Abstract: La leptospirose est une zoonose cosmopolite causée par les bactéries du genre Leptospira. Si sa répartition est vaste sur le globe, le climat chaud et humide de la zone intertropicale est particulièrement propice à son expansion. Dans la plupart des départements et territoires français d’outremer, la leptospirose est considérée comme un problème de santé publique. En Guyane, département français situé au nord-est de la forêt amazonienne, elle est considérée comme rare. L’objectif de cette revue est de faire l’état des lieux des connaissances sur la leptospirose humaine et animale en Guyane française et dans les pays environnants. Une recherche exhaustive a été conduite, à travers la littérature médicale indexée et informelle en français, anglais, espagnol et portugais. Ainsi, respectivement dix et quatre publications ont pu être identifiées sur la leptospirose humaine et animale en Guyane, publiées entre 1940 et 1995, sous formes de cas cliniques ou de séries de cas. Les publications concernant cette maladie dans les autres pays du plateau des Guyanes, Venezuela oriental, Guyana, Suriname, et État brésilien de l’Amapá, étaient également rares voire inexistantes. En revanche, les données récentes du centre national de la leptospirose français ont montré une augmentation récente et brutale du nombre de cas dans le département, probablement en partie due à la mise en place d’outils diagnostiques tels que la sérologie IgM Elisa. Il est en fait probable que la leptospirose soit une maladie négligée dans la région, du fait de l’absence d’outils diagnostiques rapidement disponibles, de la méconnaissance des cliniciens de cette pathologie et de l’existence de nombreux autres pathogènes à présentation clinique similaire (paludisme, arboviroses, fièvre Q, toxoplasmose amazonienne). La mise en place d’études de plus grande ampleur sur la leptospirose animale et humaine est nécessaire et urgente pour connaître le véritable poids de cette maladie dans notre région.

Abstract: Due to habitat fragmentation, resource disruption and pollution, urbanization is one of the most destructive forms of anthropization affecting ecosystems worldwide. Generally, human-mediated perturbations dramatically alter species diversity in urban sites compared to the surroundings, thus influencing the functioning of the entire ecosystem. We investigated the taxonomic and functional diversity patterns of the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in tank bromeliads by comparing those found in a small Neotropical city with those from an adjacent rural site. Changes in the quality of detrital inputs in relation to lower tree diversity and the presence of synanthropic species are likely important driving forces behind the observed structural changes in the urban site. Leaf-litter processors (i.e., shredders, scrapers) were positively affected in the urban site, while filter-feeders that process smaller particles produced by the activity of the shredders were negatively affected. Because we cannot ascertain whether the decline in filter-feeders is related to food web-mediated effects or to competitive exclusion (Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were present in urban bromeliads only), further studies are necessary to account for the effects of intra-guild competition or inter-guild facilitation. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Abstract: Reflex bleeding is an effective defensive mechanism against predators. When attacked, some insects emit hemolymph, which coagulates, quickly entangling their aggressor. Bleeding occurs at weak intersegmental membranes or through dedicated organs, which can be associated or not with glandular cells. Here, we describe the behavior and morphological structures involved in reflex bleeding in the larvae of the ladybird, Diomus thoracicus, which are intranidal parasites of the ant Wasmannia auropunctata. The larvae are tolerated by the ants thanks to odor mimicry, but some rare aggressive ant behaviors were observed that trigger reflex bleeding both at a pair of thoracic tubercles and a pair of posterodorsal abdominal humps. No glandular structure was found in association with these emission points, which suggests that the material emitted was hemolymph only. A 3D reconstruction suggested that reflex bleeding seems to be controlled by muscles whose contraction increases the internal hydrostatic pressure and pushes the hemolymph into a funnel-like structure with an opening to the outside. In D. thoracicus, the morphological structures involved in reflex bleeding are among the most complex and prominent described to date. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Abstract: In a globalized world, the world trade fleet plays a pivotal role in limiting transport costs. But, the management of obsolete ships is an acute problem, with most Ship Recycling Facilities (SRF) situated in developing countries. They are renowned for their controversial work and safety conditions and their environmental impact. Paradoxically, dismantlement is paid for by the shipowners in accordance with international conventions therefore it is more profitable for them to sell off ships destined for scrapping. Scuttling, the alternative to scrapping, is assessed in the present review to compare the cost/benefit ratios of the two approaches. Although scrapping provides employment and raw materials – but with environmental, health and safety costs – scuttling provides fisheries and diving tourism opportunities but needs appropriate management to avoid organic and metal pollution, introduction of invasive species and exacerbation of coastal erosion. It is also limited by appropriate bottom depth, ship type and number. The present review inventories the environmental, health, safety, economic, and forensic aspects of each alternative. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.