Stakeholder Analysis as a strategic tool in framing collaborative governance arenas for marine litter monitoring.

Monitoring and assessment of marine litter requires multi-stakeholder involvement at national and subnational levels. Collaborative governance approaches are important, but often fail without adequate effort towards identifying and engaging stakeholders with appropriate profiles for the issue at stake. Stakeholder Analysis (SA) is increasingly used to ensure efficient governance arrangements. Our hypothesis is that SA contributes to collaborative governance processes for marine litter policies. We explored a pioneer participatory process in Brazil, where SA was applied to identify, categorize, and prioritize stakeholders, and analyze their power and interest, for the Strategic Plan for Monitoring and Assessing Marine Litter in the state of São Paulo. A top-down/bottom-up approach revealed that snowball sampling complemented the stakeholder assemblage identified by the consultation of experts. Prioritization of data-related stakeholders streamlined the participatory process. The interest-power matrix evaluated stakeholders' influences, guiding specific engagement strategies. We highlight the significance of SA in collaborative governance and mobilizing key stakeholders for effective marine litter monitoring initiatives, contributing to the global agenda to combat marine pollution.

CD4+FOXP3+ cells produce IL-10 in the spleens of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by intracellular parasites of the genus Leishmania that affect humans and several animal species. Dogs are one of the main urban reservoirs of the parasite and play a central role in the transmission cycle to humans via sandflies. Studies concerning the immune response in dogs with VL have demonstrated that protective immunity is associated with cellular immune response, while disease progression is associated with humoral response and IL-10 and TGF-ß production. The study aimed to evaluate IL-10 and TGF-ß production by regulatory T (Treg) cells in the blood and spleen of dogs naturally infected by Leishmania spp. and correlate this with parasite load. Five healthy dogs and 29 dogs with proven infection were selected for the study group. Real-time PCR was used to quantify parasite load and confirm infection by Leishmania spp. Treg cells producing IL-10 and TGF-ß were quantified using flow cytometry. An increase in IL-10 production by Treg cells was verified in the spleen of dogs naturally infected by Leishmania spp. Concurrently, a decrease in the total number of T cells in these dogs was verified compared with healthy dogs. No association was determined between parasite load and the percentage of spleen Treg cells producing IL-10 and TGF-ß. These findings suggest that Treg cells are an important source of IL-10 in the spleen, participating in immune response modulation, while the reduced percentage of these cells in infected dogs could be attributed to persistent immune activation.