Bonobo Conservation as a means for Local Development: an Innovative Local Initiative of Community-based Conservation in the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo

International audienceThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ranks fifth in the world in terms of biodiversity (fauna and flora) and first for mammal diversity in Africa. There are numerous endemic species including bolobos (Pan paniscus). Bolobos are endangered, threatened mainly by deforestation, poaching and diseases, and the current population is estimated from 15,000 to 50,000 individuals. Nowadays, one national park (Salonga National Park) and six reserves exist for wild bolobo conservation, representing about 73,000 km2 of protected areas over an estimated distribution area of 565,000 km2. In the Bolobo Territory, an original local project of bolobo conservation was initiated in 2001 by the Congolese NGO Mbou-Mon-Tour (MMT). From 2008 to 2013, we studied bolobo-habitat-human interactions in this forest-savanna mosaic habitat, totalizing 12 months of survey over six periods. Besides eco-ethological studies, an ethnoecological approach was developed in order to better understand how the MMT project emerged and how it has evolved. We performed semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and informal discussions with local people. We also used grey literature associated to the region. MMT use the bolobo conservation as a means to reach local development goals, which is the opposite of what is frequent in the “community-based conservation” project managed by environmental NGOs. The location of the community forests and the rules established for regulating activities in these forests were decided by the villagers under the organization of traditional chiefs according to their knowledge on bolobo ecology and range, and the disturbance they perceived of the traditional activities in the forest. Such a process is a novel and promising approach for wildlife conservation that maintains the place of local people and traditional authorities in the decision-making process and the governance

PS1424 The CRAB score: a simple prognostic tool in multiple myeloma

Background: Current prognostic scoring systems in multiple myeloma lack consensus and are often clinically impractical. The key diagnostic features known as CRAB; hypercalcaemia (C), renal impairment (R), anaemia (A), and bone lesions (B), are known to represent end organ damage in myeloma. Aims: We aimed to produce a simplified and practical prognostic tool for use in multiple myeloma patients as an alternative to current practice, therefore enabling prognostic guidance to be distributed to a wider group of patients. Since the laboratory tests required to calculate CRAB score are routinely undertaken in clinical practice, we proposed a method of predicting outcome based on these results alone, which has not yet been reported. Methods: We examined a combined database of clinical and survival information for 314 patients from Brighton and Worthing, Sussex, UK, over a 6 year period, who were newly diagnosed with myeloma, and represent real-world clinical experience. To determine the presence of a CRAB feature, the cut-off values previously defined by the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) were used; serum calcium >2·75 mmol/L, serum creatinine >177 μmol/L, haemoglobin 20 g/L below lower limit of normal), and one or more osteolytic lesion on skeletal radiography, CT, PET-CT or MRI. Patients were stratified into five CRAB score groups by having either 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 CRAB features at initial presentation, with a score of 0 denoting a diagnosis of smouldering myeloma. We then studied the relationship between CRAB score and overall survival using Kaplan Meier curves plotted by the statistics programme SPSS. Results: Our analysis reveals that each additional CRAB feature confers a stepwise statistically significant poorer outcome in terms of overall survival as shown in Figure 1a. This result was regardless of the treatment regimen the patient received and gave 5-year survival percentages of 81%, 58%, 41%, 22% and 0% for patients with CRAB scores 0–4 respectively. We also found CRAB score to have coherence with the current International Staging System (ISS) scoring system, which combines serum albumin as a measure of general patient health with β2-microglobulin as a measure of tumour bulk to estimate risk. Cytogenetic data required for the revised ISS score was not undertaken for the majority of patients, highlighting the lack of feasibility of this system in practice, although we did observe higher CRAB scores for those patients identified with poor risk chromosomal abnormalities. A trend for higher ISS score with higher CRAB score was observed, further validating the CRAB scoring system (figure 1b). Image Summary/Conclusion: Our study shows that the CRAB score yields accurate prognostic predictions for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma based on simple clinical criteria. It has more prognostic categories than the currently used ISS score (5 versus 3) and superior clinical utility than expensive and time-consuming cytogenetic-based scoring systems that have been recently described. These results indicate that the CRAB score may provide a useful and reliable tool to guide prognostic evaluation in newly diagnosed myeloma patients, requiring only routine laboratory testing to be undertaken, and therefore greater availability to patients in diverse clinical settings

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in savanna landscapes.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are the only great apes that inhabit hot, dry, and open savannas. We review the environmental pressures of savannas on chimpanzees, such as food and water scarcity, and the evidence for chimpanzees' behavioral responses to these landscapes. In our analysis, savannas were generally associated with low chimpanzee population densities and large home ranges. In addition, thermoregulatory behaviors that likely reduce hyperthermia risk, such as cave use, were frequently observed in the hottest and driest savanna landscapes. We hypothesize that such responses are evidence of a "savanna landscape effect" in chimpanzees and offer pathways for future research to understand its evolutionary processes and mechanisms. We conclude by discussing the significance of research on savanna chimpanzees to modeling the evolution of early hominin traits and informing conservation programs for these endangered apes

Fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and idarubicin with gemtuzumab ozogamicin improves event-free survival in younger patients with newly diagnosed aml and overall survival in patients with npm1 and flt3 mutations

Purpose To determine the optimal induction chemotherapy regimen for younger adults with newly diagnosed AML without known adverse risk cytogenetics. Patients and Methods One thousand thirty-three patients were randomly assigned to intensified (fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and idarubicin [FLAG-Ida]) or standard (daunorubicin and Ara-C [DA]) induction chemotherapy, with one or two doses of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO). The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Results There was no difference in remission rate after two courses between FLAG-Ida + GO and DA + GO (complete remission [CR] + CR with incomplete hematologic recovery 93% v 91%) or in day 60 mortality (4.3% v 4.6%). There was no difference in OS (66% v 63%; P = .41); however, the risk of relapse was lower with FLAG-Ida + GO (24% v 41%; P < .001) and 3-year event-free survival was higher (57% v 45%; P < .001). In patients with an NPM1 mutation (30%), 3-year OS was significantly higher with FLAG-Ida + GO (82% v 64%; P = .005). NPM1 measurable residual disease (MRD) clearance was also greater, with 88% versus 77% becoming MRD-negative in peripheral blood after cycle 2 (P = .02). Three-year OS was also higher in patients with a FLT3 mutation (64% v 54%; P = .047). Fewer transplants were performed in patients receiving FLAG-Ida + GO (238 v 278; P = .02). There was no difference in outcome according to the number of GO doses, although NPM1 MRD clearance was higher with two doses in the DA arm. Patients with core binding factor AML treated with DA and one dose of GO had a 3-year OS of 96% with no survival benefit from FLAG-Ida + GO. Conclusion Overall, FLAG-Ida + GO significantly reduced relapse without improving OS. However, exploratory analyses show that patients with NPM1 and FLT3 mutations had substantial improvements in OS. By contrast, in patients with core binding factor AML, outcomes were excellent with DA + GO with no FLAG-Ida benefit

A Case of Fulminant Hepatitis due to Echovirus 9 in a Patient on Maintenance Rituximab Therapy for Follicular Lymphoma

Rituximab is a CD20 monoclonal antibody commonly used in the treatment of haematological malignancies. It causes lymphopenia with subsequent compromised humoral immunity resulting in an increased risk of infection. A number of infections and viral reactivations have been described as complicating Rituximab therapy. We report an apparently unique case of echovirus 9 (an enterovirus) infection causing an acute hepatitis and significant morbidity in an adult patient on maintenance treatment of Rituximab for follicular lymphoma. We also describe potential missed opportunities to employ more robust screening for viral infections which may have prevented delays in the appropriate treatment and thus may have altered the patient’s clinical course. We also make suggestions for lowering the threshold of viral testing in similar patients in the future

Bonobo Conservation as a means for Local Development: an Innovative Local Initiative of Community-based Conservation in the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo

International audienceThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ranks fifth in the world in terms of biodiversity (fauna and flora) and first for mammal diversity in Africa. There are numerous endemic species including bolobos (Pan paniscus). Bolobos are endangered, threatened mainly by deforestation, poaching and diseases, and the current population is estimated from 15,000 to 50,000 individuals. Nowadays, one national park (Salonga National Park) and six reserves exist for wild bolobo conservation, representing about 73,000 km2 of protected areas over an estimated distribution area of 565,000 km2. In the Bolobo Territory, an original local project of bolobo conservation was initiated in 2001 by the Congolese NGO Mbou-Mon-Tour (MMT). From 2008 to 2013, we studied bolobo-habitat-human interactions in this forest-savanna mosaic habitat, totalizing 12 months of survey over six periods. Besides eco-ethological studies, an ethnoecological approach was developed in order to better understand how the MMT project emerged and how it has evolved. We performed semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and informal discussions with local people. We also used grey literature associated to the region. MMT use the bolobo conservation as a means to reach local development goals, which is the opposite of what is frequent in the “community-based conservation” project managed by environmental NGOs. The location of the community forests and the rules established for regulating activities in these forests were decided by the villagers under the organization of traditional chiefs according to their knowledge on bolobo ecology and range, and the disturbance they perceived of the traditional activities in the forest. Such a process is a novel and promising approach for wildlife conservation that maintains the place of local people and traditional authorities in the decision-making process and the governance