Genuine savings and sustainability

Genuine Savings has emerged as the leading economic indicator of sustainable economic development at the country level. It derives from the literatures on weak sustainability, wealth accounting and national income accounting. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of GS, focusing on the relationship between changes in a nation's extended capital stock and the future path of consumption. The indicator has entered widespread use propelled by the World Bank's publications, despite its varying performance as a predictor for future consumption. Notwithstanding the extensive body of literature reviewed, promising future research avenues are identified.PostprintPeer reviewe

Modulation of the ATM/autophagy pathway by a G-quadruplex ligand tips the balance between senescence and apoptosis in cancer cells

G-quadruplex ligands exert their antiproliferative effects through telomere-dependent and telomere-independent mechanisms, but the inter-relationships among autophagy, cell growth arrest and cell death induced by these ligands remain largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that the G-quadruplex ligand 20A causes growth arrest of cancer cells in culture and in a HeLa cell xenografted mouse model. This response is associated with the induction of senescence and apoptosis. Transcriptomic analysis of 20A treated cells reveals a significant functional enrichment of biological pathways related to growth arrest, DNA damage response and the lysosomal pathway. 20A elicits global DNA damage but not telomeric damage and activates the ATM and autophagy pathways. Loss of ATM following 20A treatment inhibits both autophagy and senescence and sensitizes cells to death. Moreover, disruption of autophagy by deletion of two essential autophagy genes ATG5 and ATG7 leads to failure of CHK1 activation by 20A and subsequently increased cell death. Our results, therefore, identify the activation of ATM by 20A as a critical player in the balance between senescence and apoptosis and autophagy as one of the key mediators of such regulation. Thus, targeting the ATM/autophagy pathway might be a promising strategy to achieve the maximal anticancer effect of this compound

Social Movements and International Relations: A Relational Framework

Social movements are increasingly recognized as significant features of contemporary world politics, yet to date their treatment in international relations theory has tended to obfuscate the considerable diversity of these social formations, and the variegated interactions they may establish with state actors and different structures of world order. Highlighting the difficulties conventional liberal and critical approaches have in transcending conceptions of movements as moral entities, the article draws from two under-exploited literatures in the study of social movements in international relations, the English School and Social Systems Theory, to specify a wider range of analytical interactions between different categories of social movements and of world political structures. Moreover, by casting social movement phenomena as communications, the article opens international relations to consideration of the increasingly diverse trajectories and second-order effects produced by social movements as they interact with states, intergovernmental institutions, and transnational actors

Genuine savings and sustainability

Genuine Savings has emerged as the leading economic indicator of sustainable economic development at the country level. It derives from the literatures on weak sustainability, wealth accounting and national income accounting. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of GS, focusing on the relationship between changes in a nation's extended capital stock and the future path of consumption. The indicator has entered widespread use propelled by the World Bank's publications, despite its varying performance as a predictor for future consumption. Notwithstanding the extensive body of literature reviewed, promising future research avenues are identified

Additive value of bioclinical risk scores to high sensitivity troponins-only strategy in acute coronary syndrome

International audienceBackground: Discharging patients home as quickly as possible, or gaining the ability to eliminate a serious event is a goal requested by clinicians in the emergency department (ED). For this, risk scores, taking into account co-morbidities, have been established. The aim of our study consists to evaluate in patients with chest pain admitted in ED the risk stratification obtained with clinico-biological risk scores (CCS, GRACE score, TIMI score and HEART score) using Ortho hs-cTnI assay (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Illkirch, France) on the Vitros 3600® instrument or Roche hs-cTnT assay on the Cobas8000/e801® module (Roche diagnostics, Meylan, France), with comparison to hs-cTn-only strategy. Prognostic performances were evaluated according to AMI with or without STEMI, and deaths during hospitalization.Methods: Patients admitted to the ED presenting chest pain or symptoms suggesting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were included. Hs-cTnT was performed on a Roche hs-cTnT assay on the Cobas8000/e801® module using a fifth-generation assay and was used for the clinical diagnosis. In addition, hs-cTnI was tested using Ortho hs-cTnI assay on the Vitros 3600® analyzer. Retrospectively, we collected the variables needed for each score in clinical records. Our endpoint were occurrence of AMI in patients with chest pain after presentation to the ED and all cause death during the hospitalization.Results: We enrolled 160 patients with suspected ACS. The adjudicated diagnosis was AMI in 37 patients (with 9 STEMI and 28 NSTEMI), cardiac pathologies in 57 patients and other causes in 66 patients. The majority of patients were classified at high risk for each risk scores (from 42% to 68%) whatever the considered hs-cTn assay, except for TIMI score. Cohen's kappa agreements with GRACE, TIMI and HEART scores were excellent between Roche hs-cTnT vs Ortho hs-cTnI. The AUC of the HEART score was highest for both hs-cTn to predict AMI, NSTEMI or death, with no statistical difference according to the hs-cTn (p = NS) assay used. NRI analysis confirmed the interest of HEART score which improved individual risk prediction for AMI (or NSTEMI) and death.Conclusion: In view of our results, the decision aids using only biological variables (hs-cTn-only strategy and CCS) would seem more effective for rule-out AMI whereas bioclinical risk scores could better identify patients at low and high risk for mortality. In consequence, risk scores taking in account comorbidities, appear necessary to determine the outcome and thus to adapt the therapeutic options. It is interesting to note that the HEART score could be useful for the rule out AMI but also for the risk prediction as confirmed by the NRI

The role of mineral metabolism and inflammation on dialysis vascular access failure

Thrombosis of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the leading cause of vascular access (VA) loss usually due to silent stenosis. Therefore, assessment of relevant risk factors of VA monitoring may provide insight into potential therapeutic targets for stenosis and thrombosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of cardiovascular risk factors (including inflammation and mineral metabolism dysfunctions) on the failure of internal AVF in HD patients. 128 HD patients with internal AVF were included in the study and followed up for two years. At baseline, VA morphology and function were followed by Doppler ultrasonography and serum albumin, prealbumine, C-reactive protein, orosomucoid, calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, bone-type alkaline phosphatase, osteoprotegerin and receptor activator of nuclear factor k B ligand were measured. At baseline, 50 stenoses were detected but none of them required any intervention. Age and biological parameters did not significantly differ between patients with or without VA stenosis. Over the two year- follow-up, VA thrombosis occurred in 19 patients. Preexisting stenosis of VA was present in 9/19 patients (47.3 % of cases) (chi-square=3.708, p=0.0538). Despite the low rate of events, phosphorus [1.75(0.95-2.77) vs 1.42(0.47-3.22) mmol/L, p=0.0416], CalciumxPhosphorus product [4.00(2.00-5.90) vs 3.40(1.10-6.80) mmol2/L2, p=0.0676] and parathyroid hormone [165.00(1.00-944.00) vs 79.50(1.00-846.60) ng/L, p=0.0814) levels were higher in the 19 thrombotic patients whereas all other biological parameters did not significantly differ. These results, which confirm that VA thrombosis occurs more frequently upon preexisting stenosis, also demonstrate that mineral metabolism disorders, compared to inflammation, may contribute to VA dysfunction leading to thrombosis

Robespierre. De la Nation artésienne à la République et aux Nations

Ce volume est l'aboutissement du colloque organisé à Arras en avril 1993 et auquel ont participé près de cinquante historiens de plusieurs pays. Il rassemble 35 contributions, les synthèses de trois jours de débats, le compte rendu d'une table ronde sur "la politique, la morale et le sacré". L'ouvrage concerne le lecteur soucieux de comprendre un personnage qui porte en lui la complexité de la Révolution française ; il sollicite aussi le citoyen qui s'interroge sur l'évolution de la démocratie et de la République