Discovery and characterization of a novel pathogen Erwinia pyri sp. nov. associated with pear dieback: taxonomic insights and genomic analysis

In 2022, a novel disease similar to pear fire blight was found in a pear orchard in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, China. The disease mainly damages the branches, leaves, and fruits of the plant. To identify the pathogen, tissue isolation and pathogenicity testing (inoculating the potential pathogen on healthy plant tissues) were conducted. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis encompassing the pathogen’s morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics and whole-genome sequencing was conducted. The results showed that among the eight isolates, the symptoms on the detached leaves and fruits inoculated with isolate DE2 were identical to those observed in the field. Verifying Koch’s postulates confirmed that DE2 was the pathogenic bacterium that causes the disease. Based on a 16S rRNA phylogenetic tree, isolate DE2 belongs to the genus Erwinia. Biolog and API 20E results also indicated that isolate DE2 is an undescribed species of Erwinia. Isolate DE2 was negative for oxidase. Subsequently, the complete genome sequence of isolate DE2 was determined and compared to the complete genome sequences of 29 other Erwinia species based on digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) analyses. The ANI and dDDH values between strain DE2 and Erwinia species were both below the species thresholds (ANI < 95–96%, dDDH<70%), suggesting that isolate DE2 is a new species of Erwinia. We will temporarily name strain DE2 as Erwinia pyri sp. nov. There were 548 predicted virulence factors in the genome of strain DE2, comprising 534 on the chromosome and 5 in the plasmids. The whole genome sequence of strain DE2 has been submitted to the NCBI database (ASM3075845v1) with accession number GCA_030758455.1. The strain DE2 has been preserved at the China Center for Type Culture Collection (CCTCC) under the deposit number CCTCC AB 2024080. This study represents the initial report of a potentially new bacterial species in the genus Erwinia that causes a novel pear dieback disease. The findings provide a valuable strain resource for the study of the genus Erwinia and establish a robust theoretical foundation for the prevention and control of emerging pear dieback diseases

Effects of virtual exposure to urban greenways on mental health

Urban greenways (UGW) are increasingly recognized as vital components of urban green infrastructure (UGI). While existing research has provided empirical evidence on the positive impacts of UGW on physical health, studies focusing on the effects on mental health remain limited. Moreover, previous investigations predominantly compare UGW as a whole with other built environments, neglecting the influence of specific vegetation designs along UGW on mental health. To address this research gap, we conducted a randomized controlled experiment to examine the impact of vegetation design along UGW on stress reduction and attention restoration. A total of 94 participants were randomly assigned to one of four UGW conditions: grassland, shrubs, grassland and trees, or shrubs and trees. Utilizing immersive virtual reality (VR) technology, participants experienced UGW through a 5-min video presentation. We measured participants’ subjective and objective stress levels and attentional functioning at three time-points: baseline, pre-video watching, and post-video watching. The experimental procedure lasted approximately 40 minutes. Results of the repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that participants experienced increased stress and mental fatigue after the stressor and decreased levels following the UGW intervention. Furthermore, between-group analyses demonstrated that the shrubs group and the grassland and trees group exhibited significantly greater stress reduction than the grassland group. However, there are no significant differences in attention restoration effects between the four groups. In conclusion, virtual exposure to UGW featuring vegetation on both sides positively affected stress reduction and attention restoration. It is recommended that future UGW construction incorporates diverse vegetation designs, including shrubs or trees, instead of solely relying on grassland. More research is needed to explore the combined effects of shrubs and trees on mental health outcomes

Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke — the second leading cause of death worldwide — were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry1,2. Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis3, and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach4, we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry5. Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries

Convergences et divergences des contrôles de droits sociaux fondamentaux en Europe

International audienc

Fundamental social rights and EU Law

Dans les tempêtes actuelles des crises économique, migratoire et nationaliste, la consolidation de l’UE semble dépendre plus que jamais de son attachement réel à la démocratie, à l’État de droit, au respect de la dignité humaine et à sa dimension sociale. Si la fondation de l’UE à travers ces principes ne fait plus de doute aujourd’hui au regard de son droit primaire, leur signification, ou plus précisément leur application, paraît encore entachée de contradictions dans les pratiques des institutions européennes. L’application des droits sociaux fondamentaux constitue l’un des défis majeurs dans cette constellation. En effet, «l’Europe sera sociale ou ne sera pas». Cependant, bien que ces droits soient proclamés par l’UE et de nombreux ordres juridiques tant en Europe que dans le monde entier, ils restent souvent perçus comme des droits de la seconde zone par opposition aux droits civils et politiques. Pour expliquer et réagir à cette situation, notre thèse propose une analyse qui combine les aspects théorique et méthodologique du sujet. En adoptant une approche «concrétiste», nous tenterons de montrer que ces droits sont loin d’être les fruits d’une simple intention politique. Tout au contraire, ils ont vocation à structurer le Droit de l’UE : ils confèrent non seulement des droits subjectifs aux particuliers, mais forment aussi un système objectif de valeurs qui détermine le développement de ce Droit.In the present storms of economic, immigration and nationalist crises, it seems that the strengthening of the EU depends more than ever on its commitment to democracy, rule of law, respect for human dignity and its social dimension. If it is no longer doubtful that the EU is founded by these principles through its primary law, their signification – or more exactly their implementation – is still disturbed by the contradictions in the practices of European institutions. The implementation of fundamental social rights is one of the major challenges in this situation. Indeed, “Europe will be social or there shall be no Europe”. Although these rights are proclaimed by EU law and other legal systems in Europe and around the world, they are still treated as rights of a secondary zone, in contrast with civil and political rights. In order to study this contrast, my thesis proposes a theoretical and methodological approach. By using a “concretistic” method, this thesis would argue that these rights cannot be reduced to political declarations. On the contrary, they have the mission to structure EU law, since they not only vest individuals with rights, but also constitute an objective system of values which determines the development of EU law

Calculated Values. Finance, Politics, and the Quantitative Age

International audiencepar William Deringer, Harvard University Press, 2018, 440 page

La sécurité sociale à l'ère du numérique : quel renouveau de la solidarité ?

International audienc

La protection des travailleurs des plateformes numériques en Chine : avancée ou recul ?

International audienc

Droits sociaux fondamentaux et Droit de l’Union européenne

In the present storms of economic, immigration and nationalist crises, it seems that the strengthening of the EU depends more than ever on its commitment to democracy, rule of law, respect for human dignity and its social dimension. If it is no longer doubtful that the EU is founded by these principles through its primary law, their signification – or more exactly their implementation – is still disturbed by the contradictions in the practices of European institutions. The implementation of fundamental social rights is one of the major challenges in this situation. Indeed, “Europe will be social or there shall be no Europe”. Although these rights are proclaimed by EU law and other legal systems in Europe and around the world, they are still treated as rights of a secondary zone, in contrast with civil and political rights. In order to study this contrast, my thesis proposes a theoretical and methodological approach. By using a “concretistic” method, this thesis would argue that these rights cannot be reduced to political declarations. On the contrary, they have the mission to structure EU law, since they not only vest individuals with rights, but also constitute an objective system of values which determines the development of EU law.Dans les tempêtes actuelles des crises économique, migratoire et nationaliste, la consolidation de l’UE semble dépendre plus que jamais de son attachement réel à la démocratie, à l’État de droit, au respect de la dignité humaine et à sa dimension sociale. Si la fondation de l’UE à travers ces principes ne fait plus de doute aujourd’hui au regard de son droit primaire, leur signification, ou plus précisément leur application, paraît encore entachée de contradictions dans les pratiques des institutions européennes. L’application des droits sociaux fondamentaux constitue l’un des défis majeurs dans cette constellation. En effet, «l’Europe sera sociale ou ne sera pas». Cependant, bien que ces droits soient proclamés par l’UE et de nombreux ordres juridiques tant en Europe que dans le monde entier, ils restent souvent perçus comme des droits de la seconde zone par opposition aux droits civils et politiques. Pour expliquer et réagir à cette situation, notre thèse propose une analyse qui combine les aspects théorique et méthodologique du sujet. En adoptant une approche «concrétiste», nous tenterons de montrer que ces droits sont loin d’être les fruits d’une simple intention politique. Tout au contraire, ils ont vocation à structurer le Droit de l’UE : ils confèrent non seulement des droits subjectifs aux particuliers, mais forment aussi un système objectif de valeurs qui détermine le développement de ce Droit