Supranational activism and intergovernmental dynamics: The European police office as a supranationalist opportunist?

This article aims at analysing Europol's supranational activism through a reworked Principal-Agent framework. This theoretical approach offers insights regarding the preferences of the Member States, the European Commission, and the European Parliament as Europol's Principals, and discusses how they interact with each other, with a focus on potential conflicts. Furthermore, this paper studies how Europol has evolved within this context, with the aim to determine if it is getting closer to one actor or the other, and how it manages to follow its own preferences and aims of expansion. Consequently, Europol's principals' heterogeneous preferences and its capability of defining problems, notably through its Directors, have enabled Europol to act as a policy entrepreneur to project its preferences and its representations for its strengthening. Hence, Europol appears as a supranationalist opportunist, as it punctually aspires for its own supranationalisation, taking care not to antagonise Member States which remain its main clients

Variations in the composition of the major elements of wheat varieties in industrial and organic farming systems: initial results

A nutritional analysis was added to the study of the characterization of wheat varieties in organic and industrial farming systems for the year 2005-2006. The experimental design consisted of three wheat varieties (Atrium, Ataro and Renan) and three densities (200, 400 and 600 grains/m2) on two soils representative of the Auvergne region. The parameters studied were productivity, technological suitability and nutritional value (N, P, K, Ca, Mg). The yield was particularly low for organic farming (23 q/ha), following unfavorable climatic conditions. In spite of the low yield under organic farming conditions, the Mg and P contents in the grains were normal. The low thousand-grain weight and the early maturity of Atrium did not make it possible to increase the nutritional density of the grains in 2006. These results must be confirmed so that we can propose a typology of varieties with high nutritional density linked to cropping practices and the environment. This typology will be used to make breads that are beneficial to our health

Strength-endurance training reduces the hamstrings strength decline following simulated football competition in female players

Hamstring strains are the most common injury in multiple sprint sports, with inadequate eccentric hamstring strength and fatigue identified as important risk factors. Resistance training interventions aimed at reducing injury risk typically focus on the development of maximum strength, while little is known about the impact of training on hamstring fatigue resistance. The present study compared the effects of strength endurance (SE) with a strength intervention (S) on the eccentric hamstring strength decline induced by a simulated soccer match. Twenty-one female soccer players were randomly assigned to a S group (n = 10) or a SE group (n = 11). Hamstrings and quadriceps isokinetic concentric and eccentric peak torque (PT) were assessed at 120°.s-1 and hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio (HEcc:QCon) calculated, pre- and immediately post a 90-min simulated match (BEAST90). This was repeated following a 7-week intervention of either three to five sets of 6RM leg curl and stiff-leg deadlift with 3-min inter-set rest (S), or the same exercises performed using three sets of 12–20 RM with 45–90 s inter-set rest (SE). At baseline, the simulated match led to significant declines in hamstrings eccentric peak torque (EccPT) in both groups in both dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) legs [SE: (D: −15.5, ND: −15.6%), P = 0.001 to 0.016; S: (D: −12.3%, ND: −15.5%), P = 0.001 to 0.018]. After the 7-week intervention, we observed a group*intervention*match interaction such that there was no significant decline in EccPT in the SE group following the simulated match (D: 5.3%, ND: 2.0%), but there remained significant declines in the S group (D: −14.2%, ND: −15.5%, P = 0.018–0.001). Similarly, in the SE group, there was a significant decrease in the HEcc:QCon in D before (−14.2%, P = 0.007), but not after the training intervention, whereas declines were observed in the S group both at baseline, and following the intervention (D: −13.9%, ND: −15.6%, P = 0.045). These results demonstrate that SE training can reduce the magnitude of the EccPT decline observed during soccer competition. As inadequate eccentric strength and fatigue are both risk factors for hamstring injury, SE training should be considered along with the development of peak eccentric strength, as a component of programs aimed at reducing injury risk in multiple-sprint sports

2005 French Salmonella Network data on antimicrobial resistance in the swine channels

The Salmonella Network is gathering, on a voluntary participation scheme, from approximately 150 public and private laboratories dissemmated throughout France, Salmonella strains and/or epidemiological information. Those non-human Salmonella strains are isolated either from animal health and production or food, feed and the environment sectors. Thus, in 2005, a total of 527 isolations from the swine channels were reported. The top 5 prevalent serotypes were : Typhimurium, Derby, Manhattan, lnfantis and Kedougou. Two-hundred and ninety five strains were received at the laboratory and, after double clearance, 185 strains were tested for their antimicrobial resistance against 16 antibiotics by the disk diffusion method. Twenty-one strains were associated to the animal health and production sector and 164 to the food sector

Low-loss Materials for high Q-factor Bragg Reflector Resonators

A Bragg resonator uses dielectric plates within a metallic cavity to confine the energy within a central free space region. The importance of the permittivity is shown with a better Q-factor possible using higher permittivity materials of larger intrinsic dielectric losses. This is because the electric energy in the reflectors decreases proportionally to the square root of permittivity and the coupling to the metallic losses decrease linearly. In a sapphire resonator with a single reflector pair a Q-factor of 2.34x10^5 is obtained, which may be improved on by up to a factor of 2 using higher permittivity materials

GW182-Free microRNA Silencing Complex Controls Post-transcriptional Gene Expression during Caenorhabditis elegans Embryogenesis

MicroRNAs and Argonaute form the microRNA induced silencing complex or miRISC that recruits GW182, causing mRNA degradation and/or translational repression. Despite the clear conservation and molecular significance, it is unknown if miRISC-GW182 interaction is essential for gene silencing during animal development. Using Caenorhabditis elegans to explore this question, we examined the relationship and effect on gene silencing between the GW182 orthologs, AIN-1 and AIN-2, and the microRNA-specific Argonaute, ALG-1. Homology modeling based on human Argonaute structures indicated that ALG-1 possesses conserved Tryptophan-binding Pockets required for GW182 binding. We show in vitro and in vivo that their mutations severely altered the association with AIN-1 and AIN-2. ALG-1 tryptophan-binding pockets mutant animals retained microRNA-binding and processing ability, but were deficient in reporter silencing activity. Interestingly, the ALG-1 tryptophan-binding pockets mutant phenocopied the loss of alg-1 in worms during larval stages, yet was sufficient to rescue embryonic lethality, indicating the dispensability of AINs association with the miRISC at this developmental stage. The dispensability of AINs in miRNA regulation is further demonstrated by the capacity of ALG-1 tryptophan-binding pockets mutant to regulate a target of the embryonic mir-35 microRNA family. Thus, our results demonstrate that the microRNA pathway can act independently of GW182 proteins during C. elegans embryogenesis

Status of the low beta 0.07 cryomodules for SPIRAL2

International audienceThe status of the low beta cryomodules for SPIRAL2, supplied by the Irfu institute of CEA Saclay, is reported in this paper. We summarise in three parts the RF tests performed on the cavities in vertical cryostat, the RF power tests of the qualifying cryomodule performed in 2010 and the RF power tests performed in 2011 on the first cryomodule of the serie

SPIRAL2 RFQ prototype - First results

JACoW web site MOPCH103International audienceThe SPIRAL2 RFQ is designed to accelerate either 5 mA deuteron beam (Q/A=1/2) or a 1 mA of q/A=1/3 particle up to 0.75 MeV/A at 88 MHz. It is a CW machine which has to show stable operation, provide the required availability and reduce losses to a minimum in order to minimize the activation constraints. Extensive modelisation was done to ensure a good vane position under RF. The prototype of this 4-vane RFQ was built and tested in INFN-LNS Catania and then in IN2P3-LPSC Grenoble. It allowed us to measure the vacuum quality, the RF field by X-ray measurements, the cavity displacement and the real vane displacement during the RF injection. Different techniques were used, including an innovative CCD measurement with a 0.8 μm precision. This paper outlines the different results

Breeding for carrot resistance to Alternaria dauci without compromising taste

Developing carrot varieties highly resistant to Alternaria dauci is a top priority for breeders. Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly demanding as regards final product quality, particularly taste. Bitterness is one of the five common taste sensations, but it is rejected by most carrot consumers. Therefore, providing tools for efficient plant breeding of resistant, low bitter carrots would be helpful. While resistance QTLs (rQTLs) have already been identified for carrot resistance to A. dauci, the genetic control and mapping of the metabolites involved in bitterness perception have not been addressed so far. We identified the metabolites most involved in bitterness by combining chemical and sensory analyses of a set of resistant and susceptible carrot genotypes grown in different environments. We evaluated their genetic control and heritability in a segregating F2:3 population over 2 years of field trials and searched for colocalizations between rQTLs and metabolite QTLs (mQTLs) to evaluate the link between bitterness and resistance traits. Our results suggest that it is possible to increase resistance while favoring low bitter varieties by selecting genomic regions involved in the expression of one or the other trait and counter-selecting others when r- and mQTL colocalization is unfavorable