Bouygues (France)

Urate is the third most common component of canine uroliths. Dogs with a genetic mutation or hepatic dysfunction excrete more urate salts and are predisposed to urate urolith formation. Documentation of total and individual purine content in commercial diets is clinically important because feeding diets containing fewer purines reduces urinary uric acid excretion and urolith formation. Nine purine metabolites were measured using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry in samples of 3 batches of 14 dry and 10 canned diets from 3 manufacturers, including low-protein diets, vegetarian diets, diets designed to prevent urate uroliths, and maintenance diets. Concentrations were compared among diet groups using a linear mixed model design. Total concentrations are reported as least squares means and 95% confidence intervals. Total purine content (μmol/Mcal) was lower (P < 0.0001) in prescription (736; 475–1053) than maintenance (2459; 1866–3133) diets, and lower in dry (464; 316–641) than canned (1704; 1327–2127) diets. Among dry prescription diets, vegetarian diets and urate urolith prevention diets contained the least purines, followed by low-protein diets; all contained < 630 μmol/Mcal purines except for one low-protein diet. Hypoxanthine concentrations were proportionately lower in vegetarian diets. Feeding dry vegetarian, urate urolith prevention, and some low-protein prescription diets to dogs should reduce urinary uric acid excretion more than feeding wet equivalents. However, factors that affect urinary urate crystallization, like urine pH and dilution, should also be considered. These findings will facilitate the selection of low-purine diets for individual dogs susceptible to urate urolithiasis.

A baby sea turtle needs to reach the ocean. To achieve that, she has to overcome lots of obstacles and predators on her way.

Underground excavations often involve soft, weathered soils and rocky formations that are mechanically unstable, necessitating effective stabilization methods. Artificial ground freezing (AGF) has emerged as a viable option, offering enhanced mechanical strength and reduced permeability. However, challenges such as frost heave and thaw-induced displacements, especially in urban settings, remain critical concerns. The influence of overburden pressure on soil freezing and deformations is complex, highly coupled, and not fully understood. In this context, freeze-thaw (FT) tests were conducted on silty sandy soil under a wide range of applied vertical stress, varying from 10 to 4000 kPa, using a unique, modified temperature-controlled oedometer. Results reveal a strong inverse correlation between applied stress and generated frost heave. Higher stresses delay the onset of freezing, alter phase change, and reduce heave rates. The study also highlights the densification of the normally consolidated fine-grained soil and the net volume reduction by the end of the FT cycle. Reloading the thawed soil after an FT cycle under low stresses renders the soil softer and more susceptible to significant settlements, highlighting the detrimental impact of the FT cycle. In contrast, post-thaw loading after an FT cycle under high stresses results in a marked shift in the slope of the initial compression curve, reflecting a significant increase in stiffness, similar to an overconsolidation effect. This indicates a fundamental change in the soil structure that reduces its compressibility after the FT cycle under high applied stress. The findings highlight the complex interactions between temperature, applied stress, and soil response to the FT cycle. These interactions are key to understanding frost heave and thaw settlements in urban environments with overburden pressure. The study offers insights to help engineers better predict ground deformations and optimize AGF design in various geological contexts. • Artificial ground freezing can degrade the properties of soil/rock formations. • Eocene silty sand samples were collected from a metro construction site in Paris. • Freeze-thaw tests were conducted in a modified oedometer under 10–4000 kPa stress. • The kinetics and dynamics of freeze-thaw under overburden pressure were explored. • Temperature, pressure, and soil behavior during freeze-thaw were investigated.

Clinical abstract presented at BSAVA Congress 2025. See full text for abstract and see clinical abstract sessions for a recording of the presentation. Abstracts are presented as supplied and have not been edited.

Abstract The Col de Dio palaeontological site yields the first swimming trails of fishes from the continental Permian deposits of the Lodève Basin (southern France). Several morphologies of trails were distinguished, each of them including one, two or four thin, horizontal and sinusoidal grooves/ridges. Trails are ascribed to Undichna bina, Undichna britannica and Undichna unisulca. They co-occur with arthropod body remains (e.g. “conchostracans”, triopsids), invertebrate traces (cf. Cochlichnus, Diplichnites, and Diplopodichnus) and swimming tracks of tetrapods (Characichnos). The sedimentological analysis conducted at the Col de Dio tracksite indicates the presence of two orders of stratigraphic sequences that rule the alternation of humid and arid cycles in an endorheic terminal mud-dominated floodplain and playa-lake environment. Although body fossils of fishes remain unknown in the Salagou Formation, the presence of Undichna shows that ichthyofauna was an abundant component of the palaeoecosystem related to this formation. The diverse shapes of Undichna suggest a great diversity of fish morphologies and/or behaviours. This new discovery of fish trails co-occurring with tetrapod and arthropod tracks complements other coeval French tracksites, suggesting that such ichnofaunas were common in Permian terrestrial ecosystems from the Eastern Pangean intertropical zone.

Court approval of a lender-led non-consensual restructuring plan filed by financial creditors without the debtor’ support and challenged by all the shareholders. The plan allows creditors to take control of the equity post-restructuring and to wipe-out pre-existing shareholders. The Court found that the necessary requirements were met due to the existence of imminent insolvency and the shareholders being "out of the money." This is a landmark case in Spain regarding the new fairness test, based on an agreement between the affected classes or, in its absence, on the enterprise value and its distribution amongst the insolvency ranks following the absolute priority rule.