La prophétie médiévale dans le Royaume de France : Lumière divine et ténèbres humaines

Les multiples catastrophes de la fin du Moyen Âge — perte des États latins d’Orient (chute de Tripoli en 1288 puis de Saint-Jean d’Acre en 1291), guerre de Cent Ans (1337-1453), Grand Schisme d’Occident (1378-1417), etc. —, entrainent un important courant eschatologique, nourri d’écrits prophétiques divers circulant dans tout l’espace de la Chrétienté. Le Bas Moyen Âge est en effet « un temps d’attente », pour reprendre l’expression d’Heinz Zahrnt, professeur de théologie à Hambourg (Zahrnt 1970 : 13), un temps simultanément marqué par la mélancolie et le sentiment d’un recommencement imminent, un temps donc où les hommes ont soif de la parole de Dieu

Airborne microflora in Quebec dairy farms : lack of effect of bacterial hay preservatives

Pediococcus pentosaceus is a lactic-acid producing bacterium inoculated in hay to prevent hay deterioration. This study sought to verify the effect of this treatment on the barn microenvironment. Air samples were obtained from 19 barns using bacterial hay treatment and from 18 control barns with six-stage Andersen samplers and all-glass impingers. Appropriate culture media were used for the recovery and identification of microorganisms. Endotoxins were measured with chromogenic Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay. Median values (respectively for treated and untreated hay barns) were: 5.28 × 105 and 3.84 × 105 colony-forming units (CFU)/m3 for total bacteria; 3.18 × 106 and 4.5 × 106 CFU/m3 for molds; 1.36 × 103 and 1.74 × 103 endotoxin units/m3 for endotoxin levels; and 1.03 × 103 and 3.00 × 103 CFU/m3 for Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula. No viable P. pentosaceus were recovered. The presence of S. rectivirgula, the causative agent for farmer's lung, was not influenced by the hay treatment. Since no significant difference was observed in any of the airborne contaminants, this type of hay treatment probably does not protect farmers from the respiratory effect of ambient microbial contaminants

Seasonal variations in work-related health effects in swine farm workers

The aim of the project was to investigate whether there were diminished health effects in swine farm workers during summer compared with winter, as seasonal differences in concentrations of bioaerosols have been reported. Twenty-four workers were visited once during each season. Before and after a work shift, they underwent lung function testing and blood sampling. During work, they wore personal air sampling equipment. The mean endotoxin exposure of the workers was highest during winter (25,690 vs. 6,553 EU/m3; p = 0.004). Although exposures to endotoxin and CO2 varied between the seasons, no differences in lung function were found between them. White blood cell concentration increased over the work shift from 5.74–6.82 in winter (p < 0.0001) and from 5.80–6.38 in summer (p = 0.014). These increases differed between the two seasons (p = 0.032). Plasma tumour necrosis factor concentrations fell over the work shift only during winter (1.34–1.24 pg/ml (p = 0.03) (p = 0.014 for the difference between seasons). Plasma interleukin-6 increased over the work shift independently of season (p = 0.0006). The study supported our hypothesis of adverse effects on lung function and immune system, but less so during summer than during winter among Québec swine farm workers

Work-related health effects in swine building workers after respiratory protection use

Objective: To compare inflammation and lung function in swine workers after periods with and without respiratory protection during work. Methods: Twenty-three workers were examined before and after two nonprotected work shifts. One shift was preceded by a period with diminished exposure by use of respirators. The other shift was preceded by an unprotected period of work. Results: Endotoxin concentrations were similarly high (24,636 and 28,775 endotoxin units/m3). A 3.1% cross-shift decline in forced vital capacity occurred after the period with respiratory protection (P = 0.01). Blood leukocytes increased more (P = 0.01) and bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein was reduced (P = 0.015) only after the period with respiratory protection. Plasma interleukin-6 increased (P < 0.0001) during both visits. Conclusion: Respiratory protection resulted in cross-shift inflammatory and respiratory reactions at return to unprotected work

Flow cytometry analysis of germinating Bacillus spores, using membrane potential dye

Germination of Bacillus anthracis spores is necessary for the transcription of plasmidic genes essential to the infection. Assessing germination potential is crucial to predict the risk associated with pathogenic Bacillus exposure. The aim of this study was to set up a viability assay based on membrane potential in order to predict the earliest germination event of spores. B. cereus and two strains of B. subtilis were used. The spores were isolated with a sodium bromide gradient. Approximately 107 spores were incubated at 37°C in tryptic soy broth (TSB). Aliquots were harvested at predetermined times and stained with 3,3'-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide [DiOC6(3)] or with bis-(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid) trimethine oxonol [DiBAC4(3)]. Fluorescence characteristics were obtained using flow cytometry. The earliest detectable activation of membrane potential occurred after 15 min of incubation in TSB using DiOC6(3). Using DiBAC4(3), the earliest detectable signal was after 4 h of incubation. Control experiments using carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP)-treated spores did not show any change in the fluorescence intensity over time. Since no membrane potential and no germination were detected in CCCP-treated spores, the activation of membrane potential seems to be associated with germination. DiOC6(3) can be used as an early membrane potential indicator for spores. DiBAC4(3), by contrast, is not a early membrane potential marker

Forearc deformation along the peruvian margin and the effects of changes in subduction style: quantifying the rates of Quaternary deformation using in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al.

The Andes are one ofthe world's two highest mountain ranges and together wíth the westem cordillera of North America they forro an almost a continuous mountaín chain from the tip of Patagonia to the Alaskan peninsula. Common to all the cordillera of westem North and South America is the ín:fluence oflong-lived subduction. Indeed, the style of this subduction process has profoundly modified the margin of both continents. For example, following relatively normal subduction in the Jurassíc and the Cretaceous, the Laramide orogeny of North America is thought to have been produced from effects of extremely flat subduction

Genetic diversity of a large set of horse breeds raised in France assessed by microsatellite polymorphism

After the recent publication of our article (Leroy, Genetics Selection Evolution 2009 41:5), we found several errors in the published Table Three, concerning the computation of contribution to within-breed diversity (CW). We apologize to the readers for these errors, which are corrected in the present erratum