Methods for prioritization: Toward quantitative approach to prioritize zoonoses in South East Asia

Resources for research, surveillance, control and others public health activities are limited and it is difficult to compare the importance of diseases, which vary in terms of occurrence, impacts, etc. So, in this context of scarce resources and multiple competing priorities, it is necessary to allocate rationally human and financial resources on relevant health priorities. Prioritization is an objective tool to make the best use of limited human and financial resources for funders of research and for organizations in charge of diseases' surveillance and implementation of disease control. In order to develop an efficient method for prioritization of zoonotic diseases in South East Asia, we performed a literature review on the different methods already developed to rank diseases. Several priority setting procedures have been used and described by various organizations (national, regional or international) and technical institutions with different models and goals. Mainly, qualitative and semi-quantitative approaches are used, in which experts are asked to score some criteria against which diseases are prioritized. Few initiatives for quantitative models have been undergone yet, mainly in the field of the food-borne diseases. Whatever the approach used to perform the prioritization exercise, some limitations to the current developed models arise from the analysis of scientific articles and organization reports. Following the identification of weak points in the methods already applied, we discuss about the potential means that can be used to improve current models or to develop innovative tools for prioritization of zoonoses in the specific context of South East Asia. (Résumé d'auteur

Zoonoses in South-East Asia: a regional burden, a global threat

Zoonoses are an issue of growing interest in South-East Asia, where environmental factors and socio-economic context favor the endemization of well-known diseases and the emergence of new pathogens at the human-wildlife interface. However, the health status of the region with respect to many zoonotic diseases remains poorly defined, despite the high overall burden of zoonoses on the countries of the area, and the global risk of new biological threats in the region. The first objective of this paper was to provide an update of data on the zoonoses commonly described by the scientific community and reported by governmental institutions and international organizations in continental South-East Asia. The analysis of the available data led to the identification of some trends in the evolution of the diseases, as well as some gaps in knowledge and in the current surveillance and control networks. In light of these findings, we discuss measures for effectively addressing zoonotic disease issues in South-East Asia, such as the allocation of funds for research and for surveillance and control programs, and a multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach at various levels. (Résumé d'auteur

Quinze ans après La Haine : l’important ce n’est toujours pas la chute, c’est l’atterrissage

International audiencePlus de quinze années après la sortie de La Haine, l’appel de ce numéro de Variations est l’occasion de revenir sur ce film devenu culte. Plus exactement, la distance qui nous en sépare permet d’avoir un certain recul avec le succès cinématographique du film et d’évoquer d’autres éléments qu’il est possible d’y apercevoir en filigrane. La Haine fut largement commenté et reconnu. Le film fut nominé en 1995, année de sa sortie, dans de nombreuses catégories aux Césars et en obtint trois dont celui du meilleur film. Il obtint également le prix de la mise en scène au festival de Cannes. D’un point de vue cinématographique il représentait donc un événement majeur et semblait annoncer l’irruption des cités HLM et la vie de leurs habitants sur les écrans de cinéma. En ce sens, les distinctions que le film reçut pouvaient être perçues comme prometteuses, comme ouvrant une brèche où se développerait un nouveau cinéma des quartiers populaires. La reconnaissance accordée au film était une occasion inattendue de donner une visibilité à ces quartiers et leurs cultures

²¹⁰Pb- ²²⁶Ra chronology reveals rapid growth rate of Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa on world's largest cold-water coral reef

Here we show the use of the 210Pb- 226Ra excess method to determine the growth rate of two corals from the world's largest known cold-water coral reef, Røst Reef, north of the Arctic circle off Norway. Colonies of each of the two species that build the reef, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, were collected alive at 350 m depth using a submersible. Pb and Ra isotopes were measured along the major growth axis of both specimens using low level alpha and gamma spectrometry and trace element compositions were studied. 210Pb and 226Ra differ in the way they are incorporated into coral skeletons. Hence, to assess growth rates, we considered the exponential decrease of initially incorporated 210Pb, as well as the increase in 210Pb from the decay of 226Ra and contamination with 210Pb associated with Mn-Fe coatings that we were unable to remove completely from the oldest parts of the skeletons. 226Ra activity was similar in both coral species, so, assuming constant uptake of 210Pb through time, we used the 210Pb- 226Ra chronology to calculate growth rates. The 45.5 cm long branch of M. oculata was 31 yr with an average linear growth rate of 14.4 ± 1.1 mm yr -1 (2.6 polyps per year). Despite cleaning, a correction for Mn-Fe oxide contamination was required for the oldest part of the colony; this correction corroborated our radiocarbon date of 40 yr and a mean growth rate of 2 polyps yr -1. This rate is similar to the one obtained in aquarium experiments under optimal growth conditions. For the 80 cm-long L. pertusa colony, metal-oxide contamination remained in both the middle and basal part of the coral skeleton despite cleaning, inhibiting similar age and growth rate estimates. The youngest part of the colony was free of metal oxides and this 15 cm section had an estimated a growth rate of 8 mm yr -1, with high uncertainty (∼1 polyp every two to three years). We are less certain of this 210Pb growth rate estimate which is within the lowermost ranges of previous growth rate estimates. We show that 210Pb- 226Ra dating can be successfully applied to determine the age and growth rate of framework-forming cold-water corals if Mn-Fe oxide deposits can be removed. Where metal oxides can be removed, large M. oculata and L. pertusa skeletons provide archives for studies of intermediate water masses with an up to annual time resolution and spanning over many decades. © 2012 Author(s)

Ce Qu'il Faut Dire, Détruire, Développer...: A propos de CQFD, mensuel de critique et d'expérimentation sociales

International audienceLe mensuel de « critique et d'expérimentation sociales » CQFD fêtait ses dix ans de publication en mai 2013. A l'occasion de cette livraison de Variations sur la prise de parole, certains des animateurs et contributeurs de ce journal atypique, qui se représente lui-même sous les traits d'un chien rouge à la laisse brisée et aux crocs en avant, nous livrent une réflexion sur leurs activités éditoriales. CQFD pour ce qu'il faut dire, détruire ou développer

2001-2011 : Tahrir is Queer

International audienceLe mouvement LGBT serbe porte un espoir arc-en-ciel. La première Marche des Fiertés de Beograd pris place dans le mouvement social qui entraîna la chute de Slobodan Milošević. Les difficultés rencontrées par les organisations LGBT pour organiser une Marche des Fiertés nous rappellent que l'espoir démocratique est fragile et précaire. Ici, la Gay Pride n'est pas l'immense fête urbaine que connaissent désormais les capitales d'Europe occidentale. La condamnation de cette Marche par une partie de l'extrême-gauche serbe montre également qu'il n'existe pas de recette structurelle du mouvement social. Elle laisse entrevoir en filigrane que les mouvements sociaux sont multicolores, transgressent les identités et ne laissent aucun dogme intact. Place Tahrir is Queer.Nous rencontrons Boban Stojanović, militant pacifiste lors de la guerre qui déchira la région, activiste LGBT, aujourd'hui membre du comité d'organisation de la Parada Ponosa. Il revient, depuis sa propre expérience, sur cette Marche des Fiertés de 2011 qui n'eut pas lieu

A Thermodynamic Approach to Predict the Metallic and Oxide Phases Precipitations in Nuclear Waste Glass Melts

AbstractAmong the large number of matrixes explored as hosts for high-level nuclear wastes, conditioning of fission products and minor actinides into a homogeneous borosilicate glass is the most promising technique already implemented at the industrial scale. The advantage of this vitrification process is the volume reduction of the high level waste coming from the spent fuel reprocessing and its stability for the long-term storage. Nevertheless, some fission products are poorly soluble in molten glasses:•Platinoids (Pd, Ru, Rh) which precipitate as (Pd-Te, Ru-Rh) metallic particles and (Rh,Ru)O2 oxide phases with acicular or polyhedral shapes during the vitrification process.•Molybdenum oxide (MoO3) which can form complex molybdates.In order to point out the chemical interactions between the glass and these precipitated phases issuing from the calcinated waste, a thermodynamic approach is developed using the Calphad method. The objective of this work is to calculate thermodynamic properties for complex fission product systems in order to predict the precipitation of platinoids or molybdate phases.This thermodynamic database is being developed on the Mo-Pd-Rh-Ru-Se-Te-O complex system. This flexible tool enables to predict phase diagrams, composition and relative stability of the metallic or oxide precipitated phases as a function of both temperature and oxygen potential in the glass melt

Assessing Carbon Values To Achieve Strong Post Kyoto Co2 Reduction Targets For France

http://www.iaee.org/en/publications/proceedingssearch.aspx?conference=Istanbul%2031st%20IAEE%20International%20ConferenceInternational audienceThis paper addresses the question of carbon value for France in the long term in two ways: as abatement levels achieved over the period under different structures of CO2 taxes specified exogenously; as the marginal cost of CO2 given by the dual value of an explicitly specified carbon constraint. In the following, energy related CO2 emissions, corresponding carbon values and energy system costs are compared for eight different scenarios. The study is based on the technology rich TIMES-France model developed for France and the modelling horizon reaches from 2000 to 2050

Stochastic model for nucleosome sliding in the presence of DNA ligands

Heat-induced mobility of nucleosomes along DNA is an experimentally well-studied phenomenon. A recent experiment shows that the repositioning is modified in the presence of minor-groove binding DNA ligands. We present here a stochastic three-state model for the diffusion of a nucleosome along DNA in the presence of such ligands. It allows us to describe the dynamics and the steady state of such a motion analytically. The analytical results are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations of this stochastic process.With this model, we study the response of a nucleosome to an external force and how it is affected by the presence of ligands.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.