Animal welfare regulations in pet shops

Depuis la signature par la France de la Convention du Conseil de l’Europe sur la protection des animaux de compagnie en 1996, de nombreux textes législatifs et réglementaires ont été élaborés sur cette thématique au plan national comme la loi du 6 janvier 1999 ou le décret du 28 août 2008. Ainsi, plusieurs décrets et arrêtés constituent un socle réglementaire sur ce sujet. La protection des animaux de compagnie dans les animaleries du commerce en fait partie. La réglementation s’appliquant à ces établissements définit les prescriptions à respecter pour d’une part assurer le bien-être des animaux et d’autre part promouvoir la responsabilisation des acheteurs. Des visites sanitaires devant être réalisées par des vétérinaires habilités sont également obligatoires dans ces structures. De nouvelles obligations applicables en 2016 ont modifié la définition de l’élevage de chiens et chats pour changer certaines pratiques de vente et limiter les abandons. Une question d’importance se pose :il reste à savoir si l’Union européenne décidera de prendre pleinement en compte la protection de ces animaux au même titre que celle des animaux de rente ou des animaux utilisés à des fins scientifiques ? Décidera-t-elle de légiférer sur ce sujet en vue d’une harmonisation des différentes réglementations existant dans les États membres.Many texts (laws or regulations) were written in France since the signature of the European Convention on the protection of Companion animals in 1996. Examples are law of 6th January 1999 and decree of 28th august 2008. Now we have an assortment of regulations on this topic including rules concerning pet shops. Some prescriptions are aimed at preserving animal welfare while others concern information and responsibility of consumers. Hence sanitary visits made by mandated veterinarians are compulsory in these shops. News obligations modifying the definition of dogs and cats breeding are now implemented. These are supposed to minimize their abandonment. One subject remains open: to know if European Union will take completely account of the welfare of pet animals as it does for farm animals or laboratory animals. This subject is also important for a necessary harmonization of the different rules existing in Member states

The structure of Staphylococcus aureus epidermolytic toxin A, an atypic serine protease, at 1.7 Å resolution

AbstractBackground: Staphylococcal epidermolytic toxins A and B (ETA and ETB) are responsible for the staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome of newborn and young infants; this condition can appear just a few hours after birth. These toxins cause the disorganization and disruption of the region between the stratum spinosum and the stratum granulosum —  two of the three cellular layers constituting the epidermis. The physiological substrate of ETA is not known and, consequently, its mode of action in vivo remains an unanswered question. Determination of the structure of ETA and its comparison with other serine proteases may reveal insights into ETA's catalytic mechanism.Results: The crystal structure of staphylococcal ETA has been determined by multiple isomorphous replacement and refined at 1.7 Å resolution with a crystallographic R factor of 0.184. The structure of ETA reveals it to be a new and unique member of the trypsin-like serine protease family. In contrast to other serine protease folds, ETA can be characterized by ETA-specific surface loops, a lack of cysteine bridges, an oxyanion hole which is not preformed, an S1 specific pocket designed for a negatively charged amino acid and an ETA-specific N-terminal helix which is shown to be crucial for substrate hydrolysis.Conclusions: Despite very low sequence homology between ETA and other trypsin-like serine proteases, the ETA crystal structure, together with biochemical data and site-directed mutagenesis studies, strongly confirms the classification of ETA in the Glu-endopeptidase family. Direct links can be made between the protease architecture of ETA and its biological activity

Classe inversée et apprentissage par les pairs dans le supérieur

International audienceNous présentons ici les réflexions en amont et en aval à l'expérimentation pédagogique que nous avons conduit cette année sur un cours de modélisation de bases de données en deuxième année de licence informatique. La mise en pratique d'une pédagogie active s'est faite au travers des principes de classe inversée et d'apprentissage par les pairs. La présentation met en évidence les gains obtenus par ces changements pédagogiques et souligne les points pratiques auxquels l'enseignant doit être attentif. MOTS-CLES : classe inversée, apprentissage par les pairs, apprentissage par problème 1. INTRODUCTION Nous travaillons en binôme depuis plusieurs années pour le développement de la pédagogie numérique puis de la pédagogie universitaire à l'université d'Avignon. Convaincus de l'intérêt de la pédagogie active, sa mise en application dans le cadre d'un de nos enseignements a été néanmoins progressive et réalisée par étapes sur plusieurs années. Après avoir introduit le numérique en tant qu'outil, nous avons glissé vers un usage pédagogique du numérique, puis sorti l'apprenant de sa passivité inter-cours grâce à l'interactivité numérique pour enfin lui proposer un rôle actif dans son processus d'apprentissage

Clinical benefits of non-taxane chemotherapies in unselected patients with symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after docetaxel: the GETUG-P02 study

International audienceOBJECTIVE:To evaluate the overall benefits of non-taxane chemotherapies in a non-selected population including unfit patients presenting with symptoms and pain.PATIENTS AND METHODS:This randomized phase II study reports data from 92 patients (52% >70 years old; 40% with a performance score of 2) previously treated with taxane-based chemotherapy, collected from 15 centres in France. Patients received i.v. mitoxantrone (MTX), oral vinorelbine, or oral etoposide, together with oral prednisone. Palliative benefit (pain response without progression of the disease), biological and tumoural responses, and toxicity profile as well as geriatric assessment (in elderly population) were analysed on an intention-to-treat basis.RESULTS:The palliative response rate was 17% for the whole population, and reached 29% when considering the MTX arm. Pain control was achieved in 40% of the patients. The median overall survival was 10.4 months, and was longer in palliative responders. Few grade 3-4 toxicities were observed. The subgroup analysis of elderly patients showed similar results regarding the number and dose intensity of treatments, efficacy and safety.CONCLUSION:In a population including frail and/or elderly patients, who are poorly represented in most clinical studies, non-taxane chemotherapy may remain a relevant option for metastatic prostate cancer having relapsed after a docetaxel-based regimen. Although new treatment options are now approved, the decision-making process should take into account their expected benefit/risk ratio based on the patient status

Multicentric phase II trial of TI‐CE high‐dose chemotherapy with therapeutic drug monitoring of carboplatin in patients with relapsed advanced germ cell tumors

International audienceBackground: High-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with TI-CE regimen is a valid option for the treatment of relapsed advanced germ cell tumors (GCT). We report a phase II trial with therapeutic drug monitoring of carboplatin for optimizing area under the curve (AUC) of this drug.Methods: Patients with unfavorable relapsed GCT were treated according to TI-CE regimen: two cycles combining paclitaxel and ifosfamide followed by three cycles of HD carboplatin plus etoposide administered on 3 days. Carboplatin dose was adapted on day 3 based on carboplatin clearance (CL) at day 1 in order to reach a target AUC of 24 mg.min/mL per cycle. The primary endpoint was the complete response (CR) rate.Results: Eighty-nine patients who received HDCT were included in the modified intent-to-treat (mITT) analysis. Measured mean AUC was 24.4 mg.min/mL per cycle (22.4 and 26.8 mg.min/mL for 10th and 90th percentiles). Thirty-five (44.3%) patients achieved a CR with or without surgery of residual masses and 20 patients achieved a partial response with negative tumor markers. With a median follow-up of 44 months (m), median PFS was 12.3 m (95% CI: 7.5-25.9) and OS was 46.3 m (95% CI: 18.6-not reached). For high- and very high-risk patients, according to the International Prognostic Score at first relapse or treated after at least one salvage treatment (n = 51), 2-year PFS rate was 41.1%.Conclusion: The rates of complete and favorable responses were clinically relevant in this very poor risk population. Individual monitoring of carboplatin plasma concentration permitted to control more accurately the target AUC and avoided both underexposure and overexposure to the drug.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00864318