Editorial comment.

International audienceThe city of Toliara, located in the southwest of Madagascar, is frequently subjected to hurricane hazards and floods from the Fiherenana river. Risks are the result of the conjunction of hazard and vulnerabilities. Hazard is mainly what is studied and studies relating to the vulnerability are more recent and exceptional ; research combining hazard and vulnerability is even more so. This study seeks to assess the vulnerability of the population of Toliara using a twin quantitative and qualitative approach, focusing on the 2013 Haruna flood. First, we evaluate the degree of vulnerability of homes from flooding using a vulnerability index which is the arrangement of several static criteria (potential water depth, flow rate, architectural typology of the buildings) from CREACH et al. (2015). Secondly, the qualitative dimension of the local population response capacity have been assessed with a survey.La ville de Toliara dans le sud-ouest malgache, est soumise à des inondations catastrophiques récurrentes par le fleuve Fiherenana en lien en général avec le passage de cyclones. Les dégâts majeurs occasionnés à chaque inondation malgré la digue censée protéger la ville, nécessitent une meilleure compréhension du risque. Les risques résultant de la conjonction d'un aléa et de vulnérabilités, nous proposons ici de réfléchir à une méthodologie pour caractériser la vulnérabilité des populations et du territoire à ce risque. L'analyse des facteurs de vulnérabilité associe des mesures quantitatives de l'exposition des éléments aux inondations et des mesures qualitatives de la capacité de réponse des individus ou des groupes exposés, en nous basant sur la dernière inondation de 2013 liée au cyclone Haruna. Les mesures quantitatives de l'exposition des éléments aux inondations s'appuient sur la création d'un indice de vulnérabilité à partir de plusieurs critères statiques. Les mesures qualitatives de la capacité de réponse des individus ou des groupes exposés aux sinistres utilisent une enquête de terrain

Méthode d’analyse de la vulnérabilité aux inondations à Toliara (sud-ouest Madagascar)

International audienceThe city of Toliara, located in the southwest of Madagascar, is frequently subjected to hurricane hazards and floods from the Fiherenana river. Risks are the result of the conjunction of hazard and vulnerabilities. Hazard is mainly what is studied and studies relating to the vulnerability are more recent and exceptional ; research combining hazard and vulnerability is even more so.This study seeks to assess the vulnerability of the population of Toliara using a twin quantitative and qualitative approach, focusing on the 2013 Haruna flood. First, we evaluate the degree of vulnerability of homes from flooding using a vulnerability index which is the arrangement of several static criteria (potential water depth, flow rate, architectural typology of the buildings) from CREACH et al.(2015). Secondly, the qualitative dimension of the local population response capacity have been assessed witha survey.La ville de Toliara dans le sud-ouest malgache, est soumise à des inondations catastrophiques récurrentes par le fleuve Fiherenana en lien en général avec le passage de cyclones. Les dégâts majeurs occasionnés à chaque inondation malgré la digue censée protéger la ville, nécessitent une meilleure compréhension du risque. Les risques résultant de la conjonction d’un aléa et de vulnérabilités, nous proposons ici de réfléchir à une méthodologie pour caractériser la vulnérabilité des populations et du territoire à ce risque.L’analyse des facteurs de vulnérabilité associe des mesures quantitatives de l’exposition des éléments aux inondations et des mesures qualitatives de la capacité de réponse des individus ou des groupes exposés, en nous basant sur la dernière inondation de 2013 liée au cyclone Haruna. Les mesures quantitatives de l’exposition des éléments aux inondations s’appuient sur la création d’un indice de vulnérabilité à partir de plusieurs critèresstatiques. Les mesures qualitatives de la capacité de réponse des individus ou des groupes exposés aux sinistres utilisent une enquête de terrain.</p

Downregulation of Elovl5 promotes breast cancer metastasis through a lipid-droplet accumulation-mediated induction of TGF-β receptors

Abstract Metastatic breast cancer cannot be cured, and alteration of fatty acid metabolism contributes to tumor progression and metastasis. Here, we were interested in the elongation of very long-chain fatty acids protein 5 (Elovl5) in breast cancer. We observed that breast cancer tumors had a lower expression of Elovl5 than normal breast tissues. Furthermore, low expression of Elovl5 is associated with a worse prognosis in ER + breast cancer patients. In accordance with this finding, decrease of Elovl5 expression was more pronounced in ER + breast tumors from patients with metastases in lymph nodes. Although downregulation of Elovl5 expression limited breast cancer cell proliferation and cancer progression, suppression of Elovl5 promoted EMT, cell invasion and lung metastases in murine breast cancer models. The loss of Elovl5 expression induced upregulation of TGF-β receptors mediated by a lipid-droplet accumulation-dependent Smad2 acetylation. As expected, inhibition of TGF-β receptors restored proliferation and dampened invasion in low Elovl5 expressing cancer cells. Interestingly, the abolition of lipid-droplet formation by inhibition of diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity reversed induction of TGF-β receptors, cell invasion, and lung metastasis triggered by Elovl5 knockdown. Altogether, we showed that Elovl5 is involved in metastasis through lipid droplets-regulated TGF-β receptor expression and is a predictive biomarker of metastatic ER + breast cancer

Downregulation of Elovl5 promotes breast cancer metastasis through a lipid-droplet accumulation-mediated induction of TGF-β receptors

Abstract Metastatic breast cancer cannot be cured, and alteration of fatty acid metabolism contributes to tumor progression and metastasis. Here, we were interested in the elongation of very long-chain fatty acids protein 5 (Elovl5) in breast cancer. We observed that breast cancer tumors had a lower expression of Elovl5 than normal breast tissues. Furthermore, low expression of Elovl5 is associated with a worse prognosis in ER + breast cancer patients. In accordance with this finding, decrease of Elovl5 expression was more pronounced in ER + breast tumors from patients with metastases in lymph nodes. Although downregulation of Elovl5 expression limited breast cancer cell proliferation and cancer progression, suppression of Elovl5 promoted EMT, cell invasion and lung metastases in murine breast cancer models. The loss of Elovl5 expression induced upregulation of TGF-β receptors mediated by a lipid-droplet accumulation-dependent Smad2 acetylation. As expected, inhibition of TGF-β receptors restored proliferation and dampened invasion in low Elovl5 expressing cancer cells. Interestingly, the abolition of lipid-droplet formation by inhibition of diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity reversed induction of TGF-β receptors, cell invasion, and lung metastasis triggered by Elovl5 knockdown. Altogether, we showed that Elovl5 is involved in metastasis through lipid droplets-regulated TGF-β receptor expression and is a predictive biomarker of metastatic ER + breast cancer