Prevalence, Molecular Epidemiology, and Clinical Characteristics of Human Bocavirus Among Patients with Acute Gastroenteritis in Northern Brazil During 2017-2022.

Acute gastroenteritis (AG) is a major illness in early childhood. Recent studies suggest a potential association between human bocavirus (HBoV) and AG. HBoV, a non-enveloped virus with a single-strand DNA genome, belongs to the Parvoviridae family.

Cactus cladodes for dairy goats: what is the best fiber source?

This study evaluated the effect of different fiber sources supplied with cactus cladodes in diets on the intake and digestibility of nutrients, ingestive behavior, milk yield, and composition of dairy goats. The fiber sources were corn silage, sorghum silage, Digitaria pentzii Stent. hay, and sugarcane bagasse.

Online catalogue of the Coleção de Flebotomíneos (FIOCRUZ/COLFLEB), a biological collection of American sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) held at Fiocruz Minas, Brazil.

The Coleção de Flebotomíneos ("Phlebotomine Collection"; FIOCRUZ/COLFLEB) held at Fiocruz Minas is a curated biological collection comprising approximately 80 000 individual specimens of 370 species of sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae). These were mostly collected from the Americas in the last 80 years by entomologists interested in understanding and controlling the vector-borne disease leishmaniases. Since 2010, the metadata of each biological specimen held in FIOCRUZ/COLFLEB, including the back catalogue of those deposited in previous decades, has been digitized.

Level of Knowledge and Risk Factors for Visceral Leishmaniasis in a Mining Area of Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

Aiming to optimize and adjust leishmaniasis prevention and control measures for the resident population of Pains, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a structured questionnaire containing conceptual questions and questions about household characteristics was used to evaluate knowledge level and exposure risk. A total of 396 individuals were interviewed revealing unscientific and fragmented knowledge about the subject for most of the studied population. The female population was found to have 1.

Tripartite interactions: Leishmania, microbiota and Lutzomyia longipalpis.

The microbial consortium associated with sandflies has gained relevance, with its composition shifting throughout distinct developmental stages, being strongly influenced by the surroundings and food sources. The bacterial components of the microbiota can interfere with Leishmania development inside the sandfly vector. Microbiota diversity and host-microbiota-pathogen interactions regarding New World sandfly species have yet to be thoroughly studied, particularly in Lutzomyia longipalpis, the primary vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

Constitutive gibberellin response in grafted tomato modulates root-to-shoot signaling under drought stress.

Plants are sessile organisms that must perceive and respond to various environmental constraints throughout their life cycle. Among these constraints, drought stress has become the main limiting factor to crop production around the world. Water deprivation is perceived primarily by the roots, which efficiently signal the shoot to trigger drought responses in order to maximize a plant's ability to survive.

The midgut microbiota plays an essential role in sand fly vector competence for Leishmania major.

For many arthropod vectors, the diverse bacteria and fungi that inhabit the gut can negatively impact pathogen colonization. Our attempts to exploit antibiotic treatment of colonized Phlebotomus duboscqi sand flies in order to improve their vector competency for Leishmania major resulted instead in flies that were refractory to the development of transmissible infections due to the inability of the parasite to survive and to colonize the anterior midgut with infective, metacyclic stage promastigotes. The parasite survival and development defect could be overcome by feeding the flies on different symbiont bacteria but not by feeding them on bacterial supernatants or replete medium.

Bacterial diversity of the American sand fly Lutzomyia intermedia using high-throughput metagenomic sequencing.

Background: Parasites of the genus Leishmania cause a broad spectrum of diseases, collectively known as leishmaniasis, in humans worldwide. American cutaneous leishmaniasis is a neglected disease transmitted by sand fly vectors including Lutzomyia intermedia, a proven vector. The female sand fly can acquire or deliver Leishmania spp.

Cadmium stress antioxidant responses and root-to-shoot communication in grafted tomato plants.

Many aspects related to ROS modulation of signaling networks and biological processes that control stress responses still remain unanswered. For this purpose, the grafting technique may be a powerful tool to investigate stress signaling and specific responses between plant organs during stress. In order to gain new insights on the modulation of antioxidant stress responses mechanisms, gas-exchange measurements, lipid peroxidation, H2O2 content, proline, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPOX) were analyzed in Micro-Tom grafted plants submitted to cadmium (Cd).

Biochemical dissection of diageotropica and Never ripe tomato mutants to Cd-stressful conditions.

In order to further address the modulation of signaling pathways of stress responses and their relation to hormones, we used the ethylene-insensitive Never ripe (Nr) and the auxin-insensitive diageotropica (dgt) tomato mutants. The two mutants and the control Micro-Tom (MT) cultivar were grown over a 40-day period in the presence of Cd (0.2 mM CdCl₂ and 1 mM CdCl₂).

Biochemical and histological characterization of tomato mutants.

Biochemical responses inherent to antioxidant systems as well morphological and anatomical properties of photomorphogenic, hormonal and developmental tomato mutants were investigated. Compared to the non-mutant Micro-Tom (MT), we observed that the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was enhanced in the diageotropica (dgt) and lutescent (l) mutants, whilst the highest levels of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) were observed in high pigment 1 (hp1) and aurea (au) mutants. The analyses of antioxidant enzymes revealed that all mutants exhibited reduced catalase (CAT) activity when compared to MT.

The transmission of Leishmania infantum chagasi by the bite of the Lutzomyia longipalpis to two different vertebrates.

Background: Sandflies are vectors of Leishmania, the causative agent of leishmaniasis in mammalian hosts, including humans. The protozoan parasite is transmitted by the sandfly bite during salivation that occurs at the moment of blood feeding. The components of vector saliva include anticlotting and vasodilatory factors that facilitate blood flow and immunomodulatory factors that inhibit wound healing and quell the immune response.

Effects of weight loss induced by bariatric surgery on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.

Background: Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is often linked to overweight/obesity and can improve after weight loss, such improvement is expected to be proportional to the intensity of weight loss.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of weight loss induced by bariatric surgery (BS) on the prevalence of MS in a middle-term period.

Methods: Thirty-five (35) patients who underwent surgical Roux's Y gastrojejunal by-pass from October 2001 until October 2005 in our University Hospital were evaluated.