A Comparative Study of the Short Term Cold Resistance Response in Distantly Related Drosophila Species: The Role of regucalcin and Frost

The molecular basis of short term cold resistance (indexed as chill-coma recovery time) has been mostly addressed in D. melanogaster, where candidate genes (Dca (also known as smp-30) and Frost (Fst)) have been identified. Nevertheless, in Drosophila, the ability to tolerate short term exposure to low temperatures evolved several times independently. Therefore, it is unclear whether variation in the same candidate genes is also responsible for short term cold resistance in distantly related Drosophila species. It should be noted that Dca is a candidate gene for cold resistance in the Sophophora subgenus only, since there is no orthologous gene copy in the Drosophila subgenus. Here we show that, in D. americana (Drosophila subgenus), there is a north-south gradient for a variant at the 5′ non-coding region of regucalcin (a Dca-like gene; in D. melanogaster the proteins encoded by the two genes share 71.9% amino acid identities) but in our D. americana F2 association experiment there is no association between this polymorphism and chill-coma recovery times. Moreover, we found no convincing evidence that this gene is up-regulated after cold shock in both D. americana and D. melanogaster. Size variation in the Fst PEST domain (putatively involved in rapid protein degradation) is observed when comparing distantly related Drosophila species, and is associated with short term cold resistance differences in D. americana. Nevertheless, this effect is likely through body size variation. Moreover, we show that, even at two hours after cold shock, when up-regulation of this gene is maximal in D. melanogaster (about 48 fold expression change), in D. americana this gene is only moderately up-regulated (about 3 fold expression change). Our work thus shows that there are important differences regarding the molecular basis of cold resistance in distantly related Drosophila species

Prácticas del enfermero en el contexto de la atención básica: scoping review

Objective: to identify and categorize the practices performed by nurses working in Primary Health Care and Family Health Strategy Units in light of responsibilities established by the profession’s legal and programmatic frameworks and by the Brazilian Unified Health System. Method: a scoping review was conducted in the following databases: LILACS, IBECS, BDENF, CINAHL and MEDLINE, and the Cochrane and SciELO libraries. Original research papers written by nurses addressing nursing practices in the primary health care context were included. Results: the review comprised 30 studies published between 2005 and 2014. Three categories emerged from the analysis: practices in the service; practices in the community; and management and education practices. Conclusion: the challenges faced by nurses are complex, as care should be centered on the population’s health needs, which requires actions at other levels of clinical and health responsibility. Brazilian nursing has achieved important advancements since the implementation of policies intended to reorganize work. There is, however, a need to shift work processes from being focused on individual procedures to being focused on patients so that an enlarged clinic is the ethical-political imperative guiding the organization of services and professional intervention.Objetivo: identificar e categorizar as práticas exercidas pelos enfermeiros junto às Unidades Básicas e às Equipes de Saúde da Família, à luz das atribuições previstas pelos marcos legais e programáticos da profissão e do Sistema Único de Saúde. Método: realizou-se uma revisão da literatura com o método scoping review, nas bases LILACS, IBECS, BDENF, CINAHL e MEDLINE, e nas bibliotecas Cochrane e SciELO. Incluíram-se artigos de pesquisa original, produzidos com enfermeiros, sobre as práticas de enfermagem no contexto dos cuidados de saúde primários. Resultados: a revisão abrangeu trinta estudos publicados entre 2005 e 2014. Da análise, resultaram três categorias: práticas no serviço, práticas na comunidade e práticas de gestão e formação. Conclusão: os desafios dos enfermeiros são complexos, posto que o cuidado deve estar centrado nas necessidades de saúde da população, o que remete à ação para outros níveis de responsabilidade clínica e sanitária. A enfermagem brasileira mostra importantes avanços desde a implantação das políticas de reorganização do trabalho. Necessita, entretanto, avançar no que se refere ao deslocamento dos processos de trabalho, focados em procedimentos individuais, para um processo mais voltado aos usuários, onde a clínica ampliada seja o imperativo ético-político da organização dos serviços e da intervenção profissional.Objetivo: identificar y categorizar las prácticas ejercidas por los enfermeros en las Unidades Básicas y los Equipos de Salud de la Familia, desde el punto de vista de las atribuciones previstas por los marcos legales y programáticos de la profesión y del Sistema Único de la Salud. Método: se realizó una revisión de la literatura con el método scoping review, en las bases LILACS, IBECS, BDENF, CINAHL y MEDLINE, y en las bibliotecas Cochrane y SciELO. Se incluyeron artículos de investigación original, producidos con enfermeros, sobre las prácticas de enfermería en el contexto de los cuidados de salud primarios. Resultados: la revisión abarcó treinta estudios publicados entre 2005 y 2014. Del análisis, resultaron tres categorías: prácticas en el servicio; prácticas en la comunidad; y, prácticas de administración y formación. Conclusión: los desafíos de los enfermeros son complejos, ya que el cuidado debe estar centrado en las necesidades de salud de la población, lo que conduce a la acción para otros niveles de responsabilidad clínica y sanitaria. La enfermería brasileña muestra importantes avances a partir de la implantación de las políticas de reorganización del trabajo. Necesita, entre tanto, avanzar en lo que se refiere al desplazamiento de los procesos de trabajo, enfocados en procedimientos individuales, para un proceso más dirigido a los usuarios, en donde la clínica ampliada sea el imperativo ético político de la organización de los servicios y de la intervención profesional.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

In vitro susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum Welch field isolates to infusions prepared from Artemisia annua L. cultivated in the Brazilian Amazon

Artemisinin is the active antimalarial compound obtained from the leaves of Artemisia annua L. Artemisinin, and its semi-synthetic derivatives, are the main drugs used to treat multi-drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum (one of the human malaria parasite species). The in vitro susceptibility of P. falciparum K1 and 3d7 strains and field isolates from the state of Amazonas, Brazil, to A. annua infusions (5 g dry leaves in 1 L of boiling water) and the drug standards chloroquine, quinine and artemisinin were evaluated. The A. annua used was cultivated in three Amazon ecosystems (várzea, terra preta de índio and terra firme) and in the city of Paulínia, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Artemisinin levels in the A. annua leaves used were 0.90-1.13% (m/m). The concentration of artemisinin in the infusions was 40-46 mg/L. Field P. falciparum isolates were resistant to chloroquine and sensitive to quinine and artemisinin. The average 50% inhibition concentration values for A. annua infusions against field isolates were 0.11-0.14 μL/mL (these infusions exhibited artemisinin concentrations of 4.7-5.6 ng/mL) and were active in vitro against P. falciparum due to their artemisinin concentration. No synergistic effect was observed for artemisinin in the infusions