A numerical tool to integrate biophysical diversity of a large regulated river: hydrobiogeochemical bases. The case of the Garonne River (France)

This article presents the bases of a hydrobiogeochemical model of the Garonne River (southwest France) which has been developed to integrate physical and biological processes during summer low-water periods. The physical part of this model is composed of a one-dimensional unsteady hydrodynamic model, allowing the resolution of the Saint-Venant equations, and a transport model which simulates downstream changes in solute concentrations. Biogeochemical processes are considered through the definition of functional compartments which make up the channel bed. These different compartments are defined both by the organisms involved in the solute transformation processes and by the physical and hydraulic characteristics of their habitat. Integration of these functional compartments within the model required investigations at different scales. The scale at which biological processes take place ranges from millimetres to metres. The scale of a reach, at which organization of the functional compartments along the river can be linked to hydrodynamic and morphological characteristics, ranges from 500 m to several kilometres. The regional scale is that at which homogeneous reaches can be integrated. A feedback between numerical results and field experiments has allowed improvements to in situ measurement to increase modelling accuracy. For example, the model allows estimation of variables, such as fluxes, that are difficult to measure in situ. The developed model can integrate various functional compartments and their biogeochemical functioning. Two application examples, focused on dissolved inorganic nitrogen, are presented in order to illustrate the numerical tool functioning: integration of equations on nitrification processes in the water body, and integration of consumption/production terms on epilithic biofilm resulting from in situ experimental mean values. The model we have developed constitutes a promising analytical tool that will be able to integrate previous and future studies

Filtre multicouche en bande C à résonateurs en boucle-ouverte carrée et plots métalliques flottants

National audienceL'évolution constante et rapide des systèmes de télécommunications conduit à rechercher des solutions hyperfréquences faibles coûts toujours plus performantes et de taille réduite. Afin de satisfaire aux spécifications très sévères des filtres, il est nécessaire d'associer des topologies adéquates, des outils de simulation précis et une technologie maîtrisée. A cet effet, les topologies à base de couplages croisés qui permettent de favoriser les couplages entre résonateurs non adjacents pour améliorer les performances, sont très attractives [1]. Une grande variété de formes de résonateurs planaires a été développée mais généralement implémentée pour des applications de filtre à bande étroite. En effet, pour des filtres plus large bande, des niveaux de couplage plus élevés sont nécessaires, ce qui se traduit par des distances inter-résonateurs très faibles. Une solution pratique pour résoudre cette difficulté est d'utiliser des structures multi niveaux [2]. Dans la littérature, la plupart des filtres multicouches décrits sont à bande étroite (bande passante relative inférieure à 10%), et l'objectif est clairement la réduction de taille. Cet article décrit un filtre présentant une bande passante de 22% et utilisant des résonateurs en boucle ouverte. Les niveaux élevés de couplage sont réalisés en considérant deux niveaux conducteurs et des plots métalliques flottants [3]. Notre objectif est d'illustrer les bénéfices d'une technologie multicouche au travers de la conception d'un filtre large-bande basée sur une approche de type matrice de couplage

Exploitation des couplages de proximité dans une topologie de filtres à stubs

National audienceParmi les nombreuses topologies de filtres décrites dans la littérature, la topologie Dual Behavior Resonator (DBR) apporte de nombreux avantages [1]. Elle permet un contrôle indépendant et simultané de la fréquence centrale et des bandes atténuées adjacentes. Ses caractéristiques particulières, ses degrés de liberté et sa souplesse, lui permettent de répondre aisément à des spécifications électriques sévères. Toutefois, comme pour les autres topologies classiques de filtres à stubs, un phénomène n'est pas pris en compte dans la synthèse : il s'agit des couplages de proximité apparaissant de façon fortuite entre les résonateurs adjacents ou non adjacents. Ces couplages non pris en compte par les synthèses traditionnelles influent beaucoup sur la réponse électrique des structures, et peuvent être de surcroît de nouveaux paramètres de réglage. Ce papier est consacré à l'exploitation des phénomènes de couplage pour améliorer les performances de la topologie DBR. Cela nécessite de définir et de mettre en oeuvre des techniques de synthèse adaptées pour maîtriser ces phénomènes

Acidification increases abundances of Vibrionales and Planctomycetia associated to a seaweed-grazer system: potential consequences for disease and prey digestion efficiency

Ocean acidification significantly affects marine organisms in several ways, with complex interactions. Seaweeds might benefit from rising CO2 through increased photosynthesis and carbon acquisition, with subsequent higher growth rates. However, changes in seaweed chemistry due to increased CO2 may change the nutritional quality of tissue for grazers. In addition, organisms live in close association with a diverse microbiota, which can also be influenced by environmental changes, with feedback effects. As gut microbiomes are often linked to diet, changes in seaweed characteristics and associated microbiome can affect the gut microbiome of the grazer, with possible fitness consequences. In this study, we experimentally investigated the effects of acidification on the microbiome of the invasive brown seaweed Sargassum muticum and a native isopod consumer Synisoma nadejda. Both were exposed to ambient CO2 conditions (380 ppm, pH 8.16) and an acidification treatment (1,000 ppm, pH 7.86) for three weeks. Microbiome diversity and composition were determined using high-throughput sequencing of the variable regions V5-7 of 16S rRNA. We anticipated that as a result of acidification, the seaweed-associated bacterial community would change, leading to further changes in the gut microbiome of grazers. However, no significant effects of elevated CO2 on the overall bacterial community structure and composition were revealed in the seaweed. In contrast, significant changes were observed in the bacterial community of the grazer gut. Although the bacterial community of S. muticum as whole did not change, Oceanospirillales and Vibrionales (mainly Pseudoalteromonas) significantly increased their abundance in acidified conditions. The former, which uses organic matter compounds as its main source, may have opportunistically taken advantage of the possible increase of the C/N ratio in the seaweed under acidified conditions. Pseudoalteromonas, commonly associated to diseased seaweeds, suggesting that acidification may facilitate opportunistic/pathogenic bacteria. In the gut of S. nadejda, the bacterial genus Planctomycetia increased abundance under elevated CO2. This shift might be associated to changes in food (S. muticum) quality under acidification. Planctomycetia are slow-acting decomposers of algal polymers that could be providing the isopod with an elevated algal digestion and availability of inorganic compounds to compensate the shifted C/N ratio under acidification in their food. In conclusion, our results indicate that even after only three weeks of acidified conditions, bacterial communities associated to ungrazed seaweed and to an isopod grazer show specific, differential shifts in associated bacterial community. These have potential consequences for seaweed health (as shown in corals) and isopod food digestion. The observed changes in the gut microbiome of the grazer seem to reflect changes in the seaweed chemistry rather than its microbial composition.Erasmus Mundus Doctoral Programme MARES on Marine Ecosystem Health Conservation [MARES_13_08]; FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal) [SFRH/BPD/63703/2009, SFRH/BPD/107878/2015, SFRH/BPD/116774/2016]; EU SEAS-ERA project INVASIVES [SEAS-ERA/0001/2012]; [CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013

Carpenter v. United States : La fin de la géolocalisation des portables sans mandat aux Etats-Unis

Par une décision du 22 juin 2018, la Cour Suprême des Etats-Unis a mis fin à la géolocalisation des portables sans mandat, en affirmant que toute personne dispose d’une attente raisonnable en matière de vie privée concernant les informations générées par son téléphone mobile

Rôle du récepteur thyroïdien TRbeta1 dans le développement neuronal

Les hormones thyroïdiennes (HT) ont un rôle majeur dans le développement du système nerveux central (SNC). Trois récepteurs nucléaires dirigent l'action des HT et deux sont majoritairement exprimés dans le cerveau : TR?1 et TR?1. L'ontogenèse du récepteur TR?1 coïncide avec la fenêtre d'action des HT, ce qui suggère un rôle majeur dans les effets postnataux des HT chez les rongeurs. Pour étudier son rôle in vivo, nous avons créé des souris transgéniques surexprimant, spécifiquement dans les neurones, un récepteur TR?1 muté pour sa liaison à l'hormone. Le cervelet de ces souris présente les mêmes altérations de développement que les souris hypothyroïdiennes. L'inhibition de l'expression du facteur de transcription BTEB, régulé par les HT probablement via TR?1, dans des cultures primaires de neurones affecte la ramification mais pas l'élongation neuritique dépendante de la T3. La phosphorylation spécifique de certains sites des protéines MAP2 et Tau par la T3 pourrait participer à ces processus

Rise in carriage of group W meningococci in university students in United Kingdom

MenACWY conjugate vaccination was recently introduced in the UK for adolescents and 24 young adults to reduce disease due to Neisseria meningitidis group W (MenW). We 25 conducted a cross-sectional carriage study in first year university students. Despite 71% 26 MenACWY vaccine coverage, carriage of MenW, but not MenY, rose significantly in 27 students

Convergence of gut microbiotas in the adaptive radiations of African cichlid fishes

Ecoevolutionary dynamics of the gut microbiota at the macroscale level, that is, in across-species comparisons, are largely driven by ecological variables and host genotype. The repeated explosive radiations of African cichlid fishes in distinct lakes, following a dietary diversification in a context of reduced genetic diversity, provide a natural setup to explore convergence, divergence and repeatability in patterns of microbiota dynamics as a function of the host diet, phylogeny and environment. Here we characterized by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing the gut microbiota of 29 cichlid species from two distinct lakes/radiations (Tanganyika and Barombi Mbo) and across a broad dietary and phylogenetic range. Within each lake, a significant deviation between a carnivorous and herbivorous lifestyle was found. Herbivore species were characterized by an increased bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity and converged in key compositional and functional community aspects. Despite a significant lake effect on the microbiota structure, this process has occurred with remarkable parallels in the two lakes. A metabolic signature most likely explains this trend, as indicated by a significant enrichment in herbivores/omnivores of bacterial taxa and functions associated with fiber degradation and detoxification of plant chemical compounds. Overall, compositional and functional aspects of the gut microbiota individually and altogether validate and predict main cichlid dietary habits, suggesting a fundamental role of gut bacteria in cichlid niche expansion and adaptation