La politique forestière du Parc naturel régional des Alpilles : protéger la forêt et promouvoir la gestion.

Cet article est le texte de l'intervention faite par l'auteur, lors du séminaire organisé en novembre 2006 par Forêt Méditerranéenne sur le thème : « La forêt méditerranéenne : un atout pour le développement des territoires, zones périurbaines et littorales » à Trets

Acute Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis among Febrile Patients, Cameroon

Although potential arthropod vectors are abundant in Cameroon, acute febrile illnesses are rarely evaluated for arboviral or rickettsial infections. Serum samples from 234 acutely febrile patients at clinics in Tiko and Buea, Cameroon, were examined for antibodies to Rickettsia africae and African alphaviruses and flaviviruses. These serum samples did not contain antibodies against typhoid, and blood malarial parasites were not detected. Serum samples of 32% contained immunoglobulin M antibodies reactive with R. africae by immunofluorescence assay and were reactive with outer membrane proteins A and B of R. africae by immunoblotting. These findings established a diagnosis of acute rickettsiosis, most likely African tick-bite fever. Hemagglutination inhibition testing of the serum samples also detected antibodies to Chikungunya virus (47%) and flaviviruses (47%). High prevalence of antibodies to arboviruses may represent a major, previously unrecognized public health problem in an area where endemic malaria and typhoid fever have been the principal diagnostic considerations

Nearshore Monitoring with X-Band Radar: Maximising Utility in Dynamic and Complex Environments

Coastal management and engineering applications require data that quantify the nature and magnitude of changes in nearshore bathymetry. However, bathymetric surveys are usually infrequent due to high costs and complex logistics. This study demonstrates that ground‐based X‐band radar offers a cost‐effective means to monitor nearshore changes at relatively high frequency and over large areas. A new data quality and processing framework was developed to reduce uncertainties in the estimates of radar‐derived bathymetry and tested using data from an 18‐month installation at Thorpeness (UK). In addition to data calibration and validation, two new elements are integrated to reduce the influence of data scatter and outliers: (a) an automated selection of periods of ‘good data’ and (b) the application of a depth‐memory stabilisation. For conditions when the wave height is >1 m, the accuracy of the radar‐derived depths is shown to be ±0.5 m (95% confidence interval) at 40x40 m spatial resolution. At Thorpeness, radar‐derived bathymetry changes exceeding this error were observed at timescales ranging from three weeks to six months. These data enabled quantification of changes in nearshore sediment volume at frequencies and spatial cover that would be difficult and/or expensive to obtain by other methods. It is shown that the volume of nearshore sediment movement occurring at timescale as short as few weeks are comparable with the annual longshore transport rates reported in this area. The use of radar can provide an early warning of changes in offshore bathymetry likely to impact vulnerable coastal locations

Reperfusion therapy for ST elevation acute myocardial infarction in Europe: description of the current situation in 30 countries

Aims Patient access to reperfusion therapy and the use of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (p-PCI) or thrombolysis (TL) varies considerably between European countries. The aim of this study was to obtain a realistic contemporary picture of how patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) are treated in different European countries. Methods and results The chairpersons of the national working groups/societies of interventional cardiology in European countries and selected experts known to be involved in the national registries joined the writing group upon invitation. Data were collected about the country and any existing national STEMI or PCI registries, about STEMI epidemiology, and treatment in each given country and about PCI and p-PCI centres and procedures in each country. Results from the national and/or regional registries in 30 countries were included in this analysis. The annual incidence of hospital admission for any acute myocardial infarction (AMI) varied between 90–312/100 thousand/year, the incidence of STEMI alone ranging from 44 to 142. Primary PCI was the dominant reperfusion strategy in 16 countries and TL in 8 countries. The use of a p-PCI strategy varied between 5 and 92% (of all STEMI patients) and the use of TL between 0 and 55%. Any reperfusion treatment (p-PCI or TL) was used in 37–93% of STEMI patients. Significantly less reperfusion therapy was used in those countries where TL was the dominant strategy. The number of p-PCI procedures per million per year varied among countries between 20 and 970. The mean population served by a single p-PCI centre varied between 0.3 and 7.4 million inhabitants. In those countries offering p-PCI services to the majority of their STEMI patients, this population varied between 0.3 and 1.1 million per centre. In-hospital mortality of all consecutive STEMI patients varied between 4.2 and 13.5%, for patients treated by TL between 3.5 and 14% and for patients treated by p-PCI between 2.7 and 8%. The time reported from symptom onset to the first medical contact (FMC) varied between 60 and 210 min, FMC-needle time for TL between 30 and 110 min, and FMC-balloon time for p-PCI between 60 and 177 min. Conclusion Most North, West, and Central European countries used p-PCI for the majority of their STEMI patients. The lack of organized p-PCI networks was associated with fewer patients overall receiving some form of reperfusion therapy

The annual reproduction cycle in adult carp in Poland : ovarian state and serum gonadotropin level

International audienceIn environmental conditions in Poland, new vitellogenesis began in carp just after the spawning seascn. This phase was correlated with the maintenance of a high serum, gonadotropin level, which decreased and remained low when the temperature was also low ; oogenesis remained blocked at the stage attained before the drop in temperature and gonadotropin level. The rise of temperature in May increased GTH and ovarian responsiveness to hypophysation treatment. Although pituitary function seemed normal in some fish, there was no spawning even after hypophysation treatment. Resorbing oocytes were present during the whole year, and a minimum rate of GTH secretion would be necessary to prevent massive resorption. Animals were ready for a new reproduction cycle right after spawning ; this could not be achieved with the environmental conditions in Poland, namely the temperature. Existence of a limit temperature is discussed

Zooplankton community structure in a highly turbid environment (Charente estuary, France): Spatio-temporal patterns and environmental control

Zooplankton assemblages were studied from January 2007 to January 2008 along the salinity gradient of the Charente estuary (France). A Lagrangian survey was performed monthly at five sampling stations defined by salinity (freshwater, 0.5, 5, 15 and 25) in order to collect zooplankton and measure the main environmental parameters (concentrations of suspended particulate matter, particulate organic carbon, chlorophyll a and phaeopigments). A combination of multivariate cluster analysis, species indicator index and canonical correspondence analysis was used to relate the spatio-temporal patterns of the zooplankton assemblages with environmental drivers. The estuary was divided into three different zones by means of environmental parameters while four zooplankton assemblages were identified along the salinity gradient. The Charente estuary appeared as one of the most turbid systems in Europe, with suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration reaching 3.5 g l-1 in the Maximum Turbidity Zone (MTZ). Algal heterotrophy and microphytobenthos resuspension from the wide mudflats could be responsible for the relatively high chlorophyll a concentrations measured within this MTZ. Salinity and SPM affected significantly the spatial distribution of zooplankton species while temperature and river flow seemed to control their temporal variations. From a zooplanktonic viewpoint, the highly turbid Charente estuary seemed to match an "ecotone-ecocline" model: the succession of species assemblages along the salinity gradient matched the concept of ecocline while the MTZ, which is a stressful narrow area, could be considered as an ecotone. Although such ecoclinal characteristics seemed to be a general feature of estuarine biocenoses, the ecotone could be more system-specific and biological compartment-specific. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Triploid lime is more tolerant to HLB than diploid lime because specific physiological and anatomical traits associated to better detoxification processes

International audienceConsidered a major issue in citrus growing, Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as Citrus Greening or yellow dragon disease, is a citrus bacterial disease. This disease is caused by the bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter spp that is spread by Diaphorina citri, also called citrus psylla. This stinging insect allows a rapid spread of tree disease trees by feeding on the leaf petiole. In the short term, the HLB causes a decline and the death of trees. In Brazil and Florida, the disease affects several million trees and thou-sands of hectares have had to be torn down. This disease affects the entire Caribbean basin including Guadeloupe and Martinique. After the bite leading to HLB infection, the reaction of the plant will result in the synthesis of callose in the pores of the phloem sieve cells thus leading to a stop of elaborated sap flow. Today, there is no pure resistance to HLB within the Citrus genus. However, the Tahiti limer (natu-ral triploid variety, 3x) is much less affected by the disease (Gomez, 2008), other diploid varieties (2x) being very sensitive. Our study was to decipher the potential traits of tolerance to HLB related to poly-ploidy. Diploid (2x, Citrus aurantiifolia) and triploid (3x, Citrus latifolia) limes grafted onto diploid citru-melo 4475 (Citrus paradisi × Poncirus trifoliata) rootstocks were investigated when naturally infected by HLB or infected by grafting. The plant physiology, the anatomy, of leaf petiole were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscope to observe callose deposition at sieve plate of the phloem, as well leaf starch content and detoxification enzyme activities in 2x and 3x leaves were investigated. The results of these experiments seem to show that 3x are more tolerant than 2x