Emergence and seasonal mortality of naturally regenerated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis> seedlings: impact of overstory density and two site preparation methods

Manipulation of the canopy cover and site preparation are the most important silvicultural measures to enhance the conditions for natural regeneration of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). During the early regeneration phase however, seedling mortality may be high, so it is important to study how different combinations of stand-level treatments and site preparation methods affect seedling establishment. We studied emergence, 1st winter and 2nd summer mortality for naturally regenerated spruce seedlings in a field experiment that combined four harvest treatments (shelterwoods of high (SH), medium (SM) and low (SL) residual basal area, and a 50 × 50 m clear-cut (CC)) and two site preparation methods (patch scarification and inverting). The CC had significantly fewer seedlings the 1st fall than the SL and SH (p = 0.0377), and in all harvest treatments, fewer seedlings emerged in inverted than in patch scarified spots (p = 0.0351). Mortality was also lower with patch scarification than inverting (1st winter: p = 0.0565, 2nd summer: p = 0.0377), but was not affected by harvest treatment (1st winter: p = 0.9211, 2nd summer: p = 0.1896). On average, mortality from 1st to 2nd fall reached 38% and 27% after inverting and patch scarification, respectively. First winter mortality accounted for approximately two thirds of the accumulated mortality, regardless of the harvest treatment and site preparation method.     

Levels of stilbene oligomers and astilbin in French varietal wines and in grapes during noble rot development

Phenolics from grapes and wines can play a role against oxidation and development of atherosclerosis. Stilbenes have been shown to have cancer chemopreventive activity and to protect lipoproteins from oxidative damage. A method for the direct determination of stilbene oligomers (viniferin and pallidol) as well as astilbin in different types of wine using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection is described. In a survey of 21 commercial wines from the south of France, levels of pallidol and viniferin are reported for the first time in different types of wines. Viniferin was found to be present only in red and botrytized sweet white wines with levels between 0.1 and 1.63 mg/L; pallidol was not found in dry and sweet white wines but only in wines made by maceration with stems, with levels between 0.38 and 2.22 mg/L. Highest levels of astilbin were found in Egiodola (15.13 mg/L), Merlot (11.61 mg/L), and Cabernet Sauvignon (8.24 mg/L) for red wines and in Sauvignon (5.04 mg/L) for white varietal wines. Astilbin levels are highest for recent vintages, but pallidol is not found in older vintages. During noble rot development in Sauvignon or Sémillon grapes from the Sauternes area, levels of trans-astringin, trans-resveratrol, trans-piceid, and pallidol are quite low (<0.5 mg/kg of grapes). Viniferin and astilbin levels become optimum at 2 and 30 mg/kg, respectively, during spot grape and speckle grape stages.     

Effect of mild-heat and high-pressure processing on banana pectin methylesterase: a kinetic study

Pectin methylesterase (PME) was extracted from bananas and purified by affinity chromatography. The thermal-high-pressure inactivation (at moderate temperature, 30-76 degrees C, in combination with high pressure, 0.1-900 MPa) of PME was investigated in a model system at pH 7.0. Under these conditions, the stable fraction was not inactivated and isobaric-isothermal inactivation followed a fractional-conversion model. At lower pressure (< or =300-400 MPa) and higher temperature (> or =64 degrees C), an antagonistic effect of pressure and heat was observed. Third-degree polynomial models (derived from the thermodynamic model) were successfully used to describe the heat-pressure dependence of the inactivation rate constants.     

Pectin fraction interconversions: Insight into understanding texture evolution of thermally processed carrots

In situ changes in pectin fractions for thermally processed carrots were related to textural changes. The texture of pretreated and subsequently thermally processed carrot disks was determined. Alcohol insoluble residue (AIR) was extracted from the pretreated and thermally processed tissues. The AIR was characterized in terms of the degree of methylation (DM) and changes in pectin fractions. Distinct differences in texture and DM were observed during thermal processing. Pretreatment conditions that induced a significant decrease in DM showed better textures. Demethoxylation caused interconversion of pectin fractions, water soluble pectin (WSP) changing into water insoluble pectin [chelator (CSP) and alkali (NSP) soluble pectin]. This process was reversed during cooking accompanied by remarkable alterations in molecular weight (MW) distribution patterns. The WSP depicted polydisperse MW distribution patterns, strongly dependent on the pretreatment condition. Confirmatory results of interconversions of pectin fractions (WSP, NSP) were demonstrated by the MW distribution patterns and neutral sugar profiles. All thermal related transformations of pectin structural parameters were decelerated by lowering the DM.     

Evaluation of the efficiency of three different solvent systems to extract triterpene saponins from roots of Panax quinquefolius using high-performance liquid chromatography

Despite the wide availability of liquid herbal extracts using mixtures of alcohol, glycerin, and water, or glycerin and water as solvents, no data on the chemical composition of such extracts is readily available. In this study, the amount and the stability of the major saponins in Panax quinquefolius root extracts, made either with 50% (v/v) aqueous ethanol, a mixture (v/v/v) of 20% ethanol, 40% glycerin, and 40% water, or with 65% (v/v) aqueous glycerin, were evaluated by HPLC-UV analysis. The amount of total saponins was highest in the 50% aqueous ethanol extract (61.7 +/- 0.1 mg/g dry root), although similar to the ethanol-glycerin-water extract (59.4 +/- 0.5 mg/g dry root). Saponins were significantly lower in the 65% aqueous glycerin extract (51.5 +/- 0.2 mg/g dry root). Interestingly, the amounts of individual saponins were quite variable depending on the solvent. This is in part due to enzymatic cleavage of ginsenosides in the glycerin containing extracts during the maceration process. Storage of the extracts at 25 degrees C over the period of a year led to a 13-15% loss of saponins with all three types of extractions.     

Effects of agricultural practices on hydraulic properties and water movement in soils in Brittany (France)

The intensive agricultural use of soils in the Brittany region (western France) has increased the need for a better understanding of soil water dynamics. The aim of the present study is to compare quantitatively the differences produced by two agricultural practices on soil hydraulic properties (water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity) as well as the infiltration and drainage fluxes in the soils. This study was carried out on two experimental plots managed in the same way for 22 years. The two practices were continuous maize fertilized with mineral fertilizer, denoted as MX, and pasture within a ray-grass/maize rotation (3/1 year) with organic fertilization (pig slurry), denoted as PR. The study consisted of measuring soil physical properties in the laboratory and in the field, and estimating water infiltration in the soil of the two plots by recording water pressure heads after simulation of 2-h artificial rainfall with an intensity of 17 mm/h. We applied the van Genuchten model to describe the water retention and hydraulic conductivity curves (θ(h) and K(h)) for each soil horizon of the two plots. Hydrus-2D and ID softwares were used to construct a numerical model of water movement in the two soils. This model was used to quantify the infiltration rate, deep drainage and actual evaporation fluxes during the artificial rainfall experiment.The vertical influence of agricultural practices in both plots appears to be limited to the uppermost 35 cm. Deeper in the B horizon, there are only very slight differences in the hydraulic properties between the two plots. In the top soil horizons (H1–H5 and H6), the two soil properties mostly affected by practices are the hydraulic conductivity and the α parameter of the van Genuchten model. At the lowest pressure head studied here (−1.5 kPa), hydraulic conductivity in a given horizon differs by more than one order of magnitude between the two plots. The model reproduces quite satisfactorily the observed pressure heads in plot PR at all depths, in the rainy period as well as in the water redistribution period (efficiency >0.77). Results are less good for the MX plot, with efficiency ranging from 0.49 to 0.84 depending on the horizon. The different sources of simulation errors are identified and discussed. For the MX plot, the soil water movement model succeeds in reproducing the infiltration excess runoff observed in the field, allowing us to calculate that it accounts for 9% of the applied rainfall. No surface runoff or ponding appears in the PR plot during the artificial rainfall experiment. In the PR plot, the simulated deep drainage flux increases more rapidly than in the MX plot. The lower hydraulic conductivity in the top soil horizon of the MX plot compared with the PR plot appears to reduce the infiltration rate as well as the deep drainage flux. It also decreases the upward flow of water to the soil surface when the water content in the top soil layer is depleted by evaporation flux. The model simulation could be improved by a more precise representation of the soil structure, particularly the location, size and frequency of clods as well as the variability of hydraulic properties. However, we need to strike a balance between improving the quality of the simulation even further and the practical constraints and efforts involved in measuring the soil hydraulic properties.     

Biomonitoring of Trace Elements in Air and Soil Compartments Along the Major Motorway in France

The impact on the environment of Cd, Pb and Zn emissions from the A1 motorway, one of the busiest in France, was based on a simultaneous analysis of lichens, fungi and soil.The study was conducted in 12 rest areas located along a 55 kmstretch of the motorway. Cd, Pb and Zn concentrations in the top soil horizon (0–10 cm) largely exceeded their concentrations at the control site.The Cd-, Pb- and Zn levels in fruiting bodies of fungi Armillaria mellea, Coprinus comatus, Marasmius oreades and Paxillus involutus were highly variable between sites. The contamination degree of transplanted thalliof Parmelia caperata was well correlated to the cumulated traffic on the western side. On the eastern side, heavy metals originated from the traffic but also from neighbouring sources (urbanization and agricultural practices). Although lead levels are decreasing, leaded petrol is still on offer and lead remains an indicator of vehicle pollution.     

Photodecomposition of piperazine in water by ‘sunlight’ ultraviolet radiation

A solution of piperazine in water was photochemically oxidised by the dissolved oxygen when irradiated with ‘sunlight’ ultraviolet radiation obtained with a Hanau Q-300 lamp, or with RUL-300 nm lamps. Sensitisers (riboflavin, acetone and benzophenone) did not increase the rate of the oxidation induced by the RUL-300 nm lamps; however, they (especially riboflavin) accelerated the oxidation induced by the Hanau Q-300 lamp. A large number of products were observed in the sensitised oxidation but they were not analysed further. The irradiation mixture of the non-sensitised photo-oxidation, when 65% of the initial piperazine had been transformed, contained piperazine (35%), glycine (approximately 25%) and three unidentified compounds in equal amounts (approximately 13% each); the same products were obtained with both irradiation systems. The photo-oxidation of piperazine, a metabolite of the fungicide triforine, 1,4-bis(2,2,2-trichloro-l-formamidoethyl)piperaerazine, could thus be a way for the latter's biodegradation at a surface, or in plant tissues, this biodegradation having already been observed.     

Therapeutic approaches targeting the prion receptor LRP/LR

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies known as prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that affect both humans and animals. The generally accepted principle of the disease is that the conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrP(c)) into the disease associated isoform PrP(Sc) leads to spongiform degeneration of the brain and amyloid plaque formation. Until now no therapy leading to potential alleviation or even cure of the disease exists. It is therefore important to develop therapeutic approaches for the treatment of TSEs since these infections are inevitably fatal and, especially in the case of vCJD, they affect youngsters. Besides current conventional therapeutic strategies, this review summarizes new therapeutic tools targeting the prion receptor LRP/LR.     

Isolation of differentially expressed genes during interactions between tomato cells and a protective or a non-protective strain of Fusarium oxysporum

Pathogenic isolates of Fusarium oxysporum applied on a non-host plant species, as soil-borne non-pathogenic isolates, are able to protect this plant against pathogenic strains inducing wilts. Several modes of action contribute to the biocontrol activity of these protective strains; however the genetic basis of the biocontrol mechanisms is far from being understood. The aim of this study was to identify genes involved in biocontrol activity of F. oxysporum using an original model made of Fom24, a strain protective on tomato and its mutant rev157 which has lost its protective capacity. A Rapid Subtractive Hybridization (RaSH) approach was chosen to identify genes up-regulated in the protective or in the non-protective interaction when germinated conidia of either Fom24 or rev157 are confronted to tomato cell cultures. A total of 86 up-regulated sequences were generated, 42 and 44 from the protective and the non-protective interaction respectively. Homology searches led to identification of both plant and fungal genes that were grouped according to their putative functions. Among plant genes, those involved in plant response to stresses were the most abundant. Expression profiles of genes homolog to a basic endochitinase, a ferredoxine-NADP(H) reductase (FNR), an ATP synthase and the RPM1-interacting protein 4 (RIN4) were confirmed by Northern blotting. A large proportion of fungal sequences were encoding genes of unknown function; among other, those involved in response to oxidative stress and a gene putatively encoding an enolase are the most promising to further study their potential role in the protective interaction between F. oxysporum and tomato.