University of Rennes

About: University of Rennes is a education organization based out in Rennes, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 18404 authors who have published 40374 publications receiving 995327 citations.

Dynamic hydroxymethylation of deoxyribonucleic acid marks differentiation-associated enhancers

Abstract: Enhancers are developmentally controlled transcriptional regulatory regions whose activities are modulated through histone modifications or histone variant deposition. In this study, we show by genome-wide mapping that the newly discovered deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) modification 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is dynamically associated with transcription factor binding to distal regulatory sites during neural differentiation of mouse P19 cells and during adipocyte differentiation of mouse 3T3-L1 cells. Functional annotation reveals that regions gaining 5hmC are associated with genes expressed either in neural tissues when P19 cells undergo neural differentiation or in adipose tissue when 3T3-L1 cells undergo adipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, distal regions gaining 5hmC together with H3K4me2 and H3K27ac in P19 cells behave as differentiation-dependent transcriptional enhancers. Identified regions are enriched in motifs for transcription factors regulating specific cell fates such as Meis1 in P19 cells and PPARγ in 3T3-L1 cells. Accordingly, a fraction of hydroxymethylated Meis1 sites were associated with a dynamic engagement of the 5-methylcytosine hydroxylase Tet1. In addition, kinetic studies of cytosine hydroxymethylation of selected enhancers indicated that DNA hydroxymethylation is an early event of enhancer activation. Hence, acquisition of 5hmC in cell-specific distal regulatory regions may represent a major event of enhancer progression toward an active state and participate in selective activation of tissue-specific genes.

A statistical scaling model for fracture network geometry, with validation on a multiscale mapping of a joint network (Hornelen Basin, Norway)

Abstract: [1] Fracture patterns are characterized by a complex geometry which involves a large length distribution and nonhomogeneous density distributions. Here we address the issue of the modeling of this complex geometry over scales through a first-order model providing the characterization of the number of fractures of a given length and at a given scale. We propose that the simplest model is a power law in both space and fracture length, with three main parameters: the exponent a of a power law length distribution, the fractal dimension D which fixes the scale dependence of the number of fractures, and the fracture density α. We verify the applicability of this model on seven fracture patterns mapped from the metric scale up to almost the kilometric scale in the Hornelen basin. The model efficiently describes fracture network properties at all scales with a single set of parameters. For the Hornelen fracture networks we found a simple relationship between basic exponents, a = D + 1, implying that the fracture network is self-similar. Through this analysis, we present different methodological developments for deriving the basic exponents a and D and for verifying the consistency of the model. Overall, the main methodological development is about the normalization of the measurements made from different scales of observation. Finally, we discuss both the limitations and the uses of such a model for analyzing the hydraulic and mechanical properties of fracture networks.

Echocardiographic reference ranges for normal non-invasive myocardial work indices: results from the EACVI NORRE study

Abstract: Aims - To obtain the normal ranges for 2D echocardiographic (2DE) indices of myocardial work (MW) from a large group of healthy volunteers over a wide range of ages and gender. Methods and results - A total of 226 (85 men, mean age: 45 ± 13 years) healthy subjects were enrolled at 22 collaborating institutions of the Normal Reference Ranges for Echocardiography (NORRE) study. Global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global work waste (GWW), and global work efficiency (GWE) were estimated from left ventricle (LV) pressure-strain loops. Peak LV systolic pressure was non-invasively derived from brachial artery cuff pressure. The lowest values of MW indices in men and women were 1270 mmHg% and 1310 mmHg% for GWI, 1650 mmHg% and 1544 mmHg% for GCW, and 90% and 91% for GWE, respectively. The highest value for GWW was 238 mmHg% in men and 239 mmHg% in women. Men had significant lower values of GWE and higher values of GWW. GWI and GCW significantly increased with age in women. Conclusion - The NORRE study provides useful 2DE reference ranges for novel indices of non-invasive MW.