Assessing the impact of beach nourishment on the intertidal food web through the development of a mechanistic-envelope model

1. Beach nourishment, the placement of sand onto a sediment-starved stretch of coast, is widely applied as a soft coastal protection measure because of its reduced ecological impact relative to hard coastal protection. In order to predict effects on the intertidal sandy beach ecosystem, we developed a simulation model that integrates species envelope-based projections for the dominant macrobenthos species and mechanistic food web modules for higher trophic levels. 2. Species envelopes were estimated by using Bayesian inference of species’ biomass relationships according to the three determining abiotic variables: intertidal elevation, median grain size and total organic matter, obtained from multiple sampling campaigns along the Belgian coast. Maximum potential abundance of higher trophic levels represented by birds, shrimp and flatfish were estimated based on their derived trophic relationship with macrobenthos. 3. After validation, we demonstrated that unlike nourishment slope, sediment grain size strongly determines beach-level species richness and production, with strong deterioration in species richness after nourishment with coarse sediment (>300 lm). Patterns for higher trophic levels do not follow the changes in macrobenthos abundance and biomass. 4. Synthesis and applications. The optimal grain size range for nourishment of fine-grained beaches is 200–300 lm. This modelling approach shows that the impact assessment of beach nourishment needs to include the evaluation of different species richness and biomass variables. Focusing solely on the potential abundance of species from higher trophic levels might lead to deceptive conclusions due to the dominance of opportunistic prey species

Report of the CMC BIBFRAME Task Force to the Board of the Music Library Association

The BIBFRAME Task Force was established by the MLA Board of Directors in October 2014 for a two­-year period with the following charge: ● Provide a voice for the music library community in the formation and testing of the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME) ● Test the BIBFRAME schema and the LC MARC­to­BIBFRAME converter with regards to how they handle music materials, including scores and sound recordings ● Provide feedback to LC and Zepheira on particular areas of interest for music, such as medium of performance, genre, preferred titles and name­title authorities ● Identify a means for continually monitoring, evaluating and testing BIBFRAME implementations ● Make recommendations regarding how MLA can best communicate BIBFRAME development to the MLA community and voice responses to BIBFRAME development ● Test BIBFRAME implementations for particular areas of music resources ● Monitor training opportunities in which music librarians could participate and share information about such opportunities This report represents the collective experience of the task force produced after 15 months of inquiry, experimentation and discussion. Information in this report is current as of December 15, 2015. General findings and recommendations are followed by findings and recommendations on specific topics

Microarray-Based Transcriptomic Analysis of Differences between Long-Term Gregarious and Solitarious Desert Locusts

Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) show an extreme form of phenotypic plasticity and can transform between a cryptic solitarious phase and a swarming gregarious phase. The two phases differ extensively in behavior, morphology and physiology but very little is known about the molecular basis of these differences. We used our recently generated Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) database derived from S. gregaria central nervous system (CNS) to design oligonucleotide microarrays and compare the expression of thousands of genes in the CNS of long-term gregarious and solitarious adult desert locusts. This identified 214 differentially expressed genes, of which 40% have been annotated to date. These include genes encoding proteins that are associated with CNS development and modeling, sensory perception, stress response and resistance, and fundamental cellular processes. Our microarray analysis has identified genes whose altered expression may enable locusts of either phase to deal with the different challenges they face. Genes for heat shock proteins and proteins which confer protection from infection were upregulated in gregarious locusts, which may allow them to respond to acute physiological challenges. By contrast the longer-lived solitarious locusts appear to be more strongly protected from the slowly accumulating effects of ageing by an upregulation of genes related to anti-oxidant systems, detoxification and anabolic renewal. Gregarious locusts also had a greater abundance of transcripts for proteins involved in sensory processing and in nervous system development and plasticity. Gregarious locusts live in a more complex sensory environment than solitarious locusts and may require a greater turnover of proteins involved in sensory transduction, and possibly greater neuronal plasticity

Identification de biomarqueurs de stress chronique chez les vaches laitières

Stress in dairy herds can occur from multiple sources. When stress becomes chronic because of a long duration and inability of animals to adapt, it is likely to deeply affect the emotional state, health, immunity, fertility and milk production of cows. While assessing chronic stress in herds would be beneficial, no real consensus has emerged from the literature regarding the indicators of interest. The goal of this study was to compare and evaluate potential biomarkers for chronic stress after inducing stress over a 4-week period through severe overstocking, restricted access to feed and isolated unusual events. A total of 30 cows were involved in the experiment and two similar groups were constituted. Over a 4-week period, the 15 cows of the stress group were housed in overstocked conditions, with 4.6 m2 per cow, including resting and feeding areas. In this area, only seven individual places at the feeding area were available for the 15 cows to generate competition for feed access. Twice during the trial and over a period of 2 h, an additional stress was induced by moving cows to an unfamiliar barn and diffusion of stressing noises (dog barking). Meanwhile, the 15 cows of the control group stayed in the original barn, with more than 10 m2 per cow and more individual places at the feeding area than cow number. On a weekly basis, several variables considered as potential biomarkers for chronic stress were recorded. Collected data were analysed using single trait linear repeated mixed models. No differences were observed regarding milk yield, BW of cows or body condition score but the milk loss was more pronounced in the stress group. The activity was more heterogeneous and the rumination of cows was lower in the stress group. The heart rate was lower in the stress group and showed more heterogeneity at the end of the stress period. No differences were observed regarding salivary cortisol, blood glucose, β-endorphin, thyroxine and leucocyte profile. A higher level of hair cortisol and blood fructosamine were observed in the stress group at the end of the stress period. Regarding the practical use of the highlighted biomarkers, milk loss may be an effective and easy way to detect general problems, including stress. The blood fructosamine and the hair cortisol concentrations are promising indicators to assess chronic stress in commercial farms

Physical therapy in early management of the burn patient.

Profonde ou atteignant une large surface cutanée, la brûlure engendre souvent des séquelles fonctionnelles impor- tantes. Ces séquelles se constituent précocement et ont des répercussions non négligeables sur la qualité de vie des patients. Pour les prévenir et les traiter, le kinésithérapeute est un acteur important dans leur prise en charge précoce. Il devra évaluer les fonctions respiratoires, musculaires, orthopédiques mais également cutanées. L’objectif est de définir des stratégies de traitement faisant appel à des techniques de kinésithérapie classiques adaptées à cette pathologie spécifique