Accueillir la part sauvage des plantes au travail

International audienceIs the « plant cause » an overlooked aspect of the agroecological and food transition? Are the plant cause and the farmers’ cause two sides of the same coin? This volume argues that this underexplored issue involves recognizing plants as relational beings and adopting practices that are now essential for developing solutions “with” nature. By asserting an ethics of living work, it highlights the chains of interdependence and sociability based on human and non-human cooperation in productive activities.This volume stems from the PlantCoopLab (Plant Cooperation Laboratory) project and is the result of collective research conducted over a period of five years. It is based on an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach to the humanities and social sciences, developed through engagement with plant workers, farmers and gatherers. The contributions draw on anthropological, ethical, political and social enquiries, enabling us to reconsider the importance of these professions with regard to respecting life in agriculture.This volume is intended for researchers and academics, civil society actors, professionals and decision-makers working in agriculture, food and the environment.Le temps semble révolu où les éléments naturels étaient perçus comme des freins pour atteindre un optimum de production dans des systèmes standardisés : l’écologisation des pratiques a permis de les réintroduire en les considérant comme « des objets utiles et fonctionnels » au sein des agrosystèmes (Barbier, Goulet, 2013, p. 201). Le réinvestissement des processus naturels est tel que certaines pratiques agricoles amènent à considérer la place de la nature sauvage sur la ferme, voire dans les processus de production, allant parfois jusqu’à un « réensauvagement de la ferme » (Mondière et al., 2022). Je souhaite focaliser l’attention sur cette dimension au sein de l’agroécosystème, à savoir comment le sauvage est caractérisé et comment il se manifeste dans les processus de production. J’explore la place ontologique accordée au sauvage chez des agriculteurs en productions végétales via les pratiques en lien avec lui, volontairement ou non

Optics-based method for enhancing spectroscopic calibration model development

International audienceSpectrometric calibration is a challenge for every application because a large number and variability of reference samples are required to develop an accurate and robust model. This study investigates the potential of improving spectrometer calibration by using physically simulated spectra to enhance the calibration data set and perform out-of-range predictions. For this purpose, 56 liquid samples covering a wide range of absorption and scattering properties are measured with a double integrating sphere setup and visible spectrometers. A Kubelka–Munk optical model is used to simulate the samples reflectance and transmittance spectra. A simple method of calibration enhancement is introduced, and its benefits are evaluated with a partial least squares regression model, in comparison to a classical calibration approach. Two cases are studied, one with wide variability among reference samples and one with a limited range. The proposed method shows promising results, especially in the second, hardest case. A further study is done to evaluate the impact of simulated data quantity on the models’ results. It was found that the performances reach a maximum when the ratio between measured and simulated spectra is 1:2

Parental dominance of the cleopatra mandarin parent in the citrandarin allotetraploid hybrid shapes root-mediated salt tolerance

Data Availability Statement: The original data supporting this study are included in the article and Supplementary Data. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors. Raw sequencing data have been deposited at NCBI under the BioProject accession PRJNA1156330. Parent PO reference genome (V1.3) and annotation (V1.3.1) were downloaded from Phytozome (Peng et al., 2020) (https://phytozome-next.jgi.doe.gov/info/Ptrifoliata_v1_3_1). The CL genome was assembled as part of the pre-HLB project and a primary version of its upcoming annotation was used. Information can be found in Droc et al. (2024).International audiencencreasing water limitation and soil salinisation resulting from climate change negatively impacts plant growth and productivity, posing a significant challenge to citrus production. This highlights the need to develop new citrus rootstocks that can tolerate both abiotic and biotic stress. Polyploidy is a major driver of plant evolution that often enhances resilience to abiotic stressors, including salinity. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the salt stress response of a citrandarin hybrid derived from a Cleopatra mandarin and a trifoliate orange at two ploidy levels: diploid (2x) and allotetraploid (4x). Plants exposed to salt stress were analysed at physiological, biochemical, ion, and transcriptomic levels in leaves and roots. Using multifactorial, multivariate, and network approaches, we deciphered the complexity of the multilevel response of both 2x and 4x hybrids. Regardless of stress, ploidy level accounted for differences in photosynthetic performance as well as in the transcriptional regulation of secondary metabolism and inorganic nutrients in roots. Under salt stress, both 2x and 4x displayed a robust salt-tolerant phenotype with no visible damage, while activating profound and coordinated physiological, biochemical, and transcriptional reprogramming. However, marked divergence in their adaptive strategies was identified when evaluating the ploidy × stress interaction. The 2x genotype relied mainly on enhanced leaf antioxidant metabolism, whereas the 4x exhibited stronger root-centred regulation involving ion partitioning, osmoprotection, aquaporin expression, and antioxidant pathways. Comparison between orthologues of each citrandarin parent further revealed a transcriptional bias towards Cleopatra mandarin, which was reinforced by tetraploidy under salt stress. Altogether, our results show that tetraploidy amplifies parental root regulatory programmes, providing mechanistic insights and candidate markers for the development of salt-tolerant citrus rootstocks

Democracy and innovative governance in French agricultural cooperatives

International audienceIn order to answer this question, the chapter is organized in four parts: first, we expose our theoretical framework; second, we detail the qualitative methodology based on four case studies; third, we analyse these cases; and fourth, we synthetize and conclude. Theoretical framework: democratic and innovative governanceWe based our theoretical framework on the concepts of democracy, governance, and innovation in corporate governance, applied to cooperatives, more particularly in the agricultural sector. In the following pages, we will define and develop these concepts, showing that a few studies deal with them and their interactions, proposing a conceptual framework to deal with drivers of governance innovation in terms of democracy. Democracy and governance: from capitalistic firms to cooperativesCompany is an organization with many faces that has been approached in different ways. From the neoclassical conception, according to which the company was considered as a "black box", to the company seen as a system, it is still difficult to grasp its complex reality (Tosi, 2009). Organization theory studies all types of organizations with very diverse points of view, as underlined by Tosi ( 2009): rational/natural models, closed/open system approaches, and considering single-or double-way relationships between environment and structure.According to Pfeffer (1991), this research field frequently took the individual and its behaviour as the unique unit of analysis and did not really consider social structure as relevant, denying the effects of social and mutual interactions among individuals on the firm's management. On the contrary, for Pfeffer (1991, p 801), "organizations are social settings". Social relations are therefore essential and can influence the firm's performance. Some authors went further and considered organization as an open system model where structure and environment are linked, sometimes following an interactive process, dealing with institutions and ecology, and leading to open system natural models (Tosi, 2009).In this perspective, the pervasive power of shareholders, stressed by Jensen and Meckling (1976), is counterbalanced or, at least, influenced by the open system of interactions between internal and external stakeholders, taking into account the commitment to society of the firm, analysed by the stakeholder theory (ST; Freeman, 1984). Democracy is also more concerned, directly or indirectly, considering the firm as an institution where democracy gains ground thanks to increasing openness, activist shareholders (Gomez, 2001) and citizen requirements (Grandori, 2017). This phenomenon led Andreani (1994, p 184) to state, "it is much more difficult to initiate democracy in a party than in a firm". In fact, behind stakeholder and democratic issues, governance is at the heart of operations.Democratic governance (Cornforth, 2004) concerns the essence of agricultural cooperatives as social economy organizations. Since their origin, they have been

Associated physiological mechanisms during reproductive stage in lines of Swarna rice (Oryza sativa) pyramided with major drought yield quantitative trait loci qDTY1.1 and qDTY3.1

International audienceDrought is a major abiotic stress that limits rice (Oryza sativa) production. Millions of hectares of rainfed lowland and upland rice in Asia are affected by drought stress yearly, which results in considerable yield reduction. Evaluation of the physiological characteristics that aid rice plants in maintaining yield under drought stress conditions may contribute to the development of potential drought-tolerant varieties. This study assessed the physiological characteristics of drought-tolerant lines with different combinations of qDTY3.1 and qDTY1.1 in the genetic background of Swarna, a popular, high-yielding but drought susceptible rice variety. Specifically, these lines were ‘qDTY3.1 lines’ (introgressed with qDTY3.1 alone), ‘qDTY1.1 lines’ (introgressed with qDTY1.1 alone), and ‘pyramided lines’ (introgressed with both qDTY3.1 and qDTY1.1). qDTY3.1 lines exhibited faster peduncle elongation rate, lower peduncle elongation breakpoint values, and longer final peduncle length under drought stress. qDTY1.1 lines presented more negative leaf osmotic potential and cooler canopy temperatures than Swarna that indicated better leaf hydration under drought. Pyramided lines produced higher panicle numbers, longer mean peduncle length, and higher grain yield under drought. These characteristics associated with qDTY3.1 and qDTY1.1 indicated that the plants performed better under drought stress than would be expected from the sum of the individual qDTY effects

Actes de la 9ème édition du colloque Pédagogie et Formation du Groupe INSA: Adaptation des parcours de formation aux nouveaux enjeux des métiers de l'ingénieur : quelles transformations et quels impacts ?

National audienceL’évolution du métier d’ingénieur implique une nécessaire réévaluation des parcours de formation, deleurs contenus, des méthodes et outils d’enseignement-apprentissage. À partir de retours d’expérienceet d’expérimentations dans nos établissements, nous pourrons analyser l’impact de ces transformationssur les acquis des étudiants, le développement de leurs compétences et réfléchir aux moyens de favoriserleur engagement dans ces différents dispositifs.La 9e édition du colloque Pédagogie et Formation du Groupe INSA entend questionner ces problématiqueset permettre d’échanger sur les actions en place, le déploiement de projets à l’échelle du groupe (notamment INSA 2025) et les partenariats développés ces deux dernières années

Wildlife Diversity in Global Team Sport Branding

International audienceMany sport organizations worldwide have capitalized on wildlife iconography to develop their brand. Given the ongoing global biodiversity crisis and the importance of sport in modern societies, representations of wildlife in the sport industry offer enormous potential for shifting social norms, raising funds and promoting biodiversity conservation initiatives within the industry itself. We collected data on professional teams that use wild animals either in their name, logo, or supporters’ nicknames across 50 countries and across 10 team sports. We identified 727 sport organizations using wildlife iconography or nicknames. Mammals and birds are the most represented classes, and lions (Panthera leo), tigers (Panthera tigris), and grey wolves (Canis lupus) are the most frequently selected species. Threatened species and species with a declining population trend are more represented than other species, with differences across regions. This is a critical first step toward integrating biodiversity conservation in the sustainability agenda of sport organizations

On the problem of minimizing the epidemic final size for SIR model by social distancing

International audienceWe revisit the problem of minimizing the epidemic final size in the SIR model through social distancing of bounded intensity. In the existing literature, this problem has been considered imposing a priori interval structure on the time period when interventions are enforced. We show that when considering the more general class of controls with an L1 constraint on the confinement effort that reduces the infection rate, the support of the optimal control is still a single time interval. This shows that, for this problem, there is no benefit in splitting interventions on several disjoint time periods. However, if the infection rate is known beforehand to change with time once from one value to another one, then we show that the optimal solution could consist in splitting the interventions in at most two disjoint time periods

Decoding Tocopherol-Polyphenol interactions in oil-in-water emulsions through combined WIM-CAT and CV assays

Source Agritrop Cirad (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/616786/) * Autres projets (id;sigle;titre): 101158035;PassIon;(EU) High Performance and Large-Scale Electrodes for Selective Ion Recovery//International audienceThe antioxidant interactions of α- and γ-tocopherol with curcumin and quercetin were assessed in an oil-in-water emulsion using the WIM-CAT assay, a method integrating Weibull interaction modeling with the conjugated autoxidizable triene technique. Synergistic effects were strongest for γ-tocopherol with curcumin and for α-tocopherol with quercetin, particularly at low tocopherol concentrations (0.2 μM in emulsion, 380 ppm in oil) and high molar ratios (3:1). Increasing tocopherol concentration to 0.6 μM in emulsion (1140 ppm in oil) reduced synergy, likely reflecting pro-oxidant activity. The presence of ferrous ions accelerated oxidation but did not influence synergistic interactions, while acidic conditions reduced tocopherol pro-oxidation and modified the effects of curcumin and quercetin. Weibull modeling revealed isoform-dependent differences during the propagation phase of oxidation. Cyclic voltammetry further suggested that the synergy of α-tocopherol may involve antioxidant regeneration mechanisms, whereas γ-tocopherol appears to act through alternative redox processes. Together, kinetic and electrochemical analyses provide complementary insights into the conditions governing antioxidant interactions

Pseudogenes Document Protracted Parallel Regression of Oral Anatomy in Myrmecophagous Mammals

International audienceAdaptation to ant and/or termite consumption (myrmecophagy) in mammals constitutes a textbook example of convergent evolution, being independently derived in several mammalian lineages. Myrmecophagous species are characterized by striking convergent morphological adaptations such as skull elongation, enlargement of salivary glands, and long claws to dig into ant and termite nests. These evolutionary modifications also include anatomical regression, such as dental simplification or loss, reduction of masticatory muscles, and possessing a reduced set of taste buds. To gain insights into the molecular changes underlying the regression of these morpho-anatomical traits, we investigated the functionality of candidate genes related to dentition, gustation, and mastication in nine convergent myrmecophagous mammalian lineages. We examined these genes in a comparative phylogenetic context, paired with molecular evolutionary analyses, to estimate the relative timing of loss of gene function over the evolutionary history of each convergent lineage. We found that gustatory reduction and pseudogenization of masticatory myosin often were associated with the regression of dental genes. Evidence of pseudogenization events linked to oral anatomy dates to as early as the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary, and is an ongoing process including examples of incipient gene inactivations. Whereas we found evidence for gene inactivations across all three functional categories occurring during distinct temporal intervals, there was variation in the sets of genes lost and the relative timing of inactivation events. The combined evidence suggests that the convergent evolution of myrmecophagy has occurred as a protracted process with distinct phases of anatomical evolution, over timescales as long as 60 Myr