Canopy Ant Assemblage (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Two Vegetation Formations in the Northern Brazilian Pantanal

The landscape of the northern Pantanal region is a mosaic of fields and forests, distributed according to topography and hydrology of this floodplain, resulting in a particular pattern of vegetation distribution. Among the forest formations, mixedspecies and monodominant landscape units can be found which are associated with floodable or non-floodable habitats. Our study tested the hypothesis that forest formations with greater tree richness and which are non floodable (cordilheiras) maintain distinct richness and composition in canopy ant assemblages in relation to the seasonally floodable monodominant forests (cambarazais). Sampling was performed in 10 sample areas (five cambarazais and five cordilheiras) by means of canopy insecticide fogging during the dry and high water seasons of the Pantanal’s hydrological cycle. The canopy ant assemblages revealed 105 species belonging to 30 genera and nine subfamilies. Myrmicinae (41 spp.), Formicinae (20 spp.) and Pseudomyrmecinae (17 spp.) predominated. Our results revealed that the composition of canopy ant assemblages varied between cambarazal and cordilheira forests, as well as between the dry and high water periods. Nevertheless, the richness was homogeneous between these forests and in the dry and high water periods. These results show the specificity of each forest, as well as its structure, in maintaining distinct compositions in ant assemblages in canopies in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso

Cultural Analytics - Evaluating Cultural Heritage Information Systems

With vast amounts of digitized cultural heritage organized and made accessible in large information systems, methods, workflows and techniques need to be developed to evaluate the quality of cultural heritage (CH) information systems. As these systems are very different from traditional information systems due to their heterogeneous content, the lack of best practices and reliable use cases, evaluation methods need to be adapted and targeted to deliver reliable results. The half-day workshop will bring together experts, researchers and teachers from various disciplines to discuss and develop evaluation approaches adapted to cultural heritage information systems. This workshop comprises approaches assessing the data quality, user and task analysis and system performance of these systems aiming for a holistic overview of complementary research questions, methods and workflows. The results should prove to be useful for standardizing evaluation efforts and campaigns in this domain, offering a reusable repertoire of evaluation methods that makes them comparable.ye

Surto de varicela entre imigrantes venezuelanos alojados em abrigos e ocupações no estado de Roraima, 2019: um estudo descritivo

Objective: To describe the chickenpox outbreak among Venezuelan immigrants in shelters and occupations in the municipalities of Pacaraima and Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil, and the control measures implemented. Methods: Descriptive case series study, that happened between november 21 and december 13, 2019, using secondary database from the investigation of the outbreak, made available by the General Coordination of the National Immunization Program. Descriptive analysis was performed, using simple and relative frequency measures, and calculating measures of central tendency and dispersion. Results: Of the 9,591 immigrants, 38 active cases and 1,500 susceptible to chickenpox were detected. Among the active cases, 23 were female and the most affected age group those under 9 years old (17 cases). Conclusion: The identification of susceptible people in the investigation led to the adoption of immunization actions that controlled the transmission, preventing serious cases, deaths, and the overload of the local health care network.Objetivo: Descrever o surto de varicela entre imigrantes venezuelanos em abrigos e ocupações nos municípios de Pacaraima e Boa Vista, Roraima, Brasil, e as medidas de controle implementadas. Métodos: Estudo descritivo de tipo ‘série de casos’, realizado entre 21 de novembro e 13 de dezembro de 2019, sobre banco de dados secundários da investigação do surto disponibilizado pela Coordenação-Geral do Programa Nacional de Imunizações. Na análise descritiva, utilizou-se medidas de frequência simples e relativa e foram calculadas medidas de tendência central e dispersão. Resultados: Dos 9.591 imigrantes, detectaram-se 38 casos ativos e 1.500 suscetíveis à varicela. Dos casos ativos, 23 eram do sexo feminino e a faixa etária mais acometida foi a de menores de 9 anos (17 casos). Conclusão: Identificou-se pessoas suscetíveis à varicela na investigação; foram adotadas ações de imunização que controlaram a transmissão, evitando casos graves, óbitos e sobrecarga da rede de assistência à saúde local

Tracking Endogenous Amelogenin and Ameloblastin In Vivo

Research on enamel matrix proteins (EMPs) is centered on understanding their role in enamel biomineralization and their bioactivity for tissue engineering. While therapeutic application of EMPs has been widely documented, their expression and biological function in non-enamel tissues is unclear. Our first aim was to screen for amelogenin (AMELX) and ameloblastin (AMBN) gene expression in mandibular bones and soft tissues isolated from adult mice (15 weeks old). Using RT-PCR, we showed mRNA expression of AMELX and AMBN in mandibular alveolar and basal bones and, at low levels, in several soft tissues; eyes and ovaries were RNA-positive for AMELX and eyes, tongues and testicles for AMBN. Moreover, in mandibular tissues AMELX and AMBN mRNA levels varied according to two parameters: 1) ontogenic stage (decreasing with age), and 2) tissue-type (e.g. higher level in dental epithelial cells and alveolar bone when compared to basal bone and dental mesenchymal cells in 1 week old mice). In situ hybridization and immunohistodetection were performed in mandibular tissues using AMELX KO mice as controls. We identified AMELX-producing (RNA-positive) cells lining the adjacent alveolar bone and AMBN and AMELX proteins in the microenvironment surrounding EMPs-producing cells. Western blotting of proteins extracted by non-dissociative means revealed that AMELX and AMBN are not exclusive to mineralized matrix; they are present to some degree in a solubilized state in mandibular bone and presumably have some capacity to diffuse. Our data support the notion that AMELX and AMBN may function as growth factor-like molecules solubilized in the aqueous microenvironment. In jaws, they might play some role in bone physiology through autocrine/paracrine pathways, particularly during development and stress-induced remodeling

CSF1R inhibitor JNJ-40346527 attenuates microglial proliferation and neurodegeneration in P301S mice

Neuroinflammation and microglial activation are significant processes in Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Recent genome-wide association studies have highlighted multiple immune-related genes in association with Alzheimer’s disease, and experimental data have demonstrated microglial proliferation as a significant component of the neuropathology. In this study, we tested the efficacy of the selective CSF1R inhibitor JNJ-40346527 (JNJ-527) in the P301S mouse tauopathy model. We first demonstrated the anti-proliferative effects of JNJ-527 on microglia in the ME7 prion model, and its impact on the inflammatory profile, and provided potential CNS biomarkers for clinical investigation with the compound, including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics and efficacy assessment by TSPO autoradiography and CSF proteomics. Then, we showed for the first time that blockade of microglial proliferation and modification of microglial phenotype leads to an attenuation of tau-induced neurodegeneration and results in functional improvement in P301S mice. Overall, this work strongly supports the potential for inhibition of CSF1R as a target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other tau-mediated neurodegenerative diseases

Head to Knee: Cranial Neural Crest-Derived Cells as Promising Candidates for Human Cartilage Repair

A large array of therapeutic procedures is available to treat cartilage disorders caused by trauma or inflammatory disease. Most are invasive and may result in treatment failure or development of osteoarthritis due to extensive cartilage damage from repeated surgery. Despite encouraging results of early cell therapy trials that used chondrocytes collected during arthroscopic surgery, these approaches have serious disadvantages, including morbidity associated with cell harvesting and low predictive clinical outcomes. To overcome these limitations, adult stem cells derived from bone marrow and subsequently from other tissues are now considered as preferred sources of cells for cartilage regeneration. Moreover, with new evidence showing that the choice of cell source is one of the most important factors for successful cell therapy, there is growing interest in neural crest-derived cells in both the research and clinical communities. Neural crest-derived cells such as nasal chondrocytes and oral stem cells that exhibit chondrocyte-like properties seem particularly promising in cartilage repair. Here, we review the types of cells currently available for cartilage cell therapy, including articular chondrocytes and various mesenchymal stem cells, and then highlight recent developments in the use of neural crest-derived chondrocytes and oral stem cells for repair of cartilage lesions

The Role of GH/IGF Axis in Dento-Alveolar Complex from Development to Aging and Therapeutics: A Narrative Review

International audienceThe GH/IGF axis is a major regulator of bone formation and resorption and is essential to the achievement of normal skeleton growth and homeostasis. Beyond its key role in bone physiology, the GH/IGF axis has also major pleiotropic endocrine and autocrine/paracrine effects on mineralized tissues throughout life. This article aims to review the literature on GH, IGFs, IGF binding proteins, and their respective receptors in dental tissues, both epithelium (enamel) and mesenchyme (dentin, pulp, and tooth-supporting periodontium). The present review re-examines and refines the expression of the elements of the GH/IGF axis in oral tissues and their in vivo and in vitro mechanisms of action in different mineralizing cell types of the dento-alveolar complex including ameloblasts, odontoblasts, pulp cells, cementoblasts, periodontal ligament cells, and jaw osteoblasts focusing on cell-specific activities. Together, these data emphasize the determinant role of the GH/IGF axis in physiological and pathological development, morphometry, and aging of the teeth, the periodontium, and oral bones in humans, rodents, and other vertebrates. These advancements in oral biology have elicited an enormous interest among investigators to translate the fundamental discoveries on the GH/IGF axis into innovative strategies for targeted oral tissue therapies with local treatments, associated or not with materials, for orthodontics and the repair and regeneration of the dento-alveolar complex and oral bones

Comparative Physicochemical Analysis of Pulp Stone and Dentin

International audienceIntroductionOdontoblasts are responsible for the synthesis of dentin throughout the life of the tooth. Tooth pulp tissue may undergo a pathologic process of mineralization, resulting in formation of pulp stones. Although the prevalence of pulp stones in dental caries is significant, their development and histopathology are poorly understood, and their precise composition has never been established. The aim of the present study was to investigate the physicochemical properties of the mineralized tissues of teeth to elucidate the pathologic origin of pulp stones.MethodsAreas of carious and healthy dentin of 8 decayed teeth intended for extraction were analyzed and compared. In addition, 6 pulp stones were recovered from 5 teeth requiring root canal treatment. The samples were embedded in resin, sectioned, and observed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction was performed to identify phases and crystallinity. X-ray fluorescence provided information on the elemental composition of the samples.ResultsPulp stones showed heterogeneous structure and chemical composition. X-ray diffraction revealed partially carbonated apatite. X-ray fluorescence identified P, Ca, Cu, Zn, and Sr within dentin and pulp stones. Zn and Cu concentrations were higher in pulp stones and carious dentin compared with healthy dentin.ConclusionsPulpal cells produce unstructured apatitic mineralizations containing abnormally high Zn and Cu levels

Validation of Housekeeping Genes to Study Human Gingival Stem Cells and Their In Vitro Osteogenic Differentiation Using Real-Time RT-qPCR

International audienceGingival stem cells (GSCs) are recently isolated multipotent cells. Their osteogenic capacity has been validated in vitro and may be transferred to human cell therapy for maxillary large bone defects, as they share a neural crest cell origin with jaw bone cells. RT-qPCR is a widely used technique to study gene expression and may help us to follow osteoblast differentiation of GSCs. For accurate results, the choice of reliable housekeeping genes (HKGs) is crucial. The aim of this study was to select the most reliable HKGs for GSCs study and their osteogenic differentiation (dGSCs). The analysis was performed with ten selected HKGs using four algorithms: ΔCt comparative method, GeNorm, BestKeeper, and NormFinder. This study demonstrated that three HKGs, SDHA, ACTB, and B2M, were the most stable to study GSC, whereas TBP, SDHA, and ALAS1 were the most reliable to study dGSCs. The comparison to stem cells of mesenchymal origin (ASCs) showed that SDHA/HPRT1 were the most appropriate for ASCs study. The choice of suitable HKGs for GSCs is important as it gave access to an accurate analysis of osteogenic differentiation. It will allow further study of this interesting stem cells source for future human therapy

MSCs-Derived Decellularised Matrix: Cellular Responses and Regenerative Dentistry

International audienc