The Gaia mission

Gaia is a cornerstone mission in the science programme of the EuropeanSpace Agency (ESA). The spacecraft construction was approved in 2006, following a study in which the original interferometric concept was changed to a direct-imaging approach. Both the spacecraft and the payload were built by European industry. The involvement of the scientific community focusses on data processing for which the international Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) was selected in 2007. Gaia was launched on 19 December 2013 and arrived at its operating point, the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth-Moon system, a few weeks later. The commissioning of the spacecraft and payload was completed on 19 July 2014. The nominal five-year mission started with four weeks of special, ecliptic-pole scanning and subsequently transferred into full-sky scanning mode. We recall the scientific goals of Gaia and give a description of the as-built spacecraft that is currently (mid-2016) being operated to achieve these goals. We pay special attention to the payload module, the performance of which is closely related to the scientific performance of the mission. We provide a summary of the commissioning activities and findings, followed by a description of the routine operational mode. We summarise scientific performance estimates on the basis of in-orbit operations. Several intermediate Gaia data releases are planned and the data can be retrieved from the Gaia Archive, which is available through the Gaia home page. http://www.cosmos.esa.int/gai

[Evaluation of non invasive methods for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis of the graft after orthotopic cardiac transplantation]

International audienceThe frequency and severity of atherosclerosis of the cardiac transplant make it an essential complication of cardiac transplantation. Coronary angiography is the usual diagnostic method but it has severe limitations. In order to evaluate other diagnostic methods coronary angiography and non-invasive techniques: echocardiography, exercise stress ECG, exercise radionuclide ejection fraction, stress Thallium scintigraphy, were performed practically simultaneously in 60 patients after cardiac transplantation. These non-invasive methods were said to be positive in the presence of, respectively, a segmental wall motion abnormality, ischaemic ST segment depression, absence of increased ejection fraction on exercise, reversible or irreversible myocardial hypofixation. Coronary angiography was considered as the reference procedure for distinction between "normal coronary circulation" (no angiographically detectable lesion) and "graft atherosclerosis" (at least one coronary stenosis irrespective of the severity and extension). None of the non-invasive methods had an adequate sensibility when compared with coronary angiography (echocardiography 0.27, exercise stress ECG 0.28, exercise radionuclide ejection fraction 0.64, myocardial scintigraphy 0.62) or negative predictive value (echocardiography 0.56, exercise stress ECG 0.58, exercise radionuclide ejection fraction 0.68, myocardial scintigraphy 0.66). This inadequacy of the non-invasive technique may be explained by the fact that they are more adapted to the diagnosis of myocardial ischaemia than that of coronary studies. In addition, the extent of the coronary lesions may have masked discordance between 2 segments by the global hypovascularisation. The results of this study indicate that the non-invasive methods studied cannot be recommended for diagnosis of atherosclerosis of cardiac transplants

[Evaluation of non invasive methods for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis of the graft after orthotopic cardiac transplantation]

International audienceThe frequency and severity of atherosclerosis of the cardiac transplant make it an essential complication of cardiac transplantation. Coronary angiography is the usual diagnostic method but it has severe limitations. In order to evaluate other diagnostic methods coronary angiography and non-invasive techniques: echocardiography, exercise stress ECG, exercise radionuclide ejection fraction, stress Thallium scintigraphy, were performed practically simultaneously in 60 patients after cardiac transplantation. These non-invasive methods were said to be positive in the presence of, respectively, a segmental wall motion abnormality, ischaemic ST segment depression, absence of increased ejection fraction on exercise, reversible or irreversible myocardial hypofixation. Coronary angiography was considered as the reference procedure for distinction between "normal coronary circulation" (no angiographically detectable lesion) and "graft atherosclerosis" (at least one coronary stenosis irrespective of the severity and extension). None of the non-invasive methods had an adequate sensibility when compared with coronary angiography (echocardiography 0.27, exercise stress ECG 0.28, exercise radionuclide ejection fraction 0.64, myocardial scintigraphy 0.62) or negative predictive value (echocardiography 0.56, exercise stress ECG 0.58, exercise radionuclide ejection fraction 0.68, myocardial scintigraphy 0.66). This inadequacy of the non-invasive technique may be explained by the fact that they are more adapted to the diagnosis of myocardial ischaemia than that of coronary studies. In addition, the extent of the coronary lesions may have masked discordance between 2 segments by the global hypovascularisation. The results of this study indicate that the non-invasive methods studied cannot be recommended for diagnosis of atherosclerosis of cardiac transplants

INFLUÊNCIA DO THIDIAZURON E DA INOCULAÇÃO COM Azospirillum brasilense NO CRESCIMENTO E PRODUTIVIDADE DO ARROZ DE TERRAS ALTAS / INFLUENCE OF THIDIAZURON AND INOCULATION WITH Azospirillum brasilense IN THE GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF HIGHLAND RICE

A inoculação com bactérias do gênero Azospirillum pode contribuir com o fornecimento de nitrogênio (N) e com o crescimento das plantas, pois esses microrganismos são também promotores de crescimento. Por outro lado a aplicação nas doses e épocas adequadas do regulador vegetal de efeito citocinínico thidiazuron (TDZ) pode vir a beneficiar a produtividade de grãos. Dessa maneira, o objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de doses de TDZ sobre a produtividade do arroz, na presença e ausência da inoculação foliar com Azospirillum brasilense. Foi utilizada a cultivar ANa 5015, no delineamento experimental de blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 4 x 2, sendo quatro doses de TDZ (0,0; 0,5; 1,0 e 1,5g ha-1) aplicadas por ocasião do perfilhamento, 30 DAE, e da aplicação de Azospirillum brasilense (presença ou ausência) em dose fixa aos 20 DAE. Verificou-se que a cultivar ANa 5015 não se mostrou responsiva para a inoculação foliar com Azospirillum brasilense na dose de 200 mL ha-1. Para as doses de TDZ aplicadas via foliar, houve uma variação significativa na altura de plantas, cuja dose de 0,41 g ha-1 resultou na altura máxima de 1,11 m. Não houve efeito das doses de TDZ na produtividade, massa de 100 grãos, número de panículas por m², grãos por panícula e massa hectolítrica

Interaction between thidiazuron and Azospirillum brasilense on yield characteristics and productivity of rice

ABSTRACT In rice, the use of the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense has shown to be very useful for the crop, being able to increase the final productivity of the same or reduce the need for nitrogen in topdressing. It has recently been noted that there are other regulators that perform other functions, such as thidiazuron (TDZ), a cytokinin-like substance that has been shown to significantly increase upland rice productivity. Thus, the present work aimed to verify the effect of the interaction between the foliar application of A. brasilense and thidiazuron doses applied at the occasion of the tillering of the plants on the productive aspects and crop productivity. The experiment was carried out in the agricultural years of 2015/16 and 2016/17, at the UNESP Teaching, Research and Extension Farm belonging to the Engineering Faculty of Ilha Solteira - UNESP, located in the municipality of Selvíria, MS. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with a 2 x 4 factorial scheme with four replicates. The treatments were the combination of the presence or absence of A. brasilense foliar application with doses of TDZ (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g ha-1) applied to upland rice cultivar BRS Esmeralda. Based on the results obtained for plant height, number of panicles per square meter, total number of grains and fertility of spikelets, mass of 100 grains and grain yield, it was concluded that, in the two agricultural years observed, there were no interaction and individual effects of the foliar application of the bacteria, and of the TDZ doses used at the time of tillering in the BRS Esmeralda cultivar

Demographics and Baseline Characteristics of Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) in a Real-World Setting: Results of 847 Patients Enrolled in the Radico-ILD Cohort in France

International audienceRationale: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare condition and few epidemiological dataare available in France. This specific research project aims to describe characteristics of treatedIPF patients and the impact of antifibrotic treatments in terms of morbidity and mortality in theFrench real-life setting. Methods: The French RaDiCo (Rare Disease Cohort)-ILD (idiopathicInterstitial Lung Diseases) registry is an ongoing observational study initiated in June 2017, witha sub-analysis of IPF patients. This longitudinal long-term cohort includes pediatric and adultpatients with ILD and is supported by the national network of reference and competence centersfor rare pulmonary diseases. IPF was diagnosed using international ATS/ERS 2011 criteria witha diagnosis of IPF or working diagnosis of IPF by multidisciplinary discussion. Here, we presentthe baseline data of IPF patients. Results: Between June 15th 2017 and September 4th 2019,1246 ILD patients were enrolled in the RaDiCo-ILD registry from 18 centers, including 847 withIPF (68%). IPF patients were mostly male (82.7%), with a mean age of 72.5 ± 9 years at inclusionand a mean BMI of 26.8 ± 4.3; 44.6 % of IPF patients included were incident cases, with amedian length between diagnosis and inclusion of 8.9 months (Q1=0.9 and Q3=26.4); 25.3% hada biopsy. The mean FVC at IPF diagnosis was 73.4 ± 25.0 % of predicted value (n=561), and themean DLCO at IPF diagnosis was 39.6 ± 18.2 % predicted value (n=498). Among patients withavailable information on anti-fibrotic treatment, 347 had been treated (at least one dose) withnintedanib, and 312 with pirfenidone; among patients treated with antifibrotics, 113 were treatedwith both treatments sequentially. Conclusions: The RaDiCo-ILD registry provides accurate real-world data on the demographics of patients with IPF in France. It will generate a long-term follow-up and will be an invaluable tool to describe the natural history and progression of patients withIPF in real-life conditions

Diazotrophic bacteria increase yield and profitability in organic cultivation of common bean

ABSTRACT The symbiosis of common beans with nitrogen-fixing bacteria provides an efficient approach to sustainable and economical food production. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the application of cost-effective nitrogen management strategies in organic common bean cultivation, including the application of poultry manure and organic liquid fertilizer, seed and co-inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria (Azospirillum brasilense and/or Rhizobium tropici), and supplementary Rhizobium tropici inoculation. The study spanned three years in a well-established organic cultivation field (2018) and an initial organic cultivation area (2019 and 2020) in Brazil. It was arranged in a randomized blocks design in a 2 × 5 (2018) and 2 × 6 (2019 and 2020) factorial scheme, with four replicates. The most profitable strategy involves seed inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense and additional inoculation with Rhizobium tropici at stage V4-5 (fifth trifoliate leaf fully expanded), while the most costly strategy was the application of poultry manure at the V3 stage (first trifoliate leaf fully expanded). Thus, the use of diazotrophic bacteria for seed inoculation and co-inoculation (Azospirillum brasilense and/or Rhizobium tropici) ensured financial returns and system profitability in common bean cultivation

Etude des mucopolysaccharidoses en France : constitution de la cohorte RaDiCo-MPS

International audienceIntroduction : Les mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) sont des maladies de surcharge lysosomale : il s’agit de maladies génétiques rares (1/ 25 000 à 30 000 naissances). Ces maladies ont une évolution chronique, progressive et multisystémique avec des symptômes pouvant débuter dès la petite enfance, voire avant la naissance. L’espérance de vie des patients atteints est raccourcie [1]. La cohorte RaDiCo-MPS porte sur les différents types de MPS : MPS-I, MPS-II, MPS-III, MPS-IV, MPS-VI, MPS-VII, MPS-IX et DMS. Elle est soutenue par la plateforme RaDiCo qui est un programme national du Plan d’investissement d’Avenir, développé à l’INSERM U933, financé par l’ANR et dédié à la construction et à l’analyse de cohortes longitudinales de patients atteints de maladies rares. Depuis 2015, en partenariat avec les centres de compétences, de références et les filières de santé maladies rares, RaDiCo construit, enrichit et analyse des collections de données en vie réelle [2]. L’objectif de RaDiCo-MPS est de constituer une base de données prospectives et rétrospectives s’inscrivant dans la recherche de l’amélioration de la prise en charge et de l'organisation des soins. Le développement de traitements spécifiques pour certains types de MPS a permis d’améliorer les perspectives d’évolution des patients [3]. En partenariat avec la cohorte, un projet de recherche spécifique portant sur l’effet de l’enzymothérapie chez les patients atteints de MPS-II est en cours. Méthode : La population d’étude concerne tout patient (adulte ou enfant) avec un diagnostic confirmé de MPS ou de maladie d’Austin (DMS) ayant un consentement éclairé signé. Les données sont collectées de manière anonymisée sur la plateforme Inserm RaDiCo, RGPD compatible, via REDcap, application web sécurisée avec une interface intuitive et un contrôle qualité du circuit des données [4]. La période de recrutement est prévue pour durer 2 ans et le suivi 5 ans. Les résultats présentés proviennent d’une extraction de la base de données du 27 janvier 2021.Résultats : Au total, 254 patients MPS ont été recrutés depuis décembre 2017 par 14 centres français dont 55% des patients par 3 centres (Trousseau-APHP, Necker-APHP et La Timone-APHM) (Fig. 1). Les trois-quarts des patients étaient de type MPS-I, MPS-II ou MPS-III et aucun patient MPS-IX n’avait été inclus (Fig. 2 et Fig. 3). A l’inclusion, 76% des patients étaient vivants et 24% concernaient des dossiers rétrospectifs de patients décédés (Fig. 4). Parmi les 69 patients atteints de MPS-II, un seul patient était de sexe féminin (1%) (Tab. 1). L’ensemble des moyennes et des médianes de l’âge au diagnostic était inférieur à 10 ans, indiquant que, globalement, il s’agit plus souvent de maladies débutant dans l’enfance (Fig. 5). Pour les patients rétrospectifs, l’âge moyen de décès était compris entre 8,8 5,8 ans (MPS-I) et 24,2 3,8 ans (DMS) (Fig. 6). La moitié des patients (52%, n=132) avait reçu au moins une fois pendant l’étude un traitement spécifique de correction de déficits enzymatiques (58% MPS-I, 77% MPS-II, 7% MPS-III, 83% MPS-IV et 27% MPS-VI) (Tab.2).Discussion / Conclusion : Le suivi des patients n’étant pas achevé, les résultats présentés sont préliminaires. RaDiCo-MPS est une opportunité unique d’acquérir une meilleure connaissance des différents types de MPS, de leur histoire naturelle aux effets des traitements spécifiques ou non, ainsi que de la qualité de vie