O ESTUDO DA CULTURA PELA ANÁLISE DO COMPORTAMENTO E A OBRA DE SIGRID GLENN

Despite its focus in the study of the behavior of individual organisms, Behavior Analysis has dealt for decades with social and cultural phenomena. Only in the 1980s, however, it began more clearly to treat culture as an object of independent study, seeking to assess the variables affecting its evolution even without direct reference to individual behavior. The analysis of culture as a specific subject matter gains more impetus with the proposition by Sigrid Glenn of the concept of metacontingency and with her subsequent works. The concept of metacontingency was changed in successive publications by Glenn, increasing the focus on the recurrence of interlocking behavioral contingencies and its aggregate products. Furthermore, the common consequence to the group was no longer characterized as a necessarily long-term event, suggesting that it could also be an immediate event. The paper entitled Individual Behavior, Culture and Social Change (Glenn, 2004) - whose translation to Portuguese this text introduces - can be understood as a synthesis of many previous discussions on the subject and as a mark of the establishment of many concepts that continue to be employed by those interested in the topic. The concept of metacontingency still underwent some reformulations after Glenn's article published in 2004, but only at the beginning of this century experiments that explicitly employ it began to be conducted. Key words: metacontingency, macrocontingency, cultural evolution, social behavior. Apesar de seu foco no estudo do comportamento de organismos individuais, a Análise do Comportamento tem tratado há décadas de fenômenos sociais e culturais. Apenas na década de 1980, porém, começou-se mais claramente a tratar a cultura como objeto de estudo independente, buscando avaliar as variáveis que afetavam a sua evolução mesmo que sem referência direta ao comportamento individual. A análise da cultura como objeto específico de pesquisa ganha mais fôlego com a proposição por Sigrid Glenn do conceito de metacontingência e com os trabalhos posteriores da autora. O conceito de metacontingência foi alterado em sucessivas publicações de Glenn, aumentando o foco na recorrência de contingências comportamentais entrelaçadas e dos seus produtos agregados. Além disso, a consequência comum ao grupo deixou de ser caracterizada como um evento necessariamente a longo prazo, sugerindo que ela também poderia ser um evento imediato. O artigo Comportamento individual, cultura e mudança social (Glenn, 2004) – cuja tradução este texto introduz – pode ser entendido como uma síntese de muitas das discussões anteriores sobre o tema e como marco do estabelecimento de muitos conceitos que continuam a ser empregados pelos interessados no tema. O conceito de metacontingência continuou passando por reformulações após o artigo de Glenn publicado em 2004, mas apenas no início do presente século experimentos que explicitamente o empregam começaram a ser realizados. Palavras-chave: metacontingência, macrocontingência, evolução cultural, comportamento social.

Working Memory Training Coupled With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Experiment

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been employed to boost working memory training (WMT) effects. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence on the efficacy of this combination in older adults. The present study is aimed to assess the delayed transfer effects of tDCS coupled with WMT in older adults in a 15-day follow-up. We explored if general cognitive ability, age, and educational level predicted the effects. Methods: In this single-center, double-blind randomized sham-controlled experiment, 54 older adults were randomized into three groups: anodal-tDCS (atDCS)+WMT, sham-tDCS (stDCS)+WMT, and double-sham. Five sessions of tDCS (2 mA) were applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Far transfer was measured by Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM), while the near transfer effects were assessed through Digit Span. A frequentist linear mixed model (LMM) was complemented by a Bayesian approach in data analysis. Results: Working memory training improved dual n-back performance in both groups submitted to this intervention but only the group that received atDCS+WMT displayed a significant improvement from pretest to follow-up in transfer measures of reasoning (RAPM) and short-term memory (forward Digit Span). Near transfer improvements predicted gains in far transfer, demonstrating that the far transfer is due to an improvement in the trained construct of working memory. Age, formal education, and vocabulary score seem to predict the gains in reasoning. However, Bayesian results do not provide substantial evidence to support this claim. Conclusion: This study will help to consolidate the incipient but auspicious field of cognitive training coupled with tDCS in healthy older adults. Our findings demonstrated that atDCS may potentialize WMT by promoting transfer effects in short-term memory and reasoning in older adults, which are observed especially at follow-up

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Block Remifentanil-Induced Hyperalgesia: A Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Background: Remifentanil-induced hyperalgesia (r-IH) involves an imbalance in the inhibitory and excitatory systems. As the transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) modulates the thalamocortical synapses in a top-down manner, we hypothesized that the active (a)-t-DCS would be more effective than sham(s)-tDCS to prevent r-IH. We used an experimental paradigm to induce temporal summation of pain utilizing a repetitive cold test (rCOLDT) assessed by the Numerical Pain Score (NPS 0-10) and we evaluated the function of the descending pain modulatory system (DPMS) by the change on the NPS (0–10) during the conditioned pain modulation (CPM)-task (primary outcomes). We tested whether a-tDCS would be more effective than s-tDCS to improve pain perception assessed by the heat pain threshold (HPT) and the reaction time during the ice-water pain test (IPT) (secondary outcomes). Methods: This double-blinded, factorial randomized trial included 48 healthy males, ages ranging 19–40 years. They were randomized into four equal groups: a-tDCS/saline, s-tDCS/saline, a-tDCS/remifentanil and s-tDCS/remifentanil. tDCS was applied over the primary motor cortex, during 20 min at 2 mA, which was introduced 10 min after starting remifentanil infusion at 0.06 μg⋅kg-1⋅min-1 or saline. Results: An ANCOVA mixed model revealed that during the rCOLDT, there was a significant main effect on the NPS scores (F = 3.81; P = 0.01). The s-tDCS/remifentanil group presented larger pain scores during rCOLDT, [mean (SD) 5.49 (1.04)] and a-tDCS/remifentanil group had relative lower pain scores [4.15 (1.62)]; showing its blocking effect on r-IH. a-tDCS/saline and s-tDCS/saline groups showed lowest pain scores during rCOLDT, [3.11 (1.2)] and [3.15 (1.62)], respectively. The effect of sedation induced by remifentanil during the rCOLDT was not significant (F = 0.76; P = 0.38). Remifentanil groups showed positive scores in the NPS (0–10) during the CPM-task, that is, it produced a disengagement of the DPMS. Also, s-tDCS/Remifentanil compared to a-tDCS showed lower HPT and larger reaction-time during the IPT. Conclusion: These findings suggest that effects of a-tDCS prevent the summation response induced by r-IH during rCOLDT and the a-tDCS blocked the disengagement of DPMS. Thereby, tDCS could be considered as a new approach to contra-regulate paradoxical mechanisms involved in the r-IH. Clinical trials identification: NCT02432677. URL:https://clinicaltrials.gov/

A Utilização do Design Science para o Desenvolvimento de um Sistema de Monitoramento de Ingestão de Alimentos

This paper presents a use of existing paradigms not Design Science in the development of a food intake monitoring system. Finally, the set of research questions, a methodology and the artifacts that explore the context of the research were defined

Disentangling host, pathogen, and environmental determinants of a recently emerged wildlife disease: lessons from the first 15 years of amphibian chytridiomycosis research

The amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which affects species across all continents, recently emerged as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Yet, many aspects of the basic biology and epidemiology of the pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), are still unknown, such as when and from where did Bd emerge and what is its true ecological niche? Here, we review the ecology and evolution of Bd in the Americas and highlight controversies that make this disease so enigmatic. We explore factors associated with variance in severity of epizootics focusing on the disease triangle of host susceptibility, pathogen virulence, and environment. Reevaluating the causes of the panzootic is timely given the wealth of data on Bd prevalence across hosts and communities and the recent discoveries suggesting co‐evolutionary potential of hosts and Bd. We generate a new species distribution model for Bd in the Americas based on over 30,000 records and suggest a novel future research agenda. Instead of focusing on pathogen “hot spots,” we need to identify pathogen “cold spots” so that we can better understand what limits the pathogen's distribution. Finally, we introduce the concept of “the Ghost of Epizootics Past” to discuss expected patterns in postepizootic host communities.We review the ecology and evolution of amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis in the Americas, where it has recently emerged as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and highlight controversies that make this disease so enigmatic. We explore factors associated with variance in severity of epizootics focusing on the disease triangle of host susceptibility, pathogen virulence, and environment. We generate a new species distribution model for Bd in the Americas based on over 30,000 records, which suggests emphasis needs to be placed on studying pathogen “cold spots” so that we can better understand what biotic and abiotic factors limit the pathogen's distribution.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113682/1/ece31672_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113682/2/ece31672.pd

Vaccinia Virus Infection in Monkeys, Brazilian Amazon

To detect orthopoxvirus in the Brazilian Amazon, we conducted a serosurvey of 344 wild animals. Neutralizing antibodies against orthopoxvirus were detected by plaque-reduction neutralizing tests in 84 serum samples. Amplicons from 6 monkey samples were sequenced. These amplicons identified vaccinia virus genetically similar to strains from bovine vaccinia outbreaks in Brazil

Distribuição espacial das frações lábeis e estáveis da matéria orgânica em um argissolo sob processo de desertificação em Gilbués - Piauí.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a distribuição espacial das frações lábeis e estáveis da matéria orgânica em um Argissolo sob processo de desertificação em Gilbués-PI. Para isso, um grid de 25 pontos foi definido, coletando-se amostras de solo nas camadas de 0-0,05m e 0,05-0,10m, para determinação do carbono orgânico total (COT), carbono lábil (CL) e frações húmicas do solo. Os dados foram submetidos à análise estatística descritiva, geoestatística e por último foram gerados os mapas temáticos. A análise geoestatística mostrou que todos os atributos apresentaram dependência espacial forte, com exceção do CL e fração humina (FH) na camada de 0-0,05m, as quais apresentaram efeito pepita puro. Observou-se que os maiores teores dos atributos em estudo estão na camada de 0-0,05m, com exceção da fração humina, que apresentou 0,887 dag.kg-1 na camada de 0,05-0,10m. O Argissolo sob processo de desertificação mostrou ineficiência no seqüestro de carbono

The Peptide Salamandrin-I Modulates Components Involved in Pyroptosis and Induces Cell Death in Human Leukemia Cell Line HL-60

Amphibian secretions have been extensively investigated for the production of bioactive molecules. Salamandrin-I is an antioxidant peptide, isolated from the skin secretion of the fire salamander, that has induced no toxicity in microglia or erythrocytes. Importantly, the administration of antioxidants may constitute an adequate therapeutic approach to cancer treatment. Here, with the purpose of better characterizing the therapeutic potential of salamandrin-I, we investigated whether this antioxidant peptide also exerts anticancer activity, using the human leukemia cell line HL-60 as a cancer model. Salamandrin-I treatment induced a significant reduction in HL-60 proliferation, which was accompanied by cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, the peptide-induced cell death showed a significant increase in the LDH release in HL-60 cells. The cellular toxicity exerted by salamandrin-I is possibly related to pyroptosis, since the HL-60 cells showed loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and hyperexpression of inflammasome components following the peptide treatment. This is the first demonstration of the anticancer potential of the salamandrin-I peptide. Such results are important, as they offer relevant insights into the field of cancer therapy and allow the design of future bioactive molecules using salamandrin-I as a template