Probing Spin Wave Diffraction Patterns of Curved Antennas

We report on the dependence of curvilinear shaped coplanar waveguides on the near-field diffraction patterns of spin waves propagating in perpendicularly magnetized thin films. Implementing the propagating spin waves spectroscopy techniques on either concentrically or eccentrically shaped antennas, we show how the link budget is directly affected by the spin wave interference, in good agreement with near-field diffraction simulations. This work demonstrates the feasibility to inductively probe a magnon interference pattern with a resolution down to 1$\mu$m$^2$, and provides a methodology for shaping spin wave beams from an antenna design. This methodology is successfully implemented in the case study of a spin wave Young's interference experiment

Multisignal control of expression of the LHCX protein family in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Diatoms are phytoplanktonic organisms that grow successfully in the ocean where light conditions are highly variable. Studies of the molecular mechanisms of light acclimation in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum show that carotenoid de-epoxidation enzymes and LHCX1, a member of the light-harvesting protein family, both contribute to dissipate excess light energy through non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). In this study, we investigate the role of the other members of the LHCX family in diatom stress responses. Our analysis of available genomic data shows that the presence of multiple LHCX genes is a conserved feature of diatom species living in different ecological niches. Moreover, an analysis of the levels of four P. tricornutum LHCX transcripts in relation to protein expression and photosynthetic activity indicates that LHCXs are differentially regulated under different light intensities and nutrient starvation, mostly modulating NPQ capacity. We conclude that multiple abiotic stress signals converge to regulate the LHCX content of cells, providing a way to fine-tune light harvesting and photoprotection. Moreover, our data indicate that the expansion of the LHCX gene family reflects functional diversification of its members which could benefit cells responding to highly variable ocean environments

Long-term species, sexual and individual variations in foraging strategies of fur seals revealed by stable isotopes in whiskers

Background: Individual variations in the use of the species niche are an important component of diversity in trophic interactions. A challenge in testing consistency of individual foraging strategy is the repeated collection of information on the same individuals. Methodology/Principal Findings: The foraging strategies of sympatric fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella and A. tropicalis) were examined using the stable isotope signature of serially sampled whiskers. Most whiskers exhibited synchronous delta C-13 and delta N-15 oscillations that correspond to the seal annual movements over the long term (up to 8 years). delta C-13 and delta N-15 values were spread over large ranges, with differences between species, sexes and individuals. The main segregating mechanism operates at the spatial scale. Most seals favored foraging in subantarctic waters (where the Crozet Islands are located) where they fed on myctophids. However, A. gazella dispersed in the Antarctic Zone and A. tropicalis more in the subtropics. Gender differences in annual time budget shape the seal movements. Males that do not perform any parental care exhibited large isotopic oscillations reflecting broad annual migrations, while isotopic values of females confined to a limited foraging range during lactation exhibited smaller changes. Limited inter-individual isotopic variations occurred in female seals and in male A. tropicalis. In contrast, male A. gazella showed large inter-individual variations, with some males migrating repeatedly to high-Antarctic waters where they fed on krill, thus meaning that individual specialization occurred over years. Conclusions/Significance: Whisker isotopic signature yields unique long-term information on individual behaviour that integrates the spatial, trophic and temporal dimensions of the ecological niche. The method allows depicting the entire realized niche of the species, including some of its less well-known components such as age-, sex-, individual- and migration-related changes. It highlights intrapopulation heterogeneity in foraging strategies that could have important implications for likely demographic responses to environmental variability

A targeted next-generation sequencing assay for the molecular diagnosis of genetic disorders with orodental involvement.

BACKGROUND: Orodental diseases include several clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders that can present in isolation or as part of a genetic syndrome. Due to the vast number of genes implicated in these disorders, establishing a molecular diagnosis can be challenging. We aimed to develop a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay to diagnose mutations and potentially identify novel genes mutated in this group of disorders. METHODS: We designed an NGS gene panel that targets 585 known and candidate genes in orodental disease. We screened a cohort of 101 unrelated patients without a molecular diagnosis referred to the Reference Centre for Oro-Dental Manifestations of Rare Diseases, Strasbourg, France, for a variety of orodental disorders including isolated and syndromic amelogenesis imperfecta (AI), isolated and syndromic selective tooth agenesis (STHAG), isolated and syndromic dentinogenesis imperfecta, isolated dentin dysplasia, otodental dysplasia and primary failure of tooth eruption. RESULTS: We discovered 21 novel pathogenic variants and identified the causative mutation in 39 unrelated patients in known genes (overall diagnostic rate: 39%). Among the largest subcohorts of patients with isolated AI (50 unrelated patients) and isolated STHAG (21 unrelated patients), we had a definitive diagnosis in 14 (27%) and 15 cases (71%), respectively. Surprisingly, COL17A1 mutations accounted for the majority of autosomal-dominant AI cases. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed a novel targeted NGS assay for the efficient molecular diagnosis of a wide variety of orodental diseases. Furthermore, our panel will contribute to better understanding the contribution of these genes to orodental disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: NCT01746121 and NCT02397824.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't2016 Feb2015 10 26importe

Les tétraspanes LEPROT et LEPROTL1 (2 nouveaux régulateurs négatifs de la sensibilité cellulaire à l'hormone de croissance)

L'hormone de croissance ( growth hormone , GH) a une importance capitale dans la promotion de la croissance post-natale et a une action sur le métabolisme tout au long de la vie. La GH agit soit directement sur les tissus portant son récepteur (GHR) soit indirectement en stimulant la synthèse de l' insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1). Lors des périodes physio(patho)logiques associées à un stress nutritionnel, le foie devient insensible à la GH, entraînant une baisse de la synthèse hépatique de l'IGF1 et, par absence de rétrocontrôle, une hausse des taux circulant de GH. Dans ces conditions, la GH favoriserait la survie en d'adaptant le métabolisme vers une utilisation accrue des lipides. Les causes de la résistance hépatique à la GH impliquent une baisse de la quantité de GHR totale et à la surface cellulaire mais les mécanismes et les effecteurs cellulaires ne sont pas connus. LEPROT ( leptin receptor overlapping transcript ) et LEPROTL1 ( LEPROT-like 1 ) sont des petites protéines à quatre domaines transmembranaires présentes dans l'ensemble des espèces qui dérivent d'un ancêtre commun. Chez la levure, l'homologue des LEPROTs participe à l'adressage des protéines vers la vacuole. Chez les mammifères, bien que ces protéines soient exprimées dans de nombreux tissus, au début de ma thèse leurs fonctions et leurs partenaires étaient largement inconnus. Afin d'appréhender la fonction physiologique des LEPROTs, nous avons généré des souris transgéniques exprimant de façon ubiquiste LEPROT ou LEPROTL1 humain. Ces 2 lignées de souris présentent une réduction modeste de la croissance postnatale associée à une diminution du niveau de l'IGF1 plasmatique. De plus, la signalisation induite par la GH et la fixation de la GH à la membrane plasmique sont réduites dans le foie des souris transgéniques. De manière intéressante, ce phénotype est accentué chez les souris exprimant simultanément LEPROT et LEPROTL1 par rapport aux fondateurs simples transgéniques. Au niveau cellulaire, le niveau d'expression des LEPROTs contrôle la sensibilité à la GH car l'augmentation ou la réduction d'expression des LEPROTs dans différents lignées cellulaires entraînent respectivement une diminution ou une augmentation de la signalisation de la GH (phosphorylation de STAT5 et expression des gènes cibles). En outre, nous montrons dans les cellules COS que l'expression des LEPROTs réduit l'abondance totale et de surface du GHR. Enfin, l'augmentation de l'expression des transcrits des LEPROTs observée dans le foie des souris lors d'un jeûne ou d'un diabète de type 1 suggère une fonction physiologique des LEPROTs dans les conditions associées à la résistance hépatique à la GH. L'ensemble de ces données montre que LEPROT et LEPROTL1 sont des régulateurs négatifs du système GH/IGF1 chez les mammifères. Par des régulations d'expression et une action additive, ils participeraient à la modulation de la sensibilité à la GH, probablement en modulant la dégradation lysosomale de GHR. Leur implication au niveau du foie et dans d'autres tissus métaboliques, dans l'induction de la résistance à la GH associée à l'état nutritionnel, pourrait être cruciale dans l'adaptation métabolique de l'organisme à son environnement et dans le développement de certaines pathologies cardiovasculairesLILLE2-BU Santé-Recherche (593502101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Prise en charge des différentes pathologies bucco-dentaires à l'officine

Selon l'OMS, la santé bucco-dentaire désigne l'absence de douleur chronique buccale ou faciale, de cancer buccal ou pharyngé, de lésion buccale, d'anomalie congénitale telle que fissure labiale ou bec-de-lièvre, de parodontopathie, de carie et de déchaussement des dents, ainsi que d autres pathologies et troubles affectant la bouche et la cavité buccale . Face à la demande d'un patient au sein de l'officine, le conseil bucco-dentaire doit comporter différents étapes avec pour commencer un interrogatoire précis afin d'évaluer le type et le niveau de sa pathologie en aiguillant celui-ci le plus tôt possible chez son chirurgien-dentiste en cas d urgence. Dans un deuxième temps, le pharmacien conseillera les produits adaptés à cette pathologie si elle peut être prise en charge à l'officine avec une brosse à dents et un dentifrice les mieux adaptés à la pathologies du patient associés ou non si besoin à des soins complémentaires. Enfin, un rappel des règles hygiéno-diététiques est essentiel pour finaliser le conseil.GRENOBLE1-BU Médecine pharm. (385162101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Wind storm risk management: sensitivity of return period calculations and spread on the territory

Modeling and forecasting damage from wind storms is a major issue for insurance companies. In this article, we focus on the sensitivity of estimations of return periods for extreme events with respect to modeling assumptions and the type of input data. Numerous variables play a role: the quality of data concerning the location of insured buildings and weather report homogeneity, missing updates for correcting non-stationarities concerning the insurance portfolio history, ground roughness or climate change, the evolution of the model after an unprecedented event such as the Lothar storm observed in 1999 in Europe, temporal aggregation of daily events over several days, where events could span over several days up to one week, and storm trajectories, which could change due to global warming or sweep larger areas. Our work explores three important aspects. First, we highlight the geographic heterogeneity of the spatial distribution of wind speeds and the resulting damages. Therefore, we propose to partition the French territory into 6 relatively homogeneous storm zones, based on the dependence among observed wind speeds and geographic distance. Second, we extend a storm index—defined in Mornet et al. (Risk Anal 35:2029–2056, 2015)—to take into account geographic heterogeneity, and we analyze its tail behavior to show the difficulties met to obtain reliable results on extreme events. Third, we explore the calculation of Solvency Capital Requirements based on a model that we propose for the annual claim amount distribution. The purpose of our analysis is to quantify and to point out the high level of uncertainty in the computation of return periods and of other quantities strongly influenced by extreme events

Photosynthetic Light Reactions in Diatoms. II. The Dynamic Regulation of the Various Light Reactions

International audiencePhotosynthesis in diatoms is performed using the same basic modules as cyanobacteria and plants. It can be regulated on multiple levels depending on the environmental cues, allowing diatoms to adjust their photosynthetic light reaction towards optimum whilst at the same time minimizing photodamage induced by light. In recent years, tremendous progress has been gained in understanding these acclimation processes, revealing several diatom-specific features. In this chapter, we trace several paths through the photosynthetic electron transport chain to optimize photosynthesis. We review how diatoms repair photoinactivated reaction centers and which mechanisms they have to preempt photodamage. Finally, photoprotection is set in an ecophysiological context, highlighting differences in photoprotection of diatoms from different habitats

Photosynthetic Light Reactions in Diatoms. I. The Lipids and Light-Harvesting Complexes of the Thylakoid Membrane

International audienceLight harvesting and photochemistry is performed by photosystems coupled to specific antennae embedded in the thylakoid membrane, a common principle across diatoms, plants and green algae. Still, unique features of diatoms within this common principle have been unraveled in recent decades, likely resulting from the complex evolutionary history of diatoms. These unique features are found in (i) the lipid composition of the thylakoid membrane, ii) the spatial organization of the light harvesting complexes, and iii) their protein and pigment composition. This chapter summarizes current knowledge of these three specific features, with a focus on structural and functional properties