Designing with Uncertainty : A Collaborative Approach to Coastal Change in Vias

In the past few years, numerous authors formulated the hypothesis that the informal city offers several original amenities: lightness, adaptability and social cohesion for example. The acknowledgement of these assets risks to hide, on the one hand, the limits of informality, and on the other hand, the first vocations of the city. Collectivising basic services and regulating their use, providing accessibility and ensuring the permeability of the ground, guaranteeing safety for inhabitants and goods: these are some of the purposes territorial planning and design usually intend to fulfil. On the Mediterranean coast, in the south-east of France, the municipality of Vias has seen an informal residential fabric develop since the 1960s. Mainly used for leisure, the plots are now exposed to coastal risks. In the trail of the Xynthia storm, the awareness of these risks leads the French Government to launch in 2015 a national experimental approach to strengthen the knowledge of the affected territories. The ambition is to set up local strategies aimed at adapting territories to coastal change and reducing their vulnerability. Among the experimental sites, Vias has the peculiarity to combine both risk-related themes and the specific issues of informality. In Vias, the cooperation between the Government, the local authorities and the inhabitants quickly takes an exceptional direction. The dimension of the site is particularly significant: 2,500 leisure plots in part occupied by illegal constructions. The means employed are equally impressive: for three years, a dedicated team led by an architect has been organising a series of workshops to develop an adaptive masterplan. The latter should allow a more sustainable transition of the coast. The approach is exemplary, but numerous doubts are emerging in a context marked by contradictory injunctions. How to experiment without admitting uncertainty? Originally written for the 4th City Futures Conference organised by the European Urban Research Association and the Urban Affairs Association1, this article provides a critical analysis of the method used to design the adaptive masterplan of the coast of Vias. It fits into a thematic session entitled “Inhabiting Outside the Law: The Variety of Housing Informality/Illegality in Western Countries”, itself included in the first of 6 conference’s tracks called “Cities and Spatial and Social Justice - Creating More Inclusive Cities”

Fungal diversity, pest damage and biocontrol of aflatoxins in GM and conventional Brazilian maize cultivars under existing and future climate change scenarios.

This study (a) evaluated the fungal biodiversity, toxigenic mycobiota and mycotoxin profiles associated with conventional (non-GM) and genetically modified (GM) isogenic maize cultivars (cvs) from Brazil, (b) studied the ecology of the isolated strains of toxigenic Aspergillus flavus using non-GM and the isogenic GM cv as substrates under different water activity(aw) and temperature interactions in vitro, (c) screened mycobiota for potential biocontrol agents (BCAs) and compared the interactions between atoxigenic (AFL⁻) and toxigenic (AFL⁺ ) A. flavus strains and other antagonistic species for in vitro control of aflatoxins (AFs) using different spore inoculum ratios, (d) examined the best potential BCAs to apply in situ in stored GM and non-GM isogenic maize cvs on AFs production and related expression of structural (aflD) and regulatory (aflR) toxin biosynthetic genes, and (e) examined the resilience of the biocontrol efficacy under simulated pest damage and climate change (CC) scenarios. The majority of the GM and isogenic non-GM cvs analysed (20 samples; 10 each type) had moisture content (%MC) and aw levels within the safety range for safe storage (<0.70 aw). Fusarium and Penicillium spp were the predominant genera identified with a low percentage of isolation of A. flavus strains in the maize cultivars examined. There was no significant difference (p<0.05) in the frequency of isolation between non-GM and GM cvs. A total of 22 A. flavus strains were isolated, of which 15 were non-aflatoxin producers, and 7 were aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) producers. Six of these strains were from non-GM maize cvs. Six pairs of isogenic GM- and non-GM cvs (n=12) out of the 20 used in this work were selected and analysed in more detail using LC-MS/MS. The mycotoxin profiles showed 29 compounds present, with higher amounts of Fusarium toxins than any other, which paralleled the high isolation frequency of Fusarium spp. AFs were not detected, while Fumonisins (B₁ or B₂) were present in 10 out of the 12 cvs, with only 2 non-GM cultivars having contamination levels above the EU legislative limits (4000 µg kg⁻1). The distribution of the mycotoxins indicated differences between the non-GM and GM cvs (p<0.05) with the latter having lower overall concentrations of mycotoxins. Subsequently, from the 22 isolated strains of A. flavus 4 were selected (3 toxigenic and 1 atoxigenic) for ecological studies using 3 pairs of GM- and non- GM maize cvs as substrate. The strains were able to colonize and grow on maize- based nutritional matrices from both GM (two pesticide and one herbicide + pesticide resistant) and non-GM cvs. The type of cvs did not have a significant effect on the growth of A. flavus, however temperature and aw had a significant effect (p<0.05) on the fungal development. The optimal conditions for growth were slightly different from those for AFB₁ production. Optimal growth occurred at 30-35ᴼ C and 0.99 aw, whereas AFB₁ production was optimal at 25-35ᴼ C and 0.99 aw. Each strain showed a different pattern of AFB₁ production and there was a shift in the optimal conditions depending on the combination of aw × To C × maize cv. In vitro a total of 8 atoxigenic (AFL⁻) and 8 other strains from different genera were tested as BCAs against 5 toxigenic strains (AFL⁺ ). This showed that A. flavus was highly dominant in vitro. One yeast strain (Y6) was able to compete against A. flavus on malt extract agar (MEA) at 0.98 aw but when it was co- cultivated in milled-maize agar (MMA) against the toxigenic AFL⁺ strain resulted in an increase in AFB₁ when compared to the control. The interaction of the toxigenic AFL⁺ × atoxigenic AFL⁻ strains were mutual intermingling on both MEA and MMA. On MMA for co-cultivation of different inoculum ratios the screening was only done against 3 AFL⁺ toxigenic strains to examine effects on AFB₁ control. The overall control of AFB₁ ranged from 29 to 100%. The most effective ratio of spores of the atoxigenic vs toxigenic strains was found to be a mixture of 50:50 mixed conidial inoculum of each strain. Based on the in vitro screening for potential BCAs, the atoxigenic A. flavus strains were examined to determine whether they had a deletion in biosynthetic genes involved in AFs and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) production using multiplex PCR. Five atoxigenic strains (AFL⁻) were found to have large deletions of genes in the AFs cluster. While 3 atoxigenic strains amplified most of the markers in the AF cluster, however they were still unable to produce AFs. The strain selected for in situ biocontrol studies (Af53H – AFL4⁻ ) had a large deletion of AF markers but had all the CPA markers. The AFL4⁻ was able to significantly reduce AFB₁ when paired with toxigenic strains in a 50:50 spore ratio in stored GM and non-GM maize cvs. The relative gene expression of aflD and aflR in one of the toxigenic strains (AFLb⁺ ) used as pathogen was significantly inhibited by the chosen BCA. The correlation of gene expression ´ AFB₁ was positive indicating that suppression in the gene expression pathway contributed to the lower toxin levels. The overall biocontrol action seems to have been most effective when used in stored GM maize cultivars. Different levels of simulated pest damage (0, 5 and 15%) showed that AFB₁ production did not increase with a higher level of damage regardless of whether pesticide resistance or herbicide + pesticide resistance cvs were compared with non-GM isogenic ones. The toxin production in 15% damaged maize grain was lower or equal to that with no or 5% damage. The gene expression of aflR and aflD involved in AFs biosynthesis showed differences between the maize cvs. However, the correlation of gene expression × AFB₁ was not significantly positive. The BCA showed resilience under TᴼC × CO₂ × aw × simulated pest damage conditions with similar control levels of AFB₁ which was achieved under existing environmental conditions. The use of a GM cvs showed better results for biocontrol under water stress (0.95 aw) and elevated CO₂ at 35ᴼ C when the kernels were undamaged. However, biocontrol in conventional maize was better when there were damaged kernels at 0.95 aw × 35ᴼ C ×1000 ppm CO₂.PhD in Environment and Agrifoo

Quale manifattura per la città? Il caso di Bruxelles nella ricerca Cities of Making

Faced with the challenges posed by the growing economic, social and environmental imbalances, the question of the transition of the European territories towards a more circular system of production and resource management seems to emerge as an opportunity to reflect on the distribution of wealth. Specifically, the article examines some territories and the role that urban manufacturing can play in accompanying the transition from the current linear production model to a circular one, to ease the consequences of consumption and the dependence relationships of cities from outside territories, but also to rebalance inequalities in management and resource allocation. The article is based on the first results of the Cities of Making research (JPI-Urban Europe, 2017-2019), which focuses on the role of urban manufacturing in the cities of London, Rotterdam-The Hague and Brussels. In addition to these three regions metropolitan areas, other European cities today reflect on the need to establish spatial and political strategies for industry. In the manner of American Urban Manufacturing, production suggests the construction of new relationship systems and opportunities towards a model of socio-economically resilient city, despite the difficulty of coexistence in the same context interested industrial processes and everyday urban life

Fungal diversity and metabolomic profiles in GM and isogenic non-GM maize cultivars from Brazil

The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. To view a copy of this licence, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.There is little knowledge of the microbial diversity, mycotoxins and associated secondary metabolites in GM maize and isogenic non-GM cultivars (cvs). This study has quantified the microbial populations and dominant fungal genera in 6 cvs of each type representative of herbicide, pesticide or stacked resistance to both. The predominant mycotoxins and targeted metabolomics profiles were also compared between the two sets of cvs. This showed that the overall fungal populations were 8.8 CFUs g−1 maize. The dominant genera, isolated from maize samples, whether surface-sterilised or not, in all maize cvs were Fusarium, followed by Penicillium, Aspergillus and occasionally Cladosporium and Alternaria. The analysis of the targeted metabolomics showed that approx. 29 different metabolites were detected. These were dominated by fumonisins and minor Penicillium spp. metabolites (questiomycin A and rugulovasine A). Interestingly, the range and number of mycotoxins present in the GM cvs were significantly lower than in the non-GM maize samples. This suggests that while the fungal diversity of the two types of maize appeared to be very similar, the major contaminant mycotoxins and range of toxic secondary metabolites were much lower in the GM cvs.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Aspectos farmacológicos e clínicos de um novo contraceptivo oral contendo drospirenona como componente progestínico

Este artigo de revis&atilde;o avalia os principais aspectos cl&iacute;nicos e farmacol&oacute;gicos de um novo contraceptivooral, contendo drospirenona como componente progest&iacute;nico. Para alcan&ccedil;ar esse prop&oacute;sito os principais estudos cl&iacute;nicose farmacol&oacute;gicos publicados em revistas cient&iacute;fi cas internacionais nos &uacute;ltimos anos foram analisados e as principaisinforma&ccedil;&otilde;es em rela&ccedil;&atilde;o a esse novo contraceptivo foram selecionadas e inclu&iacute;das neste artigo de revis&atilde;o. Considerandoque a combina&ccedil;&atilde;o drospirenona (3000 &mu;g) + etinilestradiol (30 &mu;g) apresenta efi c&aacute;cia semelhante aos contraceptivos oraiscombinados tradicionais, com a vantagem de apresentar menor reten&ccedil;&atilde;o de l&iacute;quidos, poder&iacute;amos concluir que o empregodesse novo contaceptivo &eacute; relevante, particularmente em mulheres com predisposi&ccedil;&atilde;o &agrave; hipertens&atilde;o, obesidade e s&iacute;ndromepr&eacute;-menstrual

Co-progettare politiche del cibo per territori ibridi. Il caso di Cavallino-Treporti tra litorale e laguna di Venezia

In risposta alle crisi socio-ecologiche contemporanee, il cibo emerge come tema cruciale nella progettazione e pianificazione urbana e territoriale. Tuttavia, le politiche alimentari, spesso urbano-centriche, non tengono in debita considerazione anche territori altri, tra cui i territori ibridi urbano-rurali con sfide ambientali e sociali uniche. Il contributo discute la necessità di politiche alimentari che tengano conto anche di queste specificità. In particolare, l’articolo si concentra su Cavallino-Treporti (VE), territorio ibrido tra mare e laguna, che sta affrontando oggi sfide legate alla predominanza dell’economia del turismo e all’aumento delle fragilità ambientali.La ricerca mette in luce alcune pratiche locali innovative che rimangono, però, frammentarie ed episodiche. In questo contesto, si discutono possibili strumenti per la costruzione di politiche del cibo che considerino specificatamente i territori ibridi, apprendendo dalle pratiche già in essere e, avviando e facilitando la loro messa in rete attraverso un processo di co-progettazione. -----In response to contemporary socio-ecological crises, food emerges as a crucial issue in urban and spatial design and planning. However, food policies, which are often urban-centric, do not give due consideration to other territories, including urban-rural hybrid territories with unique environmental and social challenges. This article discusses the need for food policies that also take these specificities into account. The article in particular focuses on Cavallino-Treporti (VE), a hybrid territory between the sea and the lagoon, which is currently facing challenges related to the predominance of the tourism economy and the increase in environmental fragilities. The research highlights some innovative local practices that remain, however, fragmentary and episodic. In this context, the article discusses potential tools for the construction of food policies that specifically consider hybrid territories. It draws upon existing practices, initiating and facilitating their networking through a process of co-design

Resilience of biocontrol for aflatoxin minimisation strategies: climate change abiotic factors may affect control in non-GM and GM-maize cultivars

here has been significant interest in the development of formulations of non-toxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus for control of toxigenic strains to reduce the aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination of maize. In the future, climate change (CC) abiotic conditions of temperature (+2–4°C), CO2 (existing levels of 400 vs. 800–1,200 ppb), and drought stress will impact on the agronomy and control of pests and diseases. This study has examined (1) the effect of two-way interacting factors of water activity × temperature on colonization and AFB1 contamination of maize cobs of different ripening ages; (2) the effect of non-toxigenic strains of A. flavus (50:50 inoculum ratio) on relative control of toxigenic A. flavus and AFB1 contamination of ripening cobs; (3) post-harvest control of AFB1 by non-toxigenic strains of A. flavus in non-GM and isogenic GM maize cultivars using the same inoculum ratio; and (4) the impact of three-way interacting CC factors on relative control of AFB1 in maize cobs pre-harvest and in stored non-GM/GM cultivars. Pre-harvest colonization and AFB1 production by a toxigenic A. flavus strain was conserved at 37°C when compared with 30°C, at the three ripening stages of cob development examined:milk ripe (R3), dough (R4), and dent (R5). However, pre-harvest biocontrol with a non-toxigenic strain was only effective at the R3 and R4 stages and not at the R5 stage. This was supported by relative expression of the aflR regulatory biosynthetic gene in the different treatments. When exposed to three-way interacting CC factors for control of AFB1 pre-harvest, the non-toxigenic A. flavus strain was effective at R3 and £4 stages but not at the R5 stage. Post-harvest storage of non-GM and GM cultivars showed that control was achievable at 30°C, with slightly better control in GM-cultivars in terms of the overall inhibition of AFB1 production. However, in stored maize, the non-toxigenic strains of A. flavus had conserved biocontrol of AFB1 contamination, especially in the GM-maize cultivars under three-way interacting CC conditions (37°C × 1,000 ppm CO2 and drought stress). This was supported by the relative expression of the aflR gene in these treatments. This study suggests that the choice of the biocontrol strains, for pre- or post-harvest control, needs to take into account their resilience in CC-related abiotic conditions to ensure that control of AFB1 contamination can be conserved

Prognostic role of atrial fibrillation in acute coronary syndromes: a real-life, contemporary analysis

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