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Established vineyard soils may have high copper (Cu) contents due to the ongoing foliar applications of copper-based fungicides. In viticulture, the replacement of old vineyards with new vines is common practice, however,limited by Cu excess in soil and its toxicity to young grapevines. The application of phosphorus (P) and ar-buscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation are potential strategies to reduce Cu toxicity to young grapevines.This study aimed to assess the effects of phosphorus fertilization and AMF (Rhizophagus clarus) inoculation ongrowth and physiological parameters of young grapevines grown in soil with high Cu content. The experimentwas conducted in a greenhouse, where natural grassland soil was artificially contaminated by the addition of60 mg kg−1Cu. The soils were treated with and without AMF inoculation, combined with additions of 0, 40 and100 mg P kg−1. After 90 days of cultivation, grapevine plants were assessed for chlorophyllafluorescence,photosynthetic pigment contents, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, plant height, plant biomass, and con-centrations of Cu and P in roots and shoots. Phosphorus fertilization promoted increases in seedling growth(related to the increase of total P concentration in roots and shoots), soluble Pi concentration in leaves, and thequantum yield of the PSII (YII) (associated with a reduction in shoot Cu concentration). The AMF inoculationincreased the concentration of P in roots and shoots, soluble Pi in leaves and electron transport rate (ETR).Phosphorus fertilization and inoculation of grapevines with AMF are strategies capable of reducing Cu toxicity inyoung grapevines. Made available in DSpace on 2020-01-09T00:39:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1s2.0S0304423819300342main.pdf: 737187 bytes, checksum: e56f2e19f3c7c1c42fd8c46862c1afa4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019

Old vineyards may present high copper (Cu) content in the soil due to the frequent application of Bordeaux fungicide to control leaf fungal diseases. Thus, many wine makers replace copper fungicides by those made of zinc (Zn) and it leads to the accumulation of these two elements in vineyard soils, fact that may potentiate the occurrence of physiological disorders and morphological changes in the plant root system. The aim of the current study was to assess the effects of high Cu and Zn contents in a sandy acid soil on the physiological state and development of the root system in young grapevines. The soil was taken from a vineyard from Southern Brazil, and then it was sieved and had its acidity and P and K contents corrected. Next, the soil was subjected to the application of 0 and 120 mg Cu kg?1 ; each one of these doses was added with 0, 120 and 240 mg Zn kg?1 , thus totaling six treatments. After the treatments were added to the soil samples, 2.4 kg of soil was stored in rizoboxtype containers. One young grapevine plant was transplanted to each box. The transplanted plants were cultivated for 60 days in greenhouse. The accumulation of root and shoot dry matter was set after the experimental period, as well as the Cu and Zn contents in the roots and shoot, the root system morphology, the chlorophyll a fluorescence, the photosynthetic pigments, the gas exchanges and the superoxide dismutase enzyme activity (SOD). Young grapevines presented mechanisms to tolerate high Cu and Zn concentrations in the soil, mainly through the retention of such metals in their roots to diminish translocation to the shoot. However, the highest Cu and Zn doses led to grapevine plant growth decrease, to gas exchange alterations and to photochemical efficiency reduction associated with photosynthetic pigment decrease and to non-photochemical energy dissipation increase. Moreover, the SOD activity was greater in intermediate Zn doses, thus indicating antioxidant system activation. Thus, the combination between high Cu and Zn concentrations in vineyard soils will enable minimizing the toxic effects of these metals to young grapevines cultivated in these soils. Keywords: Vineyard soils Gas exchange Chlorophyll fluorescence Root system Photosynthetic pigments Heavy metals Made available in DSpace on 2019-01-11T00:09:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Theinteractionofhighcopperandzincdosesinacidsoil.pdf: 215749 bytes, checksum: 5ad3c73c02490620635b4493f98263df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019-01-09

Publicada online em 24 de setembro.

Thirty asymptomatic patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who had received prophylactic cranial irradiation (16 pts had 2400 cGy, 14 pts 1800 cGy) and intrathecal methotrexate were studied by computed tomography of the brain 60 to 148 months after initiation of prophylaxis. Three of 30 (10%) patients presented abnormal findings: widening of frontal subarachnoid space (1 patient), little area of decreased attenuation coefficient (1 patient), and intracerebral calcifications (1 patient Tomography abnormalities could be detected either in patients treated with 2400 cGy and in those treated with 1800 cGy. None of our patients showed central nervous system dysfunctions on physical examination. The results of our study suggest that tomography findings have a poor clinical significance.

Detailed data on clinical presentations and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in Europe are still lacking. In this descriptive study, we report on 130 children with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosed by 28 centers (mostly hospitals), in 10 regions in Italy, during the first months of the pandemic. Among these, 67 (51.5%) had a relative with COVID-19 while 34 (26.2%) had comorbidities, with the most frequent being respiratory, cardiac, or neuromuscular chronic diseases. Overall, 98 (75.4%) had an asymptomatic or mild disease, 11 (8.5%) had moderate disease, 11 (8.5%) had a severe disease, and 9 (6.9%) had a critical presentation with infants below 6 months having significantly increased risk of critical disease severity (OR 5.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 29.1). Seventy-five (57.7%) children were hospitalized, 15 (11.5%) needed some respiratory support, and nine (6.9%) were treated in an intensive care unit. All recovered.Conclusion:This descriptive case series of children with COVID-19, mostly encompassing of cases enrolled at hospital level, suggest that COVID-19 may have a non-negligible rate of severe presentations in selected pediatric populations with a relatively high rates of comorbidities. More studies are needed to further understand the presentation and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in children with special needs. What is Known:• There is limited evidence on the clinical presentation and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in Europe, and almost no evidence on characteristics and risk factors of severe cases. What is New:• Among a case series of 130 children, mostly diagnosed at hospital level, and with a relatively high rate (26.2%) of comorbidities, about three-quarter had an asymptomatic or mild disease.• However, 57.7% were hospitalized, 11.5% needed some respiratory support, and 6.9% were treated in an intensive care unit.

Arsenic in rice grain is dominated by two species: the carcinogen inorganic arsenic (the sum of arsenate and arsenite) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). Rice is the dominant source of inorganic arsenic into the human diet. As such, there is a need to identify sources of low-inorganic arsenic rice globally. Here we surveyed polished (white) rice across representative regions of rice production globally for arsenic speciation. In total 1180 samples were analysed from 29 distinct sampling zones, across 6 continents. For inorganic arsenic the global $$\tilde{x}$$ x ~ was 66 μg/kg, and for DMA this figure was 21 μg/kg. DMA was more variable, ranging from $$\tilde{x}$$ x ~ $$\tilde{x}$$ x ~