Reconceptualizing the Republic: Diversity and Education in France, 1945–2008

Since the nineteenth century, France, not unlike the United States, has experienced significant immigration and, as a result, great flux. Yet, the French public discourse and policy instruments concerned with ethnic and racial diversities evolved in sharp contrast to those in the United States. Whereas U.S. nation-building incorporated the recognition of ethnoracial identities, with all of its trials and tribulations, the French nation's trajectory assumed a unitary form. Recent developments, however, point to changes in the Republic's projection of its identity and its citizenry. An analysis of school teaching finds that the Republic is now re-envisioned as open and tolerant of diversity, though more from a universalistic, normative perspective—increasingly indexed at the transnational level—than from a perspective that privileges France's immigrant and colonial past. </jats:p

Herman Jan Phaff: professor, mentor, friend and colleague

Herman Jan Phaff, the father of yeast ecology, was born in the Netherlands in 1913. In his early years, he spent much time in his family’s winery, which sparked his interest in microbes. Trained in the famous Delft tradition, Phaff discovered many unrecognized ecological niches of yeast, such as shellfish, rabbit stomach, frass of bark beetles, tree exudates, cactus roots, Capri figs, sewage, Drosophila flies and shrimp. He is also remembered for his pioneering work on the coevolution of yeasts, insects and plants as well as for his work on yeast β-glucanase, which resulted in major advances in the understanding of the nature of the yeast cell wall. Phaff’s legacy includes research on pectin degradation by fungal enzymes and the application of molecular approaches to yeast systematics. He discovered and described many yeasts, such as the yeast named in his honor, Phaffia rhodozyma, which led to the establishment of a very important industrial fermentation process yielding high concentrations of the pigment astaxanthin, used throughout the world to provide a natural source of this important carotenoid

Induction of microbial secondary metabolism

Precursors often stimulate production of secondary metabolites either by increasing the amount of a limiting precursor, by inducing a biosynthetic enzyme (synthase) or both. These are usually amino acids but other small molecules also function as inducers. The most well-known are the auto-inducers which include γ-butyrolactones (butanolides) of the actinomycetes, N-acylhomoserine lactones of Gram-negative bacteria, oligopeptides of Gram-positive bacteria, and B-factor (3’-[1-butylphosphoryl] adenosine) of Amycolatopsis mediterranei. The actinomycete butanolides exert their effects via receptor proteins which normally repress chemical and morphological differentiation (secondary metabolism and differentiation into aerial mycelia and spores respectively) but, when complexed with the butanolide, can no longer function. Homoserine lactones of Gram-negative bacteria function at high cell density and are structurally related to the butanolides. They turn on plant and animal virulence, light emission, plasmid transfer, and production of pigments, cyanide and β-lactam antibiotics. They are made by enzymes homologous to Lux1, excreted by the cell, enter other cells at high density, bind to a LuxR homologue, the complex then binding to DNA upstream of genes controlled by “quorum sensing” and turning on their expression. Quorum sensing also operates in the case of the peptide pheromones of the Gram-positive bacteria. Here, secretion is accomplished by an ATP binding casette (ABC transporter), the secreted pheromone being recognized by a sensor component of a two-component signal transduction system. The pheromone often induces its own synthesis as well as those proteins involved in protein/peptide antibiotic (including bacteriocins and lantibiotics) production, virulence and genetic competence. The B-factor of A. mediterranei is an inducer of ansamycin (rifamycin) formation

Fungal biotechnology

Fungi are used in many industrial processes, such as the production of enzymes, vitamins, polysaccharides, polyhydric alcohols, pigments, lipids, and glycolipids. Some of these products are produced commercially while others are potentially valuable in biotechnology. Fungal secondary metabolites are extremely important to our health and nutrition and have tremendous economic impact. In addition to the multiple reaction sequences of fermentations, fungi are extremely useful in carrying out biotransformation processes. These are becoming essential to the fine-chemical industry in the production of single-isomer intermediates. Recombinant DNA technology, which includes yeasts and other fungi as hosts, has markedly increased markets for microbial enzymes. Molecular manipulations have been added to mutational techniques as a means of increasing titers and yields of microbial processes and in the discovery of new drugs. Today, fungal biology is a major participant in global industry. Moreover, the best is yet to come as genomes of additional species are sequenced at some level (cDNA, complete genomes, expressed sequence tags) and gene and protein arrays become available

An exploration of stakeholders’ perceptions of the barriers to clinical use of Assistive Technologies in services for upper-limb stroke rehabilitation

Introduction Half of all patients commencing stroke rehabilitation have marked impairment of the hemiplegic arm, with only 14% regaining useful function. Assistive technologies (ATs) have been developed and evaluated yet currently reach only a fraction of patients. The NIHR funded a five year research programme to generate understanding necessary to develop cost-effective stroke services in upper-limb rehabilitation. This stage aims to understand the potential advantages and disadvantages to the clinical use of ATs, and the needs and priorities of stakeholders. Method Participants include people with a stroke (n=40), their carers (n=20), health care professionals (n= 40), budget holders (n=15) and service commissioners (n=15). An interactive exhibition was held at the University of Southampton in October 2009 where stakeholders tested a range of ATs. Focus groups with each stakeholder group will be conducted within three months of the exhibition to discuss personal involvement in AT use, and positive and negative views on the AT presented. Results Results will be categorised in terms of barriers and facilitators to the use of upper-limb technologies addressing issues such as user comfort and acceptability, cost-benefit, evidence of effect and funding provision. Conclusion Getting research implemented in practice is challenging. This novel approach explores the barriers to using new technologies from the perspective of all key stakeholders. These findings will be combined with those of a national survey, and systematic review to inform a clinical trial resulting in a recommended care pathway for upper-limb rehabilitation

Religion between State and Society

In contrast to mainstream historiography, secularisation was not a distinct process in nineteenth-century Europe, since the century was a period of religious revival. In the late nineteenth century, in spite of weakening church attendance and rising agnosticism brought on by urbanisation and migration, religion remained attractive for the middle class and social movements related to church membership emerged in politics. In this chapter the diversity of religion in Europe is treated. The author distinguishes between hierarchical and nonhierarchical types of Christian churches, and between four religious regions in Europe. This situation had effects on the relationship between state and religion

Self-management and self-management support outcomes: a systematic review and mixed research synthesis of stakeholder views

Introduction: Self-management has received growing attention as an effective approach for long-term condition management. Little is known about which outcomes of supported self-management are valued by patients, their families, health professionals and those who commission self-management services. This study systematically reviewed published empirical evidence in accordance with PRISMA guidelines to determine the outcomes of self-management valued by these key stakeholder groups, using three prominent exemplar conditions: colorectal cancer, diabetes and stroke.Aim: To systematically review the literature to identify which generic outcomes of self-management have been targeted and are considered important using three exemplar conditions (colorectal cancer, diabetes and stroke), which collectively have a range of features that are likely to be representative of generic self-management issues.Methods: Systematic searching of nine electronic databases was conducted in addition to hand searches of review articles. Abstracts were identified against inclusion criteria and appraised independently by two reviewers, using a critical appraisal tool. Synthesis of findings was conducted using mixed research synthesis.Results: Over 20,536 abstracts were screened. 41 studies which met the review criteria were fully retrieved and appraised. The majority of evidence related to diabetes. Few studies directly focussed on stakeholders’ views concerning desired self-management outcomes; the majority of evidence was derived from studies focusing upon the experience of self-management. The views of health care commissioners were absent from the literature. We identified that self-management outcomes embrace a range of indicators, from knowledge, skills, and bio-psychosocial markers of health through to positive social networks.Conclusions: Patients’, families’, health professionals’ and commissioners’ views regarding which outcomes of self-management are important have not been clearly elicited. The extent to which bio-psychosocial indicators relate to successful self-management from the perspectives of all groups of stakeholders is unknown. Further investigation regarding which self-management outcomes are considered important by all stakeholders is necessary to guide the commissioning and design of future self-management services

Genetic Regulation of fermentation organisms : fermentation, regulation, antibiotics

An effective fermentation organism is a wasteful creature that overproduces and excretes its metabolic intermediates and end products. Cultures obtained from screening programs usually possess subnormal regulatory controls. Development programs to increase product formation modify the residual control mechanisms so that the culture's "inefficiency" is increased. For production of primary metabolites, feedback inhibition and repression must be bypassed. This is usually accomplished by limiting the intracellular concentration of feedback inhibitors and repressors. Auxotrophic mutants and analogue resistant mutants are most often used for this purpose. Development of fermentations for secondary metabolites, such as antibiotics, is less rational because of our ignorance of the biosynthetic pathways and regulatory controls involved. However, evidence is accumulating that such fermentations are subject to (a) feedback regulation by the idiolite itself, (b)feedback regulation by primary metabolites that share a branched pathway with the secondary metabolite, (c) feedback regulation by inorganic phosphate, (d) catabolite regulation by rapidly utilized carbon sources, (e) induction by primary metabolites, and (f) ATP regulation. Secondary metabolites are not usually formed during growth because the enzymes of secondary metabolism are repressed during the trophophase. We have no clear idea about the type of repression control, but it probably involves growth rate as well as the factors mentioned above. Since the controls discussed above are genetically determined, mutations to increase productivity have been useful to the fermentation industry for over 30 years. Although such strain improvement programs usually involve random screening of survivors of mutagenesis, some recent progress has been made in the application of more rational screening procedures. Mutants are also used to change the spectrum of metabolites, to produce new antibiotics, and to elucidate the pathways of secondary metabolism. Extensive research is now taking place on the genetic mapping of antibiotic-producing microorganisms, especially actinomycetes. The model for this work is the genetic map of Streptomyces coelicolor, and the maps of more recently examined actinomycetes ,including Nocardia, appear to be similar. At least four of the genes of methylenomycin A production in S. coelicolorare plasmid-bound.ARNOLD L. DEMAIN, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts