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The redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, was introduced to Martinique Island for aquaculture purposes in 2004, in an attempt to revitalize the freshwater crustacean aquaculture sector. In 2015, three wild populations were discovered during an electrofishing survey on fish diversity. In 2018, a specific crayfish survey was performed at night using spotlighting and baited traps at 34 sites throughout the island. The species was mostly found in the center and northern part of the island, specifically, a total of 105 specimens were captured in eight streams and five closed water bodies. We sequenced a 491 base-pair fragment of the COI gene to understand the invasion history and pathway from the presumed source population at the Mangatal hatchery. Among the eight haplotypes found, three were dominant, of which, two occurred in the Mangatal hatchery. As crayfish are sold alive, there is a high risk of further human-mediated introductions across the island hydrographic basins. Thus, the distribution of this species could rapidly expand throughout Martinique freshwater ecosystems, with ecological impacts on native communities yet to be determined and requiring urgent investigation.

Partiendo de la literatura que expone que la mayoría de los asesinatos seriales son cometidos por hombres y con motivación sexual, la investigación es un abordaje preliminar que tiene como objetivo realizar una aproximación a la influencia cultural en la motivación sexual de los asesinos en serie. Se analizaron 86 casos de asesinatos seriales con autores masculinos de distintos países, cometidos entre 1900 y el 2020. Las variables evaluadas se relacionan con el agresor, la victimología, el modus operandi, la tipología de motivación sexual y las acciones relacionadas con tal clasificación. En países de cultura indulgente, los actos mayoritarios son los sexuales pre mortem (44.20%), interferencia con el cuerpo de la víctima (36%) y mutilación (27.90%); de igual manera, ocurre en países de cultura restrictiva, aunque en menor porcentaje, siendo la mutilación (7%) la única variable estadísticamente significativa (X2 = 0.034). La motivación directo-sádica es la más presente, siendo de 52.30% en la indulgencia y de 18.60% en restrictivos, existiendo una relación significativa (X2 = 0.026). Existe una influencia parcial de la cultura en el modus operandi y la motivación sexual según la mayor o menor presencia de normas sociales y cómo influyen en la toma de decisiones del individuo

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide with myocardial infarction being the most prevalent. Currently, no cure is available to either prevent or revert the massive death of cardiomyocytes that occurs after a myocardial infarction. Adult mammalian hearts display a limited regeneration capacity, but it is insufficient to allow complete myocardial recovery. In contrast, the injured zebrafish heart muscle regenerates efficiently through robust proliferation of pre-existing myocardial cells. Thus, zebrafish allows its exploitation for studying the genetic programs behind cardiac regeneration, which may be present, albeit dormant, in the adult human heart. To this end, we have established ZebraReg, a novel and versatile automated platform for studying heart regeneration kinetics after the specific ablation of cardiomyocytes in zebrafish larvae. In combination with automated heart imaging, the platform can be integrated with genetic or pharmacological approaches and used for medium-throughput screening of presumed modulators of heart regeneration. We demonstrate the versatility of the platform by identifying both anti- and pro-regenerative effects of genes and drugs. In conclusion, we present a tool which may be utilised to streamline the process of target validation of novel gene regulators of regeneration, and the discovery of new drug therapies to regenerate the heart after myocardial infarction.

Abstract Introductions of invasive non‐native species (and their subsequent impacts) are recognized as a major threat to native flora and fauna. This is especially true in island ecosystems such as the tropical island of Martinique. In 2018, one such aquatic invasive species, the suckermouth catfish Hypostomus robinii (Loricariidae), was reported for the first time in two of the islands rivers. H. robinii is a popular freshwater aquarium fish and native to tropical and sub‐tropical South America. Since its initial discovery, a growing number of populations have been found, suggesting a larger distribution of this species through Martinique's hydrographic network. Here, we developed a novel survey technique (utilizing environmental DNA) and conducted a widespread survey across the island to assess the distribution of this invasive species. We were able to detect H. robinii in 22% of sites surveyed (18 out of 83) via our eDNA‐based assay. The presence of these fish was confirmed using traditional trapping at 14 of these sites. Additionally, we used occupancy modeling to investigate the impact of different environmental covariates on the detection efficiency of the novel assay and the potential impacts of false positives and negatives. We highlight a decrease in the detection probability when water volume filtered increases. That said, the eDNA‐based method proves a useful tool for the detection of this invasive fish species and monitoring its spread for management purposes.

Marine herbivores face rapid changes in the coastal ecosystems where they forage. In the Caribbean, the recent and fast expansion of the invasive phanerogam species Halophila stipulacea is threatening native seagrass ecosystems. So far, H. stipulacea is escaping most Caribbean herbivores, certainly because of its recent introduction or lower nutritional value. We investigated the impact of H. stipulacea invasion on fine-scale foraging habitat selection and food resource selection of immature green turtles at critical foraging sites in Les Anses d′Arlet, Martinique. The analysis of seagrass distribution and nutritional content, together with turtle behaviour and resource selection, showed that H. stipulacea may be of contrasting interest to green turtles. Compositional analysis confirmed the lower nutritional value of H. stipulacea compared to the native species, but the invasive species showed higher digestibility than native ones, which calls into question the energetic advantage of consuming the native plants over the exotic plant. Thus, although green turtles mostly selected the native seagrass Thalassia testudinum in multispecies seagrass beds, some individuals fed on H. stipulacea. Accordingly, in bays entirely invaded by H. stipulacea, one possibility for resident green turtles is to increase foraging on this species, but, if so, the consequences on their growth and survival still remain to be determined. As the expansion of H. stipulacea may have been facilitated by factors such as shipping, anchor scarring and fishing activities, protection of native seagrass beds and immature green turtles from human disturbances is urgently required to ensure the long-term adaptation of green turtles to this new foraging environment.

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of cerebral microangiopathy (CM), which is related to cognitive impairment, in an asymptomatic population. Pulsatility index (PI) is an easily measurable parameter of cerebral vascular resistance in transcranial duplex of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) study. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CM measured by PI of MCA in low to moderate vascular risk subjects.Methods: We included 3,721 subjects between 45 and 70 years without previous history of vascular disease or diabetes mellitus and with at least one other vascular risk factor from the cross-sectional study ILERVAS (Lleida, Spain). Patients underwent transcranial duplex to determine MCA-PI. Possible CM was defined by MCA-PI >1.1. Carotid and femoral arteries ultrasound registration was done to determine the presence, the number, and the area of atheromatous plaques. Body mass index (BMI), pulse pressure (PP) and laboratory data were also recorded.Results: 439 (11.8%) subjects were excluded due to the low quality of transcranial duplex images. Median age was 57 [IQR 52, 62] years. Possible CM was found in 424 (12.9%) subjects. CM patients had higher prevalence of plaques than non-CM (77.4 vs. 66.4%, p < 0.001). PI showed a positive linear correlation with the number of territories with plaques (r = 0.130, p < 0.001), and the total plaque area (r = 0.082, p < 0.001). The predictors of possible CM were the age, male gender, and PP.Conclusions: In low-to-moderate vascular risk asymptomatic population, the proportion of abnormal brain microvascular bed determined by MCA-PI is not negligible. The planned 10-year follow-up will describe the clinical relevance of these findings.

The lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean is known as a biodiversity hotspot, hosting many endemic species. However, recent introduction of a highly invasive species, the Australian redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus), has led to significant threats to this fragile ecosystem. Here we developed, validated, and optimized a species-specific eDNA-based detection protocol targeting the 16S region of the mitochondrial gene of C. quadricarinatus. Our aim was to assess the crayfish distribution across Martinique Island. Our developed assay was species-specific and showed high sensitivity in laboratory, mesocosm and field conditions. A significant and positive correlation was found between species biomass, detection probability and efficiency through mesocosm experiments. Moreover, we found eDNA persisted up to 23 days in tropical freshwaters. We investigated a total of 83 locations, spread over 53 rivers and two closed water basins using our novel eDNA assay and traditional trapping, the latter, undertaken to confirm the reliability of the molecular-based detection method. Overall, we detected C. quadricarinatus at 47 locations using eDNA and 28 using traditional trapping, all positive trapping sites were positive for eDNA. We found that eDNA-based monitoring was less time-consuming and less influenced by the crayfishes often patchy distributions, proving a more reliable tool for future large-scale surveys. The clear threat and worrying distribution of this invasive species is particularly alarming as the archipelago belongs to one of the 25 identified biodiversity hotspots on Earth.

Self-propulsion of biocatalytic micro- and nanomotors is facilitated by enzymes converting substrates into products. Here, the authors show that intrinsic enzymatic properties such as conformational changes are crucial for the self-propulsion of silica microcapsules modified with urease.

We theoretically investigate the ability of free electrons to yield information on the nonlinear Floquet dynamics of atomic systems subject to intense external illumination. By applying a quantum-mechanical formalism to describe the atom-electron interaction under the presence of a monochromatic classical light field, we observe multiple energy features that reveal a large departure from nonillumination conditions in two- and three-level illuminated atoms, including the emergence of energy features associated with direct photon absorption and emission by the electron, as well as a varied set of Floquet resonances that strongly depend on the light intensity and frequency. Our results unveil a wealth of effects associated with the interaction between free electrons and optically driven electronic systems.

On the basis that the literature shows that most of the serial murders are committed by men and with sexual motivation, the research is a preliminary approach which aims to approach the cultural influence on the sexual motivation of serial killers. Eighty-six cases of serial murders with male perpetrators from different countries have been analyzed, committed between 1900 and 2020. The variables evaluated are related to the serial offender, victimology, modus operandi, sexual motivation typology and the actions related to such classification. In indulgence countries, pre mortem sexual acts (44.20%), interference with the victim's body (36.0%) and mutilation (27.90%) are the most common; the same occurs in restrictive countries, although in a lower percentage, with mutilation 7.0% being the only statistically significant variable (X² = 0.034). Direct-sadistic motivation is the most present, being 52.30% in indulgence countries and 18.60% in restrictive countries, there being a significant relationship (X² = 0.026). There is a partial influence of culture on modus operandi and sexual motivation according to the higher or lesser presence of social norms and how they influence the individual's decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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El tratamiento quirúrgico de la coartación aórtica en un paciente adulto presenta dificultades técnicas y no está exento de complicaciones. Afortunadamente el desarrollo y la implantación de la cardiología y la cirugía cardiaca pediátricas en España desde hace unos 50 años ha permitido que casi todos los pacientes afectos de esta malformación sean tratados en edad infantil, y por tanto es excepcional ver un enfermo afecto de coartación aórtica en los servicios de adultos. Se presenta el caso complejo de una paciente de 56 años tratado en nuestro hospital. Se discuten las posibilidades quirúrgicas y la técnica empleada, que consistió en un by-pass desde la aorta ascendente a la aorta descendente retrocardiaca, con circulación extracorpórea. El sistema de vacuum, empleado habitualmente en la cirugía coronaria sin bomba, resultó muy útil para mantener el corazón luxado hacia arriba, y así se abordó la aorta descendente retrocardiaca sin dificultad. Esta técnica poco común se realizó con menos dificultad de la prevista, se obtuvo un excelente resultado clínico y puede recomendarse para casos similares.