Static ferromagnetic materials: from the microscopic to the mesoscopic scale

Thanks to averaging processes and Gamma-convergence techniques, we are able to link a microscopic description of ferromagnetic materials based on spin lattices and their mesoscopic description in the static framework for the three fundamental contributions: exchange, magnetostatic and external field. The results are in accordance with the classical continuous description of ferromagnetic phenomena and justifies it. This work is a seed towards a dynamic description of ferromagnetic materials

Juvenile Greylag Geese (Anser anser) Discriminate between Individual Siblings

Social species that maintain individualised relationships with certain others despite continuous changes in age, reproductive status and dominance rank between group members ought to be capable of individual recognition. Tests of “true” individual recognition, where an individual recognises unique features of another, are rare, however. Often kinship and/or familiarity suffice to explain dyadic interactions. The complex relationships within a greylag goose flock suggest that they should be able to recognise individuals irrespective of familiarity or kinship. We tested whether six-week-old hand-raised greylags can discriminate between two of their siblings. We developed a new experimental protocol, in which geese were trained to associate social siblings with geometrical symbols. Subsequently, focals were presented with two geometrical symbols in the presence of a sibling associated with one of the symbols. Significant choice of the geometrical symbol associated with the target present indicated that focals were able to distinguish between individual targets. Greylag goslings successfully learned this association-discrimination task, regardless of genetic relatedness or sex of the sibling targets. Social relationships within a goose flock thus may indeed be based on recognition of unique features of individual conspecifics

Approaching the socialist factory and its workforce: considerations from fieldwork in (former) Yugoslavia

The socialist factory, as the ‘incubator’ of the new socialist (wo)man, is a productive entry point for the study of socialist modernization and its contradictions. By outlining some theoretical and methodological insights gathered through field-research in factories in former Yugoslavia, we seek to connect the state of labour history in the Balkans to recent breakthroughs made by labour historians of other socialist countries. The first part of this article sketches some of the specificities of the Yugoslav self-managed factory and its heterogeneous workforce. It presents the ambiguous relationship between workers and the factory and demonstrates the variety of life trajectories for workers in Yugoslav state-socialism (from model communists to alienated workers). The second part engages with the available sources for conducting research inside and outside the factory advocating an approach which combines factory and local archives, print media and oral history

When Music and Long-Term Memory Interact: Effects of Musical Expertise on Functional and Structural Plasticity in the Hippocampus

The development of musical skills by musicians results in specific structural and functional modifications in the brain. Surprisingly, no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study has investigated the impact of musical training on brain function during long-term memory retrieval, a faculty particularly important in music. Thus, using fMRI, we examined for the first time this process during a musical familiarity task (i.e., semantic memory for music). Musical expertise induced supplementary activations in the hippocampus, medial frontal gyrus, and superior temporal areas on both sides, suggesting a constant interaction between episodic and semantic memory during this task in musicians. In addition, a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) investigation was performed within these areas and revealed that gray matter density of the hippocampus was higher in musicians than in nonmusicians. Our data indicate that musical expertise critically modifies long-term memory processes and induces structural and functional plasticity in the hippocampus

Treatment outcome in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: the European Scleroderma Observational Study (ESOS).

OBJECTIVES: The rarity of early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) makes randomised controlled trials very difficult. We aimed to use an observational approach to compare effectiveness of currently used treatment approaches. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational cohort study of early dcSSc (within three years of onset of skin thickening). Clinicians selected one of four protocols for each patient: methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), cyclophosphamide or 'no immunosuppressant'. Patients were assessed three-monthly for up to 24 months. The primary outcome was the change in modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS). Confounding by indication at baseline was accounted for using inverse probability of treatment (IPT) weights. As a secondary outcome, an IPT-weighted Cox model was used to test for differences in survival. RESULTS: Of 326 patients recruited from 50 centres, 65 were prescribed methotrexate, 118 MMF, 87 cyclophosphamide and 56 no immunosuppressant. 276 (84.7%) patients completed 12 and 234 (71.7%) 24 months follow-up (or reached last visit date). There were statistically significant reductions in mRSS at 12 months in all groups: -4.0 (-5.2 to -2.7) units for methotrexate, -4.1 (-5.3 to -2.9) for MMF, -3.3 (-4.9 to -1.7) for cyclophosphamide and -2.2 (-4.0 to -0.3) for no immunosuppressant (p value for between-group differences=0.346). There were no statistically significant differences in survival between protocols before (p=0.389) or after weighting (p=0.440), but survival was poorest in the no immunosuppressant group (84.0%) at 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may support using immunosuppressants for early dcSSc but suggest that overall benefit is modest over 12 months and that better treatments are needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02339441

Sociologie de l'action publique

Dans un contexte de gouvernance à niveaux multiples, infra et supranationaux, et de réorganisation des frontières public-privé, la sociologie de l’action publique décrit l’action publique comme une action collective à part entière, issue de la mobilisation d’acteurs multiples situés tant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur de l’Etat. Cette discipline s’est dotée d’outils d’analyse spécifiques pour rendre compte des différentes séquences de l’action publique (définition des problèmes, mise à l’agenda, décision, mise en œuvre) et identifier quels facteurs et mécanismes (conflits, institutions, discours, etc.) en structurent le développement

Sociologie de l'action publique

Dans un contexte de gouvernance à niveaux multiples, infra et supranationaux, et de réorganisation des frontières public-privé, la sociologie de l’action publique décrit l’action publique comme une action collective à part entière, issue de la mobilisation d’acteurs multiples situés tant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur de l’Etat. Cette discipline s’est dotée d’outils d’analyse spécifiques pour rendre compte des différentes séquences de l’action publique (définition des problèmes, mise à l’agenda, décision, mise en œuvre) et identifier quels facteurs et mécanismes (conflits, institutions, discours, etc.) en structurent le développement

Sociologie de l'action publique

Ecoflash - Mensuel d'informations économiques et sociales n°292, Canopés Editions, 6p.Dans un contexte de gouvernance à niveaux multiples, infra et supranationaux, et de réorganisation des frontières public-privé, la sociologie de l’action publique décrit l’action publique comme une action collective à part entière, issue de la mobilisation d’acteurs multiples situés tant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur de l’Etat. Cette discipline s’est dotée d’outils d’analyse spécifiques pour rendre compte des différentes séquences de l’action publique (définition des problèmes, mise à l’agenda, décision, mise en œuvre) et identifier quels facteurs et mécanismes (conflits, institutions, discours, etc.) en structurent le développement

Sociologie de l'action publique

Dans un contexte de gouvernance à niveaux multiples, infra et supranationaux, et de réorganisation des frontières public-privé, la sociologie de l’action publique décrit l’action publique comme une action collective à part entière, issue de la mobilisation d’acteurs multiples situés tant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur de l’Etat. Cette discipline s’est dotée d’outils d’analyse spécifiques pour rendre compte des différentes séquences de l’action publique (définition des problèmes, mise à l’agenda, décision, mise en œuvre) et identifier quels facteurs et mécanismes (conflits, institutions, discours, etc.) en structurent le développement