Evidence for discrete ochre exploitation 35,000 years ago in West Africa

Despite new impetus for Late Pleistocene research in West Africa, little is known about the range of Middle Stone Age behaviours in this region. Yet, the multiplicity of Middle Stone Age lithic technologies testifies to significant behavioural and demographic dynamics, marked by innovation and adaptability. Here, we present the first indepth analysis of ochre remains in West Africa. New data from Toumboura III site, eastern Senegal, dated be­tween 40 ± 3 and 30 ± 3 ka, point towards the use of ochre pieces as part of an occasional and specialized ochre crushing activity, probably dedicated to the production of powders, as well as the use of ochre sticks. Ochre pieces were studied at both macro and microscopic levels and while some of this iron-rich material likely accumulated in the deposits without anthropogenic intervention, another significant set of ochre pieces was found that was likely processed in situ. The impact scars on the pieces are not as striking as grinding traces for evidencing human exploitation. Nonetheless, they cannot be explained by natural phenomena. These remains could represent the earliest known evidence of ochre exploitation in Senegal. They potentially open new per­spectives on symbolic behaviours in the Middle Stone Age of West Africa. They show that the full range of human behaviours in this region is yet far from being captured

Pratiques intègres de publication scientifique à l’heure de la science ouverte. Note de recommandations

La science ouverte a pour but explicite de rendre accessible à l’ensemble de la communauté scientifique, et plus largement au grand public, les connaissances produites par la recherche scientifique. Les publications qui en résultent concernent les multiples facettes de la recherche telles que les résultats, mais aussi les hypothèses, les méthodes employées ou de larges collections de données. La transparence est une des valeurs fondamentales de l’intégrité scientifique à laquelle la science ouverte peut largement contribuer en la promouvant et l’organisant. La science ouverte encourage en effet les pratiques honnêtes et rigoureuses en mettant à disposition toutes les informations sur le processus de recherche, et permet entre autres d’améliorer la reproductibilité des résultats de recherche. Elle contribue également à instaurer, restaurer, consolider la confiance dans la recherche et la sérénité des débats scientifiques. Elle permet enoutre de rendre perceptibles les débats internes essentiels à la recherche de consensus scientifique sur les questions traitées.La diffusion des connaissances par la publication scientifique est considérée comme le cœur de l’activité de tout personnel scientifique tant vis-à-vis de la communauté scientifique que de la société. Le mouvement de fond que constitue la science ouverte est venu fortement modifier les pratiques de publication : libre accès aux contenus (open access), pré-enregistrements des hypothèses et protocoles (pre-registrations, registered reports), libre accès aux rapports de reviewing par les pairs (open peer reviewing), libre accès aux données et aux codes en sont quelques exemples. La nature même du contenu des publications évolue également : certaines revues offrent désormais la possibilité de faire évaluer par les pairs et de publier des hypothèses, des données (data papers)mais aussi des codes de calcul, des « matériels et méthodes » exhaustifs et opérationnels, voire des résultats négatifs ou des réplications de résultats, ainsi que certaines étapes des processus éditoriaux. Ces (r)évolutions contribuent à renforcer les pratiques intègres de la science. INRAE, établissement engagé dans une politique de science ouverte comme il est énoncé dans son document d’orientation 2030, a formulé un ensemble de recommandations aux auteurs de publications scientifiques pour que ces dernières soient librement accessibles.L’ouverture de la science ne présente pas que des opportunités et certains risques pour l’intégrité scientifique peuvent émerger, tels que la diffusion de résultats insuffisamment validés ou la divulgation de données confidentielles (individuelles, administratives ou industrielles). Même s’il ne représente pas en soi un risque pour l’intégrité, le libre accès (open access) avec paiement par les auteurs a cependant favorisé l’émergence de maisons d’édition douteuses (souvent qualifiées de « prédatrices ») proposant en libre accès des articles qui peuvent faire l’objet de processus indigents de validation par les pairs et/ou s’appuyant sur des processus éditoriaux de qualité insuffisante. Très récemment, la mise en accès libre de systèmes d’intelligence artificielle générative présente un risque certain d’utilisation pour des pratiques frauduleuses comme la rédaction automatique, le plagiat ou la fabrication de données.Le présent document a pour objectif de fournir aux scientifiques d’INRAE impliqués dans le processus de publication scientifique quelques recommandationspour une pratique intègre de la publication dans un contexte de science ouverte, en complément du document précédemment cité . Ce texte est le fruit de la réflexion d’un groupe de travail réuni à l’initiative de la Délégation à la déontologie, l’intégrité scientifique et l’éthique des projets de recherche, conjointement à la Direction pour la Science Ouverte (DipSO) et constitué de scientifiques, d’édit.eur.rice.s de revues scientifiques et techniques portées par INRAE et de représentant.e.s de la Délégation ainsi que de membres de la Direction pour la Science Ouverte, de la Direction de l’Évaluation et de la Direction des Affaires Juridiques.Ce document traite spécifiquement des pratiques intègres de publication en lien direct avec la science ouverte et ne prétend pas couvrir l’intégralité des questions générales de science ouverte, ni de publication ou d’intégrité scientifique

Dialogues Clin Neurosci

Soon after the introduction of second-generation antipsychotics, antipsychotic off-label use (OLU) progressively became a common prescribing practice. This evolving practice should be regularly monitored considering the growing number of persons exposed to the adverse effects of antipsychotics. The aim of the present review was to synthesise the literature published over the last 15 years on antipsychotic OLU for mental health symptoms. Observational studies confirm the persisting high rate of antipsychotic OLU prescription in two out of three youths and 30-60% of adults using antipsychotics. Increasing rates of low-dose quetiapine prescriptions for anxiety or sleep symptoms are paradigmatic of the current public health concern regarding antipsychotic OLU. Such prescriptions receive impetus from industry-funded marketing strategies and prescribers' feeling of innocuousness, with a resulting underestimation of the risk of adverse drug reactions (ADR). However, antipsychotic OLU should be neither trivialised nor demonised since it may be the only therapeutic option in persons with resistant psychiatric disorders or serious ADR with labelled drugs. To reduce the populational impact of antipsychotic OLU, it is necessary to better control the influence of the pharmaceutical industry regarding newly marketed drugs and to better inform prescribers and users about the risks associated with OLU prescribing

Multiple, Single Trait GWAS and Supervised Machine Learning Reveal the Genetic Architecture of <i>Fraxinus excelsior</i> Tolerance to Ash Dieback in Europe

Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is under intensive attack from the invasive alien pathogenic fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, causing ash dieback at epidemic levels throughout Europe. Previous studies have found significant genetic variation among genotypes in ash dieback susceptibility and that host phenology, such as autumn yellowing, is correlated with susceptibility of ash trees to H. fraxineus; however, the genomic basis of ash dieback tolerance in F. excelsior requires further investigation. Here, we integrate quantitative genetics based on multiple replicates and genome-wide association analyses with machine learning to reveal the genetic architecture of ash dieback tolerance and of phenological traits in F. excelsior populations in six European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Sweden). Based on phenotypic data of 486 F. excelsior replicated genotypes we observed negative genotypic correlations between crown damage caused by ash dieback and intensity of autumn leaf yellowing within multiple sampling sites. Our results suggest that the examined traits are polygenic and using genomic prediction models, with ranked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on GWAS associations as input, a large proportion of the variation was predicted by unlinked SNPs. Based on 100 unlinked SNPs, we can predict 55% of the variation in This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</div

Charter for access to IN-SYLVA France Services

La présente charte est destinée à toute personne souhaitant porter un projet qui sollicite des Services de l’Infrastructure de Recherche (IR) IN-SYLVA France et en présente les modalités de sollicitation. Les bonnes pratiques proposées dans cette charte permettent à IN-SYLVA France de bien accueillir les projets et de les accompagner.This charter is intended for anyone wishing to carry out a project that requests Services from the Research Infrastructure (RI) IN-SYLVA France. It sets out the terms and conditions of such request. The best practices proposed in this charter will enable IN-SYLVA France to welcome and support projects

Shine a (night)light: Decentralization and economic development in Burkina Faso

Decentralization, championed by international institutions, has been one of the most prominent public sector reforms of the last decades, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. To date, few studies propose a quasi-experimental evaluation of its capacity to contribute to local development. We exploit the phase-in of decentralization at the commune level in Burkina Faso. We use satellite information on night-time light density as a proxy for local development levels, which has the advantage of being measured and comparable over time and space. The communes that were decentralized first can be compared to the others after the reform relative to the pre-reform situation. The difference-in-difference approach includes commune fixed effects and inverse propensity score reweighting to account for time-varying differences across communes. We find a positive impact of decentralization on the night-light intensity trends of the early-decentralized communes. This is supported by alternative measures (remote sensing of built-up settlements and a welfare index), which shows the possibly broader scope of decentralization gains. We show that decentralization did not lift all boats: only the communes with the ability to generate own-source revenues benefited from effective decentralization

Grapevine cell response to carbon deficiency requires transcriptome and methylome reprogramming

Sugar limitation has dramatic consequences on plant cells, which include cell metabolism and transcriptional reprogramming, and the recycling of cellular components to maintain fundamental cell functions. There is however no description of the contribution of epigenetic regulations to the adaptation of plant cells to limited carbon availability. We investigated this question using non-photosynthetic grapevine cells (Vitis vinifera, cv Cabernet Sauvignon) cultured in vitro with contrasted glucose concentrations. Sugar depletion in the culture medium led to a rapid cell growth arrest and a major metabolic shift that include the depletion in soluble sugar and total amino acids and modulation of the cell redox status. Consistently, flux modeling showed a dramatic slowdown of many pathways required for biomass accumulation such as cell wall and protein synthesis. Sugar depletion also resulted in a major transcriptional reprogramming, characterized by the induction of genes involved in photosynthesis, and the repression of those related to sucrose mobilization or cell cycle control. Similarly, the epigenetic landscape was deeply modified. Glucose-depleted cells showed a higher global DNA methylation level than those grown with glucose. Changes in DNA methylation mainly occurred at transposable elements, and at genes including some of those differentially expressed, consistent with an important role for methylation to the adaptation of cells to limited sugar availability. In addition, genes encoding histone modifiers were differentially expressed suggesting that additional epigenetic mechanisms may be at work in plant cells under carbon shortage

Obstacles to the prevention of the risks related to surfing in general medicine

La Nouvelle-Aquitaine présente plus de 700 km de côtes et une population de surfeurs grandissante. Le surf expose ses pratiquants à un grand nombre de traumatismes aigus et de pathologies chroniques. Malgré cette popularité croissante et des risques de mieux en mieux connus, on déplore un manque de données françaises sur les pathologies que peut induire le surf et sur le rôle du généraliste dans leur prévention. L'objectif principal de cette étude était de décrire les freins en médecine générale à la prévention des risques liés au surf. Un échantillon de surfeurs surfant principalement en Nouvelle-Aquitaine a participé à une enquête transversale rétrospective en ligne entre aout et octobre 2021. Les données démographiques, les pathologies liées au surf, les pratiques préventives et les caractéristiques du recours au généraliste ont été collectées et analysées. L'enquête a recueilli 469 répondants aux caractéristiques démographiques comparables à celle de la population des surfeurs licenciés avec 64,8% d’hommes. L’expérience moyenne était de 11 années de surf ; un total de 214 surfeurs (45,6%) ont rapporté 622 pathologies liées à leur sport. Les plaies et les rachialgies étaient les blessures les plus fréquentes. Le surfeur aquitain est exposé à des pathologies similaires à celles décrites dans la littérature internationale. Le médecin généraliste, premier professionnel consulté en cas de blessure devant les ostéopathes, ignore pourtant, dans 29% des cas, l’activité surf de son patient. Si 70% des surfeurs considèrent leur sport comme dangereux, la même proportion pense qu’un contrôle médical régulier chez le généraliste est inutile. Les principaux freins à la prévention des risques liés au surf sont le manque d’étude sur l’efficacité des moyens de prévention, l’anamnèse incomplète des généralistes, l’acceptation du risque et l’absence d’intérêt pour la prévention de la part des surfeurs.Nouvelle-Aquitaine has more than 700 km of coastline and a growing population of surfers. Surfing exposes its practitioners to a large number of acute injuries and chronic conditions. Despite this growing popularity and increasingly well-known risks, we deplore a lack of French data on the pathologies that surfing can induce and on the role of the general practitioner in their prevention. The main objective of this study was to describe the obstacles in general medicine to the prevention of the risks related to surfing. A sample of surfers surfing mainly in Nouvelle-Aquitaine took part in a retrospective cross-sectional online survey between August and October 2021. Demographic data, surfing-related pathologies, preventive practices and characteristics of GP use were collected and analyzed. The survey collected 469 respondents with demographic characteristics comparable to that of the population of licensed surfers 64.8% among them being men. The average experience was 11 years of surfing; a total of 214 surfers (45.6%) reported 622 pathologies related to their sport. Wounds and spinal pain were the most frequent injuries. Aquitaine surfers are exposed to pathologies similar to those described in international literature. The general practitioner, the first health professional consulted in case of injury before osteopaths, is however unaware, in 29% of cases, of the surfing activity of his patient. If 70% of surfers consider their sport as dangerous, the same proportion think that regular medical check with the general practitioner is useless. The main obstacles to the prevention of surfing-related risks are the lack of studies on the effectiveness of the means of prevention, the incomplete medical history, the acceptance of the risk and the lack of interest in prevention from surfers

Genetically based trait coordination and phenotypic plasticity of growth, gas exchange, allometry, and hydraulics across the distribution range of Pinus pinaster

Studying intraspecific trait variation across environments is key for understanding how resource-use strategies evolve. It is hypothesized that plants from mesic environments have evolved toward a more acquisitive strategy with high growth potential and phenotypic plasticity, while populations from xeric continental climates exhibit a conservative strategy with slower growth and better physiological performance under drier conditions.We tested this hypothesis through the phenotypical characterization of 14-yr-old Pinus pinaster Aiton trees from 20 range-wide populations growing in two climatically contrasting common gardens. We measured 20 traits related to growth, leaf morphology, gas exchange, photochemistry, and hydraulics.Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that populations from mesic oceanic areas exhibited higher growth rates and higher allocation to leaf surface area under mesic conditions, along with greater plasticity in these traits. By contrast, xeric continental populations had better physiological status, showing higher gas exchange rates and photochemical efficiency, but lower sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity under drier conditions.Together, our results provide evidence that climate drives the joint evolution of leaf and stem traits and their plasticity following an acquisitive-conservative axis of resource use. Overall, trait coordination is found to be highly plastic, likely to maximize plant performance under contrasting environmental conditions

Geroscience

The cognitive and neuroimaging evolution over the course of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from prodromal stage - Pro-DLB (subjective (SCI) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI)) - is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to analyze from 5-year longitudinal data the trajectories of Pro-DLB patients. The "Lewy- MEMENTO" prospective clinical cohort recruited 773 patients for either SCI or MCI. The Pro-DLB group was compared to a group with prodromal Alzheimer's disease (Pro-AD), a group with "prodromal DLB and AD" (Pro-DLB + AD), and a group without prodromal DLB and AD (no symptom [NS]). We modeled the 5-year evolution of cognitive functions and the 2-year evolution of brain MRI volumetry on MRI and brain metabolism (FDG PET). The Pro-AD and Pro-DLB + AD groups had more cognitive and functional decline than the Pro-DLB and NS groups (P < .001). The Pro-DLB group had more cognitive decline than the NS group (P < .004). Incident dementia during the follow-up was higher in the Pro-AD (13.0 per 100 person-years) and Pro-DLB + AD (10.3) groups than in the Pro-DLB (1.02) and NS (0.44) groups (P < .001). The decline in the metabolism of the left orbitofrontal cortex was greater in the Pro-DLB + AD group. The volume decrease of hippocampi, entorhinal cortices, amygdalae, and left insula was higher in the Pro-AD and the pro-DLB + AD groups. Patients in the pro-DLB group had less cognitive, functional, brain volume, and metabolism decrease than patients in the Pro-AD and pro-DLB + AD groups. DLB would therefore be a less degenerative and more dysfunctional disease at the prodromal stage