Genomic Characterization of Human Long Noncoding RNAs

The human genome contains an astonishingly large fraction of noncoding DNA, which is pervasively transcribed into thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) -- long transcripts with no discernible protein-coding potential. However, little is known about lncRNAs' biological functions, and their genome annotations show evident signs of inadequacy: existing gene models are sketchy, and many lncRNAs remain uncatalogued. This annotation incompleteness hampers lncRNA functional characterization, notably by failing to accurately describe gene boundaries. To address this issue, the present work aims to advance towards a complete and accurate annotation of lncRNA genes in the human genome. Using a high-throughput, targeted long-read transcriptome sequencing methodology, this study uncovers thousands of novel lncRNAs, approximately doubling the annotated transcript complexity within targeted loci. The method presented vastly outperforms competing techniques in accuracy, and precisely maps many previously unknown, strongly supported lncRNA transcript boundaries. This augmented catalog provides the most definitive view of the genomic properties of lncRNAs to date, while contributing a robust foundation for future lncRNA functional characterization

Mapping, in human-computer systems

International audienceIn the technologic and scientific fields connected to Enactive Interfaces, the term mapping is used in a variety of situations, with various meanings. Here, the mapping's domain is the human gesture, or more precisely a data stream acquired from a gesture transducer, and the mapping's codomain is the computer process. Also, one defines a mapping strategy as a set of general guidelines and instructions useful to design the mapping

Behavioral Impact of Unisensory and Multisensory Audio-Tactile Events: Pros and Cons for Interlimb Coordination in Juggling

Recent behavioral neuroscience research revealed that elementary reactive behavior can be improved in the case of cross-modal sensory interactions thanks to underlying multisensory integration mechanisms. Can this benefit be generalized to an ongoing coordination of movements under severe physical constraints? We choose a juggling task to examine this question. A central issue well-known in juggling lies in establishing and maintaining a specific temporal coordination among balls, hands, eyes and posture. Here, we tested whether providing additional timing information about the balls and hands motions by using external sound and tactile periodic stimulations, the later presented at the wrists, improved the behavior of jugglers. One specific combination of auditory and tactile metronome led to a decrease of the spatiotemporal variability of the juggler's performance: a simple sound associated to left and right tactile cues presented antiphase to each other, which corresponded to the temporal pattern of hands movement in the juggling task. A contrario, no improvements were obtained in the case of other auditory and tactile combinations. We even found a degraded performance when tactile events were presented alone. The nervous system thus appears able to integrate in efficient way environmental information brought by different sensory modalities, but only if the information specified matches specific features of the coordination pattern. We discuss the possible implications of these results for the understanding of the neuronal integration process implied in audio-tactile interaction in the context of complex voluntary movement, and considering the well-known gating effect of movement on vibrotactile perception

Spectral analysis of surface waves for the characterization of the EDZ in circular galleries

Lors du creusement de galeries profondes ou de tunnels, les propriétés hydromécaniques de la roche encaissante autour de l'ouvrage sont altérées sur une certaine distance qui dépend de la nature de la roche et du type d'excavation. Une telle zone est appelée Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ). Cette altération de l'encaissant se caractérise par une densification de la fracturation intrinsèque de la roche. La connaissance des caractéristiques mécaniques de l'EDZ ainsi que son extension est actuellement un axe majeur de recherche notamment pour la conception de centres de stockage souterrains des déchets nucléaires. En effet, l'EDZ, par son réseau de fractures, est considéré comme un chemin potentiel pour les radionucléides et donc comme un facteur de possible contamination du milieu. Les méthodes géophysiques initialement utilisées à des échelles kilométriques pour analyser les événements géologiques, sont dorénavant transposées à des échelles métriques voire centimétriques et appliquées en génie civil ou dans tout autre domaine de l'ingénierie. L'intérêt de telles méthodes est leur caractère non destructif qui les rend faciles d'utilisation et généralement moins coûteuses que d'autres méthodes destructives. Elles permettent aussi un suivi dans le temps de l'évolution des propriétés des matériaux auscultés. La MASW (Multiple Acquisition of Surface Wave) est une méthode géophysique utilisant le principe de dispersion des ondes de surface (Park et al, 1999). Cette méthode a été transposée dans ce contexte afin d'obtenir un profil 1D des vitesses des ondes de cisaillement (S) autour d'un ouvrage souterrain et ainsi de déterminer l'extension et les caractéristiques en terme de vitesse des ondes S de l'EDZ. L'intérêt de cette méthode est sa facilité de mise en oeuvre et la possibilité de l'utiliser sans restriction majeure

What is the Profitability of a Photovoltaic Installation in France for an Individual?

The energy transition will require the use of renewable energy resources that will allow us to reach our decarbonization objectives. In addition to states and institutions, individuals have an important role to play in this transition, particularly with the installation of photovoltaic panels. But for individuals to use this source of energy, they must be guaranteed a financial return that encourages them to take the plunge. Several companies, in a commercial approach, guarantee returns on investment after 2–3 years for any installation. But is the financial profitability always guaranteed? In France, several types of photovoltaic installations are possible, total resale and self-consumption. For each one, the profitability will vary and depends on many parameters such as the initial and daily investment, the irradiation, the electricity buy-back price, and the consumption. This paper explains the calculation methodology for both typologies and shows that currently, in most cases, a self-consumption installation is more profitable than a full resale installation but is far from obtaining the returns on investment predicted by the commercials. If self-consumption is more profitable today, this is due to the fact that the investment (initial or annual) is less important, and that the price of electricity becomes more and more expensive while at the same time the price of resale decreases from year to year

Executive and social-cognitive determinants of environmental dependency syndrome in behavioral frontotemporal dementia

Objective: Environmental dependency syndrome (EDS), including utilization (UB) and imitation (IB) behaviors, is often reported in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). These behaviors are commonly attributed to executive dysfunction. However, inconsistent associations between EDS and poor executive performance has led to an alternative “social hypothesis,” instead implicating patients’ misinterpretation of the examiner’s intention. We investigated the possible explanatory cognitive mechanisms of EDS in bvFTD by relating UB and IB to performance on tests of executive functioning and theory of mind (ToM). Method: This study analyzed retrospective data of 32 bvFTD patients. Data included scores of UB and IB, various executive measures, and ToM assessment using the faux pas test, from which we extracted a mental attribution score. Results: Of the patients, 15.6% and 40.6% exhibited UB and IB, respectively. We conducted an automatic linear modeling analysis with executive and mental attribution measures as predictor variables, and UB and IB sequentially considered as target variables. ToM mental attribution score, visual abstraction and flexibility measures from the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and motor sequence performance significantly (corrected ps < .05) predicted IB. No executive or ToM measures significantly predicted UB. Conclusions: These findings reveal a complex interaction between executive dysfunction and mental attribution deficits influencing the prevalence of EDS in bvFTD. Further investigation is required to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these behaviors

Two-size moment Eulerian multi-fluid method describing the statistical trajectory crossing: modeling and numerical scheme

International audienceHigh fidelity modeling and simulation of turbulent dispersed two-phase flows is still a major challenge for many applications. Eulerian approaches are well suited for high performance computations of such flows. Recently, hybrid Eulerian methods that combine the multi-fluid approach-where the size is discretized-and the moment method were developed. On the one hand, in order to capture efficiently the size-polydispersion, two size moments were used on each interval of the size discretization (Two Size Moment method). On the other hand, the Anisotropic Gaussian (AG) velocity closure has been introduced as a relevant model to describe velocity dispersion occurring when the particles from the disperse phase have a significant inertia compared to the time scales of the flow, leading to particle trajectory crossings. The purpose of this contribution is to develop a model able to describe size and velocity dispersion, coupling the two-size moment Eulerian multi-fluid method and the anisotropic velocity closure. Adapted numerical schemes based on a relaxation method are provided. This new model (AG-TSM) is then evaluated on various test cases relevant to rocket propulsion and two-phase combustion

Deciphering the evolution of the Milky Way discs: Gaia APOGEE Kepler giant stars and the Besançon Galaxy Model

[Context] Thanks to ongoing efforts to compute accurate stellar ages, we are able to characterise stars in different regions of the Milky Way. The Gaia and Kepler space-missions, along with ground-based spectroscopic surveys such as APOGEE, provide a unique way to study the chemo-kinematics relations as a function of age through the Galactic stellar populations and provide new constraints to Galactic evolution models. [Aims] We investigate the properties of the double sequences of the Milky Way discs visible in the [α/Fe] versus [Fe/H] diagram, which are usually associated to the chemical thin and thick discs at the solar circle. In the framework of Galactic formation and evolution, we discuss the complex relationships between age, metallicity, [α/Fe], and the radial, azimuthal, and vertical components of the space velocities. [Methods] We study stars with measured chemical and seismic properties from the APOGEE spectroscopic survey and the Kepler satellite, respectively. In addition, astrometry from the Gaia satellite is available for the majority of the sample. We separate the [α/Fe]-[Fe/H] diagram into three stellar populations: the thin disc, the high-α metal-poor thick disc, and the high-α metal-rich thick disc and characterise each of these in the age-chemo-kinematics parameter space. Because of the model-dependent nature of the ages inferred from asteroseismology, and because they depend on the quality of the input spectroscopic information, we compare results obtained from different APOGEE data releases (DR14 and DR16). We also use age determinations from two recent works in the literature. In addition, we use the Besançon stellar populations synthesis model to highlight selection biases and mechanisms (such as mergers and secular evolution) not included in the model. [Results] The thin disc exhibits a flat age-metallicity relation while [α/Fe] increases with stellar age. We confirm no correlation between radial and vertical velocities with [Fe/H], [α/Fe], and age for each stellar population. Considering both samples, Vφ decreases with age for the thin disc, while Vφ increases with age for the high-α metal-poor thick disc. We show that this difference is not due to sample selection. Although the age distribution of the high-α metal-rich thick disc is very close to that of the high-α metal-poor thick disc between 7 and 14 Gyr, its kinematics seems to follow that of the thin disc. This feature, not predicted by the hypotheses included in the Besançon Galaxy Model, suggests a different origin and history for this population. Finally, we show that there is a maximum dispersion of the vertical velocity, σZ, with age for the high-α metal-poor thick disc around 8 Gyr. The comparisons with the Besançon Galaxy Model simulations suggest a more complex chemo-dynamical scheme to explain this feature, most likely including mergers and radial migration effects.F.F., A.F., R.M., M.R., T.A. acknowledge support by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and University (MICIU/FEDER, UE) through grant RTI2018-095076-B-C21, the Institute of Cosmos Sciences University of Barcelona (ICCUB, Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu”) through grant CEX2019-000918-M, the Ramon y Cajal Fellowship RYC2018-025968-I. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 800502. AM acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 772293 – project ASTEROCHRONOMETRY, https://www.asterochronometry.eu