Search

International audience; Coastal and estuarine nurseries are composed of habitats with different biotic and abiotic features. Quantifying the contribution of different habitats within nurseries to juvenile fish feeding would help identify those that are essential in the completion of their life cycle, by providing food resources that maximise growth and survival. Essential habitats for four bentho-demersal fish species (whiting, sea bass, plaice and common sole) in an estuarine nursery were identified using gut contents and stable isotopes. Habitats differed in isotopic ratios and benthic communities. The estuarine gradient defined the macrofauna communities and sources of organic matter used by primary consumers. Trophic niche overlaps and trophic contribution of habitats highlighted that the species used both intertidal and subtidal habitats as feeding grounds. Flatfish were local feeders and fed on prey available mainly in the habitat in which they were caught, suggesting feeding behaviour that required little energy for movement. Sea bass were concentrated in upstream habitats, with intertidal mudflats contributing for nearly half of its diet. Whiting had an ubiquitous feeding strategy, suggesting that it may target prey with the most energetic gain in the habitats. Hence, habitats were used simultaneously during the same season or asynchronously throughout the year by the juvenile fish studied, suggesting no preference for a specific habitat at the community scale. Finally, both trophic tracers demonstrated the trophic importance of intertidal mudflats, especially for the sea bass and common sole, with contributions up to the half and two-third of their diet respectively.

International audience; Coastal and estuarine habitats function as nurseries for many commercial marine species. In these ecosystems, the hypothesis that food supply limits juvenile fish density and survival has been widely debated. Direct approaches that test this hypothesis in temperate soft-bottom nurseries are data-intensive as they rely on beam trawl to collect juvenile fish and grab or core to collect their prey within the macrobenthic community. Thus, application has often been limited to a few sampling stations and temporal snapshots. However, scientific beam trawl surveys, conducted periodically in nurseries, sample, besides juvenile fish, benthic invertebrates including potential prey species. Using data collected solely from beam trawl surveys, we tested whether food supply limits juvenile fish densities in several French nurseries. First, we validated that data of benthic invertebrates from bottom trawl surveys could be used to estimate an index of benthic prey production, by comparing data collected by grabs and trawls at the same sampling locations. Using this index on an extended trawl dataset, we estimated inter-annual variability of benthic prey production among several nurseries along the coast of the Bay of Biscay. Estimates of benthic prey production index were similar among nurseries, although, these nurseries displayed different local hydrological patterns (currents and residence time). The index was finally used to investigate whether benthic prey production limits young-of-the-year fish density using quantile regressions. We found a significant and positive relationship between the benthic prey production index and young-of-the-year fish densities, including flatfish and round fish species. Hence, our study supports the hypothesis that trophic limitation occurs for juvenile fish in coastal and estuarine nurseries during their first year of life, although other factors likely limit them locally.

Parents and practitioners share a common goal – to support, love, care and educate children – and most of the time they work together to share what works. But what happens when these views differ?

Expressive arts and design is an ‘area of learning’, but what does ‘being creative’ mean, and is the way art is approached in our settings really the best way to promote active artistic thought in our children?

International audience; Human activities affect continental shelves, especially due to the harvest of living marine resources. Understanding their functioning and dynamics has become a growing concern in recent decades, especially through use of trophic modelling approaches. Studying the feeding ecology of key component species also improves this understanding by providing accurate information on trophic processes, particularly the dependence on trophic pathways. This study focuses on the trophic ecology of four large gadiforms (cod, haddock, whiting and hake) found on the continental shelf of the Celtic Sea. The study combines information on recently ingested prey (gut content analysis) and a more integrated indicator of food sources (stable isotope analysis). Two size classes of each species were considered (small and large – split around 20 cm for haddock, whiting and hake and 60 cm for cod), as were shallow and deep zones. The four gadiforms show distinct feeding niches and strategies, which limit interspecific competition. Cod and haddock relied mainly on the benthic trophic pathway but differed in favouring piscivory and invertivory, respectively. Hake fed mainly on the pelagic trophic pathway, while whiting seemed to feed on both pathways. Ontogenetic shifts from invertivory to piscivory were observed for whiting in both zones and for hake and cod in the deep zone. An unexpected shift from the pelagic to the benthic trophic pathway was observed from small to large haddock in the deep zone. Taking into account the descriptions of diets made in adjacent ecosystems throughout the year, the four species show trophic plasticity towards one of the trophic pathways or the other. Differences between the shallow and deep zones were related to benthic and pelagic prey characteristics, which themselves are driven by the sedimentary and hydrological context, especially thermal stratification.

The initial section of this article discusses the indications for blood transfusions, cross-matching and blood typing in dogs and cats. The second part explains blood collection, including volumes, and illustrates common calculation formulae used in blood product therapy, rates of administration, correct handling and warming of blood components, likely causes of transfusion reactions plus clinical signs and treatment.

Thoracentesis and thoracostomy tubes, also referred to as chest tubes or thoracic drains, are used to withdraw air (pneumothorax) and/or fluid (effusion) from the pleural space in order to relieve pulmonary collapse and restore pleural subatmospheric pressure. Chest tubes may also be used in cases where it is predicted that fluid or air may accumulate in the pleural space to prevent dyspnoea and consequential respiratory compromise.This article focuses on initial treatment for pleural cavity diseased patients, chest tube induction, drainage and management. In addition, this paper discusses patient care following chest drain placement. The first section considers the anatomy associated with pleural cavity disease and initial patient management. The second part explains the indications for thoracostomy tube induction, thoracic drain placement, management including drainage methods, nursing care and chest tube removal.

Portosystemic shunts (PSSs) are abnormalities of the blood circulatory system, whereby blood from the heart bypasses the liver and enters the general circulation.1, 2The initial section of this article discusses the background and theory of PSSs.The second part illustrates how this is applied when treating patients affected with PSSs in practice, with particular emphasis on anaesthetic and drug protocol using a case study.

International audience; Measuring physiological data in free-ranging marine mammals remains challenging, owing to their far-ranging foraging habitat. Yet, it is important to understand how these divers recover from effort expended underwater, as marine mammals can perform deep and recurrent dives. Among them, southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) are one of the most extreme divers, diving continuously at great depth and for long duration while travelling over large distances within the Southern Ocean. To determine how they manage post-dive recovery, we deployed hydrophones on four post-breeding female southern elephant seals. Cardiac data were extracted from sound recordings when the animal was at the surface breathing. Mean heart rate at the surface was 102.4±4.9 beats.min(-1) and seals spent on average 121±20 s breathing. During these surface intervals, the instantaneous heart rate is increasing with time. Elephant seals are supposed to drastically slow their heart rate (bradycardia) while they are deep underwater, and increase it (tachycardia) during the ascent towards the surface. Our finding suggests that tachycardia continues while the animal stays breathing at the surface. Also, the measured mean heart rate at the surface was unrelated to the duration and swimming effort of the dive prior to the surface interval. Recovery (at the surface) after physical effort (underwater) appears to be related to the overall number of heart beats performed at the surface, and therefore total surface duration. Southern elephant seals recover from dives by adjusting the time spent at the surface rather than their heart rate

Measuring physiological data in free-ranging marine mammals remains challenging, owing to their far-ranging foraging habitat. Yet, it is important to understand how these divers recover from effort expended underwater, as marine mammals can perform deep and recurrent dives. Among them, southern elephant seals (

Your relationship with the significant adults in a child's life can prove pivotal to their development and ongoing learning, which is why we need to get it right from the very first time we meet them.

The extension of the free entitlement offer for vulnerable two-year-olds has provided many a talking point and plenty of challenges for the sector, but it has also created opportunities to extend your reach.

As a profession we have a responsibility to ensure that the needs and requirements of all children are met, and that every child, wherever possible, has access to the same resources and activities.

Exploring the importance of the learning environment in supporting speaking and listening skills in children with high levels of English as an additional language, while taking part in the Every Child a Talker initiative.

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has been anecdotally associated with isolated hypophosphatemia (HP) as well as proximal tubular toxicity and renal dysfunction in which HP has consistently been a feature. Consequently, routine phosphate measurements in TDF recipients have been recommended. We identified and compared the frequency of HP in TDF recipients with that in non-TDF recipients; assessed the reproducibility of HP; identified the incidence of renal dysfunction in hypophosphatemic patients; and evaluated associations between HP and host, HIV infection, or treatment factors. This prospective observational study measured serum phosphate, urea, and creatinine in HIV-positive individuals among the following treatment groups: TDF-containing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART, group A), TDF-sparing HAART (group B), HAART naive (group C), and off HAART but treatment experienced (group D). Phosphate measurements were obtained in 252 patients. Seventy-two percent of patients prescribed TDF received a phosphate measurement. The frequency of HP in groups A, B, C, and D was 31%, 22%, 10%, and 14%, respectively. Seventy-eight percent of phosphate measurements were reproducible. Kaletra (P = 0.016) administration and duration of antiretroviral therapy (P = 0.023) were independently associated with HP, but elevated creatinine and urea or use of TDF was not. The etiology of HP seems to be multifactorial and unrelated to TDF or renal dysfunction. This questions the utility of routine phosphate testing, in isolation, in TDF recipients.

Virus-induced gene silencing was used to assess the function of random Nicotiana benthamiana cDNAs in disease resistance. Out of 4992 cDNAs tested from a normalized library, there were 79 that suppressed a hypersensitive response (HR) associated with Pto-mediated resistance against Pseudomonas syringae. However, only six of these clones blocked the Pto-mediated suppression of P.syringae growth. The three clones giving the strongest loss of Pto resistance had inserts corresponding to HSP90 and also caused loss of Rx-mediated resistance against potato virus X and N-mediated tobacco mosaic virus resistance. The role of HSP90 as a cofactor of disease resistance is associated with stabilization of Rx protein levels and could be accounted for in part by SGT1 and other cofactors of disease resistance acting as co-chaperones. This approach illustrates the potential benefits and limitations of RNA silencing in forward screens of gene function in plants.