Validation of a forage production index (FPI) derived from MODIS fcover time-series using high-resolution satellite imagery: methodology, results and opportunities

An index-based insurance solution was developed to estimate and monitor near real-time forage production using the indicator Forage Production Index (FPI) as a surrogate of the grassland production. The FPI corresponds to the integral of the fraction of green vegetation cover derived from moderate spatial resolution time series images and was calculated at the 6 km x 6 km scale. An upscaled approach based on direct validation was used that compared FPI with field-collected biomass data and high spatial resolution (HR) time series images. The experimental site was located in the Lot and Aveyron departments of southwestern France. Data collected included biomass ground measurements from grassland plots at 28 farms for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 and HR images covering the Lot department in 2013 (n = 26) and 2014 (n = 22). Direct comparison with ground-measured yield led to good accuracy (R-2 = 0.71 and RMSE = 14.5%). With indirect comparison, the relationship was still strong (R-2 ranging from 0.78 to 0.93) and informative. These results highlight the effect of disaggregation, the grassland sampling rate, and irregularity of image acquisition in the HR time series. In advance of Sentinel-2, this study provides valuable information on the strengths and weaknesses of a potential index-based insurance product from HR time series images

Comparative analysis of fatty acids, tocopherols and phytosterols content in sunflower cultivars (Helianthus annuus) from a three-year multi-local study

Sunflower oil is naturally rich in both unsaturated fatty acids and numerous minor components, with high levels of &-tocopherol and phytosterols that could play an important role in plant protection. These micronutriments, tocopherols and phytosterols, also exhibit health benefits for humans including reducing both cardiovascular diseases and aging disorders. &−Tocopherol represents more than 95% of total sunflower tocopherol and has the greatest vitaminic activity. Furthermore, this oil contains high amounts of β-sitosterol which is a promising health beneficial phytosterol. The objective of this study was to compare the content and composition of fatty acids, tocopherols and phytosterols in sunflower oil between different cultivars and locations in a three-year experiment, and to estimate the relationships between these minor components, fatty acids and climatic conditions. Results revealed that content and composition of these molecules are mainly determined by plant genotype. Nevertheless, the environmental conditions seemed to strongly influence the tocopherol content. The results suggest possible improvement in sunflower breeding for minor components

E-Biothon: an experimental platform for BioInformatics

International audienceThe E-Biothon platform is an experimental Cloud platform to help speed up and advance research in biology, health and environment. It is based on a Blue Gene/P system and a web portal that allow members of the bioinformatics community to easily launch their scientific applications. We describe in this paper the technical capacities of the platform, the different applications supported and finally a set of user experiences on the platform

Physicochemical characterization and study of molar mass of industrial gelatins by AsFlFFF-UV/MALS and chemometric approach

Industrial gelatins have different physicochemical properties that mainly depend of the raw materials origin and the extraction conditions. These properties are closely related to the molar mass distribution of these gelatins. Several methods exist to characterize molar mass distribution of polymer, including the Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation method. The goal of this study is to analyze the relationship between physicochemical properties and the gelatins molar mass distribution obtained by Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation. In this study, 49 gelatins samples extracted from pig skin are characterized in terms of gel strength and viscosity and their molar mass distribution are analyzed by Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation coupled to an Ultraviolet and Multi Angle Light Scattering detector. This analytical method is an interesting tool for studying, simultaneously, the primary chains and the high-molar-mass fraction corresponding to the polymer chains. Correlation analysis between molar mass distribution data from the different fractions highlights the importance of high molar mass polymer chains to explain the gel strength and viscosity of gelatins. These results are confirmed by an additional chemometric approach based on the UV absorbance of gelatin fractograms to predict gel strength (r2Cal = 0.85) and viscosity (r2Cal = 0.79)

Antioxidant Capacity of Cotyledons and Germs of Soybeanb in Relation to Their Isoflavone Content

Svrha je ovog istraživanja bila proučiti odnos antioksidativnog kapaciteta i udjela izoflavona u ekstraktu soje s obzirom na geografsko podrijetlo i kultivar. Uzorci soje uzeti su iz dva dijela zrna soje, klice i kotiledona, s dvaju zemljopisnih lokacija (L1 i L2) i iz dva kultivara (Queen i Imari), ukupno 8 različitih uzoraka. HPLC metoda potvrdila je veći udio izoflavona u klicama nego u kotiledonima, i to u uzorcima s lokacije L2 i u kultivaru Queen. Antioksidativni kapacitet uzoraka soje određen je dvjema metodama, uklanjanjem 2,2\u27- difenil-1-pikrilhidrazil radikala i određivanjem sposobnosti apsorpcije kisikovih radikala. Rezultati obiju metoda pokazali su veću antioksidativnu aktivnost ekstrakta klice od ekstrakta kotiledona.The aim was to study the relationship between the antioxidant capacity and the isoflavone content of soybean extracts depending on both geographic origin and cultivar. Soybean samples were obtained from two soybean seed parts, germ and cotyledon, from two geographical locations (L1, L2) and two cultivars (Queen, Imari), which gave 8 different samples. HPLC determination confirmed higher isoflavone content in germs than in cotyledons, with higher contents in site L2, and in the Queen cultivar. The antioxidant capacity of soybean samples was determined with two methods, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging assay and the oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay. The results obtained with both assays showed differences in antioxidant capacity between germ and cotyledon extracts, with a higher antioxidant activity of germ extracts

E-Biothon : Une plate-forme pour accélérer les recherches en biologie, santé et environnement

National audienceE-Biothon : Une plate-forme pour accélérer les recherches en biologie, santé et environnemen

On the Preprocessing of Sparse Unassembled Linear Systems for Efficient Solution Using Element-by-element Preconditioners

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Les applications françaises face à l’exascale

La France prépare une réponse au prochain appel à manifestationd’intérêt (AMI) d’EuroHPC1 en vue d’héberger et opérer l’une desmachines européennes exaflopiques prévues en Europe à l’échéance de2024 au sein d’un consortium dont GENCI est la “Hosting Entity” et leTGCC au CEA le “ Hosting Site ”. Ce rapport présente une vision de l'étatactuel des applications des organismes impliqués dans le Projet ExascaleFrance et le dimensionnement des besoins techniques et humainsrelatifs à ces applications qui leur permettront de s’exécuter sur desmachines exaflopiques, afin de rester compétitif dans le paysagemondial du numérique et de mieux dimensionner la réponse française àl’AMI d’EuroHPC. Le SP3 propose quatre recommandations majeures,transverses à toutes les communautés de recherche concernées parl’exascale et un focus particulier sur les ressources humaines nécessairespour les applications recensées

Element-by-Element Preconditioners for Large Partially Separable Optimization Problems

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