L’indemnisation chômage au travail. Appropriation d’un dispositif de régulation public par les salariés intermittents du spectacle en France

The rise of atypical forms of employment invites us to scrutinize unemployment benefit provision. Unlike the modern world of employment, based on “standard employment contract,” wage­earners in the performing arts advocate for the highly flexible regime of “intermittent” employment. Through the study of the effects of a deregulated market on careers, status and meaning of work, shared by atypical wageearners, our aim is to understand the informal role of this compensation policy for their self­conception

The Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope, V: Predicted Performance of the MIRI Coronagraphs

The imaging channel on the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is equipped with four coronagraphs that provide high contrast imaging capabilities for studying faint point sources and extended emission that would otherwise be overwhelmed by a bright point-source in its vicinity. Such bright sources might include stars that are orbited by exoplanets and circumstellar material, mass-loss envelopes around post-main-sequence stars, the near-nuclear environments in active galaxies, and the host galaxies of distant quasars. This paper describes the coronagraphic observing modes of MIRI, as well as performance estimates based on measurements of the MIRI flight model during cryo-vacuum testing. A brief outline of coronagraphic operations is also provided. Finally, simulated MIRI coronagraphic observations of a few astronomical targets are presented for illustration

Treatment options of invasive fungal infections in adults.

A panel of infectious disease specialists, clinical microbiologists and hospital epidemiologists of the five Swiss university hospitals reviewed the current literature on the treatment of invasive fungal infections in adults and formulated guidelines for the management of patients in Switzerland. For empirical therapy of Candida bloodstream infection, fluconazole is the drug of choice in non-neutropenic patients with no severe sepsis or septic shock or recent exposure to azoles. Amphotericin B deoxycholate or caspofungin would be the treatment option for patients with previous azole exposure. In neutropenic patients, empirical therapy with amphotericin B deoxycholate is considered first choice. In patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, caspofungin is the drug of first choice. For therapy of microbiologically-documented Candida infection, fluconazole is the drug of choice for infections due to C. albicans, C. tropicalis or C. parapsilosis. When infections are caused by C. glabrata or by C. krusei, caspofungin or amphotericin B deoxycholate are first line therapies. Treatment guidelines for invasive aspergillosis (IA) were stratified into primary therapy, salvage therapy and combination therapy in critically ill patients. Voriconazole is recommended for primary (ie upfront) therapy. Caspofungin, voriconazole (if not used for primary therapy) or liposomal amphotericin B are recommended for salvage therapy for refractory disease. Combination therapy with caspofungin plus voriconazole or liposomal amphotericin B should be considered in critically ill patients. Amphotericin B deoxycholate is recommended as initial therapy for the empirical therapy in patients with neutropenia and persistent fever with close monitoring of adverse events

Characterizing Exoplanets in the Visible and Infrared: A Spectrometer Concept for the EChO Space Mission

Transit-spectroscopy of exoplanets is one of the key observational techniques to characterize the extrasolar planet and its atmosphere. The observational challenges of these measurements require dedicated instrumentation and only the space environment allows an undisturbed access to earth-like atmospheric features such as water or carbon-dioxide. Therefore, several exoplanet-specific space missions are currently being studied. One of them is EChO, the Exoplanet Characterization Observatory, which is part of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program, and which is one of four candidates for the M3 launch slot in 2024. In this paper we present the results of our assessment study of the EChO spectrometer, the only science instrument onboard this spacecraft. The instrument is a multi-channel all-reflective dispersive spectrometer, covering the wavelength range from 400 nm to 16 microns simultaneously with a moderately low spectral resolution. We illustrate how the key technical challenge of the EChO mission - the high photometric stability - influences the choice of spectrometer concept and drives fundamentally the instrument design. First performance evaluations underline the fitness of the elaborated design solution for the needs of the EChO mission.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Journal of Astronomical Instrumentatio

Herpes simplex virus 1 amplicon vector-mediated siRNA targeting epidermal growth factor receptor inhibits growth of human glioma cells in vivo

In primary glioblastomas and other tumor types, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently observed with alterations, such as amplification, structural rearrangements, or overexpression of the gene, suggesting an important role in glial tumorigenesis and progression. In this study, we investigated whether posttranscriptional gene silencing by vector-mediated RNAi to inhibit EGFR expression can reduce the growth of cultured human gli36 glioma cells. To "knock down" EGFR expression, we have created HSV-1-based amplicons that contain the RNA polymerase III-dependent H1 promoter to express double-stranded hairpin RNA directed against EGFR at two different locations (pHSVsiEGFR I and pHSVsiEGFR II). We demonstrate that both pHSVsiEGFR I and pHSVsiEGFR II mediated knock-down of transiently transfected full-length EGFR or endogenous EGFR in a dose-dependent manner. The knock-down of EGFR resulted in the growth inhibition of human glioblastoma (gli36-luc) cells both in culture and in athymic mice in vivo. Cell cycle analysis and annexin V staining revealed that siRNA-mediated suppression of EGFR induced apoptosis. Overall HSV-1 amplicons can mediate efficient and specific posttranscriptional gene silencing. Copyright © The American Society of Gene Therapy

Vancomycin versus Placebo for Treating Persistent Fever in Patients with Neutropenic Cancer Receiving Piperacillin-Tazobactam Monotherapy

This prospective, double-blind trial assessed whether the addition of a glycopeptide would be able to reduce the time to defervescence in neutropenic patients with cancer who had persistent fever 48-60 h after the initiation of empirical piperacillin-tazobactam monotherapy. Of 763 eligible patients, 165 with persistent fever were randomized to receive piperacillin-tazobactam therapy plus either vancomycin therapy or placebo. Defervescence was observed in 82 (95%) of 86 patients in the vancomycin group and in 73 (92%) of 79 patients in the placebo group (P = .52). The distributions of the time to defervescence were not statistically significant between the 2 groups (estimated hazard ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-1.43; P = .75). The number of additional episodes of gram-positive bacteremia and the percentage of patients for whom amphotericin B was empirically added to their therapy regimen were also similar in both groups. This study failed to demonstrate that the empirical addition of vancomycin therapy to the treatment regimen is of benefit to persistently febrile neutropenic patients with cance

Observations of the planetary nebula SMP LMC 058 with the JWST MIRI medium resolution spectrometer

During the commissioning of JWST, the medium-resolution spectrometer (MRS) on the mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) observed the planetary nebula SMP LMC 058 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The MRS was designed to provide medium resolution (R = λ/Δλ) 3D spectroscopy in the whole MIRI range. SMP LMC 058 is the only source observed in JWST commissioning that is both spatially and spectrally unresolved by the MRS and is a good test of JWST's capabilities. The new MRS spectra reveal a wealth of emission lines not previously detected in this planetary nebula. From these lines, the spectral resolving power (λ/Δλ) of the MRS is confirmed to be in the range R = 4000-1500, depending on the MRS spectral sub-band. In addition, the spectra confirm that the carbon-rich dust emission is from complex hydrocarbons and SiC grains and that there is little to no time evolution of the SiC dust and emission line strengths over a 17-yr epoch. These commissioning data reveal the great potential of the MIRI MRS for the study of circumstellar and interstellar material.</p

JWST MIRI/MRS in-flight absolute flux calibration and tailored fringe correction for unresolved sources

Context. The Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) is one of the four observing modes of JWST/MIRI. Using JWST in-flight data of unresolved (point) sources, we can derive the MRS absolute spectral response function (ASRF) starting from raw data. Spectral fringing, caused by coherent reflections inside the detector arrays, plays a critical role in the derivation and interpretation of the MRS ASRF. The fringe corrections implemented in the current pipeline are not optimal for non-extended sources, and a high density of molecular features particularly inhibits an accurate correction. Aims. In this paper, we present an alternative way to calibrate the MIRI/MRS data. Firstly, we derive a fringe correction that accounts for the dependence of the fringe properties on the MIRI/MRS pupil illumination and detector pixel sampling of the point spread function. Secondly, we derive the MRS ASRF using an absolute flux calibrator observed across the full 5- 28 \ub5m wavelength range of the MRS. Thirdly, we apply the new ASRF to the spectrum of a G dwarf and compare it with the output of the JWST/MIRI default data reduction pipeline. Finally, we examine the impact of the different fringe corrections on the detectability of molecular features in the G dwarf and K giant. Methods. The absolute flux calibrator HD 163466 (A-star) was used to derive tailored point source fringe flats at each of the default dither locations of the MRS. The fringe-corrected point source integrated spectrum of HD 163466 was used to derive the MRS ASRF using a theoretical model for the stellar continuum. A cross-correlation was run to quantify the uncertainty on the detection of CO, SiO, and OH in the K giant and CO in the G dwarf for different fringe corrections. Results. The point-source-tailored fringe correction and ASRF are found to perform at the same level as the current corrections, beating down the fringe contrast to the sub-percent level in the G dwarf in the longer wavelengths, whilst mitigating the alteration of real molecular features. The same tailored solutions can be applied to other MRS unresolved targets. Target acquisition is required to ensure the pointing is accurate enough to apply this method. A pointing repeatability issue in the MRS limits the effectiveness of the tailored fringe flats is at short wavelengths. Finally, resulting spectra require no scaling to make the sub-bands match, and a dichroic spectral leak at 12.2 \ub5m is removed

Epidemiology of candidemia in Swiss tertiary care hospitals: secular trends, 1991-2000

Candida species are among the most common bloodstream pathogens in the United States, where the emergence of azole-resistant Candida glabrata and Candida krusei are major concerns. Recent comprehensive longitudinal data from Europe are lacking. We conducted a nationwide survey of candidemia during 1991-2000 in 17 university and university-affiliated hospitals representing 79% of all tertiary care hospital beds in Switzerland. The number of transplantations and bloodstream infections increased significantly (P<.001). A total of 1137 episodes of candidemia were observed: Candida species ranked seventh among etiologic agents (2.9% of all bloodstream isolates). The incidence of candidemia was stable over a 10-year period. C. albicans remained the predominant Candida species recovered (66%), followed by C. glabrata (15%). Candida tropicalis emerged (9%), the incidence of Candida parapsilosis decreased (1%), and recovery of C. krusei remained rare (2%). Fluconazole consumption increased significantly (P<.001). Despite increasing high-risk activities, the incidence of candidemia remained unchanged, and no shift to resistant species occurred