From In Situ to satellite observations of pelagic Sargassum distribution and aggregation in the Tropical North Atlantic Ocean

International audienceThe present study reports on observations carried out in the Tropical North Atlantic in summer and autumn 2017, documenting Sargassum aggregations using both ship-deck observations and satellite sensor observations at three resolutions (MSI-10 m, OLCI-300 m, VIIRS-750 m and MODIS-1 km). Both datasets reported that in summer, Sargassum aggre-gations were mainly observed off Brazil and near the Caribbean Islands, while they accumulated near the African coast in autumn. Based on in situ observations, we propose a five-class typology allowing standardisation of the description of in situ Sargassum raft shapes and sizes. The most commonly observed Sargassum raft type was windrows, but large rafts composed of a quasi-circular patch hundreds of meters wide were also observed. Satellite imagery showed that these rafts formed larger Sargassum aggregations over a wide range of scales, with smaller aggregations (of tens of m 2 area) nested within larger ones (of hundreds of km 2). Match-ups between different satellite sensors and in situ observations were limited for this dataset, mainly because of high cloud cover during the periods of observation. Nevertheless, comparisons between the two datasets showed that satellite sensors successfully detected Sargassum abundance and aggregation patterns consistent with in situ observations. MODIS and VIIRS sensors were better suited to describing the Sargas-sum aggregation distribution and dynamics at Atlantic scale, while the new sensors, OLCI and MSI, proved their ability to detect Sargassum aggregations and to describe their (sub-) mesoscale nested structure. The high variability in raft shape, size, thickness, depth and biomass density observed in situ means that caution is called for when using satellite maps of Sargassum distribution and biomass estimation. Improvements would require additional in situ and airborne observations or very high-resolution satellite imagery

Mapping the physiography of Michigan with GIS

Abstract: We present a new physiographic map of Michigan, that is also available interactively, online. Only four, small-scale physiographic maps of Michigan had been previously published. Our mapping project made use of a wide variety of spatial data, in a GIS environment, to visualize and delineate the physical landscape in more detail than has been done previously. We also examined many of the unit boundaries in the field, using a GIS running on a GPS-enabled laptop. Unlike previous physiographic maps, the online version of the map enables users to query the criteria used to define each of the 224 boundaries of its 10 major and 91 minor physiographic units. The interactive nature of the online version of the map is a unique enhancement to physiographic maps and mapping. Our study also provides data on the number and types of criteria used to define each of the 224 unit boundaries within the map. Most of our unit boundaries are based on data derived from 10-m raster elevation data and NRCS soils data, e.g., relief, soil wetness, escarpments, landscape fabric, and parent material characteristics. Data gleaned from NRCS SSURGO county-scale soil maps were a strength of the project

IL21R expressing CD14+CD16+ monocytes expand in multiple myeloma patients leading to increased osteoclasts

Bone marrow monocytes are primarily committed to osteoclast formation. It is, however, unknown whether potential primary alterations are specifically present in bone marrow monocytes of multiple myeloma patients, smoldering myeloma or monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance. Herein, we analyzed the immunophenotypic and transcriptional profiles of bone marrow CD14+ monocytes in a cohort of patients with different types of monoclonal gammopathies to identify alterations involved in myeloma-enhanced osteoclastogenesis. A higher number of bone marrow CD14+CD16+ cells was found in patients with active myeloma as compared to those with smoldering myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance. Interestingly, sorted bone marrow CD14+CD16+ cells from myeloma patients were more pro-osteoclastogenic than CD14+CD16- cells in cultures ex vivo. Moreover, transcriptional analysis demonstrated that bone marrow multiple myeloma (but neither monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance nor smoldering myeloma) CD14+ cells significantly upregulated genes involved in osteoclast formation, including IL21R. IL21R mRNA over-expression by bone marrow CD14+ cells was independent from the presence of IL-21. Consistently, IL-21 production by T cells as well as IL-21 bone marrow levels were not significantly different among monoclonal gammopathies. Thereafter, we showed that IL21R over-expression in CD14+ cells increased osteoclast formation. Consistently, IL-21R signaling inhibition by Janex 1 suppressed osteoclast differentiation from bone marrow CD14+ cells of myeloma patients. Our results indicated that multiple myeloma patients showed distinct bone marrow monocyte features compared to those with indolent monoclonal gammopathies, supporting the role of IL21R over-expression by bone marrow CD14+ cells in enhanced osteoclast formation

Vai e vieni. Esperienze di migrazione e lavoro di senegalesi tra Louga e Torino

I vissuti, le percezioni, le valutazioni dell'esperienza d'emigrazione dei senegalesi che lavorano a Torino vengono descritti attraverso le interviste di chi \ue8 partito e dei loro familiari rimasti nei villaggi in Senegal. Il racconto si apre con l'immaginario del viaggio come epopea e avventura, carico di valenze religiose, che i modou modou , migranti internazionali, hanno ereditato da una centenaria tradizione di spostamenti dei loro avi nel continente africano. Sulle motivazioni economiche prevalgono dunque le giustificazioni religiose e sociali del lavoro che essi andranno a cercare in Occidente, ma dal racconto delle vicissitudini dell'esperienza diretta delle varie occupazioni alle quali dovranno adattarsi una volta arrivati in Italia emerge soprattutto quanto la realt\ue0 diverga dai sogni coltivati prima della partenza. Dal momento del loro arrivo inizia quel rapporto dialettico - che qui si descrive nelle sue diverse sfaccettature - che \ue8 la vita "tra le due sponde". A Torino essi raggiungono l'obiettivo d'un lavoro che consente di mantenere le proprie famiglie in Senegal ma che li costringe a una indefinita permanenza all'estero. Vivono cos\uec a Torino, cercando di conservare le proprie radici culturali e coltivando il perenne sogno di un ritorno nel proprio paese. Mantengono saldi i legami con la propria comunit\ue0 e temono le attrazioni e le insidie d'una modernit\ue0 occidentale verso la quale comunque si sentono attratti, manifestando al contempo una certa apertura alla socializzazione con gli italiani. La dualit\ue0 del loro vivere su due sponde ha conseguenze sulle stesse famiglie, perch\ue9 modifica le abitudini, i ruoli gerarchici e i rapporti di genere, a causa della assenza della figura maschile (poich\ue9 emigrano soprattutto gli uomini) e della crescente disponibilit\ue0 di denaro delle rimesse. Le persistenze di cultura tradizionale si affiancano ai cambiamenti nella vita e mentalit\ue0 loro e nelle famiglie, che trasformano la stessa societ\ue0 senegalese che dipende economicamente in parte significativa dal fenomeno migratorio dei modou modou . Trattandosi di un processo in corso dallo sviluppo non prevedibile, se ne descrivono qui alcuni aspetti significativi senza che se ne possano ancora indicare gli sbocchi

Potential alteration of UK37 paleothermometer due to selective degradation of alkenones by marine bacteria isolated from the haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi

International audienc

Immunomodulatory drugs lenalidomide and pomalidomide inhibit multiple Myeloma-induced osteoclast formation and the RANKL/OPG ratio in the myeloma microenvironment targeting the expression of adhesion molecules

Multiple myeloma (MM)-induced osteoclast (OC) formation is mainly due to an imbalance of the receptor activator NF-\u3baB ligand (RANKL)-osteoprotegerin (OPG) ratio in favor of RANKL in the bone microenvironment and to the CCL3 production by MM cells. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of the immunomodulatory drugs on RANKL/OPG ratio, the production of pro-osteoclastogenic cytokines, and MM-induced OC formation. We found that in vivo concentrations of both lenalidomide (LEN) and pomalidomide (POM) significantly blunted RANKL upregulation normalizing the RANKL/OPG ratio in human osteoprogenitor cells (PreOBs) when co-cultured with MM cells and also inhibited CCL3 production by MM cells. A reduction in CD49d expression, a molecule critically involved in RANKL upregulation in the MM microenvironment, accompanied this effect. Consistently, the pro-osteoclastogenic property of MM cells co-cultured with PreOBs was reduced by both LEN and POM. We further investigated the effect of these drugs on the transcriptional profile of both MM cells and PreOBs by microarray analysis, which showed that adhesion molecules, such as ITGA8 and ICAM2, are significantly downregulated in MM cells. Our data suggest that LEN and POM inhibit MM-induced OC formation through normalization of the RANKL/OPG ratio targeting the expression of adhesion molecules by MM cells