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[Objectives]: To determine whether handgrip strength (HG) and/or standing long jump (SLJ) are capable of detecting risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in European adolescents, and to identify age- and sex-specific cut points for these tests. [Design]: Cross-sectional study. [Methods]: Participants included 969 (aged 12.5–17.5 years old) adolescents from 9 European countries (n = 520 girls). Absolute and relative HG and SLJ tests were used to assess upper and lower muscle strength, respectively. MetS status was determined using the age- and sex-specific cut points proposed by Jolliffe and Janssen's, Additionally, we computed a continuous cardiometabolic risk index with the average z-score of four cardiometabolic risk factors: Wait circumference, mean arterial pressure, triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and fasting insulin. [Results]: The prevalence of MetS was 3.1% in European adolescents. Relative HG and absolute SLJ were the best tests for detecting the presence of MetS (Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) = 0.799, 95%CI:0.773–0.824; and AUC = 0.695 95%CI:0.665–0.724), respectively) and elevated cardiometabolic risk index (AUC = 0.873, 95%CI:0.838–0.902; and AUC = 0.728 95%CI:0.698–0.756), respectively) and, regardless of cardiorespiratory fitness. We provide age- and sex-specific cut points of upper and lower muscle strength for European adolescents to identify the presence of MetS and elevated cardiometabolic risk index. [Conclusions]: The proposed health-related cut points could be used as a starting point to define health-related levels of upper and lower muscle strength in adolescents. Likewise, the diagnostic statistics provided herein can be used to offer feedback to adolescents, parents, and education and health professionals about what it means to meet or fail test standards., The HELENA project was supported by the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (contract FOOD-CT-2005-007034). The data for this study was gathered under the aegis of the HELENA project, and further analysis was additionally supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grants RYC-201416390), the Spanish Ministry of Health: Maternal, Child Health and Development Network (grant RD16/0022), the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (MICINN-FEDER) and by the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES) and Plan Propio de Investigación 2018 - Programa Contratos-Puente, and the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades (FEDER, ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR).

With the fast increase of solar energy plants, high quality short-term forecast is required to smoothly integrate their production in the electricity grids. Usually, forecasting systems predict the future solar energy as a continuous variable. But for particular applications, such as concentrated solar plants with tracking devices, the operator needs to anticipate the achievement of a solar irradiance threshold to start or to stop their system. In this case, binary forecasts are more relevant. Moreover, while most forecasting systems are deterministic, the probabilistic approach provides additional information about their inherent uncertainty that is essential for decision making. The objective of this work is to propose a methodology to generate probabilistic solar forecasts, and more specifically the presence of clouds, as a binary event for very short-term horizons between 1 and 30 minutes. Among the various techniques developed to predict the solar potential for the next few minutes, sky imagery is one of the most promising. Therefore, we propose in this work to combine a state-of-the-art model based on a sky camera and a discrete choice model to predict the probability of cloud presence. Two well-known parametric discrete choice models, logit and probit models, and a machine learning technique, random forest, were tested to post-process the deterministic forecast derived from sky images. All three models significantly improve the quality of the original deterministic forecast. However, random forest gives the best results and especially provides reliable

International audience; The aim of this paper is to offer an in-depth analysis of John McGahern's critical statements on the Irish society of the mid 1960s. This is carried out by combining the notions of mind style (Semino, 2002), split selves (Emmot, 2002) and the blending theory (Fauconnier and Turner, 1994, 2002). The description of two of the main characters of the novel (Mahoney, a widower, and Father Gerald, a priest) and two of the most relevant scenes (the Corpus Christi procession and the young protagonist's sexual arousal with an advert torn from a newspaper) are analysed in terms of multiple metonymic correspondences which interact within the blend to yield a series of antagonistic metaphors. Through the eyes of the teenage narrator, McGahern makes an outrageous ideological statement against Puritanism and Catholicism.

Development of effective inhibitors of the fusion between HIV-1 and the host cell membrane mediated by gp41 continues to be a grand challenge due to an incomplete understanding of the molecular and mechanistic details of the fusion process. We previously developed single-chain, chimeric proteins (named covNHR) that accurately mimic the N-heptad repeat (NHR) region of gp41 in a highly stable coiled-coil conformation. These molecules bind strongly to peptides derived from the gp41 C-heptad repeat (CHR) and are potent and broad HIV-1 inhibitors. Here, we investigated two covNHR variants differing in two mutations, V10E and Q123R (equivalent to V38E and Q40R in gp41 sequence) that reproduce the effect of HIV-1 mutations associated with resistance to fusion inhibitors, such as T20 (enfuvirtide). A detailed calorimetric analysis of the binding between the covNHR proteins and CHR peptides (C34 and T20) reveals drastic changes in affinity due to the mutations as a result of local changes in interactions at the site of T20 resistance. The crystallographic structure of the covNHR:C34 complex shows a virtually identical CHR–NHR binding interface to that of the post-fusion structure of gp41 and underlines an important role of buried interfacial water molecules in binding affinity and in development of resistance against CHR peptides. Despite the great difference in affinity, both covNHR variants demonstrate strong inhibitory activity for a wide variety of HIV-1 strains. These properties support the high potential of these covNHR proteins as new potent HIV-1 inhibitors. Our results may guide future inhibition approaches., Departamento de Química Física e Instituto de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grants BIO2016-76640-R and BIO2016-78020-R) y Fondo Europeo para el Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) de la Unión Europea, ANRS and the Vaccine Research Institute for the Investissements d'Avenir program managed by the ANR under reference ANR-10-LABX-77

Densities (ρ) and speeds of sound (c) at a temperature T = 298.15 K, relative permittivities at 1 MHz (er) and refractive indices at the sodium D-line (nD) at T = (293.15 K to 303.15 K), all of them at a pressure p = 0.1 MPa, are reported for binary liquid mixtures alkan-1-ol + aniline. The alkan-1-ols considered are methanol, propan-1-ol and pentan-1-ol. Also, the values of the excess molar volume (VmE), excess isentropic compressibility (κSE), excess speed of sound (cE), excess refractive index (nDE), excess relative permittivity (erE) and its temperature derivative (∂erE/∂T)p are calculated and fitted to Redlich-Kister polynomials. The agreement among the reported data and other literature sources is analysed by comparing VmE, nDE, erE and the deviation of c from mole-fraction linearity (Δc). The positive excess molar internal energies at constant volume (Um, VE) show the dominance of the breaking of interactions between like molecules in the energy balance on mixing, particularly the breaking of strong dipolar interactions between aniline molecules. This contribution is also dominant for the erE values, as they are negative and decrease with the length of the alkan-1-ol chain. Calculations on the concentration-concentration structure factor are consistent with these statements, revealing homocoordination in the studied systems. The VmE are negative, which together with the positive Um, VE indicate the existence of important structural effects in the studied mixtures. The application of the Kirkwood-Frohlich model shows that the average relative orientation of neighbouring dipoles is similar in the mixtures methanol + aniline or + pyridine, in spite of the different character of the predominant interactions in the latter mixture (heterocoordination).

It has long been assumed that lead glazing technology preceded glassmaking in the Western world and that the technological transfer was from glazes to glass. Here, we present new evidence for the reverse, the indigenous innovation of glassmaking and its transfer to glazes in early Islamic al-Andalus (Spain). Compositional analyses show that Islamic lead glazes from Córdoba are intimately related to a distinct type of high-lead glass, suggesting a connection between the two technologies. The archaeological remains from a pottery workshop indicate that the glazing process initially involved the production of a lead glass and is not linked to earlier Roman or other contemporary glazing technologies. The data also demonstrate that the potters not only used the same materials and techniques but borrowed stylistic and decorative models from glassmaking., Il a été proposé que la technologie de la glaçure plombifère ait précédé la production du verre en Europe occidentale et que cette technologie aurait ensuite été transférée au verre. Cet article présente de nouvelles données qui indiquent le contraire, c'est-à-dire une invention locale du verre et son transfert aux techniques de glaçure en al-Andalus (Espagne) au début de l’époque islamique. Des analyses de composition montrent que les glaçures plombifères de l’époque islamique de Cordoue sont liées à un type distinct de verre à haute teneur en plomb, ce qui met en évidence la relation étroite entre les deux technologies. Les vestiges archéologiques d'un atelier de potiers indiquent que le processus de production de la glaçure impliquait initialement la production de verre au plomb et n’était pas lié à la technologie romaine ou autres technologies contemporaines de la glaçure. Les données démontrent également que les potiers n'ont pas seulement utilisé les mêmes matériaux et techniques mais ont emprunté des motifs stylistiques et décoratifs à la verrerie., Es wurde angenommen, dass die Technologie der Bleiglasur der Glasherstellung in Westeuropa vorausging und dass der Technologietransfer von Glasur zu Glas erfolgte. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Untersuchungen zeigen jedoch, dass das Gegenteil der Fall war. Im frühislamischen al-Andalus in Spanien wurde zunächst Glas hergestellt und diese Technologie wurde dann auf Glasuren übertragen. Chemische Analysen zeigen, dass die Bleiglasuren der frühislamischen Zeit aus Córdoba eng mit einem bestimmten Typus von Bleiglas verwandt sind, was für einen Zusammenhang der beiden Technologien spricht. Das archäologische Fundmaterial aus einer Töpferwerkstatt deutet darauf hin, dass der Glasurprozess ursprünglich die Herstellung eines Bleiglases beinhaltete und nicht mit früheren römischen oder anderen zeitgenössischen Glasurtechnologien zusammenhängt. Die Daten zeigen auch, dass die Töpfer nicht nur die gleichen Techniken und Rohstoffe benutzten, sondern auch stilistische und dekorative Elemente der Glasherstellung entliehen.

Presently, the attention given to natural substances to counteract damage produced by oxidative stress (OS) has risen sharply. In this scenario, hydroxytyrosol (HT) derivatives, formed as a result of HT conjugation with fatty acids (FAs) (lipophenols), have been recently described in foodstuffs such as extra virgin olive oil, as being powerful bioactive compounds with a higher activity than the unesterified phenolic compound. The present work describes the capacity of HT lipophenols to act on the course of OS and secondary inflammatory processes, based on their capacity to modulate the isoprostanoid profile induced by HO in THP-1 monocytic cells. A UHPLC-QqQ-ESI-MS/MS-based lipidomics workflow was applied over a range of 37 human oxylipins. The main outcomes retrieved suggest both HT and HT-lipophenols as regulators of the cellular redox balance, acting as pro-oxidants in vitro, which is highly dependent on the experimental conditions. Our outcomes suggest the anti-inflammatory potential of both HT and HT-lipophenols, where the type of the FAs on the HT core appears to be critical for defining the bioactivity of lipophenols, highlighting that a lipidomic approach, with the simultaneous analysis of multiple oxylipins, is critical for the understanding of the bioactivity of lipophenols on isoprostanoid generation and hence, on pathophysiological processes., This work was partially funded by the “Fundación Séneca de la Región de Murcia” Grupo de Excelencia 19900/GERM/15 and the Spanish project AGL2017-83386-R-AEI/FEDER, UE from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities. SM was supported by a Postdoctoral Contract (Saavedra-Fajardo 21078/SF/19) from the Agency for Science and Technology of the Región de Murcia – “Fundación Séneca” (Spain)

Cet article decrit la conception d’un corpus d’ecrits scolaires longitudinal et trilingue (francais, espagnol, italien). L’objectif est d’etablir une comparaison de l’evolution des competences en litteracie entre ces trois langues a l’ecole primaire. Pour le moment, seul le CP (grade 1) a ete entierement traite mais les memes eleves seront suivis jusqu’au CM2 (grade 5). L’exploitation de ce corpus propose une approche reposant sur des comparaisons entre la version des textes produits par les eleves et une version dite ‹normalisee›. Cette approche permet d’assister la description linguistique des reussites et des difficultes dans l’apprentissage de l’ecrit. En particulier, l’article s’interessera a la segmentation entre les mots, en mettant en evidence a la fois la frequence du phenomene et les categories de mots dans lesquelles il se produit. L’analyse comparative revele la presence de caracteristiques similaires dans le corpus trilingue.

International audience; In this paper we prove the nonexistence of nontrivial solution to −∆u = f (u) in Ω, u = 0 on ∂Ω, being Ω ⊂ R N (N ≥ 1) a bounded domain and f locally Lispchitz with non-positive primitive. As a consequence, we discuss the long-time behavior of solutions to the so-called sine-Gordon equation.

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and easy to implement approach to evaluate antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by targeting cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) coliforms as indicators. The rationale for this approach was: i) coliform quantification methods are internationally accepted as indicators of fecal contamination in recreational waters and are therefore routinely applied in analytical labs; ii) CTX-R coliforms are clinically relevant, associated with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), and are rare in pristine environments. We analyzed 57 WWTPs in 22 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. CTX-R coliforms were ubiquitous in raw sewage and their relative abundance varied significantly (

Participatory measurement of environmental sound levels has gained interest in recent years. The calibration of measuring instruments is currently the main technical limitation. It is often the responsibility of the users and can be a potential source of error or add costs to the measurement protocol. In this article, a calibration protocol is proposed, based on the low variability of the average noise emission of individual vehicles. The advantage of this protocol for the user is that it does not require specific equipment, i.e. reference sound source or device, or special knowledge in acoustics. The method consists in measuring the noise level of a few vehicles as they pass through at different measuring points. The measured levels are compared to the levels expected by a numerical model, the difference serving as an offset for subsequent measurements. The robustness of the protocol is first tested over a large experimental campaign, and it turns out that measuring the passage of 15 vehicles at 3 different locations limits the error to −1.8 ± 1.0 dB(A). Then, the protocol is tested in real conditions with a set of 8 smartphones. The comparison with a class 1 sound level meter on 6 control points shows an average error on all phones of −0.6 ± 1.2 dB(A).

Background: In recent years, ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) in pups has become established as a good tool for evaluating behaviors related to communication deficits and emotional states observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Prenatal valproic acid (VPA) exposure leads to impairments and social behavior deficits associated with autism, with the effects of VPA being considered as a reliable animal model of ASD. Some studies also suggest that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) could enhance autistic-like behaviors. Methods: In order to explore these similarities, in the present study we tested whether prenatal exposure to CPF at GD12.5&ndash, 14.5 produces effects that are comparable to those produced by prenatal VPA exposure at GD12.5 in infant Wistar rats. Using Deep Squeek software, we evaluated total number of USVs, latency to the first call, mean call duration, principal frequency peak, high frequency peak, and type of calls. Results: Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that exposure to both CPF and VPA leads to a significantly smaller number of calls along with a longer latency to produce the first call. No significant effects were found for the remaining dependent variables. Conclusions: These results suggest that prenatal exposure to CPF could produce certain behaviors that are reminiscent of those observed in ASD patients.

Tomato cell wall-associated kinase 1 (SlWAK1) has only been studied in biotic stress response and hence its function in abiotic stress remains unknown. In a screening under salinity of an insertional mutant collection of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), a mutant exhibiting lower degree of leaf chlorosis than wild type (WT) together with reduced leaf Na+ accumulation was selected. Genetic analysis of the mutation revealed that a single T-DNA insertion in the SlWAK1 gene was responsible of the mutant phenotype. Slwak1 null mutant reduced its shoot growth compared with WT, despite its improved Na+ homeostasis. SlWAK1 disruption affected osmotic homeostasis, as leaf water content was lower in mutant than in WT under salt stress. In addition, Slwak1 altered the source-sink balance under salinity, by increasing sucrose content in roots. Finally, a significant fruit yield reduction was found in Slwak1 vs. WT under long-term salt stress, mainly due to lower fruit weight. Our results show that disruption of SlWAK1 induces a higher sucrose transport from source leaf to sink root, negatively affecting fruit, the main sink at adult stage.

The mite family Phytoseiidae contains predatory species used in biological control. However, among the 2,521 valid species, only a few are presently considered for pest management. The study focuses on a species, frequently observed in agrosystems, but whose biology is almost totally unknown: Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) recki. The objectives were to assess its distribution and to determine under laboratory conditions: (i) the development of three populations fed on three tomato pests (Tetranychus urticae, T. evansi, Aculops lycopersici), (ii) the dispersion along the tomato stem, and (iii) the dispersion from mint to infested tomato leaf discs. Based on its distribution, this species seems to be adapted to Mediterranean climate, and is preferentially found on Boraginaceae, Solanaceae, Asteraceae and Lamiaceae. Results show that T. (A.) recki is a generalist predator, with good performance regarding the number of prey consumed. Differences were observed between the populations considered; one population out of the three tested shows even a higher mean consumption of T. urticae than that recorded for Neoseiulus californicus and N. cucumeris. It is attracted by food source and is able to walk along the tomato stem. These results are encouraging enough to consider T. (A.) recki as a good natural enemy candidate for biological control (especially based on biodiversity conservation). Further experiments should be developed to test the predatory ability of this species at larger scale (entire tomato plants and tomato fields or greenhouses)., Acarologia, 60, 684-697

[EN] A dramatic evolution of fruit size has accompanied the domestication and improvement of fruit-bearing crop species. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), naturally occurring cis-regulatory mutations in the genes of the CLAVATA-WUSCHEL signaling pathway have led to a significant increase in fruit size generating enlarged meristems that lead to flowers with extra organs and bigger fruits. In this work, by combining mapping-by-sequencing and CRISPR/ Cas9 genome editing methods, we isolated EXCESSIVE NUMBER OF FLORAL ORGANS (ENO), an AP2/ERF transcription factor which regulates floral meristem activity. Thus, the ENO gene mutation gives rise to plants that yield larger multilocular fruits due to an increased size of the floral meristem. Genetic analyses indicate that eno exhibits synergistic effects with mutations at the LOCULE NUMBER (encoding SlWUS) and FASCIATED (encoding SlCLV3) loci, two central players in the evolution of fruit size in the domestication of cultivated tomatoes. Our findings reveal that an eno mutation causes a substantial expansion of SlWUS expression domains in a flower-specific manner. In vitro binding results show that ENO is able to interact with the GGC-box cis-regulatory element within the SlWUS promoter region, suggesting that ENO directly regulates SlWUS expression domains to maintain floral stem-cell homeostasis. Furthermore, the study of natural allelic variation of the ENO locus proved that a cis-regulatory mutation in the promoter of ENO had been targeted by positive selection during the domestication process, setting up the background for significant increases in fruit locule number and fruit size in modern tomatoes., We thank Dr. R. Fernandez-Munoz (Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterranea-Universidad de MalagaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas) for providing seeds of wild and cultivated tomato accessions, and Dr. R. Micol-Ponce (Universidad de Almeria) for help with the EMSA experiments. This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grants AGL201564991-C3-1-R and AGL2015-64991-C3-3-R) and the Research and Innovation Programme of the European Union Horizon 2020 (Breeding for Resilient, Efficient and Sustainable Organic Vegetable production [BRESOV], Project ID 774244). J.M.J.-G. was funded by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) Grant tomaTE, ANR-17-CE20-0024-02 and ANR TREMPLIN-European Research Council Grant RITMO, ANR-17-ERC2-0013-01.

Le titre “Samuel Beckett and the Languages of the World” semble avoir été envisagé; International audience; no abstract

The objective of this work is to analyze the concept of school violence, as well as the personal and contextual characteristics attributed to victims and aggressors. The sample consists of 175 third and fourth year students of the Degree in Social Education. The results show a complete concept of school violence, and the consideration of it as a fairly important fact., Resumen: El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el concepto de violencia escolar, como y las características tanto personales como contextuales atribuidas a víctimas y a agresores. La muestra está compuesta por 175 estudiantes de tercer y cuarto curso del Grado de Educación Social. Los resultados muestran un concepto completo de violencia escolar, y la consideración de la misma como un hecho bastante importante.

Decision makers are increasingly interested in information from ecosystem services (ES) assessments. Scientists have for long recognised the importance of selecting appropriate indicators. Yet, while the amount and variety of indicators developed by scientists seems to increase continuously, the extent to which the indicators truly inform decision makers is often unknown and questioned. In this viewpoint paper, we reflect and provide guidance on how to develop appropriate ES indicators for informing decision making, building on scientific literature and practical experience collected from researchers involved in seven case studies. We synthesized 16 criteria for ES indicator selection and organized them according to the widely used categories of credibility, salience, legitimacy (CSL). We propose to consider additional criteria related to feasibility (F), as CSL criteria alone often seem to produce indicators which are unachievable in practice. Considering CSLF together requires a combination of scientific knowledge, communication skills, policy and governance insights and on-field experience. In conclusion, we present a checklist to evaluate CSLF of your ES indicators. This checklist helps to detect and mitigate critical shortcomings in an early phase of the development process, and aids the development of effective indicators to inform actual policy decisions. Fil: van Oudenhoven, Alexander P.E.. Leiden University; Países Bajos Fil: Schröter, Matthias. Helmholtz Zentrum Für Umweltforschung; Alemania. German Centre For Integrative Biodiversity Research; Alemania Fil: Drakou, Evangelia G.. Faculty Of Geo-information Science And Earth Observation; Países Bajos Fil: Geijzendorffer, Ilse R.. Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands; Francia Fil: Jacobs, Sander. Belgian Biodiversity Platform; Bélgica. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; Bélgica Fil: van Bodegom, Peter M.. Leiden University; Países Bajos Fil: Chazee, Laurent. Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands; Francia Fil: Czúcz, Bálint. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Francia. Hungarian Academy Of Sciences. Institute of Ecology and Botany; Argentina Fil: Grunewald, Karsten. Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development; Alemania Fil: Lillebø, Ana I.. Universidade de Aveiro; Portugal Fil: Mononen, Laura. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia. Itä-suomen Yliopisto; Finlandia Fil: Nogueira, António J.A.. Universidade de Aveiro; Portugal Fil: Pacheco Romero, Manuel. Universidad de Almeria; España Fil: Perennou, Christian. Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands; Francia Fil: Remme, Roy P.. National Institute of Public Health and the Environment; Países Bajos Fil: Rova, Silvia. Universita' Ca' Foscari Di Venezia; Italia Fil: Syrbe, Ralf-Uwe. Leibniz Institute Of Ecological Urban And Regional Development; Alemania Fil: Tratalos, Jamie A.. University College Dublin; Irlanda Fil: Vallejos, María. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Albert, Christian. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität; Alemania

In order to assess the therapeutic potential of cell-based strategies, it is of paramount importance to elaborate and validate tools for monitoring the behavior of injected cells in terms of tissue dissemination and engraftment properties. Here, we apply bismuth ferrite harmonic nanoparticles (BFO HNPs) to in vitro expanded human skeletal muscle-derived stem cells (hMuStem cells), an attractive therapeutic avenue for patients suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) (1,2). Recent works demonstrated the high biocompatibility of HNPs for human cell lines (3). Furthermore, the net advantages of HNPs with respect to other optically active NPs are (i) their efficacy as NIR-II probes, (ii) the possibility to use freely tune laser excitation for harmonic signals imaging and (iii) their properties to resist to bleaching (4,5). We firstly demonstrate the possibility of identifying approximately 100 nm HNPs in depth of muscle tissue at more than 1 mm from the surface, taking full advantage of the extended imaging penetration depth allowed by multiphoton microscopy in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II). Secondly, we show that the simultaneous detection of second- and third-harmonic generation (SHG and THG) from BFO HNPs helps separate their response from tissue background (endogenous SHG and THG from collagen and adipose tissue), with a net increase in imaging selectivity, which could be particularly important in pathologic context that is dened by a highly remodelling tissue. Based on this successful assessment, we demonstrate the possibility of hMuStem cells labeling with HNPs. We monitor over 14 days any modication on morphology features and proliferation of hMuStem cells upon exposure to PEG-coated BFO HNPs at different concentrations, revealing their high biocompatibility. Successively, to assess the possibility of using HNP-based labeling to track cells of interest in tissue, BFO-PEG hMuStem cells were injected in mice muscle. We show the possibility to retrieve labeled hMuStem cells in mice muscle 24 h post-injection by detection of the intense SHG and THG signals generated from HNPs (Figure 1). These results show that the labeling of hMuStem cells with HNPs represents a promising approach for monitoring their engraftment properties.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]QUASARE [ADD1_IRSTEA]Systèmes aquatiques soumis à des pressions multiples; International audience; With an overarching goal of addressing global and regional sustainability challenges, Long Term Socio-Ecological Research Platforms (LTSER) aim to conduct place-based research, to collect and synthesize both environmental and socio-economic data, and to involve a broader stakeholder pool to set the research agenda. To date there have been few studies examining the output from LTSER platforms. In this study we enquire if the socio-ecological research from 25 self-selected LTSER platforms of the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network has produced research products which fulfil the aims and ambitions of the paradigm shift from ecological to socio-ecological research envisaged at the turn of the century. In total we assessed 4983 publically available publications, of which 1112 were deemed relevant to the socio-ecological objectives of the platform. A series of 22 questions were scored for each publication, assessing relevance of responses in terms of the disciplinary focus of research, consideration of human health and well-being, degree of stakeholder engagement, and other relevant variables. The results reflected the diverse origins of the individual platforms and revealed a wide range in foci, temporal periods and quantity of output from participating platforms, supporting the premise that there is a growing trend in socio-ecological research at long-term monitoring platforms. Our review highlights the challenges of realizing the top-down goal to harmonize international network activities and objectives and the need for bottom-up, self-definition for research platforms. This provides support for increasing the consistency of LTSER research while preserving the diversity of regional experiences.

Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies are foreseen to be a crucial actor in the future renewable energy mix. Soil accumulation on the optical surfaces of CSP plants involves significant expenses of the operation and maintenance activities because a high cleanliness level is required to achieve proper plant revenues. Normally, only the front side of the solar reflectors is cleaned to reflect the maximum possible amount of direct solar radiation towards the receiver. However, soil deposited on the backside of the reflector could provoke degradation and might need to be considered in the cleaning strategy. As this possible degradation has never been studied, this work is dedicated to assess if the backside of reflectors should be regularly cleaned. The influence of the sand in the possible paint degradation depends on its chemical composition and the weather conditions. Therefore, several climatic conditions of artificially soiled reflector samples with different types of sand were simulated in accelerated aging tests. Concerning the results obtained, the ambient conditions simulated by the damp heat and thermal cycling tests were the only ones that produced a significant degradation of the backside paints. Also, the sand from Ouarzazate was responsible for higher deterioration.

Global sustainability initiatives are gaining momentum and impact, and place-based research can provide complementary insights to strengthen them. Here, we explore the current and potential role of place-based research into informing global sustainability initiatives by assessing the strengths, challenges, and opportunities. We show that place-based research allows for a better understanding of global social-ecological dynamics, and that transformations towards sustainability are often triggered at the local scale through the co-construction of local solutions. We discuss that the very nature of place-based research can hinder its transferability because its global integration faces temporal, spatial and governance scale mismatches, and we identify some of the key challenges of scaling-up its findings. We highlight new opportunities to mainstream place-based research that are emerging from first, long-term networks of place-based research, second, new institutional research settings that contribute with conceptual comprehensive frameworks and capacity building tools, third, a global community of practice, and fourth, the concept of region as a bridge between local and global sustainability initiatives. We believe that the time is ripe to promote the role of place-based social-ecological research as a key contributor to achieve global sustainability goals. Fil: Balvanera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Calderón Contreras, Rafael. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; México Fil: Castro, Antonio J.. University of Idaho; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Almería; España Fil: Felipe Lucia, María R.. University of Berne; Suiza Fil: Geijzendorffer, Ilse R.. Tour du Valat. Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands; Francia Fil: Jacobs, Sander. Research Group Nature and Society. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; Países Bajos. Belgian Biodiversity Platform; Países Bajos Fil: Martín López, Berta. Leuphana University of Lüneburg. Faculty of Sustainability. Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research; Alemania Fil: Arbieu, Ugo. Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre; Alemania Fil: Speranza, Chinwe Ifejika. University of Berne; Suiza Fil: Locatelli, Bruno. Agricultural Research for Development ; Francia. Center for International Forestry Research ; Perú Fil: Pérez Harguindeguy, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Ruiz Mercado, Ilse. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Spierenburg, Marja J.. Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen; Países Bajos Fil: Vallet, Améline. Centre International de Recherche Sur L'environnement Et Le Developpement; Francia Fil: Lynes, Laura. The Rockies Institute; Canadá Fil: Gillson, Lindsey. African Climate And Development Initiative; Sudáfrica

This paper presents a dimensional-analysis supported scaling procedure applied to a mathematical model of electrochemical batteries. The main objective of this research is to allow for laboratory size-scaled and time-compressed experimental analysis of processes involving large physical magnitudes and evolving over long time spans. These situations are of interest when considering the sizing of battery packs and other components of energy systems, particularly smart grids, and further systems where battery storage is relevant, like hybrid vehicles and other standalone systems, as well as deciding management strategies on them. Voltage-, current- A nd time-scaled models preserving the dynamic evolution of a group of relevant physical magnitudes are presented. These models have been validated through simulation and physical experiments on a test-bench designed and constructed on purpose. The physical implementation of the scaled models is not possible in the cases where some of the scaled model parameters cannot be met using real batteries. But, as the mathematical construction of the scaled models is always possible, this problem can be circumvented with a Hardware-in-the-loop approach: The scaled battery is numerically emulated on a programmable and controllable power source/sink system, which is run in real-time embedded in the test-bench representing the whole system under study. Fil: Cabello, Javier Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura. Escuela de Ingeniería Electrónica. Departamento de Control; Argentina Fil: Roboam, Xavier. Instituto Polytechnique de Toulouse; Francia. Université Paul Sabatier; Francia Fil: Junco, Sergio Jose. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura. Escuela de Ingeniería Electrónica. Departamento de Control; Argentina Fil: Bru, Eric. Instituto Polytechnique de Toulouse; Francia. Université Paul Sabatier; Francia Fil: Lacressonniere, Fabien. Instituto Polytechnique de Toulouse; Francia. Université Paul Sabatier; Francia

International audience; Variance in edibility among plant genotypes is expected to be a key driver of plant genetic diversity (PGD) effects on abundance of insect herbivores and resulting herbivory. Yet, herbivore foraging behavior and leaf consumption may be also context-dependent and, in particular, influenced by herbivore density, which remains unexplored. We used a combination of field and laboratory experiments with saplings from four half-sib families (henceforth, families) of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) to test how PGD and herbivore density interactively affect herbivory. Insect herbivory was assessed in a common garden experiment with plots containing all possible combinations of individuals from one to four oak families. Herbivore density was manipulated by spraying insecticide in a factorial design. Complementary feeding trials with gypsy moth larvae (Lymantria dispar) were used to further explore the mechanisms underlying observed patterns in the field. Herbivory decreased with increasing PGD under normal herbivore density, but not under reduced herbivore abundance. The most damaged oak family in the field was also the most consumed in non-choice tests and was consistently preferred over other families in choice tests. Trials showed that the presence of less edible families in the diet reduced overall consumption by gypsy moth larvae. Under field conditions, the most edible family consistently benefited most from being associated with less edible, neighboring genotypes. Our results demonstrate that small-scale PGD can provide associational resistance to insect herbivory, probably through change in herbivore foraging activity. Importantly, they also reveal that the magnitude of genetic diversity effect depends on herbivore density.

International audience; Phosphorhydrazone dendrimers ended by PTA (1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane) derivatives are used for the complexation of ruthenium. The corresponding complexes, either isolated (synthesized ex situ, i.e. preformed) or generated in situ are used as catalysts for the hydration of phenylacetylene in various conditions (ex situ or in situ, quantities, temperature, duration, co-catalyst or not, recycling). The same preformed complexes are tested for their interaction with supercoiled DNA, to afford relaxed DNA.

L'objectif de ce livre est de dresser un bilan du travail réalisé au cours des trente dernières années dans l'étude du monde des élites de la société hispanique pendant l'Ancien Régime. La plupart des textes collectés proviennent de recherches menées en lien étroit avec la base de données Fichoz. L'ouvrage réunit donc une série de chercheurs qui, au cours des trois dernières décennies, se sont positionnés par rapport à la proposition historiographique et méthodologique promue par Jean-Pierre Dedieu, dans un premier temps depuis Bordeaux avant de passer à Lyon. C'est une proposition qui a évolué progressivement de la prosopographie relationnelle à la théorie des conventions, en passant par cette étape intermédiaire, dont l'actualité ne se dément pas, qu'est l'analyse des réseaux sociaux.

International audience; This study aims to assess the effectiveness of amendments in reducing the mobility and bioavailability of arsenic (As) in alkaline soils compared with acidic soils.An alkaline soil highly polluted with As was amended with marble sludge (limestone), compost (organic matter) and iron oxides in six different combinations. The soils were watered to field capacity and placed in plastic pots, and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) bioassays were subsequently carried out. Leachates and pore water were collected, and the pH, Eh, electrical conductivity and As concentrations of both solutions were measured. The As concentration in the leaves and roots of the lettuce was measured, the root and leaf dry weight indices were estimated and sequential As extraction was performed. The results obtained with the unamended and amended soils were compared with those obtained with unpolluted soil.Iron oxide amendments were the most effective in reducing the mobility and bioavailability of As because these amendments significantly increased the As bound to hydrous oxides (non-bioavailable), decreased the As concentration in pore water and decreased the non-specifically and specifically sorbed As (bioavailable). Compost was less effective because it increased the concentrations of As in pore water and non-specifically sorbed As. Marble sludge, although it decreased the concentration of As in pore water and non-specifically sorbed As, was not effective because As bound to CaCO3 (specifically sorbed) was taken up by the lettuce. However, the amendments had an additive effect, and the use of a mixture of the three amendments resulted in the best lettuce development.Although the amendments were effective in reducing the concentration of mobile and bioavailable As, none of the amendment combinations were able to decrease the shoot As concentration to a level below the maximum concentration observed in lettuce growing in unpolluted soils. Thus, the restoration goals for these highly polluted soils should not include future food production.

International audience; This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Model and Data Engineering, MEDI 2016, held in Almería, Spain, in September 2016. The 17 full papers and 10 short papers presented together with 2 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submissions. The papers range on a wide spectrum covering fundamental contributions, applications and tool developments and improvements in model and data engineering activities.

International audience; A total of 30 larval mites (Erythraeidae) parasitizing 8 species of Orthoptera were captured during a sampling trip in French Guiana. These collections represent the first reports for the genera Leptus and Charletonia from this country. It is the first time that Leptus nikanori Haitlinger, 2000 has been captured outside of Costa Rica and the third record for Charletonia domawiti Haitlinger, 2004 after being reported from Brazil and Costa Rica. We also describe and illustrate the new species Leptus multisolenidiae parasitizing Episomacris gruneri (Descamps and Amédégnato 1970).

International audience; With the increasing adoption of MDE, model transformations , one of its core concepts together with metamodeling, stand out as a valuable asset. Therefore, a mechanism to annotate and store existing model transformations appears as a critical need for their efficient exploitation and reuse. Unfortunately, although several reuse mechanisms have been proposed for software artifacts in general and models in particular , none of them is specially tailored to the domain of model transformations. In order to fill this gap, we present here such a mechanism. Our approach is composed by two elements 1) a new DSL specially conceived for describing model transformations in terms of their functional and non-functional properties 2) a semi-automatic process for annotating and querying (repositories of) model transformations using as criteria the properties of our DSL. We validate the feasibility of our approach through a prototype implementation that integrates our approach in a GitHub repository.

Lithium exchange mechanisms, local structure, and its possible evolutions on lithium extraction and reinsertion are studied in Li1.6Mn1.6O4, a new lithium-rich manganese oxide showing improved lithium sorption. The parent Li1.6Mn1.6O4 and its lithium-extracted and lithium-reinserted forms are characterized by X-ray absorption (EXAFS and XANES) and incoherent inelastic neutron scattering (IINS) spectroscopies. Lattice hydroxyl groups are detected in the lithium-extracted sample; the chemical reinsertion of lithium removes most of the hydroxyl groups, but some protons remain in the structure mainly as structural water. X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the manganese K-edge indicates a local spinel structure of Li1.6Mn1.6O4 with manganese in oxidation state 4+. The structural arrangement and Mn oxidation state remain unchanged when lithium is extracted and reinserted. The lithium sorption occurs by Li+/H+ ion exchange process, as for Li1.33Mn1.67O4, the previously considered end member of the Li1+xMn2-xO4 spi...

Several empiric cumulative distributions of elapsed times and distances between seismic events occurred in the Southern Iberian Peninsula from 1985 to 2000 (data extracted from the seismic catalogue of the Andalusian Institute of Geophysics) are investigated. Elapsed times and distances between consecutive seismic events of the whole catalogue, taking into account threshold magnitudes of 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0, and of five seismic crises, without distinguishing magnitudes, are investigated. Additionally, the series of distances and elapsed times from the main event to every aftershock are also analysed for the five seismic crises. Even though a power law is sometimes a satisfactory model for the cumulative distribution of elapsed times and distances between seismic events, in some cases a fit with a Weibull distribution for elapsed times performs better. It is worth of mention that, in the case of the seismic crises, the fit achieved by the power law is sometimes improved when it is combined with a logarithmic law. The results derived might be a contribution to a better representation of the seismic activity by means of models that could be based on random-walk processes.

In this work, the characterization of the non-covalently bonded compounds present in a set of perhydrous coals of different age and geographical location (Cretaceous coals: UCV and TCV and Jurassic coals: AJV, PGJV, WJVh and WJVl) was carried out by means of a combination of the analyses of the material soluble in chloroform and the thermal extract. The extract in chloroform was studied through GC/MS and NMR and the thermovaporized fraction was obtained by means of flash pyrolysis at the Curie temperature of 350°C and quantified by on-line GC-MS. The results obtained for the Cretaceous coals confirm that the substances responsible for the hydrogenation are those covalently bonded to the vitrinite network as a result of the modifications undergone by the botanical precursors. Despite the striking similarity in the global characteristics of these two coals (TCV and UCV) significant differences between the material non-covalently bonded to their coal matrices were found. These differences are attributed to the type of resins present in the coals and/or to their different degree of evolution. With respect to the Jurassic coals, the present study allows the process by which the hydrogenated substances were assimilated into their structure to be established. The characterization of the assimilated substances in the WJVl coal reveals an unexpectedly high incorporation of alkanes given the humic origin of this sample. From these results the assimilation of hydrogen-rich substances from the decomposition of the organic remains in the sedimentary environment in which WJVl precursor were deposited, is proposed. The incorporation of products derived from the primary decomposition of organic material is not evident for the WJVh and AJV coals. The substances assimilated into the coal matrices show a higher aromaticity, the aromatic structures of WJVh being more condensed than those found in AJV. The compositional differences between them probably arise from the different source of the hydrogen-rich material. In the case of AJV coal the source was the adsorption of hydrocarbons generated and migrated from the Pliensbachian source-rocks whereas in WJVh, assimilated compounds come from the material generated by the thermal transformation (coalification) of the adjacent organic rocks of similar age. Finally, PGJV shows two types of non-covalently bonded compounds. Solvent extractable material is mainly composed of the first type of compounds, which is predominantly aliphatic in nature with a preponderance of alkanes. The second type of compounds is more aromatic and they are probably located in the close porosity of this coal. They are not accessible to chloroform but they are the most abundant in the thermal extract., The financial support for this work was provided through a contract with the European Community (No. 7220/EC-769).

International audience; A number of Cucurbita pepo genotypes showing instable monoecy or partial andromonoecy, i.e. an incomplete conversion of female into bisexual flowers, have been detected. Given that in melon and cucumber andromonoecy is the result of reduction of ethylene production in female floral buds, caused by mutations in the ethylene biosynthesis genes CmACS7 and CsACS2; we have cloned and characterized two related C. pepo genes, CpACS27A and CpACS27B. The molecular structure of CpACS27A and its specific expression in the carpels of female flowers during earlier stages of flower development suggests that this gene is the Cucurbita ortholog of CmACS7 and CsACS2. CpACS27B is likely to be a paralogous pseudogene since it has not been found to be expressed in any of the analyzed tissues. CpACS27A was sequenced in Bolognese (Bog) and Vegetable Spaghetti (Veg), two monoecious inbred lines whose F2 was segregating for partial andromonoecy. The Bog allele of CpACS27A carried a missense mutation that resulted in a substitution of the conserved serine residue in position 176 by an alanine. Segregation analysis indicated that this mutant variant is necessary but not sufficient to confer the andromonoecious phenotype in squash. In concordance with its involvement in stamen arrest, a reduction in CpACS27A expression has been found in bisexual flower buds at earlier stages of development. This reduction in CpACS27A expression was concomitant with a downregulation of other ethylene biosynthesis and signaling genes during earlier and later stages of ovary development. The role of CpACS27A is discussed regarding the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis and signaling genes in the control of andromonoecy-associated traits, such as the delayed maturation of corolla and stigma as well as the parthenocarpic development of the fruit.

This article presents a method to study large-scale conformational changes by combining electron microscopy (EM) single-particle image analysis and normal mode analysis (NMA). It is referred to as HEMNMA, which stands for hybrid electron microscopy normal mode analysis. NMA of a reference structure (atomic-resolution structure or EM volume) is used to predict possible motions that are then confronted with EM images within an automatic iterative elastic 3D-to-2D alignment procedure to identify actual motions in the imaged samples. HEMNMA can be used to extensively analyze the conformational changes and may be used in combination with classic discrete procedures. The identified conformations allow modeling of deformation pathways compatible with the experimental data. HEMNMA was tested with synthetic and experimental data sets of E. coli 70S ribosome, DNA polymerase Pol α and B subunit complex of the eukaryotic primosome, and tomato bushy stunt virus. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd., This work was supported by the French National Center for Scientific Research and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC2009FR0015 and PICS 2011 to S.J. and C.O.S.S.); the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ACI2009-10220, ACI2010-1088, and BIO2010-16566 to J.M. Carazo and SAF2011-22988 to O.L.); the European Social Fund and the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (“Ramón y Cajal” fellowship to C.O.S.S. and J.R.B.-C.).

International audience; Captive Octopus vulgaris adults were fed three mono-diets based on pilchard, crab and squid and allowed to grow until reproduction under controlled temperature. Spawns from each dietary treatment were isolated, and the embryonic development, egg length, width and wet weight, in addition to neonate dry weight, dorsal mantle length and ventral mantle length were monitored. Pilchard-diet spawns developed faster in terms of thermal time. Initial egg wet weight was higher for squid and crab diets. Irrespective of the parental diet, eggs passed through a swelling process so that egg width and wet weight increased in a nonlinear way, whereas egg length was left nearly unaffected. Egg length and initial wet weight showed a high correlation with neonate dry weight. Egg length, even at advanced incubation, can be used as a good proxy for neonate dry weight, this fact having potential implications for the ecological and aquaculture research on O. vulgaris.

International audience; A total of 36 larvae were captured parasitizing 4 species of Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera, Ensifera) and two phasmids (Phasmatodea) in the Reserva Biologica Alberto Manuel Brenes in Costa Rica. Here, we report the second capture of two species of mites since their original descriptions Leptus nikanori Haitlinger, 2000 (Erythraeidae) from Costa Rica and Charletonia domawiti Haitlinger, 2004 (Erythraeidae) from Brazil and each only known from a single specimen. We also describe and illustrate Charletonia salazari sp. nov. captured parasitizing Scopiorinus mucronatus (Saussure & Pictet, 1898) (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae, Pseudophyllinae). A key for the species of the genus Charletonia from the New World is provided.

International audience; This article focuses on the design of a robust model predictive control law for constrained discrete-time time-varying systems with additive uncertainties. The proposed solution to the control problem is a tube-based MPC ensuring robustness and constraints fulfilment. Reachable sets are calculated online taking into account the system dynamics by means of an adaptive local control law and additive uncertainties. The proposed method represents a trade-off between small conservativeness and efficient real-time execution. This approach is applied to solve the trajectory tracking problem of a mobile robot. Simulation results provide a comparison between the tube-based MPC scheme and established motion control algorithms, showing the efficient execution and satisfactory behaviour of the proposed controller.

International audience; We examine the energy partitions among elastic waves due to dynamic normal and tangential surface loads in a semi-infinite elastic solid. While the results for a dynamic normal load on the surface of a half-space with Poisson ratio of 1/4 is a well-known result by Miller and Pursey (1955), the corresponding results for a dynamic tangential load are almost unknown. The partitions for the normal and tangential loads were computed independently by Weaver (1985) versus Poisson ratio (0≤ν≤1/2), using diffuse-field concepts within the context of ultrasonic measurements. The connection with the surface load point was not explicit, which partially explains why these results did not reach the seismological and engineering literature. The characteristics of the elastic radiation of these two cases are quite different. For a normal load, about 2/3 of the energy leaves the loaded point as Rayleigh surface waves. On the other hand, the tangential load induces a similar amount in the form of body shear waves. It is established that the energies injected into the elastic half-space by concentrated normal and tangential harmonic surface loads are proportional to the imaginary part of the corresponding components of the Green's tensor when both source and receiver coincide. The relationship between the Green's function and average correlations of motions within a diffuse field is clearly established.

International audience; Microtremors are produced by multiple random sources close to the surface of the Earth. They may include the effects of multiple scattering, which suggests that their intensities could be well described by diffusion-like equations. Within this theoretical framework, the average autocorrelation of the motions at a given receiver, in the frequency domain, measures average energy density and is proportional to the imaginary part of the Green's function (GF) when both source and receiver are the same. Assuming the seismic field is diffuse we compute the H/V ratio for a surface receiver on a horizontally layered medium in terms of the imaginary part of the GF at the source. This theory links average energy densities with the GF in 3-D and considers the H/V ratio as an intrinsic property of the medium. Therefore, our approach naturally allows for the inversion of H/V, the well-known Nakamura's ratio including the contributions of Rayleigh, Love and body waves. Broad-band noise records at Texcoco, a soft soil site near Mexico City, are studied and interpreted using this theory.

The tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a devastating pest of tomato originating from South America. After its initial detection in eastern Spain in 2006, it rapidly invaded various other European countries and spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. If no control measures are taken, then the pest can cause up to 80-100% yield losses in tomato crops in recently invaded areas and may pose a threat to both greenhouse and open-field tomato production. The exceptional speed and extent of T. absoluta invasion have called for studies documenting its biology and ecology, while indicating an urgent need for efficient and sustainable management methods. The development of approaches to manage T. absoluta would be facilitated through a detailed revision of information on this pest in its area of origin. This review combines information on the invasion by T. absoluta, its ecology, and potential management strategies, including data that may help the implementation of efficient biological control programs. These programs, together with a variety of other management tactics, may allow efficient integrated pest management of T. absoluta in Europe and Mediterranean Basin countries. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

International audience; This article aims to contribute to the discussion on the efficiency of two different discretization methods used as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers for the simulation of natural ventilation in greenhouses. The focus is not on a general use of CFD, but rather on its specific application to simulate airflow in naturally ventilated greenhouses. After a short review of the basic model and its extensions, we compare the accuracy and computational efficiency of two simulation codes based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Finite Volume Method (FVM) for two-dimensional incompressible turbulent flow in naturally ventilated greenhouses. FVM software (ANSYS/FLUENT v 6.3.) is the most frequently used CFD code in ventilation research, but few papers using FEM software (ANSYS/FLOTRAN v. 11.0) have been published. CFD simulations have been compared to experimental data for 12 cases corresponding to three greenhouse types. The experimental greenhouses were chosen to represent a large range of ventilation situations: buoyancy effect in a mono-span greenhouse with adiabatic walls, buoyancy and wind effect in a multi-span greenhouse and ventilation in an Almería-type greenhouse under conditions of large temperature gradient and high wind speeds. The data from simulations and field experiments were compared using different parameters to analyze the effectiveness of experimental data in the validations of CFD models. The possibility of repeating simulations with different discretization methods and commercial software has been tested, as well as the type of experimental data needed to ensure correct validation of CFD models for use in greenhouse ventilation studies. To this end, temperature distribution measurements are preferable to set-point measurements and the use of visualization techniques (laser sheets) or the measurement of velocity vectors (anemometer) are more indicative than ventilation rates. The computational capacity of these approaches has also been analyzed, comparing their performance in terms of the overall database space necessary to store the numerical models and the necessary CPU time to compute one step of the convergence process. On average, the FEM required twice as much computing time per cell and step as FVM, and the amount of required memory storage was approximately 10 times greater for the FEM.

In this paper, we present the preliminary results of the combined effect of high pressure (up to 7.5 GPa) and strong external magnetic fields (up to 28.5 T) on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of $Er^{3+}–Yb^{3+}$ co-doped single-crystal thin films of well-oriented $KY(WO_4)_2$ at low temperatures. Measurements were carried out under pulsed magnetic field, exciting the $Er^{3+}$ ions via upconversion mechanisms by a Ti:sapphire laser with the external magnetic field applied along the crystallographic b axis. The detailed study of the green $^{4}S_3/_2 - ^{4}I_1_5/_2 Er^{3+}$ PL after infrared excitation around 1μm as a function of pressure and external magnetic field reveals the potential applicability of this system as sensor of high magnetic fields, high pressure and low temperature, simultaneously.

In the Mediterranean, the survival of endemic long-lived seabirds despite the long-standing introduction of one of the most damaging alien predator, the ship rat (Rattus rattus), on most islands constitutes an amazing conservation paradox. A database gathering information on approximately 300 Western Mediterranean islands was analyzed through generalized linear models to identify the factors likely to influence ship rat presence and to account for how ship rat presence and island characteristics may have driven the presence and abundance of seabirds. Our review showed that few Mediterranean islands remain rat-free. At the regional scale, rat presence was only a limiting factor in the abundance of the smallest seabird, the storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus), while the distribution and abundance of the three shearwaters were more influenced by island characteristics. We hypothesized that the long-term persistence of these seabirds may have been facilitated by the various biogeographical contexts of Mediterranean islands, likely to provide intra-island refuges. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

International audience; Cet article propose une étude d'une machine frigorifique à adsorption fonctionnant par l'énergie solaire, le réacteur contenant le couple (charbon actif / ammoniac) est chauffé moyennant un caloduc couplé avec un concentrateur cylindro-parabolique solaire. Ainsi nous avons développé un modèle théorique basé sur les équations de conservation d'énergie et de masse pour analyser et représenter les phénomènes de transfert de chaleur et de masse dans le milieu poreux. Aussi un programme simulant le fonctionnement de la machine étudiée a été mis au point ce qui nous a permis de calculer, pour un flux de chaleur donné et à chaque instant, la température, la pression ainsi que la masse adsorbée à chaque point de l'adsorbeur. Le coefficient de performance solaire a été étudié en utilisant un modèle théorique.

International audience; The aim of the present work was to evaluate to what extent variation in the activity of either trypsin or chymotrypsin could be a sensitive and reliable indicator of nutritional deficiencies during post-weaning stages in a marine fish. Sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax larvae obtained from two different spawns classified as high quality (HQ) or low quality (LQ) on the basis of their hatching variables, were used to evaluate if enzyme production could be conditioned by factors other than those related to the feeding regime. In addition, larvae in each group were either fed normally or received a ration reduced by 60%. Trypsin and chymotrypsin activities were separately measured in larvae at days 3 and 15 after weaning. Changes in mass and final survival were also recorded. Food limitation resulted in a lower final mass only in the HQ larvae. Survival was significantly higher in HQ larvae, but also in larvae suffering food restriction, irrespective of the quality of the spawn. In both groups of larvae, lower food availability was correlated to increased values of trypsin, and particularly, of chymotrypsin. Variations were high enough to support the usefulness of such enzymes as indicators of a modified nutritional status. It is suggested that the noticeable increase in the activity of both enzymes observed in the restrictedly fed larvae could compensate initial deficiencies and explain the good results in growth and survival obtained in LQ larvae.

Effective parameters are of major importance in modelling surface fluxes at different scales of spatial heterogeneity. Different ways to obtain these effective parameters for their use in meso-scale and GCM models have been studied. This paper deals with patch-scale heterogeneity, where effective resistances were calculated in two patches with different vegetation (Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss shrubs, and herbaceous plants) using different methods: aggregating soil and plant resistances in parallel, in series or by an average of both. Effective aerodynamic resistance was also calculated directly from patch fluxes. To assess the validity of the different methods used, the Penman-Monteith equation was used with effective resistances to estimate the total λE for each patch. The λE estimates found for each patch were compared to Eddy Covariance system measurements. Results showed that for effective surface resistances, parallel aggregation of soil and plant resistances led to λE estimates closer to the measured λE in both patches (differences of around 10%). Results for effective aerodynamic resistances differed depending on the patch considered and the method used to calculate them. The use of effective aerodynamic resistances calculated from fluxes provided less accurate estimates of λE compared to the measured values, than the use of effective aerodynamic resistances aggregated from soil and plant resistances. The results reported in this paper show that the best way of aggregating soil and plant resistances depends on the type of resistance, and the type of vegetation in the patch., This work received financial support from several different research projects: the PROBASE (ref.: CGL2006-11619/HID) and CANOA (ref.: CGL2004-04919-C02-01/HID) projects funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science; and the BACAEMA (“Balance de carbono y de agua en ecosistemas de matorral mediterráneo en Andalucía: Efecto del cambio climático”, RNM-332) and CAMBIO (“Efectos del cambio global sobre la biodiversidad y el funcionamiento ecosistémico mediante la identificación de áreas sensibles y de referencia en el SE ibérico”, RNM 1280) projects funded by the regional government Junta de Andalucía. The first author enjoyed a pre-doctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology.

Artificial selection of cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) has resulted in the generation of early-flowering, day-length-insensitive cultivars, despite its close relationship to other Solanum species that need more time and specific photoperiods to flower. To investigate the genetic mechanisms controlling flowering time in tomato and related species, we performed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis for flowering time in an F2 mapping population derived from S. lycopersicum and its late-flowering wild relative S. chmielewskii. Flowering time was scored as the number of days from sowing to the opening of the first flower (days to flowering), and as the number of leaves under the first inflorescence (leaf number). QTL analyses detected 2 QTLs affecting days to flowering, which explained 55.3% of the total phenotypic variance, and 6 QTLs for leaf number, accounting for 66.7% of the corresponding phenotypic variance. Four of the leaf number QTLs had not previously been detected for this trait in tomato. Colocation of some QTLs with flowering-time genes included in the genetic map suggests PHYB2, FALSIFLORA, and a tomato FLC-like sequence as candidate genes that might have been targets of selection during the domestication of tomato., This work was supported in part by a grant from CDTI (Spanish Ministry of Industry) to Seminis Vegetable seeds Iberica S.A., Universidad de Almería and INIA. This work was possible thanks to a specific research agreement between INIA and CNB-CSIC. J.M.J.-G. was recipient of a fellowship from INIA.

International audience; The effect of variations in the amount or quality of food provided on the amino acid profile of larvae, was tested in two marine fish species, the Senegal sole (Solea senegalensis) and the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). The objective was to assess whether such nutritionally suboptimum dietary patterns, which simulate situations that may occur in hatcheries, result in variations in the concentration of one or more amino acids that could be used as indicators of nutritional condition of larvae. Restriction in the normal food ration by 60% had no clear effect on the amino acid profile of sea bass, while the concentration of some amino acids (Arg, Ala and Phe) showed significant variations in sole. Feeding on artificial diets, which have shown their inadequacy a priori, resulted also in no significant effect on the profile of sea bass, but in a dramatic modification of the amino acid profile in sole. In addition, changes in the amino acid profiles considered as a whole were evaluated using the cluster analysis instead of paired comparisons between amino acid concentrations in each treatment. The analysis clearly separated profiles of larvae fed restrictedly or inadequately from their controls, irrespective of the species. This demonstrated the potential value of evaluating whole changes in amino acid profile as nutritional indicator. Besides, it was demonstrated that sensitivity of larvae to nutritional changes that may be reflected in the amino acid profile is greatly conditioned by the species and developmental stage

A study of coal products obtained from Gray-King pyrolysis at 550 °C was carried out in order to obtain information about the chemical modifications of the huminite/vitrinite structure resulting from different processes of natural hydrogen-enrichment. The high oil yield obtained, the similarity between the infrared spectra of the generated oils and those of the parent vitrinite as well as the parallelism between the compositional data deduced for these oils and those obtained by means of Curie point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry justify the use of this thermal approach. Gray-King pyrolysis is preferable to other techniques because it is possible to make an accurate mass balance, a thorough study of the solid residues and a full characterization of both the volatile and non-volatile fractions of the degradation products. From a study of selected perhydrous coals, mainly composed of the vitrinite maceral group, only in the low reflectance Jurassic coal from the Whitby (England) basin (WJVl) was the incorporation of lipoidal material evident, due to the significant contribution of long-chain alkyl aromatics in its oil. The structure of the vitrinite in the other Jurassic coals, the high reflectance sample from the Whitby basin (WJVh) and the coals from the Asturias (Spain) and Portugal basins (AJV and PGJV, respectively), is probably similar to that described for non-perhydrous vitrinites in the subbituminous coal rank. However, the presence of assimilated hydrogenated substances of a secondary nature, in particular for AJV and PGJV, hinders the cross-linking and condensation processes typical of the transit to the bituminous coal rank. In Cretaceous coals, from Teruel (Spain) and Utah (EEUU), (TCV and UCV, respectively), whose perhydrous character is mainly due to the specific hydrogenated nature of their botanical precursors, the incorporation of aliphatic structures via covalent oxygen linkages is proposed. The results obtained may be useful for establishing accurate structural models for perhydrous vitrinites. At the same time, the data obtained will contribute to explain the involvement of the high hydrogen content in the suppression of vitrinite reflectance.