Latest Articles

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  Section: Ecotoxicology & Environmental Chemistry ; Topics: Ecology, Physiology

  Influence of organs, body size and growth on domoic acid depuration in the king scallop, Pecten maximus

  Le Moan, Eline;   Hégaret, Hélène;   Deléglise, Margot; Ambroziak, Marie;   Vanmaldergem, Jean; Derrien, Amélie; Terre-Terrillon, Aourégan; Breton, Florian; Fabioux, Caroline;   Jean, Fred;   Flye-Sainte-Marie, Jonathan  

  10.24072/pcjournal.751 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e63

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  Since 1995, European fisheries of Pecten maximus faced the presence of Pseudo-nitzschia species, which are able to produce the neurotoxin domoic acid responsible for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). As filter-feeders, scallops can accumulate and retain domoic acid much longer than most of the other bivalves, from months to years. When concentrations exceed the regulatory threshold, fisheries are closed leading to economic crisis. Inter-individual variability increases the difficulty to predict the depuration dynamics. Quantifying the correlations between domoic acid depuration in P. maximus and individual physiological traits, particularly body size, could improve the understanding of contamination and depuration. In this study, toxin dynamics in organs were analysed and the effects of body size and growth were assessed. This analysis was based on two datasets, one experimental and one in situ, of depuration monitoring of P. maximus exposed to a natural bloom of toxic P. australis. Results show that the distribution of domoic acid shifted among organs between the contamination and after two months of depuration. Toxin concentrations negatively correlate with body size during contamination and after two months of depuration, but shift to a positive correlation after 7 months of depuration. This shift suggests that the smaller scallops accumulate more domoic acid and depurate it faster. Thus, dilution by growth can explain the reversal of the correlation between domoic acid and body size throughout depuration. These results yield useful information for modelling such mechanisms, providing valuable tools for scallop fishery management facing ASP.

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  Section: Archaeology ; Topics: Archaeology

  Exploring Celtic Weighing Metrology through archaeological and written sources

  Poigt, Thibaud;   Parachaud, Kevin  

  10.24072/pcjournal.749 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e62

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  This paper explores the question of Celtic weighing metrology through a combined analysis of archaeological and written sources. While the Iron Age has long been considered poorly documented with regard to measurement practices, recent studies, particularly those focusing on weighing equipment, have provided new evidence that allows a more nuanced assessment. Archaeological evidence suggests the existence of structured practices in several domains, particularly concerning weight ; whether they do not demonstrate the existence of a single unified “Celtic” system of measurement, they nevertheless suggest a degree of metrological coherence across large areas of Celtic Europe, allowing practical equivalences between different units. The article also reassesses the long-standing hypothesis that the Celts used a vigesimal counting system. By reviewing and discussing the demonstration of this idea, it shows that the evidence supporting a specifically “Gallic” vigesimal system remains weak, while the archaeological record nor the available historical sources provide convincing support for such a model.

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  Section: Nutrition ; Topics: Health sciences

  Co-creation of nutrition interventions in higher education settings: proposals from a student citizens’ assembly

  el Karmouni, Hajar;   Dehove, Henri;   Allès, Benjamin;   Baudry, Julia; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle;   Péneau, Sandrine;   Touvier, Mathilde;   Mofakhami, Malo;   Group, USPN Student Citizens’ Assembly; Bellicha, Alice  

  10.24072/pcjournal.752 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e61

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  Background: Improving student diet is a public health priority, yet interventions often fail to address the structural barriers students face, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings. This study aimed to assess how students involved in a co-creation process (i.e. a student citizens’ assembly) conceptualise and prioritise solutions to improve students’ access to healthier, more climate-friendly diets.  Methods: This participatory research took place at a French university (Sorbonne Paris Nord) located in socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs of Paris. A student citizens’ assembly was conducted with the aim to co-create concrete proposals that would enhance students’ access to sustainable diets and physical activity. The assembly involved 27 students randomly selected among a pool of volunteers. Over three days in November 2024, students received awareness-raising and training, deliberated among themselves then with institutional and local stakeholders, and formulated proposals. For each proposal, students were asked to rate anonymously their approval on a 10-point scale. Proposals related to diet (i.e. not physical activity) were analysed a posteriori using two complementary frameworks: the DONE framework classifying determinants of diet (individual, interpersonal, environmental/policy) and the FAO dimensions of sustainable diets (health, ecological, socioeconomic, cultural). Results: Overall, 31 proposals were formulated, of which 77% targeted environmental and policy determinants of diet (e.g. institutional regulations, university policies, food assistance solutions, improved food affordability and availability, food labelling). Other proposals referred to individual (19%) and interpersonal determinants (3%). In addition, 39%, 29%, 23% and 10% proposals addressed the health, socio-economic, ecological and cultural dimensions, respectively. Mean approval ratings (SD) for each proposal ranged from 6.7 (4.0) to 9.7 (0.9), with a mean (SD) value for all proposals of 8.6 (0.7). Proposals addressing the socio-economic dimension received the highest approval ratings (mean [SD] 9.0 [0.6], vs 8.4 [0.6], 8.4 [0.8] and 7.9 [0.4] for the health, ecological and cultural dimensions, respectively). Conclusion: The predominance of environmental and policy measures targeting economic access to food highlights the importance of co-creation and its value to align interventions with participants’ needs and expectations. One major challenge that warrants further investigation is the capacity of stakeholders to implement such proposals, and to evaluate their effectiveness.  Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov (NCT06580795)

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  Section: Plants ; Topics: Plant biology, Genetics/genomics, Agricultural sciences

  eIFiso4G editing confers high and broad-spectrum resistance against rice yellow mottle virus

  Auguy, Florence;   Chéron, Sophie; Dossou, Laurence;   Pinel-Galzi, Agnès;   Thomas, Emilie; Aribi, Jamel; Celli, Marcos Giovani;   Cunnac, Sébastien;   Hébrard, Eugénie;   Albar, Laurence  

  10.24072/pcjournal.740 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e60

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  Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) is one of the most devastating viral pathogens affecting rice cultivation in Africa. The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G isoform eIFiso4G1 plays a pivotal role in rice susceptibility to the virus. Naturally occurring resistance alleles impair infection but are predominantly found in the African cultivated species Oryza glaberrima, whose use in breeding programs is limited by interspecific sterility barriers with the widely grown O. sativa. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate knockout (KO) mutations in eIFiso4G1 as well as insertion-deletion (Indel) variants within the region involved in interaction with the viral protein VPg. KO mutations conferred high resistance to RYMV. No resistance-breaking events were observed, suggesting that this resistance may be more durable than that conferred by naturally occurring alleles. However, complete gene KO slightly affected plant growth. Lines carrying Indel mutations in the VPg-interacting region displayed variable resistance levels, with some variants conferring high resistance without compromising plant development. Structural modeling of the eIFiso4G1 variants and their complexes with VPg provided mechanistic insights into how specific Indels modulate the resistance phenotype.