Regulation of the Fruit-Specific PEP Carboxylase SlPPC2 Promoter at Early Stages of Tomato Fruit Development

The SlPPC2 phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC; EC 4.1.1.31) gene from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is differentially and specifically expressed in expanding tissues of developing tomato fruit. We recently showed that a 1966 bp DNA fragment located upstream of the ATG codon of the SlPPC2 gene (GenBank AJ313434) confers appropriate fruit-specificity in transgenic tomato. In this study, we further investigated the regulation of the SlPPC2 promoter gene by analysing the SlPPC2 cis-regulating region fused to either the firefly luciferase (LUC) or the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, using stable genetic transformation and biolistic transient expression assays in the fruit. Biolistic analyses of 5′ SlPPC2 promoter deletions fused to LUC in fruits at the 8th day after anthesis revealed that positive regulatory regions are mostly located in the distal region of the promoter. In addition, a 5′ UTR leader intron present in the 1966 bp fragment contributes to the proper temporal regulation of LUC activity during fruit development. Interestingly, the SlPPC2 promoter responds to hormones (ethylene) and metabolites (sugars) regulating fruit growth and metabolism. When tested by transient expression assays, the chimeric promoter:LUC fusion constructs allowed gene expression in both fruit and leaf, suggesting that integration into the chromatin is required for fruit-specificity. These results clearly demonstrate that SlPPC2 gene is under tight transcriptional regulation in the developing fruit and that its promoter can be employed to drive transgene expression specifically during the cell expansion stage of tomato fruit. Taken together, the SlPPC2 promoter offers great potential as a candidate for driving transgene expression specifically in developing tomato fruit from various tomato cultivars

Harmonized human biomonitoring in European children, teenagers and adults: EU-wide exposure data of 11 chemical substance groups from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014–2021)

HBM4EU is co-financed under Horizon 2020 (grant agreement No 733032).As one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referred to as the HBM4EU Aligned Studies. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies included a total of 10,795 participants from three age groups: (i) 3,576 children aged 6-12 years, (ii) 3,117 teenagers aged 12-18 years, and (iii) 4,102 young adults aged 20-39 years. The participants were recruited between 2014 and 2021 in 11-12 countries per age group, geographically distributed across Europe. Depending on the age group, internal exposure to phthalates and the substitute DINCH, halogenated and organophosphorus flame retardants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), cadmium, bisphenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), arsenic species, acrylamide, mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol (total DON)), benzophenones and selected pesticides was assessed by measuring substance specific biomarkers subjected to stringent quality control programs for chemical analysis. For substance groups analyzed in different age groups higher average exposure levels were observed in the youngest age group, i.e., phthalates/DINCH in children versus teenagers, acrylamide and pesticides in children versus adults, and benzophenones in teenagers versus adults. Many biomarkers in teenagers and adults varied significantly according to educational attainment, with higher exposure levels of bisphenols, phthalates, benzophenones, PAHs, and acrylamide in participants (from households) with lower educational attainment, while teenagers from households with higher educational attainment have higher exposure levels for PFASs and arsenic. In children, a social gradient was only observed for the non-specific pyrethroid metabolite 3-PBA and di-isodecyl phthalate (DiDP), with higher levels in children from households with higher educational attainment. Geographical variations were seen for all exposure biomarkers. For 15 biomarkers, the available health-based HBM guidance values were exceeded with the highest exceedance rates for toxicologically relevant arsenic in teenagers (40%), 3-PBA in children (36%), and between 11 and 14% for total DON, Σ (PFOA + PFNA + PFHxS + PFOS), bisphenol S and cadmium. The infrastructure and harmonized approach succeeded in obtaining comparable European-wide internal exposure data for a prioritized set of 11 chemical groups. These data serve as a reference for comparison at the global level, provide a baseline to compare the efficacy of the European Commission's chemical strategy for sustainability, and will give leverage to national policymakers for the implementation of targeted measures.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

EU-wide exposure data of 11 chemical substance groups from the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014–2021)

Funding Information: The authors would like to thank everybody who contributed to the HBM4EU Aligned Studies: the participating children, teenagers, adults and their families, the fieldworkers that collected the samples and database managers that made the information available to HBM4EU, the HBM4EU project partners, especially those from WP7 for developing all materials supporting the fieldwork, WP9 for organizing the QA/QC scheme under HBM4EU and all laboratories who performed the analytical measurements. We would like to acknowledge Sun Kyoung Jung from the National Institute of Environmental Research of South-Korea for providing the KoNEHS Cycle III results (crt adjusted). HBM4EU is co-financed under Horizon 2020 (grant agreement No 733032). The authors thank all principal investigators of the contributing studies for their participation and contribution to the HBM4EU Aligned Studies and the national program owners for their financial support. Further details on funding for all the participating studies can be found in the Supplemental Material, Table S12.As one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referred to as the HBM4EU Aligned Studies. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies included a total of 10,795 participants of three age groups: (i) 3,576 children aged 6–12 years, (ii) 3,117 teenagers aged 12–18 years and (iii) 4,102 young adults aged 20–39 years. The participants were recruited between 2014 and 2021 in 11–12 countries per age group, geographically distributed across Europe. Depending on the age group, internal exposure to phthalates and the substitute DINCH, halogenated and organophosphorus flame retardants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), cadmium, bisphenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), arsenic species, acrylamide, mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol (total DON)), benzophenones and selected pesticides was assessed by measuring substance specific biomarkers subjected to stringent quality control programs for chemical analysis. For substance groups analyzed in different age groups higher average exposure levels were observed in the youngest age group, i.e., phthalates/DINCH in children versus teenagers, acrylamide and pesticides in children versus adults, benzophenones in teenagers versus adults. Many biomarkers in teenagers and adults varied significantly according to educational attainment, with higher exposure levels of bisphenols, phthalates, benzophenones, PAHs and acrylamide in participants (from households) with lower educational attainment, while teenagers from households with higher educational attainment have higher exposure levels for PFASs and arsenic. In children, a social gradient was only observed for the non-specific pyrethroid metabolite 3-PBA and di-isodecyl phthalate (DiDP), with higher levels in children from households with higher educational attainment. Geographical variations were seen for all exposure biomarkers. For 15 biomarkers, the available health-based HBM guidance values were exceeded with highest exceedance rates for toxicologically relevant arsenic in teenagers (40%), 3-PBA in children (36%), and between 11 and 14% for total DON, Σ (PFOA + PFNA + PFHxS + PFOS), bisphenol S and cadmium. The infrastructure and harmonized approach succeeded in obtaining comparable European wide internal exposure data for a prioritized set of 11 chemical groups. These data serve as a reference for comparison at the global level, provide a baseline to compare the efficacy of the European Commission's chemical strategy for sustainability and will give leverage to national policy makers for the implementation of targeted measures.publishersversionpublishe

Peter Brown, The Making of Late Antiquity

Rousselle Aline. Peter Brown, The Making of Late Antiquity. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 38ᵉ année, N. 4, 1983. pp. 964-968

Suggestions pour l'étude du paganisme de 191 à 325

The growing success of Christianity, which started in the third century, is sometimes interpreted as a consequence of the decline of "paganism". The traditional religion of the time is thus thought to have gone through a "crisis" and the spread of "Eastern cults" would thus bear witness to the attraction for religious forms that were felt as less "frigid" than classical cults. Our contention is first of all that religious fervour had existed in the Empire in the first two centuries and, secondly, that Eastern cults, extremely varied in their forms, did not completely subdue the Roman religion, for from it. The interpretation of iconography (paintings, mosaics, sarcophagi, coins...), the study of Jewish and Christian sources, often controversial, provide new perspectives that have only recently been developed. In the cities and the provinces, even more so than in Rome, the traces of continuity abound. From 250 AD onwards it is worth conducting a case by case study of the destruction and desertion of sanctuaries.Amorcé au cours du IIIe siècle, le succès grandissant du christianisme est parfois présenté comme une conséquence du déclin du "paganisme". La religion traditionnelle serait alors "en crise", et la diffusion des "cultes orientaux" témoignerait d'une attirance pour des formes religieuses moins "froides" que les cultes classiques. On peut répondre à cela d'une part que la fermentation religieuse existe dans l'Empire dès les deux premiers siècles, d'autre part que les cultes orientaux, très variés, sont loin d'avoir totalement submergé la religion romaine. L'interprétation des thèmes iconographiques (peintures, mosaïques, sarcophages, monnaies...), l'étude des sources juives et chrétiennes, souvent polémiques sur le sujet, sont des perspectives récemment développées. Dans les cités et les provinces, plus encore qu'à Rome, les traces de continuité abondent. Les destructions et abandons de sanctuaires à partir de 250 méritent d'être étudiés cas par cas.Rousselle Aline. Suggestions pour l'étude du paganisme de 191 à 325. In: Pallas, Hors-série 1997. L’empire Romain de 192 à 325. pp. 11-19

Les femmes et le pouvoir civique en Méditerranée antique. Quelques questions liées aux théories biologiques

Le monde méditerranéen antique a inventé une forme culturelle qui a reçu le nom de polis en grec et de civitas en latin, d’où viennent en langues romanes les termes « politique » et « citoyenneté ». Dans cette structure, un groupe d’hommes, en principe originaires d’un territoire modeste, organisait sa vie par le moyen d’assemblées où seul le citoyen mâle avait droit à la parole et au vote. Si les femmes étaient maintenues à l’écart de ces institutions, elles avaient cependant une importance ..

Jackie Pigeaud, Folie et cures de la folie chez les médecins de l'Antiquité gréco-romaine. La manie

Rousselle Aline. Jackie Pigeaud, Folie et cures de la folie chez les médecins de l'Antiquité gréco-romaine. La manie. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 45ᵉ année, N. 4, 1990. pp. 884-886

Pierre Dockes, Jean-Michel Servet, Sauvages et ensauvagés. Révoltes bagaudes et ensauvagement. Ordre sauvage et paléomarchand

Rousselle Aline. Pierre Dockes, Jean-Michel Servet, Sauvages et ensauvagés. Révoltes bagaudes et ensauvagement. Ordre sauvage et paléomarchand. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 37ᵉ année, N. 1, 1982. pp. 129-130

Koroth, 33e année, vol. 9, n° 1-2, 1985, « Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Medicine in Bible and Talmud »

Rousselle Aline. Koroth, 33e année, vol. 9, n° 1-2, 1985, « Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Medicine in Bible and Talmud ». In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 45ᵉ année, N. 4, 1990. pp. 888-889

Vivre sous deux droits : la pratique familiale poly-juridique des citoyens romains juifs

Living under Two Laws : The Poly-juridical Family Practice of Jewish Roman Citizens. Jewish Roman citizens could combine their rights concerning family and sexual matters, and transmit both Roman and Jewish statuses to their children. Roman law concerning the family allowed them to seek wives who were both citizens and Jews and to repudiate adulterous wives. Beginning with the reign of the Emperor Claudius, they could marry their nieces without committing incest according to Roman law. Like the Greeks and Romans, they had no notion of masculine infidelity and were able to pass off their multiple wives authorized by Jewish polygamy as concubines. As the Jews did not engage in infanticide, Romans were struck by the size of their families.Rousselle Aline. Vivre sous deux droits : la pratique familiale poly-juridique des citoyens romains juifs. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 45ᵉ année, N. 4, 1990. pp. 839-859