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In order to review and complete our knowledge of the typology and synecology of the aspen communities from the central-southern Apennines, ten original relevés were performed on the Gargano plateau and a set of 35 relevés assigned to four community types (HP: Holco mollis-Populetum tremulae; MP: Melico uniflorae-Populetum tremulae; FP: Fraxino orni-Populetum tremulae; GP: Geranio versicoloris-Populetum tremulae) were assembled from literature. These relevés along with several environmental variables either measured or estimated were involved in cluster and ordination analyses. The relevés from Gargano formed a distinctive cluster and were assigned to a new community type (SP: Stellario holosteae-Populetum tremulae ass. nova), which can be considered an Adriatic synvicariant of HP that is distributed in similar habitats (doline bottoms) but on the Tyrrhenian escarpment. At low levels of floristic similarity, the grouping of relevés in two clusters induces a sharp separation between the aspen communities distributed in the central Apennines (MP and FP) and those from the southern Apennines (SP, HP and GP), which is mainly due to compositional differences in the regional species pool. The ordination scores of relevés were best related to terrain slope, soil nitrogen, elevation, air temperature, light availability and, to a lesser extent, to soil moisture and reaction. Unlike MP and GP that appear the most mesophilous, the FP stands display a slightly more xerophilous and acidophilous character induced by the steeper slopes on which they occur. The HP habitat is the driest and lightest very likely because of the open overlying canopy, in contrast to MP stands featuring a high shrub cover. The highest occurrence of nitrophilous species was observed in SP and MP. The management of these pioneer woods should be aimed at conservation, as they play an important role in the recovery of forest herb diversity along the ecological succession towards hardwood forests.

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Introduction: Real-world data on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness are needed to validate evidence from randomized clinical trials. Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate, in a real-world setting in Brazil, the effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 against symptomatic COVID-19 and COVID-19-related complications across diverse populations., Materials and Methods: A test-negative case-control study with follow-up of cases is currently being conducted in Toledo, a city in southern Brazil, following a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign with BNT162b2. The study is being conducted among patients aged 12 years or older seeking care in the public health system with acute respiratory symptoms and tested for SARS-CoV-2 on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Cases are RT-PCR positive and controls RT-PCR negative. Test-positive cases are prospectively followed through structured telephone interviews performed at 15 days post-enrollment, and at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Baseline demographic, clinical, and vaccination data are being collected by means of structured interviews and medical registry records reviews at the time of enrollment. All RT-PCR-positive samples are screened for mutations to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants., Ethics and Dissemination: The study protocol has been approved by the research ethics committee of all participant sites. Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations., Trail Registration: Clinicatrials.gov: NCT05052307., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Regis Goulart Rosa: has received honoraria related to investigator activities of the present study, research grants from the Brazilian Ministry of Health and Pfizer for COVID-19 studies, and honoraria for lectures from Novartis. Júlia Regazzini Spinardi: is Pfizer employee and owns Pfizer stocks. Kristen Allen: is Pfizer employee and owns Pfizer stocks. Josélia Manfio: is Moinhos de Vento employee Cintia Laura Pereira de Araujo: is Moinhos de Vento employee Mírian Cohen: is Moinhos de Vento employee and has received research grants from Medicago. Caroline Cabral Robinson: is Moinhos de Vento employee Daniel Sganzerla: has received honoraria related to statistical analysis activities of the present study. Diogo Rosas Ferreira: has received honoraria related to data managing activities of the present study. Emanuel Maltempi de Souza: has received supply of resources to perform SARS-COV-2 variant genotyping procedures of the present study. Jaqueline Carvalho de Oliveira: has received supply of resources to perform SARS-COV-2 variant genotyping procedures of the present study. Daniela Fiori Gradia: has received supply of resources to perform SARS-COV-2 variant genotyping procedures of the present study. Ana Paula Carneiro Brandalize: has received supply of resources to perform SARS-COV-2 variant genotyping procedures of the present study. Gabriela Almeida Kucharski: has no competing interests Fernando Pedrotti: has no competing interests Cristina de Oliveira Rodrigues: has received supply of resources to perform SARS-COV-2 variant genotyping procedures of the present study. Moe H. Kyaw: is Pfizer employee and owns Pfizer stocks. Graciela del Carmen Morales Castillo: is Pfizer employee and owns Pfizer stocks. Amit K. Srivastava: is Pfizer employee and owns Pfizer stocks. John M McLaughlin: is Pfizer employee and owns Pfizer stocks. Maicon Falavigna: has received honoraria related to investigator activities of the present study, consulting fees from Sanofi, Ultragenyx, Novartis, Alnylam, PTC and JCR, honoraria for lectures from Janssen, Abbvie, Sanofi, Roche, Pfizer and Novartis, and Payment for expert testimony from Merck Sharp & Dohme. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

We studied the quality of dry pasta packaged and stored for 45 days in biodegradable bags made from triticale flour films. Results were compared with the quality of pasta packaged in commercial bags. Characterization of films and technologic and microbiological quality of pasta were performed. Biodegradable bags presented adequate properties during storage. There was no microbiological growth or differences in moisture and breaking force of dry pasta within both types of packaging during storage. Cooking quality of pasta was not affected by the type of packaging or storage time. We also studied the antioxidant capacity of pasta enriched with partially-deoiled-chia flour during storage in both types of packaging. A decrease in the antioxidant activity measured by ABTS assay was found at 45 days of storage in pasta packaged in biodegradable bags. Nevertheless, the total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity evaluated by FRAP method did not change significantly with time or type of packaging., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors report no conflict of interest., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2019.)