Prioritization of absent quarantine pests in Brazil through the Analytical Hierarchy Process.

Introducing an Absent Quarantine Pest (AQP) can cause severe economic, social and environmental impacts, generating food insecurity. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is an excellent tool for prioritizing APQs, allowing countries to better prepare against these threats. This study aimed to determine which AQPs should be prioritized in Brazil. For this, 20 AQPs were selected from the Brazilian official list. The selection was based on pests intercepted by Brazil between 2015 and 2018 and by countries of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, in the international movement of plants. It can be concluded that out of the 20 AQPs studied, 17 are the priority and that the AHP method is effective for this purpose. Other countries from different continents can use this methodology to prioritize PQAs and thus create strategic plans to prevent entry into their territories and economic, social, and environmental impacts.

Insulin reversal of diabetes-induced inhibition of vascular contractility in the rat.

Contractures induced by 10(-9)-10(-4) M phenylephrine (PE) or 10-70 mM KCl were observed in aortas isolated from untreated and insulin-treated streptozotocin-diabetic rats. The experiments were conducted at 2-wk intervals for a 12-wk period after the induction of diabetes. Diabetes caused an average decrease of 58 and 60% in the K and PE contractures, respectively. Although the PE contractures in aortas from the insulin-treated diabetic animals (81%) were significantly greater than those in aortas from the untreated diabetic animals (60%), they were significantly less than those in control tissues (100%). Insulin treatment completely reversed the diabetes-induced decrease in the K contracture (102%). It appears that the diabetes-induced decreases in tension may result from an altered sensitivity of the tissues to KCl but not PE. Histological examination of the tissues revealed that the diminished contractions were not due to any detectable change in mural structure. The data indicate that diabetes-induced inhibition of the mechanisms involved in mediating the K contracture are completely reversible by insulin treatment, whereas those mediating the PE contracture are only partially reversible.

Contractile and relaxing activity of arterial smooth muscle from streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

Contractures induced by 10(-4)M phenylephrine (PE) and 70 mM KCl and their relaxation by 10(-2) M theophylline (theo) were observed in aortae isolated from untreated and insulin-treated streptozotocin-diabetic rats for 12 weeks after the induction of diabetes. Diabetes consistently caused an average decrease of 40% in the PE and K-contractures. Treatment of diabetic animals with 2.0-3.5 units (U) of Neutral Protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin/day/partially prevented diabetes-induced decreases in the PE contractures while completely preventing them in the K-contractures. Relaxation of the PE-contracture, which was more susceptible to theo than was the K-contracture in control tissues, was not affected by either untreated or insulin-treated diabetes until 12 weeks after the induction of diabetes. While in vivo insulin treatment did not reverse diabetes-induced decreases in the theo-induced relaxation of the PE contracture, it did prevent the diabetes-induced increase in the relaxation of the K-contracture which was observed after 4 weeks. The results indicate that while the mechanisms involved in mediating the PE and K-contractures are inhibited by diabetes, insulin is more effective at preventing the effects of diabetes on the K-contracture and its relaxation than on the induction and relaxation of the PE-contracture.