Several natural products have been investigated for their bactericidal potential, among these, cinnamaldehyde. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the activity of cinnamaldehyde in the treatment of animals with sepsis induced by extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. Initially, the E. coli F5 was incubated with cinnamaldehyde to evaluate the minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentration. Animal survival was monitored for five days, and a subset of mice were euthanized after 10 h to evaluate histological, hematological, and immunological parameters, as well as the presence of bacteria in the organs. On the one hand, inoculation of bacterium caused the death of 100% of the animals within 24 h after infection. On the other hand, cinnamaldehyde (60 mg/kg) was able to keep 40% of mice alive after infection. The treatment significantly reduced the levels of cytokines in serum and peritoneum and increased the production of cells in both bone marrow and spleen, as well as lymphocytes at the infection site. Cinnamaldehyde was able to reduce tissue damage by decreasing the deleterious effects for the organism and contributed to the control of the sepsis and survival of animals; therefore, it is a promising candidate for the development of new drugs.

Escherichia coli is an important pathogen responsible for a variety of diseases. We have recently shown that Pic, a serine protease secreted by E. coli, mediates immune evasion by the direct cleavage of complement molecules. The aim of this study was to investigate the action of a Pic-producing bacteria in a murine model of sepsis. Mice were infected with Pic-producing E. coli (F5) or F5∆pic mutant. Animal survival was monitored for five days, and a subset of mice was euthanized after 12 h for sample acquisition. The inoculation of Pic-producing bacteria induced 100% death within 24 h. The colony forming units count in the organs was significantly higher in F5. Hematological analysis showed a decrease of total leukocytes. Nitric oxide and cytokines were detected in serum, as well as on peritoneal lavage of the F5 group in higher levels than those detected in the other groups. In addition, immunophenotyping showed a decrease of activated lymphocytes and macrophages in the F5 group. Therefore, Pic represents an important virulence factor, allowing the survival of the bacterium in the bloodstream and several organs, as well as inducing a high production of proinflammatory mediators by the host, and concomitantly a cellular immunosuppression, leading to sepsis and death.

Identificar situações com as quais a comunidade acadêmica se defronta quanto à geração de resíduos é imprescindível para que haja uma elaboração de programas e políticas de gestão sustentável em universidades. Este trabalho visou compreender como se dá a sensibilização da comunidade acadêmica da Cidade Universitária/ UFMA, acerca da produção de resíduos sólidos e seus devidos impactos ambientais. A metodologia baseou-se na aplicação de 509 questionários, com perguntas acerca de políticas de reciclagem e coleta seletiva, abrangendo 33 cursos de graduação e pós-graduação de diversas áreas e seis instâncias administrativas. De acordo com os resultados, 67,97% dos entrevistados conhecem as políticas de reaproveitamento, reutilização e reciclagem de resíduos e 92,32% afirmou que participaria de um programa interno caso houvesse incentivo para tal. Assim, é importante ressaltar que ainda que incentivado pelas instâncias administrativas, uma campanha efetiva deve incluir a sensibilização dos integrantes da comunidade acadêmica em questão.

Nosocomial infections have been common in health services in Brazil. Among them, pneumonia is very highlighted due to the comorbidity that usually affects intensive treatment unit (ITU) patients, and due to the need for endotracheal intubation. The aim of this study was to determine the resistance profile of bacteria isolated from ITU patients with pneumonia in a public hospital in Sã o Luis, an important city in the Brazilian pre-Amazon region. Bacteria strains were obtained from tracheal aspiration and collected for diagnosis as well for phenotypic characterization. Standards culture media, such as blood and MacConkey agar, were used to isolate clinical strains. Automatized Vitek 2 method was used to identify strains and disc diffusion method (Kirby-Bauer) was performed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profile. During study, eighty-eight patients were diagnosed with pneumonia, caused by more than 20 different bacteria. Among them, P. aeruginosa (28%), Acinetobacter baumannii (20%), Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (19%), Staphylococcus aureus (8%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (7%) were the most prevalent microorganisms. Regarding to the resistance, antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that majority of Gram-negative bacteria presented resistance to ampicillin. In Gram-positive bacteria there was a high resistance to ampicillin, penicillin, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin and erythromycin. This study showed a high prevalence of bacteria resistance in ITU patients in a public hospital. Although P. aeruginosa was the most frequent pathogen, it was possible to find other pathogens that were not recurrent, such as Enterobacter spp., Proteus mirabilis and Providencia stuartii. Regarding antimicrobials, the results showed a high resistance to several antimicrobials.