Experimental investigation on the bond behavior of a compatible TRM-based solution for rammed earth heritage

Despite the current awareness of the high seismic risk of earthen structures, little has been done so far to develop proper strengthening solutions for the rammed earth heritage. Based on the effectiveness of TRM for masonry buildings, the strengthening of rammed earth walls with externally bonded fibers using earth-based mortar is being proposed as a compatible solution. In this context, the investigation of bond behavior was conducted by means of direct tensile tests, pull-out tests and single lap-shear tests. The specimens were prepared using earth-based mortars and two different types of meshes (glass and nylon) while considering different-bonded lengths. The direct tensile tests on TRM coupons showed the high capacity of the nylon mesh in transferring stresses after cracking of the mortar. The pull-out tests highlighted that in the case of glass fiber mesh, the bond was granted by friction, while the mechanical anchorage promoted by the transversal yarns granted the bond of the nylon mesh. Finally, the single lap-shear tests showed that the adopted earth-based mortar seems to limit the performance of the strengthening.This work was supported by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia [PTDC/ECM-EST/2777/2014, SFRH/BD/131006/2017, SFRH/BPD/97082/2013]

The paralysé (par) mouse neurological mutation maps to a 9 Mbp (4 cM) interval of mouse chromosome 18

The Paralysé mutation is a spontaneous neuromuscular mutation, first observed in 1980 at the Pasteur Institute, which is transmitted by the autosomal recessive par allele. Affected homozygote par/par mice rarely survive beyond 16 days of age and at the end of their life they are emaciated and completely paralyzed. Several concordant histological and physiological observations indicate that mutant mice might be good models for studying early-onset human motor neuron diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy. Linkage analysis using a set of molecular markers and two F2 crosses indicate that the mutation maps to mouse chromosome 18 in a region spanning 4 cM (or 9 megabase pairs, Mbp) between the microsatellites D18Mit140 and D18Mit33. These results positioned the par locus in a region homologous to human chromosome 18p11.22 to 18q21.32

Impacts of global change on Western Mediterranean aquifers

A groundwater exploration work in the Tamanrasset region in southern Algeria was started in August 2016 to assess the water reserves in the hydrogeological system related to the Oued Tamanrasset underflow water table which overcomes a volcanic basement. Five (05) electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys were conducted in Tamanrasset area by using ABEM Terrameter LS system. the low electrical contrast between wet alluvium and water saturated alterites makes difficult the electrical response interpretation. to overcome the difficulties of interpretation of ERT profiles, field investigations, laboratory tests and software simulations, were carried out in order to clearly identify the structure of the hydrogeological system. The experimental investigation of the electrical characteristics of the alluvium as a function of water saturation was carried by the use of two devices (Wenner α and Schlumberger). Samples true resistivity values varies between 50 Ω.m for a 100% saturated sample and 1250 Ω.m for a 25% saturation sample. The interpretation of the measurements by the RES2DINV software made it possible to give 2D images of the subsoil up to a depth of 50 m. the electrical contrast between the bedrock and the overlying formations made it possible to identify it, however, it was difficult to distinguish alterites from alluvium. A methodology combining piezometric survey, geo-electrical measurements and field observations improves the interpretation of electrical tomography profiles and the application of the ERT method for accurate characterization of water resources in the Tamanrasset region

Caracterización de la recarga en un episodio de precipitación excepcional e implicaciones sobre un lagoon costero asociado (campo de Cartagena-Mar Menor, SE España)

Congress on Groundwater and Global Change in the Western Mediterranean (2017. Granada)Evaluating groundwater recharge is crucial to assess available water resources, to establish environmental flows when aquifers are connected to surface water or wetlands, and to anticipate fresh/saline water interface dynamics. In intensively irrigated areas, where close to field capacity conditions are maintained, rainfall events usually fully turn into recharge. Separating the respective contribution of recharge from rainfall and irrigation return flow is therefore a hard task. Nonetheless, exceptional storms provide unique opportunities to better constrain the instantaneous response of aquifers and provide valuable data that would have been hardly obtained elsehow. In December 2016, an extraordinary storm with up to 286 mm of rainfall in 60 hours induced severe flooding in certain areas of Campo de Cartagena. Exceptional groundwater recharge was traduced into increased submarine groundwater discharge and locally by saline extrusion to the coastal Mar Menor lagoon, itself in a critical state due to eutrophication processes. Potentiometric measurements realized before and after the storm, together with data from lysimeters and automatic sensors for water head, EC and temperature provide interesting inputs on the functioning of the aquifer and its impact on the Mar Menor lagoon.Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaDepartamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Universidad de Murcia, EspañaPolytechnique Montréal, CanadáComunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia, EspañaInstitut de Recherche pour le Développment, FranciaPeer reviewe

CLEF2014 working notes

This paper describes the participation of Inria within the Pl@ntNet project7 at the LifeCLEF2014 plant identication task. The aim of the task was to produce a list of relevant species for each plant observation in a test dataset according to a training dataset. Each plant observation contains several annotated pictures with organ/view tags: Flower, Leaf, Fruit, Stem, Branch, Entire, Scan (exclusively of leaf). Our system treated independently each category of organ/view and then a late hierarchical fusion is used in order to combine the results on visual content analysis from the most local level analysis in pictures to the highest level related to a plant observation. For the photographs of flowers, leaves, fruits, stems, branches and entire views of plants, a large scale matching approach of local features extracted using different spatial constraints is used. For scans, the method combines the large scale matching approach with shape descriptors and geometric parameters on shape boundary. Then, several fusion methods are experimented through the four submitted runs in order to combine hierarchically the local responses to the final response at the plant observation level. The four submitted runs obtained good results and got the 4th to the 7th place over 27 submitted runs by 10 participating teams