Construcción transdiciplinar de estrategias para la prevención y control de las parasitosis intestinales en poblaciones del NEA y NOA de Argentina

La importancia que cobran distintos tipos de parasitosis infantiles es creciente y preocupa a la población en general, autoridades sanitarias e instituciones educativas, que quieren revertir el cuadro sanitario y trabajar para prevenirlo en el futuro. Esta situación motivó a diagramar, proponer y poner en práctica acciones que contribuyeran a enfrentar el problema y con ello al mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de la gente. Nuestro equipo interdisciplinario abordó estas problemáticas en regiones bioculturalmente diversas donde las patologías parasitarias aquejan a distintos sectores de la población entre ellos las comunidades Mbya Guaraní de la provincia de Misiones y la población rural de los Valles Calchaquíes en el Departamento Molinos de la provincia de Salta. En este marco surgieron como importantes las enfermedades gastrointestinales y particularmente las parasitosis asociadas a la infancia y se hizo posible el acercamiento e intercambio de perspectivas y estrategias entre distintos sectores de las poblaciones involucradas, lo cual se constituyó en el núcleo de esta propuesta, atendiendo siempre a la diversidad de respuestas a esta problemática que resulta de la pluralidad socio cultural de la población en estos enclaves.Asociación Parasitológica ArgentinaCentro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Flavonoids from Pterogyne nitens Inhibit Hepatitis C Virus Entry

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of liver diseases and transplantation worldwide. The current available therapy for HCV infection is based on interferon-α, ribavirin and the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), such as NS3 protease and NS5B polymerase inhibitors. However, the high costs of drug design, severe side effects and HCV resistance presented by the existing treatments demonstrate the need for developing more efficient anti-HCV agents. This study aimed to evaluate the antiviral effects of sorbifolin (1) and pedalitin (2), two flavonoids from Pterogyne nitens on the HCV replication cycle. These compounds were investigated for their anti-HCV activities using genotype 2a JFH-1 subgenomic replicons and infectious virus systems. Flavonoids 1 and 2 inhibited virus entry up to 45.0% and 78.7% respectively at non-cytotoxic concentrations. The mechanism of the flavonoid 2 block to virus entry was demonstrated to be by both the direct action on virus particles and the interference on the host cells. Alternatively, the flavonoid 1 activity was restricted to its virucidal effect. Additionally, no inhibitory effects on HCV replication and release were observed by treating cells with these flavonoids. These data are the first description of 1 and 2 possessing in vitro anti-HCV activity

Pathways as "signatures in landscape": towards an ethnography of mobility among the Mbya-Guaraní (Northeastern Argentina)

RefereedProcesses of spatial mobility among the Mbya are of interest in anthropological and ethnobiological studies, as these processes are related to transformations in the landscape and the environment. Despite this, ethnographic literature usually focuses itself on the mobility of Guaraní communities from the perspective of population dynamics on a regional scale. Our research among two Mbya-Guaraní communities in the Argentinean province of Misiones has enabled us to recognize patterns of mobility on a micro-scale. Certainly, the mobility of adult members of these communities as they perform hunting and gathering activities delimit spaces of individual use. We consider the different pathways as "signatures in landscape", resulting from processes of spatial mobility inherent to those activities Taking into account the gathering and circulation of medicinal plants for treatment of gastrointestinal illnesses, we have been able to identify different pathways inherent in their search, towards the monte or other spaces away from de settlement. The design and construction of the pathways is determined by the specific personal knowledge of individuals who search for these valuable resources. Using both strategies of direct observation – as members of the community manipulate different resources during these search and gathering trips – and interviews, we have been able to gather and interpret significant information on the strategies used by the Mbya to domesticate the monte areas. As a consequence of our approach we suggest that the landscape design resulting from these trips should not be considered a consensual or collective strategy of the whole community; it is rather the result of the daily strategies of individuals, which involves the selection of resources mainly based on each individual's knowledge and interests.Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)Universidad Nacional de La Plat