Le thon : enjeux et stratégies pour l'océan Indien

L'étude de la faune associée aux thonidés s'appuie sur l'embarquement d'observateurs scientifiques à bord des thoniers senneurs français et espagnols. C'est la distance entre une espèce pélagique et le banc de thons (inférieure à 650 m) qui définit si l'espèce est associée ou non au banc de thon. Les associations d'une espèce donnée avec les thonidés sont fortement liées aux types de bancs. L'analyse porte sur 432 calées. Les espèces associées aux bancs libres et aux animaux sont les plus gros albacores et patudos (de poids supérieur à 30 kg), les diodons et les exocets et les voiliers ; les espèces essentiellement associées aux objets naturels flottants sont les petits albacores et patudos (de poids inférieur à 10 kg) les marlins, les petits thonidés, les requins soyeux, les balistes, les coryphènes, les élagatis. Les objets flottants artificiels retiennent d'importantes quantités de kyphosidés et de wahoos, de requins océaniques et d'espadons. Les bancs libres se rencontrent dans le canal de Mozambique et à l'est des Seychelles. L'association avec les animaux est prépondérante au sud des Seychelles, les épaves naturelles dans la zone à l'ouest des Seychelles, les épaves artificielles dans la zone nord équatoriale et à l'est des Seychelles. (Résumé d'auteur

Tmprss3 loss of function impairs cochlear inner hair cell Kcnma1 channel membrane expression

Before acquiring their mature state, cochlear hair cells undergo a series of changes in expression of ion channels. How this complex mechanism is achieved is not fully understood. Tmprss3, a type II serine protease expressed in hair cells, is required for their proper functioning at the onset of hearing. To unravel the role of Tmprss3 in the acquisition of mature K+ currents, we compared their function by patch-clamp technique in wild-type Tmprss3WT and Tmprss3Y260X-mutant mice. Interestingly, only outward K+ currents were altered in Tmprss3Y260X-mutant mice. To determine by which mechanism this occurred, we compared the protein network of Tmprss3WT and Tmprss3Y260X-mutant mice using proteomic analysis. This led to the identification of a pathway related to potassium Kcnma1 channels. This pathway was validated by immunohistochemistry, focusing on the most downregulated protein that was identified as a cochlear Kcnma1-associated protein, APOA1. Finally, we show that, in contrast to Tmprss3WT, Kcnma1 channels were absent at the neck of inner hair cells (IHCs) in Tmprss3Y260X-mutant mice. In conclusion, our data suggest that lack of Tmprss3 leads to a decrease in Kcnma1 potassium channels expression in (IHCs

An elliptic-parabolic equation with a nonlocal term for the transient regime of a plasma in a Stellarator

We prove the existence and the regularity of weak solutions of a nonlocal elliptic–parabolic free-boundary problem involving the notions of relative rearrangement and monotone rearrangement. The problem arises in the study of the dynamics of a magnetically confined fusion plasma in a Stellarator device when the dimensional analysis on the characteristic times suggests to neglect the inertial acceleration in presence of a time dependent magnetic field

Clinical Features and Risk Factors for Atazanavir (ATV)-Associated Urolithiasis: A Case-Control Study

International audienceObjectivesClinical features and risk factors for atazanavir (ATV)-associated urolithiasis have not been fully investigated.MethodsWe reviewed all cases of ATV-containing urolithiasis identified by infrared spectrophotometry among HIV-infected patients over a 5-year period to describe their clinical features and outcome. A case-control study was performed to identify risk factors associated with ATV-associated urolithiasis using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results30 cases of ATV-associated urolithiasis were analyzed. Patients were mostly men (87%), median age: 45.5 years, median CD4 cell count: 443 cells/µL and 97% had plasma HIV RNA level <50 cp/mL. Median time between the initiation of ATV-containing regimen and the diagnosis of urolithiasis was 3.1 years. Patients presented with flank pain in 90% and macroscopic hematuria in 82.6%, 34% had renal dysfunction and 44.8% needed ureteroscopic treatment. In univariate analysis, chronic hepatitis C, a history of urolithiasis, prior use of indinavir, ATV duration, undetectable plasma HIV RNA, use of ritonavir as a booster and serum free bilirubin level were associated with ATV-urolithiasis. Multivariate models retained serum free bilirubin level (OR: 2.31, p<0.02) and either ATV duration (OR:  = 1.42, p = <0.03) or a history of urolithiasis (OR = 4.79, p<0.02) when adjusting on serum free bilirubin level as risk factors associated with urolithiasis.ConclusionsATV-containing urolithiasis are associated with frank clinical symptoms and may require surgical intervention. A high serum bilirubin level, a long exposure to ATV and a history of urolithiasis are risk factors for this rare adverse event

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis services, provision, and delivery in the European treatment network of HIV, hepatitis and global emerging infectious diseases (NEAT ID)

Objectives: We conducted a survey to evaluate HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) practices in a European clinical research network on HIV, hepatitis, and global infectious diseases (NEAT ID). Methods: An online survey comprising 22 questions was sent via a secure electronic tool to the investigating physician of each of the 342 NEAT ID study centres across 15 European countries in November 2020. Results: In total, 50 sites from 12 countries responded (15% response rate). Most sites were in Western Europe, two were in Poland, and one was in Hungary. Of the responding sites, 45 provided PrEP services for a total of 27 416 PrEP users, with 1361 new PrEP initiators each month. These centres supplied PrEP for men who have sex with men (100%), people who inject drugs (84%), sex workers (84%), women (62%), and transgender women (31%). PrEP persistence after 1 year was >90%, 75%–90%, and 40%–75% in 17, 24, and 4 centres, respectively. In total, 32/45 (71%) centres reported strong community-based organization commitment at their site, and 15/45 (33%) centres developed task-shifting processes to deliver PrEP through nurses (11/15), pharmacists (5/15), and key-population peers (2/15). The biggest barriers to implementation of PrEP were low awareness of and knowledge about PrEP (47%), unwillingness to disclose sexual identity or at-risk behaviour (36%), and lack of administrative support (29%). Of the 45 centres, 32 (71%) have already been involved in PrEP research and 43 (96%) were interested in participating in such studies. Conclusions: The few NEAT ID centres that responded to the survey showed disparities in PrEP deployment and practices despite a common interest in participating in research in this field.</p

Monitoring leafy vegetables through packaging films with

Fresh-cut or minimally processed fruit and vegetables have been physically modified from its original form (by peeling, trimming, washing and cutting) to obtain a 100% edible product that is subsequently packaged (usually under modified atmosphere packaging –MAP) and kept in refrigerated storage. In fresh-cut products, physiological activity and microbiological spoilage, determine their deterioration and shelf-life. The major preservation techniques applied to delay spoilage are chilling storage and MAP, combined with chemical treatments antimicrobial solutions antibrowning, acidulants, antioxidants, etc.). The industry looks for safer alternatives. Consequently, the sector is asking for innovative, fast, cheap and objective techniques to evaluate the overall quality and safety of fresh-cut products in order to obtain decision tools for implementing new packaging materials and procedures. In recent years, hyperspectral imaging technique has been regarded as a tool for analyses conducted for quality evaluation of food products in research, control and industries. The hyperspectral imaging system allows integrating spectroscopic and imaging techniques to enable direct identification of different components or quality characteristics and their spatial distribution in the tested sample. The objective of this work is to develop hyperspectral image processing methods for the supervision through plastic films of changes related to quality deterioration in packed readyto-use leafy vegetables during shelf life. The evolutions of ready-to-use spinach and watercress samples covered with three different common transparent plastic films were studied. Samples were stored at 4 ºC during the monitoring period (until 21 days). More than 60 hyperspectral images (from 400 to 1000 nm) per species were analyzed using ad hoc routines and commercial toolboxes of MatLab®. Besides common spectral treatments for removing additive and multiplicative effects, additional correction, previously to any other correction, was performed in the images of leaves in order to avoid the modification in their spectra due to the presence of the plastic transparent film. Findings from this study suggest that the developed images analysis system is able to deal with the effects caused in the images by the presence of plastic films in the supervision of shelf-life in leafy vegetables, in which different stages of quality has been identified