Un projet de recherche exempté d’évaluation éthique : Réflexions et questionnements sur l’article 2.1 de l’Énoncé de politique des trois Conseils

Étude de cas / Case studyCette étude de cas présente l’article 2.1 de l’Énoncé de politique des trois Conseils, permettant désormais à certains projets de recherche qualitative à risque minimal d’être exempté d’évaluation éthique. Cependant, son application soulève des questionnements.This case study presents the Article 2.1 of the Tri-council Policy Statement, which now allows some qualitative research with minimal risk to be exempt from ethics review. However, its application raises questions

Un projet de recherche exempté d’évaluation éthique : quelques précisions

Lettre à l'éditeur / Letter to the EditorEn réponse aux commentaires de Caillé et Beauregard, ce texte apporte quelques précisions au sujet de l’exemption d’évaluation éthique d’un projet de recherche.This piece responds to the comments made by Caillé and Beauregard by offering clarifications regarding the exemption from ethics review of a research project

Le rôle des héros des tribus sportives dans l'offre des équipementiers de la glisse

International audienc

French in Auvergne (Centre) : a speaker from Clermont-Ferrand

International audienceCette enquête PFC (phonologie du français contemporain) a été faite avec une locutrice junior de la région proche de clermont-Ferrand. l'ensemble des données nous amènent à conclure que ses productions ne sont pas très éloignées du français de référence. on retiendra en revanche des élément typiques du français jeune

Une intervention en centres d’hébergement et de soins de longue durée visant à réduire les problèmes de santé mentale liés au travail

Une intervention visant la diminution des contraintes de l’environnement psychosocial du travail et de leurs effets sur la santé mentale a été mise en place à l’hiver 2002. Cette intervention se résume en cinq étapes : l’engagement du milieu et la constitution d’une équipe d’intervention, l’identification des contraintes, l’élaboration des plans d’action, l’actualisation des plans d’action et l’évaluation de l’intervention. La recherche se déroule dans douze centres d’hébergement et de soins de longue durée (CHSLD) et inclut l’ensemble du personnel soignant en contact direct avec la clientèle (N = 493). Un devis quasi-expérimental avec quatre groupes expérimentaux, huit groupes témoins et des mesures avant et après l’intervention a été utilisé.La description des phases de développement et d’implantation de la démarche d’intervention est présentée ainsi que l’évaluation à 12 mois des effets de l’intervention sur la prévalence des contraintes psychosociales au travail et des problèmes de santé mentale.An intervention aimed at reducing adverse occupational psychosocial factors and their mental health effects was begun during the winter of 2002. This intervention can be summarized in five steps: commitment of stakeholders and setting up of an intervention team, identification of adverse occupational psychosocial factors, development of an action plan, implementation of the action plans, and evaluation of the intervention. The study was conducted in twelve residential and extended care centres (CHSLD) and included all care-giving staff in direct contact with patients (N= 493). A quasi-experimental design was used with four experimental groups and eight control groups, and with pre- and post-intervention measurements.The description of the intervention’s development and implementation phases and the evaluation at 12 months of the effects of the intervention on the prevalence of occupational psychosocial factors and mental health problems are presented.En el invierno 2002 se ha establecido una intervención con objetivo de disminuir las coacciones del ambiente psicosocial del trabajo y de sus efectos sobre la salud mental. Esta intervención se resume en cinco etapas : la compromisión del medio y la constitución de un equipo de intervención, la identificación de las coacciones, la elaboración de los planes de acción, la actualización de los planes de acción y la evaluación de la intervención. La investigación se desarolla en doce centros de alojamiento y de cuidados a largo plazo (CHSLD) e incluye el conjunto del personal sanitario en contacto directo con la clientela (N= 493). Un presupuesto casi experimental de cuatro grupos experimentales, ocho grupos de control y medidas pre and post-intervención fueron utilizados.La descripción de las fases de desarrollo y de implantación de los trámites de intervención están presentados así como la evaluación después de 12 meses de los efectos de la intervención sobre la prevalencia de las coacciones psicosociales en el trabajo y de los problemas de salud mental

An obesogenic feedforward loop involving PPARγ, acyl-CoA binding protein and GABAA receptor

Acyl-coenzyme-A-binding protein (ACBP), also known as a diazepam-binding inhibitor (DBI), is a potent stimulator of appetite and lipogenesis. Bioinformatic analyses combined with systematic screens revealed that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is the transcription factor that best explains the ACBP/DBI upregulation in metabolically active organs including the liver and adipose tissue. The PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone-induced ACBP/DBI upregulation, as well as weight gain, that could be prevented by knockout of Acbp/Dbi in mice. Moreover, liver-specific knockdown of Pparg prevented the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced upregulation of circulating ACBP/DBI levels and reduced body weight gain. Conversely, knockout of Acbp/Dbi prevented the HFD-induced upregulation of PPARγ. Notably, a single amino acid substitution (F77I) in the γ2 subunit of gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor (GABAAR), which abolishes ACBP/DBI binding to this receptor, prevented the HFD-induced weight gain, as well as the HFD-induced upregulation of ACBP/DBI, GABAAR γ2, and PPARγ. Based on these results, we postulate the existence of an obesogenic feedforward loop relying on ACBP/DBI, GABAAR, and PPARγ. Interruption of this vicious cycle, at any level, indistinguishably mitigates HFD-induced weight gain, hepatosteatosis, and hyperglycemia

Experimental discovery of small RNAs in Staphylococcus aureus reveals a riboregulator of central metabolism

Using an experimental approach, we investigated the RNome of the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus to identify 30 small RNAs (sRNAs) including 14 that are newly confirmed. Among the latter, 10 are encoded in intergenic regions, three are generated by premature transcription termination associated with riboswitch activities, and one is expressed from the complementary strand of a transposase gene. The expression of four sRNAs increases during the transition from exponential to stationary phase. We focused our study on RsaE, an sRNA that is highly conserved in the bacillales order and is deleterious when over-expressed. We show that RsaE interacts in vitro with the 5′ region of opp3A mRNA, encoding an ABC transporter component, to prevent formation of the ribosomal initiation complex. A previous report showed that RsaE targets opp3B which is co-transcribed with opp3A. Thus, our results identify an unusual case of riboregulation where the same sRNA controls an operon mRNA by targeting two of its cistrons. A combination of biocomputational and transcriptional analyses revealed a remarkably coordinated RsaE-dependent downregulation of numerous metabolic enzymes involved in the citrate cycle and the folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism. As we observed that RsaE accumulates transiently in late exponential growth, we propose that RsaE functions to ensure a coordinate downregulation of the central metabolism when carbon sources become scarce

Metabolic reprogramming involving glycolysis in the hibernating brown bear skeletal muscle

Background: In mammals, the hibernating state is characterized by biochemical adjustments, which include metabolic rate depression and a shift in the primary fuel oxidized from carbohydrates to lipids. A number of studies of hibernating species report an upregulation of the levels and/or activity of lipid oxidizing enzymes in muscles during torpor, with a concomitant downregulation for glycolytic enzymes. However, other studies provide contrasting data about the regulation of fuel utilization in skeletal muscles during hibernation. Bears hibernate with only moderate hypothermia but with a drop in metabolic rate down to ~ 25% of basal metabolism. To gain insights into how fuel metabolism is regulated in hibernating bear skeletal muscles, we examined the vastus lateralis proteome and other changes elicited in brown bears during hibernation. Results: We show that bear muscle metabolic reorganization is in line with a suppression of ATP turnover. Regulation of muscle enzyme expression and activity, as well as of circulating metabolite profiles, highlighted a preference for lipid substrates during hibernation, although the data suggested that muscular lipid oxidation levels decreased due to metabolic rate depression. Our data also supported maintenance of muscle glycolysis that could be fuelled from liver gluconeogenesis and mobilization of muscle glycogen stores. During hibernation, our data also suggest that carbohydrate metabolism in bear muscle, as well as protein sparing, could be controlled, in part, by actions of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids like docosahexaenoic acid. Conclusions: Our work shows that molecular mechanisms in hibernating bear skeletal muscle, which appear consistent with a hypometabolic state, likely contribute to energy and protein savings. Maintenance of glycolysis could help to sustain muscle functionality for situations such as an unexpected exit from hibernation that would require a rapid increase in ATP production for muscle contraction. The molecular data we report here for skeletal muscles of bears hibernating at near normal body temperature represent a signature of muscle preservation despite atrophying conditions