Left frontal hub connectivity delays cognitive impairment in autosomal-dominant and sporadic Alzheimer's disease

Patients with Alzheimer's disease vary in their ability to sustain cognitive abilities in the presence of brain pathology. A major open question is which brain mechanisms may support higher reserve capacity, i.e. relatively high cognitive performance at a given level of Alzheimer's pathology. Higher functional MRI-assessed functional connectivity of a hub in the left frontal cortex is a core candidate brain mechanism underlying reserve as it is associated with education (i.e. a protective factor often associated with higher reserve) and attenuated cognitive impairment in prodromal Alzheimer's disease. However, no study has yet assessed whether such hub connectivity of the left frontal cortex supports reserve throughout the evolution of pathological brain changes in Alzheimer's disease, including the presymptomatic stage when cognitive decline is subtle. To address this research gap, we obtained cross-sectional resting state functional MRI in 74 participants with autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease, 55 controls from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network and 75 amyloid-positive elderly participants, as well as 41 amyloid-negative cognitively normal elderly subjects from the German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases multicentre study on biomarkers in sporadic Alzheimer's disease. For each participant, global left frontal cortex connectivity was computed as the average resting state functional connectivity between the left frontal cortex (seed) and each voxel in the grey matter. As a marker of disease stage, we applied estimated years from symptom onset in autosomal dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease and cerebrospinal fluid tau levels in sporadic Alzheimer's disease cases. In both autosomal dominant and sporadic Alzheimer's disease patients, higher levels of left frontal cortex connectivity were correlated with greater education. For autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease, a significant left frontal cortex connectivity × estimated years of onset interaction was found, indicating slower decline of memory and global cognition at higher levels of connectivity. Similarly, in sporadic amyloid-positive elderly subjects, the effect of tau on cognition was attenuated at higher levels of left frontal cortex connectivity. Polynomial regression analysis showed that the trajectory of cognitive decline was shifted towards a later stage of Alzheimer's disease in patients with higher levels of left frontal cortex connectivity. Together, our findings suggest that higher resilience against the development of cognitive impairment throughout the early stages of Alzheimer's disease is at least partially attributable to higher left frontal cortex-hub connectivity

ARTEFACTS: How do we want to deal with the future of our one and only planet?

The European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), decided to try working hand-in-hand with leading European science centres and museums. Behind this decision was the idea that the JRC could better support EU Institutions in engaging with the European public. The fact that European Union policies are firmly based on scientific evidence is a strong message which the JRC is uniquely able to illustrate. Such a collaboration would not only provide a platform to explain the benefits of EU policies to our daily lives but also provide an opportunity for European citizens to engage by taking a more active part in the EU policy making process for the future. A PILOT PROGRAMME To test the idea, the JRC launched an experimental programme to work with science museums: a perfect partner for three compelling reasons. Firstly, they attract a large and growing number of visitors. Leading science museums in Europe have typically 500 000 visitors per year. Furthermore, they are based in large European cities and attract local visitors as well as tourists from across Europe and beyond. The second reason for working with museums is that they have mastered the art of how to communicate key elements of sophisticated arguments across to the public and making complex topics of public interest readily accessible. That is a high-value added skill and a crucial part of the valorisation of public-funded research, never to be underestimated. Finally museums are, at present, undergoing something of a renaissance. Museums today are vibrant environments offering new techniques and technologies to both inform and entertain, and attract visitors of all demographics.JRC.H.2-Knowledge Management Methodologies, Communities and Disseminatio

Measurement of the W-Pair Production Cross Section and W-Decay Branching Fractions in e+e−e^{+}e^{-} Interactions at s\sqrt{s}= 189 GeV

The data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of $188.6~\rm{Ge\kern -0.1em V}$ are used to measure the W-pair production cross section and the W-boson decay branching fractions. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 176.8~pb$^{-1}$. The total cross section for W-pair production, combining all final states, is measured to be $\sigma_{\rm{WW}}= 16.24 \pm 0.37~(stat.) \pm 0.22~(syst.)$~pb. Including our data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the hadronic branching fraction of the W-boson is determined to be $B(\rm{W} \rightarrow \rm{qq})= \left[ 68.20 \pm 0.68~(stat.) \pm 0.33~(syst.)\right]~\%$. The results agree with the Standard Model predictions.The data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV are used to measure the W-pair production cross section and the W-boson decay branching fractions. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 176.8pb^-1. The total cross section for W-pair production, combining all final states, is measured to be sigma_WW = 16.24 +/- 0.37(stat.) +/- 0.22(syst.) pb. Including our data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the hadronic branching fraction of the W-boson is determined to be B(W ->qq) = [68.20 +/- 0.68 (stat.) +/- 0.33 (syst.) ] %. The results agree with the Standard Model predictions.The data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV are used to measure the W-pair production cross section and the W-boson decay branching fractions. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 176.8 pb −1 . The total cross section for W-pair production, combining all final states, is measured to be σ WW =16.24±0.37 (stat.)±0.22 (syst.) pb. Including our data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the hadronic branching fraction of the W-boson is determined to be B (W→qq)=[68.20±0.68 (stat.)±0.33 (syst.)]%. The results agree with the Standard Model predictions

F. Michaeli, Dieu à l'image de l'homme. Neuchâtel, Delachaux et Niestlé, 1950,

Martin-Achard Robert. F. Michaeli, Dieu à l'image de l'homme. Neuchâtel, Delachaux et Niestlé, 1950,. In: Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 30e année n°4,1950. p. 328

L'espérance des croyants face à la mort selon Esaïe 65, 16c-25 et selon Daniel 12, 1-4

On admet généralement que l'apocalyptique dérive de la prophétie ; cependant, sur des points importants, celle-ci diffère notablement de celle-là comme le montre une comparaison entre Esaïe 65, 16c-25 et Daniel 12, 1-4, qui traitent tous deux de l'espérance des croyants d'Israël face à la mort. Alors que le premier texte, qui relève de la tradition prophétique, envisage dans l'univers nouveau créé par Yahvé une simple prolongation de l'existence humaine et non son élimination définitive, le second, de type apocalyptique, proclame la résurrection des justes qui seront sans doute appelés à participer à la gloire céleste : la vie future n'est donc pas la simple continuation de celle d'ici-bas.Martin-Achard Robert. L'espérance des croyants face à la mort selon Esaïe 65, 16c-25 et selon Daniel 12, 1-4. In: Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 59e année n°3-4,1979. Mélanges Edmond Jacob. pp. 439-451

Ésaïe et Jérémie aux prises avec les problèmes politiques. Contribution à l'étude du thème : Prophétie et politique

Martin-Achard Robert. Ésaïe et Jérémie aux prises avec les problèmes politiques. Contribution à l'étude du thème : Prophétie et politique. In: Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 47e année n°3,1967. pp. 208-224

Remarques sur la signification théologique de la Création selon l'Ancien Testament

Contrairement à ce que pense le lecteur ordinaire de l'Ancien Testament, le thème de la création n'est pas le plus important de la tradition vétérotestamentaire, il est subordonné au thème de la libération ou du salut, comme G. von Rad l'a montré il y a déjà bien des années. Une lecture des textes relatifs à l'origine du monde révèle en effet que la plupart d'entre eux se réfèrent à l'œuvre libératrice de Yahvé dans une situation historique particulière. Ces passages ont en plus d'une fonction sotériologique un rôle polémique et doxologique : ils montrent la vanité du culte des forces de la nature et magnifient l'œuvre du Dieu d'Israël. Il s'agit aujourd'hui non de répéter les formules utilisées par l'Ancien Testament à propos de la création, mais de préserver sa triple intention théologique dans des expressions adaptées à notre milieu culturel.Martin-Achard Robert. Remarques sur la signification théologique de la Création selon l'Ancien Testament. In: Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 52e année n°1,1972. pp. 3-11

Récents travaux sur la loi du talion selon l'Ancien Testament

Martin-Achard Robert. Récents travaux sur la loi du talion selon l'Ancien Testament. In: Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 69e année n°2, Avril-juin 1989. pp. 173-188