The ThomX project status

Work supported by the French Agence Nationale de la recherche as part of the program EQUIPEX under reference ANR-10-EQPX-51, the Ile de France region, CNRS-IN2P3 and Université Paris Sud XI - http://accelconf.web.cern.ch/AccelConf/IPAC2014/papers/wepro052.pdfA collaboration of seven research institutes and an industry has been set up for the ThomX project, a compact Compton Backscattering Source (CBS) based in Orsay - France. After a period of study and definition of the machine performance, a full description of all the systems has been provided. The infrastructure work has been started and the main systems are in the call for tender phase. In this paper we will illustrate the definitive machine parameters and components characteristics. We will also update the results of the different technical and experimental activities on optical resonators, RF power supplies and on the electron gun

Accelerometer technology to perform precision feeding of pregnant sows and follow their health status

Two trials were conducted at experimental stations of IFIP, located in Romillé (France, Trial 1), and INRA, located in Saint Gilles (France, Trial 2), on pregnant sows equipped with individual ear tag accelerometers to record their activity level: duration of lying, standing and moving sequences. The first trial involved 72 sows penned on a slatted floor in a dynamic group with connected drinkers and automatic feeders, whereas the second trial was carried out on 4 small groups of 6 sows penned on a concrete floor with straw and fed in individual stalls. Firstly, an algorithm was built from video recordings of 24 sows on the slatted floor (2 x 2 h sequences per sow, 96 h). Secondly, the accuracy of the algorithm was assessed by recording and sequencing 96 h and 109 h, respectively, on the slatted floor and concrete floor with straw. The respective sensitivities of the lying, standing and moving behaviours on the slatted floor were 94.4%, 66.9% and 68.4%. With straw, lower sensitivity values were found: 93.65% for lying, 68.35% for standing and 38.83% for moving, linked to more investigative behaviours using the head. The final step was to use these data to improve the feeding practices of pregnant sows, taking their activity level into account. The strong inter- and intra-individual variability shown in the physical activity is a limiting factor for detection of health problems, such as lameness, through the accelerometers. Thus we need additional information, especially the behaviour data generated by identified drinkers and automatic feeders

Améliorer les performances et le bien être des truies gravides par la mobilisation de nouvelles technologies pour une alimentation de précision et la détection de signaux comportementaux.

Since the new welfare regulation, farmers have to breed pregnant sows penned in the group. Thus, breeders observed more heterogeneity in the backfat thickness of sows when they are entering the farrowing units, implying more losses of piglets. It is also more difficult to observe lameness issues in large groups of sows. The objectives of this project are (i) to develop an activity sensor to feed each sow according to the energy it spends and (ii) to create an early detection system for lameness problems. The first step of this project was to develop a sensor able to record the individual activity level of sows penned in a group. As a result, Acti’Sow has been created. It is an ear tag accelerometer offering to know the daily time spent lying, standing and walking by a sow with a global accuracy close to 85 %. This project offers a better knowledge about sow behavior thanks to automatic feeders, connected drinkers, weighing scale and activity sensors. On average, the daily water consumption is 8.2 l/day/sow, but this result hides a huge variability close to 50 % when comparing a sow to another and 38 % for the same sow from a day to the next one. About their activity, an average sow spends 67 % of its time lying down, a bit more than 28 % standing up without moving and less than 5% walking. According to that, between the laziest one and the more active one, energy expenditure represent more than 500 g offeed. It means, with the same fixed objective of backfat thickness with these two sows, a farmer will need to give 500 g more feed/day for the very active sow. Early warning system for lameness issues was the other main result of this study. Through the use of watering and feeding behavior (number of visits per day, time of each visit, quantity of water/feed consumed, access rank to the feeder), individual weight and activity level, we built a first model able to individually predict lameness issue 24 hours before the farmer can observe it. The accuracy is close to 77 %. It means, that a cell phone app can alert farmers when a sow needs to be checked.Depuis la mise en groupe des truies gestantes, les éleveurs observent plus d’hétérogénéité de l’état corporel des truies lors de leur entrée en maternité impliquant plus de pertes de porcelets. Il est également plus difficile d’observer les problèmes d’aplombs dans des grands groupes de truies. La première étape de ce projet avait pour objectif le développement d’un capteur capable d’enregistrer le niveau d’activité individuel des truies logées en groupe conformément à la réglementation bien-être. Cette étude a donc permis la mise au point de l’Acti’Sow. Il s’agit d’un accéléromètre autonome, positionné à l’oreille des truies, qui permet de connaître le temps quotidien passé par les truies à rester couchée, debout ou encore à marcher. Par ailleurs, cette étude offre également une meilleure connaissance du comportement des truies grâce aux nourrisseurs et aux abreuvoirs connectés, à la station de pesée identifiée et aux capteurs d’activité. En moyenne, la consommation d'eau quotidienne d’une truie est de 8,2 l / jour mais ce résultat cache une variabilité conséquente de près de 50% lorsque l'on compare une truie par rapport à une autre et de 38% pour la même truie d'un jour à l'autre. À propos de leur activité, une truie « normale » passe 67% de son temps en position couchée, un peu plus de 28% en position debout sans bouger et moins de 5% en marche. Sachant cela, entre la plus fainéante et la plus active, la dépense énergétique liée à cette activité représente plus de 500 g d’aliment. Le système d'alerte précoce des problèmes de boiterie est l'autre principal objectif de cette étude. En utilisant les comportements alimentaire et hydrique (nombre de visites par jour, heure de chaque visite, quantité d’eau / d’aliments consommée, rang d’accès au nourrisseur / abreuvoirs), le poids individuel et le niveau d’activité, nous avons construit un premier modèle capable de prédire individuellement les boiteries 24 heures avant que l’agriculteur puisse l’observer. La précision est proche de 77

Novel and emerging biotechnological crop protection approaches

Traditional breeding or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have for a long time been the sole approaches to effectively cope with biotic and abiotic stresses and implement the quality traits of crops. However, emerging diseases as well as unpredictable climate changes affecting agriculture over the entire globe force scientists to find alternative solutions required to quickly overcome seasonal crises. In this review, we first focus on cisgenesis and genome editing as challenging biotechnological approaches for breeding crops more tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, we take into consideration a toolbox of new techniques based on applications of RNA interference and epigenome modifications, which can be adopted for improving plant resilience. Recent advances in these biotechnological applications are mainly reported for non‐model plants and woody crops in particular. Indeed, the characterization of RNAi machinery in plants is fundamental to transform available information into biologically or biotechnologically applicable knowledge. Finally, here we discuss how these innovative and environmentally friendly techniques combined with traditional breeding can sustain a modern agriculture and be of potential contribution to climate change mitigation