Untimely Mourning: Representing Child Death and Parental Mourning in Contemporary French and Francophone Literature and Culture

The abstract is included in the text

Peer Review of Grant Applications: A Simple Method to Identify Proposals with Discordant Reviews

Grant proposals submitted for funding are usually selected by a peer-review rating process. Some proposals may result in discordant peer-review ratings and therefore require discussion by the selection committee members. The issue is which peer-review ratings are considered as discordant. We propose a simple method to identify such proposals. Our approach is based on the intraclass correlation coefficient, which is usually used in assessing agreement in studies with continuous ratings

Development and implementation of a new service delivery model for children with disabilities : implications for DCD

There is a general consensus that new service delivery models are needed for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Emerging principles to guide service delivery include the use of graduated levels of intensity and evidence-based services that focus on function and participation. Interdisciplinary, community-based service delivery models based on best practice principles are needed. In this case report, we propose the Apollo model as an example of an innovative service delivery model for children with DCD. We describe the context that led to the creation of a program for children with DCD, describe the service delivery model and services, and share lessons learned through implementation. The Apollo model has 5 components: first contact, service delivery coordination, community-, group- and individual-interventions. This model guided the development of a streamlined set of services offered to children with DCD, including early-intake to share educational information with families, community interventions, inter-disciplinary and occupational therapy groups and individual interventions. Following implementation of the Apollo model, waiting times decreased and numbers of children receiving services increased, without compromising service quality. Lessons learned are shared to facilitate development of other practice models to support children with DCD

Vladimir Nabokov : histoire et géographie

Le colloque « Vladimir Nabokov : histoire et géographie », organisé par Yannicke Chupin, Agnès Edel-Roy, Anne-Marie Lafont, Monica Manolescu et Sigolène Vivier, s’est tenu à l’Université de Cergy-Pontoise et à Sorbonne Université du 6 au 8 juin 2019. Pour l’organisation de ce colloque international, la Société française Vladimir Nabokov a reçu le soutien des partenaires suivants : Vladimir Nabokov Literary Foundation, Institut des Amériques, Fondation de l’Université de Cergy-Pontoise, Équipe..

Observations regarding 'quality of life' and 'comfort with food' after bariatric surgery: comparison between laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and sleeve gastrectomy.

International audienceBACKGROUND: Although laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) are coexisting first-choice restrictive procedures for bariatric surgery candidates, it is possible, given their different modes of action, that these procedures have different effects on quality of life (QOL). We hypothesized that improvement of QOL and comfort with food could be better with LSG compared to LAGB. METHODS: This cohort study included 131 obese patients who had either LAGB (n = 102) or LSG (n = 29). Patients were assessed during preoperative and at 6- and 12-month postoperative visits. Five QOL dimensions were assessed using the 'Quality of Life, Obesity and Dietetics' rating scale: physical impact, psycho-social impact, impact on sex life, comfort with food and diet experience. We compared QOL evolution between LAGB and LSG using linear mixed models adjusted for gender and body mass index at each visit. RESULTS: Excess weight loss was 28.4 ± 14.7% and 34.8 ± 18.4% for LAGB and 35.7 ± 14.3% and 43.8 ± 17.8% for LSG at 6 and 12 months postoperatively, respectively. Both LAGB and LSG provided significant improvement in the physical, psycho-social, sexual and diet experience dimensions of QOL. LSG was associated with better improvement than LAGB in short-term (6-month) comfort with food. CONCLUSIONS: Our results add further evidence to the benefit of LSG and LAGB in obesity management. Within the first year of follow-up, there is no lasting difference in the comfort with food dimension between LSG and LABG

Effects of fibrillin mutations on the behavior of heart muscle cells in Marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a systemic disorder of connective tissue caused by pathogenic variants in the fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene. Myocardial dysfunction has been demonstrated in MFS patients and mouse models, but little is known about the intrinsic effect on the cardiomyocytes (CMs). In this study, both induced pluripotent stem cells derived from a MFS-patient and the line with the corrected FBN1 mutation were differentiated to CMs. Several functional analyses are performed on this model to study MFS related cardiomyopathy. Atomic force microscopy revealed that MFS CMs are stiffer compared to corrected CMs. The contraction amplitude of MFS CMs is decreased compared to corrected CMs. Under normal culture conditions, MFS CMs show a lower beat-to-beat variability compared to corrected CMs using multi electrode array. Isoproterenol-induced stress or cyclic strain demonstrates lack of support from the matrix in MFS CMs. This study reports the first cardiac cell culture model for MFS, revealing abnormalities in the behavior of MFS CMs that are related to matrix defects. Based on these results, we postulate that impaired support from the extracellular environment plays a key role in the improper functioning of CMs in MFS

La boulangerie de Saint-Bézard à Aspiran (Hérault), du I^er s. au IV^e s. apr. J.-C. : un exemple d’espace culinaire domanial en Narbonnaise centrale

International audienceThis article gives an account of the remains of a cooking area discovered inside a building interpreted as a tower, situated in the villa of Saint Bézard (Aspiran). After an overview of the present research on cooking spaces in the central part of Narbonensis, the building is described, inside a vast agricultural and craft establishment organized around a villa. Following is the chronology of the tower (1st c. to 4th c. AD) with its architectural and functional characteristics. The cooking space and devices are analysed in detail as well as the finds, notably the plant remains which bring definite results allowing to situate a bakery area. Finally, the question of the place of bread consumption in rural context is raised, underlining the importance of the spread of rotary-querns or water mills devoted to flour production, between the 1st century and the 3rd century AD.Cette contribution concerne les vestiges d’un espace culinaire mis au jour à l’intérieur d’un bâtiment interprété comme une tour, située dans l’emprise de la villa de Saint Bézard (Aspiran, Hérault). Après une introduction présentant un bref état de la recherche sur les espaces culinaires en Narbonnaise centrale, l’étude commence par une présentation de cet édifice inclus dans un vaste complexe agricole et artisanal organisé autour d’une villa. La chronologie de la tour (Ier-IVe s.) et ses caractéristiques architecturales et fonctionnelles sont ensuite abordées. La pièce culinaire et ses aménagements internes sont présentés en détail, tout comme les mobiliers associés, notamment les carporestes dont l’analyse apporte des éléments décisifs permettant de localiser ici une activité de boulangerie. In fine, on s’interroge sur la place de la consommation de pain en contexte rural en soulignant l’importance de la diffusion des moulins à sang ou hydrauliques, destinés à la production de farine panifiable, entre le Ier s. et le IIIe s. apr. J.-C

Effects of fibrillin mutations on the behavior of heart muscle cells in Marfan syndrome

Abstract: Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a systemic disorder of connective tissue caused by pathogenic variants in the fibrillin-1 (FBN1) gene. Myocardial dysfunction has been demonstrated in MFS patients and mouse models, but little is known about the intrinsic effect on the cardiomyocytes (CMs). In this study, both induced pluripotent stem cells derived from a MFS-patient and the line with the corrected FBN1 mutation were differentiated to CMs. Several functional analyses are performed on this model to study MFS related cardiomyopathy. Atomic force microscopy revealed that MFS CMs are stiffer compared to corrected CMs. The contraction amplitude of MFS CMs is decreased compared to corrected CMs. Under normal culture conditions, MFS CMs show a lower beat-to-beat variability compared to corrected CMs using multi electrode array. Isoproterenol-induced stress or cyclic strain demonstrates lack of support from the matrix in MFS CMs. This study reports the first cardiac cell culture model for MFS, revealing abnormalities in the behavior of MFS CMs that are related to matrix defects. Based on these results, we postulate that impaired support from the extracellular environment plays a key role in the improper functioning of CMs in MFS

The Recent Evolution of a Maternally-Inherited Endosymbiont of Ticks Led to the Emergence of the Q Fever Pathogen, Coxiella burnetii

International audienceQ fever is a highly infectious disease with a worldwide distribution. Its causative agent, the intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii, infects a variety of vertebrate species, including humans. Its evolutionary origin remains almost entirely unknown and uncertainty persists regarding the identity and lifestyle of its ancestors. A few tick species were recently found to harbor maternally-inherited Coxiella-like organisms engaged in symbiotic interactions, but their relationships to the Q fever pathogen remain unclear. Here, we extensively sampled ticks, identifying new and atypical Coxiella strains from 40 of 58 examined species, and used this data to infer the evolutionary processes leading to the emergence of C. burnetii. Phylogenetic analyses of multi-locus typing and whole-genome sequencing data revealed that Coxiella-like organisms represent an ancient and monophyletic group allied to ticks. Remarkably, all known C. burnetii strains originate within this group and are the descendants of a Coxiella-like progenitor hosted by ticks. Using both colony-reared and field-collected gravid females, we further establish the presence of highly efficient maternal transmission of these Coxiella-like organisms in four examined tick species, a pattern coherent with an endosymbiotic lifestyle. Our laboratory culture assays also showed that these Coxiella-like organisms were not amenable to culture in the vertebrate cell environment, suggesting different metabolic requirements compared to C. burnetii. Altogether, this corpus of data demonstrates that C. burnetii recently evolved from an inherited symbiont of ticks which succeeded in infecting vertebrate cells, likely by the acquisition of novel virulence factors