From space to movement: the walk as an intellectual dynamic in Diderot's La Promenade du sceptique

Diderot's Promenade du sceptique has sometimes been criticised for a somewhat systematic use of allegory, associated with a tripartite division of space summarising and tracing, between the thorns of devotion, the flowers of worldly life, and the chestnut trees of philosophy, the three paths of life available to men. The work's device is nevertheless much more complex and elaborate, and is affected by a diffuse scepticism from within. Open rather than closed, the space and the places of the walk in La Promenade du sceptique are misleadingly the support of an analogical understanding of the world. The writing of the walk becomes a metaphor for the intellectual dynamic that doubts and searches. Movement in its temporal dimension, as a concrete experience, challenges the conception of a geometric space, mocks deism as well as idealism, and opens the way to the experimental method and the materialist hypothesis.Diderot's Promenade du sceptique has sometimes been criticised for a somewhat systematic use of allegory, associated with a tripartite division of space summarising and tracing, between the thorns of devotion, the flowers of worldly life, and the chestnut trees of philosophy, the three paths of life available to men. The work's device is nevertheless much more complex and elaborate, and is affected by a diffuse scepticism from within. Open rather than closed, the space and the places of the walk in La Promenade du sceptique are misleadingly the support of an analogical understanding of the world. The writing of the walk becomes a metaphor for the intellectual dynamic that doubts and searches. Movement in its temporal dimension, as a concrete experience, challenges the conception of a geometric space, mocks deism as well as idealism, and opens the way to the experimental method and the materialist hypothesis

Nationwide study in France investigating the impact of diabetes on mortality in patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

The aim of this nationwide study was to analyze the impact of diabetes on post-operative mortality in patients undergoing AAA repair in France. This 10-year retrospective, multicenter study based on the French National electronic health data included patients undergoing AAA repair between 2010 and 2019. In-hospital post-operative mortality was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curve survival and Log-Rank tests. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to calculate Hazard Ratios. Over 79,935 patients who underwent AAA repair, 61,146 patients (76.5%) had at least one hospital-readmission after the AAA repair, for a mean follow-up of 3.5 ± 2.5 years. Total in-hospital mortality over the 10-year study was 16,986 (21.3%) and 4581 deaths (5.8%) occurred during the first hospital stay for AAA repair. Age over 64 years old, the presence of AAA rupture and hospital readmission at 30-day were predictors of post-operative mortality (AdjHR = 1.59 CI 95% 1.51-1.67; AdjHR = 1.49 CI 95% 1.36-1.62 and AdjHR = 1.92, CI 95% 1.84-2.00). The prevalence of diabetes was significantly lower in ruptured AAA compared to unruptured AAA (14.8% vs 20.9%, P < 0.001 for type 2 diabetes and 2.5% vs 4.0%, P < 0.001 for type 1 diabetes). Type 1 diabetes was significantly associated with post-operative mortality (AdjHR = 1.30 CI 95% 1.20-1.40). For type 2 diabetes, the association was not statistically significant (Adj HR = 0.96, CI 95% 0.92-1.01). Older age, AAA rupture and hospital readmission were associated with deaths that occurred after discharge from the first AAA repair. Type 1 diabetes was identified as a risk factor of post-operative mortality. This study highlights the complex association between diabetes and AAA and should encourage institutions to report long-term follow-up after AAA repair to better understand its impact

PHENOPSIS DB: an Information System for Arabidopsis thaliana phenotypic data in an environmental context

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Renewed interest in plant × environment interactions has risen in the post-genomic era. In this context, high-throughput phenotyping platforms have been developed to create reproducible environmental scenarios in which the phenotypic responses of multiple genotypes can be analysed in a reproducible way. These platforms benefit hugely from the development of suitable databases for storage, sharing and analysis of the large amount of data collected. In the model plant <it>Arabidopsis thaliana</it>, most databases available to the scientific community contain data related to genetic and molecular biology and are characterised by an inadequacy in the description of plant developmental stages and experimental metadata such as environmental conditions. Our goal was to develop a comprehensive information system for sharing of the data collected in PHENOPSIS, an automated platform for <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>phenotyping, with the scientific community.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>PHENOPSIS DB is a publicly available (URL: <url>http://bioweb.supagro.inra.fr/phenopsis/</url>) information system developed for storage, browsing and sharing of online data generated by the PHENOPSIS platform and offline data collected by experimenters and experimental metadata. It provides modules coupled to a Web interface for (i) the visualisation of environmental data of an experiment, (ii) the visualisation and statistical analysis of phenotypic data, and (iii) the analysis of <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>plant images.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Firstly, data stored in the PHENOPSIS DB are of interest to the <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>community, particularly in allowing phenotypic meta-analyses directly linked to environmental conditions on which publications are still scarce. Secondly, data or image analysis modules can be downloaded from the Web interface for direct usage or as the basis for modifications according to new requirements. Finally, the structure of PHENOPSIS DB provides a useful template for the development of other similar databases related to genotype × environment interactions.</p

The quasi-universality of nestedness in the structure of quantitative plant-parasite interactions

Understanding the relationships between host range and pathogenicity for parasites, and between the efficiency and scope of immunity for hosts are essential to implement efficient disease control strategies. In the case of plant parasites, most studies have focused on describing qualitative interactions and a variety of genetic and evolutionary models has been proposed in this context. Although plant quantitative resistance benefits from advantages in terms of durability, we presently lack models that account for quantitative interactions between plants and their parasites and the evolution of these interactions. Nestedness and modularity are important features to unravel the overall structure of host-parasite interaction matrices. Here, we analysed these two features on 32 matrices of quantitative pathogenicity trait data gathered from 15 plant-parasite pathosystems consisting of either annual or perennial plants along with fungi or oomycetes, bacteria, nematodes, insects and viruses. The performance of several nestedness and modularity algorithms was evaluated through a simulation approach, which helped interpretation of the results. We observed significant modularity in only six of the 32 matrices, with two or three modules detected. For three of these matrices, modules could be related to resistance quantitative trait loci present in the host. In contrast, we found high and significant nestedness in 30 of the 32 matrices. Nestedness was linked to other properties of plant-parasite interactions. First, pathogenicity trait values were explained in majority by a parasite strain effect and a plant accession effect, with no parasite-plant interaction term. Second, correlations between the efficiency and scope of the resistance of plant genotypes, and between the host range breadth and pathogenicity level of parasite strains were overall positive. This latter result questions the efficiency of strategies based on the deployment of several genetically-differentiated cultivars of a given crop species in the case of quantitative plant immunity

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P &lt; 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Walking, Thinking & Writing : literary Promenades from La Mothe Le Vayer to Rousseau

La promenade de la fin du XVIIe siècle jusqu’au XVIIIe siècle a pu prendre des formes variées : lieu (le promenoir) pour l’activité mondaine, la promenade est aussi une métaphore de l’écriture, une forme souple à la poétique paradoxale. Organisée selon deux voies, celle du dialogue savant et celle de la conversation mondaine, permettant l’inclusion de pièces enchâssées, de fragments rhapsodiques, et touchant de près à la satire, au roman ou encore aux périodiques, la Promenade a pu apparaître comme un creuset pour la formulation d’idées et la recherche d’expressions, que ce soit pour des auteurs célèbres comme Diderot ou Rousseau, ou pour des auteurs peu connus, voire anonymes. Proposant un parcours autour d’un groupement de textes établi à partir d’un relevé bibliographique des textes intitulés Promenade, cette recherche réfléchit au sens d’une forme résolument ouverte, alliant liberté et divertissement, légèreté et profondeur. De la promenade au promeneur solitaire, la Promenade littéraire évolue au cours du XVIIIe siècle vers l’écriture de soi, la rêverie venant remplacer le dialogue et permettant l’exploration de nouveaux paysages.From the end of the seventeenth century to the eighteenth century, promenades took various forms: from concrete places such as walkways, to social gatherings, promenades also refer to a metaphor of writing itself: a supple form of writing relying on paradoxical aims. Following the patterns of the scholarly dialogue or the society conversation, promenades allowed the inclusion of embedded pieces and miscellaneous fragments. Their closeness to satires, novels or periodicals made them appear as a cradle for articulating ideas and searching for modes of expression, for both famous authors such as Diderot and Rousseau and less known or even anonymous ones. This study focuses on a selection of texts entitled Promenade and focuses on the choice of a resolutely open pattern that combines freedom and entertainment, lightness and depth. Turning from promenades to solitary walkers, literary promenades evolved during the eighteenth century towards the expression of the self - reveries replaced dialogues and allowed walkers to explore new landscapes

De la promenade au promeneur : le promeneur solitaire, une figure émergente à la fin du xviiie siècle ?

« Marcher, penser, écrire » : une telle triade constitue-t-elle un ordre chronologique et logique, où la marche serait première et la pensée puis l’écriture, secondes, et conditionnées par celle-là ? Il faudrait dès lors donner à la marche (ou à la promenade) la valeur d’une activité non seulement nécessaire pour relâcher l’esprit du cabinet de travail, pour divertir le corps et l’esprit, mais aussi susceptible d’avoir une influence directe sur la production écrite, d’inspirer le penseur et l..