Spatial distribution and male mating success of Anopheles gambiae swarms

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Anopheles gambiae </it>mates in flight at particular mating sites over specific landmarks known as swarm markers. The swarms are composed of males; females typically approach a swarm, and leave <it>in copula</it>. This mating aggregation looks like a lek, but appears to lack the component of female choice. To investigate the possible mechanisms promoting the evolution of swarming in this mosquito species, we looked at the variation in mating success between swarms and discussed the factors that structure it in light of the three major lekking models, known as the female preference model, the hotspot model, and the hotshot model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found substantial variation in swarm size and in mating success between swarms. A strong correlation between swarm size and mating success was observed, and consistent with the hotspot model of lek formation, the <it>per capita </it>mating success of individual males did not increase with swarm size. For the spatial distribution of swarms, our results revealed that some display sites were more attractive to both males and females and that females were more attracted to large swarms. While the swarm markers we recognize help us in localizing swarms, they did not account for the variation in swarm size or in the swarm mating success, suggesting that mosquitoes probably are attracted to these markers, but also perceive and respond to other aspects of the swarming site.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Characterizing the mating system of a species helps understand how this species has evolved and how selective pressures operate on male and female traits. The current study looked at male mating success of <it>An. gambiae </it>and discussed possible factors that account for its variation. We found that swarms of <it>An. gambiae </it>conform to the hotspot model of lek formation. But because swarms may lack the female choice component, we propose that the <it>An. gambiae </it>mating system is a lek-like system that incorporates characteristics pertaining to other mating systems such as scramble mating competition.</p

Action observation training for rehabilitation in brain injuries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background : To systematically review and analyse the effects of Action Observation Training on adults and children with brain damage. Methods : Seven electronic databases (Cochrane, EBSCO, Embase, Eric, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) were searched up to 16 September 2018 to select Randomized Controlled Trials focused on adults and children with brain damage that included AOT training on upper and/or lower limb carried out for at least 1 week. Identification of studies and data extraction was conducted with two reviewers working independently. Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine (March2009) – Levels of Evidence and Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale were used to grade studies. The data collected from the articles were analysed using software R, version 3.4.3. Hedge’s g values were calculated and effect size estimates were pooled across studies. Separate meta-analyses were carried out for each ICF domain (i.e. body function and activity) for upper and lower limb. Results : Out of the 210 records identified after removing duplicates, 22 were selected for systematic review and 19 were included in the meta-analysis. Thirteen studies included in the meta-analysis focused on upper limb rehabilitation (4 in children and 9 in adults) and 6 on lower limb rehabilitation (only studies in adults). A total of 626 patients were included in the meta-analysis. An overall statistically significant effect size was found for upper limb body function (0.44, 95% CI: [0.24, 0.64], p<0.001) and upper limb activity domain (0.47, 95% CI: [0.30, 0.64], p<0.001). For lower limb, only the activity domain was analysed, revealing a statistically significant overall effect size (0.56, 95% CI: [0.28, 0.84], p<0.001). Conclusions : Action Observation Training (AOT) is an innovative rehabilitation tool for individuals with brain damage, which shows promising results in improving the activity domain for upper and lower limbs, and also the body function domain for the upper limb. However, the examined studies lack uniformity and further well-designed, larger controlled trials are necessary to determine the most suitable type of AOT particularly in childre

Pemphigus vulgaire et maladie de Kaposi. A propos d'un nouveau cas. [Pemphigus vulgaris and Kaposi sarcoma. Report of a new case (author's transl)]

The occurrence of a Kaposi sarcoma during the course of a therapy for a pemphigus vulgaris is reported. Only five such associations have been previously described in the literature. On the other hand, several works have reported simultaneous occurrence of a Kaposi sarcoma with anomalies of the immune or lymphoid systems (lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, Waldenstrom disease, mycosis fongoides. Hypothesis concerning the Kaposi sarcoma genesis can be suggested on the basis of these observations and remain to be confirmed