A educação ambiental nas escolas públicas municipais de Rio Negrinho, SC

A pesquisa foi desenvolvida na Escola de Educação Básica Professor Ricardo Hoffmann e na secretaria de educação do município de Rio Negrinho, SC, tendo como finalidade verificar como está sendo trabalhada a Educação Ambiental nas escolas públicas municipais de Rio Negrinho, SC, com alunos e professores  e evidenciar os programas de Educação Ambiental existentes na secretaria de educação de Rio Negrinho, SC. A metodologia utilizada foi a pesquisa bibliográfica e pesquisa de campo, para buscar informações sobre o objeto de estudo. A presente pesquisa foi realizada na referida escola através de verificação “in loco”, onde foram aplicados questionários, aos alunos e aos docentes, com perguntas objetivas, respondidos por 12 professores e 70 alunos. Foi realizada uma entrevista com o diretor de departamento de ensino das séries finais da secretaria municipal de educação. Após a aplicação do questionário, seguiu-se a fase da análise de todos os dados obtidos durante a pesquisa. Através da análise dos resultados da pesquisa, constatou-se que a temática é trabalhada de forma significativa pelos professores dessa escola e que os alunos se interessam e consideram importante o tema meio ambiente e que este, deve ser abordada com frequência pelos professores. Constatou-se também que, muitas são as necessidades de aprofundamento teórico do tema e de aperfeiçoamento do trabalho em si, principalmente em seus aspectos mais aplicados. Evidenciou-se também que a secretaria de educação do município contempla alguns projetos em conjunto com as escolas sobre Educação Ambiental

A Novel DBL-Domain of the P. falciparum 332 Molecule Possibly Involved in Erythrocyte Adhesion

Plasmodium falciparum malaria is brought about by the asexual stages of the parasite residing in human red blood cells (RBC). Contact between the erythrocyte surface and the merozoite is the first step for successful invasion and proliferation of the parasite. A number of different pathways utilised by the parasite to adhere and invade the host RBC have been characterized, but the complete biology of this process remains elusive. We here report the identification of an open reading frame (ORF) representing a hitherto unknown second exon of the Pf332 gene that encodes a cysteine-rich polypeptide with a high degree of similarity to the Duffy-binding-like (DBL) domain of the erythrocyte-binding-ligand (EBL) family. The sequence of this DBL-domain is conserved and expressed in all parasite clones/strains investigated. In addition, the expression level of Pf332 correlates with proliferation efficiency of the parasites in vitro. Antibodies raised against the DBL-domain are able to reduce the invasion efficiency of different parasite clones/strains. Analysis of the DBL-domain revealed its ability to bind to uninfected human RBC, and moreover demonstrated association with the iRBC surface. Thus, Pf332 is a molecule with a potential role to support merozoite invasion. Due to the high level of conservation in sequence, the novel DBL-domain of Pf332 is of possible importance for development of novel anti-malaria drugs and vaccines

Liver Cancer-Derived Hepatitis C Virus Core Proteins Shift TGF-Beta Responses from Tumor Suppression to Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

International audienceBACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and associated liver cirrhosis represent a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. TGF-beta is an important driver of liver fibrogenesis and cancer; however, its actual impact in human cancer progression is still poorly known. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of HCC-derived HCV core natural variants on cancer progression through their impact on TGF-beta signaling. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We provide evidence that HCC-derived core protein expression in primary human or mouse hepatocyte alleviates TGF-beta responses in terms or growth inhibition or apoptosis. Instead, in these hepatocytes TGF-beta was still able to induce an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process that contributes to the promotion of cell invasion and metastasis. Moreover, we demonstrate that different thresholds of Smad3 activation dictate the TGF-beta responses in hepatic cells and that HCV core protein, by decreasing Smad3 activation, may switch TGF-beta growth inhibitory effects to tumor promoting responses. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data illustrate the capacity of hepatocytes to develop EMT and plasticity under TGF-beta, emphasize the role of HCV core protein in the dynamic of these effects and provide evidence for a paradigm whereby a viral protein implicated in oncogenesis is capable to shift TGF-beta responses from cytostatic effects to EMT development

Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019)

Mental health symptoms and disorders are common among elite athletes, may have sport related manifestations within this population and impair performance. Mental health cannot be separated from physical health, as evidenced by mental health symptoms and disorders increasing the risk of physical injury and delaying subsequent recovery. There are no evidence or consensus based guidelines for diagnosis and management of mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes. Diagnosis must differentiate character traits particular to elite athletes from psychosocial maladaptations. Management strategies should address all contributors to mental health symptoms and consider biopsychosocial factors relevant to athletes to maximise benefit and minimise harm. Management must involve both treatment of affected individual athletes and optimising environments in which all elite athletes train and compete. To advance a more standardised, evidence based approach to mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes, an International Olympic Committee Consensus Work Group critically evaluated the current state of science and provided recommendations

Albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Harmony Outcomes): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists differ in chemical structure, duration of action, and in their effects on clinical outcomes. The cardiovascular effects of once-weekly albiglutide in type 2 diabetes are unknown. We aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of albiglutide in preventing cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Methods: We did a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 610 sites across 28 countries. We randomly assigned patients aged 40 years and older with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (at a 1:1 ratio) to groups that either received a subcutaneous injection of albiglutide (30–50 mg, based on glycaemic response and tolerability) or of a matched volume of placebo once a week, in addition to their standard care. Investigators used an interactive voice or web response system to obtain treatment assignment, and patients and all study investigators were masked to their treatment allocation. We hypothesised that albiglutide would be non-inferior to placebo for the primary outcome of the first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, which was assessed in the intention-to-treat population. If non-inferiority was confirmed by an upper limit of the 95% CI for a hazard ratio of less than 1·30, closed testing for superiority was prespecified. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02465515. Findings: Patients were screened between July 1, 2015, and Nov 24, 2016. 10 793 patients were screened and 9463 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to groups: 4731 patients were assigned to receive albiglutide and 4732 patients to receive placebo. On Nov 8, 2017, it was determined that 611 primary endpoints and a median follow-up of at least 1·5 years had accrued, and participants returned for a final visit and discontinuation from study treatment; the last patient visit was on March 12, 2018. These 9463 patients, the intention-to-treat population, were evaluated for a median duration of 1·6 years and were assessed for the primary outcome. The primary composite outcome occurred in 338 (7%) of 4731 patients at an incidence rate of 4·6 events per 100 person-years in the albiglutide group and in 428 (9%) of 4732 patients at an incidence rate of 5·9 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·78, 95% CI 0·68–0·90), which indicated that albiglutide was superior to placebo (p<0·0001 for non-inferiority; p=0·0006 for superiority). The incidence of acute pancreatitis (ten patients in the albiglutide group and seven patients in the placebo group), pancreatic cancer (six patients in the albiglutide group and five patients in the placebo group), medullary thyroid carcinoma (zero patients in both groups), and other serious adverse events did not differ between the two groups. There were three (<1%) deaths in the placebo group that were assessed by investigators, who were masked to study drug assignment, to be treatment-related and two (<1%) deaths in the albiglutide group. Interpretation: In patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, albiglutide was superior to placebo with respect to major adverse cardiovascular events. Evidence-based glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists should therefore be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Funding: GlaxoSmithKline

Identificação de fontes de repasto sanguíneo de Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) intermedia s.l. (Lutz & Neiva, 1912) em área de transmissão de Leishmaniose Tegumentar americana (LTA) no Estado do Paraná, Brasil

Resumo: A leishmaniose tegumentar Americana (LTA) é uma doença infecciosa não contagiosa causada por diferentes espécies de protozoários do gênero Leishmania, que acomete pele e mucosas. É uma das doenças dermatológicas que exigem mais atenção, devido à sua magnitude e risco de deformidades em humanos. No Brasil, a LTA é amplamente distribuída, com relatos de caso em todas as regiões brasileiras. O presente trabalho trata da identificação da fonte alimentar de flebotomíneos, que fornece informações valiosas sobre a interação vetor/hospedeiro e possibilita entender os mecanismos de transmissão de Leishmania. O objetivo do estudo foi identificar a fonte alimentar sanguínea de Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) intermedia s.l. em área endêmica de leishmaniose tegumentar americana (LTA) no estado do Paraná pela técnica de precipitina e amplificação parcial e sequenciamento do gene Prepronociceptina (PNOC). Os flebotomíneos foram coletados na localidade de Epitácio Pessoa, no município de Adrianópolis, estado do Paraná. Para o teste de precipitina foram capturados 3.357 flebotomíneos, sendo 864 fêmeas, dessas 862 (99,8%) pertenciam a espécie Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) intermedia s.l., e dois espécimes não identificados, os quais foram considerados como pertencentes ao gênero Lutzomyia (0,2%). Do total de fêmeas analisadas, 396 apresentaram reação a algum tipo de antissoro testado, sendo a maioria do tipo simples, (67,9%) as quais se alimentaram principalmente em ave, gambá e roedor, respectivamente, mas também foram encontradas fêmeas alimentadas em sangue de humano, cão, cavalo, boi e gato. As demais apresentaram reações cruzadas (32,1%) predominando ave/roedor, ave/gambá, ave/cão, ave/humano e cavalo/cão, dentre outros. O teste de digestão mostrou que é possível detectar sangue de mamífero no conteúdo intestinal sanguíneo de flebotomíneos até 24 horas após o ingurgitamento, não sendo possível detectar após este período de tempo. Para a identificação da fonte de repasto por método molecular foram coletados 2.851 flebotomíneos durante o período do estudo, sendo 1.263 fêmeas, todas pertencentes à espécie L. (N.) intermedia s.l. Destas, 93 (3,26%) estavam ingurgitadas com conteúdo intestinal sugestivo para sangue. Foi possível identificar a fonte alimentar através do sequenciamento do gene PNOC em 27 fêmeas (29%) ingurgitadas com sangue, sendo que 1 (3,7%) se alimentou em cavalo (Equus caballus), 16 (59,3%) em porco (Sus scrofa) e 10 (37%) em cão (Canis lupus familiaris). Esses resultados mostram um comportamento alimentar eclético de L. intermedia s.l., podendo ser um potencial vetor de Leishmania na região de estudo