-The timing of seed treatment application is important to keep soybean seeds quality. Therefore, the aim of this study was verify the effect of fungicides and insecticides treatment in soybean seeds quality before and after storage. Seeds of NS 7494, NS 8693 and NS 7338 IPRO were utilized and analyses separately, through a factorial scheme 3x6, with three application moments: treated and assessed; treated, stored and assessed; stored, treated and assessed; and six combination of fungicides and insecticides:

The traditional concept that effector T helper (Th) responses are mediated by Th1/Th2 cell subtypes has been broadened by the recent demonstration of two new effector T helper cells, the IL-17 producing cells (Th17) and the follicular helper T cells (Tfh). These new subsets have many features in common, such as the ability to produce IL-21 and to express the IL-23 receptor (IL23R), the inducible co-stimulatory molecule ICOS, and the transcription factor c-Maf, all of them essential for expansion and establishment of the final pool of both subsets. Tfh cells differ from Th17 by their ability to home to B cell areas in secondary lymphoid tissue through interactions mediated by the chemokine receptor CXCR5 and its ligand CXCL13. These CXCR5+ CD4+ T cells are considered an effector T cell type specialized in B cell help, with a transcriptional profile distinct from Th1 and Th2 cells. The role of Tfh cells and its primary product, IL-21, on B-cell activation and differentiation is essential for humoral immunity against infectious agents. However, when deregulated, Tfh cells could represent an important mechanism contributing to exacerbated humoral response and autoantibody production in autoimmune diseases. This review highlights the importance of Tfh cells by focusing on their biology and differentiation processes in the context of normal immune response to infectious microorganisms and their role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.

Investigation of the amnesic disorder Korsakoff Syndrome (KS) has been vital in elucidating the critical brain regions involved in learning and memory. Although the thalamus and mammillary bodies are the primary sites of neuropathology in KS, functional deactivation of the hippocampus and certain cortical regions also contributes to the chronic cognitive dysfunction reported in KS. The rodent pyrithiamine-induced thiamine deficiency (PTD) model has been used to study the extent of hippocampal and cortical neuroadaptations in KS. In the PTD model, the hippocampus, frontal and retrosplenial cortical regions display loss of cholinergic innervation, decreases in behaviorally stimulated acetylcholine release and reductions in neurotrophins. While PTD treatment results in significant impairment in measures of spatial learning and memory, other cognitive processes are left intact and may be recruited to improve cognitive outcome. In addition, behavioral recovery can be stimulated in the PTD model by increasing acetylcholine levels in the medial septum, hippocampus and frontal cortex, but not in the retrosplenial cortex. These data indicate that although the hippocampus and frontal cortex are involved in the pathogenesis of KS, these regions retain neuroplasticity and may be critical targets for improving cognitive outcome in KS.

Seeds age during storage, resulting in a decline in germination and seedling quality. Seed quality tests are important to monitor this decline. However, such tests are usually destructive and require large seed numbers and long time. For coffee seeds the standard germination test and assessment of seedling quality takes 30 days. Biospeckle has been used previously as a non‐destructive optical tool to monitor biological activity in a range of tissues. Biospeckle was applied 3–6 days after imbibition (DAI) to investigate an association with coffee seedling quality after 30 days. Two distinct areas of biospeckle activity were demonstrated, concurring with the locations of the embryonic axis and the cotyledons in the apical and central seed parts, respectively. Moisture content analysis revealed that embryos of imbibed seeds contained more water than endosperm. Different areas within the endosperm did not differ in moisture content, while the moisture content of the axis was higher than that of the cotyledons, and this did not change from 4 DAI. Therefore, it was concluded that high biospeckle activity was not the result of increased water content in any seed part, but more likely of growth and metabolism in the axis and cotyledons, which had been described previously. A threshold biospeckle ratio apical : central of 1.02 after 6 days distinguished between seeds that produced dead and viable seedlings after 30 days and provided similar results as a tetrazolium test, a widely acknowledged but destructive test for seed quality. Thus, biospeckle data provided a non‐destructive early parameter for seedling quality, based on embryo growth during germination.

MAX is a conserved constitutive small phosphoprotein from a network of transcription factors that are extensively studied in tumorigenesis and whose functions affect cell proliferation, differentiation and death. Inspired by its higher expression during development and in regions involved in emotional behaviors, we hypothesized its involvement in cerebral changes caused by early-life stress. We studied the effects of repeated social stress during adolescence on behaviors and on MAX and its putative partner MYC. Thirty-day-old C57BL/6 male mice underwent brief daily social defeat stress from an adult aggressor for 21 days. Following social stress episodes and housing in social groups after each defeat, adolescent mice exhibit depressive-like, but not anxiety-like behaviors and show higher MAX nuclear immunoreactivity in hippocampal (HC) but not prefrontal cortical (PFC) neurons. Conversely, MAX immunoreactivity is lower in the striatum (ST) of defeated adolescents. The positive correlation between MAX and MYC levels in the PFC revealed disruptions in both the HC and ST. The changes in MAX protein levels are not due to differential gene expression or protein degradation in those regions, suggesting that posttranscriptional modifications occurred. These findings indicate that repeated, brief social defeat in adolescent male mice, combined with group housing, is a useful protocol to study a subtype of depression that is dissociated from generalized (non-social) anxiety. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between dysregulation of the MAX-MYC network in the brain and a behavior, suggesting a novel approach for exploiting the neuroplasticity associated with depression.

Background: Amaranthus hybridus, a common agricultural weed in Brazil, has been associated with complications in the management of major crops. Recently, A. hybridus biotypes with suspected resistance to the herbicide glyphosate have been observed in the state of Paraná. Objective: To characterize glyphosate-resistant Amaranthus hybridus biotypes. Methods: Three independent experiments were conducted to evaluate four biotypes of A. hybridus. Twelve doses of glyphosate were applied, including 64D, 32D, 16D, 8D, 4D, 2D, D, 1/2D, 1/4D, 1/8D, 1/16D, and a control with no herbicide. The dose D of glyphosate applied was 1080 g ha -1 ae. Four replicates for each treatment and a randomized block design were used. At 28 (DAA), the control (%) and residual dry mass of each plot were analyzed. Results: The biotypes with suspected resistance (R1, R2, and R3) had a GR 50 in the range of 3019.13 to 3316.45 g ha -1 ae and LD 50 in the range of 4081.52 to 4310.29 g ha -1 ae whereas the susceptible biotype had a GR 50 of 227.63 g ha -1 ae and LD 50 of 196.59 g ha -1 ae. Conclusions: Biotypes R1, R2, and R3 are resistant to the herbicide glyphosate.

The links between spatial behavior and hippocampal levels of synapsin I and phosphosynapsin I were assessed in normal rats and in the pyrithiamine-induced thiamine deficiency (PTD) rat model of Wernicke–Korsakoff’s syndrome. Synapsin I tethers small synaptic vesicles to the actin cytoskeleton in a phosphorylation-dependent manner, is involved in neurotransmitter release and has been implicated in hippocampal-dependent learning. Positive correlations between spontaneous alternation behavior and hippocampal levels of both synapsin I and phosphorylated synapsin I were found in control rats. However, spontaneous alternation performance was impaired in PTD rats and was accompanied by a significant reduction (30%) in phosphorylated synapsin I. Furthermore, no correlations were observed between either form of synapsin I and behavior in PTD rats. These data suggest that successful spontaneous alternation performance is related to high levels of hippocampal synapsin I and phosphorylated synapsin I. These results not only support the previous findings that implicate impaired hippocampal neurotransmission in the spatial learning and memory deficits associated with thiamine deficiency, but also suggest a presynaptic mechanism.

The coffee plant is sensitive to weed competition, which negatively affects its growth and development. Thus, the proper and safe use of herbicides is extremely important for weed management to allow the crop to develop its maximum productive potential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the control efficacy of different herbicides under pre-emergence conditions and assess their selectivity for coffee crops. Two experiments were carried out in the field, in randomized block designs, with four replicates and eight treatments, totaling 32 experimental plots. The treatments were: unweeded control; weeded control; sulfentrazone + diuron 1.4 L ha -1 ; sulfentrazone + diuron 1.7 L ha -1 ; sulfentrazone + diuron 2.0 L ha -1 ; sulfentrazone + diuron with indaziflam 1.4 + 0.15 L ha -1 ; respectively, indaziflam 0.15 L ha -1 ; and oxyfluorfen + chlorimuron 3.0 L ha -1 + 0.08 kg ha -1 , respectively. The treatments were applied prior to the emergence of weeds in a directed spray between the crop rows. Evaluations of weed control in the area, phytotoxicity to the crop, branch length, and internode distance of coffee were conducted at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after treatment application (DAA). In general, all treatments guaranteed greater than 80% efficacy up to 60 DAA. After this, some treatments suffered reductions in efficacy, and did not guarantee satisfactory control up to 120 DAA. For Digitaria nuda, the most effective treatments were those that contained indaziflam alone or in combination with sulfentrazone + diuron, and oxyfluorfen + chlorimuron for 60 DAA. In both experiments and the two species analyzed, the indaziflam treatments guaranteed efficacy percentages above 80%, even at 120 DAA. All treatments were equally selective for the coffee plants under the conditions evaluated.