Équilibre extérieur et taux de change réel : apport du modèle de croissance contrainte par la balance des paiements

L’article met l’accent sur les taux de croissance du taux de change réel et de ses déterminants fondamentaux, c’est-à-dire sur leur vitesse d’évolution, alors qu’une large part de ces travaux sur les taux de change porte sur son niveau. Les bases théoriques sont postkeynésiennes. Plus précisément, le modèle de croissance contrainte par la balance des paiements qui a été développé en 1979 par Thirlwall est étendu afin d’incorporer plus particulièrement les flux nets de capitaux de long terme. Le modèle ainsi amendé permet de montrer qu’une économie, qu’elle soit créditrice ou débitrice nette, qui souhaite atteindre une valeur donnée du taux de croissance de son taux de change réel doit prendre en compte une double contrainte sur sa balance des paiements. La première constitue la contrainte d’équilibre de long terme sur le solde des transactions courantes que tous les pays subissent. La deuxième décrit le déséquilibre courant temporaire qui peut exister à moyen terme en raison des flux compensateurs de capitaux. La combinaison des élasticités du commerce extérieur conditionne l’articulation entre ces deux contraintes et les modalités d’ajustement d’une nation à la suite d’un choc sur les flux nets de capitaux dépendent alors étroitement de cette combinaison entre ces deux expressions des comptes extérieurs. Le modèle montre qu’une politique d’appréciation ou de dépréciation du taux change réel doit tenir compte des valeurs prises par les élasticités du commerce extérieur.The article, unlike many studies, focuses on the growth rate of real exchange rates and its fundamental determinants, i.e. the speed of evolution. The model’s core theoretical bases are Post-Keynesian. More precisely, the balance of payments constrained growth model, developed in 1979 by Thirlwall, is extended in order to incorporate long term net capital flows more clearly. This extended model makes it possible to show that a creditor or indebted economy, wishing to reach a given value of growth for the real exchange rate, must take into consideration a two-sided constraint on its balance of payments. The first one is the long term constraint on current account, constraint faced by every country. The second is the temporary current account imbalances which can appear in the medium-term because of compensating capital flows. The combination of foreign trade elasticities conditions trade-off between both constraints and the adjustement’s methods of a nation following a shock on net capital flows then strongly depend of the link between both aspects of external accounts. The model shows that an active exchange rate policy must take into consideration the estimated values of foreign trade elasticitie

La Conquête, les Rébellions, l'Acte d'Union : le traitement de trois moments de l'histoire du Québec dans une sélection de manuels d'histoire publiés récemment au Canada anglais

Notre étude rend compte du traitement de trois moments de l'histoire du Québec au sein d'une sélection de manuels d'histoire du Canada publiés de 2009 à 2013 par des maisons d'édition du Canada anglais et rédigés par des historiens de langue maternelle anglaise. Par le biais d'une analyse discursive et qualitative, nous voyons comment la Conquête, les Rébellions de 1837-1838 et l'Acte d'Union y sont racontés et interprétés. De manière générale, nous observons que l'après-Conquête est présenté dans une certaine continuité par rapport au régime français : le caractère accommodant du régime britannique est mis en avant, atténuant du coup l'aspect d'une rupture tragique et décisive induite par l'événement de 1759. Marginalisant la question nationale sous-jacente aux Rébellions du Bas-Canada, le combat des Patriotes est pour sa part présenté sous l'angle d'une lutte pancanadienne pour l'instauration du gouvernement responsable. Enfin, les manuels examinés se révèlent partagés dans leur traitement de l'Acte d'Union : il devient difficile d'observer un consensus parmi les différents auteurs. Nous remarquons toutefois que le nationalisme canadien-français qui se développe à l'époque tend à être placé en retrait dans la majorité des textes

Dating App Use among Rural Men Who Have Sex with Men and Its Relationship to HIV Prevention and Risk Behaviors: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Men who have sex with men (MSM) in rural areas have limited access to HIV prevention and education resources. Given the growing usage of mobile dating apps among the wider MSM population, this research sought to explore their use among MSM in rural areas and their potential for delivering HIV prevention information. METHODS: Participants were recruited from different areas of the rural Southern USA. This mixed-methods study consisted of an online survey (n=85) and follow-up qualitative phone interviews with 20 survey respondents. The survey assessed dating app use, sexual behaviors, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness, usage, and attitudes among MSM in the rural, Southern USA. Interviews explored perceptions of dating apps and their potential value as a source of health and HIV prevention information. RESULTS: Among survey respondents, 74% had used a dating app, with Grindr being the most frequently used app. Of individuals who were in a relationship, 41% had met their current partner online. Using a dating app was associated with having a greater number of sexual partners. Three-quarters of participants had heard of PrEP, but only 7% had ever received a prescription for it and less than one-third reported that it would be easy to get PrEP if they wanted it. Dating app users were more likely than non-app users to have more positive attitudes toward taking PrEP and interest in taking PrEP. In qualitative interviews, respondents expressed support for integrating HIV prevention information into dating apps. CONCLUSION: Dating app usage is high among rural MSM. Individuals who use these apps have more sexual partners and also are more interested in PrEP for HIV prevention, suggesting that this is an ideal group to target for PrEP education and interventions. This could be especially beneficial for MSM in rural areas, as most have difficulty accessing PrEP and PrEP education

Quality of life depends on the drinking pattern in alcohol-dependent patients.

AIMS: In patients with alcohol dependence, health-related quality of life (QOL) is reduced compared with that of a normal healthy population. The objective of the current analysis was to describe the evolution of health-related QOL in adults with alcohol dependence during a 24-month period after initial assessment for alcohol-related treatment in a routine practice setting, and its relation to drinking pattern which was evaluated across clusters based on the predominant pattern of alcohol use, set against the influence of baseline variables METHODS: The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Survey (MOS-SF-36) was used to measure QOL at baseline and quarterly for 2 years among participants in CONTROL, a prospective observational study of patients initiating treatment for alcohol dependence. The sample consisted of 160 adults with alcohol dependence (65.6% males) with a mean (SD) age of 45.6 (12.0) years. Alcohol use data were collected using TimeLine Follow-Back. Based on the participant's reported alcohol use, three clusters were identified: 52 (32.5%) mostly abstainers, 64 (40.0%) mostly moderate drinkers and 44 (27.5%) mostly heavy drinkers. Mixed-effect linear regression analysis was used to identify factors that were potentially associated with the mental and physical summary MOS-SF-36 scores at each time point. RESULTS: The mean (SD) MOS-SF-36 mental component summary score (range 0-100, norm 50) was 35.7 (13.6) at baseline [mostly abstainers: 40.4 (14.6); mostly moderate drinkers 35.6 (12.4); mostly heavy drinkers 30.1 (12.1)]. The score improved to 43.1 (13.4) at 3 months [mostly abstainers: 47.4 (12.3); mostly moderate drinkers 44.2 (12.7); mostly heavy drinkers 35.1 (12.9)], to 47.3 (11.4) at 12 months [mostly abstainers: 51.7 (9.7); mostly moderate drinkers 44.8 (11.9); mostly heavy drinkers 44.1 (11.3)], and to 46.6 (11.1) at 24 months [mostly abstainers: 49.2 (11.6); mostly moderate drinkers 45.7 (11.9); mostly heavy drinkers 43.7 (8.8)]. Mixed-effect linear regression multivariate analyses indicated that there was a significant association between a lower 2-year follow-up MOS-SF-36 mental score and being a mostly heavy drinker (-6.97, P < 0.001) or mostly moderate drinker (-3.34 points, P = 0.018) [compared to mostly abstainers], being female (-3.73, P = 0.004), and having a Beck Inventory scale score ≥8 (-6.54, P < 0.001), at baseline. The mean (SD) MOS-SF-36 physical component summary score was 48.8 (10.6) at baseline, remained stable over the follow-up and did not differ across the three clusters. Mixed-effect linear regression univariate analyses found that the average 2-year follow-up MOS-SF-36 physical score was increased (compared with mostly abstainers) in mostly heavy drinkers (+4.44, P = 0.007); no other variables tested influenced the MOS-SF-36 physical score. CONCLUSION: Among individuals with alcohol dependence, a rapid improvement was seen in the mental dimension of QOL following treatment initiation, which was maintained during 24 months. Improvement was associated with the pattern of alcohol use, becoming close to the general population norm in patients classified as mostly abstainers, improving substantially in mostly moderate drinkers and improving only slightly in mostly heavy drinkers. The physical dimension of QOL was generally in the normal range but was not associated with drinking patterns

Breeding Tomato Hybrids for Flavour: Comparison of GWAS Results Obtained on Lines and F1 Hybrids

[EN] Tomato flavour is an important goal for breeders. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are major determinants of tomato flavour. Although most tomato varieties for fresh market are F1 hybrids, most studies on the genetic control of flavour-related traits are performed on lines. We quantified 46 VOCs in a panel of 121 small fruited lines and in a test cross panel of 165 hybrids (the previous panel plus 44 elite cherry tomato lines crossed with a common line). High and consistent heritabilities were assessed for most VOCs in the two panels, and 65% of VOC contents were strongly correlated between lines and hybrids. Additivity was observed for most VOCs. We performed genome wide association studies (GWAS) on the two panels separately, along with a third GWAS on the test cross subset carrying only F1 hybrids corresponding to the line panel. We identified 205, 183 and 138 associations, respectively. We identified numerous overlapping associations for VOCs belonging to the same metabolic pathway within each panel; we focused on seven chromosome regions with clusters of associations simultaneously involved in several key VOCs for tomato aroma. The study highlighted the benefit of testcross panels to create tasty F1 hybrid varieties.This research was funded by the CIFRE project Qualhytom, grant number 2018/1239, the ANR project TomEpiSet, grant number ANR-16-CE20-0014 and European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, HARNESSTOM, grant number No. 101000716.Bineau, E.; Rambla Nebot, JL.; Priego-Cubero, S.; Hereil, A.; Bitton, F.; Plissonneau, C.; Granell Richart, A.... (2021). Breeding Tomato Hybrids for Flavour: Comparison of GWAS Results Obtained on Lines and F1 Hybrids. Genes. 12(9):1-20. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12091443S12012

Nonlinear force-free and potential field models of active-region and global coronal fields during the Whole Heliospheric Interval

Between 2008/3/24 and 2008/4/2, the three active regions NOAA active regions 10987, 10988 and 10989 were observed daily by the Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) Vector Spectro-Magnetograph (VSM) while they traversed the solar disk. We use these measurements and the nonlinear force-free magnetic field code XTRAPOL to reconstruct the coronal magnetic field for each active region and compare model field lines with images from the Solar Terrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) and Hinode X-ray Telescope (XRT) telescopes. Synoptic maps made from continuous, round-the-clock Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG) magnetograms provide information on the global photospheric field and potential-field source-surface models based on these maps describe the global coronal field during the Whole Heliospheric Interval (WHI) and its neighboring rotations. Features of the modeled global field, such as the coronal holes and streamer belt locations, are discussed in comparison with extreme ultra-violet and coronagraph observations from STEREO. The global field is found to be far from a minimum, dipolar state. From the nonlinear models we compute physical quantities for the active regions such as the photospheric magnetic and electric current fluxes, the free magnetic energy and the relative helicity for each region each day where observations permit. The interconnectivity of the three regions is addressed in the context of the potential-field source-surface model. Using local and global quantities derived from the models, we briefly discuss the different observed activity levels of the regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Solar Physics Whole Heliospheric Interval (WHI) topical issue. We had difficulty squeezing this paper into arXiv's 15 Mb limit. The full paper is available here ftp://gong2.nso.edu/dsds_user/petrie/PetrieCanouAmari.pd

How to optimize nonlinear force-free coronal magnetic field extrapolations from SDO/HMI vector magnetograms?

The SDO/HMI instruments provide photospheric vector magnetograms with a high spatial and temporal resolution. Our intention is to model the coronal magnetic field above active regions with the help of a nonlinear force-free extrapolation code. Our code is based on an optimization principle and has been tested extensively with semi-analytic and numeric equilibria and been applied before to vector magnetograms from Hinode and ground based observations. Recently we implemented a new version which takes measurement errors in photospheric vector magnetograms into account. Photospheric field measurements are often due to measurement errors and finite nonmagnetic forces inconsistent as a boundary for a force-free field in the corona. In order to deal with these uncertainties, we developed two improvements: 1.) Preprocessing of the surface measurements in order to make them compatible with a force-free field 2.) The new code keeps a balance between the force-free constraint and deviation from the photospheric field measurements. Both methods contain free parameters, which have to be optimized for use with data from SDO/HMI. Within this work we describe the corresponding analysis method and evaluate the force-free equilibria by means of how well force-freeness and solenoidal conditions are fulfilled, the angle between magnetic field and electric current and by comparing projections of magnetic field lines with coronal images from SDO/AIA. We also compute the available free magnetic energy and discuss the potential influence of control parameters.Comment: 17 Pages, 6 Figures, Sol. Phys., accepte