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International audience; Bayesian Optimization (BO) with Gaussian process regression is a popular framework for the optimization of time-consuming cost functions. However, the joint exploitation of BO and parallel processing capabilities remains challenging, despite intense research efforts over the last decade. In particular, the choice of a suitable batch-acquisition process, responsible for selecting promising candidate solutions for batch-parallel evaluation, is crucial. Even though some general recommendations can be found in the literature, many of its hyperparameters remain problem-specific. Moreover, the limitations of existing approaches in terms of scalability, especially for moderately expensive objective functions, are barely discussed. This work investigates five parallel BO algorithms based on different batch-acquisition processes, applied to the optimal scheduling of Underground Pumped Hydro-Energy Storage stations and classical benchmark functions. Efficient management of such energy-storage units requires parallel BO algorithms able to find solutions in a very restricted time to comply with the responsive energy markets. Our experimental results show that for the considered methods, a batch of four candidates is a good trade-off between execution speed and relevance of the candidates. Analysis of each method’s strengths and weaknesses indicates possible future research directions.

International audience; Climate change is related to an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heatwaves. It is well established that such events may worsen the current world-wide biodiversity decline. In many organisms, heat stress is associated with direct physiological perturbations and could lead to a decrease of fitness. In contrast to endotherms, heat stress resistance has been poorly investigated in heterotherms; especially in insects, in which the internal physiological mechanisms available to regulate body temperature are almost negligible making them sensitive to extreme temperature variations.Wild bees are crucial pollinators for wild plants and crops. Among them, bumblebees are experiencing a strong decline across the world. Therefore, the ongoing global decline of these insect pollinators partly due to climate change could cause major economic issues.Here we assess how simulated heatwaves impact fertility and attractiveness (key parameters of sustainability) of bumblebee males. We used three model species: Bombus terrestris, a widespread and warm-adapted species, B. magnus and B. jonellus, two declining and cold-adapted species.We highlight that heat shock (40 degrees C) negatively affects sperm viability and sperm DNA integrity only in the two cold-adapted species. Heat shock can also impact the structure of cephalic labial glands and the production of pheromones only in the declining species.The specific disruption in key reproductive traits we identify following simulated heatwave conditions could provide one important mechanistic explanation for why some pollinators are in decline through climate change.A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

International audience; The present work reports the impregnation of palladium (Pd) or platinum (Pt) on hierarchical porous zeolite catalysts for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) oxidation. The hierarchical porous zeolite (NaYmod) was synthesized via a top-down approach to incorporate mesoporosity into the microporous zeolite NaY. This process was achieved through a three steps synthesis: dealumination, desilication and alkaline treatment. 0.5 wt% of Pd and Pt precursors were then added to NaY and NaYmod supports by wet impregnation in order to elaborate efficient catalysts for the total oxidation of two types of VOCs, ethanol and toluene, which are probe molecules for oxygenated VOCs and BTEX compounds respectively. The supported and unsupported samples were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), N2-physisorption, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The modified mesostructured support ensures a better dispersion of the active phases and led to a partial presence of highly reactive Pt(II) species in the case of platinum-based samples. Whatever the oxidation reaction, these latter demonstrate higher conversions compared to palladium-based ones. The presence of Pt(II) species provided a high catalytic performance, with a total degradation of both VOC probe molecules at temperatures lower than 170 °C. Such temperatures have not been recorded before for NaY supported materials.; Le présent travail rapporte l'imprégnation de palladium (Pd) ou de platine (Pt) sur des catalyseurs zéolitiques poreux hiérarchiques pour l'oxydation des composés organiques volatils (COV). La zéolithe poreuse hiérarchique (NaYmod) a été synthétisée via une approche descendante pour incorporer la mésoporosité dans la zéolithe microporeuse NaY. Ce processus a été réalisé par une synthèse en trois étapes : désalumination, désilication et traitement alcalin. 0,5 % en poids de précurseurs de Pd et Pt ont ensuite été ajoutés aux supports NaY et NaYmod par imprégnation humide afin d'élaborer des catalyseurs efficaces pour l'oxydation totale de deux types de COV, l'éthanol et le toluène, qui sont des molécules sondes pour les COV oxygénés et les composés BTEX respectivement. Les échantillons supportés et non supportés ont été caractérisés par diffraction des rayons X (XRD), physisorption du N2, microscopie électronique à transmission (TEM) et spectroscopie photoélectronique à rayons X (XPS). Le support mésostructuré modifié assure une meilleure dispersion des phases actives et a conduit à une présence partielle d'espèces Pt(II) hautement réactives dans le cas des échantillons à base de platine. Quelle que soit la réaction d'oxydation, ces derniers présentent des conversions plus élevées par rapport aux échantillons à base de palladium. La présence d'espèces de Pt(II) a fourni une performance catalytique élevée, avec une dégradation totale des deux molécules sondes de COV à des températures inférieures à 170 °C. De telles températures n'ont pas été enregistrées auparavant pour les échantillons de Pt(II). De telles températures n'ont pas été enregistrées auparavant pour les matériaux supportés par le NaY.

International audience; Projections show that the cultivation of microalgae will extend to the production of bio-based compounds, such as biofuels, cosmetics, and medicines. This will generate co-products or residues that will need to be valorized to reduce the environmental impact and the cost of the process. This study explored the ability of lipid-extracted Chlorella vulgaris residue as a sole carbon and nitrogen source for growing oleaginous yeasts without any pretreatment. Both wild-type Yarrowia lipolytica W29 and mutant JMY3501 (which was designed to accumulate more lipids without their remobilization or degradation) showed a similar growth rate of 0.28 h−1 at different pH levels (3.5, 5.5, and 7.5). However, the W29 cell growth had the best cell number on microalgal residue at a pH of 7.5, while three times fewer cells were produced at all pH levels when JMY3501 was grown on microalgal residue. The JMY3501 growth curves were similar at pH 3.5, 5.5, and 7.5, while the fatty-acid composition differed significantly, with an accumulation of α-linolenic acid on microalgal residue at a pH of 7.5. Our results demonstrate the potential valorization of Chlorella vulgaris residue for Yarrowia lipolytica growth and the positive effect of a pH of 7.5 on the fatty acid profile.

International audience; Background Emotional processes among individuals with psychopathy have been consistently investigated. Although content analysis is interesting for evaluating emotional characteristics, few data exist concerning the speech content of individuals with psychopathy in response to affective and neutral images. Method Population included male forensic inpatients (n=47) from Security Hospital. The inpatients were divided into: “Psychopath” (n=24, PCL-R total score >25), “Intermediate” (n=12, score from 15 to 24.9) and “Non-psychopath” (n=11, score

International audience; Organic semiconductors are increasingly being used in organic-based opto-electronic devices. Since regioselective synthetic approaches are not always controlled, promising compounds are sometimes prepared following non-regioselective routes. Ion mobility mass spectrometry is here introduced as a direct method to distinguish isomers in mixtures, instead of undertaking time-consuming analytical chromatography procedures. © 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

International audience; AbstractThe fast growth of railway transport pushed by its sustainability requires all railway stakeholders to work together to minimise any possible drawbacks that might slow down this positive trend. Among these, the induced vibrations generated at the wheel–rail interaction during train passage are the most significant, especially in urban areas where in the form of ground-borne vibrations and/or noise negatively affects the daily life of the residents. In this direction, the innovative concept of seismic metamaterial can enhance the vibration attenuation levels of existing mitigation measures and, at the same time, ensure a straightforward application in the railway environment. This paper uses a combined vehicle/track/soil prediction dynamic model of the T2000 LRV (Light Rail Vehicle) tram operating in Brussels, based on a two-step approach already validated in the past, to analyse the effects that the inclusion of seismic metamaterials within the transmission path has in terms of vibration attenuation. In particular, a four-by-four group of piles is examined with different material proprieties for the inclusions, considering a range of velocities and distances from the track in order to quantify the achievable Insertion Loss (IL) for each configuration depending on the distances and the tram speed, attaining ILs up to 10 [dB]. The study is then extended to other possible arrangements of the group of piles, providing a direct relationship between the repetitiveness of each row of the primitive unit cell of the metamaterial and the gained levels of attenuation, in order to give a base for the costs of this type of mitigation measure. Furthermore, the influence on the attenuation levels of the soil characteristics, is evaluated by considering an ideal uniform underground, extending the IL to 18 [dB] in the case of steel inclusion. Finally, the paper gives insights into the use of metamaterials as mitigation measures for railway-induced vibration in order to understand and evaluate the potential of this novel concept and its benefits.

An integrated petrographical and petrophysical study was carried out on a set of 35 outcrop chalk samples, covering a wide range of lithologies and textures. In this study various chalk rock-types have been characterized, in terms of microtextures and porous network, by integrating both geological, sediment-petrological and petrophysical data, including porosity, permeability, low-field NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), MICP and specific surface area (BET) measurements. The data allow an in depth understanding of the NMR signal of chalks, with a focus on tight chalks, including all low reservoir quality chalks independently of their sedimentological and/or diagenetic history. The study aims to develop an NMR-based approach to characterize a broad range of chalk samples. The provided laboratory low-field NMR chalk classification can be used as a guide to interpret NMR logging data.Based on the petrographical and petrophysical analysis, 6 groups of samples were identified, each of them characterized by a unique NMR signature: (1) micritic chalks, (2) grainy chalks, (3) cemented chalks, (4) marl-seam chalks, (5) argillaceous chalks and (6) silicified chalk. NMR T2 distributions were linked to pore body size and T2 logarithmic (T2lm) was calculated. It is apparent that tight chalks, whether their characteristics are sedimentological or diagenetic, yield smaller pore body sizes (T2lm 2 distributions reflecting larger pore sizes (T2lm > 60 ms) and pore throats (average radius > 290 nm) and higher permeabilities (up to 13 mD). The marl-seam chalk samples yield bimodal T2 distributions, with a first peak related to the micritic matrix pores and a second peak related to intraparticle pores within fossils. For all samples, permeability was inferred from NMR spectra using SDR (Schlumberger Doll Research) model.

International audience; The present study aimed to characterise the bacterial, fungal and parasite gut community of the invasive bee Megachile sculpturalis sampled from native (Japan) and invaded (USA and France) regions via 16S rRNA and ITS2 amplicon sequencing and PCR detection of bee microparasites. The bacterial and fungal gut microbiota communities in bees from invaded regions were highly similar and differed strongly from those obtained in Japan. Core amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) within each population represented environmental micro-organisms commonly present in bee-associated niches that likely provide beneficial functions to their host. Although the overall bacterial and fungal communities of the invasive M. sculpturalis in France and the co-foraging native bees Anthidium florentinum and Halictus scabiosae, were significantly different, five out of eight core ASVs were shared suggesting common environmental sources and potential transmission. None of the 46 M. sculpturalis bees analysed harboured known bee pathogens, while microparasite infections were common in A. florentinum, and rare in H. scabiosae. A common shift in the gut microbiota of M. sculpturalis in invaded regions as a response to changed environmental conditions, or a founder effect coupled to population re-establishment in the invaded regions may explain the observed microbial community profiles and the absence of parasites. While the role of pathogen pressure in shaping biological invasions is still debated, the absence of natural enemies may contribute to the invasion success of M. sculpturalis.

International audience; Three new tetraphenylethene (TPE) push-pull chromophores exhibiting strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) are described. They were obtained via [2 + 2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization (CA-RE) click reactions on an electron-rich alkyne-tetrafunctionalized TPE (TPE-alkyne) using both 1,1,2,2-tetracyanoethene (TCNE), 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F(4)-TCNQ) as electron-deficient alkenes. Only the starting TPE-alkyne displayed significant AIE behavior, whereas for TPE-TCNE, a faint effect was observed, and for TPE-TCNQ and TPE-F(4)-TCNQ, no fluorescence was observed in any conditions. The main ICT bands that dominate the UV-Visible absorption spectra underwent a pronounced red-shift beyond the near-infrared (NIR) region for TPE-F(4)-TCNQ. Based on TD-DFT calculations, it was shown that the ICT character shown by the compounds exclusively originated from the clicked moieties independently of the nature of the central molecular platform. Photothermal (PT) studies conducted on both TPE-TCNQ and TPE-F4-TCNQ in the solid state revealed excellent properties, especially for TPE-F4-TCNQ. These results indicated that CA-RE reaction of TCNQ or F(4)-TCNQ with donor-substituted are promising candidates for PT applications.

Despite general agreement that laughter is crucial in social in- teractions and cognitive development, there is surprisingly lit- tle work looking at its use through childhood. Here we inves- tigate laughter in middle childhood, using a corpus of online calls between child and parent and between the (same parent) and another adult. We focus on laughter mimicry, i.e., laugh- ter shortly following laughter from the partner, and we com- pare mimicking and non-mimicking laughter in terms of dis- tribution and acoustic properties using spectrotemporal modu- lation measures. Our results show, despite similar frequencies in laughter production, different laughter mimicry patterns be- tween Parent-Child and Parent-Adult interactions. Overall, in comparison with previous work in infants and toddlers, our results show laughter mimicry is more balanced between par- ents and school-age children. At the acoustic level, we observe differences between mimicking and non-mimicking laughter in children, but not in adults. Moreover, we observe signifi- cant differences in laughter acoustics in parents depending on whether they interact with children or adults, which highlights a strong interlocutor effect on laughter mimicry.

International audience; In the field of p-conjugated nanohoops, the size of the macrocycle has a huge impact on its structural characteristics, which in turn affect its electronic properties. In this work, we report the first experimental investigations linking the size of a nanohoop to its charge transport properties, a key property in organic electronics. We describe the synthesis and the study of the first example of cyclocarbazole possessing five constituting building units, namely [5]-cyclo-N-butyl-2,7-carbazole [5]C-Bu-Cbz. By comparison with a shorter analogue, [4]-cyclo-N-butyl-2,7-carbazole [4]C-Bu-Cbz, we detail the photophysical, electrochemical, morphological and charge transport properties, highlighting the key role played by the hoop size. Particularly, we show that the saturated field effect mobility of [5]C-Bu-Cbz is four times higher than that of its smaller analogue [4]C-Bu-Cbz (4.22 × 10-5vs 1.04 × 10-5 cm².V-1.s-1). However, the study of the other OFET characteristics (threshold voltage VTH and subthreshold slope SS) suggest that a small nanohoop is beneficial for a good organization of the molecules in thin films whereas a large one increases the density of structural defects, and hence of traps for the charge carriers. The present findings are of interest for the further development of nanohoops in electronics.

International audience; Graphene quantum dots, atomically precise nanopieces of graphene, are promising nanoobjects with potential applications in various domains such as photovoltaics, quantum light emitters or bio-imaging. Despite their interesting prospects, precise reports on their photophysical properties remain scarce. Here, we report on a study of the photophysics of C$_{96}$H$_{24}$(C$_{12}$H$_{25}$) graphene quantum dots. A combination of optical studies down to the single molecule level with advanced molecular modeling demonstrates the importance of the coupling to vibrations in the emission process. Optical fingerprints for H-like aggregates are identified. Our combined experimental-theoretical investigations provide a comprehensive description of the light absorption and emission properties of nanographenes, which not only represents an essentiel step towards precise control of sample production, but also paves the way for new exciting physics focused on twisted graphenoid.

We consider zero-sum games on infinite graphs, with objectives specified as sets of infinite words over some alphabet of colors. A well-studied class of objectives is the one of $\omega$-regular objectives, due to its relation to many natural problems in theoretical computer science. We focus on the strategy complexity question: given an objective, how much memory does each player require to play as well as possible? A classical result is that finite-memory strategies suffice for both players when the objective is $\omega$-regular. We show a reciprocal of that statement: when both players can play optimally with a chromatic finite-memory structure (i.e., whose updates can only observe colors) in all infinite game graphs, then the objective must be $\omega$-regular. This provides a game-theoretic characterization of $\omega$-regular objectives, and this characterization can help in obtaining memory bounds. Moreover, a by-product of our characterization is a new one-to-two-player lift: to show that chromatic finite-memory structures suffice to play optimally in two-player games on infinite graphs, it suffices to show it in the simpler case of one-player games on infinite graphs. We illustrate our results with the family of discounted-sum objectives, for which $\omega$-regularity depends on the value of some parameters., Comment: A previous conference version appeared in STACS 2022. 48 pages, 14 figures

Essentially all hydrogeological processes are strongly influenced by the subsurface spatial heterogeneity and the temporal variation of environmental conditions, hydraulic properties, and solute concentrations. This spatial and temporal variability needs to be considered when studying hydrogeological processes in order to employ adequate mechanistic models or perform upscaling. The scale at which a hydrogeological system should be characterized in terms of its spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics depends on the studied process and it is not always necessary to consider the full complexity. In this paper, we identify a series of hydrogeological processes for which an approach coupling the monitoring of spatial and temporal variability, including 4D imaging, is often necessary: (1) groundwater fluxes that control (2) solute transport, mixing and reaction processes, (3) vadose zone dynamics, and (4) surface-subsurface water interaction occurring at the interface between different subsurface compartments. We first identify the main challenges related to the coupling of spatial and temporal fluctuations for these processes. Then, we highlight some recent innovations that have led to significant breakthroughs in this domain. We finally discuss how spatial and temporal fluctuations affect our ability to accurately model them and predict their behavior. We thus advocate a more systematic characterization of the dynamic nature of subsurface processes, and the harmonization of open databases to store hydrogeological data sets in their four-dimensional components, for answering emerging scientific question and addressing key societal issues.

International audience; A number of factors contribute to orbital energy alignment with respect to the Fermi level in molecular tunnel junctions. Here, we report a combined experimental and theoretical effort to quantify the effect of metal image potentials on the highest occupied molecular orbital to Fermi level offset, ε(h), for molecular junctions based on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of oligophenylene ethynylene dithiols (OPX) on Au. Our experimental approach involves the use of both transport and photoelectron spectroscopy to extract the offsets, ε(h)(trans) and ε(h)(UPS), respectively. We take the difference in these quantities to be the image potential energy eV(image). In the theoretical approach, we use density functional theory (DFT) to calculate directly eV(image) between positive charge on an OPX molecule and the negative image charge in the Au. Both approaches yield eV(image) ∼ -0.1 eV per metal contact, meaning that the total image potential energy is ∼-0.2 eV for an assembled junction with two Au contacts. Thus, we find that the total image potential energy is 25-30% of the total offset ε(h), which means that image charge effects are significant in OPX junctions. Our methods should be generally applicable to understanding image charge effects as a function of molecular size, for example, in a variety of SAM-based junctions.

International audience; Holothurians are marine invertebrates that are among the most widespread benthic megafauna communities by both biomass and abundance in shallow-water and deep-sea ecosystems, their functions supporting important ecological services worldwide. Despite their simple appearance as sea cucumbers, holothurians show a wide range of feeding practices. However, information on what and how these animals eat is scattered and potentially confusing. We provide a comprehensive review of holothurian nutrition in coastal and deep-sea ecosystems. First, we describe morphological aspects of holothurian feeding and the ultrastructure of tentacles. We discuss the two processes for food capture, concluding that mucus adhesion is likely the main method; two mucous cells, type-1 and type-2, possibly allow the adhesion and de-adhesion, respectively, of food particles. Secondly, this review aims to clarify behavioural aspects of holothurian suspensionand deposit-feeding. We discuss the daily feeding cycle, and selective feeding strategies. We conclude that there is selectivity for fine and organically rich particles, and that feeding through the cloaca is also a route for nutrient absorption. Third, we provide a wide description of the diet of holothurians, which can be split into two categories: living and non-living material. We suggest that Synallactida, Molpadida, Persiculida, Holothuriida and Elasipodida, ingest the same fractions, and emphasise the importance of bacteria in the diet of holothurians.

International audience; Parallel Surrogate-Assisted Evolutionary Algorithms (P-SAEAs) are based on surrogate-informed reproduction operators to propose new candidates to solve computationally expensive optimization problems. Differently, Parallel Surrogate-Driven Algorithms (P-SDAs) rely on the optimization of a surrogate-informed metric of promisingness to acquire new solutions. The former are promoted to deal with moderately computationally expensive problems while the latter are put forward on very costly problems. This paper investigates the design of hybrid strategies combining the acquisition processes of both P-SAEAs and P-SDAs to retain the best of both categories of methods. The objective is to reach robustness with respect to the computational budgets and parallel scalability.

If X is a separable reflexive Banach space, there are several natural Polish topologies on B1pXq, the set of contraction operators on X (none of which being clearly “more natural” than the others), and hence several a priori different notions of genericityin the Baire category sense– for properties of contraction operators. So it makes sense to investigate to which extent the generic properties, i.e. the comeager sets, really depend on the chosen topology on B1(X)...

We review the central results concerning wavelet methods in multifractal analysis, which consists in analysis of the pointwise singularities of a signal, and we describe its recent extension to multivariate multifractal analysis, which deals with the joint analysis of several signals; we focus on the mathematical questions that this new techniques motivate. We illustrate these methods by an application to data recorded on marathon runners.; Nous passons en revue les résultats centraux concernant les méthodes d'ondelettes dans l'analyse multifractale, qui consiste à analyser les singularités ponctuelles d'un signal, et nous décrivons sa récente extension à l'analyse multifractale multivariée, qui traite de l'analyse conjointe de plusieurs signaux ; nous nous concentrons sur les questions mathématiques que ces nouvelles techniques motivent. Nous illustrons ces méthodes par une application aux données enregistrées sur des marathoniens.

International audience; IEEE Std 802.15.4-2015 Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) is the de facto Medium Access Control (MAC) mechanism for industrial applications. It renders communications more resilient to interference by spreading them over the time (time-slotted) and the frequency (channel-hopping) domains. The 6TiSCH architecture bases itself on this new MAC layer to enable high reliability communication in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In particular, it manages the construction of a distributed communication schedule that continuously adapts to changes in the network. In this paper, we first provide a thorough description of the 6TiSCH architecture, the 6TiSCH Operation Sublayer (6top), and the Minimal Scheduling Function (MSF). We then study its behavior and reactivity from low to high traffic rates by employing the Python-based 6TiSCH simulator. Our performance evaluation results demonstrate that the convergence pattern of MSF is the root cause of the majority of packet losses observed in the network. We also show that MSF is prone to over-provisioning of the network resources, especially in the case of varying traffic load. We propose a mathematical model to predict the convergence pattern of MSF. Finally we investigate the impact of varying parameters on the behavior of the scheduling function.

Active learning is a paradigm of machine learning which aims at reducing the amount of labeled data needed to train a classifier. Its overall principle is to sequentially select the most informative data points, which amounts to determining the uncertainty of regions of the input space. The main challenge lies in building a procedure that is computationally efficient and that offers appealing theoretical properties; most of the current methods satisfy only one or the other. In this paper, we use the classification with rejection in a novel way to estimate the uncertain regions. We provide an active learning algorithm and prove its theoretical benefits under classical assumptions. In addition to the theoretical results, numerical experiments have been carried out on synthetic and non-synthetic datasets. These experiments provide empirical evidence that the use of rejection arguments in our active learning algorithm is beneficial and allows good performance in various statistical situations.

International audience; To provide a complete portrayal of the multiple factors negatively impacting insects in agricultural landscapes it is necessary to assess the concurrent incidence, magnitude, and interactions among multiple stressors over substantial biogeographical scales. Trans-national ecological field investigations with wide-ranging stakeholders typically encounter numerous challenges during the design planning stages, not least that the scientific soundness of a spatially replicated study design must account for the substantial geographic and climatic variation among distant sites. ‘PoshBee’ (Pan-European assessment, monitoring, and mitigation of Stressors on the Health of Bees) is a multi-partner transdisciplinary agroecological project established to investigate the suite of stressors typically encountered by pollinating insects in European agricultural landscapes. To do this, PoshBee established a network of 128 study sites across eight European countries and collected over 50 measurements and samples relating to the nutritional, toxicological, pathogenic, and landscape components of the bees’ environment. This paper describes the development process, rationale, and end-result of each aspect of the of the PoshBee field investigation. We describe the main issues and challenges encountered during the design stages and highlight a number of actions or processes that may benefit other multi-partner research consortia planning similar large-scale studies. It was soon identified that in a multi-component study design process, the development of interaction and communication networks involving all collaborators and stakeholders requires considerable time and resources. It was also necessary at each planning stage to be mindful of the needs and objectives of all stakeholders and partners, and further challenges inevitably arose when practical limitations, such as time restrictions and labour constraints, were superimposed upon prototype study designs. To promote clarity for all stakeholders, for each sub-component of the study, there should be a clear record of the rationale and reasoning that outlines how the final design transpired, what compromises were made, and how the requirements of different stakeholders were accomplished. Ultimately, multi-national agroecological field studies such as PoshBee benefit greatly from the involvement of diverse stakeholders and partners, ranging from field ecologists, project managers, policy legislators, mathematical modelers, and farmer organisations. While the execution of the study highlighted the advantages and benefits of large-scale transdisciplinary projects, the long planning period emphasized the need to formally describe a design framework that could facilitate the design process of future multi-partner collaborations.

International audience; Background: To analyze worldwide practices regarding the initiation of oral feeding after total laryngectomy (TL).Methods: Online survey.Results: Among the 332 responses received, 278 from 59 countries were analyzed. Our results showed that 45.6% of respondents started water and 45.1% started liquid diet between postoperative days 7 and 10. Semi-solid feeds were initiated between days 10 and 14 for 44.9% of respondents and a free diet was allowed after day 15 for 60.8% of respondents. This timing was significantly delayed in cases of laryngo-pharyngectomy and after prior radiotherapy (p < 0.001). A greater proportion of respondents in Africa and Oceania allowed early oral feeding before day 6 as compared with the rest of the world (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Despite increasing number of publications, there is still a lack of evidence to support early oral feeding. The majority of respondents preferred to delay its initiation until at least 7 days after surgery.

International audience; The simulation-based and computationally expensive problem tackled in this paper addresses COVID-19 vaccines allocation in Malaysia. The multi-objective formulation considers simultaneously the total number of deaths, peak hospital occupancy and relaxation of mobility restrictions. Evolutionary algorithms have proven their capability to handle multi-to-many objectives but require a high number of computationally expensive simulations. The available techniques to raise the challenge rely on the joint use of surrogate-assisted optimization and parallel computing to deal with computational expensiveness. On the one hand, the simulation software is imitated by a cheap-to-evaluate surrogate model. On the other hand, multiple candidates are simultaneously assessed via multiple processing cores. In this study, we compare the performance of recently proposed surrogate-free and surrogate-based parallel multi-objective algorithms through the application to the COVID-19 vaccine distribution problem.

International audience; This paper presents a new guitar dataset made out of richly annotated guitarist improvisations. The annotations include notes, playing techniques, instrument tuning, audio effects configurations as well as transcriptions of post improvisation interviews. The dataset gathers ten hours of improvisations and around five hours of interviews. These accompanying data make this dataset suitable for a variety of research domains : from MIR to musical improvisation analysis and musicology. The recordings that have yielded to this dataset were done in the context of an hexaphonic multieffect practice study. This hexaphonic multieffect is meant to work with an hexaphonic guitar (one pickup per string guitar) and grants the player with independent audio effects configurations for each string. This paper presents the dataset, and the experiment it has been gathered from. It also details, based on the transcriptions of the interviews, a first analysis of the specificities of an hexaphonic multieffect practice.

We study by scanning thermal microscopy the nanoscale thermal conductance of films (40-400 nm thick) of [1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (BTBT) and 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C8-BTBT-C8). We demonstrate that the out-of-plane thermal conductivity is significant along the interlayer direction, larger for BTBT (0.63 ± 0.12 W m-1 K-1) compared to C8-BTBT-C8 (0.25 ± 0.13 W m-1 K-1). These results are supported by molecular dynamics calculations (approach to equilibrium molecular dynamics method) performed on the corresponding molecular crystals. The calculations point to significant thermal conductivity (3D-like) values along the 3 crystalline directions, with anisotropy factors between the crystalline directions below 1.8 for BTBT and below 2.8 for C8-BTBT-C8, in deep contrast with the charge transport properties featuring a two-dimensional character for these materials. In agreement with the experiments, the calculations yield larger values in BTBT compared to C8-BTBT-C8 (0.6-1.3 W m-1 K-1versus 0.3-0.7 W m-1 K-1, respectively). The weak thickness dependence of the nanoscale thermal resistance is in agreement with a simple analytical model. This journal is, M. G., D. G., S. L. and D. V. thank the ANR for financial support (ANR-16-CE05-0029). Y. G. is thankful to the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) for financial support through research projects BTBT (# 2.4565.11), Phasetrans (# T.0058.14), Pi-Fast (# T.0072.18), 2D to 3D (# 30489208), and DIFFRA (# U.G001.19). Financial supports from the French Community of Belgian (ARC # 20061) is also acknowledged. G. S. acknowledges postdoctoral fellowship support from the FNRS. The work in the Laboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials was supported by the Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif (CÉCI), funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique de Belgique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under grant # 2.5020.11. J.C. and A.V. are FNRS research fellows.

Antecedentes y objetivo: En la infección por SARS-CoV-2 la pérdida repentina del olfato y/o gusto han sido descritas como síntomas iniciales. El objetivo principal de este estudio es conocer la prevalencia de estos síntomas en España. Materiales y métodos: Estudio prospectivo de pacientes con COVID-19 confirmado mediante RT-PCR en España. Se utilizaron los cuestionarios traducidos y validados. Resultados: Un total de 1043 pacientes COVID-19 leve. Edad media de 39 ± 12 años. 826 pacientes (79,2%) refirieron algún grado de alteración del olfato, 662 (63,4%) pérdida total y 164 (15,7%) parcial. 718 pacientes (68,8%) notaron alteración del gusto. Hubo una asociación significativa entre ambos trastornos (p

International audience; Underground Pumped Hydro-Energy Storage stations are sustainable options to enhance storage capacity and thus the flexibility of energy systems. Efficient management of such units requires high-performance optimization algorithms able to find solutions in a very restricted timing to comply with the responsive energy markets. In this context, parallel computing offers a valuable solution to ensure appropriate decisions that maximize the profit of the station operator, while guaranteeing the safety of the energy network. This study investigates the use of three existing algorithms in Parallel Bayesian Optimization, namely q-EGO, BSP-EGO and TuRBO. The three algorithms have different inherent behaviors in terms of parallel potential and, even though TuRBO scales better, q-EGO remains the best choice regarding the final outcomes for all investigated batch sizes and manages to get up to 5 times more profits than other approaches.

A central question in the theory of two-player games over graphs is to understand which objectives are half-positional, that is, which are the objectives for which the protagonist does not need memory to implement winning strategies. Objectives for which both players do not need memory have already been characterized (both in finite and infinite graphs); however, less is known about half-positional objectives. In particular, no characterization of half-positionality is known for the central class of omega-regular objectives. In this paper, we characterize objectives recognizable by deterministic B\"uchi automata (a class of omega-regular objectives) that are half-positional, both over finite and infinite graphs. Our characterization consists of three natural conditions linked to the language-theoretic notion of right congruence. Furthermore, this characterization yields a polynomial-time algorithm to decide half-positionality of an objective recognized by a given deterministic B\"uchi automaton., Comment: Full version of CONCUR 2022 conference paper. 41 pages, 15 figures

International audience; In this study, Ag nanowires (AgNWs) were synthesized by the polyol method at 160 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. AgNW transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) were fabricated on a glass slide, and an Ag layer was coated onto the AgNWs to improve their electrical and thermal properties. The AgNWs had diameters in the range of 25–54 nm, aspect ratio up to 1000 and high yield (>90%) when used with the mixture of halide ions Cl− and Br−. After coating an Ag layer on the surface of AgNW of TCEs by electrodeposition, the electrical and thermal properties was improved significantly. The sheet resistance decreased from ∼247 Ω/□ to approximately 10 Ω/□ and the thermal stability was improved by 20 °C in comparison with bare AgNW TCEs. The best sample was observed at an electrodepositing current of 1 mA for 40 s; the sheet resistance, transmittance, and figure of merit of this sample were ∼8.5 Ω/□, 85.4%, and 271 Ω−1, respectively.

International audience; The considerable attention paid to metal halide perovskites (MHP) in recent years led to several scientific and technological advances. This in turn raised important questions that currently challenge the limits of available theoretical techniques and atomistic models. At present, perovskite materials are mixed with each other in complex alloys and heterostructures, including 2D/3D compositions, combined with additives or protecting layers to improve their stability and/or defectiveness as well as assembled with carrier selective layers, other materials and components to turn them into devices. Considering the target applications, ambient conditions predominate with additional issues related, for example, to the intrinsic dynamics in action in the MHP structure that may not be well captured using static averaged structures.Based on a set of customized examples, this talk will summarize recent theoretical results obtained by our group that aimed at answering questions such as: i) How do these engineering strategies impact the work function and absolute valence band energy of the MHP material? ii) Is it correlated with surface/interface dipoles? iii) Can one quantitatively assess energy level alignments of MHP semiconductors based on first-principles electronic structure calculations? How can one get rid of the stochastic dynamics of organic cations and further include cation and anion alloying while computing materials properties? iv) Is it possible to extract semi-empirical formula for molecular passivation at surface or transitivity rules for interface dipoles? Special attention will be paid on newly discovered phases and compositions and opportunities to further engineer MHP properties in connection with their use in devices under working conditions.*This research received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, through and Innovation Action under the grant agreement No. 861985 (PeroCUBE). J.E. acknowledges the Institut Universitaire de France.

International audience; In this paper, we present and evaluate an ultra-wideband (UWB) indoor processing architecture that allows the performing of simultaneous localizations of mobile tags. This architecture relies on a network of low-power fixed anchors that provide forward-ranging measurements to a localization engine responsible for performing trilateration. The communications within this network are orchestrated by UWB-TSCH, an adaptation to the ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless technology of the time-slotted channel-hopping (TSCH) mode of IEEE 802.15.4. As a result of global synchronization, the architecture allows deterministic channel access and low power consumption. Moreover, it makes it possible to communicate concurrently over multiple frequency channels or using orthogonal preamble codes. To schedule communications in such a network, we designed a dedicated centralized scheduler inspired from the traffic aware scheduling algorithm (TASA). By organizing the anchors in multiple cells, the scheduler is able to perform simultaneous localizations and transmissions as long as the corresponding anchors are sufficiently far away to not interfere with each other. In our indoor positioning system (IPS), this is combined with dynamic registration of mobile tags to anchors, easing mobility, as no rescheduling is required. This approach makes our ultra-wideband (UWB) indoor positioning system (IPS) more scalable and reduces deployment costs since it does not require separate networks to perform ranging measurements and to forward them to the localization engine. We further improved our scheduling algorithm with support for multiple sinks and in-network data aggregation. We show, through simulations over large networks containing hundreds of cells, that high positioning rates can be achieved. Notably, we were able to fully schedule a 400-cell/400-tag network in less than 11 s in the worst case, and to create compact schedules which were up to 11 times shorter than otherwise with the use of aggregation, while also bounding queue sizes on anchors to support realistic use situations.

National audience

International audience; In this study, the effect of the chemical nature of different calcium (Ca)‐based minerals as flame retardant additives in combination with ammonium polyphosphate (APP), in 1:1 proportions, on the flame retardancy behavior and performance of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer was discussed. Combining APP with partly and completely hydrated calcium oxide led to superior flame‐retardant function detected in mass loss calorimeter measurements with respect to the corresponding system containing carbonated calcium. This privileged character was attributed to the higher reactivity of hydrated Ca‐based fillers toward APP in comparison with Ca carbonate, which induced the formation of an intumescent residue. The difference between reactivity potential of hydrated and dry Ca was demonstrated by the newly formed thermally stable species, and further evidenced by thermogravimetric analysis performed on APP/fillers blends. Moreover, the presence of more crystalline domains in the Ca/phosphorus‐based compounds was evidenced by XRD analysis of the mass loss calorimeter test residues. The results of this work highlight the role of blend additive systems on the performance of flame retardancy of polymer materials.

International audience; Understanding the surface properties of hybrid perovskite materials is a key aspect to improve not only the interface properties in photovoltaic cells but also the stability against moisture degradation. In this work, we study the local electronic properties of two series of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskite films by atomic force microscopybased methods. We correlate nanoscale features such as the local surface potential (as measured by Kelvin probe force microscopy) to the current response (as measured by conductive atomic force microscopy). CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskites made using lead acetate as a precursor result in films with high purity and crystallinity and also result in heterogeneous local electrical properties, attributed to variations in the density of surface states. In contrast, when using lead iodide as a precursor, the perovskite surface exhibits a uniform distribution of surface states. This work also aims to understand the early stages of water-induced degradation at the surface of those films. Through high-precision exposure to small amounts of water vapor, we observe a higher stability for surfaces prepared with lead iodide precursors. More importantly, each precursor-based fabrication route is associated with either nor p-type behavior of the films. These characteristics are determined by the type of surface states, which also and eventually preside over stability. This work should help discriminate between perovskite synthesis routes and improve their stability in photovoltaic cell applications.

International audience; Objective: To investigate olfactory dysfunction (OD) in patients with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through patient-reported outcome questionnaires and objective psychophysical testing. Methods: COVID-19 patients with self-reported sudden-onset OD were recruited. Epidemiological and clinical data were collected. Nasal complaints were evaluated with the sinonasal outcome-22. Subjective olfactory and gustatory status was evaluated with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Objective OD was evaluated using psychophysical tests. Results: Eighty-six patients completed the study. The most common symptoms were fatigue (72.9%), headache (60.0%), nasal obstruction (58.6%), and postnasal drip (48.6%). Total loss of smell was self-reported by 61.4% of patients. Objective olfactory testings identified 41 anosmic (47.7%), 12 hyposmic (14.0%), and 33 normosmic (38.3%) patients. There was no correlation between the objective test results and subjective reports of nasal obstruction or postnasal drip. Conclusion: A significant proportion of COVID-19 patients reporting OD do not have OD on objective testing.

International audience; Recent improvements in taxonomy consider multiple operational criteria. Integrative taxonomy provides a methodological framework merging these multisource approaches. Bumblebees are considered as a uniform group where their taxonomy remains one of the most difficult. Here, we investigate the taxonomic statuses inside a monophyletic group including six taxa (B. inexspectatus, B. mlokosievitzii, B. ruderarius, B. sylvarum, B. velox and B. veteranus)in the most diverse subgenus of bumblebees: Thoracobombus. We used an integrative approach based on mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers and eco-chemical traits commonly used in bumblebee taxonomy. For all species, our study shows a clear differentiation in DNA and eco-chemical traits. However, we conserve the subspecies status of B. ruderarius simulatilis and B. sylvarum daghestanicus from the east of Turkey and Iran according to their degree of genetic and eco-chemical differentiation

Host‐plant selection is a key factor driving the ecology and evolution of insects. While the majority of phytophagous insects is highly host specific, generalist behavior is quite widespread among bees and presumably involves physiological adaptations that remain largely unexplored. However, floral visitation patterns suggest that generalist bees do not forage randomly on all available resources. While resource availability and accessibility as well as nectar composition have been widely explored, pollen chemistry could also have an impact on the range of suitable host‐plants. This study focuses on particular pollen nutrients that cannot be synthesized de novo by insects but are key compounds of cell membranes and the precursor for molting process: the sterols. We compared the sterol composition of pollen from the main host‐plants of three generalist bees: Anthophora plumipes, Colletes cunicularius, and Osmia cornuta, as well as one specialist bee Andrena vaga. We also analyzed the sterols of their brood cell provisions, the tissues of larvae and nonemerged females to determine which sterols are used by the different species. Our results show that sterols are not used accordingly to foraging strategy: Both the specialist species A. vaga and the generalist species C. cunicularius might metabolize a rare C27 sterol, while the two generalist species A. plumipes and O. cornuta might rather use a very common C28 sterol. Our results suggest that shared sterolic compounds among plant species could facilitate the exploitation of multiple host‐plants by A. plumipes and O. cornuta whereas the generalist C. cunicularius might be more constrained due to its physiological requirements of a more uncommon dietary sterol. Our findings suggest that a bee displaying a generalist foraging behavior may sometimes hide a sterol‐specialized species. This evidence challenges the hypothesis that all generalist free‐living bee species are all able to develop on a wide range of different pollen types., We compared the sterol composition of pollen from the main host‐plants of three generalist bees: Anthophora plumipes, Colletes cunicularius, and Osmia cornuta, as well as one specialist bee Andrena vaga. We also analyzed the sterols of their brood cell provisions, the tissues of larvae, and nonemerged females to determine which sterols are used by the different species. Our findings suggest that a bee displaying a generalist foraging behavior might sometimes hide a sterol specialized species.

With 2,000 species currently recorded in Europe, bees are a highly diversified and efficient group of pollinating insects. They obtain their nutrients from nectar and pollen of flowers. However, the chemical composition of these resources, especially of pollen (e.g., protein, lipid, amino acids, fatty acids, or sterol content), is highly variable among plant species. While it is well-known that bees show interspecific variation in their floral choices, there is a lack of information on the nutritional requirements of different bee species. We therefore developed original experiments in laboratory conditions to evaluate the interspecific variations in bee nutritional requirements. We analyzed the chemical content of eight pollen blends, different in terms of protein, lipid, amino acids, and sterols total concentration and profiles. Each pollen blend was provided to four different bee model species: honey bees (Apis mellifera), bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), mason bees (Osmia bicornisandOsmia cornuta). For each species, specific protocols were used to monitor their development (e.g., weight, timing, survival) and resource collection. Overall, we found that the nutritional requirements across those species are different, and that a low-quality diet for one species is not necessarily low-quality for another one. While honey bees are negatively impacted by diets with a high protein content (~40%), bumblebees and mason bees develop normally on these diets but struggle on diets with a low total amino acid and sterol content, specifically with low concentrations of 24-methylenecholesterol and β-sitosterol. Overall, our study supports the need of conserving and/or introducing plant diversity into managed ecosystems to meet the natural nutritional preferences of bees at species and community level.

Updated title, full version of CONCUR 2020 conference paper; International audience; For decades, two-player (antagonistic) games on graphs have been a framework of choice for many important problems in theoretical computer science. A notorious one is controller synthesis, which can be rephrased through the game-theoretic metaphor as the quest for a winning strategy of the system in a game against its antagonistic environment. Depending on the specification, optimal strategies might be simple or quite complex, for example having to use (possibly infinite) memory. Hence, research strives to understand which settings allow for simple strategies. In 2005, Gimbert and Zielonka provided a complete characterization of preference relations (a formal framework to model specifications and game objectives) that admit memoryless optimal strategies for both players. In the last fifteen years however, practical applications have driven the community toward games with complex or multiple objectives, where memory -- finite or infinite -- is almost always required. Despite much effort, the exact frontiers of the class of preference relations that admit finite-memory optimal strategies still elude us. In this work, we establish a complete characterization of preference relations that admit optimal strategies using arena-independent finite memory, generalizing the work of Gimbert and Zielonka to the finite-memory case. We also prove an equivalent to their celebrated corollary of great practical interest: if both players have optimal (arena-independent-)finite-memory strategies in all one-player games, then it is also the case in all two-player games. Finally, we pinpoint the boundaries of our results with regard to the literature: our work completely covers the case of arena-independent memory (e.g., multiple parity objectives, lower- and upper-bounded energy objectives), and paves the way to the arena-dependent case (e.g., multiple lower-bounded energy objectives).

International audience; Surface modification of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) by organocatalysed grafting from ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of trimethylene carbonate was investigated. Organocatalysts including an amidine (DBU), a guanidine (TBD), an amino-pyridine (DMAP) and a phosphazene (BEMP) were successfully assessed for this purpose, with performances in the order TBD > BEMP > DMAP, DBU. The grafting ratio can be tuned by varying the experimental parameters, with the highest grafting of 74 % by weight obtained under mild conditions, i.e at roomtemperature in tetrahydrofuran with a low amount of catalyst. This value is much higher than that of typical ring opening polymerizations of cyclic esters initiated from the surface of cellulose nanoparticles. Additionally, DSC analysis of the modified material revealed the presence of a glass transition temperature, indicative of a sufficient graft length to display polymeric behaviour. This is, to our knowledge, the first example of cellulose nanocrystalsgrafted with polycarbonate chains.; La modification de surface des nanocristaux de cellulose (CNC) par greffage organocatalysé à partir de la polymérisation par ouverture de cycle (ROP) du carbonate de triméthylène a été étudiée. Des organocatalyseurs comprenant une amidine (DBU), une guanidine (TBD), une amino-pyridine (DMAP) et un phosphazène (BEMP) ont été évalués avec succès dans ce but, avec des performances dans l'ordre TBD > BEMP > DMAP, DBU. Le taux de greffage peut être ajusté en faisant varier les paramètres expérimentaux, le greffage le plus élevé de 74 % en poids ayant été obtenu dans des conditions douces, c'est-à-dire à température ambiante dans du tétrahydrofurane avec une faible quantité de catalyseur. Cette valeur est beaucoup plus élevée que celle des polymérisations par ouverture de cycle typiques des esters cycliques initiées à partir de la surface des nanoparticules de cellulose. De plus, l'analyse DSC du matériau modifié a révélé la présence d'une température de transition vitreuse, indiquant une longueur de greffe suffisante pour présenter un comportement polymère. Il s'agit, à notre connaissance, du premier exemple de nanocristaux de cellulose greffés avec des chaînes de polycarbonate.

International audience; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder among children. It affects patients’ lives in many ways: inattention, difficulty with stimuli inhibition or motor function regulation. Different treatments exist today, but these can present side effects or are not effective for all subgroups. Neurofeedback (NF) is an innovative treatment consisting of brain activity display. NF training could consist of a virtual reality (VR) video-game in which the participant’s attention affects the game. Attention being assessed through physiological signals, one of the main steps is to design an estimator for the attention state. We present a novel framework able to record physiological signals in specific attention states and able to estimate the corresponding attention state. We propose a database composed of electroencephalography signals (EEG), and an eye-tracker labelled with a score representing the attention span for 32 healthy participants. Different features are extracted from the signals and machine learning (ML) algorithms are proposed. Our approach exhibits high accuracy for attention estimation, which corroborates a correlation between attention state and physiological signals (i.e. EEG, eye-tracking signals). The dataset has been made publicly available to promote research in the domain and we encourage other scientists to use their own approach for attention estimation

Computational investigations were conducted thanks to HPC resources provided by [TGCC/CINES/IDRIS] under the allocation 2020-A0010907682 made by GENCI.; International audience; Halide perovskites and related nanostructures show complex structural interplay between well-defined long-range structural order, associated to their corner-shared MX6 organization, and short-range dynamic disorder, due to the soft nature of the lattice, libration motion and conformational freedom of the organic component. The structural characterization of these materials reveals therefore challenging, as it calls for an appropriate description of both short-range and long-range structural features, then requiring a smart combination of different structural investigation techniques. In this frame, solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (ss-NMR) emerges as unique technique to complement long-range description routinely addressed via X-ray diffraction, to probe the material structure at different scales[1].We perform ss-NMR characterization of halide perovskites adopting synergic experimental and theoretical tools. The ss-NMR of 3D methylammonium lead halide perovskites is investigated, first, via periodic Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations, with good match between the theoretical results for 1H and 13C nuclei and the experimental literature data. Theoretical/experimental agreement is comparably less accurate for 207Pb nuclei, due to lack of Spin-Orbit-Coupling (SOC) in our computational set-up, but still provides correct trends with respect to the PbX6 octahedra halide composition, hence making the NMR signature of 207Pb the ideal marker for characterizing halide segregation down to the atomic scale.[2] Further investigations involve a recently synthesized terminated, m=3 halide perovskite. Again, ssNMR of 207Pb nicely distinguishes between the lead atoms in the inner and outer layers.[3] Further efforts in the directions of incorporation of SOC in the computational set-up and better framing of thermal narrowing is needed but the present results highlight the potential of joint theoretical/experimental NMR simulations in the field of halide perovskites for energy conversion applications.[1] Dahlman C. J., Kubicki D. J., Reddy G. N. M., Interfaces in metal halide perovskites probed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2021,9, 19206[2] Quarti C., Furet E., Katan C., DFT simulations as valuable tool to support NMR characterization of halide perovskites: the case of pure and mixed halide perovskites, Helv. Chim. Acta 2021, 104, e2000231.[3] M. Ben Haj Salah, N. Mercier, M. Allain, A. Leblanc, J. Dittmer, C. Botta, C. Quarti, C. Katan, Synthesis and characterization of (FA)3(HEA)2Pb3I11: a rare example of -oriented multilayered halide perovskite, accepted in Chemistry of Materials.

What are the perceptual effects, in a quiet environment, of wearing six types of anti-COVID masks on the identification and discrimination of consonants, and on discrimination in spoken, declaimed and sung French sentences produced by one man and one woman? 21 listeners identified then discriminated the consonants /p, t, k, b, d, g, f, s, ʃ, v, z, ʒ/ in intervocalic position, produced by the female speaker. 39 listeners discriminated a spoken, declaimed (produced by a male and a femalespeaker) and sung (produced by the female speaker, a singer) sentence with and without mask: consonant identification was little affected, except for /b/ with the transparent window mask, but the presence of the transparent window and FFP2 masks was strongly discriminated with certainty compared to the no-mask condition, with the exception of singing, which appeared to be insensitive to the timbre attenuation heard and verbalized by the listeners for the other tasks., Quels sont les effets perceptifs, en environnement calme, du port de six types de masques anti-COVID sur l'identification et la discrimination de consonnes, celle de phrases parlées, déclamées et chantées en français produits par un homme et une femme ? 21 auditeurs ont identifié puis discriminé les consonnes /p, t, k, b, d, g, f, s, ʃ, v, z, ʒ/ en intervocalique produites par la locutrice, puis 39 auditeurs ont discriminé une phrase parlée, déclamée (par un locuteur et une locutrice) et chantée (par la locutrice, chanteuse) avec et sans masque : l'identification consonantique est peu affectée, excepté pour /b/ avec le masque à fenêtre transparente, mais la présence des masques à fenêtre transparente et FFP2 est fortement discriminée et avec certitude par rapport à la condition sans masque, à l'exception du chant qui semble peu sensible à l'atténuation de timbre entendue et verbalisée par les auditeurs pour les autres tâches.

International audience; Background: : Olfactory dysfunction (OD) has been reported with a high prevalence on mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Previous reports suggest that volume and signal intensity of olfactory bulbs (OB) have been reported as abnormal on acute phase of COVID-19 anosmia, but a prospective MRI and clinical follow-up study of COVID-19 patients presenting with OD was missing, aiming at understanding the modification of OB during patients'follow-up. Methods: : A prospective multicenter study was conducted including 11 COVID-19 patients with OD. Patients underwent MRI and psychophysical olfactory assessments at baseline and 6-month post-COVID-19. T2 FLAIR-Signal intensity ratio (SIR) was measured between the average signal of the OB and the average signal of white matter. OB volumes and obstruction of olfactory clefts (OC) were evaluated at both evaluation times. Results: : The psychophysical evaluations demonstrated a 6-month recovery in 10/11 patients (90.9%). The mean values of OB-SIR significantly decreased from baseline (1.66±0.24) to 6-month follow-up (1.35±0.27), reporting a mean variation of -17.82±15.20 % (p

Ribosomes are essential nanomachines responsible for protein production. Although ribosomes are present in every living cell, ribosome biogenesis dysfunction diseases, called ribosomopathies, impact particular tissues specifically. Here, we evaluate the importance of the box C/D snoRNA-associated ribosomal RNA methyltransferase fibrillarin (Fbl) in the early embryonic development of Xenopus laevis. We report that in developing embryos, the neural plate, neural crest cells (NCCs), and NCC derivatives are rich in fbl transcripts. Fbl knockdown leads to striking morphological defects affecting the eyes and craniofacial skeleton, due to lack of NCC survival caused by massive p53-dependent apoptosis. Fbl is required for efficient pre-rRNA processing and 18S rRNA production, which explains the early developmental defects. Using RiboMethSeq, we systematically reinvestigated ribosomal RNA 2’-O methylation in X. laevis, confirming all 89 previously mapped sites and identifying 15 novel putative positions in 18S and 28S rRNA. Twenty-three positions, including 10 of the new ones, were validated orthogonally by low dNTP primer extension. Bioinformatic screening of the X. laevis transcriptome revealed candidate box C/D snoRNAs for all methylated positions. Mapping of 2’-O methylation at six developmental stages in individual embryos indicated a trend towards reduced methylation at specific positions during development. We conclude that fibrillarin knockdown in early Xenopus embryos causes reduced production of functional ribosomal subunits, thus impairing NCC formation and migration., Author summary Ribosomes are essential nanomachines responsible for protein production in all cells. Ribosomopathies are diseases caused by improper ribosome formation due to mutations in ribosomal proteins or ribosome assembly factors. Such diseases primarily affect the brain and blood, and it is unclear how malfunctioning of a process as general as ribosome formation can lead to tissue-specific diseases. Here we have examined how fibrillarin, an enzyme which modifies ribosomal RNA by adding methyl groups at specific sites, affects early embryonic development in the frog Xenopus laevis. We have revealed its importance in the maturation of cells forming an embryonic structure called the neural crest. Fibrillarin depletion leads to reduced eye size and abnormal head shape, reminiscent of other conditions such as Treacher Collins syndrome. Molecularly, the observed phenotypes are explainable by increased p53-dependent programmed cell death triggered by inhibition of certain pre-rRNA processing steps. Our systematic investigation of the ribosomal RNA 2’-O methylation repertoire across development has further revealed hypomodification at a late stage of development, which might play a role in late developmental transitions involving differential translation by compositionally different ribosomes.

International audience; We report on the first systematic transport study of alkynyl-ended oligophenyl-diethynyl (OPA) single-molecule junctions with direct Au-C anchoring scheme at low temperature using the mechanically controlled break junction technique. Through quantitative statistical analysis of opening traces, conductance histograms and density functional theory studies, we identified different types of junctions, classified by their conductance and stretching behavior, for OPA molecules between Au electrodes with two to four phenyl rings. We performed inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy and observed the excitation of Au-C vibrational modes confirming the existence of Au-C bonds at low temperature and compared the stability of molecule junctions upon mechanical stretching. Our findings reveal the huge potential for future functional molecule transport studies at low temperature using alkynyl endgroups.

The diel cycle is of enormous biological importance in that it imposes temporal structure on ecosystem productivity. In the world’s oceans, microorganisms form complex communities that carry out about half of photosynthesis and the bulk of life-sustaining nutrient cycling. How the functioning of microbial communities is impacted by day and night periods in surface seawater remains to be elucidated. In this study, we compared the day and night metaproteomes of the free-living and the particle-attached bacterial fractions from picoplanktonic communities sampled from the northwest Mediterranean Sea surface. Our results showed similar taxonomic distribution of free-living and particle-attached bacterial populations, with Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Cyanobacteria being the most active members. Comparison of the day and night metaproteomes revealed that free-living and particle-attached bacteria were more active during the day and the night, respectively. Interestingly, protein diel variations were observed in the photoautotroph Synechococcales and in (photo)-heterotrophic bacteria such as Flavobacteriales, Pelagibacterales and Rhodobacterales. Moreover, our data demonstrated that diel cycle impacts light-dependent processes such as photosynthesis and UV-stress response in Synechococcales and Rhodobacterales, respectively, while the protein regulation from the ubiquitous Pelagibacterales remained stable over time. This study unravels, for the first time, the diel variation in the protein expression of major free-living and particle-attached microbial players at the sea surface, totaling an analysis of eight metaproteomes.

In this work, we consider the problem of blind source separation (BSS) by departing from the usual linear model and focusing on the linear-quadratic (LQ) model. We propose two provably robust and computationally tractable algorithms to tackle this problem under separability assumptions which require the sources to appear as samples in the data set. The first algorithm generalizes the successive nonnegative projection algorithm (SNPA), designed for linear BSS, and is referred to as SNPALQ. By explicitly modeling the product terms inherent to the LQ model along the iterations of the SNPA scheme, the nonlinear contributions of the mixing are mitigated, thus improving the separation quality. SNPALQ is shown to be able to recover the ground truth factors that generated the data, even in the presence of noise. The second algorithm is a brute-force (BF) algorithm, which is used as a post-processing step for SNPALQ. It enables to discard the spurious (mixed) samples extracted by SNPALQ, thus broadening its applicability. The BF is in turn shown to be robust to noise under easier-to-check and milder conditions than SNPALQ. We show that SNPALQ with and without the BF postprocessing is relevant in realistic numerical experiments., 23 pages + 24 pages of Appendix containing the proofs