Dynamique de la pessière à mousses au nord du lac Saint-Jean (Québec)

Tableau d’honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2012-2013.L’objectif de comprendre la dynamique forestière des peuplements de la pessière à mousses au nord du lac Saint-Jean (Québec). L’intervalle des feux moyen a été mesuré dans des stations représentatives d’une chronoséquence forestière à l’aide de la datation 14C de charbons de bois des sols forestiers. La structure, la date d’établissement des peuplements et la composition botanique des charbons montrent que les forêts étudiées évoluent sous une dynamique de récurrence. Les espèces bien adaptées au feu colonisent les régions ou les feux sont fréquents, tandis que les espèces peu adaptées au feu sont confinées aux stations où les feux sont rares. L’analyse des datations et de la composition des charbons de bois à l’échelle régionale indique que les feux sont présents dans la région depuis au moins 8000 ans et que le régime des feux et la composition des peuplements est demeurée stable au cours des 5000 dernières années

Conception et mise en oeuvre d'un système de contrôle de la stabilité du gain pour le mutidétecteur Héracles

Le multidétecteur Héraclès est un assemblage de plusieurs détecteurs utilisés pour l'étude des collisions d'ions lourds. Plusieurs types de scintillateurs (BaF2 , Csl et scintillateurs plastiques (phoswich)) sont utilisés. La lumière émise par un scintillateur doit être recueillie par un photomultiplicateur pour être transformée en courant électrique et être amplifiée par un facteur pouvant aller jusqu'à 1000000. Les dernières expériences d'Héraclès ayant été grandement affectées par la variation du gain de ces dispositifs, il devenait impératif de développer un système permettant de contrôler la stabilité du gain des photomultiplicateurs. Plutôt que d'empêcher le gain des détecteurs de changer, il a été choisi de mesurer la variation de gain et de corriger les données a posteriori. Le système créé pour arriver à cette fin se sert d'un générateur d'impulsions électroniques qui alimente des diodes électroluminescentes. Le signal lumineux créé par les DEL est acheminé à l'aide de fibres optiques aux différents scintillateurs

Étude métabolomique du phénotype sécrétoire de la prostate saine à l'aide d'un modèle ex vivo d'organoïdes

La prostate est une glande du système reproducteur masculin ayant comme fonction la sécrétion de différents ions et molécules dans le liquide spermatique pour favoriser la fertilité masculine. Pour soutenir ces fonctions, les cellules épithéliales de prostate possèdent un métabolisme adapté. En effet, le zinc présent en grandes quantités dans les cellules épithéliales de prostate inhibe l'aconitase mitochondriale (ACO2) qui ne peut plus transformer le citrate en isocitrate, tronquant le cycle de Krebs de ces cellules. Le citrate ainsi produit et non utilisé par la cellule pour la production d'énergie est sécrété dans le liquide spermatique. En contexte tumoral, cette sécrétion de citrate par la prostate cesse par des mécanismes moléculaires encore largement inconnus. Afin de comprendre la reprogrammation du phénotype sécrétoire de la prostate dans ce contexte, il est nécessaire de comparer l'organe tumoral à l'organe sain, mais plusieurs incompréhensions demeurent quant au métabolisme de la prostate normale, à savoir comment ces cellules produisent de l'énergie avec un cycle de Krebs sévèrement tronqué, et quels nutriments sont utilisés par ces cellules pour soutenir une importante sécrétion de citrate. Par contre, aucun modèle actuellement disponible de prostate ne sécrète du citrate, complexifiant l'étude de ce phénotype sécrétoire. Le présent mémoire établit un protocole pour l'obtention d'organoïdes de prostate de souris, un nouveau modèle d'étude ex vivo reproduisant le phénotype sécrétoire de l'organe pour des études métabolomiques, en plus d'interroger les voies métaboliques qui alimentent leur synthèse de citrate. Nos résultats démontrent que plusieurs nutriments, par diverses voies métaboliques, permettent la synthèse de citrate dans les organoïdes obtenus, complexifiant les connaissances liées au métabolisme de la prostate saine. Une meilleure compréhension du métabolisme des organoïdes de prostate saine et tumorale pourrait offrir de nouvelles cibles de traitement au cancer de la prostate et à l'infertilité masculine.The prostate is a gland of the male reproductive system whose function is to secrete various ions and molecules in the spermatic fluid to promote male fertility. To support these functions, the prostate epithelial cells have a unique metabolism. Indeed, zinc present in large quantities in prostate epithelial cells inhibits mitochondrial aconitase (ACO2) which can no longer transform citrate into isocitrate, thus truncating the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) of these cells. The citrate produced and not used by the cells for energy production is secreted into the spermatic fluid. In the context of prostate cancer, this secretion of citrate by the prostate ceases by molecular mechanisms that remain largely unknown. In order to understand the reprogramming of the prostate secretory phenotype in this context, it is necessary to compare the tumor to the healthy organ, but several misunderstandings remain about the metabolism of the normal prostate, namely how these cells produce energy with a severely truncated TCA cycle, and which nutrients are used by these cells to support a substantial citrate secretion. A problem persists, no currently available model of the prostate reproduces this citrate secretion, complicating the study of this secretory phenotype. This master thesis establishes a protocol to obtain mouse prostate organoids, a novel ex vivo study model that reproduces the organ's secretory phenotype for metabolomic studies, in addition to examining the metabolic pathways that fuel the citrate synthesis of prostate epithelial cells. Our results demonstrate that several nutrients, through various metabolic pathways, enable citrate synthesis in our organoids, offering new insights about the metabolism of the healthy prostate. A better understanding of the metabolism of healthy and tumorous prostate organoids could offer new therapeutic targets for the treatment of prostate cancer and male infertility

Agronomic characteristics of the spring forms of the wheat landraces (einkorn, emmer, spelt, intermediate bread wheat) grown in organic farming

Organic farmers look to the possibilities of growing neglected crops, such as the spring forms of hulled wheat – einkorn, emmer and spelt – for support in developing the organic farming system. In 2008, 169 landraces from the gene bank at the Crop Research Institute in Prague were tested on certifi ed organic plots. The experiment was aimed at fi nding suitable varieties for the organic farming system. In summary, our fi ndings show that einkorn (Triticum monococcum L.) and emmer wheat [Triticum dicoccum Schrank (Schuebl)] are resistant to powdery mildew and brown rust, spelt wheat (Triticum spelta L.) is less resistant to these two diseases, and the intermediate forms of bread wheat are very sensitive to such infestation. The varieties evaluated incline to lodging, as they have long and weak stems. Einkorn and emmer wheat have short and dense spikes and a low thousand grains weight, whereas spelt wheat has long and lax spikes. The level of the harvest index is low. Potentially useful varieties were found during the fi eld experiment and evaluation, and our future efforts will therefore focus on improving resistance to lodging and increasing the productivity of the spike

Forensic application of a rapid one-step tetramethylbenzidine-based test for the presumptive trace detection of bloodstains at the crime scene and in the laboratory

Bloodstains are a widespread kind of biological evidence at the crime scene and one of the most used reagents for the presumptive identification of blood for forensic purposes is tetramethyl-benzidine. We have introduced and validated the tetramethylbenzidine-based Combur3 Test® E (Roche Diagnostics Corporation, Basel, Switzerland), a colorimetric catalytic test based upon the detection of the peroxidase-like activity of the hemoglobin, due to its high sensitivity, easiness of use and capability to maintain the complete structural and morphological integrity of the bloodstain. Analytical performances related to a forensic use of the test and the suitable applicability to the presumptive detection of bloodstains when extremely diluted, aged, mixed with several substances and deposited over a plethora of substrates was reliably proved. In addition, possible positive interferences of the test chemicals on the subsequent Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) DNA typing analyses, especially in Low-Template DNA (LT DNA) conditions, was evaluated. While the Combur3 Test® E showed the same chemical interference drawbacks as other presumptive tests for blood as for the low specificity, we demonstrated that its format and our suggested protocol of use make it appropriate for the forensic presumptive detection of blood, better performing and much easier to use than other analogous presumptive tests and usually compatible with the following STRs DNA typing analyses

X-ray fluorescence from the element with atomic number Z = 120

Accepted for publication in Physical Review LettersAn atomic clock based on X-ray fluorescence yields has been used to estimate the mean characteristic time for fusion followed by fission in reactions 238U + 64Ni at 6.6 MeV/A. Inner shell vacancies are created during the collisions in the electronic structure of the possibly formed Z=120 compound nuclei. The filling of these vacancies accompanied by X-ray emission with energies characteristic of Z=120 can take place only if the atomic transitions occur before nuclear fission. Therefore, the X-ray yield characteristic of the united atom with 120 protons is strongly related to the fission time and to the vacancy lifetimes. K X-rays from the element with Z = 120 have been unambiguously identified from a coupled analysis of the involved nuclear reaction mechanisms and of the measured photon spectra. A minimum mean fission time $\tau$_f$ = 2.5×10−18s has been deduced for Z=120 from the measured X-ray multiplicity

Combining Contemporary and Paleoecological Perspectives for Estimating Forest Resilience

In the face of dramatic climate change and human pressure acting on remaining forest areas across tropical, temperate and boreal biomes, there has emerged a coordinated effort to identify and protect forests that are currently considered “intact”. These forests are hypothesized to be more resilient to future abiotic perturbations than fragmented or degraded forests, and therefore, will provide more reliable carbon storage and/or biodiversity services into an uncertain future. Research in the fields of contemporary and paleoecology can offer valuable insights to enhance our ability to assess resilience of forests and whether these would be comparable across forest biomes. Contemporary ecological monitoring has been able to capture processes acting over the short-to-medium term, while paleoecological methods allow us to derive insights of the long-term processes affecting forest dynamics. Recent efforts to both identify intact forests, based on area definitions, and assess vegetation climate sensitivity globally have relied on satellite imagery analysis for the time period 2000–2013. In this paper, we compare these published datasets and do find that on average intact forests in boreal and tropical biomes are less sensitive to temperature and water availability, respectively; however, the patterns are less clear within biomes (e.g., across continents). By taking a longer perspective, through paleoecology, we present several studies that show a range of forest responses to past climatic and human disturbance, suggesting that short-term trends may not be reliable predictors of long-term resilience. We highlight that few contemporary and paleoecology studies have considered forest area when assessing resilience and those that have did find that smaller forest areas exhibited greater dynamism in species composition, which could be a proxy for declining resilience. Climatic conditions in the Anthropocene will be pushing forest systems across biomes into novel climates very rapidly and with current knowledge it is difficult to predict how forests will react in the immediate term, which is the most relevant timeframe for global efforts to reduce carbon emissions