Remote sensing and urban malaria: radar Envisat contribution for the determination of potential Anopheles breeding site in Antananarivo (Madagascar)

International audienceMost studies of anopheline mosquito larval ecology have been done in rural settings. However, latest data based on two cross-sectional surveys in Antananarivo, the capitol of Madagascar, shown low rate of malaria cases among febrile episodes but autochthonous malaria cases exist. Anopheles funestus constitutes the main vector of malaria in the highlands of Madagascar. This paper described the determination of their potential breeding site using remotely sensed data. A supervised classification by the classical method of maximum likelihood was used for enhanced thematic mapper image of Landsat 7. Overall accuracy of the classification was 86% and kappa index was 0.835. Determination of landscape change by subtraction of images acquired on January and July was carried out for the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Image Precision images of Envisat. Increased backscatter coefficient between the two periods made possible to raise ambiguity between rice fields and other vegetation. That may improve the determination of potential anopheles breeding sites

Conditions de travail et seniors : quelques expériences

"Connaissance de l'emploi" est une publication mensuelle du Centre d'études de l'emploi. Ce quatre pages valorise les travaux du Centre. Il constitue un support de synthèse éclairant une question d'actualité ou présentant un aspect particulier d'une recherche.Que se passe-t-il concrètement quand des entreprises cherchent à améliorer les conditions de travail ou prévenir la pénibilité, en lien avec les réflexions et négociations suscitées par la loi de 2008 sur l'emploi des seniors ? L'étude présentée s'efforce de répondre à cette question en se focalisant sur quatre initiatives, qui illustrent au mieux la diversité des solutions adoptées mais aussi des difficultés rencontrées en matière d'adaptation des conditions de travail aux seniors. L'amélioration des conditions de travail et la prévention de la pénibilité constituent un domaine d'action durablement investi par des entreprises conscientes de l'enjeu que constitue le maintien en emploi des seniors. L'étude souligne l'importance, pour les directions comme pour la réussite des actions menées, d'une connaissance fine des compétences des salariés et des conditions de réalisation des tâches, sans perdre de vue les performances et la compétitivité de l'entreprise ainsi que le cadre posé par la loi

Seroprevalence of malaria in inhabitants of the urban zone of Antananarivo, Madagascar

BACKGROUND: Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, is located at an altitude of over 1,200 m. The environment at this altitude is not particularly favourable to malaria transmission, but malaria nonetheless remains a major public health problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate exposure to malaria in the urban population of Antananarivo, by measuring the specific seroprevalence of Plasmodium falciparum. METHODS: Serological studies specific for P. falciparum were carried out with an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). In a representative population of Antananarivo, 1,059 healthy volunteers were interviewed and serum samples were taken. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of IgG+IgA+IgM was 56.1% and that of IgM was 5.9%. The major risk factor associated with a positive IgG+IgA+IgM IFAT was travel outside Antananarivo, whether in the central highlands or on the coast. The abundance of rice fields in certain urban districts was not associated with a higher seroprevalence. CONCLUSION: Malaria transmission levels are low in Antananarivo, but seroprevalence is high. Humans come into contact with the parasite primarily when travelling outside the city. Further studies are required to identify indigenous risk factors and intra-city variations more clearly

The CYCLIN-A CYCA1;2/TAM Is Required for the Meiosis I to Meiosis II Transition and Cooperates with OSD1 for the Prophase to First Meiotic Division Transition

Meiosis halves the chromosome number because its two divisions follow a single round of DNA replication. This process involves two cell transitions, the transition from prophase to the first meiotic division (meiosis I) and the unique meiosis I to meiosis II transition. We show here that the A-type cyclin CYCA1;2/TAM plays a major role in both transitions in Arabidopsis. A series of tam mutants failed to enter meiosis II and thus produced diploid spores and functional diploid gametes. These diploid gametes had a recombined genotype produced through the single meiosis I division. In addition, by combining the tam-2 mutation with AtSpo11-1 and Atrec8, we obtained plants producing diploid gametes through a mitotic-like division that were genetically identical to their parents. Thus tam alleles displayed phenotypes very similar to that of the previously described osd1 mutant. Combining tam and osd1 mutations leads to a failure in the prophase to meiosis I transition during male meiosis and to the production of tetraploid spores and gametes. This suggests that TAM and OSD1 are involved in the control of both meiotic transitions

Rapid response to the M_w 4.9 earthquake of November 11, 2019 in Le Teil, Lower Rhône Valley, France

On November 11, 2019, a Mw 4.9 earthquake hit the region close to Montelimar (lower Rhône Valley, France), on the eastern margin of the Massif Central close to the external part of the Alps. Occuring in a moderate seismicity area, this earthquake is remarkable for its very shallow focal depth (between 1 and 3 km), its magnitude, and the moderate to large damages it produced in several villages. InSAR interferograms indicated a shallow rupture about 4 km long reaching the surface and the reactivation of the ancient NE-SW La Rouviere normal fault in reverse faulting in agreement with the present-day E-W compressional tectonics. The peculiarity of this earthquake together with a poor coverage of the epicentral region by permanent seismological and geodetic stations triggered the mobilisation of the French post-seismic unit and the broad French scientific community from various institutions, with the deployment of geophysical instruments (seismological and geodesic stations), geological field surveys, and field evaluation of the intensity of the earthquake. Within 7 days after the mainshock, 47 seismological stations were deployed in the epicentral area to improve the Le Teil aftershocks locations relative to the French permanent seismological network (RESIF), monitor the temporal and spatial evolution of microearthquakes close to the fault plane and temporal evolution of the seismic response of 3 damaged historical buildings, and to study suspected site effects and their influence in the distribution of seismic damage. This seismological dataset, completed by data owned by different institutions, was integrated in a homogeneous archive and distributed through FDSN web services by the RESIF data center. This dataset, together with observations of surface rupture evidences, geologic, geodetic and satellite data, will help to unravel the causes and rupture mechanism of this earthquake, and contribute to account in seismic hazard assessment for earthquakes along the major regional Cévenne fault system in a context of present-day compressional tectonics

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Modelling animal movements on a geographical space : analyses and simulation

Une des préoccupations de la société est de trouver un compromis entre le développement des territoires et la protection de la faune sauvage. La prise en compte des déplacements des animaux lors de projets d’aménagement nécessite de connaître les comportements des différentes espèces et de définir ce qui a une influence sur leur localisation et sur la sélection de leur lieu de vie. Notre objectif est de pouvoir représenter les déplacements d’animaux sur un espace géographique précisément décrit afin ensuite de simuler et d’évaluer les conséquences des aménagements.Nous avons commencé par analyser l’influence des éléments du paysage sur les déplacements à partir de localisations connues d’animaux comme des traces GPS (suivis menés par l’ELIZ, l’ANSES, l’ONCFS, l’INRA)et de données de description de l’espace notamment la BD TOPO®. Les cas d’étude correspondent à des milieux différents et à trois espèces : renard, chevreuil et cerf. Nous avons pu confirmer le rôle de certains caractères de l’espace selon les cas d’étude. Par exemple les préférences spatiales lors des déplacements des renards en milieu périurbain semblent se porter sur la végétation arborée et des lieux peu occupés par les hommes pendant certaines parties de la journée (parcs, zones d’activités, le long des voies ferrées). Concernant les cervidés en milieu forestier, la pente et le type de peuplement paraissent avoir le plus d’influence sur les déplacements.À l’aide des connaissances extraites par les analyses et de la littérature, nous avons défini et implémenté dans la plateforme GeOxygene un modèle de simulation de déplacements d’animaux. Les trajectoires sont construites par une approche agent reprenant le comportement spatial selon l’espèce et l’influence des éléments du paysage favorables ou faisant obstacle. Nous effectuons une analyse critique de notre modèle puis nous proposons des pistes d’enrichissement à l’aide de la comparaison avec les observations et le retour des écologues. Enfin des scénarios d’aménagement sont testés dans le but de mettre en évidence leur impact et leur efficacité.Finding compromises between human development and wildlife protection is one concern of society.Taking into account animal movements in planning projects requires some knowledge on species behaviours and on what determines their localizations and their habitat places. Our goal is to be able to represent animal movements on an accurate geographical space in order to simulate and to evaluate the consequences of planning decisions. We first analysed how the features of the landscape influence movements from collected localizations on animals, for example GPS tracks (studies of ELIZ, ANSES, ONCFS, INRA) and from data describing spacesuch as BD TOPO®. The studied cases are about several types of environment and three species: red fox,roe deer and red deer. We found some results that confirm the role played by the spatial features,depending on the studied cases. For instance in a periurban environment, foxes seem to be more inwooded patches and in places with few human activities during some parts of the day (squares, areas with industrial or commercial activities, sides of railways). In a forested environment, deers are more likely to be influenced by slope and forest stands. Thanks to knowledge from data analyses and to literature, we defined a simulation model for animalmovements. We implemented it in the GeOxygene platform. The trajectories are built with an agent approach by taking into account the spatial behaviour of the species and the influence of elements that favour or hinder movements. We proposed a critical view of the modelling choices and some improvements from the comparison with observations and experts advices. Then, scenarios within frastructures are defined so that to identify their impact and their efficiency

On-demand map design based on user-oriented specifications

International audienceMap making includes many tasks that can not be entirely formalized if we include in that creation not only the drawing but also the good transmission of information. In order to improve the message of a map, we propose a process that would help a map designer to makechoices on the display. This process has been enclosed in three main Web services that interpret user-oriented specifications into a relevant selection of data and definition of styles to draw a map that meets these specifications. The initial service is a map specifications service. It aims at completing from the context, the abstract definition of a map: we mean the geographical area, the scale, the type of map, the themes to display and other abstract characteristics. The user needs assistance to build these formal specifications, indeed the notions of map model, data relations, or reading level which are specific terms in cartography are not instinctive. This first service aims at providing this assistance.The second service aims at interpreting the formal abstract specification of a map yielded by the previous service into data selection and styles definition. We would like to propose a legend that respects cartographic rules within the context of the initial map description. In that objective, weconstitute a base of cartographic knowledge readable by computer systems. We rely on the literature as well as on existing maps to propose map templates. Though, predefined layers might not always be accurate enough to manage the constraints from the user specifications. To propose new legends or to improve existing ones, we have to encode in an operational model, principles of cartographic theory, definition of standard maps and researches. The third service that we describe aims at evaluating the map once displayed. Legibility problems, like unexpected interactions between graphical signs, may occur due to the data. The submitted evaluation module mainly focuses on the colour contrasts. An example of a scenario from a user’s specifications to the proposal of a final map is described and discussed

On-demand map design based on user-oriented specifications

International audienceMap making includes many tasks that can not be entirely formalized if we include in that creation not only the drawing but also the good transmission of information. In order to improve the message of a map, we propose a process that would help a map designer to makechoices on the display. This process has been enclosed in three main Web services that interpret user-oriented specifications into a relevant selection of data and definition of styles to draw a map that meets these specifications. The initial service is a map specifications service. It aims at completing from the context, the abstract definition of a map: we mean the geographical area, the scale, the type of map, the themes to display and other abstract characteristics. The user needs assistance to build these formal specifications, indeed the notions of map model, data relations, or reading level which are specific terms in cartography are not instinctive. This first service aims at providing this assistance.The second service aims at interpreting the formal abstract specification of a map yielded by the previous service into data selection and styles definition. We would like to propose a legend that respects cartographic rules within the context of the initial map description. In that objective, weconstitute a base of cartographic knowledge readable by computer systems. We rely on the literature as well as on existing maps to propose map templates. Though, predefined layers might not always be accurate enough to manage the constraints from the user specifications. To propose new legends or to improve existing ones, we have to encode in an operational model, principles of cartographic theory, definition of standard maps and researches. The third service that we describe aims at evaluating the map once displayed. Legibility problems, like unexpected interactions between graphical signs, may occur due to the data. The submitted evaluation module mainly focuses on the colour contrasts. An example of a scenario from a user’s specifications to the proposal of a final map is described and discussed