Artificial fish nurseries can restore certain nursery characteristics in marine urban habitats.

Port areas are subjected to multiple anthropic pressures that directly impact residing marine communities and deprive them of most of their essential ecological functions. Several global projects aim to rehabilitate certain ecosystem functions in port areas, such as a fish nursery function, by installing artificial fish nurseries (AFN). In theory, AFNs increase fish biodiversity and juvenile fish abundance in port areas, but studies on this subject remain scarce. Thus, the present study aimed to examine whether the use of such AFNs could restore part of the nursery function of natural habitats by increasing fish and juvenile abundance, and by decreasing predation intensity compared to bare docks. Two years of monitoring on AFNs showed they hosted 2.1 times more fish than on control docks and up to 2.4 more fish juveniles. Fish community structures were influenced by both treatment (AFN and Control) and year of monitoring. In general, AFNs hosted a greater taxonomic diversity of fish than controls. The predation intensity around these structures was significantly lower in the AFNs than in controls. Part of the definition of a fish nursery was thus verified, indicating that AFNs might be an effective restoration tool. However, we also noted that total fish abundance and Young of the Year (YOY) abundance decreased in controls, possibly due to a concentration effect. Further detailed monitoring is necessary to distinguish between these effects.

The elephant in the room: Introduced species also profit from refuge creation by artificial fish habitats.

Increasingly, ecological rehabilitation is envisioned to mitigate and revert impacts of ocean sprawl on coastal marine biodiversity. While in the past studies have demonstrated the positive effects of artificial fish habitats in port areas on fish abundance and diversity, benthic colonization of these structures has not yet been taken into consideration. This could be problematic as they may provide suitable habitat for Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) and hence facilitate their spreading. The present study aimed to examine communities developing on artificial fish habitats and to observe if the number of NIS was higher than in surrounding equivalent habitats. The structures were colonized by communities that were significantly different compared to those surrounding the control habitat, and they were home to a greater number of NIS. As NIS can cause severe ecological and economical damages, our results imply that in conjunction with the ecosystem services provided by artificial fish habitats, an ecosystem disservice in the form of facilitated NIS colonization may be present. These effects have not been shown before and need to be considered to effectively decide in which situations artificial structures may be used for fish rehabilitation.

Impact of in Situ Simulated Climate Change on Communities and Non-Indigenous Species: Two Climates, Two Responses.

Climate change constitutes a major challenge for marine urban ecosystems and ocean warming will likely strongly affect local communities. Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) have been shown to often have higher heat resistance than natives, but studies investigating how forthcoming global warming might affect them in marine urban environments remain scarce, especially in Situ studies. Here we used an in Situ warming experiment in a NW Mediterranean (warm temperate) and a NE Atlantic (cold temperate) marina to see how global warming might affect recruited communities in the near future. In both marinas, warming resulted in significantly different community structure, lower biomass, and more empty space compared to control. However, while in the warm temperate marina, NIS showed an increased surface cover, it was reduced in the cold temperate one. Metabolomic analyses on Bugula neritina in the Atlantic marina revealed potential heat stress experienced by this introduced bryozoan and a potential link between heat stress and the expression of a halogenated alkaloid, Caelestine A. The present results might indicate that the effects of global warming on the prevalence of NIS may differ between geographical provinces, which could be investigated by larger scale studies.

Pollution gradient leads to local adaptation and small-scale spatial variability of communities and functions in an urban marine environment.

Urbanization of coastal habitats, of which harbors and marinas are the paragon, has led to various ecological paradigms about their functioning. Harbor infrastructures offer new hard substrata that are colonized by a wide variety of organisms (biofouling) including many introduced species. These structures also modify hydrodynamism and contaminant dispersal, leading to strong disturbance gradients within them. Differences in sessile community structure have previously been correlated to these gradients at small spatial scale (<100 m). Local adaptation might be involved to explain such results, but as correlation is not causation, the present study aims to understand the causal link between the environmental gradients and community structure through a reciprocal transplant experiment among three sites of a marina (inner, middle, entrance). Our results highlighted strong small-scale spatial variations of contaminants (trace metals, PCB, pesticides, and PAH) in sediments and animal samples which have been causally linked to changes in community composition after transplant. But historical contingency and colonization succession also play an important role. Our results provided strong evidence for local adaptation since community structure, respiration, and pollutant uptake in Bugula neritina, as well as the metabolomes of B. neritina and Ciona intestinalis were impacted by the transplant with a disadvantage for individuals transplanted from the entrance to the inner location. The here observed results may thus indicate that the disturbance gradient in marinas might constitute a staple for selecting pollutant-resistant species and populations, causing local adaptation. This highlights the importance of conducting further studies into small scale local adaptation.

Cutaneous metastases during an aggressive course of Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma in a teenager.

We reported a rare case of cutaneous metastases of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with an Xp11.2 translocation in a 15-year-old female. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of this uncommon site of metastasis, which can indicate multivisceral dissemination of the disease. We discuss the feasibility and opportunity of treating such a patient with multiple line of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) targeting vascular endothelial and platelet-derived growth factor receptors.

Central nervous system involvement in relapsing polychondritis.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is a rare condition in relapsing polychondritis. We report a case of meningoencephalitis that revealed relapsing polychondritis in a 70-year-old woman. A vasculitic process is presumed. Patient was treated with steroids and dapsone, and no relapse was observed after a follow-up of 2 years.

[Neuromuscular forms of hyperparathyroidism. Apropos of 2 cases]. / Formes neuromusculaires des hyperparathyroïdies. A propos de 2 cas.

The authors report two cases of hyperparathyroidism presenting mainly with muscular weakness. In the first case, a 74 year old woman had become completely bed-ridden and muscular recovery was obtained in 18 months. In the second case, a 24 year old sportsman had to stop all competition. Hypercalcaemia was suspected after finding radiological muscular calcification; the patient was able to start his sporting activities again two months after excision of the adenoma. After a review of the literature the authors discuss the principal physiopathogenic mechanisms; a direct action of parathormone is the probable cause but this has not been proved. Muscular forms of hyperparathyroidism are rare but this "pseudo-myopathic" presentation justifies the systematic exclusion of hyperparathyroidism in all cases of unexplained muscle weakness.

[Cryptic miliary tuberculosis. Two case-reports (author's transl)]. / Les tuberculoses miliaires cryptiques. A propos de deux observations.

The term cryptic miliary tuberculosis designates a particular form of hematogenous tuberculosis in which the usual diagnostic criteria, especially the roentgenographic ones, are lacking. Two cases are reported. Initial clinical manifestations were prolonged fever, poor general condition, low blood pressure, low serum sodium, mild hepatic biological disorders, and myocarditis. No other radiological or biological features, suggestive of tuberculosis were found. In the first patient, the various visceral tuberculous localizations occurred under specific treatment, although the latter was otherwise effective. In the second patient, they were identified by pathological examination. The incidence of these occult forms of tuberculosis, where diagnosis is often established too late, and sometimes only postmortem, is not negligible. This possibility must be borne in mind in severe infectious conditions without obvious etiology, particularly when the following features are present : inadequate secretion of ADH, which often indicates latent encephalitic and meningitic involvement where CSF anomalies may be incomplete or lacking ; leucopenia or pancytopenia ; biological hepatic anomalies ; exceptionally, such as in the two cases described, cardiac involvement. Among diagnostic procedures, liver biopsy is of the utmost importance. Mere diagnostic presumption is sufficient to warrant initiation of antituberculous therapy. This ensures survival and, paradoxically, allows delayed overt clinical manifestations to develop.