Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Analysis of continuous seismic data recorded by a dense passive seismological network (Hi-CLIMB) installed across the Himalayas reveals strong spatial and temporal variations in the ambient seismic energy produced at high frequencies (>1 Hz). From June to September 2003, the high-frequency seismic noise is observed to increase up to 20 dB (relative to (m/s)(2)/Hz) for all the stations located along a steep 30-km-long narrow and deeply incised channel of the Trisuli River, a major trans-Himalayan river. The early summer increase in high-frequency energy is modulated by a 24-h periodicity where the minimum of seismic noise level is reached around noon and the maximum is reached late in the evening. A detailed study of seismic noise amplitude reveals a clear correlation with both regional meteorological and hydrological data along the Trisuli River. Seasonal increase in ambient noise coincides with the strong monsoon rainfall and a period of rapid melting of snow and ice in the high elevations. The observed 24-h cyclicity is consistent with the daily fluctuation of the precipitation and river discharge in the region. River-induced seismic noise is partly generated by stream turbulence, but this mechanism fails to explain the observed clockwise hysteresis of seismic noise amplitude versus water level. This pattern is better explained if a significant part of the observed seismic noise is caused by ground vibrations generated by bed load transport. This points out the potential of using background seismic noise to quantify in continuous river bed load and monitor its spatial variations, which remain difficult with classical approaches.
ISSN: 2169-9313

hal-00412170
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00412170
DOI : 10.1029/2007JB005034

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Geophysical Union
Résumé : International audience
Upper mantle structures and flow related to the South Pacific Superswell and to the associated short-lived hotspots are investigated using seismic stations deployed in French Polynesia. Beside island stations, broadband ocean bottom seismometers ( BBOBS) have been deployed between the various Polynesian archipelagos to investigate the oceanic upper mantle "unperturbed'' by thickened crust or hotspot activity. We investigate seismic anisotropy measured at BBOBS stations and found it rather similar to that from island stations. This confirms the ability of OBS to be used for anisotropy purposes and suggests some homogeneity in the upper mantle pervasive deformation. The two OBS installed on the head of the Society hotspot provide different anisotropy signatures than most of the other French Polynesian stations: one is "isotropic'' to SKS waves and the other provides a fast split direction normal to the average value observed in this area, suggesting a more complex mantle flow induced by the plume upwelling.
ISSN: 0094-8276

hal-00420907
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420907
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420907/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420907/file/Barruol_SKS_PLUME_BBOBS_GRL2009.pdf
DOI : 10.1029/2009GL038139

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Drug hypersensitivity is known to rely on a drug-specific T-cell response. Amplitude of antigen-specific T-cell response is partly controlled by the size of the antigen-specific naïve CD4(+) T-cell repertoire, but estimate of this repertoire has never been investigated for allergenic drugs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of benzylpenicillin-specific CD4(+) T lymphocytes in healthy donors. Co-cultures were established with CD4(+) T lymphocytes from healthy donors and mature autologous dendritic cells loaded with benzylpenicillin coupled to human serum albumin. CD4(+) T lymphocytes were stimulated once a week for 4 weeks with benzylpenicillin coupled to human serum albumin. The CD4(+) T-cell response was measured using an interferon-γ ELISPOT assay. Frequency of benzylpenicillin-specific naive CD4(+) T lymphocytes was then calculated using the Poisson distribution law. Results showed the presence of benzylpenicillin-specific CD4(+) T lymphocytes in 9 of 10 tested healthy donors irrespective of their HLA typing, with a mean frequency of 0.29 cells per million of CD4(+) T cells. Experiments performed on naive (CD45RA(+) ) and on memory (CD45RO(+) ) CD4(+) T lymphocytes showed that these benzylpenicillin-specific CD4(+) T lymphocytes belonged to the naive T-cell subpopulation. This study showed for the first time the existence of naive CD4(+) T lymphocytes specific to benzylpenicillin in healthy donors.
ISSN: 0105-4538

hal-01122172
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01122172
PUBMED : 23751122
DOI : 10.1111/all.12173

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
The etiology of congenital heart defect (CHD) combines environmental and genetic factors. So far, there were studies reporting on the screening of a single gene on unselected CHD or on familial cases selected for specific CHD types. Our goal was to systematically screen a proband of familial cases of CHD on a set of genetic tests to evaluate the prevalence of disease-causing variant identification. A systematic screening of GATA4, NKX2-5, ZIC3 and Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) P311 Kit was setup on the proband of 154 families with at least two cases of non-syndromic CHD. Additionally, ELN screening was performed on families with supravalvular arterial stenosis. Twenty-two variants were found, but segregation analysis confirmed unambiguously the causality of 16 variants: GATA4 (1 x), NKX2-5 (6 x), ZIC3 (3 x), MLPA (2 x) and ELN (4 x). Therefore, this approach was able to identify the causal variant in 10.4% of familial CHD cases. This study demonstrated the existence of a de novo variant even in familial CHD cases and the impact of CHD variants on adult cardiac condition even in the absence of CHD. This study showed that the systematic screening of genetic factors is useful in familial CHD cases with up to 10.4% elucidated cases. When successful, it drastically improved genetic counseling by discovering unaffected variant carriers who are at risk of transmitting their variant and are also exposed to develop cardiac complications during adulthood thus prompting long-term cardiac follow-up. This study provides an important baseline at dawning of the next-generation sequencing era.
ISSN: 1018-4813

hal-01404211
https://hal-univ-bourgogne.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01404211
DOI : 10.1038/ejhg.2015.105
PUBMED : 26014430

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Résumé : International audience
ISSN: 0018-9499

hal-01632372
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01632372
DOI : 10.1109/TNS.2010.2089063

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Scientific interest in urban meteorology has increased because highly populated areas experience high vulnerability to pollution or heavy rain. However, compared to urban air quality or urban heat island (UHI) processes, the urban water vapour cycle is poorly understood because it has been investigated less due to the lack of upper-air measurements and the high sensitivity of surface measurements to local heterogeneities. In this paper, surface measurements of wind, temperature, pressure and humidity, as well as integrated water vapour (IWV) from GPS and MODIS and numerical simulations, have been used to investigate the urban cycle of water vapour in May and June 2004 during the VAPIC field experiment in the Paris area. The surface data show the typical characteristics of an urban area with the absence of water vapour sources and a UHI of about 6 °C at night. The urban IWV distribution differs completely, with an urban IWV excess on average between 1600 and 0600 UTC (with a maximum of about 1.5 kg m−2 at 0600 and 1700 UTC). No IWV difference between the urban and rural areas is found in the middle of the day. The numerical simulations reproduce accurately the urban IWV anomaly. Shallow surface wind convergence associated with the UHI during nighttime provides moisture from the rural areas. Urban areas are therefore under wind convergence for most of the time. The rural water vapour sources and the depth of the convergence control the amplitude of the urban IWV excess. At about 1200 UTC, entrainment at the top of the urban boundary layer is the key process that inhibits the urban IWV excess observed at night
ISSN: 0035-9009

hal-00406370
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00406370
DOI : 10.1002/qj.446

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990)

hal-01567818
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01567818
PUBMED : 28527392

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The parasitic life cycle of Leishmania includes an extracellular promastigote stage that occurs in the gut of the insect vector. During that period, the sucrose metabolism and more specifically the first glycosidase of this pathway are essential for growth and survival of the parasite. We investigated the expression of the invertase BfrA in the promastigote and amastigote stages of three parasite species representative of the three various clinical forms and of various geographical areas, namely Leishmania major, L. donovani and L. braziliensis. Thereafter, we cloned, overexpressed and biochemically characterized this invertase BfrA from L. major, heterologously expressed in both Escherichia coli and L. tarentolae. For all species, expression levels of BfrA mRNA were correlated to the time of the culture and the parasitic stage (promastigotes > amastigotes). BfrA exhibited no activity when expressed as a glycoprotein in L. tarentolae but proved to be an invertase when not glycosylated, yet owing low sequence homology with other invertases from the same family. Our data suggest that BfrA is an original invertase that is located inside the parasite. It is expressed in both parasitic stages, though to a higher extent in promastigotes. This work provides new insight into the parasite sucrose metabolism
ISSN: 0008-6215

hal-01187142
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01187142
DOI : 10.1016/j.carres.2015.07.001
PUBMED : 26279524

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that reproductive abnormalities are increasing in frequency in both human population and among wild fauna. This increase is probably related to exposure to toxic contaminants in the environment. The use of sentinel species to raise alarms relating to human reproductive health has been strongly recommended. However, no simultaneous studies at the same site have been carried out in recent decades to evaluate the utility of wild animals for monitoring human reproductive disorders. We carried out a joint study in Guadeloupe assessing the reproductive function of workers exposed to pesticides in banana plantations and of male wild rats living in these plantations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed to assess semen quality and reproductive hormones in banana workers and in men working in non-agricultural sectors. These reproductive parameters were also assessed in wild rats captured in the plantations and were compared with those in rats from areas not directly polluted by humans. RESULTS: No significant difference in sperm characteristics and/or hormones was found between workers exposed and not exposed to pesticide. By contrast, rats captured in the banana plantations had lower testosterone levels and gonadosomatic indices than control rats. CONCLUSION: Wild rats seem to be more sensitive than humans to the effects of pesticide exposure on reproductive health. We conclude that the concept of sentinel species must be carefully validated as the actual nature of exposure may varies between human and wild species as well as the vulnerable time period of exposure and various ecological factors.
Environmental health : a global access science source [electronic resource]

hal-00669505
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00669505
DOI : 10.1186/1476-069X-7-40
PUBMED : 18667078

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Since the Shea, J.B. and Morgan (1979) study, investigators have repeatedly shown that the learning of a set of movement patterns (as evaluated in a retention test) is enhanced when acquisition occurred under a random rather than a blocked schedule of practice. Supposedly, this is the case because a random schedule of practice necessitates more elaborate cognitive activities than a blocked schedule before each acquisition trial can be initiated. Our main objective was to determine whether the advantage for learning found for random practice increases as a function of the number of acquisition trials. During acquisition, the results indicated a general tendency for smaller movement reproduction errors under a blocked rather than a random schedule of practice. However, this effect disappeared with larger amount of acquisition trials. In retention, larger errors were observed when acquisition occurred under a blocked rather than a random schedule of practice. Finally, the disadvantage for learning observed for the blocked schedule of practice disappeared under a block-repeated condition in which each movement pattern was first practiced under a blocked schedule which was then repeated a second time. The results are discussed in terms of the so-called contextual interference effect and indicates some of its limitations.
ISSN: 0001-6918

hal-01662846
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01662846
DOI : 10.1080/00222895.1994.9941657
PUBMED : 8165923