Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Helminthic diseases are a major public health problem. Laboratory diagnosis is of vital importance, which must be supported by a quality assurance system. The objective of the study was to carry out an external evaluation of the laboratories that make up the health care network in order to compare the results of the external quality control in the diagnosis of helminths of the governing laboratory, the Provincial Center of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, with the participants in Villa Clara province, Cuba. A descriptive and transversal study was carried out, with a discretional sampling of intentional type by criteria. A total of 2,857 stool samples from 36 laboratories were processed from March 2016 to March 2019 by the Willis - Molloyʹs high-density solution method. In 98.6% of the diagnoses there was concordance of results and no concordance in 1% (29), in addition to 7 (0.2%) discrepant and 4 (0.1%) polyparasitized. Of 93 identified helminths, Enterobius vermicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) was present most frequently with 32, Ascaris lumbricoides (Linnaeus, 1758) with 27 and Necator/Ancylostoma with 8, for 82.8%; of the seven discrepant, two were diagnosed as Necator/Ancylostoma (participants)/ were Strongyloides stercoralis (Bavay, 1876) (rector). The participating laboratories were considered to have high quality assurance, because of the almost absolute predominance of concordant samples. The low presence of intestinal helminths in the samples received was confirmed. There are some difficulties in the identification of intestinal helminth eggs and/or larvae.

Dirofilariasis is a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution transmitted by Aedes, Anopheles and Culex mosquitoes to animals and humans. The objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of the heartworm Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856) in the shelter "El perro feliz" in the Sucre canton, Ecuador during the year 2021 diagnosed by the thick drop method. A descriptive study was carried out, and a sampling of 100 apparently healthy dogs was carried out during the months of September and October 2020. The thick drop method with Wright staining was used for the microscopic observation of the parasite morphology. The data obtained were analyzed through the percentage method to determine the percentage of positive animals and the ꭓ2 test (Chi-square) of independence at 5% significance to identify the relationship between the variables (age, sex, genetic group, color coat and weight). Thirty-six positive animals were found, representing a 36% prevalence of D. immitis in the study area. It was verified that the behavior of the parasite does not bear any type of relationship with the variables under study; and it is concluded that the disease can be transmitted to dogs without distinction of sex, age, genetic group, coat color and weight. This study describes, for the first time, seropositivity to D. immitis in a canine population of the Sucre canton, which represents a potential threat to public health; therefore, more studies are needed to determine the incidence of the disease in hosts and its impact on humans.

The present study deals with the survey of nematode parasites from district Chamba (H.P.) India, during three different seasons and summarizes the data of prevalence, intensity, density and index of infections of Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) denudata (Dujardin, 1845) Railliet, 1916 and Rhabdochona (Filochona) hellichi turkestanica (Skrjabin, 1917) Moravec et al., 2010 in freshwater fish, Schizothorax richardsonii (Gray, 1832). Fish samples were collected from five collection sites of district Chamba i.e. locality I (Chamba), locality II (Sukrala), locality III (Rari), locality IV (Saho) and locality V (Kheri). During the present study a total of 293 (92 ♂ + 201 ♀) randomly selected fish hosts were examined, in which 163 fish were infected with two species of nematodes. Seasonal studies for both the species from random sized hosts, exhibited higher prevalence, intensity, density and index of infection in summer season and least during rainy season. Of the two species, R. (Filochona) hellichi turkestanica dominated in four localities, with higher value of intensity of infection, density and index of infection during the three seasons.

Caiman latirostris (Daudin, 1802) occurs in South America, where its geographic distribution extends down to Uruguay. Very little is known about helminths in C. latirostris; therefore, the present study reports the first occurrence of Pseudotelorchis yacarei Catto & Amato, 1993 in these animals. Six young and juvenile specimens of C. Latirostris were collected in Caravelas, Bahia, Brazil. The animals were necropsied and six animals had their digestive tracts evaluated for further analysis. In 5 of the 6 hosts analyzed, 16 specimens of P. yacarei were collected from the stomach and small intestine, thus with a prevalence of 83%. Hence, this study presents the broad-snouted caiman as a new host of P. yacarei.

The purpose of the study was to describe the gnoseology between brain size and metal bioaccumulation in Gambusia punctata (Poey, 1854). In September 2022, sampling was conducted in the lower Almendares River, Havana, Cuba: latitude / 23°06'4.92"; longitude / 82°24'30.41", where 37 individuals (26 females and 11 males) were captured for determination of brain size and bioaccumulation of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). The statistical t-Student test indicated that there was no significant difference (p = 0.44) between males and females according to brain size (1.57±0.09 and 1.59±0.08 mm). Bioaccumulation of Pb was: male = 0.084±0.014; female 0.097±0.022 and for Cd corresponded to: male = 0.085±0.014; female 0.108±0.027). Multiple linear regression analysis between brain size and bioaccumulation of heavy metals indicated, p-value = 0.90 (males) and p-value = 0.35 (females). It was concluded that there was bioaccumulation of Pb and Cd in the brain of individuals of the species G. punctata. Bioaccumulation to Pb was similar in both sexes, although there was greater bioaccumulation to Cd in females. However, Pb and Cd bioaccumulation were not detrimentally related to brain size.

The purpose of the study was to describe the social need for environmental protocols with fish as biomonitors of heavy metals in aquatic ecotoxicology. It is considered that the regulatory standards for environmental pollution do not allow the analysis of the effects of heavy metals on aquatic biota. In view of this limitation, it is recognized that some organisms such as fish are used as biomonitors, as they contribute to evaluate the anthropogenic damages generated in the aquatic ecosystem. Despite the advantages of biomonitors, the regulatory standards still do not consider comparative patterns of the bioaccumulation potential of heavy metals in fish as a biomonitoring organism. Any biomonitoring with fish, being a scientifically based system, will allow environmental monitoring to preserve the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems.

La serie Los Simpson debe ser entendida como el espejo más ácido y satírico –y certero– de la sociedad occidental. Esta investigación se centra en analizar la representación de tres problemáticas fundamentales para comprender la realidad de los países de nuestro entorno: las cuestiones de género y los cambios en el perfil de la mujer actual, el fenómeno del emprendimiento y su papel en las economías desarrolladas y el poder y capacidad de influencia de la televisión. Todo para determinar, asimismo, que Los Simpson se revelan también como una herramienta pedagógica válida y valiosa, adaptable a distintos grados de enseñanza.

Hispanic South America and the Near East are considered peripheral regions in the global scientific system due to the size of their scientific and technological production. However, their higher education systems have shown significant growth over the last few decades. This article compares the evolution of the national higher education systems in research and innovation across all scientific disciplines in both regions. The exercise considers indicators associated with research production, scientific impact, and innovation. The results indicate that, despite their limitations, the Near East countries have increased their scientific output, extended their international collaboration networks, and improved technology transfer from universities to enterprises. In contrast, the scientific and innovation activities of countries in Hispanic South America have stagnated.

No Brasil temos visto diversas forças oriundas do movimento empresarial atuando como protagonistas na discussão das políticas educacionais formuladas nos últimos sete anos. Essa ingerência tem como objetivo explorar a educação como a nova fronteira econômica e com o intuído de formar uma nova geração de trabalhadores para atender as demandas do capitalismo do século XXI. Nesse sentido, nosso objetivo será explorar a atuação do movimento empresarial brasileiro na construção de um consenso em torno da necessidade de criação da nova política curricular, a Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC), especialmente a atuação dos atores do Movimento Toda pela Base (MBNC). Para tal, apresentaremos um breve histórico que demonstra como esse segmento foi um catalisador nesse debate e, ainda, abordaremos o conceito de qualidade que tem sido posto por essa reforma.

This research presents findings based on a study conducted among 84 university students in the field of life sciences. The study employed the methodology of natural semantic networks to explore the social construction of climate change. The results identified 70 words that are iconic representations of climate change. These words were ranked based on the frequency of their use by the university students, with the top five being alteration of rainfall, changes in flora and fauna, water scarcity, climatic variability, and the hole in the ozone layer. Together, these words accounted for 34.6% of the opinions obtained. The analysis also revealed that there was only a 6.25% difference in the semantic construct developed by men and women. Overall, the study highlights the potential of semantic networks as a tool for understanding how scientific and social representations of climate change are intertwined.