Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 5 regulates proliferation and biosynthetic processes in procyclic forms of Trypanosoma brucei

The pathogenic protozoan T. brucei alternates into distinct developmental stages in the mammalian and insect hosts. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways transduce extracellular stimuli into a range of cellular responses, which ultimately lead to the adaptation to the external environment. Here, we combined a loss of function approach with stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC)-based mass spectrometry (MS) to investigate the role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 5 (MKK5) in T. brucei. The silencing of MKK5 significantly decreased the proliferation of procyclic forms of T. brucei. To shed light on the molecular alterations associated with this phenotype, we measured the total proteome and phosphoproteome of cells silenced for MKK5. In the total proteome, we observed a general decrease in proteins related to ribosome and translation as well as down-regulation of several components of the fatty acids biosynthesis pathway. In addition, we observed alterations in the protein levels and phosphorylation of key metabolic enzymes, which point toward a suppression of the oxidative metabolism. Taken together, our findings show that the silencing of MKK5 alters cell growth, energy metabolism, protein and fatty acids biosynthesis in procyclic T. brucei

Caracterização morfológica, produtividade e rendimento comercial de cultivares de alho.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar 20 cultivares de alho, sendo 12 seminobres e 8 nobres, quanto ao rendimento agronômico quando cultivadas no Centro-Sul do estado do Paraná

Apple production and quality when cultivated under anti-hail cover in Southern Brazil.

Anti-hail nets may change the microclimate of orchards and hence modify the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of fruits. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of anti-hail nets on the physical, chemical, and sensory attributes of apples grown in southern Brazil. The study was conducted in commercial orchards, with apples grown under a black anti-hail net under an open sky during the 2008/2009, 2009/2010, and 2010/2011 cycles. Measurements of photosynthetically active radiation were collected at both sites. Physical, chemical, and sensory analyses of fruits were performed in the laboratory. The anti-hail net reduced incident photosynthetically active radiation by 32 %. The light spectrum in the canopy changed the corresponding R/FR (red/far-red) ratio in the lower and upper canopy layers from 0.27 to 1.55, respectively. In contrast to the majority of microclimate studies carried out in the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, this study in the southern hemisphere showed that although it reduced the incident solar radiation, the cover did not change the color or organoleptic characteristics of ?Royal Gala? and ?Fuji Suprema? apples. The net cover prolonged the subperiod between fruit setting and harvesting, thus slowing fruit ripening. Therefore, the use of anti-hail nets on apple orchards is a suitable alternative for the protection of apple trees against hail because it causes only small changes in the microclimate and in the maturation period, ensuring fruit production without affecting its quality

Disponibilidades climáticas para macieira na região de Vacaria, RS.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a variabilidade e as tendências temporais das principais variáveis climáticas - temperaturas máxima, mínima e média do ar, horas de frio (abaixo de 7°C), precipitação pluvial e umidade relativa do ar - no período 1983-2009 e confrontá-las com as necessidades de macieiras dos grupos Gala e Fuji, na região de Vacaria, RS. Foram utilizados dados diários de estação meteorológica da Embrapa, do período de 1983 a 2009, e comparados com as normais 1931-1960 e 1961-1990, para análise de tendência temporal. A precipitação pluvial apresentou diferenças significativas entre a média do período 1983-2009 e as normais, com aumentos de 479 e 256mm, respectivamente. Não houve diferenças significativas na temperatura do ar mensal entre os períodos analisados. A precipitação pluvial da primavera e a temperatura mínima do ar mensal apresentaram tendência significativa de aumento. O número médio de horas de frio foi de 657 de maio-agosto. O número mínimo de horas de frio delimitado no zoneamento agroclimático é atingido, na maioria dos anos, na região de Vacaria, no entanto, não significa a superação natural da dormência de gemas de macieiras. Além disso, o número de horas de frio apresentou tendência temporal de redução

Formas de aplicação de biofertilizantes e adubação de cobertura com bokashis na produção do tomate orgânico protegido.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar dois biofertilizantes, em fertirrigação e pulverização, bem como a adubação em cobertura com bokashis na produção do tomateiro orgânico protegido.CD-ROM. Suplemento. Trabalho apresentado no 51. Congresso Brasileiro de Olericultura, Viçosa, MG

A Central Limit Theorem for intransitive dice

Intransive dice $D^{(1)}, \ldots, D^{(\ell)}$ are dice such that $D^{(1)}$ has advantage with respect to $D^{(2)}$, dice $D^{(2)}$ has advantage with respect to $D^{(3)}$ and so on, up to $D^{(\ell)}$, which has advantage over $D^{(1)}$. In this twofold work, we present: first, (deterministic) results on existence of general intransitive dice. Second and mainly, a central limit theorem for the vector of normalized victories of a die against the next one in the list when the faces of a die are i.i.d.\ random variables and all dice are independent, but different dice may have distinct distributions associated to, as well as they may have distinct number of faces. From this central limit theorem we derive a criteria to assure that the asymptotic probability of observing intransitive dice is null, which applies for many cases, including all continuous distributions and many discrete ones.Comment: 37 pages, 3 figure

Bremsstrahlung radiation by a tunneling particle

We study the bremsstrahlung radiation of a tunneling charged particle in a time-dependent picture. In particular, we treat the case of bremsstrahlung during alpha-decay, which has been suggested as a promissing tool to investigate the problem of tunneling times. We show deviations of the numerical results from the semiclassical estimates. A standard assumption of a preformed particle inside the well leads to sharp high-frequency lines in the bremsstrahlung emission. These lines correspond to "quantum beats" of the internal part of the wavefunction during tunneling arising from the interference of the neighboring resonances in the well.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Green Extraction Approaches for Carotenoids and Esters: Characterization of Native Composition from Orange Peel

Abstract: Orange peel is a by-product produced in large amounts that acts as a source of natural pigments such as carotenoids. Xanthophylls, the main carotenoid class found in citrus fruit, can be present in its free form or esterified with fatty acids, forming esters. This esterification modifies the compound’s chemical properties, affecting their bioavailability in the human body, and making it important to characterize the native carotenoid composition of food matrices. We aimed to evaluate the non-saponified carotenoid extracts of orange peel (cv. Pera) obtained using alternative green approaches: extraction with ionic liquid (IL), analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and mass spectrometry HPLC-DAD-APCI-MS, and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), followed by supercritical fluid chromatography with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry detection (SFC-APCI/QqQ/MS) in an online system. Both alternative green methods were successfully applied, allowing the total identification of five free carotenoids, one apocarotenoid, seven monoesters, and 11 diesters in the extract obtained with IL and analyzed by HPLC-DAD-APCI-MS, and nine free carotenoids, six carotenoids esters, 19 apocarotenoids, and eight apo-esters with the SFE-SFC-APCI/QqQ/MS approach, including several free apocarotenoids and apocarotenoid esters identified for the first time in oranges, and particularly in the Pera variety, which could be used as a fruit authenticity parameter.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Bioscience Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Silva Jardin 136, 11015-020 Santos, BrazilDepartment of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Annunziata, Viale Annunziata, 98168 Messina, ItalyDepartment of Mathematical and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Earth Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, ItalyFederal Institute of São Paulo, Av. Clara Gianotti de Souza 5180, 11900-000 Registro, BrazilChemistry Department, Federal University of São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luíz, Km 235, 13565-905 São Carlos, BrazilChromaleont s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, ItalyBeSep s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, ItalyUnit of Food Science and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical, Dental, Morphological and Functional Imaging Sciences, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 98125 Messina, ItalyBioscience Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Silva Jardin 136, 11015-020 Santos, BrazilFAPESP: 2015/26789-5FAPESP: 2016/18910-1FAPESP: 2017/20861-1FAPESP: 2019/25303-