Use of Open Source in Integrated Modular Avionics for A380 Program

International audienceThis paper presents the use of the open source approach on the SNMP software project developed for theIntegrated Modular Avionics (IMA) for A380 Program.The SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is used to monitor the future A380 network calledAFDX. This software function is widely present in standard Ethernet network, and runs on operatingsystems like Windows or Unix.Open source of the SNMP function has been used as a basis for the development in order to reduce costsand to secure the development (in terms of delay and maturity).This paper presents the context of the project, then the experiment during the development of this projectby using an Open Source

Réussir au collégial

Titre de la page Web (visionnée le 14 janv. 2002

More Urbanization, Fewer Bats: The Importance of Forest Conservation in Honduras

Urbanization is a phenomenon that results in fragmentation and eventual destruction of forests. Suburbanization is a subset of that same phenomenon in which fragmentation has resulted in the retention of small patches of the original forest and surviving old growth trees. Alternatively, the area surrounding the central city had been cleared for agricultural use and the suburban residents have planted many trees in parks and private property. This fragmentation will of course affect many species of bats, including species of the family Phyllostomidae. In this work, we estimate and compare the diversity of phyllostomid bats in three landscapes in Honduras: forests, suburban, and urban areas, from 2015 to 2018. Concurrently, we compared bat activity patterns based on the hour and percentage of moonlight at the time they were captured, and we compared external measurements, forearm and ear length. Urban areas are the least diverse and exhibited the lowest abundance. The forearm and ear length were significantly different only between forests and urban areas. The degree of lunar phobia also differed among those landscapes, but the time of capture did not differ. This is the first attempt to describe the activity patterns of phyllostomids in these studied areas and the effect of urbanization on Honduran bats. As expected, we found that from forests to cities, the diversity and abundance of phyllostomids decreased. However, there are many gaps in our knowledge of how totally or partially urbanized areas are affecting phyllostomid bats in Honduras

North American Fauna 75

Summary of 142 species of mammals of Costa Rica, including geographical distribution, subspecies, last documented sighting in Costa Rica, and origin of specimen examined for each species

Mammals of the La Selva–Braulio Carrillo Complex, Costa Rica.

Resumen—El complejo La Selva-Braulio Carrillo de Costa Rica abarca un pasillo protejido de 60 kilómetros de bosque pluvial y selva nublada del Caribe. Extendiéndose desde 30 metros sobre el nivel del mar, en la Estación Biológica de La Selva, hasta 2,906 metros, en la cima del Volcán Barva. El compiejo de 52,000 hectáreas cubre cuatro zonas de vida y dos zonas de transición, incluyendo bosque húmedo tropical, bosque húmedo tropical con transición fría, bosque pluvial tropical pre-montano con transición húmeda, bosque pluvial pre-montano tropical, bosque pluvial montano-bajo, y bosque pluvial montano. Localizada en la parte noreste del país, el área es representativo de los bosques con pendiente de America Central y el Caribe que se extienden desde México hasta Panamá. La extensa gradientede este complejo brinda lugares protejidos para una variedad de migrantes altitudinales. Con el apoyo del National Geographic Society y Rice Foundation, la Organización de Estudios Tropicales organizó un estudio biológico del complejo a principios de 1986. El equipo trabajó en seis puntos de interés a lo largo del corte transversal de elevación establecido por la expedición: 300 m, 700 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m, 2,050 m, y 2,600 m. Nosotros suplementamos nuestros archivos de colección con archivos inéditos puestos a la disposición por colegas, archivos en la literatura publicada, y especímenes en colecciones de museos. Además, se resumen las observaciones anotadas por una variedad de observadores en la Estación Biológica de La Selva. La fauna mamífera del complejo consiste de 143 especies incluyendo 79 murciélagos, 23 roedores, 16 carnívoros, 7 marsupiales, 6 edentatas, 4 artiodáctilos, 3 monos, 2 conejos, 2 musarañas, y 1 perisodáctilo. Es probable que por lo menos diez especies adicionales se encuentra allí. El único mamífero que probablemente fue extirpado de este área es el oso caballo. Reconociendo la importancia del área para animales y el género humano en general, el gobierno de Costa Rica añadió 13,500 hectáreas al complejo el 13 de Abril de 1986. Este área, previamente conocido como la "Zona Protectora," suministró el eslabón de la elevación media entre la tierra baja de la Estación Biológica de La Selva y el bosque Montano del Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo. Desafortunadamente, la destrucción del bosque húmedo que circunda el complejo pronto se transformará en una isla aislada de bosque protejido. Así, el área se volverá cada vez más valiosa como refugio para muchas especies que necesitan espacios grandes en que el habitat no ha sido perturbado.Costa Rica's La Selva-Braulio Carrillo complex encompasses a 60-km protected corridor of Caribbean rain and cloud forest extending from 30 m at the La Selva Biological Station to 2,906 m at the top of Volcán Barva. The 52,000-ha complex covers four life zones and two transitional zones, including tropical wet forest, tropical wet forest cool-transition, tropical premontane wet-transition rain forest, tropical premontane rain forest, lower montane rain forest, and montane rain forest. Located in the northeastern part of the country, the area is representative of Central American Caribbean slope forests that extend from Mexico to Panama. The extensive elevational gradient of the complex provides protected habitat for a variety of altitudinal migrants. With support from the National Geographic Society and Rice Foundation, the Organization for Tropical Studies organized a biological survey of the complex in early 1986. The mammal team worked at six sites along the elevational transect established by the expedition: 300 m, 700 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m, 2,050 m, and 2,600 m. We supplemented our collecting records with unpublished records made available by colleagues, records in the published literature, and specimens in museum collections. In addition, observations recorded by a variety of observers at the La Selva Biological Station are summarized. The mammal fauna of the complex comprises 143 species including 79 bats, 23 rodents, 16 carnivores, 7 marsupials, 6 edentates, 4 artiodactyls, 3 primates, 2 rabbits, 2 shrews, and 1 perissodactyl. At least 10 additional species are likely to occur there. The only species of mammal likely to have been extirpated from the area is the giant anteater. Recognizing the importance of the area to wildlife and to mankind in general, the government of Costa Rica added 13,500 ha to the complex on 13 April 1986. This area, previously known as the "Zona Protectora," provided the mid-elevational link between the lowlands of the La Selva Biological Station and the montane forests of Braulio Carrillo National Park. Unfortunately, destruction of the rain forests surrounding the complex will soon render it an isolated island of protected forest. Thus, the area will become increasingly valuable as a refuge for many species with home ranges that require extensive tracts of undisturbed habitat

A Flavor Lactone Mimicking AHL Quorum-Sensing Signals Exploits the Broad Affinity of the QsdR Regulator to Stimulate Transcription of the Rhodococcal qsd Operon Involved in Quorum-Quenching and Biocontrol Activities

In many Gram-negative bacteria, virulence, and social behavior are controlled by quorum-sensing (QS) systems based on the synthesis and perception of N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs). Quorum-quenching (QQ) is currently used to disrupt bacterial communication, as a biocontrol strategy for plant crop protection. In this context, the Gram-positive bacterium Rhodococcus erythropolis uses a catabolic pathway to control the virulence of soft-rot pathogens by degrading their AHL signals. This QS signal degradation pathway requires the expression of the qsd operon, encoding the key enzyme QsdA, an intracellular lactonase that can hydrolyze a wide range of substrates. QsdR, a TetR-like family regulator, represses the expression of the qsd operon. During AHL degradation, this repression is released by the binding of the γ-butyrolactone ring of the pathogen signaling molecules to QsdR. We show here that a lactone designed to mimic quorum signals, γ-caprolactone, can act as an effector ligand of QsdR, triggering the synthesis of qsd operon-encoded enzymes. Interaction between γ-caprolactone and QsdR was demonstrated indirectly, by quantitative RT-PCR, molecular docking and transcriptional fusion approaches, and directly, in an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. This broad-affinity regulatory system demonstrates that preventive or curative quenching therapies could be triggered artificially and/or managed in a sustainable way by the addition of γ-caprolactone, a compound better known as cheap food additive. The biostimulation of QQ activity could therefore be used to counteract the lack of consistency observed in some large-scale biocontrol assays

Historical sampling reveals dramatic demographic changes in western gorilla populations

Background: Today many large mammals live in small, fragmented populations, but it is often unclear whether this subdivision is the result of long-term or recent events. Demographic modeling using genetic data can estimate changes in long-term population sizes while temporal sampling provides a way to compare genetic variation present today with that sampled in the past. In order to better understand the dynamics associated with the divergences of great ape populations, these analytical approaches were applied to western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and in particular to the isolated and Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla subspecies (G. g. diehli).Results: We used microsatellite genotypes from museum specimens and contemporary samples of Cross River gorillas to infer both the long-term and recent population history. We find that Cross River gorillas diverged from the ancestral western gorilla population ~17,800 years ago (95% HDI: 760, 63,245 years). However, gene flow ceased only ~420 years ago (95% HDI: 200, 16,256 years), followed by a bottleneck beginning ~320 years ago (95% HDI: 200, 2,825 years) that caused a 60-fold decrease in the effective population size of Cross River gorillas. Direct comparison of heterozygosity estimates from museum and contemporary samples suggests a loss of genetic variation over the last 100 years.Conclusions: The composite history of western gorillas could plausibly be explained by climatic oscillations inducing environmental changes in western equatorial Africa that would have allowed gorilla populations to expand over time but ultimately isolate the Cross River gorillas, which thereafter exhibited a dramatic population size reduction. The recent decrease in the Cross River population is accordingly most likely attributable to increasing anthropogenic pressure over the last several hundred years. Isolation of diverging populations with prolonged concomitant gene flow, but not secondary admixture, appears to be a typical characteristic of the population histories of African great apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos