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Abstract Background Traditional Polynesian medicine for children has been poorly documented, and few data are available on their efficacy and safety. In this context, the aim of this study was to identify traditional practices used for treating children and then assess the efficacy and safety of the most cited remedies by reviewing the literature. Methods In 2022, a semi-structured survey was carried out on five islands from the Society archipelago (Bora Bora, Huahine, Moorea, Raiatea, and Tahiti). A total of 86 participants were interviewed including 19 experts in herbalism. A thorough literature review was performed on the most cited plant species to gather the relevant ethnobotanical, pharmacological, and clinical data of each remedy. Results Participants mentioned using 469 remedies to treat 69 health disorders. The most represented health categories were digestive system, skin disorders, infectious diseases, and respiratory system. A total of 67 plant species (representing 731 use-reports) were mentioned and Annona muricata, Gardenia taitensis, and Hibiscus rosa-sinensis were the main plants reported. Regarding the safety of cited remedies, one plant (Microsorum grossum) showed high risk of toxicity, and its use should be avoided in infants and children. Conclusion Our survey confirms the importance of traditional medical practices for children in the Society Islands. A lack of data in children for most cited remedies demonstrate the need for more pharmacological and toxicological research on Polynesian medicinal plants. Finally, the potential risk of toxicity for some cited plant species reported calls for a better information of traditional medicine users and healers.

Plywood made of poplar are limited to indoor usages since poplar exhibits a rather low natural durability. Recently, wood heat treatments have been applied to improve properties such as decay susceptibility and dimensional stability. This study examines the potential of exposing poplar plywood to heat treatment to extend the potential of applications of this engineered wood product to outdoor end uses, and new markets accordingly. Plywood panels were glued with two different adhesive formulations based on the same melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) resin to compare their respective ability to resist to the heat treatment. These different plywoods were thermally modified in saturated steam conditions at 215 °C for 2 hours following the ThermoWood® process, up to reach 14% in mass loss. The durability improvement brought by the heat treatment was assessed in order to evaluate any possible outdoor uses for such plywood. After all the conducted analyses, the potential to use heat treated poplar plywoods in humid interior and protected exterior service conditions was confirmed.

Key message The TreeTrace_Douglas database includes images and measurements at several stages of the processing of Douglas fir logs, from sawmill logyard to machine grading and destructive testing of boards, and is suitable for research on quality assessment and traceability. A total of 52 long logs, 156 short logs, 208 wood discs, and 346 boards were analyzed. The image data includes RGB images of log ends and board ends, RGB images and CT slices of strips, and a set of images of the boards (RGB, laser, and X-rays) obtained with an industrial board grading machine. The measurements include wood density, growth ring widths, pith and board location in the logs, heartwood and sapwood areas, mechanical properties of each board obtained by vibratory and static testing, and visual grading of the boards. Dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.15454/YUNEGL and associated metadata are available at https://metadata-afs.nancy.inra.fr/geonetwork/srv/fre/catalog.search#/metadata/d9eef6e4-f195-41f4-b6c2-2ab46adc637e .

This study explored pre-service teachers' knowledge and awareness of dialectical code switching in classroom settings. A Likert-type scale survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of an embedded, mixed-methods research design. Twenty-two undergraduate students responded to the online survey and 28 volunteered to be interviewed by the researchers. Results indicated that pre-service teachers have limited knowledge of code switching but felt that nurturing a relationship with students, understanding their cultural backgrounds, and paying careful attention to linguistic differences can help students feel empowered and ultimately lead to successful learning experiences in the classroom.

This data article comprises experimental data to investigate the nonlinear dynamic behavior of the Orion beam structure, which consists of two duraluminum beams assembled by bolted joints. To retain contact on a small area between both beams, this new lap-joint configuration proposes contact patches at each bolt connection. The Orion beam suggests an assembly configuration that associates bolts dedicated to ‘static’ functions and to those to perform ‘damping’ functions. This ensures a significant increase in the structural damping without degrading the structural stiffness. Experiments have been performed on the laboratory ple Vibration and Acoustic, located at FEMTO-ST Institute, CNRS/UFC/ENSMM/UTBM, Department of Applied Mechanics, 24 chemin de lEpitaphe, 25000 Besanon, France.This data aim to provide the geometrical step and all the experimental measurements performed on our lap-joint for several excitation amplitudes and tightening torques, as far as possible and with the degree of uncertainties of the measurements. By doing so, we intend to provide experimental data, as precise and reliable as possible, which are required to progress on the numerical modelling of the dry friction damping in assembly structures.This Data in Brief article is an additional research item alongside the following paper published in the Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing journal: R. O. Teloli, P. Butaud, G. Chevallier and S. da Silva, Good practices for designing and experimental testing of dynamically excited jointed structures: the Orion beam.

When dealing with the taxonomy of Pacific coastal species within the region of New Caledonia and Vanuatu, one should examine all names published in Australasia and other Pacific islands. When the putative new species is also closely related to a highly praised ornamental species with many cultigens and with many old horticultural names, the task becomes more arduous. This is the case for the new species we describe as Pseuderanthemum melanesicum Gâteblé, Ramon & Butaud, which is closely related to the now pantropical cultivated species P. carruthersii (Seem.) Guillaumin s.l. Compared to P. carruthersii, P. melanesicum has carnose and shiny leaves, pedicels and sepals covered with glandular hairs, a short and enlarged corolla tube and can produce fertile capsules. The new species is a coastal taxon occurring naturally in the Melanesian archipelagos of New Caledonia and Vanuatu. This species seems uncommon in the Loyalty Islands but more common in the archipelago of Vanuatu and we propose it as Critically Endangered in New Caledonia, Vulnerable in Vanuatu and Least Concern when the IUCN evaluation is done globally.

Abstract Background Social isolation potentiates the risk of death by cancer in the older cancer patient population. The PREDOMOS study investigates the impact of establishing a Program of Social intervention associated with techniques of Domotic and Remote assistance on the improvement of quality of life of older isolated patients, treated for locally advanced or metastatic cancer. This paper updates the pilot trial protocol. Methods/design The original protocol was published in Trials, accessible at https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-017-1894-7. This update reports on the eligibility criteria expansion and on the adjunction of a cost-utility analysis. We widened the eligible population to patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer including malignant hemopathies (except acute myeloid leukemia) and to patients in the first and second lines of oncologic treatment. We restricted the inclusion to patients with a Mini Mental State Examination score strictly over 24. In addition to the secondary outcomes outlined in the protocol, a medico-economic analysis has been added to evaluate both the health benefits and costs of the two strategies and calculate the incremental cost-utility ratio of the innovative program assessed, compared to the standard practice. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02829762. Registered on 29 June 2016.

A preliminary ethnopharmacological survey, achieved in French Polynesia, led to the collection of the most cited plants among 63 species used to treat “infectious” diseases, with a description of their medicinal uses. Bibliographical investigations and antimicrobial screening permitted the selection of the botanical species Syzygium malaccense (Myrtaceae) for phytochemical analysis. Leaves of Syzygium malaccense were usually used in mixture with rhizomes of Curcuma longa to treat infectious diseases such as cystitis. The methanolic plant extracts were tested in vitro with an agar microdilution method on 33 bacteria strains and 1 yeast to obtain their Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), and cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells were evaluated. Antimicrobial synergistic effects of methanolic plant extracts from leaves of Syzygium malaccense and rhizomes from Curcuma longa were also evaluated. The bio-guided isolation of leaf extract from Syzygium malaccense led to the identification of seven alkyl-salicylic acids (anacardic acids or ginkgolic acids C15:0, C15:1, C17:0, C17:1, C17:2, C17:3 and C19:1) described for the first time in this species. All compounds were tested against Staphylococcus aureus (18.75 < MIC < 75.0 µg/mL), Streptococcus pyogenes (2.34 < MIC < 18.75 µg/mL) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC = 150 µg/mL), and their structure–activity relationships were discussed. The methanolic extract and salicylic derivatives from S. malaccense showed an interesting antimicrobial activity against Gram+ bacteria, without toxicity on hepG2 cells at 400 μg/mL. Moreover, these antibacterial compounds have already been studied for their anti-inflammatory activity, which supports the therapeutic interest of S. malaccense against infectious diseases.

Abstract Background Cancer incidence and social isolation increase along with advanced age, and social isolation potentiates the relative risk of death by cancer. Once spotted, social isolation can be averted with the intervention of a multidisciplinary team. Techniques of automation and remote assistance have already demonstrated their positive impact on falls prevention and quality of life (QoL), though little is known about their impact on socially isolated elderly patients supported for cancer. The primary objective of the PREDOMOS study is to evaluate the impact of establishing a Program of Social intervention associated with techniques of Domotic and Remote assistance (PS-DR) on the improvement of QoL of elderly isolated patients, treated for locally advanced or metastatic cancer. The secondary objectives include treatment failure, tolerance, survival, and autonomy. Methods/design This trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, open-label, two-parallel group study. The setting is 10 French oncogeriatric centers. Inclusion criteria are patients aged at least 70 years with a social isolation risk and a histological diagnosis of cancer, locally advanced or metastatic disease. The groups are (1) the control group, receiving usual care; (2) the experimental group, receiving usual care associating with monthly social assistance, domotic, and remote assistance. Participants are randomized in a 1:1 allocation ratio. Evaluation times involve inclusion (randomization) and follow-up (12 months). The primary endpoint is QoL at 3 months (via European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ C30); secondary endpoints are social isolation, time to treatment failure, toxicity, dose response-intensity, survival, autonomy, and QoL at 6 months. For the sample size, 320 individuals are required to obtain 90% power to detect a 10-point difference (standard deviation 25) in QoL score between the two groups (20% loss to follow-up patients expected). Discussion The randomized controlled design is the most appropriate design to demonstrate the efficacy of a new experimental strategy (Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group classification). National and international recommendations could be updated based on the findings of this study. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02829762. Registered on 29 June 2016.

Fagraea berteroana is a tree used in traditional medicine in various islands of the South Pacific. Here, we studied its hair growth-inducing properties as suggested by one of its Marquesan ethno-uses in haircare. The ethyl acetate extract of the fruits of F. berteroana (FEAE) and four resulting fractions (FEAE-F0, FEAE-F1, FEAE-F2, and FEAE-F3) were tested on hair follicle dermal papilla cells to determine their cell proliferative activity. Furthermore, RT-qPCR analysis enabled gene modulation analysis, while immunostaining of the β-catenin protein was used to follow protein regulation. We found that the plant extracts induced a controlled, dose-dependent cell proliferation. FEAE-F0 simultaneously down-regulated Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP2) mRNA expression and upregulated Cyclin-D1 (CCND1) gene expression, which suggests an involvement in the regulation of the Wnt and Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFβ) pathways that control the hair cycle. FEAE-F0 exhibited a 1.34-fold increase of nuclear β-catenin protein. This is indicative of an active hair growth state. Thus, we conclude that FEAE-F0 could be an innovative candidate in hair care, which opens interesting leads to promote the Marquesan cosmetopoeia.

Hair loss is becoming increasingly prevalent as dietary and living habits change. The search for natural products to limit hair loss has led to tapping into traditional cosmetic knowledge. We studied three plants of the Polynesian cosmetopoeia, Bidens pilosa, Calophyllum inophyllum and Fagraea berteroana, to determine their ability to promote hair growth. Their chemical content was characterized by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Their proliferative activity on dermal papilla cells (DPCs) was assessed via MTT assay and molecular targets were evaluated by RT-qPCR analysis of seven factors involved in the modulation of the hair cycle, CCND1, LEF1, DKK1, WNT5A PPARD, TGFΒ1, PPARD and RSPO2. Our results show that our extracts significantly increased proliferation of dermal papilla cells. Furthermore, LC-MS/MS analysis revealed a diversity of molecules, flavonoids, iridoids and organic acids, some known for hair-inducing properties. Finally, specific extracts and fractions of all three plants either upregulated CCND1, LEF1 and PPARD involved in stimulating hair follicle proliferation and/or lowered the gene expression levels of hair growth inhibiting factors, DKK1 and TGFB1. Our findings suggest that extracts from B. pilosa, C. inophyllum and F. berteroana are interesting candidates to stimulate hair growth.

Calophyllum inophyllum L. (Calophyllaceae), locally called “tamanu” in French Polynesia, is an evergreen pantropical tree growing mostly along the seashores. Its barks, leaves, and fruits are still used in traditional medicine. The oil expressed from the nuts has been also traditionally used. Tamanu oil is topically applied on skins as well as mucous membrane lesions. This oil is especially recommended to heal all kinds of skin ailments. Bioassays and different assessments of Tamanu oil revealed numerous biological activities (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, wound healing…), so bringing scientific evidence of beneficial effects of this oil on human skin healing. Such biological properties may explain the use of tamanu oil as an active cosmetic ingredient recorded as “Calophyllum inophyllum seed oil” by the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients). Most of the bioactive properties of tamanu oil are attributed to oil composition including the presence of resinous compounds in tamanu oil beside common fatty acids, which constitutes a unique characteristic of this healing oil. Actually, resinous part of tamanu oil is known to contain bioactive secondary metabolites mostly constituted by neoflavonoids including pyranocoumarin derivatives. Herein, chemical constituents and biological properties of tamanu oil are presented with a focus of its traditional use inspiring modern valuations related to cosmetic field.

A new species of Stigmaphyllon (Malpighiaceae) is described: Stigmaphyllon patricianum-firmenichianum Butaud. It is restricted to the coral islands of Ouvéa, Lifou and Maré in the Loyalty Islands Province (New Caledonia) and is most similar to S. discolor (Gand.) C.E.Anderson, known from New Caledonia and Solomon Islands. Previously, plants now known as S. patricianum-firmenichianum were included in Stigmaphyllon taomense (Baker f.) C.E.Anderson, endemic to the northern part of Grande-Terre and Belep Islands (New Caledonia). A new circumscription of S. taomense is proposed. The regional key for New Caledonian species of Stigmaphyllon is updated.

Substantial quantities of senile coconut palms are present in plantations within the Asia-Pacific region. Once coconut palms become over-mature, their production of traditional products, such as coconuts, significantly decreases, resulting in profitability challenges for farmers. Presently, few profitable markets exist for over-mature, senile coconut palms. Using the coconut palm stem in composite or engineered wood products could, however, provide an attractive alternative. Due to some of its unique characteristics, a processing system able to recover wood from the high-density zone near the stem periphery is desirable. A series of rotary veneer laboratory trials were undertaken to establish fundamental benchmark lathe settings and veneering characteristics for coconut palm stems. Different pressure bar configurations, billet pre-treatment temperatures, and veneer thicknesses were tested, and the resulting cutting forces and veneer quality were assessed. Optimal setting recommendations for peeling coconut wood are provided.

Heat treatment is an attractive method to enhance wood durability, and valorize local hardwood species with natural low durability. Yet no standard allows the certification of such products. This study first aims to observe the influence of heat treatment on the different mechanical properties. The standard mechanical tests; bending, tension parallel and perpendicular to grain, compression parallel and perpendicular to grain and shear, have been performed on native and heat-treated woods samples. The measurements are then compared to values of EN 338 standard. Results reveal that shear strength is the property most affected by heat treatment and that the modulus of elasticity perpendicular to grain is increased. The values given by EN 338 standard are generally safe with the exception of shear strength which is underestimated by current relationships. It is suggested that new relationships have to be provided for heat-treated wood, taking into account the loss of shear resistance.

A reassessment of collections of Marquesan Apocynaceae assigned to the genera Neisosperma Raf., Ochrosia Juss., and Rauvolfia L. revealed that two nomenclatural changes are necessary: 1) transfer of Neisosperma brownii Fosberg & Sachet to the genus Ochrosia, as Ochrosia brownii (Fosberg & Sachet) Lorence & Butaud, comb. nov., and 2) transfer of Ochrosia nukuhivensis Fosberg & Sachet to Rauvolfia as Rauvolfia nukuhivensis (Fosberg & Sachet) Lorence & Butaud, comb. nov. As a result, two species each of Ochrosia and Rauvolfia are recognized from the Marquesas Islands, all endemic. Recent field work has yielded important new data on their distribution, habitat, and conservation status. It is recommended that all four species should be added the IUCN Red List at the Critically Endangered (CR) category.

Canine leishmaniasis is an important zoonosis caused by uncontrolled infection with Leishmania infantum, where an inappropriate immune response is not only responsible for permitting this intracellular parasite to multiply, but is also responsible for several of the pathological processes seen in this disease. Effective canine vaccines are therefore a highly desirable prevention tool. In this randomised, double-blinded, controlled trial, the efficacy of the LiESP/QA-21 vaccine (CaniLeish, Virbac, France) was assessed by exposing 90 naïve dogs to natural L. infantum infection during 2 consecutive transmission seasons, in two highly endemic areas of the Mediterranean basin. Regular PCR, culture, serological and clinical examinations were performed, and the infection/disease status of the dogs was classified at each examination. The vaccine was well-tolerated, and provided a significant reduction in the risk of progressing to uncontrolled active infection (p = 0.025) or symptomatic disease (p = 0.046), with an efficacy of 68.4% and a protection rate of 92.7%. The probability of becoming PCR positive was similar between groups, but the probability of returning to a PCR negative condition was higher in the vaccinated group (p = 0.04). In conclusion, we confirmed the interest of using this vaccine as part of a comprehensive control program for canine leishmaniasis, and validated the use of a protocol based on regular in-depth assessments over time to assess the efficacy of a canine leishmaniasis vaccine.

Some authors have suggested that the syndrome of transient headache and neurological deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis (HaNDL) results from an immunological response directed against a viral agent. Here we report a case of HaNDL in an immunocompetent 19-year-old male that could support this hypothesis.