Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a neglected disease with a high incidence in French Guiana, mainly in the middle and upper Oyapock basin, where Amerindian and some Brazilian people live. The main goals of this work were (i) to assess the knowledge about leishmaniasis in the different populations of the middle and upper Oyapock basin, (ii) to study the therapeutic strategies adopted by people affected by leishmaniasis and (iii) to document the use of phytotherapeutic remedies for leishmaniasis. Knowledge, attitudes and practices (K.A.P.) related to this disease and its treatments have been studied according to cultural group and geographical settlement. Within the Wayãpi group, the evolution of the knowledge of phytoremedies over the last 20 years has been characterised by literature-based comparisons. Materials and methods: A total of 144 questionnaires were administered in all the villages of the upper Oyapock and Camopi basins. Correspondence analyses were used for multivariate analysis. Plant species were identified at the Cayenne Herbarium (CAY). Results: The biomedical concept of leishmaniasis correlates well with the Teko and Wayãpi concepts of kalasapa and kalasapau. Although the vector of this disease was not correctly identified, the most commonly cited aetiology (74.5%) was vector-borne, and related epidemiological schemes correlate well with the one encountered in French Guiana. Theoretically and practically, health centres were the most commonly used resource for diagnostic in instances of leishmaniasis infection (65.9%), independently of the patient's cultural group, along with the use of pharmaceutical drugs (85.3%). Pharmaceuticals were commonly utilised despite the frequent (51.5%) use of phytotherapeutic remedies, alone or in combination with drugs. The most cited medicinal plant species for the treatment of leishmaniasis included Eleutherine bulbosa (Mill.) Urb. (Iridaceae, cited 14 times), Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Arecaceae, 9), Cecropia obtusa Trecul (Cecropiaceae, 8), Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae, 7), Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. (Bombacaceae, 6) and Carica papaya L. (Caricaceae, 6). Multiple correspondence analyses demonstrated that the species used in leishmaniasis remedies are more prone to vary by the user's place of residence than by their cultural origin, which indicates that exchange of knowledge about leishmaniasis remedies has occurred across different cultural groups. Literature-based comparisons between the remedies for leishmaniasis used by the Wayãpi during the 1980s showed a striking evolution, both in terms of diversity of species and number of plants used. The large number of species shared with other Guianese groups argues for intercultural exchange and may explain the majority (57.1%) of the newly used species highlighted in our study. Conclusions: Leishmaniasis is a well-known disease in the studied area. Phytotherapeutic treatments are still in use, although they are not the main source of remedies, and should undergo pharmacological studies to evaluate their potential therapeutic value. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract: While the populations of large herbivores are being depleted in many tropical rainforests, the importance of their trophic role in the ecological functioning and biodiversity of these ecosystems is still not well evaluated. This is due to the outstanding plant diversity that they feed upon and the inherent difficulties involved in observing their elusive behaviour. Classically, the diet of elusive tropical herbivores is studied through the observation of browsing signs and macroscopic analysis of faeces or stomach contents. In this study, we illustrate that the original coupling of classic methods with genetic and ethnobotanical approaches yields information both about the diet diversity, the foraging modalities and the potential impact on vegetation of the largest terrestrial mammal of Amazonia, the lowland tapir. The study was conducted in the Guianan shield, where the ecology of tapirs has been less investigated. We identified 92 new species, 51 new genera and 13 new families of plants eaten by tapirs. We discuss the relative contribution of our different approaches, notably the contribution of genetic barcoding, used for the first time to investigate the diet of a large tropical mammal, and how local traditional ecological knowledge is accredited and valuable for research on the ecology of elusive animals. © 2011 Hibert et al.

Abstract: We explored the relationship between soil processes, estimated through soil respiration (Rsoil), and the spatial variation in forest structure, assessed through the distribution of tree size, in order to understand the determinism of spatial variations in Rsoil in a tropical forest. The influence of tree size was examined using an index (Ic) calculated for each tree as a function of (1) the trunk cross section area and (2) the distance from the measurement point. We investigated the relationships between Ic and litterfall, root mass and Rsoil, respectively. Strong significant relationships were found between Ic and both litterfall and root mass. Rsoil showed a large range of variations over the 1-ha experimental plot, from 1. 5 to 12. 6 gC m-2 d-1. The best relationship between Ic and Rsoil only explained 17% of the spatial variation in Rsoil. These results support the assumption that local spatial patterns in litter production and root mass depend on tree distribution in tropical forests. Our study also emphasizes the modest contribution of tree size distribution-which is mainly influenced by the presence of the biggest trees (among the large range size of the inventoried trees greater than 10 cm diameter at 1. 30 m above ground level or at 0. 5 m above the buttresses)-in explaining spatial variations in Rsoil. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Abstract: The inhibitive action of 9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole (norharmane) and 1-Methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole (harmane) on corrosion of C38 steel in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution was investigated through electrochemical techniques. The experimental results obtained revealed that these compounds inhibited the steel corrosion in acid solution for all concentrations studied. Polarization measurements indicate that the examined compounds act as a mixed inhibitor and its inhibition efficiency increases with inhibitor concentration. Data obtained from ac impedance technique show a frequency distribution and therefore a modelling element with frequency dispersion behaviour, a constant phase element (CPE), has been used. The adsorption of used compounds on the steel surface obeys Langmuir's isotherm. The ΔG°ads values were calculated and discussed for both inhibitors. Significant correlations are obtained between inhibition efficiency and quantum chemical parameters using quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) method. © 2011 by ESG.

Abstract: The components of ecosystem evapotranspiration of a Norway spruce forest (Picea abies L.) as well as the vertical structure of canopy evapotranspiration were analyzed with a combination of measurements and models for a case study of 5 days in September 2007. Eddy-covariance and sap flux measurements were performed at several heights within the canopy at the FLUXNET site Waldstein-Weidenbrunnen (DE-Bay) in the Fichtelgebirge mountains in Germany. Within and above canopy fluxes were simulated with two stand-scale models, the 1D multilayer model ACASA that includes a third-order turbulence closure and the 3D model STANDFLUX. The soil and understory evapotranspiration captured with the eddy-covariance system in the trunk space constituted 10% of ecosystem evapotranspiration measured with the eddy-covariance system above the canopy. A comparison of transpiration measured with the sap flux technique and inferred from below and above canopy eddy-covariance systems revealed higher estimates from eddy-covariance measurements than for sap flux measurements. The relative influences of possible sources of this mismatch, such as the assumption of negligible contribution of evaporation from intercepted water, and differences between the eddy-covariance flux footprint and the area used for scaling sap flux measurements, were discussed. Ecosystem evapotranspiration as well as canopy transpiration simulated with the two models captured the dynamics of the measurements well, but slightly underestimated eddy-covariance values. Profile measurements and models also gave us the chance to assess in-canopy profiles of canopy evapotranspiration and the contributions of in-canopy layers. For daytime and a coupled or partly coupled canopy, mean simulated profiles of both models agreed well with eddy-covariance measurements, with a similar performance of the ACASA and the STANDFLUX model. Both models underestimated profiles for nighttime and decoupled conditions. During daytime, the upper half of the canopy contributed approximately 80% to canopy evapotranspiration, whereas during nighttime the contribution shifted to lower parts of the canopy. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.