In the last 10 years, the interest in nature‐based solutions and ecosystem services like pollination has increased profoundly and with it the need to gather knowledge about wild bees and apoid wasp ...community dynamics, especially in urban ecosystems. Research on how the urban environment impacts the conditions of nesting sites is relatively scarce. Recent observations in the Brussels‐Capital Region (BCR; Belgium) show that urban pavements can provide alternative nesting opportunities for ground‐nesting Hymenoptera, such as wild bees and apoid wasps.
Here, using a citizen science approach, we investigated the richness of ground‐nesting species living under urban pavements, as well as their preferences for sidewalk characteristics.
A total of 22 species belonging to 10 families of wild bees, digger wasps and their associated cleptoparasites were identified at 89 sites in the BCR (Belgium). Sandstone setts or concrete slabs, with an unbound joint size of around 10 mm, were found to be the best suitable urban pavements for the ground‐nesting species. The soil texture under the pavement contained mainly sandy particles.
We propose management guidelines to support bee and wasp species nesting under urban pavement in highly urbanised areas. Our observations pave the way for further research in the field of urban ecology and highlight the potential of multifunctional pavement designs that promote not only climate adaptation but also biodiversity.
Urban pavement can be an alternative nesting site opportunities for insect pollinators.
This study recorded 22 ground‐nesting wild bees and apoid wasps in Brussels (Belgium).
Old pavements with sandstone setts or concrete slabs with an unbound joint size of around 1 cm and sandy foundation layers harboured the ground‐nesting species.
Permeable Pavement Systems (PPS) are sustainable devices designed to collect, store and treat urban stormwater before its release into the ground. However, this system must sufficiently retain ...pollutants brought by water runoff in order to comply with the current legislation. This study aims at evaluating the implementation in PPS of a hydrocarbonoclastic bacterium, Rhodococcus erythropolis T902.1, in terms of resilience and improvement of the degrading capacity. First results revealed that this strain could durably colonize the different gravels used in the construction of PPS. A 15-month experience in a real parking area showed that this biofilm remained viable without any replenishment of nutrients or bacteria. During accelerated pollution tests at a pilot scale, the structure bioaugmented with pre-coated biofilms was more efficient than a non-inoculated structure to limit hydrocarbon leaching below 50 μg L−1 and to degrade hydrocarbons adsorbed to the gravels. Over the long term, this innovative assembly should maintain the degrading capacity of PPS and ensure an effective treatment of stormwater before its infiltration into the soil.
•A simple method was developed to count cells from biofilms formed on PPS gravels.•Rhodococcus erythropolis T902.1 forms resilient biofilms on these PPS gravels.•This strain T902.1 maintained in PPS in real conditions of use for more than 1 year.•The draining structure can absorb a high amount of diesel before its saturation.•During pollution tests, the strain improved the degrading capacity of the structure.
The purpose of this thesis is two-fold: first, to propose an approach to morphology based on unification and non-biased towards specific types of morphological processes. Second, to design and ...implement a met language to express analyses in this unification-based framework. Thus, this language is not committed to any particular morphological process. It has been implemented in generation only as a way of testing its descriptive adequacy. The natural languages used to test the approach are French and Arabic, which exhibit different morphological devices: templatic morphology (Arabic) and concatenative morphology (French and Arabic). As for the coverage of the morphology of a particular language, it is limited to verb inflection. A morphological component is crucial to the organization of the lexicon. The view of the lexicon adopted in this project is akin to Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar's (HPSG), where the lexicon is a collection of feature structures organized in a hierarchy. However, not all the mechanisms present in HPSG will be found here: there are no lexical rules in the present approach. This thesis adopts the Word and Paradigm (WP) model of morphology: words are basic units of morphology, and are organized in paradigms. The approach proposed by this thesis differs from other WP approaches in that words are represented by partially specified structures. Indeed, it relies on two fundamental notions: feature structure descriptions and unification. Feature structure descriptions are partial descriptions of linguistic objects, and combine with other feature structure descriptions through unification. Thus, words are represented by feature structure descriptions, which unify with other feature structure descriptions to define inflected words. The morphological component proposed by this thesis is then a set of paradigms, whose entries are partially specified words. These entries capture properties common to sets of words, and unify with entries of other paradigms to yield classical paradigms of inflected words. This approach has been implemented in Prolog, a language particularly suited for applications based on unification. The contribution of this thesis to the field of computational morphology is discussed and contrasted with other approaches such as the finite-state and the inheritance network approaches.
The purpose of this thesis is two-fold: first, to propose an approach to morphology based on unification and non-biased towards specific types of morphological processes. Second, to design and ...implement a met language to express analyses in this unification-based framework. Thus, this language is not committed to any particular morphological process. It has been implemented in generation only as a way of testing its descriptive adequacy. The natural languages used to test the approach are Rench and Arabic, which exhibit different morphological devices: templatic morphology (Arabic) and concatenative morphology (French and Arabic). As for the coverage of the morphology of a particular language, it is limited to verb inflection. A morphological component is crucial to the organization of the lexicon. The view of the lexicon adopted in this project is akin to Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar's (HPSG), where the lexicon is a collection of feature structures organized in a hierarchy. However, not all the mechanisms present in HPSG will be found here: there are no lexical rules in the present approach. This thesis adopts the Word and Paradigm (WP) model of morphology: words are basic units of morphology, and are organized in paradigms. The approach proposed by this thesis differs from other WP approaches in that words are represented by partially specified structures. Indeed, it relies on two fundamental notions: feature structure descriptions and unification. Feature structure descriptions are partial descriptions of linguistic objects, and combine with other feature structure descriptions through unification. Thus, words are represented by feature structure descriptions, which unify with other feature structure descriptions to define inflected words. The morphological component proposed by this thesis is then a set of paradigms, whose entries are partially specified words. These entries capture properties common to sets of words, and unify with entries of other paradigms to yield classical paradigms of inflected words. This approach has been implemented in Prolog, a language particularly suited for applications based on unification. The contribution of this thesis to the field of computational morphology is discussed and contrasted with other approaches such as the finite-state and the inheritance network approaches.
Background
Although regular health screening is recommended, long‐term follow‐up data in healthy aged cats are lacking.
Objectives
Determine the most common conditions in a large group of apparently ...healthy older cats and which diseases are manifested within 2 years in cats confirmed to be healthy based on extensive health screening.
Animals
Client‐owned cats.
Methods
Prospective study. Thorough history, physical examination, blood tests, and urinalysis were performed in 259 apparently healthy mature adult (7‐10 years) and senior (>10 years) cats. Semi‐annual follow‐up examinations were performed in 201 confirmed healthy cats.
Results
At baseline, 21% of apparently healthy cats were not considered healthy but were diagnosed with International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) ≥ stage 2 chronic kidney disease (CKD; 7.7%) or hyperthyroidism (4.6%), among other disorders. Disease occurred significantly more frequently in senior cats compared with mature adult cats. In addition, 40% cats were overweight, 35% had moderate to severe dental disease, and 22% had abnormal cardiac auscultation findings. Within 2 years, 28% of mature adult and 54% of senior cats that were confirmed healthy at inclusion developed new diseases, most commonly IRIS ≥ stage 2 CKD (cumulative incidence, 13.4%), hyperthyroidism (8.5%), chronic enteropathy, hepatopathy or pancreatitis (7.5%), or neoplasia (7%).
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
The high prevalence and 2‐year incidence of physical examination abnormalities and systemic diseases in apparently healthy older cats argue for regular health screening in cats ≥7 years of age. Although more common in senior cats, occult disease also occurs in mature adult cats, and owners should be informed accordingly.
ObjectivesDigital transformation in healthcare is a necessity considering the steady increase in healthcare costs, the growing ageing population and rising number of people living with chronic ...diseases. The implementation of digital health technologies in patient care is a potential solution to these issues, however, some challenges remain. In order to navigate such complexities, the perceptions of healthcare professionals (HCPs) must be considered. The objective of this umbrella review is to identify key barriers and facilitators involved in digital health technology implementation, from the perspective of HCPs.DesignSystematic umbrella review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement.Data sourcesEmbase.com, PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection were searched for existing reviews dated up to 17 June 2022. Search terms included digital health technology, combined with terms related to implementation, and variations in terms encompassing HCP, such as physician, doctor and the medical discipline.Eligibility criteriaQuantitative and qualitative reviews evaluating digital technologies that included patient interaction were considered eligible. Three reviewers independently synthesised and assessed eligible reviews and conducted a critical appraisal.Data extraction and synthesisRegarding the data collection, two reviewers independently synthesised and interpreted data on barriers and facilitators.ResultsThirty-three reviews met the inclusion criteria. Barriers and facilitators were categorised into four levels: (1) the organisation, (2) the HCP, (3) the patient and (4) technical aspects. The main barriers and facilitators identified were (lack of) training (n=22/33), (un)familiarity with technology (n=17/33), (loss of) communication (n=13/33) and security and confidentiality issues (n=17/33). Barriers of key importance included increased workload (n=16/33), the technology undermining aspects of professional identity (n=11/33), HCP uncertainty about patients’ aptitude with the technology (n=9/33), and technical issues (n=12/33).ConclusionsThe implementation strategy should address the key barriers highlighted by HCPs, for instance, by providing adequate training to familiarise HCPs with the technology, adapting the technology to the patient preferences and addressing technical issues. Barriers on both HCP and patient levels can be overcome by investigating the needs of the end-users. As we shift from traditional face-to-face care models towards new modes of care delivery, further research is needed to better understand the role of digital technology in the HCP-patient relationship.
Dogue de Bordeaux dog has been reported to be predisposed to a familial glomerulonephropathy that displays some morphological modifications reported in focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis. ...Prevalence of quantitatively abnormal renal proteinuria was recently reported to be 33% in this breed. The nature of the proteinuria was assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose gel electrophoresis and determinations of urinary markers (urinary retinol-binding protein, urinary N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase, urinary albumin and urinary immunoglobulin G) on stored specimens. Diagnostic performances of sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose gel electrophoresis to identify dogs with elevated urinary biomarkers were assessed. Samples from 102 adult Dogue de Bordeaux dogs (47 non-proteinuric urine protein-to-creatinine ratio ≤ 0.2, 20 borderline-proteinuric 0.2< urine protein-to-creatinine ratio ≤ 0.5 and 35 proteinuric dogs urine protein-to-creatinine ratio >0.5) were used, of which 2 were suffering from familial glomerulonephropathy. The electrophoretic protein patterns, for all but one proteinuric dog, were indicative of a glomerular origin and, in all dogs, the urinary albumin concentration related to creatinine concentration and the urinary immunoglobulin G concentration related to creatinine concentration were above the upper limit of the reference interval established for the breed. Sensitivity and specificity of sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose gel electrophoresis identifying dogs with elevated urinary albumin concentration were 94% and 92%, respectively, while diagnostic performance of sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose gel electrophoresis in detecting dogs with elevated urinary immunoglobulin G concentration yielded sensitivity and specificity of 90% and 74%, respectively. These results suggest that all proteinuric and some borderline-proteinuric Dogue de Bordeaux dogs likely have underlying glomerular lesions and that sodium dodecyl sulfate-agarose gel electrophoresis and urinary markers might be useful to screen dogs with borderline-proteinuria. Additional investigations are warranted to assess if these findings are related to the familial glomerulonephropathy.
Agreement of systolic blood pressure measurements (SBP) between noninvasive blood pressure devices in conscious dogs is poorly studied. Situational hypertension is expected in clinics, but studies ...are lacking. This study aimed to compare SBP measurements obtained with Doppler ultrasonic flow detector (Doppler) versus high-definition oscillometry (HDO) in clinics and at home and to estimate the prevalence of situational hypertension in conscious, apparently healthy elderly dogs.
122 apparently healthy elderly or geriatric dogs were prospectively recruited.
Systolic blood pressure was obtained consecutively with Doppler and HDO techniques in a randomized order per dog, following a standardized protocol. An at-home measurement was advised for in-clinic hypertensive dogs (SBP ≥ 160 mmHg), also using both devices.
Dual measurements were available in 102 dogs. Median SBP was 147.3 mmHg (range, 105 to 239 mmHg) for Doppler and 152.3 mmHg (range, 113 to 221 mmHg) for HDO. Forty-six percent (56/122) were hypertensive, of which 9% (11/122) were hypertensive with both methods. No significant difference was found between the 2 devices in the global study population or within the group of hypertensive dogs. Repeated at-home measurements were performed in 20/56 (35.7%) hypertensive dogs, resulting in a 10 and 26 mmHg lower median SBP value for Doppler and HDO, respectively (P > .05). In-clinic situational hypertension was presumed in 8/20 (40%) dogs.
The choice of the noninvasive blood pressure device did not significantly impact SBP results, but large interindividual differences in SBP between techniques occurred. Situational hypertension was frequently observed in clinic.
Background
Liver‐type fatty acid‐binding protein (L‐FABP) and neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipocalin (NGAL) are candidate biomarkers for the detection of early chronic kidney disease (CKD) in ...cats.
Objective
To evaluate urinary and serum L‐FABP and NGAL concentrations in CKD cats and in hyperthyroid cats before and after radioiodine (131I) treatment.
Animals
Nine CKD cats, 45 healthy cats and hyperthyroid cats at 3 time points including before (T0, n = 49), 1 month (T1, n = 49), and 11 to 29 months after (T2, n = 26) 131I treatment.
Methods
Cross‐sectional and longitudinal study. Serum L‐FABP (sL‐FABP), serum NGAL (sNGAL), urinary L‐FABP (uL‐FABP), and urinary NGAL (uNGAL) were compared between the 3 groups and between hyperthyroid cats before and after treatment. Data are reported as median (min‐max).
Results
CKD cats had significantly higher sL‐FABP (13.50 3.40‐75.60 ng/ml) and uL‐FABP/Cr (4.90 0.97‐2139.44 µg/g) than healthy cats (4.25 1.34‐23.25 ng/ml; P = .01 and 0.46 0.18‐9.13 µg/g; P < .001, respectively). Hyperthyroid cats at T0 had significantly higher uL‐FABP/Cr (0.94 0.15‐896.00 µg/g) than healthy cats (P < .001), thereafter uL‐FABP/Cr significantly decreased at T2 (0.54 0.10‐76.41 µg/g, P = .002). For the detection of CKD, uL‐FABP/Cr had 100% (95% confidence interval CI, 66.4‐100.0) sensitivity and 93.2% (95% CI, 81.3‐98.6) specificity. There were no significant differences in sNGAL and uNGAL/Cr between the 3 groups.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
L‐FABP, but not NGAL, is a potential biomarker for the detection of early CKD in cats. Utility of uL‐FABP to predict azotemia after treatment in hyperthyroid cats remains unknown.
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