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Does participating in community gardens promote sustainable lifestyles in urban settings? Design and protocol of the JArDinS study
No full textBackground[br/]
Despite growing evidence for the multiple health benefits of community gardening, longitudinal studies based on quantitative data are needed. Here we describe the protocol of JArDinS, a quasi-experimental study, aimed at assessing the impact of community garden participation (a natural experiment) in the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles.[br/]
Methods[br/]
Gardeners (n = 80) starting gardening in a community garden in Montpellier (France) will be recruited. Volunteers with no experience in community gardening and matched for age range, gender, household income and household composition will be recruited in a control group (n = 80). The sustainability of lifestyles in its social/health, environmental and economic dimensions will be assessed from a food supply diary (recording type, quantity and price of foods acquired in a 1-month period and the carbon impact of relevant food trips), a triaxial accelerometer (measuring physical activity) and online questionnaires on mental and social health, sensitivity to food waste, and connection with nature. Change of outcomes after 1 year will be compared between the natural experiment and the control groups.[br/]
Discussion[br/]
This study will provide information on the impact of participation in a community garden on the different dimensions of sustainability, based on a robust quasi-experimental design allowing causality evaluation.[br/]
Trial registration[br/]
The JArDinS study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03694782. Date of registration: 3rd October 2018, retrospectively registered
Pervasive hybridizations in the history of wheat relatives
No full textCultivated wheats are derived from an intricate history of three genomes, A, B, and D, present in both diploid and polyploid species. It was recently proposed that the D genome originated from an ancient hybridization between the A and B lineages. However, this result has been questioned, and a robust phylogeny of wheat relatives is still lacking. Using transcriptome data from all diploid species and a new methodological approach, our comprehensive phylogenomic analysis revealed that more than half of the species descend from an ancient hybridization event but with a more complex scenario involving a different parent than previously thought—Aegilops mutica, an overlooked wild species—instead of the B genome. We also detected other extensive gene flow events that could explain long-standing controversies in the classification of wheat relatives
Assessing lignocellulosic biomass production from crop residues in the European Union: modelling, analysis of the current scenario, and drivers of inter-annual variability
No full textThis study assesses crop residues in the EU from major crops using empirical models to predict crop residues from yield statistics; furthermore it analyses the inter‐annual variability of those estimates over the period 1998‐2015, identifying its main drivers across Europe. The models were constructed based on an exhaustive collection of experimental data from scientific papers for the crops: wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, rice, maize, sorghum, rapeseed, sunflower, soybean, potato and sugarbeet. We discuss the assumptions on the relationship between yield and the harvest index, adopted by previous studies, to interpret the experimental data, quantify the uncertainties of these models, and establish the premises to implement them at regional scale –i.e NUTS level 3– within the EU. To cope this, we created a consolidated sub‐national statistical data along with an algorithm able to aggregate (figures are provided at country level) and disaggregate (production at 25 km grid is provided as supplementary material) estimates. The total lignocellulosic biomass production in the EU28 over the review period, according to our models, is 419 Mt, from which wheat is the major contributor (155 Mt). Our results show that maize and rapeseed are the two crops with the highest residue yield, respectively 8.9 and 8.6 t ha‐1. The spatial analysis revealed that these three crops, which, according to our results, are feedstocks highly suitable a priori for second generation biofuels in the EU and are unevenly distributed across Europe. Weather fluctuation was identified as the major driver in residue production from cereals, while, in the case of starch crops and oilseeds – which are predominant in northern Europe – corresponded to the marked production trend likely influenced by the agricultural policies and agro‐management over the review period. Additionally, our study highlights the limitation of such empirical models in quantifying lignocellulosic biomass in the EU
Genetic defects in human azoospermia
No full textAs with many other diseases, genetic testing in human azoospermia was initially restricted to karyotype analyses (leading to diagnostic chromosome rearrangement tests for Klinefelter and other syndromes). With the advent of molecular biology in the 1980s, genetic screening was broadened to analyses of Y chromosome microdeletions and the gene coding for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Decades later, the emergence of whole-genome techniques has led to the identification of other genetic defects associated with human azoospermia. Although TEX11 and ADGRG2 defects are frequently described in men with azoospermia, most of the causal gene defects found to date are private (i.e. identified in a small number of consanguineous families). Here, we provide an up-to-date overview of all the types of genetic defects known to be linked to human azoospermia and try to give clinical practice guidelines according to azoospermia phenotype. Along with homozygous mutations, polymorphisms and epigenetic defects are also briefly discussed. However, as these variations predispose to azoospermia, a specific review will be needed to compile data on all the particular genetic variations reported in the literatur
Importance des lymphocytes gamma delta dans la physiopathologie de l’infection par E. tenella
No full text
Les ravageurs émergents des palmiers Rhynchophorus & Paysandisia aux portes du Maghreb. Retours d'expériences sur la lutte en cours sur la Riviera franco-italienne et perspectives
No full textEn une vingtaine d’années, les ravageurs des palmiers Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Red Palm Weevil) & Paysandisia archon (PA) ont colonisé l’ensemble du bassin méditerranéen pour le premier et la rive nord pour le
second. En Europe, l’attention s’est polarisée sur le premier de ces ravageurs, laissant dans l’ombre l’impact du second. Tous deux ont désormais une action combinée, Paysandisia contribuant à la diversification des cibles de Rhynchophorus. La lutte contre le papillon palmivore a tardé à se mettre en place, et les mesures prises demeurent insuffisantes à de nombreux points de vue. A partir des retours d'expériences concernant les développements de l’infestation sur la Riviera franco-italienne, cette communication abordera i) l’impact en cours et à venir du papillon palmivore sur deux types de palmeraies, les chamaeropaies et les palmeraies dattières, ii) la mobilisation de la société civile (associations, jardins botaniques et chercheurs) en faveur du développement de la lutte intégrée et plus particulièrement du biocontrôle. Cette communication vise aussi à proposer iii) la mise en place d'un partenariat euro-méditerranéen
Lipid trafficking at membrane contact sites during plant development and stress response
No full textThe biogenesis of cellular membranes involves an important traffic of lipids from their site of synthesis to their final destination. Lipid transfer can be mediated by vesicular or non-vesicular pathways. The non-vesicular pathway requires the close apposition of two membranes to form a functional platform, called membrane contact sites (MCSs), where lipids are exchanged. These last decades, MCSs have been observed between virtually all organelles and a role in lipid transfer has been demonstrated for some of them. In plants, the lipid composition of membranes is highly dynamic and can be drastically modified in response to environmental changes. This highlights the importance of understanding the mechanisms involved in the regulation of membrane lipid homeostasis in plants. This review summarizes our current knowledge about the non-vesicular transport of lipids at MCSs in plants and its regulation during stress