The locomotor behavior of an animal strongly depends on the distribution of its body mass. Whenever changes occur in this distribution, the displacement of the body center of mass (CoM) may lead to a loss of balance. Ants are an interesting biological model with which to investigate how an animal copes with such changes because, when they transport food, their CoM may be displaced from its usual position.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKonzo is a neglected paralytic neurological disease associated with food (cassava) poisoning that affects the world's poorest children and women of childbearing ages across regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite understanding the dietary factors that lead to konzo, the molecular markers and mechanisms that trigger this disease remain unknown. To identify potential protein biomarkers associated with a disease status, plasma was collected from two independent Congolese cohorts, a discovery cohort (n = 60) and validation cohort (n = 204), sampled 10 years apart and subjected to multiple high-throughput assays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants have developed strategies to deal with the great variety of challenges they are exposed to. Among them, common targets are the regulation of transcription and translation to finely modulate protein levels during both biotic and abiotic stresses. Increasing evidence suggests that ribosomes are highly adaptable modular supramolecular structures which remodel to adapt to stresses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal aggregation, particularly in large-bodied species, is both a fascinating and intriguing phenomenon. Here we analyzed the overwintering behavior of the European catfish, Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758, the largest freshwater fish in Europe. By tracking 47 subadults and adults in a shallow lake in southeastern France, we reported a consistent aggregative behavior across four successive winters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTeam lifting is a complex and collective motor task comprising motor and cognitive components. The purpose of this research is to investigate how individual and collective performances are impacted during load transport combined with a cognitive task. Ten dyads performed a first condition in which they transported a load (CC), and a second one in which they transported the load while maintaining a ball on its top (PC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF