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The social wasp nests were quantified in three different plant physiognoniies (forested Caatinga, shrubby Caatinga, and agricultural systems) to analyze the effect of environmental seasonality and plant physiognomy on the richness, nest abundance, and species composition of social wasps in the region of tropical dry forest of Brazil. The forested Caatinga physiognomy had the greatest richness of species (S = 16), followed by shrubby Caatinga (S = 13) and by agricultural system (S = 12). The first axis of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) explained 67.8% of the variability and shows a gradient of the fauna from agricultural system and shrubby Caatinga to forested Caatinga. In the first axis, wet season scores were much higher than those for the dry season in forested Caatinga. The second axis explained 18.7% of the variability and shows a separation of samples collected during the wet or the dry periods in shrubby Caatinga. This separation was less evident in the agricultural system. Variations in nest abundance were more intense in arbustive caatinga (45% decrease in number of active nests in the dry period), moderate in forested Caatinga (24% decrease in number of active nests in the dry period), and low in agricultural systems (8% decrease in the dry period). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crude methanolic extracts of a single bean from samples of organic, natural or genetically modified (GM) soybeans [ Glycine max. (Merrill) L.] were analyzed by direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). These extracts, containing the most polar natural products of soybeans (free aglycones, monoglucosides, diglucosides and esters including isoflavones and flavones) provide characteristic fingerprinting mass spectra owing to different proportions or sets of components. Spectra distinctiveness is confirmed by chemometric multivariate analysis of the ESI-MS data, which place the three-types of beans into well-defined groups. When ESI-MS is applied, these polar components constitute therefore unique chemotaxonomic markers able to provide fast soybean typification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to characterize the sociofamily profile of black-skinned children and adolescents with mental health problems and to intersectionally describe who assumes responsibility for their care., Method: a descriptive and exploratory study with a quantitative approach, developed in the Psychosocial Care Center for Children and Adolescents from the North region of the municipality of São Paulo. The data were collected from 47 family members of black-skinned children and adolescents, using a script with predefined variables submitted to statistical analysis., Results: a total of 49 interviews were conducted: 95.5% women with a mean age of 39 years old, 88.6% mothers and 85.7% black-skinned. Family income comes from wages for all the male caregivers and for 59% of the women. Among the black-skinned female caregivers, 25% live in their own house, whereas this percentage is 46.2% among the brown-skinned ones. Of all the caregivers, 10% have a job, 20% live in transferred properties, 35% in houses of their own and 35% in rented places. The social support network is larger among white-skinned people (16.7%), followed by brown-skinned (3.8%), and absent among black-skinned individuals (0%)., Conclusion: those responsible for the care of black-skinned children and adolescents monitored by the CAPS-IJ are almost entirely women, black-skinned (black or brown) "mothers or grandmothers", with unequal access to education, work and housing, constitutional social rights in Brazil.

Background: Cytokines and growth factors involved in the tissue inflammatory process influence the outcome of Leishmania infection. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) constitutively present in the skin may participate in the inflammatory process and parasite-host interaction. Previous work has shown that preincubation of Leishmania ( Leishmania ) amazonensis with recombinant IGF-I induces accelerated lesion development. However, in human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) pathogenesis, it is more relevant to the persistent inflammatory process than progressive parasite proliferation. In this context, we aimed to investigate whether IGF-I was present in the CL lesions and if this factor may influence the lesions' development acting on parasite growth and/or on the inflammatory/healing process. Methodology . Fifty-one CL patients' skin lesion samples from endemic area of L. ( Viannia ) braziliensis infection were submitted to histopathological analysis and searched for Leishmania and IGF-I expression by immunohistochemistry., Results: In human CL lesions, IGF-I was observed preferentially in the late lesion (more than 90 days), and the percentage of positive area for IGF-I was positively correlated with duration of illness ( r = 0.42, P < 0.05). IGF-I was highly expressed in the inflammatory infiltrate of CL lesions from patients evolving with good response to therapy (2.8% ± 2.1%; median = 2.1%; n = 18) than poor responders (1.3% ± 1.1%; median: 1.05%; n = 6; P < 0.05)., Conclusions: It is the first time that IGF-I was detected in lesions of infectious cutaneous disease, specifically in American tegumentary leishmaniasis. IGF-I was related to chronicity and good response to treatment. We may relate this finding to the efficient anti-inflammatory response and the known action of IGF-I in wound repair. The present data highlight the importance of searching nonspecific factors besides adaptive immune elements in the study of leishmaniasis' pathogenesis., Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Carolina de O Mendes-Aguiar et al.)

Objective: To analyze the clinical practice of nurses in the interprofessional context of the Family Health Strategy., Method: Case study in a basic health unit of the city of São Paulo with a professional team of the Family Health Strategy and of the Family Health Support Center. Direct observation and interviews with thematic analysis and triangulation were conducted., Results: Four empirical categories were identified: interprofessional actions guided by the logic of the user's health needs; interprofessional actions guided by the logic of expediting service; interprofessional actions with a biomedical approach and interprofessional actions with an integral/holistic approach. Six interprofessional actions that indicated the expansion of the clinical practice of the Family Health Strategy's nurses were also identified., Conclusion: The results express the world trend of interprofessional practice and expansion of the scope of practice of different professions, particularly that of nurses, which requires consolidation based on the population's health needs.

Centris spp are oil-collecting solitary bees that are valuable pollinators of crops such as Brazil nut, cashew, and acerola. We investigated the genetic variability of populations of C. aenea in the northeastern region of Brazil. Total DNA was extracted from 59 individuals from 6 locations in the States of Pernambuco and Bahia and a 600-650-bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI/COII region amplified by PCR, followed by digestion with the restriction enzymes DraI and SspI. PCR-RFLP analysis revealed eight different haplotypes among the populations. Haplotype A1, revealed by DraI, was the most frequent (50%), and haplotypes A3 and A4 were exclusive to Feira de Santana, Bahia and Morro do Chapéu, Bahia, respectively. Among the haplotypes revealed by SspI, B2 was the most frequent (37%) and B3 was exclusive to Feira de Santana. This information revealing high haplotype diversity will be useful for developing management strategies for Centris, especially because of increasing interest in the rearing and/ or relocation of these bees for crop pollination.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate echocardiography-based indices of myocardial function and markers of vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in the early phases of severe sepsis., Material and Methods: Forty-five adult patients (67% women; age 51 ± 18 years; Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Disease Classification System II score, 23 ± 7) admitted to the intensive care unit up to 24 hours after fulfilling criteria for severe sepsis or septic shock were studied. Clinical, laboratorial (endothelin 1 [ET1], vascular cellular adhesion molecule 1), and echocardiographic data were collected within the first 24 hours and again 72 hours and 7 days after admission., Results: Intrahospital mortality was 33% (15 deaths). Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction (LV ejection fraction <55%) was identified in 15 (33%) patients, whereas right ventricular (RV) dysfunction (RV tissue Doppler peak systolic velocity [RV-Sm] <12 cm/s) was present in 14 (30%) patients. LogET1 was increased in patients with LV dysfunction (2.3 ± 0.6 vs 1.8 ± 0.4 pg/mL; P = .01) and RV dysfunction (2.5 ± 0.5 vs 1.8 ± 0.4 pg/mL; P < .001) and had negative correlations with LV ejection fraction (r = -0.50; P = .002) and RV-Sm (r = -0.67; P < .001). Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, RV-Sm, and diastolic dysfunction were able to discriminate survivors from nonsurvivors, and the combination of these parameters identified groups of very low and high risk., Conclusion: Both LV and RV systolic dysfunctions are prevalent in severe sepsis, being directly associated with markers of endothelial dysfunction. Left ventricular nondilation, RV dysfunction, and diastolic dysfunction seem related to poor prognosis in this scenario., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present study compared morphological, histochemical and histomorphometric characteristics of the sublethal effects of XenTari® and deltamethrin in blastocyst-endometrium interactions in female rats. Pregnant rats received 185, 1850 and 3700mg of XenTari® or 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0mg of deltamethrin (all doses per kg of body weight) and were sacrificed on the seventh day of pregnancy. The rats treated with the higher doses of insecticides exhibited a significant reduction in the number of implantation sites, vacuolated trophoblast cells, rare cytotrophoblasts, accentuated leukocyte infiltration, increase in vascularization of sites and blood in the uterine lumen. The decidua was more fibrous, particularly in the rats treated with the highest dose of XenTari®. In conclusion, sublethal doses of both XenTari® and deltamethrin produced qualitative/quantitative alterations in the blastocyst-endometrium interaction in female rats, thereby compromising the implantation process. Further studies are needed particularly at verifying the effects of these insecticides in the pregnancy to term in rats, order to investigate possible correlated effects on women working or living near agricultural fields., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Centris aenea Lepeletier is a solitary bee that has raised interest in management to pollinate crops, such as acerola, Malpighia emarginata. This study investigated the level of morphometric variability among populations of C. aenea from Northeastern Brazil. Traditional and geometric morphometric analyses were used. Head length, leg length, wing length, and wing shape were measured in samples (5-10 females) from eight localities. We did not find statistically significant differences among the populations (P > 0.01). The partial wing warps were similar in the populations and indicated that the bees were not morphometrically different. Our results suggest that C. aenea shows low population morphometric variability and highlight the need for further investigations on population variation in this species, preferably including populations sampled at the extremes of their geographic distribution. Significant insight into the population variation of C. aenea will probably require the use of molecular markers to allow a comparative approach between morphometric variability and genetic variability.

Background: After hearing about the reproducible and excellent results of the Ponseti method for clubfoot treatment, a group of Brazilian orthopaedic surgeons organized and participated in a standardized national program to teach the Ponseti technique in 21 different cities across Brazil., Methods: A total of 21 Ponseti symposiums were organized in a standard fashion from January, 2007 to December, 2008. They consisted of a two-day program with lectures, hands-on cast application, and discussion of local clinical cases presented by orthopaedic surgeons. Thirteen Brazilian orthopaedic surgeons, who had been trained by the University of Iowa or centers recognized by them, taught the method. Financial support for travel was provided by an English charity: La Vida (Vital Investment for Developing Aid in Latin America). The physicians who attended the symposiums answered questionnaires before and after the training., Results: About 7% of the 8000 orthopaedic surgeons in Brazil (556 orthopaedic surgeons) were trained. These orthopaedic surgeons stated that they had treated about 4905 babies in the previous year via other methods, including extensive surgery. Seventeen percent of the surgeons did not know about the Ponseti technique at the start of the symposium. Eighty-eight percent reported they felt able to treat children with the Ponseti technique after the symposium. Ninety-four percent of respondents reported that the symposium changed their way of treating clubfoot, Conclusions: These Ponseti symposiums brought about an exchange of medical information and empowered the participants. This program is a good educational tool which can be used in eradicating neglected clubfoot in Brazil.

Background: After 100 years of research, Chagas disease (CD) remains an important public health problem in Latin America. The symptomatic chronic phase is usually characterized by cardiac or digestive involvement and diagnosis currently relies on the measurement of Trypanosoma cruzi-specific antibodies produced in response to the infection. However, the detection of parasite DNA in seronegative persons has been reported., Methods: The prevalence of CD in a population with esophageal disorders was assessed by conventional serology. We also detected T. cruzi DNA in blood samples of seronegative and inconclusive patients by nested polymerase chain reaction (N-PCR)., Results: The seroprevalence of CD determined by conventional serologic tests (indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)) was 79% in 513 patients with esophageal disorders. Out of 41 blood samples, N-PCR was positive in 31 (76%) cases for which serology was negative or inconclusive., Conclusions: As all patients presented with clinical signs suggestive of the digestive form of CD and most of them were born in endemic areas, we highlight the importance of improving diagnosis of the disease and the implications for blood bank screening. Our data suggest that N-PCR is effective in the detection of T. cruzi DNA in patients with inconclusive or negative serology, and it may eventually be useful in the determination of the etiology of megaesophagus., (Copyright © 2010 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)