Hérouvillette – RD 513, contournement routier de Sainte-Honorine-la-Chardronnette (site 4)

La fouille d’Hérouvillette, RD 513 a été menée par le service archéologie du Conseil départemental du Calvados du 1er septembre au 30 novembre 2016, consécutivement à un arrêté de prescription notifié par la préfète de la région Normandie suite au diagnostic réalisé en 2013 par le même service (Giraud et al. 2013) en amont de la mise en place d’une déviation routière autour du lieu-dit Sainte-Honorine-la-Chardronnette. L’opération s’est organisée en deux secteurs de part et d’autre de la RD 5..

Grentheville – Rue de Soliers

Cette fouille a permis de révéler trois phases distinctes d’occupations rurales. La première phase remonte à La Tène finale voire à La Tène moyenne. Elle consiste en un enclos quadrangulaire de 1 000 m2 délimité par un fossé de 0,80 m de profondeur maximum comportant deux entrées situées face à face sur ses côtés sud-ouest et nord-est (enclos A). Il s’agit d’une unité domestique simple, ou bien d’un enclos annexe dépendant d’un ensemble plus important. Certaines fosses peuvent, au vu de leur ..

Cagny – Les Hameaux du Bois

Le projet de lotissement de la société Francelot, sur une surface de 67 113 m2, parcelle AK 154p, a occasionné une prescription de diagnostic. En effet, cette zone de la Plaine de Caen figure parmi les plus denses en vestiges archéologiques. L’opération menée du 9 au 23 octobre 2018 est venue confirmer cette tendance. Les dix tranchées de diagnostic ont ainsi permis la mise au jour, à entre 0,50 et 0,70 m sous la surface actuelle, d’une concentration forte de faits archéologiques couvrant les..

Vaux-sur-Aure – Route départementale 104

Le diagnostic archéologique effectué à Vaux-sur-Aure, le long de la RD 104, a porté sur une emprise de 7 280 m2. Il s’inscrit dans le projet de construction d’une voie verte mené par la communauté de communes Bayeux Intercom. Onze sondages ont permis d’ouvrir environ 12 % de l’emprise du projet. Cette opération a livré quelques éléments archéologiques notables. Des niveaux de remblais liés soit à la destruction de la haie séparant la parcelle C169 de la RD 104 durant les remembrements de la s..

Hérouvillette, Colombelles, Ranville – Contournement de Sainte-Honorine-de-la-Chardronnette

Ce diagnostic archéologique préalable à la construction d’un tracé routier porte sur une emprise d’un peu plus de 20 ha. 53 sondages ont permis d’ouvrir environ 10 % de l’emprise du projet routier. Sept sites archéologiques notables ont été découverts lors de cette opération. Le premier site (Colombelles) correspond à une occupation des premiers agriculteurs de la période du Néolithique ancien (Culture VSG). Il s’agit peut-être d’une implantation de courte durée car seules deux fosses ont été..

Buffer substitution in malaria rapid diagnostic tests causes false-positive results

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are kits that generally include 20 to 25 test strips or cassettes, but only a single buffer vial. In field settings, laboratory staff occasionally uses saline, distilled water (liquids for parenteral drugs dilution) or tap water as substitutes for the RDT kit's buffer to compensate for the loss of a diluent bottle. The present study assessed the effect of buffer substitution on the RDT results.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-seven RDT brands were run with EDTA-blood samples of five malaria-free subjects, who were negative for rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibodies. Saline, distilled water and tap water were used as substitute liquids. RDTs were also run with distilled water, without adding blood. Results were compared to those obtained with the RDT kit's buffer and <it>Plasmodium </it>positive samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only eight cassettes (in four RDT brands) showed no control line and were considered invalid. Visible test lines occurred for at least one malaria-free sample and one of the substitutes in 20/27 (74%) RDT brands (saline: n = 16; distilled water: n = 17; and tap water: n = 20), and in 15 RDTs which were run with distilled water only. They occurred for all <it>Plasmodium </it>antigens and RDT formats (two-, three- and four-band RDTs). Clearance of the background of the strip was excellent except for saline. The aspects (colour, intensity and crispness) of the control and the false-positive test lines were similar to those obtained with the RDT kits' buffer and <it>Plasmodium </it>positive samples.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Replacement of the RDT kit's dedicated buffer by saline, distilled water and tap water can cause false-positive test results.</p

Rapid diagnostic tests as a source of DNA for Plasmodium species-specific real-time PCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study describes the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) as a source of DNA for <it>Plasmodium </it>species-specific real-time PCR.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>First, the best method to recover DNA from RDTs was investigated and then the applicability of this DNA extraction method was assessed on 12 different RDT brands. Finally, two RDT brands (OptiMAL Rapid Malaria Test and SDFK60 malaria Ag <it>Plasmodium falciparum</it>/Pan test) were comprehensively evaluated on a panel of clinical samples submitted for routine malaria diagnosis at ITM. DNA amplification was done with the 18S rRNA real-time PCR targeting the four <it>Plasmodium </it>species. Results of PCR on RDT were compared to those obtained by PCR on whole blood samples.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Best results were obtained by isolating DNA from the proximal part of the nitrocellulose component of the RDT strip with a simple DNA elution method. The PCR on RDT showed a detection limit of 0.02 asexual parasites/μl, which was identical to the same PCR on whole blood. For all 12 RDT brands tested, DNA was detected except for one brand when a low parasite density sample was applied. In RDTs with a plastic seal covering the nitrocellulose strip, DNA extraction was hampered. PCR analysis on clinical RDT samples demonstrated correct identification for single species infections for all RDT samples with asexual parasites of <it>P. falciparum </it>(n = 60), <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>(n = 10), <it>Plasmodium ovale </it>(n = 10) and <it>Plasmodium malariae </it>(n = 10). Samples with only gametocytes were detected in all OptiMAL and in 10 of the 11 SDFK60 tests. None of the negative samples (n = 20) gave a signal by PCR on RDT. With PCR on RDT, higher Ct-values were observed than with PCR on whole blood, with a mean difference of 2.68 for OptiMAL and 3.53 for SDFK60. Mixed infections were correctly identified with PCR on RDT in 4/5 OptiMAL tests and 2/5 SDFK60 tests.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>RDTs are a reliable source of DNA for <it>Plasmodium </it>real-time PCR. This study demonstrates the best method of RDT fragment sampling for a wide range of RDT brands in combination with a simple and low cost extraction method, allowing RDT quality control.</p

Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities

AimComprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroecology. We provide global range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species harmonised to the taxonomy of the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) mobilised from two sources, the Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW) and the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (CMW).LocationGlobal.TaxonAll extant mammal species.MethodsRange maps were digitally interpreted, georeferenced, error-checked and subsequently taxonomically aligned between the HMW (6253 species), the CMW (6431 species) and the MDD taxonomies (6362 species).ResultsRange maps can be evaluated and visualised in an online map browser at Map of Life (mol.org) and accessed for individual or batch download for non-commercial use.Main conclusionExpert maps of species' global distributions are limited in their spatial detail and temporal specificity, but form a useful basis for broad-scale characterizations and model-based integration with other data. We provide georeferenced range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species as shapefiles, with species-level metadata and source information packaged together in geodatabase format. Across the three taxonomic sources our maps entail, there are 1784 taxonomic name differences compared to the maps currently available on the IUCN Red List website. The expert maps provided here are harmonised to the MDD taxonomic authority and linked to a community of online tools that will enable transparent future updates and version control

Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Anthropocene Series: Where and how to look for potential candidates

International audienc

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems