Climate change impacts and adaptive strategies: lessons from the grapevine

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this recordThe cultivation of grapevines for winemaking, known as viticulture, is widely cited as a climate-sensitive agricultural system that has been used as an indicator of both historic and contemporary climate change. Numerous studies have questioned the viability of major viticulture regions under future climate projections. We review the methods used to study the impacts of climate change on viticulture in the light of what is known about the effects of climate and weather on the yields and quality of vineyard harvests. Many potential impacts of climate change on viticulture, particularly those associated with a change in climate variability or seasonal weather patterns, are rarely captured. Key biophysical characteristics of viticulture are often unaccounted for, including the variability of grapevine phenology and the exploitation of microclimatic niches that permit successful cultivation under suboptimal macroclimatic conditions. We consider how these same biophysical characteristics permit a variety of strategies by which viticulture can adapt to changing climatic conditions. The ability to realize these strategies, however, is affected by uneven exposure to risks across the winemaking sector, and the evolving capacity for decision-making within and across organizational boundaries. The role grape provenance plays in shaping perceptions of wine value and quality illustrates how conflicts of interest influence decisions about adaptive strategies within the industry. We conclude by considering what lessons can be taken from viticulture for studies of climate change impacts and the capacity for adaptation in other agricultural and natural systems

Conceptualizing pathways linking women's empowerment and prematurity in developing countries.

BackgroundGlobally, prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5. Many efforts have focused on clinical approaches to improve the survival of premature babies. There is a need, however, to explore psychosocial, sociocultural, economic, and other factors as potential mechanisms to reduce the burden of prematurity. Women's empowerment may be a catalyst for moving the needle in this direction. The goal of this paper is to examine links between women's empowerment and prematurity in developing settings. We propose a conceptual model that shows pathways by which women's empowerment can affect prematurity and review and summarize the literature supporting the relationships we posit. We also suggest future directions for research on women's empowerment and prematurity.MethodsThe key words we used for empowerment in the search were "empowerment," "women's status," "autonomy," and "decision-making," and for prematurity we used "preterm," "premature," and "prematurity." We did not use date, language, and regional restrictions. The search was done in PubMed, Population Information Online (POPLINE), and Web of Science. We selected intervening factors-factors that could potentially mediate the relationship between empowerment and prematurity-based on reviews of the risk factors and interventions to address prematurity and the determinants of those factors.ResultsThere is limited evidence supporting a direct link between women's empowerment and prematurity. However, there is evidence linking several dimensions of empowerment to factors known to be associated with prematurity and outcomes for premature babies. Our review of the literature shows that women's empowerment may reduce prematurity by (1) preventing early marriage and promoting family planning, which will delay age at first pregnancy and increase interpregnancy intervals; (2) improving women's nutritional status; (3) reducing domestic violence and other stressors to improve psychological health; and (4) improving access to and receipt of recommended health services during pregnancy and delivery to help prevent prematurity and improve survival of premature babies.ConclusionsWomen's empowerment is an important distal factor that affects prematurity through several intervening factors. Improving women's empowerment will help prevent prematurity and improve survival of preterm babies. Research to empirically show the links between women's empowerment and prematurity is however needed

Loss of ubiquitin E2 Ube2w rescues hypersensitivity of Rnf4 mutant cells to DNA damage

SUMO and ubiquitin play important roles in the response of cells to DNA damage. These pathways are linked by the SUMO Targeted ubiquitin Ligase Rnf4 that catalyses transfer of ubiquitin from a ubiquitin loaded E2 conjugating enzyme to a polySUMO modified substrate. Rnf4 can functionally interact with multiple E2s, including Ube2w, in vitro. Chicken cells lacking Rnf4 are hypersensitive to hyroxyurea, DNA alkylating drugs and DNA crosslinking agents, but this sensitivity is suppressed by simultaneous depletion of Ube2w. Cells depleted of Ube2w alone are not hypersensitive to the same DNA damaging agents. Similar results were also obtained in human cells. These data indicate that Ube2w does not have an essential role in the DNA damage response, but is deleterious in the absence of Rnf4. Thus, although Rnf4 and Ube2w functionally interact in vitro, our genetic experiments indicate that in response to DNA damage Ube2w and Rnf4 function in distinct pathways

Xpf and Not the Fanconi Anaemia Proteins or Rev3 Accounts for the Extreme Resistance to Cisplatin in Dictyostelium discoideum

Organisms like Dictyostelium discoideum, often referred to as DNA damage “extremophiles”, can survive exposure to extremely high doses of radiation and DNA crosslinking agents. These agents form highly toxic DNA crosslinks that cause extensive DNA damage. However, little is known about how Dictyostelium and the other “extremophiles” can tolerate and repair such large numbers of DNA crosslinks. Here we describe a comprehensive genetic analysis of crosslink repair in Dictyostelium discoideum. We analyse three gene groups that are crucial for a replication-coupled repair process that removes DNA crosslinks in higher eukarya: The Fanconi anaemia pathway (FA), translesion synthesis (TLS), and nucleotide excision repair. Gene disruption studies unexpectedly reveal that the FA genes and the TLS enzyme Rev3 play minor roles in tolerance to crosslinks in Dictyostelium. However, disruption of the Xpf nuclease subcomponent results in striking hypersensitivity to crosslinks. Genetic interaction studies reveal that although Xpf functions with FA and TLS gene products, most Xpf mediated repair is independent of these two gene groups. These results suggest that Dictyostelium utilises a distinct Xpf nuclease-mediated repair process to remove crosslinked DNA. Other DNA damage–resistant organisms and chemoresistant cancer cells might adopt a similar strategy to develop resistance to DNA crosslinking agents

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km² resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km² pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the world’s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Variation in the composition and content of ellagitannins in the heartwood of European oaks (Quercus robur and Q petraea). A comparison of two French forests and variation with heartwood age

The ellagitannin concentration was measured in water extracts of different heartwood sections of Pressler cores from three Russian and one English Quercus roburtree. As the heartwood age increased, the concentration of total soluble ellagitannins showed a logarithmic decline, while individual ellagitannins varied in their response. A simple model relating the total soluble ellagitannins and heartwood age was calculated. In a second study two heartwood samples were taken from each of 20 oak trees (Q roburand Q petraea) from each of two contrasting (Limousin and Tronçais) French forests. Over 70% of the total variation in the concentration of water soluble ellagitannins and total phenolics extracted from the samples was attributed to differences between forests, while relatively little variation occurred between the two within-tree samples. Lower concentrations were found in more slowly grown timber from the Tronçais forest than in wood from the Limousin region. The different tannin concentrations could not be explained solely by the greater heartwood age of Tronçais samples if one assumed that the rate of ellagitannin decline with heartwood age was similar in all trees. A correlation between wood colour, as defined by CIELab colour parameter hue, colour saturation and b* (representing colour along the blue-yellow axis), and total phenolics and soluble tannins was also observed. The two forests differed in many regards, including environmental conditions, silvicultural practices and the dominant species.Variation de la composition et de la teneur en ellagitannins dans le bois de cœur des chênes européens (Quercus robur, Q petraea). Comparaison de deux forêts françaises et variations en fonction de l'âge du bois de cœur. La concentration des ellagitannins a été mesurée dans les extraits acqueux des différentes parties du bois de cœur de carottes de sondage provenant de trois chênes (Quercus robur) prélevés en Russie et un prélevé en Angleterre. La concentration des ellagitanins solubles totaux présentait une diminution logarithmique au fur et à mesure que l'âge du bois augmentait, tandis que les divers ellagitanins présentaient des teneurs variables. Un modèle simple reliant la concentration en ellagitanins solubles totaux avec l'âge a été établi. Dans une étude ultérieure, deux échantillons de bois de cœur provenant chacun de 20 chênes européens (Q robur et Q petraea) issus chacun de deux forêts françaises très différentes (Limousin et Tronçais). Plus de 70 % de la variation totale de la concentration en ellagitanins solubles extraits de ces échantillons a été attribuée à la différence entre les forêts, tandis qu'une relativement faible variation pouvait être attribuée aux deux échantillons prélevés à l'intérieur de chaque arbre. Les teneurs en tanins solubles étaient plus faibles chez les arbres provenant de la forêt Tronçais que chez ceux de la région du Limousin, et ceci ne pouvait pas être expliqué seulement par les légères différences d'âge du bois de cœur des échantillons. Une corrélation entre la couleur du bois, mesurée dans le système CIELab avec les paramètres de teinte (h), de saturation (C) et la coordonnée chromatique (b*), la teneur en phénols totaux et les tanins solubles a été aussi observée. Les deux forêts présentaient bien des différences du point de vue de l'environnement, des traitements sylvicoles et des dominances d'espèces

Effect of maturation conditions on sensory and antioxidant properties of old Serbian plum brandies

ljivovica and Prepeenica are traditional Serbian distillated beverages made from varieties of plum, of the genus Prunus. The ageing in wooden casks not only improves the sensory characteristics, but also changes the content of total polyphenols and contributes to the other important health properties, such as the increase of their antioxidant capacity. In this study, home-made brandy (ljivovica and Prepeenica) samples were used, which matured in casks during the time period from 10 to 47 years. The aim of this investigation was to examine the influence of the ageing parameters (time period and type of wooden casks) and raw material (plum cultivars) on the total polyphenol content, amount of certain phenol compounds, sensory properties, colour and antioxidant properties in matured brandies. The individual phenol components were determinated using HPLC system equipped with diode array detector, while the total phenol content and antioxidant activity was estimated using spectrophotometric methods (Folin-Ciocalteu, DPPH, FRAP and TEAC). Total polyphenol content (TPC) of aged Prepeenica samples was ranged from 230.26 to 890.26 mg/L gallic acid equivalents (GAE mg/L), whereas the TPC of ljivovica sample was 110.38 mg/L. Antioxidant capacity of analysed Prepeenica samples and ljivovica sample was in strong correlation with TPC. Total sensory score of all samples was very high and varied between 18.2 and 19.8. The obtained results have shown that the benefit of longer maturation on sensory characteristics is well recognized, but the improvement has some limitation