The early life of king penguins: ontogeny of dive capacity and foraging behaviour in an expert diver.

The period of emancipation in seabirds, when juveniles change from a terrestrial existence to a life at sea, is associated with many challenges. Apart from finding favourable foraging sites, they have to develop effective prey search patterns and physiological capacities that enable them to capture sufficient prey to meet their energetic needs. Animals that dive to forage, such as king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), need to acquire an adequate breath-hold capacity, allowing them to locate and capture prey at depth.

A focus on the European hamster to illustrate how to monitor endangered species.

Agriculture intensification, marked by the generalization of crop monoculture, by the increase in plot size and by the reduction of plant diversity, has led to huge decline in wildlife in European farmlands. In such habitat, research has long been biased towards birds and invertebrates, while very few studies have investigated the effect on small mammals. Considering the European hamster, Cricetus cricetus, we therefore review the different techniques that can be used to investigate the impact of environmental changes and conservation measures in small and endangered wild mammals.

Combined use of two supervised learning algorithms to model sea turtle behaviours from tri-axial acceleration data.

Accelerometers are becoming ever more important sensors in animal-attached technology, providing data that allow determination of body posture and movement and thereby helping to elucidate behaviour in animals that are difficult to observe. We sought to validate the identification of sea turtle behaviours from accelerometer signals by deploying tags on the carapace of a juvenile loggerhead (), an adult hawksbill () and an adult green turtle () at Aquarium La Rochelle, France. We recorded tri-axial acceleration at 50 Hz for each species for a full day while two fixed cameras recorded their behaviours.

Rovers minimize human disturbance in research on wild animals.

Investigating wild animals while minimizing human disturbance remains an important methodological challenge. When approached by a remote-operated vehicle (rover) which can be equipped to make radio-frequency identifications, wild penguins had significantly lower and shorter stress responses (determined by heart rate and behavior) than when approached by humans. Upon immobilization, the rover-unlike humans-did not disorganize colony structure, and stress rapidly ceased.

The specific thromboxane receptor antagonist S18886: pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies.

Objectives And Patients: We conducted a multicenter double-blind pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) study of the new oral thromboxane receptor antagonist S18886 in 30 patients with peripheral artery disease, who were randomized to receive five different oral dosages of S18886 (1, 2.5, 5, 10 or 30 mg) for 12 weeks (83 days). Primary objective was to determine the effect of S18886 on platelet aggregation ex vivo.

Foods as risk factors for colorectal adenomas: a case-control study in Burgundy (France).

Foods associated with precancerous colorectal adenoma, especially those associated with large adenomas, are poorly understood. We compared food intake in polyp-free controls (n = 427) with small adenoma (n = 154) or large adenoma (n = 208) cases in Burgundy (France). Logistic regression models controlled for age, gender, and energy.

Detection of putative functional angiotensinogen (AGT) gene variants controlling plasma AGT levels by combined segregation-linkage analysis.

Previous studies have suggested that angiotensinogen (AGT) gene variants are associated with increased plasma AGT levels, and may also contribute towards the inherited component of predisposition to essential hypertension in humans. To explore the potential functionality of several AGT polymorphisms and estimate their effects, together with other sources of familial correlations, on plasma AGT, we undertook a large study involving 545 healthy French volunteers in 130 nuclear families that include 285 offspring. Plasma AGT levels were measured in all participants, and bi-allelic AGT variants were analysed as candidate functional variants at three sites in the 5'-flanking region (C-532T, A-20C, G-6A), two sites in exon 2 (M235T, T174M) and two newly identified variant sites in the untranslated sequence of exon 5 and the 3'-flanking region (C+2054A, C+2127T) of the gene.

Study of V(1)-vascular vasopressin receptor gene microsatellite polymorphisms in human essential hypertension.

Vasopressin (AVP) actions on vascular tone and blood pressure are mainly mediated by the V(1)-vascular receptor (V(1)R). We recently reported the structure and functional expression of the human V(1)R cDNA and described the genomic characteristics, tissue expression, chromosomal localization, and regional mapping of the human V(1)R gene, AVPR1A. To test whether the V(1)R is a marker for human essential hypertension, we sequenced the human AVPR1A gene and its 5; upstream region and found several DNA microsatellite motifs.

Foods as risk factors for colorectal cancer: a case-control study in Burgundy (France).

Although the high meat-low vegetable diet is considered the reference high-risk diet for colorectal cancer, particularly in USA communities, other at-risk dietary patterns, such as high intakes of processed meat and refined carbohydrates are emerging. Little is known about risk factors for colorectal cancer in France, a country at high risk of rectal cancer and moderately high risk of colon cancer. We compared diet of colorectal cancer cases (n = 171) and general population controls (n = 309) in Burgundy (France).

Structural analysis and evaluation of the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2) gene in human essential hypertension.

Aim: Mutations of the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2) gene cause the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess, a rare autosomal recessive form of hypertension. We therefore investigated the question of whether variants of the 11beta-HSD2 gene can contribute to genetic susceptibility to essential hypertension.

Subjects And Methods: We performed a linkage study in 162 French hypertensive sibships using the affected sib-pair method on 347 sibling pairs and a polymorphic microsatellite marker that we identified in a 30 kb cosmid clone containing the 11beta-HSD2 gene.

Structural analysis and evaluation of the aldosterone synthase gene in hypertension.

Anomalies in either of the tightly linked genes encoding the enzymes CYP11B1 (11beta-hydroxylase) or CYP11B2 (aldosterone synthase) can lead to important changes in arterial pressure and are responsible for several monogenically inherited forms of hypertension. Mutations in these genes or their regulatory regions could thus contribute to genetic variation in susceptibility to essential hypertension. To test this hypothesis, we performed 2 complementary studies of the CYP11B1/CYP11B2 locus in essential hypertension.

Evaluation of the angiotensinogen locus in human essential hypertension: a European study.

Different family and case-control studies support genetic linkage and association at the human angiotensinogen (AGT) locus with essential hypertension. To extend these previous observations, a European collaborative study of nine centers was set up to create a large resource of affected sibling pairs. The AGT locus was studied using a highly polymorphic dinucleotide repeat in the 3'-flanking region of the gene in 350 European families, comprising 630 affected sibling pairs.

Genetic studies of the renin-angiotensin system in arterial hypertension associated with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To determine whether angiotensinogen (AGT) and angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor genes contribute to the development of arterial hypertension in members of French Caucasian families and in subjects with hypertension associated with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).

Methods: Sibpair linkage analyses were performed with microsatellites near the AGT and AT1 receptor genes in 179 hypertensive sibpairs from 69 NIDDM kindreds. In addition, population/association studies were performed with the M235T and T174M polymorphisms of the AGT gene, and the A1166C polymorphism of the AT1 receptor gene.

Microsatellites and PCR primers for genetic studies and genomic sequencing of the human TSH receptor gene.

The thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) is the main autoantigen in Graves' disease. Mutations of the TSH receptor have been implicated in various thyroid diseases. In this study, we describe three polymorphic markers localised within introns 2 and 7 of the TSH receptor gene.

[Prognostic factors in colorectal adenocarcinoma of Dukes stage B. Study of a series of population].

A study of prognostic factors in Dukes B colorectal adenocarcinoma was performed on a population basis in order to determine subgroups with poor prognosis which could benefit from adjuvant therapy after surgery. The study considered the 746 cases of Dukes B colorectal carcinoma diagnosed during the 1976-1988 period among Côte-d'Or residents (Burgundy, France). The overall 5-year crude survival rate was 55.