Coping strategies employed by transgender youth with higher and lower quality of life.

Understanding transgender youth coping mechanisms may help create strategies that reduce the influence of stress on quality of life. Our study aims to measure the quality of life of Brazilian transgender youth and analyse the association with their coping strategies used for dealing with general and gender-related stress. The sample consisted of 185 participants (µ = 18.49 years; SD 2.42); of which 95 (46.34%) transgender boys, 45 (21.95%) transgender girls, 65 (31.71%) non-binary. Better quality of life was related to social support, whereas lower quality of life was related to the use of avoidance coping style in the context of general stress. The study found no association between coping strategies for gender-related stress and quality of life. Thus, the increase in quality of life in the context of gender distress among transgender youth should involve other mechanisms than promoting coping skills.

Multigenerational expression of antimicrobial peptides in Aedes aegypti exposed to Metarhizium anisopliae: Is trans-generational immune priming involved?

We assessed, for the first time, a multigenerational expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in Aedes aegypti larvae exposed to the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, and correlated it with a possible involvement in trans-generational immune priming (TGIP). Aedes aegypti larvae were first exposed to blastospores or conidia of M. anisopliae CG 489 for 24 and 48 h, and the relative expression of AMPs were measured using quantitative Real-Time PCR. A suspension of conidia was prepared, and two different survival tests were conducted with different larval generations (F0, F1, and F2). In the first bioassay, the survival curves of the three generations were conducted separately and compared with their respective control groups. In the other bioassay, the survival curves of the F0, F1, and F2 generations were compared simultaneously against a naïve group exposed to Tween 80. In both survival tests, the F0 generation was more susceptible to M. anisopliae than subsequent generations. For molecular analyses related to TGIP, F0, F1, and F2 larvae were exposed to conidia, and their expression of AMPs was compared with their control groups and a naïve group. There was no differential expression of cecropin, defensin A or cathepsin B between generations. Lysozyme C, however, showed an increase in expression across generations, suggesting a role in TGIP. These discoveries may help us develop biological insecticides against mosquito larvae based on entomopathogenic fungi.

The impact of conspiracy theories and vaccine knowledge on vaccination intention: a longitudinal study.

In this study, we analyzed associations between vaccination knowledge, vaccination intention, political ideology, and belief in conspiracy theories before and during the 2020 Sars-Cov-2 pandemic in the Brazilian population. It was conducted a longitudinal study into three data collections. Participants responded to the Flexible Inventory of Conspiracy Suspicions (FICS), questionnaires measuring their knowledge, and opinion about vaccines, and sociodemographic data. The results were: the greater the belief in conspiracy theories about vaccines, the lesser the intention to get vaccinated, the vaccine knowledge, and the attitudes towards vaccine investment. Religious, prone to right-wing politics, parents, and older people scored more for FICS than atheists/agnostics, and younger people. From 2019 to 2020 the vaccination intention and vaccination investment did not differ, showing that people did not change their opinion about vaccines regardless of personal experience or the pandemic scenario. The research strengthened the relevance of health education as a milestone for public health and protection from dangerous conspiracy theories.

General and healthcare-related HIV stigma among cisgender Brazilian women: the role of socioeconomic vulnerability.

BACKGROUND: HIV-related stigma is associated with worse health outcomes and lower adherence to antiretroviral therapy. There is limited data on the stigma faced by Latin American cisgender women, although they are among the populations most affected by HIV. This study aims to provide insight into the Stigma Index Brazil, with the objective of estimating the prevalence of HIV-related stigma among cisgender women in Brazil and to investigate the role of low socioeconomic status in stigma experience. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional community-based study. A total of 30 people with HIV were trained to recruit participants from their peer networks; 1,768 people with HIV from all regions of Brazil participated in the study, of which 566 participants were cisgender women. We used the Stigma Index, an instrument that assesses global trends in HIV-related stigma from the perspective of people with HIV. RESULTS: Approximately 70% of participants reported some form of HIV-related stigma. The most prevalent forms were discriminatory comments or gossiping (51.26%) and verbal harassment (30.99%). More than 20% experienced any health care related HIV-stigma in the last 12 months, the most frequent being the avoidance of physical contact (10.02%). Women in social vulnerability faced more stigma compared to the group without social vulnerability, both in general contexts (75.79% vs 64.32%; χ2 = 8.67, p < 0.05) and in healthcare contexts (24.12% vs 16.02%; χ2 = 4.06, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We found a high prevalence of stigma associated with HIV faced by Brazilian women from all regions of the country, both in everyday life and in healthcare contexts. Evidence-based interventions to reduce stigma in the general population, and specific mental health care aimed at women with HIV in Brazil, especially among those with greater socioeconomic vulnerability, are urgent.

Akinetopsia (visual motion blindness) associated with brain metastases: a case report.

Akinetopsia is a rare neurological syndrome characterized by an impaired perception of movement, often resulting from brain damage due to ischemia, epilepsy, or medication. It is also known as visual motion blindness, and patients with this condition are unable to perceive motion normally even with perfect visual acuity. This report aims to present a case of a patient in their late 40 s who developed akinetopsia and also an impairment in movement perception of objects without emitting sounds, after experiencing a late relapse of breast cancer with the occurrence of multiple brain metastases. The patient also experienced visual hallucinations, night terrors, and difficulty forming anterograde memory. Neuroimaging with MRI revealed severe brain damage, especially in the middle temporal area of the visual cortex. Akinetopsia is a rare phenomenon, and this is the first known case of its association with brain metastases.

Towards a decolonial developmental science: Adolescent development in the Majority World taking center stage.

While aspiring to be a diverse and global science, developmental science continues to be dominated by EuroAmerican epistemologies, researchers, and communities in its published scholarship. Adolescents in communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America comprise 85% of the world's adolescent population, and yet their experiences and perspectives are marginalized in our science. Adolescents in the Majority World live in highly diverse social, cultural, political, economic, educational and healthcare contexts that contribute to their development, and we have much to learn from their experiences. This article situates the marginalization of the global majority within coloniality embedded in developmental science. The article describes the impetus for this special issue Towards a decolonial developmental science and the process of putting it together, along with providing an overview of the 18 articles in this collection that push us towards decoloniality. The special issue serves as a call to transform developmental science to be decolonial by empowering adolescent development in Majority World communities to take center stage. Adolescent development research from Majority World communities has the potential to challenge the knowledge base generated from Minority World samples, contributing to a science that is comprehensive, inclusive, and can inform prevention and intervention efforts to support the well-being of adolescents globally.

Violência contra as mulheres na pandemia de Covid-19: uma revisão sistemática / Violence against women in the Covid-19 pandemic: a systematic review

Resumo Objetivo: Identificar a prevalência e os fatores associados à violência contra mulheres durante a pandemia de Covid-19 no mundo. Método: O levantamento foi realizado em outubro de 2021, nos bancos de dados Embase, Scopus e Web of Science, publicados em 2020 e 2021, apenas no idioma inglês. Foram incluídos estudos empíricos, com população feminina, no período da Covid-19, e foram excluídos artigos que incluíam homens ou crianças em sua amostra. Para avaliar a qualidade dos estudos, foi usado o instrumento MMAT, e o resultado final foi organizado e sintetizado a partir de tabelas. Resultados: Foram selecionados 35 artigos, predominaram estudos quantitativos, on-line e investigando violência por parceiro íntimo. A prevalência foi significativa, com aumento e agravamento da violência; os principais fatores associados foram o estresse econômico, a pandemia e relações de gênero. Discussão: O viés de publicação foi estudos publicados apenas em inglês e os resultados envolvem o viés dos estudos primários referente a subnotificação e não generalização das amostras. É possível concluir que a pandemia e as medidas para conter a Covid-19 aumentaram a vulnerabilidade das mulheres coabitadas em ambiente violento.

Abstract Objective: To identify the prevalence and factors associated with violence against women during the Covid-19 pandemic in the world. Method: The survey was carried out in October 2021, in the Embase, Scopus and Web of Science databases, published in 2020 and 2021, only in the English language. Empirical studies were included, with a female population, during the Covid-19 period and articles that included men or children in their sample were excluded. To evaluate the quality of the studies, the MMAT instrument was used and the final result was organized and summarized using tables. Results: Thirty-five articles were selected, predominantly quantitative, on-line studies investigating intimate partner violence. The prevalence was significant, with an increase and worsening of violence and the main associated factors were economic stress, the pandemic and gender relations. Discussion: The publication bias was studies published only in English and the results involve the bias of primary studies regarding underreporting and non-generalization of the samples. It is possible to conclude that the pandemic and measures to contain Covid-19 increased the vulnerability of women cohabiting in a violent environment.

The impact of conspiracy theories and vaccine knowledge on vaccination intention: a longitudinal study / O impacto de teorias da conspiração e do conhecimento sobre vacinas na intenção de vacinação: um estudo longitudinal

Abstract In this study, we analyzed associations between vaccination knowledge, vaccination intention, political ideology, and belief in conspiracy theories before and during the 2020 Sars-Cov-2 pandemic in the Brazilian population. It was conducted a longitudinal study into three data collections. Participants responded to the Flexible Inventory of Conspiracy Suspicions (FICS), questionnaires measuring their knowledge, and opinion about vaccines, and sociodemographic data. The results were: the greater the belief in conspiracy theories about vaccines, the lesser the intention to get vaccinated, the vaccine knowledge, and the attitudes towards vaccine investment. Religious, prone to right-wing politics, parents, and older people scored more for FICS than atheists/agnostics, and younger people. From 2019 to 2020 the vaccination intention and vaccination investment did not differ, showing that people did not change their opinion about vaccines regardless of personal experience or the pandemic scenario. The research strengthened the relevance of health education as a milestone for public health and protection from dangerous conspiracy theories.

Resumo Neste estudo, analisamos associações entre conhecimento sobre vacinação, intenção de vacinação, ideologia política e crença em teorias da conspiração antes e durante a pandemia da Sars-Cov-2 de 2020 na população brasileira. Foi realizado um estudo longitudinal em três coletas de dados. Os participantes responderam ao Inventário Flexível de Suspeitas de Conspiração (FICS), a questionários medindo seu conhecimento e opinião sobre vacinas e dados sociodemográficos. Os resultados obtidos foram: quanto maior a crença em teorias da conspiração sobre vacinas, menor a intenção de se vacinar, o conhecimento da vacina e as atitudes em relação ao investimento em vacinas. Religiosos, propensos à política de direita, pais e idosos pontuaram mais para FICS do que ateus/agnósticos e pessoas mais jovens. De 2019 a 2020, a intenção de vacinação e o investimento em vacinação não diferiram, mostrando que as pessoas não mudaram de opinião sobre as vacinas, independentemente da experiência pessoal ou de um cenário de pandemia. Nossa pesquisa sugere fortalecer a educação em saúde como um marco para a saúde pública e proteção de perigosas teorias da conspiração.

Empowering Deaf-Hearing Communication: Exploring Synergies between Predictive and Generative AI-Based Strategies towards (Portuguese) Sign Language Interpretation.

Communication between Deaf and hearing individuals remains a persistent challenge requiring attention to foster inclusivity. Despite notable efforts in the development of digital solutions for sign language recognition (SLR), several issues persist, such as cross-platform interoperability and strategies for tokenizing signs to enable continuous conversations and coherent sentence construction. To address such issues, this paper proposes a non-invasive Portuguese Sign Language (Língua Gestual Portuguesa or LGP) interpretation system-as-a-service, leveraging skeletal posture sequence inference powered by long-short term memory (LSTM) architectures. To address the scarcity of examples during machine learning (ML) model training, dataset augmentation strategies are explored. Additionally, a buffer-based interaction technique is introduced to facilitate LGP terms tokenization. This technique provides real-time feedback to users, allowing them to gauge the time remaining to complete a sign, which aids in the construction of grammatically coherent sentences based on inferred terms/words. To support human-like conditioning rules for interpretation, a large language model (LLM) service is integrated. Experiments reveal that LSTM-based neural networks, trained with 50 LGP terms and subjected to data augmentation, achieved accuracy levels ranging from 80% to 95.6%. Users unanimously reported a high level of intuition when using the buffer-based interaction strategy for terms/words tokenization. Furthermore, tests with an LLM-specifically ChatGPT-demonstrated promising semantic correlation rates in generated sentences, comparable to expected sentences.

Validade e fidedignidade de um protocolo para avaliar o estresse de minoria em pessoas trans e diversidade de gênero / Validity and fidedignity of a protocol to evaluate minority stress in trans and gender people

O modelo do Estresse de Minoria (EM) propõe uma explicação de como estressores relacionados ao preconceito levam pessoas lésbicas, gays e bissexuais (LGB) a terem piores desfechos negativos de saúde mental do que pessoas heterossexuais. Os componentes básicos do EM são o preconceito internalizado, preconceito antecipado e preconceito experienciado. O modelo do EM foi desenvolvido primeiramente no campo da sexualidade e hoje tem sido também aplicado no contexto da diversidade de gênero. Ainda não há instrumentos adaptados para sua avaliação no contexto da diversidade de gênero no Brasil. Para esse fim, este estudo objetiva a adaptação transcultural e a investigação de evidências de validade para o contexto brasileiro do "Protocolo para Avaliação do EM em pessoas trans e diversidade de gênero" (PEM-TD-BR). Participaram 455 indivíduos cuja identidade de gênero discordava daquela designada ao nascimento. As análises fatoriais exploratórias e confirmatórias sugerem a estrutura de três fatores do PEM-TD-BR como a mais adequada, fornecendo evidências de validade e fidedignidade para o protocolo no contexto brasileiro.

The Minority Stress (MS) model explains how prejudice-related stressors lead lesbian, gay, and bisexual people (LGB) to have worse negative mental health outcomes compared to heterosexuals. The basic components of MS are internalized prejudice, anticipated prejudice, and experienced prejudice. MS model was first developed in the field of sexuality and is now also applied in the context of gender diversity. There are still no adapted tools for its assessment in the context of gender diversity in Brazil. To this end, this study aims at the cross-cultural adaptation and production of validity evidence for the Brazilian context of a protocol for the "assessment of MS in transgender and gender diverse people" (PEM-TD-BR). It included 455 participants whose current gender identity disagreed with that assigned at birth. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzes suggest the three-factor structure of the PEM-TD-BR as the most appropriate and provide evidence for the validity and reliability for the protocol in the Brazilian context.

Short version of the right-wing authoritarianism scale for the Brazilian context.

Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) is a central predictor of distinct phenomena such as prejudice, voting behavior, corruption, conspiratory beliefs and dietary habits. Given its theoretical and practical relevance, researchers have incorporated RWA measures in large-scale surveys but their length can be an impediment. Although short RWA scales exist, none consider the cultural variability of the RWA structure in non-WEIRD contexts such as Brazil. Here, we report data from five cross-sectional and longitudinal Brazilian samples (Ntotal = 2,493) used to develop a short RWA version that considers cross-cultural specificities of the Brazilian context, where an alternative four-factor model was observed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a four-factor structure comprising Authoritarianism, Traditionalism, Submission to Authority and Contestation to Authority dimensions. Six-month longitudinal results indicated that Authoritarianism and Traditionalism are more stable than both Submission and Contestation to Authority. Correlations between these dimensions and right-wing political self-categorization were statistically equivalent for the full 34-item RWA scale version and the new 12-item version. Results confirm the psychometric properties of the four-factor, 12-item RWA scale in this cultural context.

A speech therapy for transgender women: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: We systematically reviewed the literature and performed a meta-analysis on the effects of speech therapy and phonosurgery, for transgender women, in relation to the fundamental frequency gain of the voice, regarding the type of vocal sample collected, and we compared the effectiveness of the treatments. In addition, the study design, year, country, types of techniques used, total therapy time, and vocal assessment protocols were analyzed. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Lilacs, and SciELO databases for observational studies and clinical trials, published in English, Portuguese, or Spanish, between January 2010 and January 2023. The selection of studies was carried out according to Prisma 2020. The quality of selected studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. RESULTS: Of 493 studies, 31 were deemed potentially eligible and retrieved for full-text review and 16 were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Six studies performed speech therapy and ten studies phonosurgery. The speech therapy time did not influence the post-treatment gain in voice fundamental frequency (p = 0.6254). The type of sample collected significantly influenced the post-treatment voice frequency gain (p < 0.01). When the vocal sample was collected through vowel (p < 0.01) and reading (p < 0.01), the gain was significantly more heterogeneous between the different types of treatment. Phonosurgery is significantly more effective in terms of fundamental frequency gain compared to speech therapy alone, regardless of the type of sample collected (p < 0.01). The average gain of fundamental frequency after speech therapy, in the /a/ vowel sample, was 27 Hz, 39.05 Hz in reading, and 25.42 Hz in spontaneous speech. In phonosurgery, there was a gain of 71.68 Hz for the vowel /a/, 41.07 Hz in reading, and 39.09 Hz in spontaneous speech. The study with the highest gain (110 Hz) collected vowels, and the study with the lowest gain (15 Hz), spontaneous speech. The major of the included studies received a score between 4 and 8 on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. CONCLUSION: The type of vocal sample collected influences the gain result of the fundamental frequency after treatment. Speech therapy and phonosurgery increased the fundamental frequency and improved female voice perception and vocal satisfaction. However, phonosurgery yielded a greater fundamental frequency gain in the different samples collected. The study protocol was registered at Prospero (CRD42017078446).

Corrigendum: The impact of the parental support on risk factors in the process of gender affirmation of transgender and gender diverse people.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00399.].

A bayesian network perspective on an attributional model of reactions toward people with HIV / Atribuições de causalidade sobre as pessoas vivendo com HIV: perspectiva de uma análise Bayesiana

Abstract. Objetive. Attributional theory has been widely studied to understand the overall perceptions regarding people suffering from negative events such as an HIV infection. The aim of the present study is to test the overall attribution model and its influence on the willingness to help, considering emotional reactions related to an HIV-infected individual. Method. We used a Bayesian network to analyze the association between attributions of causality (blame, responsibility, and control), willingness to help, and emotional reactions (anger and sympathy) toward an HIV-infected patient. Three hundred and fifty-eight individuals participated in the study. Results. Using the overall model, we found two different results: Anger contributed to the cognitive processes of attribution, and sympathy contributed to the behavioral willingness to help the patient.

Resumo. Objetivo. A teoria de atribuição de causalidade tem sido amplamente estudada para compreender percepções a respeito de pessoas que sofrem o impacto de eventos negativos em saúde como uma infecção por HIV. O objetivo deste estudo é testar o modelo de atribuição e seu impacto em intenção de ajudar, considerando as reações emocionais direcionadas à um indivíduo que vive com HIV. Método. Utilizamos um panorama bayesiano para analisar a associação entre atribuições de causalidade (culpa, responsabilidade e controle), intenção de ajudar e reações emocionais (raiva e simpatia) no que diz respeito a um paciente com HIV. Trezentos e cinquenta e oito indivíduos participaram deste estudo. Resultados. A partir do modelo utilizado, encontramos dois resultados diferentes: raiva contribuiu ao processo cognitivo de atribuição e a emoção simpatia contribuiu ao processo comportamental de intenção de ajudar.

Gynecological Care Among Brazilian Women Who Have Sex with Women: A Respondent-Driven Sampling Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the gynecological care provided to Brazilian women who have sex with women (WSW). Methods: Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit Brazilian WSW. The survey questions, concerning gynecological care, were designed in Portuguese by medical professionals, medical students, and LGBTQIA+ community members, including the authors. The statistical analyses were weighted to account for the likelihood of recruitment. Results: From January to August of 2018, 299 participants were recruited in 14 recruitment waves. The mean age of the WSW was 25.3 years. Most (54.9%) identified as lesbian and had been involved in past-year sexual intercourse mainly with cisgender women (86.1%). The WSW also reported having sex with cisgender men (22.2%), transgender men (5.3%), nonbinary people (2.3%), and transgender women (5.3%) in the last year. More than a quarter of the WSW did not have regular appointments with a gynecologist: 8.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.2-11.6) and 19% (95% CI = 12.8-25.2) stated that they had never gone to the gynecologist or they had only gone for emergencies, respectively. Almost one-third had never had cervical cancer screening (cervical cytology, Pap test or Pap smear). Most women justified avoiding the test because they felt healthy, thought it would hurt, or feared a health professional might mistreat them. Conclusion: Gynecologists should avoid heteronormative assumptions, inquire about sexual practices, orientation, and identity separately, and provide Pap tests as advised to WSW.

Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempt in Brazilian Transgender Youth.

The rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among transgender youths are high. However, in Brazil, there are no studies about these outcomes in this population. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in Brazilian transgender youths (binary and non-binary), in association with predictor variables, following the Minority Stress Theory. The predictor variables analyzed were depressive symptoms, discrimination, gender distress, deprivation, social support, and gender identity support from parents and friends. Participants were recruited through an online survey. The final sample consisted of 213 participants, aged 13 to 25 years old. Two equal regression analyses were performed, one for each outcome. Out of the total, 103 (48.6%) identified as transgender boys, 44 (20.8%) as transgender girls, and 65 (30.7%) as non-binary. The mean age was 18.53 years (SD 2.50). The study found that 57.6% of the sample had depressive symptoms, 72.3% experienced suicidal ideation, and 42.7% had attempted suicide. In the final model, the variables that were associated with suicidal ideation were deprivation, gender distress, and depressive symptoms. As for suicide attempts, the variables deprivation and depressive symptoms were correlated. Further studies on this population should be conducted to analyze protective factors for these outcomes.

Magnesium-Vacancy Optical Centers in Diamond.

We provide the first systematic characterization of the structural and photoluminescence properties of optically active centers fabricated upon implantation of 30-100 keV Mg+ ions in synthetic diamond. The structural configurations of Mg-related defects were studied by the electron emission channeling technique for short-lived, radioactive 27Mg implantations at the CERN-ISOLDE facility, performed both at room temperature and 800 °C, which allowed the identification of a major fraction of Mg atoms (∼30 to 42%) in sites which are compatible with the split-vacancy structure of the MgV complex. A smaller fraction of Mg atoms (∼13 to 17%) was found on substitutional sites. The photoluminescence emission was investigated both at the ensemble and individual defect level in the 5-300 K temperature range, offering a detailed picture of the MgV-related emission properties and revealing the occurrence of previously unreported spectral features. The optical excitability of the MgV center was also studied as a function of the optical excitation wavelength to identify the optimal conditions for photostable and intense emission. The results are discussed in the context of the preliminary experimental data and the theoretical models available in the literature, with appealing perspectives for the utilization of the tunable properties of the MgV center for quantum information processing applications.

Beauveria bassiana interacts with gut and hemocytes to manipulate Aedes aegypti immunity.

BACKGROUND: Mosquito-borne diseases affect millions of people. Chemical insecticides are currently employed against mosquitoes. However, many cases of insecticide resistance have been reported. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have demonstrated potential as a bioinsecticide. Here, we assessed the invasion of the EPF Beauveria bassiana into Aedes aegypti larvae and changes in the activity of phenoloxidase (PO) as a proxy for the general activation of the insect innate immune system. In addition, other cellular and humoral responses were evaluated. METHODS: Larvae were exposed to blastospores or conidia of B. bassiana CG 206. After 24 and 48 h, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted on the larvae. The hemolymph was collected to determine changes in total hemocyte concentration (THC), the dynamics of hemocytes, and to observe hemocyte-fungus interactions. In addition, the larvae were macerated to assess the activity of PO using L-DOPA conversion, and the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) was measured using quantitative Real-Time PCR. RESULTS: Propagules invaded mosquitoes through the midgut, and blastopores were detected inside the hemocoel. Both propagules decreased the THC regardless of the time. By 24 h after exposure to conidia the percentage of granulocytes and oenocytoids increased while the prohemocytes decreased. By 48 h, the oenocytoid percentage increased significantly (P < 0.05) in larvae exposed to blastospores; however, the other hemocyte types did not change significantly. Regardless of the time, SEM revealed hemocytes adhering to, and nodulating, blastospores. For the larvae exposed to conidia, these interactions were observed only at 48 h. Irrespective of the propagule, the PO activity increased only at 48 h. At 24 h, cathepsin B was upregulated by infection with conidia, whereas both propagules resulted in a downregulation of cecropin and defensin A. At 48 h, blastospores and conidia increased the expression of defensin A suggesting this may be an essential AMP against EPF. CONCLUSION: By 24 h, B. bassiana CG 206 occluded the midgut, reduced THC, did not stimulate PO activity, and downregulated AMP expression in larvae, all of which allowed the fungus to impair the larvae to facilitate infection. Our data reports a complex interplay between Ae. aegypti larvae and B. bassiana CG 206 demonstrating how this fungus can infect, affect, and kill Ae. aegypti larvae.