Diversity and composition of island insects of Bejaia region (Algeria)

The study was conducted on four islands located west of Bejaia (north-eastern Algeria) to collect baseline information about diversity and composition of insects. Data were collected during summer and spring of 2015 using traps, sweep nets and the Japanese umbrella sampling methods. A total of 1691 individuals belonging to 112 species were collected. Totals of 72, 56, 41 and 34 species were recorded in Pisans Island, El Euch Island, Sahel Islet and Ail Islet, respectively. Of the 1,691 individuals recorded, 39.85 %, 30.51 %, 18.03 % and 11.59 % were recorded in Pisans Island, El Euch Island, Sahel Islet and Ail Islet, respectively. Shannon-Weaver index ranged from 2.96 to 3.34 and Equitability between 0.77 and 0.87. The composition of the insect community differed between sampled islands (NMDS, Stress =. 0.013). Eleven (11) insect species composed over 50 % of dissimilarity between islands. Two species (Cassida viridis (L.) and Pheidole pallidula (Nyl.) accounted for more than 5 % of the diversity on all islands. Sorensen's similarity coefficient showed that Pisans and El Euch islands have the highest similarity (45.37 %), while the lowest similarity was recorded between Pisans Island and Sahel Islet (15.53 %)

Thoracic sarcopenia as a predictive factor of SARS-COV2 evolution

Purpose: Evaluation of CT sarcopenia as a predictor of intensive care hospitalization during SARS-COV2 infection.Materials and methods: Single-center retrospective study of patients admitted to hospital with SARS-COV2 infection. The estimation of muscle mass (skeletal muscle index (SMI)) for sarcopenia, measure-ment of muscle density for muscle quality and body adiposity, were based on CT views on the T4 and L3 levels measured at admission. Demographic data, percentage of pulmonary parenchymal involvement as well as the orientation of patients during hospitalization and the risk of hospitalization in intensive care were collected.Results: A total of 162 patients hospitalized for SARS-COV2 infection were included (92 men and 70 women, with an average age of 64.6 years and an average BMI of 27.4). The muscle area measured at the level of L3 was significantly associated with the patient's unfavorable evolution (124.4cm2 [97; 147] vs 141.5 cm2 [108; 173]) (p 1/4 0.007), as was a lowered SMI (p < 0.001) and the muscle area measured in T4 (OR 1/4 0.98 [0.97; 0.99]), (p 1/4 0.026). Finally, an abdominal visceral fat area measured at the level of L3 was also associated with a risk of hospitalization in intensive care (249.4cm2 [173; 313] vs 147.5cm2 [93.1; 228] (p < 0.001).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that thoracic and abdominal sarcopenia are independently asso-ciated with an increased risk of hospitalization in an intensive care unit, suggesting the need to assess sarcopenia on admission during SARS-COV2 infection