Nose-to-brain delivery of DHA-loaded nanoemulsions: A promising approach against Alzheimer’s disease

International audienceReduced docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations seem to be associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and DHA accretion to the brain across the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) can be modulated by various factors. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify an efficient and non-invasive method to ensure brain DHA enrichment. In the present study, a safe and stable DHA-enriched nanoemulsion, designed to protect DHA against oxidation, was designed and administered intranasally in a transgenic mouse model of AD, the J20 mice.Intranasal treatment with nanoformulated DHA significantly improved well-being and working spatial memory in six-months-old J20 mice. These behavioral effects were associated with a reduction of amyloid deposition, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation in brain tissues, which may be partially due to DHA-induced inactivation of the pleiotropic kinase GSK3β.In conclusion, intranasal DHA administration exhibited strong therapeutic effects and disease-modifying benefits in the J20 AD model. Given that DHA has already shown safety and tolerability in healthy human subjects, our results further support the need for clinical trials to assess the potential of this approach in Alzheimer's patients.</p

Soil smoldering in temperate forests: a neglected contributor to fire carbon emissions revealed by atmospheric mixing ratios

International audienceAbstract. Fire is regarded as an essential climate variable, emitting greenhouse gases in the combustion process. Current global assessments of fire emissions traditionally rely on coarse remotely sensed burned-area data, along with biome-specific combustion completeness and emission factors (EFs). However, large uncertainties persist regarding burned areas, biomass affected, and emission factors. Recent increases in resolution have improved previous estimates of burned areas and aboveground biomass while increasing the information content used to derive emission factors, complemented by airborne sensors deployed in the tropics. To date, temperate forests, characterized by a lower fire incidence and stricter aerial surveillance restrictions near wildfires, have received less attention. In this study, we leveraged the distinctive fire season of 2022, which impacted western European temperate forests, to investigate fire emissions monitored by the atmospheric tower network. We examined the role of soil smoldering combustion responsible for higher carbon emissions, locally reported by firefighters but not accounted for in temperate fire emission budgets. We assessed the CO/CO2 ratio released by major fires in the Mediterranean, Atlantic pine, and Atlantic temperate forests of France. Our findings revealed low modified combustion efficiency (MCE) for the two Atlantic temperate regions, supporting the assumption of heavy smoldering combustion. This type of combustion was associated with specific fire characteristics, such as long-lasting thermal fire signals, and affected ecosystems encompassing needle leaf species, peatlands, and superficial lignite deposits in the soils. Thanks to high-resolution data (approximately 10 m) on burned areas, tree biomass, peatlands, and soil organic matter (SOM), we proposed a revised combustion emission framework consistent with the observed MCEs. Our estimates revealed that 6.15 Mt CO2 (±2.65) was emitted, with belowground stock accounting for 51.75 % (±16.05). Additionally, we calculated a total emission of 1.14 Mt CO (±0.61), with 84.85 % (±3.75) originating from belowground combustion. As a result, the carbon emissions from the 2022 fires in France amounted to 7.95 MtCO2-eq (±3.62). These values exceed by 2-fold the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) estimates for the country, reaching 4.18 MtCO2-eq (CO and CO2). Fires represent 1.97 % (±0.89) of the country's annual carbon footprint, corresponding to a reduction of 30 % in the forest carbon sink this year. Consequently, we conclude that current European fire emission estimates should be revised to account for soil combustion in temperate forests. We also recommend the use of atmospheric mixing ratios as an effective monitoring system of prolonged soil fires that have the potential to re-ignite in the following weeks

La fête triste. Émancipations ratées et normativité critique dans le cinéma de Clarisa Navas, Valentina Maurel et Lucrecia Martel

International audienceLas filmografías de las argentinas Lucrecia Martel y Clarisa Navas y de la costarricense Valentina Maurel presentan secuencias de fiesta que casi siempre coinciden con afectos tristes para las adolescentes protagonistas: frustración, cólera, náusea, encono e incomodidad. Mucho más que anomalías, esas tristezas en medio de la fiesta arrojan luz sobre la complejidad del “estado de excepción” festivo y sobre sus falsas o fallidas promesas de liberación. Para las que lo descubren desde rincones periféricos y estados transicionales (la adolescencia, la homosexualidad antes del coming-out, la feminidad antes de la sexualidad compartida, el deseo en ciernes), el espacio-tiempo festivo constituye, en vez de la perspectiva de emancipación múltiple que parecía contener, el lugar donde se revelan y se experimentan de forma condensada, a veces violenta, normas antiguas y nuevas normatividades

Corrigendum to “Contrasting physical erosion rates in cratonic catchments: The Ogooué and Mbei rivers, Western Central Africa” [Gondwana Res. 138 (2025) 192–209]

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Afflecto: A Web Server to Generate Conformational Ensembles of Flexible Proteins from Alphafold Models

Intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDPs/IDRs) leverage their structural flexibility to fulfill essential cellular functions, with dysfunctions often linked to severe diseases. However, the relationships between their sequences, structural dynamics and functional roles remain poorly understood. Understading these complex relationships is crucial for therapeutic development, highlighting the need for methods that generate ensembles of plausible IDP/IDR conformers. While AlphaFold (AF) excels at modeling structured domains, it fails to accurately represent disordered regions, leaving a significant portion of proteomes inaccurately modeled. We present AFflecto, a user-friendly web server for generating large conformational ensembles of proteins that include both structured domains and IDRs from AF structural models. AFflecto identifies IDRs as tails, linkers or loops by analyzing their structural context. Additionally, it incorporates a method to identify conditionally folded IDRs that AF may incorrectly predict as natively folded elements. The conformational space is globally explored using efficient stochastic sampling algorithms. AFflecto's web interface allows users to customize the modeling, by modifying boundaries between ordered and disordered regions, and selecting among several sampling strategies. The web server is freely available at https://moma.laas.fr/applications/AFflecto/.</div

Una condena de las violencias contra los niños en el ámbito familiar a través de los tratados médicos (España, siglo 18)

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Frontières linguistiques – langue(s) et frontière(s) : L’art de la traduction, dialecte et littérature, plurilinguisme littéraire

International audienceDie menschliche Sprache und das Konzept der Grenze stehen in einer engen und facettenreichen Beziehung zueinander. Dieser Band versammelt Beiträge, die sich diesem Verhältnis aus verschiedenen Perspektiven nähern – in Literatur und (Populär-)Kultur, Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, zwischen Sprachen und innerhalb der Sprache. Mit der grundlegenden Zweisprachigkeit, die den Band auszeichnet, partizipiert das interdisziplinär ausgerichtete Buch zugleich selbst aktiv an der Kultur der Übergänge und der Grenzen zwischen den Sprachen. So werden reflexiv und performativ zentrale Aspekte von ›Sprache(n) und Grenze(n)‹ verhandelt, insbesondere Praktiken des Übersetzens, Fragen zur Mehrsprachigkeit und der Umgang mit unterschiedlichen Sprachregistern. Mit Beiträgen von Hans Baumann, Natalie Bella, Jasmin Berger, Geronimo Groh, Gabriel Labrie, Caio Lee, Simone Lettner, Magdalena Mühlböck und Solène Scherer.La relation étroite unissant les concepts de langue et de frontière constitue un objet d’étude à la fois riche et varié. Les articles réunis dans cet ouvrage explorent, sous différents angles, les interactions entre langue(s) et frontière(s) dans des contextes variés : dans la littérature et la culture (populaire), à travers les époques — du passé au présent — ainsi que dans les dynamiques intra- et interlinguistiques. En raison de son caractère bilingue, cet ouvrage interdisciplinaire contribue lui-même au phénomène de franchissement des frontières et des langues. Les principaux aspects de ce vaste complexe thématique sont ainsi étudiés à travers une approche réflexive et performative, avec une attention particulière pour les pratiques de la traduction, pour les questions relatives au plurilinguisme ainsi que pour l’utilisation des différents registres de langue. Ce volume contient des contributions de Hans Baumann, Natalie Bella, Jasmin Berger, Geronimo Groh, Gabriel Labrie, Caio Lee, Simone Lettner, Magdalena Mühlböck et Solène Scherer

Nanopore Sequencing as a Cutting-Edge Technology for Medulloblastoma Classification

International audienceBackground: Medulloblastoma (MB) is one of the most prevalent embryonal malignant brain tumors. Current classification organizes these tumors into four molecular subgroups (WNT, SHH, Group 3, and Group 4 MB). Recently, a comprehensive classification has been established, identifying numerous subtypes, some of which exhibit a poor prognosis. It is critical to establish effective subtyping methods for accurate diagnosis and patient's management that strikes a delicate balance between improving outcomes and minimizing the risk of comorbidities.Methods: We evaluated the ability of Nanopore sequencing to provide clinically relevant methylation and copy number profiles of MB. Nanopore sequencing was applied to an EPIC cohort of 44 frozen MB, benchmarked against the gold standard EPIC array, and further evaluated on an integrated diagnosis cohort of 116 MB.Results: Most MB of both cohorts (42/44; 95.5% and 106/116; 91.4% respectively) were accurately subgrouped by Nanopore sequencing. Employing Flongle flow cells for 18 MB allowed a more rapid and cost-effective analysis, with 94.4% (17/18) being correctly classified. Nanopore sequencing enabled us to accurately subtype 28/30 (93.3%) MB.Conclusion: This study, conducted on the largest cohort of MB analyzed with Nanopore sequencing to date, establishes the proof of concept that this modern and innovative technology is well-suited for MB classification. Nanopore sequencing demonstrates a robust capacity for precise subtyping of MB, a critical advancement that holds significant potential for enhancing patient stratification in future clinical trials. Its ability to deliver quick and cost-effective results firmly establishes it as a game-changer in the field of MB classification

Mapping potential environmental impacts of alien species in the face of climate change

International audienceRisk maps are a useful tool to prioritise sites for management and allocate resources where they are most needed as they can show us where impacts of biological invasions are most likely to happen or expected to be largest. Given the pace of global changes, we need to understand not only the risks under current conditions, but future risks taking these changes into account. In this study, we use Australian acacias alien to South Africa as a case study to model their potential distribution under future climate change to map their potential impacts at the middle and end of the century and the uncertainty related to three socio-economic pathways and five climatic models. The resulting risk maps across South Africa are a pioneering attempt to combine impacts of alien species with potential future distributions. We found that although climatic suitability and therefore the risk is predicted to decrease under climate change in 51,4% of the country’s area, the opposite is predicted for 26% of the area and the highly vulnerable fynbos biome remains an area with high projected impacts. Such risk maps can help us prioritise management actions and aid the development of suitable plans to protect biodiversity under current and future climate conditions. However, they have to be interpreted with caution and we highlight some shortcomings around species distribution models in general, vulnerability of ecosystems to the potential impacts, data gaps on impacts, as well as currently benign or unknown invaders, which are not included in the projections

Reducing defect density in the epitaxy of III-Vs on Silicon substrates

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