Goat farming systems : a diagnosis of goat sector at the scale of farms in Centre-Val de Loire Region, France

The goat sector in Centre-Val de Loire Region, France is highlighted by its five PDOs, its important volume of milk produced (63 million of litres in 2014) and its high rate of on-farm cheese processing (40% of the volume). Regional Agriculture Chambers and dairy counselling organisms launched the diagnosis of the goat sector at the scale of farms. Through an inquiry led on 268 regional farms having a flock larger than 50 goats at 1st January 2016, this diagnosis allows to get to know better goat farmers, their farm systems and their projects by 2020 to anticipate futures evolutions of the business. Despite side effects left over the last crisis (2009-2011) and difficult climatic conditions on the last few years, goat farms reach today satisfying results both technically and economically. Breeders affirm their willingness to maintain volumes to sustain a flagship sector, of excellence and with high-potential. Efforts made to stop the decline of the number of farmers start to show results and must be maintained, and even reinforced in some territories. In order to develop and sustain the sector numerous other elements must be addressed: systems automation, food self-sufficiency or climatic changes are few examples.La filière caprine en région Centre-Val de Loire est mise en exergue par ses cinq AOP, son important volume de production (63 millions de litres en 2014) et son fort taux de transformation fermière (40% du volume). Les Chambres d’Agriculture de la région Centre-Val de Loire et les organismes de contrôle laitier se sont mobilisés pour réaliser le diagnostic de la filière caprine à l’échelle des exploitations agricoles. Au travers d’une enquête réalisée auprès de 268 fermes réparties sur l’ensemble de la région et ayant un cheptel d’au moins 50 caprins âgés de plus de 6 mois au 1er janvier 2016, ce diagnostic permet de mieux connaître les éleveurs caprins, leurs systèmes d’exploitation et les projets qu’ils portent afin d’anticiper les évolutions de la filière et de l’accompagner de la meilleure façon dans les prochaines années. Malgré les stigmates de la dernière crise du secteur (2009-2011) et les conditions climatiques peu aisées ces dernières années, les exploitations caprines atteignent aujourd’hui des résultats satisfaisants tant sur le plan technique que sur le plan économique. Les éleveurs affirment leur volonté de maintenir les volumes pour pérenniser une filière emblématique, de qualité et d’avenir. Les efforts pour enrayer le décroit du nombre d’éleveurs commencent à porter leurs fruits et les actions pour faciliter l’installation des jeunes agriculteurs doivent être maintenues, voire renforcées dans les départements de l’Indre, du Loiret et de l’Eure-et-Loir. Afin de développer et pérenniser la filière de nombreux autres éléments doivent également être pris en compte : l’automatisation des systèmes, l’autosuffisance alimentaire ou encore le changement climatique en sont quelques exemples.M-A

Pyrethroid insecticide exposure and cognitive developmental disabilities in children: The PELAGIE mother–child cohort

International audiencePyrethroid insecticides are widely used in agriculture and in homes. Despite the neurotoxicity of these insecticides at high doses, few studies have examined whether lower-level exposures could adversely affect children's neurodevelopment. The PELAGIE cohort included 3421 pregnant women from Brittany, France between 2002 and 2006. When their children reached their sixth birthday, 428 mothers from the cohort were randomly selected, successfully contacted and found eligible. A total of 287 (67%) mothers agreed to participate with their children in the neuropsychological follow-up. Two cognitive domains were assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: verbal comprehension and working memory. Five pyrethroid and two organophosphate insecticide metabolites were measured in maternal and child first-void urine samples collected between 6 and 19 gestational weeks and at 6 years of age, respectively. Linear regression models were used to estimate associations between cognitive scores and urinary pyrethroid metabolite concentrations, adjusting for organophosphate metabolite concentrations and potential confounders. Maternal prenatal pyrethroid metabolite concentrations were not consistently associated with any children's cognitive scores. By contrast, childhood 3-PBA and cis-DBCA concentrations were both negatively associated with verbal comprehension scores (P-trend = 0.04 and P-trend < 0.01, respectively) and with working memory scores (P-trend = 0.05 and P-trend < 0.01, respectively). No associations were observed for the three other childhood pyrethroid metabolite concentrations (4-F-3-PBA, cis-DCCA, and trans-DCCA). Low-level childhood exposures to deltamethrin (as cis-DBCA is its principal and selective metabolite), in particular, and to pyrethroid insecticides, in general (as reflected in levels of the 3-PBA metabolite) may negatively affect neurocognitive development by 6 years of age. Whatever their etiology, these cognitive deficits may be of importance educationally, because cognitive impairments in children interfere with learning and social development. Potential causes that can be prevented are of paramount public health importanc

Urinary Biomarkers of Prenatal Atrazine Exposure and Adverse Birth Outcomes in the PELAGIE Birth Cohort

Background: Despite evidence of atrazine toxicity in developing organisms from experimental studies, few studies—and fewer epidemiologic investigations—have examined the potential effects of prenatal exposure

Association between prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution and preterm birth in the PELAGIE mother–child cohort, Brittany, France. Does the urban–rural context matter?

International audienceIntroduction Evidence has accumulated that exposure to ambient air pollution during pregnancy may influence preterm birth (PTB) in urban settings. Conversely, this relation has barely been investigated in rural areas where individual characteristics (demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial factors) and environmental co-exposures may differ. Objective We examined the association between prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution and PTB among pregnant women from the PELAGIE mother–child cohort (Brittany, France, 2002–2006) living in urban (n=1550) and rural (n=959) settings. Methods Women’s residences were classified as either urban or rural according to the French census bureau rural–urban definitions. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations at home addresses were estimated from adjusted land-use regression models as a marker of traffic-related pollution. Associations between NO2 concentrations and PTB were assessed with logistic regression models. Results Prevalence of PTB was similar among women living in urban (3.2%) and in rural (3.5%) settings. More positive socioeconomic characteristics and health behaviors but more single-parent families were observed among urban women. NO2 exposure averaged 20.8±6.6 µg m−3 for women residing in urban areas and 18.8±5.6 µg m−3 for their rural counterparts. A statistically significant increased risk of PTB was observed among women exposed to NO2 concentrations ≥16.4 µg m−3 and residing in urban areas but not among their rural counterparts. Discussion The results of this study, conducted in a region with interspersed urban–rural areas, are in line with previous findings suggesting an increased risk of PTB associated with higher NO2 concentrations for women living in urban areas. The absence of association among their rural counterparts for whom exposure levels were similar suggests that environmental mixtures and psychosocial inequalities might play a role in this heterogeneit

Exposure to Phthalates and Phenols during Pregnancy and Offspring Size at Birth

Background: Data concerning the effects of prenatal exposures to phthalates and phenols on fetal growth are limited in humans. Previous findings suggest possible effects of some phenols on male birth weight

Quantifier les matières premières utilisées par l'alimentation animale en France et segmenter les flux jusqu'aux filières consommatrices

International audienceSocietal expectations linked to the feeding of farm animals (without GMOs, without imported deforestation, less competition with food crops...) are intensifying and are appearing more and more as an access condition to the market for some animal products. It appeared necessary to have a complete overview of the flows of feed materials (grains, by-products and forages) through the French feed supply chain, from resources to different ways of use (human consumption, animal feed, export, energy, etc.). GIS Avenir Elevages mobilized a network of experts with the aim of constructing a methodology to detail the segmentation of feed material consumption by animal sector. A method of data reconciliation with constraint optimization was used to bring the different available data sources into coherence. Thus, for the year 2015, the total grains and by-products used by the animal feed sector was evaluated around 34 Mt standardized to 85% dry matter while those of forages was evaluated between 70 and 72.5 Mt of 100% dry matter (losses and refusals deducted). Dairy and mixed cattle were the second consumers of feed grains and by- products (24%), after poultry (34%) and before pigs (23%) and beef cattle (12%). Dairy and mixed cattle consumed 36% of the volume of soybean meal available in France, after poultry (44%), and before pigs (6%). These results give precise indicators on feed use, its sustainability, the importance of livestock in the consumption of by-products from the food industry, and self-sufficiency in protein of the French livestock sector.Les attentes sociétales relatives à l'alimentation des animaux d'élevage s'intensifient (sans OGM, sans déforestation importée, limitant la compétition avec l'alimentation humaine…) et deviennent parfois une condition d'accès au marché pour certaines productions animales. Il est ainsi apparu nécessaire de disposer d'un panorama complet des flux de matières premières (grains, coproduits et fourrages) dans le système alimentaire français depuis les ressources jusqu'à leurs différentes voies de valorisation (alimentation humaine ou animale, export, énergie…). L'étude du GIS Avenir Elevages a mobilisé un réseau d'experts des différentes filières dans l'objectif de construire une méthodologie permettant une segmentation détaillée des consommations de matières premières par filière animale. Une méthode de réconciliation des flux avec optimisation sous contraintes a été utilisée pour mettre en cohérence les différentes sources de données disponibles. Ainsi, pour l'année 2015, le total des utilisations animales de matières premières concentrées a été évalué autour de 34 Mt standardisées à 85% de matière sèche et celles de fourrages entre 70 et 72,5 Mt de matière sèche (pertes et refus déduits). Les bovins laitiers et mixtes ont été les deuxièmes utilisateurs de matières premières concentrées (24%), derrière les filières volailles (34%), et devant les porcs (23%) et les bovins à viande (12%). L'utilisation du tourteau de soja serait encore plus ciblée : 36% pour les bovins laitiers et mixtes contre 44% pour les volailles et 6% pour les porcs. Ces résultats permettent de fixer des repères précis sur l'alimentation des animaux d'élevage, sa durabilité, l'importance de l'élevage dans la valorisation des coproduits issus de l'agro-alimentaire ou encore l'autonomie alimentaire et protéique de l'élevage français

Feeding mice with diets containing mercury-contaminated fish flesh from French Guiana: a model for the mercurial intoxication of the Wayana Amerindians

International audienc

Transmissibility of Atypical Scrapie in Ovine Transgenic Mice: Major Effects of Host Prion Protein Expression and Donor Prion Genotype

Atypical scrapie or Nor98 has been identified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that is clearly distinguishable from classical scrapie and BSE, notably regarding the biochemical features of the protease-resistant prion protein PrPres and the genetic factors involved in susceptibility to the disease. In this study we transmitted the disease from a series of 12 French atypical scrapie isolates in a transgenic mouse model (TgOvPrP4) overexpressing in the brain ∼0.25, 1.5 or 6× the levels of the PrPARQ ovine prion protein under the control of the neuron-specific enolase promoter. We used an approach based on serum PrPc measurements that appeared to reflect the different PrPc expression levels in the central nervous system. We found that transmission of atypical scrapie, much more than in classical scrapie or BSE, was strongly influenced by the PrPc expression levels of TgOvPrP4 inoculated mice. Whereas TgOvPrP4 mice overexpressing ∼6× the normal PrPc level died after a survival periods of 400 days, those with ∼1.5× the normal PrPc level died at around 700 days. The transmission of atypical scrapie in TgOvPrP4 mouse line was also strongly influenced by the prnp genotypes of the animal source of atypical scrapie. Isolates carrying the AF141RQ or AHQ alleles, associated with increased disease susceptibility in the natural host, showed a higher transmissibility in TgOvPrP4 mice. The biochemical analysis of PrPres in TgOvPrP4 mouse brains showed a fully conserved pattern, compared to that in the natural host, with three distinct PrPres products. Our results throw light on the transmission features of atypical scrapie and suggest that the risk of transmission is intrinsically lower than that of classical scrapie or BSE, especially in relation to the expression level of the prion protein

Expositions des femmes enceintes en Bretagne (2002-2006) à lʼaide de marqueurs biologiques

National audienc

Intéractions gene-environnement dans l'étiologie des fentes orales

LE KREMLIN-B.- PARIS 11-BU Méd (940432101) / SudocPARIS-BIUP (751062107) / SudocSudocFranceF