54 research outputs found
Nifurtimox plus Eflornithine for Late-Stage Sleeping Sickness in Uganda: A Case Series
African sleeping sickness (Human African Trypanosomiasis, or HAT), due to the parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, threatens millions across remote and conflict-affected regions of sub-Saharan Africa, and causes about 15 000 reported cases every year. Untreated HAT progresses from stage 1 (infection of the blood and lymph) to stage 2 (invasion of the central nervous system), and ultimately death. Drugs for stage 2 are few. The historical mainstay, melarsoprol, is highly toxic and inefficacious in some areas due to parasite resistance. Eflornithine is the only viable alternative, already established as safe and efficacious, but difficult to administer and at risk of resistance if used in monotherapy. This paper reports on a series of 48 Ugandan patients treated with a novel combination of nifurtimox (a drug registered for Chagas disease) and eflornithine, 17 as part of a terminated trial, and 31 in a subsequent case series study. Despite the low sample size, findings are promising: no cases of treatment failure, no treatment terminations, and no HAT- or treatment-related deaths. Nifurtimox plus eflornithine may be the best treatment hope for stage 2 HAT patients in the next decade, while new drugs are developed. A larger, multi-centric trial of the combination is ongoing
How environmental managers perceive and approach the issue of invasive species: the case of Japanese knotweed s.l. (RhĂŽne River, France)
We would like to thank Springer for publishing our article. The final publication is available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10530-015-0969-1International audienceStudying the perceptions of stakeholders or interested parties is a good way to better understand behaviours and decisions. This is especially true for the management of invasive species such as Japanese knotweed s.l. This plant has spread widely in the RhĂŽne basin, where signiïŹcant ïŹnancial resources have been devoted to its management. However, no control technique is recognized as being particularly effective. Many uncertainties remain and many documents have been produced by environmental managers to disseminate current knowledge about the plant and its management. This article aims at characterizing the perceptions that environmental managers have of Japanese knotweed s.l. A discourse analysis was conducted on the printed documentation produced about Japanese knotweed s.l. by environmental managers working along the RhĂŽne River (France). The corpus was both qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. The results indicated a diversity of perceptions depending on the type of environmental managers involved, as well as the geographicalareas and scales on which they acted. Whereas some focused on general knowledge relating to the origins and strategies of colonization, others emphasized the diversity and efïŹcacy of the prospective eradication techniques. There is a real interest in implementing targeted actions to meet local issues. To do so, however, these issues must be better deïŹned. This is a challenging task, as it must involve all types of stakeholders
Bases scientifiques pour un contrÎle des renouées asiatiques (performances du complexe hybride Fallopia en réponse aux contraintes environnementales)
La croissance d'une plante est un processus dynamique qui répond aux différentes caractéristiques de l'environnement. La baisse de production de biomasse induite par les différents stress, les perturbations ou la compétition détermine la tolérance des plantes à ces contraintes. Dans le cas d'une plante invasive, caractériser cette tolérance est crucial pour déterminer les habitats sensibles et rechercher des moyens de prévention ou de lutte. Les taxa du genre Fallopia sont ici étudiés dans le cadre de l'invasion du département de la Loire. Leurs réponses au stress nutritif, salin, et à une perturbation sont associées aux conditions environnementales favorisant ou limitant l'invasion. Les résultats obtenus apportent des éléments de réflexion sur les mécanismes à l'origine de l'invasion par les renouées et sur l'efficience de différentes méthodes de lutte et de prévention de l'invasionPlant growth is a dynamic process that responds to environmental characteristics. The decrease of the plant biomass production induced by various stresses, disturbance, or competition, determines the tolerance to these constraints. In the case of invasive plants, assessing this tolerance is crucial to determine invasibility and to find prevention or control methods. The taxa of the genus Fallopia are here considered in the context of the invasion of the Loire department. Their responses to nutrient stress, salt stress, and disturbance are associated with environmental conditions favouring or limiting the invasion. The results give some evidences about mechanisms implied in the success of Fallopia spp and about the effectiveness of different prevention or control methodsPARIS-Museum Hist.Naturelle (751052304) / SudocSudocFranceF
Etude des processus écologiques et sociaux pour optimiser la gestion des espÚces invasives: Le cas de la renouée
Action 30 du programme 2010-201
Invasion by Fallopia spp. in a French upland region is related to anthropogenic disturbances
Within Europe, mountain ecosystems are generally less invaded by exotic plant species than are lowland areas. This pattern is commonly attributed to climatic harshness, which limits invasive species presence, and higher propagule pressure and rates of disturbance in lowlands, which favours dissemination. However, the extent to which anthropogenic and natural disturbances contribute to invasive species presence in mountain and lowland environments remains unclear. We conducted field observations in a lowland and an upland region in France and measured environmental variables, estimated the natural and anthropogenic disturbance of plots invaded by Fallopia spp. and compared them to non-invaded plots. Based on generalised linear mixed models, the predictors of Fallopia spp. presence in the upland area only included anthropogenic elements such as the presence of a road or trail and frequentation by humans, whereas both anthropogenic parameters and natural components (light penetration, slope, presence of a road and of a watercourse) were retained as predictors for the lowland region. We calculated the odds of Fallopia spp. presence for the increase of one unit of each predictor. We conclude that the spread of Fallopia spp. in upland areas was mainly linked to human activity whereas dissemination of the species occurred both through humans and in natural ways in lowland areas, and this may be due to a more recent colonisation in the mountains. We therefore advise stakeholders to undertake actions in mountain areas to specifically limit the dissemination of exotic species by humans and to monitor areas of high invasion risk by exotic species, such as areas neighbouring trails and roads highly frequented by humans
âThe fad for Polygonum will fade away!â: historic aspects of the propagation and success in France of the Reynoutria complex based on archives
International audienc
Paroles d'acteurs : en quoi une analyse de discours peut-elle Ă©clairer la gestion des espĂšces invasives le long des cours d'eau ?
International audienc
Root fungal endophytes: Identity, phylogeny and roles in plant tolerance to metal stress
International audienceMetal trace elements accumulate in soils mainly because of anthropic activities, leading living organisms to develop strategies to handle metal toxicity. Plants often associate with root endophytic fungi, including nonmycorrhizal fungi, and some of these organisms are associated with metal tolerance. The lack of synthetic analyses of plant-endophyte-metal tripartite systems and the scant consideration for taxonomy led to this review aiming (1) to inventory non-mycorrhizal root fungal endophytes described with respect to their taxonomic diversity and (2) to determine the mutualistic roles of these plant-fungus associations under metal stress. More than 1500 species in 100 orders (mainly Hypocreales and Pleo- sporales) were reported from a wide variety of environments and hosts. Most reported endophytes had a positive effect on their host under metal stress, but with various effects on metal uptake or translocation and no clear taxonomic consistency. Future research considering the functional patterns and dynamics of these associations is thus encouraged
Ăcologie chimique : quelles applications pour la gestion des renouĂ©es ?
International audienceUne des pistes de recherche les plus rĂ©centes concernant la gestion des espĂšces vĂ©gĂ©talesinvasives porte sur les capacitĂ©s des plantes Ă produire des composĂ©s chimiques inhibantla croissance ou le dĂ©veloppement dâautres vĂ©gĂ©taux. Cet article dĂ©crit les enjeux,quelques recherches menĂ©es en France et les dĂ©fis posĂ©s par cette dĂ©marche
L'emploi des marqueurs moléculaires pour les études de génétique, de phylogénie et de sélection du rosier
National audienc
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