A perennial criticism of provisioning ecotourism is that it alters the natural behavior and ecology of the target species by providing an artificial food source. Here we evaluate its impact on the ...long-term site fidelity patterns of tiger sharks in French Polynesia. We hypothesized that a significant impact of provisioning would lead to (1) increases in individual site fidelity over time, and (2) an increase in the number of resident individuals over time. Of 53 individuals photo-identified and monitored during > 500 dives over five years, 10 individuals accounted for > 75% of all sightings, whereas 35 sharks were sighted very infrequently. Even the most frequently observed tiger sharks exhibited overall low fidelity at the site and showed no increase in site fidelity over time. Furthermore, the number of tiger sharks sighted during each dive did not increase. The observed patterns of tiger shark sightings were best explained by natural movements, including general roaming within home ranges along the coastline and seasonal migrations. Despite the apparent lack of impact of provisioning ecotourism on tiger shark ecology in Tahitian waters, it would be prudent to implement a strict code of conduct during any future provisioning activities to maximize the safety of participants and animals involved.
We analyzed a tiger shark (estimated 2.8 m total length) bite on a snorkeler. The removal of the terminal part of the leg suggests a predatory motivation for the bite. This is the first documented ...bite by a tiger shark in French Polynesia waters for the past 75 years.
When sharks bite humans, the removal of large pieces of flesh or bones indicates a feeding motivation. The shark size can be assessed through average interdental distances. Prompt and effective emergency first‐aid measures are crucial for survival.
•Tiger sharks can retain hooks in their jaws for years following fisheries interactions.
We used long-term observations of 55 individually identified tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) at a shark ...ecotourism site off Tahiti to estimate the prevalence, retention times and impacts of residual hooks and trailing line resulting from fisheries interactions. Thirty-eight percent of tiger sharks had at least one fisheries interaction resulting in retained hooks during the 8-year observation period. Both stainless-steel and corrodible hooks had a retention half-life of less than 1 year, and all corrodible hooks were shed within 2.5 years whereas firmly embedded stainless-steel hooks persisted for at least 7.6 years and are potentially retained for the lifetime of the shark. The presence of residual hooks and trailing line did not impact tiger shark growth suggesting that sharks were able to feed normally despite trailing gear. However, only a single internally-hooked sharks trailing line was observed suggesting their survival may perhaps be lower than externally-hooked individuals. Hook-retention data obtained from this study could be extrapolated to other warm water shark species that are difficult to observe in their natural habitats (e.g. oceanic whitetip shark, Carcharhinus longimanus).
Since mid-March 2020, over 3 billion people have been confined as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Problematic eating behaviors are likely to be impacted by the pandemic through multiple pathways. ...This study examined the relationships between stress related to lockdown measures and binge eating and dietary restriction in a population of French students during the first week of confinement. Methods. A sample of undergraduate students (N = 5,738) completed an online questionnaire 7 days after lockdown measures were introduced. The survey comprised variables related to lockdown measures and the COVID-19-pandemic, mood, stress, body image, binge eating and dietary restriction during the past 7 days, as well as intent to binge eat and restrict in the following 15 days. Results. Stress related to the lockdown was associated with greater likelihood of binge eating and dietary restriction over the past week and intentions to binge eat and restrict over the next 15 days. Greater exposure to COVID-19-related media was associated with increased eating restriction over the past week. Binge eating and restriction (past and intentions) were associated with established risk factors, including female gender, low impulse regulation, high body dissatisfaction, and having a concurrent probable eating disorder. Discussion and conclusion. The higher the stress related to the first week of confinement, the higher the risk of problematic eating behaviors among students, particularly those characterized by eating-related concerns. Screening for risk factors and providing targeted interventions might help decrease problematic eating behaviors among those who are most vulnerable.
This study evaluated factors linked with perceived stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown and addictive behaviors prior to and during lockdown in a sample of students who indicated ...engaging in alcohol consumption behaviors before lockdown.
Cross-sectional study. French students from four universities participated in this study, and 2,760 students reported alcohol use. During the first week of lockdown, students reported their perceived levels of stress regarding COVID-19. Substance use and addictive behaviors were reported before and during lockdown, and media exposure, demographical, living conditions, and environmental stressors were reported during lockdown.
Women reported greater levels of stress (95% CI: 1.18 to 1.93,
< 0.001). Highly-stressed students also report less social support (95% CI: -1.04 to -0.39,
< 0.001) and were more likely to worry about the lockdown (95% CI: 0.27 to -0.65,
< 0.001). Alcohol-related problemswere more prevalent among the most stressed students (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.09,
= 0.004) as well as eating problems (95% CI: 0.04 to 0.36,
= 0.016) and problematic internet use (95% CI, 0.06 to 0.14,
< 0.001). Students reporting the highest levels of stress also indicated more compulsive eating during the previous seven days (95% CI, 0.21 to 1.19,
= 0.005).
The level of stress was strongly related to four categories of variables: (i) intrinsic characteristics, (ii) addictive behaviors before lockdown, (iii) lockdown-specific conditions, and (iv) addictive behaviors during the lockdown. Several variables linked to COVID-19 were not directly linked with perceived stress, while perceived stress was found to correlate with daily life organization-related uncertainty and anticipated consequences of lockdown. Importantly, social support seems to be a protective factor on high level of stress.
The management of prosthetic joint infection usually consists of a combination of surgery and antimicrobial therapy. The appropriate duration of antimicrobial therapy for this indication remains ...unclear.
We performed an open-label, randomized, controlled, noninferiority trial to compare 6 weeks with 12 weeks of antibiotic therapy in patients with microbiologically confirmed prosthetic joint infection that had been managed with an appropriate surgical procedure. The primary outcome was persistent infection (defined as the persistence or recurrence of infection with the initial causative bacteria, with an antibiotic susceptibility pattern that was phenotypically indistinguishable from that at enrollment) within 2 years after the completion of antibiotic therapy. Noninferiority of 6 weeks of therapy to 12 weeks of therapy would be shown if the upper boundary of the 95% confidence interval for the absolute between-group difference (the value in the 6-week group minus the value in the 12-week group) in the percentage of patients with persistent infection within 2 years was not greater than 10 percentage points.
A total of 410 patients from 28 French centers were randomly assigned to receive antibiotic therapy for 6 weeks (205 patients) or for 12 weeks (205 patients). Six patients who withdrew consent were not included in the analysis. In the main analysis, 20 patients who died during follow-up were excluded, and missing outcomes for 6 patients who were lost to follow-up were considered to be persistent infection. Persistent infection occurred in 35 of 193 patients (18.1%) in the 6-week group and in 18 of 191 patients (9.4%) in the 12-week group (risk difference, 8.7 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 15.6); thus, noninferiority was not shown. Noninferiority was also not shown in the per-protocol and sensitivity analyses. We found no evidence of between-group differences in the percentage of patients with treatment failure due to a new infection, probable treatment failure, or serious adverse events.
Among patients with microbiologically confirmed prosthetic joint infections that were managed with standard surgical procedures, antibiotic therapy for 6 weeks was not shown to be noninferior to antibiotic therapy for 12 weeks and resulted in a higher percentage of patients with unfavorable outcomes. (Funded by Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique, French Ministry of Health; DATIPO ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01816009.).
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