Enhancing the learning of evolutionary anthropology skills by combining student-active teaching with actual and virtual immersion of Master's students in fieldwork, laboratory practice, and dissemination.

Higher education in evolutionary anthropology involves providing students with in-depth knowledge of biological and cultural heritage sites and collections that are frequently inaccessible. Indeed, most sites, fossils, and archaeological remains can be visited or manipulated only rarely and solely by specialists with extensive experience. Owing to the development of 3D and medical imaging techniques, this fragile heritage is now more widely accessible, and in a dynamic way. However, exclusive adoption of virtual teaching and learning has a negative impact on student engagement and, naturally, on exchanges with instructors, and thus cannot be used without some reservations. In the ITAP (Immersion dans les Terrains de l'Anthropologie biologique et de la Préhistoire) project of the higher education STEP (Soutien à la Transformation et à l'Expérimentation Pédagogiques) transformation program at the University of Bordeaux, we combine student-active teaching with Master's students fully immersed in ongoing fieldwork, laboratory study, and dissemination of research results in order to develop more individually shaped learning curricula and to foster both professional and new interdisciplinary skills. Here, we present examples of experiments conducted in the ITAP project using both authentic and virtual collections of archaeological, experimental, and reference materials that help to break down the barriers between research activities and higher education, as well as providing a more general appraisal of the appropriate use of virtual tools in higher education by combining them with real-life situations.

Antinociceptive effect of Lonchocarpus araripensis lectin: activation of L-arginine/NO/cGMP/K+ATP signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: The involvement of nitric oxide pathway in the antinociceptive activity of Lonchocarpus araripensis lectin (LAL) was investigated in the model of carragenan-induced hypernociception. METHODS: Swiss mice received LAL (0.01-10 mg/kg; i.v.) 30 min before s.c. injection of carragenan in the paws. For the involvement of nociceptive pathways, animals were previously treated with the blockers: NOS (L-NAME, aminoguanidine, 7-nitroindazole); soluble guanylyl cyclase (ODQ); channels of ATP-dependent K+ (glibenclamide); L-type Ca2+ (nifedipine), or Ca2+-dependent Cl- (niflumic acid). Participation of lectin domain was evaluated by injection of LAL associated with N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc). nNOS gene relative expression was evaluated in the paw tissues and nNOS immunostaining in dorsal root ganglia. RESULTS: LAL at all doses inhibited carrageenan-induced hypernociception (4.12 ± 0.58 g), being maximal at 10 mg/kg (3 h: 59%), and reversed by GlcNAc. At this time, LAL effect was reversed by nifedipine (39%), niflumic acid (59%), L-NAME (59%), 7-nitroindazole (44%), ODQ (45%), and glibenclamide (34%), but was unaltered by aminoguanidine. LAL increased (95%) nNOS gene expression in mice paw tissues, but not its immunoexpression in the dorsal root ganglia. CONCLUSION: The antinociceptive effect of Lonchocarpus araripensis lectin involves activation of the L-arginine/NO/GMPc/K+ATP pathway.

Collybistin binds and inhibits mTORC1 signaling: a potential novel mechanism contributing to intellectual disability and autism.

Protein synthesis regulation via mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway has key roles in neural development and function, and its dysregulation is involved in neurodevelopmental disorders associated with autism and intellectual disability. mTOR regulates assembly of the translation initiation machinery by interacting with the eukaryotic initiation factor eIF3 complex and by controlling phosphorylation of key translational regulators. Collybistin (CB), a neuron-specific Rho-GEF responsible for X-linked intellectual disability with epilepsy, also interacts with eIF3, and its binding partner gephyrin associates with mTOR. Therefore, we hypothesized that CB also binds mTOR and affects mTORC1 signaling activity in neuronal cells. Here, by using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells from a male patient with a deletion of entire CB gene and from control individuals, as well as a heterologous expression system, we describe that CB physically interacts with mTOR and inhibits mTORC1 signaling pathway and protein synthesis. These findings suggest that disinhibited mTORC1 signaling may also contribute to the pathological process in patients with loss-of-function variants in CB.

Violência na infância e na adolescência: revisão de literatura / Violence in childhood and adolescence: literature review

Infância e adolescência são fases de bastante vulnerabilidade em relação à violência. Embora existam órgãos governamentais empenhados na sua proteção, as incidências continuam elevadas. Com a finalidade de alertar profissionais de saúde e educação quanto à importância do diagnóstico, foi proposto realizar revisão de literatura. Como objetivo geral, avaliamos o impacto da violência e, como específicos, os principais tipos de violência, faixa etária de maior incidência, violência nos diferentes Estados do Brasil e importância do diagnóstico Foi realizada revisão de literatura utilizando bases de dados Medline, Bireme, Scielo, Ebsco e livros publicados entre 1995 a 2014. Concluímos que a violência é problema complexo, com múltiplas causas e consequências, refletindo de forma negativa no desenvolvimento infantil nas esferas física, social, comportamental, emocional e cognitiva. Os principais agressores estão no âmbito doméstico, envolvendo familiares, empregados,agregados e visitantes. Violência contra crianças e adolescentes é a primeira causa de morte na faixa etária de 5 a 19 anos e a segunda causa de morte entre as crianças de 1 a 4 anos. Em relação à notificação entre os diversos estados do Brasil, foi observado que os Estados de Mato Grosso do Sul, os três da Região Sul , Distrito Federal, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Goiás, São Paulo, Amazonas e Roraima apresentam o maior número de casos notificados. O setor de emergência é porta de entrada para diagnóstico, tratamento e acolhimento à criança vítima de violência. O Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente e a notificação são ferramentas importantes para melhor atendimento às vítimas de violência.

Violência na infância e na adolescência: revisão de literatura / Violence in childhood and adolescence: a review

Infância e adolescência são fases de bastante vulnerabilidade em relação à violência. Embora existam órgãos governamentais empenhados na sua proteção, as incidências continuam elevadas. Com a finalidade de alertar profissionais de saúde e educação quanto à importância do diagnóstico, foi proposto realizar revisão de literatura. Como objetivo geral, avaliamos o impacto da violência e, como específicos, os principais tipos de violência, faixa etária de maior incidência, violência nos diferentes Estados do Brasil e importância do diagnóstico. Foi realizada revisão de literatura utilizando bases de dados Medline, Bireme, Scielo, Ebsco e livros publicados entre 1995 a 2014. Concluímos que a violência é problema complexo, com múltiplas causas e consequências, refletindo de forma negativa no desenvolvimento infantil nas esferas física, social, comportamental, emocional e cognitiva. Os principais agressores estão no âmbito doméstico, envolvendo familiares, empregados, agregados e visitantes. Violência contra crianças e adolescentes é a primeira causa de morte na faixa etária de 5 a 19 anos e a segunda causa de morte entre as crianças de 1 a 4 anos. Em relação à notificação entre os diversos estados do Brasil, foi observado que os Estados de Mato Grosso do Sul, os três da Região Sul , Distrito Federal, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Goiás, São Paulo, Amazonas e Roraima apresentam o maior número de casos notificados. O setor de emergência é porta de entrada para diagnóstico, tratamento e acolhimento à criança vítima de violência. O Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente e a notificação são ferramentas importantes para melhor atendimento às vítimas de violência (AU)

Rotenone-dependent changes of anterograde motor protein expression and mitochondrial mobility in brain areas related to neurodegenerative diseases.

The presence of protein aggregates is common in neurodegenerative disorders; however, the real cause and effect of these aggregates during neurodegeneration is still a matter of investigation. We hypothesize that impairment of intracellular traffic may appear in the absence of protein inclusions and might trigger protein aggregation. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate mitochondria mobility as well as protein and messenger RNA expression of KIF1B and KIF5 that are molecular motors for neuronal anterograde traffic, in hippocampus, substantia nigra, and locus coeruleus of 10-month-old Lewis rats and cultured cells, from these same areas, following exposure to low doses of rotenone that do not lead to protein inclusions. The present study showed alteration in KIF1B and KIF5 expression, as well as in mitochondria mobility prior to protein aggregation involved in neurodegenerative disorders. These findings suggest that change in intracellular trafficking might be critical and one of the primary events for impairment of cell physiology during neurodegeneration associated with protein inclusions.

Protein aggregation containing ß-amyloid, α-synuclein and hyperphosphorylated τ in cultured cells of hippocampus, substantia nigra and locus coeruleus after rotenone exposure.

BACKGROUND: Protein aggregates containing alpha-synuclein, beta-amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau are commonly found during neurodegenerative processes which is often accompanied by the impairment of mitochondrial complex I respiratory chain and dysfunction of cellular systems of protein degradation. In view of this, we aimed to develop an in vitro model to study protein aggregation associated to neurodegenerative diseases using cultured cells from hippocampus, locus coeruleus and substantia nigra of newborn Lewis rats exposed to 0.5, 1, 10 and 25 nM of rotenone, which is an agricultural pesticide, for 48 hours. RESULTS: We demonstrated that the proportion of cells in culture is approximately the same as found in the brain nuclei they were extracted from. Rotenone at 0.5 nM was able to induce alpha-synuclein and beta amyloid aggregation, as well as increased hyperphosphorylation of tau, although high concentrations of this pesticide (over 1 nM) lead cells to death before protein aggregation. We also demonstrated that the 14 kDa isoform of alpha-synuclein is not present in newborn Lewis rats. CONCLUSION: Rotenone exposure may lead to constitutive protein aggregation in vitro, which may be of relevance to study the mechanisms involved in idiopathic neurodegeneration.