Platelet receptor gain-of-function single nucleotide polymorphisms in carotid and vertebral stenosis patients

The role of platelet receptor gain-of-function single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in cardiovascular disease is controversial. We hypothesised that certain SNPs may accelerate the development of carotid artery stenosis. The intronic PAR-1 receptor intervening sequence-14 A/T (IVSn-14 A/T) polymorphism and three additional platelet receptor polymorphisms, i.e. GPIa (807C/T), GPIbα (5T/C) and HPA-1a/HPA-1b (Pl (A1/A2)) of GPIIIa were studied. The interaction of SNPs with conventional risk factors including male gender, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, advanced age and smoking were investigated. The hypothesis was tested in 114 well-characterised patients with symptomatic carotid or vertebral stenosis from the British CAVATAS population and compared the results with 97 unrelated controls. The allele frequency of the platelet gain-of-function SNP was not significantly different in the CAVATAS population as compared to controls (PAR-1A/T (P=0.13), GPIa C/T (P=0.25), GPIIIa HPA-1a/HPA-1b (PlA1/A2) (P=0.66) and GPIb T/C (P=0.20)). In the subgroup of smokers, however, the prothrombotic GPIbα C mutated allele was found in a significantly higher frequency in the patient as compared to the control group (P=0.04). Contrary to the primary hypothesis, the PAR-1A/T SNP as well as the other SNPs tested were not over- or underrepresented in the CAVATAS population. However, a significantly increased prevalence of GPIb-α (5C/T) was found in the subgroup of smokers and may represent an important cofactor in this patient group of our hypothesis-generating stud

Cinéphiles et cinéphilies : « le jugement esthétique ne s’apprend pas »

L’ouvrage de Laurent Jullier et Jean-Marc Leveratto, Cinéphiles et cinéphilies rompt avec l’idée reçue de « la » cinéphilie telle qu’elle est spontanément exprimée dans la littérature cinématographique tant académique que de vulgarisation et qui en fait une « noblesse culturelle ». Les auteurs considèrent que cette image du cinéphile comme savant consommateur – échappant grâce à son savoir à la condition du simple consommateur – constitue de nos jours un obstacle épistémologique en France dès lors qu’on en fait un critère de qualification intellectuelle du consommateur de cinéma alternatif au plaisir personnel procuré par la séance. Leur souci est de s’inscrire dans une « anthropologie symétrique » de la technique cinématographique, c’est-à-dire d’adopter un regard historique et sociologique sur la cinéphilie qui soit équitable à la fois pour les objets et pour les personnes. À partir de ces prémices historiques et sociologiques, 1895 revue d’histoire du cinéma a souhaité poser huit questions aux auteurs pour leur permettre d’approfondir certains points et de répondre à certaines réserves ou objections touchant au découpage chronologique qu’ils font du phénomène cinéphilique, à la définition du cinéphile « ordinaire », au statut de la « parole » par rapport à « l’écriture », au rôle des déterminations socio-économiques dans l’émergence de nouvelles formes de cinéphilie.Laurent Jullier and Jean-Marc Leveratto’s book, Cinéphiles et cinéphilies, marks a break with the conventional idea of cinephilia as it has been represented in academic and popular literature, i.e. as a « cultural nobility ». The authors argue that this image of the cinephile as a specially qualified consumer – whose knowledge removes him or her from the state of being just a simple consumer – constitutes an epistemological barrier in France today, insofar as it establishes an opposition between the consumer’s intellectual qualification with regards to cinema and the personal pleasure of the viewer. They situate their work within a « symmetrical anthropology » of film technique, adopting an historical and sociological view of cinephilia, which takes into consideration both people and objects. In response to their project, 1895 revue d’histoire du cinéma formulated eight questions that allow the authors to develop the debate further and to answer certain reservations or objections concerning their chronological periodisation of cinephilia, their definition of « ordinary » cinephilia, the status they grant to « the word » as opposed to « writing », and the role of socio-economic factors in determining the emergence of new forms of cinephilia

Triggering, guiding and deviation of long air spark discharges with femtosecond laser filament

International audienceIn the perspective of the laser lightning rod, the ability of femtosecond filaments to trigger and to guide large scale discharges has been studied for several years. The present paper reports recent experimental results showing for the first time that filaments are able not only to trigger and guide but also to divert an electric discharge from its normal path. Laser filaments are also able to divert the spark without contact between laser and electrodes at large distance from the laser. A comparison between negative and positive discharge polarities also reveals important discrepancies in the guiding mechanism

Change in Sleep Quality of Residents the Night Before High-Fidelity Simulation: Results From a Prospective 1-Year National Survey.

peer reviewed[en] OBJECTIVE: The stress level of participants in high-fidelity simulation stems from various factors but may result in anticipatory anxiety causing sleep disturbances during the night prior to simulation. The objective of this survey was to determine the change in sleep quality of residents during the night prior to the simulation. METHODS: The survey was proposed for 1 year to all residents at the beginning of the simulation, in 10 simulation centres. The questionnaire combined demographics and the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire using visual analogue scales divided into 4 sleep qualitative domains. The primary outcome was the prevalence of sleep disturbance (>10 mm on 1 domain). Secondary outcomes were the prevalence of severe sleep disturbance (>25 mm), as well as qualitatively and quantitatively reported explanatory sleep parameters. RESULTS: Among respondents, 66% [95% CI: 63 to 69] of residents had more than 10 mm and 27% [95% CI: 24 to 30] had more than 25 mm of sleep disturbance. Residents with a sleep disturbance of more than 10 mm had fewer hours of sleep (6.4 [standard deviation=1.8] vs 7.3 [standard deviation=1.3], difference: -0.9 [95% CI: -1.1 to -0.7]; P < .0001), with a higher number of night-time awakenings (1.3 [standard deviation=1.5] vs 0.7 [standard deviation=0.9], difference: 0.6 [95% CI: 0.4 to 0.8]; P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Among residents participating in the simulation, a high prevalence of change in sleep quality during the night before the simulation was noted. Strategies to help residents achieve better sleep prior to simulation should be explored

Validation of TROPOMI Surface UV Radiation Product

The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite was launched on 13 October 2017 to provide the atmospheric composition for atmosphere and climate research. The S5P is a sun-synchronous polar-orbiting satellite providing global daily coverage. The TROPOMI swath is 2600 km wide, and the ground resolution for most data products is 7.2x3.5 km2 (5.6x3.5 km2 since 6 August 2019) at nadir. The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is responsible for the development and processing of the TROPOMI Surface Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation Product which includes 36 UV parameters in total. Ground-based data from 25 sites located in arctic, subarctic, temperate, equatorial and antarctic areas were used for validation of TROPOMI overpass irradiance at 305, 310, 324 and 380 nm, overpass erythemally weighted dose rate / UV index and erythemally weighted daily dose for the period from 1 January 2018 to 31 August 2019. The validation results showed that for most sites 60–80% of TROPOMI data was within ±20% from ground-based data for snow free surface conditions. The median relative differences to ground-based measurements of TROPOMI snow free surface daily doses were within ±10% and ±5% at two thirds and at half of the sites, respectively. At several sites more than 90% of clear sky TROPOMI data were within ±20% from ground-based measurements. Generally median relative differences between TROPOMI data and ground-based measurements were a little biased towards negative values, but at high latitudes where nonhomogeneous topography and albedo/snow conditions occurred, the negative bias was exceptionally high, from -30% to -65%. Positive biases of 10–15% were also found for mountainous sites due to challenging topography. The TROPOMI Surface UV Radiation Product includes quality flags to detect increased uncertainties in the data due to heterogeneous surface albedo and rough terrain which can be used to filter the data retrieved under challenging conditions

La pratique du syndicat mixte du parc du haut Jura

Forestier Marc. La pratique du syndicat mixte du parc du haut Jura. In: Revue Juridique de l'Environnement, n°4, 1997. pp. 523-525