La fertilité chez le blessé médullaire. Effet du niveau de la lésion médullaire

The majority of spinal cord injured males cannot procreate naturally due to anejaculation as well as abnormal sperm characteristics. Treatment of this impaired fertility must be associated with treatment of neurogenic urinary tract disorders, bowel dysfunction and spasticity. The level of the spinal lesion and the spinal cord injury syndrome influence the possibility of inducing reflex ejaculation by penile vibratory stimulation and sperm quality.     

Novel Arenavirus Sequences in Hylomyscus sp. and Mus (Nannomys) setulosus from C?te d'Ivoire: Implications for Evolution of Arenaviruses in Africa

This study aimed to identify new arenaviruses and gather insights in the evolution of arenaviruses in Africa. During 2003 through 2005, 1,228 small mammals representing 14 different genera were trapped in 9 villages in south, east, and middle west of Côte d''Ivoire. Specimens were screened by pan-Old World arenavirus RT-PCRs targeting S and L RNA segments as well as immunofluorescence assay. Sequences of two novel tentative species of the family Arenaviridae, Menekre and Gbagroube virus, were detected in Hylomyscus sp. and Mus (Nannomys) setulosus, respectively. Arenavirus infection of Mus (Nannomys) setulosus was also demonstrated by serological testing. Lassa virus was not found, although 60% of the captured animals were Mastomys natalensis. Complete S RNA and partial L RNA sequences of the novel viruses were recovered from the rodent specimens and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Gbagroube virus is a closely related sister taxon of Lassa virus, while Menekre virus clusters with the Ippy/Mobala/Mopeia virus complex. Reconstruction of possible virus–host co-phylogeny scenarios suggests that, within the African continent, signatures of co-evolution might have been obliterated by multiple host-switching events.     

A comparison of national approaches to setting ecological status boundaries in phytobenthos assessment for the European Water Framework Directive: results of an intercalibration exercise

The European Union (EU)’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires that all Member States participate in intercalibration exercises in order to ensure that ecological status concepts and assessment levels are consistent across the EU. This paper describes one such exercise, performed by the countries in the Central/Baltic Geographical Intercalibration Group stretching from Ireland in the west to Estonia in the east and from the southern parts of Scandinavia to the northern regions of Spain and Italy (but excluding alpine regions, which were intercalibrated separately). In this exercise, methods used to measure ecological status of rivers using benthic diatoms were compared. Ecological status is estimated as the ratio between the observed value of a biological element and the value expected in the absence of significant human impact. Approaches to defining the ‘reference sites’, from which these ‘expected’ values were derived, varied from country to country. Minimum criteria were established as part of the exercise but there was still considerable variation between national reference values, reflecting typological differences that could not be resolved during the exercise. A simple multimetric index was developed to compare boundary values using two widely used diatom metrics. Boundary values for high/good status and good/moderate status set by each participant were converted to their equivalent values of this intercalibration metric using linear regression. Variation of ±0.05 EQR units around the median value was considered to be acceptable and the exercise provided a means for those Member States who fell significantly above or below this line to review their approaches and, if necessary, adjust their boundaries. Handling editor: J. Padisak     

An analysis of the mole rats (Mammalia: Rodentia) from Langebaanweg (Mio-Pliocene, South Africa)

A study of the taphonomy and age profiles of the mole rat population from Langebaanweg ‘E’ Quarry was undertaken in order to see if these subterranean rodents had been accumulated by predation (coprocoenosis hypothesis) or as a result of drowning in their burrows during a flood event (catastrophocenosis hypothesis). Previous research has cited the bathyergids as being the most common rodent at Langebaanweg, however, a comprehensive study of new micromammal material indicates that murids, rather than mole rats, dominate most of the assemblages. The concentration of mole rat remains in many of the fossil-bearing levels at Langebaanweg is, nevertheless, still extremely high compared to other fossil sites or predation assemblages in the area. A taphonomic examination of mole rat incisor surfaces indicates that digestion occurs on between 44% and 54% of incisors in the different assemblages, and this, together with the degree of digestion suggests that category 1 and category 2 predators had been responsible for the accumulation of the fossil mole rat assemblages. The absence of rounding, polishing or weathering on the fossils indicates that there has been little or no transport by water, and that burial of the bones was rapid. Breakage and damage to the anterior portion of many of the mandibles made it impossible to accurately assess the age of the older mole rats, and the majority of mandibles could provide only a minimum age of the animal at the time of death. The age profile indicates that very young individuals are missing from the assemblages. This allows for refutation of the previously made suggestion that flooding was responsible for the death of the majority of Langebaanweg mole rats and also introduces the possibility that Bathyergus hendeyi may have been a social animal, unlike extant bathyergids which are solitary.     

Cost and Efficiency of Large Mammal Census Techniques: Comparison of Methods for a Participatory Approach in a Communal Area, Zimbabwe

The comparison of precision is often advocated for the selection of an appropriate census and/or monitoring method for wildlife, but little attention is generally paid to their cost effectiveness, a crucial criterion given budgetary and logistical constraints. We present six direct count methods conducted in a communal area of the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, and compare them in terms of (1) effort and cost to survey an area (sampling efficiency), and (2) efficiency in data collection (detection efficiency). Methods ranged from c.US$0.2 to over US$6.0/km² and needed from 0.1 to 5.0 human-h/km². The comparison of efficiencies showed the advantages of simple ground methods: foot counts and particularly bicycle counts appear well adapted to the ecological and human context of our study. The relative benefits and constraints of the different methods are discussed in the context of a community-based wildlife management programme.     

Influence of Cardiac Decentralization on Cardioprotection

The role of cardiac nerves on development of myocardial tissue injury after acute coronary occlusion remains controversial. We investigated whether acute cardiac decentralization (surgical) modulates coronary flow reserve and myocardial protection in preconditioned dogs subject to ischemia-reperfusion. Experiments were conducted on four groups of anesthetised, open-chest dogs (n = 32): 1- controls (CTR, intact cardiac nerves), 2- ischemic preconditioning (PC; 4 cycles of 5-min IR), 3- cardiac decentralization (CD) and 4- CD+PC; all dogs underwent 60-min coronary occlusion and 180-min reperfusion. Coronary blood flow and reactive hyperemic responses were assessed using a blood volume flow probe. Infarct size (tetrazolium staining) was related to anatomic area at risk and coronary collateral blood flow (microspheres) in the anatomic area at risk. Post-ischemic reactive hyperemia and repayment-to-debt ratio responses were significantly reduced for all experimental groups; however, arterial perfusion pressure was not affected. Infarct size was reduced in CD dogs (18.6±4.3; p = 0.001, data are mean±1SD) compared to 25.2±5.5% in CTR dogs and was less in PC dogs as expected (13.5±3.2 vs. 25.2±5.5%; p = 0.001); after acute CD, PC protection was conserved (11.6±3.4 vs. 18.6±4.3%; p = 0.02). In conclusion, our findings provide strong evidence that myocardial protection against ischemic injury can be preserved independent of extrinsic cardiac nerve inputs.     

Mus in Morocco: a Quaternary sequence of intraspecific evolution

North Africa is an intricate biogeographical region at the crossroads of immigration waves from tropical Africa and Asia. Species confined between various barriers (Atlas Mountains, arid environments such as the Sahara in the south, water masses such as the Mediterranean Sea in the north, and the Atlantic Ocean in the west) were generally forced to adapt locally to environmental changes instead of tracking their habitat by shifting their distribution area. The present study aims at providing first insight into the evolution of the genus Mus, and more specifically of the western Mediterranean species Mus spretus in this area. The study relies on the abundant Late Pleistocene and Middle Holocene fossil assemblage from the El Harhoura 2 cave (Rabat‐Témara, Morocco). This exceptional record was studied using geometric morphometrics applied to first upper and lower molars, constituting the most informative and best preserved fossil remains for such small rodents. Two main issues were addressed. (1) Geometric morphometrics was used to clarify taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships among fossil and modern species in this area. Morphometric analysis revealed good discrimination of most modern and fossil species but failed to document intermediate forms tracing anagenetic evolution. Not mutually exclusive, the occurrence of complex processes of morphological evolution in this genus such as parallel evolution and the action of stabilizing selection may make it difficult to translate patterns of morphological evolution into phylogenetic conclusions. (2) The record was shown to document a sequence of intraspecific evolution of M. spretus. The morphology of the molars through the fossil record of El Harhoura 2 was surprisingly stable despite extensive modern variation. The limited temporal variation largely failed to correlate to palaeoenvironmental proxies. The mouse fossil record at El Harhoura 2 thus presents an intriguing case of morphological stasis despite extensive environmental changes. This long‐term stability may have been recently perturbed by anthropogenic factors including landscape changes and introduction of various competitors and predators, leading to a size reduction. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 109 , 599–621.