Fungal diversity during fermentation correlates with thiol concentrations in wine

Background and Aims: Agricultural products produced by the same genotypic clone often have different physical and sensorial properties, influencing their overall quality and economic value. Microbes play key roles throughout the production of these goods, affecting plant and fruit health and modifying plant materials to produce socially and economically important commodities. Following this idea, we investigated whether the fungal diversity in the pre-fermented grape juice, and also during fermentation, was correlated with the final concentration of three volatile thiols important to Sauvignon blanc aroma and flavour. Methods: we used metagenomics to quantify yeast populations and GC-MS to quantify thiols and analysed these using random forest statistical approaches. Results: The species of Saccharomyces yeast, the main driver of fermentation, was found to have a significant effect on the concentration of 4MMP in the final wine. Using next-generation sequencing technologies we also identified a number of non-Saccharomyces genera present early in the ferment that correlate with the thiol concentrations. Conclusion: These data suggest non-Saccharomyces fungi may be affecting the accumulation of odourless precursors in the grape itself via pathogenic effects during fruit ripening. Significance: This recapitulates the need for a better understanding of the interactions between microbial populations and agricultural products and has implications for the management of fungal diversity and disease in these systems

Le social média : une nouvelle ère pour le e-commerce

For few years, the success of the e-commerce is such that the compétition between the online shops is becoming difficult to manage. Now the online shops must to develop new stratégies to obtain the confidence of their customers. They invest, for that, the social média to approach the consumers.However, the return on investment is not that which they hoped because they don't know the real advantages of a presence on these média. Moreover, be on the social média, it is be exposed to the criticism and, then, it is the e-reputation which is concerned.Le succès du e-commerce est tel, depuis quelques années, que la concurrence entre les boutiques en ligne est devenue difficile à gérer. Les sites marchands doivent désormais développer d'autres stratégies pour obtenir la confiance de leurs clients. Ils investissent, pour cela, les médiassociaux dans le but de se rapprocher des consommateurs. Cependant, le ROI obtenu est rarement celui qu'elles espéraient car beaucoup d'entre elles ignorent quels sont les réels avantages d'une présence sur ces médias d'un nouveau genre. De plus, en s'affichant sur les médias sociaux, elles s'exposent à la critique et c'est alors leur e-réputation qui est en jeu

A settlement procedure in Belgian competition law? A critical approach to the proposal of DG Competition and the Ministry of Economy

The settlement procedure – which can be defined as the offer made to an undertaking liable for infringement of competition law to acknowledge its wrongdoings in exchange of a reduction of the amount of the sanction – has flourished in numerous jurisdictions. In Belgium, the limited amount of resources of the Competition Authority and the length of the procedures are notorious. Hence, it is no surprise that the services of the Ministry for Economy offer to introduce a settlement procedure. The present contribution provides an overview of the settlement procedure and examines the settlement procedure proposal supported by the Ministry of Economy. We discuss the institutional and practical issues that this proposal raises and make several legal recommendations.La procédure de transaction – qui peut être définie de manière générale comme l’offre faite à une entreprise coupable d’infraction au droit de la concurrence de reconnaître ses agissements contre une réduction du montant de la sanction – a fait florès dans de nombreux systèmes juridiques. En Belgique, le caractère limité des ressources de l’Autorité de la Concurrence et la longueur des procédures sont notoires. Il n’est donc pas surprenant que les services du Ministère de l’Economie proposent l’adoption d’une procédure de transaction. La présente contribution fournit une brève présentation de la procédure de transaction, et examiner la proposition de procédure de transaction faite par le Ministère de l’Economie. Nous discutons des questions institutionnelles et pratiques que cette proposition soulève et formulons plusieurs recommandations