DESAFIOS PSICOSSOCIAIS CAUSADOS PELA PANDEMIA DO COVID 19 AOS JOVENS DA COMUNIDADE DA TIMBALADA SSA/BA

A sociedade está transformando-se com os efeitos da pandemia do Covid-19. O estresse psicológico em um ambiente hostil, carecido de infraestrutura e lazer como a favela, é um dos desafios que os jovens, moradores dessas comunidades, enfrentam, atualmente. Segregados, por inúmeros fatores que muitas vezes os colocam a margem da sociedade, os mesmos infrentam os desafios diários e tentam habituar-se com as problemáticas socias e pandêmicas. As medidas tomadas pela Organização Mundial da Saúde - OMS, junto com os estados e municípios, contribuíram para a amenização das consequências da pandemia, no Brasil. Entretanto, mesmo com os esforços de algumas instâncias políticas e como a chegada da vacinação, um dos efeitos diretamente vivenciado pela população é a crise psicossocial (saúde mental e desafios sociais) no enfretamento dos obstáculos, advindo desse período complexo, impactando principalmente na vida dos jovens e adolescentes, uma vez que essa fase é repleta de indagações, descobertas e incógnitas sobre a existência no mundo e na humanidade, pois de acordo com a Fundação Osvaldo Cruz (2020) “ (...) quando pensamos nos efeitos da pandemia sobre a saúde mental de crianças e adolescentes é fundamental que consideremos que são seres em desenvolvimento e a forma como compreendem e explicam o mundo vai variar segundo o estágio em que se encontram, suas experiências anteriores, sua capacidade cognitiva e também da cultura em que estão inseridos”. O medo do contágio, a transmissão e a ansiedade por uma “cura”, desencadeiam transtornos como depressão, somatização e diferentes síndromes, nesta quarentena. É notório que a pandemia agravou uma série de problemáticas socias, já existentes no Brasil, principalmente o enfrentamento dos obstáculos ocasionados pela perda dos entes queridos para uma “doença invisível”. Tal problemática, demanda a procura por estratégias terapêuticas para amenizar os desafios vividos neste momento, porém nem todos tem condições financeiras para cuidar da saúde psíquica, agravando ainda mais a interação com essa realidade. Nesse sentido, essa proposição reflexiva de pesquisa tem como objetivo discutir sobre os desafios psicossociais causado pela pandemia do Covid-19 e as dificuldades enfrentadas de quem busca o acompanhamento psíquico. Para tanto, selecionaremos um grupo de jovens/adolescentes, moradores da comunidade da Timbalada, como grupo focal, para identificarmos a problemática explicitada e analisarmos os possíveis achados, para com isso criar propositivas discursivas para amenizar esses obstáculos

Gradual pore formation in natural origin scaffolds throughout subcutaneous implantation

This study used a rat subcutaneous implantation model to investigate gradual in situ pore formation in a self-regulating degradable chitosan-based material, which comprises lysozyme incorporated into biomimetic calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings at the surface to control the scaffold degradation and subsequent pore formation. Specifically, the in vivo degradation of the scaffolds, the in situ pore formation, and the tissue response were investigated. Chitosan or chitosan/starch scaffolds were studied with and without a CaP coating in the presence or absence of lysozyme for a total of six experimental groups. Twenty-four scaffolds per group were implanted, and eight scaffolds were retrieved at each of three time points (3, 6, and 12 weeks). Harvested samples were analyzed for weight loss, microcomputed tomography, and histological analysis. All scaffolds showed pronounced weight loss and pore formation as a function of time. The highest weight loss was 29.8% 6 1.5%, obtained at week 12 for CaP chitosan/starch scaffolds with lysozyme incorporated. Moreover, all experimental groups showed a significant increase in porosity after 12 weeks. At all time points no adverse tissue reaction was observed, and as degradation increased, histological analysis showed cellular ingrowth throughout the implants. Using this innovative methodology, the ability to gradually generate pores in situ was clearly demonstrated in vivo.Contract grant sponsor: Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT); contract grant numbers: SFRH/BPD/66897/2009, SFRH/BPD/26763/2006, SFRH/BD/24735/2005Contract grant sponsor: European NoE EXPERTISSUES; contract grant number: NMP3-CT-2004-500283Contract grant sponsor: National Institutes of Health; contract grant number: R01 DE17441Contract grant sponsor: Baylor College of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program; contract grant number: NIH T32 GM07330Contract grant sponsor: Rice Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering's Biotechnology Training Grant; contract grant number: NIH T32 GM008362Contract grant sponsor: Keck Center Nanobiology Training Program of the Gulf Coast Consortia; contract grant number: 5 T90 DK070121-0

O DESENVOLVIMENTO DA CONSCIÊNCIA CRÍTICA A PARTIR DO INTERESSE MUSICAL DOS JOVENS DA TIMBALADA SSA/BA

Em meio às transformações sociais, destacam-se as inovações tecnológicas e científicas e com elas a necessidade social de desenvolver o senso crítico, no entanto esse movimento deve ser constante, uma vez que as transformações acontecem de forma rápida e influencia e/ou até mesmo muda os estilos, as formas e os modos de conduzir e viver a vida. Contudo, a criticidade da população diante desses fatores está cada vez menor, principalmente devido aos baixos índices de alfabetização e escolaridade que ressoam no panorama educacional brasileiro. No entanto, o que se destaca é o (des) interesse dos jovens pela busca do conhecimento, principalmente os da camada mais carente da população, cuja vivência com o ambiente letrado é bastante reduzido ou quiçá inexistente, pois o que se percebe, em partes, é que não há nenhuma excitação para o desenvolvimento e/ou aprimoramento do saber, consequentemente dificultando a produtividade do indivíduo em relação ao mundo em que vive e com os processos políticos os quais estão inseridos. Pesquisas apontam que um dos maiores desejos de parte da população é alfabetizar-se, principalmente os adultos ou até mesmos os idosos, pessoas que no tempo “ideal” de escolaridade não conseguiram aprender a ler, a escrever e em alguns casos a letrar-se, isto por conta de fatores externos como: o trabalho, o acesso à escola, a pobreza, a desigualdade social entre outras questões que os obrigaram a estarem ausentes da escola. De acordo com dados do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE, cerca de 29% da população não sabem ler e escrever, quantitativo muito alto para um país em desenvolvimento. A alfabetização é uma etapa fundamental no desenvolvimento educacional e social do indivíduo, contudo, só a leitura e a escrita não comportam as demandas sociais da atualidade e o letramento é um elemento chave para construção de uma sociedade mais crítica. Isto porque, para os profissionais da educação, o indivíduo letrado não é só aquele que conduz as funções da leitura e escrita, mas, sim aquele capaz de dominá-la em seu cotidiano, desde modo uma pessoa letrada consegue ir além das funções básicas, compreendendo os mais diferentes contextos. Pois, quando um indivíduo, usa das suas capacidades de questionamentos: debater, duvidar e questionar, ele quebra cultura do conformismo, e busca ir além do seu conhecimento prévio. O letramento tem a perspectiva que se amplia o que se sabe, indo além do uso dos elementos pedagógicos. Com base nessa compreensão destaca-se a música como estratégia para desenvolvimento da criticidade, uma vez que essa arte é uma ferramenta universal, permeada por prazer e sentimentos, além de favorecer o desenvolvimento crítico dos indivíduos para além da realidade que os rodeiam. Assim, sendo os jovens consumidores de muitos estilos musicais, esse projeto de pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar o desenvolvimento da consciência crítica a partir do interesse musical dos jovens moradores da Timbalada Salvador/BA, para uma possível libertação, como objetivos específicos compreender o conceito de letramento; Aprofundar o entendimento do processo de favelização; e, investigar os interesses musicais e a sua relação com a criticidade. Para tanto, será aprofundado os conceitos de alfabetização, letramento e música como estratégia de conscientização; Serão realizados questionários com jovens da faixa etária de 14 a 24 anos, com a finalidade de compreender como esse processo vem acontecendo na comunidade da Timbalada, no bairro do Cabula Salvador/BA e por fim confrontaremos as bases conceituais com os dados obtidos

The spectra of WC9 stars: evolution and dust formation

We present analyses of new optical spectra of three WC9 stars, WR 88, WR 92 and WR 103 to test the suggestion that they exemplify an evolutionary sequence amongst the WC9 stars. The spectrum of WR 88 shows conspicuous lines of N III and N IV, leading to classification as a transitional WN8o/WC9 star. The three stars show a sequence of increasing O II and O III line strengths, confirming and extending earlier studies. The spectra were analysed using CMFGEN models, finding greater abundances of oxygen and carbon in WR 103 than in WR 92 and, especially, in WR 88. Of the three stars, only WR 103 makes circumstellar dust. We suggest that oxygen itself does not enhance this process but that it is its higher carbon abundance that allows WR 103 to make dust

Change and Aging Senescence as an adaptation

Understanding why we age is a long-lived open problem in evolutionary biology. Aging is prejudicial to the individual and evolutionary forces should prevent it, but many species show signs of senescence as individuals age. Here, I will propose a model for aging based on assumptions that are compatible with evolutionary theory: i) competition is between individuals; ii) there is some degree of locality, so quite often competition will between parents and their progeny; iii) optimal conditions are not stationary, mutation helps each species to keep competitive. When conditions change, a senescent species can drive immortal competitors to extinction. This counter-intuitive result arises from the pruning caused by the death of elder individuals. When there is change and mutation, each generation is slightly better adapted to the new conditions, but some older individuals survive by random chance. Senescence can eliminate those from the genetic pool. Even though individual selection forces always win over group selection ones, it is not exactly the individual that is selected, but its lineage. While senescence damages the individuals and has an evolutionary cost, it has a benefit of its own. It allows each lineage to adapt faster to changing conditions. We age because the world changes.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure

The relationship between inhibition of bacterial adhesion to a solid surface by sub-MICs of antibiotics and subsequent development of a biofilm

Many studies have demonstrated that subminimal inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) of antibiotics can inhibit initial microbial adherence to medical device surfaces. It has been suggested that, by inhibiting initial adhesion, biofilm formation might be prevented. However, since initial adherence and subsequent biofilm formation may be two distinct phenomena, conclusions regarding the effects of sub-MIC antibiotics on initial adhesion cannot be extrapolated to biofilm formation. In this study, we evaluated the adherence of several clinical isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) to acrylic and the effect of sub-MICs of vancomycin, cefazolin, dicloxacillin and combinations of these antibiotics on adherence and biofilm formation. Most of the antibiotics used resulted in effective reduction of bacterial adherence to acrylic, in some cases reaching over 70% inhibition of adherence. When strains with a high biofilm-forming capacity were grown in sub-MICs of those antibiotics, there existed combinations of the drugs that significantly inhibited biofilm formation. However, most of the antibiotic combinations that inhibited adherence did not have a profound effect on biofilm formation. When comparing the results of the effect of sub-MIC amounts of antibiotics in inhibiting adherence with their effect on the inhibition of biofilm formation, significant differences were found, mainly when using combinations of antibiotics. In general, the effect on the inhibition of adherence was greater than the effect on inhibiting biofilm formation. These results demonstrate that assays evaluating the inhibition of initial adherence to medical surfaces cannot fully predict the effect on inhibition of biofilm formation.NIH - grant AI 46706.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) – Programa Operacional “Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação” (POCTI) - POCTI/ESP/42688/2001, SFRH/BD/8676/2002

Differential adherence and expression of virulence traits by Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis in mono- and dual-species cultures in artificial saliva

AIMS: To evaluate specific virulence factors of Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis clinical oral isolates in mono- and dual-species culture in the presence of artificial saliva. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two of the strains used in this study were isolated from co-infection (C. albicans AM and C. parapsilosis AM2), and the other two were isolated from single infection (C. albicans AC and C. parapsilosis AD). The number of adhered yeast cells was measured and their enzymatic activity was determined simultaneously. In mono-species culture, C. parapsilosis strains adhered to a higher extent to the surface in comparison with the C. albicans strains. In dual-species culture, the C. parapsilosis strains adhered more in the presence of C. albicans AM. Interestingly, C. albicans AM and C. parapsilosis AD adhered to a higher extent when compared with all other co-cultures. In dual-species culture, the enzymatic activity of C. parapsilosis strains in the presence of C. albicans AC was higher than in the presence of C. albicans AM. CONCLUSIONS: The virulence factors of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis differ from strain to strain and are influenced by the presence of other species in culture. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: To understand the expression of virulence factors in Candida dual-species systems.This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the grant SFRH/BPD/20987/2004 attributed to Claudia Botelho

Low-acrylamide French fries and potato chips

Acrylamide is produced in starchy foods that are baked, roasted or fried at high temperatures. Concerns about the potential health issues associated with the dietary intake of this reactive compound led us to reduce the accumulation of asparagine, one of its main precursors, in the tubers of potato (Solanum tuberosum). This metabolic change was accomplished by silencing two asparagine synthetase genes through ‘all-native DNA’ transformation. Glasshouse-grown tubers of the transformed intragenic plants contained up to 20-fold reduced levels of free asparagine. This metabolic change coincided with a small increase in the formation of glutamine and did not affect tuber shape or yield. Heat-processed products derived from the low-asparagine tubers were also indistinguishable from their untransformed counterparts in terms of sensory characteristics. However, both French fries and potato chips accumulated as little as 5% of the acrylamide present in wild-type controls. Given the important role of processed potato products in the modern Western diet, a replacement of current varieties with intragenic potatoes could reduce the average daily intake of acrylamide by almost one-third

Bacterially assembled biopolyester nanobeads for removing cadmium from water

Cadmium (Cd)-contaminated waterbodies are a worldwide concern for the environment, impacting human health. To address the need for efficient, sustainable and cost-effective remediation measures, we developed innovative Cd bioremediation agents by engineering Escherichia coli to assemble poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB) beads densely coated with Cd-binding peptides. This was accomplished by translational fusion of Cd-binding peptides to the N- or C-terminus of a PHB synthase that catalyzes PHB synthesis and mediates assembly of Cd2 or Cd1 coated PHB beads, respectively. Cd1 beads showed greater Cd adsorption with 441 nmol Cd mg-1 bead mass when compared to Cd2 beads (334 nmol Cd mg-1 bead-mass) and plain beads (238 nmol Cd mg-1 bead-mass). The Cd beads were not ecotoxic and did attenuate Cd-spiked solutions toxicity. Overall, the bioengineered beads provide a means to remediate Cd-contaminated sites, can be cost-effectively produced at large scale, and offer a biodegradable and safe alternative to synthetic ecotoxic treatments.publishe

Tear production, intraocular pressure and conjunctival microbiota, cytology and histology of New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

The purpose of this study was to establish reference values for selected ophthalmic diagnostic tests in New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). A total of 22 adult male rabbits were used. The ophthalmic tests included evaluation of tear production with Schirmer tear test 1(STT1) and Endodontic absorbent paper point tear test (EAPPTT) using two different commercial brand materials. Applanation tonometry, Culture of the conjunctival bacterial flora, , conjunctival cytology and conjunctival histology were also performed. Mean (±SD) for STT1, EAPPTTa, EAPPTTb and IOP was 7.27±2.51mm/min, 12.43±1.69mm/min, 15.24±2.07mm/min, 12.89±2.80mm Hg, respectively. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. were predominant. The cytological evaluation revealed the presence columnar epithelial cells, superficial squamous keratinized cells, lymphocytes, heterophils, red blood cells, mucus and bacteria. The histological analysis revealed a stratified epithelium, characterized by the presence of columnar epithelial cells with a large number of goblet cells. The reported data can be used for therapeutic or experimental purposes