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T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a subtype of ALL involving the malignant expansion of T-cell progenitors. It is driven by a number of different possible genetic lesions, including mutations in genes encoding for ribosomal proteins (RPs). These are structural constituents of ribosomes, ubiquitous effectors of protein synthesis. Albeit the R98S mutation in RPL10, recurring with a higher frequency among RP mutations, has been extensively studied, less is known about the contribution of mutations occurring in other RPs. Alterations affecting translational machinery may not be well tolerated by cells, and there may be a selective pressure that determines the emergence of mutations with a compensatory effect. To explore this hypothesis, we sequenced the exomes of a cohort of 37 pediatric patients affected by T-ALL, and analyzed them to explore the co-occurrence of mutations in genes involved in ribosome biogenesis (including RPs) and translational control, and in known T-ALL driver genes. We found that some of the mutations in these sub-classes of genes tend to cluster together in different patients, indicating that their co-occurrence may confer some kind of advantage to leukemia cells. In addition, our sequencing highlighted the presence of a novel mutation in RPL10, namely the Q123R, which we found associated with a defect in protein synthesis. Our findings indicate that genetic alterations involving ribosome biogenesis and translational control should be carefully considered in the context of precision medicine in T-ALL.

Este artigo trata das relações existentes entre uma comunidade tradicional e a biodiversidade da Mata Atlântica, com enfoque no conhecimento, uso e manejo de plantas alimentícias. A comunidade estudada, Guarda do Embaú, município de Palhoça (SC), localiza-se no entorno de uma Unidade de Conservação, o Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro. O levantamento etnobotânico das espécies alimentícias foi realizado por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com colaboradores-chave, além da descrição das fitofisionomias e mapeamento das áreas de coleta das espécies. Foram realizadas nove entrevistas, constatando o uso de 23 espécies, sendo Myrtaceae e Arecaceae as famílias botânicas mais expressivas. A parte da planta mais citada para consumo foi o fruto.

Objectives Although inherited retinal disorders (IRDs) related to the gene encoding the retinal pigment epithelium 65kD protein (RPE65) significantly impact the vision-related quality of life (VRQoL), their emotional and social aspects remain poorly investigated in Italy. Narrative Medicine (NM) reveals the more intimate aspects of the illness experience, providing insights into clinical practice.Design and setting This NM project was conducted in Italy between July and December 2020 and involved five eye clinics specialised in IRDs. Illness plots and parallel charts, together with a sociodemographic survey, were collected through the project’s website; remote in-depth interviews were also conducted. Narratives and interviews were analysed through NVivo software and interpretive coding.Participants 3 paediatric and 5 adult patients and eight caregivers participated in the project; 11 retinologists globally wrote 27 parallel charts; 5 professionals from hospital-based multidisciplinary teams and one patient association member were interviewed.Results Findings confirmed that RPE65-related IRDs impact VRQoL in terms of activities and mobility limitations. The emotional aspects emerged as crucial in the clinical encounter and as informative on IRD management challenges and real-life experiences, while psychological support was addressed as critical from clinical diagnosis throughout the care pathway for both patients and caregivers; the need for an IRDs ‘culture’ emerged to acknowledge these conditions, and therefore, promoting diversity within society.Conclusions The project was the first effort to investigate the impact of RPE65-related IRDs on the illness experience through NM, concomitantly addressing the perspectives of paediatric and adult patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals and provided preliminary insights for the knowledge of RPE65-related IRDs and the clinical practice.

There has been an excitement toward novel eco-friendly alternatives to pest management, particularly formulations based on essential oils (EOs). Here, the biological activity of an EO-based emulsion derived from patchouli, Pogostemon cablin, was assessed against Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), a devastating and invasive pest in tomato crops worldwide. Laboratory bioassays were carried out to determine and compare lethal doses, lethal times, oviposition of treated individuals, and oviposition of T. absoluta on treated leaves of tomato to pure patchouli essential oil or its emulsion containing 18% of oil. The LD50 were 10.06 and 2.57 µg of patchouli per mg of insect for the EO and emulsion, respectively. Oviposition was reduced in adults derived from the second instar treated with LD10 by 78.5% (EO) and 85.4% (emulsion). The EO and its emulsion conferred similar avoidance to adults when sprayed on tomato leaves. Therefore, both formulations present similar lethal and sublethal effects against T. absoluta. This study demonstrated a remarkable potential of an emulsion containing 18% of P. cablin oil to be employed for T. absoluta management on tomato crops. Further studies are needed to assess and guarantee open field applications.

Maize (Zea mays) is the most consumed food in the world. The leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis, (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is one of the most important maize pests, and due to its direct and indirect damage, it can cause losses of up to 100%. Sampling plans are essential components for integrated pest management programs. The first two components to be determined in these plans are the sampling unit and the sampling technique. The sampling unit consists of determining the plant organ to be evaluated in the sampling and the techniques are the devices used to sample populations of pests in crops. Thus, the objective of this work was to select the unit and technique to be used in the sampling of D. maidis in maize crops. For this purpose, pest populations in plants at stages V4, V6, V8, and V10 were monitored in 16 commercial crops in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes over two years. The sample units studied were the leaves at different positions in the canopy of the plants. The techniques studied were direct counting, shaking the apex of the plants in a plastic tray and using a beating cloth. In the process of selecting the unit and technique to be used in sampling populations of pests in crops, adequate criteria must be used. These criteria include precision, representativeness, sampling time and that the use of these components in the sampling plans should not cause damage to the plants. The most suitable sampling unit for evaluating these pest populations was the whorl leaves and the best technique was the direct counting. Therefore, the unit and technique selected in this work can be used in sampling plans for D. maidis in maize crops.

Leaf-cutting ants are important pests of agricultural and forest crops. Currently, few insecticides are registered for the control of these insects. Natural bioactive molecules can serve as models for the synthesis of new insecticidal compounds. Such ant killer products must be sustainable and efficient, considering not only lethal effects, but also sublethal effects, which can interfere with behavior and communication between colony members. In this study, we analyzed the toxicity of the monoterpene thymol and its derivatives, as well as the sublethal effects of these compounds on the behavior of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex balzani. These effects were compared with the conventional synthetic insecticide deltamethrin. Although deltamethrin showed higher toxicity (LD50 = 0.87 × 10−5 µg/mg), all other tested compounds increased ant mortality, with thymyl chloroacetate being the most toxic derivative (LD50 = 1.41 µg/mg), followed by thymol (LD50 = 2.23 µg/mg). These three most toxic compounds interfered differentially in the behavior of ants. Thymyl chloroacetate caused increased self-cleaning and reduced allogrooming, which may be related to an attempt to avoid contamination between nestmates. In general, thymol caused greater avoidance among ants, reduced walking speed and caused disorientation in workers. On the other hand, thymyl chloroacetate (LD30) considerably increased the walking speed of the group, without changing the orientation of the individuals. Such changes may interfere with basic activities such as foraging and altering colony cohesion via different mechanisms. Thus, despite the desirable effects of deltamethrin on ant control, this insecticide is highly toxic and should be discontinued soon. Our results show that thymol and its structural modification in thymyl chloroacetate may represent potential ant killers to be used in the management of A. balzani.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on early childhood educational contexts and on educators’ working conditions. This study aims to examine the change over time in personal contribution to workplace safety and perception of risk of infection among preschool teachers after returning to in-person work during the third wave of the pandemic (spring 2021). Teachers’ perceptions of workplace safety can influence their quality of work-life and, as a consequence, the quality of service offered to children. Data were collected using two questionnaires: at T0 (January) and at T1 (May). The results showed relations between organizational and personal actions to manage risk and fear of infection at work. Concern about COVID-19 contagion decreased over time (t = 5.53, p = 0.000) and perceptions of personal contribution to workplace safety related to COVID-19 improved: t = −2.18 p = 0.031. The decrease in these concerns illustrates how perceptions of ability to manage contagion and protect workplace safety of preschool teachers improved over time, despite the stability of the pandemic context in the first half of 2021. After the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study gives an account of some good practices and their perceived effectiveness in terms of safety for childhood educational contexts.

The study of endothelial dysfunction (ED) is crucial to identify the pathogenetic mechanism(s) and provide indications for patient management in cardiovascular diseases. It is currently hindered by the limited availability of patient-specific primary endothelial cells (ECs). Endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) represent an optimal non-invasive tool to overcome this issue. Therefore, we investigated the use of ECFCs as a substrate in thrombogenesis and thrombin generation assay (TGA) to assess ED. Both assays were set up on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and then tested on ECFCs obtained from healthy donors. To prove the ability of the assays to detect endothelial activation, ECs stimulated with TNFα were compared with unstimulated ECs. EC activation was confirmed by the upregulation of VCAM-1 and Tissue Factor expression. Both assays discriminated between unstimulated and activated HUVECs and ECFCs, as significantly higher platelet deposition and fibrin formation in thrombogenesis assay, and thrombin generation in TGA, were observed when TNFα-activated ECs were used as a substrate. The amount of fibrin and thrombin measured in the two assays were directly correlated. Our results support the combined use of a thrombogenesis assay and TGA performed on patient-derived ECFCs to provide a personalized global assessment of ED relevant to the patient’s hemostatic profile.

Simple analytical models can be employed to estimate the leakage mass flow rate from labyrinth seals, resulting in a quick procedure, well suited for the early design process. Different formulas were proposed by many authors during the past decades and most of them employ a carry-over factor and a flow coefficient to predict the mass flow rate across the clearance area. The present work aims to compare the analytical prediction with the results of an experimental campaign. The experimental results were retrieved from a dedicated test rig for both a straight-through and a stepped labyrinth seal. Hence, for each seal, the effect of the clearance size, the Reynolds number and the pressure ratio has been investigated. Starting from the experimental required inputs, six different correlations are considered, with both direct and indirect methods. The results are shown as a function of pressure ratio and clearance gap. Despite some differences in the comparison, and most of the used correlation underestimate the measured mass flow rate, some general trends and guidelines can be highlighted.

Las condiciones para la producción de conocimientos en sus diversas formas y para el sostenimiento de la vida han cambiado sustancialmente. Ha transcurrido más de un año desde que la pandemia alcanzó una escala planetaria. Es inevitable en este nuevo número hacer referencia a esta dimensión histórica, epocal, que las sociedades, comunidades y cada uno/a de nosotros/as vive de forma singular. Las consecuencias de esta nueva realidad son tan profundas que podemos afirmar que nos encontramos frente a un cambio radical en los diversos campos de estudio, transformaciones epistemológicas, técnicas, de temporalidades y formas de habitar el espacio nos llevan a una nueva definición de los sentidos que adquiere la vida. La decisión editorial es dejar abierta la puerta a aquellas problemáticas que son relevantes para nuestras sociedades y que están en riesgo de quedar a la sombra, invisibilizadas tras las nuevas emergentes. Esta apuesta quiere contribuir al sostenimiento de procesos de investigación en los que innumerables equipos vienen trabajando desde hace tiempo.

Aditya Verma,1,2 Tommaso Bacci,3,4 David Sarraf,5 K Bailey Freund,3,4 SriniVas R Sadda1,2 1Doheny Eye Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 2Department of Ophthalmology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 3Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York, New York, NY, USA; 4Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; 5Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USACorrespondence: SriniVas R Sadda Email SSadda@doheny.orgAbstract: This review article summarizes the patho-anatomy of the vortex veins, the major drainage channels for the choroid, and describes the various pathways of diseases associated with vortex vein abnormalities. This report also details the technical advancements to image the vortex veins, such as ultra-widefield indocyanine green angiography, which are critical to elucidate the importance of the vortices in various retino-choroidal disorders. Future applications of these advanced imaging systems to better understand the role of the vortex veins in health and disease are also discussed.Keywords: choroid, optical coherence tomography angiography, pachychoroid disease, ultra-widefield imaging, vortex veins

Abstract Background The human microbiota plays several roles in health and disease but is often difficult to determine which part is in intimate relationships with the host vs. the occasional presence. During the Mars500 mission, six crewmembers lived completely isolated from the outer world for 520 days following standardized diet regimes. The mission constitutes the first spaceflight simulation to Mars and was a unique experiment to determine, in a longitudinal study design, the composition and importance of the resident vs. a more variable microbiota—the fraction of the human microbiota that changes in time and according to environmental conditions—in humans. Methods Here, we report the characterization of the salivary microbiota from 88 samples taken during and after Mars500 mission for a total of 720 days. Amplicon sequencing of the V3–V4 regions of 16S rRNA gene was performed, and results were analyzed monitoring the diversity of the microbiota while evaluating the effect of the three main variables present in the experimental system: time, diet, and individuality of each subject. Results Results showed statistically significant effects for either time, diet, and individuality of each subject. The main contribution came from the individuality of each subject, emphasizing salivary microbiota-personalized features, and an individual-based resilience of the microbiota. Conclusions The uniqueness of Mars500 mission, allowed to dampen the effect of environmental variables on salivary microbiota, highlighting its pronounced personalization even after sharing the same physical space for more than a year. Video abstract

As the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its impact on healthcare systems increase, developing tools for accurate diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression is a priority. Recent technological advancements have allowed for the development of blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) to aid in the diagnosis of AD, but many questions remain regarding the clinical implementation of these BBMs. This review outlines the historical timeline of AD BBM development. It highlights key breakthroughs that have transformed the perspective of AD BBMs from theoretically ideal but unattainable markers, to clinically valid and reliable BBMs with potential for implementation in healthcare settings. Technological advancements like single-molecule detection and mass spectrometry methods have significantly improved assay sensitivity and accuracy. High-throughput, fully automated platforms have potential for clinical use. Despite these advancements, however, significant work is needed before AD BBMs can be implemented in widespread clinical practice. Cutpoints must be established, the influence of chronic conditions and medications on BBM levels must be better understood, and guidelines must be created for healthcare providers related to interpreting and communicating information obtained from AD BBMs. Additionally, the development of BBMs for synaptic dysfunction, inflammation, and cerebrovascular disease may provide better precision medicine approaches to treating AD and related dementia. Future research and collaboration between scientists and physicians are essential to addressing these challenges and further advancing AD BBMs, with the goal of integration in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gundelia tournefortii L. (Asteraceae) is an artichoke-like wild edible vegetable that grows in the semi-arid climate of the East Mediterranean. Due to its high cultural and economic values for culinary and therapeutic uses, this plant is exposed to overharvesting driven by household consumption and trade, threatening the survival of natural populations. Some limited data on the nutrient composition of G. tournefortii exists indicating presence of folic acid and several essential amino acids. Research on seed germination reports that mechanical scarification, gibberellic acid, and cold stratification are all effective treatments for seed dormancy breaking and therefore to propagate plants from seed. Successful vegetative propagation from the plant meristems is also available. However, despite some exceptions, the species is still not widely cultivated due to its thorny habit and complex seed germination requirements, and the ability to ensure seed germination under natural field conditions remains to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]