HARMONIA: strategy of an integrated resilience assessment platform (IRAP) with available tools and geospatial services

The huge amount of the available data nowadays has raised some major challenges which are related to the storage, fusion, structure, streaming and processing of these data. In this paper, we present the development of a holistic framework, entitled HARMONIA, that encompasses State-of-The-Art solutions for the emerging issues related to Climate Change, natural and/or man-made hazards and urban/peri-urban risks. The Horizon 2020 HARMONIA project is developing an Integrated Resilience Assessment Platform (IRAP) which plans to provide targeted services for different groups of end-users. In particular, it will actively support urban decision-makers in strategic decisions and planning and citizens in facing daily effects and risks of Climate Change. Additionally, the platform will be a place to interconnect cities which end up facing similar Climate Change effects. HARMONIA IRAP leverages cuttingedge technologies (i.e., explainable Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining, multi-criteria analysis, dynamic programming) and services (ie., Virtual Machines, Containers) in order to provide solutions considering the complexity and diversity of extreme earth and non-earth data. In addition, this platform includes a Decision Support System providing early-warning feedback and recommendations to the end-users. In this way the HARMONIA IRAP design tends to address these challenges by offering the corresponding dynamic, scalable and robust mechanisms with the aim to provide useful integrated tools for the related users. Datacubes architecture, which is a major part of the IRAP, offers the opportunity to investigate more sophisticated correlations among the data and provide a more tangible representation of the extracted information

Pour une approche holistique des conditions de vie des populations du passé

International audienceDivers facteurs d’inégalité, tels que le genre, la position sociale, la profession, ou l'origine géographique, interagissent et influencent sur les conditions de vie des populations (approche intersectionnelle). S’y ajoutent des facteurs environnementaux, comme les famines, les guerres ou des problèmes climatiques, qui aggravent les inégalités sociales. La plupart des études comparatives portant sur l’état sanitaire se font à partir des groupes déjà constitués (femme/homme, classe d’âge, site, période ou composition du mobilier funéraire) (Polet, 2016 ; Scott & Hoppa, 2018 ; Ubelaker & Pap, 2009 ; Vercellotti et al., 2011). Elles supposent par là-même que ces groupes sont homogènes, alors qu’ils sont composés d’individus ayant vécu des expériences différentes.Pour contourner ce biais, nous proposons d’utiliser des méthodes statistiques qui permettent d’agréger les individus présentant des conditions de vie similaires (clustering). Pour cette analyse, nous considérons les variables suivantes : cribra orbitalia, hyperostose poreuse de la voûte crânienne, hypoplasie linéaire de l'email dentaire et petite stature. La collection objet de cette analyse, les Capucins de Ferrières (Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône, 1720-21), présente quelques avantages : elle est composée exclusivement des victimes de l’épidémie de peste dite « de Marseille », leur décès est survenu dans un temps très bref (quelques mois), et tous ces individus ont vécu ensemble, selon les mêmes normes sociales et les mêmes contraintes environnementales.Les résultats obtenus montrent que les différences des conditions de vie sont moins en fonction du sexe ou de l’âge, que des facteurs socio-environnementaux et des caractéristiques socio-biologiques des individus qui leur confèrent une vulnérabilité (frailty) plus ou moins grande.Cette étude démontre qu’une approche genrée des conditions de vie doit prendre en compte la diversité des comportements et des vécus des individus, et qu’une analyse binaire (hommes versus femmes) rend impossible l’observation de toutes ces nuances

OCT2013, an ischaemia-activated antiarrhythmic prodrug, devoid of the systemic side effects of lidocaine

Background and Purpose Sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by acute myocardial ischaemia and ventricular fibrillation (VF) is an unmet therapeutic need. Lidocaine suppresses ischaemia-induced VF, but its utility is limited by side effects and a narrow therapeutic index. Here, we characterise OCT2013, a putative ischaemia-activated prodrug of lidocaine. Experimental Approach The rat Langendorff-perfused isolated heart, anaesthetised rat and rat ventricular myocyte preparations were utilised in a series of blinded and randomised studies to investigate the antiarrhythmic effectiveness, adverse effects and mechanism of action of OCT2013, compared with lidocaine. Key Results In isolated hearts, OCT2013 and lidocaine prevented ischaemia-induced VF equi-effectively, but OCT2013 did not share lidocaine's adverse effects (PR widening, bradycardia and negative inotropy). In anaesthetised rats, i.v. OCT2013 and lidocaine suppressed VF and increased survival equi-effectively; OCT2013 had no effect on cardiac output even at 64 mg·kg⁻¹ i.v., whereas lidocaine reduced it even at 1 mg·kg⁻¹. In adult rat ventricular myocytes, OCT2013 had no effect on Ca²⁺ handling, whereas lidocaine impaired it. In paced isolated hearts, lidocaine caused rate-dependent conduction slowing and block, whereas OCT2013 was inactive. However, during regional ischaemia, OCT2013 and lidocaine equi-effectively hastened conduction block. Chromatography and MS analysis revealed that OCT2013, detectable in normoxic OCT2013-perfused hearts, became undetectable during global ischaemia, with lidocaine becoming detectable. Conclusions and Implications OCT2013 is inactive but is bio-reduced locally in ischaemic myocardium to lidocaine, acting as an ischaemia-activated and ischaemia-selective antiarrhythmic prodrug with a large therapeutic index, mimicking lidocaine's benefit without adversity

The contrasted phytoplankton dynamics across a frontal system in the southwestern Mediterranean Sea

Numerical simulations have shown that finescale structures such as fronts are often suitable places for the generation of vertical velocities, transporting subsurface nutrients to the euphotic zone and thus modulating phytoplankton abundance and community structure. In these structures, direct in situ estimations of the phytoplankton growth rates are rare; although difficult to obtain, they provide precious information on the ecosystem functioning. Here, we consider the case of a front separating two water masses characterized by several phytoplankton groups with different abundances in the southwestern Mediterranean Sea. In order to estimate possible differences in growth rates, we measured the phytoplankton diurnal cycle in these two water masses as identified by an adaptive and Lagrangian sampling strategy. A size-structured population model was then applied to these data to estimate the growth and loss rates for each phytoplankton group identified by flow cytometry, showing that these two population parameters are significantly different on the two sides of the front and consistent with the relative abundances. Our results introduce a general method for estimating growth rates at frontal systems, paving the way for in situ exploration of finescale biophysical interactions.</p

Effects of orange juice formulation on prebiotic functionality using an in vitro colonic model sytem

A three-stage continuous fermentative colonic model system was used to monitor in vitro the effect of different orange juice formulations on prebiotic activity. Three different juices with and without Bimuno, a GOS mixture containing galactooligosaccharides (B-GOS) were assessed in terms of their ability to induce a bifidogenic microbiota. The recipe development was based on incorporating 2.75g B-GOS into a 250 ml serving of juice (65°Brix of concentrate juice). Alongside the production of B-GOS juice, a control juice - orange juice without any additional Bimuno and a positive control juice, containing all the components of Bimuno (glucose, galactose and lactose) in the same relative proportions with the exception of B-GOS were developed. Ion Exchange Chromotography analysis was used to test the maintenance of bimuno components after the production process. Data showed that sterilisation had no significant effect on concentration of B-GOS and simple sugars. The three juice formulations were digested under conditions resembling the gastric and small intestinal environments. Main bacterial groups of the faecal microbiota were evaluated throughout the colonic model study using 16S rRNA-based fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Potential effects of supplementation of the juices on microbial metabolism were studied measuring short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) using gas chromatography. Furthermore, B-GOS juices showed positive modulations of the microbiota composition and metabolic activity. In particular, numbers of faecal bifidobacteria and lactobacilli were significantly higher when B-GOS juice was fermented compared to controls. Furthermore, fermentation of B-GOS juice resulted in an increase in Roseburia subcluster and concomitantly increased butyrate production, which is of potential benefit to the host. In conclusion, this study has shown B-GOS within orange juice can have a beneficial effect on the fecal microbiota

CLSM method for the dynamic observation of pH change within polymer matrices for oral delivery

If acid-sensitive drugs or cells are administered orally, there is often a reduction in efficacy associated with gastric passage. Formulation into a polymer matrix is a potential method to improve their stability. The visualization of pH within these materials may help better understand the action of these polymer systems and allow comparison of different formulations. We herein describe the development of a novel confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM) method for visualizing pH changes within polymer matrices and demonstrate its applicability to an enteric formulation based on chitosan-coated alginate gels. The system in question is first shown to protect an acid-sensitive bacterial strain to low pH, before being studied by our technique. Prior to this study, it has been claimed that protection by these materials is a result of buffering, but this has not been demonstrated. The visualization of pH within these matrices during exposure to a pH 2.0 simulated gastric solution showed an encroachment of acid from the periphery of the capsule, and a persistence of pHs above 2.0 within the matrix. This implies that the protective effect of the alginate-chitosan matrices is most likely due to a combination of buffering of acid as it enters the polymer matrix and the slowing of acid penetration

Development of a pro-arrhythmic ex vivo intact human and porcine model: cardiac electrophysiological changes associated with cellular uncoupling

We describe a human and large animal Langendorff experimental apparatus for live electrophysiological studies and measure the electrophysiological changes due to gap junction uncoupling in human and porcine hearts. The resultant ex vivo intact human and porcine model can bridge the translational gap between smaller simple laboratory models and clinical research. In particular, electrophysiological models would benefit from the greater myocardial mass of a large heart due to its effects on far-field signal, electrode contact issues and motion artefacts, consequently more closely mimicking the clinical setting. Porcine (n = 9) and human (n = 4) donor hearts were perfused on a custom-designed Langendorff apparatus. Epicardial electrograms were collected at 16 sites across the left atrium and left ventricle. A total of 1 mM of carbenoxolone was administered at 5 ml/min to induce cellular uncoupling, and then recordings were repeated at the same sites. Changes in electrogram characteristics were analysed. We demonstrate the viability of a controlled ex vivo model of intact porcine and human hearts for electrophysiology with pharmacological modulation. Carbenoxolone reduces cellular coupling and changes contact electrogram features. The time from stimulus artefact to (-dV/dt)max increased between baseline and carbenoxolone (47.9 ± 4.1–67.2 ± 2.7 ms) indicating conduction slowing. The features with the largest percentage change between baseline and carbenoxolone were fractionation + 185.3%, endpoint amplitude − 106.9%, S-endpoint gradient + 54.9%, S point − 39.4%, RS ratio + 38.6% and (-dV/dt)max − 20.9%. The physiological relevance of this methodological tool is that it provides a model to further investigate pharmacologically induced pro-arrhythmic substrates