La construction récente des groupes de luxe français : mythes, discours et pratiques

Les recompositions récentes de l’industrie du luxe ont été peu étudiées. Le rachat de PME indépendantes liées à des marques prestigieuses a permis la constitution de groupes nouveaux pluriproduits et internationaux. Les synergies réalisées ont permis aux principaux groupes (LVMH, PPR et Richemont) de s’adapter aux évolutions du marché et des comportements des consommateurs. Derrière les combats médiatiques, comme celui autour du rachat de Gucci, se joue en fait une recomposition financière et industrielle de grande ampleur tant certains secteurs du luxe constituent des domaines fortement bénéficiaires.The current mergers in the luxury industry have received relatively little consideration. Nonetheless, the buying-up of small and medium-sized independent companies by luxury brands has produced new international and multiproduct business groups. These mergers and acquisitions have created opportunities for the major groups in this area (LVMH, PPR and Richemont) to adapt to consumer behaviours and other rapid changes in the sector. Beyond the more mediatised events, such as the purchase of the Gucci group, the profits generated in this area are of such a magnitude that there has been a drastic restructuring in the industry’s finance and production

Utility of oropharyngeal real-time PCR for S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae for diagnosis of pneumonia in adults.

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the pageor click on the hyperlink at the To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field top of the page marked FilesA lack of sensitive tests and difficulties obtaining representative samples contribute to the challenge in identifying etiology in pneumonia. Upper respiratory tract swabs can be easily collected and analyzed with real-time PCR (rtPCR). Common pathogens such as S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae can both colonize and infect the respiratory tract, complicating the interpretation of positive results. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected (n = 239) prospectively from adults admitted to hospital with pneumonia. Analysis with rtPCR targeting S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae was performed and results compared with sputum cultures, blood cultures, and urine antigen testing for S. pneumoniae. Different Ct cutoff values were applied to positive tests to discern colonization from infection. Comparing rtPCR with conventional testing for S. pneumoniae in patients with all tests available (n = 57) resulted in: sensitivity 87 %, specificity 79 %, PPV 59 % and NPV 94 %, and for H. influenzae (n = 67): sensitivity 75 %, specificity 80 %, PPV 45 % and NPV 94 %. When patients with prior antimicrobial exposure were excluded sensitivity improved: 92 % for S. pneumoniae and 80 % for H. influenzae. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated for S. pneumoniae: AUC = 0.65 (95 % CI 0.51-0.80) and for H. influenzae: AUC = 0.86 (95 % CI 0.72-1.00). Analysis of oropharyngeal swabs using rtPCR proved both reasonably sensitive and specific for diagnosing pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae. This method may be a useful diagnostic adjunct to other methods and of special value in patients unable to provide representative lower airway samples.Icelandic Center for Research Rannis Landspitali University Hospital Science Fund University of Iceland Research Fun

Optimizing the colour and fabric of targets for the control of the tsetse fly Glossina fuscipes fuscipes

Background: Most cases of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) start with a bite from one of the subspecies of Glossina fuscipes. Tsetse use a range of olfactory and visual stimuli to locate their hosts and this response can be exploited to lure tsetse to insecticide-treated targets thereby reducing transmission. To provide a rational basis for cost-effective designs of target, we undertook studies to identify the optimal target colour. Methodology/Principal Findings: On the Chamaunga islands of Lake Victoria , Kenya, studies were made of the numbers of G. fuscipes fuscipes attracted to targets consisting of a panel (25 cm square) of various coloured fabrics flanked by a panel (also 25 cm square) of fine black netting. Both panels were covered with an electrocuting grid to catch tsetse as they contacted the target. The reflectances of the 37 different-coloured cloth panels utilised in the study were measured spectrophotometrically. Catch was positively correlated with percentage reflectance at the blue (460 nm) wavelength and negatively correlated with reflectance at UV (360 nm) and green (520 nm) wavelengths. The best target was subjectively blue, with percentage reflectances of 3%, 29%, and 20% at 360 nm, 460 nm and 520 nm respectively. The worst target was also, subjectively, blue, but with high reflectances at UV (35% reflectance at 360 nm) wavelengths as well as blue (36% reflectance at 460 nm); the best low UV-reflecting blue caught 3× more tsetse than the high UV-reflecting blue. Conclusions/Significance: Insecticide-treated targets to control G. f. fuscipes should be blue with low reflectance in both the UV and green bands of the spectrum. Targets that are subjectively blue will perform poorly if they also reflect UV strongly. The selection of fabrics for targets should be guided by spectral analysis of the cloth across both the spectrum visible to humans and the UV region

Sperm DNA integrity in relation to exposure to environmental perfluoroalkyl substances – A study of spouses of pregnant women in three geographical regions.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can interfere with male reproductive function, but evidence in humansis limited. Six hundred four fertilemen(199 from Greenland, 197 from Poland and 208 from Ukraine) wereenrolled in the study. We measured four PFASs in serum (PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS) and concurrentDNA damage in spermatozoa by sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) and in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, apoptotic markers in semen (Fas-receptorand Bcl-xL), and reproductive hormones in serum. No association between PFASs and SCSA, apoptoticmarkers or reproductive hormones emerged.Weobserved a slight increase in SHBG and TUNEL-positivitywith increased PFOA exposure in men from Greenland. Thus, consistent evidence that PFAS exposureinterferes with sperm DNA fragmentation, apoptosis or reproductive hormones was not found

Prospects for developing odour baits to Control Glossina fuscipes spp., the major vector of human African trypanosomiasis

We are attempting to develop cost-effective control methods for the important vector of sleeping sickness, Glossina fuscipes spp. Responses of the tsetse flies Glossina fuscipes fuscipes (in Kenya) and G. f. quanzensis (in Democratic Republic of Congo) to natural host odours are reported. Arrangements of electric nets were used to assess the effect of cattle-, human- and pig-odour on (1) the numbers of tsetse attracted to the odour source and (2) the proportion of flies that landed on a black target (1 x 1 m). In addition responses to monitor lizard (Varanus niloticus) were assessed in Kenya. The effects of all four odours on the proportion of tsetse that entered a biconical trap were also determined. Sources of natural host odour were produced by placing live hosts in a tent or metal hut (volumes approximate to 16 m(3)) from which the air was exhausted at similar to 2000 L/min. Odours from cattle, pigs and humans had no significant effect on attraction of G. f. fuscipes but lizard odour doubled the catch (P<0.05). Similarly, mammalian odours had no significant effect on landing or trap entry whereas lizard odour increased these responses significantly: landing responses increased significantly by 22% for males and 10% for females; the increase in trap efficiency was relatively slight (5-10%) and not always significant. For G. f. quanzensis, only pig odour had a consistent effect, doubling the catch of females attracted to the source and increasing the landing response for females by similar to 15%. Dispensing CO2 at doses equivalent to natural hosts suggested that the response of G. f. fuscipes to lizard odour was not due to CO2. For G. f. quanzensis, pig odour and CO2 attracted similar numbers of tsetse, but CO2 had no material effect on the landing response. The results suggest that identifying kairomones present in lizard odour for G. f. fuscipes and pig odour for G. f. quanzensis may improve the performance of targets for controlling these species

Shallow water marine sediment bacterial community shifts along a natural CO2 gradient in the Mediterranean Sea off Vulcano, Italy.

The effects of increasing atmospheric CO(2) on ocean ecosystems are a major environmental concern, as rapid shoaling of the carbonate saturation horizon is exposing vast areas of marine sediments to corrosive waters worldwide. Natural CO(2) gradients off Vulcano, Italy, have revealed profound ecosystem changes along rocky shore habitats as carbonate saturation levels decrease, but no investigations have yet been made of the sedimentary habitat. Here, we sampled the upper 2 cm of volcanic sand in three zones, ambient (median pCO(2) 419 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 3.77), moderately CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 592 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 2.96), and highly CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 1611 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 0.35). We tested the hypothesis that increasing levels of seawater pCO(2) would cause significant shifts in sediment bacterial community composition, as shown recently in epilithic biofilms at the study site. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing of the V1 to V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene revealed a shift in community composition with increasing pCO(2). The relative abundances of most of the dominant genera were unaffected by the pCO(2) gradient, although there were significant differences for some 5 % of the genera present (viz. Georgenia, Lutibacter, Photobacterium, Acinetobacter, and Paenibacillus), and Shannon Diversity was greatest in sediments subject to long-term acidification (>100 years). Overall, this supports the view that globally increased ocean pCO(2) will be associated with changes in sediment bacterial community composition but that most of these organisms are resilient. However, further work is required to assess whether these results apply to other types of coastal sediments and whether the changes in relative abundance of bacterial taxa that we observed can significantly alter the biogeochemical functions of marine sediments

Towards an optimal design of target for tsetse control: comparisons of novel targets for the control of palpalis group tsetse in West Africa

Background: Tsetse flies of the Palpalis group are the main vectors of sleeping sickness in Africa. Insecticide impregnated targets are one of the most effective tools for control. However, the cost of these devices still represents a constraint to their wider use. The objective was therefore to improve the cost effectiveness of currently used devices. Methodology/Principal Findings: Experiments were performed on three tsetse species, namely Glossina palpalis gambiensis and G. tachinoides in Burkina Faso and G. p. palpalis in Côte d'Ivoire. The 1×1 m2 black blue black target commonly used in W. Africa was used as the standard, and effects of changes in target size, shape, and the use of netting instead of black cloth were measured. Regarding overall target shape, we observed that horizontal targets (i.e. wider than they were high) killed 1.6-5x more G. p. gambiensis and G. tachinoides than vertical ones (i.e. higher than they were wide) (P<0.001). For the three tsetse species including G. p. palpalis, catches were highly correlated with the size of the target. However, beyond the size of 0.75 m, there was no increase in catches. Replacing the black cloth of the target by netting was the most cost efficient for all three species. Conclusion/Significance: Reducing the size of the current 1*1 m black-blue-black target to horizontal designs of around 50 cm and replacing black cloth by netting will improve cost effectiveness six-fold for both G. p. gambiensis and G. tachinoides. Studying the visual responses of tsetse to different designs of target has allowed us to design more cost-effective devices for the effective control of sleeping sickness and animal trypanosomiasis in Africa

Analysing chemical attraction of gravid Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto with modified BG-Sentinel traps.

BACKGROUND: Cues that guide gravid Anopheles gambiae sensu lato to oviposition sites can be manipulated to create new strategies for monitoring and controlling malaria vectors. However, progress towards identifying such cues is slow in part due to the lack of appropriate tools for investigating long-range attraction to putative oviposition substrates. This study aimed to develop a relatively easy-to-use bioassay system that can effectively analyse chemical attraction of gravid Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto. METHODS: BG-Sentinel™ mosquito traps that use fans to dispense odourants were modified to contain aqueous substrates. Choice tests with two identical traps set in an 80 m(2) screened semi-field system were used to analyse the catch efficacy of the traps and the effectiveness of the bioassay. A different batch of 200 gravid An. gambiae s.s. was released on every experimental night. Choices tested were (1) distilled versus distilled water (baseline) and (2) distilled water versus soil infusion. Further, comparisons were made of distilled water and soil infusions both containing 150 g/l of Sodium Chloride (NaCl). Sodium Chloride is known to affect the release rate of volatiles from organic substrates. RESULTS: When both traps contained distilled water, 45% (95 confidence interval (CI) 33-57%) of all released mosquitoes were trapped. The proportion increased to 84% (95 CI 73-91%) when traps contained soil infusions. In choice tests, a gravid female was twice as likely to be trapped in the test trap with soil infusion as in the trap with distilled water (odds ratio (OR) 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.6). Furthermore, the attraction of gravid females towards the test trap with infusion more than tripled (OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.4-4.8) when salt was added to the substrates. CONCLUSION: Minor modifications of the BG-Sentinel™ mosquito trap turned it into a powerful bioassay tool for evaluating the orientation of gravid mosquitoes to putative oviposition substrates using olfaction. This study describes a useful tool for investigating olfactory attraction of gravid An. gambiae s.s. and provides additional evidence that gravid mosquitoes of this species are attracted to and can be baited with attractive substrates such as organic infusions over a distance of several metres

Defining user perception of distributed multimedia quality

This article presents the results of a study that explored the human side of the multimedia experience. We propose a model that assesses quality variation from three distinct levels: the network, the media and the content levels; and from two views: the technical and the user perspective. By facilitating parameter variation at each of the quality levels and from each of the perspectives, we were able to examine their impact on user quality perception. Results show that a significant reduction in frame rate does not proportionally reduce the user's understanding of the presentation independent of technical parameters, that multimedia content type significantly impacts user information assimilation, user level of enjoyment, and user perception of quality, and that the device display type impacts user information assimilation and user perception of quality. Finally, to ensure the transfer of information, low-level abstraction (network-level) parameters, such as delay and jitter, should be adapted; to maintain the user's level of enjoyment, high-level abstraction quality parameters (content-level), such as the appropriate use of display screens, should be adapted

Gravid Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto avoid ovipositing in Bermuda grass hay infusion and it's volatiles in two choice egg-count bioassays.

BACKGROUND: A number of mosquito species in the Culex and Aedes genera prefer to lay eggs in Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) hay infusions compared to water alone. These mosquitoes are attracted to volatile compounds from the hay infusions making the infusions effective baits in gravid traps used for monitoring vectors of arboviral and filarial pathogens. Since Bermuda grass is abundant and widespread, it is plausible to explore infusions made from it as a potential low cost bait for outdoor monitoring of the elusive malaria vector Anopheles gambiae s.s. METHODS: This study investigated preferential egg laying of individual An. gambiae s.s. in hay infusion or in tap water treated with volatiles detected in hay infusion headspace compared to tap water alone, using two-choice egg-count bioassays. Infusions were prepared by mixing 90 g of dried Bermuda grass (hay) with 24 L of unchlorinated tap water in a bucket, and leaving it for 3 days at ambient temperature and humidity. The volatiles in the headspace of the hay infusion were sampled with Tenax TA traps for 20 h and analysed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. RESULTS: In total, 18 volatiles were detected in the infusion headspace. Nine of the detected compounds and nonanal were selected for bioassays. Eight of the selected compounds have previously been suggested to attract/stimulate egg laying in An. gambiae s.s. Gravid females were significantly (p < 0.05) less likely to lay eggs in hay infusion dilutions of 25, 50 and 100 % and in tap water containing any of six compounds (3-methylbutanol, phenol, 4-methylphenol, nonanal, indole, and 3-methylindole) compared to tap water alone. The oviposition response to 10 % hay infusion or any one of the remaining four volatiles (4-hepten-1-ol, phenylmethanol, 2-phenylethanol, or 4-ethylphenol) did not differ from that in tap water. CONCLUSIONS: Anopheles gambiae s.s. prefers to lay eggs in tap water rather than Bermuda grass hay infusion. This avoidance of the hay infusion appears to be mediated by volatile organic compounds from the infusion. It is, therefore, unlikely that Bermuda grass hay infusion as formulated and used in gravid traps for Culex and Aedes mosquitoes will be suitable baits for monitoring gravid An. gambiae s.s