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Brazil's Atlantic Forest (BAF) is a highly fragmented, strategic environmental and socio-economic region that represents the fourth biodiversity hotspot while also producing many commodities that are exported globally. Human disturbance plays a pivotal role as a driver of BAF's soil dynamics and behaviors. The soils under Late Primary and Secondary Semideciduous Seasonal Forests (LPSF and LSSF) were characterized by high to moderate resilience, with improved chemical properties as human disturbance decreased. The Transitional Forest to Cerrado (TFC) had the worst soil conditions. Disturbed Primary and Secondary Semideciduous Seasonal Forests (DPSF and DSSF) represent a transitional stage between LPSF/LSSF and TFC. Accordingly, SOCs stocks increased from TFC << DPSF, DSSF < LPSF, LSSF. In BAF soils, to avoid unreliable data, SOCs measurements should be (i) conducted to at least 1 m soil depth and (ii) quantified with a CHN analyzer. Human disturbance strongly affected the positive feedback between vegetation succession, SOCs, and soil nutrition. Soil development decreased as human disturbance increased, thus negatively affecting SOCs. Soils in the BAF require a long time to recover after the end of human disturbance, thus suggesting that preservation strategies should be prioritized in remnant BAF fragments., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Cancer still represents a serious public health problem and one of the main problems related to the worsening of this disease is the ability of some tumors to develop metastasis. In this work, we synthesized a new series of chalcones and isoxazoles derived from eugenol and analogues as molecular hybrids and these compounds were evaluated against different tumor cell lines. This structural pattern was designed considering the cytotoxic potential already known for eugenol, chalcones and isoxazoles. Notably, chalcones 7, 9, 10, and 11 displayed significant activity (4.2-14.5 µM) against two cancer cell lines, surpassing the potency of the control drug doxorubicin. The reaction of chalcones with hydroxylamine hydrochloride provided the corresponding isoxazoles that were inactive against these cancer cells. The dihydroeugenol chalcone 7 showed the most promising results, demonstrating higher potency against HepG2 (CC 50 : 4.2 µM) and TOV-21G (CC 50 : 7.2 µM). Chalcone 7 was also three times less toxic than doxorubicin considering HepG2 cells, with a selectivity index greater than 11. Further investigations including clonogenic survival, cell cycle progression and cell migration assays confirmed the compelling antitumoral potential of chalcone 7, as it reduced long-term survival due to DNA fragmentation, inducing cell death and inhibiting HepG2 cells migration. Moreover, in silico studies involving docking and molecular dynamics revealed a consistent binding mode of chalcone 7 with metalloproteinases, particularly MMP-9, shedding light on its potential mechanism of action related to anti-migratory effects. These significant findings suggest the inclusion of compound 7 as a promising candidate for future studies in the field of cancer therapeutics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration and herniation is a leading cause of disability globally and a large unmet clinical need. No efficient non-surgical therapy is available, and there is an urgency for minimally invasive therapies capable of restoring tissue function. IVD spontaneous hernia regression following conservative treatment is a clinically relevant phenomenon that has been linked to an inflammatory response. This study establishes the central role of macrophages in IVD spontaneous hernia regression and provides the first preclinical demonstration of a macrophage-based therapy for IVD herniation. A rat model of IVD herniation was used to test complementary experimental setups: (1) macrophage systemic depletion via intravenous administration of clodronate liposomes (Group CLP2w: depletion between 0 and 2 weeks post-lesion; Group CLP6w: depletion between 2 and 6 weeks post-lesion), and (2) administration of bone marrow-derived macrophages into the herniated IVD, 2 weeks post-lesion (Group Mac6w). Herniated animals without treatment were used as controls. The herniated area was quantified by histology in consecutive proteoglycan/collagen IVD sections at 2 and 6 weeks post-lesion. Clodronate-mediated macrophage systemic depletion was confirmed by flow cytometry and resulted in increased hernia sizes. Bone marrow-derived macrophages were successfully administered into rat IVD hernias resulting in a 44% decrease in hernia size. No relevant systemic immune reaction was identified by flow cytometry, cytokine, or proteomic analysis. Furthermore, a possible mechanism for macrophage-induced hernia regression and tissue repair was unveiled through IL4, IL17a, IL18, LIX, and RANTES increase. This study represents the first preclinical proof-of-concept of macrophage-based immunotherapy for IVD herniation., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Forests provides major ecosystem services worldwide. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF) has been dramatically devastated, with fragmentation processes jeopardizing its long-term sustainability. This study investigated the structure and successional dynamics in BAF natural regeneration along an anthroposequence characterized by increasing human disturbance histories as: secondary (SF) > disturbed (DF) > late forest (LF). We aimed to understand how and the degree to which BAF fragmentation and human disturbance affected plants, soils, and the whole soil-plant relationships and feedbacks. We investigated the natural regeneration conditions of plants (using plant classification and quali-quantitative analyses) and soil chemistry (including pH-CaCl 2 , H + Al, C, N, Pt, cation-exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable cations, Al, B, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, and Zn) at twelve permanent, 2000 m 2 plots, distributed across LF, DF, and SF forests. Significant differences were determined by ANOVA. Correlation matrix (CM) and factor analysis (FA) were used for understanding correlations and feedbacks/variability among investigated parameters, respectively. Most of investigated plant and soil parameters showed significant differences (p < 0.05) between more developed plant formations (LF) vs less developed ones (SF), with differences mainly due to soil's development stage. All investigated forest formations are featured by a great influence of the soil-plant relationships and feedbacks, with a decreasing magnitude as LF → DF → SF. Thus, there is a direct, statistically recognizable impact of both "recent" as well as "ancient" human disturbance on investigated soil-plant formations. The anthropogenic influence clearly affected not only plant and soil as "separate" systems but the whole complex of interactions and feedbacks among ecosystem components. A decreasing quality in soil and plant parameters was observed as human disturbance increased. We demonstrated that BAF plant and soil require decades for their recovery after human disturbances, with complex mechanisms and behaviors in the relationships among ecosystem components. The results can be useful for managing future recovery in an ecosystem of worldwide strategic importance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Irae Amaral Guerrini reports financial support was provided by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior - Brasil (CAPES). Irae Amaral Guerrini reports financial support was provided by CNPq-National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Irae Amaral Guerrini reports financial support was provided by Brasil Mata Viva. Irae Amaral Guerrini reports a relationship with Brazil Mata Viva that includes: board membership., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The objective of this research was to obtain the speech and language therapists' point of view about the use of therapeutic lying as a communication strategy in dementia care., Methods: The present research was a quantitative, qualitative, and descriptive cross-sectional study. Data was collected through an online survey with multiple choices and open answer questions., Results: The quantitative results indicated that the majority of the speech and language therapists have already used therapeutic lying as a communicative strategy and wish to learn more about it, considering the technique as relatively valid, ethical and adequate. The qualitative results indicated the reasons for the usage of the technique: to reassure the patient in case of agitation; to encourage engagement in therapy; to avoid stress-related to memory loss; to manage difficulty or refusal to eat; to manage difficulty or refusal for drug treatment; to prevent patients from leaving the building; to manage delirium, confusion and/or paranoia; to ensure safety; and for use when other strategies do not work., Conclusion: The majority of speech and language therapists use therapeutic lying in their clinical practice, taking into consideration the best interest of the person with dementia, although professionals recognize their lack of knowledge on the subject. They have considered the communication strategy as relatively ethical, valid and adequate. The article calls attention to the necessity of education and guidelines for speech and language therapists in the use of therapeutic lying among people with dementia.

This work describes the synthesis, anti-Candida, and molecular modeling studies of eighteen new glucosyl-1,2,3-triazoles derived from eugenol and correlated phenols. The new compounds were characterized by combined Fourier Transform Infrared, 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance and spectroscopy of high-resolution mass spectrometry. The synthesized compounds did not show significant cytotoxicity against healthy fibroblast human cells (MCR-5) providing interesting selectivity indexes (SI) to active compounds. Considering the antifungal activity, nine compounds showed anti-Candida potential and the peracetylated triazoles 17 and 18 were the most promising ones. Eugenol derivative 17 was active against three species of Candida at 26.1-52.1 μM. This compound was four times more potent than fluconazole against Candida krusei and less toxic (SI > 6.6) against the MCR-5 cells than fluconazole (SI > 3.3) considering this strain. Dihydroeugenol derivative 18 showed similar activity to 17 and was four times more potent and less toxic than fluconazole against C. krusei. The deacetylated glucosides and non-glucosylated corresponding derivatives did not show considerable antifungal action, suggesting that the acetyl groups are essential for their anti-Candida activity. Molecular docking coupled with molecular dynamics showed that 14α-lanosterol demethylase is a feasible molecular target, since 17 and 18 could bind to this enzyme once deacetylated in vivo, thereby acting as prodrugs. Also, these studies demonstrated the importance of hydrophobic substituents at the phenyl ring., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The increasing production of biosolids in urban areas has been led to a search for alternative disposal avenues of this residue, which is rich in organic matter and nutrients. Agricultural land application of biosolids, motivated by its fertilizing power, is a widespread practice in many countries, but there are safety and regulatory concerns regarding the presence of pathogens in Class B biosolids. In addition, the scarcity of studies under tropical climate conditions raises questions that impede the agricultural use of this residue in some regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the survival of thermotolerant coliforms over 12 months (52 weeks) after biosolids application on the surface of a Quartzipsamment neosol cultivated with Eucalyptus. Two different biosolids were studied: those generated by a biological treatment system with complete mixing aeration ponds followed by decantation ponds (Treatment A) and biosolids from a biological treatment system with conventional activated biosolids reactors (Treatment B), both delineated in randomized blocks with four replicates. After application on the forest soil, we estimated an average survival time of 54 weeks for thermotolerant coliforms present in Treatment A biosolids and 93 weeks in Treatment B biosolids. Thermotolerant coliforms persist much longer under tropical climate conditions in Brazil than in comparable studies under temperate climate conditions. This reaffirms the need to carry out studies covering the full range of moisture and temperature regimes in which biosolids are applied as fertilizer., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sewage sludge (SS) is widely used in agriculture in several countries around the world. However, the impact of successive applications of SS on soil and the risks of nutrient leaching are often neglected. In this study, corn was grown on a constructed wetland for four crop cycles (two years), in which the wetland was subjected to successive SS applications. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the successive applications of SS affect the availability and leaching of nutrients in the soil profile, after two years of cultivation. Experiments were performed using a randomized block design with repeated measurements in time, that is, soil was sampled in each harvest. Six treatments were tested: four fertilizations based on sewage sludge, resulting from biological and anaerobic treatment, calculated to provide 25 (SS25), 50 (SS50), 75 (SS75), and 100% (SS100), of the N required for corn production (140 kg ha -1 ); a mineral fertilization (NPK) (140 kg ha -1  N, 70 kg ha -1 of P 2 O 5 and 40 kg ha -1 of K 2 O) and a control (without fertilization). The results showed that four consecutive applications of SS100 for two years caused significant accumulation of nutrients and organic matter in the superficial layers of the soil. The electrical conductivity and the concentration of NO 3 - in the soil solution were higher than those permitted by Brazilian legislation. The adoption of domestic SS in Brazilian agriculture can be a viable alternative in the search for an environment-friendly and economically feasible method for SS disposal., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Blueberry, an increasingly cultivated fruit crop in Portugal, is known to be susceptible to twig blight and dieback caused by species of Diaporthe . The diversity of Diaporthe species associated with symptomatic and asymptomatic Vaccinium corymbosum plants in Portugal was assessed. A multilocus sequence analysis of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha ( tef1-α ), β-tubulin ( tub2 ), calmodulin ( cal ), and histone 3 ( his3 ) genes revealed the presence of Diaporthe foeniculina, Diaporthe rudis , and four new species, which are described as Diaporthe crousii, Diaporthe phillipsii, Diaporthe rossmaniae , and Diaporthe vacuae . These new species were characterized in terms of their morphology, mating strategies, and temperature growth requirements. In artificial inoculation trials of V. corymbosum cv. Bluecrop plants, all Diaporthe species caused minor symptoms. Further, no differences in aggressiveness were apparent between species. This study provides the first survey of Diaporthe species associated with blueberry twig blight and dieback in Portugal. It disclosed the occurrence of a diverse assemblage of Diaporthe species, whose status and impact as pathogens of blueberry is not yet fully understood.

Increasing human demands on soil-derived ecosystem services requires reliable data on global soil resources for sustainable development. The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool is a key indicator of soil quality as it affects essential biological, chemical and physical soil functions such as nutrient cycling, pesticide and water retention, and soil structure maintenance. However, information on the SOC pool, and its temporal and spatial dynamics is unbalanced. Even in well-studied regions with a pronounced interest in environmental issues information on soil carbon (C) is inconsistent. Several activities for the compilation of global soil C data are under way. However, different approaches for soil sampling and chemical analyses make even regional comparisons highly uncertain. Often, the procedures used so far have not allowed the reliable estimation of the total SOC pool, partly because the available knowledge is focused on not clearly defined upper soil horizons and the contribution of subsoil to SOC stocks has been less considered. Even more difficult is quantifying SOC pool changes over time. SOC consists of variable amounts of labile and recalcitrant molecules of plant, and microbial and animal origin that are often operationally defined. A comprehensively active soil expert community needs to agree on protocols of soil surveying and lab procedures towards reliable SOC pool estimates. Already established long-term ecological research sites, where SOC changes are quantified and the underlying mechanisms are investigated, are potentially the backbones for regional, national, and international SOC monitoring programs., (© 2013.)

Behavioral, electrophysiological, and anatomical assays of non-human primates have provided substantial evidence that the hippocampus and dentate gyrus are essential for memory consolidation. However, a single anatomical and stereological investigation of these regions has been done in New World primates to complement those assays. The aim of the present study was to describe the cyto-, myelo-, and histochemical architecture of the hippocampus and dentate gyrus, and to use the optical fractionator method to estimate the number of neurons in the hippocampal pyramidal and granular neurons in the dentate gyrus of the Cebus monkey. NeuN immunolabeling, lectin histochemical staining with Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA), enzyme-histochemical detection of NADPH-diaphorase activity and Gallyas silver staining were used to define the layers and limits of the hippocampal fields and dentate gyrus. A comparative analysis of capuchin (Cebus apella) and Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) monkeys revealed similar structural organization of these regions but significant differences in the regional distribution of neurons. C. apella were found to have 1.3 times fewer pyramidal and 3.5 times fewer granular neurons than M. mulatta. Taken together the architectonic and stereological data of the present study suggest that hippocampal and dentate gyrus neural networks in the C. apella and M. mulatta may contribute to hippocampal-dentate gyrus-dependent tasks in different proportions., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Marked phenotypic variation has been reported in pyramidal cells in the primate cerebral cortex. These extent and systematic nature of these specializations suggest that they are important for specialized aspects of cortical processing. However, it remains unknown as to whether regional variations in the pyramidal cell phenotype are unique to primates or if they are widespread amongst mammalian species. In the present study we determined the receptive fields of neurons in striate and extrastriate visual cortex, and quantified pyramidal cell structure in these cortical regions, in the diurnal, large-brained, South American rodent Dasyprocta primnolopha. We found evidence for a first, second and third visual area (V1, V2 and V3, respectively) forming a lateral progression from the occipital pole to the temporal pole. Pyramidal cell structure became increasingly more complex through these areas, suggesting that regional specialization in pyramidal cell phenotype is not restricted to primates. However, cells in V1, V2 and V3 of the agouti were considerably more spinous than their counterparts in primates, suggesting different evolutionary and developmental influences may act on cortical microcircuitry in rodents and primates.

Oxidative stress generating active oxygen species has been proved to be one of the underlying agents causing tissue injury after the exposure of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) plants to a wide variety of stress conditions. The objective of this study was to perform data mining to identify favorable genes and alleles associated with the enzyme systems superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidases, and glutathione S-transferase that are related to tolerance for environmental stresses and damage caused by pests, diseases, herbicides, and by weeds themselves. This was undertaken by using the eucalyptus expressed-sequence database (https//forests.esalq.usp.br). The alignment results between amino acid and nucleotide sequences indicated that the studied enzymes were adequately represented in the ESTs database of the FORESTs project.