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The monetary policy is a basic component of the economic policy. It has an important role in fulfilling the main objectives of the economic politics, which is: price stability, insurance of a balanced economic raise, full occupancy of human resources and the external payment balance stability insurance. Inflation is a negative thing affecting the economy both on short and long term. On short term, it erodes the purchasing power of currency and thus, it mostly affects the retirees and those with fixed incomes. On long term, inflation discourages the investments and the economic growth. The purpose of this paper consists in the revision and presentation of the specialized literature concerning the impact the monetary policy has on the main macro-economical variables, especially on inflation, in terms of influence of the monetary authority decision on economic and financial conjunction. It was found that the monetary authorities of any country can evaluate exactly the rhythm and the effects of their actions on the economy by understanding the mechanisms which the monetary policy uses to influence the economy.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted life for people throughout the world, especially for those in health care who experience unique stressors. To support the psychological needs of staff, faculty, and learners at a biomedical sciences university, faculty at Baylor College of Medicine created a mental health and wellness support program consisting of multiple behavioral health care pathways, including phone support, a self-guided mental health app, a coping skills group, and individual therapy services. The authors present this program as a model for academic institutions to support the well-being of faculty, staff, and learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fluorescently labeled aerolysin (FLAER) is widely used for the identification of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) clones in peripheral blood (PB) samples. However, there are only a few reports on the differential fluorescent intensity of FLAER in normal bone marrow (BM) cell subpopulations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate FLAER expression during normal and pathological hematopoiesis, to map the critical existence of non-PNH FLAER-dim cells., Methods: A total of 54 BM aspirates were prospectively analyzed with FLAER-based flow cytometric (FC) protocols, during their routine work-up. These were obtained from patients with the following diagnoses: PNH (3), infections/reactive (5), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) (7), myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN) (4), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) (3), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) at diagnosis (20), AML in measurable residual disease (MRD) assessment (7), and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in MRD assessment (5). The applied protocols consisted of FLAER, HLA-DR, CD14, CD33, CD34, CD66b, CD38, CD117, CD64, CD45, and FLAER, CD66c, CD14, CD33, CD34, CD66b, CD123, CD16, CD64, and CD45, respectively. FLAER expression was assessed in CD34++/CD38- and CD34+/CD38+ stem cells, CD34-/CD117+/HLA-DR+/CD33+ myeloid precursors, and CD64+/CD14-/HLA-DR+ monocyte precursors but also in mature myeloid cells., Results: All patients revealed an intermediate FLAER intensity in CD34++/CD38- stem cells, with a discrete FLAER-negative subpopulation observed only in maturing CD34+/CD38+ stem cells of patients with PNH. The lowest FLAER intensity was noticed in CD34-/CD117+/HLA-DR+/CD33+ myeloid precursors, not only in patients with PNH but also in PNH-negative BM aspirates. An ascending FLAER intensity was further observed during monocytic and granulocytic maturation, with a discrete FLAER-negative population in CD64+/CD14-/HLA-DR+ monocyte precursors and maturing neutrophils and monocytes of patients with PNH only. The maturation pattern of FLAER expression was further confirmed in a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), where FLAER was concurrently upregulated with CD66b in a consecutive series of PB samples tested over a 20-day-period after diagnosis., Conclusion: The application of FLAER in PNH-positive and PNH-negative reactive or malignant BM aspirates identified normally expected non-PNH FLAER-dim CD34-/CD117+/HLA-DR+/CD33+ myeloid precursors in all samples. A specific FLAER-associated maturation pattern was observed, which is proposed for further study within MRD and diagnostic protocols., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The invasive Argentine ant ( Linepithema humile ) poses a significant threat to ecosystem stability worldwide. In Mediterranean citrus ecosystems, its spread may be limited by interactions with dominant native ant species. We conducted laboratory experiments to investigate the competitive dynamics between Argentine ants and two major native species, Tapinoma nigerrimum and Lasius grandis . At the individual level, both native species exhibited superior competitive performance, attributed to their larger body sizes and potential differences in chemical defences. At the colony level, T. nigerrimum demonstrated efficiency in interference competition, successfully defending food resources from Argentine ants. However, the Argentine ant exhibited higher recruitment capacity, albeit it was density-dependent. Our findings support the hypothesis that dominant native ants can serve as barriers against Argentine ant invasion in citrus ecosystems, highlighting the importance of interspecific competition in shaping community dynamics and invasive species management. This study underscores the potential role of native ant species in mitigating the impacts of invasive ants on ecosystem functioning and biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes, offering valuable insights for invasive species management strategies in Mediterranean citrus ecosystems.

A comprehensive annotated checklist of the ladybeetle species of Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, is presented. The Coccinellidae fauna comprises a total of 101 species: 83 from the Mainland, 39 from Madeira, and 32 from the Azores. The listed species are distributed among 2 sub-families and 13 tribes: within the subfamily Microweiseinae, Madeirodulini (1 species), Serangiini (2 species), and within the subfamily Coccinellinae, Azyini (1 species), Chilocorini (4 species), Coccidulini (7 species), Coccinellini (30 species), Epilachnini (4 species), Hyperaspidini (7 species), Noviini (2 species), Platynaspini (1 species), Scymnini (37 species), Stethorini (3 species), and Sticholotidini (2 species). The Portuguese fauna comprises 10 exotic species: 5 present in the Mainland, 7 in Madeira, and 6 in the Azores. Harmoniaaxyridis (Pallas, 1773) from Madeira, Propyleaquatuordecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Azores, Delphastuscatalinae (Horn, 1895) from the Azores and Madeira, Nephus (Geminosipho) reunioni (Fürsch, 1974) and Nephus (Nephus) voeltzkowi Weise, 1910 from Madeira and Microserangium sp. from the Mainland, are reported for the first time. Some species are considered doubtful records, as explained in the text. These results were obtained by compiling information on the available literature regarding ladybeetle species on the Portuguese mainland and insular territories, and original data., (António Onofre Soares, Hugo Renato Calado, José Carlos Franco, António Franquinho Aguiar, Miguel M. Andrade, Vera Zina, Olga M.C.C. Ameixa, Isabel Borges, Alexandra Magro.)

The invasion of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) can alter the entire ecosystem with serious impacts on the native community structure (e.g., ant diversity) and processes (e.g., trophic interactions) leading to biodiversity loss and pest outbreaks. Most studies addressing these impacts have been conducted in natural or semi-natural areas, few are those conducted in agricultural ecosystems, such as citrus orchards. These are dominant agricultural ecosystems in Mediterranean landscapes. Furthermore, most studies have been conducted in a short span, not evidencing seasonal fluctuations. In this work, we assessed the ecological impact of the Argentine ant on the native ant communities in citrus orchards, in the region of Algarve, southern Portugal. By using principal response curve, we compared seasonal variation on ant assemblages in invaded and uninvaded citrus orchards foraging on tree canopy from a two-year sampling. The Argentine ant had a marked negative impact on the native ant community foraging on citrus canopy. In the uninvaded orchards, the native ant community had a rich assemblage composed of 16 ant species, in its majority (72%) controlled by the dominant species Lasius grandis Forel, Tapinoma nigerrimum (Nylander) and/or Pheidole pallidula (Nylander). In the invaded orchards, the native ant community was poorer and highly modified, mostly dominated by the Argentine ant (80%). Apparently, the only native ant species not affected by the presence of the Argentine ant was Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille). A significant negative effect was found between the proportion of infested trees by L. humile and the number of native ant species per orchard. Differences in the native ant community in the invaded and uninvaded orchards persisted over seasons and years. However, negative impacts were higher in the spring and summer, and less pronounced in the autumn. We discuss implications for citrus pest management.

The occurrence of polyandry in Planococcuscitri, presumed by earlier observations of mating behavior, was confirmed using microsatellite genotyping of pools of over 400 eggs resulting from controlled crosses of one female with two males. The genetic contribution of both mated males was confirmed in 13 out of 43 crosses. In three crosses it was possible to determine that only the first male fertilized the eggs, which may be due to sperm competition or unviable sperm supply. The microsatellite analysis also allowed the confirmation of aspects of the chromosomal inheritance detected previously in cytogenetic studies in Planococcuscitri, namely that only one of the alleles is transmitted by the male, indicating that the males are functionally haploid, supporting the observation of Paternal Genome Elimination (PGE) in these insects.