Background: The retention of crop residues on the soil surface may increase the risk of Fusarium head blight (FHB) and mycotoxin contamination in wheat (Triticum aestivum) grains. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of reduced tillage systems (no-tillage or minimum tillage) and continuous ploughing, combined with a fungicide application on regulated and emerging mycotoxins, under natural infection conditions. Methods: A 12-year field experiment was conducted within a maize (Zea mays) -wheat rotation system. The tillage and fungicide applications were assessed, according to a factorial design, under medium-low and high FHB risk conditions. Fusarium, Alternaria and Claviceps metabolites were analysed by multi-mycotoxin LC-MS/ MS. Results: Ploughing minimised FHB severity by 81% under high disease risk conditions, while reduced tillage lowered Septoria foliar disease severity and prolonged canopy stay-green during filling. Ploughing under a medium-low FHB risk increased the grain yield by 6%, compared with minimum tillage, while no yield differences among the tillage were observed under high FHB pressure. Triazole fungicide improved the yield by 14% and 35% under medium-low and high FHB risks, respectively. Ploughing, rather than minimum tillage, reduced deoxynivalenol and zearalenone by 75% and 60%, with a fungicide providing comparable effects. Reduced tillage increased the emerging mycotoxins, especially moniliformin and enniatins, but also the toxins produced by the Alternaria species. Ergot alkaloids, whenever detected, increased, albeit only under no-tillage conditions. Conclusion: Integrated and adaptive cropping systems that combine residue management and targeted fungicide applications are essential to maintain productivity and food safety.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by re-experiencing trauma through vivid and involuntary intrusions, avoidance of cues that could trigger traumatic memories, and alterations in mood and cognition. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) offers a promising approach to modulating activity and functional coupling within neural circuits underlying these processes. To date, TMS studies in fear-conditioning research and PTSD have mainly focused on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and ventromedial (vmPFC)-connected or broader medial-prefrontal (mPFC) targets, yielding encouraging but heterogeneous effects on posttraumatic symptoms. In parallel, emerging evidence has implicated the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC; Brodmann area 10) in threat- and trauma-related processes, including memory retrieval, higher-order control of defensive responding, adaptive strategy selection, and resilience. Whereas the dlPFC and vmPFC have been incorporated into mechanistic models of fear regulation, the aPFC has received limited attention in theoretical frameworks of fear and PTSD. Here, we review TMS studies organized around dlPFC, vmPFC-connected or mPFC, and aPFC neuroanatomical targets, integrating evidence from experimental and clinical research. Based on the hierarchical model of prefrontal organization, we argue that these regions represent potential TMS targets or circuit nodes, but likely act on partially distinct mechanisms. The vmPFC appears primarily involved in early automatic downregulation of defensive responses; the dlPFC may support cognitive control strategies such as reappraisal; and the aPFC may enable a supraordinate influence over higher-order representations and avoidance-related circuitry, as well as flexible selection of emotion-regulation strategies. We conclude that integrating the aPFC into this framework may guide next-generation, mechanistically-informed TMS treatments for PTSD.
Presenilin 2 (PS2) mutations cause familial Alzheimer's disease, yet their effects beyond amyloid processing remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated how PS2 deletion and the N141I mutation affect neuronal lipid homeostasis and mitochondrial dynamics in mouse primary neurons. Both PS2 deletion and N141I mutation reduced neuronal lipid content. However, exogenous lipid supplementation rescued this deficit only in N141I-expressing neurons, indicating a partial loss-of-function effect. N141I neurons also displayed reduced OPA1, a mitochondrial fusion regulator, restored by lipid supplementation. RNA-sequencing identified Gbf1, a Golgi-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor, as selectively downregulated in N141I but not knockout tissue, which was confirmed at the protein level in mouse brain and primary neurons. Gbf1 knockdown in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) recapitulated the N141I lipid profile. Together, these findings reveal a PS2-GBF1-lipid-mitochondria axis disrupted specifically by the N141I mutation, suggesting an amyloid-independent pathway contributing to neurodegeneration and identifying potential therapeutic targets for familial Alzheimer's disease.
This paper examines whether green incentives embedded in executive compensation schemes are associated with a reorientation of firms' innovative activities toward environmentally sustainable technologies. Drawing on agency theory and the attention-based view of the firm, we conceptualize green incentives as governance and management-control devices that can mitigate managerial short-termism and channel executive attention toward long-horizon environmental objectives, thereby redirecting firms' technological search. Using a panel of publicly listed U.S. and European firms that participate in the Carbon Disclosure Project over the period 2010-2020, we analyse green innovation as a multi-stage process comprising the reorientation of technological search (the distance of firms' patent portfolios from green domains), knowledge recombination (the citation of green prior art in non-green patents), and realized green innovation output (green patent counts and shares). Firms adopting green incentives exhibit higher green innovation output, a significant repositioning of their knowledge portfolios toward green technological domains, and a greater integration of green knowledge into non-green technologies. These associations are weaker among firms experiencing a recent deterioration in carbon performance, and are strongest among continental European firms. Overall, the findings suggest that executive green incentives are associated with the direction, and not merely the volume, of firms' innovative activities, highlighting the role of internal governance mechanisms in sustainability transitions while recognising the limits of causal inference in observational data.
Introducing minor and novel cereal species into cropping and food systems requires the evaluation of their safety traits, including grain contamination with mycotoxins and acrylamide (AA) formation potential. This study has examined commercial varieties of tritordeum, bread wheat, spelt, emmer, durum wheat, barley, triticale, and rye grown under similar agronomic conditions over three consecutive growing seasons at one location in Northern Italy. Whole-meal and refined biscuits of sixteen genotypes were investigated for their grain contamination with Fusarium spp. mycotoxins, free asparagine (ASN) content, and AA formation. Deoxynivalenol (DON) was the predominant mycotoxin, with contamination being significantly influenced by the growing season. Tritordeum consistently accumulated DON at comparable levels with those of durum wheat and susceptible bread wheat genotypes. ASN accumulation was influenced by the genotype and the growing season, with rye genotypes showing the highest concentrations and high-protein bread wheat the lowest. ASN was significantly associated with AA formation in the whole-meal and refined biscuits, although differences in the AA/ASN molar ratio among and within the cereal species indicated that the flour composition also affected AA formation. Refining reduced ASN by around 70% and decreased AA formation. GGE analysis revealed that genotype effects predominated over genotype & times; year-location environment interactions for DON and ASN. Overall, tritordeum showed comparable food safety characteristics with durum wheat for DON contamination and an intermediate ASN accumulation and AA formation potential. These findings highlight the importance of integrating field and processing contaminants when evaluating novel cereals and of including food safety traits in breeding and cultivar selection programs.
