Nicotinic receptors mediate stress-nicotine detrimental interplay via dopamine cells’ activity

Epidemiological studies report strong association between mood disorders and tobacco addiction. This high comorbidity requires adequate treatment but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We demonstrate that nicotine exposure, independent of drug withdrawal effects, increases stress sensitivity, a major risk factor in mood disorders. Nicotine and stress concur to induce long-lasting cellular adaptations within the dopamine (DA) system. This interplay is underpinned by marked remodeling of nicotinic systems, causing increased ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons’ activity and stress-related behaviors, such as social aversion. Blocking β2 or α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) prevents, respectively, the development and the expression of social stress-induced neuroadaptations; conversely, facilitating α7 nAChRs activation specifically in the VTA promotes stress-induced cellular and behavioral maladaptations. Our work unravels a complex nicotine-stress bidirectional interplay and identifies α7 nAChRs as a promising therapeutic target for stress-related psychiatric disorders

Predicting where a radiation will occur: Acoustic and molecular surveys reveal overlooked diversity in Indian Ocean Island crickets (Mogoplistinae: Ornebius)

Recent theory suggests that the geographic location of island radiations (local accumulation of species diversity due to cladogenesis) can be predicted based on island area and isolation. Crickets are a suitable group for testing these predictions, as they show both the ability to reach some of the most isolated islands in the world, and to speciate at small spatial scales. Despite substantial song variation between closely related species in many island cricket lineages worldwide, to date this characteristic has not received attention in the western Indian Ocean islands; existing species descriptions are based on morphology alone. Here we use a combination of acoustics and DNA sequencing to survey these islands for Ornebius crickets. We uncover a small but previously unknown radiation in the Mascarenes, constituting a three-fold increase in the Ornebius species diversity of this archipelago (from two to six species). A further new species is detected in the Comoros. Although double archipelago colonisation is the best explanation for species diversity in the Seychelles, in situ cladogenesis is the best explanation for the six species in the Mascarenes and two species of the Comoros. Whether the radiation of Mascarene Ornebius results from intra- or purely inter- island speciation cannot be determined on the basis of the phylogenetic data alone. However, the existence of genetic, song and ecological divergence at the intra-island scale is suggestive of an intra-island speciation scenario in which ecological and mating traits diverge hand-in-hand. Our results suggest that the geographic location of Ornebius radiations is partially but not fully explained by island area and isolation. A notable anomaly is Madagascar, where our surveys are consistent with existing accounts in finding no Ornebius species present. Possible explanations are discussed, invoking ecological differences between species and differences in environmental history between islands. (Résumé d'auteur

Planck pre-launch status : The Planck mission

Peer reviewe

A non-intrusive reduced basis approach for parametrized heat transfer problems

Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation has become a routine design tool for i) predicting accurately the thermal performances of electronics set ups and devices such as cooling system and ii) optimizing configurations. Although CFD simulations using discretization methods such as finite volume or finite element can be performed at different scales, from component/board levels to larger system, these classical discretization techniques can prove to be too costly and time consuming, especially in the case of optimization purposes where similar systems, with different design parameters have to be solved sequentially. The design parameters can be of geometric nature or related to the boundary conditions. This motivates our interest on model reduction and particularly on reduced basis methods. As is well documented in the literature, the offline/online implementation of the standard RB method (a Galerkin approach within the reduced basis space) requires to modify the original CFD calculation code, which for a commercial one may be problematic even impossible. For this reason, we have proposed in a previous paper, with an application to a simple scalar convection diffusion problem, an alternative non-intrusive reduced basis approach (NIRB) based on a two-grid finite element discretization. Here also the process is two stages: offline, the construction of the reduced basis is performed on a fine mesh; online a new configuration is simulated using a coarse mesh. While such a coarse solution, can be computed quickly enough to be used in a rapid decision process, it is generally not accurate enough for practical use. In order to retrieve accuracy, we first project every such coarse solution into the reduced space, and then further improve them via a rectification technique. The purpose of this paper is to generalize the approach to a CFD configuration

Numerical study of a planar shock wave impacting a helium gas bubble

International audienc

Comparison of multiphase models for computing shock-induced bubble collapse

International audienceThe aim of this work is to quantify the relative importance of the multiphase model for the simulation of a gas bubble impacted by a normal shock wave in water. Both the free-field case and the collapse near a wall are investigated. Simulations are performed on both two-dimensional and three-dimensional configurations. The main phenomena involved in the bubble collapse are illustrated. A focus on the maximum pressure reached during the collapse is proposed

Nonlinear dynamics of coupled superfluids

Following recent experiments on ultracold dual superflows, we model in this work the dynamics of two harmonically trapped counterflowing superfluids. Using complementary analytical and numerical approaches, we study the shedding of elementary excitations triggered by the relative motion of the two species. We exhibit two different excitation mechanisms leading to distinct threshold velocities for the onset of dissipation: in addition to the parametric pair production present in homogeneous , galilean-invariant systems, we show that non-uniform motion and density inhomogeneities allow for a Landau-like decay mechanism where single excitations are produced

Experimental and numerical studies of the flow over a circular cylinder at Reynolds number 3900

International audienc