Resolving the decades-long transient FIRST J141918.9+394036: an orphan long gamma-ray burst or a young magnetar nebula?

Ofek (2017) identified FIRST J141918.9+394036 (hereafter FIRST J1419+3940) as a radio source sharing similar properties and host galaxy type to the compact, persistent radio source associated with the first known repeating fast radio burst, FRB 121102. Law et al. (2018) showed that FIRST J1419+3940 is a transient source decaying in brightness over the last few decades. One possible interpretation is that FIRST J1419+3940 is a nearby analogue to FRB 121102 and that the radio emission represents a young magnetar nebula (as several scenarios assume for FRB 121102). Another interpretation is that FIRST J1419+3940 is the afterglow of an `orphan' long gamma-ray burst (GRB). The environment is similar to where most such events are produced. To distinguish between these hypotheses, we conducted radio observations using the European VLBI Network at 1.6 GHz to spatially resolve the emission and to search for millisecond-duration radio bursts. We detect FIRST J1419+3940 as a compact radio source with a flux density of $620 \pm 20\ \mathrm{\mu Jy}$ (on 2018 September 18) and a source size of $3.9 \pm 0.7\ \mathrm{mas}$ (i.e. $1.6 \pm 0.3\ \mathrm{pc}$ given the angular diameter distance of $83\ \mathrm{Mpc}$). These results confirm that the radio emission is non-thermal and imply an average expansion velocity of $(0.10 \pm 0.02)c$. Contemporaneous high-time-resolution observations using the 100-m Effelsberg telescope detected no millisecond-duration bursts of astrophysical origin. The source properties and lack of short-duration bursts are consistent with a GRB jet expansion, whereas they disfavor a magnetar birth nebula.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

RUNX transcription factors at the interface of stem cells and cancer

The RUNX1 transcription factor is a critical regulator of normal haematopoiesis and its functional disruption by point mutations, deletions or translocations is a major causative factor leading to leukaemia. In the majority of cases, genetic changes in RUNX1 are linked to loss of function classifying it broadly as a tumour suppressor. Despite this, several recent studies have reported the need for a certain level of active RUNX1 for the maintenance and propagation of acute myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells, suggesting an oncosupportive role of RUNX1. Furthermore, in solid cancers, RUNX1 is overexpressed compared with normal tissue, and RUNX factors have recently been discovered to promote growth of skin, oral, breast and ovarian tumour cells, amongst others. RUNX factors have key roles in stem cell fate regulation during homeostasis and regeneration of many tissues. Cancer cells appear to have corrupted these stem cell-associated functions of RUNX factors to promote oncogenesis. Here, we discuss current knowledge on the role of RUNX genes in stem cells and as oncosupportive factors in haematological malignancies and epithelial cancers

Interspecies transfer of blaimp-4 in a patient with prolonged colonization by IMP-4-producing enterobacteriaceae

A patient was colonized by IMP-4-producing Enterobacter cloacae and Escherichia coli strains for 7 months. IMP-4-producing E. cloacae strains were first and last isolated at day 33 and at 8 months after admission, respectively. IMP-4-producing E. coli strains were first and last isolated at days 88 and 181 after admission, respectively. The E. cloacae and E. coli isolates shared identical genetic features in terms of bla(IMP-4), bla(TEM-1), qnrB2, aacA4, HI2 plasmids, and ISCR1. This study shows the first prolonged colonization with in vivo interspecies transfer of bla(IMP-4)

Response of Different Genetic Lines of Boars to Varying Levels of Dietary Calcium and Phosphorus

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of various levels of dietary calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) on performance, soundness and blood and bone parameters of different genetic lines of boars fed under variable environmental conditions. The first experiment compared different genetic lines of boars fed two levels of dietary Ca and P. Forty purebred (Large White) and Nebraska Gene Pool boars were allotted by breed and initial weight to two levels of dietary Ca and P (.65 Ca/.50% P and 1.3% Ca/1.0% P)

Resolving the decades-long transient FIRST J141918.9+394036: an orphan long gamma-ray burst or a young magnetar nebula?

Ofek (2017) identified FIRST J141918.9+394036 (hereafter FIRST J1419+3940) as a radio source sharing similar properties and host galaxy type to the compact, persistent radio source associated with the first known repeating fast radio burst, FRB 121102. Law et al. (2018) showed that FIRST J1419+3940 is a transient source decaying in brightness over the last few decades. One possible interpretation is that FIRST J1419+3940 is a nearby analogue to FRB 121102 and that the radio emission represents a young magnetar nebula (as several scenarios assume for FRB 121102). Another interpretation is that FIRST J1419+3940 is the afterglow of an `orphan' long gamma-ray burst (GRB). The environment is similar to where most such events are produced. To distinguish between these hypotheses, we conducted radio observations using the European VLBI Network at 1.6 GHz to spatially resolve the emission and to search for millisecond-duration radio bursts. We detect FIRST J1419+3940 as a compact radio source with a flux density of $620 \pm 20\ \mathrm{\mu Jy}$ (on 2018 September 18) and a source size of $3.9 \pm 0.7\ \mathrm{mas}$ (i.e. $1.6 \pm 0.3\ \mathrm{pc}$ given the angular diameter distance of $83\ \mathrm{Mpc}$). These results confirm that the radio emission is non-thermal and imply an average expansion velocity of $(0.10 \pm 0.02)c$. Contemporaneous high-time-resolution observations using the 100-m Effelsberg telescope detected no millisecond-duration bursts of astrophysical origin. The source properties and lack of short-duration bursts are consistent with a GRB jet expansion, whereas they disfavor a magnetar birth nebula.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Leveraging traditional agroforestry practices to support sustainable and agrobiodiverse landscapes in Southern Brazil.

Integrated landscape approaches have been identified as key to addressing competing social, ecological, economic, and political contexts and needs in landscapes as a means to improve and preserve agrobiodiversity. Despite the consistent calls to integrate traditional and local knowledge and a range of stakeholders in the process of developing integrated landscape approaches, there continues to be a disconnect between international agreements, national policies, and local grassroots initiatives. This case study explores an approach to address such challenges through true transdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder research and outreach to develop solutions for integrated landscapes that value and include the experience and knowledge of local communities and farmers. Working collaboratively with small-scale agroforestry farmers in Southern Brazil who continue to use traditional agroecological practices to produce erva-mate (Ilex paraguariensis), our transdisciplinary team is working to collect oral histories, document local ecological knowledge, and support farmer-led initiatives to address a range of issues, including profitability, productivity, and legal restrictions on forest use. By leveraging the knowledge across our network, we are developing and testing models to optimize and scale-out agroforestry and silvopastoral systems based on our partners? traditional practices, while also supporting the implementation of approaches that expand forest cover, increase biodiversity, protect and improve ecosystem services, and diversify the agricultural landscape. In so doing, we are developing a strong evidence base that can begin to challenge current environmental policies and commonly held misconceptions that threaten the continuation of traditional agroforestry practices, while also offering locally adapted and realistic models that can be used to diversify the agricultural landscape in Southern Brazil

Oral history and traditional ecological knowledge in social innovation and smallholder sovereignty: a case study of erva-mate in Southern Brazil.

We outline preliminary results of an ongoing research project conducted in collaboration with traditional erva-mate (yerba mate) producers in Southern Paraná and Northern Santa Catarina, Brazil. The multidisciplinary project includes researchers in the natural and social sciences, forest engineers, historians, rural outreach workers, and farmers and is the result of a long-term engagement with smallholder erva-mate producers. Previous research on forest conservation and use in the region had highlighted the important role smallholder farmers play in maintaining forest cover, but knowledge about how farmers and their families perceive traditional erva-mate production systems and understand their environment were needed. Taking a participatory action research approach, our goal is to work with communities to cocreate and share knowledge, ensuring that the research is based on collectively defined goals. Herein, we focus on some of the major themes identified through oral history interviews, particularly in terms of tensions between smallholder farmers and legal frameworks, as well as insecurity in terms of the continuation of traditional, agroecological practices and their importance for the forest. The project aims to engage a range of stakeholders and actors and incorporate a variety of perspectives in understanding forest conservation through use in agroforestry and agroecological systems, particularly in terms of erva-mate production

Conhecimento, memória e história: uma visão transdisciplinar sobre os sistemas tradicionais e agroecológicos de erva-mate.

Este documento apresenta resultados do projeto ?Uso e Conservação da Araucária na Agricultura Familiar ? Fase 2?, desenvolvido pela Embrapa Florestas e parcerias, concebido pela colega Maria Izabel Radomski, que foi iniciado em 2016 e finalizado em 2022. O objetivo desse projeto multidisci- plinar foi sistematizar, validar e disponibilizar o conhecimento sobre sistemas tradicionais de manejo florestal e modelos de produção agroflorestal, visando a valorização e difusão de práticas susten- táveis voltadas à conservação da Floresta com Araucária no Sul do Brasil (Radomski et al., 2016). Este projeto originou-se de um desdobramento da primeira fase do projeto ?Uso e Conservação da Araucária na Agricultura Familiar?, durante o qual os pesquisadores da Embrapa Florestas e seus parceiros focaram no desenvolvimento e sistematização de práticas de manejo florestal e produção sustentável para a conservação da floresta. Durante a primeira fase do projeto, ficou evidente que, para realmente avançar nas discussões sobre sustentabilidade e uso da floresta, haveria a neces- sidade de rever as metodologias e percepções usuais sobre as práticas agronômicas e o manejo florestal. O propósito, então, passou a ser o desenvolvimento de procedimentos inovadores que pudessem documentar e integrar os conhecimentos tradicionais e agroecológicos relacionados aos sistemas de produção às pesquisas convencionais. Assim, a inclusão da equipe do Programa de Pós-Graduação em História da Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (PPGH-UEPG) foi funda- mental para trazer uma nova visão, metodologias e bases teóricas para apreender a interseção existente entre o conhecimento ecológico tradicional, memórias e sentimentos dos agentes envol- vidos no processo e a sustentabilidade dos sistemas de produção de erva-mate na Floresta com Araucária. Neste documento é apresentada uma metodologia participativa que visa atender a meta de valori- zar o conhecimento dos agricultores, em especial a manutenção e valorização dos conhecimentos relativos aos sistemas tradicionais de erva-mate que, ao manter práticas sustentáveis de produção, são diretamente responsáveis pela manutenção de serviços ambientais de alta qualidade. Ainda, o estudo objetiva disseminar as culturas, memórias e histórias atreladas a tais comunidades, com atenção às vozes dos jovens e mulheres. O documento discute ainda como alavancar o conheci- mento local e como as ações participativas e solidárias podem informar e fomentar políticas e prá- ticas que apoiam a manutenção dos recursos naturais na região. O contexto social, cultural e am- biental abrangido nesta publicação atende aos Objetivos do Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 e 17 estabelecidos sob a coordenação da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), a fim de garantir, até 2030, um planeta mais próspero, equitativo e saudável. Agricultura e Alimentação esão centradas nessa Agenda Mundial e o Brasil está preparado para desempenhar um papel relevante no alcance das metas estabelecidas pelos países membros da ONU