Kaolin clay, a new method for protecting plants against the peach aphid Myzus persicae Sulzer by creating a mineral barrier

The peach aphid Myzus persicae Sulzer is one of the major pests found on peach trees. The CTIFL has been running tests since 2005 to assess the efficacy of Surround® WP, a product containing kaolin that is applied either at the time of leaf fall to prevent winter egg-laying or in the spring to prevent the establishment of fundatrices. The period of application and the production system (organic or conventional) were tested, allowing a comparison with chemical aphicides. The clay product used at leaf fall reduced winter egg-laying by about 50%. Autumn application of Surround® alone was not sufficient to control aphid colonies in the spring, but it could be used as part of a supervised control strategy, combined with the application of mineral oils in late winter

Relevance of food independence. Comparative analysis of french food production

Research focuses on estimating food independence of European countries. Two indicators were introduced and calculated for European countries. The results show a vast difference between them and allows to group countries by them

Conserved Charged Amino Acids within Sendai Virus C Protein Play Multiple Roles in the Evasion of Innate Immune Responses

One of the accessory proteins of Sendai virus (SeV), C, translated from an alternate reading frame of P/V mRNA has been shown to function at multiple stages of infection in cell cultures as well as in mice. C protein has been reported to counteract signal transduction by interferon (IFN), inhibit apoptosis induced by the infection, enhance the efficiency of budding of viral particles, and regulate the polarity of viral genome-length RNA synthesis to maximize production of infectious particles. In this study, we have generated a series of SeV recombinants containing substitutions of highly conserved, charged residues within the C protein, and characterized them together with previously-reported C′/C(−), 4C(−), and F170S recombinant viruses in infected cell cultures in terms of viral replication, cytopathogenicity, and antagonizing effects on host innate immunity. Unexpectedly, the amino acid substitutions had no or minimal effect on viral growth and viral RNA synthesis. However, all the substitutions of charged amino acids resulted in the loss of a counteracting effect against the establishment of an IFN-α-mediated anti-viral state. Infection by the virus (Cm2′) containing mutations at K77 and D80 induced significant IFN-β production, severe cytopathic effects, and detectable amounts of viral dsRNA production. In addition to the Cm2′ virus, the virus containing mutations at E114 and E115 did not inhibit the poly(I:C)-triggered translocation of cellular IRF-3 to the nucleus. These results suggest that the C protein play important roles in viral escape from induction of IFN-β and cell death triggered by infection by means of counteracting the pathway leading to activation of IRF-3 as well as of minimizing viral dsRNA production

Reconstrucción paleoclimática y paleoambiental de la Península Ibérica durante el Cuaternario, aplicación de modelos geoprospectivos para la evaluación de escenarios futuros

Esta comunicación trata de resumir el trabajo realizado por el ITGE, BRGM, CCMA, IPE, ETSIMM y ENRESA en el proyecto titulado "Paleoclimatological Revision of Climate Evolution and Environment in Western Mediterranean Region. Evaluation of future evolution scenarios in the Iberian Peninsula", en el marco del Programa de la Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas sobre Gestión y Almacenamiento de Residuos Radioactivos (contrato CEC FI2WCT91- 0075)

Outcome measurement in functional neurological disorder: a systematic review and recommendations.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify existing outcome measures for functional neurological disorder (FND), to inform the development of recommendations and to guide future research on FND outcomes. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted to identify existing FND-specific outcome measures and the most common measurement domains and measures in previous treatment studies. Searches of Embase, MEDLINE and PsycINFO were conducted between January 1965 and June 2019. The findings were discussed during two international meetings of the FND-Core Outcome Measures group. RESULTS: Five FND-specific measures were identified-three clinician-rated and two patient-rated-but their measurement properties have not been rigorously evaluated. No single measure was identified for use across the range of FND symptoms in adults. Across randomised controlled trials (k=40) and observational treatment studies (k=40), outcome measures most often assessed core FND symptom change. Other domains measured commonly were additional physical and psychological symptoms, life impact (ie, quality of life, disability and general functioning) and health economics/cost-utility (eg, healthcare resource use and quality-adjusted life years). CONCLUSIONS: There are few well-validated FND-specific outcome measures. Thus, at present, we recommend that existing outcome measures, known to be reliable, valid and responsive in FND or closely related populations, are used to capture key outcome domains. Increased consistency in outcome measurement will facilitate comparison of treatment effects across FND symptom types and treatment modalities. Future work needs to more rigorously validate outcome measures used in this population

Neodymium isotope constraints on provenance, dispersal, and climate-driven supply of Zambezi sediments along the Mozambique Margin during the past ∼45,000 years

Marine sediments deposited off the Zambezi River that drains a considerable part of the southeast African continent provide continuous records of the continental climatic and environmental conditions. Here we present time series of neodymium (Nd) isotope signatures of the detrital sediment fraction during the past ~45,000 years, to reconstruct climate-driven changes in the provenance of clays deposited along the Mozambique Margin. Coherent with the surface current regime, the Nd isotope distribution in surface sediments reveals mixing of the alongshore flowing Zambezi suspension load with sediments supplied by smaller rivers located further north. To reconstruct past changes in sediment provenances, Nd isotope signatures of clays that are not significantly fractionated during weathering processes have been obtained from core 64PE304-80, which was recovered just north of the Zambezi mouth at 1329 m water depth. Distinctly unradiogenic clay signatures (ENd values <214.2) are found during the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, and Younger Dryas. In contrast, the Nd isotope record shows higher, more radiogenic isotope signatures during Marine Isotope Stage 3 and between ~15 and ~5 ka BP, the latter coinciding with the timing of the northern hemisphere African Humid Period. The clay-sized sediment fraction with the least radiogenic Nd isotope signatures was deposited during the Holocene, when the adjacent Mozambique Shelf became completely flooded. In general, the contribution of the distinctly unradiogenic Zambezi suspension load has followed the intensity of precession-forced monsoonal precipitation and enhanced during periods of increased southern hemisphere insolation and high-latitude northern hemispheric climate variability

Genesis and development of an interfluvial peatland in the central Congo Basin since the Late Pleistocene

The central Congo Basin contains the largest known peatland complex in the tropics. Here we present a detailed multi-proxy record from a peat core, CEN-17.4, from the centre of a 45 km wide interfluvial peatland (Ekolongouma), the first record of its kind from the central Congo peatlands. We use pollen, charcoal, sedimentological and geochemical data to reconstruct the site's history from the late Pleistocene to the present day. Peat began accumulating at the centre of the peatland ∼19,600 cal BP (∼17,500–20,400 cal BP, 95% confidence interval), and between ∼9500 (9430–9535 cal BP) and 10,500 (10,310–10,660 cal BP) cal BP towards the margins. Pollen data from the peatland centre show that an initial grass- and sedge-dominated vegetation, which burned frequently, was replaced by a Manilkara-type dominated flooded forest at ∼12,640 cal BP, replaced in turn by a more mixed swamp forest at ∼9670 cal BP. Mixed swamp forest vegetation has persisted to the present day, with variations in composition and canopy openness likely caused at least in part by changes in palaeo-precipitation. Stable isotope data (δDn-C29-v&icecorr) indicate a large reduction in precipitation beginning ∼5000 and peaking ∼2000 cal BP, associated with the near-complete mineralization of several metres of previously accumulated peat and with a transition to a drier, more heliophilic swamp forest assemblage, likely with a more open canopy. Although the peatland and associated vegetation recovered from this perturbation, the strong response to this climatic event underlines the ecosystem's sensitivity to changes in precipitation. We find no conclusive evidence for anthropogenic activity in our record; charcoal is abundant only in the Pleistocene part of the record and may reflect natural rather than anthropogenic fires. We conclude that autogenic succession and variation in the amount and seasonality of precipitation have been the most important drivers of ecological change in this peatland since the late Pleistocene