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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common dermatological disease affecting both children and adults. No drug-free emulgel has been developed and studied in vitro and in vivo for the treatment of AD. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the efficacy of a topical emulgel containing hyaluronic acid, glycerol, Calendula officinalis, Aloe vera, polyphenols and EGF for the concomitant treatment in patients with AD aged over 14. Objective skin barrier function parameters were included, such as transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin temperature, pH, stratum corneum hydration, skin elasticity and erythema. The subjective opinion of the patients was determined including acceptability, absorption, comfort of use and tolerability, as well as the degree of improvement in patients’ quality of life. We observed an improvement in the subjective parameters studied and statistically significant differences in the objective parameters. Specifically, we found an improvement in TEWL (p = 0.006), erythema (p = 0.008) and hydration (p < 0.001), parameters indicating an improvement in the epidermal barrier. One hundred per cent of patients were satisfied with the product. Therefore, these results suggest that the product may contribute to the treatment of AD.

No studies have evaluated the peripartum follicular dynamics resulting in foal heat under tropical environments. We aimed to assess retrospectively the peripartum follicular dynamics in Colombian Paso Fino mares that were inseminated at the foal heat, becoming pregnant or not. Records including follicular dynamics of pregnant mares prepartum and from foaling until foal heat ovulation were assessed in Colombian Paso Fino mares (CPF, n = 24) bred under permanent grazing in a tropical herd in Colombia. The number of ovarian follicles >10 mm before foaling and the largest follicle (F1) growth rate (mm/day) from foaling until the F1 reached the largest diameter (pre-ovulatory size) at the foal heat were assessed. Mares were inseminated at foal heat with 20 mL of semen (at least 500 million live spermatozoa) with >75% motility and 80% viability from a stallion of proven fertility. Ovulation was confirmed the day after follicles had reached the largest diameter. Quantitative data from follicular growth, the day at ovulation, from mares that became pregnant (PM) or not (NPM) at 16 days post-insemination were compared by one-way ANOVA, repeated measures ANOVA (follicle growth rate data) or Chi-square test (edema and cytology scores data). Epidemiological data, gestation length, and the number of follicles on third prepartum days did not significantly differ between PM and NPM (p > 0.05). Seventy-one percent of mares (17/24) got pregnant. Ovulatory follicles grew faster in the NPM group (n = 7), which ovulated between the seventh and ninth postpartum days, compared to PM (n = 17), which ovulated between the 11th and 13th postpartum days. Pre-ovulatory follicle diameter in PM (48.57 ± 0.8 mm) was significantly larger than in NPM (42.99 ± 1.0 mm) (p < 0.05). In addition, the PM edema score (2.93 ± 0.32 mm) on ovulation day was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than NPM (4.47 ± 0.05 mm). First postpartum ovulation occurred at 12.6 ± 0.3 and 8.5 ± 0.4 days (p < 0.05) in PM and NPM, respectively. Colombian Paso Fino mares bred under permanent grazing under tropical rainforest conditions with no foaling or postpartum complications showed a 71% gestation rate when inseminated at foal heat when ovulation occurs between the second and third postpartum week.

Migrants’ home gardens may be created from elements of both old and new landscapes. We assume that medicinal plant assemblages in migrants’ gardens are shaped by plant diversity and availability, therapeutic needs, and heritagization processes. Which of the factors prevail: those related to biodiversity and ecology, epidemiology, or heritage and memory? In this paper we offer new knowledge on the garden landscapes of the Global South. The research was conducted in the Atlantic Forest in Argentina. We surveyed 120 home gardens: 60 of transborder Paraguayan migrants, and 60 of transcontinental Europeans who arrived in Misiones, Argentina before WW2 and their descendants. We compared the richness, composition, medicinal uses, and the relationships of garden plants (via plant networks) between these groups, taking into account everyday scales and the transnational scale. Paraguayans cultivated and protected 137 species, predominantly native, and people of European origin 119 spp., native and exotic in similar proportions. The similarity in plant composition (68%) and the consensus in the medicinal use of plants (62%) were high between the migrant groups. Plant network analysis revealed many overlaps in assemblages of plants, but certain particularities of each group remained because of cultural expressions and therapeutic needs. This high level of similarity suggests that plant diversity, both native and allochthonous, shared concepts of illness, and the flux of knowledge between these groups was more significant than heritagization practices in shaping home gardens’ medicinal plant assemblages. People of Paraguayan and European origins do not make an active effort to convert their home gardens into heritage. Medicinal plants are connected to the lived emplacement—intimate daily practices—rather than to ethnic identity strategies. Nevertheless, the plant assemblages in gardens have been shaped by ecology, colonial legacy, nostalgia, and transfer of knowledge; therefore migrants’ home gardens can be considered heritage in a broad sense.

Uterine involution, ovarian activity, and incidence of postpartum uterine disease (PUD) were assessed in forty-eight dairy cows from calving until the 10th postpartum week. Postpartum follow-up included evaluation of uterine involution and ovarian structures by B-mode, Doppler color, and Doppler spectral ultrasound of the right uterine artery in cows with no calving or postpartum uterine problems (healthy cows). Data from cows that developed PUD (PUD cows) were compared with healthy cows matched by herd and days in milk (DIM). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, simple regression, one-way ANOVA, or repeated ANOVA measures, and in data analysis of healthy cows, uterine horn diameter assessed by B-mode ultrasound ranged from 22.9 ± 2.4 to 19.4 ± 1.4 mm and 19.9 ± 2.2 to 20.5 ± 2.3 mm from the fourth to the seventh postpartum week in the left and right uterine horns, respectively (P > 0.05). During the study, 15 and 7 cows had corpus luteum in the left and right ovaries, respectively. The mean time for the first postpartum CL was 30.1 ± 3.2 DIM (min 8, max 67 DIM). In data analysis of PUD cows, uterine blood flow assessed by color Doppler ranged from 7.4 ± 4.0 to 43.75 ± 10.3% in cows that developed PUD compared to 16.7 ± 11.0% in healthy cows (P > 0.05). No statistically significant changes were found in resistance index, pulsatility index, time-averaged maximum velocity, time-averaged mean velocity, or diastole/systole ratio (D/S) in cows that developed PUD compared to healthy cows (P > 0.05). Finally, no correlation was found between Doppler spectral parameters and uterine involution (P > 0.05). Our data suggest that cows receiving transition diets and exhibiting normal calving undergo a rapid macroscopic uterine involution and ovarian follicular dynamics resumption. Complete ultrasound evaluation provides valuable data for assessing uterine involution in postpartum dairy cows.

Intestinal bacteria may influence lung homeostasis via the gut-lung axis. We conducted a single-center, quadruple-blinded, randomized trial in adult symptomatic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid19) outpatients. Subjects were allocated 1:1 to probiotic formula (strains Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KABP022, KABP023, and KAPB033, plus strain Pediococcus acidilactici KABP021, totaling 2 × 109 colony-forming units (CFU)) or placebo, for 30 days. Co-primary endpoints included: i) proportion of patients in complete symptomatic and viral remission; ii) proportion progressing to moderate or severe disease with hospitalization, or death; and iii) days on Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Three hundred subjects were randomized (median age 37.0 years [range 18 to 60], 161 [53.7%] women, 126 [42.0%] having known metabolic risk factors), and 293 completed the study (97.7%). Complete remission was achieved by 78 of 147 (53.1%) in probiotic group compared to 41 of 146 (28.1%) in placebo (RR: 1.89 [95 CI 1.40–2.55]; P

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common dermatological disease affecting both children and adults. No drug-free emulgel has been developed and studied in vitro and in vivo for the treatment of AD. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the efficacy of a topical emulgel containing hyaluronic acid, glycerol, Calendula officinalis, Aloe vera, polyphenols and EGF for the concomitant treatment in patients with AD aged over 14. Objective skin barrier function parameters were included, such as transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin temperature, pH, stratum corneum hydration, skin elasticity and erythema. The subjective opinion of the patients was determined including acceptability, absorption, comfort of use and tolerability, as well as the degree of improvement in patients' quality of life. We observed an improvement in the subjective parameters studied and statistically significant differences in the objective parameters. Specifically, we found an improvement in TEWL (p = 0.006), erythema (p = 0.008) and hydration (p < 0.001), parameters indicating an improvement in the epidermal barrier. One hundred per cent of patients were satisfied with the product. Therefore, these results suggest that the product may contribute to the treatment of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducción y objetivos: El sahumar es una actividad que se mantiene presente y vigente en diversos contextos indígenas, campesinos y urbanos en Latinoamérica. Se aborda el estudio desde una botánica urbana desarrollada por mujeres, las sahumeras, que recolectan, secan, tejen e intencionan cuerpos vegetales. Se exploran usos y significaciones de las plantas que integran los sahumos en el litoral fluvial del río Paraná. M&M: Por medio de herramientas propias de la etnografía, se realizaron entrevistas a siete mujeres (entre 23 y 42 años de edad), sahumeras que confeccionan, emplean y comercializan atados de plantas “sahumos”. Se estableció el origen biogeográfico de las especies, así como las formas de obtención y los lugares a los que se accede para la obtención de las plantas. Resultados: Se registró un total de 58 especies, 30 de ellas de origen nativo. La recolección es la forma de adquisición más común (93%). Es en la recolección, la identificación y en el mismo transitar donde convergen plantas y sahumeras formando relacionalidades. Se establecen así vínculos fisiológicos, afectivos y emocionales que acompañan las vivencias y las experiencias de las sahumeras. Conclusión: La etnobotánica de las sahumeras, nos lleva a los límites dondeconfluyen lo urbano y lo rural, lo citadino y lo campesino, lo humano y lo no- humano. Las ‘plantas que acompañan’, desafían la materialidad de lo utilitario; el sahumo es definido finalmente como una relación, un encuentro entre existentes con la capacidad a afectarse e incluso ‘acompañarse’ mutuamente.

Migrants' home gardens may be created from elements of both old and new landscapes. We assume that medicinal plant assemblages in migrants' gardens are shaped by plant diversity and availability, therapeutic needs, and heritagization processes. Which of the factors prevail: those related to biodiversity and ecology, epidemiology, or heritage and memory? In this paper we offer new knowledge on the garden landscapes of the Global South. The research was conducted in the Atlantic Forest in Argentina. We surveyed 120 home gardens: 60 of transborder Paraguayan migrants, and 60 of transcontinental Europeans who arrived in Misiones, Argentina before WW2 and their descendants. We compared the richness, composition, medicinal uses, and the relationships of garden plants (via plant networks) between these groups, taking into account everyday scales and the transnational scale. Paraguayans cultivated and protected 137 species, predominantly native, and people of European origin 119 spp., native and exotic in similar proportions. The similarity in plant composition (68%) and the consensus in the medicinal use of plants (62%) were high between the migrant groups. Plant network analysis revealed many overlaps in assemblages of plants, but certain particularities of each group remained because of cultural expressions and therapeutic needs. This high level of similarity suggests that plant diversity, both native and allochthonous, shared concepts of illness, and the flux of knowledge between these groups was more significant than heritagization practices in shaping home gardens' medicinal plant assemblages. People of Paraguayan and European origins do not make an active effort to convert their home gardens into heritage. Medicinal plants are connected to the lived emplacement--intimate daily practices--rather than to ethnic identity strategies. Nevertheless, the plant assemblages in gardens have been shaped by ecology, colonial legacy, nostalgia, and transfer of knowledge; therefore migrants' home gardens can be considered heritage in a broad sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A demographic and reproductive analysis of the population of jaguars (Panthera onca) (n = 38) held in Colombian zoos. Records were analyzed (1970-2010), where paternity and maternity data were completed by DNA’s microsatelite analysis. The SPARKS program was used for the construction of the Regional Studbook for Jaguars and the Population Management 2000 (PM 2000) program for its analysis. The main results obtained were: the census, distribution by sex and age, fertility rate, survival rate, mortality rate, average life expectancy, reproductive value, reproductive projections for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 100 years while preserving the 90% of genetic diversity. The most relevant findings were: the population analyzed in 2010 was decreasing (λ = 0.9876), the generational time (T) was longer for females (T = 18.21 years) than for males (T = 17.46 years), the genetic diversity was on the rise from 1994 to 2002 and remained stable from 2002 to 2009 (GD = 0.78). The genetic analysis allowed to structure the captive population, optimizing the analysis and the reliability of the results, opening the possibility of applying these methods as a conservation model in other threatened species.

Introducción y objetivos: Las comunidades campesinas asociadas al pastoreo y a la ganadería -a pequeña escala- suelen tener un profundo conocimiento de los ambientes, de los ecosistemas y de las plantas en las que se crían sus animales. En este estudio se indagó el conocimiento asociado a las plantas forrajeras en la Sierra de Ancasti, Argentina (Chaco seco). Para ello se estableció qué tipo de ganado se cría en la zona, qué plantas son consumidas por los animales domésticos y en términos locales, qué se considera un forraje. M&M: Por medio de la técnica bola de nieve, 20 unidades domésticas participaron de las entrevistas abiertas y semiestructuradas, consultándoles específicamente por las especies forrajeras. El trabajo de campo se complementó con observación participante y caminatas guiadas junto a familias campesinas asociadas al pastoreo. Resultados: La producción local se relaciona principalmente al ganado caprino, ovino y vacuno. En relación a las plantas forrajeras, se encontraron 154 especies (correspondientes a 129 géneros, 51 familias). Se destaca el alto porcentaje de especies de origen nativo (78%). Según el Índice de frecuencia de mención, los forrajes más citados son: Cereus forbesii, Medicago sativa, Vachellia aroma, V. caven y Zea mays. Conclusiones: La riqueza de especies consumidas por los distintos tipos de ganado, el dominio de las especies nativas en la alimentación de los animales y la diversidad de tipos de hábito y partes de uso, son una muestra de la amplia diversidad biológica de la región. Asimismo, se definió el término de forraje, que para los pobladores de Ancasti está asociado al concepto de “mantener” al animal (alimentar, engordar, cuidar, aumentar la producción).

Resumen Antecedentes Este trabajo se realizó con pequeños agricultores de origen paraguayo, que habitan en la provincia de Misiones, Argentina. Los criollos (mestizos) en su mayoría provienen de departamentos ubicados al oriente del Paraguay, donde el clima y la flora presentan características similares a la provincia de Misiones. Estas características ecológicas contribuyen a la continuación y el mantenimiento de los conocimientos y las prácticas relacionados al uso de las plantas. Métodos El trabajo de campo se realizó entre septiembre de 2014 y agosto de 2015. En la etnoclasificación participaron 45 informantes, provenientes de tres localidades rurales, situadas a lo largo del río Paraná, frontera entre los dos países. Para la clasificación se utilizaron imágenes fotográficas de 30 especies -comestibles y medicinales- preseleccionadas como las de mayor frecuencia de mención entre los habitantes de la región (a partir de los datos obtenidos en una primera etapa de investigación en el año 2014). Por medio del análisis de componentes principales y el análisis de agrupamiento (cluster) se contrastaron y compararon las variaciones en las etnoclasificaciones locales de plantas. Resultados Se encontró que los pobladores clasifican sus plantas según su aplicación y uso (mayormente asociadas a la categoría medicinal y en menor medida a la comestible). Mientras, la morfología rara vez se tiene en cuenta, incluso en aquellas especies muy similares y estrechamente relacionadas como las palmeras. A la luz de los hallazgos, se destaca un modelo de funcionalidad dominante en el proceso de cognición y de clasificación de las plantas entre los agricultores de origen paraguayo. Se describen las principales creencias y prácticas culturales asociadas a la medicina rural paraguaya. Adicionalmente, se discuten algunos de los conceptos de las plantas que mantienen los paraguayos y su articulación con la epistemología local. Conclusiones En la clasificación etnobotánica de los pobladores de origen paraguayo los patrones de uso construidos culturalmente tienen mayor peso que las variables morfológicas.