Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning

Automatic identification of Collembola with deep learning techniques

International audienceCollembola are very abundant organisms in soils (several thousand individuals per square meter) and are considered to be good indicators of soil quality. These indicators are mainly based on the number of individuals observed (abundance per square meter of soil), but also the singularity and number of species present (species richness). A limitation that comes with the usage of collembola as an indicator is the complexity of the identification of the species under a microscope, how time-consuming it is, and the morphological similarity between some species. Deep learning approaches have been very successful in the resolution of image-based problems. Still, no work yet exists that uses deep learning in the recognition of collembola on a microscope slide. This could be a valuable tool for experts seeking to use Collembola as a metric on a larger scale. In this work, we explore and evaluate the performance of state-of-the-art deep learning techniques over the identification of Collembola on a new manually annotated dataset

Bilan et perspectives de l’encadrement réglementaire des pratiques de construction de sol pour réhabiliter des sites dégradés.

Bilan et perspectives de l’encadrement réglementaire des pratiques de construction de sol pour réhabiliter des sites dégradés.. 3èmes Rencontres nationales de la Recherche sur les sites et sols pollués de l’ADEM

Early colonization of constructed technosol by microarthropods

International audienceTechnosols are defined by the World Reference Base as soils subjected to a strong human influence and containing at least 20% of artefacts. The construction of Technosol using recycled waste material is considered an appealing sustainable use of both natural and anthropic resources. Constructed Technosol can attract and host a multitude of soil organisms, forming a reserve of biodiversity. In this study, we assessed the early colonization – in successional stages – of a constructed Technosol supporting grassland vegetation by the microarthropod community, in particular Collembola. To do this, the taxonomic and functional characteristics of microarthropod communities in a newly constructed Technosol in northeast France were studied for a period of four years. Collembola communities also increased in density and taxonomic richness, as well as in functional richness and dispersion. However, hemiedaphic Collembola dominated the community, particularly in the fourth year. Findings at the end of the survey indicated that the Collembola community in the studied Technosol remained very different to that of natural grassland, while it shared some characteristics with arable land. However, the present research clearly showed that waste material recycling to construct a Technosol could be an opportunity to support soil microarthropod biodiversity

Physico-chemical characteristics of topsoil for contrasted forest, agricultural, urban and industrial land uses in France

Soil quality is related to soil characteristics such as fertility and contamination. The aim of this study is to assessthe effect of land use on these soil characteristics and to confirmthe following anthropisation gradient: (i) forest,(ii) grassland, (iii) cultivated, (iv) orchard and vineyard, (v) urban vegetable garden, and (vi) SUITMA(urban, industrial,traffic, mining and military areas). A database comprising the characteristics of 2451 soils has been constituted.In order to compare the topsoils from six contrasting land uses, a principal components analysis (PCA)was performed on nine geochemical variables (C, N, pH, POlsen, total Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn). The first axis of the PCA isinterpreted as a global increase of topsoil metallic elements along the anthropisation gradient. Axis 2 reflects thevariability of fertility levels. Human activity increases the pressure on soils along the proposed gradient accordingto six different distribution patterns. This better knowledge of topsoil quality and its dependence on current landuse should therefore help to manage and preserve the soil mantle

Changes in the management and comorbidities of acromegaly over three decades. The French Acromegaly Registry.

CONTEXT: Acromegaly is a rare disease associated with chronic multisystem complications. National registries have been created in several countries. DESIGN: The French registry contains data on acromegaly epidemiology, management and comorbidities recorded over more than three decades, retrospectively until 1999 and prospectively from 1999 until 2012. RESULTS: Data could be analyzed for 999 of the 1034 patients included in the registry (46% males). Disease control, defined as IGF-I normalization (adjusted for age and sex), was achieved in 75% of patients at the last follow-up visit. Half the patients with uncontrolled disease had IGF-I levels below 1.5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN). The proportion of patients with surgically cured disease did not change markedly over time, whereas the proportion of patients with uncontrolled disease fell and the proportion of patients with medically controlled disease rose. Cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory and rheumatologic comorbidities and their outcomes were recorded for most patients, and no noteworthy overall deterioration was noted over time. Cancer occurred in 10% of patients, for a standardized incidence ratio of 1.34 (95% CI, 0.94-1.87) in men and 1.24 (0.77-1.73) in women. Forty-one patients died during follow-up, for a standardized mortality ratio of 1.05 (0.70-1.42). Most deaths were due to cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients with acromegaly now have successful disease control thanks to multistep management. The incidence of comorbidities following diagnosis of acromegaly is very low. Life expectancy is now close to that of the general population, probably owing to better management of the GH/IGF-I excess and comorbidities

T1-weighted MRI images accurately represent the volume and surface of architectural mineral damage of osteonecrosis of the femoral head: Comparison with high-resolution computed tomography

The potency of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the exact extent of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) remains uncertain. The objective of this study was to determine if the volume of necrosis assessed with MRI accurately reflects the volume of architectural mineral alterations in osteonecrosis of the femoral head by comparison with high-resolution microfocus X-ray computed tomography (HR-μCT). Fourteen male patients aged 53 years [46.2;59.0] suffering from ONFH were prospectively enrolled to undergo preoperative MRI and ex vivo analysis using HR-μCT. The necrotic zone on T1-weighted MRI scans was defined as total necrosis (delimited by the low-signal peripheral band) or dark necrosis (low-signal lesions only). The HR-μCT scans delimited outer necrosis and inner necrosis by including or excluding the sclerotic zone. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to compare the agreement of surface areas and volumes of necrosis measurements with the two techniques. There was an overall excellent agreement between MRI dark necrosis volume and HR-μCT outer necrosis volume (ICC=0.91[0.54;0.98]) while the MRI total necrosis volume showed poor agreement with both HR-μCT delimitations of necrosis volume. For surface area, agreement between MRI dark necrosis and HR-μCT delimitations was good for inner necrosis (ICC=0.70[0.21;0.9]) and moderate for outer necrosis (ICC=0.58[0.07;0.85]). This study demonstrates that measurement of the MRI lesions provides a reliable assessment of the extent of ONFH-related architectural damage.status: publishe

2018 Consensus of the French Society of Endocrinology: endocrine toxicities of cancer immunotherapies

Immunotherapy induced side effects: Are frequent, usually well-tolerated, and can lead to thyroid, pituitary, and less frequently adrenals and pancreas (fulminant diabetes) disease,. Do not contra-indicate immunotherapy, and rarely require high dose glucocorticoids; Need to be screened for, as there are acute manifestations, and replacement treatments can be given lifelong; Require a pre-immunotherapy evaluation; Require a careful follow-up at least during the first 6 months of immunotherapy