The effect of biostimulants on fruit quality of processing tomato grown under deficit irrigation

Water shortage can be a restrictive factor for the growth and quality of vegetable crops. Considering the alleviating effects of biostimulant application against water stress, this study aimed to investigate the effect of four biostimulant products (protein and amino acids with carboxylic acids (Tr1); protein and amino acids with seaweed extracts (Tr2); humic and fulvic acids with seaweed extracts (Tr3); SiO2 (Tr4); and control (no biostimulants added)) and two irrigation systems (regulated deficit irrigation (RDI)—65% of field capacity and regular irrigation (RI)—100% of field capacity) on quality parameters of processing tomato fruit. Regulated deficit irrigation and biostimulant application increased the energetic value, carbohydrates, and free sugars content, while organic acids showed a variable response to biostimulant use. In terms of tocopherols (α-, β-, γ-, δ-) and carotenoids (lycopene and β-carotene), regular irrigation and biostimulant application negatively affected their content, while Tr3 treatment had a beneficial impact on these lipophilic compounds under RDI conditions. The main fatty acids were palmitic (C16:0) and linoleic (C18:2n6) acids, which increased when plants were treated with Tr3 and Tr1 biostimulants under a deficit regime. Antioxidant activity (assessed by TBARS and OxHLIA assays) and total phenolic and flavonoids content also showed a variable response to the studied factors. In particular, the application of Tr3 and the control treatment under RDI increased the total phenolic content, while the control and Tr3 treatments under the same irrigation regime recorded the highest antioxidant activity. In conclusion, our results indicate that the adoption of eco-friendly strategies such as regulated deficit irrigation and biostimulant application can beneficially affect the quality traits of processing tomatoes.This research has been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH—CREATE—INNOVATE (project code: T2EDK-05281).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A novel role for Lef-1, a central transcription mediator of Wnt signaling, in leukemogenesis

Canonical Wnt signaling is critically involved in normal hematopoietic development and the self-renewal process of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Deregulation of this pathway has been linked to a large variety of cancers, including different subtypes of leukemia. Lef-1 is a major transcription factor of this pathway and plays a pivotal role in lymphoid differentiation as well as in granulopoiesis. Here, we demonstrate Lef-1 expression in murine HSCs as well as its expression in human leukemia. Mice transplanted with bone marrow retrovirally transduced to express Lef-1 or a constitutive active Lef-1 mutant showed a severe disturbance of normal hematopoietic differentiation and finally developed B lymphoblastic and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Lef-1–induced AMLs were characterized by immunoglobulin (Ig) DH-JH rearrangements and a promiscuous expression of lymphoid and myeloid regulatory factors. Furthermore, single cell experiments and limiting dilution transplantation assays demonstrated that Lef-1–induced AML was propagated by a leukemic stem cell with lymphoid characteristics displaying Ig DH-JH rearrangements and a B220+ myeloid marker− immunophenotype. These data indicate a thus far unknown role of Lef-1 in the biology of acute leukemia, pointing to the necessity of balanced Lef-1 expression for an ordered hematopoietic development

Neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalised children and adolescents in the UK: a prospective national cohort study

Background: The spectrum of neurological and psychiatric complications associated with paediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection is poorly understood. We aimed to analyse the range and prevalence of these complications in hospitalised children and adolescents. Methods: We did a prospective national cohort study in the UK using an online network of secure rapid-response notification portals established by the CoroNerve study group. Paediatric neurologists were invited to notify any children and adolescents (age <18 years) admitted to hospital with neurological or psychiatric disorders in whom they considered SARS-CoV-2 infection to be relevant to the presentation. Patients were excluded if they did not have a neurological consultation or neurological investigations or both, or did not meet the definition for confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (a positive PCR of respiratory or spinal fluid samples, serology for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, or both), or the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health criteria for paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS). Individuals were classified as having either a primary neurological disorder associated with COVID-19 (COVID-19 neurology group) or PIMS-TS with neurological features (PIMS-TS neurology group). The denominator of all hospitalised children and adolescents with COVID-19 was collated from National Health Service England data. Findings: Between April 2, 2020, and Feb 1, 2021, 52 cases were identified; in England, there were 51 cases among 1334 children and adolescents hospitalised with COVID-19, giving an estimated prevalence of 3·8 (95% CI 2·9–5·0) cases per 100 paediatric patients. 22 (42%) patients were female and 30 (58%) were male; the median age was 9 years (range 1–17). 36 (69%) patients were Black or Asian, 16 (31%) were White. 27 (52%) of 52 patients were classified into the COVID-19 neurology group and 25 (48%) were classified into the PIMS-TS neurology group. In the COVID-19 neurology group, diagnoses included status epilepticus (n=7), encephalitis (n=5), Guillain-Barré syndrome (n=5), acute demyelinating syndrome (n=3), chorea (n=2), psychosis (n=2), isolated encephalopathy (n=2), and transient ischaemic attack (n=1). The PIMS-TS neurology group more often had multiple features, which included encephalopathy (n=22 [88%]), peripheral nervous system involvement (n=10 [40%]), behavioural change (n=9 [36%]), and hallucinations at presentation (n=6 [24%]). Recognised neuroimmune disorders were more common in the COVID-19 neurology group than in the PIMS-TS neurology group (13 [48%] of 27 patients vs 1 [<1%] of 25 patients, p=0·0003). Compared with the COVID-19 neurology group, more patients in the PIMS-TS neurology group were admitted to intensive care (20 [80%] of 25 patients vs six [22%] of 27 patients, p=0·0001) and received immunomodulatory treatment (22 [88%] patients vs 12 [44%] patients, p=0·045). 17 (33%) patients (10 [37%] in the COVID-19 neurology group and 7 [28%] in the PIMS-TS neurology group) were discharged with disability; one (2%) died (who had stroke, in the PIMS-TS neurology group). Interpretation: This study identified key differences between those with a primary neurological disorder versus those with PIMS-TS. Compared with patients with a primary neurological disorder, more patients with PIMS-TS needed intensive care, but outcomes were similar overall. Further studies should investigate underlying mechanisms for neurological involvement in COVID-19 and the longer-term outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health Research

The Alleviation Effects of Biostimulants Application on Lettuce Plants Grown under Deficit Irrigation

&Tau;he aim of this study was to examine the potential of using biostimulants for the amelioration of deficit irrigation effects on field-grown lettuce plants growth parameters (cv. Doris (Romaine type) and cv. Manchester (Batavia type)). Therefore, five biostimulatory products that differed in their composition were evaluated, including seaweed extracts, amino acids, humic and fulvic acids, macronutrients, Si, and vegetable proteins, while a control treatment with no biostimulants applied on plants was also considered. Plants were subjected to three irrigation regimes, e.g., rain-fed plants (RF), deficit irrigation (I1; 50% of field capacity) and normal irrigation (I2; 100 of field capacity). The results indicate that the application of seaweed extracts, macronutrients, and amino acids (SW treatment) alleviated the negative effects of deficit irrigation on plant growth and chlorophyll content of Romaine-type plants. On the other hand, Batavia-type plants were more susceptible to water stress, since the highest crop yield plant was observed under the full irrigation treatment and the application of vegetal proteins and amino acids (VP treatment). In general, the application of biostimulants on the Romaine type improved plant growth under water shortage conditions compared with fully irrigated plants in almost all measurements, whereas the Batavia-type plants appeared to be more sensitive to deficit irrigation. Therefore, the ecofriendly practices of deficit irrigation and biostimulant application could be useful in leafy vegetable production on a genotype-depended manner

The Effects of Biostimulant Application on Growth Parameters of Lettuce Plants Grown under Deficit Irrigation Conditions

The aim of the present study was to examine the potential ameliorative effects of biostimulant application on lettuce plants grown under deficit irrigation conditions. For this purpose, we evaluated the effect of five biostimulant products with a varied composition (e.g., seaweed extracts + macronutrients + amino acids (SW); humic + fulvic acids (HF); Si + Ca (SiC); Si (Si); vegetable proteins + amino acids (VP)) and the control treatment (no biostimulant added (NB)) on field-grown lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L.: Romaine type cv. Doris) under deficit irrigation conditions (Control treatment: rain-fed plants; I1: 50% of field capacity; I2: 100% of field capacity). The growth parameters tested were plant weight (aerial part), number of leaves, fresh and dry weight of leaves, plant height, leaf area index (LAI) and specific leaf area (SLA), and SPAD index. Our results indicate that the biostimulant with seaweed extracts + macronutrients + amino acids (SW) combined with deficient irrigation (I1) presented the highest values in terms of plant weight, leaf weight, LAI, as well as the chlorophyll content in lettuce plants. According to the SPAD values, the biostimulant treatments performed higher values of chlorophyll in the case of the rain-fed plants compared to those that were fully irrigated (I2). In addition, the Si treatment presented the higher plant height under deficit irrigation (I1) as well as the greatest number of leaves. In general, all of the biostimulants showed a better response to deficit irrigation and to rain-fed plants compared to those with full irrigation in almost all of the measurements

Coronal Index as a Global Solar Activity Index applied to Space Weather

International audienc

Coronal Index as a Global Solar Activity Index applied to Space Weather

International audienc

Food industry by-products applied as pumpkin-based foodstuff preservatives

Pumpkin is traditionally cultivated and consumed worldwide, being the fruit and its by-products recognized by their nutritional and health benefits. In the current pandemic scenario and towards a circular economy, the development of a healthy and green technological food product was proposed using pumpkin pulp enriched with bioactive compounds obtained from pumpkin by-products.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020); national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for C. Pereira and L. Barros contracts and A.K. Molina and M.G. Leichtweis PhD grants (2020.06231.BD and 2020.06706.BD, respectively). The project is funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development and Investments and FCT, P.I. under the PRIMA Programme. PRIMA is an Art.185 initiative supported and co-funded under Horizon 2020, the European Union’s Programme for Research and Innovation (PRIMA Section 2 - Multi-topic 2019: PulpIng (PRIMA/0007/2019 and Prima2019-08).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio