Spin nematic order in antiferromagnetic spinor condensates

Large spin systems can exhibit unconventional types of magnetic ordering different from the ferromagnetic or N\'eel-like antiferromagnetic order commonly found in spin 1/2 systems. Spin-nematic phases, for instance, do not break time-reversal invariance and their magnetic order parameter is characterized by a second rank tensor with the symmetry of an ellipsoid. Here we show direct experimental evidence for spin-nematic ordering in a spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms with antiferromagnetic interactions. In a mean field description this order is enforced by locking the relative phase between spin components. We reveal this mechanism by studying the spin noise after a spin rotation, which is shown to contain information hidden when looking only at averages. The method should be applicable to high spin systems in order to reveal complex magnetic phases.Comment: published versio

Tracking seabird migration in the tropical Indian Ocean reveals basin-scale conservation need

Summary Understanding marine predator distributions is an essential component of arresting their catastrophic declines.1,2,3,4 In temperate, polar, and upwelling seas, predictable oceanographic features can aggregate migratory predators, which benefit from site-based protection.5,6,7,8 In more oligotrophic tropical waters, however, it is unclear whether environmental conditions create similar multi-species hotspots. We track the non-breeding movements and habitat preferences of a tropical seabird assemblage (n = 348 individuals, 9 species, and 10 colonies in the western Indian Ocean), which supports globally important biodiversity.9,10,11,12 We mapped species richness from tracked populations and then predicted the same diversity measure for all known Indian Ocean colonies. Most species had large non-breeding ranges, low or variable residency patterns, and specific habitat preferences. This in turn revealed that maximum species richness covered >3.9 million km2, with no focused aggregations, in stark contrast to large-scale tracking studies in all other ocean basins.5,6,7,13,14 High species richness was captured by existing marine protected areas (MPAs) in the region; however, most occurred in the unprotected high seas beyond national jurisdictions. Seabirds experience cumulative anthropogenic impacts13 and high mortality15,16 during non-breeding. Therefore, our results suggest that seabird conservation in the tropical Indian Ocean requires an ocean-wide perspective, including high seas legislation.17 As restoration actions improve the outlook for tropical seabirds on land18,19,20,21,22 and environmental change reshapes the habitats that support them at sea,15,16 appropriate marine conservation will be crucial for their long-term recovery and whole ecosystem restoration

Future directions in conservation research on petrels and shearwaters

Shearwaters and petrels (hereafter petrels) are highly adapted seabirds that occur across all the world's oceans. Petrels are a threatened seabird group comprising 124 species. They have bet-hedging life histories typified by extended chick rearing periods, low fecundity, high adult survival, strong philopatry, monogamy and long-term mate fidelity and are thus vulnerable to change. Anthropogenic alterations on land and at sea have led to a poor conservation status of many petrels with 52 (42%) threatened species based on IUCN criteria and 65 (52%) suffering population declines. Some species are well-studied, even being used as bioindicators of ocean health, yet for others there are major knowledge gaps regarding their breeding grounds, migratory areas or other key aspects of their biology and ecology. We assembled 38 petrel conservation researchers to summarize information regarding the most important threats according to the IUCN Red List of threatened species to identify knowledge gaps that must be filled to improve conservation and management of petrels. We highlight research advances on the main threats for petrels (invasive species at breeding grounds, bycatch, overfishing, light pollution, climate change, and pollution). We propose an ambitious goal to reverse at least some of these six main threats, through active efforts such as restoring island habitats (e.g., invasive species removal, control and prevention), improving policies and regulations at global and regional levels, and engaging local communities in conservation efforts

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Une « addiction au sucre » en cause dans l’obésité ?

The attraction to sweetness is physiological and this, from an early age. The increased availability of sugar and the global obesity epidemic have led to the idea that sugar can induce addiction in studies in rodents. But if we observe similar behaviors, under certain conditions, to those which characterize drug addictions in rodents, the debate remains contradictory in humans and its contribution in the development of obesity is not established. In order to discuss the plausibility of a “sugar addiction” and its implication in obesity, the concept of addiction, carbohydrates and their place in the diet, as well as the physiopathology of obesity are described beforehand. Then the reflection is based on the data collected in animals and humans, opening on the broader concept of "food addiction". Finally, due to a lack of solid evidence, the concept of sugar addiction appears unconvincing, and caution is warranted in analogy with psychoactive substances. The same goes for “food addiction”, which seems more linked to a behavioral component, more than to one or more food substance(s).L’attirance pour le goût sucré est physiologique et ce, dès le plus jeune âge. L’accessibilité accrue du sucre et l’épidémie d’obésité mondiale ont fait émerger l’idée que le sucre puisse induire une addiction, dans le cadre d’études réalisées chez les rongeurs. Mais si l’on observe des comportements semblables, dans certaines conditions, à ceux qui caractérisent les addictions aux drogues chez des rongeurs, le débat reste contradictoire chez l’homme et sa contribution dans le développement de l’obésité n’est pas établie. Afin de discuter la plausibilité d’une « addiction au sucre » et son implication dans l’obésité, sont décrits au préalable le concept d’addiction, les glucides et leur place dans l’alimentation, ainsi que la physiopathologie de l’obésité. Puis la réflexion s’appuie sur les données recueillies chez l’animal et chez l’homme, ouvrant sur le concept plus large « d’addiction alimentaire ». Finalement, faute de preuves solides, le concept d’addiction au sucre apparaît peu convaincant, et la prudence est de mise dans l’analogie avec les substances psychoactives. Il en va de même pour « l’addiction alimentaire », qui semble davantage liée à une composante comportementale, plus qu’à une ou des substance(s) alimentaire(s)

Intérêt du myélogramme post-autogreffe dans la définition de la réponse au traitement chez 150 patients atteints de myélome multiple

TOULOUSE3-BU Santé-Centrale (315552105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Neural mechanisms underlying improved new-word learning with high-density transcranial direct current stimulation.

Neurobehavioral studies have provided evidence for the effectiveness of anodal tDCS on language production, by stimulation of the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG) or of left Temporo-Parietal Junction (TPJ). However, tDCS is currently not used in clinical practice outside of trials, because behavioral effects have been inconsistent and underlying neural effects unclear. Here, we propose to elucidate the neural correlates of verb and noun learning and to determine if they can be modulated with anodal high-definition (HD) tDCS stimulation. Thirty-six neurotypical participants were randomly allocated to anodal HD-tDCS over either the left IFG, the left TPJ, or sham stimulation. On day one, participants performed a naming task (pre-test). On day two, participants underwent a new-word learning task with rare nouns and verbs concurrently to HD-tDCS for 20 min. The third day consisted of a post-test of naming performance. EEG was recorded at rest and during naming on each day. Verb learning was significantly facilitated by left IFG stimulation. HD-tDCS over the left IFG enhanced functional connectivity between the left IFG and TPJ and this correlated with improved learning. HD-tDCS over the left TPJ enabled stronger local activation of the stimulated area (as indexed by greater alpha and beta-band power decrease) during naming, but this did not translate into better learning. Thus, tDCS can induce local activation or modulation of network interactions. Only the enhancement of network interactions, but not the increase in local activation, leads to robust improvement of word learning. This emphasizes the need to develop new neuromodulation methods influencing network interactions. Our study suggests that this may be achieved through behavioral activation of one area and concomitant activation of another area with HD-tDCS

Isolation and characterisation of 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus; Sternidae), a super-abundant pan-tropical seabird, including a test of cross-species amplification using two noddies (Anous spp.)

International audienceWe isolate and characterise 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the super-abundant, pan-tropical sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus), facilitating population genetic studies. In 70 samples from two breeding colonies, the total number of alleles per locus ranged between 5 and 21, observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.143 to 0.942, while estimated null allele frequency varied from −0.131 to 0.273. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions were optimised across loci, enabling multiplexing and rapid multilocus genotyping. These 16 loci will be useful for future studies of genetic diversity and population structure, and can be used as a proxy through which to assess ecosystem function and change. We additionally test cross-species amplification in the brown (Anous stolidus) and lesser (A. tenuirostris) noddies, illustrating a use of these microsatellites in other related Sternidae species

Prevalence and nature of statin drug-drug interactions in a university hospital by electronic health record mining

International audienceAim: Our aim was to describe prevalence, nature, and level of severity of potential statin drug-drug interactions in a university hospital.Methods: In a cross-sectional study, statin drug-drug interactions were screened from medical record of 10,506 in-patients treated stored in the clinical data warehouse “eHOP.” We screened drug-drug interactions using Theriaque and Micromedex drug databases.Results: A total of 22.5% of patients were exposed to at least one statin drug-drug interaction. Given their lipophilicity and CYP3A4 metabolic pathway, atorvastatin and simvastatin presented a higher prevalence of drug-drug interactions while fluvastatin presented the lowest prevalence. Up to 1% of the patients was exposed to a contraindicated drug-drug interaction, the most frequent drug-drug interaction involving influx-transporter (i.e., OATP1B1) interactions between simvastatin or rosuvastatin with cyclosporin. The second most frequent contraindicated drug-drug interaction involved CYP3A4 interaction between atorvastatin or simvastatin with either posaconazole or erythromycin. Furthermore, our analysis showed some discrepancies between Theriaque and Micromedex in the prevalence and the nature of drug-drug interactions.Conclusions: Different drug-drug interaction profiles were observed between statins with a higher prevalence of CYP3A4-based interactions for lipophilic statins. Analyzing the three most frequent DDIs, the more significant DDIs (level 1: contraindication) were reported for transporter-based DDI involving OATP1B1 influx transporter. These points are of concern to improve prescriptions of statins