Prediction Of Beef Fatty Acid Composition Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy: Effects Of Tissue And Sample Preparations

International audienceThe aims of the study were to determine the best site of bovine carcass for predicting fatty acid (FA) composition using a NIRS (near infrared spectroscopy) portable equipment and to study the effect of different methods of sample preparation. 78 animals were sampled from different types and rearing systems. Seven tissues (Longissimus thoracis, Infraspinatus, Diaphragma, Rectus abdominis, shoulder subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), intercostal SAT and intermuscular fat at the 5th rib) were measured after sampling and grinding in liquid nitrogen. The effect of samples preparation were measured on carcass (C0), muscle without grinding (B0), ground with a meat chopper (B1), ground with a knife mill (B2) on RA muscle. FA composition was assessed using gas chromatograph and the spectra were measured at wavelengths between 350 and 2500 nm. For adipose tissue, FA were not correctly predicted from NIRS. However, predictions were more satisfactory for the major FA (C16:0, C18:0, C18:1d9c), total saturated and monounsaturated FA of muscles. The results show a better prediction of FA composition concomitant with an increased gradient of sample homogenization. For other FA and especially polyunsaturated fatty acids, the performances were not satisfactory for quantitative purposes whatever the grinding method

Exposure to negative socio-emotional events induces sustained alteration of resting-state brain networks in older adults

Basic emotional functions seem well preserved in older adults. However, their reactivity to and recovery from socially negative events remain poorly characterized. To address this, we designed a ‘task–rest’ paradigm in which 182 participants from two independent experiments underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while exposed to socio-emotional videos. Experiment 1 (N = 55) validated the task in young and older participants and unveiled age-dependent effects on brain activity and connectivity that predominated in resting periods after (rather than during) negative social scenes. Crucially, emotional elicitation potentiated subsequent resting-state connectivity between default mode network and amygdala exclusively in older adults. Experiment 2 replicated these results in a large older adult cohort (N = 127) and additionally showed that emotion-driven changes in posterior default mode network–amygdala connectivity were associated with anxiety, rumination and negative thoughts. These findings uncover the neural dynamics of empathy-related functions in older adults and help understand its relationship to poor social stress recovery

ALK germline mutations in patients with neuroblastoma: a rare and weakly penetrant syndrome

Neuroblastic tumours may occur in a predisposition context. Two main genes are involved: PHOX2B, observed in familial cases and frequently associated with other neurocristopathies (Ondine's and Hirschsprung's disease); and ALK, mostly in familial tumours. We have assessed the frequency of mutations of these two genes in patients with a presumable higher risk of predisposition. We sequenced both genes in 26 perinatal cases (prebirth and o1 month of age, among which 10 were multifocal), 16 multifocal postnatal (41 month) cases, 3 pairs of affected relatives and 8 patients with multiple malignancies. The whole coding sequences of the two genes were analysed in tumour and/or constitutional DNAs. We found three ALK germline mutations, all in a context of multifocal tumours. Two mutations (T1151R and R1192P) were inherited and shared by several unaffected patients, thus illustrating an incomplete penetrance. Younger age at tumour onset did not seem to offer a relevant selection criterion for ALK analyses. Conversely, multifocal tumours might be the most to benefit from the genetic screening. Finally, no PHOX2B germline mutation was found in this series. In conclusion, ALK deleterious mutations are rare events in patients with a high probability of predisposition. Other predisposing genes remain to be discovered

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 < 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

"Longing Ladies" and Witty Heroines : ‎The Representation of Women in the Comedies by Molière and Etherege

This work will focus on the representation of women of all ages and social statuses in the comedies by Molière and Etherege. In England, the Restoration period is a tipping point in the relationship between women and theatre, with women being allowed to act on stage, the rise of female spectatorship and, in the second part of the era, the emergence of female playwrights. French theatre is also subject to some changes, albeit a bit earlier, in the 1630s, with the comedies becoming more polished, thus drawing in more women and upper-class people, creating a mixed audience that influences the development of the plays of the second half of the seventeenth century, including Molière’s. We shall endeavour to compare how these playwrights – who both also staged their own plays – build their female characters, both through the significance of their actions in the plays and through their discourse and that of the other characters, and how this representation evolves during the second half of the seventeenth century. This study will focus on three main questions: that of the importance of female characters in the structure of the plays, that of their comic role, as well as that of the feminisation of the stage, with the progressive appearance of, as has been mentioned already, actresses, as well as female playwrights and female perspectives on stage. These topics will also lead us to analyse the relation of the audience to these characters and whether they offered a “realistic” portrayal of the people and mores of their time, or even, in the case of young gentlewomen, an ideal to try and reproduce in real life. The central corpus studied here is comprised of Etherege’s three plays, The Comical Revenge or Love in a Tub (1664), She wou’d if she cou’d (1668) and The Man of Mode, or Sir Fopling Flutter (1676), as well as plays both representative of Molière’s vast production, containing typical elements of the comédie de moeurs, and that represent typical or particularly interesting female characters, L’École des femmes (1662), Le Tartuffe (1664) and Le Misanthrope (1666), as well as Les Fourberies de Scapin (1971), which is one of Molière’s later plays and is considered to be a blend of comédie de moeurs and farce in the Italian tradition, that is to say, a buffoon type of comedy that relies on exaggeration, absurdity and physical comedy. Occasional reference may be made to other plays, both by Molière and by other Restoration playwrights. Additionally, references will be made to present-day productions of the plays of the corpus, as sources on seventeenth-century productions are scarce and only studying the text of the plays amputates them from the essential feature of theatrical texts, which is that they are meant to be represented in front of an audience

Performances économiques, sociales, environnementales et territoriales de la filière IGP « Volailles de l’Orléanais »

National audienc

La construction des climats viticoles en Bourgogne, la relation du vin au lieu au Moyen Âge. Une culture du vin et du lieu en Bourgogne

International audienceClimats is the technical term for portions of vineyards delimited and named according to specific wine qualities. They arose from the seventeenth century onwards as a specific terroir meaning in Burgundy. However, tradition still emphasizes the medieval actors of Burgundian viti-viniculture as dukes and monks as the determinants for the emergence of climats. Therefore it is worth exploring medieval history to decipher the relationship linking wine to place in the Middle Ages : for instance, the way wines were labelled in cellars and storerooms in Dijon. Some monastic communities were not accustomed to differentiating their wine according to the original place in which it grew. Human practices that changed soil qualities were widespread from the Middle Ages to the recent period and testify to paradigmatic.Les climats, des portions de vignobles délimités, nommés, associés à des crus particuliers, émergent à partir du XVIIe siècle comme la déclinaison spécifiquement bourguignonne du terroir viticole. Pourtant la tradition continue à mettre en avant, dans la construction des climats, les acteurs médiévaux de la viti-viniculture de Bourgogne avec les ducs et les ordres monastiques. Cette mise en avant des acteurs traditionnels de la viti-viniculture de Bourgogne justifie dès lors une exploration historique de la relation du vin au lieu au Moyen Âge. On verra ainsi quelle était la dénomination des vins dans les caves et celliers de Dijon mais aussi que certains celliers monastiques ne différenciaient pas leurs vins par le lieu d'origine. Sur le plan de la qualité des sols en relation avec celle des vins, les pratiques médiévales de transformation des sols attestent du changement de paradigme opéré avec l'avènement des climats qui a accentué la naturalité des terroirs viticoles

Productivité du travail et économie en élevages d’herbivores : définition des concepts, analyse et enjeux

National audienceLabour productivity in agriculture has grown faster than the other sectors of the economy over the last fifty years. Volume production of the branch was multiplied by 2.2 from 1955 to 2010, thanks to the increasing use of input and a more important mobilization of capital (equipment and buildings). At the same time the agricultural labour force decreased from 31 to 3.4% of total employment. Today, subsidies have a decisive role in the upholding of farm income per worker. The analysis of labour productivity for cattle, sheep and goat productions shows that the economic indicators are not necessarily linked to an increase in physical productivity. There are differences in physical productivity of labour between systems and production sectors. In a favourable economic situation, systems with high physical productivity of labour get the best income, but when the economic situation becomes unfavorable these systems appear financially weak and reveal their low resilience capability. The consistency of the production system and the optimization of means of production always appear as a determinant of economic performance. The distribution of productivity gain between the different actors in the sector (producers, agricultural and food industries, trade and consumer) and the choice of government will remain decisive for farm orientation.De tous les secteurs de l’économie, c’est l’agriculture qui a connu l’accroissement le plus rapide de la productivité du travail au cours des cinquante dernières années. La production en volume de la branche a été multipliée par 2,2 entre 1955 et 2010, grâce à l’utilisation croissante des intrants et à la mobilisation d’un capital toujours plus important (matériel et bâtiments). Sur cette même période, la population active agricole est passée de 31 à 3,4 de l’emploi total. Les subventions jouent aujourd’hui un rôle déterminant dans le maintien du revenu agricole par actif. L’analyse de la productivité du travail pour les filières bovine, ovine et caprine montre que l’accroissement de la productivité physique et des principaux indicateurs économiques ne vont pas forcément de pair. Il existe des écarts de productivité physique du travail importants entre systèmes et entre filières. Si, en bonne conjoncture de prix, les systèmes à haute productivité physique du travail dégagent les meilleurs revenus, une évolution défavorable des prix induit pour ces systèmes une fragilisation économique révélant ainsi leur faible capacité de résilience. La recherche de cohérence du système de production et de l’optimisation des moyens de production apparaît toujours comme un élément déterminant des performances économiques. L’orientation des exploitations sera largement induite par la répartition des gains de productivité entre les différents acteurs de la branche (producteurs, industries agricoles et alimentaires, commerce et consommateurs) ainsi que par les choix des pouvoirs publics

Productivité du travail et économie en élevages d’herbivores : définition des concepts, analyse et enjeux

National audienc