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During dissertation writing, PhD candidates face challenges engaging with academic writing, among other things, which leads to their participation in writing retreats with their peers. Developing a better understanding of PhD candidates' needs to optimize engagement with writing is important for improving the overall doctoral experience and reduce attrition. We then conducted a qualitative longitudinal experimental study with PhD candidates from Canadian universities: 15 respondents who participated in a writing retreat and 15 respondents who never participated in such event. Based on our findings, this article presents a complementary perspective to the theoretical model of engagement with writing by Murray (2015). Thereon, we expand on the intersectionality of components (cognitive, physical, social) to illustrate the influence of structured writing activities. These intersections highlight the benefits of writing retreats to answer the needs of PhD candidates to engage with writing: planning dedicated writing periods, implementing effective work methods in environments enabling concentration, and engaging with collective writing activities. By way of supplementing the most recent literature on the subject, we suggest that the participation in structured writing retreats serves as a pedagogical benchmark for graduate programs to offer students comparable conditions in support of their writing requirements to enhance academic success.

Over the past twenty years, graduate studies have seen significant growth, with student numbers more than doubling worldwide. Unfortunately, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development continues to report dropout rates averaging 50% for PhD and 40% for master's programs, in all disciplines combined. Among the reasons quoted for abandoning study programs are deficient academic writing competencies that could not only hinder how graduate students progress through their academic journey, but also how they integrate with the scientific community as novice scholars. Accordingly, this article will present an overview of studies related to academic writing groups, which have been identified as one of the strategies to benefit graduate studies. Based on a systematic literature review, we present a chronological account of key issues and concepts that have influenced the phenomenon throughout history. Thereafter, we explain the various characteristics of academic writing groups in order to delineate this phenomenon through the description of its inherent elements and propose an all-encompassing definition. The analysis of 72 documentary sources also allows the observation of trends through the examination of geographical, disciplinary, and methodological factors drawn from scholarly publications. Finally, we highlight considerations for future exploration of academic writing groups used as a pedagogical strategy in the context of higher education, from disciplinary, sociocultural, and gender perspectives.

Irrigation Method with Vertical Semi-tube Adapted for Sahel Areas. Technical Results and Prospective about Organization of Production Chain. The difficulty of planting fruit and multipurpose trees in semi-arid areas results from very important water requirements, immediately on plantation and during all the period of growth. A new irrigation method with vertical semi-tube, tested in Senegal permits to water young plants with low water quantity and to succeed plantations in these semi-arid areas. With the success of this method, the extension of orchards of mango and cashew trees will induce a fruit production what risk to saturate the market in short term if the fruit production chain is not structured in due time. The author describes the new irrigation method and prevents about the urgency to organize the producer groups and the fruit production chain.

Private Sector Nursery Owners in Burundi, towards the Professionalization of Forestry. Burundi, a small country of the African Great Lakes Region, has a demographic increase which results in one of the highest population densities on the continent. Problems of deforestation and of firewood and timber scarcity are added to the well know degradation associated with soil erosion. Aware of this new problem, Burundi government stated a national forest project in 1979. During ten years, plants necessary for reforestation have been produced by state-owned nurseries controlled entirely by the forestry project. Currently in inter phase since 1990, the forestry project is faced with an important choice : what system of production to choose : private or project nurseries ? The analysis of each system has permitted to conclude in favour of the maintenance of a system of private production. To stimulate the development of the profession and to progressively decrease its dependence on the forest project, this analysis proposes answers to questions raised, insisting particularly on the significance of monitoring and on the choice of training methods.

Endogenous tags have become invaluable tools to visualize and study native proteins in live cells. However, generating human cell lines carrying endogenous tags is difficult due to the low efficiency of homology-directed repair. Recently, an engineered split mNeonGreen protein was used to generate a large-scale endogenous tag library in HEK293 cells. Using split mNeonGreen for large-scale endogenous tagging in human iPSCs would open the door to studying protein function in healthy cells and across differentiated cell types. We engineered an iPS cell line to express the large fragment of the split mNeonGreen protein (mNG21-10) and showed that it enables fast and efficient endogenous tagging of proteins with the short fragment (mNG211). We also demonstrate that neural network-based image restoration enables live imaging studies of highly dynamic cellular processes such as cytokinesis in iPSCs. This work represents the first step towards a genome-wide endogenous tag library in human stem cells.

Abstract Skin aging is a multifactorial process influenced by internal and external factors. The contribution of different environmental factors has been well established individually in the last few years. On the one hand, man is rarely exposed to a single factor, and on the other hand, there is very little knowledge about how these extrinsic factors may interact with each other or even how the skin may react to chronic exposure. This study aimed to evaluate the effect on skin aging of a chronic co-exposure of tissue-engineered skin substitutes to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and solar simulator light (SSL). Skin substitutes were reconstructed according to the self-assembly method and then exposed to CSE followed by irradiation with SSL simultaneously transmitting UVA1, visible light and infrared. When skin substitutes were chronically exposed to CSE and SSL, a significant decrease in procollagen I synthesis and the inhibition of Smad2 phosphorylation of the TGF-β signaling pathway were observed. A 6.7-fold increase in MMP-1 activity was also observed when CSE was combined with SSL, resulting in a decrease in collagen III and collagen IV protein expression. The secretory profile resulting from the toxic synergy was investigated and several alterations were observed, notably an increase in the quantities of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The results also revealed the activation of the ERK1/2 (3.4-fold) and JNK (3.3-fold) pathways. Taken together, the results showed that a synergy between the two environmental factors could provoke premature skin aging.

Process of soil degradation in the Sudanese-Guinean savannas with low population density ; a case study of the Central African Republic. Most of Central Africa is occupied with Soudano-Guinean savannas and presents one of the lowest population density among those tropical South-Sahara Africa regions. The soil degradation phenomenon caused by traditional cropping and transhumant livestock is however evident despite the low occupation ration of soils. The author analyses the process of this degradation of production area recalling successive circumstances that have induced this agricultural people from primitive cropping system to infertilization of soils and that couple with the progressive movement of nomadic Mbororo breeders toward the southernmost savannas of this country. It seems that the solutions to the technical problems of reestablishment of soil fertility must undergo a radical change in cropping systems going to sedentary life and fertilization by way of the association cropping-livestock production and in a realistic method of grazing management. These changes have to go also with a radical change in relation between rural community and administrative services and a more willing participation from rural population.

Pressure-volume (PV) loop analysis is a sophisticated invasive approach to quantifying load-dependent and independent measures of cardiac function. Biventricular (BV) PV loops allow left and right ventricular function to be quantified simultaneously and independently, which is important for conditions and certain physiologic states, such as ventricular decoupling or acute physiologic changes. BV PV loops can be performed in an entirely endovascular, percutaneous, and closed-chest setting. This technique is helpful in a survival animal model, as a percutaneous monitoring system during endovascular device experiments, or in cases where chest wall compliance is being tested or may be a confounder. In this article, we describe the end-to-end implementation of a completely endovascular, totally percutaneous, and closed-chest large animal model to obtain contemporaneous BV PV loops in 40 to 70 kg swine. We describe the associated surgical and technical challenges and our solutions to obtaining endovascular BV PV loops, closed-chest cardiac output, and stroke volume (including validation of the correction factor necessary for thermodilution), as well as how to perform endovascular inferior vena cava occlusion in this swine model. We also include techniques for data acquisition and analysis that are required for this method. : Clinical Relevance: This article describes the end-to-end implementation of a completely endovascular, percutaneous, and closed-chest large animal model for obtaining biventricular pressure-volume loops in swine. This will allow researchers to obtain contemporaneous, continuous left and right ventricular physiology through a minimally invasive procedure that animals can survive and does not alter chest wall compliance. This model may be used to better quantify the physiology during clinical scenarios of ventricular decoupling, during procedures such as transcatheter aortic valve repair or those that alter left ventricular (LV) function, or during the initiation of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta or extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation when LV and right ventricular filling become misaligned.

Abstract Background Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an interstitial lung disease characterized by antigen-triggered neutrophilic exacerbations. Although CD4+ T cells are sufficient for HP pathogenesis, this never translated into efficient T cell-specific therapies. Increasing evidence shows that B cells also play decisive roles in HP. Here, we aimed to further define the respective contributions of B and T cells in subacute experimental HP. Methods Mice were subjected to a protocol of subacute exposure to the archaeon Methanosphaera stadmanae to induce experimental HP. Using models of adoptive transfers of B cells and T cells in Rag1-deficient mice and of B cell-specific S1P1 deletion, we assessed the importance of B cells in the development of HP by evaluating inflammation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. We also aimed to determine if injected antibodies targeting B and/or T cells could alleviate HP exacerbations using a therapeutic course of intervention. Results Even though B cells are not sufficient to induce HP, they strongly potentiate CD4+ T cell-induced HP‑associated neutrophilic inflammation in the airways. However, the reduction of 85% of lung B cells in mice with a CD19-driven S1P1 deletion does not dampen HP inflammation, suggesting that lung B cells are not necessary in large numbers to sustain local inflammation. Finally, we found that injecting antibodies targeting B cells after experimental HP was induced does not dampen neutrophilic exacerbation. Yet, injection of antibodies directed against B cells and T cells yielded a potent 76% inhibition of neutrophilic accumulation in the lungs. This inhibition occurred despite partial, sometimes mild, depletion of B cells and T cells subsets. Conclusions Although B cells are required for maximal inflammation in subacute experimental HP, partial reduction of B cells fails to reduce HP-associated inflammation by itself. However, co-modulation of T cells and B cells yields enhanced inhibition of HP exacerbation caused by an antigenic rechallenge.

Biomarker testing has increasingly been adopted in oncology for diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive purposes. Several tumor types undergo reflexive biomarker testing, including immunohistochemistry and next generation sequencing (NGS), to screen for hereditary tumor predisposition syndromes and identify optimal treatment regimens. Routine clinical biomarker testing, however, does not identify less common hereditary cancer syndromes, which instead requires comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP). This report describes the case of a patient with occupational exposure to asbestos who developed peritoneal mesothelioma and experienced a dramatic response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with metastatic sinonasal melanoma. The uncommon co-occurrence of these two primary malignancies prompted analysis of the patient’s mesothelioma by CGP, which identified a pathogenic BAP1 splice site mutation (c.438-1G > A, NM_004656.4, 71 % allele frequency). The melanoma was subsequently evaluated using a clinical NGS panel and found to harbor the same mutation (84 % allele frequency), strongly suggesting that the pathogenic variant is present in the patient’s germline (diagnostic of BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome). These results enabled recommendation of germline testing and suggestion of active clinical trials of targeted therapy to the treating physician, highlighting the important role of CGP in the delivery of precision medicine.

Cytokinesis is required to physically separate the daughter cells at the end of mitosis. This crucial process requires the assembly and ingression of an actomyosin ring, which must occur with high fidelity to avoid aneuploidy and cell fate changes. Most of our knowledge of mammalian cytokinesis was generated using over-expressed transgenes in HeLa cells. Over-expression can introduce artefacts, while HeLa are cancerous human cells that have lost their epithelial identity, and the mechanisms controlling cytokinesis in these cells could be vastly different from other cell types. Here, we tagged endogenous anillin, Ect2 and RhoA with mNeonGreen and characterized their localization during cytokinesis for the first time in live human cells. Comparing anillin localization in multiple cell types revealed cytokinetic diversity with differences in the duration and symmetry of ring closure, and the timing of cortical recruitment. Our findings show that the breadth of anillin correlates with the rate of ring closure, and support models where cell size or ploidy affects the cortical organization, and intrinsic mechanisms control the symmetry of ring closure. This work highlights the need to study cytokinesis in more diverse cell types, which will be facilitated by the reagents generated for this study.

Study of the influence of cutting and picking of leaves on the quality of cassava tuber (Manihot esculenta Crantz cv. "F46"). The Burundi country located in mountainous tropical region of Central Africa, presents one of the highest density population among those overpopulated regions. The extreme soil occupation phenomenon at the greatest slope poses a serious problems of soil erosion. The author analyses the physical and social constraints of soil conservation and water management problems in a such context. It seems that the solutions to the technical problems of erosion control must undergo with a radical change in relation between rural community and administration in the way of more collaboration and comprehension of administrative services and more willingly participation from rural population.

Rationale: Smoking status and smoking history remain poorly accounted for as variables that could affect the efficacy of new drugs being tested in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. As a proof of concept, we used a pre-clinical model of cigarette smoke (CS) exposure to compare the impact of treatment during active CS exposure or during the cessation period on the anti-inflammatory effects IL-1α signaling blockade.Methods: Mice were exposed to CS for 2 weeks, followed by a 1-week cessation, then acutely re-exposed for 2 days. Mice were treated with an anti-IL-1α antibody either during CS exposure or during cessation and inflammatory outcomes were assessed.Results: We found that mice re-exposed to CS displayed reduced neutrophil counts and cytokine levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) compared to mice exposed only acutely. Moreover, we found that treatment with an anti-IL-1α antibody during the initial CS exposure delayed inflammatory processes and interfered with pulmonary adaptation, leading to rebound pulmonary neutrophilia, increased BAL cytokine secretion (CCL2) and upregulated Mmp12 expression. Conversely, administration of anti-IL-1α during cessation had the opposite effect, improving BAL neutrophilia, decreasing CCL2 levels and reducing Mmp12 expression.Discussion: These results suggest that pulmonary adaptation to CS exposure dampens inflammation and blocking IL-1α signaling during CS exposure delays the inflammatory response. More importantly, the same treatment administered during cessation hastens the return to pulmonary inflammatory homeostasis, strongly suggesting that smoking status and treatment timing should be considered when testing new biologics in COPD.

Hypoxia is common in lung diseases and a potent stimulator of the long non-coding RNA Metastasis-Associated Lung Adenocarcinoma Transcript 1 (MALAT1). Herein, we investigated the impact of Malat1 on hypoxia-induced lung dysfunction in mice. Malat1-deficient mice and their wild-type littermates were tested after 8 days of normoxia or hypoxia (10% oxygen). Hypoxia decreased elastance of the lung by increasing lung volume and caused in vivo hyperresponsiveness to methacholine without altering the contraction of airway smooth muscle. Malat1 deficiency also modestly decreased lung elastance but only when tested at low lung volumes and without altering lung volume and airway smooth muscle contraction. The in vivo responsiveness to methacholine was also attenuated by Malat1 deficiency, at least when elastance, a readout sensitive to small airway closure, was used to assess the response. More impressively, in vivo hyperresponsiveness to methacholine caused by hypoxia was virtually absent in Malat1-deficient mice, especially when hysteresivity, a readout sensitive to small airway narrowing heterogeneity, was used to assess the response. Malat1 deficiency also increased the coefficient of oxygen extraction and decreased ventilation in conscious mice, suggesting improvements in gas exchange and in clinical signs of respiratory distress during natural breathing. Combined with a lower elastance at low lung volumes at baseline, as well as a decreased propensity for small airway closure and narrowing heterogeneity during a methacholine challenge, these findings represent compelling evidence suggesting that the lack of Malat1 protects the access to alveoli for air entering the lung.

During dissertation writing, PhD candidates face challenges engaging with academic writing, among other things, which leads to their participation in writing retreats with their peers. Developing a better understanding of PhD candidates’ needs to optimize engagement with writing is important for improving the overall doctoral experience and reduce attrition. We then conducted a qualitative longitudinal experimental study with PhD candidates from Canadian universities: 15 respondents who participated in a writing retreat and 15 respondents who never participated in such event. Based on our findings, this article presents a complementary perspective to the theoretical model of engagement with writing by Murray (2015). Thereon, we expand on the intersectionality of components (cognitive, physical, social) to illustrate the influence of structured writing activities. These intersections highlight the benefits of writing retreats to answer the needs of PhD candidates to engage with writing: planning dedicated writing periods, implementing effective work methods in environments enabling concentration, and engaging with collective writing activities. By way of supplementing the most recent literature on the subject, we suggest that the participation in structured writing retreats serves as a pedagogical benchmark for graduate programs to offer students comparable conditions in support of their writing requirements to enhance academic success.

This letter discusses a study that investigated the associations between thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) signaling, mast cells, and airway obstruction in active smokers. The study used lung tissue transcriptomics and clinical data from 213 active smokers to analyze the levels of TSLP and CRLF2 transcripts in relation to clinical features and predicted immune cell signatures. The results showed that high levels of CRLF2 transcripts were associated with lower lung function in female subjects, and both male and female subjects with high CRLF2 transcript levels had fewer M2 macrophages and more activated mast cells and neutrophils. The study suggests that further investigation is needed to understand the mechanistic link between COPD progression, TSLP signaling, and activated mast cell abundance in smokers. [Extracted from the article]