J Phys Act Health
July 2024
Background: To evaluate the influence of previous physical activity (PA) during childhood, adolescence, and current PA practice on the production of antibodies and inflammatory response between the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Methods: Fifty-nine men and 56 women were evaluated before the first vaccine, and 12 weeks later, blood samples were taken to quantify production of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 immunoglobulin G antibodies and cytokines. Previous PA during childhood and adolescence was self-referred, and current PA was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.
Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a neglected vector-borne parasitic disease prevalent in 92 countries with approximately one million new infections annually. Interactions between vector saliva and the human host alter the response to infection and outcome of disease.
Methods: To characterize the human immunological responses developed against saliva of , a vector, we repeatedly exposed the arms of 14 healthy U.
Individual-level assessments of wild animal health, vital rates, and foraging ecology are critical for understanding population-wide impacts of exposure to stressors. Large whales face multiple stressors, including, but not limited to, ocean noise, pollution, and ship strikes. Because baleen is a continuously growing keratinized structure, serial extraction, and quantification of hormones and stable isotopes along the length of baleen provide a historical record of whale physiology and foraging ecology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMem Inst Oswaldo Cruz
February 2024
Background: In Brazil, transmission of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis has expanded geographically over the last decades, with both clinical forms occurring simultaneously in the same area.
Objectives: This study characterised the clinical, spatial, and temporal distribution, and performed entomological surveillance and natural infection analysis of a leishmaniasis-endemic area.
Methods: In order to characterise the risk of leishmaniasis transmission in Altos, Piauí, we described the clinical and socio-demographic variables and the spatial and temporal distribution of cases of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) and American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) cases and identified potential phlebotomine vectors.
In this review we highlight the relevance of biodiversity that inhabit coastal lagoons, emphasizing how species functions foster processes and services associated with this ecosystem. We identified 26 ecosystem services underpinned by ecological functions performed by bacteria and other microbial organisms, zooplankton, polychaetae worms, mollusks, macro-crustaceans, fishes, birds, and aquatic mammals. These groups present high functional redundancy but perform complementary functions that result in distinct ecosystem processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
June 2023
Background: Leishmaniases are vector borne diseases caused by Leishmania spp. parasites transmitted by female sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) whose geographic distribution is influenced by environmental factors. Among the main tools for studying the distribution of vector species, modeling techniques are used to analyze the influence of climatic and environmental factors on the distribution of these insects and their association with human cases of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Epidemiol Community Health
June 2023
Background: The Tabora Maternal and Newborn Health Initiative project was a multicomponent intervention to improve maternal and newborn health in the Tabora region of Tanzania. Components included training healthcare providers and community health workers, infrastructure upgrades, and improvements to health management. This study aimed to examine the impact of trainings on four key outcomes: skilled birth attendance, antenatal care, respectful maternity care and patient-provider communication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe analyzed δC and δN values in different tooth portions (Growth Layer Groups, GLGs) of franciscanas, Pontoporia blainvillei, to investigate their effect on whole tooth (WT) isotopic values and the implications for dietary estimates. Tooth portions included the dentin deposited during the prenatal development (PND), the first year of life (GLG) deposited during the nursing period and the central part of the tooth with no distinction amongst subsequent GLGs (Center). Isotopic mixing models estimating the contribution of PND, GLG and Center to WT showed that GLG has a strong effect on WT isotope values in juveniles, while Center only starts to affect WT isotopic values from age four.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasite Immunol
November 2022
The golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) is commonly used as a promising model for Leishmania braziliensis infection developing skin-ulcerated lesions. However, different protocols using high concentration of parasites inoculated in the footpad result in severe clinical disease. Here, we further investigate the outcome of the site of infection and concentration of L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study is to determine the factors associated with negative self-rated health in Brazil. The sample consisted of 5,259 adults from five representative capitals of the five regions of Brazil. Data collection was achieved in the following municipalities: Palmas (North Region), João Pessoa (Northeast Region), Goiânia (Central-West Region), Vitória (Southeast Region) and Florianópolis (South Region).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is responsible for the entanglement of several marine species. Based on a search of digital media (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasite Immunol
March 2021
Leishmania braziliensis is the main causative agent of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in Brazil. Current treatment includes different drugs that have important side effects and identification of cases of parasite resistance to treatment support the search for new therapeutic strategies. Recent findings have indicated that CXCL10, a chemokine that recruits and activates Th1 cells, NK cells, macrophages, dendritic cells and B lymphocytes, is a potential alternative to treat Leishmania infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Immunol
August 2019
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFSand flies bite mammalian hosts to obtain a blood meal, driving changes in the host inflammatory response that support the establishment of infection. This effect is partially attributed to components of sand fly saliva, which are able to recruit and activate leukocytes. Our group has shown that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) favors survival in infected cells by reducing inflammatory responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Immunol
September 2019
Metacyclic promastigotes are transmitted by sand flies that inject parasites and saliva into the host's skin. Previous studies have demonstrated that DNA plasmids encoding salivary proteins LJM17 and LJL143, when used to immunize dogs, resulted in a systemic and local Th1 cell-mediated immunity that interfered in parasite survival . Here we evaluated the ability of these same salivary antigens to induce anti- immunity and to confer protection by immunizing dogs using a novel vaccination strategy more suitable for use in the field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring bloodfeeding, the presence of sand fly saliva in the hemorrhagic pool where is also inoculated modulates the development of host immune mechanisms creating a favorable environment for disease progression. To date, information obtained through experimental models suggests that sand fly saliva induces cellular recruitment and modulates production of eicosanoids. However, the effect of sand fly saliva in the different steps of the inflammatory response triggered by remains undefined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study proposes and analyzes the construct validity and internal consistency of the Leisure Practices Scale (EPL). This survey seeks to identify the preferences and involvement in in different leisure practices in adults. The instrument was formed based on the cultural leisure content (artistic, manual, physical, sports, intellectual, social, tourist, virtual and contemplation/leisure).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeishmania is transmitted in the presence of sand fly saliva. Protective immunity generated by saliva has encouraged identification of a vector salivary-based vaccine. Previous studies have shown that immunization with LJM11, a salivary protein from Lutzomyia longipalpis, is able to induce a Th1 immune response and protect mice against bites of Leishmania major-infected Lutzomyia longipalpis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Previous works showed that immunization with saliva from Lutzomyia intermedia, a vector of Leishmania braziliensis, does not protect against experimental infection. However, L. braziliensis is also transmitted by Lutzomyia whitmani, a sand fly species closely related to Lu.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClinical manifestations in canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) have not been clearly associated with immunological status or disease progression. We simultaneously assessed biomarkers of inflammation, immune activation, oxidative stress, and anti-sand fly saliva IgG concentrations in dog sera with different clinical manifestations to characterize a biosignature associated with CVL severity. In a cross-sectional exploratory study, a random population of 70 dogs from an endemic area in Brazil was classified according to CVL clinical severity and parasitological evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCanine leishmaniasis (CanL) is a chronic fatal disease of dogs and a major source of human infection through propagation of parasites in vectors. Here, we infected 8 beagles through multiple experimental vector transmissions with Leishmania infantum-infected Lutzomyia longipalpis. CanL clinical signs varied, although live parasites were recovered from all dog spleens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, there are no commercially available human vaccines against leishmaniasis. In rodents, cellular immunity to salivary proteins of sand fly vectors is associated to protection against leishmaniasis, making them worthy targets for further exploration as vaccines. We demonstrate that nonhuman primates (NHP) exposed to Phlebotomus duboscqi uninfected sand fly bites or immunized with salivary protein PdSP15 are protected against cutaneous leishmaniasis initiated by infected bites.
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