A ten years analysis of deformation in the Corinthian Gulf via GPS and SAR Interferometry

The Corinthian Gulf in Greece, is the most active of a series of extending grabens which accomodate the deformation in the highly seismic Aegean region. The geodetic network established in the region has about 200 points: 50 1st order points and ~150 2nd order points. The network covers an area of about 100 x 80 km2, which correspond to an average density of 1 point every 5 km2. This dense network allows to study the main active faults in the region. Eleven field surveys were organized in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, June 1995, October 1995, 1997, and 2001. Two earthquakes occurred in the vicinity during the ten years period: the 1992, 18 November Ms=5.9 Galaxidi earthquake and the 1995, 15 June 1995 Ms=6.2 Aigion one. With respect to the stable Europe, we find for Peloponnessos an average displacement rate of 30 mm/yr in the N215° direction, similar to that found in previous studies. Our results show that most of the deformation in the Corinthian Gulf is localizes off-shore, in a narrow band, in the central part of the Gulf. The extension rate measured over 10 years is 11 mm/yr in the N185° direction in the middle of the Gulf (Xiloxastro) and 16 mm/yr in the N185° direction in its western part (Aigion). The southern block appears un-deformed, except the region of Aigion event. Using CNES DIAPASON software, we derived 85 interferograms of the Corinthian Gulf from 38 raw ERS SAR images acquired between 1992 and 1999. The interferograms sampling the 1995 earthquake show a clear coseismic signal reaching 250 +/- 15 mm at Psaromita cape, a value consistent with the GPS measurements. No post-seismic motion, within the error bars of SAR interferometry (+/- 15 mm), is observed during the 1995-1999 period

Fault kinematics in northern Central America and coupling along the subduction interface of the Cocos Plate, from GPS data in Chiapas (Mexico), Guatemala and El Salvador

International audienceNew GPS measurements in Chiapas (Mexico), Guatemala and El Salvador are used to constrain the fault kinematics in the North America (NA), Caribbean (CA) and Cocos (CO) plates triple junction area. The regional GPS velocity field is first analysed in terms of strain partitioning across the major volcano-tectonic structures, using elastic half-space modelling, then inverted through a block model. We show the dominant role of the Motagua Fault with respect to the Polochic Fault in the accommodation of the present-day deformation associated with the NA and CA relative motion. The NA/CA motion decreases from 18-22 mm yr−1 in eastern Guatemala to 14-20 mm yr−1 in central Guatemala (assuming a uniform locking depth of 14-28 km), down to a few millimetres per year in western Guatemala. As a consequence, the western tip of the CA Plate deforms internally, with ≃9 mm yr−1 of east-west extension (≃5 mm yr−1 across the Guatemala city graben alone). Up to 15 mm yr−1 of dextral motion can be accommodated across the volcanic arc in El Salvador and southeastern Guatemala. The arc seems to mark the northern boundary of an independent forearc sliver (AR), pinned to the NA plate. The inversion of the velocity field shows that a four-block (NA, CA, CO and AR) model, that combines relative block rotations with elastic deformation at the block boundaries, can account for most of the GPS observations and constrain the overall kinematics of the active structures. This regional modelling also evidences lateral variations of coupling at the CO subduction interface, with a fairly high-coupling (≃0.6) offshore Chiapas and low-coupling (≃0.25) offshore Guatemala and El Salvador

Maternal imprinting and determinants of neonates’ immune function in the SEPAGES mother-child cohort

IntroductionImmune function in pregnancy is influenced by host-specific and environmental factors. This may impact fetal immune development, but the link between maternal and neonatal immune function is still poorly characterized. Here, we investigate the relationship between maternal and neonatal immune function, and identify factors affecting the association between maternal and child cytokine secretion.MethodsIn the French prospective cohort SEPAGES, blood samples were obtained from pregnant women (n=322) at gestational week 20 ± 4 and from their child at birth (n=156). Maternal and cord blood cytokine and chemokine (CK) levels were measured at baseline in all subjects and after T cell or dendritic cell activation with phytohemagglutinin or R848 (in total 29 and 27 measures in maternal and cord blood samples, respectively). Associations between environmental, individual factors and CK level were estimated by linear regression modeling. The maternal-cord blood CK relations were assessed by Pearson correlation and regression models.ResultsWe observed that pregnant women and neonates displayed specific CK secretion profiles in the innate and adaptive compartments at baseline and upon activation. Activation of T cells in cord blood induced high levels of IL-2, but low levels of IFNγ, IL-13 or IL-10, in comparison to maternal blood samples. Elsewhere, neonatal innate immune responses were characterized by low production of IFNα, while productions of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNFα were higher than maternal responses. Strong correlations were observed between most CK after activation in maternal and cord blood samples. Strikingly, a statistical association between global mother and child cytokine profiles was evidenced. Correlations were observed between some individual CK of pregnant women and their children, both at baseline (MCP1, RANTES) and after activation with R848 (IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10). We looked for factors which could influence cytokine secretion in maternal or cord blood, and found that leucocyte counts, maternal age, pre-conception BMI, smoking and season were associated with the levels of several CK in mothers or children. DiscussionOur study reveals in utero immune imprinting influencing immune responses in infants, opening the way to investigate the mechanisms responsible for this imprinting. Whether such influences have long lasting effects on children health warrants further investigation

L'essor du vote dans les relations professionnelles. Actualités françaises et expériences européennes.

International audienceAu fil des réformes du droit français, le vote acquiert une place croissante dans les relations professionnelles. La loi du 20 août 2008 confère aux élections professionnelles une portée nouvelle. Au-delà de la désignation des représentants élus des salariés, elles pèsent dorénavant sur l'attribution de la qualité représentative aux organisations syndicales, la désignation des délégués syndicaux ou encore l'appréciation de la validité des conventions collectives. De même, les scrutins classiquement tenus par les grévistes sur la poursuite d'un mouvement collectif se sont récemment enrichis, dans le domaine des transports terrestres de voyageurs, d'une figure nouvelle qui échappe à leur initiative. Comment comprendre cet essor du vote dans les relations professionnelles ? Faut-il y voir un vecteur de consolidation de la " démocratie sociale " ? Peut-on y déceler le signe d'une conception nouvelle de l'autonomie collective ? Cet ouvrage, qui réunit les contributions d'universitaires français et étrangers, a pour ambition de mettre en perspective les expériences étrangères et d'y rechercher des éléments d'intelligibilité du droit français. Une annexe documentaire permet de donner au lecteur l'accès aux principaux textes originaux des droits étrangers. Contributeurs : Catherine Barnard, Antonio Baylos, Jean-Marc Béraud, Georges Borenfreund, Gisella De Simone, Jean-Pierre Le Crom, Christophe Le Digol, Olivier Leclerc, Antoine Lyon-Caen, Christophe Voilliot.SOMMAIREAvant-proposPremière partie. Actualités et expériences françaisesVote et relations professionnelles, par Antoine Lyon-Caen, professeur à l’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, directeur d’Études à l’EHESS (IRERP, EA 4419)Le vote et la représentation syndicale. Quelques interrogations à partir de la loi du 20 août 2008, par Georges Borenfreund, professeur à l’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense (IRERP, EA 4419)Les élections sociales : essor ou déclin ?, par Jean-Pierre Le Crom, historien, directeur de recherches au CNRSHors champ. L’analyse politique et les élections professionnelles, par Christophe Le Digol, maître de conférences à l’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense (groupe analyse politique) et Christophe Voilliot, maître de conférences à l’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense (groupe analyse politique) Les nouvelles règles sur la représentativité : l’évaluation de la Cour de cassation, par Jean-Marc Béraud, agrégé des Facultés de droit, conseiller à la Cour de cassationDe la constitutionnalité de certaines règles relatives à la représentativité syndicale, par Jean-Marc Béraud, agrégé des Facultés de droit, conseiller à la Cour de cassationSeconde partie. Expériences étrangères et leçons d’une comparaisonComparer les systèmes de relations professionnelles, par Olivier Leclerc, maître de conférences à l’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense (IRERP, EA 4419)La place du vote dans les relations professionnelles en Espagne, par Antonio Baylos, professeur, Universidad de Castilla La ManchaLe vote et les relations professionnelles au Royaume-Uni, par Catherine Barnard, professeur de droit européen et de droit du travail à l’Université de CambridgeL’essor du vote dans les relations professionnelles. Quelques réflexions à partir de l’expérience italienne, par Gisella De Simone, professeur de Droit du travail à l’Université de GênesAnnexes documentairesEspagneRoyaume-UniItali

High doses of biotin in chronic progressive multiple sclerosis: a pilot study

International audienceNo drug has been found to have any impact on progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Biotin is a vitamin acting as a coenzyme for carboxylases involved in key steps of energy metabolism and fatty acids synthesis. Among others, biotin activates acetylCoA carboxylase, a potentially rate-limiting enzyme in myelin synthesis. The aim of this pilot study is to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of high doses of biotin in patients suffering from progressive MS. Uncontrolled, non-blinded proof of concept study 23 consecutive patients with primary and secondary progressive MS originated from three different French MS reference centers were treated with high doses of biotin (100-300mg/day) from 2 to 36 months (mean=9.2 months). Judgement criteria varied according to clinical presentations and included quantitative and qualitative measures. In four patients with prominent visual impairment related to optic nerve injury, visual acuity improved significantly. Visual evoked potentials in two patients exhibited progressive reappearance of P100 waves, with normalization of latencies in one case. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) in one case showed a progressive normalization of the Choline/Creatine ratio. One patient with left homonymous hemianopia kept on improving from 2 to 16 months following treatment׳s onset. Sixteen patients out of 18 (89%) with prominent spinal cord involvement were considered as improved as confirmed by blinded review of videotaped clinical examination in 9 cases. In all cases improvement was delayed from 2 to 8 months following treatment׳s onset. These preliminary data suggest that high doses of biotin might have an impact on disability and progression in progressive MS. Two double-blind placebo-controlled trials are on going

Seismicity and Crustal Structure of the Polochic-Motagua Fault System Area (Guatemala)

Seismological Research Letters, vol. 80, n°6, pp. 977-984, 2009International audienceWe report results from a six-month seismological experiment in the area of the eastern Polochic-Motagua fault system (Guatemala) designed to both characterize the present seismicity and bring some constraints on the lithospheric structure. The seismic activity occurs in the upper 15 km of the crust, on the Polochic and the Motagua faults as well as in a NS-trending graben south of the Motagua fault and within the active folds north of the Polochic fault. From receiver function analysis the Moho discontinuity is found at about 35 km depth north of the Polochic fault and south of the Motagua fault, while the region in between is characterized by a 4-to-6-km thinner crust or by a 6–7% decrease of the Vp/Vs ratio

Les capitales catholiques

Dans les pays les plus catholiques, les capitales comme Bruxelles, Paris, Port-au-Prince, Québec ou Rome ont cristallisé l’opposition traditionnelle entre les métropoles, lieux de perdition morale, et les villages, lieux de préservation de la foi ancestrale. Quelles stratégies de reconquête urbaine les catholiques ont-ils déployées depuis au moins deux siècles, conscients que l’avenir se joue aussi au centre ? Quelles lectures du monde urbain et quels imaginaires des villes ont-ils proposés ? Dans ce dossier thématique, des spécialistes de différentes disciplines montrent que les mouvements catholiques ont engendré des dynamiques propres où la capitale s’est imposée comme « terre de mission » et objet de « croisades » pastorales à travers la popularisation de lieux de cultes et l’inscription de signes visibles dans l’espace et le temps des villes. Il s’agissait surtout de sauvegarder une communauté catholique bouleversée par les transformations rapides des sociétés occidentales aux XIXe et XXe siècles. Les étapes de la vie (naissance, initiation religieuse, mariage, mort) et les sphères de la société (mouvement de jeunesse, relations amicales et conjugales, loisirs, transmission des valeurs) ont ainsi dû être balisées à un moment où le maillage géographique et social s’est éloigné de la paroisse. Mais la reconquête de l’espace public par des tentatives de représentation politique s’est heurtée à la privatisation croissante de la croyance