On the robust measurement of inflectional diversity

Lexical diversity measures are notoriously sensitive to variations of sample size and recent approaches to this issue typically involve the computation of the average variety of lexical units in random subsamples of fixed size. This methodology has been further extended to measures of inflectional diversity such as the average number of wordforms per lexeme, also known as the mean size of paradigm (MSP) index. In this contribution we argue that, while random sampling can indeed be used to increase the robustness of inflectional diversity measures, using a fixed subsample size is only justified under the hypothesis that the corpora that we compare have the same degree of lexematic diversity. In the more general case where they may have differing degrees of lexematic diversity, a more sophisticated strategy can and should be adopted. A novel approach to the measurement of inflectional diversity is proposed, aiming to cope not only with variations of sample size, but also with variations of lexematic diversity. The robustness of this new method is empirically assessed and the results show that while there is still room for improvement, the proposed methodology considerably attenuates the impact of lexematic diversity discrepancies on the measurement of inflectional diversity

Effects of two supplementation levels of linseed combined with CLA or tallow on meat quality traits and fatty acid profile of adipose and different muscle tissues in slaughter pigs

Dietary linseed supply efficiently elevates the linolenic acid concentration of pork. The main problem of increasing the n-3 fatty acid tissue levels arises from a higher susceptibility to lipid oxidation. Increasing the saturation level of tissue lipids by the dietary inclusion of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) or tallow might prevent oxidation. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of dietary CLA or tallow supplementation combined with extruded linseed on the growth performance, carcass characteristics and fatty acid profile of muscles (longissimus, semimembranosus, biceps femoris) and subcutaneous fat (SF). The enzyme activity of the de novo lipogenesis and stearoyl-CoA desaturase in the SF was also assessed. From 18 to 104 kg BW, 32 Swiss Large White barrows were fed a diet supplemented with either: (1) 2% linseed (L2); (2) 3% linseed (L3); (3) 2% linseed + 1% CLA (L2-C) or (4) 2% linseed + 1% tallow (L2-T). The linolenic and eicosatrienoic acid concentrations were higher (P 0.05) affected by the dietary fats, whereas Δ9-desaturase activity was depressed (P < 0.05) by CLA inclusion (L2-C). Only when oxidation was challenged by cooking and subsequent storage for 4 days at 4°C values of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances were lower (P < 0.05) in longissimus muscle chops of L2-C compared with L2, L3 and L2-T barrows. The present findings revealed that CLA, but not tallow, combined with extruded linseed enhanced the oxidative stability of pork probably by lowering the degree of unsaturation of the lipids without affecting the improved ∑n-6/∑n-3 rati

Réseaux spatiaux: modèles, classification et flux

Un réseau spatial est une structure constituée d'objets appelés noeuds, localisés dans l'espace et possédant des connexions de différentes nature appelées arêtes. Cette définition comprend un large panel de structures. Les réseaux routiers, aériens, ferroviaires, de lignes électriques, de rivières, etc. ne sont que quelques exemples de réseaux spatiaux que nous côtoyons tous les jours. Contrairement aux réseaux usuels, qui ne possèdent pas de composante spatiale, maintenir une connexion entre deux noeuds d'un réseau spatial requiert un coût qui va dépendre de la distance séparant ces noeuds, et la structure du réseau tout entière est alors intimement liée à l'espace. L'analyse du rapport existant entre l'espace et la structure du réseau n'est pas chose aisée et les approches permettant d'y arriver sont nombreuses. Ce travail se concentre sur la création de modèles mathématiques facilitant cet objectif, en particulier à l'aide de modèles de flux. Un flux peut être interprété comme une quantité de matière créée par un certain nombre de noeuds appelés sources, naviguant sur les arêtes du réseaux pour finalement être absorbée par d'autres noeuds, appelés cibles. Le comportement adopté par le flux lors de sa navigation est généralement dicté par la minimisation d'une fonction, et en choisissant judicieusement cette dernière, il est possible d'obtenir des flux permettant une exploration particulière de la structure du réseau. L'ingrédient principal de cette thèse sera un modèle de flux inédit, appelé le flux de transport randomisé. Ce flux, dont le comportement peut être ajusté par un paramètre, est à la croisée entre le flux de transport optimal et le flux aléatoire. Lorsque le paramètre est bas, ce flux permettra de transporter la matière dont il est constitué des sources jusqu'aux cibles en minimisant les coûts. A l'opposé, lorsque le paramètre est élevé, ce flux suivra une marche aléatoire, explorant la totalité du réseau avant d'être absorbé. Ces deux extrêmes contiennent des flux qui ont été étudiés dans la littérature, mais nous verrons ici que lorsque la température est intermédiaire, le flux de transport randomisé adoptera alors un comportement inédit, permettant d'appréhender la structure du réseau de manière plus complète. Ce flux nous permettra de construire de nouveaux indices de centralité, de nouvelles dissimilarités et offrira une solution numérique efficiente à la résolution du problème de transport optimal dans un réseau. Ce nouvel objet soulèvera également quelques questions fondamentales, dépassant largement le cadre des réseaux spatiaux. Un chapitre sur la création de modèles de réseaux spatiaux, similaires aux réseaux existants, viendra compléter l'analyse obtenue par les flux. Si le flux permet, entre autres, d'obtenir de l'information sur la position des noeuds dans l'espace grâce à la structure du réseau, ce dernier chapitre bouclera la boucle en faisant le travail en sens inverse : déduire l'information sur la structure d'un graphe spatial à partir de la position des noeuds dans l'espace. Cette thèse, constituée d'articles "peer-reviewed" insérés au milieu d'un manuscrit rédigé à la suite de ceux-ci, présente deux niveaux de lecture. En lisant le manuscrit, un lecteur pourra comprendre les enjeux, le contexte et la problématique de notre approche sur l'analyse des réseaux spatiaux, tout en se familiarisant avec le formalisme. Cette lecture s'adresse ainsi à un large public, cependant familier avec les notations mathématiques. La lecture des articles, moins accessible, présente la réalité du travail scientifique accompli durant cinq années. Ces articles ne seront pas toujours parfaitement cohérents les uns par rapport aux autres, et les idées exposées évoluent au fil du temps. Néanmoins, leur lecture permet d'avoir les démonstrations et les résultats les plus significatifs, complétant ainsi le contexte donné par le manuscrit sous la forme d'avancées faites dans le domaine

Deleterious alleles and differential viability in progeny of natural hemiclonal frogs.

Abstract.-Spontaneous deleterious mutations are expected to accumulate through Muller's ratchet in clonally reproducing organisms and may lead to their extinction. We study deleterious mutations and their effects in a system of European frogs. Rana esculenta (RL), natural hybrids R. ridibunda (RR) X R. lessonae (LL), reproduce hemiclonally; both sexes exclude the L genome in the germ line and produce unrecombined R gametes; hybridity is restored each generation by matings of RL with coexisting LL. Different allozyme-defined hybrid hemiclones (R genome haplotypes) are thought to have originated independently from primary hybridizations RR x LL. Natural matings between two hybrids usually lead to inviable RR tadpoles. This inviability is thought to result from unmasked deleterious alleles on the clonally transmitted R genomes. Most simply it reflects homozygosity for recessive deleterious alleles at particular loci; alternatively (consistent with absence of RR adults in multiclonal populations) it may reflect hemiclone-specific sets of incompletely recessive deleterious mutations that cumulatively cause inviability when two such genomes are combined. If inviability results from the former, progeny of two hybrids of different hemiclones, whether allopatric or coexisting, should be viable, because it is improbable that their R genomes share recessive deleterious alleles at the same set of loci; if inviability results from the latter, progeny of hybrids of different hemiclones should be inviable, especially when hybrid lineages are old. We tested these hypotheses in artificial crosses, using frogs from three regions: hemiclonal hybrids outside R. ridibunda's range from northern Switzerland (two abundant coexisting allozyme-defined hemiclones; estimated lineage age or = 25,000 generations) and R. ridibunda from Poland. We generated RR progeny, which we reared under benign conditions in the laboratory, by crossing (1) two hybrids from the same region (H x H local); (2) two hybrids from different regions (H X H foreign); (3) hybrids and R. ridibunda (H X R); and (4) two R. ridibunda (R X R). Survival to metamorphosis was similar and high for R x R, H X H foreign, and H X R, whereas all tadpoles of H X H local died before metamorphosis. This supports the hypothesis that homozygosity for recessive deleterious mutations at particular loci causes inviability. Crosses within and between the two coexisting hemiclones from Switzerland were, however, equally inviable. This result may reflect episodic sexual recombination in RR progeny from exceptional successful interclonal hybrid X hybrid matings, followed by matings of such RR with LL. This process would both slow down or halt Muller's ratchet and disrupt genetic independence of coexisting hemiclones, so that the same remaining deleterious R alleles could exist in different allozyme-defined hemiclones. Whereas all data are consistent with the prediction of Muller's ratchet operating on clonally transmitted R genomes of natural hybrid lineages, they are insufficient to demonstrate such operation, because deleterious recessives that mutated after clone formation and those that preexisted in the R. ridibunda source populations that formed the hemiclonal lineages are not distinguished. The possibility of episodic sexual recombination must be carefully taken into account when studying Muller's ratchet in natural populations of this Rana system

Management of hyperglycaemia during parenteral nutrition

peer reviewe

The PsyCoLaus study: methodology and characteristics of the sample of a population-based survey on psychiatric disorders and their association with genetic and cardiovascular risk factors.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The Psychiatric arm of the population-based CoLaus study (PsyCoLaus) is designed to: 1) establish the prevalence of threshold and subthreshold psychiatric syndromes in the 35 to 66 year-old population of the city of Lausanne (Switzerland); 2) test the validity of postulated definitions for subthreshold mood and anxiety syndromes; 3) determine the associations between psychiatric disorders, personality traits and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), 4) identify genetic variants that can modify the risk for psychiatric disorders and determine whether genetic risk factors are shared between psychiatric disorders and CVD. This paper presents the method as well as somatic and sociodemographic characteristics of the sample. METHODS: All 35 to 66 year-old persons previously selected for the population-based CoLaus survey on risk factors for CVD were asked to participate in a substudy assessing psychiatric conditions. This investigation included the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies to elicit diagnostic criteria for threshold disorders according to DSM-IV and algorithmically defined subthreshold syndromes. Complementary information was gathered on potential risk and protective factors for psychiatric disorders, migraine and on the morbidity of first-degree family members, whereas the collection of DNA and plasma samples was part of the original somatic study (CoLaus). RESULTS: A total of 3,691 individuals completed the psychiatric evaluation (67% participation). The gender distribution of the sample did not differ significantly from that of the general population in the same age range. Although the youngest 5-year band of the cohort was underrepresented and the oldest 5-year band overrepresented, participants of PsyCoLaus and individuals who refused to participate revealed comparable scores on the General Health Questionnaire, a self-rating instrument completed at the somatic exam. CONCLUSIONS: Despite limitations resulting from the relatively low participation in the context of a comprehensive and time-consuming investigation, the PsyCoLaus study should significantly contribute to the current understanding of psychiatric disorders and comorbid somatic conditions by: 1) establishing the clinical relevance of specific psychiatric syndromes below the DSM-IV threshold; 2) determining comorbidity between risk factors for CVD and psychiatric disorders; 3) assessing genetic variants associated with common psychiatric disorders and 4) identifying DNA markers shared between CVD and psychiatric disorders

Capture and return of sexual genomes by hybridogenetic frogs provide clonal genome enrichment in a sexual species.

Hybridogenesis is a reproductive tool for sexual parasitism. Hybridogenetic hybrids use gametes from their sexual host for their own reproduction, but sexual species gain no benefit from such matings as their genome is later eliminated. Here, we examine the presence of sexual parasitism in water frogs through crossing experiments and genome-wide data. We specifically focus on the famous Central-European populations where Pelophylax esculentus males (hybrids of P. ridibundus and P. lessonae) live with P. ridibundus. We identified a system where the hybrids commonly produce two types of clonal gametes (hybrid amphispermy). The haploid lessonae genome is clonally inherited from generation to generation and assures the maintenance of hybrids through a process, in which lessonae sperm fertilize P. ridibundus eggs. The haploid ridibundus genome in hybrids received from P. ridibundus a generation ago, is perpetuated as clonal ridibundus sperm and used to fertilize P. ridibundus eggs, yielding female P. ridibundus progeny. These results imply animal reproduction in which hybridogenetic taxa are not only sexual parasites, but also participate in the formation of a sexual taxon in a remarkable way. This occurs through a process by which sexual gametes are being captured, converted to clones, and returned to sexual populations in one generation

Multimodal imaging of retinal pigment epithelial detachments in patients with C3 glomerulopathy: case report and review of the literature.

To describe the optical coherence tomography angiograhy (OCTA) of drusenoid pigment epithelial detachments (PEDs) in a woman affected by Complement 3 (C3) glomerulopathy, which represents a spectrum of glomerular diseases characterized on fluorescent microscopy by C3 accumulation with absent, or scanty, immunoglobulin deposits. It is due to acquired or genetically defective alternative pathway control and is generally associated with drusen-like deposits in Bruch's membrane, as well as choriocapillaris. These retinal lesions can be associated with choroidal neovascularization and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). OCTA is useful to detect neovascularization without injecting a contrast product, particularly in these patients who may have renal insufficiency. A 28-year-old woman affected by C3 glomerulpathy was diagnosed with asymptomatic multiple bilateral PEDs during a routine ophthalmologic consultation. To better characterize the lesions, multimodal imaging was performed and included: optic coherence tomography (OCT), en-face OCT, OCTA, fluorescence and indocyanine angiography. The OCTA clearly identified vascular network rarefaction with decreased choriocapillary vascularization. It confirmed that PEDs associated with C3 glomerulonephritis are not vascularized, but rather of serous type. Patients affected by C3 glomerulopathy can develop neovascular membranes as retinal complications of pigment epithelial detachments. Optical coherence angiography may be indicated to identify this complication, without injecting any contrast product that could produce further kidney damage

CAPNOCYTOPHAGA CANIMORSUS ENDOPHTHALMITIS AFTER CATARACT SURGERY LINKED TO SALIVARY DOG-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION.

To describe a case of acute postoperative bacterial endophthalmitis because of Capnocytophaga canimorsus after cataract surgery, with probable contamination through salivary droplets of dog two days after the procedure. An 83-year-old woman who underwent uncomplicated cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation, presented 12 days later with acute pain, redness, and vision loss in her left eye. Visual acuity was hand motion and clinical findings suggested the diagnosis of acute postoperative endophthalmitis. The patient underwent diagnostic vitrectomy, intravitreal ceftazidime/vancomycin injection and received oral moxifloxacin (400 mg/day). Two days later, she underwent complete pars-plana vitrectomy because of the absence of clinical improvement. Vitreous samples showed gram-negative bacterium on direct examination but cultures remained sterile, which prompted the realization of a broad-range bacterial polymerase chain reaction analysis. Polymerase chain reaction on the vitreous sample detected C. canimorsus, a fastidious gram-negative bacterium of the oral canine flora. When asked for recent contact with dogs, the patient reported having proceeded to an intensive tooth care session for her dog at postoperative Day 2. Intravenous ceftriaxone (2 g/day) was added to the treatment. Anterior and posterior segment inflammation slowly resolved, and final visual acuity was 20/160. Although very rare, this complication suggests that patients undergoing ocular surgery should avoid contact with salivary secretions of pets during the early postoperative period. Diagnostic broad-range bacterial polymerase chain reaction is useful to detect unconventional or slow-growing agents in vitreous samples