Description of the type-series of Palaeocryptonyx donnezani Depéret, 1892 (Aves: Phasianidae) with the selection of a lectotype

We have re-examined the original type-series of Palaeocryptonyx donnezani Depéret, 1892 housed in the Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1 (France), and have selected a lectotype and paralectotypes. P. donnezani is the type species of the extinct genus Palaeocryptonyx, known from six species from different European Neogene and Pleistocene fossil localities. The species have been compared with different medium-sized Phasianidae species on the basis of our own study and data from the literature. The systematic position of P. donnezani has been questioned, because it has been misplaced in the extant genera Alectoris and Coturnix, but our analysis confirms its validity and its attribution to a separate genus; hence we also confirm the validity of the genus Palaeocryptonyx.     

Étude comparée des protéines des polyèdres et des virions de trois isolats deBaculovirus deSpodoptera littoralis

Résumé Trois isolats de polyèdres nucléaires deSpodoptera littoralis Boisduval (isolats Egypte, Maroc et Lyon) sont comparés entre eux et avec des préparations de polyèdres nucléaires des lépidoptèresBombyx mori L.,Galleria mellonella L.,Lymantria dispar L. etAutographa californica Speyer. L'analyse porte à la fois sur la composition peptidique des virions, sur le poids moléclaire des protéines des polyèdres et sur les parentés antigéniques entre ces protéines. Nous montrons que chaque espèce de lépidoptères possède un type différent de virus et que les trois isolats de polyèdres nucléaires obtenus chezS. littoralis sont très semblables. Cependant l'isolat Lyon diffère des deux autres et se compose d'un mélange de deux souches. La première souche commune aux trois isolats se propage à la fois sur larves deS. littoralis etSpodoptera exigua Hübner, tandis que la seconde souche propre à l'isolat Lyon ne se multiplie que sur larves deS. littoralis.

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Summary Three NPV isolates ofSpodoptera littoralis Boisduval (Egypt, Maroc and Lyon isolates) are studied and compared to NPV ofBombyx mori L.,Galleria mellonella L.,Porthetria dispar L. andAutographa californica Speyer. Polyhedron protein and peptide analyses as well as immunological comparisons were performed. Each of lepidopterous species possesses a different virus type. The 3 isolates coming fromS. littoralis are similar. Nevertheless, Lyon isolate is a mixture of 2 closely related strains. The 1st strain multiplies inS. littoralis andSpodoptera exigua Hbn. larvae and is found in the 3 isolates. The 2nd strain belongs only to Lyon isolate and does not develop inS. exigua larvae. The polyhedron protein molecular weight of the strain 1 is 30 590 and that of the strain 2 is 28 533. Strain 2 has 1 extrapeptide of MW 80 000 in addition to 11 virion peptides common to the both strains. Attention is drawn to the importance of NPV isolates differences for the bioinsecticide characterization.

     

Comparaison de la composition génétique de trois isolats du baculovirus de la polyedrose nucléaire du lépidoptèreSpodoptera littoralis

Trois Baculovirus isolés de larves deSpodoptera littoralis atteintes de polyédroses nucléaires au Maroc, en Egypte et dans un élevage à Lyon ont été comparés par analyse de leurs génomes avec des enzymes de restriction. Les variants génétiques contenus dans les populations virales sont obtenus après isolement de clones en culture cellulaire. Sur 27 clones analysés par les endonucléases on observe 11 variants avecEco RI, 3 variants avecBam HI et avecSac I et un type unique avecHin dIII. Les 3 virus Maroc, Egypte et Lyon sont différents, mais appartiennent à l'espèce B définie parCherry & Summers (1985). Summary Three Baculoviruses were isolated fromSpodoptera littoralis larvae infected with nuclear polyhedrosis (NPV) collected from Morocco, Egypt, and a from laboratory culture at Lyon (France). Their genomes were compared by restriction endonuclease analysis. The genotypic variants contained in the viral populations were obtained after isolation of clones in cell culture. Among the 27 clones analyzed by restriction endonucleases, 11 variants were observed withEco RI, 3 variants withBam HI andSac I, and one unique type withHin dIII. These 3 viruses “Morocco”, “Egypt”, and “Lyon” are different, but belong to type B ofS. littoralis NPV as defined byCherry & Summers (1985).

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avec la collaboration technique de BéatriceChebli.     

Gastrointestinal somatostatin cells in the human fetus

Summary The stomach, duodenum, jejunum and ileum from 6 to 24 week-old human fetuses or deceased premature infants and from one totally anencephalic fetus were stained with antisomatostatin serum. The somatostatin containing cells appear in different segments of the gastrointestinal tract from the tenth week of gestation. The somatostatin-containing cells are lead haematoxylin positive. Somatostatin was also detected in the duodenum of the anencephalic fetus. The study of inhibition of the immunofluorescent reaction by homologous and heterologous antigens confirmed the specificity of antiserum.These data demonstrate that somatostatin can be synthetized elsewhere than in the hypothalamus.We are indebted to Professor P. Magnin, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Professor M. Dumont, Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse, Professor Notter and Professor Garmier, Hôtel Dieu, Professor M. Bethenod, Hôpital Debrousse, Lyon, whose kind cooperation allowed us to carry out the rapid removal of gastrointestinal tracts for these studies. We thank Professor Assan, Hôtel Dieu, Paris and Professor Lambert U. 45, Inserm, Lyon, who graciously provided us with antisera. We also wish to express our gratitude to Professor Roger Guillemin, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, whose interest and cooperation made these studies possible.This work was supported by a grant of the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale.     

Distribution in space and time of Cladocera (Crustacea) in the alluvial sediments of the river Rhône (France)

Two stations in a polluted section of the Rhône River downstream of Lyon (France) were investigated during a five month' period. The samples (101 water and sediment) were taken by the Bou-Rouch method at 20, 50 and 100 cm depth in the sediments and at three different distances from the waterline. Twenty-six Cladocera species, belonging to five families were found. Most of them are known to live in the Rhône River system, as well in the surface water as in the underflow. Their community structure and the time and space distribution are described and discussed in relationship with other macroinvertebrate taxa and with the oxygen content of the pumped water.

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Zusammenfassung Zwei Probennahmestellen in einem stark verschmutzten Flußabschnitt der Rhône unterhalb von Lyon (Frankreich) wurden über einen Zeitraum von fünf Monaten untersucht. Die Proben (10 l Wasser und Feinsedimente) wurden mit einer Bou-Rouch-Pumpe in 20, 50 and 100 cm Tiefe im Kiesschotterbett und in drei verschiedenen Entfernungen vom Rhôneufer entnommen. Sechsundzwanzig Cladoceren-Arten aus fünf Familien wurden gefunden. Ihre Faunenzusammensetzung und die räumliche und zeitliche Verteilung wurden beschrieben und im Vergleich zu anderen gefundenen Macroinvertebraten-Taxa und zum Sauerstoffgehalt des Interstitial-Wassers diskutiert.

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Résumé Deux stations dans une zone polluée du Rhône en aval de Lyon (France) ont été étudiées pendant une période de cinq mois. Les échantillons (10 l d'eau et de sédiment) ont été pris avec la méthode selon Bou et Rouch à des profondeurs de 20, 50 et 100 cm dans les sédiments et à trois distances différentes du bord de l'eau. Vingt-six espèces de Cladocères appartenant à cinq familles ont été trouvées. La plupart d'entre elles sont déjà connues dans l'hydrosystème du Rhône, aussi bien en surface que dans le sous-écoulement. Leur structure de peuplement et leur distribution spatio-temporelle sont décrites et discutées en relation avec les autres taxons de macroinvertébrés trouvés trouvés et avec la concentration en oxygène de l'eau interstitielle.

     

Protein–protein interactions within peroxiredoxin systems

Peroxiredoxin systems in plants were demonstrated involved in crucial roles related to reactive oxygenated species (ROS) metabolism and the linked cell signalling to ROS. Peroxiredoxins function as peroxidasic systems that combine at least a reactivating reductant agent like thioredoxins, and sometimes glutaredoxins and glutathion. In the past three years a number of peroxiredoxin structures were solved by crystallography in different experimental crystallisation conditions. The structures have revealed a significant propensity of peroxiredoxins for oligomerism that was confirmed by biophysical studies in solution using NMR and other methods as analytical ultra-centrifugation. These studies showed that quaternary structures of peroxiredoxins involve specific protein–protein interaction interfaces that rely upon the peroxiredoxin types and/or their redox conditions. The protein–protein interactions with the reactivating redoxins essentially lead to transient unstable complexes. We review herein the different protein–protein interactions characterized or deduced from those reports.VNM is recipient of a PhD fellowship of the French Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur de la Recherche et des Nouvelles Technologies for the year 2003–2006 and the Research Doctorate School of Chemistry of Lyon.     

Methylene blue as an antimalarial agent

Methylene blue has intrinsic antimalarial activity and it can act as a chloroquine sensitizer. In addition, methylene blue must be considered for preventing methemoglobinemia, a serious complication of malarial anemia. As an antiparasitic agent, methylene blue is pleiotropic: it interferes with hemoglobin and heme metabolism in digestive organelles, and it is a selective inhibitor of Plasmodium falciparum glutathione reductase. The latter effect results in glutathione depletion which sensitizes the parasite for chloroquine action. At the Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna in Burkina Faso, we study the combination of chloroquine with methylene blue (BlueCQ) as a possible medication for malaria in endemic regions. A pilot study with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-sufficient adult patients has been conducted recently.     

From milliseconds to millions of years: guard cells and environmental responses

During the past year, significant advances have been made in our understanding of stomatal development and its response to climate change, and in our knowledge of how guard cell Ca(2+) oscillations encode environmental signals. Recent studies on (de)phosphorylation mechanisms have provided new information on how guard cells respond to abscisic acid and blue light.     

Fluctuations in a coastal dune grassland due to fluctuations in rainfall: Experimental evidence

Experiments with rainfall on a dune grassland near Oostvoorne, the Netherlands with Festuco-Galietum as the main syntaxon are described. Both increase in rain through additional watering and decrease in rain through catchment are presented to plots belonging to the xerosere and the mesosere. Clear changes in the floristic composition are the result, even after only two years. Typical Festuco-Galietum species are promoted by high rainfall, species of open habitat such as Corynephorus canescens are promoted by drought. The results are discussed against the background of long term permanent plot observations in the area and a relation with rabbit grazing intensity is supposed.Nomenclature of vascular plants follows Heukels-van Ooststroom (1975) Flora van Nederland 18 ed., Woiters-Noordhoff, Groningen; Nomenclature of syntaxa follows Westhoff & den Held (1969). Plantengemeenschappen in Nederland, Thieme, Zutphen.Field work in 1978 was carried out with Frans Bongers and Marc de Lyon, in 1979 with Marc de Lyon, Picter Meeuwissen and Guiljo van Nuland, all then MSc. students at the Division of Geobotany. Their help and the advice of Dr. Peter van der Aart, Institute of Ecological Research, Oostvoorne, are acknowledged.     

European influence on diversity policy frames: paradoxical outcomes of Lyon's membership of the Intercultural Cities programme

This paper examines the formulation of policy frames towards new minorities in France by analysing Lyon's membership of the European Commission's and Council of Europe's Intercultural Cities programme (ICP). Here, with culture accounting for 20% of Lyon's budget, emphasis is placed on the adoption of the Charte de Coopération Culturelle to use cultural institutions to implement difference-orientated policies. Critically, important issues emerge with this strategy. The effort to engage new minorities is hampered by significant apathy from cultural institutions in Lyon, and the limited geographical area of Lyon included in the ICP. Finally, institutions who engage with promoting interculturality co-opt existing organizations, with negative implications for the treatment of diversity in the city. This illustrates the problems with a European framework fostering a policy frame based on recognition for minorities in a context that has yet to fully embrace such policies at the national level.     

Methylene blue as an antimalarial agent

Abstract

Methylene blue has intrinsic antimalarial activity and it can act as a chloroquine sensitizer. In addition, methylene blue must be considered for preventing methemoglobinemia, a serious complication of malarial anemia. As an antiparasitic agent, methylene blue is pleiotropic: it interferes with hemoglobin and heme metabolism in digestive organelles, and it is a selective inhibitor of Plasmodium falciparum glutathione reductase. The latter effect results in glutathione depletion which sensitizes the parasite for chloroquine action. At the Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna in Burkina Faso, we study the combination of chloroquine with methylene blue (BlueCQ) as a possible medication for malaria in endemic regions. A pilot study with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-sufficient adult patients has been conducted recently.     

Identification of gastrin-secreting cells and cholecystokinin-secreting cells in the gastrointestinal tract of the human fetus and adult man

Summary Gastrin-and cholecystokinin (C.C.K.)-containing cells were detected by using anti-gastrin and anti-C.C.K. sera in the gastrointestinal tract of human fetuses and premature infants and in the stomach and duodenum of adult man obtained by biopsy from eight patients with normal gastro-duodenal endoscopy. The specificity of immunocytological reactions was ascertained by studying the inhibition of the reaction by gastrin, C.C.K., secretin, somatostatin, glucagon, insulin, serotonin, histamin, caerulein and octapeptide of C.C.K. In adult man, the gastrin cells are located only in the antrum and juxtapyloric region; C.C.K. was detected in the duodenum. In the human fetus, the first gastrin cells are seen in the antrum at 14 weeks of age and in the duodenum as early as 10 weeks; the C.C.K. cells are seen in the small intestine at 10 weeks of age. Acknowledgements. The authors should like to thank Professors Magnin and Liaras, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, M. Dumont, Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse, Notter et Garmier, Hôtel-Dieu, Bethenod, Hôpital Debrousse, Lyon, for their cooperation. We also thank Professor R. Guillemin, the Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, Doctor M.P. Dubois, I.N.R.A., Station de Physiologie de la Reproduction, Nouzilly, Mme Vagne, U. 45, I.N.S.E.R.M. and Professor Y. Minaire, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Lyon, for their donations. This work was supported by a grant from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale     

Isolation from soils ofNitrobacter and evidence for novel serotypes using immunofluorescence

To study the ecology of chemoautotrophic nitrifying bacteria (Nitrobacter), the immunofluorescence technique has been used. Fluorescent antibodies againstNitrobacter winogradskyi andNitrobacter agilis, the two known serotypes, have not labeled strains isolated from soils of the Lyon region (pH 8.1 and pH 4.7). The pure-culture isolates appeared to belong to the same genus, but to be serologically different from the reference strains. These results led us to question the diversity of strains ofNitrobacter in soils.     

Traitement des informations chez les etres vivants: Systemes a services par essais successifs

Information treatment, especially in a natural medium, may be done by a random system: given an input, possible solutions are randomly selected and successively tested until the right one is found and then emitted. This paper is a mathematical study of this type of system and its use as a model of some natural (biological) systems. The theoretical development is illustrated by several examples of possible applications to biological cases. We study, under different assumptions, the distribution of the number of trials needed to treat the input, the distribution of the time for this treatment, and the distribution of the average amount of information treated in a trial or in a unit of time. We consider the case of error, and study some optimal conditions of operation and the occurrence of memory influencing the treatment of an input according to previously processed inputs.

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La partie mathématique du présent texte a fait l’objet d’une thèse de Doctorat ès-Sciences Mathématiques, soutenue le 21 mars 1969 devant la Faculté des Sciences de l’Université de Lyon, France.     

Forecasting ragweed pollen characteristics with nonparametric regression methods over the most polluted areas in Europe

Nonparametric time-varying regression methods were developed to forecast daily ragweed pollen concentration, and the probability of the exceedance of a given concentration threshold 1 day ahead. Five-day and 10-day predictions of the start and end of the pollen season were also addressed with a nonparametric regression technique combining regression analysis with the method of temperature sum. Our methods were applied to three of the most polluted regions in Europe, namely Lyon (Rhône Valley, France), Legnano (Po River Plain, Italy) and Szeged (Great Plain, Hungary). For a 1-day prediction of both the daily pollen concentration and daily threshold exceedance, the order of these cities from the smallest to largest prediction errors was Legnano, Lyon, Szeged and Legnano, Szeged, Lyon, respectively. The most important predictor for each location was the pollen concentration of previous days. The second main predictor was precipitation for Lyon, and temperature for Legnano and Szeged. Wind speed should be considered for daily concentration at Legnano, and for daily pollen threshold exceedances at Lyon and Szeged. Prediction capabilities compared to the annual cycles for the start and end of the pollen season decreased from west to east. The order of the cities from the lowest to largest errors for the end of the pollen season was Lyon, Legnano, Szeged for both the 5- and 10-day predictions, while for the start of the pollen season the order was Legnano, Lyon, Szeged for 5-day predictions, and Legnano, Szeged, Lyon for 10-day predictions.     

First record of Terpios fugax Duchassaing and Michelotti, 1864 (Demospongiae: Suberitidae) in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

ABSTRACT

The brightly blue shallow water species Terpios fugax Duchassaing and Michelotti, 1864 was originally described from the Caribbean and has been extensively recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, but rarely found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the Pacific Ocean it has been only reported from Sulawesi, Indonesia and from the Caroline and Marshall Islands. Here we report the first record of Terpios in the Eastern Pacific, based on the presence of T. fugax at Caldera, Región de Atacama, northern Chile. Although this species may have been inadvertently introduced to the area by human activity, it should also be considered that the geographically distant populations of this sponge (from the Caribbean to the Eastern Pacific) may represent different species.     

Intervention des sialo-glycoconjugués dans les réactions histochimiques de Diezel,de Shear et Pearse de métachromasie,de capture de fer et du bleu Alcian

Résumé La sensibilité de ces techniques vis à vis de l'acide sialique fut précisée. Pour cela, elles furent appliquées à des coupes de différents tissus frais de Rat et de Mouton effectuées au cryostat, avant et après hydrolyse enzymatique. Le colorant métachromatique bleu de méthylène, employé à différents pH, fut appliqué à des coupes traitées par la méthylation, la saponification, et les hydrolyses chimique et enzymatique de l'acide sialique, puis son absorption fut mesurée à l'électrophotomètre. Seuls, les tissus très riches en sialo-glycoconjugués donnèrent des résultats satisfaisants avec la métachromasie et la méthode de capture de fer et du bleu Alcian.

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Interference of sialo-glycoconjugates in the histochemical reactions of Diezel, Shear and Pearse, metachromasia, iron capture and Alcian blue

Summary The sensitivity of these techniques with respect to sialic acid were determined. For this, the methods of Diezel, Shear and Pearse, iron capture and Alcian blue were applied to sections of fresh tissues of the rat and sheep prepared on the cryostat-submaxillary gland, liver and brain-before and after the selective elimination of sialic acid by neuraminidase. The metachromatic colorimetric reagent methylene blue, used at different pH values (2 to 8) was applied to sections treated by methylation, saponification and chemical hydrolysis by sulphuric acid and enzymatically, then the absorption was measured on an electrophotometer. The results obtained with the methods of Diezel and of Shear and Pearse respectively were negative and not very convincing. With the other techniques only the tissues very rich in sialo-glycoconjugates gave satisfactory results. Moreover, the measurement of variation in the absorption of methylene blue permitted determination of the different acid compositions of these tissues.

     

Climatic and anthropogenic effects on the sedimentation and geochemistry of Lakes Bourget,Annecy and Léman

During the last glaciation, the Rhone glacier extended as far as the region of Lyon and covered Lakes Bourget, Annecy and Léman. Glacial retreat successively freed Lakes Bourget and Annecy, it reached Geneva around 14 000 B.P. and the head of Lake Léman at about 12 000 B.P. Deposits situated between Nyon and the foot of the Jura provide a complete palynological zonation and serve as a type section for the lake core studies. A palynological horizon (about 1 800 A.D.) has been found in Lake Bourget and wood has been dated at 3 230 ± 65 B.P. (¹⁴C) in a core from Lake Léman. Three 6 m cores from each lake were sampled together with many 0.5 m cores from Léman. The short Lake Léman cores have been dated by ¹³⁷Cs and provide a precise indication of changes in the basin during recent decades. Holocene climatic variations are evident in the Léman cores and are reflected by concentrations of carbonate and organic carbon which increase at the end of the Alleröd and reach a maximum in the Atlantic Period (climatic optimum). Human settlement on the shores of Lake Annecy is shown by increases in heavy metals; increased sedimentation rates suggest settlement at the beginning of the Christian era. All the cores show increases in the organic matter and nutrients; from the turn of the century in the Léman, and later for the other lakes where eutrophication started only a few decades ago. NAI-P shows a very recent increase, around 1965 in the Leman. Heavy metals (Hg, Cd and Pb) show increases at about 30 years ago in Annecy, at about the turn of the century in Lake Léman and in the mid-19th century in Lake Bourget.

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Résumé Lors de la dernière glaciation, le glacier du Rhône a atteint la région de Lyon et recouvert les lacs du Bourget, d'Annecy et le Léman. Son retrait a successivement libéré les lacs du Bourget, d'Annecy, puis le Léman de leur carapace de glace. Aux environs de 14 000 ans B.P. son front se trouvait au voisinage de Genéve, puis vers 12 000 B.P. à l'embouchure du Rhône en amont du Léman.La chronostratigraphie des grandes carottes (6 m) prélevées dans les trois lacs a été établie par la palynologie, sur la base des zonations obtenues dans un profil complet provenant d'un marais situé entre Nyon et le pied du Jura. Elles ont pu être contrôlées par un marqueur palynologique dans le lac du Bourget (150 B.P.) et la datation au ¹⁴C d'un fragment de bois dans le Léman (3 230 ± 65 B.P.). Une série de carottes de grand diamètre provenant de ce dernier lac, datés par le ¹³⁷Cs, ont donné une image très précise du l'évolution du milieu durant les dernières décades. D'une facon générale, toutes les carottes montrent une augmentation des teneurs en matière organique, puis en nutrients, vers le fin du 19ème siècle pour le Léman et quelques dizaines d'années plus tard pour les lacs du Bourget et d'Annecy. Le début du l'etrophisation se situe beaucoup plus tard dans le Lémen avec l'accroissement des teneurs en phosphore, principalement de ses formes NAI-P et O-P, soit aux environs de 1965.

     

Extinction of the blue antelope Hippotragus leucophaeus: modeling predicts non-viable global population size as the primary driver

The extinction of the blue antelope Hippotragus leucophaeus in 1800 is poorly documented and understood, and has been ascribed to a combination of habitat loss and overhunting by early European colonists with firearms. We modeled the distribution and abundance of this species to gain insight into the extinction process. Model outputs indicate that prior to the arrival of European colonists, blue antelope were restricted to a small area (c. 4,300 km²), with an estimated population of only 370 individuals. We conclude that the historical population of blue antelope was functionally an island population in terms of demographic and genetic processes, by virtue of its limited distribution, small size and lack of metapopulation processes. The small population (effective population size ~100 individuals) would have been vulnerable to stochastic effects and was probably trapped in an extinction vortex. Hunting pressure by European colonists merely provided the coup de grace to a species already on the brink of extinction.