Surface Deposition and Phase Behavior of Oppositely Charged Polyion–Surfactant Ion Complexes. Delivery of Silicone Oil Emulsions to Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Surfaces

The adsorption from mixed polyelectrolyte-surfactant solutions at hydrophobized silica surfaces was investigated by in situ null-ellipsometry, and compared to similar measurements for hydrophilic silica surfaces. Three synthetic cationic copolymers of varying hydrophobicity and one cationic hydroxyethyl cellulose were compared in mixtures with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) in the absence or presence of a dilute silicone oil emulsion. The adsorption behavior was mapped while stepwise increasing the concentration of SDS to a polyelectrolyte solution of constant concentration. The effect on the deposition of dilution of the bulk solution in contact with the surface was also investigated by gradual replacement of the bulk solution with 1 mM aqueous NaCl. An adsorbed layer remained after complete exchange of the polyelectrolyte/surfactant solution for aqueous NaCl. In most cases, there was a codeposition of silicone oil droplets, if such droplets were present in the formulation before dilution. The overall features of the deposition were similar at hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces, but there were also notable differences. SDS molecules adsorbed selectively at the hydrophobized silica surface, but not at the hydrophilic silica, which influenced the coadsorption of the cationic polymers. The largest amount of deposited material after dilution was found for hydrophilic silica and for the least-hydrophobic cationic polymers. For the least-hydrophobic polyions, no significant codeposition of silicone oil was detected at hydrophobized silica after dilution if the initial SDS concentration was high

Inheritance of fruit quality traits in apricot progenies

International audienc

Inheritance of Fruit Quality Traits in Apricot Progenies.

The knowledge on the transmission of fruit quality traits has a great importance in order to optimize the inter-cultivar crosses design and to improve the efficiency of apricot breeding programmes. Four apricot progenies issued from different genetic origins were evaluated during two years; two apricot progenies cultivated in Avignon (France), one in Bologna (Italy), and other one in Murcia (Spain). Fruit quality characterization was based on physical measurements (fruit weight, colour, and firmness) and biochemical measurements (soluble solids content, and titratable acidity). Phenotypic datasets showed distribution of seedlings with regard to the parents, with a high variability for all analyzed quality parameters. An inter-annual variation was observed for the mean values of all the genotypes between the two years of the study, indicating the influence of the environmental conditions on fruit characteristics. Results indicated a quantitative inheritance of all quality traits in the apricot progenies indicating their polygenic nature. In general we observed in most cases a normal distribution of quality traits in the observed populations. However, in contrast to intermediate expected values between the parents, a large number of seedlings showed lower or higher values than their parents for many quality parameters. In this sense, results evidenced an extra genetic influence of the parents (the whole genetic background) on the transmission of fruit quality traits in apricot, which should be taken into consideration with intercultivar crosses design

Evaluating and mitigating the impact of a high-speed railway on connectivity: a case study with an amphibian species in France

International audienceThe aim of this study is to evaluate and mitigate the impact of a high-speed railway (HSR) line on functional connectivity for the European tree frog (Hyla arborea), an amphibian species highly sensitive to habitat fragmentation. The method consists of modeling its ecological network using graph theory before and after the implementation of the infrastructure and of evaluating changes in connectivity. This diachronic analysis helps visualize the potential impact of the HSR line and to identify areas likely to be most affected by the infrastructure

Nature-based solutions for climate adaptation in school environments:An interdisciplinary assessment framework

International audienc

Inheritance of phenological traits in apricot progenies

International audienceThe impact of global changes is becoming a serious concern at a world scale, and its influence could be rather large on perennial plant behaviour. Within fruit species, advances in blooming dates and floral disorders in relation to temperature increase during period of dormancy and bud burst have already been shown. Unfortunately among fruit species, apricot is expected to be one of the most susceptible in relation to the restricted adaptation of the local cultivars to narrow geographic areas. Thus, in order to overcome the negative trends and to safeguard apricot fruit production, the identification of the genetic components involved in blooming and maturity periods becomes of major interest. A global genetic analysis has been conducted on 4 apricot progenies issued from different genetic backgrounds; two progenies were cultivated in Avignon (Fr), one in Bologna (It), and one in Murcia (Sp). The four progenies were phenotyped for blooming and maturity dates at least for 2 years (except the Italian one evaluated only for the maturity date). The segregations have been examined and QTL analyses have been performed on the whole data set. The QTL stability across years has been analysed for the two traits. The influence of the genetic background has been discussed