Caractérisation sous système d'information géographique des incendies de forêts : l'exemple du Liban.

Cette étude a été conduite dans le contexte de la définition d'une stratégie de défense contre les incendies au Liban. On a procédé à la création d'un système de gestion des incendies par circonscription foncière. L'analyse statistique et spatiale (sous SIG) des données recueillies sur les incendies au cours d'une période de 20 ans (1983-2003) nous a permis d'établir des cartes de récurrence des feux, de définir les types de peuplements les plus affectés et de déterminer la période critique et les causes probables de leur occurrence

A GLP1 receptor agonist diabetes drug ameliorates neurodegeneration in a mouse model of infantile neurometabolic disease

Infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD) is a rare paediatric neurodegenerative condition caused by mutations in the PLA2G6 gene, which is also the causative gene for PARK14-linked young adult-onset dystonia parkinsonism. INAD patients usually die within their first decade of life, and there are currently no effective treatments available. GLP1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists are licensed for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus but have also demonstrated neuroprotective properties in a clinical trial for Parkinson's disease. Therefore, we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of a new recently licensed GLP-1R agonist diabetes drug in a mouse model of INAD. Systemically administered high-dose semaglutide delivered weekly to juvenile INAD mice improved locomotor function and extended the lifespan. An investigation into the mechanisms underlying these therapeutic effects revealed that semaglutide significantly increased levels of key neuroprotective molecules while decreasing those involved in pro-neurodegenerative pathways. The expression of mediators in both the apoptotic and necroptotic pathways were also significantly reduced in semaglutide treated mice. A reduction of neuronal loss and neuroinflammation was observed. Finally, there was no obvious inflammatory response in wild-type mice associated with the repeated high doses of semaglutide used in this study

Census politics in deeply divided societies

Population censuses in societies that are deeply divided along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines can be sensitive affairs – particularly where political settlements seek to maintain peace through the proportional sharing of power between groups. This brief sets out some key findings from a research project investigating the relationship between census politics and the design of political institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Lebanon and Northern Ireland

Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition: effects on tumour growth, cell cycling and lymphangiogenesis in a xenograft model of breast cancer

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is associated with poor-prognosis breast cancer. We used a nude mouse xenograft model to determine the effects of COX-2 inhibition in breast cancer. Oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF7/HER2-18 and ER-negative MDAMB231 breast cancer cell lines were injected into nude mice and allowed to form tumours. Mice then received either chow containing Celecoxib (a COX-2 inhibitor) or control and tumour growth measured. Tumour proliferation, apoptosis, COX-2, lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis were assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western blotting or Q-PCR. Celecoxib inhibited median tumour growth in MCF7/HER2-18 (58.7%, P=0.029) and MDAMB231 (46.3%, P=0.0002) cell lines compared to control. Cyclooxygenase-2 expression decreased following Celecoxib treatment (MCF7/HER2-18 median control 65.3% vs treated 22.5%, P=0.0001). Celecoxib increased apoptosis in MCF7/HER2-18 tumours (TUNEL 0.52% control vs 0.73% treated, P=0.0004) via inactivation of AKT (median pAKTser473 57.3% control vs 35.5% treated, P=0.0001 – confirmed at Western blotting). Q-PCR demonstrated decreased podoplanin RNA (lymphangiogenesis marker) in the MCF7/HER2-18 – median 2.9 copies treated vs 66.6 control (P=0.05) and MDAMB231-treated groups – median 160.7 copies vs 0.05 control copies (P=0.015), confirmed at IHC. Cyclooxygenase-2 is associated with high levels of activated AKTser473 and lymphangiogenesis in breast cancer. Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition decreases tumour growth, and may potentially decrease recurrence, by inactivating AKT and decreasing lymphangiogenesis

Reliability-Based Design of Spatially Variable Undrained Slopes

Spatial variability and model uncertainty are considered the major sources of geotechnical uncertainty. The primary objective of this paper is to provide slope stability investigators with a robust reliability framework that takes into consideration the combined uncertainty of spatial variability and model uncertainty. To achieve this objective, a quantification of the model uncertainty of common slope stability models is conducted by assembling and analyzing a database of historical failures of slopes. The database is also used to investigate the possibility of a lower-bound factor of safety and its impact on the reliability of slopes. It is concluded that both spatial variability and model uncertainty in the undrained shear strength of clays have a direct effect on the mean of the factor of safety and its coefficient of variation. Moreover, it is found that the lower-bound factor of safety can cause a significant increase in the calculated reliability for an undrained slop

Caractérisation sous système d'information géographique des incendies de forêts : l'exemple du Liban.

International audienceCette étude a été conduite dans le contexte de la définition d'une stratégie de défense contre les incendies au Liban. On a procédé à la création d'un système de gestion des incendies par circonscription foncière. L'analyse statistique et spatiale (sous SIG) des données recueillies sur les incendies au cours d'une période de 20 ans (1983-2003) nous a permis d'établir des cartes de récurrence des feux, de définir les types de peuplements les plus affectés et de déterminer la période critique et les causes probables de leur occurrence

Global trends analysis of the main vegetation types throughout the past four decades

International audienceIn remote sensing studies, the photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by chlorophyll in the green leaves of vegetation canopies is measured using Red and Near-Infra Red bands. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is one of the most commonly used vegetation indices that are generally obtained from a calculation of the above mentioned bands; it presents a decent surrogate measures of the physiologically functioning surface greenness level. In this study, the latest version of the GIMMS NDVI data set, between the period of January 1982 and December 2015, were used to classify the global vegetation areas into five main categories (i.e. Agriculture Areas, Boreal Forests, Deciduous Forests, Evergreen and Tropical Forests, and Other Vegetation), using a simple and straight-forward method of classification, sumamed Global Vegetation Types Classification (GVTC). The total accuracy of the model reached 90.4% with a kappa value of 87.1%. In each category, a trend analysis has been carried out at both global and continental levels. The objective was to highlight the changes within each category, throughout the past thirty-four years. Results show that Agriculture Areas are increasing worldwide, with a huge upsurge observed since 2011 coinciding with a remarkable decrease in Boreal Forests. Changes in vegetation's classes, between 1982 and 2015, were more pronounceable in continents such as Asia, America and Africa; Europe and Oceania showed limited variations throughout this same period. Following these results, regional policies should be reformed and mitigation plans should be established in order to maintain a sustainable development of the global vegetation lands. The GVTC could be implemented with higher spatial resolution imageries for more local-based assessments