The soil effects on the grapevine root system in several vineyards of the Loire valley (France)

The effects of different soil types on grapevine root distribution are presented and discussed for Loire Valley (France) conditions. Field studies with Cabernet franc/SO 4 root-stock vines showed four main rooting patterns in different soil types. A statistical analysis was used to determine the influence of several physical soil factors on root distribution. The soil water supply appears to have a beneficial effect on the root system. Conversely the penetrometer soil strength, bulk density and hydromorphic conditions are unfavourable for root developmen

Study of the efflux velocity induced by two propellers

Present analysis is related with seabed erosion caused during docking and undocking maneuvering. Twin propellers without rudder were studied using a physical model with a fixed clearance distance and three different rotating velocities. Experimental results were compared to theoretical expressions of the efflux velocity, axial velocity and finally maximum bed velocity. Efflux velocity equations overestimate the experimental results, whereas axial velocity computed using the Dutch method fits reasonably well the experimental data. However, when maximum bed velocity expressions are compared to experimental results, German method behaves better with an over estimation if a quadratic superposition of the single jets is used.Postprint (published version

Global regulatory architecture of human, mouse and rat tissue transcriptomes

Background Predicting molecular responses in human by extrapolating results from model organisms requires a precise understanding of the architecture and regulation of biological mechanisms across species. Results Here, we present a large-scale comparative analysis of organ and tissue transcriptomes involving the three mammalian species human, mouse and rat. To this end, we created a unique, highly standardized compendium of tissue expression. Representative tissue specific datasets were aggregated from more than 33,900 Affymetrix expression microarrays. For each organism, we created two expression datasets covering over 55 distinct tissue types with curated data from two independent microarray platforms. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the tissue-specific architecture of transcriptomes is highly conserved between human, mouse and rat. Moreover, tissues with related biological function clustered tightly together, even if the underlying data originated from different labs and experimental settings. Overall, the expression variance caused by tissue type was approximately 10 times higher than the variance caused by perturbations or diseases, except for a subset of cancers and chemicals. Pairs of gene orthologs exhibited higher expression correlation between mouse and rat than with human. Finally, we show evidence that tissue expression profiles, if combined with sequence similarity, can improve the correct assignment of functionally related homologs across species. Conclusion The results demonstrate that tissue-specific regulation is the main determinant of transcriptome composition and is highly conserved across mammalian species

Outflows from young objects observed with the ISO-LWS I. Fine structure lines [O I] 63, [O I]145 and [C II]157 micron

Far infrared fine structure line data from the ISO archive have been extracted for several hundred YSOs and their outflows, including molecular (CO) outflows, optical jets and Herbig-Haro (HH) objects. Given the importance of these lines to astrophysics, their excitation and transfer ought to be investigated in detail and, at this stage, the reliability of the diagnostic power of the fine structure transitions of O I and C II has been examined. Several issues, such as the extremely small intensity ratios of the oxygen 63 micron to 145 micron lines, are still awaiting an explanation. It is demonstrated that, in interstellar cloud conditions, the 145 micron line is prone to masing, but that this effect is likely an insufficient cause of the line ratio anomaly observed from cold dark clouds. Very optically thick emission could in principle also account for this, but would need similar, prohibitively high column densities and must therefore be abondoned as a viable explanation. One is left with [O I] 63 micron self absorption by cold and tenuous foreground gas, as has been advocated for distant luminous sources. Recent observations with the submillimeter observatory Odin support this scenario also in the case of nearby dark molecular clouds. On the basis of this large statistical material we are led to conclude that in star forming regions, the [O I] and [C II] lines generally have only limited diagnostic value.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures (in color), to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic

The deep-sea hub of the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope, currently under construction at 2500 m depth off the French Mediterranean coast, will contain 12 detection lines, powered and read out through a deep-sea junction box (JB) hub. Electrical energy from the shore station is distributed through a transformer with multiple secondary windings and a plugboard with 16 deep sea-mateable electro-optic connectors. Connections are made to the JB outputs using manned or remotely operated submersible vehicles. The triply redundant power management and slow control system is based on two identical AC-powered systems, communicating with the shore through 160 Mb/s fibre G-links and a third battery-powered system using a slower link. We describe the power and slow control systems of the underwater hub

First light of the VLT planet finder SPHERE. I. Detection and characterization of the sub-stellar companion GJ 758 B

GJ758 B is a brown dwarf companion to a nearby (15.76 pc) solar-type, metal-rich (M/H = +0.2 dex) main-sequence star (G9V) that was discovered with Subaru/HiCIAO in 2009. From previous studies, it has drawn attention as being the coldest (~600K) companion ever directly imaged around a neighboring star. We present new high-contrast data obtained during the commissioning of the SPHERE instrument at the VLT. The data was obtained in Y-, J-, H-, and Ks-bands with the dual-band imaging (DBI) mode of IRDIS, providing a broad coverage of the full near-infrared (near-IR) range at higher contrast and better spectral sampling than previously reported. In this new set of high-quality data, we report the re-detection of the companion, as well as the first detection of a new candidate closer-in to the star. We use the new 8 photometric points for an extended comparison of GJ758 B with empirical objects and 4 families of atmospheric models. From comparison to empirical object, we estimate a T8 spectral type, but none of the comparison object can accurately represent the observed near-IR fluxes of GJ758 B. From comparison to atmospheric models, we attribute a Teff = 600K $\pm$ 100K, but we find that no atmospheric model can adequately fit all the fluxes of GJ758 B. The photometry of the new candidate companion is broadly consistent with L-type objects, but a second epoch with improved photometry is necessary to clarify its status. The new astrometry of GJ758 B shows a significant proper motion since the last epoch. We use this result to improve the determination of the orbital characteristics using two fitting approaches, Least-Square Monte Carlo and Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Finally, we analyze the sensitivity of our data to additional closer-in companions and reject the possibility of other massive brown dwarf companions down to 4-5 AU. [abridged]Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Grand Challenges: Improving HIV Treatment Outcomes by Integrating Interventions for Co-Morbid Mental Illness.

In the fourth article of a five-part series providing a global perspective on integrating mental health, Sylvia Kaaya and colleagues discuss the importance of integrating mental health interventions into HIV prevention and treatment platforms. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

The gas temperature in flaring disks around pre-main sequence stars

A model is presented which calculates the gas temperature and chemistry in the surface layers of flaring circumstellar disks using a code developed for photon-dominated regions. Special attention is given to the influence of dust settling. It is found that the gas temperature exceeds the dust temperature by up to several hundreds of Kelvins in the part of the disk that is optically thin to ultraviolet radiation, indicating that the common assumption that Tgas=Tdust is not valid throughout the disk. In the optically thick part, gas and dust are strongly coupled and the gas temperature equals the dust temperature. Dust settling has little effect on the chemistry in the disk, but increases the amount of hot gas deeper in the disk. The effects of the higher gas temperature on several emission lines arising in the surface layer are examined. The higher gas temperatures increase the intensities of molecular and fine-structure lines by up to an order of magnitude, and can also have an important effect on the line shapes.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&