Manejo cultural do algodoeiro agroecológico no Semiárido brasileiro.

bitstream/item/17947/1/CIRTEC126.pd

Exposure of Phosphatidylserine on Leishmania amazonensis Isolates Is Associated with Diffuse Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Parasite Infectivity

Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) is a rare clinical manifestation of leishmaniasis, characterized by an inefficient parasite-specific cellular response and heavily parasitized macrophages. In Brazil, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis is the main species involved in DCL cases. In the experimental model, recognition of phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules exposed on the surface of amastigotes forms of L. amazonensis inhibits the inflammatory response of infected macrophages as a strategy to evade the host immune surveillance. In this study, we examined whether PS exposure on L. amazonensis isolates from DCL patients operated as a parasite pathogenic factor and as a putative suppression mechanism of immune response during the infection. Peritoneal macrophages from F1 mice (BALB/c×C57BL/6) were infected with different L. amazonensis isolates from patients with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) or DCL. DCL isolates showed higher PS exposure than their counterparts from LCL patients. In addition, PS exposure was positively correlated with clinical parameters of the human infection (number of lesions and time of disease) and with characteristics of the experimental infection (macrophage infection and anti-inflammatory cytokine induction). Furthermore, parasites isolated from DCL patients displayed an increased area in parasitophorous vacuoles (PV) when compared to those isolated from LCL patients. Thus, this study shows for the first time that a parasite factor (exposed PS) might be associated with parasite survival/persistence in macrophages and lesion exacerbation during the course of DCL, providing new insights regarding pathogenic mechanism in this rare chronic disease

Gut Bacterial Communities in the Giant Land Snail Achatina fulica and Their Modification by Sugarcane-Based Diet

The invasive land snail Achatina fulica is one of the most damaging agricultural pests worldwide representing a potentially serious threat to natural ecosystems and human health. This species is known to carry parasites and harbors a dense and metabolically active microbial community; however, little is known about its diversity and composition. Here, we assessed for the first time the complexity of bacterial communities occurring in the digestive tracts of field-collected snails (FC) by using culture-independent molecular analysis. Crop and intestinal bacteria in FC were then compared to those from groups of snails that were reared in the laboratory (RL) on a sugarcane-based diet. Most of the sequences recovered were novel and related to those reported for herbivorous gut. Changes in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were observed when the snails were fed a high-sugar diet, suggesting that the snail gut microbiota can influence the energy balance equation. Furthermore, this study represents a first step in gaining a better understanding of land snail gut microbiota and shows that this is a complex holobiont system containing diverse, abundant and active microbial communities

BRS 200 Marrom.

bitstream/item/19210/1/BRS-200-Marrom.pdf5. ed.Folder

Características das Famílias, Estruturação da Produção e Estratégias de Comercialização em um Assentamento de Reforma Agrária

Resumo: A estruturação dos estabelecimentos rurais está associada às características das famílias e às suas estratégias de inserção no mercado, em termos de geração de renda e exposição a riscos. Para entender essa associação foram estudados os casos de sete famílias assentadas em Araraquara (SP), região dominada por cana-de-açúcar e citros. Os indicadores foram o valor agregado total, o valor agregado por trabalhador, a estrutura e a dinâmica familiar e a organização do trabalho. Os casos incluíram dois estabelecimentos integrados à agroindústria (cana e frango, leite e frango), três estabelecimentos produtores de hortaliças (venda em atacado, semiatacado e direta ao consumidor), um caso de produção exclusivamente para consumo doméstico e um sem nenhuma produção econômica. As famílias vinculadas à agroindústria obtiveram valores agregados mais elevados, mas precisaram fazer investimentos maiores, o que fragilizou seus sistemas de produção frente a riscos. A crise financeira mundial de 2008 quebrou as agroindústrias integradoras e, com elas, as duas propriedades integradas. Para os produtores de hortaliças, para o mercado local, o valor agregado foi inferior ao do das integradas, como também seus investimentos em infraestrutura. A opção pela via de escoamento das hortaliças foi associada ao tamanho, ao conhecimento tecnológico e do mercado pelas famílias

Ciências sociais e ambientais rural: principais temas e perspectivas analíticas.

Este trabalho tem por finalidade fazer um balanço dos estudos ambientais rurais sob a perspectiva das ciências sociais. Para isso, em primeiro lugar, realiza-se uma análise da trajetória dos movimentos sociais, identificando-se as principais questões ambientais emergentes na ótica dos atores do mundo rural. Num segundo momento, agrupam-se os temas privilegiados pelos pesquisadores para, em seguida, apontar as principais perspectivas analíticas em curso

Mapping Through Listening

Gesture-to-sound mapping is generally defined as the association between gestural and sound parameters. This article describes an approach that brings forward the perception-action loop as a fundamental design principle for gesture–sound mapping in digital music instrument. Our approach considers the processes of listening as the foundation – and the first step – in the design of action-sound relationships. In this design process, the relationship between action and sound is derived from actions that can be perceived in the sound. Building on previous works on listening modes and gestural descriptions we proposed to distinguish between three mapping strategies: instantaneous, temporal, and metaphoric. Our approach makes use of machine learning techniques for building prototypes, from digital music instruments to interactive installations. Four different examples of scenarios and prototypes are described and discussed

Efficient Capture of Infected Neutrophils by Dendritic Cells in the Skin Inhibits the Early Anti-Leishmania Response

Neutrophils and dendritic cells (DCs) converge at localized sites of acute inflammation in the skin following pathogen deposition by the bites of arthropod vectors or by needle injection. Prior studies in mice have shown that neutrophils are the predominant recruited and infected cells during the earliest stage of Leishmania major infection in the skin, and that neutrophil depletion promotes host resistance to sand fly transmitted infection. How the massive influx of neutrophils aimed at wound repair and sterilization might modulate the function of DCs in the skin has not been previously addressed. The infected neutrophils recovered from the skin expressed elevated apoptotic markers compared to uninfected neutrophils, and were preferentially captured by dermal DCs when injected back into the mouse ear dermis. Following challenge with L. major directly, the majority of the infected DCs recovered from the skin at 24 hr stained positive for neutrophil markers, indicating that they acquired their parasites via uptake of infected neutrophils. When infected, dermal DCs were recovered from neutrophil depleted mice, their expression of activation markers was markedly enhanced, as was their capacity to present Leishmania antigens ex vivo. Neutrophil depletion also enhanced the priming of L. major specific CD4+ T cells in vivo. The findings suggest that following their rapid uptake by neutrophils in the skin, L. major exploits the immunosuppressive effects associated with the apoptotic cell clearance function of DCs to inhibit the development of acquired resistance until the acute neutrophilic response is resolved