Rock fall photogrammetric monitoring in the active crater of Piton de la Fournaise volcano, la Reunion Island

International audienceThe collapse of the active crater at Piton de la Fournaise volcano, La Reunion Island, 5th April 2007, offers a rare opportunity to observe frequent rock fall and granular landslides, and test new monitoring techniques. Events concern volumes ranging from single blocks to more massive cliff collapse. The purpose of the presentation is two fold: first, we present a comparison between a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained prior to crater collapse and a DTM extracted from aerial photographs shot in October 2010 (before the eruptive crisis of November 2009 and January 2010). This provides an assessment of morphological changes at the scale of the crater. The second purpose is to describe slope instabilities on the south-western flank of the crater observed since October 2009. These ground-based observations were obtained from a pair of photogrammetric stations deployed along the northern and eastern edges of the crater. These works were conducted within UNDERVOLC project. With this monitoring system we mapped zones affected by rockfalls (departure and accumulation areas) and propose a first estimate of volumes of lava produced by the eruption affecting the inside of the crater since January 2

Botany, Genetics and Ethnobotany: A Crossed Investigation on the Elusive Tapir's Diet in French Guiana

While the populations of large herbivores are being depleted in many tropical rainforests, the importance of their trophic role in the ecological functioning and biodiversity of these ecosystems is still not well evaluated. This is due to the outstanding plant diversity that they feed upon and the inherent difficulties involved in observing their elusive behaviour. Classically, the diet of elusive tropical herbivores is studied through the observation of browsing signs and macroscopic analysis of faeces or stomach contents. In this study, we illustrate that the original coupling of classic methods with genetic and ethnobotanical approaches yields information both about the diet diversity, the foraging modalities and the potential impact on vegetation of the largest terrestrial mammal of Amazonia, the lowland tapir. The study was conducted in the Guianan shield, where the ecology of tapirs has been less investigated. We identified 92 new species, 51 new genera and 13 new families of plants eaten by tapirs. We discuss the relative contribution of our different approaches, notably the contribution of genetic barcoding, used for the first time to investigate the diet of a large tropical mammal, and how local traditional ecological knowledge is accredited and valuable for research on the ecology of elusive animals

Remote ischemic conditioning: from experimental observation to clinical application: report from the 8th Biennial Hatter Cardiovascular Institute Workshop

In 1993, Przyklenk and colleagues made the intriguing experimental observation that 'brief ischemia in one vascular bed also protects remote, virgin myocardium from subsequent sustained coronary artery occlusion' and that this effect '.... may be mediated by factor(s) activated, produced, or transported throughout the heart during brief ischemia/reperfusion'. This seminal study laid the foundation for the discovery of 'remote ischemic conditioning' (RIC), a phenomenon in which the heart is protected from the detrimental effects of acute ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), by applying cycles of brief ischemia and reperfusion to an organ or tissue remote from the heart. The concept of RIC quickly evolved to extend beyond the heart, encompassing inter-organ protection against acute IRI. The crucial discovery that the protective RIC stimulus could be applied non-invasively, by simply inflating and deflating a blood pressure cuff placed on the upper arm to induce cycles of brief ischemia and reperfusion, has facilitated the translation of RIC into the clinical setting. Despite intensive investigation over the last 20 years, the underlying mechanisms continue to elude researchers. In the 8th Biennial Hatter Cardiovascular Institute Workshop, recent developments in the field of RIC were discussed with a focus on new insights into the underlying mechanisms, the diversity of non-cardiac protection, new clinical applications, and large outcome studies. The scientific advances made in this field of research highlight the journey that RIC has made from being an intriguing experimental observation to a clinical application with patient benefit

Estimates of density and sustainable harvest of the lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris in the Amazon of French Guiana using a Bayesian spatially explicit capture\textendashrecapture model

Abstract The Amazonian moist forest, which covers most of French Guiana, is one of the core habitats for the lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris . Tapirs are hunted in French Guiana, although a law introduced in 2011 restricts hunting to one animal per person per hunting trip. We carried out camera-trap surveys in the Nouragues Nature Reserve for 4 years, with the goal of estimating tapir densities in undisturbed conditions and determining sustainable harvest levels for tapirs in French Guiana. We analysed our data with a Bayesian spatially explicit capture–recapture model, with parameter sharing across surveys to improve estimates, and used the model to calculate derived parameters such as maximum sustainable harvest levels. Density estimates for all four surveys were similar and the model indicated a difference in encounter rates for the two camera models used but no difference in encounter rates or home range sizes for males and females or between years. Based on the calculated density of 0.32 tapir km −2 we estimated sustainable harvest levels at 0.009 tapir km −2 . Comparing this value to hunting surveys from 11 sites between 1999 and 2006, we found that hunting levels were unsustainable in at least seven villages. We conclude that even the new restrictive hunting law will not prevent overhunting of tapirs in certain areas and thus stronger regulations are needed. However, because of the remoteness of tapir habitat in many parts of French Guiana tapirs are not immediately threatened in the country as a whole

Morphological criteria to identify faecal pellets of sympatric ungulates in West African savanna and estimates of associated error

Les études indirectes peuvent compléter de façon intéressante les comptages directs classiquement utilisés pour le suivi des populations d'ongulés et pour mieux appréhender la structure et le fonctionnement des riches communautés d'ongulés des savanes africaines. Toutefois, dans les cas où plusieurs espèces coexistent, l'identification de leurs crottes peut s'avérer difficile. Cette étude propose des critères simples pour distinguer sur le terrain les crottes de dix espèces d'ongulés d'Afrique de l'Ouest. Les moyennes de différentes mesures sur les tas de crottes ont été analysées à l'aide d'une analyse discriminante afin d'identifier les meilleurs critères de distinction entre les espèces. Le diamètre moyen ainsi que la profondeur moyenne de la cupule des crottes d'un même tas, respectivement associés au premier et au second axe discriminants, se sont révélées les meilleures variables pour séparer les espèces. Les tas de crottes de six espèces parmi les dix étudiées ont pu être identifiées avec une faible erreur de classification. Néanmoins, aucun critère morphologique simple n'a pu être identifié pour distinguer les crottes du bubale de celles du damalisque, et les crottes du guib harnaché de celles du rédunca. Une fois que les tas de crottes sont identifiés, leur densité et leur distribution spatiale peuvent fournir une information intéressante sur l'utilisation de l'espace et des habitats par des espèces sympatriques pour des périodes données. (Résumé d'auteur

ON THE USE OF NON-FLUORESCENT DYE- LABELLED LIGANDS IN FRET-BASED RECEPTOR BINDING STUDIES

The efficiency of Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is dependent upon donor-acceptor proximity and spectral overlap, whether the acceptor partner is fluorescent or not. We report here on the design, synthesis and characterization of two novel pirenzepine derivatives that were coupled to Patent Blue VF and Pinacyanol dyes. These non-fluorescent compounds, when added to cells stably expressing EGFP-fused muscarinic M1 receptors, promote EGFP fluorescence extinction in a time-, concentration-, and atropine-dependent manner. They display nanomolar affinity for the muscarinic receptor, when determined using either FRET or classical radioligand binding conditions. We provide evidence that these compounds behave as potent acceptors of energy from excited EGFP, with quenching efficiencies comparable to those of analogous fluorescent Bodipy- or Rhodamine Red- pirenzepine derivatives. The advantages they offer over fluorescent ligands are illustrated and discussed in terms of reliability,sensitivity and wider applicability of FRET-based receptor binding assays

Data from: Unveiling the diet of elusive rainforest herbivores in next generation sequencing era? The tapir as a case study

Characterizing the trophic relationships between large herbivores and the outstanding plant diversity in rainforest is a major challenge because of their elusiveness. This is crucial to understand the role of these herbivores in the functioning of the rainforest ecosystems. We tested a non-invasive approach based on the high-throughput sequencing of environmental samples using small plant plastid sequences (the trnL P6 loop) and ribosomal ITS1 primers, referred to as DNA metabarcoding, to investigate the diet of the largest neotropical herbivore, the lowland tapir. Sequencing was performed on plant DNA extracted from tapir faeces collected at the Nouragues station, a protected area of French Guiana. In spite of a limited sampling, our approach reliably provided information about the lowland tapir's diet at this site. Indeed, 95.1% and 74.4% of the plant families and genera identified thanks to the trnL P6 loop, respectively, matched with taxa already known to be consumed by tapirs. With this approach we were able to show that two families and eight new genera are also consumed by the lowland tapir. The taxonomic resolution of this method is limited to the plant family and genera. Complementary barcodes, such as a small portion of ITS1, can be used to efficiently narrow identifications down to the species in some problematic families. We will discuss the remaining limitations of this approach and how useful it is at this stage to unravel the diet of elusive rainforest herbivores and better understand their role as engineers of the ecosystem

Modifications in Rat Plasma Proteome after Remote Ischemic Preconditioning (RIPC) Stimulus: Identification by a SELDI-TOF-MS Approach

<div><p>Remote ischemic preconditioning’s (RIPC) ability to render the myocardium resistant to subsequent prolonged ischemia is now clearly established in different species, including humans. Strong evidence suggests that circulating humoral mediators play a key role in signal transduction, but their identities still need to be established. Our study sought to identify potential circulating RIPC mediators using a proteomic approach. Rats were exposed to 10-min limb ischemia followed by 5- (RIPC 5′) or 10-min (RIPC 10′) reperfusion prior to blood sampling. The control group only underwent blood sampling. Plasma samples were isolated for proteomic analysis using surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization - time of flight - mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). A total of seven proteins, including haptoglobin and transthyretin, were detected as up- or down-regulated in response to RIPC. These proteins had previously been identified as associated with organ protection, anti-inflammation, and various cellular and molecular responses to ischemia. In conclusion, this study indicates that RIPC results in significant modulations of plasma proteome.</p></div

tapir_itsSap_uniq

This fasta file presents the number of occurrences of each sequence (the first internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) of nuclear ribosomal DNA, for the Sapotaceae ) in the different faecal samples from tapirs.The sequences have been generated by the Illumina technology (Illumina/Solexa Genome Analyzer IIx).The sequences are sorted starting with the most repeated ones among all the samples. Data collection: Fabrice Hibert, Pierre Taberlet, Jérôme Chave, Caroline Scotti-Saintagne, Daniel Sabatier , Cécile Richard-Hansen Contact author: Fabrice Hibert ([email protected]

tapir_gh_uniq

This file presents the number of occurrences of each sequence (the trnL P6 loop) in the different faecal samples from tapirs.The sequences have been generated by the Illumina technology (Illumina/Solexa Genome Analyzer IIx).The sequences are sorted starting with the most repeated ones among all the samples. Data collection: Fabrice Hibert, Pierre Taberlet, Jérôme Chave, Caroline Scotti-Saintagne, Daniel Sabatier , Cécile Richard-Hansen Contact author: Fabrice Hibert ([email protected]