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This study observes the managerial practices and perceptions of beekeepers during the decline of bees, in a context of high and increasing bee mortality that approaches 30% per year in Europe. Data collection was done through questionnaires and interviews with French beekeepers between 2018 and 2019. We analyze the results under the prism of stakeholder theory to identify all stakeholders (veterinarians, trainers, farmers, governments, associations, consumers) interacting with beekeepers. The results of the study are used to make recommendations to stakeholders. Due to the high mortality rate of 30% of bees, beekeepers renew at least 30% of their hives each year. They specifically request training on bee health and hive management (for amateur beekeepers). All beekeepers want organic farmers and want a medium-term cooperation between beekeepers, organic farmers and the government (through the application of environmental laws). All stakeholder aware of the disappearance of this pollinator-bees must act quickly to protect and conserve them on earth. This means that the stakeholders at their level must implement strategies of ecological transition in their behavior, because it is a question of saving the pollinators for the Welfare of the Society.

The radon level was assessed in houses from two rural areas localized in Northeastern Romania. Long-term measurements were performed for a period of four months using a digital radon detector, model Corentium Home, AirThings 222. In addition, for every environment included in the study, investigations concerning the building materials, the floor type, the building year and the heating system were made. Accordingly, Spearman’s correlation coefficients of the study variables were calculated. The World Health Organization recommends an upper threshold of 100 Bq/m3 as a national reference level. For both studied areas, we calculated a mean indoor radon level of more than 100 Bq/m3, but in the Tomesti-Osoi area were recorded values of over 100, respectively 300 Bq/m3 in significantly more households. Indoor exposure to radon of people in the investigated houses was found in 75 and 35.3% of the cases, respectively, above the level accepted by international recommendations, with a moderate correlation between mean radon levels and the features of the residential buildings.

International audience; Miscanthus is a C4 perennial grass originating from East Asia, the yields of which progressively increase in the first years of growth. Several species for bioenergy have been studied since the mid-1980s in Europe, in particular (Miscanthus × giganteus [M. × giganteus]), due to its high yields. M. × giganteus is mainly cultivated in France and established from rhizomes. Our study aimed to assess, in field conditions , alternative establishment methods combined with an alternative species, Miscanthus sinensis (M. sinensis). We set up a multi-environment experimental network. On each trial, we tested two treatments with M. × giganteus, established from rhizomes (G_r-sd) and from plantlets obtained from rhizomes (G_p-sd), and two treatments with M. sinensis seedlings transplanted in single (S_p-sd) and double density (S_p-dd). ANOVA was performed to compare establishment and regrowth rates across treatments, as well as yields across treatments and site-years. A logistic model was used to describe yield trends and to compare the maximum yield reached and the rate of yield increase of both species. Results showed that miscanthus establishment from plantlets resulted in higher establishment (between 87% and 92%) and regrowth (between 91% and 94%) rates compared to establishment from rhizomes. Treatments with M. × giganteus obtained higher average yields across site-years than those with M. sinensis, but more variable yields across site-years. We showed a strong species effect on yields, yield components (shoot weight, shoot density and shoot number per plant) and light interception (through leaf area index). Lastly, to use M. sinensis established from transplanted plantlets as an alternative to M. × giganteus, research would be required on the breeding of M. sinensis sterile seeds to avoid risks of invasiveness. K E Y W O R D S biomass, Miscanthus, multi-environment trial, rhizomes, transplanted plantlets, yield trend modelling

This paper offers our insights concerning the issues raised by Prof. Charitou (2022) [Discussion of “The evolution of environmental reporting in Europe: The role of financial and non-financial regulation”. The International Journal of Accounting, 57, a–b] in commentaries on the article “The Evolution of Environmental Reporting in Europe: The Role of Financial and Non-Financial Regulation” [Barbu, E. M., Feleaga, L., & Ferrat, Y. (2022). The International Journal of Accounting, 57, c–d]. As suggested by Charitou (2022), we explain the pertinence of our financial environmental grid of 12 items based on IAS/IFRS, and we propose a complementary non-financial environmental grid of almost 100 elements useful to ensure an exhaustive analysis of corporate environmental disclosure and environmental governance. Furthermore, we analyzed the results through the influence of national regulation on environmental disclosure and practices, and we explain why it is important to work on the synergy among environmental, social, and economic pillars and with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to improve corporate social and environmental responsibility.

The research problem We observed the impact of European, international, and national mandatory financial and non-financial regulations on the corporate environmental disclosure of listed companies in the Euronext 100 between 2002 and 2017. Motivation Our study was motivated by the perfect European context created by the implementation of the IASs/IFRSs, mandatory since 2005, to enhance financial statement comparability across European companies, and by the national transposition of the 2014/95/EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive requiring European listed and large corporations to disclose information relative to their environmental footprint starting January 1, 2017. The test hypotheses H1: Financial legislation through the IASs/IFRSs implementation improves the level of environmental disclosure in Europe. H2: Non-financial legislation through the Non-Financial Reporting Directive improves the level of environmental disclosure in Europe. Target population The paper is useful for: (1) researchers wanting to observe the evolution of environmental disclosure in Europe and the main factors influencing it; (2) CEOs and managers who seek to improve their own financial and non-financial reporting; (3) policymakers to know the impact of national and international regulations on environmental disclosure and practices; and (4) users of annual financial statements. Adopted methodology We hand collected data using the financial environmental grid proposed by Barbu et al. [( 2014a ). Mandatory environmental disclosures by companies complying with IAS/IFRS: The case of France, Germany and UK. The International Journal of Accounting, 49(2), 231–247] for both descriptive and monetary items from the annual financial statements of all French, Dutch, Belgian, and Portuguese companies included in the Euronext 100 index. We used descriptive statistics and regression models to analyze this data. Analyses The results are interpreted through the lenses of neo-institutional theory, legitimacy theory, and homogeneity theory. Findings The results show that mandatory financial and non-financial regulations improved the level of environmental disclosure of European companies from different countries over time, but the level of reporting was still very low. The force of coercive isomorphism is not strong enough to cause companies to be more environmentally responsible and to report more, but normative and mimetic isomorphism, and gaining legitimacy, could have a positive influence on the environmental reporting practices of European companies. Taken as a whole, the policy of “one size fits all” is not appropriate for environmental regulation in Europe and needs to be adapted because each country has a specific culture, tradition, and education regarding environmental values. These values should be improved to promote a better environmental conscience, better individual responsibility, and a tangible feeling of truth and transparency in disclosures, with all these generating real environmental practices and reliable reporting without any trace of greenwashing.

In the view of a circular economy, there is an increasing need for (re-)using animal by-products that have a wide range of applications and sufficient safety. Hydrolysates of animal proteins (HPs) are frequently used as feed ingredients. Nevertheless, clear criteria for legal use and methods for monitoring feed applications are not available. Here, a range of methods have been used and evaluated for characterizing a set of 26 samples of hydrolysed proteins, ‘hydrolysed’ feather meals and processed animal proteins (PAPs), with verification based on an additional set of eight samples. Methods included determination of ash content, sediment (mineral fraction) content, protein content, species identity, solubility, protein solubility, size exclusion chromatography and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). After a comparison of results obtained with water and SDS, water was chosen as the solvent for environmental and occupational reasons. Typical HP samples have a protein content higher than 60%, a solubility exceeding 50% and a virtual absence of a mineral fraction. The first discrimination between HPs and PAPs could be based on the absence or presence, respectively, of a mineral fraction. An approach for HP characterization is designed using a Hydrolysation Index (HI) based on the fraction of peptides smaller than 10 kDa, the solubility of the sample and the fraction of soluble proteins. A simplified version (HIs), exclusively based on the fraction of peptides smaller than 10 kDa and the solubility of the sample, shows a trend among the samples highly comparable to HI. Values for HI and HIs exceeding 60% would characterise HPs. Feather meals, which are heat treated instead of treatment by a chemical process of hydrolysation, range among the PAPs and should not be indicated as “hydrolysed.” The HIs can be used as an easy parameter for classifying HPs and for legal enforcement.

International audience; Farmers' use of fungicides and insecticides constitutes a major threat to biodiversity that is also endangering agriculture itself. Landscapes could be designed to take advantage of the dependencies of pests, pathogens and their natural enemies on elements of the landscape. Yet the complexity of the interactions makes it difficult to establish general rules. In our study, we sought to characterize the impact of the landscape on pest and pathogen prevalence, taking into account both crop and semi-natural areas. We drew on a nine-year national survey of 30 major pests and pathogens of arable crops, distributed throughout the latitudes of metropolitan France. We performed binomial LASSO generalized linear regressions on the pest and pathogen prevalence as a function of the landscape composition in a total of 39 880 field x year x pest observation series. We observed a strong disequilibrium between the number of pests or pathogens favored (15) and disadvantaged (2) by the area of their host crop in the landscape during the previous growing season. The impact of the host crop area during the ongoing growing season was different on pests than on pathogens: the density of most pathogens increased (11 of 17, and no decreases) while the density of a small majority of pests decreased (7 of 13, and four increases). We also found that woodlands, scrublands, hedgerows and grasslands did not have a consistent effect on the studied spectrum of pests and pathogens. Although overall the estimated effect of the landscape is small compared to the effect of the climate, a territorial coordination that generally favors crop diversity but excludes a crop at risk in a given year might prove useful in reducing pesticide use. Short abstract We sought to identify general rules characterizing the impact of the landscape on the prevalence of pests and pathogens of arable crops. We showed that the host crop area is consistently correlated with increased pressure of the pests and pathogens the following growing season. Correlations of pests and pathogens with host crop areas in the same year or with semi-natural components of the landscape (grasslands, hedgerows and forests) are less consistent and depend on the functional traits of the organisms involved.

Purpose The incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury after heart transplantation has not been well studied. Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury manifests as absent or impaired vocal cord mobility causing dysphonia. Few studies have evaluated this type of nerve injury with research assessing this topic in cardiac surgery mostly limited to aortic, coronary bypass, and valvular surgery. Identifying the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury after heart transplantation is important for both physicians and patients in order to more accurately detail the complications associated with this major surgery. Methods This study was a retrospective chart review performed on 972 consecutive adult patients who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation between 2010-2019. This was a single center study at a large quaternary care institution. Chart review consisted of examining Cardiology and Otolaryngology notes. Key words (dysphonia, hoarse, vocal cord, laryngeal, otolaryngology) were used to search through each patient's electronic health record to identify the presence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Patients that had prior recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were not counted as positive results. Results 29 of 972 (2.9 %) patients developed new recurrent laryngeal nerve injury diagnosed as vocal cord paralysis or paresis, confirmed with laryngoscopy. 20 of 29 (68.9 %) injuries were left-sided. Patients developed new onset dysphonia almost immediately after heart transplantation. 18 of 29 (62.1 %) were diagnosed within 2 weeks following heart transplant. 5 of 29 (17.2 %) patients required vocal cord injection. Other patients were managed with a combination of laryngeal adduction exercises, soft liquid diet, and surveillance. Conclusion Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury is a possible adverse outcome following orthotopic heart transplantation. The development of dysphonia should be monitored, and its appearance may warrant laryngoscopic evaluation to assess vocal cord mobility. This study is one of the first to document the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury in this specific type of cardiac surgery. Further studies are needed to more thoroughly evaluate complications of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, such as potential reversibility of damage and time to reversibility.

Objective: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has long been associated with vocal dysfunction. However, studies quantifying the presence of voice dysfunction in CRS patients or the effects of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) are sparse. The goal of this study was to determine the voice-related quality of life in patients undergoing FESS for CRS using the validated Voice Related Quality of Life Survey (VRQL). We correlated the preoperative VRQL scores to the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) scores, and we determined the effect of FESS on postoperative VRQL scores. Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing FESS were preoperatively administered both the VRQL and the SNOT-22 surveys. Spearman (ρ) and Pearson ( r) correlation coefficients were calculated. The VRQL was mailed to patients postoperatively between 3 and 6 months. The paired t-test was used to compare pre- and post-FESS scores. Results: A total of 102 patients were enrolled, and 81 patients completed the two surveys. A total of 51 (62.9%) patients had raw VRQL score ≥ 10, signifying presence of significant vocal symptoms. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) raw VRQL score of the entire study population was 12.4 ± 4.6, and the mean SNOT-22 score was 37.8 ± 19.2. The Spearman correlation coefficient between VRQL and the total SNOT-22 score was 0.34 ( P =.002), and the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.36 ( P = .001). Both correlations were similar, demonstrating that increasing severity of CRS symptoms correlates with decreasing voice-related quality of life (QOL). Seventy patients completed the postoperative survey for an 86% retention rate. Thirty-six of these patients had abnormal preoperative VRQL scores, and these patients improved significantly after FESS. The mean preoperative versus postoperative raw scores were 15.2 ± 5.6 versus 12.5 ± 4.1, respectively ( P = .003). Conclusion: This study demonstrates the increasing presence of vocal complaints with increasing severity of CRS. It also demonstrates that VRQL scores improve after FESS in those patients with preoperative vocal complaints. Level of Evidence: IV

International audience; Increasing societal demand for a more ecological agriculture stimulates demand for farm management systems adapted to non-standard situations such as low-nitrogen systems. However, trade-offs between traits of interest could make difficult to reach high agronomic and environment performances. For malting barley, premium prices depend on grain protein content and grain size with strong trade-offs with yield, such traits being highly dependent on practices and genotypes. Here we assume that such trade-offs can be implicitly embedded in models taking into account varietal traits. Starting with an existing wheat-crop model, we developed a parsimonious barley-crop model on how genotypic traits, crop management practices and pedo-climatic environment determine yield, grain protein content and grain size. Grain size predictions required the development of a new module. We parameterized the model with published and new experimental data using 200 genotype-by-environment combinations of high- and low-input management situations. The model was then assessed on 280 other situations, including high and low level of nitrogen input. The relative root mean square error of prediction of the model on hold-out data was below 15% for grain yield, grain protein content and grain retention fraction in high and low-input situations. In addition, the model correctly ranked 72% of the genotype pairs for grain yield, 55% for grain protein content and 85% for grain retention fraction. Our model can be used to predict grain protein content and retention fraction, and rank yield and calibrated yield performance of existing combinations of genotype by management by environment combinations. It also could help to explore new combinations, to support breeding.

Background The pollen beetle, Brassicogethes aeneus (Fabricius, 1775), is one of the most significant pests of oilseed rape. To shed light on past and current pollen beetle demography (dispersal, population size), 12 microsatellite markers were developed, and population genetic diversity and structure were analysed at different spatial scales in France and in Europe from 433 individuals collected in 18 winter oilseed rape fields. Results Genetic differentiation among the population samples was low but was significant between the Estonian sample and the rest of Europe. Isolation by distance was significant only at the European scale. Genetic variability was similar among the 18 population samples. Demographic inferences suggested a recent expansion of B. aeneus population size over Europe, possibly corresponding to an increase in oilseed rape crop area during past decades. Conclusion Current population size and dispersal are not straightforward to estimate from the distribution of genetic variability in B. aeneus over Europe because of the complexity of the demographic history of this pest. Nevertheless, because gene flow was important enough to prevent strong genetic differentiation at large geographical scales, the management of pollen beetle populations should likely be thought of at a continental Europe level. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Background: Up to 70% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience cognitive impairment. Some remain cognitively intact despite advanced disease. Cognitive reserve (CR) theory postulates that individuals with higher levels of intellectual enrichment can tolerate more pathology than others before exhibiting cognitive impairment. Methods: Thirty-two individuals with early-phase relapsing-remitting MS with mild physical disability and disease duration less than 10 years and 32 controls were recruited. At baseline and after 3 years, participants completed neuropsychological tests evaluating several cognitive domains. The CR was assessed via a cognitive reserve index (CRI) using educational levels and North American Adult Reading Test scores. Change in cognition was assessed using a reliable change index. Results: At baseline, people with MS performed worse than controls on visual memory. There were no significant group differences on information processing speed, learning, language, and executive functions. Most cognitive domains showed no change over time, and CRI was not a significant predictor in the regression model. Conclusions: People with MS performed worse on memory tasks at baseline compared with controls. Cognitive change differed between people with MS and controls in executive functions. Although people with MS and controls improved over time, beyond practice effects, people with MS improved less than controls. Overall, no cognitive deterioration was noted over time, and CR did not predict change in cognition. Sample homogeneity in terms of disease stage and CR may explain these findings.

Biological invasions reshape environments and affect the ecological and economic welfare of states and communities. Such invasions advance on multiple spatial scales, complicating their control. When modeling stochastic dispersal processes, intractable likelihoods and autocorrelated data complicate parameter estimation. As with other approaches, the recent synthetic likelihood framework for stochastic models uses summary statistics to reduce this complexity; however, it additionally provides usable likelihoods, facilitating the use of existing likelihood-based machinery. Here, we extend this framework to parameterize multi-scale spatio-temporal dispersal models and compare existing and newly developed spatial summary statistics to characterize dispersal patterns. We provide general methods to evaluate potential summary statistics and present a fitting procedure that accurately estimates dispersal parameters on simulated data. Finally, we apply our methods to quantify the short and long range dispersal of Chagas disease vectors in urban Arequipa, Peru, and assess the feasibility of a purely reactive strategy to contain the invasion.

The use of fungicides and insecticides by farmers represents a major threat to biodiversity1, endangering agriculture itself2,3. Landscapes could be designed4to take advantage of the dependencies of pests5,6, pathogens7and their natural enemies8on landscape elements. However, the complexity of the interactions makes it difficult to establish general rules. Despite initial enthusiasm9, the many studies opposing cultivated and semi-natural habitats have not revealed a homogeneous response of pests10and pathogens11to semi-natural habitats. In addition, the question of the impact of crop diversity on pests and pathogens remains largely open12. Based on about half a million observations over nine years on 30 major field crop pests and pathogens spread over all latitudes of metropolitan France, we show that the outbreak risk increases with the area of the host crop in the landscape the previous growing season. The impact on the risk of the host crop area the ongoing growing season diverges between animal pests and pathogens. We also confirm that woodlands, scrublands, hedgerows and grasslands do not have a consistent effect over the spectrum of pests. The spatial and temporal distribution of the resource, the host crop, generally prevails over the effects of potential alternative habitats. Territorial and temporal coordination generally promoting crop diversity but excluding a crop at risk a given year may prove to be key levers for reducing pesticide use14.

The advancement of wind energy technology brings about an increase in the size and height of the wind turbine towers. As the upscaling of the conventional steel tubular tower is problematic, alternatives are being investigated. In this paper, several configurations were reviewed and the lattice tower was identified as a possible solution. This study analyses and compares the structural performance of the two tower configurations, tubular steel and lattice, of equivalent height, stiffness and mounted rotor, in two sets of tower heights, 120 m and 150 m. The towers are mounted by the baseline 5 MW turbine developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The results indicate that lattice towers are a suitable alternative to the tubular towers, providing significant material savings for a similar structural behaviour. Comparable bending moments were recorded in the base of the structures. The most demanding operating condition of the wind turbines was identified to be system braking cause by a sudden increase in wind velocity outside of the operating range. The 150 m lattice tower responds with excessive displacement during this abnormal operating condition; this is a potential issue that can cause generator failure if not accounted for in the rotor design.

Currently, concrete is the most widely used structural material in road infrastructure. Concrete is a sensitive material, cracks and micro-cracks may occur during operation. Although the cracking/micro-cracking of concrete does not implicitly cause structural damage, it creates a path for corrosive factors, which leads to decreased structural durability caused by material changes and reinforcement corrosion. The self-repairing ability of concrete refers to the process of closing cracks to prevent the entry of potentially aggressive agents. Concrete used in bridge construction is usually covered with a waterproof layer and a layer of asphalt mixture, which also acts as a wear layer, but which can prevent the entry of water containing corrosive ions, the natural aggressiveness of the environment or accelerated corrosion by the penetration of thawing substances etc. Road infrastructure repair works affected by degradation processes are costly, time consuming and lead to a reduction in traffic flow, by partially closing it during interventions. To overcome these shortcomings, over time, several types of concrete with self-repairing properties have been developed, based on several methods such as: pipe networks, superabsorbent polymer capsules and textile fibers, bacteria etc.

It is widely agreed that competition regulates plant populations and shapes communities. Many studies have suggested that crop and grassland competition can be used for cost-effective sustainable weed control. However, effective weed management requires a precise knowledge of the effects of agronomic practices and there is a lack of quantitative indicators to compare and predict the success of weed biocontrol by competition.We studied weed abundance dynamics over a 12-year period in crop-grassland rotations (rotation treatments consisted of maize, wheat and barley crops, alternating with temporary grassland maintained for three or six years in the rotation and fertilised with two different levels of nitrogen). In addition to classical statistical analysis of the different aforementioned rotation treatments, we also modelled weed abundance as a function of the crop and grassland competition, expressed here by biomasses harvested in the preceding years.We show that weed abundance decreases over the years in grassland and subsequent crops only if the grassland receives sufficient nitrogen fertiliser. Our model had a much greater explanatory power than the rotation treatments. This model estimates a critical biomass level above which weeds are suppressed in subsequent years, and below which they tend to thrive. This critical biomass level was 24.3 and 4.7 tonnes ha−1 of dry matter for crops and grassland, respectively, highlighting the greater competitiveness of grasslands than of crops. Several clear differences between weed functional groups emerged.Synthesis and applications - This new modelling approach directly links the interannual dynamics of weed populations to current and previous biomass production levels. This approach facilitates the development of environment-friendly weed management strategies and paves the way for comparisons of the competitiveness against weeds of crops and grassland under various pedoclimatic conditions and agronomic practices.

International audience; The pollen beetles, Brassicogethes aeneus (Fabricius, 1775), is one of the most significant pests of oilseed rape. To shed light on past and present pollen beetle demography (dispersal, population size), twelve microsatellite markers were developed and population genetic diversity and structure were analyzed at different spatial scales in France and in Europe from 433 individuals collected in 18 winter oilseed rape fields. RESULTS: The genetic differentiation among the population samples was low but significant between the Estonian sample and the rest of Europe. Isolation by distance was only significant at the European scale. The genetic variability was similar among the 18 population samples. Demographic inferences suggested a recent expansion of B. aeneus population size over Europe, possibly corresponding to an increase of oilseed rape crop’s area during the last decades. CONCLUSION: Current population size and dispersal are not straightforward to estimate from the distribution of genetic variability in B. aeneus over Europe because of the complexity of the demographic history of the pests. Nevertheless, as gene flow was important enough to prevent strong genetic differentiation at large geographical scales, the management of pollen beetle populations should likely be thought at the European continental level.

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, most commonly types 6 (HPV-6) and 11 (HPV-11). Due to failed host immune responses, HPV is unable to be cleared from the host, resulting in recurrent growth of HPV-related lesions that can obstruct the lumen of the airway within the upper aerodigestive tract. In our murine model, the HPV-6b and HPV-11 E7 antigens are not innately immunogenic. In order to enhance the host immune responses against the HPV E7 antigen, we linked calreticulin (CRT) to HPV-6b E7 and found that vaccinating C57BL/6 mice with the HPV-6b CRT/E7 DNA vaccine is able to induce a CD8+ T cell response that recognizes an H-2D(b)-restricted E7aa21-29 epitope. Additionally, vaccination of HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice with HPV-6b CRT/E7 DNA generated a CD8+ T cell response against the E7aa82-90 epitope that was not observed in the wild-type C57BL/6 mice, indicating this T cell response is restricted to HLA-A*0201. In vivo cytotoxic T cell killing assays demonstrated that the vaccine-induced CD8+ T cells are able to efficiently kill target cells. Interestingly, the H-2D(b)-restricted E7aa21-29 sequence and the HLA-A*0201-restricted E7aa82-90 sequence are conserved between HPV-6b and HPV-11 and may represent shared immunogenic epitopes. The identification of the HPV-6b/HPV-11 CD8+ T cell epitopes facilitates the evaluation of various immunomodulatory strategies in preclinical models. More importantly, the identified HLA-A*0201-restricted T cell epitope may serve as a peptide vaccination strategy, as well as facilitate the monitoring of vaccine-induced HPV-specific immunologic responses in future human clinical trials.

To identify patterns of failure following transcervical medialization laryngoplasty for unilateral vocal fold paralysis and describe indications and revision techniques for optimal vocal outcomes.Case series with chart review.Tertiary care center.Thirty-nine consecutive patients between January 2005 and April 2014 undergoing transcervical revision of failed primary medialization laryngoplasty were identified. Demographics, etiology, stroboscopic assessment, and surgical techniques were recorded. Patient self-assessment using the Voice-Related Quality-of-Life (VRQOL) questionnaire and objective acoustic and aerodynamic assessments performed pre- and postoperatively were analyzed using t tests for paired comparisons.Thirty-nine patients underwent 48 transcervical revision surgeries. Median follow-up was 14.6 months from time of final revision surgery. Indications included anterior glottic incompetence (38/48, 79%), posterior glottic incompetence (20/48, 42%), glottic overclosure (8/48, 17%), and/or decreased phonatory pliability (12/48, 25%). A combination of findings was present in 21 (44%) surgeries. Revision techniques included either anterior augmentation, arytenopexy, and cricothyroid subluxation (alone or in combination) in 46 of 48 (96%) patients or partial implant removal alone in 2 patients. Seven patients (18%) required multiple revisions. A complete set of voice parameters was available for 22 patients, and statistically significant improvements included VRQOL scores, fundamental frequency in females, jitter, noise-to-harmonic ratio, and mean airflow rate.Patterns of failure in patients with suboptimal phonatory function after transcervical medialization laryngoplasty included persistent glottic incompetence, glottic overclosure, and decreased vocal fold pliability. Revision transcervical medialization surgery, guided by individualized consideration of vocal fold position and surface pliability, can improve phonatory outcomes.

Chagas disease vector control campaigns are being conducted in Latin America, but little is known about medium-term or long-term effectiveness of these efforts, especially in urban areas. After analyzing entomologic data for 56,491 households during the treatment phase of a Triatoma infestans bug control campaign in Arequipa, Peru, during 2003–2011, we estimated that 97.1% of residual infestations are attributable to untreated households. Multivariate models for the surveillance phase of the campaign obtained during 2009–2012 confirm that nonparticipation in the initial treatment phase is a major risk factor (odds ratio [OR] 21.5, 95% CI 3.35–138). Infestation during surveillance also increased over time (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.15–2.09 per year). In addition, we observed a negative interaction between nonparticipation and time (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.53–0.99), suggesting that recolonization by vectors progressively dilutes risk associated with nonparticipation. Although the treatment phase was effective, recolonization in untreated households threatens the long-term success of vector control.

We conducted a door-to-door survey in a residential census tract of Philadelphia to estimate the prevalence and spatial patterns of recent bed bug infestations. We interviewed 596 residents, of whom 66 (11.1%) reported recent bed bug infestations. We confirmed current infestations in a subset of 15 (68.2%) of 22 inspected households. Most residents reported that their infestation began within the past year (2012-2013). We found no correlation between property value and infestation status. Spatial analyses showed significant clustering of bed bug infestations only at fine scales, suggesting limited active dispersal of the insects. Residents used a large variety of treatment methods to eliminate bed bugs, but only 48.1% reported success. Our results provide a prevalence estimate of recent bed bug infestations and highlight the importance of passive rather than active dispersal of bed bugs even among dense urban row homes.

Many crop pests rely on resources out of crop fields; understanding how they colonize the fields is an important factor to develop integrated pest management. In particular, the time of crop colonization and damage severity might be determined by pest movements between fields and non-crop areas. Notably, the pollen beetle, Brassicogethes aeneus, previously named Meligethes aeneus, one of the most important pests of winter oilseed rape, overwinters in woodlands. As a result, its abundance increases in oilseed rape fields near wooded areas. Here, we assessed the spatio-temporal patterns of the dispersal from woodlands to oilseed rape fields in diversified landscapes of a same region. We observed on four dates the abundance of pollen beetles in 24 fields spread in the Eure department, France. We modeled the abundance as a result of the dispersal from the neighboring woodlands. We compared the modalities of dispersal corresponding to different hypotheses on the dispersal origin, kernel shape and sources of variability. Within oilseed rape the distance to the edges of woodlands is not the main determinant of pollen beetle abundance. On the contrary, the variability of the abundance between fields is largely explained by the dispersal from neighboring woodlands but there is considerable variability between dates, sites and, to a lesser extent, between fields. The two dispersal kernels received similar support from the data and lead to similar conclusions. The mean dispersal distance is 1.2 km but seems to increase from a few hundred meters the first week to more than two kilometers the fourth, allowing the pollen beetles to reach more distant OSR fields. These results suggest that early varieties away from woodlands and late varieties close to the woodlands may limit attacks at the time when oilseed rape is the most sensitive.

International audience; Introduction: Racial minorities are more likely to live in primary care shortage areas. We sought to understand community health centers’ (CHCs) role in reducing disparities. Methods: We surveyed all primary care practices in an urban area, identified low access areas, and examined how CHCs influence spatial accessibility. Results: Census tracts with higher rates of public insurance (≥40% vs P < .001; 30-39% vs 10%, OR = 7.84, P = 0.001) were more likely to be near a CHC and those with moderate rates of uninsurance (10%-19% vs P = .045) were less likely. Racial composition was not associated with proximity. Tracts close to a CHC were less likely (OR = 0.11, P < .0001) to be in a low access area. This association did not differ based on racial composition. Discussion: Although CHCs were more likely to be in areas with a greater fraction of racial minorities, location was more strongly influenced by public insurance rates. CHCs reduced the likelihood of being in low access areas but the effect did not vary by tract racial composition.

In this paper, a One-Degree-of-Freedom PI controller is optimized using the model reference tuning approach for a Second Order Inverse Response and Dead Time Process operating as a servo control. In addition, a graphic user interface tool that computes the PI optimized controller parameters is presented, also showing the response of the control system operating as a servo-control (the optimized one) and the associated response for the regulatory-control case.

Primary care is often thought of as the gateway to improved health outcomes and can lead to more efficient use of health care resources. Because of primary care's cardinal importance, adequate access is an important health policy priority. In densely populated urban areas, spatial access to primary care providers across neighborhoods is poorly understood. We examined spatial variation in primary care access in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We calculated ratios of adults per primary care provider for each census tract and included buffer zones based on prespecified drive times around each tract. We found that the average ratio was 1,073; the supply of primary care providers varied widely across census tracts, ranging from 105 to 10,321. We identified six areas of Philadelphia that have much lower spatial accessibility to primary care relative to the rest of the city. After adjustment for sociodemographic and insurance characteristics, the odds of being in a low-access area were twenty-eight times greater for census tracts with a high proportion of African Americans than in tracts with a low proportion of African Americans.

In the gas-phase, ions of protein complexes typically follow an asymmetric dissociation pathway upon collisional activation, whereby an expelled small monomer takes a disproportionately large amount of the charges from the precursor ion. This phenomenon has been rationalized by assuming that upon activation, a single monomer becomes unfolded, thereby attracting charges to its newly exposed basic residues. Here, we report on the atypical gas-phase dissociation of the therapeutically important, heterodimeric calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine/threonine phosphatase calcineurin, using a combination of tandem mass spectrometry, ion mobility mass spectrometry, and computational modeling. Therefore, a hetero-dimeric calcineurin construct (62 kDa), composed of CNa (44 kDa, a truncation mutant missing the calmodulin binding and auto-inhibitory domains), and CNb (18 kDa), was used. Upon collisional activation, this hetero-dimer follows the commonly observed dissociation behavior, whereby the smaller CNb becomes highly charged and is expelled. Surprisingly, in addition, a second atypical dissociation pathway, whereby the charge partitioning over the two entities is more symmetric is observed. The presence of two gas-phase conformational isomers of calcineurin as revealed by ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) may explain the co-occurrence of these two dissociation pathways. We reveal the direct relationship between the conformation of the calcineurin precursor ion and its concomitant dissociation pathway and provide insights into the mechanisms underlying this co-occurrence of the typical and atypical fragmentation mechanisms.

Objectives: Wide-field transcervical partial laryngectomy often precludes tracheotomy decannulation. It is done infrequently today, primarily because of the popularity of chemotherapy-radiotherapy treatment regimens and limited enthusiasm for using transcervical partial laryngectomy after failed radiotherapy. We sought to identify a new reconstructive technique that would provide an alternative to total laryngectomy in as many patients as possible. Methods: We performed a retrospective examination of 15 patients who underwent single-stage wide-field transcervical partial laryngectomy with cryopreserved aortic homograft reconstruction. Eight of the 15 patients had previously undergone failed radiotherapy. At least 40% of the cricoid circumference was resected in 8 patients. Results: All 15 patients had their tracheotomy tube removed and have laryngeal phonation, and 14 of the 15 resumed oral intake. There were no major surgical complications. Conclusions: Use of aortic homografts is a new, reliable, and versatile reconstructive option for performing conservation laryngeal cancer surgery that allows for airway, swallowing, and voice preservation.

Expression of the protruding (P) domain of the norovirus capsid protein, in vitro, results in the formation of P dimers and larger oligomers, 12-mer and 24-mer P particles. All these P complexes retain the authentic antigenicity and carbohydrate-binding function of the norovirus capsid. They have been used as tools to study norovirus-host interactions, and the 24-mer P particle has been proposed as a vaccine and vaccine platform against norovirus and other pathogens. In view of their pharmaceutical interest it is important to characterise the structure, stability and dynamics of these protein complexes. Here we use a native mass spectrometric approach. We analyse the P particles under both non-reducing and reducing conditions, as it is known that the macromolecular assemblies are stabilised by inter-subunit disulphide bonding. A novel 18-mer complex is identified, and we show that under reducing conditions the 24-mer dissociates into P dimers that reassemble into the 12-mer small P particle and another novel 36-mer complex. The collisional cross-sections of the 12-mer and 24-mer P particles determined by ion mobility MS are in good agreement with theoretical predictions and electron microscopy data. We propose a model structure for the 18-mer based on ion mobility experiments. Our results demonstrate the interchangeable nature and dynamic relationship of all P domain complexes and confirm their binding activity to the host receptors - human histo blood group antigens (HBGAs). These findings, together with the identification of the 18-mer and 36-mer P complexes add new information to the intriguing interactions of the norovirus P domain.

The paper deals with a control structure of the strip thickness in a rolling mill of quarto type (AGC – Automatic Gauge Control). It performs two functions: the compensation of errors induced by unideal dynamics of the tracking systems lead by AGC system and the control adaptation to the change of dynamic properties of the tracking systems. The compensation of dynamical errors is achieved through inverse models of the tracking system, implemented as adaptive filters.

Material is reviewed that consists of reconstituted collagen fibril gel mineralized in a manner that produces biomimetically sized nanoapatites intimately associated with the fibrils. This gel is formed into usable shapes with a modulus and strength that allow it to be surgically press fitted into bony defects. The design paradigm for the material is that the nanoapatites will dissolve into soluble Ca2+ as the collagen is degraded into RGD-containing peptide fragments due to osteoclastic action. This is intended to signal to the osteoclasts to continue removing the material in a biomimetic fashion similar to bony remodeling. Preliminary experiments in a subcutaneous rat model show that the material is biocompatible with respect to inflammatory and immunogenic responses, and that it supports cellular invasion. Preliminary experiments in a critical-sized mandibular defect in rats show that the material is resorbable and functions well as a bone morphogenetic 2 (BMP-2) carrier. We have produced a range of mechanical and biological responses by varying mechanical and chemical processing of the material.

The services are intangibles, therefore their quality is difficult to be evaluated by the client and building a strong brand image is a challenging task. The services are distributed using diverse channels such as: company retail stores, dealers, franchise. The service companies are interested in the environment of the location, not only to increase sells but also in order to boost the image of the company. The excitement that a retail store induces to a client can modify the perception of the brand. The client values more a brand that distributes its services in a luxury, high-tech retail environment than a discount store. In this paper we intended to investigate the techniques that a service company is using to enhance the brand image in a retail location. For this purpose, the various aspects of the retail store design and environment were analyzed in connection with the customer-based brand equity model. This original association will offer the services companies’ new perspectives on how to leverage brand image.

Postoperative voice changes are one of the most common and feared complications of thyroid surgery. In most cases, postoperative hoarseness is due to recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury, although injury to the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (EBSLN) can also result in significant vocal issues, including diminished vocal projection and inability to attain higher vocal registers. Voice complaints can also occur in the absence of neural dysfunction and may be present prior to any surgery being performed. Thus, timely and accurate evaluation of laryngeal function optimizes ongoing management efforts and provides important prognostic and outcome information.

Population and Community Ecology; International audience; The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) is once again prevalent in the United States. We investigated temporal patterns in Google search queries for bed bugs and co-occurring terms, and conducted in-person surveys to explore the intentions behind searches that included those terms. Searches for “bed bugs” rose steadily through 2011 and then plateaued, suggesting that the epidemic has reached an equilibrium in the United States. However, queries including terms that survey respondents associated strongly with having bed bugs (e.g., “exterminator,” “remedies”) continued to climb, while terms more closely associated with informational searches (e.g., “hotels,” “about”) fell. Respondents’ rankings of terms and nonseasonal trends in Google search volume as assessed by a cosinor model were significantly correlated (Kendall’s Tau-b P = 0.015). We find no evidence from Google Trends that the bed bug epidemic in the United States has reached equilibrium.

Good corporate governance is an important step in building market confidence and encouraging more stable, long-term international investment flows. Many countries see better corporate governance practices as a way to improve economic dynamism and thus enhance overall economic performance. This paper sets out to further develop our understanding of corporate governance and its effects on corporate performance and economic performance. In doing so, it addresses some of the underlying factors that promote efficient corporate governance, and examines some of the economic implications associated with various corporate governance systems. I provide an framework for understanding how corporate governance can affect corporate performance. In the wake of a literature survey, I find that corporate governance matters for economic performance, insider ownership matters the most, outside ownership concentration destroys market value, direct ownership being superior to indirect.