Avec quelles données statistiques travaillons-nous ?

L’usage des statistiques est un préalable incontournable pour les chercheurs en sciences sociales en général et les géographes en particulier. Certaines données, notamment celles publiées par l’INSEE, sont fournies agglomérées. Ces agglomérats ne sont pas toujours comparables d’un recensement à l’autre : ils ne sont pas prévus pour l’analyse historique. Nous utilisons donc comme outils d’analyses d’évolutions des données qui ne sont pas conçues pour cet usage. D’autres chiffres, d’accès beaucoup moins aisé, sont d’une fiabilité de plus en plus contestable notamment lorsque la recherche se situe à grande échelle. Nous oublions souvent d’en faire la critique. Le terrain apparaît comme le seul moyen d’apporter Quelques corrections à ces données.Are not we too confident with statical data? The use of statistical data is a precondition for social science researches, and specially in geography. In fact, most data, such as INSEE data, are composed of pre-constructed catagories whose contents can differ front ont census to another. Consequently, these data are not quite suitable for historical analysis. Some other data are less easily available and their reliability is increasingly questionable, specialy in the case of large scale studies. Furthermore, their necessary criticism is often missing in scientific reports. Fieldworks seem to be the only convenient means to slightly shift data indications

Echocardiographic Evidence for Valvular Toxicity of Benfluorex: A Double-Blind Randomised Trial in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVES: REGULATE trial was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of benfluorex versus pioglitazone in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. METHODS: Double-blind, parallel-group, international, randomised, non-inferiority trial. More than half of the 196 participating centres were primary care centres. Patients eligible had type 2 DM uncontrolled on sulfonylurea. 846 were randomised. They received study treatment for 1 year. 423 patients were allocated to benfluorex (150 to 450 mg/day) and 423 were allocated to pioglitazone (30 to 45 mg/day). Primary efficacy criterion was HbA(1c). Safety assessment included blinded echocardiographic evaluation of cardiac and valvular status. RESULTS: At baseline, patients were 59.1 ± 10.5 years old with HbA1c 8.3 ± 0.8%, and DM duration 7.1 ± 6.0 years. During the study, mean HbA1c significantly decreased in both groups (benfluorex: from 8.30 ± 0.80 to 7.77 ± 1.31 versus pioglitazone: from 8.30 ± 0.80 to 7.45 ± 1.30%). The last HbA1c value was significantly lower with pioglitazone than with benfluorex (p<0.001) and non-inferiority of benfluorex was not confirmed (p = 0.19). Among the 615 patients with assessable paired echocardiography (310 benfluorex, 305 pioglitazone), 314 (51%) had at least one morphological valvular abnormality and 515 (84%) at least one functional valvular abnormality at baseline. Emergent morphological abnormalities occurred in 8 patients with benfluorex versus 4 with pioglitazone (OR 1.99), 95% CI (0.59 to 6.69). Emergent regurgitation (new or increased by one grade or more) occurred more frequently with benfluorex (82 patients, 27%) than with pioglitazone (33 patients, 11%) (OR 2.97), 95% CI (1.91 to 4.63) and were mainly rated grade 1; grade 2 (mild) was detected in 2 patients with benfluorex and 3 with pioglitazone. There was no moderate or severe regurgitation. CONCLUSION: After 1 year of exposure, our results show a 2.97 fold increase in the incidence of valvular regurgitation with benfluorex and provide evidence for the valvular toxicity of this drug

Structuring the bacterial genome: Y1-transposases associated with REP-BIME sequences†

REPs are highly repeated intergenic palindromic sequences often clustered into structures called BIMEs including two individual REPs separated by short linker of variable length. They play a variety of key roles in the cell. REPs also resemble the sub-terminal hairpins of the atypical IS200/605 family of insertion sequences which encode Y1 transposases (TnpAIS200/IS605). These belong to the HUH endonuclease family, carry a single catalytic tyrosine (Y) and promote single strand transposition. Recently, a new clade of Y1 transposases (TnpAREP) was found associated with REP/BIME in structures called REPtrons. It has been suggested that TnpAREP is responsible for REP/BIME proliferation over genomes. We analysed and compared REP distribution and REPtron structure in numerous available E. coli and Shigella strains. Phylogenetic analysis clearly indicated that tnpAREP was acquired early in the species radiation and was lost later in some strains. To understand REP/BIME behaviour within the host genome, we also studied E. coli K12 TnpAREP activity in vitro and demonstrated that it catalyses cleavage and recombination of BIMEs. While TnpAREP shared the same general organization and similar catalytic characteristics with TnpAIS200/IS605 transposases, it exhibited distinct properties potentially important in the creation of BIME variability and in their amplification. TnpAREP may therefore be one of the first examples of transposase domestication in prokaryotes

Prise en charge du sevrage tabagique à l'officine

La pharmacie est un lieu de passage incontournable pour l'achat de substituts nicotiniques lorsqu'un fumeur désire entreprendre un sevrage tabagique. Il est donc indispensable que le pharmacien se forme et s'informe afin d'optimiser son conseil. L'arrêt complet et immédat est toujours la solution que l'on préfèrera en 1ère intention. Toutefois si le fumeur ne se sent pas prêt pour l'arrêt total, la réduction de consommation de tabac avec utilisation conjointe de substituts nicotiniques ou l'utilisation temporaire de substituts nicotiniques dans les situations où il est interdit de fumer sont des techniques à envisager comme étape préalable au sevrage total. Le rôle du pharmacien est de conseiller le patient fumeur pour le choix de la méthode la plus appropriée à son cas précis ; le but étant de proposer un sevrage "sur mesure". Une fois la démarche initiée, le pharmacien proposera un suivi régulier au patient afin de réévaluer le traitement, de définir de nouveaux objectifs, d'entretenir la motivation et de prévenir les rechutes. Tout au long du sevrage, le pharmacien devra pouvoir répondre à toute difficulté rencontrée par le patient afin d'assurer un sevrage "tout confort". La prise en charge doit être globale, tant sur le plan pharmacologique que psychologique.CLERMONT FD-BCIU-Santé (631132104) / SudocLYON1-BU Santé (693882101) / SudocSudocFranceF

L'élevage traditionnel des petits ruminants au Sénégal. III. Pratiques de conduite et d'exploitation des animaux chez les éleveurs de la communauté rurale de Kaymor (Sine-Saloum, Sénégal)

National audienc

nod Genes and Nod signals and the evolution of the rhizobium legume symbiosis.

The establishment of the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between rhizobia and legumes requires an exchange of signals between the two partners. In response to flavonoids excreted by the host plant, rhizobia synthesize Nod factors (NFs) which elicit, at very low concentrations and in a specific manner, various symbiotic responses on the roots of the legume hosts. NFs from several rhizobial species have been characterized. They all are lipo-chitooligosaccharides, consisting of a backbone of generally four or five glucosamine residues N-acylated at the non-reducing end, and carrying various O-substituents. The N-acyl chain and the other substituents are important determinants of the rhizobial host specificity. A number of nodulation genes which specify the synthesis of NFs have been identified. All rhizobia, in spite of their diversity, possess conserved nodABC genes responsible for the synthesis of the N-acylated oligosaccharide core of NFs, which suggests that these genes are of a monophyletic origin. Other genes, the host specific nod genes, specify the substitutions of NFs. The central role of NFs and nod genes in the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis suggests that these factors could be used as molecular markers to study the evolution of this symbiosis. We have studied a number of NFs which are N-acylated by α,β-unsaturated fatty acids. We found that the ability to synthesize such NFs does not correlate with taxonomic position of the rhizobia. However, all rhizobia that produce NFs such nodulate plants belonging to related tribes of legumes, the Trifolieae, Vicieae, and Galegeae, all of them being members of the so-called galegoid group. This suggests that the ability to recognize the NFs with α,β-unsaturated fatty acids is limited to this group of legumes, and thus might have appeared only once in the course of legume evolution, in the galegoid phylum

Role of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Virulence Factors in Bacterial Interaction with Chicken Heterophils and Macrophages

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) cause extraintestinal disease in avian species via respiratory tract infection. Virulence factors associated with APEC include type 1 and P fimbriae, curli, aerobactin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), K1 capsular antigen, temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin (Tsh), and an uncharacterized pathogen-specific chromosomal region (the 0-min region). The role of these virulence factors in bacterial interaction with phagocytes was investigated by using mutants of three APEC strains, each belonging to one of the most predominant serogroups O1, O2, and O78. Bacterial cell interaction with avian phagocytes was tested with primary cultures of chicken heterophils and macrophages. The presence of type 1 fimbriae and, in contrast, the absence of P fimbriae, K1 capsule, O78 antigen, and the 0-min region promoted bacterial association with chicken heterophils and macrophages. The presence of type 1 and P fimbriae, O78 antigen, and the 0-min region seemed to protect bacteria against the bactericidal effect of phagocytes, especially heterophils. The tested virulence factors seemed to have a limited role in intracellular survival for up to 48 h in macrophages. Generally, opsonized and nonopsonized bacteria were eliminated to the same extent, but in some cases, unopsonized bacteria were eliminated to a greater extent than opsonized bacteria. These results confirm the important role of type 1 fimbriae in promotion of initial phagocytosis, but nevertheless indicate a role for type 1 fimbriae in the protection of bacteria from subsequent killing, at least in heterophils. The results also indicate a role for K1 capsule, O78 antigen, P fimbriae, and the 0-min region in initial avoidance of phagocytosis, but demonstrate an additional role for O78 antigen, P fimbriae, and the 0-min region in subsequent protection against the bactericidal effects of phagocytes after bacterial association has occurred

Biomechanics and Control of Walking in Olive Baboons (Papio anubis): New Perspectives from Trained and Instrumented Animals

International audienc