Search

In the current context of climate change and increasing pressure on resources, the agricultural production model isbeing questioned. The challenge of a more autonomous, efficient and sustainable production of proteins must bemet by increasing the use of legumes in French cropping systems. The pea (Pisum sativum L.) crop model “AzodynPea” will be used to identify zones and management techniques favorable to the crop in Burgundy-Franche-Comté(eastern France), taking into account abiotic stresses, such as winter frost or water deficit. The first step in this processis the mapping of current soil properties and current and future climate characteristics of the region. Regionalizeddaily climate data at 8 km resolution were obtained by simulation for the historical period 1980-2005 and for theprospective period 2006-2100, exploring two climate change trajectories: an optimistic (RCP 4.5) and a pessimisticone (RCP 8.5). The soil data were extracted from the Regional Soil Geographical DataBase and then processed tocreate a new semantic database in addition to the spatial data (Soil Map Unit polygons-SMU). The characteristics ofthe majority Soil Typological Units (STU) in each SMU have been kept. Variables such as soil depth, pH and organicmatter were directly read from the database while others such as the soil available water capacity (AWC) or the bulkdensity were deduced from the semantic data using pedotransfer functions. The second step of the process was themapping, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, of historical (1980-2005) and prospective (2006-2100) flowering dates usingclimatic data for two pea varieties (one winter and one spring) and one sowing date per variety.

International audience; Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important annual legume crop grown in temperate regions for its high seed nitrogenconcentration and environmental benefits. In the recent climate warming, a subtle evolution of the winter cropfrost risk was observed: a paradoxical increase of frost stress events and a frost stress intensity decrease (Castel etal. 2017). Such results are questioning the future winter frost risk for peas. We assessed the winter frost damageevolution along 2006 to 2100 in Burgundy-Franche-Comté (a French region - western part of Europe). The approachis based on the combination of i) a dynamical downscaled climate data of two RCP trajectories (4.5 and 8.5) (Boulardet al. 2016) and ii) a winter frost stress model calibrated and validated for pea (using varieties with different frostresistance levels and acclimation rates) (Lecomte et al. 2003; Castel et al. 2017). Our results show that frost risk willnot disappear with warming climate (Fig. 1). Compared to the historical period (1980-2005), the frost risk for the peavariety with a frost resistance level of -13°C will increase along the near future period (2020-2050) for RCP 8.5: withan increase of both the median and the spread of the cumulative frost degree days (Fig. 1B). With a highest warmingalong the far future period (2070-2100) for RCP 8.5, the results show a significant decrease of the cumulative frostdegree days compared to the near future and the historical periods, but the frost risk will persist (Fig. 1B). It suggeststhat frost risk will significantly increase for an extended winter warming below + 2°C, while it will decrease whenthis threshold will be overpassed (Fig. 1). The figure 2 depicts the evolution of the two components of the froststress with warming: intensity and number of the frost stress events. The increase of the cumulative frost degreedays in the near future period (2020-2050) for RCP 8.5 is determined by the increase of frost stress events intensity(Fig. 2A). By contrast the number of frost stress events slightly decrease during this period (Fig. 2B). This resultdiffers from the past evolution of these components with the observed warming from 1961 to 2018 (Castel et al.2019) and suggests a change in the winter frost risk structure. For the end of the century (period 2070-2100) andfor the RCP 8.5, both intensity and number of the frost stress events will decrease (Fig. 2). Finally the projectionsshow a contrasted geography of the frost risk evolution. This geographic trend depends on the frost resistance leveland acclimation rate of the pea variety. Our results seem to confirm subtle evolutions of winter climate warmingdynamics revealed by the change in the pea crop frost risk structure. Moreover, this work provides leads for breedingand crop management techniques strategies for winter pea adaptation to climate change to avoid the detrimentaleffects of frost while taking advantage of the potential of this crop.

We performed a multistage genome-wide association study of melanoma. In a discovery cohort of 1804 melanoma cases and 1026 controls, we identified loci at chromosomes 15q13.1 (HERC2/OCA2 region) and 16q24.3 (MC1R) regions that reached genome-wide significance within this study and also found strong evidence for genetic effects on susceptibility to melanoma from markers on chromosome 9p21.3 in the p16/ARF region and on chromosome 1q21.3 (ARNT/LASS2/ANXA9 region). The most significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 15q13.1 locus (rs1129038 and rs12913832) lie within a genomic region that has profound effects on eye and skin color; notably, 50% of variability in eye color is associated with variation in the SNP rs12913832. Because eye and skin colors vary across European populations, we further evaluated the associations of the significant SNPs after carefully adjusting for European substructure. We also evaluated the top 10 most significant SNPs by using data from three other genome-wide scans. Additional in silico data provided replication of the findings from the most significant region on chromosome 1q21.3 rs7412746 (P = 6 × 10(-10)). Together, these data identified several candidate genes for additional studies to identify causal variants predisposing to increased risk for developing melanoma.

The isoenzyme Mu of glutathione S-transferase (GSTM1) is dominantly inherited, and the prevalence of this isoenzyme in the population is about 60%. The lack of GSTM1 has been linked with cancer risk. The frequency of the phenotypes of this isoenzyme in melanoma (MM) patients (n = 197) is reported here. A significantly higher proportion of individuals in the control group (n = 147) had measurable GSTM1 than MM patients (59.1% vs 42%, P = 0.002); there was a higher proportion of positive phenotypes in general among women than among men. Odds ratio analysis indicated that individuals with this polymorphic variant have an approximately 2-fold risk of developing these cancers. GSTM1 phenotype distribution depends on age, smoking habit and tumour pathology. A group of MM patients with dysplastic naevi was also studied. Images Figure 1

International audience; Recently, SAR data proved to be useful for the retrieval of forest biomass. However, the effects of terrain slope must be addressed towards the generalization of biomass retrieval for varied forest and environmental conditions. To this aim, we developed experimental and theoretical approaches allowing the study of multi-frequency/multi-polarization forest backscatter of a given forest type, as a function of forest parameters and SAR local incidence angle over the relief. The experimental results showed that the sensitivity of SAR data to biomass was similar to that obtained over a flat terrain, only if the backscatter data were calibrated for slope effects. Moreover, the backscatter must also be corrected for its angular decrease, which can be removed using a simple angular model developed under assumptions of theoretical equations. The highest correlation of corrected backscatter with forest parameters related to aboveground biomass (such as stand age and bole volume) was achieved at L-HV 55 degrees (R-2=0.8) with results similar to those for flat terrain. Modelling results validate the semiempirical model developed to remove the angular ecrease of forest backscatter, which is due to variable optical depth with terrain slope. Results also indicated that the simple angular model may encounter problems for forested areas with low optical depth (tau 80 degrees).

Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is an aggressive tumour with a high metastatic potential. Deletions of chromosome 9p have been detected in CMM, some of which involve the CDKN2A/p14ARF genes. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of 16 microsatellite markers on 9p and mutations in the CDKN2A/p14ARF genes had been previously studied in 32 melanoma patients by our group. 9p deletions were detected in 15 primary tumours (45.5%) and are here correlated with the clinical outcome over 5 years and compared with classical prognostic factors. Eight of the 32 patients developed metastases (25%). The metastases were all detected within 768 days of the initial diagnosis. The patients without metastases were last monitored at least 1621 days after diagnosis. None of the 21 patients with more than eight microsatellites conserved developed metastases, whereas all of the eight patients who developed metastases had eight or more markers deleted. The sensitivity of this analysis to predict metastases was 100% (specificity 84%), whereas the sensitivity for the same sample using a Breslow thickness3 mm was 62.5% (specificity 68%). LOH of eight or more of the 9p microsatellite markers is therefore a useful prognostic factor to predict the development of metastases in the first 4.4-6.3 years (1621-2294 days).

Theoretical modelling of the forest backscatter, based on the radiative transfer theory (RT), is a powerful tool towards the development of quantitative forest applications such as biomass retrieval. One of the actual major limitations of RT modelling is the difficulty to obtain such a detailed canopy description. Even though classical forest parameters such as canopy height, trunk diameter and density can be quite easily obtained from field measurements or allometric equations, most of the crown pamareters are very difficult to measure or estimate. To this aim, we propose in this paper a new description tool based on an architectural tree growth model called AMAP. For a given species, the model must be calibrated at few growth stages, using statistical laws or Markov's processes. Then, for a given growth stage, the model is used for 3D architectural simulation. From there, a specific interface software called AMAP2SAR was developped allowing to extract the required RT geometric parameters from the architectural file. It allows to split vertically the canopy in n layers, based on relevant criterias describing the vertical variability of the cover. We first present the validation of the extracted parameters for Austrian pine plantations, by comparing them with in situ measurements. Then, we emphasis on the possibility to describe entirely the canopy in a very flexible and detailed way, depending on the characteristics of the theoretical models that will use the parameters as inputs.; Les modèles théoriques basés sur la théorie du transfert radiatif (RT) et simulant la rétrodiffusion radar, sont de puissants outils pour le développement d'applications forestières quantitatives comme l'estimation de la biomasse. Actuellement, une des limitations majeure pour les modèles RT est la difficulté d'obtenir une description détaillée du couvert forestier. Par conséquent, il est nécessaire d'utiliser des nouvelles approches de description du couvert forestier. Dans ce but, nous proposons un nouvel outil de description appelé AMAP, basé sur la modélisation architecturale de la croissance des arbres. Pour une espèce, le modèle est paramétré pour plusieurs étapes de croissance par des lois statistiques ou des processus Markovien et permet de simulé des arbres 3D réalistes. A partir de là une interface spécifique appelé AMAP2SAR a été développée permettant d'extraire les paramètres géométriques servant d'intrans au modèle RT à partir des fichiers résultats. Ainsi, les statistiques de 1er ordre et les histogrammes sont calculées pour chaque couche pour : le rayon, la longueur, l'orientation et la densité des différents ordres de branches (primaire, secondaire,...) etc jusqu'aux aiguilles. Nous présentons dans un premier temps la validation des paramètres extraits pour des plantations de pins noirs d'Autriche comparés au paramètres issus des mesures in situ. A partir de là, nous mettons l'accent sur les possibilités de décrire de manière détaillée et souple le couvert en fonction des exigences des modèles théoriques qui utilisent les paramètres en entrée.

Theoretical modelling of the forest backscatter, based on the radiative transfer theory (RT), is a powerful tool towards the development of quantitative forest applications such as biomass retrieval. One of the actual major limitations of RT modelling is the difficulty to obtain such a detailed canopy description. Even though classical forest parameters such as canopy height, trunk diameter and density can be quite easily obtained from field measurements or allometric equations, most of the crown pamareters are very difficult to measure or estimate. To this aim, we propose in this paper a new description tool based on an architectural tree growth model called AMAP. For a given species, the model must be calibrated at few growth stages, using statistical laws or Markov's processes. Then, for a given growth stage, the model is used for 3D architectural simulation. From there, a specific interface software called AMAP2SAR was developped allowing to extract the required RT geometric parameters from the architectural file. It allows to split vertically the canopy in n layers, based on relevant criterias describing the vertical variability of the cover. We first present the validation of the extracted parameters for Austrian pine plantations, by comparing them with in situ measurements. Then, we emphasis on the possibility to describe entirely the canopy in a very flexible and detailed way, depending on the characteristics of the theoretical models that will use the parameters as inputs.; Les modèles théoriques basés sur la théorie du transfert radiatif (RT) et simulant la rétrodiffusion radar, sont de puissants outils pour le développement d'applications forestières quantitatives comme l'estimation de la biomasse. Actuellement, une des limitations majeure pour les modèles RT est la difficulté d'obtenir une description détaillée du couvert forestier. Par conséquent, il est nécessaire d'utiliser des nouvelles approches de description du couvert forestier. Dans ce but, nous proposons un nouvel outil de description appelé AMAP, basé sur la modélisation architecturale de la croissance des arbres. Pour une espèce, le modèle est paramètré pour plusieurs étapes de croissance par des lois statistiques ou des processus Markovien et permet de simulé des arbres 3D réalistes. A partir de là une interface spécifique appelé AMAP2SAR a été développé permettant d'extraire les paramètres géométriques servant d'intrans au modèle RT à partir des fichiers résultats. Ainsi, les statistiques de 1er ordre et les histogrammes sont calculées pour chaque couche pour : le rayon, la longueur, l'orientation et la densité des différents ordres de branches (primaire, secondaire,...) etc jusqu'aux aiguilles. Nous présentons dans un premier temps la validation des paramètres extraits pour des plantations de pins noirs d'Autriche comparés au paramètres issus des mesures in situ. A partir de là, nous mettons l'accent sur les possibilités de décrire de manière détaillée et souple le couvert en fonction des exigences des modèles théoriques qui utilisent les paramètres en entrée.

Spaceborne SAR remote sensing and tree architectural growth model are new tools under development and validation, towards the retrieval and mapping of forest parameters through a GIS. On one hand, L-band SAR data (SIR-C) is useful for the retrieval of some forest parameters such as age and woody biomass; on the other hand, tree growth model allow to retrieve many forest parameters at the tree level, and to simulate a 3D view by image synthesis both at the tree and landscape levels. The coupling through a GIS of these tools is to drive the growth model by parameters obtained using SAR data or other sources. A methodology is proposed and illustrated on a simple forest ecosystem, that is a Austrian pine forest over hilly terrain in South France. Preliminary results show the potentialities and interests in using such tools., Les nouveaux outils que sont la télédétection RSO (radar à synthèse d'ouverture) spatiale et les modèles architecturaux de croissance présentent des potentialités et des intérêts complémentaires pour l'obtention d'informations forestières géolocalisées, par l'intermédiaire de leur couplage avec un système d'information à références spatiales (SIRS). Les données RSO bande L (SIR-C) permettent d'accéder à certaines caractéristiques du couvert forestier comme le volume, alors que les modèles architecturaux permettent une bonne estimation de plusieurs paramètres au niveau de l'arbre, en plus d'une simulation visuelle 3D au niveau de l'arbre et du paysage. Le couplage possible des deux outils est le pilotage du modèle architectural par un paramètre estimé par radar, et ce au sein du SIRS, à des fins de spatialisation de l'information forestière extraite. Une méthodologie est proposée et illustrée par des résultats encourageants obtenus sur une forêt de résineux en terrain accidenté, dans le département de la Lozère dans le sud de la France, permettant d'entrevoir les perspectives d'utilisation de ces outils combinés via un SIRS.

SAR data recently proved to be useful for the retrieval of forest biomass. However, the effects of terrain slope must be addressed towards the generalization of biomass retrieval for varied forest and environmental conditions. To this aim, we developed an experiment allowing to study multi-frequency/multi-polarization forest backscatter of a given forest type, as function of forest parameters and SAR local incidence angle over the relief. The experimental results showed that the sensitivity of SAR data to biomass is similar to the one obtained over a flat terrain, if the backscatter data are calibrated for slope effects. Moreover, the backscatter must be also corrected for its angular decrease, due to extinction properties and variable path length with terrain slope. This angular decrease can be removed using a simple semi-empirical model. Highest correlation of corrected backscatter with forest parameters related to aboveground biomass (such as stand age and bole volume) was achieved at L-HV 55° (r2=0.86). It can be explained by the fact that crown scattering dominates at HV polarization, which is less affected by terrain slope compared to trunk-ground interaction that can be present in the L-HH backscatter.; Les données radar ont démontré récemment être utiles pour l'estimation de la biomasse forestière. Cependant, les effets de la topographie doivent être abordés en vue de la généralisation de l'estimation de la biomasse en conditions forestières et environnementales variées. A cette fin, nous avons développé une expérience permettant d'étudier des données SAR multifréquences et multipolarisées (ERS, SIR-C, JERS) acquises sur une forêt de pin noir (Lozère), en fonction de la topographie et des paramètres forestiers. Les données expérimentales démontrent que la sensibilité à la biomasse est similaire à celle obtenue en terrain plat, à condition d'étalonner la rétrodiffusion radar de l'effet de la pente locale. De plus, la variation angulaire de la rétrodiffusion radar doit être réduite, variation due au chemin optique variable considérant la diffusion de volume dans les houppiers comme étant dominante. Cette variation angulaire a été modélisée grâce à une simplification de la solution du TR au 1er ordre pour la diffusion de volume. Les données corrigées présentant la plus forte corrélation avec les paramètres forestiers sont celles acquises en bande L polarisation HV et une incidence d'environ 52° (r2=0.86). En effet, cette configuration est moins affectée par l'écho de sol et l'interaction tronc-sol par rapport par exemple à la polarisation HH.

Malignant melanoma is a frequent cause of cerebral metastases (CM). In the present study the characteristics of primitive melanomas of patients with CM, their forms of clinical presentation and treatment were analyzed.A retrospective study of the patients with melanoma and CM diagnosed between 1982 and 1991 was carried out.Out of 786 patients with melanoma 48 were identified with CM. In 65% of the melanoma originated in cutaneous areas BANS (of bad prognosis). The median thickness of the tumor (Breslow's index) was of 3.6 mm. The median period of latency between diagnosis of the melanoma and the detection of CM was 22 months. Although recent hemorrhage of the CM was observed in the cranial computerized tomography in 20 of the 48 patients, only 7 presented clinical symptoms of ictus. In 23 patients the CM were the only evidence of metastases of the melanoma. The median survival was one month in the patients treated with only dexamethasone, 3.5 months in the chemotherapy group, 2.5 months for the group given radiotherapy and 6 months for those undergoing surgery.Most of the patients with cerebral metastasis had a primitive melanoma with criteria of bad prognosis. The presence of hemorrhage in computerized tomography did not always correlate with clinical symptoms of ictus. Surgical treatment must be considered in patient with sole cerebral metastasis without evidence of distant disease.

Real-time wireless capsule endoscopy offers more flexibility and more precise screening options over commercially available passive endoscopy systems by allowing physicians to steer endoscopy capsules in real time. Yet, this requires reliable uninterrupted high frame-rate video streaming. In this contribution, we present a wearable repeater relay system that overcomes the impairments of the in-to-out body propagation channel and reliably relays implant data to a remote access point. The system consists of a set of wearable textile repeater nodes, exploiting receive diversity to provide a sufficiently large instantaneous carrier-to-noise ratio for live video streaming. Each wearable node, combining a dedicated receive antenna capturing the implant signal, an amplifier and an off-body transmit antenna, is fully implemented in textile materials, such that the comfort of the patient is not disturbed by the relay system. After outlining the design steps for the wearable relay node, in particular demonstrating stable robust antenna characteristics for the textile receive antenna oriented towards the body, we experimentally verify that a 6th-order diversity system provides the best compromise between user comfort and signal quality.