Performance of soybean cultivars under drought stress and sowing seasons in Brazilian Savannah

Objective: Evaluate the performance of two soybean cultivars submitted to water deficit in two sowing seasons (July 10, 2019, and October 27, 2020), in Tocantinense Savannah, Brazil. Methodology: The experiments were carried out in a greenhouse, in pots. The experimental design used in each experiment was completely randomized in a 4 x 2 factorial scheme with four replications, represented by four irrigation management systems (water deficit in the flowering, grain filling and maturation stages, and without water deficit) and two cultivars (TMG132RR™ and TMG1288RR™). The means were grouped by the Scott-Knott test at 5% significance. The characteristics evaluated were: number of seeds per plant, mass of one hundred seeds in grams, number of pods per plant, plant height and grain yield per hectare (GY) in kilograms. Results: In the two seasons, the water deficit during grain filling affected the number of pods and seeds per plant, the 100 seeds mass, and the grain yield of both cultivars. Implications: The water availability and sowing seasons are environmental factors with the greatest impact on cropping. Therefore, understanding how cultivars behave in adverse environmental situations is of great importance to management programs. Conclusions: The cultivar TMG132RR™ was less sensitive to water deficit, whereas the cultivar TMG1288RR™ was more productive under adequate conditions of temperature and water availability.Objective: Evaluate the performance of two soybean cultivars submitted to water deficit in two sowing seasons (July 10, 2019, and October 27, 2020), in Tocantinense Savannah, Brazil. Methodology: The experiments were carried out in a greenhouse, in pots. The experimental design used in each experiment was completely randomized in a 4 x 2 factorial scheme with four replications, represented by four irrigation management systems (water deficit in the flowering, grain filling and maturation stages, and without water deficit) and two cultivars (TMG132RR™ and TMG1288RR™). The means were grouped by the Scott-Knott test at 5% significance. The characteristics evaluated were: number of seeds per plant, mass of one hundred seeds in grams, number of pods per plant, plant height and grain yield per hectare (GY) in kilograms. Results: In the two seasons, the water deficit during grain filling affected the number of pods and seeds per plant, the 100 seeds mass, and the grain yield of both cultivars. Implications: The water availability and sowing seasons are environmental factors with the greatest impact on cropping. Therefore, understanding how cultivars behave in adverse environmental situations is of great importance to management programs. Conclusions: The cultivar TMG132RR™ was less sensitive to water deficit, whereas the cultivar TMG1288RR™ was more productive under adequate conditions of temperature and water availability

Mitapivat, a pyruvate kinase activator, improves transfusion burden and reduces iron overload in M-thalassemic mice

Not available

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of prostate cancer identifies new susceptibility loci and informs genetic risk prediction.

Prostate cancer is a highly heritable disease with large disparities in incidence rates across ancestry populations. We conducted a multiancestry meta-analysis of prostate cancer genome-wide association studies (107,247 cases and 127,006 controls) and identified 86 new genetic risk variants independently associated with prostate cancer risk, bringing the total to 269 known risk variants. The top genetic risk score (GRS) decile was associated with odds ratios that ranged from 5.06 (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.84-5.29) for men of European ancestry to 3.74 (95% CI, 3.36-4.17) for men of African ancestry. Men of African ancestry were estimated to have a mean GRS that was 2.18-times higher (95% CI, 2.14-2.22), and men of East Asian ancestry 0.73-times lower (95% CI, 0.71-0.76), than men of European ancestry. These findings support the role of germline variation contributing to population differences in prostate cancer risk, with the GRS offering an approach for personalized risk prediction

Genomic Surveillance of Yellow Fever Virus Epizootic in São Paulo, Brazil, 2016 – 2018

São Paulo, a densely inhabited state in southeast Brazil that contains the fourth most populated city in the world, recently experienced its largest yellow fever virus (YFV) outbreak in decades. YFV does not normally circulate extensively in São Paulo, so most people were unvaccinated when the outbreak began. Surveillance in non-human primates (NHPs) is important for determining the magnitude and geographic extent of an epizootic, thereby helping to evaluate the risk of YFV spillover to humans. Data from infected NHPs can give more accurate insights into YFV spread than when using data from human cases alone. To contextualise human cases, identify epizootic foci and uncover the rate and direction of YFV spread in São Paulo, we generated and analysed virus genomic data and epizootic case data from NHPs in São Paulo. We report the occurrence of three spatiotemporally distinct phases of the outbreak in São Paulo prior to February 2018. We generated 51 new virus genomes from YFV positive cases identified in 23 different municipalities in São Paulo, mostly sampled from NHPs between October 2016 and January 2018. Although we observe substantial heterogeneity in lineage dispersal velocities between phylogenetic branches, continuous phylogeographic analyses of generated YFV genomes suggest that YFV lineages spread in São Paulo at a mean rate of approximately 1km per day during all phases of the outbreak. Viral lineages from the first epizootic phase in northern São Paulo subsequently dispersed towards the south of the state to cause the second and third epizootic phases there. This alters our understanding of how YFV was introduced into the densely populated south of São Paulo state. Our results shed light on the sylvatic transmission of YFV in highly fragmented forested regions in São Paulo state and highlight the importance of continued surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in sentinel species

Effect of Early Radial Shock Wave Treatment on Spasticity in Subacute Stroke Patients: A Pilot Study

Background. Spasticity is a complication that can start immediately after stroke. Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) is a physical therapy tool used to manage chronic spasticity. However, the effect of rESWT's early use to treat spasticity after stroke is still not clearly investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of rESWT in improving poststroke spasticity of the upper limb in patients with a recent onset of spasticity compared to conventional physiotherapy alone. Methods. 40 stroke patients were randomly assigned to experimental (EG) or control group (CG). Both groups underwent two daily sessions of conventional rehabilitation therapy (CRT) 5 days per week; the EG underwent one rESWT session a week for 4 weeks. The modified Ashworth scale (MAS) tested at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist was used as outcome measure. MAS was evaluated at baseline, after 2 and 4 rESWT session, and one month after the last session (follow-up). Results. No significant differences between groups were found at baseline in terms of age, days from onset of spasticity after stroke, and MAS at each body segment. The sample lost eight drop-out patients. Except for the shoulder MAS values, the EG showed statistically significant lower MAS values already after the second rESWT session compared to CG. This significant difference was maintained until the follow-up. The CG showed a significant increase of wrist spasticity after the second evaluation, while the EG maintained constant MAS values throughout the observational period. The elbow spasticity was significantly higher in the CG at the follow-up evaluation. Conclusion. The rESWT combined with CRT seems to be effective in avoiding the increasing progression of spasticity after stroke