BackgroundChagas disease is a trypanosomiasis whose agent is the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to humans by hematophagous bugs known as triatomines. Even though insecticide treatments allow effective control of these bugs in most Latin American countries where Chagas disease is endemic, the disease still affects a large proportion of the population of South America. The features of the disease in humans have been extensively studied, and the genome of the parasite has been sequenced, but no effective drug is yet available to treat Chagas disease. The digestive tract of the insect vectors in which T. cruzi develops has been much less well investigated than blood from its human hosts and constitutes a dynamic environment with very different conditions. Thus, we investigated the composition of the predominant bacterial species of the microbiota in insect vectors from Rhodnius, Triatoma, Panstrongylus and Dipetalogaster genera.Methodology/Principal FindingsMicrobiota of triatomine guts were investigated using cultivation-independent methods, i.e., phylogenetic analysis of 16s rDNA using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and cloned-based sequencing. The Chao index showed that the diversity of bacterial species in triatomine guts is low, comprising fewer than 20 predominant species, and that these species vary between insect species. The analyses showed that Serratia predominates in Rhodnius, Arsenophonus predominates in Triatoma and Panstrongylus, while Candidatus Rohrkolberia predominates in Dipetalogaster.Conclusions/SignificanceThe microbiota of triatomine guts represents one of the factors that may interfere with T. cruzi transmission and virulence in humans. The knowledge of its composition according to insect species is important for designing measures of biological control for T. cruzi. We found that the predominant species of the bacterial microbiota in triatomines form a group of low complexity whose structure differs according to the vector genus.
We evaluated the efficacy of the growth regulator triflumuron (TFM) in inducing mortality and disrupting both oviposition and egg hatching in Rhodnius prolixus adult females. TFM was administered via feeding, topically or by continuous contact with impregnated surfaces. Feeding resulted in mild biological effects compared with topical and impregnated surfaces. One day after treatment, the highest mortality levels were observed with topical surface and 30 days later both topical and impregnated surfaces induced higher mortalities than feeding. Oral treatment inhibited oviposition even at lower doses, and hatching of eggs deposited by treated females was similarly affected by the three delivery modes. Topical treatment of eggs deposited by nontreated females significantly reduced hatching. However, treatment per contact of eggs oviposited by untreated females did not disrupt eclosion. Additionally, oral treatment increased the number of immature oocytes per female, and topical treatment reduced the mean size of oocytes. TFM also affected carcass chitin content, diuresis, and innate immunity of treated insects. These results suggest that TFM acts as a potent growth inhibitor of R. prolixus adult females and has the potential to be used in integrated vector control programs against hematophagous triatomine species.
A universidade, a escola e as necessidades especiais: como melhorar? Como contribuir?The university, the school and the special needs: how to improve, how to contribute? ResumoUm dos principais objetivos de qualquer programa educacional de governo é educar os cidadãos para serem comprometidos com toda a sociedade. Para garantir o acesso a todos à educação, os professores precisam atender com qualidade todos os alunos, inclusive aqueles com necessidades especiais. No entanto, a falta de informação e formação profissional continua sendo ainda um dos principais obstáculos para alcançar este objetivo. A Escola de Inclusão é um programa de extensão de uma universidade federal brasileira e aborda diferentes áreas (ex: direitos humanos, educação e saúde), estimulando a interação de professores e licenciandos. Seus objetivos incluem a produção de materiais de ensino inclusivos e tecnologia educacional, a formação continuada de professores e a criação de conhecimento e de condições de acessibilidade para os alunos com necessidades especiais. Neste trabalho o nosso objetivo foi analisar brevemente a estratégia deste programa que considera os profissionais de educação, os estudantes de graduação (licenciandos) e alunos com necessidades especiais, como o melhor público para a construção e/ou avaliação do seu material didático. Interessantemente, a nossa análise qualitativa sobre os relatos de professores, alunos de graduação e um estudante do ensino médio cego, que participaram de edições desse programa, reforçam que projetos de universidades podem ser capazes de contribuir para a formação de profissionais, de alunos de graduação e de ensino médio, enquanto aproximam o público-alvo da perspectiva do professor. Esta iniciativa também sugere que os alunos com necessidades especiais podem participar ativamente de sua própria educação se as instituições aprenderem a estimulá-los a um comportamento pró-ativo.Pavavras-chave: inclusão, educação, necessidades especiais, educação especial. Abstract One main purpose of any governmental educational program is to educate citizens to be committed to the whole society. To ensure that everyone has access to education, professors need to attend with quality all students including those with special needs. However, the lack of training and professional information is still one main obstacle for reaching this goal. The Escola de Inclusão is an extension program from a Brazilian Federal university and approaches different areas (e.g. human rights, education and health) stimulating the interaction between teachers and undergraduates. Its goals include the production of inclusive teaching materials and educational
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