Evaluation ex ante de la prévision saisonnière climatique en petit paysannat burkinabé

La production agricole de l'Afrique sub-saharienne essentiellement pluviale est particulièrement vulnérable à la variabilité climatique. A l'échelle des exploitations, cette variabilité a un impact direct sur la production primaire, sur le revenu et la sécurité alimentaire de la famille. Dans cette étude, nous évaluons l'intérêt économique de mettre la prévision de la pluviométrie d'hivernage à la disposition des producteurs. Cette étude a été menée dans la zone de Dano au sud-ouest du Burkina Faso. Elle repose sur l'utilisation d'un modèle de programmation linéaire qui maximise le revenu en optimisant l'allocation des terres, du travail et des intrants entre plusieurs types de cultures, les rendements variant selon le type de sol, d'itinéraire technique et d'hivernage. Quatre scénarios ont été analysés : un scénario témoin où le paysan n'a pas accès aux prévisions, un scénario où les producteurs ont accès à une prévision d'hivernage sec, un autre où ils ont accès à une prévision d'hivernage normal et un dernier où ils ont accès à une prévision d'hivernage humide. Les résultats des simulations montrent que c'est une prévision d'hivernage sec qui présente le plus d'intérêt mais c'est aussi celui où l'erreur de prévision serait la plus coûteuse. Globalement le gain de revenu de la prévision est relativement peu élevé, mais le coût d'une erreur de prévision pose le problème des responsabilités et des compensations. Ces résultats relativisent l'intérêt des prévisions saisonnières pour la réduction de la vulnérabilité des populations des pays sahéliens. (Résumé d'auteur

Dynamics Of Internode And Stem Elongation In Three Cultivars Of Maize

The kinetics of elongation of individual internodes, the peduncle and panicle of maize were studied in field experiments in Gatton (Australia) using two tropical cultivars, and compared to similar data previously collected in Grignon (France) on a temperate cultivar. Data for phytomer initiation and organ extension and appearance were related to thermal time calculated from the temperature in the growing zone. Extension of internodes was analysed using a four stage framework:- an initial exponential stage, transition to rapid extension, rapid (linear) extension and transition to final length. The kinetics of internode extension were similar in Gatton and Grignon, though the rates of processes differed. Transition from stage 1 to stage 2 coincided with collar emergence. The commencement of rapid extension of the peduncle coincided with a transient reduction in the rates of extension of vegetative internodes. Further work is needed to assess whether they are effects of genotype only, or genotype and environment

Estimation of Wheat Plant Density at Early Stages Using High Resolution Imagery

Crop density is a key agronomical trait used to manage wheat crops and estimate yield. Visual counting of plants in the field is currently the most common method used. However, it is tedious and time consuming. The main objective of this work is to develop a machine vision based method to automate the density survey of wheat at early stages. RGB images taken with a high resolution RGB camera are classified to identify the green pixels corresponding to the plants. Crop rows are extracted and the connected components (objects) are identified. A neural network is then trained to estimate the number of plants in the objects using the object features. The method was evaluated over three experiments showing contrasted conditions with sowing densities ranging from 100 to 600 seeds.m(-2). Results demonstrate that the density is accurately estimated with an average relative error of 12%. The pipeline developed here provides an efficient and accurate estimate of wheat plant density at early stages

Assessment of Non-Linearity in Functional-Structural Plant Models

International audienceGlobal sensitivity analysis (SA) has known an increasing interest to assess the relative importance of parameters in ecological models [Cariboni et al., 2007] or crop models [Makowski et al., 2006]. Such methods have an important role to play in functional-structural plant growth modeling. The complexity of the underlying biological processes, especially the interaction between functioning and structure [Vos et al., 2009], usually makes parameterization a key step in modeling, and the analysis of model sensitivity to parameters provides useful information in this process. A side result of global SA is that it provides an indicator of the degree of non-linearity of the model by computing the level of interaction between parameters and how this interaction contributes to the variance of the output. Plants are known as complex systems with a strong level of interactions and compensations, and the aim of FSPMs is to describe and understand this complexity. As such, non-linearity is expected to play a key role in the study, since it reveals the interactions between parameters [Cariboni et al., 2007] [Saltelli, 2002]. The knowledge of the intrinsic non-linearity of the model and of its dynamic evolution throughout plant growth is very useful to study model behavior and properties, to underline the occurrence of particular biological phenomena or to improve the statistical analysis when confronting models to experimental data (e.g. statistical properties of estimators or numerical methods to compute the propagation of errors [Julier et al., 2000]). The objective of this paper is thus to explore the level of linearity of 3 FSPMs with different levels of complexity, and infer in each case what information can be drawn from this analysis. We first introduce the basic principles of Standard Regression Coefficients (SRC) method which is used for the analysis and gives a short overview of the different models addressed. We then analyze the results of the linearity study, particularly stressing on the emergence of non-linearity. We end by discussing the interest and potential extensions of this work

A generic model of interactions between FSPM, foliar pathogens and microclimate

International audienceA framework was defined to model the interactions between FSPM, foliar fungal pathogens and microclimate, with the concern of interoperability of the components and extensibility. The framework was applied on two existing models of pathosystems (powdery mildew on grapevine and septoria on wheat) to make them more modular and extensible. It will facilitate the design of new disease models on FSPMs

Parallel targeted and non-targeted quantitative analysis of steroids in human serum and peritoneal fluid by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry

We developed and validated a liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry method for the absolute quantification of 51 steroids for clinical analysis of human serum and, for the first time, peritoneal fluid. Data acquisition was performed in both targeted and untargeted mode simultaneously, thus allowing the accurate and precise quantification of the main components of the classical steroid pathways (17 steroids) as well as the analysis of 34 additional non-classical steroids. For targeted analysis, validation was performed according to FDA guidelines, resulting, among other parameters, in accuracy < 13% RSD and precision < 10% relative error, for both inter- and intra-day validation runs. By establishing steroid-specific response factors, the calibration curves of the targeted analytes can be extended to untargeted analytes. This approach opens novel possibilities for the post hoc analysis of clinical samples as the data can be examined for virtually any steroid even after data acquisition, enabling facile absolute quantification once a standard becomes available. We demonstrate the applicability of the approach to evaluate the differences in steroid content between peripheral serum and peritoneal fluid across the menstrual cycle phases, as well as the effect of the synthetic gestagen dienogest on the steroid metabolome. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00216-022-03881-3

Simulating rhizodeposition as a function of shoot and root interactions within a new 3D Functional-Structural Plant Model

Introduction - Rhizodeposition, i.e. the release of organic materials by roots, represents a significant portion of plant's carbon (C) budget, ranging from 5% to 15% of net photosynthesized C (Pausch and Kuzyakov, 2018). Various rhizodeposits can be released by roots, e.g. soluble exudates, secreted mucilage, sloughed cells, or volatile organic compounds. Despite their short lifetime, some of these products have been shown to favor plant growth, e.g. by increasing water and nutrient uptake. Among rhizodeposition processes, exudation has been suggested to depend on the concentration of carbohydrates inside the roots (Personeni et al., 2007). However, rhizodeposition not only depends on the availability of C in the roots, but also on the architecture of the root system, and many have shown that rhizodeposits are more concentrated in specific areas, such as root tips. Consequently, a Functional-Structural Plant Model (FSPM) would theoretically represent the best framework for simulating the spatial and temporal dynamics of rhizodeposition, as it can describe the evolution of both the metabolism and the architecture of the plant. The objective of this work is to create such a framework by coupling a whole-plant FSPM, a 3D root architectural model, and a new model simulating rhizodeposition. Modelling approach - Our strategy has been to combine the FSPM CN-Wheat (Barillot et al., 2016), which describes the main processes of C and nitrogen (N) acquisition and transformation by an individual wheat plant and the 3D growth and development of its aerial organs, with the model ArchiSimple (Pagès et al., 2014) that simulates the development of the 3D root architecture for a range of plant species, and the new model RhizoDep, which calculates a full C balance in each part of a root system in order to simulate local rhizodeposition fluxes. The complementarity of the three models is illustrated in Figure 1: i) CN-Wheat is used to calculate the amount of C allocated from the shoots to the roots, ii) ArchiSimple provides the 3D structure of the root system, and iii) RhizoDep distributes the C provided by the shoots within the 3D root system and simulates the actual growth, respiration and rhizodeposition of each root element based on C availability. The major link between the three models lies in the exchange of C between aboveground and belowground tissues, which is driven by gradients of sucrose concentration in the different compartments of the plant. Preliminary results & short-term perspectives - The coupling of the three models has been started using the OpenAlea platform and its Multiscale Tree Graph formalism (Pradal et al., 2008). First simulations were done using the allocation of C to the roots simulated by CN-Wheat as an input to the root model based on the effective coupling of ArchiSimple and RhizoDep. These simulations show how rhizodeposition is intrinsically dependent on the architecture of the root system and on the total amount of available C. For completing the coupling, several issues still need to be tackled, e.g. how N uptake and metabolism should be spatialized in a 3D root system, how it may be regulated by local C and N availability, and how rhizodeposition can modify soil N availability. However, this modelling approach has already led to a first prototype able to simulate rhizodeposition processes on a dynamic, 3D root system that is fully integrated within the functioning of the whole plant. Its refinement will offer unique opportunities to study the possible link between rhizodeposition and the environmental factors affecting plant growth, e.g. atmospheric CO2 concentration or soil N availability

Effectiveness of a specific care plan in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: cluster randomised trial (PLASA study)

Objective To test the effectiveness of a comprehensive specific care plan in decreasing the rate of functional decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease compared with usual care in memory clinics

Re-parametrisation of Adel-wheat allows reducing the experimental effort to simulate the 3D development of winter wheat

Eds. Risto Sievänen, Eero Nikinmaa, Christophe Godin, Anna Lintunen & Pekka NygrenA parameterisation of wheat architecture was developed, having high flexibility to simulate contrasted genotypes and growth conditions with a reasonably low number of parameters. Field measurements at 4-5 dates allowed to simulate crops from emergence to maturity with a good agreement between simulated and measured ground cover and GAI. Dynamics of leaf angles were shown to impact strongly ground cover

Caspase-10-Dependent Cell Death in Fas/CD95 Signalling Is Not Abrogated by Caspase Inhibitor zVAD-fmk

Upon CD95/Fas ligation, the initiator caspase-8 is known to activate effector caspases leading to apoptosis. In the presence of zVAD-fmk, a broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, Fas engagement can also trigger an alternative, non-apoptotic caspase-independent form of cell death, which is initiated by RIP1. Controversy exists as to the ability of caspase-10 to mediate cell death in response to FasL (CD95L or CD178). Herein, the role of caspase-10 in FasL-induced cell death has been re-evaluated