Central Myoepithelioma of the Maxilla.

Myoepithelioma is a benign salivary gland tumor. Central myoepitheliomas are very rare. The aim of this report was to describe a case of maxillary myoepithelioma. A 14-year-old female patient presented with an multilocular lesion in the anterior maxilla, with nearly 8 months of duration. The lesion was asymptomatic, and the patient's dental history was unremarkable. The diagnostic hypothesis was an odontogenic tumor. Biopsy specimen consisted of nests of plasmacytoid cells in a myxoid stroma without duct formation. No cellular atypia or bone and cartilage formation were noted. The neoplastic cells were positive for Pan-cytokeratin, S100, CK7, and CK8. The final diagnosis was myoepithelioma. The patient was treated by surgical excision followed by bone curettage, and no signs of recurrence were found after 8 years of treatment.

Ocean-atmosphere turbulent CO2 fluxes at Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait.

The oceans play an important role in mitigating climate change by acting as large carbon sinks, especially at high latitude regions. The Southern Ocean plays a major role in the global carbon dioxide (CO2) budget. This work aims to investigate the behavior of turbulent CO2 fluxes and quantify it under different atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait regions on high spatiotemporal resolutions when compared with traditional CO2 fluxes estimations. The atmospheric stability condition was used to corroborate the description of CO2 fluxes. In situ, satellite, and reanalysis data from 08 to 22 November 2018, were used in this work. The Bransfield Strait uptaked 38.59% more CO2 than the Drake Passage due to the cold and fresh waters, allied to the influence of glacial meltwater dilution. Which increased the CO2 solubility, directing the CO2 fluxes to the ocean. The Bransfield Strait had predominantly stable atmospheric conditions, which contributed to this region acting as a CO2 sink. The Drake Passage, on average, behaved as a CO2 sink, mainly due to physical characteristics. This research contributes to a better understanding of the Southern Ocean's role in the global carbon balance on scales that are very difficult to monitor.

Humic Substances Isolated from Recycled Biomass Trigger Jasmonic Acid Biosynthesis and Signalling.

Intensive agriculture maintains high crop yields through chemical inputs, which are well known for their adverse effects on environmental quality and human health. Innovative technologies are required to reduce the risk generated by the extensive and harmful use of pesticides. The plant biostimulants made from humic substances isolated from recyclable biomass offer an alternative approach to address the need for replacing conventional agrochemicals without compromising the crop yield. The stimulatory effects of humic substances are commonly associated with plant hormones, particularly auxins. However, jasmonic acid (JA) is crucial metabolite in mediating the defence responses and governing plant growth and development. This work aimed to evaluate the changes in the biosynthesis and signalling pathway of JA in tomato seedlings treated with humic acids (HA) isolated from vermicompost. We use the tomato model system cultivar Micro-Tom (MT) harbouring a reporter gene fused to a synthetic promoter that responds to jasmonic acid (JERE::GUS). The transcript levels of genes involved in JA generation and activity were also determined using qRT-PCR. The application of HA promoted plant growth and altered the JA status, as revealed by both GUS and qRT-PCR assays. Both JA enzymatic synthesis (LOX, OPR3) and JA signalling genes (JAZ and JAR) were found in higher transcription levels in plants treated with HA. In addition, ethylene (ETR4) and auxin (ARF6) signalling components were positively modulated by HA, revealing a hormonal cross-talk. Our results prove that the plant defence system linked to JA can be emulated by HA application without growth inhibition.

Exploring the therapeutic potential of an antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory peptide from wasp venom.

Animal venoms are rich sources of neuroactive compounds, including anti-inflammatory, antiepileptic, and antinociceptive molecules. Our study identified a protonectin peptide from the wasp Parachartergus fraternus' venom using mass spectrometry and cDNA library construction. Using this peptide as a template, we designed a new peptide, protonectin-F, which exhibited higher antinociceptive activity and less motor impairment compared to protonectin. In drug interaction experiments with naloxone and AM251, Protonectin-F's activity was decreased by opioid and cannabinoid antagonism, two critical antinociception pathways. Further experiments revealed that this effect is most likely not induced by direct action on receptors but by activation of the descending pain control pathway. We noted that protonectin-F induced less tolerance in mice after repeated administration than morphine. Protonectin-F was also able to decrease TNF-α production in vitro and modulate the inflammatory response, which can further contribute to its antinociceptive activity. These findings suggest that protonectin-F may be a potential molecule for developing drugs to treat pain disorders with fewer adverse effects. Our results reinforce the biotechnological importance of animal venom for developing new molecules of clinical interest.

Hepatocellular carcinoma induced by hepatocyte Pten deletion reduces BAT UCP-1 and thermogenic capacity in mice, despite increasing serum FGF-21 and iWAT browning.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) markedly enhances liver secretion of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21), a hepatokine that increases brown and subcutaneous inguinal white adipose tissues (BAT and iWAT, respectively) uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) content, thermogenesis and energy expenditure. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that an enhanced BAT and iWAT UCP-1-mediated thermogenesis induced by high levels of FGF-21 is involved in HCC-associated catabolic state and fat mass reduction. For this, we evaluated body weight and composition, liver mass and morphology, serum and tissue levels of FGF-21, BAT and iWAT UCP-1 content, and thermogenic capacity in mice with Pten deletion in hepatocytes that display a well-defined progression from steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH) and HCC upon aging. Hepatocyte Pten deficiency promoted a progressive increase in liver lipid deposition, mass, and inflammation, culminating with NASH at 24 weeks and hepatomegaly and HCC at 48 weeks of age. NASH and HCC were associated with elevated liver and serum FGF-21 content and iWAT UCP-1 expression (browning), but reduced serum insulin, leptin, and adiponectin levels and BAT UCP-1 content and expression of sympathetically regulated gene glycerol kinase (GyK), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and fatty acid transporter protein 1 (FATP-1), which altogether resulted in an impaired whole-body thermogenic capacity in response to CL-316,243. In conclusion, FGF-21 pro-thermogenic actions in BAT are context-dependent, not occurring in NASH and HCC, and UCP-1-mediated thermogenesis is not a major energy-expending process involved in the catabolic state associated with HCC induced by Pten deletion in hepatocytes.

Macromineral requirements for maintenance and growth in male and female hair sheep.

A better understanding of the nutritional requirements of sheep, especially in terms of minerals, is crucial for improving production. We estimated the net requirements for Ca, P, K, Mg, and Na for gain (NCag, NPg, NKg, NMgg, and NNag) and maintenance (NCam, NPm, NKm, NMgm, and NNam) in male and female hair sheep. Six datasets with 248 individual records of hair sheep (139 non-castrated males, 75 castrated males and 34 females) were used to estimate the net macromineral requirements for gain. To estimate the net macromineral requirements for maintenance, 52 observations (26 non-castrated and 26 castrated males) were used. A meta-analytical approach was applied, using non-linear mixed effects models and the study as a random effect. Based on information criteria for model selection, heterogeneous variance functions were more likely to describe mineral requirements with a low level of model selection uncertainty. The adopted criteria allowed the choice of the best models to represent the macromineral requirements. The chosen models explained the observed variability in the sex, and the choices were based on a low level of uncertainty (w ≥ 0.90). Irrespective of sex, NCag and NPg decreased with increasing BW from 10 to 30 kg and average daily gain (ADG) of 150 g/day, ranging from 1.71-1.38; 1.83-1.57; 1.82-1.51 of Ca and 0.86-0.66; 0.92-0.78; 0.92-0.75 of P for non-castrated males, castrated males, and females, respectively. The NKg remained constant, with mean values of 0.26 g/day. The NNag range was 0.17 to 0.14 g/day for non-castrated males, 0.20 to 0.25 g/day for females, and constant (0.18 g/day) for castrated males with an increase in BW from 10 to 30 kg and an ADG of 150 g/day. Macromineral requirements for maintenance (mg/kg BW) and retention (%) were 23.70 and 54.30 for Ca, 25.33 and 79.80 for P, 11.74 and 5.00 for K, 2.63 and 8.50 for Mg, and 7.01 and 8.10 for Na for males. The International Committees did not provide inferences about the sex influence on mineral requirements. Our study indicates that sex is one factor that influences the macromineral requirements for gain. The information generated in this study can be used to optimize the mineral management of hair sheep in the growing phase in tropical regions.

Simultaneous silencing of juvenile hormone metabolism genes through RNAi interrupts metamorphosis in the cotton boll weevil.

The cotton boll weevil (CBW) (Anthonomus grandis) is one of the major insect pests of cotton in Brazil. Currently, CBW control is mainly achieved by insecticide application, which is costly and insufficient to ensure effective crop protection. RNA interference (RNAi) has been used in gene function analysis and the development of insect control methods. However, some insect species respond poorly to RNAi, limiting the widespread application of this approach. Therefore, nanoparticles have been explored as an option to increase RNAi efficiency in recalcitrant insects. Herein, we investigated the potential of chitosan-tripolyphosphate (CS-TPP) and polyethylenimine (PEI) nanoparticles as a dsRNA carrier system to improve RNAi efficiency in the CBW. Different formulations of the nanoparticles with dsRNAs targeting genes associated with juvenile hormone metabolism, such as juvenile hormone diol kinase (JHDK), juvenile hormone epoxide hydrolase (JHEH), and methyl farnesoate hydrolase (MFE), were tested. The formulations were delivered to CBW larvae through injection (0.05-2 µg), and the expression of the target genes was evaluated using RT-qPCR. PEI nanoparticles increased targeted gene silencing compared with naked dsRNAs (up to 80%), whereas CS-TPP-dsRNA nanoparticles decreased gene silencing (0%-20%) or led to the same level of gene silencing as the naked dsRNAs (up to 50%). We next evaluated the effects of targeting a single gene or simultaneously targeting two genes via the injection of naked dsRNAs or dsRNAs complexed with PEI (500 ng) on CBW survival and phenotypes. Overall, the gene expression analysis showed that the treatments with PEI targeting either a single gene or multiple genes induced greater gene silencing than naked dsRNA (∼60%). In addition, the injection of dsJHEH/JHDK, either naked or complexed with PEI, significantly affected CBW survival (18% for PEI nanoparticles and 47% for naked dsRNA) and metamorphosis. Phenotypic alterations, such as uncompleted pupation or malformed pupae, suggested that JHEH and JHDK are involved in developmental regulation. Moreover, CBW larvae treated with dsJHEH/JHDK + PEI (1,000 ng/g) exhibited significantly lower survival rate (55%) than those that were fed the same combination of naked dsRNAs (30%). Our findings demonstrated that PEI nanoparticles can be used as an effective tool for evaluating the biological role of target genes in the CBW as they increase the RNAi response.

Precipitation is the main axis of tropical plant phylogenetic turnover across space and time.

Early natural historians-Comte de Buffon, von Humboldt, and De Candolle-established environment and geography as two principal axes determining the distribution of groups of organisms, laying the foundations for biogeography over the subsequent 200 years, yet the relative importance of these two axes remains unresolved. Leveraging phylogenomic and global species distribution data for Mimosoid legumes, a pantropical plant clade of c. 3500 species, we show that the water availability gradient from deserts to rain forests dictates turnover of lineages within continents across the tropics. We demonstrate that 95% of speciation occurs within a precipitation niche, showing profound phylogenetic niche conservatism, and that lineage turnover boundaries coincide with isohyets of precipitation. We reveal similar patterns on different continents, implying that evolution and dispersal follow universal processes.

Oceanic SACZ produces an abnormally wet 2021/2022 rainy season in South America.

The oceanic South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) has played a major role during South America's 2021/2022 summer extreme rainy season, being responsible for more than 90% of the precipitation in some regions of Southeast Brazil and in some regions of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWA). The summer of 2021/2022 was unique and rare and considered an abnormally humid season as verified by official Brazilian Institutes. First, the unusual number of cases of SACZ episodes (seven), was the highest recorded in the last decade. Second, all the cases that occurred were oceanic SACZ that assumed characteristics of an Atmospheric River and produced an excessively anomalous amount of precipitation during this period. Excess precipitation along with the regions located in mountainous and very uneven relief, which by orographic effects favors high precipitation volumes, were responsible for amplifying the observed impacts, such as landslides and floods that caused several losses to society. We also showed the main effects of coupling and interaction between the waters of the surface layer of the SWA and the atmosphere. Our learning from this study ends with the unprecedented results of how the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) is locally modulated by the sea surface temperature (SST) that lies just below it. Until the present moment, we emphasize that this important mechanism has not been widely highlighted in the literature, showing that even though the ocean is colder than before oceanic SACZ is established, it is still warmer than the overlying air, thus, the ocean continues to be an active source of heat and moisture for the atmosphere and enhances the MABL instability process.

Mapping the root systems of individual trees in a natural community using genotyping-by-sequencing.

The architecture of root systems is an important driver of plant fitness, competition and ecosystem processes. However, the methodological difficulty of mapping roots hampers the study of these processes. Existing approaches to match individual plants to belowground samples are low throughput and species specific. Here, we developed a scalable sequencing-based method to map the root systems of individual trees across multiple species. We successfully applied it to a tropical dry forest community in the Brazilian Caatinga containing 14 species. We sequenced all 42 individual shrubs and trees in a 14 × 14 m plot using double-digest restriction site-associated sequencing (ddRADseq). We identified species-specific markers and individual-specific haplotypes from the data. We matched these markers to the ddRADseq data from 100 mixed root samples from across the centre (10 × 10 m) of the plot at four different depths using a newly developed R package. We identified individual root samples for all species and all but one individual. There was a strong significant correlation between belowground and aboveground size measurements, and we also detected significant species-level root-depth preference for two species. The method is more scalable and less labour intensive than the current techniques and is broadly applicable to ecology, forestry and agricultural biology.

Post-Mortem Diagnosis of Pediatric Dengue Using Minimally Invasive Autopsy during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil.

We report the first pediatric disease in which the use of minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) confirmed severe dengue as the cause of death. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a previously healthy 10-year-old girl living in north-eastern Brazil presented fever, headache, diffuse abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting. On the fourth day, the clinical symptoms worsened and the patient died. An MIA was performed, and cores of brain, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, and spleen were collected with 14G biopsy needles. Microscopic examination showed diffuse oedema and congestion, pulmonary intra-alveolar haemorrhage, small foci of midzonal necrosis in the liver, and tubular cell necrosis in the kidneys. Dengue virus RNA and NS1 antigen were detected in blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples. Clinical, pathological, and laboratory findings, in combination with the absence of other lesions and microorganisms, allowed concluding that the patient had died from complications of severe dengue.

Sensitivity of South America Climate to Positive Extremes of Antarctic Sea Ice.

Global climate change is expected to increasingly affect climate-sensitive sectors of society, such as the economy and environment, with significant impacts on water, energy, agriculture and fisheries. This is the case in South America, whose economy is highly dependent on the agricultural sector. Here, we analyzed the sensitivity of South American climate to positive extremes of Antarctic sea ice (ASI) extent and volume at continental and regional scales. Sensitivity ensemble experiments were conducted with the GFDL-CM2.1 model and compared with the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset. The results have shown significant impacts on the seasonal regime of precipitation, air temperature and humidity in South America, such as a gradual establishment of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone, the formation of the Upper Tropospheric Cyclonic Vortex, the strengthening of Bolivian High and the presence of a low level cyclonic circulation anomaly over the South Atlantic Subtropical High region which contributed, for instance, to increased precipitation over the Southeastern Brazil. A northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone was initially also a response pattern to the increased ASI. Moreover, the greatest variance of the climatic signal generated from the disturbances applied on the high southern latitudes has occurred in the interseasonal timescale (110-120 days), especially over the Brazilian Amazon and the Southeastern Brazil regions.

4-Dimethylaminoantipyrine as a Broad Electrochemical Indicator for Immunosensors Platform.

Here, we describe 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine (4-DMAA)-mediated interfacing as a broad biochemical indicator to stabilize and promote the higher response of electrodes for immunological detection. We hypothesized that the improved biological interactions of 4-DMAA with electrodes and biological samples may be due to the interaction properties of the benzene and pyrazole chemical groups with graphite and proteins, respectively. In order to demonstrate that 4-DMAA could be used as a general indicator in electrochemical immunoassays, we used peptides as probes for the diagnosis of four neglected tropical infectious diseases Tegumentary leishmaniasis, Visceral leishmaniasis, Strongyloidiasis, and Leprosy on commercial graphite screen-printed electrodes. 4-DMAA oxidation was used to indicate specific biological recognition between the epitope-based peptide and serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) from infected patients. We demonstrated that 4-DMAA should be incorporated into the electrodes prior to serum application, which avoids interference with its sensitivity and specificity. In addition, 4-DMAA oxidizes at a low anodic potential, and the oxidation peak is useful for detecting proteins in biological fluids. In summary, we have successfully demonstrated the broad application of 4-DMAA as a general indicator for the specific diagnosis of four infectious diseases in electrochemical immunosensors. Such a strategy is quite advantageous for indirect detection of proteins that lack electrochemical activities or are spatially inaccessible on the electrode surface. This new indicator opens a new avenue for monitoring biological recognition, especially for immunosensors.

A mathematical formulation and an NSGA-II algorithm for minimizing the makespan and energy cost under time-of-use electricity price in an unrelated parallel machine scheduling.

In many countries, there is an energy pricing policy that varies according to the time-of-use. In this context, it is financially advantageous for the industries to plan their production considering this policy. This article introduces a new bi-objective unrelated parallel machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times, in which the objectives are to minimize the makespan and the total energy cost. We propose a mixed-integer linear programming formulation based on the weighted sum method to obtain the Pareto front. We also developed an NSGA-II method to address large instances of the problem since the formulation cannot solve it in an acceptable computational time for decision-making. The results showed that the proposed NSGA-II is able to find a good approximation for the Pareto front when compared with the weighted sum method in small instances. Besides, in large instances, NSGA-II outperforms, with 95% confidence level, the MOGA and NSGA-I multi-objective techniques concerning the hypervolume and hierarchical cluster counting metrics. Thus, the proposed algorithm finds non-dominated solutions with good convergence, diversity, uniformity, and amplitude.

Lagged response of Tropical Atlantic Ocean to cold and fresh water pulse from Antarctic sea ice melting.

The formation of dense water masses at polar regions has been largely influenced by climate changes arising from global warming. In this context, based on ensemble simulations with a coupled model we evaluate the meridional shift of a climate signal (i.e., a cold and fresh water input pulse generated from melting of positive Antarctic sea ice (ASI) extremes) towards the Tropical Atlantic Ocean (TAO). This oceanic signal propagated from Southern Ocean towards the equator through the upper layers due to an increase in its buoyance. Its northward shift has given by the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) flows, that inject cold and fresh mode/intermediate waters from into subtropical basin. The signal has reached low latitudes through the equatorial upwelling and spreads out southwards, through the upper branch of southern subtropical gyre. We concluded that 10 years of coupled simulations was enough time to propagate the climate signal generated by ASI positive extremes melting, which reached TOA around 2 year later. The oceanic connection between Southern Ocean and TAO is indeed established within the timescale analyzed in the study (10 years). Nonetheless, the period needed to completely dissipate the disturbance generated from ASI seems to be longer.

Glacial meltwater input to the ocean around the Antarctic Peninsula: forcings and consequences.

The Antarctic region has experienced recent climate and environmental variations due to climate change, such as ice sheets and ice shelves loss, and changes in the production, extension, and thickness of sea-ice. These processes mainly affect the freshwater supply to the Southern Ocean and its water masses formation and export, being crucial to changes in the global climate. Here, we review the influence of the glacial freshwater input on the Antarctic Peninsula adjacent ocean. We highlight each climate process' relevance on freshwater contribution to the sea and present a current overview of how these processes are being addressed and studied. The increase of freshwater input into the ocean carries several implications on climate, regionally and globally. Due to glacier melting, the intrusion of colder and lighter water into the ocean increases the stratification of the water column, influencing the sea-ice increase and reducing ocean-atmosphere exchanges, affecting the global water cycle. This study shows the role of each hydrological cycle processes and their contributions to the regional oceanography and potentially to climate.

Response of southern troposphere meridional circulation to historical maxima of Antarctic sea ice.

The variability of Antarctic sea ice (ASI) has great potential to affect atmospheric circulation, with impacts that can extend from the surface to the middle and high levels of troposphere. The present study has evaluated the response of South Atlantic tropospheric circulation to increased coverage in area and volume of ASI. Monthly data of air temperature, zonal and meridional wind and mean sea level pressure were obtained from two ensemble simulations performed with the GDFL/CM2.1 model, covering the period from July 2020 to June 2030. In general, the response of South Atlantic tropospheric circulation to increased ASI showed that the climatic signal extended up from the surface to the high levels, propagating as a South Pole-Tropics teleconnection. The results show a general cooling of the southern troposphere, which for instance lead to the strengthening and northward shift of the polar jet and the southward shift of the subtropical jet and to an inversion from the positive to negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode. This study has great relevance for understanding the global climate changes in short term, by assessing the sensitivity of South Atlantic tropospheric circulation to extreme variations in ASI.

Highly Resolved Papilionoid Legume Phylogeny Based on Plastid Phylogenomics.

Comprising 501 genera and around 14,000 species, Papilionoideae is not only the largest subfamily of Fabaceae (Leguminosae; legumes), but also one of the most extraordinarily diverse clades among angiosperms. Papilionoids are a major source of food and forage, are ecologically successful in all major biomes, and display dramatic variation in both floral architecture and plastid genome (plastome) structure. Plastid DNA-based phylogenetic analyses have greatly improved our understanding of relationships among the major groups of Papilionoideae, yet the backbone of the subfamily phylogeny remains unresolved. In this study, we sequenced and assembled 39 new plastomes that are covering key genera representing the morphological diversity in the subfamily. From 244 total taxa, we produced eight datasets for maximum likelihood (ML) analyses based on entire plastomes and/or concatenated sequences of 77 protein-coding sequences (CDS) and two datasets for multispecies coalescent (MSC) analyses based on individual gene trees. We additionally produced a combined nucleotide dataset comprising CDS plus matK gene sequences only, in which most papilionoid genera were sampled. A ML tree based on the entire plastome maximally supported all of the deep and most recent divergences of papilionoids (223 out of 236 nodes). The Swartzieae, ADA (Angylocalyceae, Dipterygeae, and Amburaneae), Cladrastis, Andira, and Exostyleae clades formed a grade to the remainder of the Papilionoideae, concordant with nine ML and two MSC trees. Phylogenetic relationships among the remaining five papilionoid lineages (Vataireoid, Dermatophyllum, Genistoid s.l., Dalbergioid s.l., and Baphieae + Non-Protein Amino Acid Accumulating or NPAAA clade) remained uncertain, because of insufficient support and/or conflicting relationships among trees. Our study fully resolved most of the deep nodes of Papilionoideae, however, some relationships require further exploration. More genome-scale data and rigorous analyses are needed to disentangle phylogenetic relationships among the five remaining lineages.