The inactivated NDV-HXP-S COVID-19 vaccine induces a significantly higher ratio of neutralizing to non-neutralizing antibodies in humans as compared to mRNA vaccines

NDV-HXP-S is a recombinant Newcastle disease virus based-vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which expresses an optimized (HexaPro) spike protein on its surface. The vaccine can be produced in embryonated chicken eggs using the same process as that employed for the production of influenza virus vaccines. Here we performed a secondary analysis of the antibody responses after vaccination with inactivated NDV-HXP-S in a Phase I clinical study in Thailand. Please click Download on the upper right corner to see the full abstract

SIMPA - Simulation paysagère par interface embarquée: Outil de simulation paysagère et de planification territoriale collaborative

SIMPA propose une méthodologie de simulations paysagères d’options d’aménagement, dans un contexte innovant de géoprospective, fondé sur l’interaction dans un environnement 3D temps réel. La vidéo résume les principales étapes de la méthodologie

« Assessing possible changes in a town’s buildings – Fuzzy logic and 3D simulation Applied to the city of Nice »

ECTQG 2013This paper presents an approach aiming to anticipate possible transformations of the overall built fabric of a town, analysed at building level. The research is applied to the city of Nice. A grid with 400m X 400m cells is applied over the commune's area. The field of study is made up of 163 cells concentrating half of the built-up area. The possibilities of transformation of buildings within a cell are estimated starting from hypotheses relating to four groups of variable: the structure of the built fabric, attractiveness linked to an infrastructure programme planned in the cell or nearby, the town's policy (urban renovation and climate plan) and residents' sensitivity to measures and practices in favour of sustainable development. The method consists in estimating the potential of change of the built fabric in each cell by means of fuzzy logic. We use fuzzy Inference Systems to address the problem of future spatial changes. Data are either quantitative or qualitative, in view of the fact that it is often not possible to describe the environmental and social properties (e.g. architectural quality, social acceptance…) using objective indicators. Thereby, the spatial knowledge is described by semantic variables often affected by a high degree of inaccuracy and uncertainty, making fuzzy logic a suitable tool for expressing and processing this information. The potential of change is assessed according to three scenarios: i) with no specific public policy in favour of sustainable development, ii) with an aggressive public policy against energy wasting in homes, iii) integrating the tendency of inhabitants to innovate and their level of sensitivity to levers set out by public policies. The cells' potentials are mapped. Some of them are selected for carrying out simulations of plausible transformations of the built fabric, and visualising in 3D the changed aspects of façades in certain streets

Modélisation géoprospective et simulation 3D immersive

International audienceThis article presents a new approach and the initial feedback in a research that seeks to provoke reflections and reactions to different stakeholders on future changes in their living territory. This project is divided into two stages. The first is a production of different scenarios of changes in land use, associated with a 3D virtual representation of landscape. The second stage is a participatory workshop in small groups of stakeholders. The shared collective thinking is based on 3D virtual representations of transformations of space that were chosen by the participants from an application designed for this project. The study area, located on the coastal zone of Alpes-Maritimes, is very threatened by fast and diffuse urbanization.Cet article présente la démarche, et les premiers retours d’expérience, d’une recherche destinée à susciter les réflexions et les réactions de différents types d’acteurs sur les transformations futures de leur territoire de vie. La démarche se décompose en deux temps, tout d’abord, réalisation de différents scénarios de changements de l’occupation du sol, avec, associée à chacun d’eux, une représentation paysagère en 3D. Puis, travail en petits groupes dans un atelier participatif. La réflexion collective partagée porte sur les représentations paysagères en 3D des transformations de l’espace, choisies, testées, par les participants, à partir d’une application conçue à cet effet. Le territoire d’étude, situé sur le littoral des Alpes-Maritimes, est un territoire très menacé par l’urbanisation diffuse galopante

Modélisation géoprospective et simulation 3D immersive

International audienceThis article presents a new approach and the initial feedback in a research that seeks to provoke reflections and reactions to different stakeholders on future changes in their living territory. This project is divided into two stages. The first is a production of different scenarios of changes in land use, associated with a 3D virtual representation of landscape. The second stage is a participatory workshop in small groups of stakeholders. The shared collective thinking is based on 3D virtual representations of transformations of space that were chosen by the participants from an application designed for this project. The study area, located on the coastal zone of Alpes-Maritimes, is very threatened by fast and diffuse urbanization.Cet article présente la démarche, et les premiers retours d’expérience, d’une recherche destinée à susciter les réflexions et les réactions de différents types d’acteurs sur les transformations futures de leur territoire de vie. La démarche se décompose en deux temps, tout d’abord, réalisation de différents scénarios de changements de l’occupation du sol, avec, associée à chacun d’eux, une représentation paysagère en 3D. Puis, travail en petits groupes dans un atelier participatif. La réflexion collective partagée porte sur les représentations paysagères en 3D des transformations de l’espace, choisies, testées, par les participants, à partir d’une application conçue à cet effet. Le territoire d’étude, situé sur le littoral des Alpes-Maritimes, est un territoire très menacé par l’urbanisation diffuse galopante

Proopiomelanocortin Processing in the Hypothalamus Is Directly Regulated by Saturated Fat: Implications for the Development of Obesity.

In outbred mice, susceptibility or resistance to diet-induced obesity is associated with rapid changes in hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) levels. Here, we evaluated 3 hypotheses that potentially explain the development of the different obesity phenotypes in outbred Swiss mice. First, rapid and differential changes in the gut microbiota in obesity-prone (OP) and obesity-resistant (OR) mice fed on a high-fat diet (HFD) might cause differential efficiencies in fatty acid harvesting leading to changes in systemic fatty acid concentrations that in turn affect POMC expression and processing. Second, independently of the gut microbiota, OP mice might have increased blood fatty acid levels after the introduction of a HFD, which could affect POMC expression and processing. Third, fatty acids might act directly in the hypothalamus to differentially regulate POMC expression and/or processing in OP and OR mice. We evaluated OP and OR male Swiss mice using 16S rRNA sequencing for the determination of gut microbiota; gas chromatography for blood lipid determination; and immunoblot and real-time polymerase chain reaction for protein and transcript determination and indirect calorimetry. Some experiments were performed with human pluripotent stem cells differentiated into hypothalamic neurons. We did not find evidence supporting the first 2 hypotheses. However, we found that in OP but not in OR mice, palmitate induces a rapid increase in hypothalamic POMC, which is followed by increased expression of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 PC1/3. Lentiviral inhibition of hypothalamic PC1/3 increased caloric intake and body mass in both OP and OR mice. In human stem cell-derived hypothalamic cells, we found that palmitate potently suppressed the production of POMC-derived peptides. Palmitate directly regulates PC1/3 in OP mice and likely has a functional impact on POMC processing