LE STUDIUM Multidisciplinary Journal

The work presented is a report on a research stay as part of LE STUDIUM for visiting researchers from September 1 to November 30, 2025, at the Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of the Environment and Space (LPC2E) of the CNRS in Orléans. This is a research stay whose objective is to apply an in-depth methodology for the microphysical, optical, and radiative characterization of aerosols at the surface and at altitude. This technique is based on in situ measurements taken by the LOAC instrument during flights using weather balloons, climate model simulations, and data from airborne and satellite sensors. This enabled us to understand the measurement methodology using the LOAC instrument, which has already been tested by the CNRS's LPC2E, and aerosol modeling using ECSM2 model simulations. Based on the measurement campaigns carried out, we analyzed the aerosol profile as well as that of PM1, PM2.5, and PM10, and the volume size distribution of the particles. Also, based on aerosol extinction evaluated using the Mie code, we were able to determine the aerosol optical depth (AOD), which is an integration of the extinction coefficient across the atmospheric layer. In addition, this trip was an opportunity to participate in a validation study of the ATLID lidar aboard the EarthCare satellite, which has been in orbit since May 2024. This has enabled us to learn a new approach to the optical and microphysical characterization of aerosols that can be applied in Burkina Faso and West Africa in general.

Mineral reactions in subsurface energy systems result in deviations from local equilibriums and can impact critical engineering properties of the system, including storage capacity (porosity) and injectivity (permeability). Accurate understanding and prediction of reaction rates and impacts on formation properties is needed for safe and efficient design and implementation of these engineered systems. Precise simulation of mineral reaction rates is limited by a poor understanding of the mineral reactive surface area in porous media. Here, pore scale numerical simulations are leveraged to simulate mineral reactions for varied flow and reaction conditions and the effective surface area analyzed. Numerical simulations of reactions in a porous media mesh are carried out in OpenFOAM® and a new scaling factor, relating the effective surface area to the accessible surface area, determined.

The goal of the research was to map Chinese investments in Loire Valley viticulture and its links with lifestyle migration. The research showed that despite the overall rise of lifestyle migration from China to Europe, Chinese investment in Loire Valley viticulture is very limited. This is because, while Chinese investment in Bordeaux wineries has declined, its principal drivers were high-end prestige investments and for-profit ventures, for which the Loire Valley, unlike Burgundy, is not an attractive alternative. Contrary to expectations, middle-class investors attracted by the “European lifestyle” associated with vineyard ownership appear to be a small group among Bordeaux investors and are currently struggling with the crisis afflicting Bordeaux wine production.

 The Moon is a cornerstone for understanding the early history (origin, budget and timing) of volatile elements (H, C, F, S, Cl) delivered to all terrestrial planets. The volatile study of lunar magmatism is the most direct way to reconstruct the volatile budget of the Moon’s interior.  However, this reconstruction is compromised by magmatic processes that modify the initial compositions of the lunar magmas. The final goal of our work is to determine how sulfide saturation and segregation in all the compositional range of lunar lavas have affected the sulfur isotopic composition of the magmas. The determined sulfur isotopic fractionation between lunar silicate melts and immiscible sulfide blebs will allow us to directly unravel the sulfur isotopic composition of the heterogeneous reservoirs forming the Moon’s interior, and therefore, provide fundamental information on the early evolution of sulfur isotopes of the Earth’s satellite. 

A rapidly rotating system of strongly interacting matter at high temperature and density has been created and observed in relativistic heavy-ion collision experiments. However, the theoretical framework for describing the dynamical evolution of spin degrees of freedom still requires further development. In this research project, we have formulated a thermodynamic system in which spin is introduced as an external environmental parameter, and we have investigated the thermal properties induced by spin. We have discovered that the spin carried by gauge particles is closely related to the topological current in the gauge sector, opening a novel direction for exploring the nonperturbative nature of hot and dense matter.

What does the study of music look like in an age of ubiquitous data? How have we collected and categorized music, in all its richness? And how can digital tools help us understand musical style and structure, particularly when it comes to the music of the distant past? As my host Philippe Vendrix explains in the introduction to EarlyMuse (https://earlymuse.eu/; a major European Cooperation in Science and Technology [COST] project), the field of early music has always been marked by hybridity: a meeting ground of theory and practice, of scholarship and performance, of the material and the immaterial. Now the digital turn in scholarship, and the central place of digital media in culture more broadly, bring new opportunities and challenges to this mix.
The experimental basis of my project, briefly stated, is to find ways to advance two key axes—one technical, the other social. Thus, one portion of my work will focus on “music as data” and “data about music” at both micro and macro levels of detail. During this phase of work, I will advance techniques for the curation of quality data, the development of algorithms and machine learning systems for music, and the elaboration of systems for mapping and linking knowledge.  But I will also help seasoned professionals and aspiring graduate students alike direct this kind of “applied human intelligence” to the machine tools that increasingly mediate our experience with all forms of culture, and that shape knowledge systems, too. If musicology is to succeed in a digital age, we will need to involve digital natives in this work. And if young musicologists are to succeed in the rapidly changing landscape of the academy and culture industry more broadly, they will need to hone digital skills early in their careers

This study presents a multidimensional framework to evaluate the socio-ecological roles (SER) of insects in agrifood systems. Insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural, while also posing context-specific challenges. Using a transdisciplinary approach, we assessed 120 insect species across four dimensions: Productive Potential, Ecosystem Potential, Use, and Challenges. Unsupervised machine learning identified species clusters that provide useful insights for context-specific management strategies, including conservation, pest/vector control, wild gathering, and farming. While some species consistently perform well across dimensions, others require more localised or tailored approaches. Rather than offering definitive answers, this framework provides a starting point to support more adaptive and inclusive decision-making for sustainable insect use. It contributes to balancing productivity, biodiversity, and cultural relevance, while guiding future research and policy efforts aligned with agri-food system transformation and biodiversity goals.

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) binds to G protein-coupled FSH receptors (FSHR) expressed on ovarian granulosa cells in low abundance. Activation of FSHR leads to granulosa cell proliferation, differentiation and estrogen production. These events are essential for female fertility.  FSHR signaling pathway is highly conserved between mice and humans. Inactivating mutations in FSHR-encoding gene in mice (Fshr -/-) or women result in ovarian folliculogenesis arrest and female infertility. High affinity and highly potent human FSHR-specific single-domain antibody fragments (SDAb) will be tested in a humanized mouse model with ovary-targeted expression of human FSHR transgene on a Fshr null genetic background. This model permits evaluation of several reproducitve outcomes and may prove as an essential in vivo genetic tool to study FSHR-mediated signaling in ovarian granulosa cells.

Despite her status as arguably the most represented historical French female figure in French bandes dessinées, Joan of Arc and her depiction in 9th-art works has never been the subject of a full-length analysis. My work on Joan of Arc’s representation in French bandes dessinées explores the unique function France’s most celebrated medieval heroine plays in the country's popular cultures. In addition to a complete survey of the BD corpus and the conventions typically used to depict Joan, I give special attention to cases where she functions as an iconoclastic figure who challenges the enduring culturally gendered limitations placed on women and nationalist mythology as well as the restrictive conventions of 9th-art artistic forms related to gender, history, and storytelling.