Exoerythrocytic Plasmodium Parasites Secrete a Cysteine Protease Inhibitor Involved in Sporozoite Invasion and Capable of Blocking Cell Death of Host Hepatocytes

Plasmodium parasites must control cysteine protease activity that is critical for hepatocyte invasion by sporozoites, liver stage development, host cell survival and merozoite liberation. Here we show that exoerythrocytic P. berghei parasites express a potent cysteine protease inhibitor (PbICP, P. berghei inhibitor of cysteine proteases). We provide evidence that it has an important function in sporozoite invasion and is capable of blocking hepatocyte cell death. Pre-incubation with specific anti-PbICP antiserum significantly decreased the ability of sporozoites to infect hepatocytes and expression of PbICP in mammalian cells protects them against peroxide- and camptothecin-induced cell death. PbICP is secreted by sporozoites prior to and after hepatocyte invasion, localizes to the parasitophorous vacuole as well as to the parasite cytoplasm in the schizont stage and is released into the host cell cytoplasm at the end of the liver stage. Like its homolog falstatin/PfICP in P. falciparum, PbICP consists of a classical N-terminal signal peptide, a long N-terminal extension region and a chagasin-like C-terminal domain. In exoerythrocytic parasites, PbICP is posttranslationally processed, leading to liberation of the C-terminal chagasin-like domain. Biochemical analysis has revealed that both full-length PbICP and the truncated C-terminal domain are very potent inhibitors of cathepsin L-like host and parasite cysteine proteases. The results presented in this study suggest that the inhibitor plays an important role in sporozoite invasion of host cells and in parasite survival during liver stage development by inhibiting host cell proteases involved in programmed cell death

Regionalização como estratégia para a definição de políticas públicas de controle de homicídios Regionalization as a strategy for the definition of homicide-control public policies

Neste artigo, analisamos a distribuição espacial das taxas de homicídios no Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil, utilizando dados do Sistema de Informações de Mortalidade do Ministério da Saúde (SIM-MS), no período de 1996 a 2000. Os dados populacionais utilizados para o cálculo das taxas também foram obtidos através do MS. Diante da grande extensão territorial do Estado, utilizamos uma metodologia estatística desenvolvida recentemente, implementada no programa SKATER, para a geração de conglomerados espaciais homogêneos. Como resultado, obtivemos 24 conglomerados espaciais, nos quais os municípios semelhantes em relação às taxas de homicídios ficaram agrupados. A partir desses resultados, discutimos a possibilidade da criação de "Núcleos de Gerenciamento em Segurança Pública", que permitiriam a implementação de políticas públicas voltadas para o controle e a diminuição de homicídios em cidades com características semelhantes no que diz respeito a esse tipo de crime.<br>This article analyzes the spatial distribution of homicide rates in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, using data from the Ministry of Health Mortality Information System (SIM/MS) from 1996 to 2000. Population data used to calculate rates were also obtained from the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Minas Gerais has a large territory, so the study used a recently developed statistical methodology implemented in the SKATER software to generate homogeneous spatial clusters. The technique obtained 24 spatial clusters, in which municipalities with similar homicide rates were aggregated. Using these results, the authors discuss the possible creation of "public security administration areas" that would allow the implementation of public policies aimed at controlling and diminishing homicides in municipalities with similar characteristics for this type of crime

AMAZONIA CAMTRAP: a dataset of mammal, bird, and reptile species recorded with camera traps in the Amazon forest

The Amazon forest has the highest biodiversity on earth. However, information on Amazonian vertebrate diversity is still deficient and scattered across the published, peer-reviewed and grey literature and in unpublished raw data. Camera traps are an effective non-invasive method of surveying vertebrates, applicable to different scales of time and space. In this study, we organized and standardized camera trap records from different Amazon regions to compile the most extensive dataset of inventories of mammal, bird and reptile species ever assembled for the area. The complete dataset comprises 154,123 records of 317 species (185 birds, 119 mammals and 13 reptiles) gathered from surveys from the Amazonian portion of eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela). The most frequently recorded species per taxa were: mammals - Cuniculus paca (11,907 records); birds - Pauxi tuberosa (3,713 records); and reptiles - Tupinambis teguixin (716 records). The information detailed in this data paper opens-up opportunities for new ecological studies at different spatial and temporal scales, allowing for a more accurate evaluation of the effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, climate change and other human-mediated defaunation processes in one of the most important and threatened tropical environments in the world. The dataset is not copyright restricted; please cite this data-paper when using its data in publications and we also request that researchers and educators inform us of how they are using this data