Knowledge and practices of community pharmacists in topical dermatological treatments

The connection between pharmacists’ knowledge and practice on the provided information to patients about dermatoses and their treatment is insufficiently characterized. Furthermore, pharmacists’ contributions in counselling and in promoting adherence to topical treatment is not fully understood. This study has three main objectives. It aims to identify the knowledge and practices of pharmacists about dermatoses and their treatment, and to compare the perspective of pharmacists with that of patients regarding treatment information, with the future goal of establishing guidelines on the communication of dosage regimen instructions to dermatological patients and promotion of adherence to treatment, filling a gap. A cross-sectional, exploratory, and descriptive study was carried out. Based on experts’ prior knowledge and extensive collected literature information, two questionnaire protocols, one for pharmacists and another one for patients, were designed. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were carried out in relation to the pharmacists’ questionnaire for instrument validation. The results indicate that knowledge of pharmacists regarding dermatoses and their treatment is considered acceptable. Most of the pharmacists were reported to provide information to patients. Oppositely, patients reported not to have receive it. This is an important issue because pharmacists play a primary role in the management of several diseases. As non-adherence can be triggered by poor understanding of the dosing instructions, pharmacists’ communication practices play an important role in improving this hinderance. Results from this study identified pharmacist–patient communication gaps, so the development of guidelines to improve the transmission of clear dosage regimen instructions and knowledge about patient’s disease are of paramount importance. Training programs for continuous education of pharmacist should be implemented to solve the identified communication problems found in this study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Serological survey of Rickettsia in equids from Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo, Brazil, and their tick identification and molecular investigation of Rickettsia

A febre maculosa brasileira é uma doença grave e letal para seres humanos causada pela bactéria Rickettsia rickettsii. No estado de São Paulo, SP, Brasil, o agente etiológico desta enfermidade é transmitido pelo carrapato Amblyomma sculptum. Conforme descrito na literatura científica, os cavalos infectados com esta bactéria produzem uma forte resposta imune e podem ser importantes sentinelas para a detecção da doença. A presente investigação realizou um levantamento sorológico em cavalos de cinco fazendas do Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo, Brasil, à procura de anticorpos contra Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia amblyommatis, Rickettsia rhipicephali e Rickettsia bellii. Em cada fazenda, também foram coletados carrapatos identificados taxonomicamente e examinados por PCR em tempo real para o DNA de Rickettsia spp. Foram coletadas amostras de sangue de 206 cavalos e coletados 334 carrapatos desses animais entre os meses de janeiro e dezembro de 2017. Oitenta carrapatos foram identificados como A. sculptum e 254 Dermacentor nitens. Das amostras de sangue, 7,3% soroconverteram para Rickettsia spp., sendo que, 0,97% apresentaram soropositividade homóloga para R. bellii. Nenhum dos 80 carrapatos de A. sculptum foi positivo com o emprego de PCR em tempo real para Rickettsia spp. Embora não tenham sido detectados carrapatos infectados por Rickettsia spp em cinco fazendas do Vale do Paraíba, os animais apresentaram reações sorológicas positivas para este agente. Assim, outros estudos abrangentes deverão ser realizados na área investigando hospedeiros e vetores, gerando dados para medidas de controle da transmissão da febre maculosa brasileira.Brazilian spotted fever is a serious and lethal illness for humans and is caused by the Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria. In the state of São Paulo/SP (Brazil), the etiological agent of this disease is transmitted by the Amblyomma sculptum tick. It was already shown that horses infected with this bacteria produce a strong immune response and could be important sentinels for the detection of the disease in a proper region. The present investigation performed a serological survey in horses from five farms of Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo state, Brazil, searching for antibodies against, Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia amblyommatis, Rickettsia rhipicephali, and Rickettsia bellii. In each farm, ticks were also collected that were taxonomically identified and examined by real-time PCR for Rickettsia spp DNA. Blood samples were collected from 206 horses, and 334 ticks were picked up from these animals from January to December 2017. Eighty ticks wereA. sculptum and 254 Dermacentor nitens. Of the blood samples, 7.3% seroconverted to Rickettsia spp. Of these, 0.97% had a positive serological response to R. bellii. None of the 80 A. sculptum ticks were positive through real-time PCR for Rickettsia spp. Although there was no detection of ticks infected by Rickettsia spp in five farms of Paraíba Valley, the horses presented serological positive reactions against this agent. Thus, further large studies should be conducted in the area targeting hosts and vectors to generate data for control measures of the transmission of Brazilian spotted fever.&nbsp

Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, a spotted fever group agent infecting Amblyomma parvum ticks in two Brazilian biomes

Adult ticks of the species Amblyomma parvum were collected from the vegetation in the Pantanal biome (state of Mato Grosso do Sul) and from horses in the Cerrado biome (state of Piauí) in Brazil. The ticks were individually tested for rickettsial infection via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting three rickettsial genes, gltA, ompA and ompB. Overall, 63.5% (40/63) and 66.7% (2/3) of A. parvum ticks from Pantanal and Cerrado, respectively, contained rickettsial DNA, which were all confirmed by DNA sequencing to be 100% identical to the corresponding fragments of the gltA, ompA and ompB genes of Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae. This report is the first to describe Ca. R. andeanae in BrazilFAPESPCNPqCAPE

Natural blood feeding and temperature shift modulate the global transcriptional profile of Rickettsia rickettsii infecting its tick vector

Rickettsia rickettsii is an obligate intracellular tick-borne bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), the most lethal spotted fever rickettsiosis. When an infected starving tick begins blood feeding from a vertebrate host, R. rickettsii is exposed to a temperature elevation and to components in the blood meal. These two environmental stimuli have been previously associated with the reactivation of rickettsial virulence in ticks, but the factors responsible for this phenotype conversion have not been completely elucidated. Using customized oligonucleotide microarrays and high-throughput microfluidic qRT-PCR, we analyzed the effects of a 10 degrees C temperature elevation and of a blood meal on the transcriptional profile of R. rickettsii infecting the tick Amblyomma aureolatum. This is the first study of the transcriptome of a bacterium in the genus Rickettsia infecting a natural tick vector. Although both stimuli significantly increased bacterial load, blood feeding had a greater effect, modulating five-fold more genes than the temperature upshift. Certain components of the Type IV Secretion System (T4SS) were up-regulated by blood feeding. This suggests that this important bacterial transport system may be utilized to secrete effectors during the tick vector's blood meal. Blood feeding also up-regulated the expression of antioxidant enzymes, which might correspond to an attempt by R. rickettsii to protect itself against the deleterious effects of free radicals produced by fed ticks. The modulated genes identified in this study, including those encoding hypothetical proteins, require further functional analysis and may have potential as future targets for vaccine development.São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) - 2008/053570-0Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)The National Institutes of Science and Technology Program in Molecular Entomology (INCT-EM

Ecological implications on the aggregation of Amblyomma fuscum (Acari: Ixodidae) on Thrichomys laurentius (Rodentia: Echimyidae), in northeastern Brazil

We investigated the Amblyomma fuscum load on a pullulating wild rodent population and the environmental and biological factors influencing the tick load on the hosts. One hundred and three individuals of Thrichomys laurentius were caught in an Atlantic forest fragment in northeastern Brazil, as part of a longitudinal survey on ticks infesting non-volant small mammals. Ticks (n = 342) were found on 45 individuals and the overall mean intensity of infestation was 7.6 ticks per infested rodent. Ticks were highly aggregated in the host population and the negative binomial distribution model provides a statistically satisfactory fit. The aggregated distribution was influenced by sex and age of the host. The microhabitat preference by T. laurentius probably increases contact opportunities between hosts and aggregated infesting stages of the ticks and represents important clues about the habitat suitability for A. fuscum.CNPq [478.229/2007-0]Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD)Albetaan Program fellowshipInstituto Brasileiro para Medicina da Conservacao - Triad

Práticas artísticas no ensino básico e secundário

A educação pela arte faz-se através dos seus materiais, da sua operação, da transformação das matérias em ideias novas, em novas coisas. No seu sucesso está implicada uma literacia, uma capacidade interpretativa, ou crítica, sobre a semiosfera cada vez mais povoada, saturada de mensagens parasitárias. A educação implica uma leitura do mundo (Paulo Freire), que se projeta na interpretação de todas as camadas de expressão contemporânea, muitas vezes massificada, por vezes ainda identitária e significativa. Fala-se aqui de valorizar a identidade, exercer a pedagogia da diferença através de uma capacidade problematizadora. No seu contexto, podem exercer-se pedagogias que exploram a visão crítica do artista em interação com a escola, o artista em residência, no movimento A/ R/ Tography. Ou também exercer-se uma pedagogia triangular, centrando a arte, o contexto, a produção e a sua leitura como uma metodologia (Ana Mae Barbosa). O contexto contemporâneo é pós digital, os conteúdos não pesam nos suportes, e transmitem-se por “dentes azuis” ou redes com muitos Gs (G de Geração sem peso que sucede ao peso da aceleração gravítica). Neste campo pode delinear-se uma metodologia que alicerça o projeto ancorado nos estudos críticos sobre Cultura Visual (Fernando Hernández). Digamos que as práticas pedagógicas se cruzam em diversas direções, tacteando eficácias, expressões, capacidades, inovação. O contexto é cada vez mais voraz: a pele da cultura gosta de massagens (Kerkhove; McLuhan). A Matéria-Prima de que se fala nesta revista é aquela que devolve ao seu lugar um ponto crítico da pós modernidade: o do significante. Os sintagmas são sempre processos, e neles se formam as subjectividades, ou seja, as identidades: no desenrolar do ser, onde se produz verdadeiramente o sentido, bem junto do aqui-e-agora onde está a Matéria-Prima (Foucault).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Regulatory T Cells Phenotype in Different Clinical Forms of Chagas' Disease

CD25High CD4+ regulatory T cells (Treg cells) have been described as key players in immune regulation, preventing infection-induced immune pathology and limiting collateral tissue damage caused by vigorous anti-parasite immune response. In this review, we summarize data obtained by the investigation of Treg cells in different clinical forms of Chagas' disease. Ex vivo immunophenotyping of whole blood, as well as after stimulation with Trypanosoma cruzi antigens, demonstrated that individuals in the indeterminate (IND) clinical form of the disease have a higher frequency of Treg cells, suggesting that an expansion of those cells could be beneficial, possibly by limiting strong cytotoxic activity and tissue damage. Additional analysis demonstrated an activated status of Treg cells based on low expression of CD62L and high expression of CD40L, CD69, and CD54 by cells from all chagasic patients after T. cruzi antigenic stimulation. Moreover, there was an increase in the frequency of the population of Foxp3+ CD25HighCD4+ cells that was also IL-10+ in the IND group, whereas in the cardiac (CARD) group, there was an increase in the percentage of Foxp3+ CD25High CD4+ cells that expressed CTLA-4. These data suggest that IL-10 produced by Treg cells is effective in controlling disease development in IND patients. However, in CARD patients, the same regulatory mechanism, mediated by IL-10 and CTLA-4 expression is unlikely to be sufficient to control the progression of the disease. These data suggest that Treg cells may play an important role in controlling the immune response in Chagas' disease and the balance between regulatory and effector T cells may be important for the progression and development of the disease. Additional detailed analysis of the mechanisms on how these cells are activated and exert their function will certainly give insights for the rational design of procedure to achieve the appropriate balance between protection and pathology during parasite infections

Práticas artísticas no ensino básico e secundário

O terceiro número da Revista Matéria-Prima afirma-se como mais uma plataforma de disseminação e de registo na área da educação e ensino artísticos. Ao propor-se o desafio da Matéria-Prima está a lançar-se um repto de intervenção e partilha a três tipos de intervenientes na educação pela arte: — Os professores, profissionais experimentados; — Os que se iniciam na profissão, através da frequência de mestrados e estágios formativos; — Os investigadores e professores universitários desta área. Esta chamada coloca em cima da mesa a partilha das experiências didácticas em sala de aula, a pesquisa sobre práticas profissionais. Experiências, algumas bem-sucedidas, outras menos, porventura, todas com um mérito substancial, que é a vontade de estabelecer comunidade entre os interessados pela educação artística. Este conjunto de textos poderá ajudar a cartografar práticas que se observam bastante distintas, entre as realidades dos países representados, Portugal, Espanha, Brasil, Argentina. Observa-se também que a prática dos educadores está longe de ser homogénea. É surpreendente determinar as diferenças entre contextos e regiões. Se umas são mais metódicas, e por isso consistentes, outras abrem-se à descoberta. Em todas um ponto de encontro: a revista Matéria-Prima, que assim assume cada vez mais o seu nome como um desígnio de intervenção.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of an antioxidant surfactant-free topical formulation containing Castanea sativa leaf extract

Context: Inclusion of antioxidants in topical formulations can contribute to minimize oxidative stress in the skin, which has been associated with photoaging, several dermatosis and cancer. Objective: A Castanea sativa leaf extract with established antioxidant activity was incorporated into a semisolid surfactant-free formulation. The objective of this study was to perform a comprehensive characterization of this formulation. Materials and methods: Physical, microbiological and functional stability were evaluated during 6 months storage at 20 °C and 40 °C. Microstructure elucidation (cryo-SEM), in vitro release and in vivo moisturizing effect (Corneometer® CM 825) were also assessed. Results and discussion: Minor changes were observed in the textural and rheological properties of the formulation when stored at 20 °C for 6 months and the antioxidant activity of the plant extract remained constant throughout the storage period. Microbiological quality was confirmed at the end of the study. Under accelerated conditions, higher modifications of the evaluated parameters were observed. Cryo-SEM analysis revealed the presence of oil droplets dispersed into a gelified external phase. The release rate of the antioxidant compounds (610 ± 70 µgh−0.5) followed Higuchi model. A significant in vivo moisturizing effect was demonstrated, that lasted at least 4 h after product’s application. Conclusion: The physical, functional and microbiological stability of the antioxidant formulation was established. Specific storage conditions should be recommended considering the influence of temperature on the stability. A skin hydration effect and good skin tolerance were also found which suggests that this preparation can be useful in the prevention or treatment of oxidative stress-mediated dysfunctions