Evaluation of a long-term method to monitor the gecko Euleptes europaea on Grand Rouveau Island (Embiez Archipelago, Var, France).

Les suivis de population constituent un préalable nécessaire à l’évaluation des tendances démographiques des espèces. Ils sont en outre indispensables à une bonne évaluation des actions de conservation engagées en faveur des espèces menacées. Pour cela, il convient de disposer de méthodes robustes, facilement reproductibles dans le temps. L’étude conduite sur l’île de Grand Rouveau a pour objectif de tester une méthode de suivi applicable à une espèce cryptique et menacée : le Phyllodactyle d’Europe Euleptes europaea. La méthode consiste à confectionner des gîtes artificiels attractifs pour l’espèce, permettant un suivi simplifié de la population. Pour cela, deux types de gîtes ont été testés : des briques alvéolées et plusieurs tuiles rondes recouvertes d’un amas de pierre. Les résultats obtenus montrent que le système composé de 3 tuiles superposées se prête bien aux objectifs poursuivis. Il est à la fois aisé à mettre en place, facile à contrôler et peu soumis aux biais temporels (heure du jour), météorologiques ou biais d’observateur. Les gîtes posés en mai 2014 ont été rapidement et durablement colonisés par l’espèce, comme l’indiquent les quatre premières années de suivi. La méthode devrait permettre dans le futur de préciser les exigences écologiques de l’espèce et d’évaluer les actions de génie écologique engagées sur l’île : élimination de la plante exotique envahissante Carpobrotus edulis et du Rat noir Rattus rattus.Population surveys are a prerequisite for evaluating the demographic trends of species. Moreover, they are indispensable for assessing conservation measures implemented to protect threatened species. Accurate surveys require robust methods that can be easily reproduced over time. The aim of this study conducted on Grand Rouveau Island was to test the applicability of a long-term monitoring method to a threatened cryptic and nocturnal species: the European leaf-toed gecko Euleptes europaea. The method consisted of constructing artificial refuges attractive to the species to simplify monitoring of the population. To this end, two types of shelters were tested: one type was constructed from honeycomb brick and the other from curved ceramic roof tiles covered with piles of stones. The results showed that the system consisting of three superimposed tiles was particularly suitable for the desired objectives. It is simple to construct, easy to monitor and little affected by temporal, meteorological or observer bias. The shelters of this type placed in May 2014 were rapidly colonized by the species on a long-term basis, as indicated during the first four years of monitoring. This method could allow future studies to better define the ecological requirements of this species and to assess the success of the ecological engineering actions carried out on the island, which include the elimination of the invasive exotic ice plant Carpobrotus edulis and the black rat Rattus rattus

Postural Performance and Strategy in the Unipedal Stance of Soccer Players at Different Levels of Competition

International audienceContext: Sport training enhances the ability to use somato-sensory and otolithic information, which improves postural capabilities. Postural changes are different according to the sport practiced, but few authors have analyzed subjects' postural performances to discriminate the expertise level among highly skilled athletes within a specific discipline. Objective: To compare the postural performance and the postural strategy between soccer players at different levels of competition (national and regional). Design: Repeated measures with 1 between-groups factor (lev-el of competition: national or regional) and 1 within-groups factor (vision: eyes open or eyes closed). Dependent variables were center of pressure surface area and velocity; total spectral energy; and percentage of low-, medium-, and high-frequency band. Setting: Sports performance laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Fifteen national male soccer players (age ϭ 24 Ϯ 3 years, height ϭ 179 Ϯ 5 cm, mass ϭ 72 Ϯ 3 kg) and 15 regional male soccer players (age ϭ 23 Ϯ 3 years, height ϭ 174 Ϯ 4 cm, mass ϭ 68 Ϯ 5 kg) participated in the study. Intervention(s): The subjects performed posturographic tests with eyes open and closed. Main Outcome Measure(s): While subjects performed static and dynamic posturographic tests, we measured the center of foot pressure on a force platform. Spatiotemporal center-of-pressure measurements were used to evaluate the postural performance, and a frequency analysis of the center-of-pressure excursions (fast Fourier transform) was conducted to estimate the postural strategy. Results: Within a laboratory task, national soccer players produced better postural performances than regional players and had a different postural strategy. The national players were more stable than the regional players and used proprioception and vision information differently. Conclusions: In the test conditions specific to playing soccer , level of playing experience influenced postural control performance measures and strategies. P ostural regulation is organized in hierarchic and stereotypic patterns 1 and requires the integration of afferent information from the visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems. 2 Sport training enhances the ability to use somatosensory and otolithic information, which improves postural capabilities. 3 Postural changes are different according to the sport practiced. 4 For example, judo training leads to greater importance being placed on somatosensory information, whereas dance training results in more attention to visual information. 5 Each sport develops specific postural adaptations that are not transferable to the usual upright postures. 6,7 Indeed, Asseman et al 6 evaluated elite gymnasts in 3 postural conditions: bipedal, unipedal, and hand-stands. The gymnasts who were best in the specific unipedal or handstand conditions were not the same as those who were best in the nonspecific bipedal task. Even though nonspecific tasks such as bipedal stance are typically used in activities of daily living, in athletes, it is more relevant to evaluate postural abilities in specific conditions relative to the particular sport. Soccer requires a unipedal posture to perform different technical movements (eg, shooting, passing). The stability of the supporting foot turns out to be critical to shoot as accurately as possible. Therefore, soccer players' postural control should be evaluated in a unipedal stance to respect the specific conditions of soccer. Previous authors have studied soccer players' postural control in a unipedal stance to reduce the risk of traumatic injuries to the lower extremities 8 or to evaluate the effects of rehabilitative training of the ankle joint. 9,10 However, as far as we know, no study has yet been carried out comparing postural performance and strategy in soccer players of different levels of expertise. The postural performance can be characterized by the ability to minimize postural sway, and the postural strategy corresponds to the preferential involvement of short or long neuronal loops in balance regulation. Our aim was to compare postural performance and strategy in unipedal stance between players at different levels of soccer competition

Lung transplantation for interstitial lung disease in idiopathic inflammatory myositis: A cohort study

Connective tissue disease; Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy; Interstitial lung diseaseEnfermedad del tejido conectivo; Miopatía inflamatoria idiopática; Enfermedad pulmonar intersticialMalaltia del teixit conjuntiu; Miopatia inflamatòria idiopàtica; Malaltia pulmonar intersticialIn patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) complicating classical or amyopathic idio-pathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM), lung transplantation outcomes might be affected by the disease and treatments. Here, our objective was to assess survival and prog-nostic factors in lung transplant recipients with IIM-ILD. We retrospectively reviewed data for 64 patients who underwent lung transplantation between 2009 and 2021 at 19 European centers. Patient survival was the primary outcome. At transplantation, the median age was 53 [46–59] years, 35 (55%) patients were male, 31 (48%) had clas-sical IIM, 25 (39%) had rapidly progressive ILD, and 21 (33%) were in a high- priority transplant allocation program. Survival rates after 1, 3, and 5 years were 78%, 73%, and 70%, respectively. During follow-up (median, 33 [7–63] months), 23% of patients developed chronic lung allograft dysfunction. Compared to amyopathic IIM, classical IIM was characterized by longer disease duration, higher-intensity immunosuppres-sion before transplantation, and significantly worse posttransplantation survival. Five (8%) patients had a clinical IIM relapse, with mild manifestations. No patient expe-rienced ILD recurrence in the allograft. Posttransplantation survival in IIM-ILD was similar to that in international all- cause- transplantation registries. The main factor as-sociated with worse survival was a history of muscle involvement (classical IIM). In lung transplant recipients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, survival was similar to that in all-cause transplantation and was worse in patients with muscle involvement compared to those with the amyopathic disease

Conseqüències de la biodegradabilitat de la matèria orgànica en les propietats físiques i químiques dels substrats

L'ús de nous materials de naturalesa orgànica provinents de l'agricultura, de la indústria i d'unes altres activitats humanes en la preparació de substrats per al cultiu de plantes fora del sòl natural requereix el coneixement de llur bioestabilitat, ja que aquesta propietat determina la variació de les característiques físiques i químiques dels substrats en el decurs del temps. En una recerca conjunta duta a terme pels dos grups de recerca pertanyents als departaments de referència de l'INRA a França i de l'IRTA a Catalunya, s'ha estudiat la bioestabilitat de sis materials orgànics: torba d'esfagne, compost d'escorça de pi, compost de residus verds de jardineria, compost de residus de bosc, fibra de coco i compost de fems de vacum, i alhora de set barreges binàries formulades amb les matèries abans esmentades. Al mateix temps s'han estudiat els efectes de la bioestabilitat en la variació de les propietats físiques i químiques de tots els substrats.Considerant els índexs de bioestabilitat respectius, les matèries primeres s'han classificat en tres grups: han resultat materials molt estables la fibra de coco, el compost d'escorça de pi i el compost de residus de jardineria; s'ha provat que són materials estables la torba d'esfagne i el compost de residus forestals; i, finalment, el compost de fems de vacum presenta una bioestabilitat moderada. S'hi mostra que, considerant els materials estudiats, la variació relativa de certes propietats físiques, com ara l'aigua disponible i l'aigua difícilment disponible, i també la de certes propietats químiques, com la capacitat de bescanvi catiònic, es correlacionen linealment, amb significació estadística, amb l'índex de bioestabilitat dels substrats estudiats en les dues localitzacions experimentals. Considerant només les matèries primeres, la regressió lineal entre llur capacitat d'aireació i llur índex de bioestabilitat presenta un coeficient de correlació també estadísticament significatiu. Per contra, l'índex de bioestabilEl uso de nuevos materiales de naturaleza orgánica procedentes de la agricultura, de la industria y de otras actividades humanas en la preparación de sustratos para el cultivo de plantas fuera del suelo natural requiere el conocimiento de su bioestabilidad, ya que esta propiedad determina la variación de las características físicas y químicas de los sustratos en el transcurso del tiempo. En una investigación conjunta realizada por los dos grupos de investigación que pertenecen a los departamentos de referencia del INRA, en Francia, y del IRTA, en Catalunya, se ha estudiado la bioestabilidad de seis materiales orgánicos: turba de esfagno, compost de corteza de pino, compost de residuos verdes de jardinería, compost de residuos de bosque, fibra de coco y compost de estiércol de bovino. También se ha estudiado este parámetro sobre siete mezclas binarias formuladas con las primeras materias antes citadas. Igualmente, se han estudiado los efectos de la bioestabilidad en la variación de las propiedades físicas y químicas de todos los sustratos. Considerando los respectivos índices de bioestabilidad, las primeras materias se han clasificado en tres grupos: materiales muy estables han resulta-do ser la fibra de coco, el compost de corteza de pino y el compost de residuos de jardinería; materiales estables se ha probado que lo son la turba de esfagno y el compost de residuos forestales. Finalmente, el compost de estiércol de bovino presenta una bioestabilidad moderada. Se muestra que, considerando los materiales estudiados, la variación relativa de ciertas propiedades físicas, como por ejemplo el agua disponible y el agua difícilmente disponible, y también la de ciertas propiedades químicas, como la capacidad de intercambio catiónico, se correlacionan linealmente, con significación estadística, con el índice de bioestabilidad de los sustratos estudiados en las dos localizaciones experimentales. Considerando sólo las primeras materias, la regresión lineal entre su capacidad

Rosmarinic Acid and Its Methyl Ester as Antimicrobial Components of the Hydromethanolic Extract of Hyptis atrorubens

Primary biological examination of four extracts of the leaves and stems of Hyptis atrorubens Poit. (Lamiaceae), a plant species used as an antimicrobial agent in Guadeloupe, allowed us to select the hydromethanolic extract of the stems for further studies. It was tested against 46 microorganisms in vitro. It was active against 29 microorganisms. The best antibacterial activity was found against bacteria, mostly Gram-positive ones. Bioautography enabled the isolation and identification of four antibacterial compounds from this plant: rosmarinic acid, methyl rosmarinate, isoquercetin, and hyperoside. The MIC and MBC values of these compounds and their combinations were determined against eight pathogenic bacteria. The best inhibitory and bactericidal activity was found for methyl rosmarinate (0.3 mg/mL). Nevertheless, the bactericidal power of rosmarinic acid was much faster in the time kill study. Synergistic effects were found when combining the active compounds. Finally, the inhibitory effects of the compounds were evaluated on the bacterial growth phases at two different temperatures. Our study demonstrated for the first time antimicrobial activity of Hyptis atrorubens with identification of the active compounds. It supports its traditional use in French West Indies. Although its active compounds need to be further evaluated in vivo, this work emphasizes plants as potent sources of new antimicrobial agents when resistance to antibiotics increases dramatically

Connectivity-Based Parcellation of the Cortical Mantle Using q-Ball Diffusion Imaging

This paper exploits the idea that each individual brain region has a specific connection profile to create parcellations of the cortical mantle using MR diffusion imaging. The parcellation is performed in two steps. First, the cortical mantle is split at a macroscopic level into 36 large gyri using a sulcus recognition system. Then, for each voxel of the cortex, a connection profile is computed using a probabilistic tractography framework. The tractography is performed from q fields using regularized particle trajectories. Fiber ODF are inferred from the q-balls using a sharpening process focusing the weight around the q-ball local maxima. A sophisticated mask of propagation computed from a T1-weighted image perfectly aligned with the diffusion data prevents the particles from crossing the cortical folds. During propagation, the particles father child particles in order to improve the sampling of the long fascicles. For each voxel, intersection of the particle trajectories with the gyri lead to a connectivity profile made up of only 36 connection strengths. These profiles are clustered on a gyrus by gyrus basis using a K-means approach including spatial regularization. The reproducibility of the results is studied for three subjects using spatial normalization

Safety assessment of the process 'Linpac', based on Linpac super clean technology, used to recycle post-consumer PET into food contact materials

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