SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND DENSITY OF TERMITE MOUNDS IN A PROTECTED HABITAT IN THE SOUTH OF COTE D’IVOIRE: CASE OF NATIONAL FLORISTIC CENTER (CNF) OF UFHB OF ABIDJAN

The spatial distribution and termite mounds density and their activity were studies in order to assess to the biological restoration level in a protected area, knowing that termites are considered as tropical ecosystem engineers. The CNF area was subdivided into 4 sectors (SW, SE, NW and NE). In every sector of 1.75 ha, 20 transects (5 m x 100 m) were sampled. Termite nests were counted. Their dimensions and geographical coordinates were recorded. The superposition of spatial distribution maps of the 3 types of termite mounds showed an impressive abundance of termite mounds in all CNF area. In total, there were recorded 165 termite mounds. They were composed of 119 epigeal termite mounds and 46 tree-dwelling termite mounds. The average density of the 3 types of termite mounds on the CNF area was 23.57 mounds/ha with a dispersion coefficient of 0.07. The average density of Macrotermes mounds (8.99 mounds/ha), Cubitermes mounds (8.00 mounds/ha) and that of arboreal termite mounds (6.57 mounds/ha), with respective dispersion coefficient of 0.10, 0.08 and 0.07, showed no significant difference between them (p> 0.05). The epigeal termite mounds moved 297.42 tons of soil to build their nests. Macrotermes only, moved 297.03 tons (99.87%) of soil. On the CNF area, Macrotermes mounds have occupied a base area of 373.3 m2 and a volume of 264.99 m3. Cubitermes mounds covered a total base area of 2.08 m2 and a volume of 0.42 m3. These results are the reflection of a strong activity of the termite colonies, gradually restored in this protected habitat for 51 years

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Polypharmacy among older individuals with heart failure: trends between 2000 and 2017 in the province of Quebec, Canada

Objective: Pharmacological management of heart failure and comorbidities may result in polypharmacy, but there are few population-based studies that portray the use of medications over time. We aimed to describe the trends in polypharmacy and medication use in older adults with heart failure. Methods: We performed a study including all adults >65 years with heart failure between 2000 and 2017 using health administrative databases in Quebec, Canada. Medication use was ascertained by the presence of at least one claim in each year. We defined three levels of polypharmacy: ⩾10, ⩾15 and ⩾20 different medications/year, and evaluated the use of guideline-recommended and potentially inappropriate medications. We calculated age- and sex-standardized proportions of users each year. Results: The use of ⩾10, ⩾15 and ⩾20 medications increased from 62.2%, 30.6% and 12.2% in 2000 to 71.9%, 43.9% and 22.7%, respectively, in 2017. The combination of β-blocker and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) was used by 30.4% of individuals in 2000 and 45.5% in 2017. ACEI/ARB users decreased from 65.8% in 2000 to 62.1% in 2017. Potentially inappropriate medication use decreased over time. Conclusion: Polypharmacy is significant among older adults with heart failure. Implications of such medication burden should be investigated

Photoinitiation behavior of phenothiazines containing two oxime ester functionalities (OXEs) in free radical photopolymerization and 3D printing application

International audienceTwelve type I photoinitiators (PIs) containing two oxime esters functionalities on the terminal moiety were synthesized. These OXEs have high light absorptivities in the visible range, and some of them showed better photoinitiation abilities than the commercial photoinitiator diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide (TPO), under the irradiation of a 405 nm LED. Photoinitiation mechanisms of these OXEs are proposed through theoretical calculations, the detection of CO2, and the ESR investigation of the free radical generation. 3D Objects could be manufactured successfully by using the most reactive OXEs as photoinitiators with a stereolithographic 3D printer. In addition, these reactive OXEs also displayed a thermal initiation behavior, meaning that these OXEs can served as thermal or photochemical initiators

AA amyloidosis associated with Fabry disease

International audienceFabry disease (FD) (OMIM 301 500) is a lysosomal storage disorder linked to a deficient activity of the α-galactosidase A enzyme, resulting in globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and globotriaosylsphingosine (lysoGb3) accumulation within lysosome. The GLA gene encodes α-galactosidase A enzyme. It is located on the X-chromosome (Xq21.3-q22). 1 FD is an X-linked disease. Women can develop partial or complete disease because of partial X-inactivation. In the classical form, symptoms begin during infancy with neuropathic pain, angiokeratomas and sweating disorders. With age, the disease extends with progressive renal failure, cardiac disease and stroke.

Expression of the transcriptional regulator snail1 in kidney transplants displaying epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition features

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New probing techniques of radiative shocks

International audienceRadiative shock waves propagating in xenon at a low pressure have been produced using 60 joules of iodine laser (&#955; = 1.315 &#956;m) at PALS center. The shocks have been probed by XUV imaging using a Zn X-raylaser (&#955; = 21 nm) generated with a 20-ns delay after the shock creating pulse. Auxiliary high-speed silicon diodes allowed performing space- and time-resolved measurement of plasma self-emission in the visible and XUV. The results show the generation of a shock wave propagating at 60 km/s preceded by a radiative precursor. This demonstrates the feasibility of radiative shock generation using high power infrared lasers and the use of XRL backlighting as a suitable diagnostic for shock imaging

New diagnostics of laser generated shocks

International audienceStrongly radiative shocks are characterized by an ionization front induced by the shock wave. The role played together by opacity and geometry is critical for the physics of these shock waves. Moreover, radiation is an obvious way of probing these shock waves, either by self-emission or by probe absorption. These aspects will be illustrated by recent experimental results obtained at the iodine PALS (Prague Asterix Laser System) facility