•Oxytocin modulates social behaviors and stress response.•We evaluated the effect of intranasal oxytocin on the stress response in sheep.•Intranasal oxytocin affected the stress response to social ...isolation in sheep.•Ewes with intranasal oxytocin had higher cortisol concentration and vocalized more.•This study suggets that intranasal oxytocin modulates the social bond between ewes.
Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide hormone that modulates several social behaviors and can affect the anxiety and stress response. The aim of this study was to determine if administration of intranasal OT affects the stress response to social isolation in sheep. Twenty adult Merino ewes were assigned to two groups; 1) Control group (CG, n = 10), which received an intranasal administration of isotonic saline and 2) Oxytocin-treated group (OTG, n = 10), which received an intranasal administration of OT (24 IU) 40 min before the animals were placed in the social isolation test. During the social isolation test (10 min), the behavior of the sheep was recorded, and blood samples were obtained before and after the test for the determination of cortisol, glucose and serum proteins, and heart rate and surface temperature were recorded. The OTG ewes had a higher cortisol concentration (P = 0.04) after social isolation, tended to vocalize more (P = 0.06) during isolation, and tended to have lower globulin concentrations (P = 0.10) than the CG ewes. Contrary to what we expected, the administration of intranasal OT increased the stress response to social isolation in ewes, which was evidenced by endocrine (greater increase in cortisol concentration), physiological (a tendency to present lower concentration of globulins in blood) and behavioral (a tendency to vocalize more) indicators. This study suggests that the administration of intranasal OT increased the stress response to isolation possibly by strengthening the social bond among ewes.
Studies on the role of the oral microbiome in SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of the disease are limited. We aimed to characterize the bacterial communities present in the saliva of patients with ...varied COVID-19 severity to learn if there are differences in the characteristics of the microbiome among the clinical groups. We included 31 asymptomatic subjects with no previous COVID-19 infection or vaccination; 176 patients with mild respiratory symptoms, positive or negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection; 57 patients that required hospitalization because of severe COVID-19 with oxygen saturation below 92%, and 18 fatal cases of COVID-19. Saliva samples collected before any treatment were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR. Oral microbiota in saliva was studied by amplification and sequencing of the V1-V3 variable regions of 16S gene using an Illumina MiSeq platform. We found significant changes in diversity, composition, and networking in saliva microbiota of patients with COVID-19, as well as patterns associated with severity of disease. The presence or abundance of several commensal species and opportunistic pathogens were associated with each clinical stage. Patterns of networking were also found associated with severity of disease: a highly regulated bacterial community (normonetting) was found in healthy people whereas poorly regulated populations (disnetting) were characteristic of severe cases. Characterization of microbiota in saliva may offer important clues in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and may also identify potential markers for prognosis in the severity of the disease. IMPORTANCE SARS-CoV-2 infection is the most severe pandemic of humankind in the last hundred years. The outcome of the infection ranges from asymptomatic or mild to severe and even fatal cases, but reasons for this remain unknown. Microbes normally colonizing the respiratory tract form communities that may mitigate the transmission, symptoms, and severity of viral infections, but very little is known on the role of these microbial communities in the severity of COVID-19. We aimed to characterize the bacterial communities in saliva of patients with different severity of COVID-19 disease, from mild to fatal cases. Our results revealed clear differences in the composition and in the nature of interactions (networking) of the bacterial species present in the different clinical groups and show community-patterns associated with disease severity. Characterization of the microbial communities in saliva may offer important clues to learn ways COVID-19 patients may suffer from different disease severities.
FLORES, Eva María y DURÁN, Fernando (eds.) (2018). Guerras de soledad, soldados de infamia: representaciones de combatientes irregulares, clandestinos o mercenarios en la literatura española. Palma ...de Mallorca: Genueve Ediciones, 241 pp., ISBN 978-84-945814-5-8 (edición impresa). ISBN 978-84-945814-6-5 (edición digital).
El presente artículo tiene como propósito dar a conocer los hallazgos de una revisión documental sistemática de estudios publicados entre los años 2013 y 2021. El objetivo de la investigación fue ...establecer la relación de los efectos y alteraciones que produce el cortisol alto y sostenido en el tiempo sobre las funciones cognitivas. Para lograr este objetivo se revisaron 73 documentos, los cuales fueron sometidos a un análisis formal y de contenido, en una secuencia ordenada, orientada por los objetivos de la investigación, seleccionando 36 investigaciones neurocientíficas. Los documentos encontrados corresponden a fuentes primarias y secundarias, asociadas a las temáticas, cortisol en términos de definición, función y alteración; hipercortisolemia sostenida, estrés y estructuras cerebrales; identificación de los daños y alteraciones en las estructuras cerebrales, como la amígdala, el hipocampo y corteza prefrontal, así como funciones cognitivas tales como: atención, memoria, cognición social y planificación, consideradas como prerrequisitos para el desarrollo del aprendizaje. El estudio permitió concluir que los niveles altos de cortisol, por periodos prolongados a causa del estrés físico y psicológico, generan un impacto negativo en el organismo, produciendo una condición neurotóxica para las estructuras cerebrales, modificando su volumen y favoreciendo una disfunción neuronal, generando como consecuencia alteración en las funciones cognitivas, tales como: fallo en el sistema arousal, estado de alerta, concentración, así como memoria episódica y espacial, que en su conjunto afectan el procesamiento de información y aprendizaje.
HAGEDORN, Hans Christian (coord.) (2016). "Don Quijote en los cinco continentes. Acerca de la recepción internacional de la novela cervantina". Cuenca: Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La ...Mancha, 612 pp. ISBN 978-84- 9044-188-6 (edición impresa). ISBN 978-84-9044-189-3 (edición digital).
The current growing demand for resources, food production, and agricultural crops leads to a drastic reduction in biodiversity and ecosystem services. One of the options to mitigate the recurring ...effects of land use changes is the adoption of wildlife-friendly systems, such as cacao agroforestry systems, which integrates production with biodiversity conservation. Cacao management involves the frequent use of pesticides, such pesticides are comprised of heavy metals that are considered non-point sources of pollution. Animal hair is considered an excellent cumulative bioindicator of contamination. Small mammals are known as bioindicators of pollution, as they provide a warning of adverse effects on ecosystems. The main objective was to determine the concentrations of six heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Mn, and Cu) in hair of small mammals in traditional cacao agroforests and Atlantic Forest fragments in the southern region of Bahia, Brazil. The study covered 12 traditional cacao agroforests and 12 Atlantic Forest fragments. A total of 34 small mammals were captured in the traditional cacao agroforests, representing 12 species, while 18 were captured in the Atlantic Forest fragments, representing 6 species. We found that small mammals in both habitats had similar levels of lead in their hair. Heavy metals concentrations in the hair of small mammals were higher in individuals from traditional cacao agroforests than the Atlantic Forest fragments (Cacao agroforest (mg/Kg): Pb - 26.42 ± 16.42; Ni - 5.31 ± 4.3; Mn - 1.64 ± 2.63; Cu - 1.13 ± 1.15; Cd - 1.42; Atlantic Forest (mg/Kg): Pb - 19.28 ± 14.46; Ni - 0.18; Mn - 0.34 ± 0.40; Cu - 1 ± 2.05). Marsupials exhibited higher lead concentrations compared to rodents (Didelphimorphia (mg/Kg): Pb - 28.66 ± 18.73; Rodentia (mg/Kg): Pb - 18.44 ± 9.85), likely due to their distinct eating habits and habitat use. Body condition of the small mammals did not differ between the two habitat types, and there was no relationship between the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in small mammals and body condition. This is the first study to evaluate heavy metal contamination in small mammals in traditional cacao agroforests and Atlantic Forest fragments, thus providing important data that indicate the presence of heavy metals in the hair of the small mammals sampled, and consequently, the presence of these heavy metals in the environment where these small mammals lived.
•Levels of Ni, Pb, Cd, Mn and Cu were measured in small mammal's hair.•Metals levels were higher in cacao agroforest than the Atlantic Forest fragments.•Small mammals in both habitats had similar levels of lead in their hair.•There was no difference in body condition of small mammals in cacao agroforests versus Atlantic Forest fragments.•This is the first report of heavy metals levels in Neotropical small mammals.
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has undergone significant transformation, resulting in habitat loss and the endangerment of many species of mammals and other vertebrates. In this study, the presence of ...fluctuating asymmetry of four anatomical structures of the arboreal rodent
was evaluated using geometric morphometrics. The study focused on adult specimens collected in a mosaic of vegetation composed of forested vegetation, occupancy mosaics in forested areas, and cocoa plantations. The results showed significant values of fluctuating asymmetries in all structures and in all areas. The skulls and scapulae showed the highest values of asymmetry in forested vegetation and cocoa plantations, while the mandibles showed the greatest values in forested vegetation, and the pelvis in occupancy mosaics and cocoa plantations. These findings are consistent with previous studies that have evaluated developmental stability in mammals and suggest that high asymmetry values indicate an effect on different phases of ontogeny, which can harm the survival of a species in future generations. Overall, this study provides important insights into the impacts of habitat fragmentation on
and highlights the need for conservation efforts to preserve the integrity of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and its diverse range of wildlife.
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