Development of an International Odor Identification Test for Children: The Universal Sniff Test

Objective: To assess olfactory function in children and to create and validate an odor identification test to diagnose olfactory dysfunction in children, which we called the Universal Sniff (U-Sniff) test.  Study design: This is a multicenter study involving 19 countries. The U-Sniff test was developed in 3 phases including 1760 children age 5-7 years. Phase 1: identification of potentially recognizable odors; phase 2: selection of odorants for the odor identification test; and phase 3: evaluation of the test and acquisition of normative data. Test—retest reliability was evaluated in a subgroup of children (n = 27), and the test was validated using children with congenital anosmia (n = 14).  Results: Twelve odors were familiar to children and, therefore, included in the U-Sniff test. Children scored a mean ± SD of 9.88 ± 1.80 points out of 12. Normative data was obtained and reported for each country. The U-Sniff test demonstrated a high test—retest reliability (r27 = 0.83, P < .001) and enabled discrimination between normosmia and children with congenital anosmia with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 86%.  Conclusions: The U-Sniff is a valid and reliable method of testing olfaction in children and can be used internationally

Hot Vents Beneath an Icy Ocean: The Aurora Vent Field, Gakkel Ridge, Revealed

Evidence of hydrothermal venting on the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge in the Central Arctic Ocean has been available since 2001, with first visual evidence of black smokers on the Aurora Vent Field obtained in 2014. But it was not until 2021 that the first ever remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives to hydrothermal vents under permanent ice cover in the Arctic were conducted, enabling the collection of vent fluids, rocks, microbes, and fauna. In this paper, we present the methods employed for deep-sea ROV operations under drifting ice. We also provide the first description of the Aurora Vent Field, which includes three actively venting black smokers and diffuse flow on the Aurora mound at ~3,888 m depth on the southern part of the Gakkel Ridge (82.5°N). The biological communities are dominated by a new species of cocculinid limpet, two small gastropods, and a melitid amphipod. The ongoing analyses of Aurora Vent Field samples will contribute to positioning the Gakkel Ridge hydrothermal vents in the global biogeographic puzzle of hydrothermal vents

Spatiotemporal evolution of pathogen stresses in bread wheat in France: study of rusts and septoria coexistence

Spatiotemporal evolution of pathogen stresses in bread wheat in France: study of rusts and septoria coexistence. 7. journée IDEE

Spatiotemporal evolution of pathogen stresses in bread wheat in France: study of rusts and septoria coexistence

Spatiotemporal evolution of pathogen stresses in bread wheat in France: study of rusts and septoria coexistence. 7. journée IDEE

What were the relative influences of cropping systems, injury profiles and institutional determinants on the spatio-temporal structure of bread wheat varietal and genetic diversity in France ?

National audienceIn the current context of increasing climate instabilities and new pest pressures, in situ crop diversity has been recognized as a relevant way to lower the genetic vulnerability of a crop. Before implementing any future deployment of within-crop diversity in agricultural landscapes, a detailed knowledge of the main drivers that affect the spatio-temporal structure of crop diversity appears necessary. Our study was primarily carried out to identify the drivers of bread wheat diversity at fine spatio-temporal scale in France over the period 1981-2006 by accounting for acreage frequencies and allelic composition of varieties.As highlighted in previous studies, both varietal and genetic diversity were spatially structured among major agricultural production areas, as well as several of their portential drivers describing cropping systems, pathogen pressures and institutional determinants of the formal wheat sector. We hypothesized that these potential drivers could have a higher explanatory power of the varietal diversity (based only on the varietal denomination summarizing performances of the variety on which farmers rely to make their varietal choices). Based on a set of fine-grained spatio-temporal datasets, we computed indicators considered as relevant proxies of these portential drivers and conducted a set of statistical analyses and an expert survey. We confirmed that the drivers identified explained more the spatio-temporal structure of bread heat varietalrather than genetic diversity. In addition, these results highlighted that diversity appeared to be higher when larger production areas of bread wheat with a greater diversity of preceding crops were sown, then potentially promoting the choice of a higher number of varieties with different earliness classes. On the contrary, a high proportion of maize or wheat as preceding crops, know to have adverse effects on subsequent wheat production, as well as a high level of risk of pathogens favored by these preceding crops, such as fusarium head blight, were negatively correlated with a higher varietal diversity. A higher production area of bread wheat with greater diversity of preceding crops was also positively associated with a higher neutral genetic diversity, hile more specialized agroecosystems would reduce the effective and relevant varietal choice

Relative influence of agricultural systems, pathogen pressures and soci-economic drivers on spatio-temporal changes of cultivated bread wheat varietal and genetic diversity over recent decades in France

National audienc

Structure spatio-temporelle de la diversité cultivée du blé tendre et de ses déterminants potentiels : Étude de cas en France

International audienc

Hot vents beneath an icy ocean: the Aurora Vent Field, Gakkel Ridge, revealed

Evidence of hydrothermal venting on the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge in the Central Arctic Ocean has been available since 2001, with first visual evidence of black smokers on the Aurora Vent Field obtained in 2014. But it was not until 2021 that the first ever remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives to hydrothermal vents under permanent ice cover in the Arctic were conducted, enabling the collection of vent fluids, rocks, microbes, and fauna. In this paper, we present the methods employed for deep-sea ROV operations under drifting ice. We also provide the first description of the Aurora Vent Field, which includes three actively venting black smokers and diffuse flow on the Aurora mound at ~3,888 m depth on the southern part of the Gakkel Ridge (82.5°N). The biological communities are dominated by a new species of cocculinid limpet, two small gastropods, and a melitid amphipod. The ongoing analyses of Aurora Vent Field samples will contribute to positioning the Gakkel Ridge hydrothermal vents in the global biogeographic puzzle of hydrothermal vents