A Stochastic Process Approach of the Drake Equation Parameters

The number N of detectable (i.e. communicating) extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy is usually done by using the Drake equation. This equation was established in 1961 by Frank Drake and was the first step to quantifying the SETI field. Practically, this equation is rather a simple algebraic expression and its simplistic nature leaves it open to frequent re-expression An additional problem of the Drake equation is the time-independence of its terms, which for example excludes the effects of the physico-chemical history of the galaxy. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the main shortcoming of the Drake equation is its lack of temporal structure, i.e., it fails to take into account various evolutionary processes. In particular, the Drake equation doesn't provides any error estimation about the measured quantity. Here, we propose a first treatment of these evolutionary aspects by constructing a simple stochastic process which will be able to provide both a temporal structure to the Drake equation (i.e. introduce time in the Drake formula in order to obtain something like N(t)) and a first standard error measure.Comment: 22 pages, 0 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in the International Journal of Astrobiolog

Mutational analysis-inspired algorithms for cells self-organization towards a dynamic under viability constraints

International audienceIn biology, recent techniques in confocal mi- croscopy have produced experimental data which highlights the importance of cellular dynamics in the evolution of biolog- ical shapes. Thus, to understand the mechanisms underlying the morphogenesis of multi-cellular organisms, we study this cellular dynamic system in terms of its properties: cell multi- plication, cell migration, and apoptosis. Besides, understanding the convergence of the system toward a stable form, involves local interactions between cells. Indeed, the way that cells self- organize through these interactions determines the resulting form. Along with the mechanisms of convergence highlighted above, the dynamic system also undergoes controls established by the nature on the organisms growth. Hence, to let the system viable, the global behavior of cells has to be assessed at every state of their developement and must satisfy the constraints. Otherwise, the whole system self-adapts in regard to its global behavior. Thus, we must be able to formalize in a proper metric space a metaphor of cell dynamics in order to find conditions (decisions, states) that would make cells to self-organize and in which cells self-adapt so as to always satisfy operational constraints (such as those induced by the tissue or the use of resources). Therefore, the main point remains to find conditions in which the system is viable and maintains its shape while renewing. The aim of this paper is to explain the mathematical foundations of this work and describe a simulation tool to study the morphogenesis of a virtual organism

3D individual based model for simultaneous growth and interaction of L. Monocytogenes and lactic acid bacteria

International audienceBy interacting with pathogens, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are able to contribute to food safety. By means of their lactic acid production which induces pH decrease, LAB influence the growth of pathogens. The aim of this study is to model and simulate lactic acid production, pH evolution, according to carbohydrate concentration in media, temperature, water activity and ratio of both population

Hybrid data-based modelling in oncology: successes, challenges and hopes

International audienceIn this review we make the statement that hybrid models in oncology are required as a mean for enhanced data integration. In the context of systems oncology, experimental and clinical data need to be at the heart of the models developments from conception to validation to ensure a relevant use of the models in the clinical context. The main applications pursued are to improve diagnosis and to optimize therapies.We first present the Successes achieved thanks to hybrid modelling approaches to advance knowledge, treatments or drug discovery. Then we present the Challenges than need to be addressed to allow for a better integration of the model parts and of the data into the models. And Finally, the Hopes with a focus towards making personalised medicine a reality. Mathematics Subject Classification. 35Q92, 68U20, 68T05, 92-08, 92B05

Archaebiotics: Archaea as Pharmabiotics for Treating Chronic Disease in Humans?

Recent findings highlight the role of the human gut microbiota in various disorders. For example, atherosclerosis frequently seems to be the consequence of gut microbiota–derived metabolism of some dietary components. Pharmabiotics (i.e., live/dead microbes and microbe-derived substances) and probiotics (live microorganisms with a health benefit when administered in adequate amounts) are a means to counteract these deleterious effects. Among the latter, microbes now being used or, being currently developed, are bacteria and eukaryotes (yeasts), so omitting the third domain of life—the archaea, despite their unique properties that could be of great interest to human health. Here, we promote the idea that some specific archaea are potential next-generation probiotics. This is based on an innovative example of the bioremediation of a gut microbial metabolite. Indeed, besides the fact that they are archaea (i.e. originating from a domain of life from which no pathogens of humans/animals/plants are currently known), they are rationally selected based on (i) being naturally human-hosted, (ii) having a unique metabolism not performed by other human gut microbes, (iii) depleting a deleterious atherogenic compound generated by the human gut microbiota and (iv) generating a health inert gas

Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray Opacity of the Universe

The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figures, accepted version (24 Aug.2010) for publication in ApJ; Contact authors: A. Bouvier, A. Chen, S. Raino, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, L.C. Reye

A population of gamma-ray emitting globular clusters seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

Globular clusters with their large populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are believed to be potential emitters of high-energy gamma-ray emission. Our goal is to constrain the millisecond pulsar populations in globular clusters from analysis of gamma-ray observations. We use 546 days of continuous sky-survey observations obtained with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to study the gamma-ray emission towards 13 globular clusters. Steady point-like high-energy gamma-ray emission has been significantly detected towards 8 globular clusters. Five of them (47 Tucanae, Omega Cen, NGC 6388, Terzan 5, and M 28) show hard spectral power indices $(0.7 < \Gamma <1.4)$ and clear evidence for an exponential cut-off in the range 1.0-2.6 GeV, which is the characteristic signature of magnetospheric emission from MSPs. Three of them (M 62, NGC 6440 and NGC 6652) also show hard spectral indices $(1.0 < \Gamma < 1.7)$, however the presence of an exponential cut-off can not be unambiguously established. Three of them (Omega Cen, NGC 6388, NGC 6652) have no known radio or X-ray MSPs yet still exhibit MSP spectral properties. From the observed gamma-ray luminosities, we estimate the total number of MSPs that is expected to be present in these globular clusters. We show that our estimates of the MSP population correlate with the stellar encounter rate and we estimate 2600-4700 MSPs in Galactic globular clusters, commensurate with previous estimates. The observation of high-energy gamma-ray emission from a globular cluster thus provides a reliable independent method to assess their millisecond pulsar populations that can be used to make constraints on the original neutron star X-ray binary population, essential for understanding the importance of binary systems in slowing the inevitable core collapse of globular clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Corresponding authors: J. Kn\"odlseder, N. Webb, B. Pancraz

Fermi Large Area Telescope View of the Core of the Radio Galaxy Centaurus A

We present gamma-ray observations with the LAT on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus~A. The previous EGRET detection is confirmed, and the localization is improved using data from the first 10 months of Fermi science operation. In previous work, we presented the detection of the lobes by the LAT; in this work, we concentrate on the gamma-ray core of Cen~A. Flux levels as seen by the LAT are not significantly different from that found by EGRET, nor is the extremely soft LAT spectrum (\G=2.67\pm0.10_{stat}\pm0.08_{sys} where the photon flux is \Phi\propto E^{-\G}). The LAT core spectrum, extrapolated to higher energies, is marginally consistent with the non-simultaneous HESS spectrum of the source. The LAT observations are complemented by simultaneous observations from Suzaku, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope and X-ray Telescope, and radio observations with the Tracking Active Galactic Nuclei with Austral Milliarcsecond Interferometry (TANAMI) program, along with a variety of non-simultaneous archival data from a variety of instruments and wavelengths to produce a spectral energy distribution (SED). We fit this broadband data set with a single-zone synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton model, which describes the radio through GeV emission well, but fails to account for the non-simultaneous higher energy TeV emission observed by HESS from 2004-2008. The fit requires a low Doppler factor, in contrast to BL Lacs which generally require larger values to fit their broadband SEDs. This indicates the \g-ray emission originates from a slower region than that from BL Lacs, consistent with previous modeling results from Cen~A. This slower region could be a slower moving layer around a fast spine, or a slower region farther out from the black hole in a decelerating flow.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 32 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. J. Finke and Y. Fukazawa corresponding author