Inducible developmental reprogramming redefines commitment to sexual development in the malaria parasite <i>Plasmodium berghei</i>

During malaria infection, Plasmodium spp. parasites cyclically invade red blood cells and can follow two different developmental pathways. They can either replicate asexually to sustain the infection, or differentiate into gametocytes, the sexual stage that can be taken up by mosquitoes, ultimately leading to disease transmission. Despite its importance for malaria control, the process of gametocytogenesis remains poorly understood, partially due to the difficulty of generating high numbers of sexually committed parasites in laboratory conditions1. Recently, an apicomplexa-specific transcription factor (AP2-G) was identified as necessary for gametocyte production in multiple Plasmodium species2,3, and suggested to be an epigenetically regulated master switch that initiates gametocytogenesis4,5. Here we show that in a rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei, conditional overexpression of AP2-G can be used to synchronously convert the great majority of the population into fertile gametocytes. This discovery allowed us to redefine the time frame of sexual commitment, identify a number of putative AP2-G targets and chart the sequence of transcriptional changes through gametocyte development, including the observation that gender-specific transcription occurred within 6 h of induction. These data provide entry points for further detailed characterization of the key process required for malaria transmission

Barreiras físicas x barreiras biológicas: a qualidade do espaço urbano e as quedas de idosos

Trabalho apresentado no IV Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade do Projeto no Ambiente Construído, Viçosa - UFV, 2015Os ambientes construídos, dentre eles os espaços urbanos, devem ser adequados às necessidades dos idosos de modo a evitar o risco de quedas. A identificação de fatores de riscos ambientais causadores de queda é notável no sentido de se estabelecer estratégias para a sua prevenção. O presente trabalho é parte de pesquisa de mestrado em andamento e busca analisar a relação entre as barreiras físicas do espaço urbano contíguo à Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBSs) e as alterações funcionais do envelhecimento no que se refere às quedas de idosos. Nesta etapa, foram empregados os seguintes métodos: revisão de literatura para fundamentação da pesquisa e para possibilitar o levantamento do estado da arte, pesquisa documental nos acervos dos órgãos responsáveis pelas UBSs de uma cidade de médio porte, onde foram coletados dados e registros a fim de caracterizá-las quanto à sua área de abrangência e entrevistas exploratórias. Como resultado desta parte da pesquisa, as UBSs foram estratificadas quanto à sede própria ou alugada, onde foram selecionadas as UBSs de sede própria. Destas, foram destacados o número de pessoas cadastradas, o total de idosos e a porcentagem de idosos em relação à população cadastrada. Estes resultados contribuirão para a segunda parte da pesquisa que irá caracterizar o espaço urbano contíguo à UBS em estudo quanto às barreiras físicas; identificar as alterações funcionais decorrentes do processo de envelhecimento e correlacioná-las com o uso do espaço; verificar como os idosos percebem e se comportam no espaço urbano contíguo à UBS e descrever a mobilidade dos idosos no espaço urbano adjacente à UBS. A pesquisa sobre os fatores de risco para quedas de idosos no ambiente extradomiciliar justifica-se uma vez que vários estudos vêm sendo realizados com idosos institucionalizados ou no âmbito doméstico e poucos têm focado a sua relação com o espaço urbano.The built environments, including urban spaces should be suitable to the needs of the elderly in order to avoid the risk of falls. The identification of environmental risk factors that generate falls is remarkable in the sense of establishing strategies for their prevention. This work is part of master's research in progress and seeks to analyze the relationship between the physical barriers of the urban space adjacent to the Basic Health Units (Unidades Básicas de Saúde - UBSs) and aging functional changes in relation to falls in the elderly. At this stage, it was employed the following methods: literature review to enable the state of the art, documental research in the records of the UBS responsible agencies in a medium-sized city, where data were collected in order to characterize them within their coverage area, and exploratory interviews. As a result of the research, the UBS were stratified as to own or rented head office, being selected the UBS which has its own space. From those, the number of people registered was highlighted and the total number of elderly and the percentage of older people relative to the population were registered. These results will contribute to the second part of the research that will characterize the urban space adjacent to the studied UBS related to the physical barriers; to identify the functional alterations caused by the aging process and to correlate them with the use of space; to check how the elderly perceive and behave in urban areas adjacent to UBS and to describe elderly mobility in urban areas adjacent to UBS. Research on the risk factors for elderly falls in extradomiciliar environment is justified since several studies have been conducted with institutionalized elderly or in the domestic environment and few have focused their relationship with the urban space