Le rôle des amitiés sur le développement et la santé mentale des adolescents

La fréquentation des amis constitue un élément majeur de la fie sociale à l'adolescence. L'article retrace l'influence des pairs et l'évaluation des amitiés à l'adolescence. Une recherche pilote réalisée auprès de 195 adolescents âges de 14 à 18 ans, indique la présence de corrélations significatives entre las dimensions quantitatives et qualitatives des amitiés et divers aspects de la santé mentale. Le nombre d'amis et d'amis intimes ainsi que la qualité des interactions et le niveau d'intimité offrent des corrélations positives avec divers indices comme là tonalité émotionnelle, la maîtrise de l'environnement et l'absence de symptômes psychopathologiques.Making friends plays a major part in one's adolescent social life. This article profiles peer influence and friendship evaluation during adolescence. A pilot research program conducted on 195 adolescents aged 14 to 18 shows a number of significant correlations between quantitative and qualitative aspects of friendships and various aspects of mental health, the number of friends and of close friends as well as the quality of interactions and the degree of intimacy lead to positive correlations with various signs such as emotional wavelength, control of one's environment and absence of psychopathological symptoms

Les relations entre parents et adolescents : un bref bilan des travaux actuels

Cet article fait un bilan rapide des travaux récents qui ont examiné les relations entre les adolescents et leurs parents. Il s’articule autour des deux principales fonctions qui définissent l’exercice de la tâche parentale : l’attachement et le contrôle. Une série d’études a pu établir des liens très clairs entre la qualité de l’attachement parental et le développement d’habiletés adaptatives à l’adolescence. Le rôle du contrôle sur le développement est plus controversé car ce terme fait appel à des notions contradictoires et l’excès comme le manque de contrôle se révèlent pénalisants sur le développement des adolescents. L’article examine également les divers styles parentaux et leurs effets sur le développement. La présence de conflits entre parents et adolescents est inévitable pour plusieurs raisons qui tiennent au développement même des adolescents. Ces conflits peuvent remplir des fonctions positives dans le développement des adolescents, favoriser la négociation et l’évolution des interactions familiales, ils entraînent toutefois des effets défavorables sur le développement lorsqu’ils surviennent dans un climat familial marqué par la tension, l’hostilité et la coercition. Le niveau d’attachement et de proximité affective envers chacun des parents est comparable dans le cas des filles et des garçons, c’est le sexe du parent qui différencie le plus les relations. La culture constitue un puissant facteur qui modèle et structure les pratiques parentales durant l’adolescence car si la présence de l’attachement caractérise universellement les liens parentaux, l’exercice du contrôle auprès des adolescents varie énormément selon les sociétés.This article provides a brief overview of studies that recently examined the links between adolescents and their parents. The article is structured around the two principal functions that define parental practice: parental bonding and parental control. A series of studies were able to establish clear links between the quality of parental bonding and the development of adaptation skills in adolescence. The role of parental control in development is more controversial, since this term appeals to contradictory notions and because excess and lack of control reveal they can penalize adolescent development. The article also examines the diverse parental styles and their effects on development. Conflict between parents and adolescents is inevitable for several reasons, concerning adolescent development directly. These conflicts can possess positive functions in adolescent development and favor negotiation and improvement of familial interactions. However, conflicts can lead to unfavorable effects on development when they occur in a domestic climate marked with tension, hostility and coercion. The level of parental bonding and affective proximity toward each parent is comparable in both girls and boys. The parent’s sex differentiates relationships for the most part. Culture constitutes a powerful factor that models and structures parental practice during adolescence. Indeed, if the presence of parental bonding universally characterizes parental bonds, the practice of control with adolescents varies enormously across societies

Benign retroperitoneal schwannoma presenting as colitis: A case report

We report a case of a patient presenting with clinical , radiological and endoscopic features of colitis due to a compressive left para-aortic mass. Total open surgical excision was performed, which resulted in complete resolution of colitis. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry revealed benign retroperitoneal schwannoma. These neural sheath tumors rarely occur in the retroperitoneum. They are usually asymptomatic but as they enlarge they may compress adjacent structures, which leads to a wide spectrum of nonspecific symptoms, including lumbar pain, headache, secondary hypertension, abdominal pain and renal colicky pain. CT and MR findings show characteristic features, but none are specific. Schwannoma can be isolated sporadic lesions, or associated with schwannomatosis or neurofibromatosis type II (NF2). Although they vary in biological and clinical behavior, their presence is, in nearly every case, due to alterations or absence of the NF2 gene, which is involved in the growth regulation of Schwann cells. Both conditions were excluded by thorough mutation analysis. Diagnosis is based on histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry. Total excision is therapeutic and has a good prognosis. Schwannomatosis and NF2 should be excluded through clinical diagnostic criteria. Genetic testing of NF2 is probably not justified in the presence of a solitary retroperitoneal schwannoma

Eurocodes Promotion in Third Countries

The work reported is a deliverable within the framework of the Administrative Arrangement between DG ENTR and JRC on support to the implementation, harmonization and further development of the Eurocodes. The document addresses the need to coordinate the activities on the international promotion of the Eurocodes at the Community level and proposes a strategy and an initial programme for their coordinated promotion in third countries. The goals and interests of the stakeholders in the international promotion of the Eurocodes are analysed. Their convergence naturally calls for the setting up of a framework for coordinated promotion of the Eurocodes in third countries. The coordinated actions will provide considerable benefits to the stakeholders through: Putting into operation common implementation strategy, tools and resources, Organizing joint missions involving more than one stakeholder, and Making the most effective use of the co-financing instruments available at the Community level. A methodology for promotion of the Eurocodes in third countries is proposed, which aims at a better use of the resources available and tailored the promotion actions according to the needs of the individual countries. The methodology encompasses: The approach and the tools necessary for coordinated international promotion, The identification of target groups within a country, The involvement of organisations/individuals interested in the international promotion.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Goal conflict in chronic pain : day reconstruction method

Background When suffering from chronic pain, attempts to control or avoid pain often compete with other daily activities. Engaging in one activity excludes engaging in another, equally valued activity, which is referred to as “goal conflict.” As yet, the presence and effects of goal conflicts in patients with chronic pain remain poorly understood. Methods This study systematically mapped the presence and experience of goal conflicts in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy controls. A total of 40 patients and 37 controls completed a semi-structured interview in which they first reconstructed the previous day, identified conflicts experienced during that day, and classified each of the conflicting goals in one of nine goal categories. Additionally, they assessed how they experienced the previous day and the reported conflicts. Results Results showed that patients did not experience more goal conflicts than healthy controls, but that they did differ in the type of conflicts experienced. Compared to controls, patients reported more conflicts related to pain, and fewer conflicts involving work-related, social or pleasure-related goals. Moreover, patients experienced conflicts as more aversive and more difficult to resolve than control participants. Discussion This study provides more insight in the dynamics of goal conflict in daily life, and indicates that patients experience conflict as more aversive than controls, and that conflict between pain control (and avoidance) and other valued activities is part of the life of patients

Statistical shape modeling of the left ventricle: myocardial infarct classification challenge

Statistical shape modeling is a powerful tool for visualizing and quantifying geometric and functional patterns of the heart. After myocardial infarction (MI), the left ventricle typically remodels in response to physiological challenges. Several methods have been proposed in the literature to describe statistical shape changes. Which method best characterizes left ventricular remodeling after MI is an open research question. A better descriptor of remodeling is expected to provide a more accurate evaluation of disease status in MI patients. We therefore designed a challenge to test shape characterization in MI given a set of three-dimensional left ventricular surface points. The training set comprised 100 MI patients, and 100 asymptomatic volunteers (AV). The challenge was initiated in 2015 at the Statistical Atlases and Computational Models of the Heart workshop, in conjunction with the MICCAI conference. The training set with labels was provided to participants, who were asked to submit the likelihood of MI from a different (validation) set of 200 cases (100 AV and 100 MI). Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were used as the outcome measures. The goals of this challenge were to (1) establish a common dataset for evaluating statistical shape modeling algorithms in MI, and (2) test whether statistical shape modeling provides additional information characterizing MI patients over standard clinical measures. Eleven groups with a wide variety of classification and feature extraction approaches participated in this challenge. All methods achieved excellent classification results with accuracy ranges from 0.83 to 0.98. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were all above 0.90. Four methods showed significantly higher performance than standard clinical measures. The dataset and software for evaluation are available from the Cardiac Atlas Project website1

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Matrix Protein Induces Lung Epithelial Cell Cycle Arrest through a p53 Dependent Pathway

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of viral respiratory infections in children. Our previous study showed that the RSV infection induced lung epithelial cell cycle arrest, which enhanced virus replication. To address the mechanism of RSV-induced cell cycle arrest, we examined the contribution of RSV-matrix (RSV-M) protein. In this report, we show that in both the A549 cell line and primary human bronchial epithelial (PHBE) cells, transfection with RSV-M protein caused the cells to proliferate at a slower rate than in control cells. The cell cycle analysis showed that RSV-M protein induced G1 phase arrest in A549 cells, and G1 and G2/M phase arrest in PHBE cells. Interestingly, RSV-M expression induced p53 and p21 accumulation and decreased phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (Rb). Further, induction of cell cycle arrest by RSV-M was not observed in a p53-deficient epithelial cell line (H1299). However, cell cycle arrest was restored after transfection of p53 cDNA into H1299 cells. Taken together, these results indicate that RSV-M protein regulates lung epithelial cell cycle through a p53-dependent pathway, which enhances RSV replication

Climatic and cultural changes in the west Congo Basin forests over the past 5000 years

Central Africa includes the world's second largest rainforest block. The ecology of the region remains poorly understood, as does its vegetation and archaeological history. However, over the past 20 years, multidisciplinary scientific programmes have enhanced knowledge of old human presence and palaeoenvironments in the forestry block of Central Africa. This first regional synthesis documents significant cultural changes over the past five millennia and describes how they are linked to climate. It is now well documented that climatic conditions in the African tropics underwent significant changes throughout this period and here we demonstrate that corresponding shifts in human demography have had a strong influence on the forests. The most influential event was the decline of the strong African monsoon in the Late Holocene, resulting in serious disturbance of the forest block around 3500 BP. During the same period, populations from the north settled in the forest zone; they mastered new technologies such as pottery and fabrication of polished stone tools, and seem to have practised agriculture. The opening up of forests from 2500 BP favoured the arrival of metallurgist populations that impacted the forest. During this long period (2500–1400 BP), a remarkable increase of archaeological sites is an indication of a demographic explosion of metallurgist populations. Paradoxically, we have found evidence of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) cultivation in the forest around 2200 BP, implying a more arid context. While Early Iron Age sites (prior to 1400 BP) and recent pre-colonial sites (two to eight centuries BP) are abundant, the period between 1600 and 1000 BP is characterized by a sharp decrease in human settlements, with a population crash between 1300 and 1000 BP over a large part of Central Africa. It is only in the eleventh century that new populations of metallurgists settled into the forest block. In this paper, we analyse the spatial and temporal distribution of 328 archaeological sites that have been reliably radiocarbon dated. The results allow us to piece together changes in the relationships between human populations and the environments in which they lived. On this basis, we discuss interactions between humans, climate and vegetation during the past five millennia and the implications of the absence of people from the landscape over three centuries. We go on to discuss modern vegetation patterns and African forest conservation in the light of these events.Peer reviewe

Automated imaging and other developments in whole-organism anthelmintic screening.

Helminth infections still represent a huge public health problem throughout the developing world and in the absence of vaccines control is based on periodic mass drug administration. Poor efficacy of some anthelmintics and concerns about emergence of drug resistance has highlighted the need for new drug discovery. Most current anthelmintics were discovered through in vivo screening of selected compounds in animal models but recent approaches have shifted towards screening for activity against adult or larval stages in vitro. Larvae are normally available in greater numbers than adults, can often be produced in vitro and are small enough for microplate assays. However, the manual visualization of drug effects in vitro is subjective, laborious and slow. This can be overcome by application of automated readouts including high-content imaging. Incorporated into robotically controlled HTS platforms such methods allow the very large compound collections being made available by the pharmaceutical industry or academic organizations to be screened against helminths for the first time, invigorating the drug discovery pipeline. Here, we review the status of whole-organism screens based on in vitro activity against living worms and highlight the recent progress towards automated image-based readouts