The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Spread of invasive Aedes albopictus and decline of resident Aedes aegypti in urban areas of Mayotte 2007-2010

The invasive Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has been established on the French overseas island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean since 2007. Despite the presence of a resident population of Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus has expanded its presence in urban areas, in contrast to the pattern of invasion by this mosquito elsewhere in the world. We undertook a comparative study of the distribution and abundance of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti populations between 2007 and 2010 in different types of urban landscapes to document the invasion process. Urban and suburban areas at five localities on Mayotte were selected and ten houses with mosquito-infested larval habitats on the property were located in each area. To calculate variables that might explain mosquito infestation, the areas around the houses selected were overlaid on maps with grid cells (each 25 x 25 m) and the areas inside grid cells were analyzed to define landscape characteristics (percentage of built on land and human density) that might be predictive of Ae. albopictus presence and abundance. The proportion of sites occupied by only Ae. albopictus and the relative abundance of this species relative to total Aedes larvae and pupae significantly increased between 2007 and 2010, in both urban and in rural areas. In the 2010 survey, the number of larval habitats occupied by Ae. aegypti in the sampled area decreased sharply compared to 2007. The proportion of land with paved or hard surfaces (roads, buildings, hereafter "built-up area"), the increase of urbanized areas between 2003 and 2008, and the density of human residents were all correlated with higher relative abundance of Ae. albopictus. The urban areas of Mayotte have significant amounts of vegetation even in the more densely populated areas, and this factor may have facilitated the invasion of Ae. albopictus by providing abundant adult resting sites. These findings are relevant for vector control strategies and forecasting the success of invasions of Ae. albopictus in urban areas in other countries

Un traitement innovant pour le syndrome des jambes sans repos pharmaco-résistant : la stimulation non invasive du nerf vague

International audienc

OHMi-Nunavik: a multi-thematic and cross-cultural research program studying the cumulative effects of climate and socio-economic changes on Inuit communities

International audienceAdjusting to global climate and socio-environmental changes has become a major issue for many societies, especially in the Arctic. Many Inuit wish to better understand the changes taking place. In 2013, an international Observatory of Human–Environment Interactions (OHMi) was established in Nunavik to identify these changes, study their cumulative impact on the socio-ecosystem and to help develop adaptation measures to improve the well-being of Inuit communities. To this end, a team of academics and local Inuit partners joined forces to develop an integrated, interdisciplinary, collaborative research program. Using a participatory action research (PAR) approach, the OHMi Nunavik set the following research priorities: elder-youth knowledge transmission, northern agriculture, preservation of Inuit culture, language and identity, protected areas, mining employment, natural hazards and risks, and wildlife vulnerability. By strengthening the collaborations between multidisciplinary Canadian and French research teams, the OHMi Nunavik program integrates local and scientific knowledge both in planning the research and in disseminating the resultsL’adaptation aux changements climatiques et socio-environnementaux est devenue un enjeu majeur pour de nombreuses sociétés, notamment dans l’Arctique. De nombreux Inuit souhaitent mieux comprendre les changements qui se produisent. En 2013, un Observatoire international sur les interactions Homme-Milieu (OHMi) a été mis en place au Nunavik pour identifier ces changements, étudier leur impact cumulatif sur le socio-écosystème et pour aider à élaborer des mesures d’adaptation afin d’améliorer le bien-être des communautés inuit. À cette fin, une équipe d’universitaires et de partenaires Inuit locaux ont uni leurs forces pour développer un programme de recherche concerté, intégré et interdisciplinaire. En utilisant une approche de recherche-action participative, l’OHMi Nunavik a défini les priorités de recherche suivantes: transmission des connaissances entre les aînés et les jeunes, agriculture nordique, préservation de la culture, de la langue et de l’identité inuit, aires protégées, emplois dans les mines, risques naturels et vulnérabilité de la faune. En renforçant les collaborations entre les équipes de recherche multidisciplinaires canadiennes et françaises, le programme de l’OHMi Nunavik intègre les connaissances locales et scientifiques dans la planification de la recherche et la diffusion des résultat

Tectonic record of strain buildup and abrupt coseismic stress release across the northwestern Peru coastal plain, shelf, and continental slope during the past 200 kyr

International audienceThis paper presents a combined analysis of geological and geophysical data collected both onshore and offshore along the northwestern Peru forearc area (3°30'­7°30'S), from the coastal plain to the trench axis. Onshore, geomorphic analysis places constraints on the relative importance of eustatic versus tectonic factors in preserving and modifying the uplifted coastal landforms along the coastal plain. Breaking-wave morphologic markers were dated using the in situ produced 10Be cosmonuclide. The data document a tectonic segmentation, allowing us to differentiate two areas with regard to their evolution through time: the northern Cabo Blanco and the southern Paita-Illesca segments. For the past 200 kyr, both segments uplifted at high rates of 10 to 20 mm yr-1 through tectonic pulses coeval with the eustatic deglacial sea level rises of isotope stage 1 and warm isotope substage 5e, respectively. The uplift and related extensive emersion of the coastal plain require high coupling along the subduction zone and/or underplating at depth. Offshore, industry-acquired reflection seismic lines combined with EM12 bathymetric data allow us to investigate the tectonic regime and deformation of the continental margin and shelf. Major dipping seaward detachments control the long-term subsidence of this area. These main tectonic features define a tectonic segmentation. The Talara, Paita, and Sechura segments are identified from north to south. No clear tectonic correlation in time exists between the onshore and the continental margin segmentations, or in space either. The long-term subsidence of the offshore, indicative of subduction erosion working at depth, requires low coupling along the subduction channel at depth. The distribution of permanent deformation along the northern Peru forearc area includes long-term uplift along the coastal plain and long-term subsidence along the continental margin, the neutral line being located within the 10 km seaward from the Present coastline. An extensive sequence of raised marine cliffs and associated notches evidences that the most recent uplift step (20­23 ka to Present) along the Cabo Blanco segment is related to a sequence of major earthquakes. We infer that eustacy exerts important feedback coupling to the seismogenic behavior of the North Peru subduction zone. We speculate that during sea level fall, pore fluid pressure diminishes along the subduction channel inducing a possible seaward migration of the locked zone (i.e., migration of the updip limit) reaching a maximum by the end of the eustatic low stand. During eustatic sea level rise, pore fluid pressure increases along the subduction channel. This in turn is capable of weakening the previously locked zone along the plate interface beginning an earthquake sequence. Earth's orbital variations are a potential external cause that may control the physical processes at work along plate interface