The imprints of primordial non-gaussianities on large-scale structure: scale dependent bias and abundance of virialized objects

We study the effect of primordial nongaussianity on large-scale structure, focusing upon the most massive virialized objects. Using analytic arguments and N-body simulations, we calculate the mass function and clustering of dark matter halos across a range of redshifts and levels of nongaussianity. We propose a simple fitting function for the mass function valid across the entire range of our simulations. We find pronounced effects of nongaussianity on the clustering of dark matter halos, leading to strongly scale-dependent bias. This suggests that the large-scale clustering of rare objects may provide a sensitive probe of primordial nongaussianity. We very roughly estimate that upcoming surveys can constrain nongaussianity at the level |fNL| <~ 10, competitive with forecasted constraints from the microwave background.Comment: 16 pages, color figures, revtex4. v2: added references and an equation. submitted to PRD. v3: simplified derivation, additional reference

Політична освіта як складова політичної соціалізації молоді

Політична освіта та виховання молоді є основою підвищення її політичної активності. Для досягнення відповідного рівня цієї активності необхідне світосприйняття, сформоване згідно з принципами демократії, національної ідеї, а також особиста зацікавленість молодої людини в прогресивному розвитку суспільства, її участь в суспільно політичній діяльності

Reservoirs and vectors of bartonellae and rickettsiae in New Caledonia

Les bartonelloses et les rickettsioses sont des infections à transmission vectorielle souvent graves chez l’homme, mais asymptomatiques chez les animaux. Afin d’identifier de potentiels réservoirs et/ou vecteurs d’infections dues à Bartonella spp. et à Rickettsia spp. en Nouvelle-Calédonie, nous avons effectué des prélèvements de sang sur : 64 chiens, 8 chats, 30 bovins, 25 chevaux et 29 cerfs rusa (Rusa timorensis). 329 parasites externes hématophages (tiques, puces, mouches piqueuses) ont été collectés sur ces mêmes animaux. Quatre souches de Bartonella henselae ont été isolées chez les chats (50 %) et six de B. chomelii chez les bovins (20%). Bartonella aff. schoenbuchensis a été détectée chez 31% des cerfs ; Rickettsia felis chez 81% des 21 puces récoltées sur les chiens et B. clarridgeiae dans 1% des puces. Nos études confirment que les infections à bartonelles et rickettsies pourraient devenir une préoccupation croissante de santé publique en Océanie et montrent l’intérêt des nouveaux outils de diagnostic moléculaire pour la compréhension de ces maladies.Bartonellosis and rickettsiosis are vector-borne infections often asymptomatic in animals. In order to identify potential sources and vectors of Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp. infection in New Caledonia, we collected blood samples from 64 dogs, 8 cats, 30 cattle, 25 horses and 29 wild deer (Rusa timorensis). 329 associated blood-sucking parasites were also collected. We isolated four strains of Bartonella henselae from cats (50%) and six of Bartonella chomelii from cattle (20%). Deers (31%) were infected by Bartonella aff. schoenbuchensis. Rickettsia felis was detected in 81 % of 21 fleas collected from dogs and Bartonella clarridgeiae in 1% of fleas. Our data confirmed that Bartonella and Rickettsia infections could be an increasing public health concern in Oceania and showed the interest of new molecular diagnostic tools for understanding these diseases

Detection of Gravitational Lensing in the Cosmic Microwave Background

Gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), a long-standing prediction of the standard cosmolgical model, is ultimately expected to be an important source of cosmological information, but first detection has not been achieved to date. We report a 3.4 sigma detection, by applying quadratic estimator techniques to all sky maps from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite, and correlating the result with radio galaxy counts from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). We present our methodology including a detailed discussion of potential contaminants. Our error estimates include systematic uncertainties from density gradients in NVSS, beam effects in WMAP, Galactic microwave foregrounds, resolved and unresolved CMB point sources, and the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect.Comment: 27 pages, 20 figure

West Nile Virus in Horses, sub-Saharan Africa

To evaluate the presence and extension of West Nile virus where French soldiers are stationed in Africa, specific antibody prevalence was determined by using ELISA and Western blot. Among 245 horses living in close proximity to the soldiers, seroprevalence was particularly high in Chad (97%) and Senegal (92%)

JAMA Neurol

Importance: Moderately effective therapies (METs) have been the main treatment in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) for years. Despite the expanding use of highly effective therapies (HETs), treatment strategies for POMS still lack consensus.Objective: To assess the real-world association of HET as an index treatment compared with MET with disease activity.Design, setting, and participants: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted from January 1, 2010, to December 8, 2022, until the last recorded visit. The median follow-up was 5.8 years. A total of 36 French MS centers participated in the Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaques (OFSEP) cohort. Of the total participants in OFSEP, only treatment-naive children with relapsing-remitting POMS who received a first HET or MET before adulthood and at least 1 follow-up clinical visit were included in the study. All eligible participants were included in the study, and none declined to participate.Exposure: HET or MET at treatment initiation.Main outcomes and measures: The primary outcome was the time to first relapse after treatment. Secondary outcomes were annualized relapse rate (ARR), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) activity, time to Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) progression, tertiary education attainment, and treatment safety/tolerability. An adapted statistical method was used to model the logarithm of event rate by penalized splines of time, allowing adjustment for effects of covariates that is sensitive to nonlinearity and interactions.Results: Of the 3841 children (5.2% of 74 367 total participants in OFSEP), 530 patients (mean [SD] age, 16.0 [1.8] years; 364 female [68.7%]) were included in the study. In study patients, both treatment strategies were associated with a reduced risk of first relapse within the first 2 years. HET dampened disease activity with a 54% reduction in first relapse risk (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.46; 95% CI, 0.31-0.67; P < .001) sustained over 5 years, confirmed on MRI activity (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.34; 95% CI, 0.18-0.66; P = .001), and with a better tolerability pattern than MET. The risk of discontinuation at 2 years was 6 times higher with MET (HR, 5.97; 95% CI, 2.92-12.20). The primary reasons for treatment discontinuation were lack of efficacy and intolerance. Index treatment was not associated with EDSS progression or tertiary education attainment (adjusted OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.24-1.10; P = .09).Conclusions and relevance: Results of this cohort study suggest that compared with MET, initial HET in POMS was associated with a reduction in the risk of first relapse with an optimal outcome within the first 2 years and was associated with a lower rate of treatment switching and a better midterm tolerance in children. These findings suggest prioritizing initial HET in POMS, although long-term safety studies are needed.Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaque

Neurology

The question of the long-term safety of pregnancy is a major concern in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), but its study is biased by reverse causation (women with higher disability are less likely to experience pregnancy). Using a causal inference approach, we aimed to estimate the unbiased long-term effects of pregnancy on disability and relapse risk in patients with MS and secondarily the short-term effects (during the perpartum and postpartum years) and delayed effects (occurring beyond 1 year after delivery). We conducted an observational cohort study with data from patients with MS followed in the Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaques registry between 1990 and 2020. We included female patients with MS aged 18-45 years at MS onset, clinically followed up for more than 2 years, and with ≥3 Expanded Disease Status Scale (EDSS) measurements. Outcomes were the mean EDSS score at the end of follow-up and the annual probability of relapse during follow-up. Counterfactual outcomes were predicted using the longitudinal targeted maximum likelihood estimator in the entire study population. The patients exposed to at least 1 pregnancy during their follow-up were compared with the counterfactual situation in which, contrary to what was observed, they would not have been exposed to any pregnancy. Short-term and delayed effects were analyzed from the first pregnancy of early-exposed patients (who experienced it during their first 3 years of follow-up). We included 9,100 patients, with a median follow-up duration of 7.8 years, of whom 2,125 (23.4%) patients were exposed to at least 1 pregnancy. Pregnancy had no significant long-term causal effect on the mean EDSS score at 9 years (causal mean difference [95% CI] = 0.00 [-0.16 to 0.15]) or on the annual probability of relapse (causal risk ratio [95% CI] = 0.95 [0.93-1.38]). For the 1,253 early-exposed patients, pregnancy significantly decreased the probability of relapse during the perpartum year and significantly increased it during the postpartum year, but no significant delayed effect was found on the EDSS and relapse rate. Using a causal inference approach, we found no evidence of significantly deleterious or beneficial long-term effects of pregnancy on disability. The beneficial effects found in other studies were probably related to a reverse causation bias.Observatoire Français de la Sclérose en Plaque

Maîtrise de la qualité des eaux destinées à la consommation humaine à bord des bâtiments de la Marine: enjeu des paramètres chimiques et organoleptiques

A good knowledge of chemical and organoleptic parameters of potable water produced onboard military vessels is absolutely necessary to control the sanitary risks and to organize the control process. The interpretation of the analysis results of such parameters has to be done preferably in a combined way, considering groups of parameters, for a better understanding of a situation. In that way, it is possible to get information about the treatment plant, about biofilm presence, or about potential intentional contamination. The knowledge of water chemistry leads to determine specific means of controlling the risks. These means can involve technical solutions, the way to use the facilities, monitoring actions and education of the crew.La bonne connaissance et la maîtrise des paramètres chimiques et organoleptiques des eaux destinées à la consommation humaine produites à bord des bâtiments de la marine représentent un enjeu capital de maîtrise des risques sanitaires en permettant l’ajustement des mesures d’exploitation des matériels de production, stockage et distribution. L’interprétation des résultats des mesures de ces paramètres doit préférentiellement se faire de manière combinée, par groupes d’indicateurs, pour une meilleure compréhension d’une situation ou d’un problème rencontré. Ainsi, il sera notamment possible d’obtenir des informations déterminantes sur le fonctionnement des installations de production (post traitement inclus), sur la présence éventuelle de biofilm, ou encore de détecter très rapidement de potentielles contaminations par actions malveillantes. La bonne connaissance de la chimie de l’eau permet d’établir des mesures de maîtrise adaptées afin d’anticiper et de limiter au maximum l’apparition de non-conformités des eaux destinées à la consommation humaine. Ces mesures concernent les moyens techniques, le mode d’exploitation, la surveillance et doivent être associées à une formation adaptée et ciblée.Lefevre Stéphane, Genin-lomier Sébastien, Orlandini Philippe, Cabre Olivier. Maîtrise de la qualité des eaux destinées à la consommation humaine à bord des bâtiments de la Marine: enjeu des paramètres chimiques et organoleptiques. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 173, 2020. pp. 220-230

Vétérinaire des armées en opérations extérieures : défis et perspectives

The missions of military veterinarians in overseas operations are varied, demanding and essential for health protection of the deployed force. The exercise of veterinary skills in a theater of operation is made difficult by the environment in which vets are employed, in security and health contexts that can be very degraded. Carrying out missions in overseas operations requires the acquisition and maintenance of solid skills, which may not usually be associated with the veterinary profession and require additional internal training within the armed forces’ health service. The quality of military veterinarians’ expertise is recognized and sought after in overseas operations. The scope of their missions will be further extended, particularly in the area of field hygiene, thus illustrating a real implementation of the «One Health » concept to protect military personnel from all health risks to which they may be exposed during operations.Les missions des vétérinaires des armées en opérations extérieures sont variées, exigeantes et essentielles pour la protection de la santé de la force déployée. L’exercice des compétences vétérinaires sur un théâtre d’opération est rendu difficile par l’environnement d’emploi, dans des contextes sécuritaires et sanitaires pouvant être très dégradés. L’exécution des missions en opérations extérieures nécessite l’acquisition et le maintien de compétences solides, pouvant ne pas être usuellement rattachées à la profession vétérinaire et nécessitant des compléments de formation interne au sein du service de santé des armées. La qualité de l’expertise des vétérinaires des armées est reconnue et recherchée sur les théâtres d’opérations extérieures. Le périmètre de leurs missions est amené à s’élargir davantage, en particulier dans le domaine de l’hygiène en campagne, illustrant ainsi une véritable mise en oeuvre du concept «One Health / Une seule santé » visant à protéger les militaires de l’ensemble des risques sanitaires auxquels ils sont susceptibles d’être exposés en opérations.Cabre Olivier, Roqueplo Cédric, Watier-Grillot Stéphanie, Dumas Emmanuel, Demoncheaux Jean-Paul. Vétérinaire des armées en opérations extérieures : défis et perspectives. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 173, 2020. pp. 210-217