may be the starting point for future designs of new machinery and productive arrangements. It could demonstrated the importance of communication between two knowledge, from the designers and from the users (farmers), contributing to the latter to be empowered in their role as creators of innovation and contributing to the incorporation of ergonomic aspects in the context of setting up their equipment