But, where are the politics here ?

Alors que pour certains, l’idée de « participer à une école d’été » sonne aux oreilles comme une antinomie repoussante, pour d’autres, il s’agit d’un moment d’échanges et de rencontres privilégiés, d’un rituel du monde académique. Depuis 2001, le groupe Environmental Politics de l’ECPR propose un tel événement tous les deux ans, à destination des jeunes chercheurs souhaitant explorer la question politique de l’environnement sous ses différentes coutures (analyse des politiques publiques et re..

Genomicus: a database and a browser to study gene synteny in modern and ancestral genomes

Summary: Comparative genomics remains a pivotal strategy to study the evolution of gene organization, and this primacy is reinforced by the growing number of full genome sequences available in public repositories. Despite this growth, bioinformatic tools available to visualize and compare genomes and to infer evolutionary events remain restricted to two or three genomes at a time, thus limiting the breadth and the nature of the question that can be investigated. Here we present Genomicus, a new synteny browser that can represent and compare unlimited numbers of genomes in a broad phylogenetic view. In addition, Genomicus includes reconstructed ancestral gene organization, thus greatly facilitating the interpretation of the data

Working in temporary employment and exposure to musculoskeletal constraints

BACKGROUND: In recent years, temporary work (TW) has increased in European countries due to the greater uncertainty in the economy.AIMS: To compare the prevalence of non-specific musculoskeletal symptoms of the upper extremities (UEMSDs) and their main risk factors in blue-collar workers employed through temporary agencies (TW) and in those in permanent employment (PE). METHODS: UEMSDs occurring during the preceding 7 days were assessed using a Nordic questionnaire completed by 1493 blue-collar workers randomly included in a surveillance programme for UEMSDs (171 in TW and 1322 in PE) in a large French region. Personal factors and work-related risk factors for UEMSDs were assessed by self-administered questionnaires. RESULTS: The prevalence of UEMSDs during the preceding 7 days did not significantly differ between workers in TW or PE. However, after adjustment for age and gender, TW had a higher risk of symptoms of the wrist/hand region (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.04-2.6). TW was characterized by higher exposure to paced work (OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.4-3.0), repetitive work (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.6-3.4), awkward postures of the wrist (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.4) and intensive use of vibrating hand tools (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.3). Workers in TW suffered from a lack of autonomy (OR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.7-3.6) and skill discretion at work (OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.1) more frequently, but there was no difference in relation to psychological demands of the task or social support. CONCLUSIONS: Temporary workers were more frequently exposed to working time constraints, repetitive work and biomechanical constraints of the wrist/hand region when compared to permanent workers and may represent a subpopulation at particularly high risk of UEMSDs

Depressive Symptoms Have Distinct Relationships With Neuroimaging Biomarkers Across the Alzheimer's Clinical Continuum

Background: Depressive and anxiety symptoms are frequent in Alzheimer’s disease and associated with increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. We sought to examine their relationships to Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers across the preclinical and clinical stages of the disease. Method: Fifty-six healthy controls, 35 patients with subjective cognitive decline and 56 amyloid-positive cognitively impaired patients on the Alzheimer’s continuum completed depression and anxiety questionnaires, neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging assessments. We performed multiple regressions in each group separately to assess within group associations of depressive and anxiety symptoms with either cognition (global cognition and episodic memory) or neuroimaging data (gray matter volume, glucose metabolism and amyloid load). Results: Depressive symptoms, but not anxiety, were higher in patients with subjective cognitive decline and cognitively impaired patients on the Alzheimer’s continuum compared to healthy controls. Greater depressive symptoms were associated with higher amyloid load in subjective cognitive decline patients, while they were related to higher cognition and glucose metabolism, and to better awareness of cognitive difficulties, in cognitively impaired patients on the Alzheimer’s continuum. In contrast, anxiety symptoms were not associated with brain integrity in any group. Conclusion: These data show that more depressive symptoms are associated with greater Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in subjective cognitive decline patients, while they reflect better cognitive deficit awareness in cognitively impaired patients on the Alzheimer’s continuum. Our findings highlight the relevance of assessing and treating depressive symptoms in the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease

Working in temporary employment exposes to higher levels of muskuloskeletal constraints

Introduction: Since temporary work (TW) has increased in recent years, the aim in this study was to compare the prevalence of non-specific musculoskeletal symptoms of the upper extremities (UEMSDs) and their main risk factors in blue collar workers employed through temporary agency (TW) and in those in permanent employment (PE). Methods: UEMSDs occurring during the preceding 12 months or the preceding 7 days were assessed using the ‘Nordic’ questionnaire in 1,493 blue collar workers included in a surveillance program for MSDs (171 in TW and 1,322 in PE). Personal factors and work-related risk factors for UEMSDs were assessed by self-administered questionnaires. Exposure to work constraints of blue collar workers in TW and in PE was compared using logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender. Results: The prevalence rates of UEMSDs during the preceding 12 months or preceding 7 days did not significantly differ between workers in TW and PE, except for a higher prevalence in the hand-wrist region during the preceding 7 days after adjustment for age and gender (19.9% [95% CI 13.9-25.9] vs. 14.9% [13.0-16.9], P < 0.05). TW was characterized by higher exposure to paced work (Odds ratio (OR) = 2.1 [95% CI 1.4-3.0]) and time constraints dependent on an automatic rate, permanent control or colleagues’ work, and to repetitive movements (OR=2.3 [1.6-3.3]), awkward postures of the wrist (OR=1.6 [1.2-2.4]) and intensive use of vibrating handtools (OR=1.6 [1.1-2.3]). Workers in TW suffered more from a lack of autonomy (OR=2.4 [1.7-3.5]) and skill discretion at work (OR=2.0 [1.3-3.1]), but there was no difference regarding psychological demand of the task or social support. Discussion: Workers employed through temporary work agencies appeared to be overexposed to time constraints and biomechanical constraints of the hand-wrist region in this large working population. TW could represent a subpopulation at particularly high risk of UEMSDs.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal characterization of SCD patients recruited from the community versus from a memory clinic: subjective cognitive decline, psychoaffective factors, cognitive performances, and atrophy progression over time

Peer reviewe

Exposure to negative socio-emotional events induces sustained alteration of resting-state brain networks in older adults

Basic emotional functions seem well preserved in older adults. However, their reactivity to and recovery from socially negative events remain poorly characterized. To address this, we designed a ‘task–rest’ paradigm in which 182 participants from two independent experiments underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while exposed to socio-emotional videos. Experiment 1 (N = 55) validated the task in young and older participants and unveiled age-dependent effects on brain activity and connectivity that predominated in resting periods after (rather than during) negative social scenes. Crucially, emotional elicitation potentiated subsequent resting-state connectivity between default mode network and amygdala exclusively in older adults. Experiment 2 replicated these results in a large older adult cohort (N = 127) and additionally showed that emotion-driven changes in posterior default mode network–amygdala connectivity were associated with anxiety, rumination and negative thoughts. These findings uncover the neural dynamics of empathy-related functions in older adults and help understand its relationship to poor social stress recovery

The Age-Well randomized controlled trial of the Medit-Ageing European project: Effect of meditation or foreign language training on brain and mental health in older adults

INTRODUCTION: The Age-Well clinical trial is an ongoing monocentric, randomized, controlled trial aiming to assess an 18-month preventive meditation-based intervention directly targeting the attentional and emotional dimensions of aging to promote mental health and well-being in elderly people. METHODS: One hundred thirty-seven cognitively unimpaired older adults are randomized to either an 18-month meditation-based intervention, a structurally matched foreign language training, or a passive control arm. The impact of the intervention and underlying mechanisms are assessed with detailed cognitive, behavioral, biological, neuroimaging and sleep examinations. RESULTS: Recruitment began in late 2016 and ended in May 2018. The interventions are ongoing and will be completed by early 2020. DISCUSSION: This is the first trial addressing the emotional and cognitive dimension of aging with a long-term nonpharmacological approach and using comprehensive assessments to investigate the mechanisms. Results are expected to foster the development of preventive strategies reducing the negative impact of mental conditions and disorders

Alzheimers Dement

Introduction: The Age-Well clinical trial is an ongoing monocentric, randomized, controlled trial aiming to assess an 18-month preventive meditation-based intervention directly targeting the attentional and emotional dimensions of aging to promote mental health and well-being in elderly people. Methods: One hundred thirty-seven cognitively unimpaired older adults are randomized to either an 18-month meditation-based intervention, a structurally matched foreign language training, or a passive control arm. The impact of the intervention and underlying mechanisms are assessed with detailed cognitive, behavioral, biological, neuroimaging and sleep examinations. Results: Recruitment began in late 2016 and ended in May 2018. The interventions are ongoing and will be completed by early 2020. Discussion: This is the first trial addressing the emotional and cognitive dimension of aging with a long-term nonpharmacological approach and using comprehensive assessments to investigate the mechanisms. Results are expected to foster the development of preventive strategies reducing the negative impact of mental conditions and disorders