Improving DNA detection sensitivity for the white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) via digital PCR

International audienc

Existence of monostable fronts for a KPP infinite-difference numerical scheme

International audienceWe study the existence of traveling wave solutions for a numerical counterpart of the KPP equation. We obtain the existence of monostable fronts for all super-critical speeds in the regime where the spatial step size is small. The key strategy is to transfer the invertibility of certain linear operators related to the front solutions from the continuous setting to the discrete case we are interested in. We rely on resolvent bounds which are uniform with respect to the step size, a procedure which is also known as spectral convergence. The approach is also able to handle infinite range discretizations with geometrically decaying coefficients that are allowed to have both signs, which prevents the use of the comparison principle

Ten assertions on einkorn from a participatory living-lab: right or false?

International audienceHighlights: • French farmers grow very few varieties of einkorn, whereas there is a huge diversity in the einkorn species! • Einkorn yield is very few mentioned as a criterion farmers are interested in. • Einkorn may be adapted to a large range of environments but the current varieties are not well adapted to agroforestry. • Einkorn is not adapted to celiac patients and seems no more digestible than durum wheat with in vitro experiments. • Einkorn, considered a minor cereal, is of major economic interest.Abstract: A participatory living-lab, implemented in Occitania region (south of France), is clustering farmers, processors, chefs, researchers, teachers, students and citizens, interested by einkorn (Triticum monococcum subsp. monococcum). During meetings, field days, open laboratories days, farms or mills visits, several assertions were collected and the ten most commonly cited were selected. For each assertion, experiments were set up and the results were compared with the scientific literature in order to discuss, confirm or refute them. We concluded by right or false for each assertion: “French farmers grow very few varieties of einkorn”: right, “There is no genetic diversity in the einkorn species”: false, “Yield is the only trait farmers are interested in”: false, “The einkorn is only adapted to very specific environmental conditions”: false, ““IGP haute Provence” is the best adapted to our Living Lab cropping conditions”: false, “Einkorn is not adapted to agroforestry”: right, with the current varieties, “Einkorn is of great benefit to celiac patients”: false, “Einkorn is more digestible than durum wheat”: false, ““IGP Haute Provence” is the variety of einkorn that makes the best pasta”: false, “Einkorn is less profitable than wheat because of its low yield”: false . The participatory einkorn breeding program being implemented will allow to meet the constraints and requirements of all stakeholders

Moving beyond metrics: Capturing the clinical context behind antibiotic prescriptions in French broiler production

International audienceSignificant reductions in antimicrobial use (AMU) in food production animals have been observed over the last10 years across Europe. We sought to understand recent changes in AMU by characterising antibiotic prescribingpatterns in poultry production in the context of associated clinical information. We analysed trends in AMU forconventional broiler chicken production in France based on a dataset of 193,526 sales for 33,831 flocks on 2120farms for 2015–2023, including 21,218 antibiotic prescriptions. We found the percentage of flocks prescribedantibiotics dropped from 65 % in 2013 to 20 % in 2023, plateauing in 2020–2023 (oscillating between 13 % and23 %), and observed a reduction in the use of critical antibiotics. A multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchicalclustering on principal components of 1112 antibiotic prescriptions and associated clinical data for2021–2022 produced 1940 prescription events, grouped in five clusters of antibiotic prescribing patterns, eachcharacterised by a combination of clinical indicators related to age at treatment, lesions, syndromes, diagnoses,and isolated bacteria. Two main clusters were associated with bacterial diagnoses, suggesting that use of antibioticsin these clusters was necessary to manage disease. Two clusters were identified as potential targets forfurther interventions to improve antimicrobial stewardship, focusing on underlying factors driving AMU ratherthan outright reductions. Our findings raise questions about the sustainability of further reductions in AMU andtheir implications for animal health and welfare. This calls for a shift to a more sustainable approach to monitoringantimicrobial stewardship, using integrated indicators which consider AMU within its broader context

Nanoporous alumina-silica nanolaminates grown by mixed thin films processes for selective environmental barrier layers on carbon surfaces

International audienc

Evaluating soil communities sensibility to forest structure through the use of eDNA metabarcoding and the Index of Biodiversity Potential

International audienceSince the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and Forests at Rio in 1992, sustainable forest management has included the obligation to preserve biodiversity. However, monitoring the impact on forest management on biodiversity remains difficult due to the complexity, cost and expertise required for taxonomic surveys. The Index of Biodiversity Potential (IBP) has been developed in 2008 to provide forest managers with a rapid habitat assessment tool and has proved to be a valuable tool to reflect above-ground diversity for many taxa. However, most forest diversity lives underground in soil, and the question remains as to whether such an indicator could also reflect changes in below-ground diversity. We sampled 86 forest plots in two distinct regions of South-west France to characterize soil communities through the metabarcoding of eDNA targeting the 18S barcode for eukaryotic taxa. We also assessed the IBP on each plot, as well as several physicochemical parameters. We examined the relationship between IBP —based on ten factors— and its components on the local diversity and composition of communities and compared the responses of distinct phyla within each region. Our results revealed contrasting correlations between the total IBP score, its factors and several phyla.Furthermore, results were different across the two regions studied, suggesting that correlations were partly context dependent. Our results show that structural features typical of mature stands—such as dead wood, habitat trees, and large-diameter trees—also influence the diversity of soil taxa, similarly to aboveground taxa.This supports the complementarity between eDNA metabarcoding and IBP evaluation to target key forest structural traits and their importance for soil biodiversity

Role of the amine monomer in polymer/metal interaction: application to the DGEBA-DETA-TA6V system

International audienc

Chemical hydrogen storage materials – boranes and silanes catalytic solvolysis and dehydrogenation: a mechanistic and regeneration perspective

International audienceHydrogen (H 2 ) has gained a lot of interest as an alternative energy vector, to reduce greenhouse gas emission issues caused by the fossil fuel industry. However, to make hydrogen a real energy carrier in a decarbonated economy, a secure and sustainable supply chain is needed. This approach requires notably safe storage and efficient strategies for recycling of raw materials. We discuss in this survey the state-of-the-art in the field of chemical hydrogen storage (CHS) materials, considering two possible vectors: ammonia borane and hydrosilanes. Regardless of the vector, to achieve real use, it is necessary to understand both the performance of the system and its life cycle, which relates to catalysts structure, and the activation of chemical bonds with efficient and complete catalytic cycles. We give herein an overview of hydrolysis and/or alcoholysis from metals, using coordination complexes, molecular supported catalysts or other materials, including nanocatalysts, with a focus on mechanistic information and understanding. Notably, the studies related to these two vectors can be considered somewhat complementary. Thus, the set of bibliographic report on ammonia borane is very documented in efficient catalytic systems, while its recycling remains at a very early stage. In comparison, hydrosilanes have been much less addressed specifically as a vector for hydrogen, while their reactivity at the molecular scale benefits from a relevant understanding from coordination chemistry studies. In addition, both hydrosilane polymerization and solvolysis reaction enables the release of H 2 , and produces by-products of which added value is already established. This opening the way to economical strategies where recycling can be optional. Nevertheless, the reversibility of hydrosilanes chemistry in H 2 uptake remains attractive and is another option to develop

Gas permeability of concrete under compressive creep during drying–wetting cycles

International audienceGas permeability is used as an indicator of concrete durability due to its strong correlation with material porosity. However, permeability is typically measured on unloaded specimens or under loading conditions that are not representative of actual structural applications. This experimental investigation aims to enhance the understanding of the impact of mechanical stress on the gas permeability and, by extension, concrete durability, under conditions approaching those of structural applications. For this purpose, a novel experimental setup was designed to measure radial gas flow through hollow concrete specimens under compressive creep loading. The setup was validated by comparing the measured gas permeabilities to those obtained using a Cembureau constant-head permeameter. The impact of two levels of compressive creep on the gas permeability of initially saturated concrete specimens was investigated over a 150-day drying period at 20 °C and 50 % relative humidity. Subsequently, the specimens were immersed in water until constant mass was reached and then dried a second time under identical hygro-mechanical conditions, in order to distinguish the effect of water saturation from that of hygro-mechanical cracking. The results show that sustained loading to 30 % of the concrete compressive strength has no significant impact on gas flow. However, loading concrete to 60 % of its compressive strength leads to a tenfold increase in measured gas permeability, compared to unloaded specimens. Monitoring the mass of the specimens revealed that the studied stress levels do not significantly impact drying kinetics. Therefore, the observed increase in gas permeability is attributed to hygro-mechanical damage

Sensitivity of thermal evapotranspiration models to surface and atmospheric drivers across ecosystems and aridity

International audienceEvapotranspiration (ET) lies at the core of the energy-water-carbon coupling, particularly under changing climate conditions. Yet, the sensitivity of ET models to key environmental drivers remains insufficiently understood, especially in understanding how thermal-based ET models respond to distinct influences of soil and atmospheric water stress across ecosystems. In this study, we examine the sensitivity of ET to key environmental drivers, including land surface temperature (LST), air temperature (TA), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), downward solar radiation (DSR), and fractional vegetation cover (FVC), using three representative thermal remote sensing (RS) models (STIC, TSEB, and SPARSE) together with global eddy covariance measurements.At the global scale, variance-based sensitivity analysis (Sobol' method) reveals a transition in the dominant driver of ET sensitivity from water-limited to energy-limited regimes: soil dryness (indicated by LST − TA) dominates ET variability up to an aridity index (ratio of precipitation to reference ET) of 0.54 (± 0.06), beyond which DSR becomes the primary driver. Seasonal variability and ET partitioning emphasize the critical role of soil dryness in driving soil evaporation variability, particularly during growing seasons. Furthermore, a water stress test is conducted across four representative sites with varying vegetation cover types. Results show that ET sensitivity to soil dryness nearly doubles during the drought period compared to climatological norms at the grassland site. In contrast, transpiration in forests is more strongly influenced by VPD under moderate drought stress. Analysis indicates that soil dryness generally exerts stronger control on ET than VPD. However, when vegetation cover exceeds 0.49, the influence of VPD anomalies on ET becomes comparable to soil dryness stress.This research advances our understanding of ET dynamics under increasing drought frequency and intensity. It highlights the potential of forthcoming high-resolution thermal-based RS ET products for early drought hazard warnings, climate-resilient decision-making, and sustainable agricultural water management