Summing Up

One of the six speakers in the final session 'Drawing The Threads Together'

Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae) associated with Hylobius sp. from Pinus pinaster in Portugal

Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. is described and illustrated. Dauer juveniles were isolated from the body of the large pine weevil, Hylobius sp., collected from maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) stumps, in Portugal. Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. was reared and maintained in P. pinaster wood segments and on Petri dish cultures of the fungi Botrytis cinerea and Monilinia fructicola. The new species is characterised by a relatively small body length of ca 583 μm (females) and 578 μm (males), a lateral field with two incisures, presence of a small vulval flap and a conoid female tail with a rounded or pointed terminus. Males have stout spicules with a disc-like cucullus and seven caudal papillae arranged as a single midventral precloacal papilla, one precloacal pair and two postcloacal pairs. In the character of the lateral field, B. antoniae sp. n. comes close to B. abietinus, B. rainulfi and B. hylobianum, whilst spicule characters place it within the piniperdae-group sensu Ryss et al. Morphologically, B. antoniae sp. n. is closest to B. hylobianum; the spicules of these two species having flattened, wing-like, alae on the distal third of the lamina. Bursaphelenchus antoniae sp. n. is distinguished from B. hylobianum on the arrangement of the caudal papillae (two vs three pairs). ITS-RFLP profiles and the failure to hybridise support the separation of the two species. Phylogenetic analysis of the new species, based on the 18S rDNA sequence, supports the inclusion of this new species in the B. hylobianum-group sensu Braasch. Sequence analysis of the 28S rDNA D2/D3 domain did not place the new species in a definite group

He Taonga Tuku Ihō no Ngā Tūpuna: Māori Proverbial Sayings — a Literary Treasure

An address given on conferment of the degree of Honorary Doctor of Literature by Victoria University of Wellington, 16 April 199

Final arrangements following death: Maori indigenous decision making and tangi

Death is a universal event. It will happen to all of us, yet how we respond to death is particular and influenced by our cultural worlds. This study offers an investigation of the idiographic, of how one woman responded to, and made arrangements to, mourn and bury her mother. Specifically, we explore how she and her whanau (family) under pressure of time and grief and in the absence of clear final wishes, met to consider issues and make decisions about the situation they were confronted with. This case forms part of a much larger programme of research into Maori death rituals, change and adaption. Informing a scholarly audience unfamiliar with the Maori world requires a significant amount of contextual information. The case study is a powerful strategy to achieve this and one that draws readers into deep understanding (Willig, 2008). This case provides insight into the struggles of an indigenous fourth-world people living within the heterogeneity of Aotearoa/New Zealand society; it demonstrates how values change across generations as people live their lives increasingly away from their ancestral homelands; and how traditionally defined roles and responsibilities within the whanau (family) are challenged by members living away from each other

Summing Up

One of the six speakers in the final session 'Drawing The Threads Together'

Esanté : connaissance et coconstruction représentationnelle, pour une meilleure compréhension despratiques

International audienceLa santé est une préoccupation mondiale et grandissante occupant une place prépondérante aussi bien dans les débats de la sphère publique que dans les conversations ordinaires. Toutefois, la vie numérique de l’usager est encore mal connue, ainsi que les ressorts des représentations qui régissent les comportements dans ce domaine. C’est donc à partir de la théorie des représentations sociales que nous proposons d’appréhender la e-médecine en tant que phénomène de société. La e-santé consécutive à l’essor du numérique et des technologies mobiles autorise non seulement la consommation de connaissances liées à la santé, mais également la production et diffusion de celles-ci. Aussi, dans le domaine de la médecine, le recours aux outils numériques a initié de nombreuses ruptures comportementales et entraîné de fait la création d’un univers représentationnel associé qui favorise ou non leur acceptabilité par les utilisateurs potentiels

Etude de la calibration et de l'intégration sur mini-drone d'un système caméra-capteurs inertiels et magnétiques et ses applications

This thesis deal with the issue of the calibration of a group of sensor composedof an inertial unit, a magnetometer and a camera. It aims at integratingthem into a very compact system : a mini-drone. First of all, this study outlinesthe constraints imposed by the application on the choice of the sensors andthe solutions considered to solve the measures synchronization issue. Afterstudying existing calibration techniques, a method for the calibration of allthe sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and camera) is presented.The proposed solution allows to estimate the frame transformation between thedifferent sensors. It has the advantage of not requiring the use of any specialequipment. Furthermore, the integration of these sensors into a compact systemraises new difficulties. Under these conditions, the magnetic fields created bythe drone actuators disrupt magnetometer measurements. A new method isproposed to estimate and compensate for these magnetic disturbances. Thecompensation is dynamically adapted based on the state of the drone actuators.Finally, two applications of the system including an inertial unit and a cameraare presented : the construction of geo-referenced images mosaic and videostabilization. Both applications use measurements of inertial sensors and precisecalibration to perform a real-time processing for a very low computational cost.Cette thèse aborde le problème de la calibration d’un ensemble de capteurscomposé d’une centrale inertielle, d’un magnétomètre et d’une caméra, avecpour objectif leur intégration sur un système très compact : un mini-drone.Cette étude expose tout d’abord les contraintes imposées par l’application surle choix des capteurs et les solutions envisagées notamment pour résoudre leproblème de la synchronisation des mesures. Après avoir étudié les techniquesde calibration existantes, une méthode permettant la calibration de l’ensembledes capteurs (accéléromètre, gyromètre, magnétomètre et caméra) est présentée.La solution proposée permet également d’estimer les changements de repèresentre les différents capteurs. Elle a la particularité de ne nécessiter l’emploid’aucun matériel particulier. D’autre part, l’intégration de ces capteurs dans unsystème aussi compact soulève de nouvelles difficultés. Dans ces conditions, leschamps magnétiques créés par les actionneurs du drone perturbent les mesuresdu magnétomètre se trouvant à proximité. Une nouvelle méthode est proposéeafin d’estimer et de compenser dynamiquement ces perturbations magnétiquesen fonction de l’état des actionneurs du drone. Enfin, deux applications dusystème comprenant une centrale inertielle et une caméra sont présentées :la construction de mosaïques d’images géo-référencées et la stabilisation devidéos. Ces deux applications exploitent les mesures des capteurs inertiels afind’effectuer un traitement en temps réel pour un coût calculatoire très faible

Exon-intron chain reconstruction of circular RNA using RNA-Seq

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of RNA forming a covalently closed loop through back-splicing. A few well studied circRNAs indicate miRNA sponging and regulation of host gene transcription. CircRNAs can be identified in rRNA depleted RNA-Seq by detecting reads, which span a back-splice junction. CircRNA detection tools exist but none are able to summarize or characterize circRNAs. To perform accurate downstream analyses it is crucial to know the exact exon-intron structure of circRNAs. Here, I am presenting FUCHS and FUCHSdenovo to summarize circRNAs and reconstruct their exon-intron chain. In short: I developed a pipeline called FUCHS : FUll CHaracterization of circular RNA using RNA-Sequencing; that summarizes circRNAs, detects skipped exons, finds double-breakpoint fragments, generates coverage profiles, and clusters these profiles. I developed an additional module, FUCHSdenovo, to reconstruct the exon-intron structure based on linear-splice signals of back-spliced reads. I ran both programs on a dataset of young and old murine hearts and young and old murine livers. FUCHS revealed that heart circRNAs are less diverse but more abundant than liver circRNAs. From the obtained coverage profiles, I concluded that annotated gene models were not all matching the exon-intron structure of circRNAs. A de-novo reconstruction of circle structures using FUCHSdenovo showed a gain of information of 15%. Furthermore, FUCHSdenovo identified alternative splicing (AS) in 10% of circRNAs. Performing a differential motif enrichment analysis of the flanking introns of circRNAs with AS over circRNAs without AS identified FOXO as a potential transcription factor driving AS in circRNAs. Comparing the seed density of circRNAs and mRNAs showed that circRNAs were more densely populated with both. This suggests that circRNAs could form an additional layer in the gene-regulatory network by competing with their host genes for miRNA or RBP binding. https://github.com/dieterich-lab/FUCHS.gi

Prescribing of psychotropic medications to the elderly population of a Canadian province: a retrospective study using administrative databases

Background. Psychotropic medications, in particular second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) and benzodiazepines, have been associated with harm in elderly populations. Health agencies around the world have issued warnings about the risks of prescribing such medications to frail individuals affected by dementia and current guidelines recommend their use only in cases where the benefits clearly outweigh the risks. This study documents the use of psychotropic medications in the entire elderly population of a Canadian province in the context of current clinical guidelines for the treatment of behavioural disturbances. Methods. Prevalent and incident utilization of antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and related medications (zopiclone and zaleplon) were determined in the population of Manitobans over age 65 in the time period 1997/98 to 2008/09 fiscal years. Comparisons between patients living in the community and those living in personal care (nursing) homes (PCH) were conducted. Influence of sociodemographic characteristics on prescribing was assessed by generalized estimating equations. Non-optimal use was defined as the prescribing of high dose of antipsychotic medications and the use of combination therapy of a benzodiazepine (or zopiclone/zaleplon) with an antipsychotic. A decrease in intensity of use over time and lower proportions of patients treated with antipsychotics at high dose or in combination with benzodiazepines (or zopiclone/zaleplon) was considered a trend toward better prescribing. Multiple regression analysis determined predictors of non-optimal use in the elderly population. Results. A 20-fold greater prevalent utilization of SGAs was observed in PCH-dwelling elderly persons compared to those living in the community. In 2008/09, 27% of PCH-dwelling individuals received a prescription for an SGA. Patient characteristics, such as younger age, male gender, diagnoses of dementia (or use of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor) or psychosis in the year prior the prescription, were predictors of non-optimal prescribing (e.g., high dose antipsychotics). During the period 2002/3 and 2007/8, amongst new users of SGAs, 10.2% received high doses. Those receiving high dose antipsychotics did not show high levels of polypharmacy. Conclusions. Despite encouraging trends, the use of psychotropic medications remains high in elderly individuals, especially in residents of nursing homes. Clinicians caring for such patients need to carefully assess risks and benefits

Souffrance au travail et incommunication interne : quand l’orchestre devient dissonant

Cet article a pour objectif de montrer que le système professionnel et la communication des organisations reposent aujourd’hui sur un management fait de paradoxe, d’absurde, provoquant souffrances et frustrations au travail. Ce n’est plus une question de communication, mais d’incommunication qui préside à la gestion des ressources humaines et le sens que l’on pouvait donner jadis au travail disparaît, laissant la place à la démotivation, l’incompréhension, la déroute, la déprime, le stress, le burn-out, etc. Nous proposons ici, de regarder ces situations de souffrance au travail par le biais de l’incommunication au travail, là où ces deux notions entrainent des dissonances dans la communauté concernée, dans l’orchestre. En proposant de prolonger la métaphore interactionniste de l’orchestre (Winkin 1996), la question centrale de recherche que nous posons, interroge le système organisationnel vu comme un orchestre dissonant, devant la souffrance au travail, et l’incommunication interne de l’organisation, et ce, en trois temps successifs : Dans un premier temps, dans le sens d’une revue de la littérature, nous confrontons la souffrance au travail et la communication interne, devant paradoxes et absurde organisationnels que nous observons. Ensuite, nous traitons de l’incommunication interne à l’orchestre dissonant en nous appuyant sur les théories orchestrale (Winkin 1996) et systémique (Mucchielli 1999) de la communication. Enfin, par la proposition d’une méthodologie spécifique, nous avançons un modèle organisationnel susceptible de s’opposer à l’incommunication interne dans l’organisation. Nous ancrons notre réflexion sur un terrain constitué de vingt années de pratiques en tant que Chargé de communication au sein d’organismes publics et privés, ainsi qu’au regard de l’expérimentation, pendant trois années consécutives, d’un dispositif numérique composé d’un groupware et d’un forum de discussion mis en place au sein d’une grande entreprise française d’assurance (Ely 2005a).This article aims to show that the professional system and the communication of organizations are based today on a management made of paradoxes and absurd. All of these have repercussions such has being outstanding and feeling frustrations at work. This is not any more a question of communication, but human ressources management is now concerned by incommunication. Yesterday’s sense of work disappeared, and we are now facing the lack of motivation, understanding, debacle, nervous break down, stress, burn-out, etc. We will study these suffering situations at work regarding the incommunication, where these two last topics brings dissonances in the community, in the orchestra. We would like to extend the interactionnist metaphor of the orchestra (Winkin, on 1996). Then, the central question of our research will ask the organizational system, which is considered as a dissonant orchestra, to face the suffering at work, and the internal incommunication. We will divide our thoughts following three main ideas : First of all, and after checking all the informations in the scientific publications, we will face the suffer at work with internal communication in front of organizationnal paradoxes and absurd that we already observed. Then, we will treat internal incommunication to the dissonant orchestra based on orchestral (Winkin, on 1996) and systemic (Mucchielli, on 1999) theories of communication. Finally, proposing specific methodology, we move forward an organizational model which is able to confront the internal incommunication in the organization. The field of our research is based on twenty years of work as communication manager within public and private companies. This has been completed by testing, during three consecutive years, of a digital device made of a groupware and a forum of discussion dedicated to a large french insurance company (Ely, 2005a)