Since the Digne conference (South-Eastern France) the ammonite zonation of the Barremian has been considerably modified to produce a more accurate stratigraphical framework than those previously ...used. In South-Eastern France, from the lowermost
A. hugii zone to the
G. sartousiana zone, the Barremian is now divided up into nine zones and one sub-zone. Bed by bed collecting, in many sections, both in platform or basin domains, allowed the location of 11 additional horizons characterised by a wide species distribution area spreading over South-Eastern France. These horizons are defined, either by the bed where the species used truly appears, or by the lower bed marking the start of the acmeic phase. This research, which is directed towards the preparation of global stratigraphic sections and points, led to the proposal of a whole succession with twenty-one ammonite horizons, from the
A. hugii zone to the
G. sartousiana zone (
Vermeulen, 1995b).
La zonation ammonitique de l'étage Barrémien a subi de notables modifications depuis la conférence du PICG 262 en 1990 à Digne (Sud-Est de la France), menant vers un découpage stratigraphique plus précis que ceux antérieurement utilisés. Ainsi, pour le Sud-Est de la France, le Barrémien inférieur et la partie inférieure du Barrémien supérieur, de la zone basale à
Avramidiscus hugii à la zone à
Gerhardtia sartousiana, sont actuellement divisés en neuf zones et une sous-zone. Grâce à des récoltes banc par banc dans de nombreuses coupes, tant en domaine de plate-forme que de bassin, nous avons pu localiser onze horizons supplémentaires, caractérisés par des espèces dont l'aire de distribution dépasse parfois largement les limites du Sud-Est de la France. Ces horizons sont définis, soit par le banc marquant l'apparition réelle des espèces utilisées, soit par le banc marquant le début de la phase acméique, base de l'épibole. Ces recherches, qui entrent dans le cadre de la préparation des sections de stratigraphie globale, nous permettent de distinguer une succession globale de vingt-et-un biohorizons ammonitiques, de la zone, à
A. hugii à la zone à
G. sartousiana (
Vermeulen, 1995b).
Thousands of Holcodiscidae specimens, which were collected bed by bed in several sections of southeastern France, permit us to propose a new phyletic classification. The family Holcodiscidae derives ...from
Abrytusites (
Hoedemaeker, 1995). From
Avramidiscus appears
Parasaynoceras.
Holcodiscus derives from
Parasaynoceras.
Metahoplites derives either from
Almohadites or from
Parasaynoceras.
Astieridiscus derives from
Parasaynoceras. A new genus,
Taveraidiscus gen. nov., is created for the “
Avramidiscus”
hugii group.
Plesiospitidiscus, often placed in the Holcodiscidae, belongs to the Barremitidae family (
Vermeulen, 1996) and
Spitidiscus and
Jeanthieuloyites are grouped into the family Neocomitidae (Spitidiscinae
subfam. nov.).
Dans le Sud-Est de la France (Alpes-Maritimes, Var et Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), plusieurs milliers de spécimens d'Holcodiscidae barrémiens, récoltés dans des coupes levées banc par banc, permettent de proposer une nouvelle classification phylétique. Les Holcodiscidae sont issus du genre
Abrytusites (
Hoedemaeker, 1995). À partir d'
Avramidiscus apparaît
Parasaynoceras.
Holcodiscus est issu de
Parasaynoceras, Metahoplites de
Almohadites ou de
Parasaynoceras, et
Astieridiscus de
Parasaynoceras.
Taveraidiscus gen. nov. est créé pour le groupe de «
Avramidiscus hugii.
Plesiospitidiscus, souvent rangé dans les Holcodiscidae, appartient aux Barremitidae (
Vermeulen, 1996) et
Spitidiscus et
Jeanthieuloyites aux Neocomitidae (sous-famille des Spitidiscinae
subfam. nov.).
Cerebral palsy is the most frequent cause of severe physical disability in childhood. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy (DCP) is the second most common type of cerebral palsy after spastic forms. DCP is ...typically caused by non-progressive lesions to the basal ganglia or thalamus, or both, and is characterised by abnormal postures or movements associated with impaired tone regulation or movement coordination. In DCP, two major movement disorders, dystonia and choreoathetosis, are present together most of the time. Dystonia is often more pronounced and severe than choreoathetosis, with a major effect on daily activity, quality of life, and societal participation. The pathophysiology of both movement disorders is largely unknown. Some emerging hypotheses are an imbalance between indirect and direct basal ganglia pathways, disturbed sensory processing, and impaired plasticity in the basal ganglia. Rehabilitation strategies are typically multidisciplinary. Use of oral drugs to provide symptomatic relief of the movement disorders is limited by adverse effects and the scarcity of evidence that the drugs are effective. Neuromodulation interventions, such as intrathecal baclofen and deep brain stimulation, are promising options.
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An extensive protein–protein interaction network has been identified between proteins implicated in inherited ataxias. The protein sacsin, which is mutated in the early-onset neurodegenerative ...disease autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, is a node in this interactome. Here, we have established the neuronal expression of sacsin and functionally characterized domains of the 4579 amino acid protein. Sacsin is most highly expressed in large neurons, particularly within brain motor systems, including cerebellar Purkinje cells. Its subcellular localization in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells was predominantly cytoplasmic with a mitochondrial component. We identified a putative ubiquitin-like (UbL) domain at the N-terminus of sacsin and demonstrated an interaction with the proteasome. Furthermore, sacsin contains a predicted J-domain, the defining feature of DnaJ/Hsp40 proteins. Using a bacterial complementation assay, the sacsin J-domain was demonstrated to be functional. The presence of both UbL and J-domains in sacsin suggests that it may integrate the ubiquitin–proteasome system and Hsp70 function to a specific cellular role. The Hsp70 chaperone machinery is an important component of the cellular response towards aggregation prone mutant proteins that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases. We therefore investigated the effects of siRNA-mediated sacsin knockdown on polyglutamine-expanded ataxin-1. Importantly, SACS siRNA did not affect cell viability with GFP-ataxin-130Q, but enhanced the toxicity of GFP-ataxin-182Q, suggesting that sacsin is protective against mutant ataxin-1. Thus, sacsin is an ataxia protein and a regulator of the Hsp70 chaperone machinery that is implicated in the processing of other ataxia-linked proteins.
Tropical forests in Central Africa host unique biodiversity threatened by human degradation of habitats and defaunation. Forests allocated to conservation, production and community management are ...expected to have different conservation values. Here, we aimed to identify the determinants of the conservation value of tropical forests in southeastern Cameroon, by disentangling the effects of forest allocations, proximity to human settlements, and local habitat. We inventoried two taxonomical groups: mammal species with camera traps (3464 independent detection events) and dung beetle species with pitfall traps (4475 individuals). We used an integrated analytical approach, examining both species richness and composition. For both mammals and dung beetles, species richness decreased from the protected area to the community forests, and the logging concession showed intermediate richness. Species richness of both groups was negatively correlated to the proximity to human settlements and disturbance, with a decreasing gradient of body mass and the loss of the most threatened species. The replacement (i.e., spatial turnover) of both mammal and dung beetle species among forest allocations suggest an integration of conservation initiatives to a large number of different sites, with a priority on protected and remote areas of high biodiversity. These results confirm the high conservation value of protected areas and their essential role in conservation strategies, ecologically connected with well-managed production forests with variable conservation value mainly depending on accessibility. Community forests located close to villages are much more degraded but not totally defaunated and still provide bushmeat to local populations.
•The protected area shows the highest conservation value among forest allocations.•Well-managed production forests can contribute to biodiversity conservation.•Community forests located close to villages are degraded but not totally defaunated.•Hunting pressure induces loss of mammal species of high body mass.•Distance to human settlements is the main determinant of forest conservation value.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Regular monitoring of animal populations must be established to ensure wildlife protection, especially when pressure on animals is high. The recent development of drones or unmanned aircraft systems ...(UASs) opens new opportunities. UASs have several advantages, including providing data at high spatial and temporal resolution, providing systematic, permanent data, having low operational costs and being low‐risk for the operators. However, UASs have some constraints, such as short flight endurance. We reviewed studies in which wildlife populations were monitored by using drones, described accomplishments to date and evaluated the range of possibilities UASs offer to provide new perspectives in future research. We focused on four main topics: 1) the available systems and sensors; 2) the types of survey plan and detection possibilities; 3) contributions towards anti‐poaching surveillance; and 4) legislation and ethics. We found that small fixed‐wing UASs are most commonly used because these aircraft provide a viable compromise between price, logistics and flight endurance. The sensors are typically electro‐optic or infrared cameras, but there is the potential to develop and test new sensors. Despite various flight plan possibilities, mostly classical line transects have been employed, and it would be of great interest to test new methods to adapt to the limitations of UASs. Detection of many species is possible, but statistical approaches are unavailable if valid inventories of large mammals are the purpose. Contributions of UASs to anti‐poaching surveillance are not yet well documented in the scientific literature, but initial studies indicate that this approach could make important contributions to conservation in the next few years. Finally, we conclude that one of the main factors impeding the use of UASs is legislation. Restrictions in the use of airspace prevent researchers from testing all possibilities, and adaptations to the relevant legislation will be necessary in future.
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Aging in men is accompanied by a progressive, but individually variable decline of serum testosterone production, more than 20% of healthy men over 60 yr of age presenting with serum levels below the ...range for young men. Albeit the clinical picture of aging in men is reminiscent of that of hypogonadism in young men and decreased testosterone production appears to play a role in part of these clinical changes in at least some elderly men, the clinical relevancy of the age-related decline in sex steroid levels in men has not been unequivocally established. In fact, minimal androgen requirements for elderly men remain poorly defined and are likely to vary between individuals. Consequently, borderline androgen deficiency cannot be reliably diagnosed in the elderly, and strict differentiation between “substitutive” and “pharmacological” androgen administration is not possible. To date, only a few hundred elderly men have received androgen therapy in the setting of a randomized, controlled study, and many of these men were not androgen deficient. Most consistent effects of treatment have been on body composition, but to date there is no evidence-based documentation of clinical benefits of androgen administration to elderly men with normal or moderately low serum testosterone in terms of diminished morbidity or of improved survival or quality of life. Until the long-term risk-benefit ratio for androgen administration to elderly is established in adequately powered trials of longer duration, androgen administration to elderly men should be reserved for the minority of elderly men who have both clear clinical symptoms of hypogonadism and frankly low serum testosterone levels.
In Belgium, the incorporation of phages into magistral preparations for human application has been permitted since 2018. The stability of such preparations is of high importance to guarantee quality ...and efficacy throughout treatments. We evaluated the ability to preserve infectivity of four different phages active against three different bacterial species in five different buffer and infusion solutions commonly used in medicine and biotechnological manufacturing processes, at two different concentrations (9 and 7 log pfu/mL), stored at 4 °C. DPBS without Ca2+ and Mg2+ was found to be the best option, compared to the other solutions. Suspensions with phage concentrations of 7 log pfu/mL were unsuited as their activity dropped below the effective therapeutic dose (6–9 log pfu/mL), even after one week of storage at 4 °C. Strong variability between phages was observed, with Acinetobacter baumannii phage Acibel004 being stable in four out of five different solutions. We also studied the long term storage of lyophilized staphylococcal phage ISP, and found that the titer could be preserved during a period of almost 8 years when sucrose and trehalose were used as stabilizers. After rehydration of the lyophilized ISP phage in saline, the phage solutions remained stable at 4 °C during a period of 126 days.
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The common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius L. is a vulnerable species that requires efficient methods to monitor its populations for conservation purposes. Rapid evolution of civil drones ...provides new opportunities but survey protocols still need development. This study aims to determine the optimal flight parameters for accurate population estimates. A second objective is to evaluate the effects of three environmental factors: wind speed, sun reflection and cloud cover.
We estimated the population of two main hippo schools (Dungu and Wilibadi II) located in Garamba National Park in Democratic republic of Congo. Eight observers reviewed 252 photos taken over the Dungu school, representing a total of 2016 experimental units. A detection rate and a level of certainty were associated with each experimental unit, and five parameters were related to each count: flight height, three environmental parameters (sun reflection on water surface, cloud cover, and wind speed), and observers' experience.
Flight height reduced the observers' confidence in their detection ability, rather than the detection itself. For accurate counts of large groups an average height of 150 m was shown to be a good compromise between animal detection without zooming in and the area covered in one frame. Wind speed had little influence on the counts, but it affected the performance of the UAS. Sun reflection reduced the detection rate of hippos and increased level of certainty, while cloud cover reduced detection rates slightly. Therefore, we recommend flying when the sun is still low on the horizon and when there is little cloud, or when cloud cover is light and even. This last point reinforces our recommendation for flights early in the day. The counts also showed large differences between groups of inexperienced and experienced observers. Experienced observers achieved better detection rates and were generally more confident in their detection. Experienced observers detected 86.5% of the hippos on average (confidence interval = ±0.76%). When applied to data from the second site, the detection was 84.3% (confidence interval = ±1.84%). Two correction factors were then calculated, as the inverse of the detection rate, based on the estimated number of hippos present during one flight (Factor 1) or in the general population respectively (Factor 2). Factor 2 especially was consistent with previous studies using traditional aerial counts (1.22 vs 1.25). Factor 2 was found to be appropriate for use by experienced observers. These results confirm the use of correction factor 2 for hippo surveys, regardless of the study site, as it accounts for hippo behavior. Optimum counting and cost efficiency were achieved with two trained observers counting 7 pictures.
This study is a promising approach for routine surveys of the hippopotamus which is a species usually ignored in wildlife counts. Drone technology is expected to improve rapidly; therefore UAS could become a very useful and affordable survey tool for other species requiring specific monitoring.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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