Emergent projects
Most research funding schemes focus on projects of excellence based on a set of deliverables. This context makes more and more difficult to explore intrinsically risky research routes.
To compensate for this “lack”, ISITE-BFC provides support for original, innovative and risky scientific projects that are likely to advance scientific knowledge in various fields, including those that do not depend on the 3 priority axis defined in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Along the same line, ISITE-BFC encourages interdisciplinary research. The objective is to create permanently cross-fertilization opportunities of two types: across the three strategic priority areas and across other scientific fields.
1st AXIS
IQUINS (Integrated Quantum Information at the Nanoscale) aims at developping new techniques of quantum information processing in order to integrate them at the nanoscale, typically via quantum plasmonics and the realization of an advanced integrated photonic plateform. Conducted by a pluridisciplinary team of 18 researchers from 5 laboratories (ICB, FEMTO-ST, UTINAM, IMB, LMB) and on three sites (Belfort-Besançon-Dijon) of UBFC, the second objective of the project is the emergence of a highly visible UBFC Quantum Information group. To achieve the scientific objectives of the projet and to create a Quantum Information community, three topics have been identified in the project:
- The geometry of quantum computation (studying entanglement and quantum contextuality),
- Quantum control (developping a theoretical framework for nanostructured environnements),
- Integrated systems (producing integrated single photon sources).
Coordinator :
Frédéric HOLWECK
ICB – UMR 6303 (CNRS, UTBM, uB)
Collaborators :
- uB
- CNRS
- UFC
- UTBM
Nanotechnologies is a fastly growing field from both industrial and scientific point of views. The recent emergence of many innovative materials and nano-objects with outstanding characteristics goes with the need to study them and also to combine them to form more complex arrangements such as NEMS, nano-sensors or nano-optical devices. Among existing characterization to manufacturing techniques (self-assembly, chemical synthesis, electron beam lithography, mobile nanoparticules…), the use of nanorobotic platforms recently demonstrate extremely high interest through achieving, in an original way, nanomanipulation and nano-assembly tasks offering disruptive characterization and nanomanufacturing potential. Nevertheless, these nanorobots rely on tools initially developed for microscopy or microscale robotics purposes that have been derived for nanorobotics tasks. Then, intrinsic limitations induce numerous remaining issues to overcome the need of resolution and precision and also dexterity and control of multi-Degrees-of-Freedom trajectories.
Based on FEMTO-ST expertise for miniaturized robotics, the NANOFACTORY project aims at developing a new generation of nanorobot able to achieve highly performing tasks with high repeatability for nanoscale characterization, prototyping of novel nanotechnologies up to the manufacturing of new hybrid or assembled nanodevices.
The basic concepts of this disruptive nanorobot generation relies on complex spatial and automated motions in a versatile and ease of use manner at the nanoscale. A new class of parallel continuum microrobots is notably being investigated and first results already demonstrated the capability to provide extremely high manipulation ability and high accuracy (better than 10 nm is targeted). Original vision based algorithm providing multiple Degrees-of-Freedom measurement with wide range to resolution ratio also enabled to achieve very high positioning accuracy tasks within a Scanning Electron Microscope. Works notably conducted to achieve several and efficient Carbon Nanotubes manipulation tasks in a unique and accurate way conducting to original and disruptive ways of analysing properties.
Coordinator:
Cédric CLEVY
FEMTO-ST / Automatic and Micro-Mechatronic Systems (AS2M) Department – UMR 6174 (UFC, CNRS, ENSMM, UTBM)
Collaborators :
- UFC
- ENSMM
- CNRS
- LOVALITE
An innovative trend promoted by the unique capabilities of additive manufacturing techniques is about the “4D Printing” concept. It is actually the process by which assemblies and parts embodying smart materials are printed, they are therefore able to react to changes in their environment. As a new way of thinking and manufacturing method, few is known about how to systematically bring such smart products ideas into reality. This HERMES research proposal aims at introducing a general framework for designing 4D printed solutions. It delineates the research effort to be made so that designers are sufficiently empowered to design such smart products. For this reason, the HERMES project proposal aims at elaborating (i) a strong foundational theory enough suitable for covering the semantic and logical description of dynamical phenomena knowledge at various scales (i.e. territory/building, mechanical assembly, material, etc.), (ii) a multi-layer ontology for semantic and logical reasoning, on which (iii) computational mechanisms will be developed in order to deliver dynamical CAD models ready for 4D printing. All these objectives present cutting edges efforts from a logical and semantic point of view as well as from a procedural perspective, and will be achieved via an original collaboration connecting fields of mechanical engineering, material engineering, artificial intelligence and geoinformatics. The ultimate goal of HERMES is to extend current CAD systems capabilities to fully embrace 4D printing opportunities and the increase of reasoning capacities embedded in systems and matter.
Coordinator :
Frédéric DEMOLY
ICB – UMR 6303 (CNRS, UTBM, uB)
Collaborators:
- Le2i – UMR 6306
- UTBM
- uB
Conclusion:
This project has brought together several research units in the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region (ICB and LIB) to structure research activities on 4D printing. The work has also initiated collaborations with the University of Lorraine in France, Wayne State University and Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States. Two articles have been published in the Computers in Industry Journal (IF: 11,245) between 2021 and 2022 as well as a paper in an international conference. The results of the project – strongly structuring this booming research field (about 2500 publications since 2013 with a growth rate of about 40%/year) – have initiated a targeted project within the framework of the PIA4 PEPR DIADEM (Integrated devices for accelerated discovery of innovative materials). Called ARTEMIS, the project focuses on the accelerated discovery and development of smart materials and structures with 4D printing technologies. It brings together CNRS research units (ICB and ICGM in Montpellier) and the CEA. Frédéric Demoly is PI of this targeted project.
The field of photonics is one of the fastest growing research areas in modern science, with direct and almost-immediate impact on the development of new industries. Important examples of new fibre-based technologies include supercontinuum (SC) broadband light sources. They provide a broadband light spectrum with the brightness of a laser and the spectral width of a lamp, effectively replacing most of light sources used today in optical metrology, spectroscopy, and bio-photonics. These sources are being developed and marketed by several companies, ALPhANOV, Leukos, Novae in France and NKT Photonics in Denmark. The advent of the photonic crystal fibres (PCFs) has also led to revolutionary advances in photonics and laser technologies, particularly relating to the process of SC generation. State-of-the-art SC lasers are based on silica PCFs providing watts of output power over the bandwidth 400-nm-2.2 µm, or fluoride fibres with several mW of power between 1and 4 µm. However, many industrial applications such as detection of chemical and biological species would benefit from extending the SC spectrum beyond the state of the art, towards the ultraviolet (UV) and the mid-infrared (IR) range.
The key goal of SCUVIRA project is to build, on this current state-of-the-art, the next generation of SC fibre-based sources in the mid-IR (1-15 µm) and UV (200-400 nm) ranges with characteristics tailored to end-user driven applications such as optical detection, spectroscopy, gas and chemical sensing, fluorescence imaging. SCUVIRA will built on the knowledge and complementary of two research groups of the I-SITE UBFC program, ICB in Dijon and Femto-ST in Besançon. We aim in particular to design and draw new highly nonlinear fibres based on IR tellurite (TeO2) and chalcogenide (As-free selenium based) glasses and to demonstrate with these fibres wideband mid-IR SC generation up to 5 µm for tellurite glasses and 15 µm with chalcogenide glasses. On the other hand, UV SC generation will be achieved by use of specialty UV silica-based PCFs with an adapted composition allowing the suppression of the UV absorption issue.
Coordinator:
Frédéric SMEKTALA
ICB – UMR 6303 (CNRS, UTBM, uB)
Collaborators :
- FEMTO-ST – UMR 6174
- uB
- UFC
- CNRS
Conclusion:
The main objective of the SCUVIRA project was to build the next generation of broadband fiber light sources in the mid-infrared (m-IR) and ultra-violet (UV) ranges. SCUVIRA relied on the expertise and complementarity of two research groups of the I-SITE BFC program, ICB in Dijon and Femto-ST in Besançon. New highly non-linear fibers have been designed and developed based on tellurite and chalcogenide glasses. We have demonstrated with these fibers a very broad band supercontinuum (SC) generation in the IR up to 5 μm for tellurite glasses and 18 μm for chalcogenide glasses. On the other hand, the generation of SC in the UV has been obtained by using special fibers, with photonic crystals, based on modified silica specially adapted to the UV so as to get rid of the absorption problems in the 200-400 nm range. These results offer a very promising route to successive key advances in mid-IR fiber-based technology and applications, especially in the field of new laser sources and new sensing devices for environment and health.
The project CoILS (Colloidal Integrated Light Sources) aimed at developing Nanoplatelets (NPls) based colloidal quantum emitter integrated light sources for low cost active opto-chips. The colloidal light sources are expected to be a strategic low cost alternative to technologically demanding integrated light emitting diodes.
In the context of colloidal integrated light sources, Nano-platelet emitters are of key interest compared to standard spherical quantum dots. Indeed, beyond their unique fluorescence performances, Nano-platelets feature auto assembly properties and dipole orientation of critical importance for a controlled deposition and emission of the fluorescent sources.
As a proof of principle, the light sources will be deployed in a functional refractive index sensor for liquid. To this aim, colloidal light sources featuring a broad enough emission spectrum will be integrated to achieve the excitation of micro-disks or micro-rings resonators. Up to several hundredths of resonators will be excited simultaneously by using a simple collimated pump beam. This specific optical pumping configuration can be achieved with no need of tedious and time consuming optical alignments that are generally needed whenever an integrated optics configuration is operated. By using those colloidal integrated light sources, we will demonstrate a highly parallel, optical alignment-free optical sensor.
Beyond the simple fluorescent light sources for optical sensors, we will address in CoILS advanced emission properties of the NPls such as amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) or even Lasing opening the way toward appealing topics such as colloidal nanoplatelets for visible optical on-hip communications.
Coordinator :
Jean-Claude WEEBER
ICB – UMR 6303 (CNRS, UTBM, uB)
Collaborateurs :
- uB
- ICB – UMR 6303
- CNRS
Conclusion:
In summary, the project CoILS aimed at deploying integrated light sources for the demonstration of cost- effective light sources equipped integrated photonic devices. In this project, the integrated light sources are aggregates of colloidal fluorescent nano-crystals deterministically deposited at the proper locations with a sub-micron accuracy. The CoILS concept has been demonstrated by operating ring-resonators mediated excitation of linear integrated waveguides. The results obtained in the context of CoILS have been used to support the claims of the granted H2020 European project GRACED to which LICB is contributing as a partner under the label of CNRS. In this project, LICB is, among other tasks, in charge of integrating infrared emitting (telecom wavelengths) colloidal light sources into optical bio-chips.
Knowledge of the current density distribution inside the Fuel Cell can indicate an abnormal operation and thus offer an effective diagnosis approach. The magnetotomography is the only noninvasive current density mapping method based on the measurement of the external magnetic field surrounding the stack. Recent work at FEMTO-ST/FCLAB developed a new FC stack magnetic field measurement methodology essentially different in comparison with other methodologies proposed until now. This new approach makes possible a more accurate analysis of the current distribution inside the Fuel Cell. This project aims to:
- develop diagnosis procedures and current mapping methods for detecting default cell operation inside the volume of the FC stack based on the new methodology,
- take into consideration magnetic 3D effects to improve the existent test bench,
- validate the new measurement system and methodology on a real fuel cell stack.
Coordinator:
Stefan GIURGEA
FC LAB – FR CNRS 3539 (FEMTO-ST, IRTES, LTE, SATIE, AMPERE)
Collaborators:
- UTBM
- UFC
- CNRS
The purpose of SWO is to open new perspectives for Brillouin (SBS) and Raman (SRS) effects in integrated photonics. The project relies on the exploitation of engineered mechanical resonances (EMRs) that are controlled through nanostructuration and that act as synthetic analogues to the natural SRS/SBS effects. Compared to standard studies which are restricted to low frequency (<<100 MHz for the Raman-like effect, ~10GHz for SBS) and small bandwidth (<1MHz), the originality of SWO project lies in the aim for the highest possible mechanical frequencies, 50GHz and above.
In order to succeed, substantial changes to the current approach must be performed. Especially the use of electronics means for studying experimentally cavity optomechanics (<100MHz) or SBS effects (~10GHz) is not adapted to the investigation of higher frequencies and the peculiar phase-matching properties they could have; therefore a specific all-optical characterization experiment must be developed.
At the level of fundamental science, SWO will result in a better understanding of photon-phonon interaction in semi-conductor photonic integrated chips (PICs). Indeed, by gradually pushing forward optomechanics to its frequency limits, different classes of mechanical vibrations from bulk acoustic resonances up to Surface Acoustic Waves (SWOs) will be investigated.
Coordinator:
Pierre COLMAN
ICB – UMR 6303 (CNRS, UTBM, uB)
Collaborators:
- FEMTO-ST – UMR 6174
- uB
- CNRS
Conclusion:
The SWO project relied on three pillars that dealt with different key aspects of modern optomechanics. First the project resulted in a better understanding of the mechanism of interaction between optical and mechanical waves at the micrometer scale. Then, the development of new theory that focuses specifically on the acoustic modes at the nanoscale allows now also a better comprehension of the latter. The two first aspects were followed by the creation of the corresponding numerical and experimental tools. Finally, a nanofabrication process has been optimized to permit the fabrication of integrated opto- mechanichal structures, based on Silicon Nitride material. In a nutshell, the laboratories across UBFC now control all the key aspects related to integrated optomechanics. The SWO Project contributed greatly to the building of such an expertise.
Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent organic dyes are attractive molecular tools for biosensing/bioimaging because the benefits they provide in biological contexts are numerous and include a large gain of sensitivity (i.e., directly linked to low background fluorescence in the therapeutic window of 700-900 nm), a marked safety profile compared to dyes absorbing at more energetic wavelengths, and deeper tissue penetration. Despite of considerable amount of relevant achievements in the field of such photoactive organic molecules, some issues related to their facile synthetic accessibility/tunability, (photo)chemical stability, biocompatibility and fluorogenic reactivity remain to be addressed for high-tech applications. The goal of this project is to explore a unique approach toward tunable NIR fluorophores based on unprecedented BacterioChlorin-DiketoPyrroloPyrrole (BC-DPP) hybrid core structures. Our guiding idea is to take advantage of valuable inherent properties of natural chlorophyll-related hydroporphyrins (strong absorption/emission within the therapeutic window and assumed inherent biocompatibility) and to impart to them additional features without resorting to tedious de novo syntheses generally required to access to these porphyrin-like molecules. To achieve this, we will explore different chromophore merging-based strategies leading to covalent association between BC and DPP units, and taking advantage of facile synthesis, versatility and outstanding properties of DPP scaffold. To highlight performances of these novel NIR fluorophores and to demonstrate their potential utility, application in the field of diagnostic microbiology will be regarded. “Turn-on” fluorogenic probes suitable for visualizing microbiological enzymes in pathogenic bacteria and yeasts in real-time will be designed from the most promising candidates. Possible benefits of these unusual enzymatic substrates in phenotypic bacterial identification will be assessed.
Coordinator:
Anthony ROMIEU
ICMUB – UMR 6302
Collaborator:
- uB
Conclusion:
The initial ambition of the BacterioBioSens project was the development of a novel class of near-IR active fluorescent organic dyes whose performances were expected to facilitate the design of enzymatic biomarker- responsive fluorogenic probes, usable in biomedical diagnosis. The cornerstone of our approach was to combine valuable properties of two distinct fluorescent molecular units, especially to overcome their respective weaknesses, using a versatile convergent synthetic strategy. Therefore, we explored in-depth the chemistry of bacteriochlorins and diketopyrrolopyrroles (DPPs). The chemical synthesis and functionalization of these photo-active compounds are not trivial tasks; we have faced numerous difficulties that caused us to revise our strategies and objectives. We managed to prepare model bacteriochlorin-DPP hybrids bearing interesting photophysical properties in organic media. However, due to time constraints, their conversion into the corresponding biocompatible derivatives was not considered. In order to make advances in biosensing (practical objective of this project), we have developed a palette of fluorogenic enzyme substrates based on DPP scaffolds. A valuable probe candidate suitable for effective detection of penicillin G acylase (PGA), a relevant biomarker of bacterial antibiotic resistance, was thus identified.
Dispersive partial differential equations (PDEs) have important applications in different research areas such as hydrodynamics, optics, plasma physics and medical imaging. In this project these PDEs, including in higher dimensions, will be studied with a unique innovative combination of analytical and numerical approaches and techniques from the theory of integrable systems, also applied to non-integrable PDEs. The goal is to use the predictive power of numerical techniques for breakthroughs on the analytical side, and analytical insight into the equations to generate innovative numerical schemes able to address challenges in applications numerically. In particular we intend to study exact solutions to these equations as solitons and breathers and their stability, the appearance of dispersive shock waves (zones of rapid modulated oscillations in the solutions), blow-up (a loss of regularity in the solutions) and inverse scattering approaches to integrable PDEs in higher dimensions.
Coordinateur :
Christian KLEIN
IMB – UMR 5584 (CNRS, uB)
Collaborateurs :
- uB
- UFC
- FEMTO-ST – UMR 6174
The raise of environmental and economical concerns resulted in a search for materials featuring multi-functionalities and fulfilling conflicting needs. This project targets one possible innovative route, by developing geometries and material gradients at scales which are comparable with the scale of the component. As such, this project lies within the scope of the flourishing field of ‘architectured materials’ which blur the classical separation between ‘materials ‘and ‘structures’. Yet, even though linking the properties at the elementary scale to the derived functionalities at the material scale in this context of weak scale separation has received a lot of (theoretical) attention, the experimental implementation and validation of this scale transition in architectured materials remain extremely limited in the literature. The ambition of this project is thus to experimentally assess this scale transition and to check for the controllability of the properties of key architectured materials in various contexts.
The experimental approach is thus to tailor full-field measurement tools to architectured materials and to apply these to the static and dynamic multi-scale study of macroscopic, well-controlled, materials. The obtained know-how and knowledge will then be re-invested in the much more challenging characterization of the scale relations involved in the dynamic behavior of networks of micrometer-scaled resonators. These new key knowledge and know-how are expected to pave the way for innovative products.
Coordinator :
Fabien AMIOT
FEMTO-ST – UMR 6174 (UFC, CNRS, ENSMM, UTBM)
| Project funded by the BFC Region |
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This project aims to explore the capabilities of digital holography coupled with digital photogrammetry to perform sub-pixel sample positioning measurements in microrobotics and photonics. A key novelty of the project will be to include an Artificial Intelligence (AI) dimension through machine learning approaches harnessing Artificial Neural Network (ANN) architectures intensively studied in computer vision and imaging. The most well-known subclasses of these architectures are feedforward ANN – Deep-Learningbased methods- such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), widely applied to computer vision and image processing. However, while Deep Learning has become the most exploited technique in recent years, other ANN approaches, such as Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Reservoir Computing (RC) offer very promising alternative configurations because they can use their internal dynamics to mimic a memory-like behavior and to process a temporal sequence of input data to retain information from a previous state. RNN and RC are especially well-suited for data analysis and prediction and represent solutions for hardware implementation of ANN. This project has the specific aim of using these approaches to accelerate the determination of the various unknown metrics of an often complex imaging device in microrobotics and photonics. Applications such as 3D position measurement at micro scale of micro-objects and surface roughness measurement of fluoride crystals in mm-size WGM resonators to target real time applications in an extended workspace will be addressed in the proposed project.
The particular challenge will be to perform complex dynamic data predictions available from a sequence of digital holograms recorded on a 2D CMOS sensor. This project builds on the recent renewed interest in ANN that has spread to various scientific communities ranging from neuroscience to physics, and thus strongly promotes cross-disciplinarity.
Coordinator :
Maxime JACQUOT
FEMTO-ST – UMR 6174 (UFC, CNRS, ENSMM, UTBM)
| Project funded by the BFC Region |
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In 1980, D. Marr developed the first formal edge detection approach. Since this date, in spite of some improvements, image filtering is still imperfect. Thus, the image filters used today were developed to deal with images obtained by 2D cameras available since 60 years. Also, the state-of-art image filters suffer from some limitations due to the 2D nature of the images (e.g., perspective effect).
The perspective effect in conventional RGB images is not considered in the filtering process since it is not possible to get this information from a single image. However, since the democratization of 3D cameras thanks to the emergence of the Microsoft Kinect in 2010, we now have access easily to additional information (e.g. the scene depth) for RGB images (called RGB-D). Indeed, with this type of cameras we have in each pixel of the RGB image, a depth information of the corresponding physical point. The goal of this project is to define original filters by considering this scene depth information in the filtering process.
Furthermore, several medical imaging systems can benefit from efficient 3D filtering methods. Among the different medical systems, the optical coherence tomography (OCT) is perfectly adapted to this kind of 3D filtering. OCT is a non-invasive 3D visualization imaging system which allows micrometric axial and spatial resolutions, very suitable for in-situ biological tissue characterization. However, it suffers from an unfavorable signal/noise rate which requires advanced and appropriate 3D filtering methods for a reliable clinical use.
Coordinator:
Cédric Demonceaux
VIBOT – EMR 6000 (uB)
2nd AXIS
Grasslands support Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) dairy production systems. Their important biodiversity is a key component of the “terroir”, responsible for product specificity. For a sustainable development of PDO dairy production, ecological intensification of grassland use is a major challenge, particularly through optimal fertilization. A major concern is the impact of fertilizers (quantity and quality) on grassland biodiversity and on the link of the product to its terroir. Taking the PDO Comté cheese as a case study, IFEP will evaluate the impacts of fertilization practices (farmyard manure, slurry) on dairy production sustainability by an approach associating environmental quality of grassland ecosystems and the fluxes of useful microorganisms (“terroir effect”) and chemical contaminants from environment to milk. This innovative approach will help to better understand the determinants of PDO products specificity and to define optimal fertilization specifications for sustainable grassland management preserving cheese specificity and quality as well as ecosystem health.
Coordinator:
Nicolas CHEMIDLIN
Agroécologie – UMR 1347 (INRAE, AgroSup Dijon, uB)
Collaborators :
- INRAE
- UFC
- AgroSup Dijon
- IDELE (Institut de l’Elevage)
- Comité Interprofessionnel de Gestion du Comté (CIGC)
- Monts et Terroirs
Obesity, a major cause of disability and mortality, continues to strain on the French Health system. One cause of this societal issue is certainly our poor knowledge of the disease mechanisms. Recent genetic studies formally implicate the brain in obesity pathology and pinpoint genes regulating synaptic plasticity. Rodent data consistently evidence synaptic plasticity in brain circuits controlling appetite. Our lab with strong expertise in neuroscience and physiology aims at identifying the value of this state-dependent plasticity within brain feeding circuits. High-resolution imaging and modern neuroscience research tools will be leveraged to elucidate how food is integrated in discrete ‘soft’ circuits at the meal scale. Behavioral effects of meal-related changes in synaptic connection and neuroglial interaction will be fully examined. Such new knowledge about intimate mechanisms of satiety might provide new ways to manage obesity and maladaptive eating behaviors.
Coordinator:
Alexandre BENANI
CSGA – UMR 6265 – 1324 (AgroSup Dijon, INRAe, CNRS)
Collaborators:
- DIMACELL platform – PAM – UMR A 02 102
- LIPIDOMIC platform – IMBL
- INRAE
- uB
- CNRS
Conclusion:
In the studies that were carried out in the PlastEAT project, we have shown that changes in the nutritional state cause numerous structural changes in the brain, in particular within neuronal circuits that drive the feeding behavior. We found that this kind of acute plasticity is elicited by the flow of nutrients that rises in the blood at the time scale of a meal. Moreover, we found that this state-dependent brain plasticity is involved in the control of the food intake and contributes to the maintenance of the energy balance. This new concept constitutes a major advance in the fields of neuroscience, physiology and nutrition. Indeed, our work has been announced in prestigious journals reporting recent hot discoveries in the field (Gasser et al. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2017; Yoo and Blackshaw, Progress in Neurobiology 2018; Prevot et al. Endocrine Reviews 2018; Rodrigues et al.Nat Communication 2021). This new knowledge that reveals the existence of novel neurophysiological mechanisms underlying satiety, brings now original perspectives for the management of obesity and eating disorders.
The islands have the advantage of being geographically well defined spaces, possessing their own particular ecosystems and well definable network of sites and landscape marks. The IATEKA project propose the region of the Kvarner archipelago situated in the northern Adriatic (Croatia) as its case-study region. These islands are the subject of historical and archaeological research focused on the territories of the site of Mirine-Fulfinum (Krk), occupied between 1st and 8th c. AD, and of the city of Osor (Cres), which has been experiencing uninterrupted occupation since the protohistoric oppidum to the present day.
Historical and archaeological data, which will determine the major stages of the population settlement and the variability of the occupations, will be associated with information provided by anthropology which will specify the origin of the populations, their living conditions, and their diet. The palaeoenvironmental analysis will determine the natural setting of successive human occupations. The evolution of the vegetation cover and the dynamics of the sedimentary flows will be apprehended from the study of the available sedimentary recordings and will make it possible to specify the main eco-geo-systemic responses to the climatic changes, the development of the resources and the impact of agricultural practices. The spatial archaeology analysis will complete this information by specifying the different stages of structuring the territories of these islands.
The purpose of this approach is to search for signals to describe the main lines of population evolution and their consequences on the evolution of these island environments. By multiplying the markers (anthropology, isotopes, pollens, micro-fossils, micro-coals, chironomes, diatoms, geochemical and geophysical signals, data of space archaeology and regressive analysis of landscapes, etc.), we will be able to better apprehend the structuring of the current territory.
Coordinator:
Maurana CAUSEVIC BULLY
Chrono-environnement – UMR 6249 (CNRS, UFC)
Collaborators:
- ARTéHIS – UMR 6298
- Biogéosciences – UMR 6282
- UFC
- uB
- CNRS
- Institute of Anthropology (Zagreb)
- Bradfort University
- Padova University
Eating behaviour is a key determinant of human health and inappropriate behaviours can be at the origin of some of the major pathologies affecting the modern societies (obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes). Among the biological factors known to influence eating behaviour, sensory perception (including the sense of taste) plays an important role. Taste perception varies strongly between individuals but the factors at the origin of this variability are not fully understood. For example, different events occurring at the vicinity of the taste receptors on the tongue could modulate taste perception. Our group has recently suggested that the microbiota at the surface of the tongue could be involved by controlling the taste compounds concentration in the lingual film (the biological material covering the tongue). The aim of this project is to evaluate the contribution of the oral (lingual) microbiota in taste. The project will consist first in the determination of taste sensitivity (5 basic tastes) in 100 healthy adult subjects and the characterization of their lingual film in terms of microbiota (metagenomics) and metabolites (HPLC). Using these data, a second step will consist in identifying bacterial species and metabolites linked to taste sensitivity. A final step will focus on modelling the metabolites concentration at the vicinity of the taste receptors taking into account the diffusional constraints and microenvironments of the lingual film.
The ambition of this proof of concept project is to document the involvement of oral microbiota in taste. This approach would constitute a breakthrough in consolidating the knowledge related to the sense of taste, a major physiological function involved in food consumption and enjoyment. This would strengthen the expertise of Dijon and the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region in the food and nutrition related sciences.
Coordinator:
Eric NEYRAUD
CSGA – UMR 6265 – 1324 (AgroSup Dijon, INRAe, CNRS)
Collaborators :
- PAM – UMR A 02 102
- INRAe
- AgroSup Dijon
- CGFL (PTBC platform)
Conclusion:
The ambition of the TOM project was to identify the contribution of the oral microbiota (salivary and lingual) on taste perception and to investigate whether food microorganisms from fermented foods could modulate the oral microbiota. The main results have shown that, in human, taste sensitivity to the 5 tastes (saltiness, sweetness, sourness, bitterness, umami) are associated to different oral microbiota profiles; the salivary microbiota being more predictive of taste than the lingual microbiota. This project has also allowed showing, on animal model, that fermented food microorganisms can persist in the oral cavity after the stop of their regular consumption and that fermented foods consumption could modulate the oral microbiota. The perspectives of the TOM project are to investigate more deeply the links between food consumption and oral microbiota and to determine the consequences on sensory perception and food consumption habits.
Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous biological signalling molecule involved in numerous plant physiological processes including immunity. We recently demonstrated that Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOSs), the major enzymatic sources of NO in animals which are also present in other organisms including prokaryotes, are absent from land plants but conserved in some classes of green algae. Our preliminary data indicate that algae NOSs form a new family of proteins with singular structural and functional features. By combining biochemical, biophysical, cellular and physiological approaches, we aim at deciphering the structural and enzymatic properties as well as investigating the regulation and physiological roles of the NOS of the alga Klebsormidium flaccidum and Cosmarium subtumidum. K. flaccidum is a filamentous terrestrial alga used as a biological model to elucidate the early transition step from aquatic algae to land plants. C. subtumidum is a freshwater species possessing a NOS displaying unexpected structural features. The role of these NOSs as well as their enzymatic products (mainly NO) in algae growth, innate immunity and responses to abiotic stresses will be particularly analyzed through the identification of their protein partners and of proteins undergoing S-nitrosylation, a NO-dependent post-translational protein modification. Overall, this project will provide original information on the structure/function, regulation and biological roles of new NOSs, will expand our knowledge of algae physiology and will contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of redox signaling and its role in the emergence of immunity.
Coordinator:
David WENDEHENNE
Agroécologie – UMR 1347 (INRAE, AgroSup Dijon, uB)
Collaborators:
- uB
- AgroSup Dijon
- INRAe
Conclusion:
In the present project, we identified and initiated the characterization of two nitric oxide synthases from the green algal Klebsormidium nitens. KnNOS2 possesses a structure similar to animal NOSs while KnNOS2 displays an original structure characterized by a C-terminal extension containing a globin domain. Analysis of the NO-dependent processes showed that the NO signalling module NO/cGMP present in animal cells is absent in K. nitens and, more generally, in plants. By contrast, the process of post-translational protein modification by S-nitrosation is conserved and we identified several proteins undergoing this mechanism in K. nitens including the inositol polyphosphate multikinase β(KnIPKβ) S-nitrosated on the Cys residue of the catalytic site. As perspectives, we will analyse in depth the structure and enzymology of KnNOS2 and study the incidence of KnIPKβS-nitrosation on its structure and cellular function.
The possibility that climate change exacerbates the impact of invasive species at the expense of native ones is of major concern for Conservation biologists. Due to their limited ability as ectotherms to regulate body temperature above or below ambient, invertebrates can be particularly affected by the variation of temperature in their environment. In this context, we propose to develop a multidisciplinary approach to examine the impact of increased temperature and temperature variability (supposed to pose a greater risk to species than climate warming) on two invertebrate invading species in Burgundy, the spotted wing fly, Drosophila suzukii and the freshwater crustacean amphipod, Gammarus roeseli, and their “rival” native species D. melanogaster and G. fossarum. More specifically, we wish to answer two questions: 1) Do behavioural, physiological and life-history traits of invasive and native species vary according to mean temperature and temperature variability? and 2) Are increased temperatures and temperature variability likely to affect the competition between D. suzukii and G. roeseli and native congeneric species in Burgundy? The first question will be addressed through focusing on a suite of traits of particular evolutionary and ecological relevance, including foraging behaviour, reproductive behaviour, personality and behavioural flexibility, developmental instability and homeostasis, and physiological markers of thermal stress. The second question will be answered through examining the outcome of competition between congeneric invasive and native species under different temperature regimes in cage populations and microcosms. This project is of major relevance to current environmental issues in Burgundy and will be beneficial for development of a new academic training in behavioural ecology and wildlife management at the master level at the Université de Bourgogne-Franche Comté.
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Coordinator:
Franck CEZILLY
Biogéosciences – UMR 6282 (CNRS, uB, EPHE)
Collaborators:
- Chrono-environnement – UMR 6249
- CSGA – UMR 6265 – 1324
- uB
- CNRS
Conclusion:
Our studies show that some behavioural, physiological and biodemographic (survival) traits of invasive and native species vary according to the average temperature and its variation. The competitive relationships between invasive species and native species could also be impacted by temperature in gammarids, an effect that could be modulated by differential investment in immunocompetence. In addition, the short-time fluctuation of temperatures seems to have a greater impact than temperature increase itself, and is generally temperature-dependent (locomotor activity and cuticular hydrocarbons of Drosophila, drop in PPO production in gammarids). This work therefore shows the complexity of the behavioral and physiological responses to the rise in temperature, depending on a fluctuating regime (daily variations) or not. This could be related to allocation trde-offs and to different homeostasis capacities depending on the thermal regime and the species (sometimes the sex). This work confirms the importance of considering not only the temperature rise but also its magnitude, and their impact on several phenotypic traits.
In a context of societal concern about food and wine conservation, which implies low input, environmental friendly production styles and innovation for economical breakthroughs, the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the chemistry of preservatives like sulfites is crucial. Although alternatives such as glutathione have shown great potential, sulfites remain unavoidable for various processed foods, and for wine in particular. Wine constitutes a challenging example where several attempts were made to find alternatives, but none of them could exhibit the expected efficiency for preserving wine from autoxidation during bottle ageing. However, due to health aspects, there are growing discussions about the reduction and possibly the banning of sulfites. Besides, wine constitutes another challenge associated with a worldwide observed premature oxidation of white wines in particular. Although such oxidized state has been rather well described after the identification of volatile markers such as aldehydes or lactones, or with the colour browning, transient mechanisms responsible for that remain poorly understood. Therefore, this project aims at developing innovative analytical tools for a better understanding and monitoring of white wine’s antioxidant chemistry through combined controlled oxidation procedures and metabolomics analyses of the reactional activity of well known (glutathione, sulfites), and possible alternative natural antioxidants. Our project relies on the ability of metabolomics to manage transient chemical interplays in complex biological matrices and under controlled oxidation states, and should pave the way for the development of efficient strategies for the future discovery of innovative preservative. As a unique beverage, wine will be considered here as an emblematic representative of oxidation-‐sensitive matrices, conveyor of universally shared science and knowledge.
Coordinator:
Régis GOUGEON
PAM – UMR A 02 102 (AgroSup Dijon, uB)
Collaborators:
- uB
- AgroSup Dijon
Conclusion:
The aim of this this project was to understand the reactivity of sulfites during wine aging in an attempt to better manage its use during winemaking. Under wine-like acidic conditions we provided the first direct proof of the dissociation of acetaldehyde (considered as the strongest known binder) bound to SO2. A kinetic study of thiols and carbonyls sulfonation reactions showed that during simulated wine aging, SO2 that was bound to carbonyl compounds would be released and bind to thiols, demonstrating the long-term SO2 binding strength of S-containing compounds. Thiol and flavanol sulfonation reaction yields further appeared to be promoted by the presence of iron and oxygen, with a confirmed stability of the sulfonated adducts of cysteine and epicatechin. Real wine experiments confirmed that a diversity of thiols actually contribute to the SO2 consumption during wine aging, and further showed that some of the identified sulfonated adducts appear to be positively correlated to wines oxidative stability, thus providing unprecedented knowledge about the chemistry of the antioxidant SO2 in white wines. As witnessed by awards (OIV grant) and strongly positive feedbacks from academics and professionnals, these results definitely contribute to a revolutionary vision of enology where the impact of SO2 to the oxidative stability of dry white wines, along with its use and possible replacement now need to be reconsidered.
Autophagy is a critical regulator of cell homeostasis and metabolism, whose regulation is highly sensitive to nutritional variations, including those in lipids. It has a well-recognized role in maintaining the structure and function of the retina. A decline of autophagy activity is observed during physiological aging of the retina and in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the primary cause of blindness in industrialized countries. The retina is particularly sensitive to dietary lipid variations. Studies have shown the deleterious effects of Western diet (diet with excessive levels of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) but very low levels of omega-3 PUFA) and the benefits provided by omega-3 PUFA in AMD.
Our objectives are to study whether the relative proportion in which dietary omega-6 and omega-3 PUFA are consumed and the nature of dietary omega-3 PUFA have an impact on the decline of autophagy during aging and the appearance/progression of signs of aging in the retina. Functionality of the retina, autophagy, aging and fatty acid will be analyzed during aging in retinas of mice that followed specific diets.
This project will generate innovative fundamental data on the impact of the ratio and the nature of dietary omega-6 and omega-3 PUFA (i) on aging of the retina (“well aging” vs “pathological aging”), and (ii) on the activity of autophagy in the retina during aging. It will determine whether a high omega-6:omega-3 ratio, as found in today’s Western diet, is a factor favoring/causing the decline of autophagy and aging of the retina. This project will also bring an in vivo evaluation of the recommendations made by health agencies on the omega-6:omega-3 ratio and keys regarding the importance of the nature of omega-3 PUFA brought by the diet. Finally, it will evaluate the in vivo potential of omega-3 fatty acids as nutritional inducers of autophagy, which could have applications in wide range of diseases linked to autophagy defects.
Coordinator:
Marie-Agnès BRINGER
CSGA – UMR 6265 – 1324 (uB, CNRS, INRAe)
Collaborator:
- INRAe
The aim of this project is to design a “smart” packaging able to inform the consumer or the retailer about the quality and freshness of a food in real time. The approach that will be implemented for the development of these packaging is highly original and innovative. It is based on the interaction between a food quality marker and a molecularly imprinted polymer that will be included in the packaging. This work will consist in designing these new polymers for selectively capturing oxidative markers from food. Then, they will be coupled to a probe capable of changing its light transmission properties following interaction with the quality marker in contact with the packaged food. Such change will inform the consumer or the retailer about the quality of the food product. Before testing on food products the safety of the system as a food contact material will be critically assessed. This project is thus at the interface of several current problems facing the agri‐food industry: the fight
against food waste, the guarantee of healthy food products and the development of intelligent systems capable of informing the consumer.
All complementary skills within a research team (UMR PAM) and in collaboration with two other research teams (UMR LNC, URTAL) will be gathered for this innovative project, from the synthesis of new molecularly imprinted polymers to the design of safe and intelligent packaging and application to food products.
Coordinator:
Thomas KARBOWIAK
PAM – UMR A 02 102 (AgroSup Dijon, uB)
Collaborators:
- AgroSup Dijon
- LNC – UMR 1231
- URTAL – UPR 0342
- INRAe
Biodiversity includes complex systems of interacting species providing goods and services of value to human societies. Anthropogenic land-use changes are the primary cause of biodiversity erosion as they are associated with the decline and extinction of numerous species. However, we know much less how habitat modifications affect the structure and the functioning of whole interacting communities, despite the link between ecological network properties and s ecosystems stability. Using a unified conceptual and methodological framework based on graph theory and network analyses, the present project aims at understanding how tropical forest loss and fragmentation affect the structure and the functioning of antagonist host-parasite interactions. We use birds and their haemosporidian blood parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) as a biological model. This project explores the underlying mechanisms by focusing on how and to what extent habitat loss and fragmentation shape both structural (spatial networks) and functional (population graphs/landscape genetics) connectivity between populations and communities. We also investigate the link between spatial networks, population graphs, and host-parasite networks using multilayer networks. The main assets of this project (unique dataset, rare application of networks analyses to host-parasite interactions, and combination of spatial and ecological networks) will allow filling a gap in the understanding of global environmental change effects on biodiversity from both ecological and evolutionary perspectives. In addition, this project will provide valuable and concrete results (including new developments of an existing software) for land-use planning in the framework of current environmental policies. Besides, this project is connected to animal and human health through the “One- Health” concept, as changes in host-pathogen interactions induced by human activities can lead to emergence of infectious diseases.
Coordinator:
Stéphane GARNIER
Biogéosciences – UMR 6282 (CNRS, uB, EPHE)
Collaborators:
- uB
- IMB – UMR 5584
- THéMA – UMR 6049
- CNRS
- UFC
Conclusion:
The CANON project shed light on the way graph theory (a branch of mathematics) could be valuable in a context of anthropization of natural environments and biodiversity erosion. It can be used to understand how landscape structure affects ecological and evolutionary processes (movement of organisms, genetic structure of populations) or to support decision making in management of biodiversity in terms of landscape planning. In addition, it has been shown that spatial configuration of forest fragments has a major effect on the level of birds infection by blood parasites. This result suggests that graph modelling integrating several data types may allow to better understand how landscape changes affects spreading of epidemics and potentially to anticipate and control them.
Microbial persistence and evolution of maternal tranfer of immunity in an insect
Trans-generational immune priming (TGIP) refers to the transfer of the parental immunological experience to its progeny, which may result in an enhanced protection of the latter from repeated encounters with pathogens that may persist across generations. An important issue in the study of the ecology and the evolution of TGIP is to know whether it is adaptive. If adaptive, TGIP is expected to evolve from selective pressures imposed by pathogens that could repeatedly infect the host across generations. Among the proposed selective forces favoring its evolution is the likelihood for some pathogens to persist into the offspring generation. Furthermore, while TGIP may improve the offspring fitness, it also bears costs. A reduction of these costs is expected to evolve in parallel to the evolution of TGIP, especially in response to pathogens exposing the host to frequent repeated infections. However, these have not been formally tested. This project proposes to test the adaptive significance of TGIP in the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, for which this phenomenon has been probably best described.
The aim of the project will be, first, to estimate the persistence of pathogenic microbes of T. molitor in its environment. We will then study the effect of maternal immune challenge with these pathogenic microbes on the immunity and the life history traits of the offspring (growth rate, longevity, fertility, etc.). The selective advantage of such a maternal effect will be tested in an ecologically relevant context where the environment of the offspring shall match or mismatch that on the parents. The outcome of such a study will provide unprecedented advances on the ecology and evolution of TGIP in invertebrate system in an ecologically relevant context.
Coordinator:
Yannick Moret
Biogéoscience – UMR 6282 (CNRS, uB, EPHE)
3rd AXIS
Liver X receptors (LXRs) are oxysterol-activated nuclear receptors involved in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis and in the control of inflammation. In contrast to the large number of studies investigating the impact of LXR on cholesterol homeostasis, the role of LXRs in the regulation of fatty acid (FA) metabolism in macrophages and its functional consequences have been overlooked. Nevertheless, recent studies suggest that regulation of macrophage functions such as inflammatory response and efferocytosis are tightly linked with the modulation of FA/glycerophospholipid metabolism. The general goal of this project is to assess how modulation of FA metabolism by LXRs affects macrophage functions in the context of cardio-metabolic diseases and autoimmune diseases with a specific emphasis on the secretion of pro- and anti-inflammatory lipid mediators and efferocytosis. To this aim, we will target an LXR-regulated gene that is an important modulator of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolism in macrophages, controlling arachidonic acid (AA) incorporation into glycerophospholipids: the lysophosphatidylcholine acylCoA transferase 3 (LPCAT3). We will investigate the impact of LPCAT3 on key macrophage functions such as efferocytosis and inflammation and we will assess how it interferes with the previously demonstrated LXR-regulation of these pathways. In parallel, we will explore the relevance of the LXR-LPCAT3 pathway on pathophysiological processes in vivo including atherosclerosis and clearance of apoptotic cells. To answer these questions we will use a combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches using primary human and mouse macrophages and genetically engineered mouse models (Lpcat3-/- mouse and lysM-or CD11c-Cre Lpcat3flox/flox mice) with bone marrow transplantation strategy. This program, by targeting LXR/FA metabolic pathways may unravel new and original mechanisms associating LXRs, FAs and macrophage functions.
Coordinator:
David MASSON
LNC – UMR 1231 (INSERM, uB, AgroSup Dijon)
Collaborators:
- CHU Dijon
- uB
- University of Franche-Comté
- INSERM
- EFS
Conclusion:
Alterations in arachidonic acid metabolism along with myeloid Lpcat3 deficiency may secondarily affect arachidonic acid homeostasis in the whole liver, leading to metabolic disorders and triglyceride accumulation.
Developmental anomalies are an extremely heterogeneous group of disorders comprising over 3,000 distinct clinical entities characterized by multiple congenital anomalies often associated with intellectual disability. Most are Mendelian disorders resulting from highly penetrant genetic variants. Over the last decade, different technologies have successfully applied in translation of research findings into routine diagnostic genetic testing, including genomic microarrays for the detection of copy number variation (CNV) and whole exome sequencing for clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders at SNV. The unbiased genotype-first approach of WES, circumventing the a priori need of an accurate clinical diagnosis to find the genetic etiology of disease, has been introduced as a first-tier clinical diagnostic test for patients with clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders in many academic centres in the Europe and worldwide. However, despite these recent advances, identifying the underlying genetic defects remains challenging for a majority of patients. More recently, Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has been used, presenting some additional advantages, because it can detect a broader range of genetic variation than other sequencing approaches, including not only single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and insertion or deletions (indels), but also structural variants such as copy number variants (CNVs) and translocations. Moreover, far less than 1% of the human genome shows a clear etiological association with known Mendelian diseases, while a more preponderant though variable fraction, involved in regulatory function, owns a less-known clinical relevance. The combination of additional molecular techniques such as targeted RNA quantification or total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) may be so required to identify causal non- exonic single nucleotide variants (SNVs).
During the last five years, our GAD team, FHU TRANSLAD, has rapidly become the most recognized French reference center for the analysis and clinical interpretation of WES data in the context of rare diseases, because of our interdisciplinary approach resulting from the intermingling of complementary professional specialties. Based on this strong and well-consolidated expertise, our group now aims to move a step further and pro-actively develop an integrate analysis of WGS and RNA-seq, in translational research in order to identify new genes and new molecular mechanisms responsible for rare diseases with developmental anomalies.
This project will play a major role in the Medical Institute of Genomic Medicine and Immunotherapy, GIMI, of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, and will so contribute to develop a truly multidisciplinary pilot centre for implementing integrated WGS and RNA-seq analysis and possibly additional multi-omics (ChIP-Seq, ATAC- seq and 4C/Hi-C) in translational research in the context of the new French “France Genomics Medicine 2025”.
Coordinator:
Christel THAUVIN
LNC – UMR 1231 (INSERM, uB, AgroSup Dijon)
Collaborators:
- CHU Dijon
- uB
Conclusion:
The INGUSP project, carried out in sixty patients, applied a combined high-throughput trio genome (patient and parents) and solo transcriptome (patient) sequencing strategy to evaluate the value of genome sequencing and transcriptome gain in patients with rare diseases with developmental abnormalities and/or malformations. Genome analysis, even after negative panel or exome sequencing, can identify a genetic cause in about 10% of patients. The additional contribution of blood-based transcriptome analysis seems to be limited in patients with rare diseases with developmental abnormalities and/or malformations. Nevertheless, it appears to be of great interest to help interpret variants of uncertain significance, which represent the majority of variants identified by genome sequencing.
We evolve in Earth’s gravitational field. The brain must integrate the action of gravity (G) on the body to produce coordinated movements. Surprisingly, how the brain deals with G during the preparation and execution of movements has been overlooked. We have built a consortium (1 French, 1 USA with his own NIH grant) to decipher the basic mechanisms implemented by the brain to specifically cope with G to control motor actions. Using complementary techniques (e.g., kinematics, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), peripheral neural stimulation (CMEP H-reflex), EEG, EMG) in young (in 1g and 0g conditions during parabolic flights) or elderly (1g condition) participants and vestibular-defective monkeys, we will test the main hypothesis that internal models allow the brain to predict the effects of G on movements and to tune the motor commands accordingly. Specifically, by examining kinematic and EMG features of arm movements in different directions and from different body positions in young and elderly people, we will investigate how the brain internally represents G. Using TMS, CMEP and H-reflex, we will test the hypothesis that the control of upward and downwards movements depends on G-related cues, but recruits differently the primary motor cortex and spinal cord circuits. With experiments performed in normal- and micro- gravity during parabolic flights or simulated microgravity (WP4), we will test how the brain learns and updates internal models (0g and 1g), which is thought to be critical for movement planning and control. Our hypothesis is that to build up an internal model of G, the brain strongly relies upon vestibular information. This will be tested by investigating the potential role of G-related otolith signals for controlling limb movements in healthy and labyrinthectomized macaques. We will give a high priority to the project management and to the dissemination of the results throughout the GravitArm project.
Coordinator:
Charalambos PAPAXANTHIS
CAPS – UMR 1093 (uB, INSERM)
Collaborators:
- uB
- C3S – EA 4660
- CHU Dijon
- INSERM
- UFC
Conclusion:
In this project, we carried out several experiments to understand how the brain integrates the force of gravity for the realization of efficient movements. We found that monkeys produce the same direction-dependent kinematics as humans, revealing that optimal motor planning in the gravity field is a shared process between primate species. In both species, motor patterns well matched the prediction of the effort-optimization hypothesis. In addition, the consistent direction-dependent modulation of the intracortical inhibition, while spinal excitability remained unchanged, in humans, well supports the hypothesis that gravity-related optimal motor commands are mainly processed upstream to the muscle and spinal levels, within brain intracortical circuits. Finally, we showed that locally simulated gravity alterations can elicit similar changes in movement characteristics for arm-reaching movements and could potentially be used as a means of training individuals prior to undertaking tasks in changed gravitational conditions.
Beyond the double helix of DNA (a.k.a. Watson-Crick duplex), it is now accepted that DNA can transiently fold into higher-order structures comprising not two but three (e.g., triplex DNA, three-way DNA junction) or four strands (e.g., quadruplex DNA, four-way DNA junction). This folding is made possible during DNA transactions (replication, transcription), as a result of torsional stress and local strand separation. These alternative structures might act as roadblocks to polymerases in charge of DNA transactions, which is recognized as a DNA damage. Stabilizing these structures with suited ligands thus represents a new way to foster genetic instability, notably in cells with a flawed repertoire of DNA damage signaling and repair mechanisms (i.e., cancer cells). Here, we studied specific three-way DNA junction ligands to use them either as standalone anticancer agents or in combination with clinically relevant DDR inhibitors in an approach referred to as synthetic lethality strategy.
Considering neurodegeneration in terms of mitochondrial and peroxisomal dysfunction constitutes a new approach to better understand the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) and to develop efficient treatments. To study the involvement of these organelles and their interactions in neurodegeneration, it is crucial to develop new tools to explore their in situ status.
Coordinator:
Gérard Lizard
Bio-PeroxIL – EA 7270 (uB)
OTHER THEMES
The project “Noncommutative and Geometric Methods in Functional Analysis (NC-GEOM-FA)” investigates fundamental mathematics in the fields of functional analysis and probability, and their applications to mathematical physics, in particular to quantum physics. It is dedicated to functional analysis aspects of group theory follows four main lines:
(1) Topological quantum groups and their operator algebras,
(2) Quantum probability theory,
(3) Noncommutative L p -spaces and quantum harmonic analysis,
(4) Coarse embeddings of Banach spaces.
Coordinator:
Uwe FRANZ
LMB – UMR 6623 (CNRS, UFC)
Collaborators:
- UFC
- International partners (Warsaw, Sydney, Prague and South Korea)
After the end-Permian mass extinction (~252 Ma), marine environments are usually considered as highly depauperate, especially for benthic organisms. The recent discovery of a new paleontological locality from the earliest Spathian of the western USA basin challenges this commonly assumed scenario. This assemblage –the Paris Biota– unveils a spectacular and unexpected diversity and complexity showing a mix of primitive species from the early Paleozoic and first direct ancestors of modern forms. The Early Triassic is therefore a crucial interval in the development of modern ecosystems and the western USA basin shows a key fossil record for the understanding of their installation. This project is devoted to determine the spatio-temporal extent of the Paris Biota as well as environmental conditions that influence its formation and preservation.
Coordinator:
Arnaud Brayard
Biogéosciences – UMR 6282 (CNRS, uB, EPHE)
Collaborators:
- CNRS
- uB
This project fits into the framework of the future research federation of mathematics which includes the IMB and the LMB. The present project involves one team in each of the two institutes. The main goal is to use the complementary expertise of these two groups to develop the theme of motivic invariants both from a geometric and an arithmetic point of view.
It is a major insight of the preceding two centuries that one can use a geometrical language to study the solutions of a given set of polynomial equations with coefficients in an arbitrary field, such as the complex numbers or even in an arbitrary ring, such as the integers. The corresponding objects, called algebraic varieties, are extremely rich and mysterious due to their dual nature, geometric and arithmetic. The driving force of our project is the use of the recent and powerful theory of motivic A1-homotopy introduced by Voevodsky to produce new, and study classical, invariants of algebraic varieties of both geometric and arithmetic nature. The expected applications have a very wide range: advances in the understanding of Voevodsky’s theory, producing new knowledge in affine algebraic geometry, extending previously known computations of invariants for families of algebraic varieties, and improvement of our arithmetical knowledge of certain kinds of algebraic varieties. This wide spectrum can only be achieved by unifying the strengths and experiences of our two laboratories, IMB and LMB.
The project leader and the team of the IMB have a strong experience in the study of the algebro- geometric aspects of the project. The experimental or numerical aspects are also very beneficial. They give a deeper understanding and a finer intuition of complicated objects and abstract concepts. The members of the LMB have a thorough experience from a long-term practice of computer calculation and algorithmics that will greatly reinforce the entire project.
Coordinator:
Frédéric DEGLISE
IMB – UMR 5584 (CNRS, uB)
Collaborators:
- uB
- UFC
- CNRS
Conclusion:
The MIAV project has been part of the mathematical research federation that includes the IMB (Burgundy) and LMB (Franche-Comt.) laboratories. It brought together research teams in each of these laboratories around the unifying theme of motivic invariants and their geometric and arithmetic applications. The two post-doctoral students hired for the project have integrated themselves into the teams and have contributed to their dynamism in a remarkable way. Although strongly disrupted by the covid crisis, the project has reached its scientific objectives, concretized among others by about thirty publications in international journals and the organization of international meetings, including a spring school in Dijon which attracted about 90 participants, contributing significantly to the international visibility and the diffusion of the project’s themes. The project has also contributed to identify and set up new interactions between the teams and to structure an ANR PRC project on the theme of motivic homotopy.
INTER-AXIS
1st & 2nd AXIS
The objective of HS-bio-SMM project is the implementation of scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) on high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to characterize the morphology and the electrical properties of biological membranes under physiological environment. We expect to answer relevant biological questions about the composition and charge organization of the biochemical components of model and native membranes, without labeling and with a spatial resolution inaccessible to other techniques. We have defined specific aims: (i) implementation of SMM on tip-scan HS-AFM, (ii) application on model membranes, (iii) application on cells. The long term goal of this project is to establish the combined HS-bio‑SMM methodology for a systematic characterization of the organization and surface charge density of cell membranes. Our project aims to reveal the variation of electric properties of buccal cells after saliva interactions (coll. INRA Dijon).
Coordinator:
Eric LESNIEWSKA
ICB – UMR 6003 (CNRS, uB, UTBM)
Collaborators:
- uB
- INRAe
1st & 3rd AXIS
Cancer cells abundantly express HSP70. As a consequence, a) they are resistant to cell death stimuli; b) only cancer cells, but not normal cells, release exosomes with HSP70 on their membrane. Our objectives are: 1) to detect those HSP70-exosomes for cancer diagnosis purposes. Since one single cancer cell can release thousands of HSP70-exosomes, we propose their detection in the blood and urines for early metastasis detection (patent PTC/EP2015/063186). 2) In order to have information about the origin of the metastasis, we will determine the bio-markers signature (particularly micro-RNAs) of the circulating exosomes. 3) We will study their role in the tumour microenvironment. 4) Toward a more personalized medicine, we will select the patients, in term of HSP70-exosomes content, that might benefit the most from our HSP70 inhibitors therapy that we develop (both peptides and chemical molecules).
Coordinator:
Carmen GARRIDO
LNC – UMR 1231 (uB, INSERM, EPHE, AgroSup Dijon)
Collaborators:
- INSERM
- uB
- CGFL
- CHU-Besançon
- CNRS
The main objective of the BIONANOCAR project lies in the development of bioresorbable nanocarriers characterized by a long-lasting circulation time in order to plentifully exploit the promising potential of the ultrasmall gold nanoparticles for image-guided radiotherapy. For achieving this goal, two different strategies based on different nanocarriers will be explored. The first one rests on the grafting of ultrasmall gold nanoparticles which exhibit high potential for radiotherapy guided by simultaneous PET/MR imaging onto iron oxide nanoflowers while the second strategy will consist in the encapsulation of these gold nanoparticles in PLGA nanoparticles. The role of the bioresorbable nanocarriers is not restricted to the transport of the radiosensitizing gold nanoparticles. Indeed, nanoflowers are expected to behave as negative (T2) contrast agents for MRI and nanoheaters for magnetic hyperthermia while PLGA nanoparticles allow the co-encapsulation of gold nanoparticles with chemotherapeutic drugs. The interdisciplinary nature of the BIONANOCAR project (organic chemistry, material chemistry, colloids, in vivo imaging and radiotherapy) incites four partners (UTINAM, ICMUB, EA4267 and CGFL) with very complementary knowledge and skills to collaborate on the development of these original nanotheranostics which are expected to improve the control growth of solid tumor by radiotherapy.
To achieve the goals of this three year project, the work program has been divided into eight work packages (WPs): six complementary scientific WPs and two WPs devoted to the project coordination and the communication.
Coordinator:
Stéphane ROUX
UTINAM – UMR 6213 (CNRS, UFC)
Collaborators:
- ICMUB – UMR 6302
- CGFL
- PEPITE – EA4627
- uB
- UFC
- CNRS
General conclusion:
The achievement of BIONANOCAR project led to the development of two different types of gold-based nanostructures. In addition to better exploit the radiosensitizing potential of gold nanoparticles owing to longer vascular residence and tumoral retention time, the nanostructures developed in the framework of BIONANOCAR permit to combine the radiosensitizing effect of gold nanoparticles with hyperthermia in the case of golden nanoflowers or with chemotherapy when gold nanoparticles are encapsulated in PLGA particles with anticancer drug (Paclitaxel, PTX).
BIONANOCAR project highlighted the potential of these nanostructures containing gold nanoparticles designed for combining radiosensitization and positive contrast enhancement for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for treating solid tumors. Within this stimulating context, new projects have been initiated in the line of BIONANOCAR.
1st AXIS & OTHER THEMES
The valorization of huge amount of data is a major challenge of the current economy. These data are produced frenetically by our society and the storage is a complicated environmental and economic problem. Failing to solve this problem, it is highly desirable to transform these Big Data into an economic manna. This is possible by ranking and organizing these huge amounts of data in order to extract relevant information which in return could be used by academic research, public institutions, or private companies. GNETWORKS is an interdisciplinary project which will participate to this valorization in various domain such as human and social sciences (digging Wikipedia data), economy (digging world trade data from UN, OECD, WTO), and even health domain (digging omic data).
Big Data sets can be represented by a complex network to which a Google matrix can be associated. The Google matrix represents Markovian transitions between the different nodes. The matrix class to which Google matrices belong have practically never been studied by physicists. Using concepts from Random Matrix Theory and quantum chaos, the GNETWORKS project will analyze the fundamental features that determine the efficiency of information flow on directed networks. From Google matrix, it is also possible to extract relevant information concerning Big Data. This is performed using ranking algorithms sharing the same theoretical basis as the PageRank algorithm proposed by Brin and Page, co-founders of Google company. The very recent development of the reduced Google matrix method allows to identify hidden communities in Big Data. Indeed, this method allows to focus on a subnetwork of the datasets and allow establishing hidden links (long range links) between two non-directly linked nodes.
Coordinator:
José LAGES
UTINAM – UMR 6213 (CNRS, UFC)
Collaborators:
- UFC
- CNRS
Conclusion:
This project has contributed to highlight the importance of valorizing the enormous amounts of data generated by society, despite the economic and environmental challenges posed by their storage. To do so, it is necessary to sort through this data in order to extract relevant information for research, public organizations, or private companies. The interdisciplinary GNETWORKS project has committed to this valorization by analyzing the characteristics of complex networks represented by data using the Google matrix, a method derived from that developed by the co-founders of Google. The tools developed as part of the GNETWORKS project, using concepts from random matrix theory and quantum chaos to model flows through directed networks, allow for the extraction of relevant information regarding big data and the discovery of hidden information communities within them. We have particularly analyzed protein interaction networks, international trade networks, transaction networks between bitcoin wallets, and the Wikipedia article network.
2nd & 3rd AXIS
The main ambition of the project is to characterize typical and atypical development of emotional facial expression recognition in multisensory contexts. Four lines of enquiry will be engaged:
(1) Characterize how the ability to discriminate facial expressions develops from early infancy to adulthood in measuring innovative neural markers of discrimination;
(2) Understand how the non-visual, multisensory context influences the development of the ability to infer emotional state from others’ faces;
(3) Investigate the extent in which deficits in multisensory processing can contribute to deficits in facial expression recognition, more specifically in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS);
(4) Develop and adapt an innovative electrophysiological technique to measure neural markers of cognitive mechanisms and integrative processes in infancy and developmental disorders.
Coordinator:
Karine DURAND
CSGA – UMR 6265 – 1324 (uB, CNRS, INRAe)
Collaborators:
- CHU-Dijon
- CNRS
- INRA
- uB
In France, 15 to 38% of elderly people living in nursing homes suffered from malnutrition compared with 4 to 10% of elderly people living at home. Without presuming any cause and effect relationship between dependence and malnutrition, it is clear that despite the resources deployed for the support of dependent elderly persons, the risk of malnutrition remains high in this population.
In such a context, the project ENGAGE aims at exploring the potentiality of empowering the elderly in the meals to maintain (or restore) food intake in institution, an essential condition for preventing malnutrition and its burden on autonomy, health and quality of life.
ENGAGE will develop ‘engaging strategies’, namely interventions that allow institutionalized elderly people to stay involved in food activities, accommodating their expectations and preserved abilities. Two levels of intervention will be targeted: i) interaction between the elderly and the meal – how to provide the elderly with choice in a meal situation; ii) interaction between the elderly and the kitchen – how to keep the elderly involved in food preparation.
Development of engaging strategies will use participatory research and living lab’s methodology centered on the final user (co-creation). Key stakeholders (eg elderly people, institution staff, catering staff) will be involved in the development of interventions to take into account the expectations and the capacities of the elderly as well as the socio-economic constraints of the institutions. Effectiveness of engaging strategies will be assessed and put in balance with applicability in the field. Evaluation of strategies will consist of experimental trials and consider improvement in appetite and food intake as benefits for the elderly, as well as strategies cost and feasibility in the field. Finally, communication of ENGAGE results will be supported by dissemination, take-up and training actions.
Coordinator :
Claire SULMONT-ROSSE
CSGA – UMR 6265 – 1324 (uB, CNRS, INRAe)
Collaborators:
- CHU Dijon
- uB
- UFC
- ARS BFC
- INRA
- UR-PPA
- MSH
- ELIADD
General conclusion:
In nursing homes, meals are constrained by several sanitary, nutritional and organizational rules that can create a distance between the residents and the kitchen of their institution. However, the meal is not only a therapeutic tool and several forms of involvement can be activated around it so that it also remains a moment of pleasure and sharing. Choice, and in particular the choice of “what I eat”, appears to be an important factor. Moreover, (re)engaging residents of nursing homes in the act of eating does not only involve gestures (cooking), but also (re)giving residents the desire to eat by making meals a good and beautiful moment. Finally, good communication about meals and foods is essential between the residents and the establishment.
2nd AXIS & OTHER THEMES
The project Food2C studies the way that foods are provided to urban consumers today. It is a multidisciplinary project, which combines social sciences with food sciences. Food2C aims to analyze food supply chain organizations and food conservation technologies of vegetable products in three agglomerations: Dijon Metropole in France, Nha Trang and Hanoi agglomerations in Vietnam. Comparative studies between two countries allow to identify underlying factors that condition successful application of local food system. Mobilizing the foodshed approach, and considering the use of fermentation as a low-technology applicable at a large scale by familial and semi-industrial structures, the project is looking to produce a proof of concept of local food system, which could be developed in France by local food operators. It contributes to the scientifc debate over the efectiveness of local food system as an answer to global food security challenges that we are facing in next decades.
Coordinator:
Hai Vu PHAM
CESAER – UMR 1041 (AgroSup Dijon, INRAe)
Collaborators:
- AgroSup Dijon
- PAM – UMR A 02 102
- CSGA – UMR 6265 – 1324
- CIRAD
- IPSARD
- FAVRI
Conclusion:
The results of the Food2C project help to demystify certain prejudices about local agriculture. It shows the reduced role of agricultural planning in steering the modern food system, which is today piloted by the market mechanism. The larger the scale of the production system is, the greater the market power will be, the more difficult we have to make administrative order work. Geographical proximity contributes to develop a more sustainable food system, but it is not the main factor of success. Food produced locally but in a heated greenhouse to compensate off-season conditions, consume finally more energy and generate more GHGs than a remote naturally grown food, even when integrating transport impact. In perspective, our results call for more consideration of organized proximity (which includes trust) between actors. We think that organized proximity is decisive for the environmental performance, for example by making possible the adaptation of menus with a sober agricultural production, by limiting losses and waste along the supply chain, or by reducing transport and packaging impacts.
The project seeks to instigate and strengthen the interdisciplinary continuum within UBFC by bringing together researchers to further our knowledge of the territory of the Sequani in eastern France (partially Bourgogne-Franche-Comté), its boundaries, organization, its population and their habits from the conquest by Julius Caesar to the reforms of Diocletian (1st c. BC – late 3rd c. AD). It involves collecting, indexing, preserving, analysing and restoring data using digital tools (databases, 3D technologies) in order to enhance archives, archaeological sites, numismatic and epigraphic material, so that researchers and the general public can trace the history of a region, the articulation of economic, cultural and human exchanges locally, regionally and provincially and the potential constitution of a Sequani identity within the Roman Empire.
Historians, archaeologists, epigraphists, museum or collection directors are thus at the crux of the questions facing the new region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in that they can show how exchanges with neighbouring polities were organized and how economic and cultural networks were formed in Roman times, all of which are contemporary challenges too. The project is therefore very much part of the latest trend of future-oriented research based on a questioning of the past. How can we preserve, restore and model buildings and epigraphic and numismatic material? How can we account for the appearance of a territory that has been re-shaped by time so as to make available to the scientific community and the general public a heritage that constitutes a common history? What interactive methods can be imagined to share this knowledge widely while ensuring its scientific value? These are the questions researchers brought together from various disciplines are to endeavour to answer by reappraising and comparing available sources in a way made possible by the inclusion of multiple epistemological approaches to the territory of the Sequani.
Coordinator :
Sabine LEFEBVRE
ARTéHIS – UMR 6298 (CNRs, uB, Ministère de la Culture + INRAP)
Collaborators :
- ISTA – EA 4011
- Chrono-environnement – UMR 6249
- LE2i – UMR 6306
- UFC
- ENSAM
- CNRS
- DRASSM Marseille
- Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology of Besançon
3rd & OTHER THEMES
In the context of changing working conditions for caregivers, the Project RELA@TIONS (Relations, Communication, and Health), aims to measure cross-perceptions that caregivers and patients have of the quality of the care-grooming relationships. We analyze on the one hand the impact of the perceived (represented) working conditions by caregivers (stress, anxiety-depression, quality of working life) ; and on the other hand the consequences on the health education of the patient, with a special focus on the behavioral intentions regarding the implementation of good practices, in particular nutrition and physical activities. The REL@TIONS project proceed with in-depth interviews then questionnaire with the two populations – caregivers (N=90) and patients (N=90) – in care services at the university hospital of Dijon: cardiology, visceral surgery, internal medicine and geriatrics. We chose these services for their differentiated level of technical complexity.
This project aims firstly to measure the quality caregiver-care relationships, directly related to caregivers’ working conditions and to patient health education; secondly, it focuses on the training of caregivers, particularly in establishing a Master’s degree in “advanced practices” for health professionals, specifically nurses.
Coordinator :
Edith SALES-WUILLEMIN
Psy-DREPI – EA7458 (uB)
Collaborators:
- CHU-Dijon
- UFC
- uB