Understanding earwig phenology in top fruit orchards

Earwigs, Forficula auricularia, are key generalist predators to a variety of orchard pests. However, numbers of earwigs have declined in both organic and IPM orchards in recent years. Both Integrated and Organic fruit growers have tried to re-establish earwig populations, thus far with little success. To understand earwig population dynamics and to find measures to increase natural orchard populations, we conducted a detailed phenological survey of earwigs in orchards. Earwigs were sampled while sheltering during daytime in artificial refuges. They move into the trees from the third nymph stage onwards. In most orchards, a small second brood is produced in summer, and this has a positive impact on population size in fall. We see only minor differences in phenology between apple and pear orchards, mainly caused by differences in alternative hiding places. Earwigs show an inexplicable reduction in numbers at the timing of moulting into adults. When earwig phenology is correlated with pest phenology in apple and pear, its use for pest control of major pests is clear

Functional Expression of AQP3 in Human Skin Epidermis and Reconstructed Epidermis

The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of aquaporin water channels in human skin and to assess their functional role. On western blots of human epidermis obtained from plastic surgery, a strong signal was obtained with polyclonal anti-aquaporin-3 antibodies. By indirect immunofluorescence on 5 µm cryosections, anti-aquaporin-3 antibodies strongly stained keratinocyte plasma membranes in human epidermis, whereas no staining was observed in the dermis or the stratum corneum or when anti-aquaporin-3 antibodies were preabsorbed with the peptide used for immunization. Similarly, a strong signal with anti-aquaporin-3 antibodies was observed in keratinocyte plasma membranes of reconstructed human epidermis in culture at the air–liquid interface for up to 3 wk. The keratinocyte plasma membrane localization of aquaporin-3 was confirmed at the electron microscope level in prickle cells. In addition an intracellular localization of aquaporin-3 was also detected in epidermis basal cells. Osmotically induced transepidermal water permeability was measured on stripped human skin and on reconstructed epidermis. Water transport across both stripped human skin and 2–3 wk reconstructed epidermis was comparable, inhibited by > 50% by 1 mM HgCl2 and fully inhibited by acid pH. By stopped-flow light scattering, keratinocyte plasma membranes, where aquaporin-3 is localized, exhibited a high, pH-sensitive, water permeability. Although human skin is highly impermeable to water, this is primarily accounted for by the stratum corneum, where a steep water content gradient was demonstrated. In contrast, the water content of viable strata of the epidermis is remarkably constant. Our results suggest that the human epidermis, below the stratum corneum, exhibits a high, aquaporin-3-mediated, water permeability. We propose that the role of aquaporin-3 is to water-clamp viable layers of the epidermis in order to improve the hydration of the epidermis below the stratum corneum

Status of the light ion source developments at CEA/Saclay

ACC NIMInternational audienceSILHI (High Intensity Light Ion Source) is an ECR ion source producing high intensity proton ordeuteron beams at 95 keV. It is now installed in the IPHI site building, on the CEA/Saclay center. IPHI is a frontend demonstrator of high power accelerator. The source regularly delivers more than 130 mA protons in CWmode and already produced more than 170 mA deuterons in pulsed mode at nominal energy. The last beamcharacterisations, including emittance measurements, space charge compensation analysis and diagnosticimprovements, will be reported. Taking into account the SILHI experience, new developments are in progress tobuild and test a 5 mA deuteron source working in CW mode. This new source will also operate at 2.45 GHz andpermanent magnets will provide the magnetic configuration. This source, of which the design will be discussed,will have to fit in with the SPIRAL 2 accelerator developed at GANIL to produce Radioactive Ion Beams. TheH- test stand status is briefly presented here and detailed in companion papers.This work is partly supported by the European Commission under contract n°: HPRI-CT-2001-50021

L'émotion véhiculée par le langage au service de l'apprentissage de l'orthographe

International audienceDes enfants scolarisés du CE1 au CM2 lisent et écoutent des histoires positives, négatives ou neutres se terminant par un pseudo-mot. Ils sont soumis après la présentation de toutes les histoires à une tâche de reconnaissance orthographique du pseudo-mot. Les résultats montrent un effet bénéfique de la valence émotionnelle dès le CE2 pour l'une ou l'autre des valences et généralisé aux deux valences au CM2. Cet effet est expliqué d'une part par la libération de ressources attentionnelles permise par l'automatisation des procédures de lecture et d'autre part par la mobilisation du système affectif et une plus grande richesse relative des représentations lexicales des mots chargés émotionnellement

Association of macro-level determinants with adolescent overweight and suicidal ideation with planning: A cross-sectional study of 21 Latin American and Caribbean Countries.

BackgroundAdolescents and young people (10-24 years old) in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region represent approximately 25% of the region's population. Since the 2008 global economic crisis, the pace of reduction in poverty and income inequality in the LAC region has stalled. The region is characterised by high levels of inequities and is also vulnerable to many natural disasters. Food systems are changing with increased availability and marketing of packaged and fast foods and sugar-sweetened drinks. Adolescence is a formative phase of the life course with multiple physical, emotional and social changes which can make them vulnerable to health problems. We assess the potential impact of macro-determinants, human and economic development as well as income inequality, on 2 top-ranking regional priorities for adolescent nutrition and mental health, using measures of overweight and suicidal ideation and planning which some have shown to be associated.Methods and findingsThe Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) is a nationally representative self-administered, school-based survey. We examined overweight/obesity and suicidal ideation with planning by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita or human development index (HDI) in 10-19-year-old adolescents from 21 LAC countries between 2009 and 2013. Sample sizes varied from 943 in Anguilla to 27,988 in Argentina. A total of 55,295 adolescents had a measure of overweight/obesity status, and 59,061 adolescents reported about suicidal ideation with planning. There was equal representation by sex in the surveys (52% girls and 48% boys). A total of 28.8% of boys and 28.1% of girls had overweight/obesity, and 7.5% of boys and 17.5% of girls reported suicidal ideation with planning over the last 12 months. Adjusted for individual socioeconomic and risk behaviours, and relative to the highest GDP per capita tertile, the middle tertile was associated with 42% (95% confidence interval (CI) 59% to 17%, p = 0.003) and 32% (95% CI 60% to 5%, p = 0.023), and the lowest tertile with 40% (95% CI 55% to 19%, p = 0.001) and 46% (95% CI 59% to 29%, p ConclusionsThis study shows that economic and human development were positively associated with adolescent overweight/obesity but not with suicidal ideation with planning. We also observed an interconnectedness between overweight/obesity and suicide ideation with planning among girls. These findings highlight the importance of strategies that engage with both upstream and downstream determinants to improve adolescent nutrition and mental health