Biological parameters of the non-target pest Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton

In the present work, we aimed to evaluate: 1) the influence of the Cry1Ac protein expressed by the genetically modified cotton variety (Bt) NuOpal, on the biological parameters of a non-target pest, Aphis gossypii, reared under laboratory conditions; 2) the influence of plant age on aphid development. Cotton cultivars were grown following technical advice. In the laboratory, the aphids were separated into plastic containers including a cotton sheet, which was changed daily with the help of a moist cotton cloth. Observations were carried out daily, and the duration of the immature and adult stages, and offspring number, were recorded. Our results show that regardless of the differences in the duration of each instar, cultivars Bt and non-Bt and the different ages of the plant to Bt, no differences were seen in the total duration of these phases. It was only during the reproductive period that differences were observed among genotypes for 120 days. Regarding the number of offspring and longevity total, there were differences between the different ages of the Bt treatment.Keywords: Biosafety, transgenic, Gossypium hirsutum, genetically modified (GM) plantAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(16), pp. 1987-199

Implementação e avaliação de um programa educativo sobre qualidade do leite: aspectos culturais, sociais e tecnológicos

Sabendo que o conceito de sustentabilidade da produção rural envolve não somente a visão ecológica da produção, mas também dimensões culturais, políticas e sociais, foi estruturado um programa educativo sobre qualidade do leite, baseado nas teorias pedagógicas de Paulo Freire, para ser implementado em produtores familiares de Pirassununga, SP. O principal objetivo da pesquisa, caracterizada como pesquisa qualitativa participante, foi verificar as alterações tecnológicas, culturais e sociais desencadeadas pelo programa. Enquanto as alterações culturais foram identificadas pela mudança de percepção sobre os desafios da atividade leiteira, em particular com relação à qualidade do leite, as mudanças sociais foram identificadas mediante a freqüência e qualidade do trabalho em grupo dos produtores. As alterações tecnológicas foram consideradas tendo como parâmetros a contagem de células somáticas (CCS) e contagem bacteriana total (CBT). O projeto envolveu cinco fases: diagnóstico geral; diagnóstico educativo; planejamento participativo; execução de atividades educativos e avaliação final. Em cada fase, foram traçadas estratégias para coleta de dados qualitativos e quantitativos. Assim, observou-se avanço tecnológico nos produtores participantes, com melhoria da qualidade do leite produzida, sendo que tal avanço foi amplamente fundamentado em alterações culturais e sociais

Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood, lymph node, and bone marrow T lymphocytes during canine leishmaniosis and the impact of antileishmanial chemotherapy

Dogs are a major reservoir of Leishmania infantum, etiological agent of canine leishmaniosis (CanL) a zoonotic visceral disease of worldwide concern. Therapeutic protocols based on antileishmanial drugs are commonly used to treat sick dogs and improve their clinical condition. To better understand the impact of Leishmania infection and antileishmanial drugs on the dog's immune response, this study investigates the profile of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets in peripheral blood, lymph node, and bone marrow of sick dogs and after two different CanL treatments. Two CanL groups of six dogs each were treated with either miltefosine or meglumine antimoniate combined with allopurinol. Another group of 10 clinically healthy dogs was used as control. Upon diagnosis and during the following 3 months of treatment, peripheral blood, popliteal lymph node, and bone marrow mononuclear cells were collected, labeled for surface markers CD45, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD25, and intracellular nuclear factor FoxP3, and T lymphocyte subpopulations were immunophenotyped by flow cytometry. CanL dogs presented an overall increased frequency of CD8+ and CD4+CD8+ double-positive T cells in all tissues and a decreased frequency of CD4+ T cells in the blood. Furthermore, there was a higher frequency of CD8+ T cells expressing CD25+FoxP3+ in the blood and bone marrow. During treatment, these subsets recovered to levels similar to those of healthy dogs. Nevertheless, antileishmanial therapy caused an increase of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells in all tissues, associated with the decrease of CD8+CD25−FoxP3− T cell percentages. These findings may support previous studies that indicate that L. infantum manipulates the dog's immune system to avoid the development of a protective response, ensuring the parasite's survival and the conditions that allow the completion of Leishmania life cycle. Both treatments used appear to have an effect on the dog's immune response, proving to be effective in promoting the normalization of T cell subsets.publishersversionpublishe

immune activation of canine hepatic spheroids exposed to leishmania infantum

The application of innovative three-dimensional (3D) spheroids cell culture strategy to Parasitology offers the opportunity to closely explore host–parasite interactions. Here we present a first report on the application of 3D hepatic spheroids to unravel the immune response of canine hepatocytes exposed to Leishmania infantum. The liver, usually considered a major metabolic organ, also performs several important immunological functions and constitutes a target organ for L. infantum infection, the etiological agent of canine leishmaniasis (CanL), and a parasitic disease of major veterinary and public health concern. 3D hepatic spheroids were able to sense and immunologically react to L. infantum parasites, generating an innate immune response by increasing nitric oxide (NO) production and enhancing toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and interleukin-10 gene expression. The immune response orchestrated by canine hepatocytes also lead to the impairment of several cytochrome P450 (CYP450) with possible implications for liver natural xenobiotic metabolization capacity. The application of meglumine antimoniate (MgA) increased the inflammatory response of 3D hepatic spheroids by inducing the expression of Nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors 1 and NOD2 and TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 and enhancing gene expression of tumour necrosis factor α. It is therefore suggested that hepatocytes are key effector cells and can activate and orchestrate the immune response to L. infantum parasites.publishersversionpublishe

Sleep quality and chronic pain in community dwelling older adults: preliminary results

Background: The natural process of human aging causes biopsychosocial alterations, which can trigger chronic pain and poor sleep quality in older adults. Considering the high prevalence and possible association between these two clinical conditions, special attention from public health policies is necessary to provide quality aging. Objective: To verify if there is an association between chronic pain and sleep quality among older adults in the community. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study on the association of chronic pain with the sleep quality among older people in the community. Participants were evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Visual Analog Pain scale; questionnaires of sociodemographic and clinical data, assessment of cognitive impairment through the Mini Mental State Examination, and anthropometric assessments. The data were submitted to descriptive statistics. The means between the groups of older people with and without chronic pain were compared using the Student's t test for independent samples and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) was used to analyze the association of PSQI with pain intensity. Results: In total, 51 older women were included, with a mean age of 70 ± 8 years. The majority had a low level of education (52.9%), low financial income (64.7%), and chronic pain (56.9%). It was found that the older adults with chronic pain presented worse sleep quality when compared those without chronic pain and a moderate (r=0.595) and significant (p<0.01) correlation between sleep quality and the intensity of chronic pain was observed. Conclusion: Older adults in the community with chronic pain present worse sleep quality when compared to the older adults without pain. There is a strong correlation between the intensity of chronic pain and sleep quality in older adults; the greater the intensity of pain, the worse the sleep quality

Principais fatores associados à depressão em idosos institucionalizados/ Main factors associated to depression in institutionalized elderly

Com a transição demográfica, houve o aumento da longevidade evidenciando-se uma população composta por pessoas mais velhas, representando um desafio para a saúde em decorrência do aumento da depressão. Nesse cenário do envelhecimento, a demanda por Instituições de Longa Permanência cresceram. O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar os principais fatores associados à depressão em idosos institucionalizados. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa realizada em seis etapas que utilizou a seguinte questão norteadora: “Quais os principais fatores associados à depressão em idosos institucionalizados?”. A pesquisa foi realizada no mês de junho de 2020, nas bases de dados e bibliotecas eletrônicas: SciELO, LILACS, PubMed e BVS. Foram obtidos 71 artigos, mas pelos critérios de inclusão e exclusão estabelecidos, 10 estudos foram selecionados para compor a amostra final. A depressão nos idosos institucionalizados é superior em relação àqueles que residem com a família. A presença de comorbidades, incapacidade funcional, dependência física, menor apoio social, pouco engajamento nas atividades, pouca participação social e baixo suporte social, são fatores que influenciam na depressão e, portanto, na qualidade de vida. A detecção precoce dos sintomas depressivos é imprescindível para evitar o desenvolvimento de um quadro mais grave, minimizando os efeitos negativos para a saúde e qualidade de vida desses idosos. É necessária a realização de outras pesquisas com o objetivo de verificar outros fatores que levam à depressão nos idosos institucionalizados para que o profissional de saúde e os cuidadores saibam como intervir

Importância da atenção e promoção à saúde frente ao processo de cuidado da pessoa idosa

O envelhecimento populacional é uma realidade mundial que tem ocorrido de modo diferenciado em diversos países. A saúde do idoso corresponde a uma das seis prioridades pactuadas pelas três esferas de governo, mas ainda existe um distanciamento entre os serviços de promoção da saúde e os idosos. O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar a importância da atenção e promoção à saúde frente ao processo de cuidado da pessoa idosa. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa realizada em seis etapas que utilizou a seguinte questão norteadora: “Qual a importância da atenção e promoção à saúde frente ao processo de cuidado do paciente idoso?”. A pesquisa foi realizada no mês de junho de 2020, nas bases de dados e bibliotecas eletrônicas: SciELO, LILACS, PubMed e BVS. Foram obtidos 211 artigos, mas pelos critérios de inclusão e exclusão estabelecidos, 11 estudos foram selecionados para compor a amostra final. Para o que o cuidado seja resolutivo, é preciso que exista um vínculo de confiança, sendo necessário investir na capacitação dos profissionais de saúde. A implementação da atenção e promoção à saúde no contexto do envelhecimento exige ações de fortalecimento na educação em saúde para aumentar a independência dos indivíduos, a fim de que eles consigam colocar em prática as informações passadas, visando maior prevenção de agravos por meio do plano de cuidados efetivo. Garantir o envelhecimento saudável é um desafio para a saúde pública. Portanto, é necessário assegurar a atenção integral para proporcionar adequado atendimento ao idoso, com ênfase na promoção à saúde para garantir a prevenção de agravos

Meglumine antimoniate and miltefosine combined with allopurinol sustain pro-inflammatory immune environments during canine leishmaniosis treatment

Research Areas: Veterinary SciencesCanine leishmaniosis (CanL) caused by Leishmania infantum is a zoonotic disease of global concern. Antileishmanial drug therapies commonly used to treat sick dogs improve their clinical condition, although when discontinued relapses can occur. Thus, the current study aims to evaluate the effect of CanL treatments in peripheral blood, lymph node, and bone marrow cytokine profile associated with clinical recovery. Two groups of six dogs diagnosed with CanL were treated with miltefosine combined with allopurinol and meglumine antimoniate combined with allopurinol (MT+A and MG+A), respectively. At diagnosis and after treatment, during a 3-month follow-up, clinical signs, hematological and biochemical parameters, urinalysis results and antileishmanial antibody titers were registered. Furthermore, peripheral blood, popliteal lymph node, and bone marrow samples were collected to assess the gene expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta, and IFN-gamma by qPCR. In parallel, were also evaluated samples obtained from five healthy dogs. Both treatment protocols promoted the remission of clinical signs as well as normalization of hematological and biochemical parameters and urinalysis values. Antileishmanial antibodies returned to non-significant titers in all dogs. Sick dogs showed a generalized upregulation of IFN-gamma and downregulation of IL-2, IL-4, and TGF-beta, while gene expression of IL-12, TNF-alpha, IL-5, and IL-10 varied between groups and according to evaluated tissue. A trend to the normalization of cytokine gene expression was induced by both miltefosine and meglumine antimoniate combined therapies. However, IFN-gamma gene expression was still up-regulated in the three evaluated tissues. Furthermore, the effect of treatment in the gene expression of cytokines that were not significantly changed by infection, indicates that miltefosine and meglumine antimoniate combined therapy directly affects cytokine generation. Both combined therapies are effective in CanL treatment, leading to sustained pro-inflammatory immune environments that can compromise parasite survival and favor dogs' clinical cure. In the current study, anti-inflammatory and regulatory cytokines do not seem to play a prominent role in CanL or during clinical recovery.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio