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Functional diversity is related to the maintenance of processes and functions in ecosystems. However, there is a lack of a conceptual framework that highlights the application of functional diversity as an ecological indicator. Therefore, we present a new initiative for motivating the development of ecological indicators based on functional diversity. We are interested in showing the challenges and solutions associated with these indicators. We integrated species assemblage theories and literature reviews. We considered plant traits related to ecosystem processes and functions (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, wood density, phenology, and seed mass) to show the application of a selection of functional diversity metrics that can be used as ecological indicators (i.e., community weighted-mean, functional divergence, functional richness and functional evenness). We caution that functional diversity as an ecological indicator can be misinterpreted if species composition is unknown. Functional diversity values can be over-represented by weed species (species established in disturbed sites) and do not maintain original processes and functions in ecosystems. Therefore, we searched for evidence to demonstrate that weed species are ecological indicators of functional diversity changes. We found support for two hypotheses that explain the effect of weed species on ecosystem function: functional homogenization, and functional transformation. Likewise, we showed the application of some tools that can help study anthropogenic effects on functional indicators. This perspective shows that the paradigm of addressing the effects of disturbances on ecosystem processes by using functional diversity as an ecological indicator can improve environmental evaluation, particularly in areas affected by human activities. Key words: weed species, leaf traits, seed mass, wood density, fruit and flower traits. La diversite fonctionnelle est liee au maintien des processus et des fonctions dans les ecosystemes. Cependant, il manque un cadre conceptuel qui mette en evidence l'application de la diversite fonctionnelle comme indicateur ecologi-que. Par consequent, les auteurs presentent une nouvelle initiative pour motiver le developpement d'indicateurs ecologi-ques bases sur la diversite fonctionnelle. Ils souhaitent montrer les defis et les solutions associes a ces indicateurs. Ils ont integre des theories sur les assemblages d'especes et des analyses documentaires. Ils ont pris en compte les traits des plantesliesaux processus et aux fonctionsdes ecosystemes(surface foliaire specifique, teneur en matiere seche des feuilles, densite du bois, phenologie et masse des graines) pour montrer l'application d'une selection de mesures de la diversite fonctionnelle qui peuvent etre utilisees comme indicateurs ecologiques (c'est-a-dire la moyenne ponderee de la commu-naute, la divergence fonctionnelle, la richesse fonctionnelle et la regularite fonctionnelle). Ils mettent en garde contre le fait que la diversite fonctionnelle en tant qu'indicateur ecologique peut etre mal interpretee si la composition en especes est inconnue. Les valeurs de diversite fonctionnelle peuvent etre surrepresentees par les especes adventices (especes eta-blies dans des sites perturbes) et ne permettent pas de maintenir les processus et les fonctions d'origine des ecosystemes. Ainsi, ils ont cherche des preuves demontrant que les especes adventices sont des indicateurs ecologiques des changements de la diversite fonctionnelle. Ils ont trouve un appui pour deux hypotheses qui expliquent l'effet des especes adventices sur la fonction de l'ecosysteme : l'homogeneisation fonctionnelle et la transformation fonctionnelle. De meme, ils ont montre l'application de certains outils qui peuvent aider a etudier l'effet anthropique sur les indicateurs fonctionnels. Cette syn-these montre que le paradigme consistant a etudier les effets des perturbations sur les processus ecosystemiques en uti-lisant la diversite fonctionnelle comme indicateur ecologique peut ameliorer l'evaluation environnementale, en particulier dans les zones affectees par les activites humaines. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: especes adventices, traits foliaires, masse des graines, densite du bois, traits des fruits et des fleurs., Introduction At the global level, the implementation of ecological indicators for environmental evaluation and ecosystem conservation has expanded (LaPaix et al. 2009; Tyler et al. 2021). Ecological indicators are quantitative [...]

Background Alcohol use disorder (AUD) courses with inflammation and cognitive decline. Apolipoproteins have emerged as novel target compounds related to inflammatory processes and cognition. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed on abstinent AUD patients with at least 1 month of abstinence (n  = 33; 72.7% men) and healthy controls (n  = 34; 47.1% men). A battery of plasma apolipoproteins (APOAI, APOAII, APOB, APOCII, APOE, APOJ, and APOM), plasma inflammatory markers (LPS, LBP), and their influence on cognition and presence of the disorder were investigated. Results Higher levels of plasma APOAI, APOB, APOE, and APOJ, as well as the proinflammatory LPS, were observed in the AUD group, irrespective of sex, whereas APOM levels were lower vs controls. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses, adjusting for covariates (age, sex, education), associated APOM with the absence of cognitive impairment in AUD and identified APOAI and APOM as strong predictors of the presence or absence of the disorder, respectively. APOAI and APOM did not correlate with alcohol abuse variables or liver status markers, but they showed an opposite profile in their associations with LPS (positive for APOAI; negative for APOM) and cognition (negative for APOAI; positive for APOM) in the entire sample. Conclusions The HDL constituents APOAI and APOM were differentially regulated in the plasma of AUD patients compared with controls, playing divergent roles in the disorder identification and associations with inflammation and cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has profound impacts on ecosystems, and one critical aspect is its effect on seed germination, a crucial stage in plant life cycles. Various studies have explored the responses of plant species to rising temperatures, and there is now a pressing need to integrate this wealth of information into a coherent framework. The aim of this study was to survey literature about seed traits and thence to evaluate germination responses to climate change and to propose functional groups for germination. Increased temperature affects seed traits, particularly germinability. Many species show increased germination percentages in warmer temperatures, although the extent varies among species and temperature ranges. Some maintain a consistent percentage, whereas others reduce it to retain seeds in the seed bank. Temperature changes also affect the timing and season of germination, with some species accelerating germination, others delaying it, thereby influencing competition and exposure to adverse conditions. Shifts in temperature can alter seed requirements, affecting responses to temperature, humidity, light, chemical stimuli, and dormancy. Modifications in germination have profound effects on seed bank and seedling bank dynamics, affecting plant populations and ecological community resilience. Changes in germination can disrupt competitive dynamics, favoring some over others, altering community composition, and potentially impairing ecosystem functionality. Germination niche, germination potential, and germination phenology are fundamental concepts in the evaluation of climate change's implications for germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular spheroids have been described as an appropriate culture system to restore human follicle dermal papilla cells (hFDPc) intrinsic properties; however, they show a low and variable efficiency to promote complete hair follicle formation in in vivo experiments. In this work, a conscientious analysis revealed a 25% cell viability in the surface of the dermal papilla spheroid (DPS) for all culture conditions, questioning whether it is an appropriate culture system for hFDPc. To overcome this problem, we propose the use of human blood plasma for the generation of fibrin microgels (FM) with encapsulated hFDPc to restore its inductive signature, either in the presence or in the absence of blood platelets. FM showed a morphology and extracellular matrix composition similar to the native dermal papilla, including Versican and Collagen IV and increasing cell viability up to 85%. While both systems induce epidermal invaginations expressing hair‐specific keratins K14, K15, K71, and K75 in in vitro skin cultures, the number of generated structures increases from 17% to 49% when DPS and FM were used, respectively. These data show the potential of our experimental setting for in vitro hair follicle neogenesis with wild adult hFDPc using FM, being a crucial step in the pursuit of human hair follicle regeneration therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe an extrusion-based method to print a human bilayered skin using bioinks containing human plasma and primary human fibroblasts and keratinocytes from skin biopsies. We generate 100 cm 2 of printed skin in less than 35 min. We analyze its structure using histological and immunohistochemical methods, both in in vitro 3D cultures and upon transplantation to immunodeficient mice. We have demonstrated that the printed skin is similar to normal human skin and indistinguishable from bilayered dermo-epidermal equivalents, previously produced manually in our laboratory and successfully used in the clinic.