Imputed Rents and Living Standard Inequalities

In studies of inequalities, economic theory recommends imputing to owner-occupiers the notional rent that they could earn from their housing if they rented it and imputing to low rental public housing tenants the implicit subsidy represented by the rent differential between the public housing sector and the private sector. In practice, these two approaches do not reveal the same degree of legitimacy and need. Imputing notional rents to owners significantly alters the hierarchy of standards of living: poverty would be slightly overestimated if this were disregarded. Imputing an implicit subsidy to public housing tenants is even more debatable in that low rental public housing and private rented housing do not provide the same services and are not designed for the same households. Such an exercise does highlight the handicap that low-income households have as regards housing and also the relative inability of the subsidised housing sector to resolve this problem.Imputed Rents, Living Standards, Inequalities, Tenure

Cover crops (living mulches) in the tree row of organic orchards: why and how? (BIOFRUITNET Practice Abstract)

After establishing living mulch, tree row maintenance is cheaper and, depending on the species, can provide different ecosystem services (e.g., nitrogen fixation), functional biodiversity (e.g., nectar source for pollinators, habitat for beneficials), soil conservation, etc... The cultivation of secondary cash crops as living mulch can be a source of additional income. Practical recommendation • Prepare the establishment of the living mulch with summer tillage, then prepare the seedbed in early autumn. • Prefer short, low-lying perennial species with high capacity of soil coverage in irrigated orchards. • For perennial species, sow or plant living mulches in autumn to favour their establishment. During the first season, one or two mowings and possibly manual weed control may be necessary. After establishment, if necessary, mow once a year to maintain a moderate plant height. • Among the perennial living mulching species adapted to orchards in different pedo-climatic conditions: yarrow (Achillea millefolium, Picture 1), wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca), peppermint (Mentha piperita), lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris, Picture 2), crawling thymes (Thymus spp.), mouse-ear hawkweed (Pilosella officinarum), caucasian crosswort (Phuopsis stylosa, Picture 3), creeping cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans) and white bedstraw (Galium album). • For rainfed orchards or those with a high risk of vole damage, favour the sandwich system (Tschabold, 2009) or the cultivation of annual species (vegetables, annual clover, etc.). • When selecting the species, favour local ecotypes better adapted to pedo-climatic conditions

Quels besoins techniques en arboriculture biologique en Europe ? Exemple des ravageurs du pommier

Le projet européen BIOFRUITNET (2019-2022) a pour objectif d'identifier les réseaux de producteurs de fruits biologiques, rassembler les connaissances pratiques existantes et recenser les difficultés dans la production biologique de fruits à pépins, de fruits à noyau et d'agrumes en Europe. Afin de mieux connaître les besoins techniques et les pratiques concernant la production de pomme, poire, abricot, pêche, prune, cerise et orange en agriculture biologique, une enquête a été réalisé auprès de 149 agriculteurs et 100 conseillers techniques dans 26 pays. Le poster présente des résultats concernant la pomme

Impact of whole-body computed tomography on mortality and surgical management of severe blunt trauma

International audienceIntroductionThe mortality benefit of whole-body computed tomography (CT) in early trauma management remains controversial and poorly understood. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of whole-body CT compared with selective CT on mortality and management of patients with severe blunt trauma.MethodsThe FIRST (French Intensive care Recorded in Severe Trauma) study is a multicenter cohort study on consecutive patients with severe blunt trauma requiring admission to intensive care units from university hospital trauma centers within the first 72 hours. Initial data were combined to construct a propensity score to receive whole-body CT and selective CT used in multivariable logistic regression models, and to calculate the probability of survival according to the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) for 1,950 patients. The main endpoint was 30-day mortality.ResultsIn total, 1,696 patients out of 1,950 (87%) were given whole-body CT. The crude 30-day mortality rates were 16% among whole-body CT patients and 22% among selective CT patients (p = 0.02). A significant reduction in the mortality risk was observed among whole-body CT patients whatever the adjustment method (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.34-0.99 after adjustment for baseline characteristics and post-CT treatment). Compared to the TRISS predicted survival, survival significantly improved for whole-body CT patients but not for selective CT patients. The pattern of early surgical and medical procedures significantly differed between the two groups.ConclusionsDiagnostic whole-body CT was associated with a significant reduction in 30-day mortality among patients with severe blunt trauma. Its use may be a global indicator of better management

Impact of emergency medical helicopter transport directly to a university hospital trauma center on mortality of severe blunt trauma patients until discharge

International audienceIntroductionThe benefits of transporting severely injured patients by helicopter remain controversial. This study aimed to analyze the impact on mortality of helicopter compared to ground transport directly from the scene to a University hospital trauma center.MethodsThe French Intensive Care Research for Severe Trauma cohort study enrolled 2,703 patients with severe blunt trauma requiring admission to University hospital intensive care units within 72 hours. Pre-hospital and hospital clinical data, including the mode of transport, (helicopter (HMICU) versus ground (GMICU), both with medical teams), were recorded. The analysis was restricted to patients admitted directly from the scene to a University hospital trauma center. The main endpoint was mortality until ICU discharge.ResultsOf the 1,958 patients analyzed, 74% were transported by GMICU, 26% by HMICU. Median injury severity score (ISS) was 26 (interquartile range (IQR) 19 to 34) for HMICU patients and 25 (IQR 18 to 34) for GMICU patients. Compared to GMICU, HMICU patients had a higher median time frame before hospital admission and were more intensively treated in the pre-hospital phase. Crude mortality until hospital discharge was the same regardless of pre-hospital mode of transport. After adjustment for initial status, the risk of death was significantly lower (odds ratio (OR): 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47 to 0.98, P = 0.035) for HMICU compared with GMICU. This result did not change after further adjustment for ISS and overall surgical procedures.ConclusionsThis study suggests a beneficial impact of helicopter transport on mortality in severe blunt trauma. Whether this association could be due to better management in the pre-hospital phase needs to be more thoroughly assessed

Observation de la mobilité et des dynamiques urbaines : indicateurs d'accessibilité automobile aux équipements structurants des aires urbaines : application à 10 aires urbaines

L'objectif de cette étude est de proposer des indicateurs d'accessibilité automobile aux équipements structurants des aires urbaines, non pas en fonction des distances parcourues, mais en fonction des «espaces temps» dans lesquels évoluent les gens. Ces « espaces temps » sont envisagés ici sous forme de courbes isochrones à partir des principaux grands types d'équipements. L'approche proposée s'appuie sur une modélisation du réseau routier de la BDCarto de l'IGN afin de déterminer une heure de pointe. Cette heure de pointe varie selon les aires urbaines. La première partie du document définit le cadre général de l'étude, son contexte et ses objectifs. La seconde partie décrit la méthode mise en place et les indicateurs développés. La troisième partie présente une synthèse des résultats obtenus. Enfin, les compléments de méthode et l'ensemble des résultats sont reportés en annexe du document

Screening Of Alternatives To Decrease Copper Dependency For Plasmopara Viticola Control In Organic Grape Production

Downy mildew caused by Plasmopara viticola is a major pest in viticulture worldwide. Organic viticulture is highly dependent of copper-based product to control this disease. Because copper has negative environmental impact, strategies to decrease dependency to copper-based products are needed. In that context, during 2005-2017 period, we have assessed the efficacy of 35 compounds to control downy mildew on-farm. This study present a selection of our results. The screening showed that several formulated products and compounds have an efficacy to control the downy mildew when they are compared with the untreated control, but none at an efficiency similar to copper. When alternatives compounds are associated with a low copper dose, significant additional effect are rarely observed over the whole season

Future development of apricot blossom blight under climate change in Southern France

International audienceClimate change will have several consequences for agro-systems, one of which will concern changes to the development of pathogens. Because of the losses it causes, particularly in organic farming, Monilinia laxa is an important pathogen affecting apricot crops. This study focuses on the consequences of climate change regarding blossom and twig blight (Monilinia laxa) of apricot. To achieve this, a Climatic Index of cumulated Blight risk (CIB) was built, to obtain the weighted sum of blossom blight incidence throughout the blooming period. An epidemiological model to calculate the incidence of blossom blight during every potentially infectious episode and based on biological parameters, was calibrated using a trap pot experiment where trees were placed in orchards and subject to various meteorological conditions. The CIB derived from this model was evaluated on field data, and was shown to be a robust and useful tool to predict the effects of climate change on the development of apricot blight. Then, using the CIB with a phenological model to predict blooming periods in the future, we estimated the risks of apricot blight until 2100 on four contrasted apricot cultivars and in three geographical zones under climate change scenarios RCP 4.5 and 8.5. This study revealed different effects of climate change depending on the cultivar and altitude. Apricot trees would bloom earlier (up to a difference of 50 days between 1950 and 2100) under climate change. Under the combined effects of these shifts of blooming period and changing climatic conditions, late cultivars such as Bergarouge might see a reduction in the risk of blossom blight (down to 31%) because of warmer but dryer blooming periods. Other varieties (e.g.: Bergeron) could experience an increase in this risk by up to 27% with a shift of the blooming period towards rainier conditions at the highest altitudes. The results of this study could be used to anticipate future changes as well as be used at present as a decision-support tool for farmers

Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility locus

A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P=9.2 × 10-20), ER-negative BC (P=1.1 × 10-13), BRCA1-associated BC (P=7.7 × 10-16) and triple negative BC (P-diff=2 × 10-5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P=2 × 10-3) and ABHD8 (P<2 × 10-3). Chromosome conformation capture identifies interactions between four candidate SNPs and ABHD8, and luciferase assays indicate six risk alleles increased transactivation of the ADHD8 promoter. Targeted deletion of a region containing risk SNP rs56069439 in a putative enhancer induces ANKLE1 downregulation; and mRNA stability assays indicate functional effects for an ANKLE1 3′-UTR SNP. Altogether, these data suggest that multiple SNPs at 19p13 regulate ABHD8 and perhaps ANKLE1 expression, and indicate common mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancer risk

The FANCM:p.Arg658* truncating variant is associated with risk of triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract: Breast cancer is a common disease partially caused by genetic risk factors. Germline pathogenic variants in DNA repair genes BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, and CHEK2 are associated with breast cancer risk. FANCM, which encodes for a DNA translocase, has been proposed as a breast cancer predisposition gene, with greater effects for the ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. We tested the three recurrent protein-truncating variants FANCM:p.Arg658*, p.Gln1701*, and p.Arg1931* for association with breast cancer risk in 67,112 cases, 53,766 controls, and 26,662 carriers of pathogenic variants of BRCA1 or BRCA2. These three variants were also studied functionally by measuring survival and chromosome fragility in FANCM−/− patient-derived immortalized fibroblasts treated with diepoxybutane or olaparib. We observed that FANCM:p.Arg658* was associated with increased risk of ER-negative disease and TNBC (OR = 2.44, P = 0.034 and OR = 3.79; P = 0.009, respectively). In a country-restricted analysis, we confirmed the associations detected for FANCM:p.Arg658* and found that also FANCM:p.Arg1931* was associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk (OR = 1.96; P = 0.006). The functional results indicated that all three variants were deleterious affecting cell survival and chromosome stability with FANCM:p.Arg658* causing more severe phenotypes. In conclusion, we confirmed that the two rare FANCM deleterious variants p.Arg658* and p.Arg1931* are risk factors for ER-negative and TNBC subtypes. Overall our data suggest that the effect of truncating variants on breast cancer risk may depend on their position in the gene. Cell sensitivity to olaparib exposure, identifies a possible therapeutic option to treat FANCM-associated tumors