Persistent Organic Pollutants in a marine bivalve on the Marennes-Oléron Bay and the Gironde Estuary (French Atlantic coast) -Part 2: Potential biological effects

International audienceContaminant effects on defence responses of ecologically and economically important organisms, such as the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, are likely to influence their ability to resist infectious diseases, particularly at the young stages. The aim of this study was to explore the potential relationships between organic contaminants accumulated in the soft tissues of juvenile oysters, defence responses and physiological condition. Oysters were transplanted during summer and winter periods in different sites in the Marennes-Oléron Bay, the first area of oyster production in France, and in the Gironde Estuary, the biggest estuary in Occidental Europe. Among the battery of biochemical and physiological biomarkers applied in the present work (superoxide dismutase -SOD-, catalase, glutathione peroxidase -GPx-, malondyaldehyde -MDA-, catecholase, laccase and lysozyme in gills, digestive gland, mantle and haemolymph, glycogen, proteins and lipids in the digestive gland and the condition index at the whole organism level), MDA and lysozyme in the digestive gland and SOD, GPx and laccase in plasma contibuted to significantly discriminate sites in which oysters bioaccumulated different levels of heavy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPAHs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) and lindane. These results strengthen the hypothesis that it is possible to differentiate sites depending on their contamination levels and biological effects by carrying out studies with transplanted juvenile oysters. In addition, correlations between antioxidant and immune defence responses and PAH and DDT body burdens in the first area of oyster production in France, the Marennes-Oléron Bay, and where massive oyster mortalities have been reported, suggest that the presence of organic chemical contaminants in the Marennes-Oléron Bay may influence defence responses in juveniles of C. gigas, and, therefore, could influence their ability to resist infectious diseases

Assessing an Academic Library’s Marketing Strategies to Promote Subject Specialists: A Mixed Methods Approach

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of an academic library’s public relations (PR) and marketing strategies designed to promote library subject specialists to undergraduate students. One of the core issues librarians face is that many students do not necessarily know what a librarian does, nor how they can help them. To remedy this problem, a group of librarians at an R1 institution collaborated with students from a PR class to devise marketing strategies so as to better reach undergraduates and promote the libraries’ subject specialists. Following this collaboration, the group implemented some of the recommended marketing strategies, and assessed whether these methods would resonate with students and/or change their perceptions of librarians. For the purpose of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration, the researchers used a mixed methods approach, believing that combining elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches through distributed surveys and focus groups, would help them to better understand the effectiveness of library marketing and PR strategies to promote subject specialists

Carrying on in a Pandemic: The Case of the Florida Digital Humanities Consortium (FLDH)

For this poster, we propose to highlight how the Florida Digital Humanities Consortium (FLDH) used the virtual environment necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic to reinvent itself through the creation of new content and outreach opportunities. FLDH is a collective of 16 institutions in the State of Florida that seeks to highlight the digital scholarship done statewide, while creating networking possibilities. In March 2020, FLDH planned to host its second annual conference at Flagler College in St. Augustine. However, like so many others, we had to cancel the conference and come up with a new plan. What followed is actually the will to reinvent FLDH. First, we will discuss the creation of the FLDH Webinar Series and the Short Interviews Series. Keeping in mind the goal to highlight the work done statewide (and beyond), we offered participants the opportunity to present their work via a webinar or short interview. Not only did it give a space for participants to discuss their work but it served to make FLDH known beyond Florida. Moreover, the pandemic motivated us to reconsider the structure and function of the Consortium. We realized we needed more involvement from our Executive Council and general membership. The poster will therefore also highlight four newly formed standing committees that will work to prepare for next year’s conference, develop more educational opportunities for members, and boost our communication

Team Up: Collaborating with Public Relations Students to Promote Library Subject Specialists

Learn about the successes and challenges experienced by the University of Florida Libraries when they became a client for a public relations campaigns course, and tasked students with developing a campaign that focused on not the physical library space, but on the role of librarians as a valuable student resource

Subcellular localization of microcystin in the liver and the gonads of medaka fish acutely exposed to microcystin-LR

International audienceAmong the diverse toxic components produced by cyanobacteria, microcystins (MCs) are one of the most toxic and notorious cyanotoxin groups. Besides their potent hepatotoxicity, MCs have been revealed to induce potential reproductive toxicity in various animal studies. However, little is still known regarding the distribution of MCs in the reproductive organ, which could directly affect reproductive cells. In order to respond to this question, an acute study was conducted in adult medaka fish (model animal) gavaged with 10 μg.g −1 body weight of pure MC-LR. The histological and immunohistochemical examinations reveal an intense distribution of MC-LR within hepatocytes along with a severe liver lesion in the toxin-treated female and male fish. Besides being accumulated in the hepatocytes, MC-LR was also found in the connective tissue of the ovary and the testis, as well as in oocytes and degenerative spermatocyte-like structures but not spermatocytes. Both liver and gonad play important roles in the reproductive process of oviparous vertebrates. This observation constitutes the first observation of the presence of MC-LR in reproductive cells (female, oocytes) of a vertebrate model with in vivo study. Our results, which provide intracellular localization of MC-LR in the gonad, advance our understanding of the potential reproductive toxicity of MC-LR in fish

Cadmium accumulation and interactions with zinc, copper, and manganese, analysed by ICP-MS in a long-term Caco-2 TC7 cell model

The influence of long-term exposure to cadmium (Cd) on essential minerals was investigated using a Caco-2 TC7 cells and a multi-analytical tool: microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Intracellular levels, effects on cadmium accumulation, distribution, and reference concentration ranges of the following elements were determined: Na, Mg, Ca, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, and Cd. Results showed that Caco-2 TC7 cells incubated long-term with cadmium concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 lmol Cd/l for 5 weeks exhibited a significant increase in cadmium accumulation. Furthermore, this accumulation was more marked in cells exposed long-term to cadmium compared with controls, and that this exposure resulted in a significant accumulation of copper and zinc but not of the other elements measured. Interactions of Cd with three elements: zinc, copper, and manganese were particularly studied. Exposed to 30 lmol/l of the element, manganese showed the highest inhibition and copper the lowest on cadmium intracellular accumulation but Zn, Cu, and Mn behave differently in terms of their mutual competition with Cd. Indeed, increasing cadmium in the culture medium resulted in a gradual and significant increase in the accumulation of zinc. There was a significant decrease in manganese from 5 lmol Cd/l exposure, and no variation was observed with copper. Abbreviation: AAS – Atomic absorption spectrometry; CRM– Certified reference material; PBS – Phosphate buffered saline without calcium and magnesium; DMEM – Dubelcco’s modified Eagle’s medium

Construire des pratiques participatives dans les bibliothèques

Participer et faire participer les citoyens, les publics ? Qui participe, comment et jusqu’où ? Que devient le professionnel avec ce nouveau paradigme ? Comment emporter l’adhésion des habitants ? De plus en plus de bibliothèques s’engagent activement dans la participation, selon des modalités et des niveaux d’implication variés. Cette mutation des pratiques renouvelle les réflexions engagées autour des publics : ne plus seulement mettre les publics au centre du cercle mais créer les conditions pour les accompagner à dessiner ce cercle. Empowerment, co-construction, crowdsourcing, savoirs partagés, participation démocratique… cet ouvrage permet de clarifier les notions attachées aux dynamiques participatives et propose un cadre de réflexion qui permettra aux bibliothécaires de construire leurs modes d’action entre PirateBox, BiblioRemix, comités d’usagers, design de service et autres formes de projets participatifs. Organisé en trois parties - Repenser la bibliothèque ensemble, Partager les savoirs, Décider ensemble ? – ce volume présente également un ensemble de témoignages de praticiens du sujet, en France et aux États-Unis, de la préfiguration d’une bibliothèque à son réaménagement, en passant par la création de plateformes collaboratives et de nouveaux services. L’expérience d’un musée et l’aventure d’un centre social viennent enrichir le panorama

Development of a primary cell model derived from porcine dorsal soft palate for foot-and-mouth disease virus research and diagnosis

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that has a significant socio-economic impact. One concern associated with this disease is the ability of its etiological agent, the FMD virus (FMDV), to persist in its hosts through underlying mechanisms that remain to be elucidated. While persistence has been described in cattle and small ruminants, it is unlikely to occur in pigs. One of the factors limiting the progress in understanding FMDV persistence and, in particular, differential persistence is the lack of suitable in vitro models. A primary bovine cell model derived from the dorsal soft palate, which is the primary site of replication and persistence of FMDV in cattle, has been developed, and it seemed relevant to develop a similar porcine model. Cells from two sites of FMDV replication in pigs, namely, the dorsal soft palate and the oropharyngeal tonsils, were isolated and cultured. The epithelial character of the cells from the dorsal soft palate was then assessed by immunofluorescence. The FMDV-sensitivity of these cells was assessed after monolayer infection with FMDV O/FRA/1/2001 Clone 2.2. These cells were also grown in multilayers at the air-liquid interface to mimic a stratified epithelium susceptible to FMDV infection. Consistent with what has been shown in vivo in pigs, our study showed no evidence of persistence of FMDV in either the monolayer or multilayer model, with no infectious virus detected 28 days after infection. The development of such a model opens up new possibilities for the study and diagnosis of FMDV in porcine cells