Distribution patterns and indicator species of butterfly assemblages of wet meadows in southern Belgium

Focal species are a valuable tool for proposing and evaluating management practices for biodiversity conservation. Assemblages of indicator species could be used to cover a wide range of habitats. We identified the main patterns of variation in butterfly assemblages on a diverse set of wet meadows in southern Belgium. We used multivariate techniques to identify the butterfly assemblages and the species that characterize these habitats. Three main assemblages were identified, based principally on the dominance of five butterfly species : Brenthis ino, Closiana selene, Lycaena helle, Lycaena hippothoe and Proclossiana eunomia. These are indicator species of different habitats structured along a vegetation gradient. This gradient is partially determined by altitude and edaphic factors (base-richness, pH, fertility). We assume that focusing the conservation practices upon these species will promote the preservation of a wide range of organisms inhabiting the wet meadows

Répartition spatiale et dynamique de populations de rhopalocères des prairies humides du plateau des Tailles

Doctorat en sciences naturelles appliquées - UCL, 199

Use of paracetamol during pregnancy and child neurological development

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) remains the first line for the treatment of pain and fever in pregnancy. Recently published epidemiological studies suggested a possible association between paracetamol exposure in utero and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder/hyperkinetic disorder (ADHD/HKD) or adverse development issues in children. However, the effects observed are in the weak to moderate range, and limitations in the studies' design prevent inference on a causal association with ADHD/HKD or child neurological development. In parallel, recent animal data showed that cognition and behaviour may be altered following exposure to therapeutic doses of paracetamol during early development. These effects may be mediated by interference of paracetamol with brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotransmitter systems (including serotonergic, dopaminergic, adrenergic, as well as the endogenous endocannabinoid systems), or cyclooxygenase-2. However, no firm conclusion can be made on the relevance of these observations to humans. We conclude that additional well-designed cohort studies are necessary to confirm or disprove the association. In the context of current knowledge, paracetamol is still to be considered safe in pregnancy and should remain the first-line treatment for pain and fever.SCOPUS: re.jSCOPUS: re.jFLWINinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Estimation of habitat quality based on plant community, and effects of isolation in a network of butterfly habitat patches

Minimum viable site networks are crucial for many threatened species but their design is always a difficult procedure. The present study investigated methods to estimate habitat quality of patches, in an ecological network for five butterfly species (Brenthis ino, Clossiana selene, Lycaena helle, Lycaena hippothoe, Proclossiana eunomia) inhabiting wet meadows. Abundance predictions were performed on the basis of botanical relevés with a multiple-species approach combining canonical correspondence analysis and multiple regression. Models are defined on a reference site set and are evaluated on a test site set. All the fitted models predicted the abundance of the butterfly species considerably well (from 61 to 86% of the variation). We evaluated the potential consequences of isolation on local populations, by comparing predicted and observed abundance. It was expected that greater differences would be observed when sites were more isolated. On the test set, differences between predicted and observed abundance were largely correlated to site isolation for L. helle and P. eunomia. The most isolated sites had greater chances to be empty, even if they had high-quality habitat. Reciprocally, when the sites were less isolated, the abundance observed was always greater than predicted, seeming to confirm the role of rescue effects. © 2003 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved

Use and misuse of prescription stimulants by university students: a cross-sectional survey in the french-speaking community of Belgium, 2018.

Misuse of prescription stimulants (PS) has been reported among students to enhance academic performance in Flanders (Belgium). However, PS misuse among students in the French-speaking community is unknown. The main purpose of the study was to estimate the prevalence of medical use and misuse of PS by university students in the French-speaking community (Belgium), and to investigate the reasons and sources associated with PS misuse.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe