Survey of fungal diversity in silages supplied to dairy cattle in Belgium over a two-year period

The fungal diversity in silages for dairy cattle feeding has been assessed by purification and identification of 966 isolates collected in silages during the two 2006 and 2007 winter storage/feed-out periods from farms localized in various geographic regions in Belgium. The relevant fungal species in silos were P. paneum and P. roqueforti (18.2 % and 14.5 % of total isolates, respectively). The proportion between the two species varied significantly from 2006 to 2007 (P<0.05) depending on the type of forage crop. The prevalence of P. paneum in Belgium compared to results in other countries is of major importance due to the mycotoxigenic capacity of this species. Information on numerous aspects of silage making process and silo management showed that neither the crop rotation, the date and weather at harvest, the use of additives, the feeding rate, the type and dimension of silo, the covering used nor the forage chopping length at ensiling could be significantly correlated to the fungal species composition isolated in farm silages. There were also no significant relationships between the chemico-fermentative parameters tested (dry matter, pH, NH3 content, concentration of lactic, acetic and butyric acids) and the fungal species composition in silages. The prevalent fungi were tolerant of the wide ranges of conditions found in the farm silages with year-to-year variations. Survey of Fungal Diversity in Silages Supplied to Dairy Cattle in Belgium Over a Two-Year Period. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313255127_Survey_of_Fungal_Diversity_in_Silages_Supplied_to_Dairy_Cattle_in_Belgium_Over_a_Two-Year_Period [accessed Jul 24, 2017]

Vlasov moment flows and geodesics on the Jacobi group

By using the moment algebra of the Vlasov kinetic equation, we characterize the integrable Bloch-Iserles system on symmetric matrices (arXiv:math-ph/0512093) as a geodesic flow on the Jacobi group. We analyze the corresponding Lie-Poisson structure by presenting a momentum map, which both untangles the bracket structure and produces particle-type solutions that are inherited from the Vlasov-like interpretation. Moreover, we show how the Vlasov moments associated to Bloch-Iserles dynamics correspond to particular subgroup inclusions into a group central extension (first discovered in arXiv:math/0410100), which in turn underlies Vlasov kinetic theory. In the most general case of Bloch-Iserles dynamics, a generalization of the Jacobi group also emerges naturally.Comment: 45 page

Efficacy and safety of D,L-3-hydroxybutyrate (D,L-3-HB) treatment in multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency

PURPOSE: Multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD) is a life-threatening, ultrarare inborn error of metabolism. Case reports described successful D,L-3-hydroxybutyrate (D,L-3-HB) treatment in severely affected MADD patients, but systematic data on efficacy and safety is lacking.METHODS: A systematic literature review and an international, retrospective cohort study on clinical presentation, D,L-3-HB treatment method, and outcome in MADD(-like) patients.RESULTS: Our study summarizes 23 MADD(-like) patients, including 14 new cases. Median age at clinical onset was two months (interquartile range [IQR]: 8 months). Median age at starting D,L-3-HB was seven months (IQR: 4.5 years). D,L-3-HB doses ranged between 100 and 2600 mg/kg/day. Clinical improvement was reported in 16 patients (70%) for cardiomyopathy, leukodystrophy, liver symptoms, muscle symptoms, and/or respiratory failure. D,L-3-HB appeared not effective for neuropathy. Survival appeared longer upon D,L-3-HB compared with historical controls. Median time until first clinical improvement was one month, and ranged up to six months. Reported side effects included abdominal pain, constipation, dehydration, diarrhea, and vomiting/nausea. Median D,L-3-HB treatment duration was two years (IQR: 6 years). D,L-3-HB treatment was discontinued in 12 patients (52%).CONCLUSION: The strength of the current study is the international pooling of data demonstrating that D,L-3-HB treatment can be effective and safe in MADD(-like) patients.</p

Atmospheric Science with InSight

International audienceIn November 2018, for the first time a dedicated geophysical station, the InSight lander, will be deployed on the surface of Mars. Along with the two main geophysical packages, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) and the Heat-Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3), the InSight lander holds a highly sensitive pressure sensor (PS) and the Temperature and Winds for InSight (TWINS) instrument, both of which (along with the InSight FluxGate (IFG) Magnetometer) form the Auxiliary Sensor Payload Suite (APSS). Associated with the RADiometer (RAD) instrument which will measure the surface brightness temperature, and the Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC) which will be used to quantify atmospheric opacity, this will make InSight capable to act as a meteorological station at the surface of Mars. While probing the internal structure of Mars is the primary scientific goal of the mission, atmospheric science remains a key science objective for InSight. InSight has the potential to provide a more continuous and higher-frequency record of pressure, air temperature and winds at the surface of Mars than previous in situ missions. In the paper, key results from multiscale meteorological modeling, from Global Climate Models to Large-Eddy Simulations, are described as a reference for future studies based on the InSight measurements during operations. We summarize the capabilities of InSight for atmospheric observations, from profiling during Entry, Descent and Landing to surface measurements (pressure, temperature, winds, angular momentum), and the plans for how InSight’s sensors will be used during operations, as well as possible synergies with orbital observations. In a dedicated section, we describe the seismic impact of atmospheric phenomena (from the point of view of both “noise” to be decorrelated from the seismic signal and “signal” to provide information on atmospheric processes). We discuss in this framework Planetary Boundary Layer turbulence, with a focus on convective vortices and dust devils, gravity waves (with idealized modeling), and large-scale circulations. Our paper also presents possible new, exploratory, studies with the InSight instrumentation: surface layer scaling and exploration of the Monin-Obukhov model, aeolian surface changes and saltation / lifing studies, and monitoring of secular pressure changes. The InSight mission will be instrumental in broadening the knowledge of the Martian atmosphere, with a unique set of measurements from the surface of Mars

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Elaboration d'une méthode de sélection d'acides aminés cystéine dans les banques de protéines présentées en surface de phage

Doctorat en sciences (sciences chimiques) (CHIM 3)--UCL, 200