Simulado 1 para prova da FFLCH para Toxinologia

Texto 1:National geographicSnake researcher Zoltan Takacs named National

Geographic Emerging Explorer
Herpetologist and toxinologist Zoltan Takacs, a research associate and assistant
professor at the University of Chicago, has been named to the 2010 class of National
Geographic Emerging Explorers.Takacs, who combines his interest in drug
development with exotic travel, venomous snakes and professional photography, is one
of 14 "visionary, young trailblazers" from around the world making a "significant
contribution to world knowledge through exploration while still early in their careers."
Fascinated from a young age with nature, Takacs captured and bred snakes in his
room as a boy (and fortunately recaptured one viper that escaped to his parents'
bedroom for a few days). He studied pharmacology in Hungary, then earned a PhD
from Columbia University in New York.
He studies animal venoms, usually from snakes. Such toxins "are the source of over a
dozen medications," Takacs said, "including drugs to treat high blood pressure, heart
failure, heart attack, diabetes and chronic pain." They have evolved to be perfect
killers, he said, "________ the same snake that can kill you, can cure you."
The purpose of venom is to immobilize and kill. It aims precisely at vital targets,
including the connections between nerve and muscle cells, or the circulatory system.
Toxin-target contact can cause respiratory paralysis or shock.
If this contact is disrupted, the toxin has no effect. When venom is injected into the
snake that produces it, nothing happens. Takacs' team discovered why, by comparing
the targets of toxins (receptors) on muscle cells in cobras with receptors in humans and
other mammals.
Cobra receptors have a unique sugar molecule that acts as an umbrella, blocking the
toxin from binding to the receptor. Remove that molecule and the cobra becomes toxinsensitive. Add it to a mouse, and the mouse becomes toxin-resistant.
The ability to act on vital targets with that degree of precision makes toxins an ideal
model for new drugs. But isolating a specific toxin to fight a specific disease is an
extremely tedious, multiyear process, largely due to the small number of toxins that can
be isolated from any given venom-until now.
At UChicago, Takacs along with biophysicist Steve Goldstein, recently developed the
state-of-the-art "Designer-Toxin" technology allowing the creation of "toxin libraries"
with a potential to contain up to millions of toxin variants ready to screen.
"By screening the variants," he said, "you can determine which one will specifically act
on the vital target that determines the outcome of a disease. That knowledge is a
powerful tool in converting a toxin into a drug."
"Our technology lets you make millions of different keys, try them all at once and isolate
the single one that fits the lock. Problems with side effects occur because drugs are

acting on more than one target. With our method, your key will open one lock, but not
any others."
He predicts the technology will be useful in developing toxin-based drugs for various
diseases, from cancer to circulatory disorders. "The particular toxin we're working with
now looks promising for autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, arthritis and
diabetes," he said.
Analyzing venom may confine Takacs to a lab, but collecting it takes him to the far
corners of the world. "Since I need venom and DNA samples from snakes, their prey
and predators, my work requires unconventional travel strategies and ventures into
unfamiliar territories-exploration I absolutely love."
Takacs usually travels solo with only a backpack, camera bag and a tissue-collecting
kit, often piloting small planes or riding camels to reach remote destinations. His quest
for venomous creatures has taken him to 133 countries. The expeditions are never
uneventful.
One of his first, as a teen, landed him in a Bulgarian military jail near the Greek border.
He has used military escort against pirates while diving for sea snakes in the
Philippines; helicopter evacuation from civil war in Laos; dodged stampeding elephants
in the jungles of Congo; survived his due number of bites by an assortment of
venomous vipers and venom spewed in his face by a spitting cobra. Repeated
exposure made Takacs allergic to snake venom, snake antivenom and snake saliva.
Yet he doesn't wear much protective gear. "Gloves limit my fine-motor movement, and I
need that," he said. I only wear gloves underwater when catching sea snakes. This is
the norm in this business.
"Most of this is fun as long as you remain in control," he says.
He is concerned however, about the loss of biodiversity. "Snakes are not charismatic
animals to most people," he admitted. But if you find yourself facing a heart attack, and
a drug from viper venom could save your life, "imagine if that snake had gone extinct,
that drug wouldn't exist. Once we've erased something that evolved over millions of
years, there's no way back."

Questes
1.Considere as seguintes afirmaes:
I.Zoltan diz que no gosta de ficar confinado em seu laboratrio.
II.Quando o veneno de uma cobra injetado nela mesma, ela sofre paralise
III. relativamente fcil isolar uma toxina especfica para combater uma doena
especfica.
Esto corretas
a)apenas a I
b)apenas a III
c)a I e a II
d)nenhuma

2
I.A vantagem do mtodo que Zoltan e seu colega esto desenvolvendo que ele
reduzir ou eliminar efeitos colaterais.
II.O experimento que ele realizou e que consistia em reinjetar o veneno na cobra foi
feito com vrios tipos de cobra.
III.As toxinas so importantes para o desenvolvimento de drogas devido a sua
capacidadede agir sobre alvos vitais com muita preciso
Esto corretas
a)todas
b)apenas a III
c)a I e a II
d)a I e a III
3.
I.Zaltan j foi mordido por cobras diversas vezes
II.Uma das regras que ele segue a de usar equipamentos de proteo sempre
III.As najas tm uma molcula que impede que a toxina se ligue ao receptor

Esto corretas
a)a I e a II
b)a II e a III
c)a I e a III
d)todas
4.
I.O veneno da cobra levou milhares de anos para se desenvolver e aprimorar.
II.Takac sempre viaja com o biofsico Steve Goldstein
III.Takac desenvolveu alergia a cobras devido a seu trabalho
Esto corretas
a)a I e a II
b)a I e a III
c)a II e a III
d)nenhuma

5.Que palavra melhor preenche o espao no terceiro pargrafo?

A)but
b)Although
c)As well as
d)Therefore

6.A que o pronome it se refere:

a)alvos vitais
6.A que o pronome it destacado se refere?
a)alvos vitais
b)veneno
c)morte
d)nenhuma das anteriores

Texto 2: Caterpillars
2. More than 165,000 species of caterpillars in the order Lepidoptera (phylum Arthropoda, class
Insecta) exist. About 150 are of medical importance. This importance lies in the ability of many
species to induce an irritant or toxic dermatitis in humans and in the ability of some species to
sting. Caterpillars are the larval forms of moths and butterflies. _________ hatching from their
eggs, caterpillars pass through 4-5 instars (stages between molts) before they pupate in a
cocoon. The adult moth or butterfly emerges from the cocoon to reproduce the next generation.
More than 50 species in the United States alone are capable of inflicting a painful sting.
Seasonal epidemics of dermatitis can occur when caterpillars are numerous.
The most dangerous caterpillar in the United States is the puss caterpillar or asp (Megalopyge
opercularis;), the larval form of the flannel moth. It is found throughout the Southeast, from
Maryland to Mexico. Stings from this species are common from June through September.
_______ the history of exposure related temporally to the onset of signs and symptoms may be
clear, the diagnosis can be challenging. Maintain a high index of suspicion when patients
present with unexplained acute dermatitis, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, or wheezing during months
________ caterpillars are numerous. In some regions of the world, the diagnosis becomes clear
when clusters of seemingly unrelated cases start to present.
Onset of acute dermatitis due to hair exposure may immediately follow exposure or may be
delayed 8-12 hours and can be manifested by the following:
o

Intense pruritus, local pain or soreness (less common), and erythematous raised
rash, blisters, and bruising at the site may occur. Skin necrosis has occurred
following prolonged exposure to toxic hairs. With most toxic caterpillars,
systemic symptoms are unusual in the absence of respiratory exposure.

Respiratory exposure may precipitate acute rhinitis, tearing, cough, dyspnea,

respiratory distress, wheezing, and chest pain. This syndrome may need to be
differentiated from the rare case of anaphylaxis.

Ocular exposure may initiate an acute conjunctivitis with severe pain, tearing,
and redness. Visual acuity can be reduced as inflammation progresses.

Stings by venomous caterpillars result in immediate, localized, severe, burning

pain, which can radiate proximally and be severe enough to inhibit movement
of the extremity (pseudoparalysis). Redness and swelling with slight bruising
may occur at the site. Over the first few days, the patient may note the
development of small blisters, which can become hemorrhagic. Local findings,
including pain, may persist for several days.

Systemic complaints may occur within minutes of the sting, although they
usually occur within 2 hours. These complaints include headache, dizziness,
restlessness, nausea and vomiting, malaise, swollen or tender lymph nodes,
muscle spasms, rapid heart rate, and, in exceptional cases, altered mental status.
Systemic symptoms usually resolve in 24 hours.

Following stings by some of the New World caterpillars in the family

Saturniidae, which contain a fibrinolytic component to their venoms, patients
may note scattered bruising (onset in 8-72 h) and bleeding from any of a
number of sites (eg, gingival bleeding, hematuria). Intracranial bleeding and
acute renal failure are possible complications. Coagulopathy can last 2-5 weeks.

Questes
7.Considere as seguintes afirmaes
I.Nem todas as lagartas picam
II.Acelerao dos batimentos cardacos no um dos sintomas da picada de lagartas
III.Picadas por Megalopyge opercularis so mais comuns no vero norte-americano

Esto corretas
a)todas
b)somente a II
c)A I e a III
d)A II e a III

8.Assinale a questo verdadeira

a)Dermatite aguda pode ocorrer a partir de 8 a 12 horas aps o contato com os pelos
do animal

b)A picada de alguns tipos de lagarta do continente americano pode causar

hemorragia e falncia renal
c)A Megalopyge opercularis encontrada somente em Maryland e no Mxico
Nas questes 9 a 11 assinale a melhor alternstiva par apreencher os espaos em branco:
9._________(linha 4)
a)while
b)when
c)after
d)before

10.__________(linha 12)
a)Because
b)while
c)In addition
d)However

11.______(linha 17)
a)that
b)when
c)where
d)who

3. Nice Cup of Tea to Beat Bioterrorists? Tea Ingredients Can Kill Micro-Organisms and
Inactivate Toxins, Expert Says
ScienceDaily (Aug. 8, 2012)
New research has revealed that a nice cup of tea could hold the solution to a range of
deadly weapons in the bioterrorist's arsenal. As well as being the UK's favorite drink,
research has shown that the morning brew has the ability to kill micro-organisms and
inactivate toxins.
Dr Simon Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the University
of Greenwich's School of Science, is part of a team of researchers who have

discovered that a principal component of black tea can neutralize ricin, a highly toxic
substance which has been at the center of a number of attempted terrorist attacks.
Dr Richardson says: "One cup of char won't cure you _________you have been
poisoned, but compounds extracted from tea could, with further research, provide an
antidote to poisoning following a terrorist attack. I've been working on neutralizing ricin
poisoning for about six years as a by-product of my work in drug delivery. Professor
Les Baillie from Cardiff University is leading this project, which is in its preliminary
stages but there is real progress! The next stage, as well as securing more funding, is
seeing if other components of tea have a greater effect."
Ricin was the poison used to kill the Bulgarian dissident Georgie Markov on
Westminster bridge in 1978 after a small pellet containing the poison was fired out of
what was thought to be a modified umbrella.

Questes
12.Traduza a frase As well as being the UK's favorite drink, research has shown that
the morning brew has the ability to kill micro-organisms and inactivate toxins.

13.Assinale a alternativa verdadeira:

a) Descobriu-se que o ch preto pode neutralizar a ricina
b)Os terroristas mencionados no texto so os microorganismos nocivos
c)Uma xcara de ch preto um poderoso antdoto contra o envenenamento
d)Georgie Markov foi morto por envenenamento aps beber uma xcara de ch
14.Escolha a melhor alternativa para preencher o espao em branco no texto:
a)while
b)if
c)whether
d)whereas