Alimentação, Artes e Ensino de Ciências: articulação para a formação de professores

A valorização dos sentidos e a apreciação dos sabores são de extrema importância para a alimentação, seja na degustação ou no preparo dos alimentos. Atualmente vivemos numa cultura visual e auditiva, que subjuga as experiências que envolvem proximidade, como tocar, cheirar e provar. É preciso investir em ações educativas que resgatem o prazer da apreciação dos sabores dos alimentos naturais, sendo a escola um espaço profícuo para tal intento. Este trabalho objetiva oferecer discussão teórica para a proposta da Educação dos sentidos a partir de uma experiência de oficina de formação de professores de ciências. Diferentes formas de artes atuaram como mediadores para estimular a sensibilização dos sentidos. Durante as etapas da atividade os professores se surpreenderam com novas percepções de sabores e sensações, com as diferentes dimensões da alimentação e expuseram os desafios para a articulação interdisciplinar em suas práticas docentes a partir do tema apresentado na oficina

Insecticide susceptibility of Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti from Brazil and the Swiss-Italian border region

Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are two highly invasive mosquito species, both vectors of several viruses, including dengue, chikungunya and Zika. While Ae. aegypti is the primary vector in the tropics and sub-tropics, Ae. albopictus is increasingly under the public health watch as it has been implicated in arbovirus-transmission in more temperate regions, including continental Europe. Vector control using insecticides is the pillar of most control programmes; hence development of insecticide resistance is of great concern. As part of a Brazilian-Swiss Joint Research Programme we set out to assess whether there are any signs of existing or incipient insecticide resistance primarily against the larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis (Bti), but also against currently applied and potentially alternative insecticides in our areas, Recife (Brazil) and the Swiss-Italian border region.; Following World Health Organization guidelines, dose-response curves for a range of insecticides were established for both colonized and field caught Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The larvicides included Bti, two of its toxins, Cry11Aa and Cry4Ba, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Vectomax CG®, a formulated combination of Bti and L. sphaericus, and diflubenzuron. In addition to the larvicides, the Swiss-Italian Ae. albopictus populations were also tested against five adulticides (bendiocarb, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, malathion, permethrin and λ-cyhalothrin).; Showing a similar dose-response, all mosquito populations were fully susceptible to the larvicides tested and, in particular, to Bti which is currently used both in Brazil and Switzerland. In addition, there were no signs of incipient resistance against Bti as larvae were equally susceptible to the individual toxins, Cry11Aa and Cry4Ba. The field-caught Swiss-Italian populations were susceptible to the adulticides tested but DDT mortality rates showed signs of reduced susceptibility.; The insecticides currently used for mosquito control in Switzerland and Brazil are still effective against the target populations. The present study provides an important reference as relatively few insecticide susceptibility surveys have been carried out with Ae. albopictus

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL: A QUICK LOOK IN THE ADVANCES OVER 30 YEARS

Biological control is still quite debatable and questioned, especially by producers who still do not see it as a viable and cheap alternative to the control of various types of diseases. Its beginning in the Brazilian market was quite contradictory, mainly due to the false premise that biological control could isolatedly control several diseases. It is known today that biological control, like any other form of disease control, must be associated with another or other types of control to be successful, especially over time. Biological control has emerged as an excellent alternative to control some types of diseases, mainly associated to soil, as in the case of phytopathogenic nematodes and soil fungi. It is easily sold for its lower toxicity and similar effectiveness in certain cases to chemical control. Currently several products from reputable companies can deliver excellent results, provided that the rules of use are followed. Thus, this brief look at the advances achieved by biological control over 30 years, aims to synthesize some knowledge and reflect on the state of the art of this type of control and the directions that will probably be taken about the use of living and antagonistic organisms for the control of diseases in plant organisms. Keywords: biological control; technologic advances; alternative control

Effects of protein restriction during gestation and lactation on cell proliferation in the hippocampus and subventricular zone: Functional implications. Protein restriction alters hippocampal/SVZ cell proliferation

There is no consensus about the effects of protein restriction on neurogenesis and behavior. Here, for the first time, we evaluated the effects of protein restriction during gestation and lactation, on the two major neurogenic regions of the adult brain, the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus and the subventricular zone (SVZ), simultaneously. We also assessed different types of behavior relevant to each region. After mating, pregnant Wistar rats were divided into a control group (CG) that received a normal diet (20% protein); and a protein-restriction group (PRG) that received a low-protein diet (8% protein). After birth, the same diets were provided to the mother and pups until weaning, when some rats were analyzed and others received a normal-protein diet until adulthood. Different sets of rats were used for cellular and behavioral studies in juvenile or adult age. Brains were processed for immunohistochemistry anti-BrdU, anti-Ki67, or anti-pHisH3. Juvenile and adult rats from distinct litters also underwent several behavioral tests. Our data show that early protein restriction results in a reduction of hippocampal progenitors and deficits in object recognition during adult life. Moreover, longer periods of immobility in the tail suspension and in the forced swimming tests revealed that PRG rats show a depressive behavior at 21 days of age (P21) and in adulthood. Furthermore, we suggest that despite the reduced number/proliferation of neural stem cells (B and/or E cells) in SVZ there is a compensatory mechanism in which the progenitors (types C and A cells) proliferate in a higher rate, without affecting olfactory ability in adulthood. ► Effects of early protein restriction on cell proliferation in neurogenic niches. ► Impaired progenitor hippocampal proliferation and recognition memory, depression. ► Reduced proliferation of neural progenitor in adult SVZ without olfactory deficits