Organic matter mitigates biotic impact of copper in fruit orchard soil.

Inorganic copper (Cu) fungicides and bactericides are widely used to control disease in fruit and vegetable crops and has led to widespread accumulation of the metal in soil beyond regulatory thresholds. We aimed to elucidate the impacts of Cu on soil health within cherry orchard soils in New Zealand, focusing on three biological indicators: earthworm behaviour, soil respiration, and plant growth. We sampled soils from four blocks of different ages within a single orchard, varying in amounts of accumulated soil Cu (7-263 mg kg) but also in Soil Organic Matter (SOM) content (3-10 %).

Revealing the Complex Interplay of Biostimulant Applications.

Some biostimulant products provide proven benefits to plant production, potentially offering more environmentally friendly, sustainable, and natural inputs into production systems. However, the transference and predictability of known benefits between different growth environments, application protocols, and management systems are fraught with difficulty. In this study, we carried out carefully controlled glasshouse and in vitro assays with applications of humic acids, protein hydrolysates, and seaweed extract to compare the variability of biostimulant effects and dosage-dependent variations across diverse conditions, encompassing a sufficient range to comprehensively assess their full spectrum of impacts.

Overexpression of FRA1 () Leads to Global Transcriptional Perturbations, Reduced Cellular Adhesion and Altered Cell Cycle Progression.

FRA1 () is a transcription factor and a member of the superfamily. FRA1 is expressed in most tissues at low levels, and its expression is robustly induced in response to extracellular signals, leading to downstream cellular processes. However, abnormal FRA1 overexpression has been reported in various pathological states, including tumor progression and inflammation.

Design and Preclinical Evaluation of a Novel B7-H4-Directed Antibody-Drug Conjugate, AZD8205, Alone and in Combination with the PARP1-Selective Inhibitor AZD5305.

Purpose: We evaluated the activity of AZD8205, a B7-H4-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) bearing a novel topoisomerase I inhibitor (TOP1i) payload, alone and in combination with the PARP1-selective inhibitor AZD5305, in preclinical models.

Experimental Design: IHC and deep-learning-based image analysis algorithms were used to assess prevalence and intratumoral heterogeneity of B7-H4 expression in human tumors. Several TOP1i-ADCs, prepared with Val-Ala or Gly-Gly-Phe-Gly peptide linkers, with or without a PEG8 spacer, were compared in biophysical, in vivo efficacy, and rat toxicology studies.

Resilience of breadfruit agro-ecosystems in Hawai'i during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is interrupting domestic and global food supply chains resulting in reduced access to healthy diverse diets. Hawai'i has been described as a model social-ecological system and it has been suggested that indigenous agro-ecosystems have the potential to be highly productive and resilient under changing land-use and climate change disturbance. However, little research has yet been conducted exploring the disruption and resilience of agro-ecosystems in Hawai'i caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.