Accounting for traffic dynamics improves noise assessment: Experimental evidence

This paper compares three traffic representations for urban traffic noise assessment: (i) a coarse static calculation based on mean speeds and flow rates, (ii) a refined static calculation based on mean kinematics patterns, (iii) a whole dynamic noise estimation model that considers vehicle propagation on the network. The three methodologies are applied on real traffic situations and compared to on-field noise levels. Representation (i) is not refined enough to guarantee a precise noise assessment. Representation (ii) can be sufficient for L-Aeq estimation in most of cases. However, representation (iii) improves noise estimation since it considers vehicle interactions on the network. Moreover, it allows for specific descriptors to be estimated with a great accuracy, like the L-Aeq,L-1s distributions or the mean noise pattern that reproduces every traffic cycle. Finally, the dynamic noise estimation appears to be still consistent if the model is fed with data averaged on 2-h period. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

USP7/Maged1-mediated H2A monoubiquitination in the paraventricular thalamus : an epigenetic mechanism involved in cocaine use disorder

Altres ajuts: JC is a research fellow of FRS-FNRS and Fonds Erasme. LB is a Ramon y Cajal fellow (CBMSO). AKE is a research director of the FRS-FNRS and a WELBIO investigator. Funding was provided by FRS-FNRS grants 23587797, 33659288, 33659296 (A.K.E.), WELBIO grant 30256053 (A.K.E.), Fondation Simone et Pierre Clerdent 2018 Prize (A.K.E.), Fondation ULB (A.K.E.), Fondation Cigrang (A.K.E.), Dotation Jeune Chercheur INSERM (L.B.), AFM stratégique 2 MyoNeurAlp (L.B.), Agence Nationale pour la Recherche grant ANR- 21-CE11-0013 (S.B.), EMBL Interdisciplinary Postdocs (EIPOD4) initiative co-funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie (grant 847543) (T.C.), Mission Inter-Ministérielle de Lutte Contre la Drogue et la Toxicomanie grant ASE07082KSA (F.V.), Direction de la Recherche Clinique et du Développement de l'Assistance Publique − Hôpitaux de Paris grant OST07013 (F.V.), French Ministry of Health, Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique National AOM10165 (F.V.).The risk of developing drug addiction is strongly influenced by the epigenetic landscape and chromatin remodeling. While histone modifications such as methylation and acetylation have been studied in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens (NAc), the role of H2A monoubiquitination remains unknown. Our investigations, initially focused on the scaffold protein melanoma-associated antigen D1 (Maged1), reveal that H2A monoubiquitination in the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) significantly contributes to cocaine-adaptive behaviors and transcriptional repression induced by cocaine. Chronic cocaine use increases H2A monoubiquitination, regulated by Maged1 and its partner USP7. Accordingly, Maged1 specific inactivation in thalamic Vglut2 neurons, or USP7 inhibition, blocks cocaine-evoked H2A monoubiquitination and cocaine locomotor sensitization. Additionally, genetic variations in MAGED1 and USP7 are linked to altered susceptibility to cocaine addiction and cocaine-associated symptoms in humans. These findings unveil an epigenetic modification in a non-canonical reward pathway of the brain and a potent marker of epigenetic risk factors for drug addiction in humans. This study uncovers the role of epigenetic H2A monoubiquitination in the mouse brain's response to chronic cocaine use. It also identifies genetic variations in humans linked to H2A monoubiquitination, modifying susceptibility to cocaine addiction and aggression, and paving the way for tailored treatments

Repeatability and Reproducibility of In Situ Measurements of Sound Reflection and Airborne Sound Insulation Index of Noise Barriers

In Europe, in situ measurements of sound reflection and airborne sound insulation of noise barriers are usually done according to CEN/TS 1793-5. This method has been improved substantially during the EU funded QUIESST collaborative project. Within the same framework, an inter-laboratory test has been carried out to assess the repeatability and reproducibility of the newly developed method when applied to real-life samples, including the effect of outdoor weather variability and sample ageing. This article presents the statistical analysis of the inter-laboratory test results, and the values of the repeatability and the reproducibility, both in one-third octave bands and for the single-number ratings. The estimated reproducibility values can be used as the extended measure of uncertainty at the 95% credibility level in compliance with the ISO GUM. The repeatability and reproducibility values associated with airborne sound insulation are also compared with the corresponding values for laboratory measurements in building acoustics and an acceptable agreement is found

Breakdown mechanism of AlGaN/GaN HEMT on 200-mm silicon substrate with silicon implant-assisted contacts

International audienceWe present an access technology suitable for scaled gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) in Ka -band. The comparison between OFF-state characteristics of a silicon implant-assisted contact and a conventional recessed Ti/Al-based Ohmic contact is presented. The transistor with source/drain extension by Si implantation has a low contact resistance with RC down to 0.4 Ω⋅mm and a sheet resistance of the implanted layer of 67 Ω /sq. In addition to promising contact performance, transistors with source and drain extension sustain high breakdown voltage (BV) with short dimensions for high-frequency applications. The systematic study of gate–source, gate–drain, and gate length variations shows a new breakdown mechanism for implanted access technology with current flowing beneath the channel leading to an unusual correlation between source–drain spacing and BV. With a conventional titanium-alloyed contact, a punchthrough effect is responsible for the BV. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) characterizations on both wafers highlight a degradation of the AlGaN-based back-barrier and a high silicon concentration deep into the epitaxial stack on the implanted wafers indicating a way to improve BV with an adapted process flow

Outdoor sound propagation reference model developed in the European Harmonoise project

The paper describes the determination of vertical profiles of the effective sound speed from meteorological measurements at only one height above ground. The vertical profiles are needed for the prediction of long-term sound levels under the consideration of atmospheric refraction. The study is based on the results of field campaigns which were performed during the European project HARMONOISE. In a first step different theoretical-empirical approaches were tested to derive vertical effective sound speed profiles from measured turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat. The results of the profile generation were compared with sound speed profiles derived from profile measurements at a meteorological tower. It was found that a two-parameter logarithmic-linear approach is sufficiently accurate to generate vertical sound speed profiles. In a second step profiles generated on the basis of local flux measurements were compared with those based on conventional data of a nearby routine weather station. If local measurements are not available the representativeness of nearby weather stations has to be carefully checked, above all in topographically structured terrain