Educational Trajectories and Transition to Employment of the Second Generation

This chapter examines the key stages in the diverse educational trajectories of immigrants’ descendants and DOM native-borns in the French educational system, up to their entry into working life. Several indicators of educational trajectory or status are analysed, distinguishing systematically between males and females, and taking account of the national origins of immigrants’ descendants: repeated years at primary school, tracks followed at upper secondary level, early school leaving, likelihood of obtaining a high-school diploma, failure in higher education. The results reveal inequalities in academic trajectories and achievement by ethnic background and gender, and show that these inequalities do not always reflect differences in social capital and family environment. In the male population especially, we cannot rule out the hypothesis that certain categories of immigrants’ descendants are exposed to discrimination in schools. The chapter ends with an analysis of transition from education to employment (time taken to find a job, experience of unemployment, job market integration, etc.) that reveals a segmentation of the entry into working life by country of origin. The sons, but also the daughters of immigrants from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Turkey have greater difficulties finding a first job

Hypoxia-Responsive Copolymer for siRNA Delivery

International audienceA wide variety of nanomedicine has been designed for cancer therapy. Herein, we describe the synthesis and evaluation of a hypoxia-responsive copolymer for siRNA delivery (Perche et al., Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 53:3362-3366, 2014). The synthesis is achieved using established coupling chemistry and accessible purification procedures. A polyelectrolyte-lipid conjugate (polyethyleneimine 1.8 kDa-dioleyl-phosphatidylinositol, PEI-PE) and polyethylene glycol 2000 (PEG) were assembled via the hypoxia-sensitive azobenzene (Azo) unit to obtain the PEG-Azo-PEI-DOPE copolymer. This copolymer can condense siRNA and shows hypoxia-induced cellular internalization and reporter gene downregulation in vitro and tumor accumulation in vivo after parenteral administration (Perche et al., Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 53:3362-3366, 2014). We also detail procedures to evaluate hypoxia-targeted polymers both in monolayer cultures, cancer cell spheroids and in tumor xenografts murine models

Inflammation markers in the saliva of infants born from Zika-infected mothers: exploring potential mechanisms of microcephaly during fetal development

Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as one of the most medically relevant viral infections of the past decades; the devastating effects of this virus over the developing brain are a major matter of concern during pregnancy. Although the connection with congenital malformations are well documented, the mechanisms by which ZIKV reach the central nervous system (CNS) and the causes of impaired cortical growth in affected fetuses need to be better addressed. We performed a non-invasive, meta bolomicsbased screening of saliva from infants with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), born from mothers that were infected with ZIKV during pregnancy. We were able to identify three biomarkers that suggest that this population suffered from an important inflammatory process; with the detection of mediators associated with glial activation, we propose that microcephaly is a product of immune response to the virus, as well as excitotoxicity mechanisms, which remain ongoing even after birth9CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal e Nível SuperiorCNPQ - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoFAPESP – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Do Estado De São PauloFNDCT - Fundo Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico88882.305824/2013-01; 1578388; 1489740; 14/201614/201611/50400-0; 18/14657-5; 16/17066-2; 18/03321-6; 13/07607-814/201

The place of racism in the study of discrimination

What is the experience of racism of migrants and their descendants? Persons from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the French overseas departements are very frequently the targets of “explicitly racist remarks and behaviours”, while those from Southeast Asia, Turkey or Europe much less so. Being born in France to a parent from one of these countries and having French nationality does not reduce this experience of racism. On the contrary, racism is reiterated and expressed in school and in public places, but also at work and in dealings with public services. It is compounded by experience of exclusion and discrimination. Conversely, persons from the mainstream population are rarely exposed to this type of situation and never report discrimination. Their experience of remarks perceived as racist is most often limited to public places or school. Racism targeting migrants and their descendants categorizes them into minority groups (in the sense of discriminated minorities), while racist remarks targeting the mainstream population have no material impact upon them