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Water is the main resource for maintaining life. Anthropic activities influence the microbial epidemiological chain in watersheds, which can act as ways of disseminating microorganisms resistant to antimicrobial drugs, with impacts on human, animal, and environmental health. Here, we characterized aquatic microbial communities and their resistomes in samples collected along Rio das Ostras watershed during two seasons. Surface water samples were collected at eleven sites from the Jundia, Iriry, and Rio das Ostras rivers in two seasons (dry and wet season). Microbial DNA was extracted, high-throughput sequenced and screened for antimicrobial resistance genetic (ARG) markers. The physicochemical characteristics and the microbiota data confirmed that Rio das Ostras watershed can be divided into three well defined portions: rural, urban, and marine. Rural areas were enriched by bacteria typically found in limnic environments and Patescibacteria phyla. The urban portion was characterized by sites with low pH and groups associated with iron oxidation. Some genera of clinical relevance were also identified, though in relatively low abundance. The marine site was enriched mainly by Cyanobacteria and bacteria that showed strong correlation with conductivity, salinity, and chloride. Twenty-six ARG markers were identified on the resistome, being found most frequently in the urban area, despite being present in rural sites. Among them were some related to classes of great clinical concern, such as genes coding for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (blaCTX-M and blaTEM), resistance to carbapenems (blaKPC) and to methicillin by Staphylococcus aureus (mecA). These results broaden our understanding of the microbial community of a watershed impacted by anthropogenic actions. The large number of ARGs detected along the Rio das Ostras watershed contrasts with the small number of microorganisms of clinical relevance observed, suggesting that antimicrobial resistance has arisen from non-clinical environments and microbes. Our results corroborate that freshwater acts as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance genes.

The development of a nanoparticulate system for the carrier antigen is now an important tool in the vaccination process, since a smaller number of doses is necessary for effective immunization. Thus, in this work a nanoparticulate system using polymers of chitosan and poly (methacrylic acid) (CS–PMAA) to adsorb the Vi antigen of Salmonella Typhi was developed. CS–PMAA nanoparticles with different proportions of chitosan and poly (methacrylic acid) were obtained and reached sizes from 123.9 ± 2.48 to 234.9 ± 2.66 nm, and spherical shapes were seen in transmission microscopy. At pH 7.2, the nanoparticles had a cationic surface charge that contributed to the adsorption of the Vi antigen. Qualitative analyses of the isolated Vi antigen were performed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, which indicated the presence of all the characteristic bands of the capsular polysaccharide, and nuclear magnetic resonance, which showed signals for the five hydrogens and the N-acetyl and O-acetyl groups which are characteristic of the Vi antigen structure. In the adsorption kinetics study, the Vi capsular antigen, contained in a phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.2, experienced 55% adsorption on the 1–1% (CS–PMAA) nanoparticles. The adsorption kinetics results showed the ability of the nanoparticulate system to adsorb the Vi antigen.

The development of a nanoparticulate system for the carrier antigen is now an important tool in the vaccination process, since a smaller number of doses is necessary for effective immunization. Thus, in this work a nanoparticulate system using polymers of chitosan and poly (methacrylic acid) (CS&ndash, PMAA) to adsorb the Vi antigen of Salmonella Typhi was developed. CS&ndash, PMAA nanoparticles with different proportions of chitosan and poly (methacrylic acid) were obtained and reached sizes from 123.9 &plusmn, 2.48 to 234.9 &plusmn, 2.66 nm, and spherical shapes were seen in transmission microscopy. At pH 7.2, the nanoparticles had a cationic surface charge that contributed to the adsorption of the Vi antigen. Qualitative analyses of the isolated Vi antigen were performed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, which indicated the presence of all the characteristic bands of the capsular polysaccharide, and nuclear magnetic resonance, which showed signals for the five hydrogens and the N-acetyl and O-acetyl groups which are characteristic of the Vi antigen structure. In the adsorption kinetics study, the Vi capsular antigen, contained in a phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.2, experienced 55% adsorption on the 1&ndash, 1% (CS&ndash, PMAA) nanoparticles. The adsorption kinetics results showed the ability of the nanoparticulate system to adsorb the Vi antigen.

The genus Cryptococcus includes at least 37 different species, of which, two are important human pathogens: Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. These fungi are opportunistic pathogens and etiologic agents of cryptococcosis disease in humans and animals. A variety of virulence factors interfere with the establishment of cryptococcal infection is usually acquired via inhalation of environmental basidiospores or desiccated yeasts. Cryptococcosis has gained medical importance over the last decade due to the AIDS pandemic, and become an emerging pathogen of immunocompetent individuals, especially in children. This disease in humans may involve every tissue, including cutaneous and pulmonary sites, but the most serious manifestation is central nervous system involvement with meningoencephalitis. In this review, we briefly described the taxonomy, the fungus biology, epidemiology and clinical manifestations of cryptococcosis in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals.

Chitosan has attracted much interest due to its special physical and chemical properties related to drug administration. Nanoparticles delivery systems from Vi Antigen are a promising approach in the struggle against typhoid fever. In this paper, we reported the obtainment and the characterization of Vi Antigen by Infrared spectroscopy as well as Molecular Modeling and Computational Chemistry studies of the Chitosan-Vi Antigen interaction through theoretical models. The results of the theoretical and experimental Infrared spectroscopy showed important bands related to N-Acetyl and O-Acetyl groups present in Vi Antigen. Important interactions related to its adsorption were observed through three-dimensional optimized structures. Two models were proposed for the Chitosan-Vi Antigen in adsorption system, one as a monomer and another as an optimized tetrasaccharide antigen. The Molecular Modeling studies presented the best conformation and binding site on the nanoparticle Chitosan-Vi Antigen in models proposed. Interactions were observed between O-Acetyl and N-Acetyl groups the Vi Antigen and hydroxy, amino and methyl groups the Chitosan.

BACKGROUND: One difficulty of self-sustainability is the quality assurance of native products. This research was designed to study the risks and critical control points in the collection, handling and marketing of Brazil nuts from native forests and urban fairs in the Brazilian Amazon by characterisation of morphological aspects of fungi and posterior identification by molecular biology and determination of aflatoxins by high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Several corrective actions to improve product quality were found to be necessary in both sites. Growth of fungi was observed in 95% of fragments of Brazil nuts from both sites during the between-harvest period. Aflatoxin levels indicated that, although fungal growth was observed in both sites, only Brazil nuts from the native forest showed a high risk to human health (total aflatoxin level of 471.69 µg kg−1). CONCLUSION: This study has shown the main issues related to the process design of Brazil nuts, supporting the necessity for research on new strategies to improve the quality of nuts. Also, the habit of eating Brazil nuts stored throughout the year may represent a risk to farmers. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry

OBJETIVOS: O International Narcotics Control Board publicou em 2005 sua pesquisa anual que demonstrou que a população brasileira são um dos maiores consumidores de anorexígenos. No Brasil, a Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária publicou a resolução RDC 58/2007 com o objetivo de controlar a prescrição e comercialização deste tipo de medicamento. Em Belém, a maior cidade da Amazônia brasileira, esta resolução entrou em vigor em 2008, levando à inspeções em drogarias e farmácias. Este trabalho propõe avaliar o consumo de psicotrópicos anorexígenos e o impacto da RDC 58/2007 na prescrição e dispensação de anorexígenos nas drogarias e farmácias magistrais de Belém. METODOLOGIA: foi realizado um estudo retrospectivo, quantitativo e descritivo, com dados coletados do Departamento de Vigilância Sanitária de Belém, de 2005 a 2008. Os dados foram considerados quando p < 0,05. RESULTADOS: Um total de 1.641 balanços foram analisados oriundos de drogarias e farmácias magistrais. Anfepramona foi o medicamento mais dispensado, seguido do femproporex e manzidol. O maior consumo de anorexígenos ocorreu nas farmácias magistrais. Em 2008, houve uma redução significativa na dispensação de anorexígenos, tanto em drogarias quanto em farmácias magistrais. CONCLUSÕES: Este estudo demonstrou que houve uma diminuição na dispensação de anorexígenos após a entrada em vigor da RDC 58/2007, e as farmácias magistrais foram responsáveis por um elevado número na dispensação destes medicamentos. Esta resolução é um marco divisor no controle sanitário, para enorme benefício da saúde pública, contribuindo substancialmente para o uso racional de medicamentos no Brasil. OBJECTIVES: The International Narcotics Control Board released its 2005 annual report, highlighting the Brazil population as one of the largest consumers of anorectics. In Brazil, the National Health Surveillance Agency issued the resolution RDC 58/2007 in order to control the prescription and sale of such drugs. In Belém, the biggest city in the Brazilian Amazon region, this resolution came into force in 2008, leading to inspections of drugstores and magistral pharmacies. The aim of this work was to evaluate the consumption of psychotropic anorectic drugs and the impact of RDC 58/2007 on the prescription and dispensing of anorectics in drugstores and magistral pharmacies in Belém. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective quantitative and descriptive study was conducted of records from the Municipal Department of Health Surveillance of Belém, for 2005 to 2008. The differences in findings were regarded significant when p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 1,641 balance sheets of drugstores and magistral pharmacies were analyzed. Amfepramone was the most dispensed medication, followed by fenproporex and mazindol. The highest consumption of anorectics occurred in magistral pharmacies. In 2008, there was a significant reduction in dispensing of anorectics, in drugstores as well as in magistral pharmacies. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that there was a decrease in the dispensing of anorectics after RDC 58/2007 came into force, and that the magistral pharmacies dispensed more of these drugs. This resolution is a remarkable tool in health control, where it is of great benefit to public health and contributes substantially to the rational use of medicines in Brazil. TEIXEIRA, F. M.; VIEIRA, J. R. S.; MAIA, C. S. F. Universidade Federal do Pará

Anthropometric data are used to assess and predict performance, general health and survival of individuals and also can reflect the economic and social well being of populations. They are associated with the prognostic of several chronic pathologies such as risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and other diseases. Nutritional anthropometry is widely recognized as the measurements used to assess either physical growth or body composition. Some infections diseases suffer direct influence of anthropometric parameters and nutritional status, and also they may cause loss of appetite, malabsorption, increased catabolism that could exacerbate the malnutrition and further impaired immunity development. Several evidences indicate that chronic heavy infections represent a hidden risk factor for anemia in infants, growth retardation, delayed motor development, poor cognitive abilities and reduced school performance. Moreover, several studies suggest that the association between polyparasitism and malnutrition could be due either to direct effect of intestinal parasites on growth or to the effect of undernourishment on the immune response leading to an increased susceptibility to infection. Although the malnutrition has been classically associated with failure of immune response to eliminate the infectious agents due to increased frequency or sometimes severity of infections, children suffering several infections can die even with a very good nutritional appearance. In this chapter the authors have made some considerations about the association between parasitic and infectious diseases and alterations on anthropometric parameters.

For thousands of years mankind has used the resources of flora in the treatment of various diseases. There are reports, for example, of the use of plants for therapeutic purposes dating back to 3000 BC in the Chinese work Pen Ts'ao by Shen Nung (Tyler, 1996; Ko, 1999). In 78 AD, the Greek botanist Pedanios Dioscorides described about 600 medicinal plants and this treaty remained as a reference source for more than fourteen centuries (Robbers et al., 1996; Tyler, 1996). The therapeutic properties of certain plants were discovered and propagated from generation to generation as a part of the popular culture through observation and experimentation by primitive people (Turolla & Nascimento, 2006). In the sixteenth century, the Swiss physician Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus (1493 1541), formulated the "Theory of Signatures" based on the latin proverb similia similibus curantur, which means "alike cures alike". According to this theory it was believed that the shape, color, flavor and odor of the plants were related to their therapeutical properties, giving clues to their clinical use. Some of these plants have become part of the allopathic and homeopathic pharmacopoeias since the nineteenth century, when their therapeutic basis started to be investigated (Elvin-Lewis, 2001). The isolation of morphine from Papaver somniferum in 1803 by the pharmacist Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Serturmer marked the beginning of the extraction process of active ingredients from plants. Since then, other substances have been isolated, such as quinine and quinidine obtained from Cinchona sp in 1819, and atropine from Atropa belladonna, in 1831, which started to be used instead of plant extracts (Tyler 1996; Schulz, 2001). The production of drugs by chemical synthesis, the growing of the economic power of pharmaceutical industries and the lack of scientific evidence on the efficacy of substances from plant origin combined with the difficulty of chemical, physico-chemical, pharmacological and toxicological control of plant extracts used so far, boosted their replacement by synthetic drugs (Rates, 2001). After the 1960s, there was a lack of interest from pharmaceutical companies and research institutes in the search for new substances from plant origin. This fact was due to the belief that the main active ingredients from known herbal drugs had already been isolated and all possible chemical modifications in these substances had

A esplenectomia resulta em maior risco de sepse. Todavia, seus efeitos na resposta imune e inflamatória contra bactérias permanecem obscuros. Neste estudo, a capacidade de animais submetidos a transplante autólogo de baço em responder à infecção por Staphylococcus aureus foi investigada. Camundongos BALB/c foram distribuídos em três grupos: grupo esplenectomizado e autotransplantado no retroperitônio (AT), grupo esplenectomizado (SP) e grupo controle operado e não esplenectomizado (CT). Trinta dias após a cirurgia, os camundongos foram infectados pela via endovenosa com 5x106 UFC de S. aureus e após seis dias de infecção, amostras do plasma, soro, baço, fígado e pulmões foram coletadas. A contagem do número de unidades formadoras de colônia (UFC) no fígado e nos pulmões mostrou que os camundongos do grupo SP apresentaram maior número de bactérias em ambos os órgãos quando comparado com os grupos CT e AT (P

Background: Caries and periodontal diseases remain as important diseases in the Brazilian population. One important pathogen associated with this situation is Streptococcus mutans and other important factor is this pathogen's ability to adhere firmly to the tooth surface leading to dental biofilm formation and caries development. Objectives: Determine the antibacterial and other biological activities of P. venusta related to its potential to be used in the treatment of caries and periodontal disease. Methods: The growth inhibition by P. venusta of Streptococcus mutans, S. mitis, S. oralis and Candida albicans was determined using the broth microdilution method. In addition, the effect of the samples in adherence and reducing production of acids by S. mutans, and germ-tube formation of C. albicans was analysed. The Nitric Oxide (NO) production and cytotoxicity of P. venusta to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and RAW 264.7 Cell Line Murine Macrophage from Blood were assessed. Results: The crude extract (CE) and ethyl-acetate (AF) and n-butanol (BF) fractions showed antibacterial activity. The ethyl-acetate (AF) fraction showed the highest inhibition percentage against the adherence of S. mutans and C. albicans cells without budding, beyond NO production inhibition. There was not any cytotoxicity in the murine macrophages RAW 264.7 cells. Conclusion: Our results suggest that P. venusta presents potential to be used as a preliminary source of compounds that can provide helpful activity when used in prophylaxis or treatment of caries or periodontal disease. SUMMARY Biological activities of Pyrostegia venusta and its potential for use in formulations for the prevention of oral diseases. Abbreviations used: NO: Nitric oxide, PBMC: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, CE: Crude extract, AF: Ethyl-acetate fraction, BF: n-butanol fraction, HF: Hexane fraction, WF: Water fraction, MIC: Minimum inhibitory concentration, MBC: Minimum bactericidal concentration, ATCC: American Type Culture Collection, CFU: Colony-forming units, BHI: Brain heart infusion, RPMI: Roswell Park Memorial Institute, MOPS: 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid, DMEM: Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, LPS: Lipopolysacharide, MTT: 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide, OD: Optical density, AC: Acteoside, VB: β-OH-Verbascoside, TB: Trypan blue Francisco Martins Teixeira