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International audienceThis paper presents a fault diagnosis procedure based on discriminant analysis and mutual information. In order to obtain good classification performances, a selection of important features is done with a new developed algorithm based on the mutual information between variables. The application of the new fault diagnosis procedure on a benchmark problem, the Tennessee Eastman Process, shows better results than other well known published methods

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Species of the Pseudallescheria boydii/Scedosporium apiospermum complex (PSC) are emerging fungal pathogens able to chronically colonize the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). As P. boydii was found more frequently colonizing the lungs of CF patients in France than in other European countries in a previous report, the present study was conducted in order to clarify distribution of PSC species in France and to characterize their natural habitat. The highest densities of PSC isolates were found in human-impacted areas, i.e. agricultural areas, fluids obtained from wastewater treatment plants, playgrounds and industrial areas. PSC was not detected from soil samples collected in forests. Most PSC culture-positive soil samples exhibited a pH range of 6-8. Scedosporium dehoogii, the most abundant species, was detected in all human-impacted area types except vineyards, whereas Scedosporium aurantiacum was mostly found in agricultural areas. Pseudallescheria boydii and S. apiospermum were predominantly isolated from seashores and playgrounds respectively. Pseudallescheria minutispora was found only once from a playground. This study highlights potential sources of contamination of the patients, especially in the CF context.

As various new sibling species within the Pseudallescheria boydii/Scedosporium apiospermum complex have been described recently with differences in their susceptibility to antifungals, this study was conducted in order to determine their respective frequency in cystic fibrosis. Results indicated that P. boydii largely predominated (62%), followed by S. apiospermum (24%), Scedosporium aurantiacum (10%) and Pseudallescheria minutispora (4%). Scedosporium dehoogii was not recovered in this study. The multiple correspondence factor analysis highlighted geographical discrepancies within species distribution: P. boydii was rarely encountered in Northern France, while S. apiospermum was less represented in the west of the country. Additionally, we demonstrated that all species encountered in the cystic fibrosis context were capable to chronically colonize the respiratory tract of patients. Molecular typing of a large set of environmental and clinical isolates should be conducted to delineate the epidemiology of each sibling species in the complex.

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