Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scab is one of the most important plant diseases worldwide, affecting wheat, barley and other small grains. Trichothecene mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulate in the grain, presenting a food safety risk and health hazard to humans and animals. Despite considerable breeding efforts, highly resistant wheat or barley cultivars are not available. We screened an activation tagged Arabidopsis thaliana population for resistance to trichothecin (Tcin), a type B trichothecene in the same class as DON. Here we show that one of the resistant lines identified, trichothecene resistant 1 (trr1) contains a T-DNA insertion upstream of two nonspecific lipid transfer protein (nsLTP) genes, AtLTP4.4 and AtLTP4.5. Expression of both nsLTP genes was induced in trr1 over 10-fold relative to wild type. Overexpression of AtLTP4.4 provided greater resistance to Tcin than AtLTP4.5 in Arabidopsis thaliana and in Saccharomyces cerevisiae relative to wild type or vector transformed lines, suggesting a conserved protection mechanism. Tcin treatment increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in Arabidopsis and ROS stain was associated with the chloroplast, the cell wall and the apoplast. ROS levels were attenuated in Arabidopsis and in yeast overexpressing AtLTP4.4 relative to the controls. Exogenous addition of glutathione and other antioxidants enhanced resistance of Arabidopsis to Tcin while the addition of buthionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis, increased sensitivity, suggesting that resistance was mediated by glutathione. Total glutathione content was significantly higher in Arabidopsis and in yeast overexpressing AtLTP4.4 relative to the controls, highlighting the importance of AtLTP4.4 in maintaining the redox state. These results demonstrate that trichothecenes cause ROS accumulation and overexpression of AtLTP4.4 protects against trichothecene-induced oxidative stress by increasing the glutathione-based antioxidant defense.

ImportanceGreater than 20% of cases and 0.4% of deaths from COVID-19 occur in children. Following demonstration of the safety and efficacy of the adjuvanted, recombinant spike protein vaccine NVX-CoV2373 in adults, the PREVENT-19 trial immediately expanded to adolescents.ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of NVX-CoV2373 in adolescents.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThe NVX-CoV2373 vaccine was evaluated in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years in an expansion of PREVENT-19, a phase 3, randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled multicenter clinical trial in the US. Participants were enrolled from April 26 to June 5, 2021, and the study is ongoing. A blinded crossover was implemented after 2 months of safety follow-up to offer active vaccine to all participants. Key exclusion criteria included known previous laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection or known immunosuppression. Of 2304 participants assessed for eligibility, 57 were excluded and 2247 were randomized.InterventionsParticipants were randomized 2:1 to 2 intramuscular injections of NVX-CoV2373 or placebo, 21 days apart.Main Outcomes and MeasuresSerologic noninferiority of neutralizing antibody responses compared with those in young adults (aged 18-25 years) in PREVENT-19, protective efficacy against laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, and assessment of reactogenicity and safety.ResultsAmong 2232 participants (1487 NVX-CoV2373 and 745 placebo recipients), the mean (SD) age was 13.8 (1.4) years, 1172 (52.5%) were male, 1660 (74.4%) were White individuals, and 359 (16.1%) had had a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection at baseline. After vaccination, the ratio of neutralizing antibody geometric mean titers in adolescents compared with those in young adults was 1.5 (95% CI, 1.3-1.7). Twenty mild COVID-19 cases occurred after a median of 64 (IQR, 57-69) days of follow-up, including 6 among NVX-CoV2373 recipients (incidence, 2.90 [95% CI, 1.31-6.46] cases per 100 person-years) and 14 among placebo recipients (incidence, 14.20 [95% CI, 8.42-23.93] cases per 100 person-years), yielding a vaccine efficacy of 79.5% (95% CI, 46.8%-92.1%). Vaccine efficacy for the Delta variant (the only viral variant identified by sequencing [n = 11]) was 82.0% (95% CI, 32.4%-95.2%). Reactogenicity was largely mild to moderate and transient, with a trend toward greater frequency after the second dose of NVX-CoV2373. Serious adverse events were rare and balanced between treatments. No adverse events led to study discontinuation.Conclusions and RelevanceThe findings of this randomized clinical trial indicate that NVX-CoV2373 is safe, immunogenic, and efficacious in preventing COVID-19, including the predominant Delta variant, in adolescents.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04611802

In Catholic Social Thought, work is at the center of issues related to morality and economic life. It is simultaneously objective and subjective. Workers are the real agents of production, and therefore labor should have priority over capital. The able‐bodied have a moral obligation to work to obtain the things they need, but everyone has a claim on the basic necessities of life. Hence the property claims of the well‐to‐do are not to exclude the poor from what they need. The property‐right claim of stockholders depends on the firm serving work and the interests of workers. In unions, workers' natural right to form associations aligns with the right to participate in decisions affecting their lives. Numerous groups and organizations have some degree of complicity in workplace injustice and some degree of responsibility to address it.