Russia’s growth problem. Bruegel Policy Contribution Issue n˚4 | February 2019

Between 2014 and 2016, the Russian economy suffered from a currency crisis caused by the collapse of oil prices and the country’s engagement in the conflict with Ukraine. Although the crisis was overcome in the second half of 2016 thanks to prudent fiscal and monetary policies and higher oil prices, economic recovery remains weak and Russia’s medium-term growth prospects look rather disappointing. The weak growth prospects are caused by several factors including: (i) adverse demographic trends – a declining working-age population and ageing of the population; (ii) a poor business and investment climate; (iii) difficulty in diversifying away from the dominant role of the hydrocarbon sector; (iv) Western sanctions on Russia in response to the annexation of Crimea and Russian support for separatists in the eastern Ukraine Donbas region, and Russian countersanctions. To increase potential growth, Russia needs comprehensive economic and institutional reforms that, in turn, will be conditioned by political reforms and by improved economic and political relationships with the United States, the European Union and Russia’s neighbours

Revealing the regime of shallow coral reefs at patch scale by continuous spatial modeling

International audienceReliably translating real-world spatial patterns of ecosystems is critical for understanding processes susceptible to reinforce resilience. However, the great majority of studies in spatial ecology use thematic maps to describe habitats and species in a binary scheme. By discretizing the transitional areas and neglecting the gradual replacement across a given space, the thematic approach may suffer from substantial limitations when interpreting patterns created by many continuous variables. Here, local and regional spectral proxies were used to design and spatially map at very fine scale a continuous index dedicated to one of the most complex seascapes, the coral reefscape. Through a groundbreaking merge of bottom-up and top-down approach, we demonstrate that three to seven-habitat continuous indices can be modeled by nine, six, four, and three spectral proxies, respectively, at 0.5 m spatial resolution using hand-and spaceborne measurements. We map the seven-habitat continuous index, spanning major Indo-Pacific coral reef habitats through the far red-green normalized difference ratio over the entire lagoon of a low (Tetiaroa atoll) and a high volcanic (Moorea) island in French Polynesia with 84 and 82% accuracy, respectively. Further examinations of the two resulting spatial models using a customized histoscape (density function of model values distributed on a concentric strip across the reef crest-coastline distance) show that Tetiaroa exhibits a greater variety of coral reef habitats than Moorea. By designing such easy-to-implement, transferrable spectral proxies of coral reef regime, this study initiates a framework for spatial ecologists tackling coral reef biodiversity, responses to stresses, perturbations and shifts. We discuss the limitations and contributions of our findings toward the study of worldwide coral reef resilience following stochastic environmental change

Effectiveness of cohesion policy: learning from the project characteristics that produce the best results. Budgetary Affairs. STUDY requested by the CONT Committee. Bruegel

This study analyses the characteristics of cohesion policy projects that can contribute to successful outcomes. Our analysis is based on a literature survey, an econometric analysis and interviews with stakeholders. About two dozen project characteristics are considered, and their association with economic growth is studied using a novel methodology. Based on the findings, the study concludes with recommendations for cohesion policy reform

Étude des antineutrinos de réacteurs (mesure de l'angle de mélange leptonique et recherche d'éventuels neutrinos stériles)

L expérience Double Chooz a pour but la mesure précise de l angle de mélange . Son évaluation repose sur l étude de la disparition des antineutrinos produits par les réacteurs de la centrale de Chooz, disparition due au phénomène d oscillation des neutrinos. Deux détecteurs identiques composés de liquide scintillant permettent d effectuer une mesure relative, diminuant ainsi les incertitudes systématiques. Le détecteur proche, qui fournit la normalisation du flux de neutrinos émis, est en cours d installation, son achèvement est prévu pour le printemps 2014. Le détecteur lointain, sensible à l effet de , est situé à un kilomètre environ et prend des données depuis 2011. Dans cette première phase de l expérience, les données acquises par le détecteur lointain sont comparées à une prédiction du flux de neutrinos émis par les réacteurs pour estimer le paramètre . Au sein de cette thèse, l expérience Double Chooz et son analyse sont présentées. Une attention particulière est portée à l étude des bruits de fond et au rejet de signaux parasites constitués de flashs lumineux émis par les photo-multiplicateurs. Les flux de neutrons aux interfaces entre les différents volumes du détecteur affectent la définition du volume d interaction et partant l efficacité de détection. L étude détaillée de ces effets de bord est présentée. Dans le cadre de l expérience Double Chooz, des études ont été menées afin d améliorer la prédiction des flux de neutrinos émis par les réacteurs. Ces travaux ont mis à jour un déficit des taux de neutrinos observés dans les expériences passées à courtes distances des réacteurs. Ce déficit pourrait s expliquer par une oscillation vers une saveur stérile. Le projet Stereo a pour but d observer la distorsion caractéristique de l oscillation du spectre des neutrinos en énergie et en distance de propagation. Cette thèse s attache à présenter le concept du détecteur, les simulations réalisées, ainsi que les études de sensibilité. Les différents bruits de fond et les blindages envisagés pour s en prémunir sont enfin discutés.The Double Chooz experiment aims to measure the mixing angle through the disappearance induced by the oscillation phenomenon of anti-neutrinos produced by the Chooz nuclear reactors. In order to reduce systematic uncertainties, the experiment relies on the relative comparison of detected signals in two identical liquid scintillator detectors. The near one, giving the normalization of the emitted flux, is currently being built and will be delivered in spring 2014. The far detector, sensitive to , is located at about one kilometer and is taking data since 2011. In this first phase of the experiment, the far detector data are compared to a prediction of the emitted neutrino flux to estimate . In this thesis, the Double Chooz experiment and its analysis are presented, especially the background studies and the rejection of parasitic signals due to light emitted by photo-multipliers. Neutron fluxes between the different detector volumes impact the definition of the fiducial volume of neutrino interactions and the efficiency of detection. Detailed studies of these effects are presented. As part of the Double Chooz experiment, studies were performed to improve the prediction of neutrino flux emitted by reactors. This work revealed a deficit of observed neutrino rates in the short baseline experiments of last decades. This deficit could be explained by an oscillation to a sterile state. The Stereo project aims to observe a typical signature of oscillations: the distortion of neutrino spectra both in energy and baseline. This thesis presents the detector concept and simulations as well as sensitivity studies. Background sources and the foreseen shielding are also discussed.PARIS11-SCD-Bib. électronique (914719901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Validation of a sequential data assimilation method applied to cardiac electrophysiology

International audienceImproved electroanatomical recordings and imaging capabilities prompts for trying to personalize cardiac electrical models. Though it is challenging, data assimilation is a family of methods relevant to this problem. It consists in estimating the state of the system thanks to observations. Among the two main approaches, variationnal and sequential, we choose to investigate the possibilities of a sequential method based on an atrial model and atrial electroanatomical maps. The method combines a state observer and a Kalman filter to estimate some parameters in the model

DNA immunisation. New histochemical and morphometric data.

Splenic germinal center reactions were measured during primary response to a plasmidic DNA intramuscular injection. Cardiotoxin-pretreated Balb/c mice were immunized with DNA plasmids encodmg or not the SAG1 protein, a membrane antigen of Toxoplasma gondii. Specific anti-SAG1 antibodies were detected on days 16 and 36 after injection of coding plasmids. The results of ELISAs showed that the SAG1-specific antibodies are of the IgG2a class. Morphometric analyses were done on serial immunostained cryosections of spleen and draining or non-draining lymph nodes. This new approach made it possible to evaluate the chronological changes induced by DNA immunisation in the germinal centres (in number and in size). Significant increases in the number of germinal centres were measured in the spleen and only in draining lymph nodes after plasmid injection, the measured changes of the germinal centers appeared to result from the adjuvant stimulatory effect of the plasmidic DNA since both the coding and the noncoding plasmid DNA induced them. No measurable changes were recorded in the T-dependent zone of lymph organs

CNS Drugs

BACKGROUND: Hepatotoxicity may be a concern when prescribing antidepressants. Nevertheless, this risk remains poorly understood for serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs: venlafaxine, milnacipran, duloxetine) and 'other antidepressants' (mianserin, mirtazapine, tianeptine and agomelatine), particularly in comparison with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs: fluoxetine, citalopram, paroxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine, escitalopram), which are by far the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. OBJECTIVE: We quantified the risk of serious liver injury associated with new use of SNRIs and 'other antidepressants' compared with SSRIs in real-life practice. METHODS: Based on the French national health insurance database, this cohort study included 4,966,825 individuals aged 25 years and older with a first reimbursement of SSRIs, SNRIs or 'other antidepressants' between January 2010 and June 2015. We compared the risk of serious liver injury within the 6 months following antidepressant initiation according to antidepressant class, with SSRIs as the reference, using an inverse probability-of-treatment-weighted Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for demographic characteristics and risk factors of liver injury. RESULTS: We identified 382 serious liver injuries overall (none for milnacipran initiators). Age and gender standardized incidence rates per 100,000 person-years were 19.2 for SSRIs, 22.2 for venlafaxine, 12.6 for duloxetine, 21.5 for mianserin, 32.8 for mirtazapine, 31.6 for tianeptine and 24.6 for agomelatine initiators. Initiation of antidepressants of interest versus SSRIs was not associated with an increased risk of serious liver injury [adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval): venlafaxine 1.17 (0.83-1.64), duloxetine 0.54 (0.28-1.02), mianserin 0.90 (0.58-1.41), mirtazapine 1.17 (0.67-2.02), tianeptine 1.35 (0.82-2.23) and agomelatine 1.07 (0.51-2.23)]. This finding was confirmed by the results of an additional study using a case-time-control design. CONCLUSION: These results do not provide evidence of an increased risk of serious liver injury following initiation of SNRIs or 'other antidepressants' compared with SSRIs in real-life practice. This could reflect an inherent lack of difference in risk between the drug classes, or the fact that individuals with higher susceptibility to drug-induced liver injury are not prescribed drugs considered to be more hepatotoxic

The ReproGenomics Viewer: an integrative cross-species toolbox for the reproductive science community.

International audienceWe report the development of the ReproGenomics Viewer (RGV), a multi-and cross-species working environment for the visualization, mining and comparison of published omics data sets for the reproductive science community. The system currently embeds 15 published data sets related to gametogenesis from nine model organisms. Data sets have been curated and conveniently organized into broad categories including biological topics, technologies, species and publications. RGV's modular design for both organisms and genomic tools enables users to upload and compare their data with that from the data sets embedded in the system in a cross-species manner. The RGV is freely available at http://rgv.genouest.org