Distribution et importance des gîtes à Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newstead, 1910 dans l'agglomération de Bangui (République Centrafricaine)

Les auteurs présentent le résultat d'une recherche sur les gîtes urbains de #Glossina fuscipes fuscipes$ Newstead dans l'agglomération de Bangui et proposent une classification de ceux-ci. Deux quartiers (Sakaï, Zila) abritent des gîtes de reproduction isolés avec de fortes densités et un contact homme-mouche très étroit. Pour éviter une éventuelle reviviscence du foyer historique de trypanosomiase de Bangui-Bimbo, une lutte préventive antivectorielle dans ces quartiers serait nécessaire. (Résumé d'auteur

Présence de chimiorécepteurs sur l'aile des tsé-tsé (Diptera : Glossinidae)

Cette note signale pour la première fois l'existence de chimiorécepteurs sur les ailes des mouches tsé-tsé. Ceux-ci sont principalement localisés sur le milieu de la nervure costale. Leur morphologie est comparable à celle des chimiorécepteurs observés sur les pattes. Leur nombre ne différe pas entre les sexes comme pour les pattes, mais entre les espèces. Ceci suggère un rôle dans la perception chimique proche de l'environnement, par rapport aux chimiorécepteurs des pattes qui semblent impliqués dans le comportement sexuel. L'étude a été conduite sur six espèces ou sous-espèces de glossines. (Résumé d'auteur

Myotonia permanens with Nav1.4-G1306E displays varied phenotypes during course of life

Myotonia permanens due to Nav1.4-G1306E is a rare sodium channelopathy with potentially life-threatening respiratory complications. Our goal was to study phenotypic variability throughout life

GNPy experimental validation on flex-grid, flex-rate WDM optical transport scenarios

We demonstrate accurate GSNR predictions for a flex-grid and flex-rate experimental transmission using an enhanced implementation of the open-source GNPy library for a 1600 km OLS, involving QPSK, 8-QAM and 16-QAM modulation formats

On Pulsar-Driven Mass Ejection in Low-Mass X-ray Binaries

There is accumulating evidence for mass ejection in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) driven by radio pulsar activity during X-ray quiescence. In this paper we consider the condition for mass ejection by comparing the radiation pressure from a millisecond pulsar, and the gas pressure at the inner Lagrange point or at the surrounding accretion disk. We calculate the critical spin period of the pulsar below which mass ejection is allowed. Combining with the evolution of the mass transfer rate, we present constraints on the orbital periods of the systems. We show that mass ejection could happen in both wide and compact LMXBs. It may be caused by transient accretion due to thermal instability in the accretion disks in the former, and irradiation-driven mass-transfer cycles in the latter.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures,accepted for publication in RA

Non-pharmacological Approaches for Headaches in Young Age: An Updated Review

Headache disorders are common in children and adolescents. Most of the studies on non-pharmacological treatments have however been carried out on adults. In this review we provide information on recent studies examining non-pharmacological approaches for managing headache in children and adolescents. Our search of SCOPUS for primary studies conducted between January 2010 and July 2018 uncovered 11 controlled studies, mostly addressing behavioral approaches, in which a total of 613 patients with a diagnosis of primary headache, and average age 10.2–15.7 years (30–89% females) were recruited. Non-pharmacological treatments were shown to produce sizeable effects on the classical primary endpoint, i.e., headache frequency, with reductions from baseline ranging between 34 and 78%. Among commonly reported secondary endpoints, particularly disability, quality of life, depression and anxiety, marked improvements were noted as well. Taken as a whole, our findings suggest that non-pharmacological treatments constitute a valid option for the prevention of primary headaches in young age. Future research with higher-quality studies is needed. Particular attention needs to be given to studies that randomize patients to condition, blind researchers in charge of evaluating treatment outcomes, routinely include headache frequency as the primary endpoint, include adequate-length follow-up, address changes in biomarkers of disease and other possible mediators of outcome, and that employ predictive models to enhance the level of evidence for these approaches

Routes of dispersion of antibiotic resistance genes from the poultry farm system

Poultry farms are hotspots for the development and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), due to high stocking densities and extensive use of antibiotics, posing a threat of spread and contagion to workers and the external environment. Here, we applied shotgun metagenome sequencing to characterize the gut microbiome and resistome of poultry, workers and their households - also including microbiomes from the internal and external farm environment – in three different farms in Italy during a complete rearing cycle. Our results highlighted a relevant overlap among the microbiomes of poultry, workers, and their families (gut and skin), with clinically relevant ARGs and associated mobile elements shared in both poultry and human samples. On a finer scale, the reconstruction of species-level genome bins (SGBs) allowed us to delineate the dynamics of microorganism and ARGs dispersion from farm systems. We found the associations with worker microbiomes representing the main route of ARGs dispersion from poultry to human populations. Collectively, our findings clearly demonstrate the urgent need to implement more effective procedures to counteract ARGs dispersion from poultry food systems and the relevance of metagenomics-based metacommunity approaches to monitor the ARGs dispersion process for the safety of the working environment on farms

Formation of millisecond pulsars with CO white dwarf companions - II. Accretion, spin-up, true ages and comparison to MSPs with He white dwarf companions

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are mainly characterised by their spin periods, B-fields and masses - quantities which are largely affected by previous interactions with a companion star in a binary system. In this paper, we investigate the formation mechanism of MSPs by considering the pulsar recycling process in both intermediate-mass X-ray binaries (IMXBs) and low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). The IMXBs mainly lead to the formation of binary MSPs with a massive carbon-oxygen (CO) or an oxygen-neon-magnesium white dwarf (ONeMg WD) companion, whereas the LMXBs form recycled pulsars with a helium white dwarf (He WD) companion. We discuss the accretion physics leading to the spin-up line in the PPdot-diagram and demonstrate that such a line cannot be uniquely defined. We derive a simple expression for the amount of accreted mass needed for any given pulsar to achieve its equilibrium spin and apply this to explain the observed differences of the spin distributions of recycled pulsars with different types of companions. From numerical calculations we present further evidence for significant loss of rotational energy in accreting X-ray MSPs in LMXBs during the Roche-lobe decoupling phase (Tauris 2012) and demonstrate that the same effect is negligible in IMXBs. We examine the recycling of pulsars with CO WD companions via Case BB Roche-lobe overflow (RLO) of naked helium stars in post common envelope binaries. We find that such pulsars typically accrete of the order 0.002-0.007 M_sun which is just about sufficient to explain their observed spin periods. We introduce isochrones of radio MSPs in the PPdot-diagram to follow their spin evolution and discuss their true ages from comparison with observations. Finally, we apply our results of the spin-up process to the massive pulsar J1614-2230 (Paper I) and put new constraints on the birth masses of a number of recycled pulsars. [Abridged]Comment: MNRAS in press, 32 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, appendix. Version 2: minor typos correcte

Hes3 is expressed in the adult pancreatic islet and regulates gene expression, cell growth, and insulin release

The transcription factor Hes3 is a component of a signaling pathway that supports the growth of neural stem cells with profound consequences in neurodegenerative disease models. Here we explored whether Hes3 also regulates pancreatic islet cells. We showed that Hes3 is expressed in human and rodent pancreatic islets. In mouse islets it co-localizes with alpha and beta cell markers. We employed the mouse insulinoma cell line MIN6 to perform in vitro characterization and functional studies in conditions known to modulate Hes3 based upon our previous work using neural stem cell cultures. In these conditions, cells showed elevated Hes3 expression and nuclear localization, grew efficiently, and showed higher evoked insulin release responses, compared with serum-containing conditions. They also exhibited higher expression of the transcription factor Pdx1 and insulin. Furthermore, they were responsive to pharmacological treatments with the GLP-1 analog Exendin-4, which increased nuclear Hes3 localization. We employed a transfection approach to address specific functions of Hes3. Hes3 RNA interference opposed cell growth and affected gene expression as revealed by DNA microarrays. Western blotting and PCR approaches specifically showed that Hes3 RNA interference opposes the expression of Pdx1 and insulin. Hes3 overexpression (using a Hes3-GFP fusion construct) confirmed a role of Hes3 in regulating Pdx1 expression. Hes3 RNA interference reduced evoked insulin release. Mice lacking Hes3 exhibited increased islet damage by streptozotocin. These data suggest roles of Hes3 in pancreatic islet function