Towards an agroecological viticulture: advances and challenges

To improve its sustainability, viticulture should increase the provision of ecosystem services to decrease its use of inputs and the resulting environmental impact while maintaining high socio-economic performance. Soil functions in relation with their physical, chemical and biological properties can be regulated by proper soil surface management. Cover crops deliver ecosystem services such as protection of soils, better water infiltration and nitrogen fixation. Yet to avoid trade-off between provision of services and production of grapes, the management of cover crops should adapt to climate variations and to the yield objective. Pest and diseases can be regulated by various technical levers, including the control of the grape vegetative development. The assessment of damages due to pests and disease and of their consequences on yield losses is a key component of the design of alternative strategies of crop protection. This knowledge provides clues for designing management strategies with low pesticide use and high agro-ecological performance. A French national network of experiments has quantified the reduction of pesticide use with decision support systems, biocontrol or resistant varieties. To go further the challenge is now to design agroecological vineyards that combine innovations in management, and also in spatial organization at field, farm and landscape scales

Un nouvel indicateur intégré d’évaluation des dégâts occasionnés aux grappes par des bioagresseurs majeurs au vignoble

Communication faite au cours du colloque DinABio2013, 13 et 14 novembre 2013; Tours, FranceAn original and integrative evaluation indicator has been developed to quantify the cumulated damage from major pests and diseases affecting grape bunches: downy mildew, powdery mildew, gray mould and tortricid moths. It made it possible to estimate the associated crop losses and to relate them to the plant protection strategy in different modes of production (organic farming, in-transition, conventional). Thus, overall plant losses were higher in 2012 than in 2011. The in-transition growers’ strategy, with reduced copper doses but increased numbers of sprays, led to a 20% increase in average severity on bunches (essentially due to Downy mildew). The more pragmatic approach of experienced organic growers and conventional ones (higher doses and fewer sprays) reduced the yield losses. The proposed indicator is used for two purposes, i) evaluating the quantitative losses due to pest attacksand ii) differentiating them from other non-pest ones. A more detailed analysis including the impact on performance will be achieved and published soon.Un indicateur d’évaluation, l’IEDG (Indicateur d’Evaluation des Dégâts sur Grappes), a été mis au point pour quantifier les dégâts cumulés dus aux principaux bioagresseurs affectant les grappes de raisin : mildiou, oïdium, pourriture grise et tordeuses. Il permet d’estimer la perte de récolte imputable au cortège parasitaire et de faire le lien avec la stratégie phytosanitaire adoptée (caractérisée ici par l’IFT) et le mode de production (AB, conversion, conventionnel). Ainsi, les pertes sanitaires ont été supérieures en 2012 par rapport à 2011. La stratégie phytosanitaire des viticulteurs en conversion, basée sur des réductions de dose de cuivre de près de 80% et des passages plus nombreux dans les parcelles, n’a pas été efficiente en 2012 avec des sévérités proches de 20% sur grappe, essentiellement dues au mildiou. L’utilisation de doses d’applications supérieures et moins de passages dans les parcelles limite les dommages chez les autres viticulteurs. L’indicateur proposé permet d’évaluer les pertes quantitatives générées par les attaques de bioagresseurs et de les différencier des autres pertes non parasitaires. Une analyse plus fine incluant l’effet région et l’impact sur le rendement devra être réalisée

Diagnostic DNA Methylation Biomarkers for Renal Cell Carcinoma:A Systematic Review

CONTEXT: The 5-yr survival of early-stage renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is approximately 93%, but once metastasised, the 5-yr survival plummets to 12%, indicating that early RCC detection is crucial to improvement in survival. DNA methylation biomarkers have been suggested to be of potential diagnostic value; however, their current state of clinical translation is unclear and a comprehensive overview is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review and summarise all literature regarding diagnostic DNA methylation biomarkers for RCC. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We performed a systematic literature review of PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, and Google Scholar up to January 2019, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies (PRISMA-DTA) guidelines. Included studies were scored according to the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (STARD) criteria. Forest plots were generated to summarise diagnostic performance of all biomarkers. Level of evidence (LoE) and potential risk of bias were determined for all included studies. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: After selection, 19 articles reporting on 44 diagnostic DNA methylation biomarkers and 11 multimarker panels were included; however, only 15 biomarkers were independently validated. STARD scores varied from 4 to 13 out of 23 points, with a median of 10 points. Large variation in subgroups, methods, and primer locations was observed. None of the reported biomarkers exceeded LoE III, and the majority of studies reported inadequately. CONCLUSIONS: None of the reported biomarkers exceeded LoE III, indicating their limited clinical utility. Moreover, study reproducibility and further development of these RCC biomarkers are greatly hampered by inadequate reporting. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this report, we reviewed whether specific biomarkers could be used to diagnose the most common form of kidney cancer. We conclude that due to limited evidence and reporting inconsistencies, none of these biomarkers can be used in clinical practice, and further development towards clinical use is hindered

Targeting self- and foreign antigens to dendritic cells via DC-ASGPR generates IL-10-producing suppressive CD4+ T cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) can initiate and shape host immune responses toward either immunity or tolerance by their effects on antigen-specific CD4(+) T cells. DC-asialoglycoprotein receptor (DC-ASGPR), a lectinlike receptor, is a known scavenger receptor. Here, we report that targeting antigens to human DCs via DC-ASGPR, but not lectin-like oxidized-LDL receptor, Dectin-1, or DC-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin favors the generation of antigen-specific suppressive CD4(+) T cells that produce interleukin 10 (IL-10). These findings apply to both self-and foreign antigens, as well as memory and naive CD4(+) T cells. The generation of such IL-10-producing CD4(+) T cells requires p38/extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation and IL-10 induction in DCs. We further demonstrate that immunization of nonhuman primates with antigens fused to anti-DC-ASGPR monoclonal antibody generates antigen-specific CD4(+) T cells that produce IL-10 in vivo. This study provides a new strategy for the establishment of antigen-specific IL-10-producing suppressive T cells in vivo by targeting whole protein antigens to DCs via DC-ASGPR

Mortality and vigour based indicators for an early diagnosis of vineyard decline

Similar to the forestry industry, the winegrowing sector has experienced a grapevine decline phenomenon over the last twenty years, so that decline is now considered an increasingly widespread problem in many vineyards across the world (De la Fuente et al., 2016). In this work, the relationships between yield, mortality and vegetative vigour were investigated, in both temporal and spatial terms, to identify early diagnosis indicators of vine decline

Biosensor immunoassay for traces of hazelnut protein in olive oil

The fraudulent addition of hazelnut oil to more expensive olive oil not only causes economical loss but may also result in problems for allergic individuals as they may inadvertently be exposed to potentially allergenic hazelnut proteins. To improve consumer safety, a rapid and sensitive direct biosensor immunoassay, based on a highly specific monoclonal antibody, was developed to detect the presence of hazelnut proteins in olive oils. The sample preparation was easy (extraction with buffer); the assay time was fast (4.5 min only) and the limit of detection was low (0.08 μg/g of hazelnut proteins in olive oil). Recoveries obtained with an olive oil mixed with different amounts of a hazelnut protein containing hazelnut oil varied between 93% and 109%

SMPD4 regulates mitotic nuclear envelope dynamics and its loss causes microcephaly and diabetes

Biallelic loss-of-function variants in SMPD4 cause a rare and severe neurodevelopmental disorder with progressive congenital microcephaly and early death. SMPD4 encodes a sphingomyelinase that hydrolyses sphingomyelin into ceramide at neutral pH and can thereby affect membrane lipid homeostasis. SMPD4 localizes to the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope and interacts with nuclear pore complexes (NPC). We refine the clinical phenotype of loss-of-function SMPD4 variants by describing five individuals from three unrelated families with longitudinal data due to prolonged survival. All individuals surviving beyond infancy developed insulin-dependent diabetes, besides presenting with a severe neurodevelopmental disorder and microcephaly, making diabetes one of the most frequent age-dependent non-cerebral abnormalities. We studied the function of SMPD4 at the cellular and organ levels. Knock-down of SMPD4 in human neural stem cells causes reduced proliferation rates and prolonged mitosis. Moreover, SMPD4 depletion results in abnormal nuclear envelope breakdown and reassembly during mitosis and decreased post-mitotic NPC insertion. Fibroblasts from affected individuals show deficient SMPD4-specific neutral sphingomyelinase activity, without changing (sub)cellular lipidome fractions, which suggests a local function of SMPD4 on the nuclear envelope. In embryonic mouse brain, knockdown of Smpd4 impairs cortical progenitor proliferation and induces premature differentiation by altering the balance between neurogenic and proliferative progenitor cell divisions. We hypothesize that, in individuals with SMPD4-related disease, nuclear envelope bending, which is needed to insert NPCs in the nuclear envelope, is impaired in the absence of SMPD4 and interferes with cerebral corticogenesis and survival of pancreatic beta cells.</p