Abundance and Occurrence of Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Three Estuaries of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Current abundance estimates for populations of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu, 1821) in bays, sounds, and estuaries are lacking throughout most of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, including areas of Texas and western Louisiana. To address this issue, we conducted 92 small-boat photographic identification surveys covering ~2000 km2 and comprising ~11,000 km of track-line in winter and summer seasons in West Bay, TX (2014 – 2015, n = 25), the Galveston Bay, TX system (2016, n = 50), Sabine Lake, TX (2017, n = 17), and adjacent coastal waters. Individual dolphin encounter histories were constrained by spatiotemporal parameters to approximately represent 1) a “Bay” estimate of individuals limited to the interior of each embayment, and 2) a “Selective” estimate of the number of individuals in each survey area (including nearshore coastal waters), filtered for potential transient dolphins. Using the Selective dataset, estimated dolphins (95% CI) were (winter and summer, respectively) 38 (29 – 47) and 37 (33 – 40) for West Bay, 842 (694 – 990) and 1132 (846 – 1417) for Galveston Bay, and 122 (73 – 170) and 162 (114 – 210) for Sabine Lake. A range of 4-15% of marked individuals in each study area were identified as inter-bay matches. These results provide new insights on the potential spatial range of each population, update previous abundance estimates for West Bay and Galveston Bay, and contribute novel population information for Sabine Lake and adjacent coastal waters of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Improving the forward kinematics of cable-driven parallel robots through cable angle sensors

This paper presents a sensor fusion method that aims at improving the accuracy of cable-driven planar parallel mechanisms (CDPMs) and simplifying the kinematic resolution. While the end-effector pose of the CDPM is usually obtained with the cable lengths, the proposed method combines the cable length measurement with the cable angle by using a data fusion algorithm. This allows for a resolution based on the loop closure equations and a weighted least squares method. The paper first presents the resolution of the forward kinematics for planar parallel mechanisms using cable angle only. Then, the proposed sensor fusion scheme is detailed. Finally, an experiment comparing the different procedures for obtaining the pose of the CDPM is carried out, in order to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed fusion method

The Impact of Experimental Pain on Shoulder Movement During an Arm Elevated Reaching Task in a Virtual Reality Environment

Background: People with chronic shoulder pain have been shown to present with motor adaptations during arm movements. These adaptations may create abnormal physical stress on shoulder tendons and muscles. However, how and why these adaptations develop from the acute stage of pain is still not well-understood. Objective: To investigate motor adaptations following acute experimental shoulder pain during upper limb reaching. Methods: Forty participants were assigned to the Control or Pain group. They completed a task consisting of reaching targets in a virtual reality environment at three time points: (1) baseline (both groups pain-free), (2) experimental phase (Pain group experiencing acute shoulder pain induced by injecting hypertonic saline into subacromial space), and (3) Post experimental phase (both groups pain-free). Electromyographic (EMG) activity, kinematics, and performance data were collected. Results: The Pain group showed altered movement planning and execution as shown by a significant increased delay to reach muscles EMG peak and a loss of accuracy, compared to controls that have decreased their mean delay to reach muscles peak and improved their movement speed through the phases. The Pain group also showed protective kinematic adaptations using less shoulder elevation and elbow flexion, which persisted when they no longer felt the experimental pain. Conclusion: Acute experimental pain altered movement planning and execution, which affected task performance. Kinematic data also suggest that such adaptations may persist over time, which could explain those observed in chronic pain populations

Genomics and metagenomics of trimethylamine-utilizing Archaea in the human gut microbiome

International audienceThe biological significance of Archaea in the human gut microbiota is largely unclear. We recently reported genomic and biochemical analyses of the Methanomassiliicoccales, a novel order of methanogenic Archaea dwelling in soil and the animal digestive tract. We now show that these Methanomassiliicoccales are present in published microbiome data sets from eight countries. They are represented by five Operational Taxonomic Units present in at least four cohorts and phylogenetically distributed into two clades. Genes for utilizing trimethylamine (TMA), a bacterial precursor to an atherosclerogenic human metabolite, were present in four of the six novel Methanomassiliicoccales genomes assembled from ELDERMET metagenomes. In addition to increased microbiota TMA production capacity in long-term residential care subjects, abundance of TMA-utilizing Methanomassiliicoccales correlated positively with bacterial gene count for TMA production and negatively with fecal TMA concentrations. The two large Methanomassiliicoccales clades have opposite correlations with host health status in the ELDERMET cohort and putative distinct genomic signatures for gut adaptation

Immunomodulatory Effects of Streptococcus suis Capsule Type on Human Dendritic Cell Responses, Phagocytosis and Intracellular Survival

Streptococcus suis is a major porcine pathogen of significant commercial importance worldwide and an emerging zoonotic pathogen of humans. Given the important sentinel role of mucosal dendritic cells and their importance in induction of T cell responses we investigated the effect of different S. suis serotype strains and an isogenic capsule mutant of serotype 2 on the maturation, activation and expression of IL-10, IL-12p70 and TNF-α in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Additionally, we compared phagocytosis levels and bacterial survival after internalization. The capsule of serotype 2, the most common serotype associated with infection in humans and pigs, was highly anti-phagocytic and modulated the IL-10/IL-12 and IL-10/TNF-α cytokine production in favor of a more anti-inflammatory profile compared to other serotypes. This may have consequences for the induction of effective immunity to S. suis serotype 2 in humans. A shielding effect of the capsule on innate Toll-like receptor signaling was also demonstrated. Furthermore, we showed that 24 h after phagocytosis, significant numbers of viable intracellular S. suis were still present intracellularly. This may contribute to the dissemination of S. suis in the body

A framework for the development of a global standardised marine taxon reference image database (SMarTaR-ID) to support image-based analyses

Video and image data are regularly used in the field of benthic ecology to document biodiversity. However, their use is subject to a number of challenges, principally the identification of taxa within the images without associated physical specimens. The challenge of applying traditional taxonomic keys to the identification of fauna from images has led to the development of personal, group, or institution level reference image catalogues of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) or morphospecies. Lack of standardisation among these reference catalogues has led to problems with observer bias and the inability to combine datasets across studies. In addition, lack of a common reference standard is stifling efforts in the application of artificial intelligence to taxon identification. Using the North Atlantic deep sea as a case study, we propose a database structure to facilitate standardisation of morphospecies image catalogues between research groups and support future use in multiple front-end applications. We also propose a framework for coordination of international efforts to develop reference guides for the identification of marine species from images. The proposed structure maps to the Darwin Core standard to allow integration with existing databases. We suggest a management framework where high-level taxonomic groups are curated by a regional team, consisting of both end users and taxonomic experts. We identify a mechanism by which overall quality of data within a common reference guide could be raised over the next decade. Finally, we discuss the role of a common reference standard in advancing marine ecology and supporting sustainable use of this ecosystem