First report of Trichinella spiralis from the white-eared (Didelphis albiventris) and the thick-tailed opossum (Lutreolina crassicaudata) in central Argentina

Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by nematodes of the genus Trichinella. Humans, who are the final hosts, acquire the infection by eating raw or undercooked meat of different animal origin. Trichinella spiralis is an encapsulated species that infects mammals and is widely distributed in different continents. In Argentina, this parasite has been reported in the domestic cycle that includes pigs and synanthropic hosts (mainly rats and some carnivores). This is the first report of T. spiralis in the opossums Didelphis albiventris and Lutreolina crassicaudata in Argentina, and the first report in opossums in South America. In this survey, Trichinella larvae were detected by enzymatic digestion in three D. albiventris and one L. crassicaudata captured on pig and dairy farms located in the northeast of Buenos Aires province. The microscopic examination of the 32 larvae isolated presented the diagnostic characteristic of the genus Trichinella. Two larvae isolated from two D. albiventris and one from L. crassicaudata were identified as T. spiralis by nested multiplex PCR and confirmed by sequencing. Further research to determine the burdens of T. spiralis in opossums may contribute to a better understanding of the risk of T. spiralis transmission to the synanthropic populations.Fil: Castaño Zubieta, R.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, M.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Morici, G.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Lovera, Rosario. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, María Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Caracostantogolo, Jorge Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Cavia, Regino. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Paricalcitol reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in hemodialysis patients

Background: Treatment with selective vitamin D receptor activators such as paricalcitol have been shown to exert an anti-inflammatory effect in patients on hemodialysis, in addition to their action on mineral metabolism and independently of parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. The objective of this study was to evaluate the additional antioxidant capacity of paricalcitol in a clinical setting. Methods: The study included 19 patients with renal disease on hemodialysis, of whom peripheral blood was obtained for analysis at baseline and three months after starting intravenous paricalcitol treatment. The following oxidizing and inflammatory markers were quantified: malondialdehyde (MDA), nitrites and carbonyl groups, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-18 (IL-18) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Of the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory markers, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, reduced glutathione (GSH), thioredoxin, and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels were obtained. Results: Baseline levels of oxidation markers MDA, nitric oxide and protein carbonyl groups significantly decreased after three months on paricalcitol treatment, while levels of GSH, thioredoxin, catalase and SOD activity significantly increased. After paricalcitol treatment, levels of the inflammatory markers CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-18 were significantly reduced in serum and the level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was increased. Conclusions: In renal patients undergoing hemodialysis, paricalcitol treatment significantly reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, two well known factors leading to cardiovascular damageBackground: Treatment with selective vitamin D receptor activators such as paricalcitol have been shown to exert an anti-inflammatory effect in patients on hemodialysis, in addition to their action on mineral metabolism and independently of parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. The objective of this study was to evaluate the additional antioxidant capacity of paricalcitol in a clinical setting. Methods: The study included 19 patients with renal disease on hemodialysis, of whom peripheral blood was obtained for analysis at baseline and three months after starting intravenous paricalcitol treatment. The following oxidizing and inflammatory markers were quantified: malondialdehyde (MDA), nitrites and carbonyl groups, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-18 (IL-18) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Of the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory markers, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, reduced glutathione (GSH), thioredoxin, and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels were obtained. Results: Baseline levels of oxidation markers MDA, nitric oxide and protein carbonyl groups significantly decreased after three months on paricalcitol treatment, while levels of GSH, thioredoxin, catalase and SOD activity significantly increased. After paricalcitol treatment, levels of the inflammatory markers CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-18 were significantly reduced in serum and the level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was increased. Conclusions: In renal patients undergoing hemodialysis, paricalcitol treatment significantly reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, two well known factors leading to cardiovascular damage

Decreased thermal tolerance under recurrent heat stress conditions explains summer mass mortality of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis

Extreme events such as heat waves have increased in frequency and duration over the last decades. Under future climate scenarios, these discrete climatic events are expected to become even more recurrent and severe. Heat waves are particularly important on rocky intertidal shores, one of the most thermally variable and stressful habitats on the planet. Intertidal mussels, such as the blue mussel Mytilus edulis, are ecosystem engineers of global ecological and economic importance, that occasionally suffer mass mortalities. This study investigates the potential causes and consequences of a mass mortality event of M. edulis that occurred along the French coast of the eastern English Channel in summer 2018. We used an integrative, climatological and ecophysiological methodology based on three complementary approaches. We first showed that the observed mass mortality (representing 49 to 59% of the annual commercial value of local recreational and professional fisheries combined) occurred under relatively moderate heat wave conditions. This result indicates that M. edulis body temperature is controlled by non-climatic heat sources instead of climatic heat sources, as previously reported for intertidal gastropods. Using biomimetic loggers (i.e. 'robomussels'), we identified four periods of 5 to 6 consecutive days when M. edulis body temperatures consistently reached more than 30 °C, and occasionally more than 35 °C and even more than 40 °C. We subsequently reproduced these body temperature patterns in the laboratory to infer M. edulis thermal tolerance under conditions of repeated heat stress. We found that thermal tolerance consistently decreased with the number of successive daily exposures. These results are discussed in the context of an era of global change where heat events are expected to increase in intensity and frequency, especially in the eastern English Channel where the low frequency of commercially exploitable mussels already questions both their ecological and commercial sustainability.Funding Agency French Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche Region Hauts-de-France European Funds for Regional Economical Development Pierre Hubert Curien PESSOA Felloswhip Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT-MEC, Portugal) IF/01413/2014/CP1217/CT0004 National Research Foundation - South Africa 64801 South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the Department of Science and Technology National Research Foundation - South Africainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The democracy of Green Infrastructure

With the understanding of nature in terms of ecosystem services and the recognition of the vital role these play for human wellbeing (Millennium Assessment, 2005), the value of the natural realm is scientifically and socially defined while at the same time institutionalised. Within this frame of interpretation, nature is a supplier of provision-ing, regulating, supporting welfare and cultural services, thus becoming not only a life-enabling factor for humanity but also a conceptual construct comparable to cornerstones of democracy, such as equality, freedom and citizenship. The idea of green infrastructure is another recently coined term envisioning nature in cities in the form of a net-work and enabling a broad life-furthering vision of society. Standards for green open spaces embedded in some planning frameworks further state the right for all to a common good. Yet, evidence shows that this common right is not always met. Within the current context of advanced and neoliberal capitalism, green areas are sometimes used as an added financial value for real estate, thus increasing restrictions to their free access and full utilization. In developing countries with young democracies, such as Brazil, this process implies another significant factor of social inequality insofar the restricted access to nature by the poorest people means also diminished food safety, and the jeopardizing of certain cultural practices. In developed countries, loss of land for food production and movements reclaiming the right to the city by squatting unoccupied open spaces to initiate community gar-dens, demonstrates that the access to green spaces is also problematic, although in different ways if compared to developing countries. This chapter contributes to this topic by discussing the inequality in provision of green spaces in informal settlements and social housing development in Brazil, as well as in the globalised north. The chapter concludes with recommendations to enhance democracy through a just provision of nature in cities

Melissopalynological, physicochemical and antioxidant properties of honey from West Coast of Malaysia

Stingless bees are native to tropical region and produce honey which are high in moisture content. Compared to honey from honeybees, there are limited studies on honey derived from stingless bees. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of stingless bee honey. Fifteen types of honey were collected from six states in West Coast of Malaysia and pollen analyses were carried out. Four types of unifloral honey samples produced by stingless bees were selected to determine their physicochemical and antioxidant activities including total phenolic, total flavonoid and ascorbic acid contents. Melissopalynological study of 15 honey samples collected from different states showed presence of both unifloral and multifloral origins. Honey samples collected from Apis mellifera (honeybee) combs had lower number of total pollen compared to samples collected from Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica (stingless bees). Jambul Merak honey contains the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents with greatest color intensity and has the highest antioxidant potential. This study highlights the chemical composition and biological activity of honey from stingless bees which may increase its commercial value or to be utilised as potential functional food ingredient

Rodent management in urban and rural ecosystems: experiences from central Argentina

Rodent control based only on the use of rodenticides is known to be ineffective over the long-term, although it is the main method applied by farmers and public authorities in central Argentina. This paper presents field results and then discusses the successes and failures of three rodent control experiences based on ecological knowledge. The rodent control experiences discussed here are the following: 1) chemical control combined with environmental management in a shantytown, 2) reduction of vegetation height along farm perimeters and chemical control in poultry sheds, and 3) prevention of rodent reinfestation using physical barriers in poultry sheds. In the first two experiments rodent infestation decreased in the treated areas, althought in the shantytown infestations levels increased 90 days after the last application of rodenticide. In the third experiment the variation in rodent infestation was similar in sheds with and without physical barriers. A combination of rodenticide application and environmental management reduced rodent abundance

El Imparcial. Diario Liberal

Copia digital. España : Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 202

Antitumor effect of oleic acid; mechanisms of action: A review Efecto antitumoral del ácido oleico; mecanismos de acción: revisión científica

Introduction: The beneficial effects of oleic acid in cancer processes can no longer be doubted, but little is known about the mechanisms of action behind this phenomenon. Aim: The aim of the present review is to clarify whether oleic acid has an effect on important mechanisms related to the carcinogenic processes. Methods: We searched electronic databases and bibliographies of selected articles were inspected for further reference. We focused our research on two cellular transformations characterizing cancer development: proliferation and cell death or apoptosis. Results: Numerous studies have reported an inhibition in cell proliferation induced by oleic acid in different tumor cell lines. Herein, oleic acid could suppress the over-expression of HER2 (erbB-2), a well-characterized oncogene which plays a key role in the etiology, invasive progression and metastasis in several human cancers. In addition, oleic acid could play a role in intracellular calcium signaling pathways linked to the proliferation event. Regarding cell death, oleic acid has been shown to induce apoptosis in carcinoma cells. The mechanisms behind the apoptotic event induced by oleic acid could be related to an increase in intracellular ROS production or caspase 3 activity. Several unsaturated fatty acids have been reported to induce apoptosis through a release of calcium from intracellular stores. However, evidence regarding such a role in oleic acid is lacking. Conclusions: Oleic acid plays a role in the activation of different intracellular pathways involved in carcinoma cell development. Such a role could be the root of its antitumoral effects reported in clinical studies.Introducción: Los estudios epidemiológicos atribuyen un papel protector al ácido oleico frente a determinados tipos de cáncer. Sin embargo, el conocimiento relativo al mecanismo por el cual tal ácido graso ejerce sus efectos es escaso. Objetivo: La presente revisión bibliográfica tiene como objetivo recopilar aquellos trabajos que centran su atención en los mecanismos intracelulares que podrían explicar los efectos clínicos atribuidos al ácido oleico. Métodos: Se ha realizado una búsqueda bibliográfica a través de bases de datos electrónicas y las referencias de los artículos de interés han sido utilizadas como fuente de búsquedas más avanzadas. Nuestra revisión se ha centrado en la descripción de dos de las transformaciones celulares que caracterizan el desarrollo de cáncer: proliferación y muerte celular. Resultados: Numerosos estudios atribuyen un papel inhibidor de la proliferación de células tumorales al ácido oleico. Entre los mecanismos de acción, se encuentran su capacidad para suprimir la expresión de HER2 (erbB-2), un oncogén bien conocido por su implicación en la etiología, progresión y metástasis de distintos tipos de cáncer. Además, el ácido oleico podría jugar un papel en la activación de la señalización de calcio intracelular, rutas igualmente ligadas a la proliferación celular. En cuanto a su papel en los fenómenos de muerte celular, el ácido oleico puede inducir apoptosis en células tumorales describiéndose como mecanismos implicados la producción de intracelular de especies reactivas o la activación de la actividad caspasa 3. Aunque muchos estudios relacionan la apoptosis inducida por los ácidos grasos insaturados con la liberación de calcio de los depósitos intracelulares, faltan estudios que aclaren el papel del ácido oleico a este respecto. Conclusión: El ácido oleico juega un papel en la activación de diferentes rutas intracelulares implicadas en el desarrollo de células tumorales. Estos mecanismos podrían ser la base de los efectos protectores que le atribuyen los estudios clínicos