Evaluation of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in Marine Oyster Farming and Microalgae in the Atlantic Amazon Evidences Safety but Highlights Potential Risks of Shellfish Poisoning.

Marine phycotoxins are organic compounds synthesized by some species of microalgae, which accumulate in the tissues of filter-feeder organisms such as bivalve mollusks. These toxins can cause acute intoxication episodes in humans, a severe threat to aquaculture and fisheries. In the State of Pará, Brazil, oyster farming has community, artisanal and sustainable bases, using mangroves as cultivation environment and seed banks. In small-scale production, there are often no established methods of safeguarding the health of consumers elevating the potential risks of shellfish poisoning outbreaks. Our study evaluated the presence of phycotoxins in oysters cultivated in five municipalities in the region of the Atlantic Amazon (Pará, Brazil) assessing the quality of the final product. We further evaluated the microalgae, water quality, and the spatio-temporal variation of physicochemical factors in the same area. Diatoms dominated the microalgae composition, followed by dinoflagellates, some of which are reported to be potentially toxic and producers of paralytic shellfish toxins. For the first time, we describe the occurrence of the potentially toxic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis sp. in the Amazon region. Furthermore, for the first time, toxins were detected in oyster farming in the northeast of the State of Pará, namely GTX2,3, STX, and dc-STX nevertheless, with nontoxic values. The identified toxins represent a potential threat to shellfish consumers.

Zika virus disrupts gene expression in human myoblasts and myotubes: Relationship with susceptibility to infection.

The tropism of Zika virus (ZIKV) has been described in the nervous system, blood, placenta, thymus, and skeletal muscle. We investigated the mechanisms of skeletal muscle susceptibility to ZIKV using an in vitro model of human skeletal muscle myogenesis, in which myoblasts differentiate into myotubes. Myoblasts were permissive to ZIKV infection, generating productive viral particles, while myotubes controlled ZIKV replication. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we used gene expression profiling. First, we assessed gene changes in myotubes compared with myoblasts in the model without infection. As expected, we observed an increase in genes and pathways related to the contractile muscle system in the myotubes, a reduction in processes linked to proliferation, migration and cytokine production, among others, confirming the myogenic capacity of our system in vitro. A comparison between non-infected and infected myoblasts revealed more than 500 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In contrast, infected myotubes showed almost 2,000 DEGs, among which we detected genes and pathways highly or exclusively expressed in myotubes, including those related to antiviral and innate immune responses. Such gene modulation could explain our findings showing that ZIKV also invades myotubes but does not replicate in these differentiated cells. In conclusion, we showed that ZIKV largely (but differentially) disrupts gene expression in human myoblasts and myotubes. Identifying genes involved in myotube resistance can shed light on potential antiviral mechanisms against ZIKV infection.

Alterações miogênicas em células musculares humanas infectadas pelo vírus zika: susceptibilidade de mioblastos e resistência de miotubos / Myogenic alterations in human muscle cells infected by zika virus: myoblast susceptibility and myotube resistance

O músculo esquelético é responsável pelo movimento e manutenção da postura, e é um órgão produtor de miocinas e altamente metabólico, onde alterações em sua fisiologia podem ter consequências sistêmicas. Esse tecido é alvo para diferentes arboviroses, e mialgia é um sintoma frequentemente relatado. O músculo esquelético é composto majoritariamente por fibras musculares, e uma pequena população de células progenitoras denominadas células satélites (SC), que em caso de lesão podem ser ativadas, proliferam e se diferenciam, sendo capazes de regenerar o tecido muscular. Recentemente nosso grupo demonstrou que SC em proliferação (mioblastos) são infectadas pelo vírus ZIKA (ZIKV), enquanto células diferenciadas e fusionadas (miotubos) não apresentam proteínas virais. O presente trabalho avaliou alterações miogênicas e o perfil transcricional de mioblastos e miotubos humanos após tratamento com ZIKV, com o objetivo de identificar fatores e mecanismos envolvidos na susceptibilidade e resistência destas células à infecção. Confirmamos infecção produtiva do ZIKV nos mioblastos, que apresentaram uma redução no número de células expressando a molécula KI67 em altas concentrações (característico de células em mitose). A análise de sequenciamento mostrou perturbação das vias do ciclo celular em mioblastos infectados, que ainda apresentaram enriquecimento de vias relacionadas à morte celular. Também confirmamos a ausência de infecção produtiva nos miotubos. Interessantemente, verificamos que o ZIKV entra nas células diferenciadas, mas não consegue replicar o RNA viral, e a análise do transcriptoma identificou um enriquecimento de vias e modulação de genes antivirais maior ou exclusivamente nas células diferenciadas em comparação aos mioblastos infectados. Além disso, miotubos expostos ao ZIKV aparentam ter aumento de fusão/hipertrofia. Ao contrário dos mioblastos, miotubos apresentaram enriquecimento de vias relacionadas a organização da matriz extracelular. Dados preliminares do nosso grupo mostraram que o cultivo de mioblastos sobre a isoforma de laminina 511 levou à redução da infecção pelo ZIKV. Contudo, em nossos ensaios, a infecção pelo ZIKV não modulou a expressão de receptores para LM e o bloqueio do receptor de LM, a integrina α6, não reduziu a infecção pelo ZIKV em mioblastos. Nosso trabalho mostrou que a infecção pelo ZIKV induz resposta imune e antiviral, que foram enriquecidos em mioblastos e miotubos, sendo que estes apresentaram uma assinatura única de vias e genes antivirais, que poderiam explicar a resistência frente ao ZIKV.

Costs and mortality rates of surgical approaches to hysterectomy in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the costs of hysterectomies performed in Brazil due to benign conditions, and to assess its hospital admittance and mortality rates. METHODS: A retrospective cohort was carried out from January 2010 to December 2014, analyzing all hysterectomies (n = 428,346) registered on the DATASUS database between January 2010 and December 2014. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 for Windows. RESULTS: Hospital admissions were 300,231 for total abdominal hysterectomies, 46,056 for vaginal hysterectomies, 29,959 for subtotal abdominal hysterectomies and 1,522 for laparoscopic hysterectomies. Mortality rates were 0.26%, 0.09%, 0.07% and 0.05% for subtotal, total abdominal, laparoscopic, and vaginal hysterectomies, respectively. Among the procedures studied, total abdominal hysterectomies had the most costs (R$217,802,574.77), followed by vaginal hysterectomies (R$24,173,490.00), subtotal abdominal hysterectomies (R$19.253.300,00) and laparoscopic hysterectomies (R$794,680.40). CONCLUSIONS: Total abdominal hysterectomies had the highest overall costs mainly because it was the most commonly performed technique. Mortality rates were greatest in subtotal abdominal hysterectomies; this, however, may be due to bias related to missing data in our database.

Costs and mortality rates of surgical approaches to hysterectomy in Brazil

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the costs of hysterectomies performed in Brazil due to benign conditions, and to assess its hospital admittance and mortality rates. METHODS A retrospective cohort was carried out from January 2010 to December 2014, analyzing all hysterectomies (n = 428,346) registered on the DATASUS database between January 2010 and December 2014. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 for Windows. RESULTS Hospital admissions were 300,231 for total abdominal hysterectomies, 46,056 for vaginal hysterectomies, 29,959 for subtotal abdominal hysterectomies and 1,522 for laparoscopic hysterectomies. Mortality rates were 0.26%, 0.09%, 0.07% and 0.05% for subtotal, total abdominal, laparoscopic, and vaginal hysterectomies, respectively. Among the procedures studied, total abdominal hysterectomies had the most costs (R$217,802,574.77), followed by vaginal hysterectomies (R$24,173,490.00), subtotal abdominal hysterectomies (R$19.253.300,00) and laparoscopic hysterectomies (R$794,680.40). CONCLUSIONS Total abdominal hysterectomies had the highest overall costs mainly because it was the most commonly performed technique. Mortality rates were greatest in subtotal abdominal hysterectomies; this, however, may be due to bias related to missing data in our database.

Assessment of DDT and Metabolites in Soil and Sediment of Potentially Contaminated Areas of Belém, Amazon Region, Brazil.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of DDT and metabolites in surface soils and soil profiles from two areas containing deposits of obsolete pesticides in Belém, Amazon Region, Brazil. DDT and metabolites were extracted by microwave assisted extraction and analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Concentrations of total DDT in surface soil samples ranged from 64.22 mg kg-1 in area 1 (A1) to 447.84 mg kg-1 in area 2 (A2). Lower levels were found in soil profiles than at the surface (6.21-21.17 mg kg-1 in A1 and 36.13-113.66 mg kg-1 in A2). pp'-DDT, pp'-DDE and pp'-DDD were detected in sediments at levels of 2.01, 0.96 and 0.35 mg kg-1, respectively. The ratio (DDE + DDD)/ΣDDT was low indicating the recent introduction of DDT to the environment in the two study areas, through the volatilization and atmospheric deposition of the obsolete pesticides.

Percepção de suporte familiar e qualidade de vida: um estudo com adolescentes e seus pais / Perception of Family Suport and Quality of Life: a study with adolescents and their responsible

A família é o primeiro grupo social ao qual o individuo pertence e exerce importante função no desenvolvimento dos seres humanos. Levando-se em consideração o fato da adolescência ser considerada um período do desenvolvimento, marcada por diversas transformações, tanto do individuo quanto do meio familiar, assim como a importância que a família exerce na constituição desses adolescentes, faz-se necessário pensar na qualidade das relações que são estabelecidas. Diante disso, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar possíveis relações entre a percepção de suporte familiar e qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde de adolescentes e seus responsáveis. Para tanto, buscou-se identificar a percepção dos adolescentes sobre sua qualidade de vida e suporte familiar, bem como a percepção de seus responsáveis sobre os mesmos. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, quantitativo e de delineamento transversal. Participaram desse estudo 348 sujeitos, sendo 174 adolescentes e 174 responsáveis, escolhidos por conveniência. Dentre os resultados pode-se salientar que os adolescentes possuem percepção de melhor qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde do que seus responsáveis, porém ambos revelam que possuem visão positiva acerca da adolescência. No que se refere à percepção de suporte familiar os dados revelaram que os homens (independente de serem responsáveis ou adolescentes) apresentam melhor percepção acerca da expressão afetiva entre os membros da família e os responsáveis possuem melhor percepção acerca do fator autonomia do que os adolescentes. Conclui se que os objetivos do presente estudo foram atingidos na medida em que foram identificadas inúmeras correlações entre os fatores de percepção de suporte familiar e as dimensões de qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde. Os resultados obtidos sugerem a necessidade de ações que favoreçam o dialogo entre responsáveis e adolescentes favorecendo a aproximação e, consequentemente favorecendo a promoção da saúde. (AU)

The family is the first social group that human being belongs and plays an important role in their development. Taking into consideration the fact that adolescence is considered a period of development, marked by several changes, for both the individual and the family environment, and the importance that family plays in the formation of these adolescents, it is necessary to think about the quality of the relationships that are established. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify possible relationships between perceived family support and quality of life related to health of adolescents and their parents. Therefore, we sought to identify the perceptions of adolescents about their quality of life and family support, as well as the perception of their responsibility on them. This is a descriptive study, quantitative and cross-sectional design. The sudy included 348 participants, 174 adolescents and 174 responsibility. Among the results, may be noted that adolescents have better perception of quality of life related to health than their guardians, but both have revealed that positive vision about adolescence. With regard to the perception of family support data revealed tha men (whether they are responsible or adolescents) have a better perception of the expression of affection among family member and those responsible have better insight about the autonomy factor than adolescents. It was concluded that the objectives have been achieved in this study since identified numerous correlations between factors of perceived family support and dimensions of quality of life related to health. The results suggest the need for actions to encourage dialogue between responsible and adolescents favoring dialogue and ths favoring the promotion of health. (AU)

Composição e qualidade de pólen apícola comercializado em algumas cidades nos estados de São Paulo e Minas Gerais - Brasil / Composition and quality of bee-collected pollen commercialized in some country towns in São Paulo and Minas Gerais - Brazil

Pólen apícola tem seu uso recomendado como suplemento alimentar. Dados a respeito das condições higiênico-sanitárias de pólen produzido no Brasil e de sua composição são escassos. Nesse trabalho foram determinados os teores de umidade, proteínas, lipídeos, cinzas, o pH e a atividade de água de vinte e uma amostras de pólen de abelhas (Apis mellifera) adquiridas no comércio ou de apiários do sul de Minas Gerais e do estado de São Paulo. O teor de umidade encontra-se acima do estabelecido pela legislação. Os teores de proteínas e lipídeos estão dentro da faixa estabelecida pela legislação. Três amostras apresentaram teores de cinzas em desacordo com as normas. Os altos níveis de umidade e atividade de água encontrados indicam que há falhas no processo de desidratação e/ou armazenamento das amostras. O pólen apícola produzido na região sudeste do Brasil pode ser utilizado como complemento alimentar tendo em vista seu alto teor de lipídeos e proteínas, desde que as condições microbiológicas estejam adequadas