Fighting malnutrition in Madagascar: from NGO to social enterprise

In Madagascar, more than 50% of children under 5 years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition. The physical and cognitive consequences are irreversible after 24 months. GRET’s Nutrimad program addresses this problem by distributing an enriched flour product—“Koba Aina”—for children between 6 and 24 months. In order to reach the poorest households, it is sold very cheaply via an innovative sales network, the Hotelin-Jazakely (restaurants for babies), set up in the most deprived districts. In parallel, nutritional education campaigns are aimed at the mothers, who are often misinformed about the nutritional needs of their children. The level of maturity attained by the program is such that GRET now plans to continue with it over the long term. A privately-owned company, Nutri’zaza, is due to be created shortly to pursue Nutrimad’s activities, helping the project to achieve the economic viability that it currently lacks. By embedding Nutri’zaza’s work in a social enterprise, GRET hopes to secure the future of the initiative and enable it to expand throughout the country.A Madagascar, plus de 50% des enfants de moins de 5 ans souffrent de malnutrition chronique. Les séquelles physiques et cognitives qui s’ensuivent sont irréversibles après 24 mois. Le programme Nutrimad du GRET lutte contre ce problème par la distribution d’une farine enrichie destinée aux enfants de 6 à 24 mois, la Koba Aina. Afin d’atteindre les ménages les plus démunis, elle est vendue à très bas prix dans un réseau de vente original, les hotelin-jazakely, restaurants pour bébés, implantés dans les quartiers les plus défavorisés. Parallèlement, des actions d’éducation nutritionnelle sont menées auprès des mères : celles-ci méconnaissent souvent les besoins nutritionnels de leurs enfants. Le niveau de maturité atteint par le programme amène désormais le GRET à envisager sa continuation sur le long terme. Une société à capital privé, Nutri’zaza, sera créée prochainement pour continuer les activités de Nutrimad. Le projet pourra ainsi atteindre la viabilité économique qui lui manque aujourd’hui. En inscrivant les activités de Nutri’zaza dans une entreprise sociale, le GRET espère pérenniser cette activité et permettre son expansion dans le pays.En Madagascar, más del 50 % de los niños menores de 5 años padece malnutrición crónica. Las secuelas físicas y cognitivas que provoca son irreversibles a partir de los 24 meses. El programa Nutrimad del GRET combate este problema mediante la distribución de una harina enriquecida destinada a los niños de 6 a 24 meses, la Koba Aina. Para llegar a los hogares más pobres, se vende a un precio muy bajo a través de una red de venta original, los hotelin-jazakely, restaurantes para bebés, instalados en los barrios más desfavorecidos. De forma paralela, se llevan a cabo actividades de educación nutricional entre las madres: estas últimas desconocen a menudo las necesidades nutricionales de sus hijos. El nivel de madurez alcanzado por el programa ha llevado al GRET a considerar su continuación a largo plazo. Próximamente, se creará una sociedad con capital privado, Nutri’zaza, para continuar las actividades de Nutrimad. El proyecto podría así alcanzar una viabilidad económica de la que actualmente carece. Inscribiendo las actividades de Nutri’zaza en el marco de una empresa social, el GRET espera dar continuidad en el tiempo a esta actividad y permitir su expansión a todo el país

Henri Vidal

Henri Vidal est né en 1924 et vécu toute sa jeunesse dans le Var, où son père était ingénieur en chef des Ponts et Chaussées. Il évoquait souvent des aïeux corses en entonnant l’ajaccienne, quand il était avec des copains. C’était un fils de la Méditerranée. Ingénieur de l’École polytechnique de Paris dans la promotion 1944Ingénieur civil de l’École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées de ParisArchitecte DPLG de l’École des Beaux Arts de Paris. Henri Vidal s’est éteint en novembre 2007 à Porquero..

Mapping wildfire danger at regional scale with an index model integrating coarse spatial resolution remote sensing data

Wildfires are a prevalent natural hazard in the south of France. Planners need a permanent fire danger assessment valid for several years over a territory as large and heterogeneous as Midi-Pyre´ne´es region. To this end, we developed an expert knowledgebased index model adapted to the specific features of the study area. The fire danger depends on two complementary elements: spatial occurrence and fire intensity. Among the GIS layers identified as input variables for modeling, vegetation fire susceptibility is one of the most influent. However, the main difficulty at this scale is the scarcity or the lack of exhaustiveness of the data. In this respect, remote sensing imagery is capable of providing relevant information. We proposed to calculate an annual relative greenness index (annual RGRE) that reflects vegetation dryness in summer. We processed times series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from SPOT-VEGETATION images over the last six available years (1998 to 2003). The first step was to verify that these images characterize vegetation types and highlight intraannual and interannual response variability. It is then possible to identify phenological stages corresponding to the maximum NDVI (and therefore to maximum photosynthetic activity) during the growing season, the minimum NDVI at the end of the growing season and the minimum NDVI during winter period. These phenology metrics ground the annual RGRE calculation. Values obtained for each observation year show significant correlation (r2 = 0.70) with the De Martonne aridity index calculated for the same period. A synthesis of yearly index was integrated in the model as a variable that expresses fire susceptibility

Teashirt 1 (Tshz1) is essential for the development, survival and function of hypoglossal and phrenic motor neurons in mouse

Feeding and breathing are essential motor functions and rely on the activity of hypoglossal and phrenic motor neurons that innervate the tongue and diaphragm, respectively. Little is known about the genetic programs that control the development of these neuronal subtypes. The transcription factor Tshz1 is strongly and persistently expressed in developing hypoglossal and phrenic motor neurons. We used conditional mutation of Tshz1 in the progenitor zone of motor neurons (Tshz1(MNΔ)) to show that Tshz1 is essential for survival and function of hypoglossal and phrenic motor neurons. Hypoglossal and phrenic motor neurons are born in correct numbers, but many die between embryonic day 13.5 and 14.5 in Tshz1(MNΔ) mutant mice. In addition, innervation and electrophysiological properties of phrenic and hypoglossal motor neurons are altered. Severe feeding and breathing problems accompany this developmental deficit. Although motor neuron survival can be rescued by elimination of the pro-apoptotic factor Bax, innervation, feeding and breathing defects persist in Bax(-/-); Tshz1(MNΔ) mutants. We conclude that Tshz1 is an essential transcription factor for the development and physiological function of phrenic and hypoglossal motor neurons

Behavioural and fitness effects of translocation to a novel environment: Whole‐lake experiments in two aquatic top predators

Translocation into a novel environment through common fisheries management practices, such as fish stocking, provides opportunities to study behavioural and fitness impacts of translocations at realistic ecological scales. The process of stocking, as well as the unfamiliarity with novel ecological conditions and the interactions with resident fish may affect translocated individuals, leading to alterations of behaviours and causing fitness impacts. Our objectives were to investigate how aquatic top predators behaviourally establish themselves and compete with resident individuals following introduction in a novel lake environment and to investigate the resulting fitness consequences. Using high‐resolution acoustic telemetry, we conducted whole‐lake experiments and compared the activity, activity‐space size and fate of translocated and resident individuals in two model top predators, the northern pike Esox lucius (n = 160) and European catfish Silurus glanis (n = 33). Additionally, we compared the reproductive success of translocated and resident northern pike. The experiment was conducted with large (adult) individuals of different origins, resilient to predation, but subject to agonistic interactions and competition with resident fish. Over a period of several months, the translocated catfish exhibited consistently larger activity‐space sizes than resident catfish, but did not differ from residents in activity and survival. The pike from one of the two translocated origins we tested also showed elevated space‐use, and both translocated origins revealed higher mortality rates than their resident conspecifics, indicating maladjustment to their novel environment. When non‐resident pike reproduced, they overwhelmingly produced hybrid offspring with resident fish, indicating that introductions fostered gene flow of non‐native genes. Our study indicates that fish introductions result in behavioural and fitness impacts even in large‐bodied top predators that experience low levels of natural predation risk.Leibniz CommunityBesatzfisch (German Federal Ministry for Education and Research)Peer Reviewe

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal stem cell transition in a human organ: Lessons from Lichen Planopilaris

YesEpithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is critical for embryonic development and wound healing, and occurs in fibrotic disease and carcinoma. Here, we show that EMT also occurs within the bulge, the epithelial stem cell (eSC) niche of human scalp hair follicles, during the inflammatory permanent alopecia, lichen planopilaris. We show that a molecular EMT signature can be experimentally induced in healthy human eSCs in situ by antagonizing E-cadherin, combined with transforming growth factor-β1, epidermal growth factor, and IFN-γ administration, which to our knowledge has not been reported previously. Moreover, induction of EMT within primary human eSCs can be prevented and even partially reversed ex vivo by peroxisome proliferator−activated receptor-γ agonists, likely through suppression of the transforming growth factor-β signaling pathway. Furthermore, we show that peroxisome proliferator−activated receptor-γ agonists also attenuates the EMT signature even in lesional lichen planopilaris hair follicles ex vivo. We introduce lichen planopilaris as a model disease for pathological EMT in human adult eSCs, report a preclinical assay for therapeutically manipulating eSC EMT within a healthy human (mini-)organ, and show that peroxisome proliferator−activated receptor-γ agonists are promising agents for suppressing and partially reversing EMT in human hair follicles eSCs ex vivo, including in lichen planopilaris

Health status diagnosis of chestnut forest stands using Sentinel-2 images.

The Theia workshop for Sentinel-2 L2A MAJA products was held in Toulouse on the 13th and 14th of June 2018. About 80 people participated either on the 13th or 14th, and nearly 70 participants attended each day of this workshop, whose object was to collect feedback and share experiences on the quality, use and applications of the L2A surface reflectance products delivered by Theia from Sentinel-2 data

Mapping health status of chestnut forest stands using Sentinel-2 images

In many parts of France, health status of chestnut forest stands is a crucial concern for forest managers. These stands are made vulnerable by numerous diseases and sometimes unadapted forestry practices. Moreover, since last years, they were submitted to several droughts. In Dordogne province, the economic stakes are important. About 2/3 of the chestnut forest area are below the optimal production level. The actual extent of chestnut forest decline remains still unknown. Sentinel-2 time series show an interesting potential to map declining stands over a wide area and to monitor their evolutions. This study aim to propose a method to discriminate healthy chestnut forest stands from the declining ones with several levels of withering intensity over the whole Dordogne province. The proposed method is the development of a statistical model integrating in a parsimonious manner several vegetation indices and biophysical parameters. The statistical approach is based on an ordered polytomous regression to which are applied various technics of models’ selection. We aim to map 3 classes of predictive health status. In this study, Sentinel-2 images (10 bands at 10 and 20 m spatial resolution) acquired during the growing season of 2016 have been processed. Due to insufficient data quality related to atmospheric conditions, only 2 cloud-free images could be analyzed (one in July and one in September). About 36 vegetation indices were calculated from THEIA-MAJA L2A products and 5 biophysical parameters (Cover fraction of brown vegetation, Cover fraction of green vegetation, Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Green Leaf Area Index, Leaf water content) were processed from ESA level 1C product. These last parameters have been obtained with the Overland software (developed by Airbus DS Geo-Intelligence) by inverting a canopy reflectance model. This software couples the PROSPECT leaf model and the scattering by arbitrary inclined leaves (SAIL) canopy model. Calibration and validation of the predictive model are based on the health status of chestnut forest stands data survey. About 50 plots have been surveyed by foresters describing the chestnut trees health status by using two protocols (ARCHI and expert knowledge). Model stability over time and space will be further analyzed with Sentinel-2 time series during 2017 and 2018 on other different chestnut forest stands

Feasibility and efficacy of early lung cancer diagnosis with chest computed tomography in HIV-infected smokers

International audienceOBJECTIVE: Lung cancer screening with chest computed tomography (CT) is beneficial in smokers aged 55 to 74 years. We studied the risks, benefits and feasibility of early lung cancer diagnosis with CT in HIV-infected smokers. DESIGN AND SETTING: French, multicentre, single round chest CT study in France, realized between February 2011 and June 2012. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were HIV-infected smokers at least 40 years, at least 20 pack-years, with a CD4 T-lymphocyte nadir count below 350 cells/μl. INTERVENTION: Single chest CT with a proposed standardized workup algorithm of positive images. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The outcome was the number of histologically proven lung cancers diagnosed by CT with a 2-year follow-up. RESULTS: Median age of the 442 included patients was 49.8 years, 81.6% were under 55 years, 84% were men, median smoking was 30 pack-years, median nadir and last CD4 cell counts were 168 and 574 cells/μl, respectively, and 90% of patients had a plasma HIV RNA below 50 copies/ml. A positive image at baseline was reported in 94 (21%) patients, and 15 (3.4%) patients had 18 invasive procedures with no serious adverse events. Lung cancer was diagnosed in 10 patients (six at early stages), of which nine (2.0%, 95% confidence interval: 0.9-3.8) were CT detected, and eight in patients below 55 years. CONCLUSION: Early lung cancer diagnosis with CT in HIV-infected smokers was feasible, safe, and yielded a significant number of cancers. Lung cancer screening of HIV-infected smokers with an important history of immunodeficiency revealed a substantial number of cancers at younger ages than the targeted range in the general populatio