Responses of plant leaf economic and hydraulic traits mediate the effects of early- and late-season drought on grassland productivity.

Drought can occur at different times during the grassland growing season, likely having contrasting effects on forage production when happening early or later in the season. However, knowledge about the interacting effects of the timing of drought and the development stage of the vegetation during the growing season is still scarce, thus limiting our ability to accurately predict forage quantity losses. To investigate plant community responses to drought seasonality (early- vs.

Fish Reproduction Is Disrupted upon Lifelong Exposure to Environmental PAHs Fractions Revealing Different Modes of Action.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) constitute a large family of organic pollutants emitted in the environment as complex mixtures, the compositions of which depend on origin. Among a wide range of physiological defects, PAHs are suspected to be involved in disruption of reproduction. In an aquatic environment, the trophic route is an important source of chronic exposure to PAHs.

Arrhythmia Vulnerability in Diabetic Cardiac Tissue is Species-Dependent: Effects of I , Uncoupling, and Connexin Lateralization.

Amongst the complications of diabetes is arrhythmia, the risk of which depends on multiple factors. This study was designed to investigate several factors, including the effects of ATP-sensitive potassium current, lateralized connexins, and gap junction uncoupling. ATP-sensitive potassium channel (I ) opening is caused by ischemia, which can occur in diabetic or non-diabetic hearts.

Kinetic Boltzmann approach adapted for modeling highly ionized matter created by x-ray irradiation of a solid.

We report on the kinetic Boltzmann approach adapted for simulations of highly ionized matter created from a solid by its x-ray irradiation. X rays can excite inner-shell electrons, which leads to the creation of deeply lying core holes. Their relaxation, especially in heavier elements, can take complicated paths, leading to a large number of active configurations.

R-Syst::diatom: an open-access and curated barcode database for diatoms and freshwater monitoring.

Diatoms are micro-algal indicators of freshwater pollution. Current standardized methodologies are based on microscopic determinations, which is time consuming and prone to identification uncertainties. The use of DNA-barcoding has been proposed as a way to avoid these flaws.

Metal detoxification and gene expression regulation after a Cd and Zn contamination: an experimental study on Danio rerio.

This study aimed to demonstrate the recovery potential of Danio rerio after Cd and Zn contaminations. Fish demonstrated high accumulation capacities of Cd with concentrations reaching 3716.4±578.

Exposures of zebrafish through diet to three environmentally relevant mixtures of PAHs produce behavioral disruptions in unexposed F1 and F2 descendant.

The release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into the environment has increased very substantially over the last decades. PAHs are hydrophobic molecules which can accumulate in high concentrations in sediments acting then as major secondary sources. Fish contamination can occur through contact or residence nearby sediments or though dietary exposure.

The effect of sensory feedback on crayfish posture and locomotion: II. Neuromechanical simulation of closing the loop.

Neuromechanical simulation was used to determine whether proposed thoracic circuit mechanisms for the control of leg elevation and depression in crayfish could account for the responses of an experimental hybrid neuromechanical preparation when the proprioceptive feedback loop was open and closed. The hybrid neuromechanical preparation consisted of a computational model of the fifth crayfish leg driven in real time by the experimentally recorded activity of the levator and depressor (Lev/Dep) nerves of an in vitro preparation of the crayfish thoracic nerve cord. Up and down movements of the model leg evoked by motor nerve activity released and stretched the model coxobasal chordotonal organ (CBCO); variations in the CBCO length were used to drive identical variations in the length of the live CBCO in the in vitro preparation.

The effect of sensory feedback on crayfish posture and locomotion: I. Experimental analysis of closing the loop.

The effect of proprioceptive feedback on the control of posture and locomotion was studied in the crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard). Sensory and motor nerves of an isolated crayfish thoracic nerve cord were connected to a computational neuromechanical model of the crayfish thorax and leg. Recorded levator (Lev) and depressor (Dep) nerve activity drove the model Lev and Dep muscles to move the leg up and down.

A revised chronology for the Grotte Vaufrey (Dordogne, France) based on TT-OSL dating of sedimentary quartz.

Grotte Vaufrey, located in the Dordogne region of southwestern France, is well known for its substantial archaeological sequence containing a succession of Acheulean and Mousterian occupations. While over the last thirty years numerous studies have attempted to outline a detailed chronostratigraphy for this important sequence, the failure to employ a common chronological framework has complicated its interpretation. Here, we aim to resolve these inconsistencies by providing a new chronology for the site based on luminescence dating.

Root biomass production in populations of six rooted macrophytes in response to Cu exposure: intra-specific variability versus constitutive-like tolerance.

Intra-specific variability of root biomass production (RP) of six rooted macrophytes, i.e. Juncus effusus, Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Typha latifolia, Phalaris arundinacea, and Iris pseudacorus grown from clones, in response to Cu exposure was investigated.

Detoxification and recovery capacities of Corbicula fluminea after an industrial metal contamination (Cd and Zn): a one-year depuration experiment.

This study aimed to assess the recovery capacity of the freshwater bivalve Corbicula fluminea subjected to industrial metal discharges (Cd, Zn). After a 24-day exposure in a metal-contaminated river, bivalves were transferred and maintained in the laboratory for one year under metal-free conditions. Metal accumulation, metallothionein production and genetic expressions of genes involved in metal stress were studied.

What are the outcomes of an industrial remediation on a metal-impacted hydrosystem? A 2-year field biomonitoring of the filter-feeding bivalve Corbicula fluminea.

The Riou-Mort watershed (southwest France) exhibits high metal contaminations (Cd and Zn) related to an important mining past. In this context, a remediation process has been implemented in 2007 to reduce the watershed contamination. The aim of this study was to assess the early effectiveness of the remediation process on the hydrosystem contamination state.

Concise formulation of the three-dimensional multiple-scattering theory.

The scattering of an electromagnetic wave by a set of dielectric and metallic spheres is a well-known physical problem. We show a mathematical simplification of the multiple-scattering theory. In this paper, we will establish the multiple-scattering equation in two different ways.

Evolution of hippocampal spatial representation over time in mice.

To investigate the intriguing and paradoxical contrast between the time-limited role of the hippocampus in memory consolidation and its permanent contribution to spatial memory as revealed by place cell activity, we carefully monitored the temporal evolution of the same set of place cells in normal naïve mice throughout their familiarization to a spatial context and their consolidation of memory about space. Over six daily recording sessions, despite their widely reported stability, we observed gradual changes in hippocampal place fields and cell firing patterns. These changes were interpreted in terms of both improvement and impoverishment of spatial codes: improvement due to intrinsic place cell plasticity, and impoverishment as a consequence of attentional filtering of allocentric spatial information reaching the hippocampus due to the procedural behavioral requirements of the task, or to hippocampal disengagement as learning progresses.

Posture recognition based on fuzzy logic for home monitoring of the elderly.

We propose in this paper a computer vision-based posture recognition method for home monitoring of the elderly. The proposed system performs human detection prior to the posture analysis; posture recognition is performed only on a human silhouette. The human detection approach has been designed to be robust to different environmental stimuli.

Seed bank of Cu-contaminated topsoils at a wood preservation site: impacts of copper and compost on seed germination.

Is identification of seed bank (SB) species useful for sustainable management of vegetation restoration on Cu-contaminated soils? How does Cu contamination of the soil affect the SB and can incorporating compost into Cu-contaminated soils counter the effects of Cu? The topsoil SB was investigated at seven contaminated sub-sites of a wood preservation site. The germination parameters of the seeds were recorded using three substrates: a washed river sand (Sand), the same sand spiked with CuSO(4) to reach the same Cu concentrations as in the soil pore water (0.3 to 3.

Remediation of a watershed contaminated by heavy metals: a 2-year field biomonitoring of periphytic biofilms.

This study focuses on an industrial contamination site subjected to remediation processes since 2007 in the Riou-Mort watershed (southwest France). The purpose was to assess the first impacts of remediation on periphytic biofilms, and was performed during two years of biomonitoring. Periphytic biofilms were collected on glass slides immersed 24 days at different sites along the contamination gradient for 12 colonisation cycles.

Copper phytoextraction in tandem with oilseed production using commercial cultivars and mutant lines of sunflower.

Use of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) for Cu phytoextraction and oilseed production on Cu-contaminated topsoils was investigated in afield trial at a former wood preservation site. Six commercial cultivars and two mutant lines were cultivated in plots with and without the addition of compost (5% w/w) and dolomitic limestone (0.

Low-temperature UV processing of nanoporous SnO₂ layers for dye-sensitized solar cells.

Connection of SnO₂ particles by simple UV irradiation in air yielded cassiterite SnO₂ porous films at low temperature. XPS, FTIR, and TGA-MS data revealed that the UV treatment has actually removed most of the organics present in the precursor SnO₂ colloid and gave more hydroxylated materials than calcination at high temperature. As electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), the N3-modified 1-5 μm thick SnO₂ films showed excellent photovoltaic responses with overall power conversion efficiency reaching 2.

Water quality assessment by means of HFNI valvometry and high-frequency data modeling.

The high-frequency measurements of valve activity in bivalves (e.g., valvometry) over a long period of time and in various environmental conditions allow a very accurate study of their behaviors as well as a global analysis of possible perturbations due to the environment.

A Parallel Iterative Method for Computing Molecular Absorption Spectra.

We describe a fast parallel iterative method for computing molecular absorption spectra within TDDFT linear response and using the LCAO method. We use a local basis of "dominant products" to parametrize the space of orbital products that occur in the LCAO approach. In this basis, the dynamic polarizability is computed iteratively within an appropriate Krylov subspace.

Uptake and elimination, and effect of estrogen-like contaminants in estuarine copepods: an experimental study.

Background, Aim, And Scope: In recent years, anthropogenic chemicals which can disrupt the hormonal systems of both humans and wildlife have been raised to a major cause of concern. The aim of the present work was to determine the bioconcentration factors of the two major alkylphenols (AP) of the Seine Estuary [4-nonylphenol (4 NP) and nonylphenol acetic acid (NP1EC)] and of the synthetic estrogen, estrogen ethinylestradiol (EE2), in Eurytemora affinis after exposure in a continuous flow-through system under environmental realistic conditions. Moreover, the elimination of these compounds in copepods from the Seine Estuary has been investigated by measuring concentrations after 1 week in clean water in comparison to background levels.