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Abstract The objective of this work was to investigate the influence of the reproductive stage of closed-flowering barley on Fusarium graminearum infection and to evaluate the efficacy of pre-inoculation fungicide application in controlling Fusarium head blight (FHB) and reducing grain contamination with the deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin. Two experiments, in a completely randomized design with eight replicates, were conducted in a growth chamber at different temperatures. The statistical analysis was nonparametric, using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Potted plants of the BRS BRAU barley cultivar were inoculated by spraying a conidial suspension at the following three reproductive stages: anthesis halfway, grain at medium milk, and soft dough. The tebuconazole fungicide was sprayed 48 hours before pathogen inoculation. The FHB symptoms caused by the inoculation with F. graminearum at the medium milk stage are fully visible, although fungicide application before pathogen inoculation controls the disease, but mild at the anthesis halfway and soft dough stages. Inoculation at the three stages results in grain contamination with DON, which is reduced by pre-inoculation fungicide application.

This paper explores the interconnections between metal and energy commodities by assessing the transmission of volatility within their futures markets. Achieved through the spillover index, the analysis reveals the impact of shocks on asset pairs—highlighting which assets absorb and transmit volatility, thereby explaining market connectivity. The dataset covers a period of twenty years of daily closing prices from the London Metals Exchange for a range of commodities. The Diebold and Yilmaz (2012) index, enriched by Baruník and Krehlík (2018) was used to reflect the changes in trends. The results obtained provide insights into market connectivity and the propagation of volatility during periods of economic distress. In this context, following the 2008 crisis, precious metals exhibited significant interconnectivity, with the emergence of Silver's vulnerability along with Gold's volatility tied to pre-crisis returns. Furthermore, copper's volatility reflects conditional correlations with market stock prices and other commodities particularly during economic downturns.

This paper seeks to investigate the connectivity of the US economy through the dynamics of the transmission of volatility in sectoral indices. For this, we use daily asset data and two methodologies. The first creates a spillover index that measures market connectivity and the second partitions this index into different frequency bands that denote periods. We found results that show significant transmissions of volatility among the 64 analyzed assets. Notably, the DJIA, Wilshire 5000, and S&P 500 showed significant volatility and were the main drivers of volatility for the other sectors and indices. Results also indicated that sectors that transferred volatility were influenced by three key factors: periods of economic uncertainty, socioeconomic circumstances resulting from post-crisis events, and the impact of economic and financial news on market sentiment. Additionally, we found that global returns and price changes in market indices sent considerable volatility into commodity assets. Our results are potentially useful for investors, portfolio managers, financial economists, financial advisors, financial market regulators, and policymakers.

The political orientation and participation of esoteric groups and movements remain under-researched and restricted by many stereotypes. There is an oversimplifying tendency to classify all esoteric groups as extreme right-wing and proto-fascist or, by contrast, as counter-cultural, left-wing, anti-authoritarian, and progressive. An equally persistent stereotype, often expressed by insiders, is that esotericism is beyond politics, immersed in thinking only about eternal or spiritual issues. In this paper, analysing the practices and discourses of Russian esotericists of the first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, we will show that the forms of interaction between the esoteric and political spheres are much more complex and ambiguous. What were esoteric groups like in the times of political cataclysms, namely during the Soviet collapse and subsequent turbulences of the 1990s? Which political participation and exclusion forms were practised inside Russian esoteric communities? Analysing the 1990s esoteric biweekly newspaper Anomaly, published in St Petersburg (1990–2019), we have identified two types of esoteric civic activity, which we call esoteric citizenship (actions and political statements performed by esotericists) and metaphysical politics (esoteric forms of political participation, such as predictions, divination, channelling, and utopian projection). We consider these concepts helpful in describing different variants of esoteric civic participation while being aware that the boundaries between both are rather flexible.

Fatty acid synthesis has been extensively investigated as a therapeutic target in cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Fatty acid synthase (FASN), a key enzyme of de novo lipid synthesis, is significantly upregulated in CRC, and therapeutic approaches of targeting this enzyme are currently being tested in multiple clinical trials. However, the mechanisms behind the pro-oncogenic action of FASN are still not completely understood. Here, for the first time, we show that overexpression of FASN increases the expression of glutamine–fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 1 (GFPT1) and O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT), enzymes involved in hexosamine metabolism, and the level of O-GlcNAcylation in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, expression of FASN significantly correlates with expression of GFPT1 and OGT in human CRC tissues. shRNA-mediated downregulation of GFPT1 and OGT inhibits cellular proliferation and the level of protein O-GlcNAcylation in vitro, and knockdown of GFPT1 leads to a significant decrease in tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Pharmacological inhibition of GFPT1 and OGT leads to significant inhibition of cellular proliferation and colony formation in CRC cells. In summary, our results show that overexpression of FASN increases the expression of GFPT1 and OGT as well as the level of protein O-GlcNAcylation to promote progression of CRC; targeting the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway could be a therapeutic approach for this disease.

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify barriers to adherence to home oral maintenance chemotherapy in children with leukemia treated at a specialized cancer center. Methods: We used the Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) as a tool for screening barriers to adherence. The level of adherence was calculated considering at least one positive response in each BMQ domain, defined as Regimen Screen, Belief Screen, and Recall Screen. A positive screening for belief barriers (PSB) indicates that the caregiver reports not understanding the medication's mechanism of action and adverse effects. Results: Three important barriers to adherence were identified: beliefs, number of children of the caregiver, and age of the caregiver. The primary caregivers included 32 mothers (80%), four fathers (10%), three grandmothers (7.5%), and one unrelated caregiver (2.5 %). Most caregivers with a PSB were mothers. A PSB indicates that the caregiver reports not understanding the medication's mechanism of action and adverse effects. Caregivers with two or more children (median, three) had more barriers to adherence. Caregivers with potential non-adherence tended to be older than those with potential adherence, although without statistical significance (p=0.079, Mann-Whitney U test). Conclusions: The main barriers to adherence to home oral maintenance chemotherapy in children with leukemia identified through interviews with their caregivers, most often mothers, were lack of understanding of the treatment regimen, a greater number of children, and older age.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are organofluorine substances that are used commercially in products like non-stick cookware, food packaging, personal care products, fire-fighting foam, etc. These chemicals have several different subtypes made of varying numbers of carbon and fluorine atoms. PFAS substances that have longer carbon chains, such as PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid), can potentially pose a significant public health risk due to their ability to bioaccumulate and persist for long periods of time in the body and the environment. The National Academies Report suggests there is some evidence of PFOS exposure and gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation contributing to ulcerative colitis. Inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis are precursors to colorectal cancer. However, evidence about the association between PFOS and colorectal cancer is limited and has shown contradictory findings. This review provides an overview of population and preclinical studies on PFOS exposure and GI inflammation, metabolism, immune responses, and carcinogenesis. It also highlights some mitigation approaches to reduce the harmful effects of PFOS on GI tract and discusses the dietary strategies, such as an increase in soluble fiber intake, to reduce PFOS-induced alterations in cellular lipid metabolism. More importantly, this review demonstrates the urgent need to better understand the relationship between PFOS and GI pathology and carcinogenesis, which will enable development of better approaches for interventions in populations exposed to high levels of PFAS, and in particular to PFOS.

ABSTRACT This work aimed to evaluate the efficacy of fungicides for controlling anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) on peach palm (Bactris gasipaesvar.gasipaes) seedlings in nursery beds and in newly planted peach palms in the field. The nursery experiment included two fungicide combinations: [thiophanate-methyl + chlorothalonil (TM + C) and pyraclostrobin + epoxiconazole (P + E)], three application intervals (7, 14, and 21 days), and an additional nontreated control. The two field experiments with newly planted peach palms tested the fungicide combinations TM + C at 15-day intervals for 12 months after transplanting, comparing to the control without fungicide application. The severity of anthracnose was assessed, and it was used for calculating the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). The fungicides TM + C and E + P applied at 7-days intervals were effective in the control of anthracnose in peach palm seedlings, resulting in the lowest severities and AUDPC. The fungicide TM + C reduced the maximum disease severity and AUDPC under field conditions. However, differences in the final severity of anthracnose and stem diameter were not significant compared to the control. Therefore, the use of fungicides for control of anthracnose in the field is not necessary.

The PI3K/Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways play an important role in the acquisition of the malignant phenotype in cancer. However, there are few data regarding the role of the interplay between both pathways in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. The mutational status and the clinicopathological characteristics of PI3K/Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways were accessed by bioinformatic analysis whereas that the impact of the interplay between the activity of both pathways to explain tumorigenic potential was performed in vitro using IGF-1 and Wnt3a treatments in CRC cell models. The mutational status of these pathways did not influence the survival of CRC patients, but an association between clinicopathological characteristics in patients with mutations in one, but not in both pathways was observed. A potentiating effect on the activation of both pathways and enhanced cellular migration and proliferation was observed when both pathways were activated simultaneously with IGF-1 and Wnt3a. In addition, these effects were hindered after pretreatment with LY294002, a specific PI3K inhibitor, suggesting some dependence between these two signaling cascades. Our findings show that, regardless of mutational status, there is an interplay between the activity of PI3K/Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways that contributes to events related to CRC progression and that the reversal of such events using a PI3K inhibitor highlights the value of targeting these pathways for potential directed therapies in CRC patients.

This paper aims to analyze the levels of Brazilian public investment and the influences of public spending on active public employees and inactive employees. Using the ARDL econometric model with bound tests by Pesaran et. al (2001) and data from 2003 to 2020, are exposed as trajectories of public expenditures and investments in the Union, 27 states and 5,568 Brazilian municipalities. The results show that, although long-term Brazilian public expenditures have increased revenue and recent public expenditures, they have increased over the years. These results are useful for contributing to the literature that investigates public investments by bringing empirical evidence, for investors who use emerging market assets in their strategies and for public policymakers.

Cast-mono silicon material is interesting for its lower carbon footprint compared to Czochralski (Cz) monocrystalline silicon. However, solar cells fabricated using cast-mono (CM) silicon show lower performances. In this work, two routes to make cast-mono silicon advantageous over Cz silicon are considered. The first route is to further reduce carbon footprint of cast-mono silicon, by using Upgraded Metallurgical Grade silicon (UMG-Si) feedstock instead of Solar Grade silicon (SoG-Si) feedstock. TOPCon solar cells are fabricated using both feedstocks, and cast-mono growth technology, using industrial-type furnaces. Laboratory studies show that UMG-Si can result in efficiencies higher than solar cells made of SoG-Si when feeding the material to a CM crystallization process. But when compared to Cz, CM-UMG-Si TOPCon solar cells conversion efficiency values are still 0.5%abs lower. The second route is to take advantage of the TOPCon passivation layer (e.g., poly-Si) ability to getter metallic impurities, and thus improve the quality of cast-mono material. Several TOPCon sequences are tested and their effect on the carrier recombination properties of the device are studied. In the end, solar cells are fabricated and again, UMG-Si solar cells show better results than SoG-Si solar cells, with efficiency up to 22.65%, independently confirmed.

Starch processing industries use amylases, accounting for approximately 30% of the world’s enzyme market. Previously, an amylase-producing strain of Epicoccum nigrum was isolated from maize grains. Although E. nigrum amylase production is already reported in the literature, no published data on production optimization or characterization of the produced enzyme exists. The objectives of this work were to improve the amylase production by the E. nigrum PG 16 strain and to purify and characterize the produced enzyme. The E. nigrum PG 16 amylase production best conditions in submerged culture were: inoculum of 4% (v v-1) of a five-days-old stationary culture homogenate, agitation at 100 rpm, 25°C, natural light, 72 hours of incubation, starch as the carbon source, and an initial medium pH of 7.0. A molecular exclusion chromatography profile has shown the production of only one amylase, which was partially purified with ammonium precipitation and dialysis. The enzyme optima pH and temperature are 6.0 and 50°C, respectively. The partially purified enzyme lost its activity when incubated for 30 min in temperatures above 40°C, presenting a T50 of 46.25°C. The KM and Vmax of the partially purified enzyme are 1.72 mg mL-1 of starch and 0.15 mg min-1 of degraded starch, respectively. The ion Ca2+ slightly activated the studied enzyme. The ions Cu2+, Zn2+, and Fe3+ and the detergents SDS and Tween 80 acted as inhibitors of the studied enzyme. The partially purified enzyme released glucose from p-nitrophenyl α-D-glucopyranoside (p-NPG). Glucose was the enzyme’s main product from starch hydrolysis, as evidenced by thin-layer chromatography. The E. nigrum PG 16 studied enzyme is a glucoamylase and represents an alternative for enzymatic starch hydrolysis.

Abstract Background Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children. Most often it affects the age group between 2 and 5 years of age. Studies have shown an improvement in general survivability, more than 90% 5-year overall survival (OS). Current treatment protocols for acute lymphoblastic leukemia require verification of the presence of favorable and unfavorable genetic abnormalities, which help qualify patients to the appropriate risk group and select a more suitable treatment. The presence of the BCR/ABL1 fusion gene stratifies the patient into a high-risk group and requires special treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). The three dominant mRNA transcripts are e1a2, e13a2, and e14a2. Nevertheless, cases of atypical BCR/ABL1 transcripts have also been reported. Case presentation This paper presents the case of a pediatric patient with Ph + B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with rare atypical e8a2 BCR/ABL1 fusion transcript. Our patient achieved complete remission after 33 days of treatment. Molecular and cytogenetic studies in TP1 did not reveal the presence of the BCR/ABL1 transcript. The PCR-MRD test in TP1b was negative, the patient did not require hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Conclusion Genetic evaluation of the bone marrow sample is crucial in the initial stage of the diagnosis. Fluorescent in situ hybridization and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with Sanger sequencing are the appropriate methods used in the detection of rare variants of BCR/ABL1 transcripts.

Abstract A Penicillium sp. strain was isolated from corroded parts in the Coaracy Nunes hydroelectric power plant in Amapá State, Brazil. Morphological and molecular techniques identified this strain as Penicillium citreosulfuratum Biourge, whose 5.8S-ITS rDNA sequence grouped well in a phylogenetic tree with other Exilicaulis section species of the Penicillium genus. The obtained strain of P. citreosulfuratum ability to form biofilm on the surface of aluminum wires was confirmed by optical and scanning electron microscopy. In plates containing PDA or T&K media, the P. citreosulfuratum strain growth was inhibited around a paper disk containing a highly concentrated solution of copper, iron, or nickel. However, there was no inhibition halo around the paper disk containing aluminum and there was a faint halo around the paper disk containing zinc. This fungus was able to grow in a modified T&K liquid medium containing 50 mM of Al3+ and less efficiently in the same medium but containing 50 mM Zn2+. The essential oils of melaleuca, mint, thyme, and oregano at 100% inhibited the fungus growth. Oregano essential oil inhibited the P. citreosulfuratum strain growth in concentrations as low as 10%. In conclusion, the results show that the obtained strain of P. citreosulfurarum can form a biofilm on aluminum wires, it grows in the presence of a high concentrations of aluminum and zinc, and essential oils can control its growth.

O objetivo deste artigo é discutir a Proposta de Emenda Constitucional 187 de 2019 (PEC 187/2019), apresentada pelo Ministério da Economia como parte de uma Agenda de Reforma Econômica para melhorar a gestão orçamentária e financeira das Entidades Federativas. Através do devido processo no Congresso Nacional, a Proposta de Fundos (PEC de Fundos) inclui mudanças constitucionais nas finanças públicas nacionais, o que torna nossa pesquisa relevante. Além disso, apresentando argumentos técnicos, favoráveis ou não, à sua aprovação, e identificando se a atual regulação fiscal precisa ser reformada, analisaremos questões essenciais como rigidez orçamentária, receita vinculada, gastos obrigatórios e dívida pública, com base em dados e informações extraídas da literatura e de artigos nacionais e estrangeiros.

A podridão da uva madura causada por Colletotrichum spp. é uma ameaça ao cultivo de uvas sob condições de alta precipitação e temperaturas elevadas. Devido à carência de informações disponíveis sobre medidas de controle desta doença em uva rústica de mesa ‘Niágara Rosada’, este trabalho teve como objetivo responder às seguintes questões: a) em quais estádios fenológicos a aplicação de fungicidas tem maior eficiência no seu controle? b) quais fungicidas e produtos biológicos apresentam maior eficiência no seu controle? c) os componentes lado e alvo de pulverização da videira influenciam no seu controle? e d) a erradicação do inóculo por remoção de restos culturais, aplicação de ureia no solo ou aplicação de calda sulfocálcica influenciam no seu controle? Para responder essas questões, foram realizados quatro experimentos em blocos casualizados, em parreirais comerciais localizados em Rosário do Ivaí, PR, Brasil, durante as safras de 2016 a 2020. No primeiro experimento avaliou-se a aplicação de fungicidas nas fases fenológicas: a) pleno florescimento; b) fim do florescimento; c) bagas no estágio de grão de ervilha; d) início do fechamento do cacho (meia baga); e) início do amadurecimento do cacho; f) metade do amadurecimento do cacho; e g) início e metade do amadurecimento do cacho. No segundo experimento avaliou-se a aplicação de diferentes fungicidas e produtos biológicos. No terceiro experimento, realizado em arranjo fatorial 2×2, avaliaram-se os seguintes fatores e níveis: a) alvos de aplicação (direcionada aos cachos, e direcionada aos ramos e aos cachos); e b) modos de aplicação (em um lado da videira somente e nos dois lados da videira). No quarto experimento, realizado em arranjo fatorial 2×2×2, avaliaram-se os seguintes fatores e níveis: a) fonte de inóculo – cachos mumificados da safra anterior (removidos ou não); b) aplicação de ureia no solo para degradação dos restos culturais (aplicada ou não); e c) aplicação de calda sulfocálcica após a poda de inverno (aplicada ou não). No fim do ciclo produtivo, foi avaliada a incidência de podridão da uva madura em todos os experimentos. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Fisher (LSD) a 5% de significância. A pulverização de fungicidas nos estádios fenológicos fim do florescimento, grão ervilha e amadurecimento, direcionada aos cachos em um lado da videira, reduziu a incidência de podridão da uva madura nos cachos de ‘Niágara Rosada’, podendo ser utilizados os seguintes fungicidas: metiram em mistura com piraclostrobina, associado ou não ao fosfito de potássio ou ao biofungicida a base de Bacillus amyloliquefaciens cepa d-747, trifloxistrobina em mistura com tebuconazol, tebuconazol, tetraconazole, captana, folpete. A remoção de cachos mumificados da safra anterior reduziu a incidência da doença.

Açaí, Euterpe oleracea Mart., is a native plant from the Amazonian and is rich in several phytochemicals with anti-tumor activities. The aim was to analyze the effects of açaí seed oil on colorectal adenocarcinoma (ADC) cells. In vitro analyses were performed on CACO-2, HCT-116, and HT-29 cell lines. The strains were treated with açaí seed oil for 24, 48, and 72 h, and cell viability, death, and morphology were analyzed. Molecular docking was performed to evaluate the interaction between the major compounds in açaí seed oil and Annexin A2. The viability assay showed the cytotoxic effect of the oil in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Acai seed oil induced increased apoptosis in CACO-2 and HCT-116 cells and interfered with the cell cycle. Western blotting showed an increased expression of LC3-B, suggestive of autophagy, and Annexin A2, an apoptosis regulatory protein. Molecular docking confirmed the interaction of major fatty acids with Annexin A2, suggesting a role of açaí seed oil in modulating Annexin A2 expression in these cancer cell lines. Our results suggest the anti-tumor potential of açaí seed oil in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells and contribute to the development of an active drug from a known natural product.

Abstract Background Recent advances in sequencing have facilitated large-scale analyses of the metagenomic composition of different samples, including the environmental microbiome of air, water, and soil, as well as the microbiome of living humans and other animals. Analyses of the microbiome of ancient human samples may provide insights into human health and disease, as well as pathogen evolution, but the field is still in its very early stages and considered highly challenging. Results The metagenomic and pathogen content of Egyptian mummified individuals from different time periods was investigated via genetic analysis of the microbial composition of various tissues. The analysis of the dental calculus’ microbiome identified Red Complex bacteria, which are correlated with periodontal diseases. From bone and soft tissue, genomes of two ancient pathogens, a 2200-year-old Mycobacterium leprae strain and a 2000-year-old human hepatitis B virus, were successfully reconstructed. Conclusions The results show the reliability of metagenomic studies on Egyptian mummified individuals and the potential to use them as a source for the extraction of ancient pathogen DNA.

This article seeks to investigate the relationship between the per capita income of countries and the deaths resulting from COVID-19 per million inhabitants. For this, information from the twenty-eighth of June 2021 is considered for 186 countries, comprising the five continents. Using the ordinary least squares linear regression technique and data on GDP per capita, human development index, percentage of population with two doses of vaccine, deaths from COVID-19 per million inhabitants, available tests per capita, percentage of population with diabetes, hospital beds available per capita, percentage of the population over 70 years old, population density, democracy index and Gini coefficient, the results show that the countries most vulnerable to the pandemic are those classified as upper-middle-income, with per capita income. Capita, proportion of elderly people and democracy index significantly impact deaths per million inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a strategy to focus ultra-high resolution single channel carborne SAR and airborne circular SAR (CSAR) data to image facades and vertical infrastructure. We illustrate the related theoretical background and the design of an optimal focusing geometry for carborne SAR applications while using backprojection focusing techniques. Of particular interest is thereby the determination of the minimum distance and orientation of the facade to the radar sensor. Potential image distortions due to a wrong choice of these parameters are illustrated. Effects on the final resolution of the data due to the rotation of the focusing geometry compared to typical airborne SAR are discussed. We validated the strategy by driving on conventional roads illuminating facades with an experimental mobile radar mapping (MRM) sensor operating at 300 GHz. We further present an adapted version of the proposed strategy to focus vertical infrastructure in CSAR data sets. By extracting the center coordinate and the principal orientation of an object from GiS data, the focusing plane is designed arbitrarily in the 3D space. For the CSAR data set, a radar sensor particularly designed for circular flight trajectories operating at 94 GHz was evaluated. An electrical pylon was chosen as potential target. In both applications, the final images show a high level of detail. The combination of proposed strategy and radar sensor with very high bandwidth is capable of subcentimeter imaging of facades. The height, shape and dimensions of objects can be extracted directly from the image geometry at very high accuracy.