Conductivimétrie électromagnétique et cartographie automatique des sols salés : une méthode rapide et fiable

La mesure de la conductivité électrique sur extrait de sol (CE) et la conductivité électromagnétique (CEM) sont comparées dans le but de réaliser des cartes de sols salés. Une méthode de cartographie basée sur la mesure de la CEM et l'emploi d'un logiciel de géostatistique est proposé

A synthetic biology approach for a vaccine platform against known and newly emerging serotypes of bluetongue virus

Bluetongue is one of the major infectious diseases of ruminants and is caused by Bluetongue virus (BTV), an arbovirus existing in nature in at least 26 distinct serotypes. Here, we describe the development of a vaccine platform for BTV. The advent of synthetic biology approaches and the development of reverse genetics systems, has allowed the rapid and reliable design and production of pathogen genomes which can be subsequently manipulated for vaccine production. We describe BTV vaccines based on “synthetic” viruses in which the outer core proteins of different BTV serotypes are incorporated into a common tissue-culture adapted backbone. As a means of validation for this approach, we selected two BTV-8 synthetic reassortants and demonstrated their ability to protect sheep against virulent BTV-8 challenge. In addition, to further highlight the possibilities of genome manipulation for vaccine production, we also designed and rescued a synthetic BTV chimera containing a VP2 protein including regions derived from both BTV-1 and BTV-8. Interestingly, while the parental viruses were neutralized only by homologous antisera, the chimeric proteins could be neutralized by both BTV-1 and BTV-8 antisera. These data suggest that neutralizing epitopes are present in different areas of the BTV VP2 and likely “bivalent” strains eliciting neutralizing antibodies for multiple strains can be obtained

Simulation architecture definition for complex systems design: A tooled methodology

International audienceFor the design of complex systems like in the automotive industry, the use of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is being considered as a promising solution in order to formalize and communicate information. Numerical simulation is also routinely used as a tool to answer potential design questions that arise. However the link between MBSE and simulation still needs further improvement. In this work, a tooled methodology is proposed in order to enhance the link between system architecture and numerical simulation. In a first step, a solicitation package is formalized and implemented in a SysML-based tool to define the simulation needs. In a second step, a tool that allows to define the simulation architecture and to pilot the execution of the simulation is developed. We show that thanks to the proposed process and exchange format between the system and simulation architects, model reuse and agility is improved in a complex systems design

Modelling waving crops using large-eddy simulation: Comparison with experiments and a linear stability analysis

International audienceIn order to investigate the possibility of modelling plant motion at the landscape scale, an equation for crop plant motion, forced by an instantaneous velocity field, is introduced in a large-eddy simulation (LES) airflow model, previously validated over homogeneous and heterogeneous canopies. The canopy is simply represented as a poroelastic continuous medium, which is similar in its discrete form to an infinite row of identical oscillating stems. Only one linear mode of plant vibration is considered. Two-way coupling between plant motion and the wind flow is insured through the drag force term. The coupled model is validated on the basis of a comparison with measured movements of an alfalfa crop canopy. It is also compared with the outputs of a linear stability analysis. The model is shown to reproduce the well-known phenomenon of honami which is typical of wave-like crop motions on windy days. The wavelength of the main coherent waving patches, extracted using a bi-orthogonal decomposition (BOD) of the crop velocity fields, is in agreement with that deduced from video recordings. The main spatial and temporal characteristics of these waving patches exhibit the same variation with mean wind velocity as that observed with the measurements. However they differ from the coherent eddy structures of the wind flow at canopy top, so that coherent waving patches cannot be seen as direct signatures of coherent eddy structures. Finally, it is shown that the impact of crop motion on the wind dynamics is negligible for current wind speed values. No lock-in mechanism of coherent eddy structures on plant motion is observed, in contradiction with the linear stability analysis. This discrepancy may be attributed to the presence of a nonlinear saturation mechanism in LES. © 2010 Cambridge University Press

Origin and evolution of the Notch signalling pathway: an overview from eukaryotic genomes

Background. Of the 20 or so signal transduction pathways that orchestrate cell-cell interactions in metazoans, seven are involved during development. One of these is the Notch signalling pathway which regulates cellular identity, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis via the developmental processes of lateral inhibition and boundary induction. In light of this essential role played in metazoan development, we surveyed a wide range of eukaryotic genomes to determine the origin and evolution of the components and auxiliary factors that compose and modulate this pathway. Results. We searched for 22 components of the Notch pathway in 35 different species that represent 8 major clades of eukaryotes, performed phylogenetic analyses and compared the domain compositions of the two fundamental molecules: the receptor Notch and its ligands Delta/Jagged. We confirm that a Notch pathway, with true receptors and ligands is specific to the Metazoa. This study also sheds light on the deep ancestry of a number of genes involved in this pathway, while other members are revealed to have a more recent origin. The origin of several components can be accounted for by the shuffling of pre-existing protein domains, or via lateral gene transfer. In addition, certain domains have appeared de novo more recently, and can be considered metazoan synapomorphies. Conclusion. The Notch signalling pathway emerged in Metazoa via a diversity of molecular mechanisms, incorporating both novel and ancient protein domains during eukaryote evolution. Thus, a functional Notch signalling pathway was probably present in Urmetazoa