An operational concept for correcting navigation drift during sonar surveys of the seafloor

The accumulation of navigation errors (drift) is a problem in many applications of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), particularly during long-duration underwater surveys. Traditional methods for correcting drift require either surfacing of the vehicle for a global navigation satellite systemupdate or use of an independent acoustic positioning system. These methods may not be desirable or possible due to mission constraints. We propose a solution to this problem completely underwater and without the aid of external navigation systems. The approach is based on an operational concept that uses a modified paired-track survey pattern combined with through-the-sensor navigation corrections from a seafloor imaging sonar. We describe the operational concept, derive a model for its performance limits, validate this model, and demonstrate the concept with real experiments at sea. Using this approach, we provide an opportunity to use either coherent or incoherent through-the-sensor positioning corrections for a mission length increase of only the product of the intratrack spacing and the number of track pairs. We show results from a proof-of-principle experiment using data collected by the 300-kHz synthetic aperture sonar of the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation’s Minehunting Unmanned underwater vehicle for Shallow water Covert Littoral Expeditions

On the Design of an Intelligent Sensor Network for Flash Flood Monitoring, Diagnosis and Management in Urban Areas

We propose an intelligent sensor system based on a new sensing methodology, relying also on 3D map reconstruction techniques, for computing with high precision, in real-time and without human intervention the parameters needed for stream-flow computation: water levels, morphology of the streams of all potentially flooded areas by each controlled stream. The collected data will be continuously transmitted, through a communication infrastructure, to software agents designed to compute the stream-flow and to quantify the spatial distribution of flood risk for each controlled watershed. The computed risks, together with other data coming from other sources (barometric sensors, camera operators of public organizations, emergency agencies, private citizens), will be analyzed by a diagnostic decision system implementing a risk-alert scheduling strategy. This system will be able to diagnose the health state of the controlled environment and to define specialized alarm levels for each potentially interested area that will be used to alert all citizens (ubiquity) locally present (alerting locality).© 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND licenseAncona, M.; Corradi, N.; Dellacasa, A.; Delzanno, G.; Dugelay, J.; Federici, B.; Gourbesville, P.... (2014). On the Design of an Intelligent Sensor Network for Flash Flood Monitoring, Diagnosis and Management in Urban Areas. Procedia Computer Science. 32:941-946. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2014.05.515S9419463

Yeasts and wine off-flavours: a technological perspective

Review article. Part of the special issue "Wine microbiology and safety: from the vineyard to the bottle (Microsafety Wine)", 19-20 Nov. 2009, ItalyIn wine production, yeasts have both beneficial and detrimental activities. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the yeast mainly responsible for turning grape juice into wine but this species and several others may also show undesirable effects in wines. Among such effects, technologists are particularly concerned with the production of offflavours that may occur during all stages of winemaking. Typical spoiling activities include the production of ethyl acetate by apiculate yeasts before fermentation, hydrogen sulphide by S. cerevisiae during fermentation phases, acetaldehyde by film-forming yeasts during bulk storage, and volatile phenols by Dekkera bruxellensis during storage or after bottling. The occurrence of these hazards depends on the technological operations designed to obtain a given type of wine and most can be avoided by current preventive or curative measures. On the contrary, good manufacturing practices must be strengthened to deal with the problem of volatile phenol production in red wines. Appropriate monitoring of D. bruxellensis populations and quantification of 4-ethylphenol is advised during storage, particularly when oak barrels are used, and absence of viable cells must be guaranteed in bottled wines. This work, which is based on our experience at winery level, aims to provide information on appropriate technological strategies to deal with the problem of off-flavours produced by yeasts

Field-based evidence of fast and global increase of Plasmodium falciparum drug-resistance by DNA-microarrays and PCR/RFLP in Niger

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Over the last years, significant progress has been made in the comprehension of the molecular mechanism of malaria resistance to drugs. Together with <it>in vivo </it>tests, the molecular monitoring is now part of the survey strategy of the <it>Plasmodium </it>sensitivity. Currently, DNA-microarray analysis allows the simultaneous study of many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of <it>Plasmodium </it>isolates. In December 2005, the International Federation of the Red Cross distributed two million three hundred thousand long-lasting insecticide nets to pregnant women and mothers of under five years children in the whole Niger. Then, Niger adopted artemisinin-based combination therapy as first-line treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty four SNPs of <it>pfcrt, pfdhfr, pfdhps, pfmdr </it>and <it>pfATPase </it>were analysed by DNA-microarray and PCR/RFLP in two villages – Zindarou and Banizoumbou – with different durations of malaria transmission. The main objective of the study was to measure the dynamics <it>of Plasmodium falciparum </it>resistant strains and associated factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study shows a global and clear increase of the drug-resistance associated molecular markers frequencies during a relatively short-time period of four years. Markers associated with resistance to chloroquine and sulphonamids were more frequently found in the short transmission zone than in the long transmission one. The <it>pfcrt76T </it>mutation is significantly more present at Banizoumbou than Zindarou (38.3% vs 25.2%, p = 0.013).</p> <p>This work allowed the screening of several field strains for five SNPs of <it>PfATPase6 </it>gene. The <it>pfATPase6S769N</it>, candidate mutation of resistance to artemisinin was not found. However the <it>pfATPsaeA623E </it>mutation was found in 4.7% of samples.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A significant increase of several SNPs frequencies was highlighted over a four-year period. The polymorphism of five <it>PfATPase6 </it>gene SNPs was described. The global, large and fast increase of the molecular resistance is discussed in the context of current changes of health policy and malaria control in Niger.</p

Impact of volatile phenols and their precursors on wine quality and control measures of Brettanomyces/Dekkera yeasts

Volatile phenols are aromatic compounds and one of the key molecules responsible for olfactory defects in wine. The yeast genus Brettanomyces is the only major microorganism that has the ability to covert hydroxycinnamic acids into important levels of these compounds, especially 4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol, in red wine. When 4-ethylphenols reach concentrations greater than the sensory threshold, all wine’s organoleptic characteristics might be influenced or damaged. The aim of this literature review is to provide a better understanding of the physicochemical, biochemical, and metabolic factors that are related to the levels of p-coumaric acid and volatile phenols in wine. Then, this work summarizes the different methods used for controlling the presence of Brettanomyces in wine and the production of ethylphenols

UNC45A deficiency causes microvillus inclusion disease–like phenotype by impairing myosin VB–dependent apical trafficking

International audienceVariants in the UNC45A cochaperone have been recently associated with a syndrome combining diarrhea, cholestasis, deafness, and bone fragility. Yet the mechanism underlying intestinal failure in UNC45A deficiency remains unclear. Here, biallelic variants in UNC45A were identified by next-generation sequencing in 6 patients with congenital diarrhea. Corroborating in silico prediction, variants either abolished UNC45A expression or altered protein conformation. Myosin VB was identified by mass spectrometry as client of the UNC45A chaperone and was found misfolded in UNC45A(KO) Caco-2 cells. In keeping with impaired myosin VB function, UNC45A(KO) Caco-2 cells showed abnormal epithelial morphogenesis that was restored by full-length UNC45A, but not by mutant alleles. Patients and UNC45A(KO) 3D organoids displayed altered luminal development and microvillus inclusions, while 2D cultures revealed Rab11 and apical transporter mislocalization as well as sparse and disorganized microvilli. All those features resembled the subcellular abnormalities observed in duodenal biopsies from patients with microvillus inclusion disease. Finally, microvillus inclusions and shortened microvilli were evidenced in enterocytes from unc45a-deficient zebrafish. Taken together, our results provide evidence that UNC45A plays an essential role in epithelial morphogenesis through its cochaperone function of myosin VB and that UNC45A loss causes a variant of microvillus inclusion disease

Les déboisements et les reboisements dans les Alpes-Maritimes

Dugelay A. Les déboisements et les reboisements dans les Alpes-Maritimes. In: Revue de géographie alpine, tome 31, n°1, 1943. pp. 87-118

FEMALE FACIAL AESTHETICS BASED ON SOFT BIOMETRICS AND PHOTO-QUALITY

ABSTRACT In this work we study the connection between subjective evaluation of facial aesthetics and selected objective parameters based on photo-quality and facial soft biometrics. The approach is novel in that it jointly considers both previous results on photo quality and beauty assessment, as well as it incorporates non-permanent facial characteristics and expressions in the context of female facial aesthetics. This study helps us understand the role of this specific set of features in affecting the way humans perceive facial images. Based on the above objective parameters, we further construct a simple linear metric that hints modifiable parameters for aesthetics enhancement, as well as tunes soft biometric systems that would seek to predict the way humans perceive facial aesthetics. Index Terms-Facial aesthetics, facial beauty, soft biometrics, image quality assessment