Identification of potential insect vectors of the Cape Saint Paul Wilt Disease of coconut in Ghana by PCR

The vector of the phytoplasma responsible for the coconut lethal yellowing disease in West Africa is unknown to date. However, it is known that phytoplasmas are transmitted by leafhoppers and planthoppers, which are supposed to be the only ones able to inject the phytoplasma in the phloem. Whereas the presence of phytoplasma in the insect does not prove its capacity to transmit the disease. We have tested a large number of insects for the presence of phytoplamas by PCR (direct PCR and Nested PCR) using both primer pairs specific for all phytoplasmas and those specific for the coconut lethal yellowing disease phytoplasma. In effect the evidence of one or several species carrying the phytoplasma would direct us on the insects to focus on in our transmission cages trials. (Résumé d'auteur

Fetal tachycardia: A role for amiodarone as first- or second-line therapy?

SummaryBackgroundFetal tachycardias result in serious prenatal and postnatal morbidity and mortality. Intrauterine treatment can improve prognosis dramatically and the therapeutic protocol is well defined. Currently, amiodarone is used as third-line therapy and is reserved for refractory cases.AimsOur aim was to review the management and outcome of fetal tachycardia, giving particular consideration to the efficacy and safety of amiodarone therapy.MethodsThis was a retrospective study of 24 consecutive cases of sustained fetal tachycardia, treated mainly with digoxin and/or amiodarone administered by the transplacental route.ResultsThe 24 fetal tachycardias comprised 16 supraventricular tachycardias with 1:1 atrioventricular conduction, seven atrial flutters and one ventricular tachycardia. Seven fetuses were hydropic and eight experienced less severe cardiac failure. Digoxin monotherapy converted 5/12 non-hydropic fetuses and 0/2 hydropic fetuses, with one intrauterine death. Amiodarone monotherapy converted 5/5 fetuses, including two hydropic fetuses: one ventricular tachycardia, two atrial flutters and two supraventricular tachycardias. When administered with digoxin, amiodarone converted all but two fetuses (7/9). No deaths were associated with amiodarone, but there was moderate morbidity, with six transient elevations of thyroid stimulating hormone at birth, two of which required short-term thyroid hormonal substitution therapy.ConclusionMaternal oral amiodarone seems to be effective and relatively safe, even in hydropic fetuses. We suggest that this treatment could be used earlier than is currently advised

Ensemble forecast of solar radiation using TIGGE weather forecasts and HelioClim database

International audienceMedium-range forecasts (one day to two weeks) of solar radiation are commonly assessed with a single forecast at a given location. In this paper, we forecast maps of surface solar irradiance, using ensembles of forecasts from the THORPEX Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE) with a 6-h timestep. We compare our forecasts with observations derived from MeteoSat Second Generation (MSG) and provided by the HelioClim-3 database as gridded observations over metropolitan France. First, we study the ensembles from six meteorological centers. Second, we use sequential aggregation to linearly combine all the forecasts with weights that vary in space and time. Sequential aggregation updates the weights before any forecast, using available observations. We use the global numerical weather prediction from the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) as a reference forecast. The issue of spatial resolution is discussed because the low resolution forecasts from TIGGE are compared to high resolution irradiance estimated from MSG data. We found that the TIGGE ensembles are under-dispersed but rather different from one to another. Aggregation decreases the forecast error by 20%, and produces a more realistic spatial pattern of predicted irradiance

Le modèle Concert’Eau, un exemple de gestion participative des pratiques agricoles et de la qualité de l’eau

Dans le bassin versant du Gers, les acteurs du territoire se mobilisent depuis plusieurs années pour définir des options de pratiques agricoles qui permettent de concilier la viabilité économique des grandes cultures et le respect de la qualité des eaux de surface, notamment vis-à-vis des nitrates et des pesticides. Cet article nous propose ici un retour sur le développement du projet Concert’Eau, un outil de négociation basé sur la participation des parties prenantes et l’évaluation scientifique : quels ont été les résultats et quelles limites peut-on relever

Wideband compact antenna for K-band applications

A compact coupled microwave active antenna is presented. This antenna is proximity fed, and consists of a square radiating element array on a polymer dielectric layer. The compactness of the antenna is obtained through technological optical processes and the parasitic patch phenomenon which increases the bandwidth

Paradigms of Lung Microbiota Functions in Health and Disease, Particularly, in Asthma

Improvements in our knowledge of the gut microbiota have broadened our vision of the microbes associated with the intestine. These microbes are essential actors and protectors of digestive and extra-digestive health and, by extension, crucial for human physiology. Similar reconsiderations are currently underway concerning the endogenous microbes of the lungs, with a shift in focus away from their involvement in infections toward a role in physiology. The discovery of the lung microbiota was delayed by the long-held view that the lungs of healthy individuals were sterile and by sampling difficulties. The lung microbiota has a low density, and the maintenance of small numbers of bacteria seems to be a critical determinant of good health. This review aims to highlight how knowledge about the lung microbiota can change our conception of lung physiology and respiratory health. We provide support for this point of view with knowledge acquired about the gut microbiota and intestinal physiology. We describe the main characteristics of the lung microbiota and its functional impact on lung physiology, particularly in healthy individuals, after birth, but also in asthma. We describe some of the physiological features of the respiratory tract potentially favoring the installation of a dysbiotic microbiota. The gut microbiota feeds and matures the intestinal epithelium and is involved in immunity, when the principal role of the lung microbiota seems to be the orientation and balance of aspects of immune and epithelial responsiveness. This implies that the local and remote effects of bacterial communities are likely to be determinant in many respiratory diseases caused by viruses, allergens or genetic deficiency. Finally, we discuss the reciprocal connections between the gut and lungs that render these two compartments inseparable