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Biochemical signatures of Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria forskali (Echinodermata) in co-culture with sea bass in the Frioul Islands (France)
No full textInternational audienceConsiderable knowledge in the reproductive biology, habitat and life-history traits of European sea cucumbers was acquired in recent years with the objective to use them as extractive species in multi-trophic aquaculture systems. Yet, the trophic link between aquaculture wastes and sea cucumbers remains insufficiently evidenced. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of Holothuria tubulosa and H. forskali to utilise fish waste as a food source within a co-culture system. The two species were placed below sea bass cages in the northwest Mediterranean Sea. After one year of caging, fatty acids and stable isotopes indicated that sea cucumbers located near the fish cages were in good physiological condition. Higher levels of the fatty acid 18:2ω6, a biomarker of terrestrial plant oils, in sea cucumber tissues clearly indicate the transfer of fish feed to holothurians. In the case of H. forskali, this signature was also linked to an increase in bacterial biomarkers, indicating that sea cucumbers likely do not feed directly on fish wastes. Feeding habits differed between the two species, with H. tubulosa poorly modifying its diet when placed in captivity but probably requiring a significant access to sediment to maintain growth, while H. forskali probably collecting increased secondary production stimulated by the inputs of fresh organic matter directly on the cage walls. Finally, fatty acid profiles of both the body wall and muscular bands of the sea cucumbers revealed a similar imprinting of fish feed, indicating that each tissue can be analysed individually for trophic purposes
Seeing yew for the forest: a call to action for improving conservation and restoration of the European yew (Taxus baccata L.)
No full textInternational audienceThe European yew (Taxus baccata L.) is a long-lived conifer of ecological, cultural, and historical importance across Eurasia. Despite its remarkable resilience, wide distribution, and symbolic importance, the species has experienced a long-term decline due to a complex interplay of climatic fluctuations, megafaunal extinctions, human exploitation, and insufficient regeneration. Recent studies in palaeoecology, archaeology, dendroecology, and conservation have revealed a species with greater ecological plasticity and a broader historical distribution than previously assumed. However, many fundamental questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding its biogeographical history, population dynamics, recruitment processes, and the drivers of its decline.This review stems from prior investigations of yew in the French Pyrenees and, more broadly, across Europe. These efforts led to a transdisciplinary seminar and opened a collaboration uniting >30 researchers across Eurasia. By synthesizing a wide array of data and perspectives, the article highlights key knowledge gaps and outlines emerging research priorities. These are organized thematically—past, present, and future—and include 25 questions on the species' ecological niche, life-history strategies, human interactions, genetic resilience, and conservation under global change. The article advocates for a shift towards integrative and long-term conservation strategies that embrace the historical legacies of yew populations, the general ecology of the species along with local ecological context dependence, and the urgency of future threats. By identifying pressing research needs, this review seeks to lay the foundation for new collaborative initiatives and to support evidence-based conservation of this emblematic yet understudied species
Breaking objects like Pompeians. The FragEx project and the Porta Nocera necropolis
No full textInternational audienceWithin a given area, multiple activities—whether specialized or mundane—overlap, leaving numerous traces on the ground that can be uncovered through excavation. Given the complexity of this information, it is often assumed that the spatial distribution of these elements is too random to be analyzed as anything other than a single, undifferentiated whole. However, how can we disentangle these traces to identify those corresponding to specific gestures? How can we distinguish objects resulting from deliberate breakage from those that are not? Can particular traces on the objects themselves reveal the gestures of intentional breakage?These questions guided our investigation during the excavation of a sector of the Porta Nocera necropolis in Pompeii. This modest burial site provided an exceptionally well-preserved context, with numerous artefact fragments found on the floor levels. The types of objects recovered resemble those used in commemorative rituals, during which they were either broken or placed in the tomb.To address these questions, we conducted an experiment involving the intentional breakage of archaeological reproductions. This allowed us to observe the traces and dispersion patterns induced by specific gestures. The resulting reference framework can now be applied to identify intentional breakage gestures in archaeological examples
Rural sub-elites in Bronze Age Egypt: evidence and strategies of an elusive social group
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Impaired endotoxin inactivation, rather than gut translocation, is associated with organ injury in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass
No full textInternational audienceBACKGROUNDS In patients with cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), postoperative inflammation is a driver of adverse outcomes. Endotoxaemia is one of the factors thought to trigger this inflammatory response. The mechanism behind high endotoxin activity (increased translocation vs. reduced inactivation capacity) has never been elucidated and may imply different therapeutic candidates. OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate, in patients with cardiac surgery with prolonged CPB, mechanisms and consequences of endotoxaemia and the efficacy of haemo-adsorption to reduce the endotoxin burden. DESIGN Ancillary analysis of a randomised controlled trial. Patients scheduled for cardiac surgery with prolonged CPB were assigned to receive either intra-operative haemo-adsorption or standard of care. Endotoxin mass and activity were measured before surgery, at the end of CPB, 6, 24 and 48 h after the end of surgery. SETTING Operating room, Amiens University Hospital. PATIENTS Adults scheduled for cardiac surgery under CPB with an expected CPB time more than 90 min. INTERVENTION Patients were randomised to receive either haemo-adsorption or standard care during CPB. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Endotoxin activity. RESULTS Two hundred and ninety-five samples from 66 patients were analysed. Following CPB, we observed a reduction in endotoxin mass accompanied by a relative increase in endotoxin activity. High postoperative endotoxin activity was associated with intra-operative dobutamine requirement, increased postoperative inflammatory biomarkers and organ injury. Endotoxin plasma concentration and activity were not lower in patients treated with haemo-adsoprtion. CONCLUSION The capacity of individuals to inactivate endotoxin rather than raw endotoxin mass (i.e. Quantity) seemed to be a determinant of endotoxin noxious effect in cardiac surgery and CBP. Haemo-adsorption was not associated with a reduction of endotoxin plasma mass or activity in patients with cardiac surgery under CPB. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04201119NCT0420111
Size doesn’t always matter: Greenspace connectivity can offset insufficient habitat patch size to improve urban tits breeding success
No full textInternational audienceUrban landscapes are often highly fragmented, constraining animals to live in and exploit a multitude of habitat patches (e.g., greenspaces) of varying size and isolation. Small greenspaces may not contain enough resources for species to maintain viable populations. Yet, appropriate spatial configuration of the habitat network (i.e., high greenspace connectivity) could theoretically alleviate or even compensate the local food resource limitations by allowing access to additional foraging grounds. Surprisingly, this effect has never been tested to explain the reproductive performances of urban fauna. We hypothesised that higher greenspace connectivity would improve the breeding outputs of two insectivorous bird species (tits), especially with decreasing nesting greenspace area (i.e., the habitat patch where the nest is located).For four years, we monitored the survival and mass of nestlings of Parus major and Cyanistes caeruleus using 240 nestboxes located along a multivariate urban gradient in Dijon (France), and analysed their variations with GLMMs while controlling for various confounding factors (e.g., urbanness, noise and light pollution, microclimate, vegetation management). Functional connectivity was measured through graph-based modelling.Greenspace connectivity was important to explain both nestling survival and mass while the nesting greenspace area was not a good predictor of breeding success. Furthermore, the positive effect of connectivity on nestling survival significantly increased with decreasing area of their nesting patches.Urban tits can maintain successful reproduction dynamics in small greenspaces provided those are well connected to the network of preferred foraging habitats. Promoting the connectivity of interstitial urban greenspaces could thus partly compensate for their frequently insufficient sizes in cities
Phase I(b) study evaluating the safety and efficacy of intratumoral agonistic anti-CD40 (selicrelumab) in combination with anti-PD-L1 (atezolizumab) in patients with refractory or relapsed B-cell lymphoma (ITSELF trial)
No full textInternational audienceBACKGROUND: The efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy requires pre-existing antitumor immunity. Defective antigen presentation during the priming phase can reduce the generation of tumor-specific T cells, which are necessary during the effector phase and subsequent tumor elimination. We propose an in situ immunization strategy to enhance direct tumor antigen presentation by the lymphoma B cells via cluster of differentiation (CD)40 stimulation in order to sensitize B-cell lymphoma to programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade therapy.MATERIALS AND METHODS: ITSELF is a multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation phase Ib trial of intratumoral selicrelumab, an agonistic anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody, every 3 weeks for three cycles in combination with intravenous atezolizumab, an antagonistic anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, at 1200 mg every 3 weeks for three cycles followed by intravenous atezolizumab monotherapy for a total of 12 months in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma. RESULTS: Two patients with follicular lymphoma and two patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma were enrolled at the first dose level of 1 mg intratumoral selicrelumab. Those four patients received the three cycles of intratumoral selicrelumab in combination with intravenous atezolizumab. Patients did not develop severe adverse events related to the drugs or the intratumoral procedures. No or low-grade adverse events were reported and related to atezolizumab or to the combination therapy. All patients discontinued the treatment because of disease progression according to Lugano 2014 criteria on their first positron emission tomography scan disease evaluation at the end of cycle 3 (week 9). The trial was stopped prematurely because of issues with selicrelumab drug supply.CONCLUSION: The combination of 1 mg of intratumoral selicrelumab and 1200 mg of intravenous atezolizumab was safe for patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma and led to some tumor stabilization or regression, although it did not result in objective tumor response
