Colony identity clues for Syntermes grandis (Blattodea: Termitidae) individuals using near-infrared spectroscopy and PLS-DA approach.

Termites are social insects with high species diversity in tropical ecosystems. Multivariate analysis with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and data interpretation can separate social insects belonging to different colonies of the same species. The objective of this study was to propose the use of discriminant analysis by partial least squares (PLS-DA) combined with NIRS to identify the colonial origin of the Syntermes grandis (Rambur, 1842) (Blattodea: Termitidae) in 2 castes. Six ground S. grandis colonies were identified and mapped; 30 workers and 30 soldier termites in each colony were submitted to spectral measurement with NIRS. PLS-DA applied to the termites' spectral absorbance was used to detect a spectral pattern per S. grandis colony by caste. PLS-DA regression with NIRS proved to be an approach with 99.9% accuracy for identifying the colonial origin of S. grandis workers and 98.3% for soldiers. The methodology showed the importance of qualitatively characterizing the colonial phenotypic response of this species. NIRS is a high-precision approach to identifying the colony origin of S. grandis workers and soldiers. The PLS-DA can be used to design ecological field studies to identify colony territorial competition and foraging behavior of subterranean termite species.

Persistence of fipronil residues in Eucalyptus seedlings and its concentration in the insecticide solution after treatment in the nursery.

Eucalyptus seedlings are normally protected from underground termites (Isoptera: Termitidae) by immersing them in insecticide solutions. Fipronil (phenylpyrazole) is the most frequently used product to protect seedlings in the field for up to 6 months after application. This is performed just prior to planting. However, the persistence of this product in seedlings that are treated and subjected to irrigation several days prior to planting has not yet been evaluated. This study aims to quantify the fipronil concentration in the substratum and roots of the seedlings treated and subjected to irrigation for up to 56 days prior to planting and to quantify this insecticide concentration in the solutions, without continuous stirring, for 120 min. The quantitative determination of fipronil in the seedlings and in the insecticide solution was done by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with an ultraviolet (UV) detector. It was found that irrigation up to 56 days, performed in the nurseries, did not decrease the fipronil concentration in the seedlings. The absence of stirring reduced the fipronil concentration in the insecticide solution, necessitating a homogenization system to maintain the recommended concentration of this product, to effectively treat the eucalyptus seedlings. The seedling treatment with fipronil can be conducted strictly in the nursery, reducing cost and environmental risks.

The perception of drug users about their human rights.

The objective was to understand how illegal drug users monitored at a psychosocial care center for alcohol and drug users perceive and experience their human rights. The data were collected through semistructured interviews with 17 users and analyzed through content analysis. The results demonstrated the difficulty the users perceive to express what their human rights are, as if rights were something extraneous to their own life, particularly in function of the prejudice and stigma related to illegal drugs use in Brazil.

Increased circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and imbalanced regulatory T-cell cytokines production in chronic idiopathic urticaria.

The immunologic characterization of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), mainly regarding cytokine profile needs more investigation. We examined circulating inflammatory cytokine levels, T-cell induced secretion, and cytokine mRNA expression in patients with CIU subjected to the intradermal autologous serum skin test (ASST). Increased levels of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-12p70, and IL-6 have been observed in most of patients with CIU, together with an enhancement of IL-2 secretion following T-cell stimulation. Highlighting the inflammatory profile in CIU found in ASST positive, is the enhanced B-cell proliferative responsiveness and increased IL-17 secretion levels. ASST-positive patients also exhibited impaired IL-4 secretion associated with increased IL-10 production. Altered cytokine expression in patients with ASST-negative, was the down-modulation of spontaneous IL-10 mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Our findings support the concept of immunologic dysregulation in CIU, revealing a systemic inflammatory profile associated with disturbed cytokine production by T cells, mainly related to IL-17 and IL-10 production.