Treatment of Leishmania (Leishmania) Amazonensis-Infected Mice with a Combination of a Palladacycle Complex and Heat-Killed Propionibacterium acnes Triggers Protective Cellular Immune Responses

Palladacycle complex DPPE 1.2 was previously reported to inhibit the in vitro and in vivo infection by Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of DPPE 1.2, in association with heat-killed Propionibacterium acnes, on L. (L.) amazonensis infection in two mouse strains, BALB/c and C57BL/6, and to evaluate the immune responses of the treated animals. Foot lesions of L. (L.) amazonensis-infected mice were injected with DPPE 1.2 alone, or associated with P. acnes as an adjuvant. Analysis of T-cell populations in the treated mice and in untreated controls was performed by FACS. Detection of IFN-gamma-secreting lymphocytes was carried out by an ELISPOT assay and active TGF-beta was measured by means of a double-sandwich ELISA test. The treatment with DPPE 1.2 resulted in a significant reduction of foot lesion sizes and parasite burdens in both mouse strains, and the lowest parasite burden was found in mice treated with DPPE 1.2 plus P. acnes. Mice treated with DPPE 1.2 alone displayed a significant increase of TCD4(+) and TCD8(+) lymphocytes and IFN-gamma secretion which were significantly higher in animals treated with DPPE 1.2 plus P. acnes. A significant reduction of active TGF-b was observed in mice treated with DPPE 1.2 alone or associated with P. acnes. Moreover, DPPE 1.2 associated to P. acnes was non-toxic to treated animals. The destruction of L. (L.) amazonensis by DPPE 1.2 was followed by host inflammatory responses which were exacerbated when the palladacycle complex was associated with P. acnes.Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)FAPESPUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Farmacol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Farmacol, Sao Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2013/02133-8FAPESP: 2009/10809-6FAPESP: 2014/06935-4Web of Scienc

OVERLAND FLOW AND SURFACE RUNOFF / Hydrological Science and Engineering

Cape Verde, off the coast of Senegal in western Africa, is a volcanic archipelago where soil and water conservation techniques play an important role in the overall subsistence of half a million inhabitants. In fact, the step slopes in the more agricultural islands due to it's volcanic origin, together with semi-arid and arid environments (the country is located in the Sahelian region), characterized by a very irregular wet season, with high intensity rainfall events, make life tough. The hard conditions lead during the first half of the XX century to frequent cycles of drought with severe implications on the local populations, with impressive numbers of deaths by famine, and a decrease of the number of local inhabitants by more than halve in some islands. Maintain the soil in place and the water inside the soil was there after a mater of survival, and the CapeVerdians implemented over the last half century a number of soil and water conservation techniques that cover all the landscape. In this work, we monitored a number of slope soil and water conservation techniques, such as terraces, half moons, live barriers, etc, together with two cultural strategies, used to plant corn and beans on one side and peanuts on the other, with a semi-quantitative methodology, to evaluate their effectiveness. A discussion is given on the costs and effectiveness of the techniques to reduce overland flow production and therefore erosion, and to promote rainfall infiltration

Comparative analysis of policies to deal with wildfire risk

Fires are the main driver of land degradation in forest areas in Mediterranean sub-humid regions, and are likely to increase as a result of climate and other global changes. To prevent deleterious processes induced by fire, several policies and strategies have been implemented at national and regional scales. We perform a comparative study of policies and strategies of Portuguese and Spanish (Comunitat Valenciana) cases in order to assess the differences between them, and identify their roles in forest fire prevention, and in combating and mitigating impacts. To this end, we analyse the sustainability objectives stated in the legislation body of each country to identify the strategies used to deal with forest fires and the extent to which they are integrated to achieve the sustainability objectives they pursue. The comparative analysis includes an assessment of sustainability, evaluated by the explicitness of the objectives, and identification of how the lines of action contribute to reach these objectives. We found different levels of complexity and that the adoption or rejection of some of the techniques is closely related to the tradition and the experience of local communities. This analysis highlights the importance of local characteristics and the stakeholders involvement in designing effective strategies to reduce fire risk