Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : While Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, the abundance of trees is skewed strongly towards relatively few 'hyperdominant' species. In addition to their diversity, Amazonian trees are a key component of the global carbon cycle, assimilating and storing more carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Here we ask, using a unique data set of 530 forest plots, if the functions of storing and producing woody carbon are concentrated in a small number of tree species, whether the most abundant species also dominate carbon cycling, and whether dominant species are characterized by specific functional traits. We find that dominance of forest function is even more concentrated in a few species than is dominance of tree abundance, with only ≈1% of Amazon tree species responsible for 50% of carbon storage and productivity. Although those species that contribute most to biomass and productivity are often abundant, species maximum size is also influential, while the identity and ranking of dominant species varies by function and by region.
ISSN: 2041-1723

hal-01204225
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01204225
DOI : 10.1038/ncomms7857
PRODINRA : 305614
PUBMED : 25919449

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Landes Bioscience
Résumé : International audience
In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
Autophagy

hal-00735751
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00735751
PUBMED : 22966490

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We have discovered in a marine core, located 20 km east of the Coastal Range of Taiwan at the top of a 1200 m deep submarine high, sheltered from rivers discharges and gravitational flows, a 23 cm-thick anomalous sequence topped with broken bivalves and wood fragments. Based on radiocarbon dating, we distinguish five sub-events within ∼ 100 yrs, about 3000 years ago. The oldest four sub-events are interpreted as the record of local submarine landslides, likely triggered by clustered earthquakes that are common in this tectonically active area. The last event including shells and wood has a different origin. Despite the high level of climatic and tectonic recent activity, no comparable event has been observed at the same site since that time, making it unique during the last 3.75 ka. Hydrodynamical modeling stimulated with a set of submarine landslide-triggered tsunami sources and combined with the regional oceanic circulation dominated by the Kuroshio Current, allow us to better constrain the transport paths of the suspended material, the expected run-up at the coast, and ultimately the trigger and source that best fit our observations. The Kuroshio Current appears as a strong constraint that generally prevents cross-shore transport of suspended material even during a major tsunami. Since the largest aerial debris flow observed along the east coast of Taiwan during the last 4 ka was synchronous with the marine deposit, our preferred scenario starts with the occurrence of four distinct large earthquakes within less than a century, triggering both submarine and aerial landslides in the study area. Then, a giant typhoon reworked the nearshore material as well as the slided material stored upstream resulting in a debris flow. It deeply modified the surface current, allowing the wood debris and shells to fastly reach the core site.
ISSN: 0040-1951

hal-01467640
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01467640
DOI : 10.1016/j.tecto.2015.11.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND:Fever in infants younger than 3 months is generally a cause for concern because of the risk for a serious bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to describe clinical and biological features of Chikungunya infection in infants < 3 months of age hospitalized in Cayenne Hospital during the 2014-2015 outbreak.METHODS:We performed a preliminary retrospective study followed by a prospective study from March 2014 to February 2015. All infants younger than 3 months presenting with fever and hospitalized in Cayenne Hospital were included. The main diagnostic criteria were fever and positive Chikungunya PCR.RESULTS:One hundred and twenty infants were hospitalized with fever. The mean age was 46 days (SD± 22 days). The mean hospitalization duration was 7.4 days (SD± 6.1 days). Chikungunya infection was diagnosed in 26 children. The most important clinical findings were high (80.8% [77.5-84]) and prolonged fever (76.9%, [73.4-80.4]), irritability (96.2% [94.5-97.7]) and skin rash. (69.2%, [65.4-73]). Half of the infants presented edema of the extremities (hands and feet principally). However, in 15 %, Chikungunya infection was associated with a serious bacterial infection. Infants who presented with irritability, high fever and elevated PCT were at high risk for Chikungunya: OR 39, [9.2-243] (p < 0.001), with a specificity of 96.7 % and a negative predictive value of 89.4%. The area of the ROC curve was 0.96 CONCLUSIONS:: Our results confirm that Chikunguyna infection is a cause of high fever in infants younger than 3 months. Our data should be confirmed by larger studies.
ISSN: 0891-3668

inserm-01476019
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01476019
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01476019/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01476019/file/2017%2C%20Elenga%20-%20Chikungunya%20Infection%20in%20hospitalized%20febrile%20infants.pdf
DOI : 10.1097/INF.0000000000001541

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: Women of reproductive age can be exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) at work, and exposure to EDCs in pregnancy may affect fetal growth. OBJECTIVES: We assessed whether maternal occupational exposure to EDCs during pregnancy as classified by application of a job exposure matrix was associated with birth weight, term low birth weight (LBW), length of gestation, and preterm delivery. METHODS: Using individual participant data from 133,957 mother-child pairs in 13 European cohorts spanning births from 1994 through 2011, we linked maternal job titles with exposure to 10 EDC groups as assessed through a job exposure matrix. For each group, we combined the two levels of exposure categories (possible and probable) and compared birth outcomes with the unexposed group (exposure unlikely). We performed meta-analyses of cohort-specific estimates. RESULTS: Eleven percent of pregnant women were classified as exposed to EDCs at work during pregnancy, based on job title. Classification of exposure to one or more EDC group was associated with an increased risk of term LBW [odds ratio (OR) = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.49], as were most specific EDC groups; this association was consistent across cohorts. Further, the risk increased with increasing number of EDC groups (OR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.10, 4.06 for exposure to four or more EDC groups). There were few associations (p < 0.05) with the other outcomes; women holding job titles classified as exposed to bisphenol A or brominated flame retardants were at higher risk for longer length of gestation. CONCLUSION: Results from our large population-based birth cohort design indicate that employment during pregnancy in occupations classified as possibly or probably exposed to EDCs was associated with an increased risk of term LBW.
ISSN: 0091-6765

hal-01405823
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01405823
DOI : 10.1289/EHP208
PUBMED : 27152464