The use of chitosan oligosaccharide to improve artemisinin yield in well-watered and drought-stressed plants

IntroductionArtemisinin is a secondary metabolite well-known for its use in the treatment of malaria. It also displays other antimicrobial activities which further increase its interest. At present, Artemisia annua is the sole commercial source of the substance, and its production is limited, leading to a global deficit in supply. Furthermore, the cultivation of A. annua is being threatened by climate change. Specifically, drought stress is a major concern for plant development and productivity, but, on the other hand, moderate stress levels can elicit the production of secondary metabolites, with a putative synergistic interaction with elicitors such as chitosan oligosaccharides (COS). Therefore, the development of strategies to increase yield has prompted much interest. With this aim, the effects on artemisinin production under drought stress and treatment with COS, as well as physiological changes in A. annua plants are presented in this study.MethodsPlants were separated into two groups, well-watered (WW) and drought-stressed (DS) plants, and in each group, four concentrations of COS were applied (0, 50,100 and 200 mg•L-1). Afterwards, water stress was imposed by withholding irrigation for 9 days.ResultsTherefore, when A. annua was well watered, COS did not improve plant growth, and the upregulation of antioxidant enzymes hindered the production of artemisinin. On the other hand, during drought stress, COS treatment did not alleviate the decline in growth at any concentration tested. However, higher doses improved the water status since leaf water potential (YL) improved by 50.64% and relative water content (RWC) by 33.84% compared to DS plants without COS treatment. Moreover, the combination of COS and drought stress caused damage to the plant’s antioxidant enzyme defence, particularly APX and GR, and reduced the amount of phenols and flavonoids. This resulted in increased ROS production and enhanced artemisinin content by 34.40% in DS plants treated with 200 mg•L-1 COS, compared to control plants.ConclusionThese findings underscore the critical role of ROS in artemisinin biosynthesis and suggest that COS treatment may boost artemisinin yield in crop production, even under drought conditions

Responsabilidade do Advogado Parecerista em Licitação

The present article aims to analyze the main fundamentals and the positioning of the courts about the responsibility of the public official who acts as referee in public procurements. In other words, the aim is an analysis of current decisions of the Court of Auditors of the Union and of the Supreme Court regarding the accountability of public advocate when issuing legal opinion concerning any hiring process in the public sector. In this way, will address some constitutional aspects that give the competence of members to this exercise carefully the general norms of law and the Attorney General's Office. This analysis will be examinated using as a basis the 1988 Federal Constitution, decisions of the Court of Auditors of the Union Decisions by the Supreme Court and doctrine.O presente artigo tem por objetivo analisar os principais fundamentos e posicionamentos das Cortes quando responsabilizando o agente público que atua como parecerista em contratações públicas. Ou seja, pretende-se uma análise das decisões atuais do Tribunal de Contas da União e do Supremo Tribunal Federal quanto a responsabilização do advogado público quando este emite parecer jurídico referente a algum processo de contratação com a Administração Pública. Neste caminho, serão abordados alguns aspectos constitucionais que conferem a competência dos integrantes para este exercício, com atenção aos normativos gerais da advocacia e da Advocacia Geral da União. Tal análise será examinada tomando por base a Constituição Federal de 1988, as decisões do Tribunal de Contas da União, e Jurisprudência

Herbicide Resistance in Brazil: Status, Impacts, and Future Challenges

Brazil is a large producer and exporter of crops in global terms. Weeds may be responsible for ~14% of crop losses, depending on the crop system. Herbicides occupy 58% of the Brazilian pesticide market; however, the continuous use of these products and the high selection pressure have led to the emergence of weeds resistant to herbicides. Today, there are 51 weed species reported as being resistant to herbicides in Brazil, of which 17 involves cross and multiple-resistance. Acetolactate synthase (ALS), acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) and 5-enolpiruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPs) inhibitors are the herbicidal groups with the most resistance cases. Soybean, corn, rice, wheat and cotton present 30, 12, 10, 9 and 8 cases, respectively, occurring mainly in herbicide-resistant crop fields from the Southern and Central West regions of the country. To better understand the dimensions of herbicide resistance, in this chapter, we will explore the size of agricultural activity in Brazil, the pesticide market and the use of herbicides in the main crops. In addition, the agronomic, scientific-technical and economic aspects that have contributed, directly or indirectly, to the selection of resistant weeds will be discussed in order to have an overview of the economic impact of herbicide resistance management

Rinoficomicose em Muar

An ulcerated tumour, surgically removed from the Ieft nostril of a mule native or the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, was fixed in formol and stained by the Crocott-Gomori, PAS and H.E. methods. The clinical symptoms presented by the mule and the anatomopathological examination results of the collected material made it possible to diagnose, though the etiological agent was not isolated, that it was a case of rhynophycomycosis. Data about phycomycosis forms (mucormycosis, subcutaneous phycomycosis, rhynophycomycosis and hyphomycosis) are given for differential diagnosis. This seems to be the second case of this disease in a mule found in Brazil.Da narina esquerda de um muar procedente do Estado do Rio de Janeiro foi removida cirurgicamente uma lesão granulomatosa ulcerada; esse material foi fixado em formol e corado pelos métodos Grocott-Gomori, PAS e hematoxilina-eosina. O quadro clínico apresentado pelo animal e o resultado do exame anátomo-patológico do material coletado permitiram diagnosticar, sem isolamento do agente etiológico atuante, que se tratava de um caso de rinoficomicose (ficomicose na narina). São fornecidos dados para a diferenciação das formas de ficomicose (mucormicose, ficomicose subcutânea, rinoficomicose) no homem e nos animais e considerações sobre hifomicose nos equídeos. Parece tratar-se do segundo caso de rinoficomicose em muar descrito no Brasil

Are biocrusts and xerophytic vegetation a viable green roof typology in a Mediterranean climate? A comparison between differently vegetated green roofs in water runoff and water quality

Green roofs can be an innovative and effective way of mitigating the environmental impact of urbanization by providing several important ecosystem services. However, it is known that the performance of green roofs varies depending on the type of vegetation and, in drier climates, without resorting to irrigation, these are limited to xerophytic plant species and biocrusts. The aim of this research was therefore to compare differently vegetated green roofs planted with this type of vegetation. A particular focus was their ability to hold water during intense stormwater events and also the quality of the harvested rainwater. Six test beds with different vegetation compositions were used on the roof of a building in Lisbon. Regarding stormwater retention, the results varied depending on the composition of the vegetation and the season. As for water quality, almost all the parameters tested were higher than the Drinking Water Directive from the European Union (EU) andWord Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking-water quality standards for potable water. Based on our results, biocrusts and xerophytic vegetation are a viable green roof typology for slowing runoff during stormwater eventsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Diagnosis, management, and follow-up of extensive dermoid cyst of the submental region

Dermoid cyst (DC) is a cystic lesion of developmental origin and uncertain etiology that rarely affects the floor of the mouth. We report a case of a large lesion found in the submental and submandibular region in a 25-year-old male patient. Computed tomography revealed extensive hypodense lesion in the submental and submandibular space without peripheral enhancement. The microscopical analysis showed a cystic cavity lined by orthokeratinized stratified squamous epithelium. The cystic capsule was composed of dense fibrous connective tissue containing cutaneous attachments, such as sebaceous and sweat glands. The diagnosis of DC was made. The differential diagnosis of expansive sublingual lesions can be clinically challenging due to the similarity with several lesions frequently observed in this region. Herein, we describe a case of extensive DC arising in the floor of the mouth, presenting clinical, imaging, and microscopical features