The C cycle in the Brazilian forests is very important, mainly for issues addressed to climate changes and soil management. Assessing and understanding C dynamics in Amazonian soils can help scientists to improve models and anticipate scenarios. New methods that allow soil C measurements in situ are a crucial approach for this kind of region, due to the costs for collecting and sending soil samples from the rainforest to the laboratory. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a multielemental atomic emission spectroscopy technique that employs a highly energetic laser pulse for plasma production and requires neither sample preparation nor the use of reagents. As LIBS takes less than 10 s per sample measurement, it is considered a promising technique for in situ soil analyses. One of the limitations of portable LIBS systems, however, is the common overlap of the emission lines that cannot be spectrally resolved. In this study a method was developed capable of separating the Al interference from the C emission line in LIBS measurements. Two typical forest Brazilian soils rich in Al were investigated: a spodosol (Amazon Forest) and an oxisol (Atlantic Forest). Fifty-three samples were collected and analyzed using a low-resolution LIBS apparatus to measure the intensities of C lines. In particular, two C lines were evaluated, at 193.03 and 247.86 nm. The line at 247.86 nm showed very strong interference with Fe and Si lines, which made quantitative analysis difficult. The line at 193.03 nm showed interference with atomic and ionic Al emission lines, but this problem could be solved by applying a correction method that was proposed and tested in this work. The line at 247.86 was used to assess the proposed model. The strong correlation (Pearson's coefficient R=0.91) found between the LIBS values and those obtained by a reference technique (dry combustion by an elemental analyzer) supported the validity of the proposed method.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) network study of 12 cancer types (PanCancer 12) revealed frequent mutation of TP53, and amplification and expression of related TP63 isoform ΔNp63 in squamous cancers. Further, aberrant expression of inflammatory genes and TP53/p63/p73 targets were detected in the PanCancer 12 project, reminiscent of gene programs co-modulated by cREL/ΔNp63/TAp73 transcription factors we uncovered in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). However, how inflammatory gene signatures and cREL/p63/p73 targets are co-modulated genome-wide is unclear. Here, we examined how inflammatory factor TNF-α broadly modulates redistribution of cREL with ΔNp63α/TAp73 complexes and signatures genome-wide in the HNSCC model UM-SCC46 using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq). TNF-α enhanced genome-wide co-occupancy of cREL with ΔNp63α on TP53/p63 sites, while unexpectedly promoting redistribution of TAp73 from TP53 to Activator Protein-1 (AP-1) sites. cREL, ΔNp63α, and TAp73 binding and oligomerization on NF-κB, TP53 or AP-1 specific sequences were independently validated by ChIP-qPCR, oligonucleotide-binding assays, and analytical ultracentrifugation. Function of the binding activity was confirmed using TP53, AP-1, and NF-κB specific response elements, or p21, SERPINE1, and IL-6 promoter luciferase reporter activities. Concurrently, TNF-α regulated a broad gene network with co-binding activities for cREL, ΔNp63α, and TAp73 observed upon array profiling and RT-PCR. Overlapping target gene signatures were observed in squamous cancer subsets and in inflamed skin of transgenic mice overexpressing ΔNp63α. Furthermore, multiple target genes identified in this study were linked to TP63 and TP73 activity and increased gene expression in large squamous cancer samples from PanCancer 12 TCGA by CircleMap. PARADIGM inferred pathway analysis revealed the network connection of TP63 and NF-κB complexes through an AP-1 hub, further supporting our findings. Thus, inflammatory cytokine TNF-α mediates genome-wide redistribution of the cREL/p63/p73, and AP-1 interactome, to diminish TAp73 tumor suppressor function and reciprocally activate NF-κB and AP-1 gene programs implicated in malignancy.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common inflammatory skin disease with no well-delineated cause or effective cure. Here we show that the p53 family member p63, specifically the ΔNp63, isoform has a key role in driving keratinocyte activation in AD. We find that overexpression of ΔNp63 in transgenic mouse epidermis results in a severe skin phenotype that shares many of the key clinical, histological and molecular features associated with human AD. This includes pruritus, epidermal hyperplasia, aberrant keratinocyte differentiation, enhanced expression of selected cytokines and chemokines and the infiltration of large numbers of inflammatory cells including type 2  T-helper cells – features that are highly representative of AD dermatopathology. We further demonstrate several of these mediators to be direct transcriptional targets of ΔNp63 in keratinocytes. Of particular significance are two p63 target genes, IL-31 and IL-33, both of which are key players in the signaling pathways implicated in AD. Importantly, we find these observations to be in good agreement with elevated levels of ΔNp63 in skin lesions of human patients with AD. Our studies reveal an important role for ΔNp63 in the pathogenesis of AD and offer new insights into its etiology and possible therapeutic targets.

The analysis of soil texture is crucial for the proper management of agricultural systems and for environmental studies. Soil texture is important as it affects erosion potential, water retention capacity, organic matter complexation, and the retention of nutrients, among others. It is usually determined by pipette or hydrometer methods, but analysis requires a preparation with chemical reagents, which can take hours and hence is unfeasible for large number of samples. Here we propose the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to estimate the proportions of sand, silt, and clay in 60 Brazilian soil samples of varying composition. Two calibration models were developed with the partial least square regression method: one considering the spectral region from 188 to 980 nm and the other, emission lines of the elements Si, Na, Fe, Ti, Ca, K, Al, Co, Mg, V, Ba, and Be. The Pearson correlation coefficients for the estimated values were 0.89 and 0.90 on average for the first and second models, respectively. The uncertainties were 6% on average for both models. These results demonstrate the use of LIBS for rapid scanning of the texture of soil samples with distinct composition. The procedure presented here can be extended to other chemical and physical soil properties, which makes LIBS a universal tool for rapid soil analysis without preparation with chemical reagents.