New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Medicinal plants and biotechnologies, a booster for the new economy?

Genes are likely to play a major role in global economy in the 21st century au niveau de patenting some of them represent an enormous marketing potential. The battle for the appropriation of living organism is currently raging; it all started some twenty years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court granted a patent on a recombined micro-organism.In the face of this development, the countries in the South, holders of the larger part of the earth’s biodiversity, try to counteract vigorously this what they view as an act of piracy against the world’s natural heritage and ancestral knowledge, and claim for a share of the financial spin-offs.The distance between patenting natural resources and patenting human genes is very short and the U.S. Administration, together with some private corporations, have tried to cover it. Some recent victories in this respect suggest the pressure from public opinion will not in the long run be a match to counter the attacks launched by greedy multi-national companies

Des sources du savoir aux médicaments du futur

L'origine des pharmacopées traditionnelles L'élaboration des pharmacopées Les médicaments du XXIe siècle Comment les connaissances des savoirs thérapeutiques se sont-elles transmises au travers des différentes cultures ? Cet ouvrage innovant, qui réunit les travaux présentés au 4e Congrès européen d'ethnopharmacologie, fait remonter à la préhistoire les sources des connaissances thérapeutiques. Si les pharmacopées écrites jalonnent l'histoire des grandes médecines savantes, d'autres modes d'accès à la connaissance semblent exister dans l'univers chamanique des sociétés de tradition orale ainsi que dans la façon dont les animaux malades se soignent par les plantes. L'évaluation des propriétés pharmaco-toxicologiques et chimiques des plantes d'usage traditionnel devrait par ailleurs favoriser le développement futur des médicaments à base de plantes, l'un des thèmes porteurs abordés dans cet ouvrage. Mais l'objectif de ce livre est aussi de susciter, partout dans le monde, de nouvelles thématiques de recherche dans le domaine de la préhistoire du médicament et de la compréhension de l'acquisition et de la transmission du savoir. Le développement du phytomédicament non toxique destiné à l'homme et à l'animal figure également parmi les enjeux majeurs de demain

Foreword

We are very pleased to present the proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Ethnopharmacology, which took place at the International Congress Centre in Metz (France), from May 11 to 13, 2000, under the high patronage of UNESCO and under the auspices of the European Society of Ethnopharmacology (SEE). This International Congress on the theme “From the Sources of Knowledge to the Medicines of the Future” was organized jointly by the French Society of Ethnopharmacology (SFE) and the Europea..

Avant-propos

Nous sommes particulièrement heureux de présenter le recueil des travaux du 4e Congrès Européen d'Ethnopharmacologie qui s'est déroulé au Palais des Congrès de Metz (France) du 11 au 13 mai 2000 sous le haut patronage de l'UNESCO et sous les auspices de la Société Européenne d'Ethnopharmacologie (SEE). Organisé conjointement par la Société Française d'Ethnopharmacologie (SFE) et l'institut Européen d'Ecologie (IEE), ce congrès international sur le thème « Des sources du savoir aux médicaments..

Student's Quality of Life and Employability Skills : SQALES a device and a tool for universities. Example of use in Luxembourg, Belgium and Romania

Underpinned by reforms initiated under the Bologna process, the European universities today have to develop student’s skills and to prepare them for sustainable employment. In this article, we try to illustrate the changing roles of universities, highlighting the importance of the concept of competences. We present the first use of SQALES (process and tool) among students from three European universities (Luxembourg, Belgium, Romania) entering in their first year of social sciences study. Our results show that the evaluation of the employability skills is possible and can even be recommended as a guide to adjusting curricula and to implementing programmes of assistance tailored to identify student needs

Student's Quality of Life and Employability Skills: SQALES a device and a tool for universities. Example of use in Luxembourg, Belgium and Romania - Student's Quality of Life and Employability Skills: SQALES un dispositif et un instrument au service des universités. Exemple d'utilisation au Luxembourg, en Belgique et en Roumanie

Underpinned by reforms initiated under the Bologna process, the European universities today have to develop student's skills and to prepare them for sustainable employment. In this article, we try to illustrate the changing roles of universities, highlighting the importance of the concept of competences. We present the first use of SQALES (process and tool) among students from three European universities (Luxembourg, Belgium, Romania) entering in their first year of social sciences study. Our results show that the evaluation of the employability skills is possible and can even be recommended as a guide to adjusting curricula and to implementing programmes of assistance tailored to identify student needs.Competences – Employability – Students – Europe