SOPRANOISE: European Research on new techniques to characterize Noise Barriers acoustic performances

International audienceSOPRANOISE (Securing and Optimizing the Performance of Road trAffic noise barriers with New methOds and In-Situ Evaluation) is a new European research targeting the in-situ noise barrier acoustic performances (whatever along roads or railway tracks). Even if EN1793-5 and EN1793-6 have shown their ability to measure the sound absorption and the airborne sound insulation of noise barriers (NB) in-situ, there is still interest to simplify their use alongside roads and railway tracks. SOPRANOISE will update the State Of the Art about today methods, their significance and their accuracy to characterize the NB performances as well as their ability to be used in a quick and safe manner. Investigations will start from the easiest in-situ inspection methods up to improved versions of 1793-5 and -6. In-between, there is a gap for simplified and safe methods: SOPRANOISE aims to define the right method for the right step of decision, from the simplest to the most accurate. this research is funded by CEDR, with a schedule from 12/2019 up to 11/2021

Biofabrication

Fibroblasts and myofibroblasts play a central role in skin homeostasis through dermal organization and maintenance. Nonetheless, the dynamic interactions between (myo)fibroblasts and the extracellular matrix (ECM) remain poorly exploited in skin repair strategies. Indeed, there is still an unmet need for soft tissue models allowing to study the spatial-temporal remodeling properties of (myo)fibroblasts. In vivo, wound healing studies in animals are limited by species specificity. In vitro, most models rely on collagen gels reorganized by randomly distributed fibroblasts. But biofabrication technologies have significantly evolved over the past ten years. High-resolution bioprinting now allows to investigate various cellular micropatterns and the emergent tissue organizations over time. In order to harness the full dynamic properties of cells and active biomaterials, it is essential to consider ‘time’ as the 4th dimension in soft tissue design. Following this 4D bioprinting approach, we aimed to develop a novel model that could replicate fibroblast dynamic remodeling in vitro. For this purpose, (myo)fibroblasts were patterned on collagen gels with laser-assisted bioprinting (LAB) to study the generated matrix deformations and reorganizations. First, distinct populations, mainly composed of fibroblasts or myofibroblasts, were established in vitro to account for the variety of fibroblastic remodeling properties. Then, LAB was used to organize both populations on collagen gels in even isotropic patterns with high resolution, high density and high viability. With maturation, bioprinted patterns of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts reorganized into dispersed or aggregated cells, respectively. Stress-release contraction assays revealed that these phenotype-specific pattern maturations were associated with distinct lattice tension states. The two populations were then patterned in anisotropic rows in order to direct the cell-generated deformations and to orient global matrix remodeling. Only maturation of anisotropic fibroblast patterns, but not myofibroblasts, resulted in collagen anisotropic reorganizations both at tissue-scale, with lattice contraction, and at microscale, with embedded microbead displacements. Following a 4D bioprinting approach, LAB patterning enabled to elicit and orient the dynamic matrix remodeling mechanisms of distinct fibroblastic populations and organizations on collagen. For future studies, this method provides a new versatile tool to investigate in vitro dermal organizations and properties, processes of remodeling in healing, and new treatment opportunities