Health-Promoting Compounds in Stevia: The Effect of Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Phosphorus Supply and Harvest Time

This work aimed to establish the synergic role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis, phosphorus (P) fertilization and harvest time on the contents of stevia secondary metabolites. Consequently, steviol glycosides (SVglys) concentration and profile, total phenols and flavonoids as well as antioxidant assays, have been assessed in inoculated and no-inoculated plants, grown with or without P supply and collected at different growth stages(69, 89 and 123 days after transplanting).The obtained results suggest that the synthesis of stevia secondary metabolites is induced and/or modulated by all the investigated variability factors. In particular, AMF symbiosis promoted total SVglys content and positively influenced the concentration of some minor compounds (steviolbioside, dulcoside A and rebaudioside B), indicating a clear effect of mycorrhizal inoculation on SVglys biosynthetic pathway. Interestingly, only the mycorrhizal plants were able to synthesize rebaudioside B. In addition, P supply provided the highest levels of total phenols and flavonoids at leaf level, together with the maximum in vitro antioxidant activities (FRAP and ORAC). Finally, the harvest time carried out during the full vegetative phase enhanced the entire composition of the phytocomplex (steviolbioside, dulcoside A, stevioside, rebaudioside A, B, C. total phenols and flavonoids). Moreover, polyphenols and SVglys appeared to be the main contributors to the in vitro antioxidant capacity, while only total phenols mostly contributed to the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA). These findings provide original information about the role played by AMF in association with P supply, in modulating the accumulation of bioactive compounds during stevia growth. At the cultivation level, the control of these preharvest factors, together with the most appropriate harvest time, can be used as tools for improving the nutraceutical value of raw material, with particular attention to its exploitation as functional ingredient for food and dietary supplements and cosmetics

music lessons

music lessons is a digital chapbook that explores the relationships between James Baldwin’s writing and Beauford Delaney’s paintings through music. From Delaney’s “Composition 16” (1954-56) to Baldwin’s “The Uses of the Blues” (1964), their collaboration with the core elements of jazz music gives their work rhythm and melodic contour that any/body can vibe with. Absorbing the influences of artists Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, and putting them to paint and text, music lessons demonstrates how music not only transforms the ways we experience and move our bodies but also the ways that we perceive space, relationships, and time. What’s more, Delaney and Baldwin teach us the real and simple truth of music—that is, what a body can make of the past in the present, and how to press on from there

Analysis of colorectal cancers for human cytomegalovirus presence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A possible association between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and colorectal cancer progression has been inferred by the identification in tumour tissues of HCMV antigens and specific viral DNA or RNA sequences. To further investigate the relationship between HCMV and colorectal cancers we developed qualitative and quantitative PCR assay to detect HCMV DNA in 56 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from patients belonging to 4 different histological phenotypes: adenoma; poorly, moderately and well differentiated adenocarcinomas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 56 FFPE tested tissue samples, 6 (11%) were positive for HCMV nested PCR amplification, and more precisely 1 (5%) of 20 cases of adenoma and 5 (21%) of 24 cases of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. No PCR positivity was obtained in samples from well and poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our observations suggest that there is no evidence of a direct association between HCMV and colorectal cancer. Moreover, the results obtained are not supportive of a causal role of HCMV in the processes of carcinogenesis and/or progression of colorectal cancer. However, the fact that the virus may present a "hit and run" like-mechanism and HCMV can thus only be detectable at a particular stage of a processing adenocarcinoma, suggests that a significant number of colorectal cancers might have been the subject of HCMV infection that could contribute to trigger the oncogenic differentiation. Our analysis does not exclude the possibility of HCMV infection subsequent viral clearance.</p

Analysis of temporal expression of HTLV-2 reveals similarities and functional differences from HTLV-1

In the present study, we developed a robust splice site-specific real-time RT-PCR method to quantitate all HTLV-2 transcripts. Results of this analysis conducted on three different infected cell lines (HTLV-2A Mo-T , C344 and HTLV-2B BJAB-Gu) showed that the most abundant mRNA was gag/pol followed by the accessory transcript 1-3, coding for the p28 and for p22/p20 proteins. The third most abundant mRNA was tax/rex. To investigate if different mRNAs produced by HTLV-2 are expressed at different levels upon viral reactivation, we studied the kinetics of viral expression in PBMCs from three subjects infected with HTLV-2B and cultured in vitro for 48 hours. The level of expression of the full length gag/pol transcript was the highest in all samples. The tax/rex mRNA was detected already at time zero and increased very rapidly following in vitro culture, reaching the highest copy number between zero and 2-4 hours. The minus-strand APH-2 mRNA, was expressed at high level. As observed in the infected cell lines, the 1-3 mRNA was expressed at high levels in all subjects. This finding is particularly intriguing, as it encodes two proteins that were shown to exert a powerful control on Tax and Rex function. This peculiar pattern of expression, which is in striking contrast with that of HTLV-1, might in part explain the differential pathogenicity of the two viruses

Comparative analysis of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 post-translational modifications of Tax proteins in relation to their intracellular localization and activation of gene expression

Poster presentatio

Morphometry and Mortality of Nile Tilapia fingerlings in two different treatments with temperature

The objective of this work is to present the mortality rates of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) subjected to two different temperature treatments, the morphometric measurements and body mass in two different phases in terms of age for each temperature and, morphologically identify differences that may be attributed to sexual dimorphism and that will determine the best age to collect animals for gonads analysis. Two treatments with water temperature were performed: 35&deg; C and 25&deg; C. Animals were killed in two steps: 35&deg; C (71 and 92 days after hatching) and 25&deg; C (112 and 131 days after hatching). The mortality record was performed by direct visualization, morphometry and weighing. The sexing was performed by gonadal histopathology. The treatment at 35&deg; C showed lower mortality indicating that the fish would be more suited to higher temperatures. In contrast, the treatment at 25&deg; C showed significant difference between variables and males with when the animals were 131 days after hatching. Through the morphometric data analysis, animals aged less than 131 days after hatching are morphologically able to gonadal identification on the Supreme strain

COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey dataset on psychological and behavioural consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak

This N = 173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey - an open science effort to improve understanding of the human experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic between 30th March and 30th May, 2020. The dataset allows a cross-cultural study of psychological and behavioural responses to the Coronavirus pandemic and associated government measures like cancellation of public functions and stay at home orders implemented in many countries. The dataset contains demographic background variables as well as measures of Asian Disease Problem, perceived stress (PSS-10), availability of social provisions (SPS-10), trust in various authorities, trust in governmental measures to contain the virus (OECD trust), personality traits (BFF-15), information behaviours, agreement with the level of government intervention, and compliance with preventive measures, along with a rich pool of exploratory variables and written experiences. A global consortium from 39 countries and regions worked together to build and translate a survey with variables of shared interests, and recruited participants in 47 languages and dialects. Raw plus cleaned data and dynamic visualizations are available.Measurement(s) psychological measurement center dot anxiety-related behavior trait center dot Stress center dot response to center dot Isolation center dot loneliness measurement center dot Emotional Distress Technology Type(s) Survey Factor Type(s) geographic location center dot language center dot age of participant center dot responses to the Coronavirus pandemic Sample Characteristic - Organism Homo sapiens Sample Characteristic - Location global Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data:Peer reviewe