Fungal inoculation effect on post-harvest sugarcane residue decomposition under field conditions

Fungal inoculation effect on post-harvest sugarcane residue (SCR) decomposition in field conditions was studied. In vitro interaction between selected fungi was determined by direct confrontation. Mycelial growth response to different concentrations of herbicides and urea was also assessed. Fungal combinations did not show inhibitory effects. Bjerkandera sp. Y-HHM2 and Myrothecium sp. S-3.20 growth decreased in 2.4-D agar plates. However, Pleurotus sp. Y- RN3 showed a stimulation in 10 ppm 2.4-D agar plates. The biggest growth in ametrine supplemented cultures was observed in Pleurotus sp. Y-RN3. Evaluation of increasing urea concentrations on mycelial growth showed that 5,000 ppm significantly inhibits mycelial growth. The field assay under rainfed condition showed that post-harvest SCR decomposition rate significantly increases in Y-HHM2, Y-RN3 and Y-HHM2/Y-RN3/S-3.20 treatments. This is the first report on the capability of Bjerkandera sp. Y-HHM2 and Pleurotus sp. Y-RN3 to accelerate post-harvest SCR decomposition in rainfed conditions at field scale, suggesting that these fungi might be useful tools in the sugarcane crop system.Fil: Maza, Marianela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia. Sanidad Vegetal. Cátedra Fitopatología; ArgentinaFil: Medina, M.. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; ArgentinaFil: Plasencia, Adriana María. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; ArgentinaFil: Amoroso, Maria Julia del R.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Yasem, Marta Graciela. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia. Sanidad Vegetal. Cátedra Fitopatología; Argentin

Inorganic polyphosphate regulates AMPA and NMDA receptors and protects against glutamate excitotoxicity via activation of P2Y receptors

Glutamate is one of the most important neurotransmitters in the process of signal transduction in the central nervous system. Excessive amounts of this neurotransmitter lead to glutamate excitotoxicity which is accountable for neuronal death in acute neurological disorders including stroke, trauma, and in neurodegenerative diseases. Inorganic polyphosphate (PolyP) plays multiple roles in the mammalian brain, including function as a calcium-dependent gliotransmitter mediating communication between astrocytes, while its role in the regulation of neuronal activity is unknown. Here we studied the effect of polyP on glutamate-induced calcium signal in primary rat neurons in both physiological and pathological conditions. We found that pre-incubation of primary neurons with polyP reduced glutamate- and AMPA- but not the NMDA-induced calcium signal. However, in rat hippocampal acute slices polyP reduced ion flux through NMDA and AMPA receptors in native neurons. The effect of polyP on glutamate and specifically on the AMPA receptors was dependent on the presence of P2Y1 but not of P2X receptor inhibitors and also could be mimicked by P2Y1 agonist 2MeSADP. Pre-incubation of cortical neurons with polyP significantly reduced the initial calcium peak as well as the number of neurons with delayed calcium deregulation in response to high concentrations of glutamate and resulted in protection of neurons against glutamate-induced cell death. As a result, activation of P2Y1 receptors by polyP reduced calcium signal acting through AMPA receptors, thus protecting neurons against glutamate excitotoxicity by reduction of the calcium overload and restoration of mitochondrial function.Significance StatementOne of the oldest polymers in the evolution of living matter is the inorganic polyphosphate. It is shown to play a role of gliotransmitter in the brain; however, the role of polyphosphate in neuronal signalling is not clear. Here we demonstrate that inorganic polyphosphate is able to reduce calcium signal, induced by physiological or high concentrations of glutamate. The effect of polyphosphate on glutamate-induced calcium signal in neurons is due to the effect of this polymer on the AMPA receptors.The effect of polyP on glutamate- and AMPA-induced calcium signal is dependent on P2Y receptor antagonist. The ability of polyphosphate to restrict glutamate-induced calcium signal lies in the basis of its protection of neurons against glutamate excitotoxicity

DPYD c.1905+1G>A and c.2846 A>T and UGT1A1*28 allelic variants as predictors of toxicity: Pharmacogenetic translational analysis from the phase III TRIBE study in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Abstract not availabl

Feasibility studies of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors at PANDA at FAIR

Simulation results for future measurements of electromagnetic proton form factors at \PANDA (FAIR) within the PandaRoot software framework are reported. The statistical precision with which the proton form factors can be determined is estimated. The signal channel $\bar p p \to e^+ e^-$ is studied on the basis of two different but consistent procedures. The suppression of the main background channel, $\textit{i.e.}$ $\bar p p \to \pi^+ \pi^-$, is studied. Furthermore, the background versus signal efficiency, statistical and systematical uncertainties on the extracted proton form factors are evaluated using two different procedures. The results are consistent with those of a previous simulation study using an older, simplified framework. However, a slightly better precision is achieved in the PandaRoot study in a large range of momentum transfer, assuming the nominal beam conditions and detector performance

Impact of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations on sustained virologic response in HCV-infected patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohort

BACKGROUND: Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice. METHODS: A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the impact of sr-RD on SVR24 (HCV RNA <50 IU/mL) were conducted in 951 Caucasian, noncirrhotic genotype (G)1 patients assigned to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin for 48 weeks. The probability of SVR24 was identified by a baseline scoring system (range: 0-9 points) on which scores of 5 to 9 and <5 represent high and low probability of SVR24, respectively. RESULTS: SVR24 rates were 46.1% (754/1634), 77.1% (279/362), 68.0% (514/756), and 51.3% (203/396), respectively, in G1, 2, 3, and 4 patients. Overall, 16.9% and 21.8% patients experienced 651 sr-RD for peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, respectively. Among Caucasian noncirrhotic G1 patients: female sex, lower body mass index, pre-existing cardiovascular/pulmonary disease, and low hematological indices were prognostic factors of sr-RD; SVR24 was lower in patients with 651 vs. no sr-RD by Week 4 (37.9% vs. 54.4%; P = 0.0046) and Week 12 (41.7% vs. 55.3%; P = 0.0016); sr-RD by Week 4/12 significantly reduced SVR24 in patients with scores <5 but not 655. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, sr-RD to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin significantly impacts on SVR24 rates in treatment-naive G1 noncirrhotic Caucasian patients. Baseline characteristics can help select patients with a high probability of SVR24 and a low probability of sr-RD with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin

Adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines and outcomes in the hospitalized elderly with different types of pneumonia

Background: Few studies evaluated the clinical outcomes of Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP), Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) and Health Care-Associated Pneumonia (HCAP) in relation to the adherence of antibiotic treatment to the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in hospitalized elderly people (65 years or older). Methods: Data were obtained from REPOSI, a prospective registry held in 87 Italian internal medicine and geriatric wards. Patients with a diagnosis of pneumonia (ICD-9 480-487) or prescribed with an antibiotic for pneumonia as indication were selected. The empirical antibiotic regimen was defined to be adherent to guidelines if concordant with the treatment regimens recommended by IDSA/ATS for CAP, HAP, and HCAP. Outcomes were assessed by logistic regression models. Results: A diagnosis of pneumonia was made in 317 patients. Only 38.8% of them received an empirical antibiotic regimen that was adherent to guidelines. However, no significant association was found between adherence to guidelines and outcomes. Having HAP, older age, and higher CIRS severity index were the main factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: The adherence to antibiotic treatment guidelines was poor, particularly for HAP and HCAP, suggesting the need for more adherence to the optimal management of antibiotics in the elderly with pneumonia

Study of doubly strange systems using stored antiprotons

Bound nuclear systems with two units of strangeness are still poorly known despite their importance for many strong interaction phenomena. Stored antiprotons beams in the GeV range represent an unparalleled factory for various hyperon-antihyperon pairs. Their outstanding large production probability in antiproton collisions will open the floodgates for a series of new studies of systems which contain two or even more units of strangeness at the P‾ANDA experiment at FAIR. For the first time, high resolution γ-spectroscopy of doubly strange ΛΛ-hypernuclei will be performed, thus complementing measurements of ground state decays of ΛΛ-hypernuclei at J-PARC or possible decays of particle unstable hypernuclei in heavy ion reactions. High resolution spectroscopy of multistrange Ξ−-atoms will be feasible and even the production of Ω−-atoms will be within reach. The latter might open the door to the |S|=3 world in strangeness nuclear physics, by the study of the hadronic Ω−-nucleus interaction. For the first time it will be possible to study the behavior of Ξ‾+ in nuclear systems under well controlled conditions

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements