Geometry of Critical Loci

Let π:(Z,z)→(U,0) be the germ of a finite (that is, proper with finite fibres) complex analytic morphism from a complex analytic normal surface onto an open neighbourhood U of the origin 0 in the complex plane C2. Let u and v be coordinates of C2 defined on U. We shall call the triple (π, u, v) the initial data. Let Δ stand for the discriminant locus of the germ π, that is, the image by π of the critical locus Γ of π. Let (Δα)α∈A be the branches of the discriminant locus Δ at O which are not the coordinate axes. For each α ∈ A, we define a rational number dα by d α = I( u=0, Δ α ) I( υ=0, Δ α ) where I(-, -) denotes the intersection number at 0 of complex analytic curves in C2. The set of rational numbers dα, for α ∈ A, is a finite subset D of the set of rational numbers Q. We shall call D the set of discriminantal ratios of the initial data (π, u, v). The interesting situation is when one of the two coordinates (u, v) is tangent to some branch of Δ, otherwise D = {1}. The definition of D depends not only on the choice of the two coordinates, but also on their ordering. In this paper we prove that the set D is a topological invariant of the initial data (π, u, v) (in a sense that we shall define below) and we give several ways to compute it. These results are first steps in the understanding of the geometry of the discriminant locus. We shall also see the relation with the geometry of the critical locu

Politique d'élevage ovin, pratiques et raisons des éleveurs. Etude du cas suisse romand

Ce rapport présente les résultats d’une recherche quantitative et qualitative portant sur les pratiques d’élevage et les relations entre humains et animaux dans l’élevage ovin suisse. L’élevage ovin en Suisse constitue un élevage marginal et il est peu documenté. Cependant, ses pratiques se transforment rapidement. En près d’une décennie, l’élevage ovin s’est engagé dans dans des pratiques de sélection relevant la génétique quantitative, dans la génomique ou encore dans l’automatisation de certaines tâches. L’objectif de ce travail de recherche a été de comprendre 1) pourquoi l’élevage ovin est aujourd’hui marginal dans le paysage rural suisse et 2) quelles pratiques d’élevage sont mises en œuvre aujourd’hui et quels sont leurs effets sur les relations entre humains et animaux. Afin de répondre à ces questions, nous nous appuyons sur une grille de lecture originale, basée sur le concept d’assemblage multiespèces et ses concepts associés. Les résultats de cette recherche invitent à réfléchir aux modèles d’élevage ovin qui se mettent en place dans un contexte marqué par l’augmentation des critiques sociales, écologiques, sanitaires et éthiques adressées à l’élevage dans les débats actuels

Paysage, langue, corps : d’où écrire la marge ?

Le dernier roman de Marie-Hélène Lafon est son premier à être exclusivement citadin, il n’en est pas moins traversé de ce qui fait le terreau du reste de son œuvre. Cet entretien, qui a eu lieu avant la sortie de Nos vies, revient sur ses textes précédents. Marie-Hélène Lafon est l’auteur de nombreux ouvrages (romans, récits, nouvelles) publiés pour l’essentiel chez Buchet-Chastel, qui ont accumulé de nombreuses distinctions. La campagne y est omniprésente, mais pas n’importe quelle campagne ..

Complicated Postoperative Course after Pulmonary Artery Sling Repair and Slide Tracheoplasty.

Pulmonary artery sling (PAS) is a rare congenital condition in which the left pulmonary artery (LPA) arises from the right pulmonary artery, and then passes between the trachea and the esophagus to reach the left lung, thereby forming a sling around the airway. It is often associated with intrinsic tracheal stenosis due to complete cartilaginous rings. Therapeutic management nowadays consists of one-stage reimplantation of the LPA and tracheoplasty with cardiopulmonary bypass support. Here, we present a 7-week-old boy with PAS and long-segment tracheal stenosis (LSTS) who underwent surgical intervention consisting of reimplantation of the LPA and slide tracheoplasty. Multiple respiratory and cardiovascular complications marked the postoperative course. They consisted of recurrent failed attempts in weaning off mechanical ventilation due to bronchomalacia, left vocal cord paralysis, development of granulation tissue at the anastomosis and restenosis of the trachea, and the main stem bronchi requiring balloon dilatation. The patient also developed bilateral pulmonary artery thrombosis and stenosis of the LPA. After a prolonged hospitalization, the patient is doing well without any respiratory symptoms and has a good result on follow-up bronchoscopy 1 year after the initial surgery. The stenosis of the LPA responded well to percutaneous balloon dilatation 12 months after the primary surgery. The case illustrates that even though surgical techniques are improving and are in general associated with a low morbidity and mortality, management of PAS and tracheal stenosis can still be challenging. However, good long-term outcome can be achieved if the initial postoperative phase is overcome

Assessment of sedentary behaviors and transport-related activities by questionnaire: a validation study

ACTI-Cités consortiumInternational audienceBackground: Comprehensive assessment of sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA), including transport-related activities (TRA), is required to design innovative PA promotion strategies. There are few validated instruments that simultaneously assess the different components of human movement according to their context of practice (e.g. work, transport, leisure). We examined test-retest reliability and validity of the Sedentary, Transportation and Activity Questionnaire (STAQ), a newly developed questionnaire dedicated to assessing context-specific SB, TRA and PA. Methods: Ninety six subjects (51 women) kept a contextualized activity-logbook and wore a hip accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X + TM) for a 7-day or 14-day period, at the end of which they completed the STAQ. Activity-energy expenditure was measured in a subgroup of 45 subjects using the double labeled water (DLW) method. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class-coefficients (ICC) in a subgroup of 32 subjects who filled the questionnaire twice one month apart. Accelerometry was annotated using the logbook to obtain total and context-specific objective estimates of SB. Spearman correlations, Bland-Altman plots and ICC were used to analyze validity with logbook, accelerometry and DLW data validity criteria. Results: Test-retest reliability was fair for total sitting time (ICC = 0.52), good to excellent for work sitting time (ICC = 0.71), transport-related walking (ICC = 0.61) and car use (ICC = 0.67), and leisure screen-related SB (ICC = 0.64-0.79), but poor for total sitting time during leisure and transport-related contexts. For validity, compared to accelerometry, significant correlations were found for STAQ estimates of total (r = 0.54) and context-specific sitting times with stronger correlations for work sitting time (r = 0.88), and screen times (TV/DVD viewing: r = 0.46; other screens: r = 0.42) than for transport (r = 0.35) or leisure-related sitting-times (r = 0.19). Compared to contextualized logbook, STAQ estimates of TRA was higher for car (r = 0.65) than for active transport (r = 0.41). The questionnaire generally overestimated work-and leisure-related SB and sitting times, while it underestimated total and transport-related sitting times.Conclusions : The STAQ showed acceptable reliability and a good ranking validity for assessment of context-specific SB and TRA. This instrument appears as a useful tool to study SB, TRA and PA in context in adults

Estimating spatial accessibility to facilities on the regional scale: an extended commuting-based interaction potential model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is growing interest in the study of the relationships between individual health-related behaviours (e.g. food intake and physical activity) and measurements of spatial accessibility to the associated facilities (e.g. food outlets and sport facilities). The aim of this study is to propose measurements of spatial accessibility to facilities on the regional scale, using aggregated data. We first used a potential accessibility model that partly makes it possible to overcome the limitations of the most frequently used indices such as the count of opportunities within a given neighbourhood. We then propose an extended model in order to take into account both home and work-based accessibility for a commuting population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Potential accessibility estimation provides a very different picture of the accessibility levels experienced by the population than the more classical "number of opportunities per census tract" index. The extended model for commuters increases the overall accessibility levels but this increase differs according to the urbanisation level. Strongest increases are observed in some rural municipalities with initial low accessibility levels. Distance to major urban poles seems to play an essential role.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Accessibility is a multi-dimensional concept that should integrate some aspects of travel behaviour. Our work supports the evidence that the choice of appropriate accessibility indices including both residential and non-residential environmental features is necessary. Such models have potential implications for providing relevant information to policy-makers in the field of public health.</p

Descriptive study of sedentary behaviours in 35,444 French working adults: cross-sectional findings from the ACTI-Cités study

International audienceBackground : Given the unfavourable health outcomes associated with sedentary behaviours, there is a need to better understand the context in which these behaviours take place to better address this public health concern. We explored self-reported sedentary behaviours by type of day (work/non-work), occupation, and perceptions towards physical activity, in a large sample of adults.Methods : We assessed sedentary behaviours cross-sectionally in 35,444 working adults (mean ± SD age: 44.5 ± 13.0 y) from the French NutriNet-Santé web-based cohort. Participants self-reported sedentary behaviours, assessed as domain-specific sitting time (work, transport, leisure) and time spent in sedentary entertainment (TV/DVD, computer and other screen-based activities, non-screen-based activities) on workdays and non-workdays, along with occupation type (ranging from mainly sitting to heavy manual work) and perceptions towards physical activity. Associations of each type of sedentary behaviour with occupation type and perceptions towards physical activity were analysed by day type in multiple linear regression analyses.Results : On workdays, adults spent a mean (SD) of 4.17 (3.07) h/day in work sitting, 1.10 (1.69) h/day in transport sitting, 2.19 (1.62) h/day in leisure-time sitting, 1.53 (1.24) h/day viewing TV/DVDs, 2.19 (2.62) h/day on other screen time, and 0.97 (1.49) on non-screen time. On non-workdays, this was 0.85 (1.53) h/day in transport sitting, 3.19 (2.05) h/day in leisure-time sitting, 2.24 (1.76) h/day viewing TV/DVDs, 1.85 (1.74) h/day on other screen time, and 1.30 (1.35) on non-screen time. Time spent in sedentary behaviours differed by occupation type, with more sedentary behaviour outside of work (both sitting and entertainment time), in those with sedentary occupations, especially on workdays. Negative perceptions towards physical activity were associated with more sedentary behaviour outside of work (both sitting and entertainment time), irrespective of day type.Conclusions : A substantial amount of waking hours was spent in different types of sedentary behaviours on workdays and non-workdays. Being sedentary at work was associated with more sedentary behaviour outside of work. Negative perceptions towards physical activity may influence the amount of time spent in sedentary behaviours. These data should help to better identify target groups in public health interventions to reduce sedentary behaviours in working adults

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 4: a new member of the MEN family.

OBJECTIVE Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 4 (MEN4) is caused by a CDKN1B germline mutation first described in 2006. Its estimated prevalence is less than 1/million. The aim of this study was to define the disease characteristics. METHODS Systematic review according to the PRISMA 2020 criteria. MEDLINE® and Web of ScienceTM search from January 2006 to August 2022. RESULTS Forty-eight symptomatic patients fulfilled the pre-defined eligibility criteria. Twenty-eight different CDKN1B variants, mostly missense (21/48, 44%) and frameshift mutations (17/48, 35%), were reported. The majority of patients were women (36/48, 75%). Men became symptomatic at a median age of 32.5 years (range 10-68, mean 33.7 ± 23), whereas the same event was recorded for women at a median age of 49.5 years (range 5-76, mean 44.8 ± 19.9) (p = 0.25). The most frequently affected endocrine organ was the parathyroid gland (36/48, 75%; uniglandular disease 31/36, 86%), followed by the pituitary gland (21/48, 44%; hormone-secreting 16/21, 76%), the endocrine pancreas (7/48, 15%) and the thyroid gland (4/48, 8%). Tumours of the adrenal glands and thymus were found in three and two patients, respectively. The presenting first endocrine pathology concerned the parathyroid (27/48, 56%) and the pituitary gland (11/48, 23%). There were one (27/48, 56%), two (13/48, 27%), three (3/48, 6%), or four (5/48, 10%) syn- or metachronously affected endocrine organs in a single patient, respectively. CONCLUSION MEN4 is an extremely rare disease, which most frequently affects women around 50 years of age. Primary hyperparathyroidism as a uniglandular disease is the leading pathology

230: Heightened risk of coronary atheroma conferred by a decrease in the plasma concentrations of lithocholic acid

ContextThe bile acids receptors Farsenoid X and TGR5 protect against the formation of atheroma in mice, though no evidence have linked coronary atheroma and bile acid in human. Bile acids links these receptors with more or less efficient activation, depending on the species.ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that changes in concentrations of circulating bile acid species influence the risk of developing coronary atheromas in humans.MethodsPilot, prospective, observational study conducted between June and September 2010. The serum concentrations of cholic, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, and lithocholic acids were measured in a fasting blood sample. Consecutive hospitalized or ambulatory patients undergoing emergency or elective coronary angiograms were eligible for inclusion. Post-cardiac arrest and non-fasting states, hepatic disease, and treatment with antimicrobials, corticosteroids, statins or fibrates were exclusion criteria. Of 393 screened patients, 44 met the study entry criteria, and were divided between 27 patients with (Group A) and 17 without (Group B) angiographically visible coronary atheromas. The pool of circulating bile acids was analyzed to measure the plasmatic concentrations of 28 different bile acid species. The variables associated with the presence of angiographically visible coronary atheromas were examined by single and multiple variable logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe serum lithocholic acid concentration was significantly lower in group A than in group B. By multiple variable analysis, lithocholic acid was the only predictor of coronary atheroma independently of patient gender (odds ratio 2.41 per 0.05 decrease; 95% confidence interval 1.11 to 5.25, P=0.027ConclusionA low serum concentration of lithocholic acid was an independent predictor of coronary atheroma in human