Effect of coadministration of Lactiplantibacillus fabifermentans and linear/branched fructans mixtures on the intestinal health of Wistar rats.

A completely randomized experimental design was conducted to evaluate the effect of the coadministration of Lactiplantibacillus fabifermentans (Lpb. fabifermentans) and inulin/agave fructans mixtures on gut microbiota of healthy Wistar rats. Inulin, Agave salmiana fructans or fructan mixtures (1:1) at 12.5 % w/w, and Lpb. fabifermentans at 109 CFU/mL/day were used in the rats' diet for 35 days. Biochemical parameters, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), structural changes and the bacterial abundance in rats' cecum were evaluated. A significant decrease (p < 0.05) in glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides levels with fructan mixtures combined with Lpb. Fabifermentans was observed. The weight of the small and large intestines, and cecum was higher than the control; no changes were observed in the heart, liver, spleen and kidneys. SCFA concentration mainly, propionate and butyrate was improved (p < 0.05) throughout the gastrointestinal tract in all treatments. Finally, the administration of Lpb. fabifermentans alone or combined with the fructan mixtures promoted an increase in the abundance of cecum intestinal microbiota: Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Prevotella, Blautia, Faecalibacterium, Butyricimonas, Coprococcus, Akkermansia, Methanobrevibacter, Adlercreutzia, Collinsella, Odoribacter, and Roseburia. The inclusion of fructan mixtures in combination with Lpb. fabifermentans could be a good alternative for the development of functional foods that enhance consumer health.

[The cockroach as a vector of pathogenic agents]. / La cucaracha como vector de agentes patógenos.

Cockroaches are arthropod transmitters of disease, acting both as mechanical vectors and as reservoirs of pathogenic agents. It has been shown that cockroaches harbor and transmit, both in nature and under experimental conditions, about 40 species of bacteria, including at least 25 from the Enterobacteriaceae group that cause gastroenteritis in man. In addition, it has been established that these insects are intermediate hosts of pathogenic helminths, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. It is possible that cockroaches contribute to the transmission of Chagas' disease by feeding on triatomine vectors of that disease. There also are signs that substances produced by cockroaches are involved in certain allergic processes. The foregoing facts are sufficient to justify the immediate control and eradication of these insects whenever and wherever they constitute a threat to public health.

The phlebotomine sandflies of Venezuelan Amazonia.

Phlebotomine sandflies were surveyed in two ecologically contrasted areas, the northern moist and southern wet tropical forests, of the Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela. Three new taxa and twenty-one new records were added to the previously known species list for Venezuelan sandflies, which now totals eighty species. Both sexes of Lutzomyia (Psychodopygus) killicki sp.n., L. (Trichophoryomyia) bettinii sp.n., L. (Nyssomyia) olmeca reducta subsp.n. and and the females of L. bernalei Osorno et al., Brumptomyia pintoi Costa Lima and L. begonae (Ortiz & Torres) are described and illustrated.

Experimental and natural infection of Simulium sanchezi by Mansonella ozzardi in the Middle Orinoco region of Venezuela.

Experimental and natural infections of Simulium sanchezi by Mansonella ozzardi were studied in the area of Síquita, Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela. The microfilariae developed synchronously in the blackflies, reaching stage L3 in seven to eight days at temperatures between 23 degrees and 27 degrees C. Larvae in different stages of development, including infective forms, were found in 0.6% of 662 unfed wild-caught females. These results confirm that simuliids are the main vectors of M. ozzardi in the American continent.

Notas y claves preliminares de los jejenes neotropicales pertenecientes a los grupos Simulium amazonicum y S. sanguineum (Diptera: Simuliidae) incluyendo los vectores de Onchocerca volvunus y Mansonella ozzardi. / Preliminary key of new tropical Diptera pertaining to the groups Simulium amazonicum and S. sanguineum (Diptera: Simuliidae including the vectors of Onchocerca volvulus and Manzonella ozzardi

Los autores estudiaron ocho especies de jejenes de importancia medica pertenecientes a los grupos Simulium amazonicum y S. sanguineum obtenidos en Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia, Guyana y Venezuela. Se acompana una clave preliminar para identificar algunos miembros del grupo y se proporciona algunos datos referentes a la taxonomia y biologia de la mayor parte de las especies estudiadas. Cuatro jejenes han sido incriminados en la transmision de la oncocercosis y/o la mansonelliasis

Estudio del complejo Simulium amazonicum-sanguineum en Venezuela. Descripcion de tres nuevas especies. / Study of the complex simulium amazonicum-sanguineum in Venezuela. Description of 3 new species

Los autores describen e ilustran tres nuevas especies de jejenes de importancia medica pertenecientes al complejo amazonicum -sanguineum criados a partir de pupas y colectados en los estados Aragua y Bolivar (Venezuela). Ellas son: Simulium pseudoamazonicum sp. n Simulium pseudosanguineum sp. n. y Simulium venezuelense sp. n. Las dos primeras tienen pupas con organos respiratorios formados por tres filamentos a cada lado y la tercera posee cuatro filamentos. Todas las hembras descritas presentan el torax negro con dos bandas longitudinales plateadas que se inician en el borde anterior y se difunden en la depresion prescutelar